KR20160098802A - Method for controlling refrigerant amount - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention comprises: a step of enabling a control unit to determine whether or not operation states of a first room and a second room satisfy both preset cooling conditions of the first room and the second room; a step of enabling the control unit to control a step valve to open the first room and the second room to supply a refrigerant to the first room and the second room when the operation states satisfy the cooling conditions of the first room and the second room; and a step of enabling the control unit to compare a lowering width of the internal temperature of a refrigerator of the first room and the lowering width of the internal temperature of the refrigerator of the second room to control the step valve in accordance with a result of comparison to control an amount of a refrigerator supplied to at least one among the first room and the second room.

Description

[0001] METHOD FOR CONTROLLING REFRIGERANT AMOUNT [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a method for controlling a refrigerant amount, and more particularly, to a method for controlling a refrigerant amount to be supplied to each room through a step valve in accordance with an in-

Generally, a kimchi refrigerator or a refrigerator utilizes the principle of latent heat of evaporation (heat of vaporization) in which liquid refrigerant phase-changes into a gaseous state while taking heat away from the surroundings. Basically, a refrigeration cycle consisting of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation of refrigerant A capillary tube, a condenser, and a cooling device for cooling the condenser.

The compressor sucks the low-pressure refrigerant gas from the cooling cycle, compresses the refrigerant gas to high temperature and high pressure, and discharges it to the condenser. The condenser converts the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas into liquid-phase refrigerant through heat exchange with the outside air. The refrigerant flowing out from the condenser into the liquid phase passes through the capillary to cause a pressure drop to change into a low-pressure refrigerant. The refrigerant under such a low-pressure state is phase-changed into a gaseous state while passing through the evaporator, . Further, the refrigerant gas having passed through the evaporator is again sucked into the compressor, whereby the aforementioned cooling cycle is repeatedly performed.

2. Description of the Related Art [0002] In recent years, as the number of storage chambers increases and a cooling device having a function of independently controlling each refrigerant has been introduced, a refrigerant passage to each room is selectively allowed and blocked through a step valve.

Particularly, when a condition for cooling two rooms simultaneously in a refrigerator having two rooms comes, conventionally, a step valve is positioned so that two rooms are opened at the same time, and a compressor is operated to supply refrigerant to each room. However, at this time, due to the system configuration and the pressure difference of each room, the refrigerant is not uniformly distributed, and drifting phenomenon occurs which is biased toward one side. This drift causes a system imbalance in which one room is rapidly cooled and the other room is slowly cooled.

Conventionally, in order to prevent a drift phenomenon, a control method of sequentially cooling two rooms by alternately controlling the step valve at a predetermined time has been proposed. However, such alternate control is also accompanied by frequent movement of the step valve, There is a problem that the performance is deteriorated.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] The background art of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2005-0060612 (Jun. 22, 2005) entitled " Control Method of Refrigerant Distribution in Kimchi Refrigerator. &Quot;

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method of controlling the amount of refrigerant supplied to each room through a step valve, And to provide a method for controlling the amount of refrigerant so that the room can obtain even cooling performance.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of controlling the amount of refrigerant that minimizes the power consumption reduction due to the movement of the step valve.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a refrigerant amount, comprising: determining whether an operation state of a first room and a second room satisfy a predetermined cooling condition in the first room and the second room, respectively; The controller controls the step valve to open the first room and the second room to supply the refrigerant to the first room and the second room when the cooling conditions of the first room and the second room are satisfied, ; And the control unit compares the in-chamber temperature lowering width of the first room with the in-room temperature lowering width of the second room, and controls the step valve according to a result of the comparison so that the first room and the second room And controlling the amount of refrigerant to be supplied.

In the present invention, the step of controlling the amount of refrigerant supplied to at least one of the first room and the second room may include controlling the step valve to open the first room and the second room, The amount of coolant supplied to the room having a relatively large falling temperature in the first room and the second room is controlled by comparing the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first room with the in-room temperature lowering width of the second room .

In the present invention, the step of controlling the amount of the refrigerant may control the amount of the refrigerant supplied to the first room if the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first room is larger than the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second room.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the step of controlling the amount of refrigerant may include: entering a coolant amount control period of the first room if the in-compartment temperature decrease width of the first room is greater than the in-compartment temperature decrease width of the second room; And when the set time has elapsed after entering the coolant amount control section of the first room, the in-stay temperature lowering width of the first room and the in-room temperature lowering width of the second room are compared, And controlling the amount of refrigerant to be supplied to the compressor.

In the present invention, the amount of the refrigerant in the first room is decreased and the amount of refrigerant in the second room is maintained in the period of controlling the amount of refrigerant in the first room.

In the present invention, the step of controlling the amount of refrigerant supplied to the first room may include adjusting the amount of refrigerant supplied to the first room to the amount of the refrigerant supplied to the first room, The amount of the refrigerant supplied to the first room is set to be smaller than the amount of refrigerant supplied to the first room when the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second compartment is greater than the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first compartment. The amount of the refrigerant is further increased compared to the amount of refrigerant in the refrigerant volume control section.

In the present invention, the step of controlling the amount of the refrigerant may control the amount of refrigerant supplied to the second room if the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second room is greater than the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first room.

In the present invention, the step of controlling the amount of refrigerant may include: entering a coolant amount control section of the second room if the downfalling temperature in the second room is smaller than the downfalling temperature in the first room; And when the set time has elapsed after entering the coolant amount control section of the second room, comparing the inside down temperature falling width of the second room with the inside down temperature falling width of the first room, And controlling the amount of refrigerant to be supplied to the compressor.

In the present invention, the amount of refrigerant in the first room may be maintained and the amount of refrigerant in the second room may be decreased in the second amount of refrigerant control.

In the present invention, the step of controlling the amount of refrigerant supplied to the second room may include adjusting the amount of refrigerant supplied to the second room to the second room if the downward temperature drop width of the second room is larger than the downward temperature fall width of the first room, The amount of the refrigerant supplied to the second room is set to be greater than the amount of refrigerant in the second room if the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first compartment is greater than the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second compartment. The amount of the refrigerant is further increased compared to the amount of refrigerant in the regulating section.

The present invention compares the in-furnace temperature drop widths of the two rooms and controls the amount of refrigerant supplied to each room through the step valve according to the comparison result so as to obtain even cooling performance of the two rooms. Thereby minimizing power consumption reduction.

1 is a block diagram of a cooling system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram of a refrigerant amount control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view showing an operation state of each step of the step valve according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a refrigerant amount according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling a refrigerant amount 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. Further, the terms described below are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, which may vary depending on the user, the intention or custom of the operator. Therefore, definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.

2 is a block diagram of a cooling system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling the amount of refrigerant according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. Fig. 3 is a view showing the operation state of each step of the step valve. Fig.

Referring to FIG. 1, a refrigerant amount control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a step valve 40, an internal temperature sensor 50, and a control unit 60, Can be installed.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerant amount control device is provided with two rooms R1 and R2, and the refrigerant amount control device controls the temperature of each load R1, R2 such as food, vegetables, vegetables, fruits, A refrigerator and a kimchi refrigerator for controlling the refrigerator through a refrigerant cycle.

The cooling system utilizes the principle of latent heat of evaporation (heat of vaporization), which takes heat away from the surroundings while the refrigerant in a liquid state is phase-changed into a gaseous state. The compressor 20, the condenser 10, the capillary (not shown), and the evaporator 30 And the like.

In this cooling system, the compressor 20 sucks the high-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant gas, compresses the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas, and then discharges the refrigerant gas to the condenser 10, and the condenser 10 performs heat exchange To a liquid refrigerant. The capillary tube changes the liquid refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 10 into a low-pressure refrigerant. The evaporator 30 absorbs heat around the evaporator 30 by phase-changing the low-pressure refrigerant into a gaseous state, .

In this case, the evaporator 30 is installed in a one-to-one correspondence with the rooms R1 and R2 provided in the refrigerator and the Kimchi refrigerator to control the temperature inside the rooms R1 and R2.

The internal temperature sensor 50 is installed in each of the rooms R1 and R2 to sense the internal temperature of the rooms R1 and R2. As the internal temperature sensor 50, both mechanical and electronic sensors can be employed.

The step valve 40 is installed in the refrigerant pipe between the condenser 10 and the evaporator 30 of each of the rooms R1 and R2 and supplies the refrigerant discharged from the condenser 10 to the evaporator 30 in response to the control signal of the controller 60 And is selectively supplied to the evaporator (30).

As shown in FIG. 3, the step valve 40 opens or closes the rooms R1 and R2 step by step so that the refrigerant is supplied or blocked to the corresponding room R1 or R2. For example, in step 34, both the first room R1 and the second room R2 are closed. In step 100, the first room R1 is closed and the second room R2 is opened. In step 154, Both the first room R1 and the second room R2 are opened, and in the step 195, the first room R1 is opened and the second room R2 is closed.

The controller 60 determines whether the operating states of the first room R1 and the second room R2 satisfy the predetermined cooling conditions in the first room R1 and the second room R2. The control unit 60 controls the step valve 40 so that the first room R1 and the second room R2 are connected to the first room R1 and the second room R2, To supply the refrigerant to the first room (R1) and the second room (R2). Thereafter, the control unit 60 uses the internal temperatures of the first room R1 and the second room R2 input from the internal temperature sensor 50 to determine the internal temperature lowering of the first room R1 during the set time The width of the interior of the first room R1 and the width of the interior of the second room R2 are calculated and the width of the interior temperature of the second room R2 is compared with the width of the interior of the second room R2, (40) to control the amount of refrigerant supplied to at least one of the first room (R1) and the second room (R2).

In this case, the controller 60 controls the step valve 40 to open the first room R1 and the second room R2, and then, when the set time has elapsed, By adjusting the amount of the refrigerant supplied to the room having a relatively large in-housing temperature falling width among the first room R1 and the second room R2 by comparing the in-house temperature lowering width of the second room R2, And the second room R2 can ensure the uniform cooling performance. The controller 60 increases the amount of the refrigerant supplied to the first room R1 and the second room R2 increases the second room R2, The controller 60 increases the amount of refrigerant supplied to the second room R2 if the in-furnace temperature falling width of the first room R2 is larger than the in-furnace temperature falling width of the first room R1.

Here, the cooling condition is a preset condition for judging whether or not it is necessary to start the compressor 20 to control the temperature of the room. Therefore, when the cooling condition is satisfied, the room temperature control is required for the room, and when the cooling condition is not satisfied, that is, when the cooling condition is released, the room temperature control is not necessary for the room.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling the amount of refrigerant according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

4 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a refrigerant amount according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4, when the operation states of the first room R1 and the second room R2 satisfy the predetermined cooling conditions in the first room R1 and the second room R2, If the cooling conditions of the first room R1 and the second room R2 are satisfied, the position of the step valve 40 is positioned at step 154 and the first room R1 is closed. Both the first room R1 and the second room R2 are opened in step S12 and the compressor 20 is turned on to supply the refrigerant to the first room R1 and the second room R2.

The control unit 60 then determines whether the set time has elapsed or not in step S14. If the set time has not elapsed, the controller 60 returns to step S10. If the set time has elapsed, The temperature inside downfalling width of the first room R1 and the inside warming down width of the second room R2 during the set time are respectively calculated.

The control unit 60 compares the in-furnace temperature lowering width of the first room R1 with the in-furnace temperature lowering width of the second room R2 so that the in- (S16). If it is determined that the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first room (R1) is larger than the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second room (R2), the position of the step valve (S18) and waits for the set time period. The amount of refrigerant in the first room R1 is reduced and the amount of refrigerant in the second room R2 is maintained in the period of controlling the amount of refrigerant in the first room R1. Accordingly, the amount of the refrigerant supplied to the second room (R2) having a relatively low in-temperature drop width is maintained, and the amount of the refrigerant supplied to the first room (R1) having a relatively large in-temperature drop width is relatively reduced.

The control unit 60 determines whether or not the set time has elapsed (S20). When the set time has elapsed, the control unit 60 determines that the inside temperature falling width of the first room (R1) It is determined whether the inward temperature decrease width of the first room R1 is larger than the inward temperature decrease width of the second room R2 at step S22.

If it is determined in step S22 that the in-room temperature lowering width of the first room R1 is larger than the in-room temperature lowering width of the second room R2, the controller 60 determines that the first room R1 is closer The amount of refrigerant supplied to the first room R1 is further reduced compared with the amount of refrigerant in the refrigerant amount control period of the first room R1.

The control unit 60 determines whether the first room R1 and the second room R2 are both opened or not in step S30. If the first room R1 and the second room R2 are both opened The process returns to step S22. If both the first room R1 and the second room R2 are open, the process returns to step S12.

 On the other hand, if it is determined in step S22 that the in-room temperature lowering width of the first room R1 is not larger than the in-room temperature lowering width of the second room R2, (S26). As a result of the judgment, it is judged whether or not the internal room temperature lowering width is larger than the internal room temperature lowering width of the first room (R1) The amount of refrigerant supplied to the first room R1 is set to the amount of refrigerant in the first room R1 by moving the position of the step valve 40 in the direction in which the first room R1 is opened more than the present time Which is greater than the amount of refrigerant in the regulating section. On the other hand, if the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second room R2 is equal to the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first room R1, the control unit 60 returns to step S18.

The control unit 60 determines whether the first room R1 and the second room R2 are both opened or not in step S30. If the first room R1 and the second room R2 are both opened The process returns to step S22. If both the first room R1 and the second room R2 are open, the process returns to step S12.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S16 that the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first room R1 is not larger than the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second room R2, It is determined whether or not the temperature lowering width is larger than the lower inner temperature lowering width of the first room Rl (S32). If it is determined that the inner lowering temperature width of the second room R2 is lower than the lower inner temperature lowering width (S34) and waits for a set time period. [0052] In the second room R2 shown in Fig. The amount of the refrigerant in the first room R1 is maintained and the amount of the refrigerant in the second room R2 is reduced in the period of controlling the amount of refrigerant in the second room R2. Accordingly, the amount of the refrigerant supplied to the first room (R1) having a relatively low in-temperature lowering width is maintained, and the amount of the refrigerant supplied to the second room (R2) having a relatively large in-door temperature lowering width is relatively reduced. On the other hand, if the in-compartment temperature falling width of the second room R2 is equal to the in-compartment temperature falling width of the first room R1, the controller 60 returns to step S10.

The control unit 60 determines whether or not the set time has elapsed (S36). If the set time has elapsed, the controller 60 determines whether the set temperature of the second room R2 It is determined whether or not the inward temperature decrease width of the second room R2 is larger than the inward temperature decrease width of the first room R1 in step S38.

If it is determined in step S38 that the in-room temperature lowering width of the second room R2 is larger than the in-room temperature lowering width of the first room R1, the controller 60 determines that the second room R2 is closed The amount of refrigerant supplied to the second room R2 is further reduced compared with the amount of refrigerant in the second refrigerant amount control section of the second room R2 by moving the position of the step valve 40 in the direction of the second room R2.

The control unit 60 determines whether the first room R1 and the second room R2 are both opened or not in step S42 and if the first room R1 and the second room R2 are both opened The process returns to step S38. If both the first room R1 and the second room R2 are open, the process returns to step S12.

 On the other hand, if it is determined in step S38 that the in-room temperature lowering width of the second room R2 is not larger than the in-room temperature lowering width of the first room R1, It is judged whether or not the internal temperature lowering width is larger than the internal room temperature lowering width of the second room R2 as a result of the judgment. If the internal room temperature lowering width of the first room R1 is lower than the internal room temperature lowering temperature of the second room R2 The amount of refrigerant supplied to the second room R2 is set to the amount of refrigerant in the second room R2 by moving the position of the step valve 40 in the direction in which the second room R2 is opened more than the present Which is greater than the amount of refrigerant in the regulating section. On the other hand, if the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second room R2 is equal to the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first room R1, the control unit 60 returns to step S34.

The control unit 60 determines whether the first room R1 and the second room R2 are both opened or not in step S42 and if the first room R1 and the second room R2 are both opened The process returns to step S34. If the first room R1 and the second room R2 are both open, the process returns to step S12.

As described above, in this embodiment, the amount of coolant supplied to each room is controlled through the step valve 40 according to the result of comparing the in-furnace temperature falling width of each of the two rooms, so that the two rooms can obtain uniform cooling performance , And the power consumption reduction due to the movement of the step valve (40) can be minimized.

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: Condenser
20: Compressor
30: Evaporator
40: Step valve
50: Intra-temperature sensor
60:

Claims (10)

Determining whether the operation states of the first room and the second room satisfy the predetermined cooling conditions in the first room and the second room, respectively;
The controller controls the step valve to open the first room and the second room to supply the refrigerant to the first room and the second room when the cooling conditions of the first room and the second room are satisfied, ; And
Wherein the control unit compares the in-room temperature lowering width of the first room with the in-room temperature lowering width of the second room and controls the step valve according to a result of the comparison to supply the at least one of the first room and the second room And controlling the amount of refrigerant to be supplied to the compressor.
The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the amount of refrigerant supplied to at least one of the first room and the second room comprises:
And controlling the step valve to open the first room and the second room, and when the set time has elapsed, compares the falling temperature of the first room with the falling temperature of the second room, And the amount of refrigerant to be supplied to a room having a relatively low in-temperature temperature falling width in the second room is controlled.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the controlling the amount of refrigerant comprises:
Wherein the controller controls the amount of refrigerant supplied to the first room when the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first room is greater than the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second room.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the controlling the amount of refrigerant comprises:
Entering the coolant amount control section of the first room if the in-compartment temperature falling width of the first room is larger than the in-compartment temperature falling width of the second room; And
And when the set time has elapsed after entering the coolant amount control section of the first room, the in-stay temperature lowering width of the first room and the in-room temperature lowering width of the second room are compared and then supplied to the first room And controlling the amount of refrigerant.
5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the amount of refrigerant in the first room is reduced and the amount of refrigerant in the second room is maintained in the control of the amount of refrigerant in the first room.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein adjusting the amount of refrigerant supplied to the first chamber
The amount of refrigerant supplied to the first room is further reduced as compared with the amount of refrigerant in the amount of refrigerant in the first room, if the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first room is larger than the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second room, Wherein the refrigerant amount control unit further increases the amount of refrigerant supplied to the first room compared to the amount of refrigerant in the refrigerant amount control period of the first room when the in-compartment temperature falling width of the room is larger than the in- .
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the controlling the amount of refrigerant comprises:
Wherein the controller controls the amount of refrigerant supplied to the second room if the in-compartment temperature falling width of the second compartment is greater than the in-compartment temperature falling width of the first compartment.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the controlling the amount of refrigerant comprises:
Entering the coolant amount control section of the second room if the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second room is larger than the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first room; And
When the set time has elapsed after entering the coolant amount control section of the second room, the in-stay temperature lowering width of the second room is compared with the in-room temperature lowering width of the first room and is supplied to the second room And controlling the amount of refrigerant.
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the amount of refrigerant in the first room is maintained and the amount of refrigerant in the second room is reduced in the second amount of refrigerant in the second room.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein adjusting the amount of refrigerant supplied to the second room
The amount of the refrigerant supplied to the second room is further reduced compared to the amount of the refrigerant in the second room, when the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second compartment is greater than the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the first compartment, Wherein the controller is further configured to increase the amount of refrigerant supplied to the second room with respect to the amount of refrigerant in the second room when the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the room is greater than the in-compartment temperature lowering width of the second room. .

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