JPH04194569A - Freezer-refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a rapid cooling of a refrigeration chamber and a freezing chamber to be carried out as well as to enable a temperature control to be attained and further to prevent over-cooled state of the refrigeration chamber without generating any flow sound of refrigerant accompanied by a changing-over in a refrigerant flow passage by a method wherein the freezing chamber and the refrigeration chamber are provided with an exclusive evaporator and a fan and then a temperature control of the refrigeration chamber is carried out by driving and stopping the fan in the refrigeration chamber. CONSTITUTION:In the event that only a freezing chamber is rapidly cooled, a compressor 4 is continuously operated, an R cooling fan 6 in a refrigeration chamber is stopped and only an F cooling fan 2 of a freezing chamber is rotated. With such an arrangement, a heat exchanging amount is reduced at an R evaporator 7 and correspondingly a heat exchanging amount at an F evaporator 1 is rapidly increased, a temperature in the freezing chamber is rapidly decreased to enable a rapid cooling of a food to be carried out. Similarly, in the event that only the refrigeration chamber is rapidly cooled, the compressor 4 is continuously operated, the F cooling fan 2 is stopped and only the R cooling fan 6 is rotated. With such an arrangement, a heat exchanging amount at the evaporator 1 is reduce and correspondingly a heat exchanging amount at the R evaporator 7 is rapidly increased so that a temperature in the refrigeration chamber is rapidly decreased and then a rapid cooling of the food can be performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a refrigerator-freezer, and more particularly to a refrigerator-freezer capable of controlling the temperature inside the refrigerator.

[Conventional technology] FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional refrigerator-freezer.

The conventional refrigerator-freezer shown in the figure is a refrigerator-freezer that is equipped with a cooler only in the freezer compartment, where air or convection flows in the direction of the arrow in the diagram, and the cooler in the freezer compartment is also used to cool the refrigerator compartment. . In the diagram, the refrigerator-freezer includes a freezer compartment, a refrigerator compartment, and a vegetable compartment. As shown in the figure, the inside and outside of the refrigerator are thermally shielded by a heat insulating material 5. Further, a compressor 4 is provided near the vegetable compartment with a heat insulating material 5 interposed therebetween. This compressor 4 operates to control the supply of refrigerant in a refrigeration cycle (described later) installed in the refrigerator-freezer. The freezer compartment is provided with an F evaporator 1 which has a high heat exchange rate with the cold tofu discharged from the compressor 4.

This F evaporator 1 is surrounded by a heat insulating material etc. so as to be independent from the freezer compartment, and the cold air cooled by this F evaporator 1 is forcibly frozen by an F cooling fan 2 installed near it. The cold air is sent into the refrigerator compartment through the cold air duct and cools each compartment. In this case, the temperature control of the freezer compartment is automatically controlled, and the temperature inside the freezer compartment is detected by a thermistor, and in response to this detection signal, the compressor 4 and F
The operation and stop of the cooling fan 2 is controlled to control the temperature in the freezer compartment to an appropriate temperature. On the other hand, in the refrigerator compartment, the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment is similarly detected by a thermistor, and the cold air passage to the refrigerator compartment is automatically opened and closed by the damper 3, and the amount of cold air flowing into the refrigerator compartment is controlled and maintained at an appropriate temperature. are doing.

Therefore, there is no need to manually adjust the temperature adjustment dial depending on the season, so the temperature can be maintained at the appropriate temperature without any uneven cooling.

By the way, if a large amount of food is suddenly tied up in the freezer or refrigerator compartment, or if food with a large heat capacity is packed, it is necessary to rapidly cool each compartment to maintain the appropriate temperature in order to preserve the food. There is a need to move quickly to In order to meet this demand in the refrigerator-freezer shown in Figure 6 above, it is possible to rapidly cool the freezer compartment by controlling the amount and speed of cold air using the forced convection method of the F cooling fan 2. It is. On the other hand, as mentioned above, the cooling control of the refrigerator compartment relied on the natural convection of cold air sent from the freezer compartment through the cold air ventilation path, so the amount of cold air ventilation into the refrigerator compartment was small, and the speed of the cold air Because of the small size of the refrigerator, it was extremely difficult to quickly cool the refrigerator compartment without its own cooler.

As mentioned above, in order to eliminate the drawback that rapid cooling of the freezer compartment is possible or that rapid cooling of the refrigerator compartment is extremely difficult, conventional methods have been used to A refrigerator/freezer with a cooler was provided.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional refrigerator-freezer in which a cooler is provided in each of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment.

Comparing the refrigerator-freezer shown in FIG. 7 with the refrigerator-freezer shown in FIG. 6 above, the difference in configuration is that the refrigerator-freezer in FIG. The point is that it is equipped with a vessel 7. .

The other configurations are the same as those shown in FIG. 6 above.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a refrigeration cycle employed in the refrigerator-freezer shown in FIG. 7 above.

In the refrigerator-freezer shown in FIG. 7, air convects in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and dedicated coolers F evaporator 1 and R evaporator 7 are provided in the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment, respectively, to keep each room in the refrigerator. It is independently cooled. Temperature control is by R evaporator 7 in the refrigerator compartment.
The drive and stop of the compressor 4 are controlled based on the temperature detected by a thermistor installed near the compressor 4. With this temperature control method, when the room temperature becomes sufficiently low, such as in winter,
If the freezer compartment is cooled to a predetermined temperature, the refrigerator compartment will become supercooled, and there is a risk that the food in the refrigerator compartment may freeze.

Therefore, this overcooling is avoided by adjusting the opening and closing of the valve that controls the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing into the R evaporator 7 of the refrigerator compartment. The details will be explained with reference to the refrigeration cycle shown in FIG.

In the refrigeration cycle shown in FIG. 8, the refrigerant flows in the direction of the arrow in the figure. This refrigerant circulates within the cycle while repeatedly changing its state from gas to liquid to gas 2, thereby achieving effective heat transport.

The refrigeration cycle shown in FIG. 8 includes a compressor 4 that sucks low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant gas, compresses it to a condensing pressure, and discharges it as high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant gas;
A condenser 11 condenses the gas refrigerant to a liquid refrigerant by dissipating the heat of the refrigerant gas, and a first capacitor into which the high-pressure liquid refrigerant that has exited the condenser 11 flows and reduces the pressure to a level where it can easily evaporate. Contains pilaritube 8. moreover,
The refrigeration cycle includes a solenoid valve 1 that controls the amount of liquid refrigerant discharged from the first capillary tube 8 flowing into the R evaporator 7.
0, a second capillary tube 9 that constitutes a bypass path for the refrigerant flow path to the R evaporator 7 when the electromagnetic valve 10 is closed, an F evaporator 1, and an F cooling fan 2.

Next, the operation of this refrigeration cycle will be explained.

During normal cooling, the compressor 4 sucks in refrigerant gas, compresses it into high-temperature, high-pressure gas, and discharges it. This high-temperature, high-pressure cold gas flows into the condenser 11, and the condenser 11 prevents the high-temperature, high-pressure cold gas from meandering, promotes heat radiation to the outside of the refrigerator, and condenses the gas refrigerant into liquid refrigerant. This liquid refrigerant is gradually depressurized by passing through the first capillary tube 8 and flows into the R evaporator 7 of the refrigerator compartment via the second capillary tube 9 and the solenoid valve 10. At this time, as shown in the figure, the second capillary tube 9 has a structure that makes it difficult for the refrigerant to flow, so most of the liquid refrigerant is in the open state when it is sent out from the first capillary tube 8. It flows into the R evaporator 7 via the solenoid valve 10. Since the R evaporator 7 accelerates the evaporation of the liquid refrigerant, the inside of the refrigerator compartment is cooled by the latent heat of evaporation. Thereafter, the refrigerant flows into the next F evaporator 1, where evaporation is further promoted and the inside of the freezer is similarly cooled. As described above, the refrigerant that has cooled the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment returns to the compressor 4 again and repeats the above-described refrigeration cycle.

In the above-described refrigeration cycle, in order to prevent overcooling of the refrigerator compartment when the ambient temperature drops, such as during winter, the solenoid valve lO is closed. As a result, the refrigerant inflow path to the R evaporator 7, which is the cooler of the refrigerator compartment, is blocked, and bypass switching is controlled so that all the refrigerant supplied from the compressor 4 flows into the second capillary tube 9 side. Ru. In this way, cooling by evaporation of the refrigerant in the R evaporator 7 is interrupted, and cooling of the refrigerator compartment is stopped, so that it is possible to avoid overcooling of the refrigerator compartment.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, the poor cooling efficiency of the refrigerator compartment, which is conventionally performed via the automatic damper 3 as shown in FIG. This problem was solved by providing a dedicated F evaporator 1 and R evaporator 7 for each of the storage compartment and the refrigerator compartment. This makes it possible to rapidly cool the refrigerator compartment, and has the advantage that the 0N10FF control of the solenoid valve 10 can eliminate the overcooling of the refrigerator compartment, for example, in winter. However, as mentioned above, the temperature control of the refrigerator compartment has been performed by controlling the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 10, so there is a problem in that the noise generated when the solenoid valve 10 is switched on and off is harsh and causes discomfort to the user. there were. Also,
When switching the solenoid valve 10 to open or close, the flow path of the refrigerant is from the second capillary tube 9 and the R evaporator 7 to the R evaporator 7.
Since the path is narrowed to only the evaporator 7, the flow of the refrigerant changes suddenly and a refrigerant flow noise is generated, which is also a problem because it is annoying to the user.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable temperature control including rapid cooling of refrigerator compartments and freezer compartments without producing refrigerant flow noise due to refrigerant flow path switching, and furthermore, to enable temperature control including rapid cooling of refrigerator compartments and freezing compartments during winter. It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator-freezer capable of preventing this condition.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A refrigerator-freezer according to the present invention includes a compressor, an evaporator and a fan provided in a freezing compartment, an evaporator and a fan provided in a refrigerator compartment, and a temperature control system for the freezing compartment. Freezer compartment temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the refrigerator compartment, refrigerator compartment temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the refrigerator compartment, freezer compartment cooling state determination means, refrigerator compartment cooling state determination means, and determination by the freezing compartment cooling state determination means compressor drive and stop means for driving or stopping the compressor in response to a determination made by the refrigerator compartment cooling state determination means; It is composed of: In addition,
The freezing compartment cooling state determining means determines whether the freezing compartment is in a predetermined cooling state based on the temperature detected by the freezing compartment temperature detecting means. Further, the refrigerator compartment cooling state determining means determines whether or not the refrigerator compartment is in a predetermined cooling state based on the temperature detected by the refrigerator compartment temperature detecting means.

Furthermore, in the refrigerator-freezer as described above, a request detection means detects at least one of a request for rapid cooling of the freezing compartment and a request for rapid cooling of the refrigerator compartment; It is configured to include driving means for driving at least one of the freezer compartment fan and the refrigerator compartment fan and the compressor for a predetermined period of time.

[Function] In the normal temperature control in the refrigerator-freezer according to the present invention, the temperature in the freezing compartment can be controlled by driving or stopping the compressor, and the temperature in the refrigerator compartment can be controlled by driving or stopping the refrigerator fan. I can do it. In other words,
The freezing compartment cooling state determining means determines whether the freezing compartment is in a predetermined cooling state based on the temperature detected by the freezing compartment temperature detecting means, and the compressor drive stop means responds to this determination result to stop the compression. Since it operates to drive or stop the machine, the flow rate of refrigerant flowing into the evaporator provided in the freezing compartment is controlled, thereby controlling the temperature of the freezing compartment. The refrigerator compartment cooling state determination means determines whether the refrigerator compartment is in a predetermined cooling state based on the temperature detected by the refrigerator compartment temperature detection means, and stops driving the refrigerator compartment fan in response to the determination result. Since the means operates to activate or deactivate the refrigerator compartment fan, rather than controlling the flow rate of refrigerant flowing into the refrigerator compartment evaporator, activating or deactivating the refrigerator compartment fan reduces the heat exchange in the refrigerator compartment evaporator and the cooling compartment fan. The temperature of the refrigerator compartment is controlled by promoting and stopping forced cooling of the refrigerator.

Further, when the refrigerator-freezer according to the present invention detects at least one of a request for rapid cooling of the freezing compartment and a request for rapid cooling of the refrigerator compartment, the fan installed in the freezing compartment and the fan installed in the refrigerator compartment respond to the detection of this request. Since at least one of the fans and the compressor are driven continuously for a predetermined period of time, it is possible to rapidly cool each of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment independently in response to the rapid cooling request.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a refrigerator-freezer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a refrigeration cycle installed in the refrigerator-freezer shown in FIG. 1 above.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a control section that controls the refrigeration cycle shown in FIG. 2 above.

Comparing the refrigerator-freezer shown in FIG. 1 with the conventional refrigerator-freezer shown in FIG. 7, the difference in their configurations is that the refrigerator-freezer shown in FIG. The refrigerator 7 is surrounded by a heat insulating material 5, and an R cooling fan 6 is provided near the R evaporator 7 to forcibly blow cold air into the refrigerator compartment.

Since the other configurations are the same as those of the prior art, detailed explanations regarding these will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator compartment is provided with an R evaporator 7, which is a cooler dedicated to the refrigerator compartment, surrounded by a heat insulating material 5.
After thermally isolating the evaporator 7 and the refrigerator compartment, the R cooling fan 6
Cooling is achieved through forced cold air circulation. When the refrigerator compartment becomes too cold, the cooling of the refrigerator compartment is interrupted by stopping the drive of the R cooling fan 6. Therefore, at this time, only the freezer compartment is being cooled. On the other hand, if the freezer compartment becomes too cold, stop driving the F cooling fan 2 and
The compressor 4 is stopped. In this way, the appropriate temperature control of the refrigerator compartment temperature is performed by the 0N10FF control of the R cooling fan 6, and the appropriate temperature control of the freezer compartment temperature is performed by the 0N10FF control of the compressor 4.
This is done using 0FF control. Therefore, the size (heat capacity) of the R evaporator 7 is set in advance within the guaranteed range of the outside air temperature so that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment does not rise when the compressor 4 is stopped. In other words, if the heat capacity of the R evaporator 7 is set small, its heat exchange rate will also be low, but if the outside temperature is low enough, the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment will rise even if the compressor 4 is stopped. is unlikely to occur. Conversely, when the outside temperature is high, if the compressor 4 is in a stopped state, the temperature in the refrigerator compartment tends to rise due to the low heat exchange rate of the R evaporator 7. Therefore, the required size (capacity) of the R evaporator 7 is set to a maximum capacity so that the refrigerating room is guaranteed to be kept cool even at the maximum expected outside temperature (for example, 35° C.).

The refrigeration cycle shown in FIG. 2 eliminates the solenoid valve 10 in the conventional refrigeration cycle shown in FIG. Also excluded. Therefore, the R evaporator 7 is directly connected to the output side of the first capillary tube 8, and the R cooling fan 6 is provided near the R evaporator 7. Other configurations are the same as before.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 8, the temperature of the refrigerating compartment was controlled by bypassing the flow path of the refrigerant supplied from the compressor 4 by controlling the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 10. However, in the refrigeration cycle shown in FIG. 2, instead of controlling the refrigerant flow path using the solenoid valve 10, the R cooling fan 6 is
The temperature of the refrigerator compartment is controlled by F control. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the noise associated with the opening and closing of the solenoid valve and the generation of refrigerant flow noise associated with refrigerant flow path switching, as in the past.Furthermore, since the solenoid valve 10 is excluded, the refrigeration cycle The configuration itself is simplified, and reliability can be improved and costs can be reduced.

FIG. 3 shows a control section of the above-mentioned refrigeration cycle, which is centrally controlled using a microcomputer 12.

This control section is provided in the heat insulating material 5 shown in FIG. 1 above, and includes a microcomputer 12 and a driver section 13 connected to the microcomputer 12 via a data line.

The microcomputer 12 includes an F thermistor 14,
R thermistor 15 and external switch 16 are connected,
The driver unit 13 operates the compressor 4 and the F cooling fan 2 based on data provided from the microcomputer 12.
and controls the driving of the R cooling fan 6. The F thermistor 14 and the R thermistor 15 are provided in each of the freezing and refrigerating compartments shown in FIG. The microcomputer 12 inputs the resistance value, first performs A/D conversion, and then uses a comparator or the like to compare and check the converted resistance value with a resistance value corresponding to a predetermined temperature, so that the freezer compartment and refrigerator compartment are at an appropriate temperature. It is determined whether or not it has been cooled down to a certain level. Then, based on this determination result, control data is given to the driver unit 13 via the data line, and the driver unit 13 responds to the compressor 4,
The R cooling fan 6 and the F cooling fan 2 are driven and controlled to maintain the cooling state of each room.

Further, when the user desires rapid cooling of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment, the external switch 16 is operated and responds to the F rapid cooling signal Fl instructing rapid cooling of the freezing compartment and the rapid cooling of the refrigerator compartment. An instructing R quenching signal R1 is given to the microcomputer 12. The microcomputer 12 provides control data to the driver section 13 in response to being provided with the quenching signal F1 or R1. Accordingly, the driver unit 13 turns on the compressor 4 based on this control data.
Continue to drive, and turn the R cooling fan 6 or F cooling fan 2 to O.
N drive to rapidly accelerate cooling of the freezer or refrigerator compartment.

As described above, in the control section of the refrigeration cycle, the microcomputer 12 normally controls the temperature of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment based on the detection signals of the F thermistor 14 and the R thermistor 15, but the external switch 1
When the F quenching signal R1 or the R quenching signal R1 is applied via the reference numeral 6, the control immediately shifts to rapid cooling control of the freezer compartment or refrigerator compartment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic process flow diagram showing the normal internal temperature control operation in a refrigerator-freezer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic process flow diagram showing the operation of rapid cooling control inside a refrigerator-freezer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The processing flows shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are stored in advance as programs in the memory inside the microcomputer 12 shown in FIG. (abbreviation)).

Next, normal internal temperature control in a refrigerator-freezer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

It is assumed that during normal cooling, the compressor 4 is driven and refrigerant is stably supplied into the refrigeration cycle.

First, the CPU of the microcomputer 12 is always
In the process of step 510 (abbreviated as SIO in the figure) in the figure, it is determined whether the freezer compartment is in a cooling state or a predetermined state. In other words, based on the detection signal of the F thermistor 14, it is determined whether the temperature in the freezer compartment has decreased to a predetermined temperature, and if it is determined that the temperature has decreased to the predetermined temperature and is sufficiently cooled, the next step is performed. The process moves to S12. On the other hand, if it is determined that the cooling is insufficient, the process branches to step S15, which will be described later.

In the process of step 512, depending on whether the cooling state of the freezer compartment is sufficient, the CPU stops driving the compressor 4 via the driver unit 13 to circulate the refrigerant in order to prevent a supercooling state. reduce the amount. This prevents the cooling of the freezer compartment from progressing to a supercooled state. After that, the process returns to step S10 again, and the process is repeated in the same manner.

On the other hand, in the process of step SIO, if it is determined that the freezer compartment is not sufficiently cooled, the compressor 4 and the F cooling fan 2 are driven in the process of the next step S15. In other words, the amount of circulating refrigerant is stabilized to promote cooling of the freezer compartment, and forced cooling by the F cooling fan 2 is promoted. Thereafter, the process moves to the next loop processing of step S18 and step S20. In this loop processing, it is determined whether the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment are in a cooling state or a predetermined cooling state, and depending on the result of this determination, the driving of the compressor 4 or the R cooling fan 6 is controlled to be stopped. do. That is, the CPU determines whether the temperatures of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment have sufficiently decreased to a predetermined temperature based on the temperatures detected by the F thermistor 14 and the R thermistor 15. At this time, if it is determined that the cooling state of the refrigerator compartment is not sufficient, the process moves to step 323 and subsequent steps to be described later, and the cooling of the refrigerator compartment is accelerated.

Conversely, during a period in which it is determined that the refrigerator compartment is sufficiently cooled and the freezing compartment is insufficiently cooled, the loop processing of step 318 and step S20 is repeatedly executed. Therefore, during this period, the compressor 4 and the F cooling fan 2 continue to be driven, and cooling of the freezer compartment continues to be promoted. After that, if it is determined that the cooling state of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment is sufficient, the process returns to step S12 described above again, and the compressor 4
This prevents the refrigerating compartment and freezing compartment from becoming overcooled by stopping the driving of the refrigerant and suppressing the amount of circulating refrigerant.

In the loop process of step S18 and step S20 described above, when it is determined that the cooling state of the refrigerator compartment has not reached the predetermined cooling state, the loop process of step 523 and step S27 is immediately executed repeatedly. In this loop process, the cooling state of the refrigerator compartment is checked without driving the R cooling fan 6. In other words, R cooling fan 6
By continuing to drive the refrigerator, forced convection of cold air is caused in the refrigerator compartment, and a predetermined cooling state is quickly reached. As a result, when the refrigerator compartment reaches a predetermined cooling state, this loop process is exited and the process moves to step S30.

In the process of step S30, the CPU controls the driver unit 13 in response to the refrigerator compartment reaching a predetermined cooling state.
The drive of the R cooling fan 6 is switched from ON to OFF through the switch. As a result, cooling of the refrigerator compartment by cold forced convection is stopped, so that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is maintained at a predetermined temperature and a predetermined cooling state can be maintained. Thereafter, in the process of step S33, it is determined again based on the detection signal of the F thermistor 15 whether the cooling state of the freezer compartment has reached a predetermined cooling state.

At this time, if it is determined that the cooling state of the freezer compartment is in a predetermined state, step S12 is performed again to prevent overcooling.
Returning to the process, the drive of the compressor 4 is stopped to suppress the amount of circulating refrigerant. That is, in response to the determination that the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment are in a predetermined cooling state in the determination processing of step S27 and step 533 described above, the compressor 4
Stop driving. Thereby, heat exchange within the refrigeration cycle is suppressed, and the interior of the refrigerator is prevented from falling into a supercooled state due to further progress of cooling.

As mentioned above, the temperature control of the freezer compartment is performed using 0N1 of the compressor 4.
The temperature control of the refrigerator compartment can be performed by controlling the R cooling fan 6 to 0N10FF.

Next, rapid cooling control of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5.

The CPU of the microcomputer 12 is connected to the external switch 1
It is constantly determined whether or not the F quenching signal R1 or the R quenching signal R1 given through 6 is input. That is, as shown in the loop processing of step S30 and step 5.50 in FIG. 5, the F quenching signal R1 and the R quenching signal R
During the period when 1 is not given, this loop process is repeatedly executed, so the normal temperature control described above is performed. On the other hand, when the F quenching signal R1 or the R quenching signal R1 is given, the CPU determines that these signals are the occurrence of an interrupt process, and immediately executes the process after step S32 or the process after step S52 according to the interrupt control. Start.

First, during normal temperature control, the microcomputer 12
When the F rapid cooling signal R1 is applied via the external switch 16, the CPU executes the rapid cooling process of the freezer compartment from step S32 onward by interrupt control.

In the process of step 33.2, the CPU starts a built-in timer (timekeeping mechanism) to start counting a predetermined time period (for example, 2 hours) required for rapid cooling. After that, steps S35 to S4
The process is repeated until it is determined in the loop process of step 1 or the determination process of step 541 that two hours have elapsed, the amount of circulating refrigerant increases, and accordingly, the amount of circulating refrigerant increases.
The amount of latent heat of vaporization increases, and the freezer compartment is rapidly cooled by the blowing effect of the F cooling fan 2.

As described above, when the rapid cooling period of, for example, two hours ends, the CPU proceeds to step S44, resets the timer, returns to normal temperature control, and prepares for the next required rapid cooling process.

Next, during normal temperature control, the microcomputer 12
Assuming that the R quenching signal R1 is given via the external switch 16, the CPU executes step S5 by interrupt control.
2. Execute the rapid cooling process for the refrigerator compartment shown in 2 and subsequent sections.

In the process of step S52, a timer (timekeeping mechanism) built in by the CPU starts counting a predetermined time period (for example, 2 hours) required for rapid cooling. Thereafter, the loop process from step S55 to step S61 is repeatedly executed until it is determined in the determination process in step S61 that two hours have elapsed. Therefore, during this period, the amount of circulating refrigerant increases, and accordingly, the amount of latent heat of vaporization in the R evaporator 7 increases, and furthermore, the refrigerator compartment is rapidly cooled with the aid of the air blowing effect of the R cooling fan 6.

As described above, when the 2-hour period of rapid cooling ends, the CP
The LI moves to step S64, resets the timer, returns to normal temperature control, and prepares for the next required rapid cooling process.

When rapidly cooling only the freezer compartment as described above, the compressor 4
is operated continuously, and furthermore, the R cooling fan 6 of the refrigerator compartment is stopped and only the F cooling fan 2 of the freezing compartment is rotated. As a result, the amount of heat exchanged in the R evaporator 7 decreases, and the amount of heat exchanged in the F evaporator 1 increases rapidly by that amount, and the temperature of the freezer compartment decreases rapidly, making it possible to rapidly cool the food. .

Similarly, when rapidly cooling only the refrigerator compartment, the compressor → is operated continuously, the F cooling fan 2 is temporarily stopped, and only the R cooling fan 6 is rotated. As a result, the amount of heat exchanged in the F evaporator 1 decreases, and the amount of heat exchanged in the R evaporator 7 increases accordingly, so that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment decreases rapidly, allowing rapid cooling of food.

Note that the above-mentioned rapid cooling control is started in response to a quick cooling request signal input from the outside given via the external switch 16, but when the refrigerating room is detected by the F thermistor 14 or R thermistor 15, Alternatively, the difference between the detected temperature of the freezer compartment and the temperature in a predetermined cooling state is detected as a load, and if this load increases, that is, if the amount of heat of the food placed in each compartment increases, this is detected. The request may be received as a rapid cooling request and the above-described process may be started.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, in the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment,
A dedicated evaporator and fan are provided for each, and the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is not controlled by switching the refrigerant flow rate to the refrigerator compartment evaporator, but is controlled by switching the driving and stopping of the refrigerator compartment fan using a refrigerator compartment fan drive stop means. This is done by Therefore, there is an effect that there is no impact noise at the time of switching the valve for opening/closing the flow path, which accompanies the switching control of the refrigerant flow rate in the temperature control of the refrigerator compartment. Furthermore, the above effect simplifies the refrigeration cycle because it is possible to eliminate the flow path switching equipment (for example, a solenoid valve) required for switching the refrigerant flow rate, which further improves the reliability of the refrigeration cycle and reduces costs. It also has the effect of helping you achieve your goals.

Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the refrigerator compartment can be rapidly cooled independently of the freezing compartment if desired. In other words, when the request detection means detects that rapid cooling of the refrigerator compartment is requested, the compressor and the refrigerator compartment fan continue to be driven for a predetermined period of time by the driving means independently of the freezing compartment. , heat exchange in the refrigerator compartment evaporator is greatly promoted, and the refrigerator compartment is rapidly cooled. Another advantage is that the freezing compartment can be similarly rapidly cooled independently of the refrigeration compartment if desired. In other words, when the request detection means detects that rapid cooling of the freezer compartment is requested, the compressor and the freezer compartment fan continue to be driven for a predetermined period of time by the driving means independently of the refrigerator compartment. , heat exchange in the freezer compartment evaporator is greatly promoted, and the freezer compartment is rapidly cooled. In this way, similar to the freezer compartment, the refrigerator compartment can perform its own rapid cooling, and has the effect of improving the preservation of food placed in the refrigerator compartment and improving the usability by shortening the cooling time of the food.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a refrigerator-freezer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a refrigeration cycle installed in the refrigerator-freezer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a control section that controls the refrigeration cycle shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a schematic process flow diagram showing the normal internal temperature control operation in a refrigerator-freezer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic process flow diagram showing the operation of rapid cooling control inside a refrigerator-freezer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional refrigerator-freezer. FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional refrigerator-freezer in which a cooler is provided in each of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment. FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle employed in the refrigerator-freezer shown in FIG. 7. In the figure, 1 is F evaporator, 2 is F cooling fan, 4 is compressor, 6 is R cooling fan, 7 is R evaporator, 12 is microcomputer, 13 is driver section, 14 is F thermistor, 15 is R A thermistor, 16 is an external switch, Fl is an F quenching signal, and R1 is an R quenching signal (F: abbreviation for freezer compartment, R, abbreviation for refrigerator compartment). In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. (2 others) - Beginning J Figure 1 Breasts 3 Figure 16 External switch / ↑ Also Figures 5 and 6 7 Figure 10 Electric year 11:; & Koki

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A compressor, an evaporator and a fan provided in the freezer compartment, an evaporator and fan provided in the refrigerator compartment, a freezer temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the freezer compartment, and a refrigerator compartment temperature detector that detects the temperature of the refrigerator compartment. Refrigerating compartment temperature detecting means for detecting temperature; Freezing compartment cooling state determining means for determining whether or not the freezing compartment is in a predetermined cooling state based on the temperature detected by the freezing compartment temperature detecting means; Refrigerating compartment cooling state determining means for determining whether or not the refrigerating compartment is in a predetermined cooling state based on the temperature detected by the room temperature detecting means; A refrigerator-freezer, comprising: a compressor drive and stop means that drives or stops a compressor; and a refrigerator fan drive and stop means that drives or stops the refrigerator fan in response to determination by the refrigerator cooling state determination means. . (2) request detection means for detecting at least one of a request for rapid cooling of the freezer compartment and a request for rapid cooling of the refrigerator compartment; The refrigerator-freezer according to claim 1, further comprising at least one fan and driving means for driving the compressor for a predetermined period of time.