WO2024046630A1

WO2024046630A1 - Method for controlling a refrigeration appliance, and refrigeration appliance

Info

Publication number: WO2024046630A1
Application number: PCT/EP2023/068701
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tobias HELFERICH; Hans Ihle; Tobias Jakobi; Lars Mack
Original assignee: BSH Hausgeräte GmbH
Priority date: 2022-08-30
Filing date: 2023-07-06
Publication date: 2024-03-07
Also published as: DE102022208954A1

Abstract

A refrigeration appliance (10) which has a compressor (19), a storage compartment (12) with storage shelves (20, 21, 22), a door (16) for closing the storage compartment (12), and a forced-air ventilated evaporator (42) with a fan (44) for circulating air between the evaporator (42) and the storage compartment (12) is operated by way of a method having the method steps a) operating (102) the refrigeration appliance (10), with an intermittently operating compressor with compressor running times and compressor downtimes; b) during a compressor running time, operating (104) the fan (44) at a first fan rotational speed (nL1); c) observing (106) the refrigeration appliance (10) for opening of a door, and c) if a door is opened during a compressor running time, operating (112) the fan (44) at a second fan rotational speed; if a door is opened during a compressor downtime, operating (114) the fan (44) at a third fan rotational speed.

Description

Method for controlling a refrigeration device and refrigeration device

The present invention relates to a household refrigerator with a freezer compartment and a method for controlling a household refrigerator with a freezer compartment, the household refrigerator having a forced-ventilated evaporator assigned to the freezer compartment. The household refrigeration device has a compressor, a storage compartment with storage trays, a door for closing the storage compartment, and a forced-ventilation evaporator with a fan for circulating air between the evaporator and the storage compartment.

The US 5,847,343 A describes, as the usual state of the art, a refrigerator-freezer combination household refrigeration appliance in which a freezer compartment fan is stopped when a freezer compartment door is opened.

JP 2003 083 661 A discloses a refrigeration appliance which has a freezer compartment with a freezer compartment door and an ice maker with an ice maker door, with a fan running for a predetermined time when the ice maker door is opened.

KR 1998 005 4644 A suggests running a fan to create an air curtain on the freezer compartment door when opening a freezer compartment door. The freezer compartment has no storage shells and no other flaps between the compartment and the freezer compartment door.

In a household refrigeration appliance with a storage compartment with bearing shells and a forced-ventilation evaporator, condensation can occur on the ceiling of the storage compartment in the front area of the top bearing shell when the door is opened. If the humidity is high, this can lead to the formation of drips with falling drops that are noticed by a user and found to be annoying.

It is the object underlying the invention to create an improved household refrigeration device with a storage compartment with bearing shells and a forced-cooled condenser, which creates an improvement in terms of condensation.

The object of the invention is achieved by objects with the features according to the independent claims. The refinements are the subject of the dependent claims, Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the figures and the description.

The household refrigeration device according to the invention has a compressor, a storage compartment with a rear wall and at least one bearing shell, a door for closing the storage compartment, a forced-ventilated evaporator with a fan for circulating air between the evaporator and the storage compartment, and a controller for operating a household refrigeration device. The control works in such a way that the fan is operated with the bearing shells when the door of the storage compartment is opened. This makes it possible to reduce condensation that occurs in the area of the bearing shells when the door is opened, especially in the front area of the ceiling of the storage compartment above the top bearing shell.

The household refrigeration device can be a freezer with a freezer compartment or a combination refrigeration device with a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment, the freezer compartment being equipped with drawers.

A cold air duct is arranged in the rear wall of the storage compartment and is closed off from the storage compartment by an air duct cover. The air duct cover has air inlet openings for supplying cold air into the storage compartment. The rear wall contains the fan and forms the separation in an air circulation path between the suction side of the fan with the evaporator and the pressure side of the fan with the cold air duct.

A return air duct with a storage compartment-side outlet opening in the rear wall can be formed in the rear wall or between the rear wall and an inner container which encloses the storage compartment and adjoins an insulation layer.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the rear wall has a first air inlet opening into the storage compartment, the first air inlet opening being arranged at a height between an upper edge of a top bearing shell and a ceiling of the storage compartment. The supply of air into the storage compartment through this air inlet opening promotes a flow of cold air under the ceiling of the storage compartment from an air distribution duct in a rear wall of the storage compartment to a front of the top storage shell. Some of the air conveyed by the fan can pass through a gap between an upper edge of the The front of the top bearing shell and the ceiling of the storage compartment flow towards the door opening and counteract the ingress of air from the direction of the open door.

Another embodiment provides that the household refrigeration appliance has a shelf on which a bearing shell is stored, and the rear wall has a second air inlet opening into the storage compartment, the second air inlet opening being arranged at a height directly above and/or immediately below the shelf . This means that condensation on the top or bottom of the shelf can be avoided or at least reduced when the door is opened.

An air duct is advantageously arranged under a bottom of the bearing shell. The bearing shell can have side runners under the floor that laterally limit the air duct. The air duct under the bottom of the storage shell allows the floor to be cooled from below, which is particularly advantageous for stored goods that are lying on the floor. The design of runners facilitates the pulling out of the bearing shell, since a large part of the runners still rests even when the bearing shell is pulled forward. The runners can be designed as an extension of the side walls below the bottom of the bearing shell with the advantage of a smooth outer side surface.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the rear wall has an outlet opening, the outlet opening being arranged at a height between a floor of the storage compartment and a floor of a lowest bearing shell. The air supply from the storage compartment through the outlet opening into an air duct in the rear wall of the storage compartment feeds the air to the evaporator. The arrangement of the outlet opening can interact with the air channel and the bottom of the lowest bearing shell and create a favorable flow path.

When the door is opened, air flows from front to back underneath the lowest bearing shell due to the operation of the fan. In this area of the air duct under the bottom of the lowest bearing shell, condensation is accepted when the door is opened. Such condensation then takes place on surfaces that do not or only slightly disturb the user of the refrigeration device. The method according to the invention for operating a household refrigeration device, which has a compressor, a storage compartment with bearing shells, a door for closing the storage compartment, and a forced-ventilated evaporator with a fan for circulating air between the evaporator and the storage compartment, has the method steps

- Operating the refrigeration device with an intermittently operating compressor with compressor running times and compressor idle times;

- operating the fan at a first fan speed during a compressor running time;

- Observe the refrigerator for a door opening and

- when the door is opened during a compressor running time, the fan is operated at a second fan speed;

- When the door is opened during the compressor idle time, the fan is operated at a third fan speed. Operating the fan while the door is opening allows air to flow from the area of the bearing shells towards the door. This air flow occurs through gaps around the front sides of the bearing shells and counteracts the ingress of air from the direction of the door through these gaps. This makes it possible to avoid or minimize condensation that occurs when the door is opened, especially in the front area of the ceiling above the top bearing shell

According to one embodiment of the invention, the second fan speed and the third fan speed are smaller than the first fan speed. In this way, condensation can be avoided and at the same time an unnecessarily large entry of moisture into the evaporator can be avoided when the door is opened.

When the door is opened during a compressor running time, the fan is advantageously operated at the second fan speed with a first time delay and/or during a compressor idle time at the third fan speed with a second time delay. During a compressor running time, when the door is opened, the fan initially continues to run at the first fan speed before the fan is operated at the second fan speed after the first time delay. At the beginning of a door opening, the warm and moist outside air has not yet penetrated to the areas at risk of condensation. Therefore, the second and third fan speeds can be switched on with a delay. The second time delay may be the same as or different from the first time delay. According to another embodiment of the invention, the fan is operated with a follow-up time when the door is opened. The follow-up time takes into account that after the door is closed, moist and warm air is trapped in the area between the door and the front of the bearing shells, and is used to discharge this air directly into the evaporator.

According to another embodiment of the invention, air conveyed by the fan is blown into the storage compartment at a height between an upper edge of a top bearing shell and a ceiling of the storage compartment. This allows for beneficial air circulation without steering between the cold air duct and the front of the top bearing shell.

The household refrigeration appliance can have a shelf on which a bearing shell is stored, and the air conveyed by the fan can be blown into the storage compartment at a height immediately above and/or immediately below the shelf. This can also reduce condensation in the front area of the shelves.

Preferably, there is a narrow gap between an upper edge of a top bearing shell and the ceiling of the storage compartment, and the second fan speed and the third fan speed are selected such that air flows through the gap towards the door at all prescribed operating points. The prescribed operating points are defined for the awarding of an energy label for the refrigeration device. Depending on the type of storage compartment, it is determined which temperatures in the storage compartment must be achieved at which specific ambient temperatures. In this way, it can be coordinated which second and third fan speeds are selected at which ambient temperatures. In this way, condensation can be avoided at different ambient temperatures and at the same time an unnecessarily large entry of moisture into the evaporator can be avoided when the door is opened.

The air conveyed by the fan can advantageously be sucked in at a height between a floor of the storage compartment and a floor of the lowest bearing shell. This allows for better air circulation during a door opening. An air duct between the bottom of the storage compartment and the bottom of the lowest bearing shell interacts with an air outlet opening in the rear wall at the same height to create a low drag flow path. Embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and are described in more detail below.

Show it:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a household refrigeration appliance according to the invention;

2 shows a flowchart of a method according to the invention; and

Fig. 3 is a diagram of a time course of a fan speed according to the invention.

Fig. 1 shows a refrigerator representative of a household refrigeration appliance 10 with a storage compartment 12 and a housing 14, a door 16 and a machine room 18 with a compressor 19. The storage compartment 12 is accessible via the door 16 and has a lower bearing shell 20 and middle bearing shells 21 and an upper bearing shell 22. The lower bearing shell 20 rests on a floor 24 of the storage compartment, the middle bearing shells 21 and the upper bearing shell 22 rest on storage shelves 26, 27, 28. The housing 14 has insulated walls 30 which enclose an interior 32.

The interior 32 contains the storage compartment 12, an evaporator chamber 34 and a cold air duct 36. A rear wall 38 of the storage compartment 14 forms a separation between the storage compartment 14 and the cold air duct 36 on an inside of the rear wall 38 and the evaporator chamber 34 on an outside of the rear wall 38. An air duct cover 40 forms a separation between the storage compartment 14 and the cold air duct 36.

The evaporator chamber 34 contains an evaporator 42. Above the evaporator 42 there is a fan 44 in the rear wall 38. The fan 44 conveys air from the evaporator chamber 34 into the cold air duct 36. A suction duct 45 extends between a suction opening 47 at the lower end of the rear wall 38 and the evaporator 42.

The air duct cover 40 includes air inlet openings 46, 48, 50, 52 and 54. The air inlet opening 46 is arranged at the lower end of the air duct cover 40, the air outlet opening 14 is arranged at the lower end of the air duct cover 40, and the air inlet openings 48, 50, 52 are arranged therebetween , namely at the level of the shelves 27, 28. The air inlet openings 48, 50 are arranged at a height directly below and above the shelf 27, while air inlet opening 52 is arranged both directly below and immediately above the shelf 28.

The bearing shells 20, 21, 22 have a bottom 55, 56, side walls 58, 60, shell rear walls 62, 64 and front walls 66, 68. The front walls 66, 68 are designed as a recessed grip with an upper edge 70 at their upper end. The side walls 58, 60 of the bearing shells are designed as runners 72 below the floors 55, 56, on which the bearing shells are stored.

Under the bearing shells 20, 21, 22 there is an air duct 73, which is formed laterally by the runners 72, above by the floors 55, 56, and below by the respective base, which is the floor 24 of the storage chamber for the bearing shells 20 12, and for the bearing shells 21, 22 the storage shelves 26, 27, 28.

The air circulation is such that when the door 16 is closed and the fan 44 is switched on, the cold air from the evaporator 42 flows into the storage chamber 12 through the air inlet openings 46, 48, 50, 52 and 54, specifically below and above the storage shelves 26, 27, 28 and below a ceiling 76 of the storage chamber 12. The air flows above the storage shelves 26, 27, 28 through the air channels 73 from back to front and into the air channel 73 of the bearing shells 20 from front to back to the suction opening 47.

The uppermost air inlet opening 54 is arranged at a height between an upper edge (57) of the shell rear wall 64 of the uppermost bearing shell 22 and the ceiling 76 of the storage chamber 12.

If the door is opened, there is a risk of condensation in the front area 78 of the ceiling 76 of the storage compartment 12. This is prevented by a control 80 of the household refrigerator 10 by operating the fan 44 while the door 16 of the storage compartment 12 with the bearing shells 20, 21, 22 is opened. Likewise, the described air guidance prevents condensation in the front area of the shelf 26, 20, 28. The air flows through gap 82 between the upper edges 70 of the bearing shells 20, 21 and the storage shelves 26, 27, 28 above them and through gap 84 between the upper edge 70 of the top bearing shell 22 and the ceiling 76 of the storage compartment 12.

The household refrigerator 10 is shown as a refrigerator with a storage compartment with bearing shells, but Fig. 1 can also be viewed as the lower part of a combination refrigerator with a refrigerator compartment at the top and a freezer compartment at the bottom with drawers.

Fig. 2 describes the method according to the invention for operating a household refrigeration appliance using flow chart 100 with reference to the household refrigeration appliance 10 from Fig. 1.

The method starts with the method step 102 of operating the refrigeration device 10 with the door 16 closed with an intermittently operating compressor with compressor running times and compressor idle times. During a compressor running time, the fan 44 is operated 104 at a first fan speed. During normal operation, the refrigeration device is observed 106 for a door opening.

If no door opening is detected, the method branches into loop 108 and normal intermittent operation continues. When the door is opened, the method branches into branch 110. If the door is opened while the compressor is running, the fan is operated 112 at a second fan speed. If the door is opened during a compressor idle time, the fan is operated 114 at a third fan speed. The observation 106 for a door opening is then continued via branch 116. Here it will now be recognized that the door is closed again. The loop 108 then returns to intermittent operation.

The operation of the fan 44 during a door opening enables air to flow from the area of the bearing shells 20, 21, 22 towards the door. This air flow occurs through gaps 82, 84 around the front sides of the bearing shells 20, 21, 22 and counteracts the penetration of air from the direction of the door 16 through this gap. This makes it possible to avoid or minimize 116 condensation that occurs when the door is opened, especially in the front area of the ceiling above the top bearing shell According to one embodiment of the method, when the door is opened during a compressor running time, the fan is operated at the second fan speed with a first time delay and/or during a compressor idle time at the third fan speed with a second time delay. During a compressor running time, when the door is opened, the fan initially continues to run at the first fan speed before the fan is operated at the second fan speed after the first time delay. At the beginning of a door opening, the warm and moist outside air has not yet penetrated to the areas at risk of condensation. Therefore, the second and third fan speeds can be switched on with a delay.

According to another embodiment, the fan is operated with a follow-up time when the door is opened. After the closing of the door 16 has been determined via branch 116 in 106, the follow-up time can be taken into account in the loop 108. The follow-up time takes into account that after the door is closed, moist and warm air is trapped in the area between the door and the front of the bearing shells , and serves to remove this air directly into the evaporator.

Fig. 3 shows diagram 120 with the time course of a fan speed when a door is opened during a compressor run with time delay and overrun. At time ti, the compressor 19 is switched on and operated at the speed nV, curve 122. At the same time, the fan 44 is switched on and operated at the first fan speed nL1, curve 124. At time _t2 , a door opening T2 is detected, indicated by curve 126 the door opening. At time t _3, the fan 44 is operated at the second fan speed nL2 with a time delay compared to time t ₂ . At time t4, the end of the door opening is recognized and a follow-up time begins, which ends at time ts, at which time the fan speed is increased again to the first fan speed nL1. This is maintained until the compressor is switched off again at time tß. REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST

10 household refrigeration device

12 storage compartment

14 housings

16 door

18 engine room

20, 21, 22 bearing shells

24 floor

26, 27, 28 shelf

30 walls

32 interior

34 evaporator chamber

36 cold air duct

38 back wall

40 air duct cover

42 evaporators

44 fans

46, 48, 50, 52, 54 air intake opening

55, 56 floor

57 Rand

58, 60 sidewall

62, 64 shell back wall

66, 68 front wall

70 edge

72 runners

73 air duct

75 Lower loop compressor switched on

76 blanket

78 front area

80 control

82, 84 gaps

100 flowchart

102 Operate 104 Operate

106 Watch

108 loop

110 Branch 112 Operate

114 Operate

116 branch

120 chart

122, 124, 126 curve t> time

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. Method for operating a household refrigeration device (10), which has a compressor (19), a storage compartment (12) with bearing shells (20, 21, 22), a door (16) for closing the storage compartment (12), and a forced-ventilated evaporator (42) with a fan (44) for circulating air between the evaporator (42) and the storage compartment (12), with the method steps a) operating (102) of the household refrigeration device (10), with an intermittently operating compressor with compressor running times and compressor idle times ; b) operating (104) the fan (44) at a first fan speed (nL1) during a compressor running time; c) observing (106) the household refrigeration appliance (10) for a door opening and d) operating (112) the fan (44) at a second fan speed when the door is opened during a compressor running time; When the door is opened during a compressor idle time, the fan (44) is operated (114) at a third fan speed.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the second fan speed and the third fan speed are smaller than the first fan speed.

3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that when the door is opened during a compressor running time, the fan (44) is operated at the second fan speed with a first time delay, and / or when the door is opened during a compressor idle time, the fan is operated ( 44) takes place at the third fan speed with a second time delay.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that when the door is closed, the fan (44) is operated with a follow-up time.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that air conveyed by the fan is fed into the storage compartment (12) at a height between an upper edge (57) of a top bearing shell (22) and a ceiling (76) of the storage compartment (12). ) is blown in.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the household refrigerator (10) has a shelf (26, 27, 28) on which a bearing shell (21, 22) is stored is, characterized in that air conveyed by the fan (44) is blown into the storage compartment (12) at a height directly above and/or immediately below the shelf (26, 27, 28).

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that there is a narrow gap (68) between an upper edge (70) of a top bearing shell (22) and the ceiling (76) of the storage compartment (12), and the second fan speed and the third fan speed is selected such that air flows through the gap (68) towards the door (16) at all prescribed operating points.

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the air conveyed by the fan (44) is discharged from the storage compartment (12) at a height between a floor (24) of the storage compartment and a floor (55) of the lowest storage shell (20). ) is sucked off.

9. Household refrigeration device, which has a compressor (19), a storage compartment (12) with a rear wall (38) and at least one bearing shell (20, 21, 22), a door (16) for closing the storage compartment (12), and a forced-ventilated Evaporator (42) with a fan (44) for circulating air between the evaporator (42) and the storage compartment (12), characterized in that the household refrigerator (10) has a control (80) for operating the household refrigerator according to a method according to one of claims 1 to 8.

10. Household refrigeration appliance according to claim 9, characterized in that the rear wall (38) has a first air inlet opening (54) into the storage compartment (12), the first air inlet opening (54) being at a height between an upper edge (57) of a top bearing shell (22) and a ceiling (76) of the storage compartment (12) is arranged.

11. Household refrigerator according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the household refrigerator (10) has a shelf (27, 28) on which a bearing shell (21) is mounted, and the rear wall (38) has a second air inlet opening (50, 52) in the storage compartment (12), the second air inlet opening (50, 52) being arranged at a height directly above and / or immediately below the storage shelf (27, 28).

12. Household refrigeration appliance according to claim 9, 10 or 11, characterized in that an air duct (73) is arranged under a base (55, 56) of the bearing shell.

13. Household refrigeration appliance according to claim 12, characterized in that a bearing shell (20, 21, 22) has lateral runners (72) under a base (55, 56) which laterally delimit the air duct (73).

14. Household refrigeration appliance according to one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that the rear wall (38) has an outlet opening, the outlet opening being in a

Height is arranged between a bottom of the storage compartment and a bottom of a bottom bearing shell.