KR20060081920A - Refrigerator and controlling method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigerator comprising a main body having at least one storage compartment, a door for opening and closing the storage compartment, and a refrigerating device having a cooling fan and a compressor to supply cold air to the storage compartment, the temperature of the storage compartment being measured. A temperature sensor; A door sensor for detecting opening and closing of the door; The operation of the refrigeration apparatus is controlled by comparing the detected temperature detected from the temperature sensor with the set temperature, and calculating the opening time of the door by the door sensor, and if the opening time is longer than the set time, And a controller for controlling the set temperature to be lowered by the compensation temperature. Thereby, the temperature in the storage compartment according to the opening time of the door can be quickly compensated, and the supercooling of the storage compartment can be prevented.

Description

Refrigerator and its control method {REFRIGERATOR AND CONTROLLING METHOD FOR THE SAME}

1 is a control block diagram of a conventional refrigerator,

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

3 is a temperature control state diagram of a refrigerator and a control state diagram of a refrigerating device according to the present invention;

4 is a control flowchart of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: temperature sensor 15: door sensor

20: refrigeration unit 21: compressor

23: cooling fan 30: control unit

T: Set temperature t: Detection temperature

T0: Reference temperature T1, T2: Control temperature

X1: Opening Time X3: Compensation Section

A: Normal control temperature range B: Compensation control temperature range

C: Compensation Temperature

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a refrigerator and a control method thereof improved to lower a set temperature which is a reference of whether a refrigerator is operated according to an opening time of a door.

Generally, a refrigerator includes a main body having a storage compartment for storing articles such as food, a door for opening and closing an opening formed in the storage compartment of the main body, and a refrigerating device provided in the main body to cool the storage compartment.

Such a freezing device includes a compressor and an evaporator to supply cold air to the storage compartment. The refrigeration apparatus further includes a cooling fan for supplying cold air to the storage compartment. Thus, the refrigerating device can cool the storage compartment by supplying the ambient air of the evaporator to the storage compartment by the operation of the compressor and the evaporator.

An example of a refrigerator provided with such a freezing device is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1999-61277. Such a conventional refrigerator relates to a temperature compensation method when opening a door, and counting the opening time of the refrigerator door, comparing the opening time of the door with a predetermined time, and the compressor when the door opening time is equal to or greater than a predetermined time. Compensating the inside temperature of the refrigerator by increasing the rotation of the cooling fan to the off temperature to compensate for the outflow of cold air due to the opening of the door by increasing the number of rotation of the cooling fan to maintain a high temperature distribution of the food stored To keep fresh longer.

1 is a schematic control block diagram for the operation of such a conventional refrigerator. As shown in this figure, a conventional refrigerator includes a high temperature detecting unit 110 for detecting a temperature in a refrigerator, a door opening and closing recognition unit 115 for detecting opening and closing of a door, and a cooling fan motor. The fan motor RPM control unit 120, and the fan motor RPM control unit 120 and the like includes a microcomputer 130 with a predetermined program built.

However, such a conventional refrigerator is provided to compensate for the outflow of cold air by opening the door by increasing the rotation speed of the cooling fan, but by rapidly increasing the rotation speed of the cooling fan, cold air is rapidly supplied to the inside of the refrigerator, resulting in a rapid temperature increase. There is a problem that can be cooled down excessively.

Therefore, it is possible to quickly normalize the temperature in the storage compartment according to the opening of the refrigerator door, and need to be improved to prevent overcooling of the storage compartment.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator and a control method thereof, which can quickly compensate a temperature in a storage compartment according to an opening time of a door, and prevent overcooling of the storage compartment.

According to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator comprising a main body having at least one storage compartment, a door for opening and closing the storage compartment, and a refrigerating device having a cooling fan and a compressor to supply cold air to the storage compartment. A temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the; A door sensor for detecting opening and closing of the door; The operation of the refrigerating device is controlled by comparing the detected temperature detected from the temperature sensor with the set temperature, and calculating the opening time of the door by the door sensor, and if the opening time is longer than the set time, It is achieved by the refrigerator characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling to lower the set temperature by the compensation temperature.

Here, when the opening time of the door is longer than the set time, the compensation section may be set from the closed state until the refrigerating device repeatedly operates a set number of cycles.

The compensation section is until the refrigerating device is operated repeatedly one of three to five times, the compensation temperature may be set to any one of 1 degree to 3 degrees.

The set temperature includes a reference temperature provided to be settable, and a pair of control temperatures provided to have a predetermined temperature range around the reference temperature, and the control unit controls the normal control temperature range to be narrowed during the compensation period. can do.

On the other hand, the object of the refrigerator is a control method of a refrigerator having at least one storage compartment and a main body equipped with a door for opening and closing the storage compartment, and a refrigerating device having a cooling fan and a compressor to supply cold air to the storage compartment. Controlling the refrigeration apparatus to operate when the detected temperature is greater than the set temperature and to stop the operation of the refrigeration apparatus when the detected temperature is less than the set temperature; Calculating an opening time of the door by detecting an open / closed state of the door; If the opening time is longer than the set time can be achieved by the control method of the refrigerator comprising the step of controlling to lower the set temperature during the set compensation period.                     

Here, the compensation section may be set from the closed state after the door is opened longer than the set time until the refrigerating device repeatedly operates a cycle of a set number of times.

The set temperature includes a reference temperature provided to be settable, and a pair of control temperatures provided to have a predetermined normal control temperature range around the reference temperature. When the opening time is longer than the set time, the set temperature is measured during the compensation period. The method may further include controlling the normal control temperature range to be narrowed.

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

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a main body (not shown) having at least one storage compartment (not shown), a door (not shown) for opening and closing the storage compartment, and a cooling compartment. The refrigerating device 20, the temperature sensor 10 for measuring the temperature of the storage compartment, the door sensor 15 for detecting the opening and closing of the door, the detection temperature t detected from the temperature sensor 10 and the set temperature ( Comparing T) includes a control unit 30 for controlling the operation of the refrigeration apparatus (20).

The refrigeration apparatus 20 includes a compressor 21 for compressing a gaseous refrigerant at a high temperature and high pressure, a condenser (not shown) for condensing the gaseous refrigerant compressed from the compressor 21 into a liquid state, and a liquefied refrigerant. Expansion means such as a capillary tube (not shown) or an expansion valve (not shown) for converting to a low temperature low pressure state and ambient air by absorbing heat from the ambient air to vaporize the refrigerant liquefied at low temperature and low pressure delivered from the expansion means. An evaporator (not shown) for cooling and a cooling fan 23 for supplying air cooled by the evaporator to the storage compartment.

The temperature sensor 10 is mounted on the wall of the storage compartment so as to detect the temperature in the storage compartment. The temperature sensor 10 is connected to the controller 30 to transmit the detected detection temperature t to the controller 30. Thus, the controller 30 may control the operation of the compressor 21 and the cooling fan 23 by comparing the detection temperature t transmitted from the temperature sensor 10 with the set temperature T.

The set temperature T is provided to be settable by a user or the like to maintain the storage chamber at a predetermined temperature. The set temperature T includes a reference temperature T0 provided to be settable and a pair of control temperatures T1 and T2 provided to have a predetermined normal control temperature range A around the reference temperature T0. .

The reference temperature T0 may be set directly by the user, such as 0 degrees or -1 degrees, or may be set by the selection mode unit such as strong, medium or weak.

The control temperatures T1 and T2 include a first control temperature T1 set to a predetermined temperature higher than the reference temperature T0 and a second control temperature T2 set to a predetermined temperature lower than the reference temperature T0. The first control temperature T1 may be a reference temperature for operating the stationary refrigeration apparatus 20. That is, the controller 30 operates the compressor 21 and the cooling fan 23 of the refrigerating device 20 when the detection temperature t of the temperature sensor 10 rises and is higher than the first control temperature T1. . The second control temperature T2 may be a reference temperature for stopping the refrigerating device 20 in operation. That is, the controller 30 stops the compressor 21 and the cooling fan 23 of the refrigerating device 20 when the detection temperature t of the temperature sensor 10 falls and becomes lower than the second control temperature T2. do. The first and second control temperatures T2 may be 3 degrees and -3 degrees, respectively, when the reference temperature T0 is 0 degrees, and in this case, the normal control temperature range A is the first and second control temperatures T2. The temperature range formed by the second control temperature T2 may be 6 degrees.

The door sensor 15 is provided in at least one of the door and the main body so as to detect the open / closed state of the door. The door sensor 15 is connected to the controller 30 so as to detect an open / closed state of the door and transmit the door sensor 15 to the controller 30. Thus, the controller 30 may receive the door open / closed state from the door sensor 15 to calculate the door opening time X1, and compare the calculated door opening time X1 with the set time X2. The set temperature T can be controlled.

The set time X2 may be set to various times such as 1 minute or 2 minutes by the user. The set time X2 may be stored in the controller 30 to be comparable with the calculated opening time X1 of the door.

The controller 30 controls the set temperature T to be lowered by the compensation temperature C during the set compensation period X3 when the door opening time X1 is longer than the set time X2. The controller 30 may control the normal control temperature range A to be narrowed to the compensation control temperature range B during the compensation period X3 when the door opening time X1 is longer than the set time X2.

The compensation section X3 may be from the closed state of the door to the refrigerating device 20 repeatedly operating the set number of cycles when the opening time X1 of the door is longer than the set time X2 by the user or the like. . Compensation section (X3) is an example of the present invention when the opening time (X1) of the door is longer than the set time (X2), the refrigeration unit 20 is repeated from any one of three to five times from the closed door state It can be set to until it works. However, the compensation section (X3) is one, two or six times more than one cycle of the refrigeration unit 20 from the closed state when the door opening time (X1) is longer than the set time (X2) It may be set to until it operates repeatedly. In addition, when the opening time X1 of the door is longer than the set time X2, the compensation section X3 may be set from a closed state until a predetermined time elapses, such as 10 minutes or 30 minutes.

Compensation temperature (C) may be set to a predetermined temperature range by the user. The predetermined temperature range of the compensation temperature may be set to any one of 1 degree to 3 degrees, but may be set lower than 1 degree or wider than 3 degrees. When the compensation temperature C is 2 degrees as an example of the present invention, the reference temperature T0 is lowered by 2 degrees in the compensation section X3. For example, when the reference temperature T0 is 0 degrees and the compensation temperature C is 2 degrees in the normal section before the door is opened, the reference temperature T0 is -2 degrees in the compensation section X3. Thus, when the reference temperature (T0) is lowered by the compensation temperature (C), the operating time of the refrigerating device 20 is longer than the normal state before the compensation section (X3) to increase the time to supply the cold air to the storage compartment.

Compensation control temperature range (B) is a range formed by a pair of control temperatures (T1, T2) in the compensation section (X3), narrower than the normal control temperature range (A) in the normal section before the door is opened. Can be. The compensation control temperature range (B) may be set to have a range of 4 degrees when the normal control temperature range (A) is 6 degrees as an example of the present invention. That is, in the compensation section X3, the first control temperature T1 and the second control temperature T2 constituting the compensation control temperature range B are different by 2 degrees and -2 degrees with respect to the reference temperature T0, respectively. Is set. However, the compensation control temperature range B is not limited to the range of 4 degrees but may be set to have a wider range narrower than the normal control temperature range A. FIG. Thus, when the normal control temperature range (A) is changed to the compensation control temperature range (B), the operation cycle of the refrigerating device 20 is faster, so that the cycle of supplying cold air to the storage compartment is faster.

With this configuration, the temperature control process of the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4 as follows.

First, apply power to the refrigerator. Then, when the detected temperature t of the temperature sensor 10 is higher than the first control temperature T1 of the set temperature T, the compressor 21 and the cooling fan 23 of the refrigerating device 20 are operated to the storage compartment. When cold air is supplied and the detection temperature t is lower than the second control temperature T2 of the set temperature T, the compressor 21 and the cooling fan 23 of the refrigerating device 20 are stopped to supply cold air to the storage compartment. Stop (S1). Then, when the opening of the door is detected by the door sensor 15 calculates the opening time (X1) of the door (S3). Then, the opening time X1 of the door is compared with the set time X2 (S5). If the opening time X1 of the door is smaller than the set time X2, the step S1 in the normal state is repeated. When the opening time X1 of the door is greater than the set time X2, the reference temperature T0 is controlled to be lowered by the compensation temperature C (S7). Then, the first and second control temperatures T2 are controlled to change the normal control temperature range A to the compensation control temperature range B (S9). After that, it is determined whether the compensation section X3 has passed (S11). At this time, whether the compensation section (X3) has elapsed can be determined by whether or not the refrigerating device 20 has repeatedly operated the cycle of the number of times set in the compensation section (X3). That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the compensation section X3 may be determined to have elapsed when the refrigerating device 20 operates the cycle three times. If the compensation interval X3 has not elapsed, step S11 is repeated. When the compensation section X3 has elapsed, the reference temperature T0 and the compensation control temperature range B are reduced to the normal state before the compensation section X3 (S11).

Therefore, the refrigerator according to the present invention lowers the set temperature T, which is an operation reference of the refrigerating device 20, by the compensation temperature C during the compensation section X3, by relatively lowering the cold temperature than the normal state before the compensation section X3. Since the supply time can be longer, the temperature in the storage compartment can be quickly compensated according to the opening time of the door, and the supercooling of the storage compartment can be prevented.

And, the refrigerator according to the present invention can control the normal control temperature range (A) more narrowly during the compensation period (X3) to speed up the operating cycle of the refrigerating device 20 can be compensated for the temperature in the storage compartment more quickly.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to quickly compensate the temperature in the storage compartment according to the opening time of the door, and to provide a refrigerator and a control method thereof capable of preventing overcooling of the storage compartment.

Claims (7)

A refrigerator having a main body having at least one storage compartment, a door for opening and closing the storage compartment, and a refrigerating device having a cooling fan and a compressor to supply cold air to the storage compartment, A temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of the storage compartment; A door sensor for detecting opening and closing of the door; The operation of the refrigeration apparatus is controlled by comparing the detected temperature detected from the temperature sensor with the set temperature, and calculating the opening time of the door by the door sensor, and if the opening time is longer than the set time, And a control unit for controlling the set temperature to be lowered by the compensation temperature. The method of claim 1, The compensation period is characterized in that the refrigerator is set from the state in which the door is closed until the refrigerating device repeats the set number of cycles when the door opening time is longer than the set time. The method of claim 2, The compensation section is until the refrigeration unit is operated by repeating any one of three to five cycles, The refrigerator characterized in that the compensation temperature is set to any one of 1 degree to 3 degrees. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The set temperature includes a reference temperature provided to be settable, and a pair of control temperatures provided to have a predetermined temperature range around the reference temperature. And the control unit controls the normal control temperature range to be narrowed during the compensation period. A control method of a refrigerator having at least one storage compartment and a main body equipped with a door to open and close the storage compartment, and a refrigerating device having a cooling fan and a compressor to supply cold air to the storage compartment. Controlling the refrigeration apparatus to operate when the detected temperature in the storage chamber is greater than the set temperature and to stop the operation of the refrigeration apparatus when the detected temperature is less than the set temperature; Calculating an opening time of the door by detecting an open / closed state of the door; And controlling the temperature to decrease during the set compensation period when the opening time is longer than the set time. The method of claim 5, The compensation section is a control method of a refrigerator, characterized in that the door is set from the closed state after opening longer than the set time until the refrigerating device operates by repeating the set number of cycles. The method according to claim 5 or 6, The set temperature includes a reference temperature provided to be settable and a pair of control temperatures provided to have a predetermined normal control temperature range around the reference temperature. And controlling the normal control temperature range to be narrowed during the compensation period when the opening time is longer than the set time.

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