KR20130037531A - Method for power saving motion of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A controlling method of a power-saving operation for a refrigerator is provided to automatically perform power-saving operation without setting an entering condition for the power-saving operation and enable to reduce costs for power and overall power consumption by reducing the power consumption in a maximum power consumption time zone. CONSTITUTION: A controlling method of a power-saving operation for a refrigerator comprises; a step for receiving power information from a power information providing device; a step for determining whether an entering condition of a power-saving mode is satisfied or not; a step for determining an operational mode of the refrigerator when the entering condition is satisfied; and a step for performing the power-saving operation per each operational mode of the refrigerator based on the power information. [Reference numerals] (AA) Start; (BB) End; (S10) Receiving power information from a power information input device; (S100) Maximum power consumption time zone passed?; (S110) Performing a defrosting mode; (S20) Difference between the ambient temperature and the refrigerator interior temperature is within a set temperature range?; (S30) Determining an operation mode?; (S40) Freezing mode or refrigerating mode; (S50) Power consumption amount is a set value or greater?; (S60) Operating in a first set temperature condition lower than the temperature condition of a normal mode; (S70) Equal to or greater than the maximum power consumption amount?; (S80) Operating in a second set temperature condition higher than the temperature condition of a normal mode; (S90) Defrosting mode;

Description

How to control the power saving operation of the refrigerator {METHOD FOR POWER SAVING MOTION OF REFRIGERATOR}

The present invention relates to a power saving operation control method of a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a power saving operation control method of a refrigerator for controlling the power saving operation of a refrigerator based on power consumption.

In general, a refrigerator is applied with a conventional freezing cycle in which a refrigerant is circulated therein, so that when a liquid refrigerant evaporates, it absorbs ambient heat and supplies cold air to a food storage room such as a freezer and a refrigerator to supply various foods. Can be kept fresh for a long time

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Since such refrigerators must be kept fresh for a long time, they operate all year round, and thus, it is necessary to perform a power saving operation as necessary.

Accordingly, recently, various types of power information such as power consumption and maximum power usage time are received from a power information providing device such as a smart meter using an intelligent power grid, and power saving operation of the refrigerator is controlled based on the power information.

Background art of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-000048891 (2011.05.12).

The conventional method of performing power saving operation of the refrigerator by receiving various power information from the power information providing apparatus has to set an entry condition for the user to arbitrarily enter the power saving operation, which is cumbersome, and the power saving operation is a defrost operation. There are problems such as limited power saving operation.

The present invention was devised to improve the above-described problem, and when the entry condition for entering the power saving mode is satisfied, the power consumption is selectively reduced according to the currently running operation mode based on the power information received from the power information providing apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling power saving operation of a refrigerator.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling power saving operation of a refrigerator includes: receiving power information from a power information providing apparatus; Determining whether an entry condition for entering a power saving mode is satisfied; Determining an operation mode of a refrigerator when the entry condition is satisfied; And performing power saving operation for each operation mode of the refrigerator based on the maximum power use time of the power information.

The step of determining whether the entry condition of the present invention is satisfied is characterized in that it is determined whether the temperature difference between the outside temperature and the internal temperature is within the set temperature difference.

In the performing of the power saving operation for each operation mode of the refrigerator of the present invention, when the operation mode is a refrigerating mode or a freezing mode, a temperature condition of the normal mode is set to a temperature condition of the refrigerating or freezing mode during the maximum power use time. It is characterized by setting higher.

In the performing of the power saving operation for each operation mode of the refrigerator of the present invention, if the power usage amount of the power information is equal to or greater than a preset value before the maximum power usage time period, the temperature condition of the refrigerating mode or the freezing mode is set to the preset general condition. It characterized in that it further comprises the step of setting lower than the temperature conditions of the mode.

In the performing of the power saving operation for each operation mode of the refrigerator of the present invention, when the operation mode is a defrost mode, the defrost mode is performed after the maximum power use time has elapsed.

The present invention enables the user to automatically execute the power saving operation without having to set an entry condition for the power saving operation arbitrarily, and to reduce the electric power consumption while reducing the total power consumption by reducing the power consumption at the maximum power usage time.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for controlling power saving operation of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling power saving operation of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a power saving operation control method for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this process, the thicknesses of the lines and the sizes of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of explanation. In addition, terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to the intention or convention of a user or an operator. Therefore, the definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for controlling power saving operation of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus for controlling power saving operation of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit 10, an internal temperature detecting unit 20, an outside temperature detecting unit 30, a driving unit 40, and a communication unit. And 50.

The power information providing device 60 may include a smart meter (not shown), a server provided in a home network (not shown), or an intelligent power grid (not shown).

The power information providing apparatus 60 provides various power information in real time. The provided power information provides a power usage time used at home and a time zone where power usage is high, for example, a maximum power usage time zone.

The maximum power usage time zone is the time when power consumption is high nationwide, and the power exchange is set based on season or time zone power usage.

The communication unit 50 receives power information through the power information providing device 60 and the wired / wireless communication network and inputs the power information to the control unit 10.

The internal temperature detecting unit 20 detects the internal temperature of the storage compartment provided in the refrigerator to store various storage items and inputs it to the control unit 10.

The outside temperature sensing unit 30 detects the outside temperature around the refrigerator and inputs it to the controller 10.

The driving unit 40 performs various operation modes of the refrigerator, for example, a freezing mode, a refrigeration mode, and a defrost mode.

In such a drive unit 40, a refrigeration cycle, for example, a compressor for compressing a low temperature low pressure refrigerant into a high temperature high pressure refrigerant and a refrigerant passing through the compressor to control the temperature inside a storage compartment to perform a freezing and refrigerating function. And an evaporator for cooling each of the plurality of reservoirs. Furthermore, in order to remove frost and the like of the evaporator, a heater and the like may be included by applying heat to the evaporator to remove the frost.

The compressor, the condenser and the evaporator operate according to the temperature conditions of the internal temperature set in the above-mentioned freezing mode and the refrigerating mode. When the temperature condition is set low, the internal temperature must be sufficiently reduced according to the temperature condition. Usage will increase relatively.

However, in the state where the temperature condition is high, since the internal temperature of the high temperature is increased according to the temperature condition, each load of the compressor or the like can be reduced, so that the power consumption is relatively reduced.

The controller 10 receives power information through the communication unit 50 described above.

For reference, the power saving mode is an operation mode to reduce the power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention, the general mode is an operation mode that operates at the normal power consumption, such as the refrigerating mode, the refrigerating mode and the defrost mode.

In addition, the controller 10 determines whether the entry condition for entering the power saving mode is satisfied by using the temperature difference between the inside temperature and the outside temperature detected by the inside temperature detecting unit 20 and the outside temperature detecting unit 30.

As a result of the determination, if the entry condition is not satisfied, the normal mode, that is, the current operation mode is maintained, while if the entry condition is satisfied, the current operation mode is performed in the power saving mode. In this case, the amount of power consumed in the refrigerator can be reduced by controlling the driver 40 according to the general mode.

Here, the entry condition includes whether the temperature difference between the internal temperature and the outside temperature is included within the preset set temperature difference.

The controller 10 is in the freezing mode or the refrigerating mode when the current time enters the maximum power use time of the power information in the state that the above entry conditions are satisfied and the current operation mode is the freezing mode or the refrigerating mode. Set the temperature condition of higher than the temperature condition in preset normal mode. Therefore, the high internal temperature gradually increases. However, in this case, the power consumption of the driver 40 can be reduced to a high level.

However, in this process, a problem may occur such that the temperature of the storage in the storage compartment is increased to affect the freshness or taste.

When the power consumption exceeds the set value, the controller 10 sets the temperature condition of the freezing mode or the refrigeration mode to be lower than the temperature condition of the preset general mode to sufficiently reduce the internal temperature of the storage compartment in advance.

This allows to reduce the impact on storage due to the increase in high temperature during the maximum power usage period.

In this case, the power consumption may increase compared to the normal mode by forcibly reducing the internal temperature before entering the maximum power usage time, but after entering the maximum power usage time, the temperature condition is increased to control the internal temperature. It is possible to reduce the power consumption of the refrigerator and the power consumption during the maximum power usage time.

On the other hand, in the process of determining the current operation mode, if the current operation mode is the defrost mode, the control unit 10 determines whether the current time is the maximum power use time has elapsed and performs defrosting after the maximum power use time has elapsed. do. Thus, the power usage during the maximum power usage time period is reduced.

Hereinafter, a method for controlling power saving operation of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling power saving operation of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the power information providing apparatus 60 transmits the power information to the communication unit 50 (S10).

When the power information is received from the power information providing device 60, the communication unit 50 inputs it to the control unit 10.

In addition, the high temperature sensor 20 and the outdoor temperature sensor 30 detects the internal temperature and the outdoor temperature and inputs them to the controller 10. The controller 10 uses the internal temperature and the ambient temperature to save power. It is determined whether the entry condition to enter is satisfied.

That is, the controller 10 calculates a temperature difference between the inside temperature and the outside temperature detected by the inside temperature detecting unit 20 and the outside temperature detecting unit 30, and includes a temperature difference between the inside temperature and the outside temperature within a preset set temperature difference. In operation S20, the controller enters the power saving mode according to the determination result and performs the following process.

If the temperature difference between the high temperature inside and the outside temperature is included within the preset set temperature difference, the controller 10 determines the current operation mode (S30).

At this time, if the current operation mode is a refrigeration mode or a refrigeration mode (S40) for driving the compressor, by checking the power consumption of the power information input through the communication unit 50 to determine whether or not the power consumption is a predetermined set value or more. (S50).

As a result, when the amount of power used is greater than or equal to the preset value, the driving unit 40 is controlled to operate under a temperature condition lower than that of the normal mode (S60). As such, the high internal temperature is sufficiently reduced before entering the maximum power usage time period, thereby maintaining appropriateness for the high internal temperature during the maximum power usage time period.

Next, the maximum power use time zone is checked among the power information, and it is determined whether the current time enters the maximum use time zone (S70).

As a result of the determination, when the current time enters the maximum power use time, the temperature condition is set higher than the temperature condition in the normal mode. Accordingly, the load of the driving unit 40 is reduced, and the total power consumption of the refrigerator is also reduced.

During the power saving operation, even if the internal temperature increases, the internal temperature is sufficiently reduced in advance, so that the influence on the storage in the storage compartment can be reduced.

On the other hand, as a result of determining the current driving mode (S90), if the current driving mode is the defrost mode, it is determined whether the current time passes the maximum power use time (S100).

As a result, when the current time passes the maximum power use time, the driving unit 40 is controlled to perform the defrost mode (S110).

Accordingly, by performing the defrost mode at a time other than the maximum power use time, power consumption consumed in the maximum power use time can be reduced.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, I will understand. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the following claims.

10: control unit 20: high temperature detection unit
30: outside temperature sensing unit 40: driving unit
50: communication unit 60: power information providing apparatus

Claims (5)

Receiving power information from a power information providing apparatus;
Determining whether an entry condition for entering a power saving mode is satisfied;
Determining an operation mode of a refrigerator when the entry condition is satisfied; And
And performing power saving operation for each operation mode of the refrigerator based on the maximum power use time of the power information. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the entry condition is satisfied
The control method of the power saving operation of the refrigerator, characterized in that it is determined whether the temperature difference between the outside temperature and the inside temperature is within the set temperature difference. The method of claim 1, wherein the power saving operation is performed for each operation mode of the refrigerator.
And if the operation mode is a refrigeration mode or a freezing mode, setting the temperature condition of the refrigerating mode or the freezing mode to be higher than a temperature condition of a preset general mode during the maximum power use time. The method of claim 3, wherein the power saving operation is performed for each operation mode of the refrigerator.
And setting a temperature condition of the refrigerating mode or the freezing mode to be lower than a temperature condition of the preset general mode if the power usage amount of the power information is equal to or greater than a preset value before the maximum power use time period. Power saving operation control method of the refrigerator. The method of claim 1, wherein the power saving operation is performed for each operation mode of the refrigerator.
If the operation mode is a defrost mode, the power saving operation control method of the refrigerator, characterized in that the defrost mode is performed after the maximum power use time has elapsed.

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