KR101457686B1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a refrigerator that provides a home-bar heater that can be independently controlled according to a temperature state inside and outside a home bar by improving the control structure of the home- And a control method.

A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body having a cold storage room formed therein, a refrigerator door rotatably coupled to the main body and having an opening formed in at least a portion thereof, A heater provided on at least one side of the home bar door; And a controller for variably controlling the amount of heat generated in the heater.

According to the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of heaters can be independently controlled according to changes in the refrigerating compartment internal temperature and the ambient temperature (surface) of the refrigerator.

Home bar door, home bar heater, home bar frame

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a refrigerator.

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator that provides a home-bar heater that can be independently controlled according to a temperature state inside and outside a home bar by improving the control structure of the home- will be.

Generally, a refrigerator has a plurality of storage chambers for storing the foods to be frozen or refrigerated, and one side of the storage chamber is opened to receive and retrieve the food.

In recent years, a refrigerator is generally provided with a home bar on a part of the door so as to prevent the outflow of cool air more than necessary due to the opening and shielding of the door. Here, the home bar is a portion that can take out the beverage or food inside the refrigerator without opening the door of the refrigerator.

The refrigerator door is provided with an opening having a predetermined size in order to allow food to be stored or taken out through the home bar, and a home bar door for selectively blocking the opening is rotatably coupled to the opening.

On the other hand, the temperature difference between the inside and the outside of the refrigerator is large. That is, in the case of the refrigerating chamber, a temperature of about 2 to 3 ° C is formed inside the refrigerator, and an ambient temperature (about 15 to 25 ° C) of the environment where the refrigerator is installed is formed outside the refrigerator.

Therefore, a heat insulating material, which prevents heat transfer due to a temperature difference between the inside and the outside of the refrigerator, may be inserted into the inside of the home bar door.

In addition, the home bar may be provided with a home-bar heater to prevent moisture in the air from condensing around the home bar due to a temperature difference between the inside and the outside of the home bar.

On the other hand, the refrigerator door generally has a lower temperature than other positions of the opening due to a low insulation effect at the lower end of the opening, due to the installation structure of the home bar door.

In detail, the lower end of the opening portion is inserted with a smaller amount of the heat insulating material than other portions in order to secure a space in which the home bar door is rotated. Therefore, the cold air inside the refrigerator tends to be discharged to the outside through the lower end of the opening.

However, the conventional home-bar heater is arranged so as to be adjacent to the home-bar door along a certain portion of the refrigerator door and to supply the same amount of heat. Therefore, there is a problem that a low temperature phenomenon appears particularly at the lower end of the opening portion among the peripheral positions of the opening portion where the home bar door is installed.

Also, due to the difference between the temperature at the lower end of the opening and the ambient temperature of the refrigerator, moisture in the air is condensed at the lower end of the opening, and the condensed moisture is condensed in the refrigerator.

In this case, when the heat quantity of the home bar heater is increased to raise the temperature of the lower end portion of the opening, more power is required than the required electric power, resulting in an increase in cost due to electric power use. In addition, the temperature of the other portions of the opening, that is, the upper end portion and the both end portions, is also increased, and the refrigeration efficiency inside the refrigerator is deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a home-bar heater which can be independently controlled according to a temperature state inside and outside a home bar by improving the control structure of the home-bar heater provided in the home bar.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator which senses a temperature inside a refrigerator and a temperature around the refrigerator, so that a heater corresponding to a difference in temperature is operated in stages, thereby dissipating as much heat as required through a heater.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator comprising: a main body having a cold storage room; a refrigerator door rotatably coupled to the main body and having an opening formed in at least a portion thereof; A door provided on at least one side of the door, And a controller for variably controlling the amount of heat generated in the heater.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for a refrigerator, comprising: detecting a first temperature in a refrigerator by a temperature sensor and detecting a second temperature around the home bar door; And a step of independently heating the plurality of home bar heaters according to the difference between the first temperature and the second temperature.

According to the present invention, since the plurality of heaters provided around the home bar are independently controlled, a large amount of heat can be dissipated to the position where the low temperature is formed in the home bar.

In addition, since the plurality of heaters corresponding to the surface temperature around the home bar are independently operated, only power equivalent to the heat required for maintaining the predetermined temperature is consumed, thereby reducing the overall power consumption.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the spirit of the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown and that those skilled in the art, upon reading and understanding the spirit of the invention, may easily suggest other embodiments within the scope of the same concept.

1 is a perspective view showing a home bar for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 10 having a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber and having a front surface, a freezing chamber door 10 for selectively shielding the front surface of the main body 10, (11) and a refrigerator compartment door (12).

In addition, the refrigerating chamber door 12 includes a home bar 100 provided at a substantially central portion thereof for facilitating the storage and removal of food items which are relatively frequently used.

On the other hand, in the figure, a side-by-side refrigerator in which a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment are provided on the right and left sides will be described as an example. However, the position of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment is not an important idea, and may be in the form of a top mount in which the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment are vertically disposed, a bottom freezer in which the refrigerating compartment is provided on the upper side and the freezing compartment is provided on the lower side The embodiment of the present invention can be applied to the refrigerator of FIG.

1, the home bar 100 may be provided in the freezing compartment door 11 or may be provided in both the refrigerator compartment door 12 and the freezing compartment door 11.

In detail, the main body 10 includes a refrigerating chamber (not shown) for storing food at room temperature in the range of 2 ° C to 5 ° C and a freezing chamber (not shown) for storing food requiring freeze storage.

More specifically, the home bar 100 is provided with an opening 101 for allowing food to be introduced or taken out, a home bar frame 102 formed at a rim of the opening 101 and forming an outer appearance of the home bar 100, And a home bar door 103 that allows the opening 101 to be opened or closed.

The opening 101 and the home bar frame 102 are functionally separated from each other by the structure of the home bar 100. The opening 101 is formed in at least a part of the refrigerator compartment door 12, The frame 102 may be a part of the refrigerator compartment door 12.

A groove door liner 104 is formed on the back surface of the groove door 103. The home bar door liner 104 is formed so that the inside of the refrigerator can be sealed by contacting the home bar door 102 in a state where the home bar door 103 shields the opening 101.

The home bar door 103 is rotatably coupled to the lower end of the home bar 100, that is, the hinge portion 107. Here, the hinge portion 107 may be provided on the refrigerating chamber door 12, and may be disposed on both sides of the lower end of the opening portion 101.

An upper portion of the inside of the home bar door 103 is provided with a latch member 106 for fixing the home bar door 103 to the home bar frame 102 in a state where the opening portion 101 is shielded.

The home bar frame 102 is provided with a latch assembly 105 which is engaged with the latch member 126 when the home bar door 123 is closed.

Here, the latch member 106 is inserted into the latch assembly 105 when the home bar door 103 is closed, thereby holding the home bar door 103 in a closed state. In addition, a pushing portion (not shown) is provided on the front surface of the home-bar door 103 so that the user can press the home-bar door 103 to open. Therefore, the latch member 106 may be an element of the "opening and closing device" for opening and closing the home bar door 103 together with the pressing portion.

The front surface of the home bar frame 102 is in contact with the back surface of the home bar door 103 in a state where the home bar door 103 is closed so that the inside of the refrigerator is sealed so that the cold air inside the refrigerator is prevented from flowing out. A gasket 108 is provided.

In addition, a home-bar heater 102 for heating the refrigerator door around the opening 101 to prevent moisture from being condensed in the air due to a temperature difference between the inside and the outside of the refrigerator 120 are provided.

Hereinafter, the configuration and control method of the home-bar heater 120 will be described with reference to the drawings.

2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I 'of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, the home bar heater 120 according to the first embodiment of the present invention may be installed inside the home bar frame 102. A heat insulating material for inserting the inside and the outside of the refrigerator may be inserted into the inside of the home bar frame 102.

In detail, the home-bar heater 120 is disposed along the periphery of the opening 101. The home heater 120 includes a first heater 121 disposed below the opening 101, a second heater 122 disposed above and to the left of the opening 101, And a third heater 123 disposed on the right side of the first heater 101.

Here, the arrangement of the second heater 122 and the third heater 123 is not limited to that described above, and another fourth heater may be disposed above the opening 101.

In addition, a controller (to be described later) may be connected to the heaters 121, 122, and 123 to control the amount of heat generated by the heater. The heaters 121, 122, and 123 may be independently controlled by the controller.

In this case, since the lower side of the groove portion opening 101 is formed at a lower temperature than the other portions of the groove portion opening portion 101, the first heater 121 is formed to have a higher temperature than the second heater 122 and the third heater 123 Heat can be controlled to be generated.

3 is a block diagram of a refrigerator to which a method of controlling a home bar heater of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

Referring to FIG. 3, the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an internal temperature sensor 210 for sensing the temperature inside the refrigerator, an ambient temperature sensor 22 for detecting the ambient temperature of the refrigerator, A timer 240 for measuring an operation time of the door open detection sensor 230 and a timer 240 for supplying a predetermined amount of heat to the periphery of the refrigerator home bar, A control unit 200 for controlling the operation of the heaters 121, 122 and 123 in response to information transmitted from the sensors 210, 220 and 230 and the timer 240, a first heater 121, a second heater 122 and a third heater 123, ).

In detail, the internal temperature sensor 210 may be installed inside a refrigerating chamber where the home bar 100 is provided, and the ambient temperature sensor 220 may be installed at a position where the external surface temperature of the home bar door 103 can be measured .

Accordingly, the internal temperature sensor 210 may detect an elevated temperature of the refrigerator after the compressor (not shown) of the refrigerator is turned off, and the ambient temperature sensor 220 may detect that the home bar door 103 is opened The falling surface temperature can be detected when the cold air in the hearth flows out.

Particularly, since the lower end of the home bar door 103 is formed at a lower temperature than other positions, the ambient temperature sensor 220 can be arranged to measure the temperature of the lower end of the home bar door 103.

In addition, the door openness sensor 230 is provided at one side of the home bar door 103 to detect opening and closing of the home bar door 103. When the door is opened and closed by the door openness sensor 230, the timer 240 can be controlled by the controller 200.

In addition, the information sensed by the sensors 210, 220, and 230 is transmitted to the controller 200, and the controller 200 can independently control the heaters 121, 122, and 123.

Also, the heaters 121, 122, and 123 may be provided with switches (not shown) for turning on and off the heater. A semiconductor switch may be applied to the switch so that the amount of current flowing through the heaters 121, 122 and 123 can be adjusted stepwise.

Therefore, each of the heaters 121, 122, and 123 may control the amount of heat generated by the semiconductor switch in stages. For example, if the difference between the inside temperature of the refrigerator and the ambient temperature of the home door is 20 ° C, the controller 200 independently controls the current flowing through the heaters 121, 122 and 123, And heat of 0.5 KW may be generated in the second heater 122 and the third heater 123.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a home bar heater of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the power of the refrigerator is turned on (S10), the internal temperature sensor 210 and the ambient temperature sensor 220 are operated and the internal temperature (first temperature) and the ambient temperature (second temperature) (S11, S12).

Then, the inside temperature and the ambient temperature are transmitted to the control unit 200, and the control unit 200 compares the difference between the inside temperature and the ambient temperature to determine whether the temperature difference is within the "first setting range" (S13 )

Here, the "first setting range" is a reference value for controlling the amount of heat generated by the heaters 121, 122, and 123 as predetermined temperature difference values. That is, the "first setting range" can be regarded as a temperature table in which the heating amount (step) of the heater is set as the temperature range of the state in which the heaters 121, 122 and 123 are operated.

If the difference between the internal temperature and the ambient temperature is within the first setting range, the heaters 121, 122, and 123 may be independently controlled to generate different amounts of heat (S14).

Thereafter, when a predetermined time (predetermined time) elapses (S15), the sensors 210 and 220 detect the internal temperature and the ambient temperature (S16), and transmit the temperature value to the control unit 200. [ Then, the control unit 200 determines whether the difference between the internal temperature and the ambient temperature is within a second setting range (S17).

Here, the "second setting range" means a temperature range in which the operation of the heater 120 is not required and means a temperature difference range other than the "first setting range ".

That is, the possible temperature difference range between the internal temperature and the ambient temperature may be the "first setting range" and the "second setting range ".

As a result, if the temperature difference value is within the "second setting range", the heaters 121, 122, and 123 are turned off (S18). When the temperature difference value is within the " second setting range ", i.e., the "first setting range ", each of the heaters 121, 122 and 123 is controlled in a stepwise manner corresponding to the temperature difference value. That is, the amount of heat generated by the heaters 121, 122, and 123 can be variably controlled.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a home bar heater of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the power source of the refrigerator is turned on (S20), the internal temperature sensor 210 and the ambient temperature sensor 220 are operated to detect internal temperature and ambient temperature, respectively (S21, S22).

Then, the inside temperature and the ambient temperature are transmitted to the controller 200. The control unit 200 determines the amount of heat generated by the heaters 121, 122, and 123 corresponding to the difference between the internal temperature and the ambient temperature, and turns on the heaters 121, 122, and 123 in step S22.

When the home door 103 is opened, the controller 200 senses whether or not the timer 240 is activated by the door open sensor 230. When the home door 103 is opened, (S24).

Thereafter, the door openness sensor 230 detects whether the home door 103 is closed. If the door open sensor 230 is not closed, the open time can be accumulated by the timer 240 (S25).

When the home bar door 103 is closed, the door openness sensor 230 senses it and the operation of the timer 240 is stopped. Then, the controller 200 checks the time at which the home-bar door 103 is opened (S26).

On the basis of the checked time, the controller 200 can independently control ON / OFF of the heaters 121, 122, and 123. That is, the amount of heat generated by the heaters 121, 122, and 123 can be controlled.

That is, when the home bar door 103 is opened, the cool air in the refrigerator flows out and the temperature of the peripheral surface of the home bar is lowered, so that the heating is required by the heaters 121, 122 and 123.

Here, the refrigerator body 10 may be provided with a memory (not shown) in which data on the temperature range of the refrigerator body 10 to be lowered according to the opening time of the home bar door 103 and the data on the heating values of the heaters 121, 122 and 123 are stored. Therefore, the controller 200 can control the heaters 121, 122, and 123 based on the data stored in the memory.

When the refrigerator is turned on, the fixed voltage is input to the heaters 121, 122, and 123, so that the heaters do not need to be always turned on, and heat can be generated at desired positions of the home bar according to temperature changes. .

Since the heater is provided not with a general open / close switch for controlling only the flow and interruption of current but a semiconductor switch element capable of adjusting the amount of current flowing when the switch is closed, / Off operation is not required and the efficiency of the heater is improved.

1 is a perspective view showing a home bar for a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I 'of FIG. 1;

3 is a block diagram of a refrigerator to which a method of controlling a home bar heater of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a home-bar heater of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a home-bar heater of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (10)

A main body portion in which a cold storage room is formed; A refrigerator door rotatably coupled to the main body; A home bar frame provided in the refrigerator door and having an opening; A home bar door through which the opening is selectively shielded; An internal temperature sensor for sensing a temperature inside the main body; An ambient temperature sensor for detecting an external temperature of the home bar door; A first heater provided below the opening in the home bar frame; A second heater provided on the upper side and the left and right sides of the opening portion in the home bar frame; And a control unit for variably controlling the amount of heat generated by the first heater and the second heater, When the difference between the temperature inside the main body and the temperature outside the home door is within a predetermined range, the control unit independently controls the heating amounts of the first heater and the second heater to be different from each other, Wherein the first heater generates more heat than the second heater. delete delete delete The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a semiconductor switch for controlling the amount of heat generated by the heater in a stepwise manner. The method according to claim 1, A door open detection sensor provided at one side of the home bar door for detecting opening and closing of the home bar door and a timer for measuring the opening time of the home bar door. Detecting a first temperature in the refrigerator by the temperature sensor and detecting a second temperature around the home bar door; Determining whether the difference value between the first temperature and the second temperature is within a first setting range in which the home-bar heater can generate heat; A first heater provided below the opening portion of the home bar frame and a second heater provided on the right and left sides of the opening portion according to a difference between the first temperature and the second temperature; Detecting opening of the home bar door in a state where the first heater and the second heater generate heat; Wherein the open time of the home bar door is checked and the amount of heat generated is controlled independently so that the first heater generates more heat than the second heater according to the checked time. delete delete delete

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