MXPA96001694A - Multiple pararefrigerated shock absorber system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator comprising a plurality of compartments cooled by a cooling apparatus to generate a flow of cooling air, said refrigerator comprising: at least a first compartment cooled to a first temperature, at least a second compartment cooled to a second temperature, and a multiple damper system disposed in a cooling air passage of the cooling apparatus in such a manner as to direct the flow of cooling air from the refrigeration apparatus to select the refrigerator compartments; multiple cushion comprising a single movable control damper, mounted in said cooling air passage of the cooling apparatus and further comprising a drive control system which responds to the cooling demands of said respective compartments and which is coupled to said individual shock absorber. dual control, in such a way as to selectively dispose the control damper in a plurality of respective air flow positions, the plurality of air flow positions comprising a scale of positions comprising an air flow position only of the first compartment , at least one flow divided in the air flow position in the first and second compartments, and one air flow position only in the second compartment

Description

MULTI-SHOCK ABSORBER SYSTEM FOR REFRIGERATORS This invention relates generally to refrigerators and in particular to damping systems for controlling air flow to different compartments within the refrigerator. In most conventional refrigerators, a fan is used to produce air flow over the coils in an evaporator in order to cool the air. The cooled air then passes into a plenum where the flow is typically divided such that one portion of the air flow is directed to one or more freezer compartments and the other portion of the air flow is directed to the food compartments fresh from the refrigerator. The division of the air flow between the freezer and the fresh food compartments is typically carried out by a buffer that directs most of the air flow within the freezer compartment, which is necessary in order to maintain said compartment to a level below the freezing point. In most conventional refrigerators, the position of the shock absorber is either set at the time of manufacture or is adjustable within a small scale, either manually by the operator or by automatic control. The limits on the adjustment scale are typically such that most of the air flow in all positions of the buffer is still directed to the freezer compartment. In the Conventional refrigerators, a number of problems arise from the fixed damper or the variable damper manually. For example, in refrigerators with manual control of the position of the shock absorber, adjusting the position of the shock absorber is a trial and error procedure for the operator attempting to achieve a desired adjustment of the current operating conditions of the refrigerator (such as loading). in the respective compartments, environmental conditions around the refrigerator, etc.). In addition, due to the predominant flow of cooling air in both fixed shock absorber and manually variable damper units, in some common operations, it is directed to the freezer, in cases when the door of the fresh food compartment is opened a substantial amount of time to load material into the compartment, the increased cooling load causes the refrigeration apparatus (compressor, evaporator, and associated equipment) to work, although only a relatively small portion of the cooling air flow is directed to the compartment in which there is the greatest cooling load. This type of operation wastes energy. In addition, the cooling air directed away from the freezer to the fresh food compartment has a very low humidity at temperatures of the fresh food compartment, causing dehydration of the stored foods. In the conventional refrigerator, the freezer defrost cycle requires a lot of energy so that it involves heating the evaporator or the air around the freezer. evaporator to remove the frost, after which it is necessary that the refrigeration apparatus operate to cool air for the refrigerator compartments. Therefore, it is desirable to improve the energy efficiency and temperature control in a refrigerator by controlling the flow of cooling air. Ideally, the air flow is controlled in such a way that the air cooled from the cooling apparatus is directed only towards the compartment or regions in the refrigerator that need cooling. Said system for controlling the convenient air flow is simple, with a minimum amount of moving parts, and is easily incorporated into the refrigerator during the manufacturing process. It is an object of this invention to provide a refrigerator that has a device for controlling the cooling air flow that improves the energy efficiency of the refrigerator and that provides cooling air flow selectively directed to a compartment or compartments in which there is a demand for cooling. A further object of this invention is to provide a device for controlling the flow of highly reliable cooling air that has few moving parts and that is easily incorporated in the refrigerator. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION the present invention, a refrigerator includes, at least, a first compartment cooled to a first temperature and a second compartment cooled to a second temperature, and a multiple damper system disposed in a passage of the cooling air in such a way that the cooling air flow of the cooling apparatus with the compartments is selectively coupled. The multiple damper system comprises a single movable control damper, mounted in the cooling air passage and a drive control system that responds to the cooling demands of the respective compartments; the drive control system is coupled to the individual control damper, such that it selectively disposes the control damper in a plurality of respective air flow positions. The scale of air flow positions includes an air flow position only in the first compartment, an air flow position only in the second compartment, and at least, a divided flow position in which the air flow Cooling is directed towards both, the first and the second compartments. Typically, one of the two compartments is cooled to maintain a temperature below the freezing point and one of the compartments is cooled to maintain a temperature above the freezing point. The individual damper typically comprises a cylindrical body that is rotatably mounted in the cooling air passage such that air passes inside the cylinder and then exits from an opening of the cylinder body in a door to direct the flow of air to a desired compartment or compartments. For example, air enters axially inside the cylinder and is directed radially outward from the cylinder body in the selected door. The cylinder is typically driven by a motor, such as an electric motor, comprising an axial drive apparatus, or alternatively, a radial drive apparatus. The damper can be placed in a plurality of air flow positions to correspond to signals generated by the drive control system, which typically includes a controller unit coupled to the shock driver apparatus. The controller comprises a control circuit which determines cooling demands in respective compartments and generates a direction signal for the control damper in order to place the damper in its place; for example, temperature sensors may be used to generate differential temperature signals and a corresponding signal to position the damper to direct the supply of cooling air to the respective compartments of the refrigerator. The control damper is typically disposed in the cooling air passage such that it receives the cold air that passes from the refrigeration apparatus to the refrigerator compartments; alternatively; the damper is disposed in the cooling air passage to control the air exiting the respective compartments before it passes through said cooling apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The aspects of the invention that are considered novel, are established with particularity in the appended claims. However, the invention, by itself, both the organization and the method of operation, together with other objects and advantages thereof, can be better understood by referring to the following description together with the accompanying drawings in which like numbers represent similar parts in the drawings, and in which: Figure 1 is a partial schematic diagram and a partial block diagram of a refrigerator having a multiple damper system an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a partial schematic diagram and a partial block diagram of a single control damper another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an individual control damper, a further embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A refrigerator 100 the present invention, as illustrated in Figure 1, comprises a refrigeration apparatus 1 10 (components drawn with dashed lines), at least a first compartment 130 and a second compartment 140 that are coupled to receive cooling air from the cooling apparatus and a multiple damper system 150 (a portion of which (including the components mechanical to direct the air) it is drawn with dashed lines in Figure 1, and a portion of which, including the damper controller, is shown by a large arrow in Figure 1). The portions of the multi-cushion system 150 (eg, the mechanical components for directing the air flow) are disposed in an air supply passage 120 to selectively direct the flow of cooling air from the cooling apparatus 10. to either the first compartment 130 or the second compartment 140, or alternatively to divide the cooling air flow such that some flow is directed into a first compartment 130 and some of the flow into a second compartment 140. As used in FIG. herein, "refrigeration apparatus" refers to devices or combinations of devices that are used to cool air to provide the desired temperatures in the refrigerator 100. By way of example and without limitation, said system comprises an evaporator 1 12 which is a heat exchanger in which the heat of the air to be cooled is circulated through one side of the surface of the exchanger of heat and the heat of the air is absorbed by a cooling fluid that circulates on the other side of the heat exchange surface. The air to be cooled is typically circulated on the heat exchange surfaces by a fan 1 14. For ease of illustration, the fan 14 is shown in one position with respect to the evaporator 1 12, but can be placed in others places in the air passage 120 in such a way as to provide the desired flow of air of cooling, for example, when using a squirrel-cage-type fan, as discussed in more detail below. The evaporator 1 12 is coupled to a compressor 1 16 in which the heated (and typically now gaseous) refrigerant fluid is compressed and condensed before being recirculated to the evaporator through an expansion device. The refrigerant fluid is a material that changes from liquid to gaseous phase, adapted for a particular system; Common examples of refrigerants are: Freon 12, Freon 134A, Freon 134B, or similar. Alternatively, the cooling system 10 may comprise an ammonia based system, a thermoelectric system, or the like. The cooled air passing from the evaporator 12 is directed to the cooling air passage 120, as illustrated in FIG. 1 by the cooling air flow arrow 15 (shown as a two-line arrow). From passage 120, the cooling air flow is directed into respective compartments of the refrigerator (as described below); after the air has circulated through the respective compartments in the refrigerator 100 (and has cooled the compartment and its contents), the cooling air flow now heated passes from the compartments respectively by means of the first vent 132, the compartment and the second vent 142 of the compartment, as illustrated by the arrows of a single line in Figure 1, in a discharge plenum 122 that directs the flow of cooling air back to the ventilator 1 14 to allow the air is recirculated on evaporator 1 12 for subsequent heat transfer. Typically, the air is cooled and circulated again through the cooler 100; in alternative modes of operation, the return air can be used to defrost the evaporator. By way of example and not limitation, the portions of the multiple cushion system 150 to direct the air flow, as illustrated in Figure 1, are arranged in the cooling air passage 120 to receive the cooled flow of cooling air and direct that flow into respective compartments of the refrigerator. Alternatively, portions of the multiple cushion system 150 for directing air flow may be disposed in the discharge plenum 122 (not shown) in such a manner as to control the flow of cooling air returning to the evaporator from the compartments.; said arrangement can similarly provide control over the amount of cooling air flow passing through the respective compartments in the refrigerator. In this invention, the multiple damper control system 150 comprises a single, movable control damper 160, and a damper control system 155 of the damper 155 responds to the cooling demands of the respective compartments in the refrigerator. As used herein, "individual control damper, movable" refers to a device that is movably disposed in the air passage 120, such that it directs the flow of cooling air to a desired compartment in refrigerator 100; in the multiple damper system 150, only the control damper 160 needs to be moved in order to change the flow of cooling air in the refrigerator compartments. The control damper 160 is movably mounted in a region 125 of the manifold of the air passage 120, the region of the manifold comprising a plurality of outlet doors leading to the respective compartments in the refrigerator. The control damper 160 is coupled to the damper drive control system 155, such that it can be disposed in a plurality of respective air flow positions that place the collector in a selected position with respect to the respective exit doors. in region 125 of the collector. The single movable control damper 160 typically comprises a cylindrical body 162 (Figures 1 and 2) arranged to receive the flow of cooling air from a door 123 in the air passage 120. By way of example and without limitation, as illustrated in Figure 2, in the control damper 160, the cooling air flow axially enters the cylindrical body, which is along the longitudinal axis 163 of the body 162, and it re-directs through an outlet opening 164 in the body 162 such that it flows outwardly from the body 162 along a radial axis 165 of the body 162 (i.e., air flows radially outwardly from the shock absorber). The shock absorber 160 is movably mounted, either with an axle or with end supports (not shown), in such a way that can be rotated and selectively placed in the respective positions of air flow. For the cylindrical body 162, said movement is about its axis such that the opening 164 is aligned to cause the radial flow of cooling air to be directed to a desired compartment. Alternatively, any combination of air flow in and out of the shock absorber body (such as radial inlet to axial outlet, radial inlet to radial outlet, or combinations thereof) may be used. In a radial-to-radial flow mode through the buffer, for example, a squirrel-cage-type, evaporator-type fan 14 is commonly disposed on the door 122 (not shown) in such a way that it draws air through the evaporator 1 12 and the air is discharged to the body 162 of the damper. A squirrel-cage type fan 14 operates well against the variable back pressures experienced as the shock body rotates between the selected air flow positions and the squirrel-cage type fan can also be adapted to easily provide a change 90 ° in the direction of the air flow to feed air to the body 162 of the damper from the air passage 120 (eg, radial inlet to axial outlet). In alternative modes, the direction of the air flow is also reversed (eg, if the damper system is arranged to receive the air passage from the compartments and direct it towards the evaporator).

As illustrated in Figure 1, the shock control system 155 of the shock absorber comprises a drive apparatus 170 which is a radial drive apparatus. As used herein, "drive apparatus" refers to a mechanism that moves the shock absorber to position it in order to direct cooling air flow, such as the motor drive system described above, solenoids, or similar. For example, the drive apparatus 170 comprises a motor 172 coupled to a shaft 173 on which an endless screw 174 is mounted in such a way that it rotates in correspondence with the rotation of the shaft 173; the end of the shaft 173 not attached to the motor 172 is supported on an axle assembly 176. The worm 174 engages teeth 166 arranged around the circumference (outer surface) of the cylindrical body 162 such that as the screw no. In turn, the inductive body 162 rotates correspondingly about its longitudinal axis 163. The motor 172 is typically an electric motor such as a stepping motor, a geared CD motor and AC synchronous motor, or the like.; alternatively, non-electric motors, such as pneumatic or hydraulic motors, can be used if appropriate, for a particular cooling device. In another embodiment of the present invention, the drive apparatus 170 is an axial drive apparatus as illustrated in Figure 2. In this arrangement, the motor 172 is coupled to the cylindrical body 162 along the longitudinal axis 163 in such a manner that rotation of the motor shaft causes corresponding rotation of the cylindrical body 162 about its axis 163. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the individual control damper 160 comprises a slide guide 180 (FIG. 3) having a outlet aperture 183 therein and movably disposed (such as on rollers in a path guide) in a plenum 185 comprising the region 125 of the manifold of the air passage 120. The plenum 185 comprises a plurality of exit doors 186 that are coupled to respective compartments in the refrigerator 100 (by way of example, and without limitation, two representative exit doors 186 are illustrated as the base slide guide 180 in Figure 3). The driving apparatus 170 comprises the motor 172 coupled to the sliding guide 180 by means of a driving shaft 178 in such a way that the rotation of the motor 172 causes the movement of the sliding guide through the plenum 185 in such a way that the aperture 183 is disposed in a selected position with respect to the respective exit doors 186. The position of the sliding guide 180 is selected to expose portions (or all) of an exit door 186 in such a way that the flow of cooling air is directed in the exposed door. The control system 155 for driving the shock absorber (Figure 1) further comprises a control unit 190 which is coupled to the drive apparatus 170 of the shock absorber. The control unit is adapted to provide a position signal of the shock absorber which, when coupled to the drive apparatus 170, causes the motor 172 to drive the drive damper 160 to a desired air flow position in such a manner that the flow of cooling air is directed to a selected outlet port in the region 125 of the manifold of the air passage 120. The control unit 190 comprises sensors for determining the cooling demand of respective compartments in the refrigerator 100. The demand for cooling can be determined by temperature measurements, need for defrosting, number of openings in the refrigerator door, ambient conditions, or similar. As an example, the temperature sensor 192 is disposed in the first compartment 130 and the temperature sensor 194 is disposed in the second compartment 140. The control unit 190 may comprise an analog controller, a digital controller, or a microprocessor (also called as a microcontroller). By way of example and not limitation, the control unit 190 of this invention may comprise a portion of a controller of the overall cooling system as described in copending application Serial No. (RD-22,731), entitled "Energy Efficient Refrigerator". Control System ", which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and is incorporated herein by reference. Each temperature sensor 192, 194 is coupled to the controller unit 190 to provide a signal corresponding to the temperature of the respective compartment and allowing the generation of differential temperature signals, respectively, in the controller unit 190, which corresponds to the cooling demand to have the compartment at a selected temperature (said selection is typically made by the operator through a temperature selection control in the fridge). The differential temperature signals are processed to determine the optimum air flow position of the damper to satisfy the cooling demand in the cooler and a damper drive control signal is generated and coupled to the driving apparatus 170. In this example, the respective temperature sensors are illustrated in the first and second compartments; in alternative modes, the respective temperature sensors do not need to be placed in each respective compartment, such as in arrangements in which the cooling air passes from one compartment to another compartment before passing to the evaporator. The respective temperatures of the first and second compartments in the refrigerator 100 are typically selected in the manufacturing process and can be adjusted within certain ranges by the operator. In order to describe this invention and not limit it, the temperatures in the first compartment 130 of the typical refrigerator are maintained at a level below the freezing point (i.e., less than 0 ° C at normal environmental pressures), and common on the scale between approximately -20 ° C and -6.6 ° C. The second compartment 140, in / - the typical refrigerator is kept at a temperature below the freezing point, commonly in the range between 0 ° C and 10 ° C. The flow of cooling air enters the compartment 130 by means of a cooling air door 134 for the freezer, arranged in the region 125 of the manifold, of the cooling air passage 120. As illustrated in Figure 1, the control damper 160 is placed in an air flow position only in the freezer such that the outlet opening 164 is positioned to the coupled cooling air flow. of the air passage 120 in the first compartment 130 (as shown by the arrows in the drawing). The cooling air passes through the first compartment 130 and leaves the compartment through the vent 132 in the discharge plenum 122. Similarly, the control damper 160 may be arranged in an air flow position only in the second compartment, such that the opening 164 of the damper is arranged to direct cooling air flow through the second door 144 of the cooling air in the second compartment. In addition, the control damper 160 may be arranged in an air flow position of the slide guide such that a portion of the cooling air flow is directed in the first compartment 130 and a portion in the second compartment 140. Additionally, this invention, the buffer 160 control can be arranged in air flow positions that direct between 0% and 100% of the flow of cooling air from the cooling system 1 10 to a respective compartment in the cooler 100. The shock absorber assembly is substantially watertight in such a way that in the fully "on" position (ie, 100% flow) and completely in "off" (i.e., 0% flow), the leakage of the air flow in the buffer assembly (i.e., directed to the unselected compartment or in other areas of the refrigerator) is typically less than about 1% of the flow total cooling air. The compartments in the refrigerator 100 are also typically substantially hermetic so that the same flow of cooling air that is directed to the compartment is evacuated to the full discharge, while the operator access door is closed in the compartment. In addition, this invention, the refrigerator 100 may comprise more of the first and second compartments, such as a third compartment 145 and an ice making compartment 135, each of which has a respective cooling door in the region 125 of the manifold and it can therefore be coupled by the control damper 160 to cool the cooling air passage 120 in such a way as to receive the flow of cooling air (eg, by means of a third cooling air door 148 in FIG. the behaviour); these compartments may further comprise respective discharge vents (not shown) to provide communication from the compartment with the discharge plenum 122 and the respective temperature sensors (not shown), coupled to the controller unit 190 such that they can be maintained at a respective temperature by a multiple shock absorber system 150. Alternatively, the cooler 100 may be arranged in such a way that one compartment is discharged into another compartment, i.e. the flow of cooling air passes through two compartments in series rather than in parallel. In this arrangement, the compartments do not necessarily have a respective temperature sensor or discharge port coupled directly to the discharge plenum. In operation, the multiple damper system 150 provides increased energy efficiency and versatility for the refrigerator 100 by selectively placing the control damper 160 in an air flow position to provide optimal cooling airflow in the respective compartments and sub-compartments of the refrigerator 100. For example, when cooling demands in the fresh food compartment (eg, second compartment 140) are increased as may occur after the operator access door is open for a period to load food into the compartment, the system The shock absorber detects the increased demand for cooling through the temperature sensor 194 which captures an elevation in the temperature in the compartment. The controller unit 190 then generates a position signal of the shock absorber to cause the drive apparatus 170 to change the damper 160 to an air flow position only in the fresh food compartment such that the flow of cooling air is directed to that compartment. In contrast to conventional, fixed or manually variable damping systems, which have a fixed division of air flow between the compartments, the energy is not wasted by directing more cooling air flow into the freezer compartment in addition to the food compartment fresh Conversely, when cooling demands are greater in the freezer compartment, more cooling air flow can be directed to it. In other operating conditions, the cooling air flow is divided among one or more compartments (or subcompartments) to meet the respective cooling demands of each of these compartments. Additionally, the multiple damper system of the present invention provides a defrosting option with energy saving by selecting an air flow position of the control damper that provides the air flow through the fresh food compartment (hence the cooling air is at a temperature above the freezing point), with the compressor of the cooling apparatus turned off, so that the air flow over the evaporator defrosts the evaporator (while still cooling the air sufficiently for the cooling compartment). fresh foods).

The multiple nature of the damper system thus allows all or a portion of airflow to be directed to a respective compartment (or sub-compartment), and the additional flow can be divided among at least two compartments (or compartments and subcompartments) . While certain aspects of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it should be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes that fall within the real spirit of the invention. For example, in the embodiments of the invention discussed above, the control damper 160 comprises an exit aperture 164; as would be apparent to one skilled in the art, the damper 160 can also be designed with multiple outlet openings, which with the corresponding design of the region 125 of the cold air passage manifold 120, allows the air flow to be diffused simultaneously. cooling.

Claims (29)

1. CLAIMS 1. A refrigerator comprising a plurality of compartments cooled by a refrigeration apparatus to generate a flow of cooling air, said refrigerator comprising: at least a first compartment cooled to a first temperature; at least a second compartment cooled to a second temperature; and a multiple damper system disposed in a cooling air passage of the refrigeration apparatus such that it directs the flow of cooling air from the refrigeration apparatus to select the refrigerator compartments; said multiple damper system comprising a single movable control damper, mounted in said cooling air passage of the refrigeration apparatus and further comprising a drive control system that responds to the cooling demands of said respective compartments and that is coupled to said individual control damper, in such a way as to selectively dispose the control damper in a plurality of respective air flow positions, the plurality of air flow positions comprising a scale of positions comprising an air flow position only of the first compartment, at least one flow divided in the air flow position in the first and second compartments, and an air flow position only in the second compartment.
2. 2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the first temperature is less than the temperature of the freezing point of water and said second temperature is above the temperature of the freezing point of the water.
3. 3. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the individual movable control damper comprises a gi- tory cylinder.
4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the movable control damper is disposed in said cooling air passage in the cooling apparatus such that the flow of cooling air * passes along the axis of the cooling device. control damper.
5. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein said movable individual control damper is disposed in said passage of cooling air in the cooling apparatus such that the flow of cooling air passes along a radio of said shock absorber.
6. 6. The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the movable single control damper comprises a plurality of radial air outlet doors.
7. 7. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the refrigerator further comprises a squirrel-cage fan arranged in the cooling air passage in such a way that it couples the flow of cooling air between the cooling air passage and the rotating cylinder.
8. 8. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the drive control system comprises an axial drive apparatus.
9. The refrigerator of claim 8, wherein the axial drive apparatus comprises a motor coupled with a drive shaft of the rotating cylinder.
10. 10. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the drive control system comprises a radial drive apparatus. eleven .
11. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the rotating cylinder further comprises a plurality of gear teeth disposed along the circumference of the cylinder and the radial drive apparatus comprises a motor coupled to said plurality of gear teeth disposed on the cylinder. .
12. 12. The refrigerator to claim 1, wherein the cooling air passage of the cooling apparatus comprises a plenum having doors therein that provide air flow between said cooling air passage and said plurality of compartments and the damper. The movable control individual comprises a sliding guide disposed movably in said plenum in such a way that it is placed in each of the plurality of air flow positions.
13. 13. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the drive control system is coupled to the individual control damper such that said damper can be placed in a plurality of air flow positions respectively providing the air flow to the first compartment between 0% and 100% of the total cooling air flow supply of the cooling apparatus.
14. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the drive control system is coupled to the individual control damper such that the damper can be placed in a plurality of air flow positions respectively providing air flow to the second compartment between 0% and 100% of the total cooling air flow supply of the cooling apparatus.
15. 15. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the drive control system comprises a controller unit and a drive apparatus coupled to the movable individual damper, the controller unit being coupled to the drive apparatus such that the movement of the buffer movable corresponds to the control signals generated by the controller.
16. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the controller further comprises a temperature control circuit that generates respective signals from the differential temperature control in the compartment and a control signal from the control damper corresponding to the respective control signals temperature differential in the compartment.
17. 17. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein said control signals generated by the controller correspond to in addition to the environmental factors selected from the group that includes frequency and duration of the access door openings and environmental conditions.
18. 18. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the control damper is disposed in the cooling air passage of the cooling apparatus such that it receives the air passing from the cooling apparatus.
19. 19. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the refrigerator comprises more than two compartments for cooling the items stored therein.
20. 20. The refrigerator of claim 18, wherein it further comprises a third compartment for cooling the material thereto to a third respective temperature. twenty-one .
21. A refrigerator having a plurality of compartments cooled by a cooling apparatus providing an air flow of cooling air supply, the refrigerator comprising: a freezing compartment for cooling the material disposed therein at a first temperature below the point of freezing; a first compartment for fresh food to cool items stored therein at a first temperature above the freezing point; and a multiple damper system arranged in a cooling air supply passage in such a way as to receive the flow of the cooling air passing from the cooling apparatus and selectively directing the supply of cooling air in the plurality of compartments; the multiple damper system comprising a single movable control damper, and a drive control system that responds to the cooling demands of the respective compartments and which is coupled to the damper to selectively dispose the control damper in a plurality of respective positions of air flow, the respective positions of air flow determining the respective proportion of the directed cooling air supply in each of the plurality of compartments.
22. 22. The refrigerator of claim 21, wherein the control damper is disposed in said cooling air supply passage such that it has an air flow position only, in the freezer compartment, at least one flow divided to both air flow positions in both freezer and fresh food compartments, and an air flow position only in the fresh food compartment.
23. The refrigerator of claim 22, wherein the freezer compartment further comprises a region for making ice, and the control damper is disposed in the cooling air supply passage to have a position to make ice in such a way that substantially all the flow of cooling air directed to the freezer compartment is changed to the region to make ice.
24. 24. The refrigerator of claim 21, wherein the fresh food compartment further comprises sub-compartments thereon, the control damper being disposed in the cooling air supply passage to have respective positions of the sub-compartments to direct a selected proportion. of the cooling air flow in the sub-compartments.
25. 25. The refrigerator of claim 21, wherein the freezer compartment and the fresh food compartment further comprises each at least one access door for the operator, a cooling air supply door and a discharge door for the operator. cooling air, respectively.
26. 26. The refrigerator claim 21, wherein the drive control system comprises: a plurality of cooling demand sensors arranged to capture the respective cooling demand in said freezer compartment and said fresh food compartment; a control circuit coupled to the cooling demand sensors and to generate a signal of the position of the damper; Y a driving apparatus coupled to receive the position signal of the shock absorber and further coupled to the control shock absorber such that it places the shock absorber in an air flow position corresponding to the position signal of the shock absorber.
27. 27. The refrigerator of claim 26, wherein the control damper comprises a cylindrical body in which the cooling air flow of the cooling apparatus axially enters said body.
28. 28. The refrigerator of claim 27, wherein the driving apparatus is coupled to the cylindrical body such that the cylindrical body rotates about the longitudinal axis of the body.
29. 29. The refrigerator of claim 28, wherein the cooling air supply passage comprises a manifold having doors for each respective compartment and sub-compartment to which the air cooling flow is directed, the control damper being movably disposed in the manifold manifold and positioned such that it directs at least a portion of the cooling air flow in each of the compartments and subcompartments.