KR100377765B1 - Method and apparatus for quick freeze in refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for rapid freezing. The present invention directly supplies most of the cold air generated in the evaporator to one side of the freezing chamber, and provides a quick freezing chamber that can quickly control the cooling rate. The rapid freezing chamber is provided with an aluminum plate at the bottom in order to quickly promote heat conduction of the stored food, and a quick freezing passage for guiding most of the cold air generated in the evaporator to the quick freezing chamber, and a quick freezing chamber through the quick freezing passage. Auxiliary fan to supply cold air is installed. Therefore, the present invention can implement a rapid freezing method according to the control of the amount of cold air, it is possible to improve the freshness of the frozen food by passing the time of the ice crystal generation stage quickly.

Description

Quick freezer of refrigerator and its control method {Method and apparatus for quick freeze in refrigerator}

The present invention relates to a rapid freezing apparatus for a refrigerator and a control method thereof.

The most important factor in maintaining the freshness of frozen food storage is to cause the production of juice during thawing through the destruction of tissues due to the formation of ice crystals in the freezing process. That is, when freezing the food, the factor which has the greatest influence on the freshness of the food is the maximum ice crystal generation band between -1 ° C and -5 ° C as shown in FIG. In this section moisture in the food is converted to ice. Therefore, if the time of this section is long, the shape of the ice crystal is non-uniform, and the size is also increased, thereby damaging the tissue of the food.

However, the conventional refrigerator ignores the maximum ice crystal generation zone and adopts a batch cooling air supply method. Therefore, there was a problem that it is impossible to control the freezing speed according to the maximum ice crystal generation zone.

Next, the above problems will be described in detail with reference to a conventional refrigerator.

2 and 3 are a front view and a side view showing the configuration of a freezer compartment of a conventional refrigerator.

As shown in FIG. 2, the conventional refrigerator has one side configured to be used as the refrigerating compartment 1 and the other side configured to be used as the freezer compartment 5.

As shown in FIG. 3, the structure of the freezer compartment 5 is provided with an ice maker 11 for making ice at an upper portion thereof, a plurality of shelves 15 for storing food in the lower portion thereof, and a storage container ( 19).

A heat exchange chamber 16 is formed at the rear of the freezing chamber 5 to perform heat exchange to form cold air. The heat exchange chamber 16 is provided with an evaporator 21 and a blowing fan 10.

A cold air guide passage 18 for guiding the cold air generated by the heat exchange operation of the evaporator 21 to each storage space of the freezer compartment is formed between the heat exchange chamber 16 and the freezer compartment 5. Therefore, a shroud 13 is installed between the heat exchange chamber 16 and the cold air guide passage 18, and a grill pan 12 is installed between the cold air guide passage 18 and the freezing chamber 5. Therefore, the cold air heat exchanged from the evaporator 21 is supplied to the plurality of compartments of the freezer compartment 5 through the shroud 13 and the grill pan 12.

The grill pan 12 has a cold air discharge port 17 for supplying a predetermined amount of cold air to each compartment of the freezer compartment. The cold air discharge port 17 is constantly formed in a plurality of compartments of the freezer compartment. Therefore, the cold air supplied to the freezing chamber is set to be supplied to a plurality of compartments through the cold air discharge ports 17 formed in the grill pan 12.

The cold air supply control of the conventional freezer compartment configured as described above is performed as follows.

The refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle according to the operation of the compressor (not shown) generates cold air while performing a heat exchange operation when passing through the evaporator 21. The generated cold air is provided to the cold air guide flow path 18 by the circulation operation of the blower fan 10. The cold air on the cold air flow path 18 is distributed to the plurality of compartments of the freezing compartment through the shroud 13 and the grill pan 12 and is supplied into the freezing compartment 5 through the cold air outlet 17.

In this way, the cold air supplied to the freezer compartment storage space circulates inside the freezer compartment, lowers the temperature of the food being stored, and returns back to the heat exchange chamber 16 through the freezer compartment return duct 23 located under the freezer compartment.

On the other hand, the amount of cold air supplied to each compartment of the freezer compartment is determined by the size of the cold air discharge port 17 formed in the grill pan 12.

By the way, in the conventional refrigerator, since the cold air discharge port 17 which supplies cold air to each compartment of the said freezer compartment is formed uniformly, a certain amount of cold air is always supplied to many compartments. Therefore, it was not possible to control the cooling rate to quickly cool the temperature of a specific compartment.

In the conventional refrigerator, the control of the cooling rate is not possible because it is not possible to rapidly lower the temperature below the maximum ice crystal generation range between -1 ° C and -5 ° C, which affects the freshness of the food. This makes it impossible to variably control the cooling rate. Therefore, there is a problem that the freshness of the food is lowered in the case of the frozen food, which greatly influences the freshness of the food depending on the cooling rate.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a quick freezing apparatus for a refrigerator capable of controlling a cooling rate according to a cold air supply of a freezing compartment and a control method thereof.

1 is a characteristic diagram of the maximum ice crystal generation band,

2 and 3 is a structural diagram of a conventional refrigerator,

4 is a structural diagram of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

5 is a block diagram of a rapid freezing chamber according to the present invention,

6 is an operation flowchart for the rapid freezing of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

30: blower fan 31: ice maker

33: shroud 34: temperature sensor

35 shelf 36 heat exchange chamber

37: cold air outlet 38: cold air guide euro

39: quick freezer 41: evaporator

45: dedicated rapid freezing flow path 60: control unit

63: signal input unit 65: door

100: upper cover 110: auxiliary fan

120: aluminum plate

A rapid freezing apparatus for a refrigerator according to the present invention for achieving the above object, in a refrigerator having an express freezing chamber and a plurality of freezing storage chambers formed to speed up the freezing speed of food: cold air generated in an evaporator directly into the express freezing chamber A guiding first duct; An auxiliary fan installed in the first duct and configured to discharge cold air generated in an evaporator to the express freezing chamber; A second duct which guides the cold air generated by the evaporator to the express freezing chamber and the plurality of freezing storage chambers by a predetermined amount; Including the blowing fan to guide the cool air generated in the evaporator to the second duct, to control the rapid freezing of the express freezer by the selective operation of the auxiliary fan and the blowing fan.

The present invention, the input means for selecting the rapid freezing; And control means for controlling the rotation operation of the auxiliary fan and the blowing fan according to the output value of the input means. The present invention further includes a temperature sensor installed inside the rapid freezing chamber, wherein the control means includes: And adjusting the rotational speed and the rotation time of the auxiliary fan and the blowing fan based on the detected temperature of the temperature sensor. The present invention is to install an aluminum plate to promote heat exchange of food in the lower part of the express freezing chamber. It features.

Rapid freezing method of the refrigerator according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the express freezing chamber and a plurality of freezing storage chamber formed to speed up the freezing speed of food, and the cold storage room and the express freezing compartment so that a predetermined amount of cold air can be supplied A refrigerator having a blower fan for controlling the flow of cold air and an auxiliary fan for controlling the flow of cold air into the limited-temperature freezer compartment, the refrigerator comprising: setting a rapid freezing temperature for rapid freezing; Operating only the auxiliary fan during rapid freezing to direct most of the cold air generated in the evaporator to the supercooling chamber; And controlling the operation time and the rotational speed of the auxiliary fan according to the current temperature and the set rapid freezing temperature of the limited temperature freezing chamber.

Hereinafter, a rapid freezing apparatus for a refrigerator and a control method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4 is a side view illustrating the configuration of a freezer compartment of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator according to the present invention, an ice maker 31 for making ice is installed on the upper portion, and a plurality of shelves 35 for storing food in the lower portion and a storage container. 50, and a quick freezer (39).

As shown in FIG. 5, the rapid freezing chamber 39 is configured to store food in the quick freezing chamber 39 by opening the upper surface while the upper cover 100 is moved in the front direction.

The lower surface of the rapid freezing chamber 39 is made of an aluminum plate 120. The aluminum plate 120 is in contact with the food to be stored to promote heat conduction of the food.

In the rear of the rapid freezing chamber 39, a rapid freezing flow passage 45 for guiding the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 to be described later into the rapid freezing chamber 39 and the rapid freezing flow passage 45 are directly driven. An auxiliary fan 110 for supplying cold air to the freezer compartment is provided. The cold air outlet 37 is formed at left and right sides of the auxiliary fan 110.

The temperature sensor 34 is installed inside the rapid freezing chamber 39. The temperature sensor 34 detects the temperature inside the rapid freezing chamber 39 and outputs it to the controller 60. The controller 60 controls an operation time or an operation speed of the auxiliary fan 110 based on the temperature of the rapid freezing chamber 39 during the rapid freezing control.

In addition, the controller 60 may input the rapid freezing temperature controlled by the user through the signal input unit 63. That is, the rapid freezing mode according to the present invention is selected by the user, and it is possible to adjust the rapid freezing temperature. This is the same as or similar to the freezer and refrigerating chamber temperature control in a typical refrigerator. Therefore, the user can arbitrarily adjust the rapid freezing temperature according to the type of the stored article that requires rapid freezing.

Accordingly, the rapid freezing temperature adjusted through the signal input unit 63 is input to the control unit 60, and the control unit 60 controls the operation time or operation of the auxiliary fan 110 according to the rapid freezing temperature set by the user. It is also possible to control the speed and the like.

In addition, the refrigerator according to the present invention is provided with a heat exchange chamber in which cold air is generated.

That is, a heat exchange chamber 36 for performing heat exchange to form cold air behind the freezing chamber is formed. The heat exchange chamber 36 is provided with an evaporator 41 and a blowing fan 30. The blowing fan 30 is also under the control of the control unit 60.

A cold air guide passage 38 for guiding the cold air generated by the heat exchange operation of the evaporator 41 to each storage space of the freezer compartment is formed between the heat exchange chamber 36 and the freezer compartment. Therefore, a shroud 33 is installed between the heat exchange chamber 36 and the cold air guide passage 38, and a grill pan 32 is installed between the cold air guide passage 38 and the freezing chamber. Therefore, the cold air heat exchanged from the evaporator 41 is supplied to the plurality of compartments of the freezing chamber through the shroud 33 and the grill pan 32.

The grill pan 32 is provided with a cold air discharge port 37 for supplying cold air to each compartment of the freezer compartment. Most of the cold air discharge ports 37 are formed to be constant. Of course, the rapid freezing chamber 39 is also formed with a cold air discharge port 37 that can receive a predetermined amount of cold air.

That is, the refrigerator of the present invention, the normal cooling mode for supplying a predetermined amount of cold air supplied through the cold air flow guide flow path 38 by the operation of the blower fan 30 to a plurality of freezer compartment storage space, and the auxiliary fan 110 of Operation includes a rapid cooling mode for supplying a large amount of cold air to the rapid freezing chamber (39) through the rapid freezing dedicated passage (45).

Next, the operation process according to the fast cooling mode and the normal cooling mode in the refrigerator of the present invention will be described in detail.

6 is a control flowchart according to the operation of the freezer compartment according to the present invention.

When power is supplied to the refrigerator, the compressor is driven while the refrigeration cycle is operated to lower the internal temperature below the set temperature, and the evaporator 41 performs a heat exchange operation. The cool air generated by the heat exchange operation of the evaporator 41 is guided to the cold air guide flow path 38 by the operation of the blower fan 30 and is supplied to the plurality of compartments in the freezer compartment (step 300).

On the other hand, the control unit 60 monitors whether the user has selected rapid freezing in the state of controlling the refrigeration cycle (step 303). In step 303, it is determined whether the rapid freezing mode is selected through the signal input unit 63.

When the user selects the rapid freezing mode in step 303, the controller 60 stops the blower fan 30 that operates to guide the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 toward the cold air flow guide 38. In addition, the auxiliary fan 110 for guiding the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 to the rapid freezing chamber 39 is operated (step 312). Of course, even in this case, the compressor is driven, and thus the evaporator 41 continues to perform the heat exchange operation.

The control unit 60 reads the detected temperature of the temperature sensor 34 installed in the rapid freezing chamber 39 (step 315). The temperature sensor 34 detects the temperature of the rapid freezing chamber 39 at present.

In addition, the control unit 60 recognizes the rapid freezing temperature set by the user (step 316). The rapid freezing temperature recognizes the set state as it is. In other words, the process of setting the rapid freezing temperature is not necessary for every case of quick freezing, and the temperature set before the user readjusts the quick freezing temperature. Therefore, the user may adjust the rapid freezing temperature according to the stored article to be subjected to rapid freezing, or may use the currently set state as it is. The rapid freezing temperature is controlled through the signal input unit 63.

Through this process, the controller 60 recognizes the set rapid freezing temperature and the present temperature of the quick freezing chamber 39.

Then, the controller 60 sets the rotational speed of the auxiliary fan 110 and the rapid freezing time T in such a way that the ice crystal generation zone can elapse in the shortest possible time according to the difference between the two temperatures. For example, when the temperature difference between the set rapid freezing temperature and the current rapid freezing chamber is a predetermined temperature or more, the auxiliary fan 110 is controlled at a high speed or operated for a predetermined time or more. When the two temperature differences are within a predetermined temperature, the auxiliary fan 110 is controlled at a low speed and operated at a predetermined time or less. That is, the controller 60 sets the rotation speed and the operating time T of the auxiliary fan 110 according to the difference between the rapid cooling temperature and the present temperature set according to the pre-programmed values (steps 318 and 321). .

After the setting, the auxiliary fan 110 is driven for a predetermined time T at the set rotation speed under the control of the controller 60 (step 324).

At this time, most of the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 is guided to the rapid freezing chamber 39 by the rapid freezing dedicated channel 45 and the auxiliary fan 110. And since the blower fan 30 is in a stationary state, in this section, the cool air guided to the cold air guide flow path becomes very small.

In this way, the cold air induced into the rapid freezing chamber 39 rapidly freezes the stored food while depriving the temperature of the food being stored in the quick freezing chamber 39. In addition, the aluminum plate 120 in the lower portion of the rapid freezing chamber 39 promotes heat conduction of the stored food, thereby making the cooling rate faster.

When the set rapid freezing time T elapses, the auxiliary fan 110 is switched to the off state. The control unit 60 switches the operation of the refrigerator to the normal operation mode (step 330).

In the normal operation mode, the operation of the refrigeration cycle is controlled up to the set temperature (t ° C) of the freezer compartment.

That is, the compressor and the blower fan 30 are driven, and the controller 60 monitors whether the temperature of the freezer compartment has reached the set temperature (t ° C) based on the detected temperature of the freezer compartment temperature sensor (not shown). do.

In addition, the refrigeration cycle is driven until the set temperature is reached. At this time, the cold air heat-exchanged in the evaporator 41 is guided to the cold air guide flow path 38 through the blower fan 30. And it is supplied to the plurality of compartments of the freezing chamber through the shroud 33 and the grill pan (32).

According to the present invention as described above, it can be seen that the following advantages can be provided.

The present invention can be installed on one side of the freezer compartment by a quick freezing flow passage and an auxiliary fan for directly supplying the cold air generated by the evaporator, and an aluminum plate capable of obtaining a heat conduction effect, and control the cooling rate variably. Do. Therefore, it is possible to quickly lower the temperature of the food requiring rapid freezing. In particular, in the case of frozen food it is possible to implement rapid freezing using a quick freezing chamber, it is possible to reduce the nutritional loss of food while improving the freshness of the food.

Claims (7)

In a refrigerator having an express freezing chamber and a plurality of freezing storage chambers formed to speed food freezing: A first duct directing the cold air generated in the evaporator to the express freezing chamber; An auxiliary fan installed in the first duct and configured to discharge cold air generated in an evaporator to the express freezing chamber; A second duct which guides the cold air generated by the evaporator to the express freezing chamber and the plurality of freezing storage chambers by a predetermined amount; And a blower fan that guides the cool air generated in the evaporator to the second duct, and controls the rapid freezing of the supercooling chamber by a selective operation of the auxiliary fan and the blower fan. The method of claim 1 wherein: Input means for selecting rapid freezing; And a control means for controlling the rotation operation of the auxiliary fan and the blowing fan according to the output value of the input means. The method of claim 2 wherein: Further comprising a temperature sensor installed inside the rapid freezing chamber, And the control means adjusts the rotation speed and the rotation time of the auxiliary fan and the blowing fan based on the detected temperature of the temperature sensor. delete The method of claim 3 wherein: Rapid freezing apparatus of the refrigerator, characterized in that the aluminum plate for promoting heat exchange of food is installed in the lower part of the express freezer. delete Express refrigeration chamber and a plurality of freezer storage chambers formed to speed up the freezing speed of food, a blower fan for controlling the flow of cold air so that a predetermined amount of cold air is supplied to the freezer storage compartment and the express freezer compartment, and the cold air flow to the express freezer compartment In a refrigerator having an auxiliary fan for controlling: Setting a rapid freezing temperature for rapid freezing; Operating only the auxiliary fan during rapid freezing to direct most of the cold air generated in the evaporator to the supercooling chamber; Adjusting the operation time and the rotational speed of the auxiliary fan in accordance with the current temperature and the set rapid freezing temperature of the express freezer compartment rapid freezing method.