WO2019193861A1

WO2019193861A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2019193861A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/006738
Authority: WO
Inventors: 翔太垣内; 慶修有年; 一瑳多賀; 朗川勾
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2018-04-04
Filing date: 2019-02-22
Publication date: 2019-10-10
Also published as: CN110345695B; CN110345696A; JP2019184092A; JP7008180B2; BR112020019414A2; CN110345696B; CN110345695A

Abstract

Provided is a refrigerator comprising: a storage compartment; a ventilation fan, which is for discharging cold air and is provided on the ceiling surface of the storage compartment; a setting means for setting a rapid cooling time on the basis of a user instruction; and a control means for executing a rapid cooling operation using the ventilation fan on the basis of the rapid cooling time set by the setting means. This makes it possible to provide a refrigerator for which the user can set the rapid cooling time.

Description

refrigerator

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a freezing room capable of being rapidly cooled.

Recently, in order to shorten the cooking time, quick freezing has been proposed in which the rough heat removal time during cooking is shortened and the deliciousness after cooking is maintained (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In such a refrigerator, in the case of rapid cooling, after the compressor is operated at a high speed, even if the freezer temperature sensor falls below a predetermined temperature, a rapid cooling control is performed in which the compressor is continuously operated at a low speed. .

Also, a configuration is disclosed in which a blower is provided on the top of the cooking chamber in addition to the evaporator fan, and the air in the cooking chamber is stirred to rapidly cool the food (see Patent Document 2).

JP 2017-194194 A JP 2003-056978 A

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which a user can set a rapid cooling time.

The refrigerator of the present invention is set by a storage room, a ventilation fan for discharging cool air provided on the top surface of the storage room, a setting means for setting a rapid cooling time based on a user instruction, and a setting means Control means for executing a rapid cooling operation using the ventilation fan based on the rapid cooling time.

According to the refrigerator of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the user can set the rapid cooling time.

1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 2 shows the air path configuration of the refrigerator 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a main part plan view of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a time chart at the time of rapid cooling according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart at the time of rapid cooling of automatic setting according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of another automatic setting rapid cooling according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart at the time of rapid cooling of manual setting according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

The refrigerator according to the first aspect includes a storage room, a ventilation fan for discharging cool air, which is provided on the top surface of the storage room, and setting means for setting a rapid cooling time based on a user instruction; Control means for executing a rapid cooling operation using the ventilation fan based on the rapid cooling time set by the setting means. Thereby, the refrigerator with which a user can set rapid cooling time can be provided.

In the refrigerator according to the second aspect, an air passage for guiding the cold air to the ventilation fan is provided on the top surface of the storage chamber. Thereby, the cold air supplied to the storage chamber can be efficiently guided to the ventilation fan.

In the refrigerator according to the third aspect, a duct cover that forms an air passage for guiding the cold air to the ventilation fan is provided on the top surface of the storage chamber, and a rear end of the duct cover is a freezer. The ventilation fan communicates with the chamber duct, and the ventilation fan is fixed to the duct cover. Thereby, a ventilation fan is attached or detached with attachment or detachment of a duct cover, and attachment workability | operativity of a ventilation fan can be improved. Moreover, cold air can be concentrated and supplied to a storage room at the time of rapid cooling.

In the refrigerator according to the fourth aspect, in the duct cover, a plurality of ventilation holes are provided between the ventilation fan and a rear end of the duct cover. Thereby, even if the ventilation fan is stopped, the cold air is supplied to the storage chamber through the ventilation hole.

The refrigerator which concerns on a 5th aspect WHEREIN: The part which opposes the said ventilation fan among the said top | upper surfaces of the said storage chamber is a concave shape dented toward the upper direction of the said refrigerator, The said ventilation fan and the said by the said concave shape A space is formed between the top surface of the storage chamber. Thereby, since the cold air led to the duct cover is led to the ventilation fan while reducing the ventilation resistance, the blowing sound by the ventilation fan can be reduced.

In the refrigerator according to the sixth aspect, the storage room is set in a freezing temperature zone.

In the refrigerator according to the seventh aspect, when the control means starts the rapid cooling operation, the ventilation fan starts rotating, and the rapid cooling set by the setting means after the rapid cooling operation starts. When the cooling time has elapsed, the control means ends the rapid cooling operation, and the ventilation fan continues to rotate from the start of the rapid cooling operation to the end thereof. Thereby, cold air can be introduced into the storage chamber by the ventilation fan, and rapid cooling can be performed efficiently.

In the refrigerator according to the eighth aspect, when the rapid cooling operation starts, the ventilation fan starts rotating, and when the rapid cooling operation starts, the number of rotations of the cooling fan decreases, and the rapid cooling When the operation is started, a predetermined damper is closed, and when the rapid cooling operation is started, the rotation speed of the compressor is increased. Thereby, rapid cooling operation can be performed effectively.

In the refrigerator according to the ninth aspect, the predetermined damper includes at least a cold room damper and a vegetable room damper.

In the refrigerator according to the tenth aspect, when the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is higher than the first temperature or when the temperature of the vegetable compartment is higher than the second temperature, the control means does not start the rapid cooling operation. Thereby, it can prevent that the temperature of a refrigerator compartment or a vegetable compartment becomes higher than desired temperature by execution of rapid cooling operation.

In the refrigerator according to the eleventh aspect, when the rapid cooling operation ends, the rotation of the ventilation fan stops, and when the rapid cooling operation ends, the rotation speed of the cooling fan becomes a normal rotation number. When the quick cooling operation is finished, the predetermined damper is opened, and when the quick cooling operation is finished, the rotational speed of the compressor returns to the normal rotational speed.

In the refrigerator according to the twelfth aspect, the predetermined damper includes at least a cold room damper and a vegetable room damper.

The refrigerator according to the thirteenth aspect does not start the rapid cooling operation when the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is higher than the first temperature or when the temperature of the vegetable compartment is higher than the second temperature. When the temperature of the refrigerator compartment becomes higher than the third temperature after starting the rapid cooling operation, or when the temperature of the vegetable compartment becomes higher than the fourth temperature after starting the rapid cooling operation, The control means ends the rapid cooling operation. Thereby, it can prevent that the temperature of a refrigerator compartment or a vegetable compartment becomes higher than desired temperature by rapid cooling operation.

In the refrigerator according to the fourteenth aspect, the setting means sets the time selected by the user from a plurality of candidates as the rapid cooling time.

In the refrigerator according to the fifteenth aspect, a cooling plate is disposed on the bottom surface of the storage chamber.

In the refrigerator according to the sixteenth aspect, a refrigerator compartment is provided at the top of the refrigerator, and an ice making room and the storage compartment are provided side by side below the refrigerator compartment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
1 to 3 are diagrams for explaining the overall configuration of the refrigerator, and FIGS. 4 to 6 are diagrams for explaining the configuration of the main part.

First, the overall structure of the refrigerator will be described with reference to FIGS.

1 to 3, the refrigerator according to the present embodiment includes a refrigerator body 1 having an opening at the front. The refrigerator main body 1 includes a metal outer box 2, a hard resin inner box 3, and a foam heat insulating material 4 that is foam-filled between the outer box 2 and the inner box 3. In the refrigerator main body 1, a plurality of storage chambers are partitioned by

partition plates

5, 6, and the inside is filled with a foam heat insulating material 4. In addition, each storage chamber of the refrigerator main body 1 adopts the same heat insulating configuration as the refrigerator main body 1. Each storage room is openable and closable from above by a revolving refrigerator door 7, a drawer-type upper freezer compartment door 8 and an ice making door 9, a drawer-type lower freezer compartment door 10, and a drawer-type vegetable compartment door 11. is there.

The storage room formed in the refrigerator main body 1 includes an uppermost freezer room 14, an upper freezer room 15 provided under the freezer room 14, an ice making room 16 provided beside the upper freezer room 15, and an upper freezer room. 15 and the ice making room 16 are provided with a lower freezing room 17 and a vegetable room 18 provided at the lowermost part. The refrigerator compartment 14 is provided with a plurality of shelf plates 19, and a partial compartment 20 having a different cooling temperature zone is provided below the refrigerator compartment 14.

The refrigerator compartment 14 is a storage compartment for refrigerated storage. Specifically, it is usually set to 2 to 5 ° C. and cooled. Further, the partial chamber 20 provided in the refrigerator compartment is set to −1 to −4 ° C. suitable for microfrozen storage. The partial chamber 20 can be set to 0 to 2 ° C. as the chilled chamber 20 by controlling the air volume.

The vegetable room 18 is a storage room whose temperature is set equal to or slightly higher than that of the refrigerated room 14, and is specifically cooled to be set at 3 to 7 ° C. Since the vegetable compartment 18 becomes high humidity due to moisture emitted from stored food such as vegetables, condensation may occur if it is too cold locally. For this reason, the amount of cooling is reduced by setting the temperature relatively high, and the occurrence of condensation due to local overcooling is suppressed.

Also, the ice making room 16, the upper freezing room 15, and the lower freezing room 17 are storage rooms set to a freezing temperature zone, and are set to about −18 ° C. and cooled.

There is a cooling chamber 23 on the back of the lower freezing chamber 17. In the cooling chamber 23, a cooler 24 constituting a refrigeration cycle and a cooling fan 25 for supplying cold air to each chamber are installed above the cooler 24. Further, a defrosting means 26 (hereinafter referred to as a glass tube heater) constituted by a glass tube heater or the like is provided below the cooler 24.

The cooler 24 includes a compressor 27 formed in the upper part of the refrigerator main body 1, a condenser (not shown), a heat radiating pipe (not shown), and a capillary tube (not shown). A refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting in a ring shape. Cooling is performed by circulation of the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 27.

The cooling fan 25 is provided above the cooler 24, and the refrigerator compartment 14 and the upper refrigerator are connected to the downstream side of the refrigerator compartment duct 28, the freezer compartment duct 29, the ice making duct, the vegetable compartment duct 30 (not shown). Cold air is supplied to the chamber 15, the lower freezing chamber 17, the ice making chamber 16, and the vegetable chamber 18, and these chambers are cooled.

Next, the cooling chamber 23 and the cold air supply configuration will be described.

The cooling chamber 23 is located behind the upper freezing chamber 15, the ice making chamber 16 and the lower freezing chamber 18, and is formed by the cooling chamber forming plate and the inner box 3. The cooling fan 25 is positioned above the cooler 24 by mounting the cooling fan 25 on the upper part of the cooling chamber forming plate. A freezer compartment back plate 32 is attached to the front side of the cooling chamber forming plate to cover the downstream side of the cooling fan 25, and a freezer compartment duct 29 communicating with the cooling fan downstream side is formed between the cooling chamber 23 and the cooling chamber 23. ing.

Further, on the downstream side of the cooling fan 25, a refrigerator compartment duct 28 of the refrigerator compartment 14 and a vegetable compartment duct 30 of the vegetable compartment 17 are separately and independently connected at different positions. More specifically, the upper surface of the upper part on the downstream side of the cooling fan 25 has a twin damper 37 disposed in the first cold air supply port 33 provided in the partition plate 5 that partitions the refrigerator compartment 14 and the freezer compartment 18 as shown in FIG. It is connected to the refrigerator compartment duct 28 through the refrigerator compartment damper 37a. Further, the cold air to the partial chamber 20 is supplied through a partial chamber duct (not shown) through the partial chamber damper 37 b of the twin damper 37.

The vegetable room duct 30 is connected to the upper side of the cooling fan 25 downstream by providing a second cold air supply port 34. A vegetable room damper 38 is incorporated in the vegetable room duct 30. The refrigerator compartment damper 37a, the partial compartment damper 37b, and the vegetable compartment damper 38 are controlled to open and close based on the temperatures detected by the refrigerator compartment temperature sensor, the partial compartment temperature sensor, and the vegetable compartment temperature sensor provided in each compartment. And the preset temperature of each chamber is maintained by adjusting the amount of cool air supplied to each chamber.

Next, the configuration of the upper freezer compartment 15 and the lower freezer compartment 17 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The upper freezing room 15 and the ice making room 16 are divided into left and right by a vertical partition plate 39. An upper case 40 is provided in the upper freezer compartment 15 and is formed to be movable back and forth in conjunction with the drawer operation of the drawer-type upper freezer compartment door 8. An upper freezer compartment duct cover 41 (hereinafter referred to as a duct cover) that forms an upper freezer compartment air passage is formed on the partition plate 5 that serves as the top surface of the upper freezer compartment 15. The rear end of the duct cover 41 communicates with the freezer compartment duct 29 through an upper freezer compartment discharge hole 32 a formed in the freezer compartment back plate 32 constituting the cooling compartment 23. Further, the front end of the duct cover 41 is formed on the top surface so as to extend to a position closer to the front than the central portion of the upper case 40 in the depth direction.

Also, a ventilation fan 42 is provided near the front end of the duct cover 41 and is fixed to the duct cover 41. The ventilation fan 42 is disposed in the duct cover 41 so that the rotational drive shaft of the fan is in the vertical direction. Since the ventilation fan 42 is composed of a fan casing having a thickness thinner than that of the cooling fan 25, the installation space can be made as small as possible and can be installed without reducing the internal volume in the refrigerator. In addition, the electrical wiring of the ventilation fan 42 is connected in advance to a wiring from a control board (not shown) that controls the refrigerator, and is stored in a connector storage portion 41 a formed in the duct cover 41. The connector storage portion 41 a is formed on the side portion of the ventilation fan 42.

In the duct cover 41, a thermopile 43 for detecting the temperature of the food stored in the upper case 40 is provided. The thermopile 43 is accommodated between the front end of the duct cover 41 and the ventilation fan 42 so as to cover the periphery of the sensor with a heat insulating material so as not to touch the cool air. Further, the wiring of the thermopile 43 is connected in advance to the wiring of the control board in the connector storage portion 41a.

A ventilation fan 42 and a thermopile 43 are fixed in the duct cover 41. A connector for connecting the wiring of the ventilation fan 42 and the thermopile 43 and the wiring extending from the control board is stored in the connector storage portion 41a. The adjacent connector storage portion 41a and the ventilation fan 42 are partitioned by a partition wall 41d (see FIG. 6), and are formed so as not to guide cool air to the connector storage portion 41a, thereby preventing condensation on the connector storage portion 41a. ing. Further, the duct cover 41 is attached and fixed to the partition plate 5 that becomes the top surface of the upper freezer compartment 15.

Therefore, since the connector housing portion 41a is formed in the duct cover 41 so as to be partitioned from the cold air passage, frost formation and condensation can be prevented. Further, the ventilation fan 42 and the thermopile 43 can be removed while being arranged on the duct cover 41, and can be attached easily.

Further, a first ventilation hole 41 b in which a slit-like hole is formed in the duct cover 41 is formed at a position facing the ventilation fan 42 of the duct cover 41. Thereby, the discharge cold air from the ventilation fan 42 is discharged to the upper case 40 through the 1st ventilation hole 41b. Further, the first ventilation hole 41b is formed so that the ventilation fan 42 is not directly touched by hand.

Further, a plurality of second ventilation holes 41c are formed in the duct cover 41 leading to the ventilation fan 42, and cold air is discharged from the second ventilation hole 41c to the upper case 40 while the ventilation fan 42 is stopped.

The thermopile 43 fixed to the duct cover 41 is disposed above the ventilation fan 42 in the height direction, more specifically, above the first ventilation hole 41b. Therefore, the temperature of the input food material can be detected without being cooled by the cold air discharged from the first ventilation hole 41b.

Further, by fixing the duct cover 41 on which the ventilation fan 42 and the thermopile 43 are mounted to the partition plate 5 with screws or engaging means (not shown), the duct cover 41 can be incorporated into the partition plate 5 and the upper freezer compartment discharge hole 32a. And wiring can be performed.

A portion of the partition plate 5 facing the ventilation fan 42 is formed with a recess 5a having a top surface recessed upward, and a space 44 is formed between the ventilation fan 42 and the partition plate 5 on the top surface. .

Since a vacuum heat insulating material is embedded in the partition plate 5, the upper refrigerator compartment is cooled by the cool air passing through the top duct cover 41 without increasing the wall thickness of the partition plate 5 and improving the heat insulation. It is possible to prevent the bottom surface of 14 from being cooled and causing condensation.

Further, two cooling

plates

45 and 46 are disposed on the bottom surface of the upper case 40 in the front-rear direction of the upper case 40. The ventilation fan 42 and the thermopile 43 are arranged in the vertical projection of the front cooling plate 45, and a gap is formed between the front cooling plate 45 and the rear cooling plate 46.

In the lower freezer compartment 17, an upper case, an intermediate case, and a lower case having an open upper surface are arranged in this order from the top. There is a drawer-type lower freezer compartment door 10 that can open and close the front opening of the lower freezer compartment 17, and the upper case, the middle case, and the lower case are pulled out to the front of the opening according to the drawer operation of the lower freezer compartment door 10. It is possible.

The freezer compartment back plate 32 is provided with a plurality of lower freezer compartment discharge holes 32b for discharging cool air to the upper case, the middle case, and the lower case.

The freezer compartment back plate 32 is provided with a freezer compartment sensor (not shown) below the lower freezer compartment discharge hole 32b, and the operation of the compressor 27 is controlled according to the threshold value of the freezer compartment temperature sensor. .

In the configuration as described above, when the food before cooking is stored in the seasoning in the upper case 40 of the upper freezer compartment 15 or when the food during cooking is stored for rough heat removal. explain.

When the food is stored in the front cooling plate 45 of the upper case 40, it is detected that the food is stored in the upper case 40 by detecting the temperature of the food into which the thermopile 43 is charged, and the control unit performs the rapid cooling operation. To start.

The flowchart of FIG. 8 will be described.

First, the control unit performs an input material rapid cooling determination for determining whether or not the input food material is rapidly cooled. More specifically, the control unit first determines whether the temperature detected by the thermopile 43 of the input food is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature (for example, −10 ° C. or higher) (S-1). If the temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, the control unit next performs another room start condition determination (S-2) for determining whether the refrigerator compartment 14 and the vegetable compartment 18 satisfy the rapid cooling start condition. Specifically, the refrigerator temperature sensor and the vegetable room temperature sensor are each cooled to a predetermined temperature or lower (for example, 8 ° C. or lower), and at the same time, the cooler temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the cooler 24 is a predetermined temperature or higher (for example, −35 ° C.) If it is above, the control unit starts the rapid cooling operation.

Then, as operating conditions during the rapid cooling operation, the compressor 27 is operated at a speed higher than the normal rotation speed, the ventilation fan 42 is operated, and the refrigerator compartment damper 37a, the partial compartment damper 37b, and the vegetable compartment damper 38 are closed. At this time, the control unit lowers the fan voltage to operate the cooling fan 25 at a lower speed than the normal speed (S-3). In addition, the control unit controls the fan voltage (for example, about 11 V) of the ventilation fan 42 so as to be larger than the fan voltage (for example, about 2 V) of the cooling fan 25, and the rotational speed of the ventilation fan 42 is greater than that of the cooling fan 25. Driving at a speed greater than.

Further, the refrigerator compartment damper 37a, the partial compartment damper 37b, and the vegetable compartment damper 38 are closed and the cold air is concentrated and discharged to the upper freezer compartment 15 and the lower freezer compartment 17, and the cooling fan 25 is rotated at a low speed. The amount of cool air discharged to the upper freezer compartment 15 by the ventilation fan 42 can be intensively increased by suppressing the amount of cool air discharged to the air.

Further, by operating at a low speed by lowering the number of rotations of the cooling fan 25, the heat exchange amount of air exchanged with the cooler 24 can be suppressed, and the temperature of the cooler 24 can be lowered. Then, by operating the ventilation fan 42 on the leeward side of the cooling fan 25 at a higher speed than the cooling fan 25, the cooling fan 25 is stopped and the cold air having a lower temperature than the normal time when the rapid cooling operation is not performed is The case 40 can be discharged with a large air volume. Furthermore, by providing the front cooling plate 45 on the bottom surface of the upper case 40, the food placed on the front cooling plate 45 can be rapidly cooled.

Further, since the rear cooling plate 46 is arranged in front and rear with a gap with the front cooling plate 45, it is possible to reduce the influence of heat from the food on the front cooling plate capable of rapid cooling.

Further, since the partition plate 5 serving as the top surface of the upper freezer compartment 15 is provided with the recess 5a, the rotational drive shaft of the ventilation fan 42 is arranged in the vertical direction, so that the space portion 44 is provided on the suction side of the ventilation fan 42. Can be formed. The cold air that has passed through the cooling fan 25 and is guided to the duct cover 41 can be guided to the ventilation fan 42 while reducing the ventilation resistance. Therefore, the blowing sound by the ventilation fan 42 can be reduced, and the air volume during rapid cooling is reduced. Can be secured.

In S-4, from FIG. 7, the control unit ends the rapid cooling operation when a predetermined time (for example, 15 minutes) elapses from the start of the rapid cooling operation. Therefore, when the temperature detected by the thermopile 43 of the food to be input is 30 ° C. or higher, the rough heat removal time of the food can be shortened by the rapid cooling operation for 15 minutes, and the subsequent cooking time can be smoothly performed. And a control part stops the ventilation fan 42, and if the detection temperature by the temperature sensor of each room is more than preset temperature, it will open | release the damper of each corresponding room. Further, the compressor 27 is operated at a normal rotation speed, and the cooling fan 25 is also returned to the normal rotation speed.

Also, in S-4, before a predetermined time (for example, 15 minutes) for ending the rapid cooling operation from the start of the rapid cooling operation, the refrigerator compartment temperature sensor or the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator compartment 14 is loaded by a load or a half door of the door. If any of the 18 vegetable room temperature sensors is heated to a predetermined temperature at the start time + α ° C. or higher (for example, 10 ° C. or higher), the control unit performs the following control. That is, the control unit forcibly ends the rapid cooling operation, opens the damper of the storage room that has been heated to a predetermined temperature or higher, and gives priority to the cooling operation of the refrigerator compartment 14 or the vegetable compartment 18. At this time, the ventilation fan 42 stops, the cooling fan 25 operates by increasing the rotational speed from the low speed to the normal rotational speed, and waits for the rapid cooling operation. If the refrigerator compartment 14 and the vegetable compartment 18 are within the set temperature range before a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the rapid cooling operation, the operation is automatically resumed from the standby state of the rapid cooling operation, and the ventilation fan 42 and the cooling fan 25 are Controlled by the number of rotations during rapid cooling.

In addition, when the refrigeration room 14 and the vegetable room 18 are within the set temperature range after the lapse of a predetermined time of 15 minutes from the start of the rapid cooling operation, the rapid cooling operation is terminated without returning to the rapid cooling operation, and the ventilation fan 42 is stopped. Maintain state.

Therefore, rapid cooling operation can be performed while giving priority to maintaining the internal temperature of each room.

Further, in S-4, when a predetermined time (for example, 15 minutes) for ending the rapid cooling operation from the start of the rapid cooling operation has elapsed, for example, when the outside air temperature is low and the temperature of the input food material is a low temperature near the threshold value, Although the rapid cooling operation is started and the cooling fan 25 is rotating but operating at a low speed, the cooler 24 hardly exchanges heat with air. As a result, a large amount of supercooling occurs and the proportion of the liquid refrigerant increases, the condensation pressure decreases, and the refrigerant stays in the condenser excessively. And the refrigerant | coolant circulation amount of a refrigerating cycle falls sharply, the cooling capacity of a cooler reduces, and it comes to frost. The control unit determines that sufficient cooling capacity cannot be obtained, and ends the rapid cooling operation.

Then, the control unit energizes the defrosting means 26 and performs the defrosting operation of the cooler 24 or stops the operation of the compressor 27.

Further, in S-4, before the predetermined time (for example, 15 minutes) for ending the rapid cooling operation has elapsed from the start of the rapid cooling operation, the control unit quickly changes the temperature when the thermopile 43 falls below the predetermined temperature (for example, −20 ° C. or less). End the cooling operation. At this time, the control unit stops the ventilation fan 42 and opens the damper of each corresponding chamber if the temperature detected by the temperature sensor in each chamber is equal to or higher than the set temperature. Further, the control unit operates the compressor 27 at a normal rotational speed, and the cooling fan 25 is also returned to the normal rotational speed.

Therefore, if the temperature detected by the thermopile 43 falls below a predetermined temperature before reaching the set quenching time, the control unit stops the rapid cooling operation and returns to the normal cooling operation, so that each chamber is maintained at an appropriate temperature. can do.

As described above, the end of the rapid cooling operation mode (S-5) is basically performed by time control. Although the above explanation has been made on the operation of ending the rapid cooling operation when a predetermined time (for example, 15 minutes) has elapsed since the rapid cooling operation started, the rapid cooling selection button can be used to select the rapid cooling time when the rapid cooling operation is started. May be. For example, the rapid cooling time has a time setting of 5 minutes (rapid cooling), 15 minutes (rough heat removal), and 30 minutes (rapid freezing), and the rapid cooling time is selected by operating the rapid cooling selection button. The rapid cooling operation mode is controlled and terminated in the selected rapid cooling time. However, if the internal temperature of the other room rises or the cooler 24 falls below a predetermined temperature, the rapid cooling operation mode has priority over the selected rapid cooling set time. To forcibly terminate and cancel the rapid cooling operation.

When the rapid cooling operation mode ends, the display unit (not shown) is turned on or blinked to notify the user. Alternatively, a notification sound may be emitted to notify the end.

In particular, when the temperature of the food material to be added is 30 ° C. or higher, it may be automatically set to the rough heat removal mode (rapid cooling time is 5 minutes) to start the rapid cooling operation.

Further, although the thermopile 43 is disposed in the duct cover 41, a temperature sensor inside the thermistor may be installed in place of the thermopile 43, and the rapid cooling operation can be automatically controlled when the food is added.

Further, although the cooling fan 25 is operated at a low speed during rapid cooling, the cooling fan 25 may be stopped. Further, the amount of heat exchange between the cooler 24 and the air is suppressed, the temperature of the cooler 24 is further lowered, and the ventilation fan 42 is operated at a higher speed to discharge cooler cool air to the upper case 40. The rapid cooling operation time can be further shortened.

(Embodiment 2)
A flowchart when a thermistor is arranged in the upper freezer compartment 15 instead of the thermopile 43 will be described with reference to FIG.

A quenching operation unit (not shown) is provided on the side wall of the refrigerator compartment 14 or the front face of the refrigerator compartment door 7 so that the upper freezer compartment 15 can be controlled to the quenching operation.

First, the conditions for starting the rapid cooling operation will be described. In S-11, the user operates the rapid cooling operation unit to turn on the automatic setting mode, and sets the upper freezer compartment 15 to the automatic rapid cooling mode.

In S-12, the thermistor rises to a predetermined temperature (eg, + 5 ° C.) or more within a predetermined time (eg, within 5 minutes) after the automatic setting mode is turned on, or in S-13, depending on the input food If the thermistor temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature (for example, −10 ° C. or higher), the refrigerator temperature sensor is at a predetermined threshold A ° C. or lower (for example, 6 ° C. or lower) at S-15, and the vegetable room temperature sensor is predetermined at S-16. Defrosting of the defrost mode of the cooler 24 at a threshold value B ° C. or less (for example, 6 ° C. or less), and the cooler temperature sensor at S-17 is a predetermined threshold C ° C. or more (for example −35 ° C. or more), and S-19 If the controller is operating, waiting for activation after defrosting, or not in defrost protection control, the control unit determines that the start condition for the quenching operation is satisfied, and starts the quenching operation under the operation condition of S-21.

Also, when in the S-19 defrosting mode, the rapid cooling operation is waited (S-20), and if the flow of S-15 to S-19 is satisfied, the operation condition is shifted to S-21.

S-21 is rapid cooling operation control. After a predetermined time from the start of the rapid cooling control, the control unit increases the rotational speed of the compressor 27 than during normal operation, lowers the rotational speed of the cooling fan 25 than during normal operation, and starts the operation of the ventilation fan 42. . The relationship between the ventilation fan 42 and the cooling fan 25 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the fan voltage (for example, about 11 V) of the ventilation fan 42 is made larger than the fan voltage (for example, about 2 V) of the cooling fan 25. The motor is operated with the rotational speed of 42 being larger than the rotational speed of the cooling fan 25. At this time, the refrigerator compartment damper 37a, the partial compartment damper 37b, and the vegetable compartment damper 38 are closed to increase the ratio of the amount of cold air circulated to the upper freezer compartment 15, and the cold air circulates also in the lower freezer compartment 17 and the ice making compartment 16. So as to form an air passage.

This makes it possible to intensively and rapidly cool the introduced ingredients.

Also, during the rapid cooling operation, even if the defrost operation conditions are met, the defrost operation is waited for, and after the rapid cooling is completed, the defrost operation is started.

When the freezer temperature sensor in the lower freezer compartment 17 reaches a predetermined temperature and the compressor 27 stops, the cooling fan 25 stops in conjunction with the compressor 27, but the ventilation fan 42 continues to operate. When the compressor 27 is stopped for a predetermined time or more, regardless of the freezer temperature sensor, the compressor is forcibly started, the cooling fan 25 is also started at the fan voltage, and the upper freezer 15 is rapidly cooled. Do the driving.

The conditions for canceling the rapid cooling operation will be described. When the refrigerator temperature sensor becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold J ° C. (for example, 10 ° C. or higher) in S-22, or the vegetable room temperature sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold K ° C. in S-23 ( For example, when the temperature reaches 10 ° C. or higher, or when a predetermined time (for example, 40 minutes) has elapsed since the start of rapid cooling in S-24, the controller ends the rapid cooling operation (S-26).

In S-25, the user can forcibly terminate the rapid cooling operation by operating the rapid cooling operation unit. When the rapid cooling operation is completed, the control unit lowers the rotation speed of the compressor 27 from the high speed rotation to the normal operation rotation speed, increases the fan voltage so that the cooling fan 25 changes from the low speed rotation to the normal rotation, and the ventilation fan 42 It stops and opens / closes each storage chamber damper according to the temperature sensor of each chamber.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart when the user manually sets the rapid cooling operation. A different point from

Embodiments

1 and 2 is that a rapid cooling time can be selected, and rapid cooling, rough heat removal, and rapid freezing can be performed according to food materials and applications.

The refrigerator according to the present embodiment includes a rapid cooling operation unit (not shown) on the side wall in the refrigerator compartment 14 or the front face of the refrigerator compartment door 7. And the upper freezer compartment 15 is controllable to rapid cooling operation. The quenching time can be selected by the number of times of pressing or touching the quenching operation unit. For example, 1 minute can be set by pressing once, 5 minutes can be set by pressing twice, 15 minutes can be set by pressing, and 45 minutes can be quickly selected by pressing 4 times. (S-31).

That is, the upper freezer compartment 15 can be controlled to be operated rapidly by the user's operation without detecting the thermistor temperature or the rising temperature of the upper freezer compartment 15.

In addition, when canceling the rapid operation control, the quenching operation unit is pressed five times or more in S-32, or the control is ended when touched (S-33).

Next, a mode for confirming the start condition for judging whether or not the rapid cooling operation can be performed is entered. In S-34, the refrigerator temperature sensor is a predetermined threshold A ° C. or less (eg, 6 ° C. or less), and in S-35, the vegetable room temperature sensor is a predetermined threshold B ° C. or less (eg, 6 ° C. or less). If the temperature sensor is above the predetermined threshold C ° C (eg –35 ° C or higher) and the defrosting operation in the defrosting mode of the cooler 24 is not being performed at S-37, or waiting for activation after defrosting or defrost protection control is not in progress. The controller determines that the rapid cooling operation start condition is satisfied, and starts the rapid cooling operation under the operation condition of S-39.

Also, when in the defrosting mode of S-37, the rapid cooling operation is waited (S-38), and if the flow of S-34 to S-37 is satisfied, the operation condition shifts to S-39.

In S-39, control is performed in the same manner as the operation in S-21 of the second embodiment, and the control unit starts rapid cooling of the upper freezer compartment 15.

In S-40, the refrigerator temperature sensor becomes a predetermined threshold J ° C or higher (eg, 10 ° C or higher), or in S-41, the vegetable room temperature sensor becomes a predetermined threshold K ° C or higher (eg, 10 ° C or higher). Or when the rapid cooling time initially set in S-42 has elapsed, the rapid cooling operation is automatically terminated (S-44).

In S-43, the rapid cooling operation can be forcibly terminated by pressing or touching the rapid cooling operation unit five times or more (S-44).

When the rapid cooling operation is completed, the compressor reduces the rotation speed of the compressor 27 from the high speed rotation to the normal operation rotation speed, the fan fan voltage is increased so that the cooling fan 25 changes from the low speed rotation to the normal rotation, and the ventilation fan 42 stops. Then, each storage chamber damper is controlled to open and close according to the temperature sensor of each chamber.

Accordingly, even when the operation is started manually by operating the rapid cooling operation unit, the control unit determines whether or not the temperatures of the refrigerator compartment 14 and the vegetable compartment 18 satisfy the predetermined temperature, and even during the rapid cooling operation, the predetermined temperature is determined. When the inside is not satisfied, it is forcibly terminated, priority is given to temperature fluctuations in the refrigerator compartment 14 and the vegetable compartment 18, and the refrigerator compartment damper 37a or the vegetable compartment damper 38 is opened to preferentially cool these chambers.

Therefore, by controlling the cooling time of the upper freezer compartment 15, it is possible to shorten the time for rapid cooling of ingredients and rough heat removal, and to perform quick freezing.

A portable terminal communicates from outside the house through a public Internet line and communicates with a WI-FI router apparatus installed in the house and a wireless relay apparatus (not shown) installed in the refrigerator main body 1, and is connected to a wireless repeater. The rapid cooling time of the upper freezer compartment 15 can be set via the control board. For example, the time can be set to 5 minutes (rapid cooling), 15 minutes (rough heat removal), 30 minutes (rapid freezing), and convenience can be enhanced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be a refrigerator that can cool and cool by concentrating cool air in a part of the lower freezing room, and can be a commercial refrigerator including a household refrigerator. Applicable.

24 Cooler 25 Cooling fan 41 Duct cover 42 Ventilation fan 43 Thermopile

Claims

A storage room;
A ventilation fan for discharging cool air, provided on the top surface of the storage room;
Setting means for setting the rapid cooling time based on a user instruction;
Control means for executing a rapid cooling operation using the ventilation fan based on the rapid cooling time set by the setting means,
refrigerator.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein an air passage for guiding the cold air to the ventilation fan is provided on the top surface of the storage chamber.
The top surface of the storage chamber is provided with a duct cover that forms an air passage for guiding the cold air to the ventilation fan,
The rear end of the duct cover communicates with a freezer compartment duct,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation fan is fixed to the duct cover.
The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein in the duct cover, a plurality of ventilation holes are provided between the ventilation fan and a rear end of the duct cover.
Of the top surface of the storage room, the portion facing the ventilation fan has a concave shape that is recessed upward of the refrigerator.
The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein a space is formed between the ventilation fan and the top surface of the storage chamber by the concave shape.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the storage room is set in a freezing temperature zone.
When the control means starts the rapid cooling operation, the ventilation fan starts to rotate,
When the rapid cooling time set by the setting means has elapsed since the rapid cooling operation started, the control means ends the rapid cooling operation,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation fan continues to rotate from the start of the rapid cooling operation to the end thereof.
When the quick cooling operation starts, the ventilation fan starts to rotate,
When the rapid cooling operation starts, the number of rotations of the cooling fan decreases,
When the rapid cooling operation starts, a predetermined damper is closed,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the rotation speed of the compressor is increased when the rapid cooling operation is started.
The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined damper includes at least a refrigerator compartment damper and a vegetable compartment damper.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the control means does not start the rapid cooling operation when the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is higher than the first temperature or when the temperature of the vegetable compartment is higher than the second temperature.
When the rapid cooling operation ends, the ventilation fan stops rotating,
When the rapid cooling operation ends, the rotation speed of the cooling fan returns to the normal rotation speed,
When the rapid cooling operation ends, the predetermined damper is opened,
The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein when the rapid cooling operation ends, the rotation speed of the compressor returns to a normal rotation speed.
The refrigerator according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined damper includes at least a refrigerator compartment damper and a vegetable compartment damper.
When the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is higher than the first temperature, or when the temperature of the vegetable compartment is higher than the second temperature, the control means does not start the rapid cooling operation,
When the temperature of the refrigerator compartment becomes higher than the third temperature after starting the rapid cooling operation, or when the temperature of the vegetable compartment becomes higher than the fourth temperature after starting the rapid cooling operation, The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the control means ends the rapid cooling operation.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the setting means sets a time selected by the user from a plurality of candidates as the rapid cooling time.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a cooling plate is disposed on a bottom surface of the storage chamber.
A refrigerator compartment is provided at the top of the refrigerator,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein an ice making room and the storage room are provided side by side below the refrigerating room.