KR100844598B1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigerator which is divided into a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment by a partition wall, the refrigerator comprising: a variable capacity compressor for compressing a refrigerant into a gas refrigerant having a high temperature and high pressure; A condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed by the compressor into a liquid refrigerant having a high temperature and high pressure; Decompression means for expanding the refrigerant condensed in the condenser into a liquid refrigerant of low temperature and low pressure; An evaporator installed on the inner wall of the freezer compartment and configured to evaporate the refrigerant expanded by the decompression means into a low temperature low pressure gas refrigerant, wherein the heat exchange region is divided into a freezer compartment side region and a refrigerating compartment side region; A freezer compartment fan installed to communicate with the freezer compartment side region of the evaporator to blow cold air that has passed through the freezer compartment side region to the freezer compartment; It is provided so as to communicate with the refrigerator compartment side region of the evaporator provides a refrigerator comprising a; refrigerator compartment fan for blowing the cold air passing through the refrigerator compartment side region to the refrigerator compartment.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

The features and advantages of the present invention may be better understood with reference to the following accompanying drawings in conjunction with the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, of which:

1 is a front perspective view schematically showing a side by side refrigerator according to the prior art,

2 is a configuration diagram showing a refrigeration cycle applied to the refrigerator of Figure 1,

3 is a front perspective view showing a first embodiment of a side-by-side refrigerator according to the present invention;

4 is a cross-sectional view showing the refrigerator of FIG.

5 is a front perspective view showing a second embodiment of a side-by-side refrigerator according to the present invention;

6 is a cross-sectional view showing the refrigerator of FIG. 5,

7 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a refrigeration cycle that can be applied to the refrigerator of FIGS. 3 and 5;

8 is a configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of a refrigeration cycle that can be applied to the refrigerator of FIGS. 3 and 5;

9 is a configuration diagram showing a third embodiment of a refrigeration cycle that can be applied to the refrigerator of FIGS. 3 and 5;

10 is a perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of an evaporator which may be applied to the refrigerator of FIGS. 3 and 5;

11 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the evaporator which can be applied to the refrigerator of FIGS. 3 and 5;

12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation control method applicable to a refrigerator according to the present invention.

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and its operation control method capable of cooling the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment independently, as well as efficiently controlling the operation of each component, thereby reducing power consumption.

In general, the refrigerator is one of the necessities of life that can keep food fresh for a certain period of time by reducing the freezing compartment or the refrigerating compartment while repeating a refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant is compressed, condensed, expanded, and evaporated.

Such a refrigerator includes a compressor for compressing a refrigerant into a gas refrigerant having a high temperature and high pressure, a condenser for condensing the refrigerant passing through the compressor into a high temperature and high pressure liquid refrigerant, and reducing the refrigerant passing through the condenser with a low temperature and low pressure liquid refrigerant. And an evaporator as a basic component which absorbs heat in the freezer compartment or the refrigerating compartment and keeps the temperature inside the freezer compartment or the refrigerating compartment at a low temperature while evaporating the refrigerant passing through the expansion valve to a low-temperature low-pressure gas refrigerant. do.

1 is a front perspective view schematically showing a side-by-side refrigerator according to the prior art, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a refrigerating cycle applied to the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a side-by-side type refrigerator having a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment side by side according to the related art is described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and a compressor 12, a condenser 14, an expansion valve 16, and an evaporator 18. The refrigeration cycle consisting of a) is installed to be built into the inner wall is configured to generate cold air by the evaporator 18, the freezing chamber (F) and a portion of the cold air is introduced to maintain most of the cold air of about -18 ℃ The refrigerating chamber (R) which flows in and maintains about 0-7 degreeC is formed in the both sides side by side in the main body (2).

Of course, since the refrigeration cycle is made of a basic configuration, a separate description is omitted.

Here, the freezing compartment (F) and the refrigerating chamber (R) is partitioned by the partition wall (4), a portion of the partition wall (4) is formed so as to communicate with the cold air flow between the freezer compartment (F) and the refrigerating chamber (R). It is configured to be.

At this time, the evaporator 18 is installed on the inner wall of the freezer compartment F side, and the cold air generated by the evaporator 18 is blown to the freezer compartment F or the refrigerating chamber R side above the evaporator 18 side. A separate blower fan 22 is installed so that an axial flow fan is usually applied to suck cold air in the axial direction and discharge the cold air in the axial direction.

In addition, the freezer compartment (F) and the refrigerating chamber (R) is a cold air around the evaporator circulates through the freezer compartment (F) and the refrigerator compartment (R) by the operation of the blowing fan 22, and then again the evaporator (18) It is formed to form a cold air circulation structure circulated to the side.

The operation of components of the refrigerator as described above is controlled by a microcomputer (not shown). The microcomputer has a set freezing temperature Tf0 in which the temperatures Tf and Tr of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment are set by a user or automatically set. Or control various components to reach the set refrigeration temperature (Tr0).

In the conventional refrigerator configured as described above, when a load is applied, the compressor 12 is operated by the control signal of the microcomputer, and the refrigerant is the compressor 12, the condenser 14, the expansion valve 16, and the evaporator 18. By circulating along) it cools the air around the evaporator 18 to produce cold air.

In addition, as the blower fan 22 is operated by the control signal of the microcomputer, most of the cold air around the evaporator 18 flows into the freezing compartment F, and a part of the cold air flows into the refrigerating chamber R. The cold air, which has been heated while circulating in the freezing chamber F and the refrigerating chamber R, is repeated to flow into the evaporator 18 side again.

However, in the conventional refrigerator as described above, one evaporator 18 is provided on the freezing compartment F side, and the cold air heat-exchanged through the evaporator 18 moves to a part of the refrigerating compartment R on the freezing compartment F side flow path. If the internal temperature of either the freezing compartment F or the refrigerating compartment R does not satisfy the set freezing temperature Tf0 or the set refrigeration temperature Tr0, the internal temperature of the freezer compartment F or the refrigerating compartment R is set. Since the compressor 12 and the blower fan 22 are operated to lower, unnecessary consumption of power is caused or there is a problem of supercooling the stored food.

For example, even when the temperature Tf of the freezer compartment is satisfied with the set freezing temperature Tf0, when the temperature Tr of the refrigerator compartment is not satisfied with the set refrigerator temperature Tr0, the temperature Tr of the refrigerator compartment To lower the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment by operating the compressor 12 and the blower fan 22 to reach the set refrigerating temperature Tr0, wherein the cold air is also supplied to the freezing compartment F. The temperature Tf of the freezer compartment is not only lowered unnecessarily, but also wastes power consumption.

However, even if the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment is satisfied with the set refrigerating temperature Tr0, when the temperature Tf of the freezing compartment is not satisfied with the set freezing temperature Tf0, the temperature Tf of the freezing compartment is In order to reach the set freezing temperature Tf0, the compressor 12 and the blower fan 22 must be operated to lower the temperature Tf of the freezer compartment. In this case, the cold air is also supplied to the refrigerating compartment R. The temperature (Tr) of not only is unnecessarily lowered, because of this there is a problem to supercool the stored food.

In addition, in the conventional refrigerator, since only a part of the cold air passing through the evaporator 18 is distributed to the refrigerating chamber R, the amount of cold air distributed to the refrigerating chamber R is relatively smaller than the amount of cold air distributed to the freezing chamber F. The cooling rate of the refrigerating chamber (R) is lowered, thereby causing the compressor 12 to operate unnecessarily.

For example, when the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment does not reach the set refrigerating temperature Tr0, the compressor 12 until the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment reaches the set refrigerating temperature Tr0. Since there is a problem that the load of the compressor 12 is more than necessary in order to lower the temperature of the evaporator than the temperature (Tf) of the freezer compartment.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator and a method of operating the same capable of independently cooling the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment, thereby improving cooling efficiency and reducing power consumption.

In addition, the present invention provides a refrigerator and its operation control method which can reduce the unnecessary compressor operation by increasing the cooling speed of the refrigerating compartment to reach the set refrigerating temperature (Tr0) by increasing the cooling rate of the refrigerating chamber as well as the cooling rate of the freezing compartment. It aims to do it.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator and its operation control method which can increase the volume inside the freezer compartment or the refrigerating compartment.

In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator and its operation control method to prevent the frost formed on the evaporator to form well and to perform an effective defrosting operation.

In one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a refrigerator separated into a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment by a partition wall, the refrigerator comprising: a variable capacity compressor for compressing a refrigerant into a gas refrigerant having a high temperature and high pressure; A condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed by the compressor into a liquid refrigerant having a high temperature and high pressure; Decompression means for expanding the refrigerant condensed in the condenser into a liquid refrigerant of low temperature and low pressure; An evaporator installed on the inner wall of the freezer compartment and configured to evaporate the refrigerant expanded by the decompression means into a low temperature low pressure gas refrigerant, wherein the heat exchange region is divided into a freezer compartment side region and a refrigerating compartment side region; A freezer compartment fan installed to communicate with the freezer compartment side region of the evaporator to blow cold air that has passed through the freezer compartment side region to the freezer compartment; It is provided so as to communicate with the refrigerator compartment side region of the evaporator provides a refrigerator comprising a; refrigerator compartment fan for blowing the cold air passing through the refrigerator compartment side region to the refrigerator compartment.

In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that an independent circulation passage is formed in the refrigerator so that cold air circulating in the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment flows into the freezer compartment side region and the refrigerating compartment side region of the evaporator, respectively, and the freezer compartment side region and the refrigerating compartment side region of the evaporator are It is preferred to be configured to be divided by separate partition plates. In addition, the partition plate is preferably formed with a plurality of grooves on the surface to form a turbulent layer for the cold air flowing along the evaporator surface, the evaporator is a straight type thin heat exchanger configured to be provided with a plurality of cooling fins in the refrigerant pipe. Preferably, the evaporator is more preferably installed so that the spacing between the cooling fins in the freezer compartment side region of the evaporator is wider than the spacing between the cooling fins in the refrigerator compartment side region of the evaporator. In addition, it is preferable that the freezer compartment side area of the evaporator is configured to have a larger heat exchange area than the cold compartment measurement area of the evaporator, and the lower portion of the evaporator may remove at least one defrost heater to remove frost formed in the freezer compartment side and the refrigerating compartment side area of the evaporator. Is preferably installed further. Here, a defrost heater for a freezer compartment having a relatively large capacity is installed below the freezer compartment side region of the evaporator, and a defrost heater for a refrigerating compartment having a relatively small capacity is installed below the refrigerator compartment side region of the evaporator. In addition, the compressor may be a variable displacement compressor capable of varying the flow rate of the refrigerant circulating along the evaporator, and the freezer compartment fan and the refrigerating compartment fan may be a sirocco fan that sucks cold air in the axial direction and discharges it in the circumferential direction. More preferably, the motor for driving the fan and the refrigerator compartment fan is a brushless DC motor (BLDC) motor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention in which the above object can be specifically realized are described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a front perspective view showing a first embodiment of a side-by-side refrigerator according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the refrigerator of FIG.

3 and 4, the freezer compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R are located side by side on both sides of the partition wall 54 in the main body 52. And a compressor (not shown), a condenser (not shown), and an expansion means (not shown) are built in a machine room (not shown) formed at one side of the freezing compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R, and a refrigerant in the freezing compartment F. And an evaporator 68 that generates cold air through heat exchange action.

In particular, the evaporator 68 is configured to be partitioned into a freezer compartment side region 68a and a refrigerating compartment side region 68b, and independent so that cold air heat-exchanged in each zone is circulated only in the freezer compartment F and the refrigerator compartment R, respectively. A circulation flow path is formed, and a freezing chamber fan 72 and a refrigerating chamber fan 74 which blow cold air that has passed through the freezing compartment side region 68a and the refrigerating compartment side region 68b to the freezing compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R, respectively. A motor (not shown) for driving this is installed on the circulation passage so as to communicate with the freezer compartment side region 68a and the refrigerating compartment side region 68b.

Here, the compressor is preferably a variable capacity compressor such as an inverter compressor or a linear compressor to adjust the compression flow rate, the expansion means is a relatively small diameter of the refrigerant pipe or the electron can control the opening amount An expansion valve or the like is preferably applied.

Next, the evaporator 68 is partitioned so that the heat exchange region is positioned so that the freezer compartment side region 68a and the refrigerating compartment side region 68b are located next to each other, and is divided by a separate partition plate 70.

In this case, the evaporator 68 is a thin type heat exchanger of a straight type in which a plurality of cooling fins 68B are installed to be perpendicular to the refrigerant pipe 68A, and the partition plate 70 is located between the cooling fins 68B. The partition plate 70 may have a plurality of grooves (not shown) formed on the surface of the partition plate 70 so as to form a turbulent layer with respect to cold air flowing along the surface of the evaporator, thereby improving heat exchange efficiency.

In particular, the evaporator 68 may be formed such that the freezer compartment side region 68a and the refrigerator compartment side region 68b have the same area as each other, as shown in FIG. Since it is required to be kept at a lower temperature than R), since colder cold is required in the freezer compartment F, it is preferable that the freezer compartment region 68a is larger than the refrigerating compartment side region 68b as shown in FIG. desirable.

In addition, the evaporator 68 maintains the freezer compartment side region 68a at a lower temperature than the refrigerator compartment side region 68b so that the freezer compartment region 68a is frosted on the surface of the freezer compartment side region 68b. Since it is easy to form, the cooling fin pitch (a) of the freezer compartment side region is configured to be wider than the cooling fin pitch (b) of the refrigerator compartment side region to prevent frost formation more effectively.

In addition, since the refrigerator compartment side region 68b is narrower than the freezer compartment side region 68a, heat exchange efficiency may be reduced, and the cooling fin pitch b of the refrigerator compartment side region is the cooling fin pitch a of the freezer compartment side region. Since the cooling fins per unit area are installed in the refrigerating compartment side region 68b, the heat exchange efficiency may be increased in the refrigerating compartment side region 68b.

Of course, it is preferable that at least one defrost heater (not shown) is provided at the lower side of the evaporator 68 for a separate defrosting operation, so that the frost formed on the freezer compartment side region 68a can be removed. 68a) A defrost heater (not shown) for a freezer compartment is installed below, and a defrost heater (not shown) for a refrigerator compartment is installed below the refrigerator compartment side region 68b so as to remove frost formed in the refrigerator compartment side region 68b. do.

At this time, the defrost heater for the freezer compartment and the defrost heater for the refrigerating compartment is preferably applied to the radiant heat heater that can transfer heat to the evaporator side by radiation, the defrost heater for the freezer compartment is installed larger than the defrost heater for the refrigerating compartment. Thus, the frost formed on the freezer compartment side region 68a can be removed more quickly.

Next, the freezing compartment fan 72 and the refrigerating compartment fan 74 are respectively installed in parallel to the upper side of the freezing compartment side region 68a and the refrigerating compartment side region 68b to respectively store the refrigerant passing through the evaporator 68. (F) and the refrigerating chamber (R), but the amount of cold air required as the refrigerator capacity increases in recent years, not only the airflow is relatively large, but also an evaporator 68, which is a kind of thin heat exchanger, is effectively used in a limited space on the upper side. It is preferable to apply a sirocco fan, which is a kind of centrifugal fan that can be installed.

Of course, since the freezing chamber fan 72 and the refrigerating chamber fan 74 are applied to the sirocco fan which sucks in the axial direction and discharges in the radial direction, the evaporator 68 is positioned side by side in the axial direction above the evaporator 68. The cold air passing through) is installed on each of the independent circulation passages so as to flow into both sides of the freezing compartment fan 72 and the refrigerating compartment fan 74 and discharge to the front surface.

Next, a BLDC motor is preferably applied to the motors driving the freezing compartment fan 72 and the refrigerating compartment fan 74. Since the BLDC motor uses a driving circuit rather than a brush in converting AC into DC, carbon is used. The absence of brushes prevents sparks, reduces the risk of gas explosions, and maintains high efficiency of 70-80% while driving stably at most rotational speeds.

In the first embodiment of the refrigerator, the cold air passing through the freezer compartment side region 68a of the evaporator is discharged to the freezer compartment F, circulated, and then returned to the freezer compartment side region 68a of the evaporator. A freezing chamber circulation flow path to be sucked is formed, and cold air passing through the refrigerating chamber side region 68b of the evaporator is discharged to the refrigerating chamber R, circulated, and then sucked into the refrigerating chamber side region 68b to be recirculated. Is formed.

At this time, since the evaporator 68 is installed on the inner wall of the freezer compartment F, a refrigerating chamber circulation passage consisting of a refrigerating chamber suction flow path and a refrigerating chamber discharge flow path between the refrigerating chamber side region 68b and the refrigerating chamber R. Is formed, and the circulation flow path for a freezer compartment is automatically formed in other area | regions.

Therefore, since the freezing chamber F and the refrigerating chamber R are independently circulated with the cold air, not only the freezing chamber F and the refrigerating chamber R can be effectively cooled, but also the freezing compartment side door or the refrigerating compartment side door is opened and closed. It can prevent the door knocking of the other door.

On the other hand, between the freezing chamber (F) and the refrigerating chamber (R) in the partition wall 54 is connected to the flow path (not shown) so that cold air can communicate with each other, the damper (not shown) is installed on the connection flow path to be opened and closed. The damper may be controlled to be opened and closed by a microcomputer that controls the operation of the refrigerator so that a part of the cold air of the freezing compartment F is supplied to the refrigerating compartment R.

5 is a front perspective view of a second embodiment of a side-by-side refrigerator according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. 5.

A second embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, similarly to the first embodiment, the freezer compartment F and the refrigerating compartment based on the partition wall 54 in the body 52. (R) is located side by side on both sides, the compressor (not shown), the condenser (not shown) and the expansion means (not shown) are built in the machine room (not shown) formed on one side of the freezing chamber (F) and the refrigerating chamber (R) The evaporator 68 is built in the freezing chamber F and the refrigerating chamber R to generate cold air through heat exchange with the refrigerant.

In particular, the evaporator 68 is configured to be divided into a freezer compartment side region 68a and a refrigerator compartment side region 68b based on the partition wall 54, and the cold air heat-exchanged in each zone is the freezer compartment F and the refrigerator compartment ( An independent circulation flow path is formed so as to be circulated only in R), and a freezing chamber fan 72 that blows cold air passing through the freezer compartment region 68a and the refrigerator compartment side region 68b to the freezer compartment F and the refrigerator compartment R, respectively. ) And a refrigerating compartment fan 74 and a motor (not shown) for driving the same are installed on the circulation passage so as to communicate with the freezer compartment side region 68a and the refrigerating compartment side region 68b.

Here, the compressor and the expansion means are configured in the same way as the configuration applied to the first embodiment.

Next, the evaporator 68 is partitioned so that the heat exchange region is located in parallel with the freezer compartment side region 68a and the refrigerating compartment side region 68b by the partition wall 54, and the partition wall 54 is the evaporator 68. A plurality of grooves (not shown) may be formed on the surface in order to form a turbulent layer with respect to the cold air flowing along the surface, thereby improving heat exchange efficiency.

In this case, the evaporator 68 is a straight type thin heat exchanger having a plurality of cooling fins 68B installed to be perpendicular to the refrigerant pipe 68A. As shown in FIG. 11, the freezer compartment side region 68a and the refrigeration unit are refrigerated. The measurement area 68b may be formed to have the same area as each other, and as shown in FIG. 10, the freezer compartment side area 68a may be larger than the refrigerator compartment side area 68b, and the freezer compartment side By configuring the cooling fin pitch a of the region to be wider than the cooling fin pitch b of the refrigerator compartment side region, it is possible to more effectively prevent frost from forming in the freezer compartment side region 68a, as well as the refrigerator compartment side region. At 68b, the heat exchange efficiency can be improved.

Of course, the lower side of the evaporator 68 may be provided with one or more defrost heaters (not shown) for a separate defrosting operation, the configuration of such a defrost heater is also the same as the configuration applied to the first embodiment.

In addition, the freezing compartment fan 72 and the refrigerating compartment fan 74 and the motor for driving the same are also configured in the same manner as the configuration applied to the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment of the refrigerator as described above, the cold air passing through the freezer compartment side region 68a of the evaporator is discharged to the freezer compartment F, circulated, and then sucked back into the freezer compartment side region 68a of the evaporator. The freezer compartment circulation passage is formed, and the cold air passing through the refrigerating compartment side region 68b of the evaporator is discharged to the refrigerating compartment R, circulated, and then sucked back into the refrigerating compartment side region 68b, Is formed.

In this case, the evaporator 68 is located in the freezer compartment side region 68a is located on the inner wall of the freezer compartment F, and the refrigerating compartment side region 68b is located on the inner wall of the refrigerator compartment R, and each region is the partition wall ( 54), the freezer compartment circulation passage and the refrigerating compartment circulation passage do not have to be configured separately.

Of course, a connection flow path (not shown) is formed in the partition wall 54 between the freezing chamber F and the refrigerating chamber R so that cold air can communicate with each other, and a damper is installed on the connection flow path so as to be opened and closed. The damper may be controlled to be opened and closed by a microcomputer that controls the operation of the refrigerator so that a portion of the cold air of the freezing compartment F is supplied to the refrigerating compartment.

7 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a refrigeration cycle that can be applied to the refrigerator of FIGS. 3 and 5.

Looking at the first embodiment of the refrigerating cycle that can be applied to the first and second embodiments of the refrigerator configured as described above, the compressor (62) for compressing the refrigerant into a gas refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure, and the compressor 62 A condenser 64 for condensing the refrigerant with high temperature and high pressure liquid refrigerant by exchanging the refrigerant with external air, and a refrigeration expansion valve for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant condensed in the condenser 64 with a low temperature and low pressure liquid refrigerant according to the load. Expansion means 66 consisting of a 66a or a refrigeration expansion valve 66b, and the three-way to control the refrigerant discharged from the condenser 64 to selectively enter the refrigeration expansion valve 66a or the refrigeration expansion valve 66b. The valve 82 and the evaporator 68 which exchanges the refrigerant depressurized by the expansion means 66 with the air in the freezing chamber F or the refrigerating chamber R to evaporate the gas refrigerant at low temperature and low pressure and simultaneously generate cold air. Is done.

Of course, the evaporator 68 is divided into a freezer compartment side region 68a and a refrigerator compartment side region 68b, so that the cold air passing through the freezer compartment side region 68a is supplied only to the freezer compartment F side. A freezer compartment fan 72 and a motor are installed to communicate with the measurement region 68a, and the refrigerator compartment side region 68b is provided so that the cold air passing through the refrigerating compartment side region 68b is supplied only to the refrigerating chamber R side. The refrigerator compartment fan 74 and the motor are installed to communicate with each other.

Specifically, the compressor 62 may be a constant speed compressor, but it is preferable that not only the flow rate of the refrigerant circulating along the refrigeration cycle but also the variable displacement compressor is applied to control the compression degree of the refrigerant. For example, an inverter compressor or a linear compressor that can change the rotation speed is applied.

Next, the condenser 64 is a heat exchanger, and a separate fan (not shown) may be installed in a close position in order to effectively exchange heat with the outside air.

Next, the refrigeration expansion valve (66a) and the refrigeration expansion valve (66b) are arranged side by side and each of the line and the rear end of the refrigerant pipe is configured to be connected to each other, the capillary tube or the opening value of the relatively small diameter of the refrigerant pipe Electronic expansion valve can be applied to adjust the.

At this time, the refrigeration expansion valve (66a) and the refrigeration expansion valve (66b) is configured to have a different capacity, so that the refrigeration expansion valve (68a) is relatively larger than the refrigerating expansion valve (68b) pressure reduction capacity. It is configured, and the flow path of the refrigerant can be switched according to each load.

Next, the three-way valve 82 controls the refrigerant passing through the condenser 64 to be introduced into only one direction of the refrigeration expansion valve 66a or the refrigeration expansion valve 66b. And the refrigerant pipe branched to the refrigeration expansion valve (66b).

Here, the three-way valve 82 adjusts the refrigerant to pass through the freezing expansion valve (66a) in order to ensure that the temperature (Tf) of the freezer compartment reaches the set freezing temperature (Tf0), the temperature (Tr) of the refrigerator compartment Is adjusted to pass through the refrigerating expansion valve (68b) in order to reach the set refrigeration temperature (Tr0).

Next, the evaporator 68 is installed such that the freezing compartment side region 68a and the refrigerating compartment side region 68b communicate with the freezing compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R, respectively, and on each flow path, a freezing compartment fan 72 and The refrigerator compartment fan 74 and the motor which drives each are provided.

At this time, the evaporator 68 is a thin type heat exchanger of the straight type is applied, the freezing chamber fan 72 and the refrigerating chamber fan 74 is applied to a sirocco fan, the motor is preferably a BLDC motor is applied.

Of course, the evaporator 68 is a low-temperature low-pressure gas refrigerant is circulated to the freezer compartment side region 68a and the refrigerating compartment side region 68b while the compressor 62 is operated so that the freezer compartment 72 and the refrigerating compartment fan ( According to the operation of 74) the cold air is adjusted to flow into the freezing compartment (F) or the refrigerator compartment (R) side.

Here, the freezer compartment fan 72 blows cold air that has passed through the freezer compartment side region 68a to the freezer compartment F so that the temperature Tf of the freezer compartment reaches a set freezing temperature Tf0. The refrigerating compartment fan 74 blows cold air that has passed through the refrigerating compartment side region 68b to the refrigerating compartment R so that the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment reaches the set refrigerating temperature Tr0.

Of course, the evaporator 68 is configured such that the freezer compartment side region 68a and the freezer compartment side region 68b can communicate with the freezer compartment F and the freezer compartment R, respectively, and the freezer compartment F and The refrigerating chamber (R) is formed to have each circulation passage structure through which cold air can be circulated.

Operation of such components is controlled by a microcomputer (not shown).

Looking at the operation of the first embodiment of the refrigeration cycle configured as described above, as follows.

First, referring to the freezing mode in which the temperature Tf of the freezing compartment reaches the set freezing temperature Tf0, the three-way valve 82 is controlled by the micom to allow the refrigerant to pass through the freezing expansion valve 66a. The freezer compartment fan 72 is operated while the refrigerator compartment fan 74 is adjusted to stop.

Therefore, the refrigerant circulates along the compressor 62, the condenser 64, the freezing expansion valve 66a, the evaporator 68, and the heat exchange in the freezer compartment side region 68a as the freezer compartment fan 72 is operated. As cold air flows only into the freezing compartment F, the freezing compartment F is cooled.

Next, referring to the refrigerating mode in which the temperature Tr of the refrigerating chamber reaches the set refrigerating temperature Tr0, the three-way valve 82 is controlled by the micom to allow the refrigerant to pass through the refrigerating expansion valve 66b. The refrigerating compartment fan 74 is operated while the freezing compartment fan 72 is adjusted to stop.

Thus, the refrigerant circulates along the compressor 62, the condenser 64, the refrigeration expansion valve 66b, the evaporator 68, and the heat exchange in the refrigerating compartment side region 66b as the refrigerating compartment fan 74 is operated. As cold air flows into the refrigerating chamber R only, the refrigerating chamber R is cooled.

Next, referring to the freezing and refrigerating modes in which the temperature Tf of the freezing compartment and the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment reach the set freezing temperature Tf0 and the set refrigerating temperature Tr0, respectively, the three-way valve 82 is a refrigerant. Is adjusted to pass through the refrigeration expansion valve (66a), the freezer compartment fan 72 continues to operate, while the refrigerating compartment fan (74) is adjusted to operate and stop at predetermined time intervals.

Therefore, the refrigerant circulates along the compressor 62, the condenser 64, the freezing expansion valve 66a, the evaporator 68, and the heat exchange in the freezer compartment side region 68a as the freezer compartment fan 72 is operated. As the cold air flows into the freezer compartment F, and the refrigerator compartment fan 74 is intermittently operated, the cold air heat-exchanged in the refrigerating compartment side region 68b flows into the refrigerating compartment R side only during operation. ) And the refrigerating chamber (R) can be cooled simultaneously.

Next, the defrost mode in which the temperature Tf of the freezer compartment and the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment reaches the defrost temperature Ti for removing ice on the surface of the evaporator 68, respectively, will be described. It is adjusted to stop, and the freezer compartment fan 72 is stopped while the refrigerating compartment fan 74 is adjusted to operate.

Therefore, as the coolant fan 74 is operated while the coolant is not circulated, defrosting is performed in the refrigerating compartment side region 68b of the evaporator by air blown, and from the refrigerating compartment side region 68b of the evaporator. Defrosting takes place in the freezer compartment side region 68a of the evaporator by the heat transferred.

In addition, even when the defrost mode is performed, if the temperature Tf of the freezer compartment and the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment do not reach the defrost temperature Ti, the defrost heater separately installed under the evaporator 68 is heated. To have a defrosting effect in the evaporator 68.

The first embodiment of the refrigerating cycle as described above not only improves the cooling rate of the refrigerating compartment R but also increases the capacity of the refrigerator by cooling the freezing compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R, respectively. Even if it is, the cooling is sufficiently effective, and furthermore, the freezing compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R may be independently defrosted to perform effective defrosting.

8 is a configuration diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a refrigeration cycle that may be applied to the refrigerator of FIGS. 3 and 5.

Looking at the second embodiment of the refrigerating cycle that can be applied to the first and second embodiments of the refrigerator configured as described above, the same as the first embodiment of the refrigerating cycle, the freezer compartment (F) and the refrigerating chamber (R) A connection flow path (not shown) is formed to allow cold air to communicate with each other, and a damper 76 is installed on the connection flow path so as to be opened and closed.

Therefore, while the second embodiment of the refrigerating cycle operates in the same manner as the first embodiment of the refrigerating cycle, when the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment becomes higher than the set refrigerating temperature Tr0 in the refrigerating mode, the The damper 76 is opened to allow a part of the cold air of the freezing compartment F to flow into the refrigerating chamber R to adjust the temperature Tr of the refrigerating chamber.

As such, even when the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment is higher in the freezing mode, the cold air of the freezing compartment F, which is relatively low temperature, is introduced into the refrigerating compartment R, so that the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment can be simply adjusted. Since there is no need to drive the refrigerating compartment fan 74 separately, the power consumption can be effectively reduced.

9 is a configuration diagram illustrating a third embodiment of a refrigeration cycle that may be applied to the refrigerator of FIGS. 3 and 5.

Looking at the third embodiment of the refrigerating cycle that can be applied to the first and second embodiments of the refrigerator configured as described above, the compressor (62) for compressing the refrigerant into a high-temperature, high-pressure gas refrigerant, and the compressor 62 A condenser 64 for condensing the refrigerant with high temperature and high pressure liquid refrigerant by exchanging the refrigerant with external air, and a refrigeration expansion valve for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant condensed in the condenser 64 with a low temperature and low pressure liquid refrigerant according to the load. An expansion means (66a) consisting of a 66a or a refrigeration expansion valve (66b) and a refrigerant pipe at the distal end of the refrigeration expansion valve (66a) and the refrigeration expansion valve (66b), respectively, for controlling opening and closing of the refrigerant pipe; The 1,2 solenoid valves 84a and 84b and the refrigerant depressurized by the expansion means 66 exchange heat with the air in the freezing chamber F or the refrigerating chamber R to evaporate the gas refrigerant at low temperature and low pressure to generate cold air. With evaporator (68) Eojinda.

Of course, the evaporator 68 is divided into a freezer compartment side region 68a and a refrigerator compartment side region 68b, so that the cold air passing through the freezer compartment side region 68a is supplied only to the freezer compartment F side. A freezer compartment fan 72 and a motor are installed to communicate with the measurement region 68a, and the refrigerator compartment side region 68b is provided so that the cold air passing through the refrigerating compartment side region 68b is supplied only to the refrigerating chamber R side. The refrigerator compartment fan 74 and the motor are installed to communicate with each other.

Specifically, the compressor 62, the condenser 64, the refrigeration expansion valve 66a, the refrigeration expansion valve 66b, the evaporator 68, the freezer compartment 72, the refrigerating compartment fan 74 and the like of the refrigeration cycle. The configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

Next, the expansion means 66 is configured to further include an auxiliary expansion valve 66c for allowing the refrigerant passing through the evaporator 68 to be reduced in the middle to be cooled, and then introduced to the compressor 62 again. In this way, since the refrigerant is intermediately cooled between the evaporator 68 and the compressor 62, the efficiency of the entire refrigeration cycle can be improved.

Next, the first and second solenoid valves (84a, 84b) are respectively installed in the refrigerant pipe at the front end side of the refrigeration expansion valve (66a) and the refrigeration expansion valve (66b) to control the opening and closing of the first, second, The two solenoid valves 84a and 84b use one of the refrigerant discharged from the condenser 64 as a refrigeration expansion valve 66a, a refrigeration expansion valve 66b, a refrigeration expansion valve 66a and a refrigeration expansion valve 66b. It is adjusted to enter.

Operation of such components is controlled by a microcomputer (not shown).

Looking at the operation of the third embodiment of the refrigeration cycle configured as described above, as follows.

First, referring to the freezing mode in which the temperature Tf of the freezing chamber reaches a set freezing temperature Tf0, the first solenoid valve 84a is opened by the microcomputer and the second solenoid valve 84b is opened. Closed to adjust the refrigerant to pass through the freezing expansion valve (66a), the freezer compartment fan 72 is operated while the refrigerating compartment fan 74 is adjusted to stop.

Accordingly, the refrigerant circulates along the compressor 62, the condenser 64, the freezing expansion valve 66a, the evaporator 68, and the auxiliary expansion valve 66c, and the freezer compartment 72 is operated as the freezer compartment 72 is operated. The cold air heat-exchanged in the region 68a flows only into the freezing compartment F side to cool the freezing compartment F.

Next, looking at the refrigerating mode in which the temperature Tr of the refrigerating chamber reaches the set refrigerating temperature Tr0, the first solenoid valve 84a is filled by the microcomputer and the second solenoid valve 84b is It is opened to adjust the refrigerant to pass through the refrigerating expansion valve 66b, and the refrigerating compartment fan 74 is operated while the freezer compartment 72 is stopped.

Therefore, the refrigerant circulates along the compressor 62, the condenser 64, the refrigerating expansion valve 66b, the evaporator 68, and the auxiliary expansion valve 66c, and the refrigerating chamber fan 74 is operated so that the refrigerating chamber side The cold air heat-exchanged in the region 68b flows only into the refrigerating chamber R side to cool the freezing chamber.

Next, when looking at the freezing and refrigerating modes such that the temperature Tf of the freezing compartment and the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment reach the set freezing temperature Tf0 and the set refrigeration temperature Tr0, respectively, the first solenoid valve 84a Is opened and at the same time the second solenoid valve 84b is closed to regulate the refrigerant to pass through the freezing expansion valve 66a, while the freezer compartment fan 72 continues to operate while the refrigerating compartment fan 74 is It is adjusted to start and stop at intervals of.

Accordingly, the refrigerant circulates along the compressor 62, the condenser 64, the freezing expansion valve 66a, the evaporator 68, and the auxiliary expansion valve 66c, and the freezing compartment fan 72 is operated to operate the freezer compartment side. The cold air heat-exchanged in the region 68a flows into the freezing compartment F side, and the cold air heat-exchanged in the refrigerating compartment side region 68b only operates during the operation of the refrigerating compartment fan 74 intermittently. The freezing chamber F and the refrigerating chamber R may be simultaneously cooled by flowing into the side.

Next, the defrost mode in which the temperature Tf of the freezer compartment and the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment reaches the defrost temperature Ti for removing ice on the surface of the evaporator 68, respectively, will be described. The first and second solenoid valves 84a and 84b are closed, and the freezer compartment 72 is stopped while the refrigerating compartment fan 74 is operated.

Therefore, as the coolant fan 74 is operated while the coolant is not circulated, defrosting is performed in the refrigerating compartment side region 68b of the evaporator by air blown, and from the refrigerating compartment side region 68b of the evaporator. Defrosting takes place in the freezer compartment side region 68a of the evaporator by the heat transferred.

In addition, even when the defrost mode is performed, if the temperature Tf of the freezer compartment and the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment do not reach the defrost temperature Ti, the first and second solenoid valves 84a and 84b are opened. A relatively high temperature refrigerant is circulated along the evaporator 68, and a defrost heater separately installed under the evaporator 68 is heated to allow defrosting in the evaporator 68.

Like the first embodiment, the third embodiment of the refrigerating cycle as described above also cools the freezing compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R, respectively, so that the cooling rate of the refrigerating compartment R can be improved more than the conventional refrigerating cycle. However, even if the capacity of the refrigerator becomes wider, the cooling is sufficiently effective, and furthermore, the freezing compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R can be independently defrosted to perform effective defrosting.

12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation control method applicable to a refrigerator according to the present invention.

Meanwhile, the operation control method of the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 12 and the respective components will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

First, in the first step, the freezer load and the refrigeration load are sensed by comparing the temperature of the freezer compartment (Tf) and the temperature of the refrigerator compartment (R) with the set freezing temperature (Tf0) and the set refrigerator temperature (Tr0), respectively. (See S1, S2, S3, S5, S7, and S8).

Specifically, the user or automatically set the freezing temperature (Tf0) and the set refrigeration temperature (Tr0) is determined, the temperature of the freezer compartment (Tf) and the temperature of the refrigerating compartment (respectively) detected in the freezer compartment (F) and the refrigerator compartment (R) The operating mode of the refrigerator is determined by comparing Tr with the set refrigeration temperature Tf0 and the set refrigeration temperature Tr0.

Here, when the temperature Tf of the freezer compartment is equal to or higher than the set freezing temperature Tf0 and the temperature Tr of the refrigerator compartment is equal to or higher than the set refrigerator temperature Tr0, the refrigerating and freezing modes are selected, and the temperature of the freezer compartment ( If Tf is greater than or equal to the set freezing temperature Tf0, while the temperature Tr of the refrigerating chamber is less than or equal to the set freezing temperature Tr0, a freezing mode is selected, and the temperature Tf of the freezing compartment is set to the set freezing temperature (Tr0). Less than Tf0), if the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment is greater than or equal to the set refrigerating temperature Tr0, a refrigerating mode is selected, and the temperature of the refrigerating compartment at the same time that the temperature Tf of the freezing compartment is less than the set freezing temperature Tf0; If Tr is less than the set refrigeration temperature Tr0, the cooling mode is not selected.

Next, the second step is to blow the cool air to the freezing chamber (F) and the refrigerating chamber (R), or to blow only the freezing chamber (F), or to the refrigerating chamber (R), respectively, according to the mode set in the first step Cooling is performed while blowing (see S4, S6, S9).

In this case, when the freezing and refrigerating modes are selected, the compression flow rate and the decompression degree are adjusted to the maximum, and the cold air is controlled to blow into the freezing compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R.

Accordingly, the refrigerant is compressed, condensed, expanded, and evaporated while sequentially passing through the compressor 62, the condenser 64, the expansion means 66, and the evaporator 68, while cooling the air around the evaporator 68, The flow rate and the degree of depressurization are largely adjusted to rapidly cool the surrounding air, and the freezer compartment 72 and the refrigerating compartment fan 74 which are respectively installed above the freezer compartment side region 68a and the refrigerator compartment side region 68b of the evaporator. As the cold air passing through the freezer compartment side region 68a of the evaporator is circulated through the freezer compartment F, the cold air passing through the refrigerating compartment side region 68b of the evaporator causes the cold compartment R to circulate. do.

In addition, when the freezing mode is selected, the compression flow rate and the decompression degree are relatively large, and the cold air is controlled to blow only into the freezing chamber F.

Of course, as only the freezer compartment fan 72 is operated, the cold air passing through the freezer compartment side region 68a of the evaporator circulates through the freezer compartment 72.

In addition, when the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment becomes higher than the set refrigerating temperature Tr0 during the freezing mode, a part of the cold air of the freezing compartment F may flow into the refrigerating compartment R side. It may be.

In addition, when the refrigerating mode is selected, the compression flow rate and the decompression degree are controlled to be relatively small, and the cold air is controlled to blow only into the refrigerating chamber (R).

Of course, as only the refrigerator compartment fan 74 is operated, the cold air passing through the refrigerator compartment side region 68b of the evaporator circulates through the refrigerator compartment R.

Particularly, in the refrigerating mode, it is preferable that the temperature of the evaporator is controlled to be higher than the temperature Tf of the freezing compartment and lower than the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment.

Next, the third step compares the temperature Tf of the freezer compartment or the temperature Tr of the refrigerating compartment with a previously input defrosting temperature Ti during the cooling operation for each mode in the second stage. It is determined whether the defrost mode is in progress accordingly (see S10 and S11).

Here, frost and the like may form on the surface of the evaporator 68 during the cooling operation in each mode. Thus, frost and the like formed on the surface of the evaporator 68 need to be removed because it lowers the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator 68. do.

At this time, since the evaporator 68 does not perform heat exchange with ambient air due to frost, the temperature of the freezer compartment Tf or the temperature of the refrigerator compartment Tr is relatively increased, and the temperature of the freezer compartment Tf or the refrigerator compartment is relatively high. When the temperature Tr is higher than the defrost temperature Ti, the defrost mode is performed.

In detail, the defrost mode operates the refrigerator compartment fan 74 in a state where the refrigerant is not flowed so that air in the refrigerator compartment R, which is relatively hot, is blown and circulated to the refrigerator compartment side region 68b of the evaporator. In addition to removing condensed frost, it is also possible to remove frost condensed on the freezer compartment side region 68a of the evaporator by the heat transfer effect.

In addition, the defrost mode may allow the liquid refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure to directly flow into the evaporator 68 and at the same time rotate the refrigerating chamber fan 74 to perform more effective defrosting.

In addition, the defrost mode may be a faster defrosting action by heating the defrost heater installed on the lower side of the evaporator (68).

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail by taking a side-by-side type refrigerator in which the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment R are located side by side on the basis of the embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying drawings. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited by the above embodiments and drawings, and the scope of the present invention will be limited only by the contents described in the claims below.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator and a method of operating the same, which can cool the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment independently, thereby improving cooling efficiency and reducing power consumption.

In addition, according to the present invention, the refrigerator and its operation control method of reducing the unnecessary compressor operation by increasing the cooling rate of the refrigerating compartment as well as the cooling rate of the freezer compartment so that the temperature of the refrigerating compartment quickly reaches the set refrigerator temperature (Tr0). Can be provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator and an operation control method thereof capable of increasing the volume inside the freezing compartment or the refrigerating compartment.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator and its operation control method to prevent the frost formed on the evaporator to form well and to perform an effective defrosting operation.

Claims (13)

delete delete In the refrigerator divided into a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment by a partition, A variable displacement compressor for compressing the refrigerant into a gas refrigerant having a high temperature and high pressure; A condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed by the compressor into a liquid refrigerant having a high temperature and high pressure; Decompression means for expanding the refrigerant condensed in the condenser into a liquid refrigerant of low temperature and low pressure; An evaporator installed on the inner wall of the freezer compartment and configured to evaporate the refrigerant expanded by the decompression means into a low temperature low pressure gas refrigerant, wherein the heat exchange region is divided into a separate partition plate into a freezer compartment side region and a refrigerating compartment side region; Independent circulation passages formed such that cold air circulating in the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment flows into the freezing compartment side region and the refrigerating compartment side region of the evaporator, respectively; A freezer compartment fan installed to communicate with the freezer compartment side region of the evaporator to blow cold air that has passed through the freezer compartment side region to the freezer compartment; And a refrigerating compartment fan installed to communicate with the refrigerating compartment side region of the evaporator to blow cold air that has passed through the refrigerating compartment side region to the refrigerating compartment. The method of claim 3, The partition plate is a refrigerator, characterized in that a plurality of grooves formed on the surface to form a turbulent layer for the cold air flowing along the evaporator surface. The method according to claim 3 or 4, Evaporator is a refrigerator characterized in that the thin heat exchanger of the straight type configured to be installed a plurality of cooling fins in the refrigerant pipe. The method of claim 5, The evaporator is a refrigerator, characterized in that the spacing between the cooling fins in the freezer compartment region of the evaporator is wider than the spacing between the cooling fins in the refrigerator compartment side region of the evaporator. The method of claim 3, A refrigerator, characterized in that the freezer compartment side region of the evaporator is configured to have a larger heat exchange area than the refrigerating compartment side region of the evaporator. The method of claim 3, A refrigerator, characterized in that at least one defrost heater is further installed below the evaporator to remove frost formed in the freezer compartment side region and the refrigerating compartment side region of the evaporator. The method of claim 8, A refrigerator having a relatively large capacity defrost heater is installed below the freezer compartment side region of the evaporator, and a defrost heater for a refrigerator compartment having a relatively small capacity is installed below the refrigerator compartment side region of the evaporator. The method according to claim 8 or 9, Defrost heater is a refrigerator characterized in that the radiant heat heater. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The compressor is a refrigerator characterized in that the variable displacement compressor capable of varying the flow rate of the refrigerant circulating along the evaporator. The method of claim 3, The freezer compartment fan and the refrigerating compartment fan are sirocco fans which suck cold air in the axial direction and discharge it in the circumferential direction. The method of claim 12, And a motor driving the freezer compartment fan and the refrigerating compartment fan, respectively, is a brushless DC motor (BLDC) motor.

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