KR100208357B1 - Refrigerator and its control method with cooling air dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a control method of a refrigerator having a cooling chamber for cooling and storing food, wherein the cold air duct is provided on one side wall of the cooling chamber to guide the flow of cold air and has a cold air outlet opening toward the cooling chamber. Wow; At least one cold air distribution vane rotatably installed at the cold air discharge outlet; A rotation driving means of the cold air distribution blade; A temperature detecting sensor provided at a plurality of places in said cooling chamber at predetermined intervals; The cold air distribution vane is stopped so that the cold air is supplied to the high temperature side based on the temperature signal from the temperature sensing sensors while supplying uniform cold air into the cooling chamber. Thereby, uniform distribution and intensive cooling can be performed intermittently according to the temperature state in the cooling chamber, so that temperature deviation does not occur in the cooling chamber.

Description

Refrigerator with cold air distribution device and control method of refrigerator

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator and a control method of a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device capable of uniformly cooling or intensively cooling a cooling chamber for cooling and storing food.

Refrigerators are generally provided with a cold air duct for guiding the flow of cold air from the evaporator on the wall surface of the cooling chamber, and formed with a cold air discharge port opened into the refrigerator compartment, whereby cooling in the refrigerator compartment is achieved. However, in the refrigerator having only cold air ducts and cold air outlets as described above, a temperature deviation occurs in the refrigerating chamber due to its configuration, and thus the food storage state is not good. In recent years, a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device has been proposed in which cold air discharged into a refrigerating chamber is uniformly distributed to prevent a temperature deviation from occurring.

Figure 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator having such a conventional cold air distribution device, Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional cold air distribution device. As can be seen from these figures, the refrigerator 101 having the conventional cold air distribution device has a pair of coolings divided into a freezer compartment 2 and a refrigerating compartment 3 by an intermediate partition 5 in a substantially rectangular main body. A seal is provided, and the opening / closing doors 6 and 7 are provided in the opening front of each cooling chamber 2 and 3, respectively. In the main body, a refrigeration system including a compressor 11, a condenser and a freezer compartment evaporator 12a and a refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b (not shown) is installed. The cold air generated in each of the evaporators 12a and 12b is supplied to each cooling chamber by the freezing chamber fan 13a or the refrigerating chamber fan 13b.

On the other hand, in the rear wall of the refrigerating chamber 3, a cold air duct 15 is provided in which cold air from the refrigerating chamber evaporator 12b is blown by the refrigerating chamber fan 13b and flows therein. The cold air distribution device 110 is installed in the vertical direction. On the rear wall surface of the refrigerating chamber 3, a cold air discharge port 16 through which cold air from the cold air duct 15 is discharged to the refrigerating room 3 is formed, and the cold air distribution device 110 guides the supplied cold air to the cold air discharge port. It supplies to the refrigerating compartment 3 through 16. At the rear of the cold air duct 15, a circulation duct 17 connecting the refrigerating chamber 3 and the refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b is formed to be isolated from the cold air duct 15. The cold air which cooled the refrigerator compartment 3 returns to the refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b via this circulation duct 17. As shown in FIG.

The cold air distribution device 110 includes a rotation shaft 121, a plurality of cold air distribution blades 111, and a drive motor 131 for rotating the rotation shaft 121. The rotating shaft 121 is rotatably installed on the rear side of the refrigerating chamber 3, and the rotating shaft 121 of the driving motor 131 is coupled to the upper portion of the rotating shaft 121. The cold air distribution blades 111 are formed in a plate-shaped body curved in a wave shape with respect to the plane including the axis of the rotation shaft 121, and are spaced apart from each other to correspond to each of the cold air discharge ports 16 along the rotation shaft 121. It is. At the upper and lower ends of each cold air distributing wing 111, a pair of end plates 113 formed of an upper plate 113a and a lower plate 113b is formed, and an intermediate plate is formed between the upper plate 113a and the lower plate 113b. 115 is provided to divide the cold air distribution blade 111 into the first blade portion 117 and the second blade portion 119. Each wing portion 117, 119 is bent to form an S-shaped cross section, and each wing portion 117, 119 of each cold air distribution wing 111 is bent in the opposite direction to each other.

In the refrigerator 101 having the conventional cold air distribution device 110 having such a configuration, when the driving motor 131 rotates the rotary shaft 121 at a low speed, the cold air supplied along the cold air duct 15 is cold air distribution wing 111. The direction of the flow path is changed by the curved plate surface of the shells, and spreads in the refrigerating chamber from side to side and is discharged. On the other hand, when intensive cooling is necessary for a specific site, the rotating shaft 121 is stopped in accordance with the direction of the cold air distribution blade 111 so that cold air is concentrated discharged toward the site. By such a cold air distribution device 110, it becomes possible to realize uniform cooling and concentrated cooling in the refrigerating chamber 3.

However, in the conventional refrigerator 101 having such a cold air distribution device 110, there is a limit in realizing uniform cooling and intensive cooling in view of the configuration of the cold air distribution device 111 and its control characteristics. Therefore, there is a concern that a four-segment section in which cold air cannot reach the corner region or the like in the cooling chamber is formed, and in some cases, there is a concern that a specific region in the cooling chamber may be supercooled by cold air supplied intensively. In addition, the conventional cold air distribution device 110 has a problem that the manufacturing cost is difficult to raise the manufacturing cost.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device capable of lowering the manufacturing cost with a relatively simple configuration in view of these problems in the related art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator and a method of controlling the refrigerator having a cold air distribution device capable of intermittently performing uniform cooling or intensive cooling according to a temperature state in a cooling chamber.

1 is a front sectional view of a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device according to the present invention;

2 is a side cross-sectional view of FIG.

3 is an exploded perspective view of a cold air distribution device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a control flowchart showing a control method of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

Figure 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator having a conventional cold air distribution device,

6 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional cold air distribution device.

Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

2, 3: Cooling chamber 5: Intermediate bulkhead

6, 7: door 9a, 9b: temperature sensor

12a, 12b: Evaporator 13a, 13b: Cooling chamber fan

15: cold air duct 16: cold air outlet

21: duct member 30: cold air distribution device

31: rotation axis 33a, 33b, 33c: vertical distribution wing

35: drive motor 40: cold air grill member

51: horizontal distribution wing 53: rotating pin

55: working pin 57: protrusion

59: cutout 61: interlocking member

63: elevating drive cam 65: cam groove

67: working part

According to the present invention, in the refrigerator having a cooling chamber for cooling and storing food, the cold air duct is provided on one side wall in the cooling chamber to guide the flow of cold air and has a cold air outlet opening toward the cooling chamber. Wow; At least one cold air distribution vane rotatably installed at the cold air discharge outlet; A rotation driving means of the cold air distribution blade; A temperature sensor provided at a plurality of locations in the cooling chamber at predetermined intervals; On the basis of the temperature signal from the temperature sensor, it is achieved by a refrigerator characterized in that it comprises a control unit for stopping the cold air distribution wing so that cold air is concentrated to the high temperature side.

Here, each of the cold air distribution wing is a vertical distribution wing having a parallel axis of rotation in the vertical direction, the cold air discharge port may be configured to be installed in the central region of the rear wall surface, wherein the temperature sensor, the cooling It is preferable to provide on the left and right wall surfaces of the yarn, respectively.

On the other hand, each of the cold air distribution wing is a horizontal distribution wing having a parallel axis of rotation in the horizontal direction, the cold air discharge port may be configured to be installed in the central region of the rear wall surface, wherein the temperature sensor, the cooling It is preferable to provide on the upper and lower wall surfaces of the yarn, respectively.

The rotation drive means may include: an interlocking member installed horizontally in the axial direction of each of the cold air distributing blades and movable horizontally in the axial direction and integrally rotating the respective cold air distributing wings; And an interlocking member driving means for moving the interlocking member, wherein the interlocking member driving means comprises: a rotating shaft rotatably installed in the axial direction on the rear side of the cold air distribution blade; A drive cam rotatably installed on the rotation shaft; An actuating part formed on the interlocking member and interacting with the driving cam, thereby elevating the interlocking member during rotation of the elevating driving cam; It can be simply configured to include a drive motor for rotating the rotary shaft.

Here, the drive motor is preferably composed of a stepping motor capable of position control.

On the other hand, according to another field of the present invention, in the control method of the refrigerator having a cold air distribution wing which is rotatably installed in the cold air discharge port provided on one side wall in the cooling chamber, detecting the temperature in the cooling chamber Steps; Obtaining a temperature deviation in the cooling chamber based on a temperature signal from the temperature sensor; When the temperature deviation is more than a predetermined is achieved by the control method of the refrigerator comprising the step of stopping the cold air distribution wing so that the cold air is concentrated concentrated on the high temperature side.

Here, it is preferable to further include the step of rotating the cold air distribution wing at a predetermined speed when the temperature deviation is less than a predetermined.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a front sectional view of a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a side sectional view of FIG. The refrigerator 1 having a cold air distribution device as seen in these figures is, as described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6 of the prior art, by the freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber (2) by the intermediate partition 5 in a substantially rectangular body. A pair of cooling chambers divided by 3) is provided, and opening / closing doors 6 and 7 are respectively provided on the front surface of each of the cooling chambers 2 and 3.

The refrigerator compartment 3 is provided with a plurality of shelves 8 for placing food to partition the refrigerator compartment 3 into a plurality of food storage areas in the vertical direction. The special refrigeration chamber 18 used for storing the food suitable for a specific temperature range is formed in the upper side of the refrigerating chamber 3, and the vegetable chamber 19 for storing vegetables is formed in the lower side of the refrigerating chamber 3. As shown in FIG. On both inner wall surfaces of the refrigerating chamber 3, temperature sensing sensors 9a and 9b which face each other in a diagonal direction are provided, respectively.

In the main body 4, a compressor 11, a condenser, a freezer compartment evaporator 12a, and a refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b, which are not shown, are installed to perform a refrigeration cycle, and cold air is generated in each of the evaporators 12a and 12b. A freezer compartment fan 13a and a refrigerating compartment fan 13b are installed above the evaporators 12a and 12b to forcibly blow cold air generated in each of the evaporators 12a and 12b to the freezer compartment 2 or the refrigerator compartment 3.

On the rear wall surface of the refrigerating chamber 3, a duct housing 20 is provided which forms a cold air duct 15 that provides a flow path of cold air from the evaporator 12b. The duct housing 20 includes a duct member 21 for forming cold air ducts 15 to insulate cold air insulated, a front plate 23 attached to the front surface of the duct member 21, and a duct member 21. The seal plate 25 is bonded to the back of the) and, in the form of surrounding the cold air distribution device 30 in front of the front plate 23 is composed of a partial cylindrical cold air grill member (40).

The cold air discharge openings 16 which are opened toward the refrigerating chamber 3 are provided in the cold air grill member 40 at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction. The cold air grill member 40 is provided in the receiving portion of the front plate (23). The front plate 23 is provided to have a substantially same plane as the inner wall surface of the refrigerating chamber 3, and the cold air grill member 40 protrudes from the front plate 23 into the refrigerating chamber 3 inside. Accordingly, the cold air grill member 40 and the cold air distributor 30 slightly protrude from the rear wall of the refrigerating compartment 3 as a whole, and the cold air guided by the cold air distributor 30 is stored in the refrigerating compartment 3 at a large discharge angle range. ) Is distributed within.

The cold air distribution device 30 is rotatably supported by the front plate 23. The front plate 23 and the duct member 21 form a cold air duct 15 for guiding the flow of cold air therebetween, and has an unillustrated portion for accommodating a portion of the cold air distribution device 30. The cold air distribution device 30 is provided in the cold air duct 15. The cold air distribution device 30, which will be described in detail later, is supplied into the refrigerating chamber 3 by the cold air blown into the cold air duct 15 by the refrigerating chamber fan 13b. At the rear of the cold air duct 15, a circulation duct 17 connecting the refrigerating chamber 3 and the refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b is formed to be isolated from the cold air duct 15. The cold air which cooled the refrigerator compartment 3 returns to the refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b via this circulation duct 17. As shown in FIG.

On the other hand, Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cold air distribution device of the present invention. The cold air distributing device 30 includes a horizontal distributing blade 51 which is provided adjacent to the cold air discharging opening 16 in the cold air duct, and which can be rotated up and down, a drive unit which rotates the horizontal distributing blade 51 up and down, and a cold air duct. It has a vertical distribution blade 33 which is arrange | positioned in the vertical direction inside and rotates in conjunction with the vertical rotation of the horizontal distribution blade 51. As shown in FIG. The horizontal distribution blades 51 are rotatably fixed to the cold air outlet 16 in a horizontal direction, and are provided in plural along the vertical direction of the cold air outlet 16.

These horizontally distributed blades 51 have a front projection 57 and a back cutout 59 corresponding to the cold air discharge port 16, and have a substantially curved shape in which the attachment of the projections 57 is cut off. And rotation pins 53 extending laterally from the both end parts are provided. On the other hand, the cold air grill member 40 having the cold air discharge port 16 is provided with flange portions 45 extending in the orthogonal direction from the rear surface at both longitudinal longitudinal edges thereof, and the rotation pins 53 are provided on these flange portions 45. The rotating hole 47 which accommodates) is provided mutually. The horizontal distribution blades 51 in which the two rotation pins 53 are respectively accommodated in the opposing rotation holes 47 are able to rotate up and down on the front surface of the cold air discharge port 16. In the present embodiment, three horizontal distribution blades 51 having such a configuration are provided along the vertical direction of each cold air discharge port 16.

The drive unit includes a rotation shaft 31 installed in the vertical direction on the rear side of the horizontal distribution blade 51 in the cold air tuck, a drive cam 63 installed on the rotation shaft 31, and a driving motor for rotating the rotation shaft 31 ( 35) and an interlocking member 61 which is hinged to each of the horizontal distribution blades 51 and moves up and down by interaction with the drive cam 63 in accordance with the rotation of the rotary shaft 31. The rotary shaft 31 is provided coaxially along the longitudinal direction and is provided with a flat vertical distribution blade 33 which guides the cold air from the cold air duct 15 to the left and right when the rotary shaft 31 rotates. have.

The rotary shaft 31 is installed along the longitudinal direction of the cold air duct 15 on the rear side of the horizontal distribution blade 51, and the driving motor 35 is coupled to the upper end, and the lower end of the cold air grill member 41 It is rotatably fixed to the lower edge. The drive motor 35 is housed in the motor case 27 at the top of the front plate 23 and is installed. Such drive motor 35, it is preferable to use a stepping motor capable of forward and reverse rotation and control the stop angle position. Three vertical distribution blades 33 coaxially installed on the rotary shaft 31 are provided along the rotary shaft 31 so as to correspond to the cold air discharge ports 16 formed on the cold air grill member 40. Then, a drive cam 63 is provided between the lower vertical distributing blade 33c and the intermediate vertical distributing blade 33b. The drive cam 63 has a cam body 66 which is coaxially installed on the rotation shaft 31, and the cam body 66 is formed with a cam groove 65 having a camp profile that moves up and down along its cylindrical surface. It is.

On the other hand, the interlocking member 61 has a cylindrical shape, and is disposed in parallel with the rotation shaft 31 between the cold air grill member 40 and the horizontal distribution blade 51. The interlocking member 61 is provided with a plurality of working rings 62 protruding from the outer circumferential surface toward the horizontal distributing blade 51 along the longitudinal direction, respectively. Correspondingly, in the protruding portion 57 of the X-shaped horizontal distribution blade 51, an action pin 55 fitted to the action ring 62 is formed parallel to the rotation pin 53. The working ring 62 of the interlocking member 61 and the working pin 55 of the horizontal distributing wing 51 are hinged to each other, and thus the horizontal distributing wing 51 is moved up and down by the interlocking member 61. Accordingly, the action pin 55 can be pivoted up and down on the shaft.

And the action part 67 extended toward the drive cam 63 is provided in the outer peripheral surface of the horizontal distribution blade 51 corresponding to the drive cam 63. As shown in FIG. The acting portion 67 is an actuating protrusion extending from the outer circumferential surface of the horizontal wing interlocking member 61 toward the cam body 66, and the actuating protrusion is engaged with the cam groove 65 of the cam body 66. When the rotating shaft 31 is rotated, the working protrusion is moved up and down along the cam groove 65 of the cam body 66, and thus the horizontal distribution wing 51 hinged by the lifting and lowering of the horizontal wing linkage member 61. ) Will rotate up and down.

The cold air distribution device 30 further has a lifting guide 70 for guiding the lifting of the interlocking member 61 and preventing its own rotation. The lifting guide portion 70 allows the plate-like guide piece 69 extending from the outer circumferential surface toward the cold air grill member 40 along the axis line of the interlocking member 61, and allowing the guide piece 69 to be lifted and lowered. The guide part 49 formed in the back surface of the cold air grill member 40 is comprised. The guide part 49 is a pair of plate-shaped objects facing each other, and the guide piece 69 is inserted between them.

On the other hand, Figure 4 is a control flow diagram showing a control method of the refrigerator according to the present invention. In general, the refrigerator 1 is operated by a user to set the temperature in the refrigerating chamber after power is supplied from the outside. The control unit (not shown) drives the compressor 11, whereby cold air is formed around the evaporators 12a and 12b by the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant cycle. The control unit also intermittently operates the cooling chamber fans 13a and 13b to blow the cold air formed around the evaporators 12a and 12b into the refrigerating chamber.

On the other hand, when the cool air is discharged into the refrigerating chamber by the operation of the cooling chamber fans (13a, 13b) (S1), the control unit, the temperature is provided on each of the two inner wall surface of the refrigerating chamber, that is, the upper inner wall surface of one side and the lower inner wall surface of the other side, respectively. The temperature signal from the sensing sensors 9a and 9b is applied (S2). Thus, based on the signals from both side temperature sensors 9a and 9b, the temperature deviation in the refrigerating compartment is obtained and compared with the temperature deviation and a predetermined temperature deviation allowance stored in the controller (S3). The temperature deviation allowable value may be determined differently according to the capacity and characteristics of the refrigerator 1.

At this time, when the temperature deviation in the refrigerating chamber is equal to or less than a predetermined allowable value, the control unit rotates the drive motor 30 at a predetermined speed. Then, the rotary shaft 31 coupled to the drive motor 30 is rotated, so that the vertical distribution blades 33a, 33b, 33c rotate integrally with the rotary shaft 31, and by the configuration as described above The vertical rotation of the horizontal distributing blade 51 is performed (S4). On the other hand, when the temperature deviation in the refrigerating chamber is equal to or greater than a predetermined allowable value, the control unit determines whether the temperature of which region is higher based on the signals from both temperature sensors 9a and 9b (S5). Thus, when the temperature on the first region side is high, a control signal is sent to the drive motor 30 to stop the vertical distribution blades 33a, 33b, 33c so that cold air can be intensively discharged in the region where the temperature is high. When the temperature on the second region side is high, a control signal is output to the drive motor 30 so that the cold air distribution blades 33a, 33b, 33c face the second region side.

On the other hand, in the refrigerator 1 according to the present invention, two pairs of temperature sensing sensors may be provided on both side walls of the refrigerating chamber 3, respectively. At this time, the control unit obtains a temperature deviation based on the temperature signals from the four temperature sensors, and the cold air distribution device 30 of the present refrigerator operates vertically distributed blades 33a, 33b, 33c in combination. ) And horizontal distribution blades 51, it is possible to control them appropriately so that effective intensive cooling by the combination of each cold air distribution blades 33 and 51 can be realized. For example, in the case where a severe temperature deviation occurs in one lower region in the drawing, the controller stops the vertical distributing blades 33a, 33b, and 33c to face the corresponding region, and the horizontal distributing blade 51 also covers the corresponding region. Is headed. At this time, if only the vertical distribution blades 33a, 33b, 33c face the corresponding area, and the horizontal distribution blade 51 faces upward, if the vertical distribution blades 33a, 33b, 33c are controlled to rotate 180 °, The vertically distributed blades 33a, 33b, 33c and the horizontally distributed blades 51 simultaneously face a region having a severe temperature deviation. At this time, the discharged cold air from the cold air duct 15 is continuously discharged toward the corresponding area.

On the other hand, in the above-described and illustrated embodiments, the refrigerator 1 having the cold air distribution device 30 having the vertical distribution blades 33a, 33b, 33c and the horizontal distribution blade 51 and the control of the refrigerator 1 are provided. Although the method has been described, the cold air distribution device 30 having only vertical distribution blades 33a, 33b, 33c or only horizontal distribution blades 51 is installed in the refrigerator and operated according to the control method as described above. Of course, the same effect can be achieved.

As described above, according to the present invention, a refrigerator having a relatively simple configuration can reduce the manufacturing cost, and at the same time, when the temperature distribution in the refrigerating chamber, that is, the temperature deviation does not occur, the cold air distribution wing By supplying cold air to the cooling chamber uniformly by rotating at a predetermined speed, and control the cold air bleeding wing in case of temperature deviation, it is possible to centrally supply cold air to the corresponding area, so that the overall cooling state can be maintained. There is provided a refrigerator and a method of controlling the refrigerator providing an excellent effect. Thereby, food etc. accommodated in a cooling chamber can be stored more freshly and safely.

Claims (10)

In the refrigerator having a cooling chamber for cooling and storing food, A cold air duct provided on one side wall of the cooling chamber to guide the flow of cold air and having a cold air discharge port opened toward the cooling chamber; At least one cold air distribution vane rotatably installed at the cold air discharge outlet; A rotation driving means of the cold air distribution blade; A temperature sensor provided at a plurality of locations in the cooling chamber at predetermined intervals; And a control unit which stops the cold air distribution wing so that cold air is concentrated and supplied to the high temperature side based on the temperature signals from the temperature detection sensors. The method of claim 1, Each cold air distribution wing is a vertical distribution wing having a parallel axis of rotation in the vertical direction, The cold air discharge port is characterized in that the refrigerator is installed in the central region of the rear wall surface. The method of claim 1, wherein the temperature sensor, Refrigerators, which are respectively provided on the left and right wall surfaces of the cooling chamber. The method of claim 1, Each cold air distribution wing is a horizontal distribution wing having a parallel axis of rotation in the horizontal direction, The cold air discharge port is characterized in that the refrigerator is installed in the central region of the rear wall surface. The method of claim 1, wherein the temperature sensor, And a refrigerator provided on upper and lower wall surfaces of the cooling chamber, respectively. According to claim 1, wherein the rotation drive means, An interlocking member installed horizontally in the axial direction of each of the cold air distributing blades and movable horizontally in the axial direction and integrally rotating the respective cold air distributing wings; Refrigerator comprising an interlocking member driving means for moving the interlocking member. According to claim 6, The linkage member driving means, A rotating shaft rotatably installed in the axial direction on the rear side of the cold air distribution blade; A drive cam rotatably installed on the rotation shaft; An actuating part formed on the interlocking member and interacting with the driving cam, thereby elevating the interlocking member during rotation of the driving cam; And a drive motor for rotating the rotating shaft. The method of claim 7, wherein The drive motor is a refrigerator, characterized in that the stepping motor controllable position angle. In the control method of the refrigerator having a cold air distribution wing which is rotatably installed in the cold air discharge port provided on one side wall in the cooling chamber, Sensing a temperature in the cooling chamber; Obtaining a temperature deviation in the cooling chamber based on a temperature signal from the temperature sensor; If the temperature deviation is more than a predetermined control method of the refrigerator characterized in that for stopping the cold air distribution wing so that cold air is concentrated to the high temperature side. The method of claim 9, And rotating the cold air distribution wing at a predetermined speed when the temperature deviation is less than or equal to the predetermined temperature difference.

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