KR100260315B1 - Damper of a refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: Electronic Damper structure of a refrigerator is provided to prevent ice-making around baffles by controlling a heater therefore depending on open/shut of the baffles. CONSTITUTION: An electronic damper of a refrigerator consists of: plural baffle(42) for adjusting the amount of cold air supplied to a refrigerator duct(32); a motor(44) delivering power for operating the baffles; and heaters(50) mounted in front of the baffles. A damper(40) is driven when temperature in a refrigeration compartment(30) reaches a set value. Thereby, the motor is driven and the baffles are opened. Cold air flows into the refrigeration compartment through a discharge hole on the refrigerator duct. If the refrigeration compartment keeps indoor temperature lower than the set temperature by the cold air, the damper is stopped. The motor is stopped and the baffles are closed. The cold air is not supplied into the refrigeration compartment any longer. The heater is turned on to inhibit ice-making around the baffle.

Description

Electronic damper structure of the refrigerator

1 is a front view showing the internal structure of a conventional refrigerator.

2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG.

Figure 3 is a front view showing the internal structure of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG.

5 is a circuit diagram of an electronic motor damper according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

10: barrier 20: freezer

30: refrigerator compartment 32: refrigerator compartment duct

32a: cold air discharge hole 34: temperature sensor

40: damper 42: cold air barrier

44: motor 50: heater for removing ice

The present invention relates to an electronic damper for controlling the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerator's refrigerating chamber, and more particularly, to an electronic damper of a refrigerator in which a heater is installed in the damper main body to prevent freezing from occurring around the cold air blocking membrane of the damper. It is about.

Generally, in a refrigerator, cold air heat exchanged in an evaporator is supplied to a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment to cool an article stored in the refrigerator, and the cold air supply is controlled according to the temperature of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment. Meanwhile, a damper is installed at one side of the cold air passage, which is a cold air passage on the side of the refrigerating chamber, to adjust the amount of cold air introduced into the refrigerating compartment.

The damper for controlling the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerating chamber is divided into mechanical and electronic according to the driving method, the mechanical damper is a gas bellows type using the expansion force of the gas according to the temperature change, the electronic damper to the microcomputer according to the temperature change This allows the damper operation to be controlled. Hereinafter, the damper for adjusting the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerating chamber shall mean an electronic damper.

Referring to the process of supplying cold air from the conventional refrigerator to the refrigerating chamber through the drawings, FIG. 1 is a front view showing the internal structure of the conventional refrigerator, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG.

As shown in the drawing, a refrigerator is generally divided into a barrier (1), an upper part of a freezer compartment (2), a lower part of a refrigerator compartment (5), and some of the cold air heat exchanged in the evaporator (3) located behind the freezer compartment (2). The freezing chamber 2 is supplied to the freezer compartment 2, and the remaining cold air is supplied to the refrigerating chamber 5 through the bottom of the evaporator 3.

Referring to the cold air supply process to the refrigerating chamber 5 in more detail, as shown in the solid line of FIG. 1, the cold air heat exchanged in the evaporator 2 is connected to the refrigerating chamber through the cold air passage 4 formed through the barrier 1. 5), a damper 6 is provided at the end of the refrigerating chamber 5 side of the cold air flow passage 4 to adjust the amount of cold air supplied.

Next, a cold air blocking membrane 6a is provided on the front surface of the damper 6, and the cold air delivered to the damper 6 through the cold air passage 4 is opened by the opening and closing of the cold air blocking membrane 6a. The supply of cold air is controlled on the refrigerating chamber duct 7 provided at the rear side, and the supply to the inside of the refrigerating chamber 5 is controlled through the cold air discharge holes 7a formed on the refrigerating chamber duct 7.

Meanwhile, the conventional refrigerator shown in the drawing shows a structure in which the refrigerating chamber duct 7 is formed behind the refrigerating chamber 5, but is not limited thereto. Even in the refrigerator in which the refrigerating chamber duct 7 is formed through the side of the refrigerating chamber 5, the cool air is discharged to the refrigerating chamber 5 through the same path.

In addition, the driving of the damper 6 to control the supply of cold air to the refrigerating chamber duct 7 is controlled by a microcomputer (not shown) according to the temperature in the refrigerating chamber 5 sensed by a temperature sensor (not shown). That is, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor installed in the refrigerating chamber 5 is higher than or equal to the set temperature, the cold air blocking membrane 6a is opened by driving a motor (not shown) of the damper 6, and accordingly, cold air is discharged to discharge the refrigerating chamber duct ( It is supplied into the refrigerating chamber 5 through the cold air | gas discharge hole 6a of 7).

On the other hand, when the temperature in the refrigerating chamber 5 is lower than the appropriate temperature, the motor driving of the damper 6 is stopped and the cold air blocking membrane 6a is closed accordingly, and the supply of cold air into the refrigerating chamber 5 through the cold air discharge hole 7a is stopped. .

In addition, the damper 6 that controls the supply of cold air into the refrigerating compartment 5 is affected by the temperature outside the refrigerating compartment 5, which is reduced from the outside when the ambient temperature is lowered to a low temperature (about 10 ° C. or less). 5) As the amount of heat that penetrates into the inside and the temperature inside the refrigerating chamber 5 is kept at a low temperature, the operation rate of the refrigerator is reduced compared to when the refrigerator is at a high temperature, and thus the time for the cold air blocking membrane 6a to be closed is longer.

On the other hand, in the state where the cold air blocking membrane 6a is closed and the cold air supply is stopped in the refrigerating chamber, the cold air is trapped in the damper 6 connected to the cold air passage 4 so that the temperature of the damper is kept at a low temperature, while the cold room is kept cold. (5) The internal temperature is relatively maintained at a higher temperature than the damper 6.

As described above, the following problems occur in the conventional refrigerator in which the cold air supply is controlled into the refrigerator compartment according to the opening and closing of the cold air barrier membrane by the temperature in the refrigerator compartment.

If the cold air barrier of the damper is closed, dew condensation occurs in the cold air barrier due to the temperature difference inside and outside of the damper, and as the dew grows as freezing, the opening and closing operation of the cold air barrier is hindered, thereby causing an error in the damper. (ERROR) occurs and the supply of cold air in the refrigerating compartment is not properly adjusted, resulting in problems of overcooling and poor temperature inside the refrigerating compartment.

The present invention is to solve the above problems by installing a heater to remove the ice on the damper surface is installed cold chiller to control the operation of the ice removing heater in accordance with the opening and closing of the cold shield to prevent the freezing around the cold blocking film The purpose is to provide a damper structure.

Refrigerator damper structure according to the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a cold air blocking film for controlling the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerating chamber duct by opening and closing; A motor for transmitting power for opening and closing of the cold air blocking membrane; And the technical gist consisting of; a heater for removing ice that is installed on the front surface of the cold air barrier. Due to the above structure, there is an effect of removing the supercooling and the temperature defect in the refrigerating chamber due to the malfunction of the damper.

The heater is controlled by a microcomputer, and the heater is not driven when the cold air barrier film is opened, and when the cold air barrier film is closed, the heater is driven to prevent freezing around the cold air barrier film.

Next, matters related to the technical configuration and effects of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing preferred embodiments of the present invention.

3 is a front view showing the internal structure of the refrigerator according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the electronic motor damper according to the present invention.

As shown, the upper portion of the barrier 10 is divided into a freezing compartment 20 and a lower portion of the barrier 10. Some of the cold air heat exchanged in the evaporator 22 located behind the freezer compartment 20 is introduced into the freezer compartment 20, and the rest is introduced into the refrigerating compartment 30 through a cold air passage (not shown) formed through the barrier 10. do.

Meanwhile, the refrigerating chamber duct 32 is installed at the rear of the refrigerating chamber 30, and the cold air heat exchanged in the evaporator 22 is introduced into the refrigerating chamber duct 32 through the cold air passage formed through the lower side of the evaporator 22, and the refrigerating chamber 30 is provided. Supplied to the side. In addition, the inlet side of the refrigerating chamber duct 30 into which the cold air flows is provided with a damper 40 for adjusting the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerating chamber duct 32.

A cold air barrier film 42 is attached to the damper 40, and a motor 44 is provided in the damper 40. The temperature sensor 34 is installed at one side of the refrigerating chamber 30, and the motor 44 of the damper 40 is detected by the internal temperature of the refrigerating chamber 30 detected by the temperature sensor 34. As the cold air barrier 42 is opened and closed, the cold air supply is controlled into the refrigerating chamber 30.

On the other hand, the front surface of the cold air blocking film 42 is provided with a heater 50 for removing icing according to the present invention. The ice removing heater 50 generates heat by supplying external power, and the supply of the external power is controlled by a microcomputer (not shown) to prevent freezing around the cold air blocking film 42.

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail through a process of preventing freezing formation around the cold air blocking film 42 by the heat of the freezing heater 50.

First, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 34 installed in the refrigerating chamber 30 reaches the set temperature, the microcomputer recognizes the signal and the damper is driven by the microcomputer. As the motor 44 operates by driving the damper 40, the cold air barrier film 42 is opened, whereby cold air is supplied into the refrigerating chamber through the cold air discharge holes 32a on the refrigerating chamber duct 32. On the other hand, power is not supplied to the heater 50 for removing ice under control of the microcomputer, and thus the heater 50 for removing ice does not operate.

That is, the driving of the damper 40 and the driving of the ice removing heater 50 are mutually opposed to each other and are controlled by the microcomputer. Looking at the control process on the circuit diagram as shown in Figure 5, the signal of the temperature sensor is transmitted to the microcomputer through the input terminal 11. The signal causes the microcomputer to supply power to the damper through the output terminal P1 so that the cold air barrier film is opened as the motor is driven by the power supply. Meanwhile, at the same time, the microcomputer does not supply power to the heater for removing ice through the output terminal P2.

Next, when cold air is supplied into the refrigerating chamber 30 as the cold air barrier 42 is opened, and the inside of the refrigerating chamber 30 is maintained at or below the set temperature, the temperature sensor 34 detects this and enters through the input terminal 11. Send a signal to the microcomputer. Accordingly, the microcomputer stops driving the damper 40 through the output terminal P1. As the driving of the damper 40 is stopped, the motor 44 is not operated, and the cold air barrier 42 is closed due to the restoring force of the leaf spring attached to the front surface of the cold air barrier 42. The cold air supply is stopped.

On the other hand, at the same time, the microcomputer allows power to be supplied to the heater 50 for removing ice through the output terminal P2, and around the cold air blocking membrane 42 as the ice remover heater 50 is operated to generate heat by the supplied power. To prevent freezing.

That is, as described above, when the damper 40 is driven to open the cold air barrier 42, the heater 50 for removing ice does not operate. On the contrary, the damper 40 is stopped and the cold air barrier 42 is stopped. ) Is closed and the driving of the damper 40 and the icing heater 50 is operated in opposition to each other so that the icing heater 50 is operated by the microcomputer.

The refrigerator damper structure according to the present invention as described above has the following advantages.

If the cold air barrier is closed, the heat generated by the defrosting heater in the state that the cold air supply is stopped, prevents the formation of ice around the cold air barrier, and the electronically operated damper always operates properly to prevent overcooling or poor temperature in the cold compartment. There is an advantage to avoid.

Claims (1)

A cold air blocking membrane for controlling the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerating chamber duct by opening and closing, a motor for transmitting power for opening and closing the cold air blocking membrane, a heater for removing frost provided on the front surface of the cold air blocking membrane, and the cold air blocking membrane The electronic damper structure of the refrigerator, characterized in that it comprises a microcomputer for controlling the heater so that the heater is driven only when the cold air blocking membrane is closed when the heater is not opened.

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