JP3606632B2 - Controlling fan in refrigerator such as refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a method for controlling an internal fan of a refrigerator or the like, and more particularly to an internal fan control method capable of preventing the fan from being unable to rotate due to re-freezing of water melted in a defrosting operation.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A refrigerator or freezer (hereinafter simply referred to as a “refrigerator”) that stores fresh foods such as vegetables, fruits and other meat and fish for a long period of time has a basic structure, a storage for storing foods in cold storage, It consists of a cooling box communicating with the storage and a machine room in which a cooling mechanism composed of a compressor, a condenser and the like is stored. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing an internal structure of a cooling box in a horizontal refrigerator. The cooling box 10 is disposed inside a heat insulating box 14 that defines a storage 12 and is separated vertically. The discharge port 18 and the suction port 20 are separated from the storage 12 by a drawing wall 16. In the cooling box 10, a cooler cover 26 in which an internal fan 24 for circulating cold air and a cooler 22 are accommodated in a vertical relationship is disposed. The cooler 22 includes a compressor, a condenser, and the like. A refrigerant is circulated and supplied from a cooling mechanism (both not shown). The cooler cover 26 has an opening in the lower portion of the cooler 22 that communicates with the suction port 20 and a cylindrical shape that communicates with the hood 30 that forms the discharge port 18 in the upper portion of the cooler 22. A wind tunnel portion 28 that functions as a cold air passage is formed. And the blade | wing of the fan 24 in a store | warehouse | chamber faces the inside of the wind tunnel part 28, By operating this fan 24, the air in the storage 12 is sucked in in the cooling box 10 from the suction inlet 20 of the painting wall 16. FIG. After being cooled while passing through the cooler 22 in the cooler cover 26, it is discharged into the storage 12 through the wind tunnel portion 28 and the hood 30.
[0003]
In the refrigerator, if the operation of the cooling mechanism is continued, frost adheres to the surface and the inside of the cooler 22 in a layered manner and decreases the cooling capacity. Therefore, the amount of frost formation in the cooler 22 exceeds a predetermined value. The first heater 32 disposed on the side of the cooler cover 26 adjacent to the cooler 22 and the lower portion of the cooler cover 26 adjacent to the drainage tray 10a provided at the bottom of the cooling box 10 are provided. The defrosting operation by the second heater 34 is performed. That is, when a defrost start signal is output from an appropriate defrost operation start means, the cooling mechanism and the internal fan 24 are stopped and the defrost operation is started. Further, the heaters 32 and 34 are energized, and the frost attached to the inner wall of the cooler cover 26 and the inside of the cooler 22 is melted. When a thermostat (not shown) detects the completion of defrosting due to the rise in the surface temperature of the cooler 22 after the required time, the heaters 32 and 34 are de-energized and the cooling mechanism and the internal fan 24 are operated. Resumed. In addition, the water melt | dissolved by the defrost operation is collected by the drain tray 10a of the cooling box 10, and is discharged | emitted outside.
[0004]
As described above, when the operation of the cooling mechanism and the internal fan 24 is restarted at the same time as the energization of the heaters 32 and 34 is interrupted, the air warmed by the heaters 32 and 34 flows into the storage 12 to increase the internal temperature. There is a risk of causing. Therefore, during the defrosting operation, each device is controlled as shown in FIG. 5 to prevent warm air from flowing into the storage 12.
[0005]
That is, when the thermostat detects the completion of defrosting, the first heater 32 disposed on the side of the cooler cover 26 is first de-energized and the draining timer 46 starts counting, and the timer 46 counts up. As a result, the energization of the second heater 34 disposed under the cooler cover 26 is cut off. By holding the energization of the second heater 34 for the set time limit of the draining timer 46, the molten water melted by the heating of the heaters 32 and 34 and collected in the drain tray 10a is re-freezing in the tray. Is prevented. Then, after the lapse of the required drainage time T _1, by operating the compressor 42 and condenser fan motor 44 with turning off the power of the second heater 34, cooler 22 and temperature raised by the heater 32 Reduce the temperature. Then, when the internal fan delay timer 50 to start counting by the count-up of the draining timer 46 that counts up (after a delay time T _2), by starting the operation of the in-compartment fan 24, warm air Is prevented from flowing into the storage 12.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
During the defrosting operation described above, the frost adhering in the wind tunnel portion 28 where the blades of the internal fan 24 face is melted, and this melted water is collected in the wind tunnel portion 28 without flowing down to the drainage tray 10a. It was. In this case, when the operation of the compressor 42 and the condensing fan motor 44 is started to precool the cooler 22 heated by the heaters 32 and 34 as described above, the operation of the internal fan 24 is not performed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the cooler 22 is cooled, the melted water accumulated on the lower inner peripheral surface of the wind tunnel portion 28 may re-freeze. For this reason, when the operation of the internal fan 24 is resumed, the frozen ice 36 and the blades of the fan 24 interfere with each other so that they cannot rotate, and the blades are damaged or the fan motor of the internal fan 24 is overloaded. There was a problem that caused the failure. Moreover, since the cold air is not circulated, the disadvantage that the temperature in the storage 12 rises abnormally is pointed out.
[0007]
If the gap 38 between the blade of the internal fan 24 and the wind tunnel portion 28 is set large, it is possible to avoid a situation where the fan 24 cannot rotate due to the interference between the blade of the fan 24 and the ice 36 even if the melted water re-freezes. it can. However, if the gap 38 is set to be large, the air volume by the internal fan 24 is reduced, and a suitable air circulation is not performed. Therefore, it is required to set the gap 38 as small as possible in order to cool the storage box 12 efficiently. It was.
[0008]
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks inherent in the prior art, and has been proposed to solve this problem suitably. The water melted by the defrosting operation is re-freezing and the internal fan rotates. It is an object of the present invention to provide a fan control method for a refrigerator or the like that avoids the situation of being impossible and prevents the fan and fan motor from being damaged.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To overcome the problems described above, the internal fan control method of the refrigerator according to the present onset bright to achieve the intended purpose,
A storage for storing food and the like, and
A cooling box in which a cooler in which refrigerant from the cooling mechanism is circulated and supplied is disposed;
An internal fan that faces the cool air passage between the cooling box and the storage and blows out the cool air cooled by the cooler to the storage,
A heater attached to the cooler;
Defrost completion detection means for detecting the defrost completion of the cooler,
When the defrosting operation start means commands the start of defrosting of the cooler, the operation of the cooling mechanism and the internal fan is stopped, and the heater is energized,
When the defrosting completion detecting means detects the completion of defrosting, the energization to the heater is interrupted,
After the required time, and then cut the power supply to the heater, the refrigerator being opened Hajimesu so that controlling the operation of the cooling mechanism,
Control is performed so that the internal fan is temporarily operated over the set time of the internal fan temporary operation timer that starts counting from the time when the cooling mechanism starts operation after the power supply to the heater is cut off. By blowing off the molten water adhering to the cold air passage and the internal fan,
Control is performed so that the internal fan starts normal operation after the set time limit of the internal fan delay timer that starts counting from the time when the cooling mechanism starts operation after the power supply to the heater is cut off. It is characterized by that.
[0011]
【Example】
Next, a preferred embodiment of the internal fan control method for a refrigerator or the like according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a timing chart of a defrosting operation by a method for controlling an internal fan of a refrigerator or the like according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an electric control circuit of the refrigerator. Since the internal fan control method according to the present invention can be implemented in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 3 described in the section of the prior art, the description of the present invention will also be described for the refrigerator in FIG. .
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 2, a compressor 42 and a condensing fan motor 44 are connected in parallel to the power supply line. The first heater 32, the second heater 34, the internal fan 24, the internal thermistor Th _1, and the defrosting thermistor Th ₂ are connected in parallel to the power supply line via the control circuit 40. The internal thermistor Th ₁ is disposed at a required position in the storage 12 and outputs a voltage signal corresponding to the detected internal temperature. Then, this voltage signal is input to a comparator (not shown) of the control circuit 40, and the compressor 42, the condensing fan motor 44, etc. are set so as to control the operation so as to maintain the inside of the storage 12 within a predetermined temperature range. The defrosting thermistor Th ₂ is disposed at a required position of the cooler 22, and a voltage signal corresponding to the surface temperature of the cooler 22 is output to a comparator (not shown) of the control circuit 40. Then, when the cooler 22 is heated by the defrosting operation and the thermistor Th ₂ outputs a voltage signal corresponding to the temperature at which the frost is melted, the energization to the first heater 32 is set to be cut off. Note that description of other electric control components is omitted.
[0013]
The control circuit 40 is provided with a draining timer 46 that starts counting when the defrost completion thermistor Th ₂ detects the defrost completion temperature. Set time period T ₁ of the this draining timer 46 is required after defrosting of condenser 22 is completed, to melt water flowing down from the cooler 22 and the cooler cover 26 is discharged to the outside through the discharging tray 10a For example, the time is set to about 5 to 6 minutes. When the drain timer 46 counts up, the energization of the second heater 34 is cut off and the operation of the compressor 42 and the condensing fan motor 44 is started. The control circuit 40 is provided with an internal fan delay timer 50 that starts counting when the draining timer 46 counts up. The internal fan delay timer 50 is for setting the pre-cooling time of the cooler 22 by the compressor 42 and condenser fan motor 44 resumes operation, the set time period T ₂ are approximately 1-2 minutes for example Is set.
[0014]
The control circuit 40 is provided with an internal fan temporary operation timer 48 that starts counting when the draining timer 46 counts up. The internal fan temporary operation timer 48 only during said timer 48 continues counting, be one which controls to operate temporarily the in-compartment fan 24, the set time period T _3, for example It is set to about 2 to 3 seconds. That is, by operating the fan 24 at the same time as turning off the energization of the second heater 34, the molten water adhering to the blades of the internal fan 24 or accumulated on the lower inner peripheral surface of the wind tunnel portion 28 is blown off. .
[0015]
[Effect of the embodiment]
Next, the actual fan control method according to the embodiment will be described. When the power is turned on, the cooling mechanism such as the compressor 42 and the condensing fan motor 44 starts operation, and the refrigerant is circulated and supplied to the cooler 22 in the cooling box 10 to be cooled. The internal fan 24 disposed in the cooler cover 26 also starts to operate simultaneously, and the air in the storage 12 is sucked into the cooling box 10 from the suction port 20 below the painting wall 16, and the cooler cover 26. After being cooled while passing through the inner cooler 22, it is discharged into the storage 12 through the wind tunnel portion 28 and the hood 30 (see FIG. 3). The compressor 42 and the condensing fan motor 44 are operated and stopped repeatedly according to the detected temperature of the internal thermistor Th ₁ disposed in the storage 12 to maintain the internal temperature within a predetermined temperature range. To do.
[0016]
When the cooling operation by the cooling mechanism is continued, frost adheres to the surface and the inside of the cooler 22 in a layered manner, and the appropriate defrosting operation start means detects that this has reached a required amount, and the defrosting start signal is received. When output, the defrosting operation is started. As the defrosting operation start means, a means for switching from the cooling operation to the defrosting operation every predetermined time (for example, 6 to 8 hours) by a timer, or by directly detecting the frosting amount by a capacitance type detector. A means for outputting a defrosting start signal when the amount exceeds the fixed amount is appropriately employed.
[0017]
That is, when the defrosting start signal is output from the defrosting operation start means, the operation of the compressor 42 and the condensing fan motor 44 is stopped and the internal fan 24 is also stopped as shown in FIG. Further, the first heater 32 disposed on the side of the cooler cover 26 and the second heater 34 disposed on the lower side are energized, and the frost attached to the cooler 22 and the cooler cover 26 is melted. The molten water is collected in a drainage tray 10a disposed at the bottom of the cooling box 10 and discharged outside. When the defrosting completion thermistor Th ₂ disposed at a required position of the cooler 22 detects the defrosting completion temperature of the cooler 22, the energization to the first heater 32 is cut off, and the draining timer 46 counts. Start. Incidentally, by providing the required drainage time T ₁ after the defrosting of condenser 22 is completed, the water melted by the defrosting is reliably collecting the discharging tray 10a. Further, since the second heater 34 is continuously maintained in the energized state, it is possible to prevent the molten water collected in the drain tray 10a from re-freezing.
[0018]
Draining time T ₁ is passed, when the draining timer 46 counts up, with the energization of the second heater 34 is interrupted, operation of the compressor 42 and condenser fan motor 44 is started, is the cooler 22 Precooled. The internal fan temporary operation timer 48 and the internal fan delay timer 50 also start counting. At the same time as the count of the internal fan temporary operation timer 48 starts, the internal fan 24 starts to be operated, thereby being attached to the blades of the fan 24 or the lower inner peripheral surface of the wind tunnel portion 28 of the cooler cover 26. Blow off the molten water collected in the tank. That is, by pre-cooling the cooler 22, it is possible to avoid re-freezing of the molten water adhering to the blades of the internal fan 24 or accumulating on the lower inner peripheral surface of the wind tunnel portion 28. It is possible to prevent the blades and fan motor from being damaged. When the internal fan temporary operation timer 48 counts up, the operation of the internal fan 24 is stopped. Since set time period T ₃ in the internal fan temporary operation timer 48 is slight, never repository 12 is increased temperature due to a temporary operation of the internal fan 24.
[0019]
While the internal fan delay timer 50 is counting, the compressor 42 and the condensing fan motor 44 are started and the cooler 22 is precooled. Cooling to the required temperature can be performed, and high-temperature air that has passed through the cooler 22 that has risen in temperature is prevented from being discharged into the storage 12. When the internal fan delay timer 50 counts up, normal operation of the internal fan 24 is started, and the air cooled by the cooler 22 cooled to a required temperature or less is discharged into the storage 12.
[0020]
In the embodiment, the structure in which the blades of the internal fan face the wind tunnel provided in the cooler cover has been described. However, the wind tunnel is provided integrally with the hood disposed on the painting wall, and the warehouse is provided in the wind tunnel. Even if an internal fan is provided, refreezing of the frost-melted water can be similarly prevented.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the internal fan control method for a refrigerator or the like according to the present invention, the internal fan is controlled to be temporarily operated for the required time after the required time since the defrosting operation is started. Thus, the molten water adhering to the blades of the internal fan and the cold air passage can be blown off. That is, the melted water does not re-freeze in the fan's blades or the cold air passage, and it can be prevented that the fan's blades and ice in the warehouse interfere with each other to prevent rotation, and the fan is damaged. Or a load applied to the fan motor can be prevented. In addition, since ice does not adhere to the blade surface of the internal fan, the load on the fan motor is reduced when the internal fan is started, and the life of the fan motor can be extended. In addition, since it is possible to suitably prevent the in-compartment fan from rotating, an abnormal rise in the in-container temperature can be avoided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a timing chart of defrosting operation by a method for controlling a fan in a refrigerator or the like according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating an electric control circuit of the refrigerator according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a main part showing an internal structure of a cooling box in the refrigerator.
FIG. 4 is a side view of an essential part showing a state in which molten water is frozen in a gap between a wind tunnel portion of a cooler cover and an internal fan.
FIG. 5 is a timing chart of a conventional defrosting operation.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cooling box, 10a Drain tray, 12 Storage, 16 Drawing wall, 18 Discharge port 20 Suction port, 22 Cooler, 24 Inside fan, 28 Wind tunnel part, 30 Hood 32 1st heater, 34 2nd heater, 42 Compression , 44 Condenser fan motor 48 Internal fan temporary operation timer, Th ₂ defrost complete thermistor

Claims (1)

A storage (12) for storing cold storage of ingredients, etc.
A cooling box (10) in which a cooler (22) into which refrigerant from the cooling mechanism (42, 44) is circulated and supplied is disposed;
An internal fan (24) that faces the cool air passage between the cooling box (10) and the storage (12) and blows out the cool air cooled by the cooler (22) to the storage (12),
A heater (32) attached to the cooler (22);
Defrost completion detection means (Th ₂ ) for detecting the defrost completion of the cooler (22),
When the defrosting operation start means commands the start of defrosting of the cooler (22), the cooling mechanism (42, 44) and the internal fan (24) are stopped and the heater (32) is energized. ,
When the defrosting completion detecting means (Th ₂ ) detects the completion of defrosting, the power to the heater (32) is cut off,
After the required time, and then cut the power supply of the to the heater (32), in a refrigerator or the like which is operated to open Hajimesu so that control of the cooling mechanism (42, 44),
Over the set time of the internal fan temporary operation timer (48) that starts counting from the time when the cooling mechanism (42, 44) starts operation after cutting off the power to the heater (32) , By controlling the internal fan (24) to temporarily operate , the molten water adhering to the cold air passage and the internal fan (24) is blown off,
After the set time limit of the internal fan delay timer (50) that starts counting from the time when the cooling mechanism (42, 44) starts operation after the power supply to the heater (32) is cut off, the internal fan A method for controlling a fan in a refrigerator or the like, wherein (24) is controlled to start normal operation .

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