Refrigerator

• US 6,244,061 B1
• Filed: 06/18/1999
• Issued: 06/12/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Takagi, Junichi, Yoshida, Hideki, Arakawa, Noriaki, Ishii, Makoto, Nakamura, Hideyuki, Kumakura, Hideo, Wakatabe, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tanner, Harry B.
• Application Number:
  US09/335,781
• Time in Patent Office: 725 Days
• Field of Search: 622/284, 622/281, 622/29, 622/15, 622/26, 622/27, 622/285, 621/57, 621/58, 622/31
• US Class Current: 62/229
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/021 Inverters therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 49/025 Motor control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2400/30 Quick freezing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

When inverter control is implemented in a refrigerator or the like, the rotating speed of a compressor motor is often operated at the preset minimum rotating speed. At this time, there has been a problem that when the DC voltage is boosted, the efficiency of the circuit drops due to switching loss in the power element. Still more, when the DC voltage is boosted even at the minimum rotating speed, the lowest voltage of the DC voltage must be controlled at 163 V or more including the fluctuation of the voltage. Therefore, there has been a problem in that the efficiency of the compressor motor also drops. To avoid these problems, when the temperature within a compartment of a refrigerator is cooled and approaches a preset temperature, and when a conduction ratio of the compressor motor falls below a preset value or a command on a rotating speed of the compressor motor becomes a preset rotating speed and the actual rotating speed also becomes the preset rotating speed, the control of the converter control circuit is turned off.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, comprising:

motor for driving a compressor;

an inverter for providing signals to generate a rotating magnetic field in the motor; and

a converter responsive to AC to supply DC of variable voltage to the inverter;

said refrigerator further comprising;

means for regulating the rotating speed of said motor by controlling chopping operations of a switching unit in said inverter or converter based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the temperature of a freezer compartment of said refrigerator; and

operating means for raising said preset temperature to lower the rotating speed of said motor below a predetermined value in an operating range.

2. A refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein said converter is further responsive to AC to perform a boosting function to supply DC of variable voltage to said inverter, and further comprising converter control means for controlling said converter so that a plurality of DC voltages are outputted thereby, and inverter control means for controlling said inverter in pulse width modulation each of said plurality of voltages, wherein the lowest voltage among said plurality of voltages is a voltage which turns off the boosting function of said converter.

3. A refrigerator, comprising:

a motor for driving a compressor;

an inverter for producing signals to generate a rotating magnetic field in the motor; and

a converter responsive to AC to supply DC of variable voltage to the inverter;

said refrigerator further comprising;

means for regulating the rotating speed of said motor by controlling chopping operations of a switching unit in said inverter or converter based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the temperature of a freezer compartment of said refrigerator;

operating means for raising said preset temperature to lower the rotating speed of said motor below a predetermined value in an operating range; and

a switch for operating said operating means.

4. A refrigerator, comprising:

motor for driving a compressor;

an inverter for producing signals to generate a rotating magnetic field in the motor; and

a converter responsive to AC to supply DC of variable voltage to the inverter;

said refrigerator further comprising;

means for regulating the rotating speed of said motor by controlling chopping operations of a switching unit in said inverter or converter based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the temperature of a freezer compartment of said refrigerator;

operating means for raising said preset temperature to lower the rotating speed of said motor below a predetermined value in an operating range; and

means for stopping the operating means when said freezer compartment temperature reaches a predetermined temperature which is higher than said preset temperature.

5. A refrigerator comprising a motor whose rotating speed is controlled by electric power outputted by an inverter and which drives a compressor, and means for changing the rotating speed of said motor based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the freezer compartment temperature of said refrigerator;

said refrigerator further comprising operating means for raising said preset temperature to lower the rotating speed of said motor below a predetermined value in an operating range.

6. A refrigerator comprising a motor whose rotating speed is controlled by electric power outputted by an inverter and which drives a compressor, and means for changing the rotating speed of said motor based on a deviation between a preset temperature and freezer compartment temperature of said refrigerator;

said refrigerator further comprising;

operating means for raising said preset temperature to lower the rotating speed of said motor below a predetermined value in an operating range; and

a switch for operating said operating means.

7. A refrigerator comprising a motor whose rotating speed is controlled by electric power outputted by an inverter and which drives a compressor, and means for changing the rotating speed of said motor based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the freezer compartment temperature of said refrigerator;

said refrigerator further comprising;

operating means for raising said preset temperature to lower the rotating speed of said motor below a predetermined value in an operating range; and

means for stopping the operating means when said freezer compartment temperature reaches a predetermined temperature which is higher than said preset temperature.

8. A refrigerator, comprising:

motor for driving a compressor;

an inverter for producing signals to generate a rotating magnetic field in the motor; and

a converter responsive to AC to supply DC of variable voltage to the inverter;

said refrigerator further comprising;

means for regulating the rotating speed of said motor by controlling chopping operations of a switching unit in said inverter or converter based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the temperature of a freezer compartment of said refrigerator; and

operating means for lowering said preset temperature to set the rotating speed of said motor at a predetermined value in an operating range.

9. A refrigerator, comprising:

motor for driving a compressor;

an inverter for producing signals to generate a rotating magnetic field in the motor; and

a converter responsive to AC to supply DC of variable voltage to the inverter;

said refrigerator further comprising;

means for regulating the rotating speed of said motor by controlling chopping operations of a switching unit in said inverter or converter based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the temperature of a freezer compartment of said refrigerator;

operating means for lowering said preset temperature to set the rotating speed of said motor at a predetermined value in an operating range; and

a switch for operating said operating means.

10. A refrigerator, comprising:

motor for driving a compressor;

an inverter for producing signals to generate a rotating magnetic field to the motor; and

a converter responsive to AC to supply DC of variable voltage to the inverter;

said refrigerator further comprising;

means for regulating rotating speed of said motor by controlling chopping operations of a switching unit in said inverter or converter based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the temperature of a freezer compartment of said refrigerator;

operating means for lowering said preset temperature to set the rotating speed of said motor at a predetermined value in an operating range;

a switch for operating said operating means; and

timer means for stopping said operating means after a predetermined time has elapsed after said switch has been turned ON.

11. A refrigerator, comprising:

a motor for driving a compressor;

an inverter for producing signals to generate a rotating magnetic field in the motor; and

a converter responsive to AC to supply DC of variable voltage to the inverter;

said refrigerator further comprising;

means for regulating the rotating speed of said motor by controlling chopping operations of a switching unit in said inverter or converter based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the temperature of a freezer compartment of said refrigerator;

operating means for lowering said preset temperature to set the rotating speed of said motor at a predetermined value in an operating range; and

means for stopping said motor when said freezer compartment temperature reaches the lowered preset temperature.

12. A refrigerator, comprising:

a motor for driving a compressor;

an inverter for producing signals to generate a rotating magnetic field in the motor; and

a converter responsive to AC to supply DC of variable voltage to the inverter;

said refrigerator further comprising;

means for regulating the rotating speed of said motor by controlling chopping operations of a switching unit in said inverter or converter based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the temperature of a freezer compartment of said refrigerator;

first operating means for raising said preset temperature to lower the rotating speed of said motor below a predetermined value in an operating range; and

second operating means for lowering said preset temperature to set the rotating speed of said motor at a predetermined value in an operating range.

13. A refrigerator, comprising:

motor for driving a compressor;

an inverter for producing signals to generate a rotating magnetic field in the motor; and

a converter responsive to AC to supply DC of variable voltage to the inverter;

said refrigerator further comprising;

means for regulating the rotating speed of said motor by controlling chopping operations of a switching unit in said inverter or converter based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the temperature of a freezer compartment of said refrigerator;

first operating means for raising said preset temperature to lower the rotating speed of said motor below a predetermined value in an operating range;

a switch for operating said first operating means;

second operating means for lowering said preset temperature to set the rotating speed of said motor at a predetermined value in an operating range; and

a switch for operating said second operating means.

14. A refrigerator, comprising:

a motor for driving a compressor;

an inverter for producing signals to generate a rotating magnetic field to the motor; and

a converter responsive to AC to supply DC of variable voltage to the inverter;

said refrigerator further comprising;

means for regulating rotating speed of said motor by controlling chopping operations of a switching unit in said inverter or converter based on a deviation between a preset temperature and the temperature of a freezer compartment of said refrigerator;

first operating means for raising said preset temperature to lower the rotating speed of said motor below a predetermined value in an operating range;

means for stopping said first operating means when said freezer compartment temperature is higher than said preset temperature by a predetermined value;

second operating means for lowering said preset temperature to set the rotating speed of said motor at a predetermined value in an operating range; and

means for stopping said motor when said freezer compartment temperature reaches said lowered preset temperature during the period of operation of said second operating means.