KR20210047094A - Method for controlling a refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for controlling a refrigerator. According to the present invention, the method for controlling a refrigerator converts continuous operation of a compressor to on-off operation in a control unit, computes an average operation rate of the compressor during the preset number of an on-off operation cycle during on-off operation, and determines whether to convert the continuous operation based on the computed average operation rate of the compressor and current cooling power of the compressor. Herein, the on-off operation is converted into the continuous operation when satisfying a conversion condition of the continuous operation and the on-off operation is maintained when the condition is not satisfied.

Description

Refrigerator control method {Method for controlling a refrigerator}

The present invention relates to a method for controlling a refrigerator.

A refrigerator is a household appliance that stores food at a low temperature, and it is essential to keep the storage room at a constant low temperature. Currently, in the case of home refrigerators, the storage room is maintained at a temperature within the upper and lower limits based on the set temperature.

That is, the refrigerator is controlled by driving a refrigeration cycle to cool the storage compartment when the storage compartment temperature rises to the upper limit temperature, and stopping the refrigeration cycle when the storage compartment temperature reaches the lower limit temperature.

Recently, refrigerators have applied continuous operation in which the compressor is continuously operated without stopping. In such a continuous operation, the compressor is continuously operated without turning on or off, and the cooling power of the compressor is varied so that the internal temperature of the chamber is tracked to the target temperature.

However, if the ambient temperature is low or the load is low, even if the compressor operates with the lowest cooling power, if subcooling occurs where the internal temperature is lower than the target temperature, the continuous operation is inevitably canceled, and the compressor is stopped and operated by on-off operation. There are cases where you need to change.

Korean Patent Publication No. 2019-0005033 discloses a refrigerator control method for continuously operating a compressor. In these prior patent documents, there are input/release conditions for continuous operation, and when the input condition is satisfied, the refrigerator is changed to the continuous operation mode.

In continuous operation, the compressor continues to start without stopping, and the difference between the temperature of the refrigerator compartment and the target temperature is calculated for each refrigeration-freezing operation cycle so that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment follows the target temperature. If the condition of continuous operation is satisfied during continuous operation, it is changed to on-off operation.

However, the control method of such a refrigerator has a problem in that the continuous operation on/off operation and on-off operation may be frequently repeated under certain conditions.

That is, if the external temperature during continuous operation is low, the compressor may be supercooled even if the compressor is operated with the lowest cooling power, so the continuous operation is canceled, the on-off operation is performed once, and then the continuous operation is re-inputted. In this way, in certain conditions, the continuous operation may be repeatedly input-released-re-inserted.

As described above, if the continuous operation is repeatedly input/released, there is a problem in that the operation efficiency of the compressor is deteriorated and the temperature variation in the chamber becomes severe.

Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2019-0005033

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling a refrigerator in which a refrigerator of a refrigerator is operated in a continuous operation mode, while a deviation of the internal temperature of a refrigerator is reduced and a stable internal temperature can be managed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator control method that determines whether to re-input in advance so that the continuous operation of a refrigerator compressor is not repeatedly input/released during continuous operation.

In the present invention, when supercooling occurs during continuous operation with the lowest cooling power, after switching to the on-off operation, the continuous operation is performed after checking whether the re-input condition of the continuous operation is satisfied without re-injecting to the continuous operation again. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling a refrigerator to be performed again.

The present invention calculates the average operation rate of the compressor during the on-off operation cycle of a predetermined number of on-off operation cycles during the on-off operation when the refrigerator is switched to on-off operation during continuous operation of the compressor, and the calculated average operation rate of the compressor and the compressor It is possible to decide whether to switch to continuous operation based on the current cooling power of.

Through this process, after switching from continuous operation to on-off operation, only one cycle of on-off operation is performed, and after determining whether the condition for re-initiation of continuous operation is met during the on-off operation, without immediately switching back to continuous operation. Switch from on-off operation to continuous operation only when re-input conditions are met.

This prevents repeated switching between continuous operation and on-off operation under certain conditions, and prevents repeated input/release of continuous operation, thereby reducing the temperature variation in the chamber and improving the operating efficiency of the compressor.

The present invention determines whether the cooling power of the compressor is the lowest cooling power during continuous operation of the compressor, and if the cooling power is the lowest, the continuous operation of the compressor is switched to on-off operation.

This is one of the conditions for deactivating the continuous operation of the compressor. When the external temperature is below the set lower limit temperature, when subcooling occurs in the chamber even with the lowest cooling power, the continuous operation is canceled and the operation is switched to on-off operation.

In the present invention, when the product of the average operating rate of the compressor and the current cooling power (A) is greater than the minimum cooling power of the compressor, the on-off operation is switched to continuous operation, and when the multiplied value (A) is equal to or greater than the minimum cooling power of the compressor Keep on-off driving.

At this time, while maintaining the on-off operation of the compressor, the average operation rate of the compressor is recalculated for a preset number of on-off operation cycles, and the calculated average operation rate of the compressor is multiplied by the cooling power of the compressor. If it is less than the minimum cooling power, it switches to continuous operation again.

In the present invention, the operating rate of each cycle is calculated as a ratio of the on time to the (on time + off time) for each on-off operation cycle, and the average value of the operation rate of each cycle during the on-off operation cycle of a preset number of times Is calculated as the average operating rate.

In addition, in the refrigerator control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the continuous operation of the compressor is switched to the on-off operation, the on-off time of the on-off operation cycle is measured, respectively, and the on-off operation cycle is performed as many times as a preset number of times. If progress is made, the average operation rate of the compressor is calculated during the on-off operation cycle based on the measured on-off time, and then on-off when the average operation rate multiplied by the current cooling power of the compressor (A) is greater than the minimum cooling power of the compressor. Operation can be converted to continuous operation.

The preset number of times may be 3 to 7 times, preferably 5 times.

The refrigerator control method according to the present invention has the following effects.

According to the present invention, by preventing the compressor from being turned on and off during continuous operation of a refrigerator compressor, variations in the internal temperature of the refrigerator are reduced, and stable internal temperature management of the refrigerator is possible.

The present invention determines whether to re-inject the continuous operation based on the average operation rate of the refrigerator compressor, so that the continuous operation of the compressor is not repeatedly input/released.

The present invention can expand the application area of the continuous operation of the compressor by changing the re-input condition of the continuous operation of the compressor.

The present invention can prevent a decrease in the operating efficiency of the compressor by not repeating the continuous operation input/release of the compressor.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic view showing a refrigeration cycle of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view for explaining a process of switching between a continuous operation of a compressor and an on-off operation in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and a method of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in a variety of different forms, and only these embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and are common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to completely inform the scope of the invention to those who have, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. The same reference numerals refer to the same elements throughout the specification.

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

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a refrigeration cycle of a refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a degree.

Referring to the drawings, a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may have an external shape formed by a cabinet 10 forming a storage space and a door 20 opening and closing the storage space.

The storage space may be divided to form a plurality of storage rooms. For example, the storage space may be partitioned vertically or horizontally by a barrier (not shown).

The plurality of storage compartments may include a freezing compartment for freezing food and a refrigerating compartment for refrigerating food.

Various storage members, such as shelves and drawers, may be provided inside each storage room to separate and store food.

The door 20 may be hinged to the cabinet 10 and provided to open and close the storage chamber by rotation. Alternatively, the door 20 may be provided to open and close the storage chamber by sliding in and out of the cabinet 10.

A plurality of these doors 20 may be provided, and a pair of doors 20 may be provided to open and close one storage compartment together, or one door 20 may be provided to open and close one storage compartment. .

When a pair of doors 20 are provided to open and close one storage room together, the pair of doors 20 may be disposed in the left or right direction or up and down. In addition, when the pair of doors 20 are arranged left and right, the left door opens and closes the left side of the storage compartment, and the right door opens and closes the right side of the storage compartment.

In addition, at least one of the plurality of doors 20 may be configured to be opened and closed in a double manner. The door 20 having a structure that can be opened and closed double is a main door 30 that opens and closes the storage room, and a sub is provided to be rotatable in the main door 30 to open and close the opening 35 formed in the main door 30. It may include a door 40.

The main door 30 may be rotatably mounted to the cabinet 10 by a hinge device. In addition, the main door 30 may be formed with an opening 35 opened to a predetermined size.

The opening 35 may be formed through the main door 30. That is, the opening 35 may be opened to the front side of the main door 30 and may also be opened to the rear side of the main door 30. The main door 30 may have a storage room and a separate storage space formed by the opening 35.

The front opening of the opening 35 may be opened or closed by the subdoor 40. The size of the opening 35 may be formed to occupy most of the front surface of the main door 30 except for a part of the circumference of the main door 30.

The sub-door 40 may be provided to be rotatable by being hinged to the main door 30. In addition, the front surface of the opening 35 can be opened and closed by rotation.

At least part of the subdoor 40 may be formed of a transparent material such as glass. Accordingly, access to the opening 35 is possible through the opening of the sub-door 40 and the inside of the opening 35 can be seen even when the sub-door 40 is closed.

The opening 35 may be provided with a plurality of storage members for storing food. That is, a storage member for storing food may be provided in the storage space formed in the main door 30.

Only one receiving member may be provided in the opening 35, and may be provided in a plurality of spaced apart vertically.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the refrigerator 1 may further include a refrigeration cycle 50 for cooling the storage compartment.

Specifically, the refrigeration cycle 50 includes a compressor 54 that compresses a refrigerant, a condenser 55 that condenses the refrigerant that has passed through the compressor 54, and an expansion member that expands the refrigerant that has passed through the condenser 55 ( 56) and an evaporator 51 for evaporating the refrigerant that has passed through the expansion member 56. The evaporator 51 may include, for example, an evaporator for a freezing chamber.

In addition, the refrigerator 1 may include a fan 52 that allows air to flow toward the evaporator 51 for circulation of cool air in the storage compartment, and a fan driving unit 53 that drives the fan 52.

In the embodiment of the present invention, in order to supply cold air to the storage chamber by the refrigeration cycle, the compressor 54 and the fan driving unit 53 must operate. Here, the storage chamber may include a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber. Cold air may be supplied from the freezing chamber to the refrigerating chamber through a damper (not shown). Such a damper may be driven by a damper driving unit (not shown), and the control unit 60 may control the damper driving unit.

The control unit 60 may increase, maintain, or decrease the outputs of the fan driving unit 53 and the compressor 54 in order to control the temperature of the storage chamber.

The target temperature may be stored in the memory 59, and cooling power of the compressor according to the external temperature may be stored. That is, in the memory 59, the cooling power to be output from the compressor 54 of the refrigerator 1 according to the external temperature is stored as a table map (this is referred to as a cooling power map). Accordingly, when the external temperature is detected, the controller 60 may control the compressor 54 to generate cooling power according to the detected external temperature.

Meanwhile, the controller 60 may determine the operation mode of the compressor 54. These operation modes include continuous operation and on-off operation.

In the continuous operation, the compressor 54 is continuously driven without stopping the compressor 54 and the temperature inside the storage chamber can be adjusted while the compressor 54 and the fan 52 are continuously turned on.

The on-off operation is to adjust the temperature of the storage chamber while turning the compressor 54 on and off as necessary.

In this specification,'initiation of continuous operation' means that continuous operation starts,'releasing of continuous operation' means that continuous operation is stopped, and on-off operation starts (input) when continuous operation is canceled. Can be.

In the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, the compressor 54 may basically operate in continuous operation. However, even if the compressor 54 operates in continuous operation, it is necessary to perform on-off operation under certain conditions.

For example, when the external temperature is below the lower limit (eg, 18°C) or above the upper limit (eg, 34°C), the continuous operation may be canceled and the on-off operation may be started.

Other examples are defrosting operation, response to a specific load, rapid/limited refrigeration, a specific error, continuous operation over a certain period of time above the cooling power set in the cooling power map, and over a certain period of time with the lowest cooling power. There may be such as during continuous operation.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, if the compressor 54 meets any one of the continuous operation cancellation conditions during continuous operation, the continuous operation is canceled and the on-off operation is performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, when a preset condition is satisfied during the on-off operation, the continuous operation may be re-entered. To this end, the control unit 60 may determine whether a preset condition is satisfied during the on-off operation of the compressor 54, and determine whether to insert the continuous operation according to the determination result.

In the conventional case, if the condition for canceling continuous operation was met during continuous operation, the continuous operation was canceled and the on-off operation was put into operation. At this time, after the on-off operation proceeded for one cycle, continuous operation was automatically put into operation. In this case, when the continuous operation canceling condition was maintained, the continuous operation was canceled and input was continuously repeated. That is, a phenomenon in which continuous operation and on-off operation are repeated occurs, resulting in a decrease in operation efficiency and temperature deviation of the storage chamber.

Accordingly, in the present invention, after the continuous operation is released, it is determined whether the continuous operation input condition is satisfied while the on-off operation is performed, and if the continuous operation input condition is satisfied, the continuous operation is input, and if not, the on-off operation is continued. To keep it.

Hereinafter, the continuous operation of the compressor in the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described in detail.

4 is a diagram illustrating a process of switching between continuous operation of a compressor and an on-off operation in a refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In a state in which the compressor 54 is operating in continuous operation, as described above, if any one of the plurality of continuous operation canceling conditions is met, the continuous operation is canceled and the on-off operation is started.

In the present embodiment, as an example, an example in which the continuous operation is canceled when the external temperature is less than or equal to the lower limit temperature (eg, 18°C) of the plurality of continuous operation canceling conditions will be described.

Specifically, for example, when the external temperature is 18° C. or less, subcooling may occur in the chamber even though the cooling power of the compressor is the lowest cooling power.

Accordingly, in this case, it is possible to prevent overcooling in the chamber through an on-off operation in which continuous operation is canceled and the compressor is turned on and off.

In the on-off operation, on and off may form one cycle. In this case, the controller 60 may measure the on time and the off time using the timer 13.

In addition, the controller 60 may calculate an operation rate of one cycle of the compressor 54 by using the measured on time and off time. The driving rate can be calculated as on time versus (on time + off time). That is, it can be calculated as [On Time / (On Time + Off Time)].

At this time, conventionally, when the continuous operation is canceled and the on-off operation is started, the on-off operation is performed only for one cycle, and then the continuous operation is immediately put into operation.

However, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether the continuous operation is canceled as in the prior art, and the continuous operation is not re-entered again after the on-off operation of one cycle, but corresponds to the re-input condition of the continuous operation.

Accordingly, it is possible to re-enter the continuous operation only when the re-input condition of the continuous operation is satisfied, and to keep the on-off operation when the re-initiation condition of the continuous operation is not met.

When the on-off operation is continuously maintained as described above, the controller 60 may calculate an average operation rate during the on-off operation cycle of a preset number of times. In this embodiment, the preset number may be 3 to 7 times. It may be preferably 5 times. 5 times may be the number of times required to stabilize after switching to on-off operation.

However, this is only an example, and the number of times may be changed according to various conditions such as characteristics of a refrigerator, characteristics of a compressor, external environment, and load.

In this case, the average driving rate may be calculated as a value obtained by dividing the total number of times by summing the driving rates of each one cycle.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a refrigerator according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a refrigerator according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5, in this embodiment, the controller 60 controls the compressor 54 to operate continuously (S110). Then, the controller 60 detects the current cooling power of the compressor 54 (S120). The current cooling power of the compressor 54 is previously stored in the memory 59 as a cooling power map.

That is, the cooling power to be output from the compressor 54 is predetermined according to the external temperature and the notch. Accordingly, the controller 60 may control the compressor 54 to output the cooling power determined by the cooling power map.

Subsequently, the controller 60 determines whether the current cooling power of the compressor is the lowest cooling power (S130).

If the current cooling power of the compressor is the lowest cooling power, the controller 60 releases the continuous operation and switches to the on-off operation (S140).

5 shows an example of canceling the continuous operation and switching to the on-off operation when the cooling power of the compressor drops to the lowest cooling power during continuous operation. That is, when the external temperature is below the lower limit temperature (eg, 18°C) and the current cooling power drops to the lowest cooling power, when subcooling occurs in the chamber, an example of canceling the continuous operation and switching to the on-off operation is described.

However, canceling the continuous operation and switching to the on-off operation are also possible in other examples. For example, even if the external temperature is above the upper limit temperature (eg: 34℃) and the current cooling power has increased to the maximum cooling power, even if the internal temperature has not decreased to the target temperature, the continuous operation is canceled and the operation is switched to on-off operation. I can.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the present embodiment, when the compressor is switched from continuous operation to on-off operation (S210), when one cycle of on-off operation is performed (S220), the controller 60 is a timer 13 On time and off time may be measured by using (S230). The on/off time refers to a time when the compressor is turned on and off during one cycle of the on-off operation.

In addition, this process may be repeatedly performed up to a preset number of times (n times). That is, the control unit 60 determines whether the on-off operation has been performed for n cycles (S240), and if n cycles is not performed, the controller 60 proceeds again from step S210 to measure the on/off time for each cycle.

When the on-off operation is performed during n cycles, the control unit 60 may calculate an average driving rate during n cycles (S250). In addition, the controller 60 may calculate (average operation rate × current cooling power) by using the average operation rate calculated above and the current cooling power of the compressor 54 (S260).

The controller 60 may determine whether the calculated (average driving rate × current cooling power) value exceeds the minimum cooling power (S270). In addition, when the calculated value exceeds the minimum cooling power, the control unit 60 may switch the on-off operation to the continuous operation (S280).

This means that if the value of (average operation rate × current cooling power) exceeds the minimum cooling power, it is determined that the re-input condition of continuous operation is satisfied, and the continuous operation is re-input.

If the (average driving rate × current cooling power) value does not exceed the minimum cooling power, the controller 60 may keep on-off operation. Therefore, if the (average driving rate × current cooling power) value does not exceed the minimum cooling power, the process proceeds to step S220 and the subsequent process can be repeated.

As described above, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when the continuous operation is canceled according to a specific condition during the continuous operation and the on-off operation is performed, the continuous operation is not immediately re-entered after the on-off operation is performed one cycle. Rather, it is determined whether the continuous operation re-input condition is satisfied during the on-off operation, and the continuous operation is re-entered only when the corresponding condition is satisfied, and the on-off operation is maintained if not satisfied.

For example, after the on-off operation is performed a predetermined number of times (e.g., 3 to 7 times, preferably 5 times), the product of the average operation rate of the compressor and the current cooling power for that number of times is greater than the minimum cooling power. It is to re-enter continuous operation only in case.

Through this process, as in the prior art, it is possible to prevent repeated release/injection of continuous operation.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but may be manufactured in various different forms, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It will be understood that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative and non-limiting in all respects.

1: refrigerator 10: cabinet
13: timer 20: door
30: main door 35: opening
40: subdoor 50: refrigeration cycle
51: evaporator 52: fan
53: fan drive unit 54: compressor
55: condenser 56: expansion member
59: memory

Claims (13)

A switching step of switching from the controller to on-off operation during continuous operation of the compressor;
A calculation step of calculating an average operation rate of the compressor during on-off operation cycles of a predetermined number of on-off operation by the control unit;
And a determining step of determining whether to switch to continuous operation based on the calculated average operation rate of the compressor and the current cooling power of the compressor. The method of claim 1,
The conversion step,
Determining whether the cooling power of the compressor is the lowest cooling power during the continuous operation;
And switching the continuous operation of the compressor to an on-off operation if the cooling power is at the lowest. The method of claim 1,
The method of controlling a refrigerator in which the preset number of times is 3 to 7 times. The method of claim 1,
The control unit,
A refrigerator control method in which the on-off operation is switched to continuous operation when a value (A) obtained by multiplying the calculated average operation rate and the current cooling power is greater than the minimum cooling power of the compressor. The method of claim 4,
The control unit,
A refrigerator control method of continuously maintaining the on-off operation when the multiplied value (A) is less than or equal to the minimum cooling power of the compressor. The method of claim 5,
The control unit,
While maintaining the on-off operation, the average operation rate of the compressor is recalculated during the on-off operation cycle of the preset number of times, and a value obtained by multiplying the recalculated average operation rate of the compressor and the cooling power of the compressor is When the cooling power is less than the minimum, the refrigerator control method of switching to continuous operation again. The method of claim 1,
The control unit,
For each on-off operation cycle, the operation rate of each cycle is calculated as a ratio of the on time to (on time + off time), and the calculated operation rate of each cycle is calculated during the on-off operation cycle of the preset number of times. A refrigerator control method for calculating an average value as the average operation rate. A first switching step of switching the continuous operation of the compressor to an on-off operation in the control unit;
A measuring step of measuring each on-off time of an on-off driving cycle when the controller switches to on-off operation;
A calculation step of calculating an average operation rate of the compressor during the on-off operation cycle of the number of times based on the measured on-off time when the on-off operation cycle is performed by the control unit a predetermined number of times;
And a second switching step of switching the on-off operation to continuous operation when a value obtained by multiplying the calculated average operation rate of the compressor and the current cooling power of the compressor is greater than the minimum cooling power of the compressor. The method of claim 8,
The first conversion step,
Determining whether the cooling power of the compressor is the lowest cooling power during the continuous operation;
And switching the continuous operation of the compressor to an on-off operation if the cooling power is at the lowest. The method of claim 8,
A refrigerator control method for continuously maintaining the on-off operation when the multiplied by the control unit is less than or equal to the minimum cooling power of the compressor. The method of claim 10,
While the on-off operation is continuously maintained, the average operation rate of the compressor is calculated again during the on-off operation cycle of the preset number of times, and the average operation rate of the compressor calculated again is multiplied by the current cooling power of the compressor. When the minimum cooling power of the compressor is small, the refrigerator control method of switching to the continuous operation again. The method of claim 8,
The control unit calculates the operation rate of each cycle at a ratio of the on time to the (on time + off time) for each on-off operation cycle, and the calculated operation rate of each cycle during the on-off operation cycle of the preset number of times. A refrigerator control method for calculating an average value of an operation rate as the average operation rate. The method of claim 8,
The method of controlling a refrigerator in which the preset number of times is 3 to 7 times.

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