Refrigerator

Abstract

To efficiently evaporate defrosting water stored in a machine room.SOLUTION: A refrigerator comprises: a heat insulation structure constituting a cooling room; a compressor that is arranged in a machine room outside the heat insulation structure; a humidity sensor; and a control unit that increases a rotation speed of the compressor when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is higher than a predetermined level.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to refrigerators. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator that includes a container for storing and evaporating drain water in a machine compartment where a compressor is disposed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-135771 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to efficiently evaporate defrost water stored in a machine room. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator is provided that includes an insulating structure that forms a cooling compartment, a compressor that is arranged in a machine compartment outside the insulating structure, a humidity sensor, and a control unit that increases the rotation speed of the compressor when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is higher than a predetermined level. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present disclosure, defrost water stored in the machine room can be efficiently evaporated. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3]FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the configuration of the machine room according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment. [Figure 5] 5 is a flowchart showing a process performed by a control unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing a process performed by a control unit according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a first rear view showing the configuration of a machine room according to a third embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a second rear view showing the configuration of the machine room according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their names and functions are also the same. <Overall configuration of the refrigerator>

[0009] First, with reference to Figs. 1 to 3, the overall configuration of a refrigerator 100 having a refrigerating compartment 111 and a freezing compartment 112 will be described as an example of a cooling device.

[0010] Refrigerator 100 is mainly composed of a heat insulating structure 110. This heat insulating structure 110 forms a storage space of refrigerator 100. The storage space formed by heat insulating structure 110 has refrigeration compartment 111 at the top and freezer compartment 112 at the bottom, for example, by a heat insulating partition extending horizontally.

[0011] The refrigerator compartment 111 is provided with a refrigerator compartment door 111X. The freezer compartment 112 is also provided with a freezer compartment door 112X.

[0012] In refrigerator 100 according to this embodiment, a cooling mechanism 129 including compressor 121, condenser 122, evaporator 124, cooling fan 125, cooling damper 126, and condensing fan 127 is disposed behind freezer compartment 112 provided on the lower level. Compressor 121, condenser 122, etc. are disposed in machine room 120 outside thermal insulation structure 110, while evaporator 124, cooling fan 125, defrost heater 119, etc. are disposed in cooling area 128 located inside thermal insulation structure 110 at the rear.

[0013] More specifically, in machine room 120, control box 135, condenser 122, condensing fan 127, and compressor 121 are arranged in this order from the right when refrigerator 100 is viewed from the front, and from the left when refrigerator 100 is viewed from the back. Above compressor 121, tank 118 for storing defrosted water from evaporator 124 is arranged. Above tank 118, drip tray 116 that drops from evaporator 124 and drain hose 117 that drains defrosted water that has dropped into drip tray 116 into tank 118 are provided.

[0014] Openings 113 for air flow are provided on the left and right sides of machine room 120. This makes it easier for condenser fan 127 to draw air in from the right side of refrigerator 100 and expel the air to the left side when it is driven, thereby enabling condenser 122 and compressor 121 to be cooled smoothly and water in tank 118 to evaporate smoothly.

[0015] In particular, in this embodiment, a humidity sensor 183 is provided on the control board 139 in the control box 135. This makes it possible to measure the humidity in the machine room 120 and input the measured humidity to the control unit.

[0016] In this embodiment, a control board 139 is disposed in a control box 135 of the machine room 120. The control board 139 constitutes a control unit 130 (see FIG. 4 ), which will be described later. The control unit 130 controls each unit of the refrigerator 100, such as the cooling mechanism 129. For example, the control unit 130 drives the compressor 121 and the condenser fan 127, thereby starting operation of the refrigeration cycle and causing the refrigerant to circulate through the cycle. The high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant compressed by the compressor 121 is condensed in the condenser 122 while releasing heat. The high-temperature refrigerant then expands in the expander to a low temperature and is sent to the evaporator 124. The refrigerant that flows into the evaporator 124 exchanges heat with the air circulating in the cooling area 128, evaporates while absorbing heat, and becomes a gas refrigerant that is sent to the compressor 121. In this manner, the refrigerant circulates and the refrigeration cycle operates, whereby cool air that has exchanged heat with the evaporator 124 is generated in the cooling area 128.

[0017] As described above, the evaporator 124 is disposed in the cooling area 128 provided on the rear side of the refrigerator 100. The cooling area 128 is disposed behind the freezer compartment 112. In addition to the evaporator 124, the cooling area 128 is provided with a cooling fan 125. The cooling fan 125 is provided to circulate air between the cooling area 128 and each storage space. That is, the cooling fan 125 sends out the cold air generated by the evaporator 124 during operation of the refrigeration cycle, for example, to each storage space, i.e., each cooling compartment, via the cooling damper 126 and the cold air circuit 115, such as the outlets 111Y and 112Y, and also returns the cold air supplied to each storage compartment to the cooling area 128 via the inlets 111Z and 112Z.

[0018] In this embodiment, a cooling damper 126 is provided in a cold air circuit (refrigerator compartment cold air circuit) between cooling fan 125 and outlet 111Y to refrigerator compartment 111, and cooling damper 126 is opened when cold air should be sent to refrigerator compartment 111 in accordance with an instruction from control unit 130. When cold air is not to be sent to refrigerator compartment 111, that is, when cold air is to be sent only to freezer compartment 112, cooling damper 126 is closed in accordance with an instruction from control unit 130. <Functional configuration of refrigerator 100>

[0019] Next, one embodiment of the configuration of refrigerator 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Refrigerator 100 according to this embodiment includes, as main components, control unit 130, operation unit 140, cooling mechanism 129, refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 181, freezer compartment temperature sensor 182, and machine compartment humidity sensor 183.

[0020] The control unit 130 includes a control board 139, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 131, a memory 132, a timer 133, various interfaces, and various circuits.

[0021] The CPU 131 executes programs stored in the memory 132 to perform various processes, which will be described later.

[0022] Memory 132 is realized by various types of RAM, various types of ROM, etc., and stores programs executed by CPU 131, data generated by execution of the programs by CPU 131, data input via operation unit 140, data received from a server via a router or the Internet, various types of data for maintaining refrigerator compartment 111 and freezer compartment 112 at predetermined temperatures, etc. In this embodiment, memory 132 stores an appropriate upper limit value for humidity in machine compartment 120.

[0023] The timer 133 measures the current date and time and inputs the result to the CPU 131 , and measures the time that has elapsed since a predetermined timing and inputs the result to the CPU 131 .

[0024] The operation unit 140 receives operations from the user and inputs them to the control unit 130 .

[0025] The cooling mechanism 129 mainly includes a compressor 121, a condenser 122, a condensation fan 127, a capillary tube 123, an evaporator 124, a cooling fan 125, a cooling damper 126, a condensation fan 127, and a defrost heater 119. The compressor 121, the condensation fan 127, and the cooling fan 125 are turned on / off and their rotation speeds are changed according to instructions from the control unit 130. The cooling damper 126 performs an opening / closing operation according to instructions from the control unit 130. The defrost heater 119 is turned on / off according to instructions from the control unit 130.

[0026] The refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 181 measures the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment 111 and inputs the measurement result to the control unit 130.

[0027] The freezing compartment temperature sensor 182 is disposed in the freezing compartment 112 or near the evaporator 124, measures the temperature of the freezing compartment 112, and inputs the measurement result to the control unit .

[0028] The machine room humidity sensor 183 is attached to the control board 139 in the machine room 120, measures the humidity in the machine room 120, and inputs the measurement result to the control unit .

[0029] Then, based on the measurement values of refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 181 and freezer compartment temperature sensor 182 and the target temperature, control unit 130 turns cooling fan 125 on / off, opens / closes cooling damper 126, and turns compressor 121 on / off.

[0030] For example, when the temperature of freezing compartment 112 is higher than the target temperature, control unit 130 turns on compressor 121 and drives cooling fan 125. Then, the more the temperature of freezing compartment 112 deviates from the target temperature, control unit 130 increases the rotation speed of compressor 121 and the rotation speed of cooling fan 125. Conversely, when the temperature of freezing compartment 112 is close to the target temperature, control unit 130 reduces or stops the rotation speed of compressor 121 and reduces or stops the rotation speed of cooling fan 125.

[0031] When the temperature of refrigerator compartment 111 is higher than the target temperature, control unit 130 opens cooling damper 126, turns on compressor 121, and drives cooling fan 125. The greater the deviation of the temperature of refrigerator compartment 111 from the target temperature, control unit 130 increases the rotation speed of compressor 121 and the rotation speed of cooling fan 125 while cooling damper 126 is open. Conversely, when the temperature of refrigerator compartment 111 is lower than the target temperature, control unit 130 closes cooling damper 126, stops compressor 121, or stops cooling fan 125. <Control of compressor and condenser fan by control unit>

[0032] Next, the control of compressor 121 and condenser fan 127 by control unit 130 will be described. When the humidity in machine room 120 exceeds a predetermined value, control unit 130 according to this embodiment determines that there is too much water in tank 118 and executes a drying mode to evaporate the water in tank 118. More specifically, in this embodiment, CPU 131 of control unit 130 executes a program in memory 132 to periodically execute the following processing.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 5, first, the control unit 130 acquires the current humidity in the machine room 120 from the humidity sensor 183 (step S102).

[0034] When the humidity in the machine room 120 exceeds a predetermined value (YES in step S104), the control unit 130 executes the drying mode (step S110).

[0035] That is, the control unit 130 increases the rotation speed of the compressor 121 (step S112). Note that the control unit 130 starts driving the compressor 121 when the compressor 121 is stopped.

[0036] Additionally, in this embodiment, the control unit 130 also increases the rotation speed of the condensation fan 127 (step S114). Note that, if the condensation fan 127 has stopped, the control unit 130 starts driving the condensation fan 127.

[0037] The control unit 130 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the drying mode (step S116). When the predetermined time has elapsed (YES in step S116), the control unit 130 restores the rotation speed of the compressor 121 (step S118) and also restores the rotation speed of the condenser fan 127 (step S120).

[0038] In this way, in this embodiment, when a large amount of water has accumulated in tank 118, the rotation speeds of compressor 121 and condensation fan 127 are increased, thereby efficiently reducing the amount of water accumulated in tank 118. Furthermore, by not driving compressor 121 or condensation fan 127 unnecessarily, the possibility of water overflowing from tank 118 can be reduced. [Second embodiment]

[0039] In addition to the above embodiment, a humidity sensor may also be provided on the front side of the refrigerator 100. More specifically, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6, a front humidity sensor 184 is disposed in the heat insulating structure 110 near the refrigerator compartment door 111X.

[0040] In this embodiment, if the humidity measured by the machine room humidity sensor 183 is significantly higher than the humidity measured by the front humidity sensor 184, the control unit 130 determines that there is a large amount of water accumulated in the tank 118 and increases the rotation speed of the compressor 121 and the condenser fan 127.

[0041] More specifically, in this embodiment, the CPU 131 of the control unit 130 executes the program in the memory 132 to periodically perform the following processing.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 7, first, the control unit 130 acquires the current humidity in the machine room 120 from the machine room humidity sensor 183 (step S102).

[0043] The control unit 130 acquires the humidity near the refrigerator compartment door 111X from the front humidity sensor 184 (step S202).

[0044] When the humidity in the machine room 120 measured by the machine room humidity sensor 183 exceeds a value 10% higher than the humidity at the front of the refrigerator 100 measured by the front humidity sensor 184 (YES in step S204), the control unit 130 executes the drying mode (step S110).

[0045] That is, the control unit 130 increases the rotation speed of the compressor 121 (step S112). Note that the control unit 130 starts driving the compressor 121 when the compressor 121 is stopped.

[0046] Additionally, in this embodiment, the control unit 130 also increases the rotation speed of the condensation fan 127 (step S114). Note that, if the condensation fan 127 has stopped, the control unit 130 starts driving the condensation fan 127.

[0047] The control unit 130 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the drying mode (step S116). When the predetermined time has elapsed (YES in step S116), the control unit 130 restores the rotation speed of the compressor 121 (step S118) and also restores the rotation speed of the condenser fan 127 (step S120). [Third embodiment]

[0048] In the above embodiment, the humidity sensor 183 for measuring the humidity inside the machine room 120 is provided on the control board 139. However, as shown in Fig. 8, the humidity sensor 183 for measuring the humidity inside the machine room 120 may be disposed in a position separate from the control board 139 inside the control box 135.

[0049] 9, the machine room humidity sensor 183 may be provided in a location separate from the control box 135 in the machine room 120. For example, the machine room humidity sensor 183 is preferably placed downstream of the compressor 121 and the tank 118 in the air path of the condenser fan 127. This makes it easier to accurately determine whether there is a lot of water in the tank 118.

[0050] Furthermore, it is preferable that the machine room humidity sensor 183 be placed at a position higher than the opening of the tank 118. This makes it easier to accurately determine whether the tank 118 has a large amount of water. [Fourth embodiment]

[0051] In the above embodiment, when the humidity in the machine room 120 is high, the rotation speeds of the compressor 121 and the condenser fan 127 are increased as the drying mode.

[0052] However, when the humidity in the machine compartment 120 is high, the control unit 130 may increase the rotation speed of the compressor 121 as the drying mode and keep the rotation speed of the condenser fan 127 at the normal speed. Note that the present invention is not limited to refrigerators 100 that are provided with the condenser fan 127 in the machine compartment 120 to begin with.

[0053] Alternatively, when the humidity in the machine room 120 is high, the control unit 130 may increase the rotation speed of the condenser fan 127 while controlling the rotation speed of the compressor 121 as usual in the drying mode. [Fifth embodiment]

[0054] Alternatively, when the humidity in the machine room 120 is high, the control unit 130 may set the drying mode and lower the target temperature of the refrigerator room 111 or the freezer room 112. This may indirectly increase the rotation speeds of the compressor 121 and the condenser fan 127.

[0055] Alternatively, when the humidity in the machine room 120 is high, the control unit 130 may set the drying mode to increase the operating intensity of the refrigerator room 111 or the freezer room 112. This may indirectly increase the rotation speeds of the compressor 121 and the condenser fan 127.

[0056] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not by the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. Furthermore, configurations obtained by combining the configurations of the different embodiments described in this specification are also included in the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 100: Refrigerator 111: Refrigerator 111X: Refrigerator door 112: Freezer 118: Tank 119: Defrost heater 120: Machine room 121: Compressor 122: Condenser 124: Evaporator 127: Condenser fan 130: Control unit 135: Control box 139: Control board 183: Machine room humidity sensor 184: Front humidity sensor

Claims

1. a heat insulating structure that constitutes a cooling chamber; a compressor disposed in a machine room outside the thermal insulation structure; A humidity sensor; a control unit that increases the rotation speed of the compressor when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is higher than a predetermined level.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the humidity sensor is disposed in the machine compartment.

3. a tank disposed in the machine room for storing defrost water; a fan disposed in the machine room, The refrigerator according to claim 2 , wherein the humidity sensor is disposed downstream of the tank in the direction of airflow from the fan.

4. Further, a second humidity sensor is disposed on the front side of the thermal insulation structure, The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the control unit increases the rotation speed of the compressor when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is higher than the humidity measured by the second humidity sensor by a predetermined degree or more.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit lowers the target temperature of the cooling compartment when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is higher than a predetermined level.

6. Further, a fan is provided in the machine room. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit increases the rotation speed of the fan when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is higher than a predetermined level.

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