KR100577417B1 - Refrigerator and controlling method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a refrigeration system including at least one cooling chamber, a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the cooling chamber, and a compressor which is turned on and off according to a sensed value from the temperature sensor, and a control method thereof . The refrigerator includes: a memory for storing information on a relationship between a driving time of the compressor and an outside temperature; A counter for measuring a driving time and a non-driving time of the compressor; An outside air temperature determination unit for determining an outside air temperature based on the compressor driving time from the counter and the information from the memory; And a controller for controlling at least one of a defrost cycle and a set temperature according to the outside air temperature determined by the outside air temperature determination unit. Thus, by measuring the outside air temperature without using the outside air temperature sensor, the cost can be reduced and the circuit configuration can be simplified.

Description

REFRIGERATOR AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF

1 is a control block diagram of a refrigerator according to the present invention,

2 is a control flowchart according to the control structure of FIG.

          Description of the Related Art

2: freezer sensor 3: refrigerator sensor

5: door opening / closing sensor 6: compressor driving circuit

7: compressor 8: defrost heater drive circuit

9: defrost heater 10: control unit

13: Counter 15: Memory

20: Outside temperature determination unit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a refrigerator capable of removing an outside temperature sensor by estimating an outside temperature based on a room temperature of the cooling chamber, and a control method thereof.

Generally, a refrigerator is composed of a main body having a pair of cooling chambers divided into a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber. In the main body, a refrigeration system using refrigerant is provided for refrigerating and freezing food and beverage. The refrigeration system includes a compressor installed at the rear lower portion of the main body to compress the refrigerant, a condenser disposed over the entire area of the main body to condense the refrigerant from the compressor, and a condenser installed at the rear of each of the cooling chambers. And a freezer compartment evaporator.

In order to smoothly operate the refrigeration system, the refrigerator compartment evaporator and the freezer compartment evaporator are provided with a defrosting chamber defrosting heater and a freezing chamber defrosting heater, respectively, in order to remove the defrosting. In the vicinity of the refrigerating compartment evaporator and the freezing compartment evaporator, There is a blowing fan in the refrigerator room and a blower fan in the freezer room.

The freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment are provided with a freezer compartment sensor and a refrigerating compartment compartment sensor for detecting the refrigerating compartment temperature and the freezing compartment temperature. The sensed values from the refrigerating compartment and freezer compartment sensors are used to determine whether the compartment temperature is maintained at an appropriate level At the same time, it becomes a drive reference of the compressor and each blowing fan. In addition, the freezer compartment defrost sensor and the refrigerating compartment defrosting sensor are provided in the area adjacent to the freezer compartment evaporator and the refrigerating compartment evaporator, and the sensed values from the defrost sensors are used as driving standards for the defrost heaters.

On the other hand, an outside air temperature sensor for detecting the outside air temperature is installed outside the main body. If the temperature value of the outside air detected by the outside air temperature sensor is more than a predetermined value, for example, The defrost cycle for operating the defrost heater is shortened and the set temperature of the refrigerating chamber is raised to a predetermined value.

However, in such a conventional refrigerator, since a separate outside temperature sensor is provided for detecting the outside temperature, a separate circuit for detecting the outside temperature is required, so that the cost is increased and the circuit configuration is relatively complicated There is a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator and a control method thereof that can detect outside temperature without using a separate outside temperature sensor.

According to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator having a refrigeration system including at least one cooling chamber, a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the cooling chamber, and a compressor which is turned on and off according to a sensed value from the temperature sensor A memory for storing information on a relationship between a driving time of the compressor and an outside air temperature; A counter for measuring a driving time and a non-driving time of the compressor; And an outside air temperature determination unit for determining the outside air temperature based on the compressor driving time from the counter and the information from the memory.

Here, the information stored in the memory may include a value of the outside air temperature which is proportional to the driving time of the compressor.

The controller may further include a controller for adjusting at least one of a defrost cycle and a set temperature according to the outside air temperature determined by the outside air temperature determination unit.

The control unit may control the defrost cycle to be shortened when the determined outside air temperature is equal to or higher than the reference temperature, or may control to lower the set temperature of the cooling chamber to a predetermined lower limit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigeration system including at least one cooling chamber, a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the cooling chamber, and a compressor that is turned on and off according to a sensed value from the temperature sensor. The method comprising the steps of: storing in advance a relationship between a driving time of a compressor and an outside temperature temperature in a memory; measuring a driving time of the compressor; And judging the current outside temperature by comparing the current outside temperature with the current outside temperature of the refrigerator.

Here, the step of storing information in the memory may be a step of storing a value of the outside air temperature proportional to a driving time of the compressor.

The method may further include adjusting at least one of a defrost cycle and a set temperature according to the determined outside air temperature.

Wherein the step of adjusting the defrost cycle includes adjusting the defrost cycle to be shortened when the outside air temperature rises more than a reference temperature by a predetermined amount or more and adjusting the set temperature, The predetermined temperature of the cooling chamber is lowered by a predetermined amount.

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

The refrigeration system for cooling the refrigerator includes a compressor for compressing the refrigerant to a high temperature and a high pressure, a condenser for condensing the refrigerant from the compressor, and an evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant from the condenser.

The refrigeration system is operated or stopped depending on whether the compressor is driven or not, and the compressor is driven or not depending on the temperature of the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber, the temperature of the outside air, and whether the defrost heater is operated. Here, the temperatures of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment are sensed by the refrigerator compartment sensor and the freezer compartment sensor, and the operation of the defrost heater is judged by the microcomputer by a signal from the defrost heater.

On the other hand, the outside temperature is determined by the operating rate of the compressor, which is the ratio of the on time of the compressor to the time during one cycle in which the compressor is turned on and off. This is because when the outside temperature is high, the time for the internal temperature of the cooling chamber to reach the set temperature is prolonged, thereby extending the operating time of the compressor. Therefore, when the operation rate of the compressor is increased, it is determined that the outside air temperature has risen.

In order to determine the outside air temperature, the controller stores information previously stored in the memory 15, the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment indoor temperature sensed by the freezing compartment sensor 2 and the refrigerating compartment sensor 3, Whether or not the defrost heater 9 is driven from the defrost heater drive circuit 8 and whether the compressor 7 is driven from the compressor drive circuit 6 and whether the compressor 7 is driven and not driven from the counter 13, And transmits the open / closed status of the door from the door open / close sensor 5 to the ambient temperature determination unit 20. The information stored in the memory 15 is information on the correlation between the outside temperature and the operating rate of the compressor 7. For example, when the operating rate of the compressor 7 is 50%, that is, When the time is 30 minutes, the outdoor temperature is stored at 30 ° C.

Accordingly, the outside air temperature determination unit 20 determines the outside air temperature by combining the information input from the control unit 10, and immediately after the operation of the defrost heater 9 and during the cycle of the compressor 7 immediately after opening and closing the door The outside temperature is not judged. This is because the inside temperature is raised immediately after the opening and closing of the door and immediately after the operation of the defrost heater 9, so that it is impossible to accurately measure the outside air temperature.

2, the controller 10 receives the refrigerator compartment and freezer compartment temperature from the refrigerator compartment sensor 3 and the freezer compartment sensor 2 (S10) The compressor 7 and the blowing fan of each cooling chamber are driven to count the on time of the compressor 7 (S20). At this time, if the internal temperature is lower than or equal to the preset temperature, the compressor 7 and each blowing fan are stopped, and the off time of the compressor 7 is counted (S25). If the compressor 7 is repeatedly turned on and off once, the control unit 10 determines whether it is the first cycle of the compressor 7 after the initial power is applied to the refrigerator (S30). If it is the first cycle, The on-off cycle of the compressor 7 is repeated.

If it is not the first cycle after the initial power supply, the controller 10 determines whether it is the first cycle after opening / closing the door according to the sensed value from the door open / close sensor 5 (S40) And the on-off cycle of the compressor 7 is repeated. If it is not the first cycle after the door is opened and closed, the control unit 10 determines whether it is the first cycle after the operation of the defrost heater 9 in accordance with the signal from the defrost heater drive circuit 8 (S50) Cycle, the on-off cycle of the compressor 7 is repeated.

The reason why the outside air temperature is not judged at the time of initial power application, after the door opening / closing and after the defrost heater 9 is operated, Since the temperature is increased, the driving time of the compressor 7 becomes longer and it is difficult to accurately measure the outside air temperature.

On the other hand, when the cycle of the compressor 7 is not the first cycle after the door opening / closing after the initial power supply, and after the operation of the defrost heater 9, the control unit 10 determines that the compressor 7 The operating rate of the compressor 7 is calculated based on the time and the off time (S60). The outdoor temperature determination unit 20 then determines whether or not the current temperature of the compressor 7 is lower than the temperature of the compressor 7 by referring to the information on the relationship between the calculated operation rate and the operation rate stored in the memory 15, The current outside temperature is estimated based on the operation rate (S70).

For example, when the on-time of the compressor 7 is 40 minutes and the off-time is 20 minutes, the outside air temperature determination unit 20 determines that the on time of the compressor 7 among the information stored in the memory 15 is 40 minutes, When the time is 20 minutes, the corresponding outside temperature is found, and this value is determined to be the current outside temperature and transmitted to the control unit 10. If the current outside temperature is higher than 30 deg. C (S80), the control unit 10 shortens the defrost cycle of the defrost heater 9, (S85), it is compensated for the delay in the time at which the internal temperature corresponding to the increase in the ambient temperature reaches the set temperature.

On the other hand, when the current outside temperature is lower than the normal outside temperature as a result of estimating the outside temperature according to the operation rate of the compressor 7, the control unit 10 extends the defrost cycle, (S90, S100). If the current outside temperature is equal to the normal outside temperature, the defrost cycle and the set temperature are maintained (S95).

As described above, in the present invention, the outside air temperature is estimated based on the operation rate of the compressor (7) and the inside temperature, and the defrost cycle and the set temperature in the hearth are adjusted in accordance with the estimated outside air temperature to measure the outside air temperature sensor It is possible to remove the circuit for Therefore, the cost is reduced and the circuit configuration is simplified. In addition, the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment can be cooled under optimum conditions according to the outside temperature.

As described above, according to the present invention, by measuring the outside air temperature without using the outside air temperature sensor, the cost can be reduced and the circuit configuration can be simplified.

Claims (10)

1. A refrigerator having a refrigeration system including at least one cooling chamber, a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the cooling chamber, and a compressor which is turned on and off according to a sensed value from the temperature sensor, A memory for storing information on a relationship between a driving time of the compressor and an outside air temperature; A counter for measuring a driving time and a non-driving time of the compressor; An outside air temperature determination unit for determining an outside air temperature based on the compressor driving time from the counter and the information from the memory; And a controller for shortening a defrost cycle when the outside air temperature determined by the outside air temperature determination unit is determined to be equal to or higher than a predetermined reference temperature. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the information stored in the memory includes a value of an outside temperature that is proportional to a driving time of the compressor. delete delete 1. A refrigerator having a refrigeration system including at least one cooling chamber, a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the cooling chamber, and a compressor which is turned on and off according to a sensed value from the temperature sensor, A memory for storing information on a relationship between a driving time of the compressor and an outside air temperature; A counter for measuring a driving time and a non-driving time of the compressor; An outside air temperature determination unit for determining an outside air temperature based on the compressor driving time from the counter and the information from the memory; And a control unit for lowering the set temperature of the cooling chamber by a predetermined temperature when the outside air temperature determined by the outside air temperature determination unit is determined to be equal to or higher than a predetermined reference temperature. 1. A control method for a refrigerator having a refrigeration system including at least one cooling chamber, a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the cooling chamber, and a compressor which is turned on and off according to a sensed value from the temperature sensor, Storing in advance a relationship between a driving time of the compressor and an outside temperature temperature in a memory, Measuring a driving time of the compressor; Comparing the compressor driving time with information stored in the memory to determine a current outside temperature; And controlling the defrost cycle to be shortened when the determined outside air temperature rises above a predetermined reference temperature by a predetermined amount or more. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the step of storing information in the memory stores the value of the outside air temperature proportional to the driving time of the compressor. delete delete 1. A control method for a refrigerator having a refrigeration system including at least one cooling chamber, a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the cooling chamber, and a compressor which is turned on and off according to a sensed value from the temperature sensor, Storing in advance a relationship between a driving time of the compressor and an outside temperature temperature in a memory, Measuring a driving time of the compressor; Comparing the compressor driving time with information stored in the memory to determine a current outside temperature; And lowering the set temperature of the cooling chamber by a predetermined temperature when the determined outside air temperature rises above a predetermined reference temperature.

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