KR101678437B1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator capable of real time measuring the amount of frost on the evaporator, determining a defrosting time, reducing power consumption due to unnecessary defrosting, It is about refrigerator that can be.

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator capable of measuring the amount of gauze impregnated in an evaporator in real time and determining a defrosting point.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a refrigerator is a device that enables low-temperature storage of foodstuffs to be kept fresh for a long period of time.

The cold air supplied to the inside of the refrigerator is generated by the heat exchange action of the refrigerant and is continuously supplied to the inside of the refrigerator while repeatedly performing a cycle of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation. It can be uniformly transferred to the inside of the refrigerator and the food inside the refrigerator can be stored at a desired temperature.

The refrigerator can be classified into a general refrigerator, a side-by-side refrigerator, and a bottom freezer-type refrigerator depending on the structure of the freezer and the refrigerator.

The general refrigerator has a structure in which the freezer is located at the upper portion and the refrigerating chamber is located at the lower portion, and the side-by-side type refrigerator has a structure in which the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber are disposed adjacent to the left and right.

The bottom freezer type refrigerator is a type commonly used in the United States and Europe, and has a structure in which a refrigerating chamber of a larger size than a freezing chamber is located at an upper portion and a freezing chamber is located at a lower portion.

On the other hand, the refrigerator includes a main body having at least one storage space for low-temperature storage, and a door rotatably mounted to the main body and selectively opening and closing the storage space.

The storage space of the refrigerator is generally divided into a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment. At the rear of the storage compartment, an evaporator for generating heat by exchanging heat with the air in the storage compartment and the air in the author space are introduced into the evaporator, A fan for blowing air into the space is provided.

Meanwhile, the evaporator constituting the cycle performs heat exchange between the air circulating in the storage space and the refrigerant, and since the surface temperature of the evaporator is lower than the room temperature, in the course of heat exchange with the circulating air in the storage space, Is generated.

At this time, the condensed water is frozen on the surface of the evaporator, and the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator is lowered when the evaporator is accumulated on the surface of the evaporator.

In order to solve such a problem, a method of mounting a defrost heater on one side of the evaporator and moving the defrost heater at a predetermined time interval is used.

This defrosting operation is performed in consideration of the operation time of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment and the opening time of the door irrespective of the actual implantation amount of the evaporator.

However, when the defrosting time predicted by the opening time of the door and the operation time of the storage space is set such that the defrost heater is operated even when the defrosting is not actually required in the actual use condition of the refrigerator or the defrost heater is operated There is no problem.

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem [8] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can measure the amount of the frost on the evaporator in real time and determine the defrosting time.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator which can reduce power consumption due to unnecessary defrosting and reduce the number of times of temperature rise in a storage space.

Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having high reliability because defrosting is performed by measuring an actual implantation amount even in a high-humidity environment.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an evaporator including a refrigerant tube for refrigerant flow and a plurality of fins contacting the refrigerant tube; A defrost heater for removing impurities cast on the evaporator; A light sensor including a light emitting portion for irradiating light toward the evaporator and a light receiving portion for receiving light emitted from the light emitting portion; A bracket connecting the optical sensor and the evaporator; And a control unit for controlling the operation of the defrost heater based on the amount of received light incident on the light receiving unit.

The bracket further includes a body extending along a height direction of the evaporator and having at least one slot for inserting the refrigerant tube; And a mounting portion for bending inwardly from one end of the body to mount the optical sensor toward the evaporator.

Further, the bracket may have an "a" shape.

Further, the control unit can operate the defrost heater when the amount of received light incident on the light receiving unit is equal to or larger than the reference value.

Alternatively, the bracket may include a body extending along a height direction of the evaporator and having at least one slot for the refrigerant tube to be inserted therein; And a mounting portion for bending inwardly from both ends of the body, respectively, for mounting the optical sensor toward the evaporator.

Further, a light emitting unit may be mounted on one end of the body, and a light receiving unit may be mounted on another end of the body.

Further, the bracket may have a " C "shape.

Further, the control unit can operate the defrost heater when the amount of received light incident on the light receiving unit is equal to or lower than the reference value.

The light emitting unit may include an infrared light emitting diode.

As described above, according to the refrigerator relating to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to measure in real time the amount of the frosting on the evaporator and determine the defrosting point.

Further, according to the refrigerator related to at least one embodiment of the present invention, power consumption due to unnecessary defrosting can be reduced, and the number of times of temperature rise in the storage space can be reduced.

Further, according to the refrigerator relating to at least one embodiment of the present invention, even in a high-humidity environment, since the actual implantation amount is measured to perform defrosting, reliability is high.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a door of a refrigerator is partially opened according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the refrigerator shown in Fig. 1;
3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control part of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 4 to 7 are views for explaining mounting positions of optical sensors constituting a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
Figure 8 is a graph illustrating a method for determining defrost points associated with an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a flowchart showing a control method of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Hereinafter, a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

In addition, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. For convenience of explanation, the size and shape of each constituent member shown may be exaggerated or reduced have.

On the other hand, terms including an ordinal number such as a first or a second may be used to describe various elements, but the constituent elements are not limited by the terms, and the terms may refer to a constituent element from another constituent element It is used only for the purpose of discrimination.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a door of a refrigerator 1 is partially opened according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the refrigerator shown in FIG.

The refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied to all types of refrigerators (for example, a general type, a side door or a bottom freezer type), but for convenience of explanation, the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment are arranged side by side An embodiment applied to a side-by-side refrigerator which is selectively opened and closed by each door will be described as an example.

The refrigerator (1) comprises a main body (10) having at least one storage space for low temperature storage, a compressor (90) provided inside the main body (10) for compressing the refrigerant, And an evaporator 60 for heat exchange between the air in the storage space 40 and the air in the storage space 40, a defrost heater 70 for removing impurities on the evaporator 60, (Not shown) that includes a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion on which light emitted from the light emitting portion is incident, a bracket (not shown) that connects the optical sensor and the erection portion, and a light receiving portion And a control unit (not shown) for controlling the operation of the heater 70.

1 and 2, a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 10 providing a space and an outer shape capable of storing foods and food containers at a low temperature, 10 may have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the entire surface thereof may be formed in a state that the front surface thereof is open for receiving food and food containers.

The main body 10 of the refrigerator 1 may include an outer case (not shown) and at least one inner case (not shown) disposed in the outer case and providing a storage space for refrigeration or freezing of food .

Doors 20 and 30 are rotatably mounted on the opened front face of the main body 10 to selectively open and close the open front face of the storage space of the main body 10. [ 1 is a side view of a refrigerator in which a first door 20 and a second door 30 are mounted on a main body 10 to open and close a left storage space and a right storage space 40, .

In recent years, various functions have been added to the convenience of use of the refrigerator 1. In order to realize such functions, a dispenser 21 capable of directly extracting purified water or ice from the external space, A home bar 31 or the like for easily storing and storing food containers can be further provided on the doors 20 and 30.

At least one basket 33 and a storage box 32 may be mounted on the rear surface of the door 30.

In the case of the side door type refrigerator 10, the inner space of the main body 10 can be partitioned into a left space and a right space. The left space is normally a freezing chamber (not shown) for receiving food and food containers at a subzero temperature And the right space performs the function of the refrigerator compartment 40 for accommodating food and food containers at the image temperature.

The freezing chamber 40 is used for storing foods to be stored for a long period of time by freezing the foodstuffs stored in the internal space at a subzero temperature. The refrigerating chamber 40 maintains an image temperature lower than room temperature, .

A plurality of shelves 41 in which food and food containers are placed are provided in the inner spaces of the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment 40 so that the inner spaces of the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment 40 are divided into a plurality of layers, . In addition, a drawer 42 may be further provided to receive food such as vegetables and fruits.

These refrigerators store not only vegetables and fruits but also meat, fish, various kinds of food materials and finished foods. The main body 10 is provided with a plurality of storage spaces such as a shelf, a drawer, etc., so that food can be stored separately.

In addition, a cool air generating room (not shown) in which an evaporator 60 for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and the air in the storage space is provided in the rear of the storage space 40, and an evaporator 60 A blowing fan 50 for discharging the cool air into the storage space 40 and a defrost heater 70 for removing the frosted state of the evaporator 60 and a drain for collecting the dehydrated water below the defrost heater 70, A portion 80 is provided.

FIG. 3 is a structural view of a controller 200 constituting a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 4 to 7 are views showing the mounting of an optical sensor 100 constituting a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a graph for explaining a method of determining a defrosting time point according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the evaporator 60 constituting the cycle of the refrigerator 1 performs heat exchange between air circulating in the storage space and the refrigerant, and since the surface temperature of the evaporator 60 is lower than the room temperature, Condensate is generated on the surface during heat exchange with air circulating in space.

At this time, the condensed water is frozen on the surface of the evaporator 60, and the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator 60 is lowered when the condensed water accumulates on the surface of the evaporator 60.

In order to solve this problem, a defrost heater 70 is mounted on one side of the evaporator 60, and the defrosted air is removed from the surface of the evaporator 60 by operating the defrost heater 70.

At this time, if the evaporator (60) is frozen, the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator (60) drops. In order to reduce power consumption due to unnecessary defrosting and reduce the number of times of temperature rise in the storage space, it is important to determine the accurate defrosting time by grasping in real time the amount of the defrosted air in the evaporator 60.

3, the optical sensor 100 includes a light emitting unit 110 for emitting light toward the evaporator and a light receiving unit 120 for receiving the light emitted from the light emitting unit 110.

The light sensor 100 detects the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 120 by reflecting the light irradiated toward the evaporator on the evaporator and the controller 200 controls the light receiving unit 120 The defrosting time is determined based on the received light amount, and the defrost heater 70 is operated.

For example, when the amount of light received by the evaporator 60 increases, the amount of light reflected by the property increases. Therefore, when the amount of received light is equal to or greater than the reference value measured beforehand experimentally, The defrost heater 70 can be operated.

In addition, the light emitting unit 110 of the optical sensor 100 may be a light source for irradiating light having an infrared or ultraviolet wavelength, and may preferably include an infrared light emitting diode.

Referring to FIG. 4, the evaporator 110 includes a refrigerant tube 61 for refrigerant flow and a plurality of fins 62 for contacting the refrigerant tube and for increasing a heat exchange area.

At this time, the optical sensor may be disposed above the evaporator 60. That is, both the light emitting unit 110 and the light receiving unit 120 may be disposed at a position spaced apart from the upper end of the evaporator 60 by a predetermined distance.

The light sensor 100 detects the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 120 by reflecting the light irradiated toward the evaporator on the evaporator F mounted on the evaporator and the controller 200 controls the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 120 , And operates the defrost heater (70).

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 8A, since the amount of received light reflected by the gender F increases with an increase in the amount of frost impregnated into the evaporator 60, the amount of light received by the evaporator 60 increases compared with the reference value S1 And the control unit 200 can operate the defrost heater 70 when the light reception amount is equal to or greater than the reference value S1.

Referring to FIG. 5, the optical sensor may be disposed below the evaporator 60. That is, both the light emitting unit 110 and the light receiving unit 120 may be disposed at a position spaced apart from the lower end of the evaporator 60 by a predetermined distance.

The process of determining the defrosting time to determine the defrosting time and driving the defrost heater is the same as that described with reference to Figs. 4 and 8 (a), even when the optical sensor is disposed below the evaporator 60. [

On the other hand, as for the pattern in which the gaseous F is conceived on the evaporator 60, the gaseous phase F can be conceived from the upper end of the evaporator toward the lower end, or can be conceived from the lower end to the upper end of the evaporator. Such a frosting pattern may vary depending on the flow path of the cold air generating chamber and the structure of the evaporator. However, since the frost pattern is generally conceived from the upper end to the lower end of the evaporator, the photosensor is preferably disposed above the evaporator.

Referring to FIG. 6, the optical sensor may be disposed such that an evaporator 60 is positioned between the light emitting unit 110 and the light receiving unit 120. For example, the light emitting unit 110 may be disposed above the evaporator 60, the light receiving unit 120 may be disposed below the evaporator, and the positions thereof may be reversed. Further, the light emitting unit 110 may be disposed in front of the evaporator 60, and the light receiving unit 120 may be disposed behind the evaporator.

6 and 8 (b), the light sensor 100 can not pass through the evaporator 60 when the light irradiated toward the evaporator is reflected to the gaseous fusions impregnated in the evaporator, The amount of received light will decrease as the amount of frost impregnated into the evaporator 60 increases. Therefore, the control unit 200 can operate the defrost heater 70 when the amount of received light is equal to or less than the reference value S2, as compared with the reference value S2 previously measured experimentally.

Referring to FIG. 7, it is desirable that the distance d between the optical sensor (the light emitting portion 110 and the light receiving portion 120) and the evaporator is kept constant to increase the reliability of the measurement.

The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a bracket 130 connecting the optical sensor and the evaporator.

The bracket 130 includes a body 131 extending along a height direction (upward or downward) of the evaporator and having one or more slots 132 for inserting the refrigerant tube 61, And may include a mounting portion 133 that is bent inwardly from the end portion and to which the optical sensor is mounted toward the evaporator 60.

4 and 5, the structure of the body 131 may be applied to a case where the optical sensor is disposed above or below the evaporator 60, and the body 131 may be substantially It may be an "a" shape. In this structure, the control unit can operate the defrost heater when the amount of received light received by the light receiving unit is equal to or larger than the reference value, as described above.

The slot 132 preferably has elasticity and may be detachably mounted on the refrigerant tube 62 for convenience of replacement or repair.

Alternatively, the bracket may include a body extending along a height direction of the evaporator and having at least one slot for the refrigerant tube to be inserted therein; And a mounting portion for bending inwardly from both ends of the body, respectively, for mounting the optical sensor toward the evaporator.

At this time, a light emitting unit may be mounted on one end of the body, and a light receiving unit may be mounted on another end of the body.

6, the body structure may be applied to a case where an evaporator 60 is disposed between a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion of the optical sensor, and the body may be substantially " have. In this structure, the control unit can operate the defrost heater when the amount of received light incident on the light receiving unit is equal to or smaller than the reference value, as described above.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control method of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a case where an optical sensor is disposed at the position of FIG.

The method of controlling a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of (a) irradiating light toward an evaporator (S102), (b) receiving light through an evaporator (S103), and (c) (S104, 105) of performing defrosting as a basis.

Steps (a) and (b) may be performed through the optical sensor 100 described above, and step (a) may further comprise determining (S101) whether the measurement time has been reached, Accordingly, the power is supplied to the optical sensor only when measurement is required, thereby reducing power consumption.

The position of the optical sensor is the same as described above with reference to Figs. 4 to 6, and in the case where the optical sensor is disposed at the positions of Figs. 4 and 5, the light reflected from the evaporator in step (b) And defrosting can be performed when the amount of reflected light is equal to or greater than the reference value.

Alternatively, when the optical sensor is disposed at the position shown in FIG. 6, the light passing through the evaporator can be collected in step (b), and defrosting can be performed when the amount of light passed is below the reference value.

As described above, according to the refrigerator and its control method related to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to measure in real time the amount of the frost cast on the evaporator and determine the defrosting point.

Further, according to the refrigerator and its control method according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, power consumption due to unnecessary defrosting can be reduced, and the number of times of temperature rise in the storage space can be reduced.

Further, according to the refrigerator and the control method thereof according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, even in a high-humidity environment, since the defrosting is performed by measuring the actual implantation amount, the reliability is high.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, And additions should be considered as falling within the scope of the following claims.

1: Refrigerator 10: Body
20, 30: door 33: basket
40: storage space 41: shelf
42: drawer 33: basket
70: Defrost heater 100: Light sensor

Claims (9)

An evaporator including a refrigerant tube for refrigerant flow and a plurality of fins in contact with the refrigerant tube;
A defrost heater for removing impurities cast on the evaporator;
An optical sensor including a light emitting portion for emitting light toward the evaporator and a light receiving portion for receiving light emitted from the light emitting portion;
A bracket for mounting the optical sensor at a predetermined distance from the evaporator; And
And a control unit for controlling the operation of the defrost heater based on the amount of received light incident on the light receiving unit,
The bracket
A body extending along a height direction of the evaporator and being elastically deformable when the refrigerant tube is inserted and having a plurality of slots accommodating different regions of the refrigerant tube in a vertical direction and detachably mounted on the refrigerant tube; And
And a mounting portion that is bent inwardly from an end portion of the body and that mounts the optical sensor at a predetermined distance from the evaporator toward the evaporator. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the mounting portion is disposed at a predetermined distance from one side of the evaporator, and the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are mounted on the mounting portion. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the bracket has an "a" shape. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the controller operates the defrost heater when the amount of received light received by the light receiving unit is equal to or greater than a reference value. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a light emitting unit is mounted on one end of the body and a light receiving unit is mounted on the other end of the body. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the bracket has a " C "shape. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the control unit operates the defrost heater when the amount of received light incident on the light receiving unit is equal to or less than a reference value. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the light emitting unit includes an infrared light emitting diode.

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