JP2020118341A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator in which a temperature in any storage chamber does not become too high or too low, and which has enhanced preservation performance of food while enhancing energy saving performance, in the refrigerator which includes a plurality of storage chambers that can be set to a freezing temperature zone.SOLUTION: A refrigerator includes: a plurality of storage chambers which can be set to a freezing temperature zone; a plurality of sensors for detecting an indoor temperature of each of the plurality of storage chambers; a compressor; an evaporator; and a fan. The refrigerator includes a cooling operation for blowing air which has been brought to a low temperature by the evaporator by driving the compressor and the fan to the plurality of storage chambers. When any one out of the plurality of storage chambers detected by the plurality of sensors becomes higher in temperature than a first predetermined temperature of its own, the cooling operation is started.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

In Patent Document 1 (JP-A-2005-117882), "a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device and a cooler are connected by pipes, a refrigerant circuit through which a refrigerant flows, and an internal temperature are set in a refrigeration temperature zone. The refrigerating chamber, and a freezing chamber provided in the lower stage of the refrigerating chamber, the internal temperature of which is set in a freezing temperature zone lower than the refrigerating temperature zone, and the internal temperature of the freezing chamber provided in the lower stage of the freezing chamber A refrigerator having a switching chamber set to be freely switchable in the range from the refrigerating temperature zone to the freezing temperature zone" (Claim 1 of Patent Document 1). Further, in Patent Document 1, as Embodiment 2, "When the switching determination means determines that the target switching chamber temperature is in the freezing temperature zone, the internal temperature of the freezing chamber detected by the freezing temperature detection unit Instead, the operation of the compressor is controlled based on the temperature inside the switching chamber 40 detected by the switching temperature detection unit" (paragraph 0036 of Patent Document 1) refrigerator and as the third embodiment, "compressor". The control means controls the operation of the compressor based on the temperature inside the freezing compartment detected by the freezing temperature detector and the temperature zone of the target switching chamber temperature determined by the switching determining means" (Patent Document 1 paragraph 0051).

JP, 2005-117882, A

However, in the third embodiment of Patent Document 1, since the operation of the compressor is controlled by the internal temperature of the freezing compartment and the switching determination means of the switching compartment, the internal temperature of the switching compartment is, for example, that of the switching compartment. Even if the temperature of the switching room rises due to opening and closing of the door, etc., the specified operation will continue. Further, in the second embodiment, when the switching chamber is set to the freezing temperature zone, the predetermined operation is continued even if the temperature of the freezing chamber becomes high. As a result, consideration for the temperature of the food becomes insufficient and the storage performance of the food deteriorates.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention solves the above problem, and in a refrigerator having a plurality of storage chambers that can be set in the freezing temperature zone, prevents the temperature of any of the storage chambers from becoming too high and from becoming too low. It is possible to provide a refrigerator with improved energy conservation performance and food preservation performance.

The present invention made in view of the above problems, a plurality of storage chambers that can be set in the freezing temperature zone, a plurality of sensors that detect the indoor temperature of each of the plurality of storage chambers, a compressor, an evaporator, A refrigerator provided with a cooling operation for driving the compressor and the fan to blow the air cooled by the evaporator to the plurality of storage chambers; and the plurality of sensors detected by the plurality of sensors. The refrigerator, wherein the cooling operation is started when any of the storage chambers of 1. becomes higher than a first predetermined temperature of each.

According to the present invention, in a refrigerator provided with a plurality of storage chambers that can be set in the freezing temperature zone, it is possible to prevent the temperature of any of the storage chambers from becoming too high and from becoming too low, thus saving energy. The purpose is to improve the preservation performance of foods while increasing

Front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment AA sectional view of FIG. 1A is a front view of the door, the container and the discharge port of FIG. 1 removed, and FIG. 1B is a front view of the door and the container of FIG. 1 removed. Schematic diagram of the air passage structure showing the flow of cold air in the ice making chamber, the freezing chamber, the first switching chamber, and the second switching chamber according to the embodiment. Enlarged view below the heat insulation partition in Figure 2. Enlarged view below the heat insulation partition wall of FIG. Damper and damper heater provided in the damper Configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle of a refrigerator according to an embodiment Large diagrams of operation panel Large drawings of the display board Basic temperature control flowchart of the refrigerator according to the embodiment Basic temperature control flowchart of the refrigerator according to the embodiment Example of temperature change with time showing basic cooling control of the present embodiment Defrosting operation control flowchart of the refrigerator according to the embodiment Mode switching control flowchart of the first switching chamber in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment. Front view of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment Operation display panel according to the second embodiment Operation display panel of another embodiment according to the second embodiment

The following are embodiments of the present invention.

(Example 1)
An embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a box body 10 of a refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerating room 2, a left and right ice making room 3 and a freezing room 4, a first switching room 5, and a second switching room 6 in this order from the top. have. The refrigerator 1 includes a door that opens and closes the opening of each storage room. These doors are divided into left and right rotary type refrigerating compartment doors 2a and 2b for opening and closing the opening of the refrigerating compartment 2 and an ice making compartment 3, a freezing compartment 4, a first switching compartment 5 and a second switching compartment 6. These are a drawer-type ice making chamber door 3a, a freezing chamber door 4a, a first switching chamber door 5a, and a second switching chamber door 6a, which open and close the openings, respectively. The inner material of the plurality of doors is mainly made of urethane.

The door 2a is provided with a display panel 201 described later with reference to FIG. In order to fix the doors 2a and 2b to the refrigerator 1, door hinges (not shown) are provided in the upper and lower portions of the refrigerating compartment 2, and the upper door hinges are covered with a door hinge cover 16.

The ice making chamber 3 and the freezing chamber 4 are freezing storage chambers in which the inside of the freezing temperature range (less than 0° C.) is, for example, about −18° C., and the refrigerating room 2 has a refrigerating temperature range (0° C. The above) is, for example, a refrigerated storage room that is kept at an average temperature of about 4°C. The first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 are switching storage chambers that can be set in a freezing temperature zone or a refrigerating temperature zone. For example, a refrigerating mode that averages about 4°C and an average of about -20°C. The freezing mode can be switched to. In the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, a strong refrigerating mode or a weak refrigerating mode having a temperature between the refrigerating mode and the freezing mode, a weak refrigerating mode in which the temperature is higher than the refrigerating mode, and a strong refrigerating mode in which the temperature is lower than the refrigerating mode. A plurality of operation modes are provided, and these operation modes can be selected by operating the operation unit 200 provided in the refrigerator compartment 2. In the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, the ice making chamber 3 and the freezing chamber 4 have a two star performance (-12°C or less), the first switching chamber 5 in the freezing mode and the second switching chamber 6 have a Forster performance (-18°C). Below), the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 in the freezing mode have a lower temperature than the ice making chamber 3 and the freezing chamber 4. Further, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, the weak refrigerator mode is used as the vegetable compartment (cellar room), but the vegetable mode may be provided independently of the refrigerator mode.

As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerator 1 includes a box body 10 formed by filling a foam insulation material (for example, urethane foam) between an outer box 10a made of a steel plate and an inner box 10b made of a synthetic resin. The outside and the inside are separated. In addition to the foam insulation material, the box body 10 is mounted with the vacuum insulation material 25 having a relatively low thermal conductivity between the outer case 10a and the inner case 10b, so that the heat insulation performance is reduced without reducing the food storage volume. Is increasing. Here, the vacuum heat insulating material is configured by wrapping a core material such as glass wool or urethane with an outer wrapping material. The outer packaging material includes a metal layer (for example, aluminum) to ensure gas barrier properties. Further, in terms of manufacturability, the vacuum heat insulating material is generally formed with a flat surface.

In this embodiment, by providing vacuum heat insulating materials 25e and 25f on the back and bottom of the box body 10 and vacuum heat insulating materials 25g (not shown) on both sides of the box body 10, the heat insulating performance of the refrigerator 1 is enhanced. There is.

Similarly, in this embodiment, the heat insulation performance of the refrigerator 1 is enhanced by providing the vacuum heat insulating materials 25c and 25d on the first switching chamber door 5a and the second switching chamber door 6a. The above heat insulating structure can greatly improve the energy saving performance particularly when the switching chambers 5 and 6 are set to the freezing mode and the temperature difference between the outside and the switching chambers 5 and 6 is large and the amount of heat entering from the outside air is large.

The refrigerating compartment 2, the ice making compartment 3 and the refrigerating compartment 4 are separated by a heat insulating partition wall 28. The ice making chamber 3 and the freezing chamber 4 are separated from the first switching chamber 5 by a heat insulating partition wall 29, and the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 are separated by a heat insulating partition wall 30. Further, an F evaporator 14b and its peripheral air passages (F evaporator chamber 8b, freezing compartment air passage 12, and freezing compartment return air passage 12d), which will be described later, are provided behind the first switching chamber 5, and the first switching portion is provided. A heat insulating partition wall 27 is provided between the chamber 5 and the F evaporator 14b and the air passages around the F evaporator 14b.

By providing a plurality of door pockets 33a, 33b, 33c inside the refrigerator compartment doors 2a, 2b and by providing shelves 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d, the inside of the refrigerator compartment 2 is divided into a plurality of storage spaces. There is. The ice making chamber door 3a, the freezing chamber door 4a, the first switching chamber door 5a, and the second switching chamber door 6a have an ice making chamber container 3b, a freezing chamber container 4b, a first switching chamber container 5b, and a second switching chamber that are integrally drawn out. The chamber container 6b is provided.

The refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 41, the freezer compartment temperature sensor 42, and the first selector compartment temperature sensor 43 (see FIG. 3) are provided on the rear side of the refrigerator compartment 2, the freezer compartment 4, the first switching compartment 5, and the second switching compartment 6, respectively. (Shown in FIG. 3B), a second switching chamber temperature sensor 44 (shown in FIG. 3B) is provided, and an R evaporator temperature sensor 40a is provided above the R evaporator 14a and an F evaporator is provided above the F evaporator 14b. An evaporator temperature sensor 40b is provided, and these sensors detect the temperatures of the refrigerating chamber 2, the freezing chamber 4, the first switching chamber 5, the second switching chamber 6, the R evaporator 14a, and the F evaporator 14b. .. Further, an outside air temperature sensor 46 and an outside air humidity sensor 47 are provided inside the door hinge cover 16 at the ceiling of the refrigerator 1 to detect the temperature and humidity of the outside air (outside air). In addition, a door sensor (not shown) is provided to detect the open/closed state of each of the doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a.

A control board 31 having a CPU, a memory such as ROM and RAM, an interface circuit, and the like, which is a part of the control device, is arranged above the refrigerator 1. The control board 31 also includes an outside air temperature sensor 46, an outside air humidity sensor 47, a refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 41, a freezing compartment temperature sensor 42, a first switching chamber temperature sensor 43, a second switching chamber temperature sensor 44, and an R evaporator temperature sensor. 40a, F evaporator temperature sensor 40b, etc. are connected by electric wiring (not shown).

In the control board 31, a compressor 58, an R fan 9a, an F fan 9b, dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, which will be described later, based on the output value of each sensor, the setting of the operation panel 200, a program recorded in advance in the ROM, and the like, 102b, the refrigerant control valve 52, and the display board 201 are controlled.

In addition, the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a communication base (not shown) that can be connected to an external device so that the information of the refrigerator 1 can be provided to a mobile device such as a smartphone or a personal computer. Hereinafter, this function will be referred to as an external communication function.

FIG. 3A is a front view of the state in which the door, the container, and the discharge port described later are removed (omitted) in FIG. 1. FIG. 3B is a front view of the state in which the door and the container of FIG. 1 are removed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3( a ), the R evaporator 14 a that is a refrigerating evaporator is provided inside the R evaporator chamber 8 a at the back of the refrigerating chamber 2. The air (cold air) that has become low in temperature by exchanging heat with the R evaporator 14a passes through the refrigerating compartment air passage 11 and the refrigerating compartment discharge port 11a by the R fan 9a which is a refrigerating fan provided above the R evaporator 14a. The air is blown into the refrigerating compartment 2 via the air to cool the interior of the refrigerating compartment 2. Here, the form of the R fan 9a is a centrifugal fan that is a centrifugal fan. The air blown to the refrigerating compartment 2 returns from the refrigerating compartment return port 15a (see FIG. 2) and the refrigerating compartment return port 15b (see FIG. 3(a)) to the R evaporator chamber 8a, and is cooled by the R evaporator 14a again. To be done.

The refrigerating compartment discharge port 11a of the refrigerating compartment 2 is provided at the upper part of the refrigerating compartment 2, and in this embodiment, air is provided above the uppermost shelf 34a and the second shelf 34b. The refrigerating compartment return ports 15a and 15b are provided in the lower part of the refrigerating compartment 2, and in the present embodiment, the refrigerating compartment return port 15b is provided in the second stage (between the shelf 34c and the shelf 34d) from the bottom of the refrigerating compartment 2. The refrigerating compartment return port 15a is provided at the lowermost stage of the refrigerating compartment 2 (between the shelf 34d and the heat insulating partition wall 28) and substantially behind the second indirect cooling compartment 36 described later.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the first indirect cooling chamber 35 is provided above the shelf 34d in the refrigerating chamber 2. The first indirect cooling chamber 35 is provided with a case 35a, and the first indirect cooling chamber 35 is not provided with a discharge port for directly blowing cool air. That is, the first indirect cooling chamber 35 has an indirect cooling structure in which the low-temperature and low-humidity cold air generated by the R evaporator 14a does not directly enter, and the food provided in the first indirect cooling chamber 35 is not dried. Suppressed, it is possible to improve the storability of foods such as vegetables that are susceptible to drying.

A second indirect cooling chamber 36 is provided above the heat insulation partition wall 28, which is inside the refrigerating chamber 2. The second indirect cooling chamber 36 has a substantially hermetic structure in which the door 36a and the storage portion 36b are in contact with each other. This prevents the low-temperature and low-humidity air from directly entering the food in the second indirect cooling chamber 36, and suppresses the drying of the food in the second indirect cooling chamber 36.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an air passage structure showing a flow of cold air in the ice making chamber 3, the freezing chamber 4, the first switching chamber 5, and the second switching chamber 6 according to the embodiment. With reference to FIGS. 2, 3(a), and 4, the configuration of the air passages inside the refrigerator other than the refrigerating compartment 2 and the flow of cold air will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the F evaporator 14b, which is a freezing evaporator, is provided inside the F evaporator chamber 8b at the back of the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6. The air (cool air) that has become low in temperature by exchanging heat with the F evaporator 14b is cooled by the F fan 9b, which is a freezing fan provided above the F evaporator 14b, to the freezer compartment air passage 12, the freezer compartment outlet 12a, Air is blown into the ice making chamber 3 and the freezing chamber 4 via 12b to cool water in the ice tray 3c of the ice making chamber 3, ice in the container 3b, food in the container 4b of the freezing chamber 4, and the like. The water to the ice tray 3c is supplied from an ice making tank 37 shown in FIG. 3(b) by an ice making pump (not shown). Here, the form of the F fan 9b is also a turbo fan, which is a centrifugal fan, in order to save space. The air that has cooled the ice making chamber 3 and the freezing chamber 4 returns to the F evaporator chamber 8b from the freezing chamber return port 12c through the freezing chamber return air passage 12d, and is cooled again by the F evaporator 14b.

In the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 are also cooled by the air (cool air) whose temperature is low in the F evaporator 14b. The ventilation of the cool air to the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 is controlled by the dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, and 102b which are the ventilation control units.

First, the flow of cold air to the first switching chamber 5 will be described. The flow of cold air in the first switching chamber 5 differs between the freezing mode and the refrigerating mode. When the first switching chamber 5 is in the freezing mode, the damper 101a is opened and the damper 101b is closed. The air cooled by the F evaporator 14b passes through the F fan 9b, the freezer compartment air passage 12, the damper 101a, and the first switching chamber discharge port 111a which is the direct cooling discharge port of the first switching chamber 5 to the first switching chamber discharge port 111a. Air is blown into the first switching chamber container 5b provided in the one switching chamber 5 to cool the food in the first switching chamber container 5b. Since the cold air directly cools the food in the first switching chamber container 5b, the food in the first switching chamber container 5b can be cooled in a relatively short time.

When the first switching chamber 5 is in the refrigerating mode, the damper 101a is closed and the damper 101b is opened. The air cooled by the F evaporator 14b passes through the F fan 9b, the freezer compartment air passage 12, the damper 101b, and the first switching chamber discharge port 111b, which is a discharge port for indirect cooling of the first switching chamber 5, to the first The air is blown to the outside (outer periphery) of the one switching chamber container 5b. It becomes difficult for the cool air to directly reach the food in the first switching chamber container 5b, that is, since the food is indirectly cooled via the first switching chamber container 5b, it is possible to cool the food while suppressing the drying. The air discharged from the first switching chamber discharge port 111a or the first switching chamber discharge port 111b and cooling the inside of the first switching chamber 5 flows from the first switching chamber return port 111c through the freezing chamber return air passage 12d to F It returns to the evaporator chamber 8b and is cooled again by the F evaporator 14b.

Next, the flow of cold air to the second switching chamber 6 will be described. The configuration of the second switching chamber 6 is the same as that of the first switching chamber 5, and the opening/closing of the damper is changed depending on the operation mode. When the second switching chamber 6 is in the freezing mode, the damper 102a is opened and the damper 102b is closed. The air (cool air) cooled by the F evaporator 14b passes through the F fan 9b, the freezer compartment air passage 12, the damper 102a, and the second switching chamber discharge port 112a which is the direct cooling discharge port of the second switching chamber 6. Then, air is blown into the second switching chamber container 6b to cool the food on the second switching chamber container 6b. Since the cold air directly cools the food in the second switching chamber container 5b, the food in the second switching chamber container 6b can be cooled in a relatively short time.

When the second switching chamber 6 is in the refrigerating mode, the damper 102b is opened and the damper 102a is closed. The air cooled by the F evaporator 14b passes through the F fan 9b, the freezer compartment air passage 12, the damper 102b, and the second switching chamber discharge port 111b, which is a discharge port for indirect cooling of the second switching chamber 6, to the first The air is blown to the outside (outer periphery) of the two-switching chamber container 6b to indirectly cool the food while suppressing the drying of the food. The air that has cooled the inside of the second switching chamber 6 returns to the F evaporator chamber 8b from the second switching chamber return port 112c via the freezing chamber return air passage 12d and is cooled again by the F evaporator 14b.

In the refrigerator of this embodiment, even in the refrigerating mode, the dampers 101a and 102a are opened when the temperature inside the refrigerator is higher than the predetermined value (for example, 10° C. or higher higher than the reference temperature). As a result, the food in the container can be cooled in a short time by direct cooling, the time during which the food is at a high temperature can be suppressed, and the performance of maintaining the freshness of the food can be improved.

Further, among the refrigerating modes, the dampers 101b and 102b are used in the weak refrigerating mode (set to "weak" on the operation panel 200 shown in FIG. 8) assuming the use as a vegetable compartment, and the normal refrigerating mode (see FIG. 8) is used. The dampers 101a and 102a may be used when the operation panel 200 is set to "medium" or in the strong refrigeration mode (operation panel 200 shown in FIG. 8 is set to "strong"). As a result, in the case of vegetables, indirect cooling suppresses the drying of food, and when storing things that are less likely to dry, such as food in bags and beverages in cans and PET bottles, cool them quickly. Can be prioritized.

5: is a figure which shows the structure for implement|achieving the refrigerating temperature of the 1st switching chamber 5 and the 2nd switching chamber 6 which concerns on an Example, and FIG. 5(a) is below the heat insulation partition wall 28 of FIG. 5B is an enlarged view below the heat insulating partition wall 28 of FIG. 3B.

In the present refrigerator 1, in order to heat the first switching chamber 5, the first switching chamber rear heater 60 is provided on the back side of the first switching chamber 5 (in front of the heat insulating partition wall 27) and the bottom side (upper side of the heat insulating partition wall 29). Is provided with a first switching chamber lower surface heater 61. Similarly, in order to heat the second switching chamber 6, a second switching chamber upper surface heater 62 is provided on the upper surface side of the second switching chamber 6 (a lower portion of the heat insulation partition wall 29), and a second switching chamber rear surface heater 63 is provided on the rear surface side. ing.

Further, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, the vacuum heat insulating material 25a is provided inside the heat insulating partition wall 29, the vacuum heat insulating material 25b is also provided inside the heat insulating partition wall 30, and the heat insulating partition wall 27 is made of, for example, foam polystyrene. 24 are provided. By these, heat transfer between the storage chambers of the refrigerator 1, and the F evaporator 14b and its surrounding air passages (F evaporator chamber 8b, freezing compartment air passage 12, and freezing compartment return air passage 12d) and the first switching chamber It suppresses heat transfer to and from 5.

With the above configuration, the energy saving performance of the refrigerator 1 can be improved particularly when the first switching chamber 5 is in the refrigerating mode and the second switching chamber 6 is in the freezing mode. In the first switching chamber 5 in the refrigerating temperature zone, heat is absorbed from the upper surface (insulating partition wall 29 ), the rear surface (insulating partition wall 27 ), and the bottom surface (insulating partition wall 30 ), where the adjacent rooms are in the freezing temperature zone, and Although the switching chamber 5 tends to be low in temperature, the heat insulation partition walls 27, 29, 30 are provided with the foam insulation material 24 or the vacuum insulation material 25 to suppress heat absorption from the top surface, the back surface, and the bottom surface, and no heater is used, or The electric power of the heater is suppressed so that a predetermined temperature pair can be maintained. Since the electric power used for the heater can be suppressed, energy saving performance is improved. On the other hand, when the outside air is at a low temperature, the heating by the outside air may be suppressed or the outside air may be cooled, and it is not enough to suppress the heat absorption between the interiors as described above. A first switching chamber rear surface heater 60 and a first switching chamber lower surface heater 61 for heating the chamber 5, and a second switching chamber upper surface heater 62 and a second switching chamber rear surface heater 63 for heating the second switching chamber 6 are provided. By providing them and heating them appropriately, the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 set in the refrigerating temperature zone can be maintained at a predetermined temperature. Further, these heaters may be used for performing mode switching control in a short time. That is, when switching from the freezing mode to the refrigerating mode, heating may be performed by these heaters and the refrigerating temperature may be controlled in a short time.

It should be noted that the reason why the foam insulation material 24 is used instead of the vacuum insulation material 25 inside the insulation partition wall 27 is that the degree of freedom in designing the shape is higher than that of the vacuum insulation material 25, and a complicated shape can be obtained. This is because the air passage can be formed. That is, the heat insulating partition wall 27 forms the F evaporator chamber 8b, the freezer compartment air passage 12, and the freezer compartment return air passage 12d, and the F evaporator 14b, the F fan 9b, the dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, 102b, etc. However, by using the foamed heat insulating material 24, it is possible to enhance the heat insulating performance while forming these, and to form an air passage having relatively little ventilation resistance.

On the other hand, since the heat insulating partition walls 29 and 30 are relatively rectangular parallelepiped and relatively simple in shape, the vacuum heat insulating material 25 can be used to obtain a high heat insulating performance with a relatively thin thickness and to prevent heat transfer between the storage chambers. It is effective in increasing the internal volume of each storage room that stores food while suppressing it.

In the first switching chamber 5, due to natural convection, the upper portion tends to be hot and the lower portion is likely to be cold, and the lower surface is also cooled when the second switching chamber 6 is in the freezing mode. A heater is provided on the lower surface that tends to On the other hand, the second switching chamber 6 is heated because its lower surface is in contact with the outside air, and the upper surface thereof is provided with a heater because the first switching chamber 5 is cooled in the freezing mode.

In addition, the second switching chamber 6 is maximum (when the first switching chamber 5 is in the freezing mode and the second switching chamber 6 is in the freezing mode), and the upper surface and the rear upper surface are separated from other chambers in the freezing temperature zone through the heat insulating partition wall. On the other hand, the first switching chamber 5 is the maximum (when the first switching chamber 5 is in the freezing mode and the second switching chamber 6 is in the freezing mode), and the upper surface, the back surface, and the lower surface are other than the freezing temperature zone. Since the chamber is cooled via the heat insulating partition wall, the maximum switching amount of the heater is larger in the first switching chamber 5 having a larger area to be cooled. That is, the total maximum power consumption of the first switching chamber rear surface heater 60 and the first switching chamber lower surface heater 61 for heating the first switching chamber 5 is equal to the second switching chamber upper surface for heating the second switching chamber 6. The total power consumption of the heater 62 and the second switching chamber rear surface heater 63 is set to be higher than the total maximum power consumption, and the first switching chamber 5 which is easily cooled and becomes low temperature can be controlled to an appropriate temperature.

FIG. 6 shows dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, 102b and a damper heater 64 provided on the damper. Each damper In the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, the damper 101a is installed in the damper forming part 111, the damper 102a is installed in the damper forming part 112, and the dampers 101b and 102b are installed in the damper forming part 113. The damper forming parts 111, 112, 113, respectively. Each of the dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, 102b is driven by a motor (not shown) that is also installed inside. The damper configuration unit 113 is a twin damper that drives two dampers 101b and 102b with one motor, thereby reducing the number of motors and saving space and cost.

Damper heaters 64 are provided on the outer peripheral portions of the damper constituent parts 111, 112, 113, respectively. As a result, even if frost or ice adheres to each damper and freezes, it is possible to prevent the dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, and 102b from becoming inoperative by heating the heater and melting the frost and ice. doing. In this embodiment, the heaters are provided on the outer peripheral portions of the damper components 111, 112, 113 because they are easy to arrange, but the heaters are provided on the dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, 102b (driving units that open and close). May be. In this case, since the dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, 102b can be directly heated, it is possible to easily melt the frost and ice attached to each damper, and it is possible to suppress the inoperability of each damper with less energy.

FIG. 7: is a block diagram of the refrigerating cycle of the refrigerator 1 of a present Example. In the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, the condensation prevention that suppresses the condensation on the compressor 58, the outside radiator 50a that is the heat radiation means for radiating the refrigerant, the wall surface heat radiation pipe 50b, and the front surfaces of the partition walls 28, 29, 30 is prevented. The pipe 50c, the refrigerating capillary tube 53a and the freezing capillary tube 53b which are decompression means for decompressing the refrigerant, the R evaporator 14a and the F evaporator that absorb the heat in the refrigerator by exchanging heat between the refrigerant and the air in the refrigerator. 14b is provided, and the inside is cooled by these. Further, a dryer 51 for removing water in the refrigeration cycle, gas-liquid separators 54a, 54b for preventing liquid refrigerant from flowing into the compressor 58, and a three-way valve 52 for controlling the refrigerant flow path, a check valve. A valve 56 and a refrigerant merging portion 55 that connects the refrigerant flow are also provided, and a refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting these with a refrigerant pipe 59.

The refrigerator 1 of this embodiment uses isobutane as the refrigerant. Further, the compressor 58 of the present embodiment is provided with an inverter and can change the rotation speed.

The three-way valve 52 has two outlets 52a and 52b, and has a refrigerating mode in which the refrigerant flows on the outlet 52a side and a freezing mode in which the refrigerant flows on the outlet 52b side. is there. Further, the three-way valve 52 of the present embodiment also has a fully closed mode in which the refrigerant does not flow in either the outlet 52a or the outlet 52b, or a fully open mode in which the refrigerant flows in either of the outlets 52a and 52b. It is possible.

In the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, the refrigerant flows as follows. The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 58 flows in the order of the outside radiator 50a, the outside radiator 50b, the dew condensation preventing pipe 50c, and the dryer 51, and reaches the three-way valve 52. The outlet 52a of the three-way valve 52 is connected to the refrigerating capillary tube 53a via a refrigerant pipe, and the outlet 52b is connected to the freezing capillary tube 53b via a refrigerant pipe.

When the refrigerating chamber 2 is cooled, the refrigerant flows from the three-way valve 52 to the outlet 52a side. The refrigerant flowing out of the outlet 52 a flows in the order of the refrigerating capillary tube 53 a, the R evaporator 14 a, the gas-liquid separator 54 a, and the refrigerant merging portion 55, and then returns to the compressor 58. The low-pressure low-temperature refrigerant in the refrigerating capillary tube 53a flows through the R evaporator 14a, so that the R evaporator 14a becomes low temperature, and the air cooled by the R evaporator 14b is blown by the R fan 9a (see FIG. 2). By doing so, the refrigerator compartment 2 is cooled.

When cooling the ice making chamber 3, the freezing chamber 4, the first switching chamber 5, and the second switching chamber 6, the refrigerant is allowed to flow from the three-way valve 52 to the outflow port 52b side. The refrigerant flowing out from the outlet 52b flows in the order of the freezing capillary tube 53b, the F evaporator 14b, the gas-liquid separator 54b, the check valve 56, and the refrigerant merging portion 55, and then returns to the compressor 58. The check valve 56 is arranged so that the refrigerant flows from the gas-liquid separator 54b to the refrigerant merging portion 55 side and does not flow from the refrigerant merging portion 55 to the gas-liquid separator 54b side. The low-pressure low-temperature refrigerant in the freezing capillary tube 53b flows through the F-evaporator 14b, so that the F-evaporator 14b becomes low-temperature and the air cooled by the F-evaporator 14b is blown by the F-fan 9b (see FIG. 2). As a result, the ice making chamber 3, the refrigerating chamber 4, the first switching chamber 5, and the second switching chamber 6 are cooled. As described above, in the refrigerator according to the present embodiment, the refrigerating chamber 2 is cooled by using the R evaporator 14a, and the ice making chamber 3, the freezing chamber 4, the first switching chamber 5, and the second switching chamber 6 include the F evaporator 14b. It is configured to be cooled by using it.

Here, when flowing the refrigerant to the F evaporator 14b that cools the ice making chamber 3, the freezing chamber 4, the first switching chamber 5, and the second switching chamber 6 which are in the freezing temperature zone or can be set in the freezing temperature zone, The evaporator temperature is lower than those of these storage chambers (for example, -25°C). On the other hand, when the refrigerant is supplied to the R evaporator 14a that cools the refrigerating chamber 2 in the refrigerating temperature zone, the evaporator temperature of the refrigerant is set relatively high (for example, -10°C). Generally, the higher the temperature of the evaporator, the higher the cooling efficiency of the refrigeration cycle, and the more effective the energy saving performance is. Further, as the temperature of the evaporator is higher, frost formation of moisture in the air when the air passes through the evaporator is suppressed, that is, dehumidification of the air is suppressed, and the inside of the refrigerator can be kept at high humidity. Therefore, by cooling the refrigerating compartment 2 in a state where the temperature of the R evaporator 14a is high, the energy saving performance when cooling the refrigerating compartment 2 can be improved as compared with the case where it is cooled by the common evaporator with the storage compartment in the freezing temperature zone. At the same time, the inside of the refrigerator compartment 2 can be kept at high humidity.

Further, by separating the R evaporator 14a that cools only the refrigerating chamber 2 from the F evaporator 14b that cools the other storage chambers, the defrosting method of the R evaporator 14a is off-cycle defrosting, and further energy saving performance is achieved. It is intended to improve the humidity of the refrigerator compartment 2.

First, the main defrosting method of the F evaporator 14b will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. A defrost heater 21 that heats the F evaporator 14b is provided below the F evaporator 14b. The defrost heater 21 is, for example, an electric heater of 50 W to 200 W, and is a radiant heater of 150 W in this embodiment. Defrosting water (melting water) generated during defrosting of the F evaporator 14b flows from the F toy 23b in the lower part of the F evaporator chamber 8b to the F evaporating dish 32 provided above the compressor 58 via the F drain pipe 26. Is discharged.

On the other hand, an off-cycle defrosting method is adopted for defrosting the R evaporator 14a, and the R fan 9a is driven in a state in which the refrigerant does not flow to the R evaporator 14a. By the R fan 9a, the air in the refrigerating compartment 2 flows to the R evaporator 14a through the refrigerating compartment return ports 15a and 15b (see FIGS. 2 and 3A), and the refrigerating temperature (0 higher than the melting point of frost). The frost in the R evaporator 14a is heated and defrosted by the air in the refrigerating chamber 2 at a temperature of ℃ or more). Defrosting water generated during defrosting of the R evaporator 14a is illustrated in the machine room 39 via an R drain pipe (not shown) from the R toy 23a (see FIG. 2) provided in the lower portion of the R evaporator chamber 8a. Not discharged to the R evaporation tray.

When the off-cycle defrosting method is used, the R evaporator 14a can be defrosted only by the fan (0.5 to 3 W) without using the electric heater (about 150 W). Power consumption can be suppressed. Further, since the air (about 4° C.) passing during the off-cycle defrosting is cooled by the low temperature R evaporator 14a and the frost (about 0° C.) attached to the R evaporator 14a, the R evaporator 14a is removed. At the same time as the frost is formed, the refrigerator compartment 2 can be cooled. Therefore, it is a defrosting method with high energy saving performance. Further, since the temperature of the R evaporator 14a is high during the off-cycle defrosting, dehumidification of the air passing through the R evaporator 14a is suppressed or humidified, so that the effect of keeping the refrigerating compartment 2 at high humidity is further enhanced. be able to.

8A is an enlarged view of the operation panel 200, and FIG. 8B is an enlarged view of the display panel 201. In the operation panel 200 shown in FIG. 8(a) provided in the refrigerating compartment 2, by pressing each operation part, ON/OFF of additional functions such as automatic ice making, power saving function, and external communication function, and refrigerating compartment 2, The temperature of the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 can be adjusted. In the refrigerating compartment 2 and the first switching compartment 5 and the second switching compartment 6 in the refrigerating mode, the temperature control is changed to the weak refrigerating mode and the strong refrigerating mode, and the first switching compartment 5 and the second switching in the freezing mode. In the chamber 6, the above-mentioned weak refrigeration mode and strong refrigeration mode are changed, for example, the target temperature is changed by about 2°C. In addition to this temperature adjustment, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, apart from the temperature adjustment operation unit, a mode switching operation unit 200a for switching the refrigerating mode and the freezing mode of the first switching chamber 5 and a second switching chamber 6 are provided. A mode switching operation unit 200b for switching between the refrigerating mode and the freezing mode is provided. The settings of the other operation units are changed immediately after they are pressed, but the settings of the mode switching operation units 200a and 200b are changed by, for example, pressing and holding for 3 seconds. In addition, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, when any of the operation sections is operated, the buzzer provided on the operation panel 200 notifies the acceptance of the operation by sound, but the mode switching operation sections 200a and 200b are pressed and held. However, when the execution of the mode switching is accepted, the reception is notified with a sound different from that when other operations are accepted.

Further, in the refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment, since the operation panel 200 is provided in the refrigerating compartment 2, it is possible to grasp the information from the refrigerator 1 without opening the refrigerating compartment doors 2a and 2b, as shown in FIG. The display panel 201 is provided on the refrigerating compartment door 2a shown in FIG. In addition to the "eco" sign indicating that the user's usage status is excellent in energy saving and the "water supply" sign indicating the status of the ice making tank 37, the display panel 201 has the first switching chamber 5 switching modes. There is provided a mode switching display 201a for displaying that the state is being displayed and a mode switching display 201b for displaying that the second switching chamber 6 is performing the mode switching.

The above-mentioned configuration takes into consideration malfunctions by the user in the refrigerating mode and the freezing mode. If the refrigerating mode and the freezing mode are mistakenly switched, problems such as freezing of vegetables stored in the refrigerating mode and thawing of frozen food stored in the freezing mode may occur. Therefore, care should be taken not to change the temperature zone unintentionally with the intention of performing an operation such as temperature adjustment, or to prevent the temperature zone from being changed by an unintended operation (such as touching the operation section unintentionally). There is a need to.

On the other hand, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, the temperature adjusting operation unit and the mode switching operation units 200a and 200b are made independent to prevent erroneous mode changes. Further, the operation panel 200 provided with the mode switching operation parts 200a and 200b is provided in the refrigerating compartment 2, so that the operation part is not touched unintentionally when the refrigerating compartment doors 2a and 2b are closed. I am trying.

Furthermore, by holding down the operation for switching between the refrigerating mode and the freezing mode, it is possible to more reliably suppress malfunctions caused by accidentally touching the operation unit. In this embodiment, the long press is used as the malfunction suppressing method, but the mode may be changed, for example, when a plurality of operation parts are pressed simultaneously. In this case, since it is not necessary to press and hold for a long time, it is possible to quickly send a mode switching instruction. On the other hand, as in the first embodiment, the operation can be relatively simple by long-pressing the operation.

In addition, when the execution of the mode switching is accepted, a buzzer sound different from that when other operations are accepted is emitted, thereby making it easy to notice when the operation is mistaken. Further, on the display panel 201, there are a mode switching display 201a indicating that the first switching chamber 5 is in the mode switching state, and a mode switching display 201b indicating that the second switching chamber 6 is in the mode switching state. By providing it, it is possible to confirm that the mode switching is being executed without opening the door, and it is easy to notice when the operation is performed by mistake. This allows the user to immediately cancel the mode switch (revert the mode) and prevent unintentional freezing and thawing. By providing the mode switching displays 201a and 201b on the display 201 that can be confirmed without opening the door, it becomes easy to notice that the mode has been switched by another user in a home with a plurality of users. Accordingly, the mode switching can be stopped early. This function is particularly effective for households with small children, because there is a risk of mode switching due to child mischief.

Further, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, the external communication function allows the mobile device or the like designated by the user to display a pop-up message that the mode switching has been started, whereby the mode is switched by another user. It makes things easier to notice.

In addition, for example, by setting restrictions on the operation of mode switching with fingerprint authentication, password, etc., or by using an external communication function so that mode switching can be performed only from mobile devices that are not normally used by other than the main user, The mode switching may be prevented from being performed by anyone other than the user.

The above is the basic configuration of the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment. The specific control of the refrigerator 1 will be described below.

9 and 10 are basic cooling control flowcharts of this embodiment. The description starts with control S1-1 in which the compressor 58 is in the OFF (stop) state. In this embodiment, it is determined whether or not the storage chamber cooled by the F evaporator 14b including the storage chamber in the freezing temperature zone needs to be cooled. First, in control S1-2, it is determined whether or not the temperature T_F of the freezer compartment 4 detected by the freezer compartment temperature sensor 42 is lower than a predetermined temperature T_F-ON of, for example, −15° C., that is, it is necessary to cool the freezer compartment 4. .. When T_F is equal to or more than T_F-ON (S1-2: No), the control is shifted to S1-12 and S1-13, and the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b is performed, that is, the refrigerant is allowed to flow through the F evaporator 14b and the temperature is low. The operation is to blow the air around the F-evaporator 14b, which has become the above, to each storage chamber by the F-fan 9b. When the temperature T_F of the freezing chamber 4 is lower than the predetermined temperature T_F-ON (for example, -15°C) (S1-2: Yes), it is determined whether the first switching chamber 5 needs to be cooled. At this time, the temperature for determining whether cooling is necessary differs depending on whether the first switching chamber 5 is in the refrigerating mode or the freezing mode. In the freezing mode (control S1-3: Yes), for example, T_S1F-ON at -18°C, In the refrigerating mode (control S1-3: No), for example, T_S1R-ON at 6° C. is used as a reference. If the temperature T_S1 of the first switching chamber 5 detected by the first switching chamber temperature sensor 43 is T_S1F-ON or T_S1R-ON or higher (control S1-4 or S1-5: No), control S1-12, The cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b in S1-13 is performed. Similarly, also in the second switching chamber 6, in the refrigeration mode (control S1-6: Yes), for example, T_S2F-ON at −19° C., and in the refrigeration mode (control S1-6: No), for example, T_S2R at 7° C. If the temperature T_S2 of the first switching chamber 6 detected by the second switching chamber temperature sensor 44 is equal to or higher than these temperatures (control S1-7 or S1-8: No) with reference to -ON, the control S1-12, The cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b in S1-13 is performed. Conditions for ending this operation will be described later with reference to FIG.

When it is judged from the control S1-2 to S1-8 that cooling of the freezing compartment 4, the first switching compartment 5, and the second switching compartment 6 is unnecessary, the F evaporator 14b shown in FIG. 10 is used. When the cooling operation is completed (control S1-14), it is determined whether the refrigerating compartment 2 needs to be cooled. When the temperature T_R of the refrigerating compartment 2 detected by the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 41 is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature T_R-ON of 6° C. (control S1-9: No), the cooling operation using the R evaporator 14a (control S1). -10). The cooling operation using the R evaporator 14a ends the cooling operation using the R evaporator 14a when the temperature T_R of the refrigerating chamber 2 becomes equal to or lower than T_R-OFF of 2° C. (control S1-11: Yes). Then, the process again returns to the control S1-2 for determining whether or not the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b is necessary. When the temperature T_R of the refrigerating compartment 2 is less than T_R-ON while reaching the control S1-9 (control S1-9: Yes), it is determined that no cooling is necessary, and the compressor 58 is used. Is stopped (control S1-1).

Next, the control during the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b will be described with reference to FIG. Control S1-13 in FIG. 9 is the same as control S2-1 in FIG. In the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, control regarding the first switching chamber 5, control regarding the second switching chamber 6, and control regarding the freezing chamber 4 are performed in parallel.

First, the control regarding the first switching chamber 5 will be described. When the first switching chamber 5 is set to the freezing mode (control S2-3: Yes), the damper 101a for direct cooling is opened (control S2-4), and the temperature T_S1 of the first switching chamber 5 is, for example, −22. It cools until it becomes below T_S1F-OFF of C (control S2-5). When the first switching chamber 5 is set to the refrigerating mode (control S2-3: No), the damper 101b for indirect cooling is opened (control S2-6), and the temperature T_S1 of the first switching chamber 5 is, for example, 2 The temperature is cooled to T_S1R-OFF or lower (control S2-7). When these controls are finished, the dampers 101a and 101b are closed (control S2-8) in order to prevent an increase in power consumption due to excessive cooling and food freezing in the refrigerating mode, and the first switching chamber 5 is being cooled. Check_S1 that has been set to 1 in control S2-2 indicating that there is is set to 0 (control S2-9).

In order to prevent the temperature of the first switching chamber 5 from becoming too high until the cooling control of the other freezing chambers 4 and the second switching chamber 6 is completed (reaching control S2-25), the first switching chamber 5 is prevented. 5 is set to the freezing mode (control S2-10: Yes), the temperature T_S1 of the first switching chamber 5 is, for example, T_S1F-ON2 of -20°C or higher (control S2-11: Yes), and set to the refrigeration mode. If the temperature T_S1 of the first switching chamber 5 becomes T_S1R-ON2 of 4° C. or more (control S2-12: Yes), the damper is opened again (control S2--10: No). 4, S2-6). After that, when T_S1 becomes lower than T_S1F-OFF or T_S1R-OFF again, the damper is closed again (control S2-5, S2-7, S2-8).

Next, the control of the second switching chamber 6 will be described, but it is basically the same as that of the first switching chamber 5. When the second switching chamber 6 is set to the freezing mode (control S2-13: Yes), the damper 102a for direct cooling is opened (control S2-14), and the temperature T_S2 of the second switching chamber 6 is, for example, -23. It cools until it becomes below T_S2F-OFF of C (control S2-15). When the second switching chamber 6 is set to the refrigerating mode (control S2-13: No), the damper 102b for indirect cooling is opened (control S2-16), and the temperature T_S2 of the second switching chamber 6 is, for example, 3 It cools until it becomes below T_S2R-OFF of C (control S2-17). When these controls are completed, the dampers 102a and 102b are closed (control S2-18), and the Check_S2 which was 1 in control S2-2 indicating that the second switching chamber 6 is being cooled is set to 0 (control S2-). 19). After that, when the second switching chamber 6 is set to the freezing mode (control S2-20: Yes) until the cooling control of the freezing chamber 4 and the first switching chamber 5 is completed (reaching control S2-25). If the temperature T_S2 of the second switching chamber 6 is, for example, T_S2F-ON2 of -21° C. or higher (control S2-21) and the refrigeration mode is set (control S2-20: No), the temperature T_S2 of the second switching chamber 5 is set. For example, when T_S1R-ON2 is 5°C or higher (control S2-22), the damper is opened again (control S2-14, S2-16), and when T_S2 is T_S2F-OFF or T_S2R-OFF or lower, the damper is closed again. (Control S2-15, S2-17, S2-18).

Finally, the control regarding the freezer compartment 4 will be described. Since the freezer compartment 4 does not include a damper for controlling the temperature, it is determined that the temperature T_F of the freezer compartment 4 is equal to or lower than T_F-OFF of -20° C. (control S2-23: Yes), and the freezer compartment 4 is determined. The cooling control of is ended.

It is determined that the cooling of the freezing chamber 4 is finished (control S2-23: Yes), and the cooling control of the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 is finished by Check_S1 and S2 (control S2-24: Yes). ), the F fan 9b is turned off (control S2-25), and the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b ends (control S2-26).

As described above, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b is performed when any one of the freezing chamber 4, the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 is at a predetermined temperature or higher. (Control S1-2 to S1-8 in FIG. 9), and during the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b, at least any of the freezing chamber 4, the first switching chamber 5, and the second switching chamber 6 is at least At least once, it is always cooled down to a predetermined temperature or less (Fig. 10). As a result, the temperature of any of the storage chambers can be prevented from becoming too high and too low as compared with the case of controlling only the temperature of any one of the storage chambers, and the food can be saved while enhancing the energy saving performance. The storage performance of can be improved.

Further, in the cooling control of the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6, when the predetermined temperature is reached, the damper is closed (controls S2-8, S2-18) to prevent overcooling, and the cooling state is released. (Control S2-9, S2-19) If the temperature rises (Control S2-10 to S2-12, or S2-20 to S2-22), the damper is opened again to cool. This prevents the temperature from becoming too high while preventing overcooling, improving the energy conservation performance and the food preservation performance.

Note that Check_S1 and Check_S2 remain 0 while the controls S2-10 to S2-12 or S2-20 to S2-22 perform the control for reopening the dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, and 102b. As a result, it is prevented that Check_S1 and Check_S2 are alternately set to 1 and the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b does not end. The refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of evaporators, and the cooling operation using the R evaporator 14a and the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b are switched to perform cooling. Therefore, the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b is performed. When the operation is completed and the cooling operation using the R evaporator 14a is started, the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b cannot be performed for a while. Therefore, T_S1F-ON2 used for controlling the opening of the damper again is lower than T_S1F-ON shown in FIG. 9, similarly T_S1R-ON2 is lower than T_S1R-ON, T_S2F-ON2 is lower than T_S2F-ON, and T_S2R is lower. -ON2 is kept at a temperature lower than that of T_S2R-ON so that the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b is completed in a relatively low temperature state.

FIG. 11 is an example of temperature change with time showing the basic cooling control of the present embodiment. FIG. 11 shows the case where both the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 are in the freezing mode. Each control number corresponds to FIG. 9 and FIG.

A case where both the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 in FIG. 11 are in the freezing mode will be described from time t0. After the compressor 58 is stopped at time t0 (control S1-1), each determination of control S1-2 to S1-9 is performed. At time t1, the temperature T_S2 of the second switching chamber 6 becomes equal to or higher than T_S2F-ON (control S1-7: No), and the cooling operation by the F evaporator 14b is started (control S1-12, S1-13, and S1-12). S2-1). In FIG. 11, both the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 are in the freezing mode, so that the dampers 101a and 102a, which are dampers for direct cooling, are opened. When the temperature T_S1 of the first switching chamber 5 becomes equal to or lower than T_S1F-OFF at time t2 (control S2-5: Yes), the damper 101a is closed (control S2-8) and the first switching chamber 5 is being cooled. Check_S1 indicating that is 0 (cleared) (control S2-9). Similarly, at time t3, when the temperature T_S2 of the second switching chamber 6 becomes equal to or lower than T_S2F-OFF (control S2-15: Yes), the damper 102a is closed (control S2-18), and the second switching chamber 6 is closed. Check_S2 indicating that the cooling is being performed is 0 (cleared) (control S2-19). After that, at time t4, the temperature T_F of the freezing compartment 4 becomes equal to or lower than T_F-OFF, and it is determined that the cooling of all of the freezing compartment 4, the first switching chamber 5 and the second switching chamber 6 is completed (control S2- 23, S2-24), and the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b is terminated (controls S2-25, S2-26, and S1-14). At time t6 during this time, the temperature of the first switching chamber 5 becomes higher than T_S1F-ON2, so the damper 101a is opened again (control S2-11: Yes→control S2-5), and the first switching chamber 5 is opened. The temperature rise of 5 is suppressed.

At the time t4 when the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b is finished, the temperature T_R of the refrigerating compartment 2 is equal to or higher than T_R-ON (control S1-9: No), so the R evaporator 14a was used. Shift to cooling operation (control S1-10). After that, at time t5, when the temperature T_R of the refrigerating compartment 2 becomes equal to or lower than T_R-OFF (control S1-11: Yes), the cooling operation using the R evaporator 14a is ended, and the F evaporator 14b is used again. It is determined whether or not the cooling operation that has been performed is necessary (controls S1-2 to S2-8). At time t5 in FIG. 11, it is determined that the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b is not necessary, and the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 2 is less than T_R-ON (control S1-9: Yes), so the compressor 58 is turned off. (Control S1-1). At this time, by fully closing the three-way valve 52, the refrigerant on the high pressure side of the refrigeration cycle flows into the R evaporator 14a and the F evaporator 14b, and the R evaporator 14a and the F evaporator 14b rise in temperature. This is to prevent that.

After that, the same operation is repeated.

FIG. 12 is a basic defrosting control flowchart of this embodiment. The refrigerator 1 of this embodiment performs a defrosting operation in which the frost on the F evaporator 14b is defrosted by the defrosting heater 21.

In the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, during the cooling operation shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the time from the previous defrosting operation, the ambient temperature and humidity detected by the outside air temperature sensor 46 and the outside air humidity sensor 47, the compressor The frosting state is predicted based on the operating state (rotation speed, operating time) of 58, the time when each door is open, etc., and it is determined that defrosting is necessary when a predetermined condition is satisfied (control S3-1: Yes). To start the defrosting operation (control S3-2). After the start condition of the defrosting operation is satisfied (control S3-1: Yes), and before the defrosting operation is started (control S3-2), the temperature rise in the defrosting operation is predicted to predict the inside of the refrigerator in advance. You may perform the pre-cool operation which cools to a temperature lower than usual.

During the defrosting operation (control S3-2), the compressor 58 and the fan 9b are turned off, the defrosting heater 21 is turned on, and the damper heater 64 is also turned on. While the dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, 102b are cooled by the air having the freezing temperature during the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b, the first switching chamber 5 or the second switching chamber 6 is in the refrigerating mode, Especially when storing vegetables and the like, high-humidity air from the inside of the refrigerator may reach the dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, 102b and cause frost formation. Therefore, the damper heater 64 is also turned on during the defrosting operation, The dampers 101a, 101b, 102a, 102b are also defrosted. In addition, the heaters of the dampers 101a and 101b for the first switching chamber 5 and the dampers 102a and 102b for the second switching chamber 6 are separately provided, and only the heaters on the damper side related to the switching chambers in the refrigerating mode are turned on. ，Energy saving performance may be improved by suppressing heater power.

When the defrosting operation is performed and the temperature T_e of the F evaporator 14b detected by the F evaporator temperature sensor 44b becomes equal to or higher than T_e-def of 8° C. (control S3-3), the defrosting operation ends (control S3-4). , S3-5) and returns to the cooling control of FIG. 9 (control S1-15 in FIG. 9).

FIG. 13 is a mode switching control flowchart of the first switching chamber 5 in the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment. The mode switching control of the second switching chamber 6 is omitted because it is the same as that of the first switching chamber 5. In the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, when the mode switching of the first switching chamber 5 is performed, three controls of "temperature control", "damper heater control" and "switching display" are performed in parallel.

First, the temperature control will be described. When the mode is switched, each reference temperature set value for the first switching chamber 5 is changed (for example, control S1-4 (reference temperature T_S2F-ON) in FIG. 9 is controlled S1-5 (reference temperature T_S2R-ON). )change to). In addition, the rotation speed of the compressor 58 and the rotation speed of the F fan 9b are increased in order to reach the predetermined temperature in a short time, particularly when the freezing mode is reached when switching from the refrigeration mode to the freezing mode. After that, the cooling control shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is performed in that state (control S4-2), but when the compressor 58 is turned off (control S4-3), the operation shifts to the defrosting operation (control S4). -5). When the defrosting operation ends (control S4-6), the normal cooling control shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is returned to, and the temperature control peculiar to the mode switching ends. The control during the defrosting operation is the same as that shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, even when the freezing mode is switched to the refrigerating mode, the rotation speed of the compressor 58 and the rotation speed of the F fan 9b are increased, which makes the defrosting operation described later start earlier. This is to simplify the control program by reducing the number of cases of control (control S4-3: Yes→control S4-5).

Here, the reason for shifting to the defrosting operation in control S4-3 will be described.

First, by performing this defrosting operation, heating from the freezing mode to the refrigeration mode can be promoted. Since the defrost heater has about 150 W, which is the maximum heat generation amount in the refrigerator of this embodiment, by heating the F evaporator 14b and the air passages around it, the defrosting heater 5 and the first switching chamber 5 and The second switching chamber 6 is also heated via the heat insulating partition wall 27, and can switch from the freezing temperature zone to the refrigerating temperature zone in a relatively short time. Note that, for example, when the first switching chamber 5 is changed from the freezing mode to the refrigerating mode, the damper 101a or 101b on the first switching chamber 5 side is opened during this defrosting operation, and the air passage around the F evaporator 14b flows. By allowing warm air to flow to the first switching chamber 5, the first switching chamber 5 may be heated by this warm air and the speed of switching to the refrigerating temperature zone may be further increased.

The second is to prevent frost formation that is difficult to consider due to different frost formation for each mode. For example, when both the damper 101a for the first switching chamber 5 and the damper 102a for the second switching chamber 6 are opened in the F evaporator 14b, the freezing chamber 4, the first switching chamber 5, and the second switching chamber 6 are opened. Of the freezing chamber 4 and the first switching chamber 5 flows when only the damper 101a is opened, and the air of the freezing chamber 4 and the first switching chamber 5 flows when only the damper 102a is opened. , When both are closed, the air in the freezer compartment 4 flows. That is, the flow of air around the F evaporator 14b changes depending on whether the damper is open or closed. Therefore, if the opening/closing time of the dampers 101a and 101b changes in the refrigerating mode and the freezing mode, the influence on the flow of air around the F evaporator 14b changes. Further, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, the dampers 101a and 101b different from the dampers are opened in the refrigerating mode and the refrigerating mode, so that the air flow around the F evaporator 14b changes in a complicated manner in the refrigerating mode and the refrigerating mode. .. When the air flow changes, the frost distribution generated on the F evaporator 14b also changes. In addition, the air coming from the storage room in the refrigerating mode is basically hot and humid (high absolute humidity), so that it is more likely to be frosted. Therefore, it is difficult to predict the frosted state in consideration of the case where both the refrigerating mode and the freezing mode are mixed in the switching chamber. Even in the case of evaluation in a test, it is necessary to change the time ratio between the refrigeration mode and the freezing mode to evaluate the frost distribution at each ratio, which requires a huge amount of test time and is difficult. This is especially true for a refrigerator having a relatively large capacity of the switching chamber (for example, the length of the switching chamber in the width direction is the same as the width of the entire refrigerator 1) as in the first embodiment, and a plurality of switching chambers. The refrigerator has a large effect. When unintended frost distribution is reached, air may flow to unintended locations and frost may grow to unintended locations. As a result, for example, frost grows in a place where heat cannot be easily transferred, such as the defrosting heater 21, and defrosting cannot be performed properly, and frost grows around the F fan 9b that blows the cool air of the F evaporator 14b. , The F fan 9b may be locked, and a problem such as inability to blow air may occur.

Therefore, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, the defrosting operation is performed in a relatively early time after switching the mode. As a result, the effect of frost that had occurred before switching modes was suppressed, and such problems were suppressed. That is, the refrigerator is highly reliable.

However, when the time elapsed since the end of the previous defrosting operation (measured by timer A from control S3-4 in FIG. 13) is as short as 6 hours or less (control S4-4: No), the previous mode state This defrosting control is omitted because the influence of frost formation is considered to be small, the normal cooling control shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is returned to, and the temperature control peculiar to the mode switching is ended. As a result, while maintaining high reliability, an increase in power consumption due to defrosting operation is suppressed and energy saving performance is improved.

Next, the damper heater control will be described. This control is performed when the refrigerating mode is switched to the freezing mode (control S4-8: Yes). As shown in the defrosting operation control of FIG. 12, the dampers 101a and 101b are cooled by the air of the freezing temperature while the cooling operation using the F evaporator 14b is performed, but the first switching chamber 5 is in the refrigeration mode. Therefore, particularly when storing vegetables and the like, high-humidity air from the inside of the refrigerator may reach the dampers 101a and 101b and frost may be formed. Therefore, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, when the refrigerating mode is switched to the freezing mode, the damper heater 64 is turned on until the timer B reaches 20 minutes or more (control S4-9 to S4-11). As a result, even if the dampers 101a and 101b freeze during the refrigerating mode, the dampers 101a and 101b can surely operate normally in the freezing mode. Particularly, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, a plurality of dampers of the first switching chamber 5 are provided, and in the refrigerating mode, the damper 101a is basically prevented from opening, so this control is important. If the damper 101a does not operate for a long time in the refrigeration mode, even if the frost is melted during the normal defrosting operation, the defrosting water remains in the damper 101a and freezes up, and the damper 101a cannot operate normally. There is a possibility of becoming. On the other hand, since the damper 101a is mainly opened/closed in the freezing mode, the damper heater 64 heats the damper 101a when the refrigerating mode is switched to the freezing mode so that the damper 101a operates reliably.

Next, the display control during switching will be described. In the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, when the mode of the first switching chamber 5 is switched, the mode switching display 201a (see FIG. 8B) is turned on (lit) (control S4-13). The mode switching indication 201a is turned off when the temperature T_S1 of the first switching chamber 5 reaches the F switching completion determination temperature of, for example, −15° C. when switching from the refrigerating mode to the freezing mode (control S4-14: Yes). (Control S4-17), and when switching from the freezing mode to the refrigerating mode (Control S4-14: No), when the temperature T_S1 of the first switching chamber 5 reaches the R switching completion determination temperature of 0° C. or higher, for example, it is turned off. (Control S4-17) is performed. As a result, by turning off the light and inserting food, it is possible to prevent the frozen food from being thawed by mistake when switching from the refrigerating mode to the freezing mode, and to switch from the freezing mode to the refrigerating mode. In this case, the food is prevented from accidentally freezing. It should be noted that, when switching to the refrigerating mode, the melting point temperature of water is around 0°C, whereas when switching to the freezing mode, the temperature is -15°C, which is 10°C lower than the melting point temperature. In addition to considering low melting points such as, the temperature rise due to opening and closing the door when food is put in is taken into consideration.

In addition, when the above-mentioned display during switching is turned off, the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment emits a dedicated buzzer sound for a predetermined time, and when the user has registered a mobile device or a personal computer, the external communication function causes A pop-up notification of the completion of switching is given to the device (control S4-17). As a result, even if the mode is switched, food can be put in at a relatively early timing while suppressing unintentional freezing and thawing of food.

As described above with reference to FIG. 8B as well, in the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, when the device is registered, the fact that the mode switching has started is also displayed in a pop-up (control S4-13). , This makes it easier to notice that the mode has been switched by another user.

(Example 2)
The present embodiment is an example of a form provided with an operation display panel 202 which also serves as an operation panel and a display panel. The operation panel 200 and the display panel 201 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

14 is a front view of a refrigerator according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 15 is an operation display panel 202 according to the second embodiment.

In this embodiment, the refrigerating compartment door 2a is provided with the operation display panel 202 so that the operation can be performed without opening any door. This improves operability. On the other hand, in the operation display panel 202, similar to the operation panel 201 of the first embodiment, when switching the mode of the first switching chamber 5, the mode switching operating section 202a and when switching the mode of the second switching chamber 6, the mode switching operating section. 202b is pressed and held for 3 seconds, for example. In this embodiment, there is a risk that the mode switching operation units 202a and 202b will be touched during normal kitchen work without opening any doors, but if the button is pressed for a long time, an erroneous operation in which the mode is unintentionally switched is performed. Can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, the mode switching displays 201a and 201b shown in FIG. 8B of the first embodiment are also used as the display units 202c and 202d that indicate the refrigerating mode or the freezing mode. However, under the condition that the mode switching display is lit in the first embodiment (see FIG. 13), the display units 202c and 202d blink in this embodiment to substitute. Specifically, for example, when the mode switching operation unit 202a is pressed for a long time and an instruction to switch the first switching chamber 5 in the refrigerating mode to the freezing mode is issued, the freezing of the display unit 202c is continued until the first switching chamber 5 becomes a low temperature. Blink the side lights. As a result, it is possible to display the mode status display and the switching-in-progress display with a small amount of illumination, and it is possible to reduce the cost. Can be confirmed.

Next, another form example in which a similar effect is obtained will be shown.

FIG. 16 shows an operation display panel 203 of another form example. (A) is a state in which all the lights are turned on, (b) is an example of a display during operation, (c) is an example of a display during no operation, and (d) is a display during mode switching. This is an example.

Similar to the second embodiment, the operation display panel 203 is provided on the refrigerating compartment door 2a and can be operated without opening any door. The operation display panel 203 of the present embodiment is provided with a diagram simulating the shape of a refrigerator, the temperature setting of each storage chamber (lower, standard, higher in the diagram) and the mode state of each switching chamber 5, 6. Display (freezing, refrigerating) in the simulated storage room. Next to each of the storage chambers, an operation unit for temperature adjustment and mode switching operation units 203a and 203b are provided. As a result, even a user who does not know the name of each storage room can easily check the status and operate the storage room.

In this embodiment, when one of the operation parts is touched, each state of each storage chamber at that time is displayed as shown in (b), but if no operation is performed for several seconds, as shown in (c). , Only the states of the switching chambers 5 and 6 in the freezing mode and the refrigerating mode, that is, only the display units 203c and 204d are displayed. This is the same in the example shown in FIG. In this way, the states of the freezing mode and the refrigerating mode of the switching chambers 5 and 6 are constantly lit and displayed to prevent the user from mistakenly inserting the frozen food and the chilled food. It should be noted that this effect is not limited to a combination of the operation unit 200 and the display unit 201, and the same effect can be obtained even if the display unit 202 is provided with a display showing the state of each mode. To be

In the example of FIG. 16, the display units 203c and 203d are made to blink under the condition that the mode switching display is lit (see FIG. 14). For example, when the instruction to switch the first switching chamber 5 in the refrigerating mode to the freezing mode is issued by pressing the mode switching operation unit 202a for a long time, the frozen character on the display unit 203c blinks until the first switching chamber 5 becomes cold. Let As a result, similar to the example shown in FIG. 15, it is possible to show the mode status display and the switching-in-progress display with a small amount of illumination, which can reduce the cost, and it is being switched without opening the door and after switching. You can also check what the mode will be.

The above is an example of the embodiment. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Further, it is possible to add/delete/replace other configurations with respect to a part of the configurations of the embodiment.

1 Refrigerator 2 Cold room 2a, 2b Cold room door 3 Ice making room 3a Ice making room door 3b Ice making room container 3c Ice making tray 4 Freezing room 4a Freezing room door 4b Freezing room container 5 First switching room 5a First switching room door 5b First Switching chamber container 6 Second switching chamber 6a Second switching chamber door 6b Second switching chamber container 8a R evaporator chamber (refrigerating evaporator chamber)
8b F evaporator room (freezer evaporator room)
9a R fan (cooling fan)
9b F fan (freezing fan)
10 Thermal Insulation Box 10a Outer Box 10b Inner Box 11 Refrigerator Chamber Airway 11a Refrigerator Chamber Discharge Port 12 Freezer Chamber Airway 12a Ice Making Chamber Discharge Port 12b Freezer Chamber Discharge Port 12c Freezer Chamber Return Port 12d Freezer Chamber Return Airway 14a R Evaporator (Refrigerator evaporator)
14b F evaporator (freezing evaporator)
15a, b Refrigerator return port 16 Hinge cover 21 Radiant heater 23a R toy 23b F toy 24 Foam insulation 25, 25a, 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d, 25e, 25f, 25g Vacuum insulation 26 F Drain pipe 27, 28 , 29, 30 Adiabatic partition wall 31 Control board 32a R evaporation tray 32b F evaporation tray 34a R shelf top 34b R shelf 2nd 34c R shelf 3rd 34d R shelf bottom 35 First indirect cooling chamber 36 Second indirect Cooling room 37 Ice making tank 39 Machine room 40a R evaporator temperature sensor 40b F evaporator temperature sensor 41 refrigerating room temperature sensor 42 freezing room temperature sensor 43 first switching room temperature sensor 44 second switching room temperature sensor 45 toy temperature sensor 46 outside air Temperature sensor 47 Outside humidity sensor 50a, 50b Radiator 51 Dryer 52 Three-way valve (refrigerant control means)
53a Refrigerating capillary tube (pressure reducing means)
53b Capillary tube for freezing (pressure reducing means)
54b Refrigerating gas-liquid separator 54b Freezing gas-liquid separator 55 Refrigerant merging section 56 Check valves 57a, 57b Heat exchange section 58 Compressor 60 First switching chamber rear heater 61 First switching chamber lower surface heater 62 First switching chamber Upper surface heater 63 First switching chamber rear surface heater 64 Damper heater 101a, 101b, 102a, 102b Damper (blower control unit)
111a, 111b 1st switching chamber discharge port 111c 1st switching chamber return port 112a, 112b 2nd switching chamber discharge port 112c 2nd switching chamber return port 200 Operation part

Claims (5)

A plurality of storage rooms that can be set in the freezing temperature range, a plurality of sensors that detect the room temperature of each of the plurality of storage rooms, a compressor, an evaporator, and a fan;
A refrigerator provided with a cooling operation for driving the compressor and the fan to blow the air cooled at the evaporator to the plurality of storage chambers,
The refrigerator characterized by starting the cooling operation when any of the plurality of storage chambers detected by the plurality of sensors becomes higher than a first predetermined temperature of each of the plurality of storage chambers. A plurality of storage compartments in the freezing temperature zone, a plurality of sensors for detecting the respective room temperatures of the plurality of storage compartments, a compressor, an evaporator, and a fan,
A refrigerator provided with a cooling operation for driving the compressor and the fan to blow the air cooled at the evaporator to the plurality of storage chambers,
The refrigerator characterized in that when the temperatures of the plurality of storage chambers detected by the plurality of sensors are at least 1 degree or more and lower than the respective second predetermined temperatures, the cooling operation is terminated. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the storage chambers is a switching chamber capable of setting a refrigerating temperature zone and a freezing temperature zone. Equipped with ventilation control means,
When the temperature of the storage chamber detected by the sensor becomes lower than the second predetermined temperature, the air blow control unit suppresses air flow from the fan to the storage chamber,
After that, when the temperature of the storage chamber becomes higher than a third predetermined temperature, the suppression of the air blow from the fan to the storage chamber by the air blow control means is stopped. refrigerator. Compared to the first predetermined temperature at the time of starting the cooling operation, the third predetermined temperature at the time of stopping the suppression of the air flow after suppressing the air flow from the fan to the storage chamber by the air flow control means is Refrigerator characterized by low temperature.

Images