Refrigerator and control method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10088218-B2
Application number	US-201615090313-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 4, 2016
Priority date	Sep 2, 2015
Publication date	Oct 2, 2018
Grant date	Oct 2, 2018

Abstract

A refrigerator and a method of control thereof, whereby after driving of a compressor and a blower fan is stopped as temperatures of a refrigeration compartment and a freezer compartment are in a satisfactory state, opening/closing operations of a damper are repeatedly performed, so that cold air in the freezer compartment is supplied into the refrigeration compartment. Alternatively, if the temperature of the refrigeration compartment reaches an upper limit temperature, the repeated opening/closing operations of the damper are started. The repeated opening/closing operations of the damper are performed until the temperature of the refrigeration compartment reaches a lower limit temperature, so that a cooling operation of the refrigeration compartment is performed only once while the compressor is being driven.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet forming a storage space;
a barrier partitioning the storage space into a refrigeration compartment and a freezer compartment, the barrier having a supply duct and a return duct formed at separate portions thereof to connect the refrigeration compartment with the freezer compartment;
a compressor compressing a refrigerant;
an evaporator cooling cold air in the storage space;
a blower fan supplying the cold air generated by the evaporator into the freezer compartment;
a damper that opens and closes the supply duct; and
a controller controlling driving of the compressor, the blower fan, and the damper,
wherein the controller controls the driving of the compressor and the blower fan to stop when temperatures of the refrigeration compartment and the freezer compartment are both in a satisfactory state,
wherein when a set time elapses from a point of time when the driving of the compressor is stopped or when the temperature of the refrigeration compartment is increased to a set temperature between an upper limit temperature of the refrigeration compartment and a lower limit temperature of the refrigeration compartment, the controller controls the damper to repeat opening and closing operations at an interval of a predetermined time, up to a point of time when the compressor is to be driven as the temperature of the freezer compartment is in an unsatisfactory state, in order to delay a point of time when the temperature of the refrigeration compartment reaches the upper limit temperature as late as possible.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein, when the temperature of the freezer compartment reaches the upper limit temperature while the opening and closing operations of the damper are being repeatedly performed, the controller controls the compressor and the blower fan to be driven.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2 , wherein, when the driving of the compressor and the blower fan are started, the damper is maintained in its opened state.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3 , wherein, when the temperature of the refrigeration compartment reaches the lower limit temperature after the driving of the compressor and the blower fan is started, the damper is closed.

5. The refrigerator of claim 4 , further comprising a heater to prevent freezing of the damper, wherein the heater is in a turn-on state while the damper is maintained in either its opened or closed state.

6. The refrigerator of claim 4 , further comprising a heater to prevent freezing of the damper, wherein the heater is in a turn-off state while the opening and closing operations of the damper are being repeatedly performed.

7. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising a freezer compartment temperature sensor that senses a temperature of the freezer compartment, and a refrigeration compartment temperature sensor that senses a temperature of the refrigeration compartment, wherein the controller controls driving of the compressor and the damper based on temperatures respectively sensed by the freezer and refrigeration compartment temperature sensors to maintain the refrigeration and freezer compartments within a set temperature range.

8. A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet forming a storage space;
a barrier partitioning the storage space into a refrigeration compartment and a freezer compartment, the barrier having a supply duct and a return duct formed at separate portions thereof to connect the refrigeration compartment with the freezer compartment;
a compressor compressing a refrigerant;
an evaporator cooling cold air in the storage space;
a blower fan supplying the cold air generated by the evaporator into the freezer compartment;
a damper opening and closing the supply duct; and
a controller controlling driving of the compressor, the blower fan, and the damper,
wherein, when a temperature of the refrigeration compartment reaches a first upper limit temperature, the controller controls the damper to repeat opening and closing operations at an interval of a predetermined time until the temperature of the refrigeration compartment reaches a first lower limit temperature in order to delay a point of time when the temperature of the refrigeration compartment reaches the first lower limit temperature as late as possible.

9. The refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the controller controls the damper to close when the temperature of the refrigeration compartment reaches the first lower limit temperature.

10. The refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the controller controls the driving of the compressor and the blower fan to start when the temperature of the freezer compartment reaches a second upper limit temperature which is different from the first upper limit temperature.

11. The refrigerator of claim 10 , wherein the controller controls the driving of the compressor and the blower fan to stop when the temperature of the freezer compartment reaches a second lower limit temperature which is different from the first lower limit temperature.

12. The refrigerator of claim 11 , wherein the controller adjusts the period in which the damper is opened and closed, when the temperature of the refrigeration compartment again reaches the first upper limit temperature before the driving of the compressor and the blower fan is stopped.

13. The refrigerator of claim 12 , wherein, when the temperature of the refrigeration compartment again reaches the first upper limit temperature before the driving of the compressor and the blower fan is stopped, the controller adjusts the time that the damper is closed to be longer than the time that the damper is opened.

14. The refrigerator of claim 8 , further comprising a freezer compartment temperature sensor that senses a temperature of the freezer compartment, and a refrigeration compartment temperature sensor that senses a temperature of the refrigeration compartment, wherein the controller controls driving of the compressor and the damper based on temperatures respectively sensed by the freezer and refrigeration compartment temperature sensors to maintain the refrigeration and freezer compartments within a set temperature range.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Hu Jinseok
• Kim Namhun
• Kim Youngdoo

Classifications

• F25D17/065 Primary

  with compartments at different temperatures · CPC title

• F25D2317/0663

  from the mullion · CPC title

• F25D2317/0665

  from the top · CPC title

• F25D2700/12

  Sensors measuring the inside temperature · CPC title

• F25D17/04

  for circulating air, e.g. by convection · CPC title