KR100382923B1 - Auto driving control apparatus and method for refrigerator using linear compressor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an operation control apparatus and method for a refrigerator to which a linear compressor is applied, and to control the operation of the refrigerator by detecting a load in consideration of a non-linear characteristic due to the mechanical characteristics of the linear compressor. To this end, the present invention includes a current detector for detecting a current applied to the linear compressor as the stroke is increased by the stroke voltage; A daily calculation unit which receives the current of the current detection unit and integrates the current detection unit for one period and outputs a corresponding one operation signal; By experiment, a suction / discharge pressure difference storage unit for storing a plurality of daily operation signals according to the change in the duty ratio of the switching control signal and the suction / discharge pressure difference corresponding one to one of the multiple operation signals, respectively; It receives the daily operation signal of the one operation unit and reads the suction / discharge pressure difference according to the operation signal from the suction / discharge pressure difference storage unit and detects it as a load and controls the operation of the refrigerator fan and the mechanical chamber fan according to the load. And a microcomputer for comparing the one operation signal of the one operation unit with a previous one operation signal and outputting a switching control signal according thereto. An electric circuit unit for applying a stroke voltage to the linear compressor according to the switching control signal of the microcomputer; A mechanical chamber fan configured to perform heat exchange with the outside air by controlling the air volume by the control of the microcomputer; By the control of the microcomputer, the air volume is controlled to include a freezer compartment fan to maintain a stable freezing cycle.

Description

AUTO DRIVING CONTROL APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REFRIGERATOR USING LINEAR COMPRESSOR}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic operation control apparatus and method for a refrigerator to which a linear compressor is applied. Particularly, a refrigerator to which a linear compressor for controlling the operation of a refrigerator is detected by detecting a load in consideration of a nonlinear characteristic due to the mechanical characteristics of the linear compressor. An automatic operation control apparatus and method of the present invention.

In general, since the linear compressor has no friction loss because there is no crankshaft that converts rotational motion into linear motion, it is more efficient than other compressors in terms of efficiency, and when the linear compressor is used as a refrigerator or an air conditioner, Compression ratio can be varied by varying the stroke voltage applied to the linear compressor, which can be used for variable cooling power control. Such a linear compressor will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an operation control device of a general linear compressor. As shown in FIG. 1, a linear compressor for adjusting a cooling force by varying a stroke in vertical movement by a stroke voltage according to a stroke command value (L) .COMP); A voltage detector (30) for detecting a voltage generated in the linear compressor (L.COMP) as the stroke is increased by the stroke voltage; A current detector 20 which detects a current applied to the linear compressor L.COMP as the stroke is increased by the stroke voltage; A microcomputer (40) for calculating a stroke from the voltage and current detected by the voltage detector (30) and the current detector (20), comparing the stroke with a stroke command value, and outputting a switching control signal accordingly; In accordance with the switching control signal of the microcomputer 40, consisting of an electric circuit section 10 for interrupting the AC power to the triac (Tr1) to apply a stroke voltage to the linear compressor (L.COMP), the conventional configuration configured as described above Describe the operation of the device.

First, in the linear compressor L.COMP, the piston is moved up and down by the stroke voltage according to the stroke command value set by the user, whereby the stroke is variable to adjust the cooling force.

Meanwhile, the stroke of the triac Tr1 of the electric circuit unit 10 is increased due to a long turn-on period due to the switching control signal of the microcomputer 40. At this time, the voltage and current generated in the linear compressor L.COMP are increased. Are respectively detected by the voltage detector 30 and the current detector 20 and applied to the microcomputer 40.

Then, the microcomputer 40 calculates a stroke by using the voltage and current detected from the voltage detector 30 and the current detector 20, and compares the stroke with the stroke command value, thereby converting the switching control signal accordingly. Output

That is, when the calculated stroke is smaller than the stroke command value, the microcomputer 40 outputs a switching control signal for lengthening the on-cycle of the triac Tr1 to increase the stroke voltage applied to the linear compressor L.COMP. Let's do it.

Unlike the above description, when the calculated stroke is larger than the stroke command value, the microcomputer 40 outputs a switching control signal for shortening the on-cycle of the triac Tr1 to apply the stroke voltage to the linear compressor L.COMP. Decreases.

Here, in order to detect the load, which is basic information for precise control of the linear compressor (L.COMP), the microcomputer 40 detects the load by sensing the outside temperature or the temperature of the condenser through a sensor.

At this time, since the temperature is sensed through a sensor attached to the surface of the condenser, the accurate temperature is not detected, and a delay may occur when the temperature is detected.

When controlling the operation of the refrigerator to which the linear compressor is applied as described above, the microcomputer controls the driving of the machine room fan by using the load sensed in a linear manner through the outside temperature or the temperature sensor of the condenser. If the non-linear operating conditions of the nonlinear refrigerator due to the movement characteristics of the linear compressor is down, to prevent the linear compressor to oversize the size.

That is, the prior art operating as described above, since the operation of the refrigerator is controlled by using a load that is not subjected to non-linearity having severe mechanical movement characteristics, the linearity is generated when a bad operation condition of the nonlinear refrigerator is generated due to mechanical movement characteristics. In order to prevent the compressor from going down or down of the linear compressor, the size of the linear compressor has to be overdesigned, thereby increasing the cost.

Therefore, the present invention devised in view of the above problems is to detect the load in consideration of the nonlinear characteristics due to the mechanical characteristics of the linear compressor to control the operation of the refrigerator to maintain the optimum performance of the refrigerator under any conditions. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic operation control apparatus and method for a refrigerator to which a linear compressor is applied.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an operation control apparatus of a conventional linear compressor.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the automatic operation control apparatus for a refrigerator to which the present invention linear compressor is applied.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic operation control method for a refrigerator to which a linear compressor is applied.

***** Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *****

100: electrical circuit unit 200: current detection unit

300: daily operation unit 400: microcomputer

500: suction / discharge pressure difference storage unit 600: machine room fan

700: freezer fan

The present invention for achieving the above object is a current detection unit for detecting the current applied to the linear compressor by increasing the stroke by the stroke voltage; A daily calculation unit which receives the current of the current detection unit and integrates the current detection unit for one period and outputs a corresponding one operation signal; By experiment, a suction / discharge pressure difference storage unit for storing a plurality of daily operation signals according to the change in the duty ratio of the switching control signal and the suction / discharge pressure difference corresponding one to one of the multiple operation signals, respectively; It receives the daily operation signal of the one operation unit and reads the suction / discharge pressure difference according to the operation signal from the suction / discharge pressure difference storage unit and detects it as a load and controls the operation of the refrigerator fan and the mechanical chamber fan according to the load. And a microcomputer for comparing the one operation signal of the one operation unit with a previous one operation signal and outputting a switching control signal according thereto. An electric circuit unit for applying a stroke voltage to the linear compressor according to the switching control signal of the microcomputer; A mechanical chamber fan configured to perform heat exchange with the outside air by controlling the air volume by the control of the microcomputer; Under the control of the microcomputer, the air volume is controlled, characterized in that it comprises a freezer compartment fan to maintain a stable freezing cycle.

The present invention for achieving the above object includes a first step of driving the linear compressor and the mechanical chamber fan and the freezing chamber fan to an initial set value; Detecting a load of the linear compressor and determining whether the load is greater than a predetermined value; A third step of increasing the air volume of the mechanical chamber fan and reducing the air volume of the freezing chamber fan when the load of the linear compressor is greater than a predetermined value as a result of the determination of the second step; As a result of the determination of the second step, when the load of the linear compressor is smaller than a predetermined value, the air volume of the mechanical chamber fan is decreased, and the air volume of the freezing chamber fan is performed in a fourth step.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the operation and effects of the automatic operation control apparatus and method of the refrigerator to which the linear compressor according to the present invention will be described.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the automatic operation control apparatus for a refrigerator to which the linear compressor of the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 2, the piston changes the stroke in vertical motion by adjusting the stroke voltage according to the stroke command value to adjust the cooling force. Linear compressor (L.COMP); A current detector (200) for detecting a current applied to the linear compressor (L.COMP) as the stroke is increased by the stroke voltage; A daily operation unit 300 which receives the current of the current detection unit 200 and integrates the current for one period and outputs a daily operation signal Wi according thereto; By experiment, a suction / discharge pressure charger in which a plurality of daily operation signals Wi and a suction / discharge pressure difference corresponding to the plurality of daily operation signals Wi one-to-one corresponding to the duty ratio of the switching control signal are respectively stored is stored. Ledger 500; After receiving the daily operation signal Wi of the daily operation unit 300, the suction / discharge pressure difference according to the daily operation signal Wi is read from the suction / discharge pressure difference storage unit 500 and detected as a load. The microcomputer controls the operation of the refrigerator fan and the mechanical chamber fan according to the load, and compares the daily operation signal Wi of the one operation unit 300 with the previous one operation signal Wi and outputs the switching control signal accordingly. 400; An electric circuit unit (100) for interrupting an AC power supply to a triac (Tr1) and applying a stroke voltage to the linear compressor (L.COMP) according to a switching control signal of the microcomputer (400); By the control of the microcomputer 400, the air volume is controlled to perform a mechanical heat exchange with the outside air; By the control of the microcomputer 400, the air volume is controlled to constitute a freezer compartment 700 to maintain a stable freezing cycle.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic operation control method of a refrigerator to which a linear compressor of the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 3, a linear compressor (L.COMP), a mechanical chamber fan 600, and a freezing chamber fan 700 are set to initial values. A first step of driving; Detecting a load of the linear compressor (L.COMP) and determining whether the load is greater than a predetermined value; A third step of increasing the air volume of the mechanical chamber fan 600 and reducing the air volume of the freezing chamber fan 700 when the load of the linear compressor L.COMP is greater than a predetermined value as a result of the determination of the second step; As a result of the determination of the second step, if the load of the linear compressor L.COMP is less than a predetermined value, the air volume of the mechanical chamber fan 600 is reduced, and the air volume of the freezing chamber fan 700 is increased. This operation of the present invention will be described.

First, in the linear compressor L.COMP, the piston is moved up and down by the stroke voltage according to the stroke command value set by the user, whereby the stroke is variable to adjust the cooling force.

That is, when the stroke of the triac Tr1 of the electric circuit unit 100 increases due to the turn-on period being increased by the switching control signal of the microcomputer 600, the linear compressor L.COMP is driven by the stroke. .

At this time, the current detector 200 detects a current generated in the linear compressor L.COMP.

Here, the one operation unit 300 receives the detection current from the current detection unit 200 and integrates the detection current for one period and outputs the integral value as the one operation signal Wi, which is expressed as follows. .

, Integral period is 1/60 second

Thereafter, the microcomputer 400 receives the one operation signal Wi of the one operation unit 300 and compares it with the previous one operation signal Wi to output the switching control signal accordingly.

That is, the microcomputer 400 compares the current day operation signal Wi with the previous day operation signal Wi and if the difference is less than a predetermined value, gradually increases the duty ratio of the switching control signal and outputs the current day operation. When the difference between the signal Wi and the previous one-time operation signal Wi becomes a predetermined value or more, the switching control signal having the duty ratio at the present time is maintained and output.

Subsequently, the electric circuit unit 100 intercepts AC power with the triac Tr1 according to the switching control signal of the microcomputer 600 to apply a stroke voltage to the linear compressor L.COMP so that the linear compressor ( L.COMP) control.

On the other hand, in the suction / discharge pressure difference storage unit 500 provided to detect the load, while maintaining the suction / discharge pressure difference through the experiment for one case is the integral ratio of the duty ratio and the current of the switching control signal for each case The operation signal Wi is stored, i.e., in the suction / discharge pressure difference storage unit 500 in the plurality of daily operation signals Wi and the plurality of daily operation signals Wi according to the duty ratio of the switching control signal. One-to-one corresponding suction / discharge pressure differentials are stored respectively.

At this time, in order to detect the load, the microcomputer 400 receives the daily operation signal Wi of the daily operation unit 300 and receives the suction / discharge pressure difference according to the daily operation signal Wi from the suction / discharge pressure charger. It reads from the book 500 and detects it as a load, and controls the drive of a freezer compartment fan and a machine chamber fan using this load.

Here, the microcomputer 400 controls the air volume of the mechanical chamber fan 600 to perform heat exchange with the outside air, and controls the air volume of the freezer compartment 700 to maintain a stable freezing cycle.

That is, the microcomputer 400 drives the linear compressor (L.COMP) and the mechanical chamber fan 600 and the freezing chamber fan 700 to initial values, and according to the load of the linear compressor (L.COMP), the freezer compartment fan. And controlling the driving of the mechanical chamber fan. When the detected load is greater than the initial set load, the air volume of the freezing chamber fan 700 is decreased while the air volume of the mechanical chamber fan 600 is increased, and the linear compressor (L.COMP) detects it. If the applied load is smaller than the initial set load, the air flow rate of the freezing compartment fan 700 is increased while reducing the air flow rate of the machine chamber fan 600.

In other words, the present invention calculates the integral value of the current generated during the operation of the linear compressor L.COMP while increasing the duty ratio of the switching control signal applied to the triac Tr1 of the electric circuit unit 100. After recognizing the signal Wi, load information for precise control of the linear compressor L.COMP is derived by inducing the suction / discharge pressure difference stored in accordance with the daily operation signal Wi in advance. It detects and controls the drive of the freezing chamber fan 700 and the mechanical chamber fan 600 using the detected load in view of the nonlinearity.

As described in detail above, the present invention detects a load in consideration of nonlinear characteristics due to mechanical characteristics during linear compressor operation, and then controls the operation of the refrigerator by using the load, thereby causing the linear compressor to be generated in a bad operation condition of the refrigerator. In addition to preventing downtime, the cost of over-designing the linear compressor for adverse conditions is reduced, and power consumption is reduced by inducing proper cycle operation to control fan airflow.

Claims (5)

A current detector for detecting a current applied to the linear compressor as the stroke is increased by the stroke voltage; A daily calculation unit which receives the current of the current detection unit and integrates the current detection unit for one period and outputs a corresponding one operation signal; By experiment, a suction / discharge pressure difference storage unit for storing a plurality of daily operation signals according to the change in the duty ratio of the switching control signal and the suction / discharge pressure difference corresponding one to one of the multiple operation signals, respectively; It receives the daily operation signal of the one operation unit and reads the suction / discharge pressure difference according to the operation signal from the suction / discharge pressure difference storage unit and detects it as a load and controls the operation of the refrigerator fan and the mechanical chamber fan according to the load. And a microcomputer for comparing the one operation signal of the one operation unit with a previous one operation signal and outputting a switching control signal according thereto. An electric circuit unit for applying a stroke voltage to the linear compressor according to the switching control signal of the microcomputer; A mechanical chamber fan configured to perform heat exchange with the outside air by controlling the air volume by the control of the microcomputer; And a freezing compartment fan configured to maintain a stable freezing cycle by controlling the air volume under the control of the microcomputer. The method of claim 1, wherein the microcomputer increases the air volume of the mechanical chamber fan when the detected load is greater than the initial setting load, and decreases the air volume of the freezer compartment fan, and decreases the air volume of the mechanical chamber fan when the load detected by the linear compressor is smaller than the initial setting load. An operation control apparatus for a refrigerator to which a linear compressor is applied while reducing the air volume while increasing the air volume of the freezer compartment fan. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the microcomputer includes a memory in which one operation signal of the one operation unit is sequentially stored. The microcomputer of claim 1, wherein the microcomputer compares the current daily operation signal with the previous one, and gradually increases the duty ratio of the switching control signal if the difference is less than or equal to a predetermined value. And operating the switching control signal at the present time when the difference between the operation signal and the previous one operation signal exceeds a predetermined value. A first step of driving the linear compressor and the machine chamber fan and the freezer compartment fan to initial set values; Detecting a load of the linear compressor and determining whether the load is greater than a predetermined value; A third step of increasing the air volume of the mechanical chamber fan and reducing the air volume of the freezing chamber fan when the load of the linear compressor is greater than a predetermined value as a result of the determination of the second step; As a result of the determination of the second step, if the load of the linear compressor is smaller than a predetermined value, the operation control of the refrigerator to which the linear compressor is applied is performed in a fourth step of reducing the air volume of the mechanical chamber fan and increasing the air volume of the freezer compartment fan. Way.