KR100577418B1 - Refrigerator and Control Method Thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a main body having at least one cooling chamber, a door for opening and closing the cooling chamber, a plurality of power consumption parts in the main body, and a control method thereof. The refrigerator includes: a power detector for detecting total power consumption of the plurality of power consumption parts; A display unit; Comparing the difference between the total power consumption before and after the operation of at least one of the power consumption parts and the reference power consumption of the power consumption part is out of a predetermined setting range, it is determined that the power consumption part is abnormal and whether or not the abnormality And a control unit for displaying on the display unit. As a result, it is possible to easily determine whether an abnormality of each of the power consumption parts, and it is possible to quickly and accurately repair and replace the power consumption parts that have occurred.

Description

Refrigerator and Control Method Thereof

1 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

2 is a control block diagram of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

3 is a flow chart showing a control flow of the refrigerator according to the present invention;

4 is a control block diagram of a conventional refrigerator.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

 1: body 3: freezer

 5: refrigerator compartment 7: freezer door

 9: refrigerating chamber door 11: compressor

13: freezer evaporator 15: cold room evaporator

17: freezer compartment fan 19: refrigerator compartment fan

21: Freezer chamber heater 23: Refrigerated chamber heater

25: freezer temperature sensor 27: cold room temperature sensor

29: freezer opening and closing sensor 31: cold room opening and closing sensor

33: freezer lamp 35: refrigerator compartment lamp

37: power detection unit 39: display unit

41: control unit

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a main body having at least one cooling chamber, a door for opening and closing the cooling chamber, a refrigerator having a plurality of power consumption parts in the main body, and a control method thereof. will be.

In general, a refrigerator is provided with a main body having a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment door and a refrigerating compartment door which are provided in front of the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment, and open and close the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment, and a plurality of power consumption parts that consume power.

4 is a control block diagram of a conventional refrigerator. As disclosed in the drawing, a refrigerator is provided with a plurality of power consumption parts that consume power.

The power consumption component includes a compressor 111 for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser (not shown) for condensing the refrigerant compressed from the compressor 111, and a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment evaporator 113 and 115 for generating cool air by evaporating the refrigerant from the condenser. . The power consumption component includes a freezer compartment fan 117 and a refrigerating compartment fan 119 for supplying cold air generated in each of the evaporators 113 and 115 to the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment, and frost accumulated on the surface of the evaporator in the lower region of each evaporator. Defrost heaters 121 and 123 for melting and removing are provided.

In addition, a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 125 and 127 for detecting the temperature of the freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment, a freezer compartment opening sensor 129 and a refrigerator compartment closure sensor 131 for detecting the opening and closing of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment door are also provided in the refrigerator. They are power consumption parts that consume power.

In the refrigerator, the compressor 111, the freezer evaporator 113, the refrigerator compartment evaporator 115, and the freezer compartment fan 117 according to the detected values detected by the temperature sensors 125 and 137 and the open / close sensor 129 and 131. And a refrigerating chamber fan 119, and a control unit 141 for controlling the freezer compartment heater 121, the refrigerator compartment defrost heater 123, and the like. In addition, the refrigerator is provided with a display unit 139 for notifying the user of an abnormality when an abnormality occurs in the power consumption component as described above.

In particular, when the temperature detection values of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment detected by each of the temperature sensors 125 and 127 are outside the set temperature range, the controller 141 determines that an abnormality has occurred in at least one of the power consumption parts and the display unit 139. Error).

However, in such a conventional refrigerator, since almost all power consumption parts such as a compressor, a defrost heater, and an evaporator are related to the temperature of the cooling chamber, the temperature sensing values detected by the temperature sensing sensors 125 and 127 are outside the set temperature range. When an abnormality is displayed on the display unit 139, it is not easy to determine which component has an abnormality.

As a result, it is difficult to check almost all parts related to the temperature change of each cooling chamber in order to identify the faulty parts, and it takes a lot of time to repair and replace the faulty parts. Have.

 Therefore, an object of the present invention, it is possible to easily determine whether the failure of each power consumption parts, the refrigerator and the control method that can quickly and accurately perform the repair and replacement by informing the user quickly and accurately the parts that have occurred To provide.

According to the present invention, there is provided a main body having at least one cooling chamber, a door for opening and closing the cooling chamber, and a refrigerator having a plurality of power consumption parts in the main body, wherein the total of the plurality of power consumption parts is obtained. A power detector detecting power consumption; A display unit; Comparing the difference between the total power consumption before and after the operation of at least one of the power consumption parts and the reference power consumption of the power consumption part is out of a predetermined setting range, it is determined that the power consumption part is abnormal and whether or not the abnormality It is achieved by the refrigerator characterized by including the control part displayed on a display part.

Here, the power detector detects the total power consumption consumed by the entire system, and the controller detects the total power consumption from the total power consumption detected by the power detector and the total power consumption before and after the operation of the power consumption component. It is preferable to calculate the amount of power of the component, and to indicate an abnormality on the display unit when the calculated amount of power is less than the reference power range.

The power detector may detect the amount of power even when detecting the amount of current supplied to the power consumption component.

On the other hand, according to another field of the present invention, the object is a control method of a refrigerator having a main body having at least one cooling chamber, a door for opening and closing the cooling chamber, and a plurality of power consumption parts, in the whole system Detecting the total power consumption required; Detecting a power consumption value which is a difference between before and after the operation of the power consumption component; And comparing the total power consumption with the power consumption value, and determining that the power consumption component is abnormal when the power consumption value differs from the total power consumption by more than a reference value, and displaying an abnormality. It is achieved by the control method of the refrigerator.

Here, in the step of detecting the total power consumption, it is effective to measure the amount of current applied to the power consumption component.

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

1 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of a refrigerator according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a control flowchart of the refrigerator according to the present invention. As shown in these figures, the refrigerator includes a main body 1 having a freezer compartment 3 and a refrigerating compartment 5, a freezer compartment 7 and a refrigerating compartment door that open and close the freezer compartment 3 and the refrigerating compartment 5. Has 9). The main body 3 of the refrigerator is provided with a number of power consumption parts that consume power.

The power consumption component includes a compressor (11) for compressing a refrigerant, a freezer compartment evaporator (13) and a refrigerator compartment evaporator (15) for generating cool air by evaporating the refrigerant from a condenser and a condenser (not shown) that condenses the refrigerant from the compressor (11). There is. In addition, the other power consumption parts provided in the main body 1 include a freezing chamber fan 17 and a refrigerating chamber fan 19 for supplying the cold air evaporated from each of the evaporators 13 and 15 to the freezing chamber 3 and the refrigerating chamber 5. Defrost heaters 21 and 23 are provided in the lower regions of the evaporators 13 and 15 to melt and remove frost accumulated on the surfaces of the evaporators 13 and 15.

In addition, the main body 1 has a temperature sensor 25 and 27 for sensing the temperature of the freezer compartment 3 and the refrigerating compartment 5, and the opening and closing of the freezer compartment 7 and the refrigerating compartment door 9. The freezer opening and closing detection sensor 29 and the refrigerating compartment opening and closing detection sensor 31, and a freezer compartment lamp 33 and a refrigerating compartment lamp 35 which illuminate the freezer compartment 3 and the refrigerating compartment 5 in one area inside the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment. Many power-consuming components are installed that consume power.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 2, in one region of the main body 1, the power detection unit 37 for detecting the power consumption of each power consumption component and the power consumption detected by the power detection unit 37 A display unit 39 is provided for displaying an abnormal state of the power consumption component to the outside. Particularly, the refrigerator includes a compressor according to the detection value of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment opening and closing sensors 29 and 31 and the respective temperature detection sensors 25 and 27 and the power consumption of the power consumption parts detected by the power detection unit 37. 11), a freezer compartment lamp and a refrigerator compartment lamps 33 and 35, a freezer compartment fan and a refrigerator compartment 17 and 19, and a control unit 41 for determining the abnormality of each defrost heater 21 and 23 is provided.

Here, the power detection unit detects the total power consumption consumed by the entire system, and the control unit compares the total power consumption detected by the power detection unit 37 with the power consumption generated from the difference between before and after the operation of the power consumption component. When less than the reference power range, the display unit 39 displays an abnormal occurrence.

In particular, in the case of the electronic refrigerator, the control unit 41 controls the refrigerating compartment fan 29 according to the difference between the temperature detected by the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 27 and the preset temperature input in advance for temperature control of the refrigerating compartment 5. Control on and off. The freezer temperature control controls the on / off of the compressor 11 in accordance with the detected temperature, and separately controls the freezer compartment fan 27. In addition, if the defrosting condition is satisfied according to the operation time, etc., the controller 41 turns on the freezing chamber defrost heater and the refrigerating chamber defrost heaters 21 and 23 for a predetermined time to perform defrosting.

During the normal operation, the controller 41 compares the total power consumption at the time when each power consumption component is to be operated with the power consumption before and after the operation of each power consumption component, and determines whether the power consumption component is faulty. can do.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, when power is supplied from the outside, the refrigerator starts operation according to a condition of an input driving condition (S1). When an operation command of the power consumption component is input during normal operation of the refrigerator (S2), the controller 41 detects the current total power consumption through the power detector 37 (S3). After detecting the current total power consumption, that is, step S3, the controller 41 operates the power consumption component according to the input operation signal (S4). After the power consumption component is operated, the controller 41 detects the total power consumption after the operation of the power consumption component through the power detection unit 37 (S5), and operates by using the difference in the amount of power before and after the operation of the power consumption component. Calculate the amount of power of one power consumption component (S6).

Then, it is determined whether the calculated amount of power before and after the operation of the power consumption component is less than the reference power consumption (S7), and if it is determined that the difference in the amount of power before and after the operation is smaller than the reference power consumption, the controller 41 is abnormal to the power consumption component. The display unit 39 indicates that this has occurred (S8). On the other hand, if the amount of power before and after the operation is not less than the total power consumption, the loop of the present invention is repeated.

As such, a power detector for detecting total power consumption of the plurality of power consumption parts; A display unit; Comparing the difference between the total power consumption before and after the operation of at least one of the power consumption parts and the reference power consumption of the power consumption part is out of a predetermined setting range, it is determined that the power consumption part is abnormal and whether or not the abnormality By providing a control unit to be displayed on the display unit, it is possible to easily determine whether an abnormality of each component part.

Although the above description and the embodiment have been described with regard to determining whether a component is abnormal based on the amount of power consumed by the power-consuming component, in general, since the voltage of the commercial power supply does not vary greatly, it is assumed that the voltage is constant and the amount of current applied to each component is detected. It is possible to determine whether or not each component abnormality.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily determine whether an abnormality of each component part, and the refrigerator and its to promptly and accurately notify the user of the component that has an abnormality to perform repair and replacement as soon as possible. A control method is provided.

Claims (5)

A refrigerator having a main body having at least one cooling chamber, a door for opening and closing the cooling chamber, and a plurality of power consumption parts in the main body, A power detector for detecting total power consumption of the plurality of power consumption parts; A display unit; Comparing the difference between the total power consumption before and after the operation of at least one of the power consumption parts and the reference power consumption of the power consumption part is out of a predetermined setting range, it is determined that the power consumption part is abnormal and whether or not the abnormality A refrigerator comprising a control unit displayed on the display unit. The method of claim 1, The power detector detects the total power consumption of the entire system, The control unit calculates the power amount of the power consumption component from the difference between the total power consumption detected by the power detection unit and the total power consumption before and after the operation of the power consumption component, and the display unit when the calculated power amount is less than a reference power range. Refrigerator, characterized in that to indicate an abnormal occurrence. The method of claim 2, And the power detector detects an amount of current supplied to the power consumption component. In the control method of the refrigerator having a main body having at least one cooling chamber, a door for opening and closing the cooling chamber, and a plurality of power consumption parts, Detecting total power consumption required by the entire system; Detecting a power consumption amount which is a difference between before and after the operation of the power consumption component; And comparing the total power consumption with the amount of power consumption and determining that the power consumption component is abnormal and displaying an abnormality when the power consumption amount is different from the total power consumption by more than a reference range. Control method. The method of claim 4, wherein In the detecting of the total power consumption, the control method of the refrigerator, characterized in that for measuring the amount of current applied to the power consumption component.

Images