KR20150068710A - Cooling Apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A cooling cycle comprises a first refrigerant circuit, a second refrigerant circuit, and a third refrigerant circuit. Also, the cooling cycle converts refrigerant circulation between the refrigerant circuits by differentiating a cooling mode, thereby controlling a plurality of evaporators effectively and improving COP (coefficient of performance) by including composition of an ejector.

Description

Cooling Apparatus

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling apparatus, and more particularly, to a cooling apparatus having improved COP (coefficient of performance).

In a cooling apparatus having two or more cooling chambers, each cooling chamber is partitioned by an intermediate partition and is opened and closed by a door. In addition, an evaporator for generating cold air and a fan for blowing the generated cool air into the cooling chamber are provided for each cooling chamber. Since all the cooling chambers are independently cooled by the action of the respective evaporators and the fans, this cooling method is called the independent cooling method. As a representative cooling apparatus to which the independent cooling system is applied, there is a refrigerator having a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber. The freezer compartment of a refrigerator is mainly used for storing frozen food. The temperature of a known freezer is about -18 ° C. On the other hand, the refrigerator has 0? For storage at above room temperature, about 3? Is known to be appropriate.

As described above, in the conventional refrigerator, the evaporation temperatures of the first evaporator and the second evaporator are the same regardless of the difference between the proper temperatures of the freezing compartment and the freezing compartment. Therefore, the freezer compartment fan is operated continuously, and the refrigerator compartment fan is intermittently operated to blow cool air into the refrigerator compartment whenever necessary so that the internal temperature of the refrigerator compartment is not lowered more than necessary.

The load of the compressor becomes unnecessarily large because the refrigerant must be compressed in consideration of the evaporation temperature required in the second evaporator even in a situation where only the single cooling of the refrigerating chamber is required.

One aspect of the present invention provides a cooling device with improved COP (coefficient of performance).

A cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a first refrigerant circuit configured to allow a refrigerant discharged from a compressor to flow to a suction side of the compressor through a condenser, an ejector, and a gas-liquid separator; A second refrigerant circuit configured to be sucked and circulated through an inlet of the ejector through the ejector, the gas-liquid separator, the first expansion device, the first evaporator, and the second evaporator; A third refrigerant circuit configured to bypass the first expansion device and the first evaporator while the refrigerant having passed through the gas-liquid separator flows into the suction port of the ejector through the second expansion device and the second evaporator and flows through the third refrigerant circuit; The ejector mixes the refrigerant discharged from the condenser on the first refrigerant circuit with the refrigerant discharged from the second evaporator on the refrigerant circuit of either the second refrigerant circuit or the third refrigerant circuit, And discharging the toner.

And a flow path switching device provided at one side of the discharge side of the gas-liquid separator and adapted to allow liquid refrigerant passing through the gas-liquid separator to flow through at least one refrigerant circuit of the second and third refrigerant circuits can do.

And a control unit for controlling the flow path of the refrigerant by selectively opening and closing the flow path switching device so as to allow the refrigerant to flow through the second refrigerant circuit when the cooling device is powered on and power supply is started, And a control unit for controlling the flow path switching device so that the refrigerant flows through the third refrigerant circuit.

In the second refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant passing through the first evaporator may be configured to pass through the second evaporator.

The ejector elevates the pressure of the refrigerant discharged from the condenser and the refrigerant discharged from the second evaporator and discharges it to the gas-liquid separator.

The gas-liquid separator separates the refrigerant discharged from the ejector into a gaseous refrigerant and a liquid-phase refrigerant, discharges the gaseous refrigerant to the first refrigerant circuit, discharges the liquid-phase refrigerant to the second refrigerant circuit or the third refrigerant circuit .

Wherein the ejector includes: a nozzle unit provided to expand and expand the refrigerant discharged from the condenser; A suction unit for sucking the refrigerant discharged from the second evaporator; A mixing unit for mixing a refrigerant flowing into the nozzle unit and a refrigerant flowing into the suction unit; And a diffuser portion configured to increase the refrigerant mixed in the mixing portion.

And the compressor includes an inverter compressor for controlling the rotation to control the refrigerant flow rate.

The expansion device may include at least one of a capillary tube, an electronic expansion valve, and a capillary tube.

And a third expansion device provided in the discharge part of the condenser to raise the dryness of the refrigerant flowing into the ejector.

And an SLHX heat exchanger (Suction Line Heat Exchange) that exchanges heat between the third expansion device and the compressor suction unit.

The first refrigerant circuit may further include a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the discharge portion of the condenser and the suction portion of the compressor.

The second refrigerant circuit may further include an intermediate expansion device provided in the discharge part of the first evaporator and configured to reduce the pressure of the refrigerant flowing to the second evaporator.

The intermediate expansion device may be characterized in that its inner diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of the suction side refrigerant pipe of the compressor.

A cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separating a refrigerant, a compressor for compressing the refrigerant into which the gaseous refrigerant separated from the gas-liquid separator flows, and a condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed from the compressor Main refrigerant circuit; An overall cooling mode refrigerant circuit formed to pass through the first expansion device, the first evaporator, and the second evaporator; A freezing mode refrigerant circuit configured to bypass the first expansion device and the first evaporator through the second expansion device and the second evaporator; A flow path switching device configured to flow the liquid refrigerant separated from the gas-liquid separator to switch the flow path of the refrigerant to flow through the refrigerant circuit of at least one of the full mode refrigerant circuit and the freezing mode refrigerant circuit; The refrigerant circuit according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein refrigerant discharged from the condenser in the main refrigerant circuit and refrigerant circulated through the second evaporator in at least one refrigerant circuit of the refrigerant circuit and the freezing mode refrigerant circuit are mixed to be introduced into the gas- And an ejector.

The ejector elevates the pressure of the refrigerant discharged from the condenser and the refrigerant discharged from the second evaporator and discharges it to the gas-liquid separator.

A control method of a cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first refrigerant circuit in which refrigerant discharged from a compressor flows through a condenser, an ejector, and a gas-liquid separator to a suction side of the compressor; A second refrigerant circuit that is sucked into the suction port of the ejector through a second evaporator for cooling the second cooling chamber and circulates through the ejector, the gas-liquid separator, the first expansion device, a first evaporator for cooling the first cooling chamber, and a second evaporator for cooling the second cooling chamber; A third refrigerant circuit for allowing the refrigerant having passed through the gas-liquid separator to be sucked into the suction port of the ejector through the second expansion device and the second evaporator and to flow to bypass the first expansion device and the first evaporator; And a flow path switching device provided on one side of the discharge side of the gas-liquid separator for switching the flow path of the refrigerant such that liquid refrigerant passing through the gas-liquid separator flows through at least one refrigerant circuit among the second and third refrigerant circuits And controls the flow path switching device so that the refrigerant flows through the first refrigerant circuit and the second refrigerant circuit so that the refrigerant cools all of the first and second cooling chambers and the first cooling chamber reaches the target temperature , The control unit controls the flow path switching device so that the refrigerant flows through the first refrigerant circuit and the third refrigerant circuit to cool the second cooling chamber alone.

Wherein the operation through the first refrigerant circuit and the second refrigerant circuit is referred to as a full cooling mode and the operation through the first refrigerant circuit and the third refrigerant circuit is referred to as a freezing mode, And the controller controls the entire cooling mode and the refrigerant flow rate in the freezing mode.

When the operation of the compressor is stopped, the third refrigerant circuit is closed by controlling the flow path switching device, and the second refrigerant circuit is opened to supply the compressed refrigerant already discharged from the compressor to the second refrigerant circuit, 1 evaporator is defrosted.

The cooling device of the present invention can sufficiently flow the liquid refrigerant in the evaporator to improve the refrigerating ability and increase the pressure of the suction refrigerant of the compressor to reduce the amount of compression.

Further, by changing the flow of the refrigerant according to the mode, the cooling and refrigeration efficiency can be improved.

In addition, the structure of the cooling device can be improved to improve the COP (coefficient of performance).

1 shows a cooling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing a flow of refrigerant in an ejector of a cooling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a Mollier chart for a cooling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of each configuration of each mode of the cooling device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
5 is a control diagram of a cooling apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6A is a view showing a multicycle type cooling device, and FIG. 6B is a table comparing a multicycle type cooling device and a cooling device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
7 shows a cooling device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a Mollier chart for a cooling device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
9 shows a cooling device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a Mollier chart for a cooling apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a view schematically showing a refrigerator to which a cooling device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is applied.
12 shows a cooling device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view showing a cooling apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing the flow of refrigerant in the ejector of the cooling device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

1, a closed loop refrigerant circuit is provided by connecting a compressor 110, a condenser 120, a first evaporator 154, a second evaporator 164, and an ejector 130 through a refrigerant pipe.

In detail, the cooling device includes a first refrigerant circuit, a second refrigerant circuit, and a third refrigerant circuit.

The first refrigerant circuit is configured such that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110 flows through the condenser 120, the ejector 130 and the gas-liquid separator 140 to the suction side of the compressor 110, Is sucked into the suction portion 132 of the ejector 130 through the first evaporator 130, the gas-liquid separator 140, the first expansion device 152, the first evaporator 154 and the second evaporator 164, The refrigerant having passed through the gas-liquid separator 140 is sucked into the suction portion 132 of the ejector 130 via the second expansion device 162 and the second evaporator 164 and flows through the third refrigerant circuit, Device 152, and first evaporator 154. The first evaporator 154,

The first refrigerant circuit may be named as the main refrigerant circuit, the second refrigerant circuit as the entire cooling mode circuit, and the third refrigerant circuit as the refrigerant mode refrigerant circuit.

The use of the first evaporator 154 and the second evaporator 164 is not limited. However, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first evaporator 154 is used in the refrigerating chamber 150 of the refrigerator and the second evaporator 164 is used in the refrigerator 150, The freezing chamber 160 can be used. That is, the first evaporator 154 may be referred to as a refrigerator compartment evaporator, and the second evaporator 164 may be referred to as a freezer compartment evaporator.

The refrigerant flow control between the second refrigerant circuit and the third refrigerant circuit is performed through the flow path switching device 170. More specifically, the flow path switching device 170 is provided on the discharge side of the gas-liquid separator 140 so that the liquid refrigerant passing through the gas-liquid separator 140 flows through at least one refrigerant circuit of the second and third refrigerant circuits And is arranged to switch the flow path of the refrigerant.

The flow path switching device 170 may include a three-way valve. The flow path switching device 170 may include a first valve 171 for opening and closing the second refrigerant circuit and a second valve 172 for opening and closing the third refrigerant circuit.

A condenser fan motor 122 for driving the condenser fan 121, a first fan motor 158 for driving the first fan 157 of the refrigerating compartment 150, a second fan 167 of the freezing compartment 160 And a second fan motor 168 for driving the second fan motor.

A first defrost heater 156 and a second defrost heater 166 may be provided on the surfaces of the first evaporator 154 and the second evaporator 164 to remove the property of the surface of the evaporator.

The working refrigerant flowing in the cooling device may include HC-based isobutane (R600a), propane (R290), HFC-based R134a, and HFO-based R1234yf.

The expansion device 152, 162, 280, 390 may include a capillary, an electronic expansion valve (EV), and a capillary tube.

The ejector 130 may include a nozzle unit 131, a suction unit 132, a mixing unit 133, and a diffuser unit 134. The refrigerant discharged from the condenser 120 is referred to as main refrigerant and the refrigerant discharged from the second evaporator 164 is referred to as sub-refrigerant. The main refrigerant passes through the nozzle unit 131 and flows into the mixing unit 133. The secondary refrigerant is sucked into the suction unit 132 and mixed with the main refrigerant in the mixing unit 133 to be supplied to the ejector 130).

When the main refrigerant passes through the nozzle portion 131, the isentropic expansion ideally occurs. The difference in enthalpy before and after the nozzle portion 131 becomes a difference in speed of the main refrigerant, As shown in FIG.

In the diffuser portion 134, the speed energy of the mixed refrigerant in which the main refrigerant and the sub-refrigerant are mixed is converted into pressure energy, so that the effect of the boosting is increased. Thus, the efficiency of the cycle is increased by reducing the compression work in suctioning the compressor 110.

The flow of the refrigerant in the ejector 130 will be described.

The main refrigerant discharged from the condenser 120 flows into the inlet of the nozzle unit 131 of the ejector 130. The flow rate of the main refrigerant becomes high and the pressure drops while passing through the nozzle portion 131 in the ejector 130. [

At the outlet of the nozzle 131, the pressure of the main refrigerant lowers, and the secondary refrigerant flowing through the second refrigerant circuit and the third refrigerant circuit through the second evaporator 164 into the saturated gas state has a saturated pressure The refrigerant is sucked into the suction portion 132 of the ejector 130 by a pressure difference between the refrigerant and the main refrigerant having relatively low pressure.

The main refrigerant flowing through the nozzle unit 131 and the sub-refrigerant sucked through the suction unit 132 are mixed in the mixing unit 133 of the ejector 130. The mixed refrigerant passes through the fan-shaped diffuser portion 134 formed at the outlet of the ejector 130, and the flow rate thereof is reduced. The pressure of the mixed refrigerant rises and flows into the gas-liquid separator 140.

The refrigerant in the gaseous state in the gas-liquid separator 140 flows into the suction portion 132 of the compressor 110. The refrigerant in the liquid state passes through the expansion devices 152 and 162 and the pressure and the temperature are controlled by the evaporators 154 and 164 It is lowered to a required temperature and pressure state and then flows into the evaporators 154 and 164. As the refrigerant is evaporated by absorbing heat from the surroundings through the evaporators 154 and 164, the refrigerant at the outlet of the evaporators 154 and 164 becomes a saturated gas state. This saturated gas state refrigerant is sucked into the suction portion 132 of the ejector 130 described above, and the refrigerant circulation continues to occur.

Since the pressure of the refrigerant sucked into the compressor 110 in the cycle in which the ejector 130 is provided is increased as compared with the cycle in which the ejector 130 is not provided, the refrigerant flowing into the compressor 110 is cooled to the condensing temperature Liquid refrigerant flows through the gas-liquid separator 140 to the evaporators 154 and 164 provided on the second refrigerant circuit or the third refrigerant circuit, The COP (Coefficient of Performance) of the whole cycle is increased

3 is a Mollier diagram for a cooling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The compressor 110 sucks the low-temperature low-pressure gaseous refrigerant from the gas-liquid separator 140 and compresses the high-temperature high-pressure superheated steam. (7-1) The refrigerant, which is overheated at a high temperature and a high pressure by the compressor 110, 120) and exchanges heat with ambient air to form a liquid refrigerant (1? 2).

When the refrigerant condensed in the condenser 120 is the main refrigerant, the main refrigerant flows into the nozzle unit 131 of the ejector 130. The refrigerant flowing into the nozzle unit 131 is in a two-phase state while the pressure drops and the refrigerant is phase-changed, and the refrigerant at the outlet of the nozzle unit 131 becomes a high-speed and low-pressure state (2-3).

The suction path portion having a concentric circular shape located on the same cross section as the outlet of the nozzle portion 131 becomes the same low pressure. More specifically, when the refrigerant passing through the second evaporator 164 according to the operation mode or the first evaporator 154 and the second evaporator 164 is referred to as a sub-refrigerant, the sub- (132). The pressure of the main refrigerant at the outlet of the nozzle unit 131 becomes lower than the pressure of the secondary refrigerant passing through the evaporators 154 and 164 so that the secondary refrigerant is sucked into the ejector 130 through the suction unit 132.

In the mixing unit 133, the momentum is transferred from the main refrigerant passing through the nozzle to the sub-refrigerant passing through the evaporators 154 and 164 (3, 4, 3, 4) 133 to the diffuser portion 134 (4? 5). In the diffuser portion 134, the flow rate of the refrigerant is decreased and the pressure is increased. The refrigerant thus boosted flows through the gas-liquid separator 140 and the gaseous refrigerant flows into the compressor 110 (5? 7). The refrigerant is compressed by the pressure of the compressor 110 by the pressure boosted by the ejector 130 This effect will be reduced, contributing to power saving.

The refrigerant having passed through the ejector 130 flows into the gas-liquid separator 140, and is separated into gas refrigerant and liquid refrigerant. The gas refrigerant separated from the gas-liquid separator 140 flows into the suction portion 132 of the compressor 110 (5? 7) as described above, and the liquid refrigerant flows into the flow path switching device 170 (5? 8). Expansion devices 152 and 162 are provided on the outlet side of the flow path switching device 170 to supply the temperatures required by the first evaporator 154 and the second evaporator 164 and the expansion devices 152 and 162 As the refrigerant passes through it, a pressure drop occurs.

In the full cooling mode, the first valve 171 is opened and the second valve 172 is closed. The liquid refrigerant discharged from the gas-liquid separator 140 passes through the first expansion device 152, causing a pressure drop (8? 9).

The pressure-reduced refrigerant circulates along the second refrigerant circuit so as to pass both the first evaporator 154 and the second evaporator 164 (9-10-6). The refrigerant through the second evaporator 164 The pressure is lowered by the main refrigerant sucked through the suction part 132 of the ejector 130 and introduced through the nozzle part 131 in the suction process.

In the freezing mode, the first valve 171 is closed and the second valve 172 is opened. The liquid refrigerant discharged from the gas-liquid separator 140 passes through the second expansion device 162, causing a pressure drop (8-11).

The pressure-reduced refrigerant bypasses the first evaporator 154 and circulates the refrigerant along the third refrigerant circuit so as to pass through the second evaporator 164. (11-6) The refrigerant is sucked through the suction part 132 of the ejector 130 and the pressure is lowered by the main refrigerant flowing through the nozzle part 131 during the suction process.

The flow path switching device 170 is provided to switch the refrigerant flow to the second refrigerant circuit and the third refrigerant circuit according to the required temperature.

Liquid refrigerant flows from the gas-liquid separator 140 through the expansion devices 152 and 162 to the evaporators 154 and 164, thereby increasing the refrigerating capacity and contributing to the improvement of the efficiency of the entire cycle.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation of each configuration of the cooling apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The changes of the refrigerant pressure and the evaporation temperature in each evaporator in the refrigeration mode and freezing mode of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention are as follows.

When the first valve 171 of the flow path switching device 170 is opened (the second valve 172 is closed) in the entire cooling mode, the refrigerant discharged from the condenser 120 is primarily reduced in the first expansion device 152 And thereafter is firstly evaporated in the first evaporator 154. The refrigerant firstly evaporated in the first evaporator (154) is secondarily evaporated in the second evaporator (164). The freezing chamber 160 and the refrigerating chamber 150 also operate together.

The proper temperature of the freezing chamber 160 is about -18? And the proper temperature of the refrigerating chamber 150 is about 3 ?. If the evaporation temperature of each evaporator is increased to suppress overcooling of the refrigerating chamber 150 due to a large difference between the proper temperatures of the freezing chamber 160 and the refrigerating chamber 150, the freezing chamber 160 may not be sufficiently cooled. In the cooling apparatus according to the present invention, when the freezing chamber 160 is insufficiently cooled, only the freezing chamber 160 except for the refrigerating chamber 150 is cooled through the low evaporating temperature so that the internal temperature of the freezing chamber 160 quickly reaches the target temperature .

When the target temperature inside the refrigerating compartment 150 is attained, the refrigerating mode is switched to the freezing mode.

In this operation mode, when the second valve 172 of the flow path switching device 170 is opened (the first valve 171 is closed), the freezing mode is for cooling only the freezing chamber 160, The discharge refrigerant flows only through the second expansion device 162 to the second evaporator 164. In the freezing mode, the refrigerant is depressurized to a lower pressure in the second expansion device 162 and evaporates in the second evaporator 164. The evaporation temperature of the second evaporator 164 becomes lower than the evaporation temperature of the first evaporator 154 by the depressurization of the refrigerant by the second expansion device 162. At this time, only the freezing chamber 160 fan operates.

When switching from the full cooling mode to the freezing mode, it is possible to reduce the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing on the refrigerant circuit. In more detail, the compressor 110 may include an inverter compressor 110, and may control the rotational speed of the inverter compressor 110 to reduce the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant circuit.

When the target temperature of the freezing chamber 160 is reached, the operation of the compressor 110 and the second fan 167 is stopped. Thereafter, the first fan 157 is operated for a predetermined time t1, the frost conceived in the first evaporator 154 is introduced into the refrigerating compartment 150 by opening the first valve 171 and closing the second valve 172, Inside 3? It is possible to defrost by circulating the air. Moisture generated through defrosting raises the humidity of the inside of the refrigerating chamber (150) to a high level of about 75%, which can greatly contribute to fresh storage of vegetables.

5 is a control diagram of the cooling apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention provides various cooling modes through the control of the controller 60 such as a microcomputer. 5 is a block diagram of a control system centering on a controller 60 provided in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5, a key input unit 52, a freezer compartment temperature sensing unit 54, a refrigerating compartment temperature sensing unit 56, and a first evaporator temperature sensing unit 58 are connected to the input port of the control unit 60. A plurality of function keys are provided in the key input unit 52. These function keys include function keys related to the setting of the operating conditions of the refrigerator such as the setting of the cooling mode and the desired temperature setting. The freezer compartment temperature sensing unit 54 and the refrigerating compartment temperature sensing unit 56 sense the internal temperatures of the freezing compartment 160 and the refrigerating compartment 150 and provide them to the controller 60, respectively. The first evaporator temperature sensing unit 58 detects the refrigerant evaporation temperature of the first evaporator 154 and provides the detected temperature to the control unit 60.

A first fan drive unit 64, a second fan drive unit 66, a flow path switching device drive unit 68, a display unit 70, and a defrost heater drive unit 72 are connected to the output port of the control unit 60 . The remaining components except for the display unit 70 are connected to the first valve 171 and the second valve 171 of the compressor 110, the refrigerating compartment fan motor 158, the freezing compartment fan motor 168, 172, and defrost heaters 156, 166, respectively. The display unit 70 displays the operating state of the cooling apparatus, various set values, and temperature.

The control unit 60 controls the flow path switching device 170 to implement various cooling modes by circulating the refrigerant through at least one refrigerant circuit among the second refrigerant circuit or the third refrigerant circuit shown in FIG. Typical cooling modes that can be implemented in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention include a first cooling mode as a whole cooling mode and a second cooling mode as a freezing mode. The entire cooling mode is an operation mode for cooling both the refrigerating compartment 150 and the freezing compartment 160. The control unit 60 opens only the first valve 171 of the flow path switching device 170 in order to realize the entire cooling mode and the refrigerant discharged from the condenser 120 in the entire cooling mode flows through the first expansion device 152 And is circulated through the first evaporator 154 and the second evaporator 164.

The freezing mode is an operation mode in which only the freezing chamber 160 is cooled by itself. In the freezing mode, the controller 60 is implemented by opening only the second valve 172 of the flow path switching device 170. In this freezing mode, the refrigerant discharged from the condenser 120 flows through the second expansion device 162, (164). ≪ / RTI >

In this configuration, the first evaporator 154 and the second evaporator 164 operate in the simultaneous cooling mode to cool the refrigerating chamber 150 and the freezing chamber 160, respectively. When the freezing chamber 160 reaches a predetermined temperature, So that the cooling efficiency can be maximized. In addition, the refrigerant that is pressurized by the ejector 130 is sucked into the compressor 110, thereby reducing the compression work. The refrigerant passing through the first evaporator 154 in the entire cooling mode passes through the second evaporator 164 so that the liquid refrigerant that can not be vaporized in the first evaporator 154 is vaporized in the second evaporator 164 So that the refrigerant sufficiently vaporized by the suction part 132 of the ejector 130 is sucked, so that the suction action of the ejector 130 becomes smooth, and stable operation is possible. Further, the flow rate of the refrigerant used in the freezing mode is smaller than that in the full cooling mode. The difference in the flow rate of the refrigerant can be controlled by controlling the number of revolutions of the inverter compressor 110, thereby enabling efficient operation.

FIG. 6A is a view showing a multicycle type cooling device, and FIG. 6B is a table comparing a multicycle type cooling device and a cooling device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

6A is a view showing a multicycle type cooling device A without the ejector 130 and the gas-liquid separator 140. FIG. 6B is a view showing a cooling device B according to the embodiment of the present invention and a multi- And the performance coefficient of the cooling device (A).

The multicycle type cooling device A may include a first refrigerant circuit, a second refrigerant circuit, and a flow path switching device 170a. The first refrigerant circuit is configured such that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110a flows to the suction side of the compressor 110a through the condenser 120a and the first expansion device 152a, the first evaporator 154a, the second evaporator 164a, . The refrigerant having passed through the condenser 120a flows through the second expansion device 162a and the second evaporator 164a to the suction side of the compressor 110a and flows through the first evaporator 154a and the first expansion May be configured to bypass the device 152a. The flow path switching device 170a switches the flow path so that the refrigerant flows through the refrigerant circuit of at least one of the first refrigerant circuit and the second refrigerant circuit.

6B Q1 is the refrigeration capacity in the entire cooling mode, W1 is the capacity of the compressor 110 in the entire cooling mode, Q1 is the refrigeration capacity in the refrigerating compartment 150, QF is the refrigeration capacity in the freezing room 160, m is the flow rate, Q2 denotes the refrigeration capacity in the freezing mode, and W2 denotes the amount of the compressor 110 in the entire cooling mode, respectively.

COP (Coefficient of Performace) is a value obtained by dividing the total refrigeration capacity (Qt) of Q1 and Q2 by the total amount (Wt) of the compressor (110) including W1 and W2. When COP of the multi-cycle type cooling device (A) is set to 1 for comparison of the COP of the multi-cycle type cooling device (A) and the cooling device (B) according to the embodiment of the present invention, (COP) of the cooling device (B) according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As can be seen in the table, for the comparison of the cycle performance, the respective freezing capacities were set to the same values in the total cooling mode and the freezing mode.

It is possible to circulate the gaseous refrigerant and the liquid phase refrigerant separately by the gas-liquid separator 140, so that the refrigerant flow rate in the cooling device B of the present invention is larger than that of the multi-cycle type cooling device A. In addition, since the first evaporator 154 is bypassed in the freezing mode compared to the entire cooling mode, it can be seen that the refrigerant flow rate is smaller.

As a result, it can be seen that the cooling apparatus B of the present invention is improved by about 1.2 times as compared with the multicycle type cooling apparatus A in the COP. This is because the liquid refrigerant can sufficiently flow to the evaporator by the gas-liquid separator 140 and the refrigerating capacity is increased. Compared with the multicycle type cooling apparatus A in which the ejector 130 is not provided, in the cooling apparatus of the present invention, 130 to boost the suction refrigerant pressure of the compressor 110, thereby reducing the amount of compression of the compressor 110.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a cooling device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a Mollier diagram of a cooling device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a cooling apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the present embodiment, the description of the components that are the same as those described above will be omitted.

The cooling device includes a first refrigerant circuit, a second refrigerant circuit and a third refrigerant circuit.

The first refrigerant circuit is configured such that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 210 flows through the condenser 220, the ejector 230 and the gas-liquid separator 240 to the suction side of the compressor 210, Liquid separator 240, the first expansion device 252, the first evaporator 254 and the second evaporator 264 to be sucked and circulated through the suction port of the ejector 230, Liquid separator 240 is sucked into the suction port of the ejector 230 through the second expansion device 262 and the second evaporator 264 and flows to the first expansion device 252, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 254 < / RTI >

The use of the first evaporator 254 and the second evaporator 264 is not limited. However, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first evaporator 254 is used in the refrigerator compartment 250 of the refrigerator and the second evaporator 264 is used in the refrigerator The freezing compartment 260 of the refrigerator can be used. That is, the first evaporator 254 may be referred to as a refrigerator compartment evaporator, and the second evaporator 264 may be referred to as a freezer compartment evaporator.

The refrigerant flow control between the second refrigerant circuit and the third refrigerant circuit is performed through the flow path switching device 270. More specifically, the flow path switching device 270 is provided on the discharge side of the gas-liquid separator 240 so that liquid refrigerant passing through the gas-liquid separator 240 flows through at least one refrigerant circuit of the second and third refrigerant circuits And is arranged to switch the flow path of the refrigerant.

The flow path switching device 270 may include a three-way valve. The flow path switching device 270 may include a first valve 271 for opening and closing the second refrigerant circuit and a second valve 272 for opening and closing the third refrigerant circuit.

A condenser fan motor 222 for driving the condenser fan 221, a first fan motor 258 for driving the first fan 257 of the refrigerating compartment 250, a second fan 267 of the freezing compartment 260 And a second fan motor 268 for driving the second fan motor 268.

A first defrost heater 256 and a second defrost heater 266 may be provided on the surfaces of the first evaporator 254 and the second evaporator 264 to remove the property of the surface of the evaporator.

The first refrigerant circuit may include a heat exchanger (270, 272).

The heat exchangers 270 and 272 are provided to exchange heat between the discharge portion of the condenser 220 and the inlet of the compressor 210. In order to prevent the deterioration and damage of the compressor 210 due to the introduction of refrigerant in a liquid state, the condenser 220 may be connected to the outlet of the condenser 220, And a heat exchanger (270, 272) to generate heat exchange between the inlet of the compressor (210) and the inlet of the compressor (210).

The heat exchangers 270 and 272 may include a first heat exchanger 270 provided in the discharge portion of the condenser 220 and a second heat exchanger 272 provided in the inlet portion of the compressor 210, 1 heat exchanger 270 to the second heat exchanger 272 so that the refrigerant in the liquid state can be overheated with the refrigerant in the gaseous state.

The first refrigerant circuit may include a third expansion device 280.

The third expansion device 280 may be provided between the condenser 220 and the ejector 230. The efficiency of the ejector 230 is improved when the refrigerant flowing into the nozzle portion 231 of the ejector 230 is in the two-phase state. Therefore, the third expansion device 280 can increase the dryness of the refrigerant discharged from the condenser 220 .

The third expansion device 280 and the heat exchangers 270 and 272 can be configured at the same time. The heat exchangers 270 and 272 include a Suction Line heat exchanger provided between the third expansion device 280 and the suction portion 232 of the compressor 210. The Suction Line heat exchanger exchanger can secure the superheat of the refrigerant sucked into the compressor 210, thereby preventing the compressor 210 from being damaged due to the inflow of the liquid phase refrigerant. Further, the efficiency of the ejector 230 is reduced by the third expansion device .

It is preferable that the pressure drop amount by the third expansion device 280 is within 30% of the pressure drop amount by the nozzle portion 231 of the ejector 230. [

FIG. 9 is a view showing a cooling device according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a Mollier diagram of a cooling device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a cooling apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the present embodiment, the description of the components that are the same as those described above will be omitted.

The cooling device includes a first refrigerant circuit, a second refrigerant circuit and a third refrigerant circuit.

The first refrigerant circuit is configured such that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 310 flows through the condenser 320, the ejector 330 and the gas-liquid separator 340 to the suction side of the compressor 310, The refrigerant is sucked and circulated through the suction port of the ejector 330 through the refrigerant separator 330, the gas-liquid separator 340, the first expansion device 352, the first evaporator 354, and the second evaporator 364, The refrigerant having passed through the gas-liquid separator 340 is sucked into the suction port of the ejector 330 via the second expansion device 362 and the second evaporator 364 and flows to the first expansion device 352, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 354 < / RTI >

The use of the first evaporator 354 and the second evaporator 364 is not limited. However, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first evaporator 354 is used in the refrigerating chamber 350 of the refrigerator and the second evaporator 364 is used in the refrigerator The freezing chamber 360 can be used as a freezing chamber. That is, the first evaporator 354 may be referred to as a refrigerator compartment evaporator, and the second evaporator 364 may be referred to as a freezer compartment evaporator.

The refrigerant flow control between the second refrigerant circuit and the third refrigerant circuit is performed through the flow path switching device 370. More specifically, the flow path switching device 370 is provided on the discharge side of the gas-liquid separator 340 so that the liquid refrigerant passing through the gas-liquid separator 340 flows through the refrigerant circuit of at least one of the second and third refrigerant circuits And is arranged to switch the flow path of the refrigerant.

The flow path switching device 370 may include a three-way valve. The flow path switching device 370 may include a first valve 371 for opening and closing the second refrigerant circuit and a second valve 372 for opening and closing the third refrigerant circuit.

A condenser fan motor 322 for driving the condenser fan 321, a first fan motor 358 for driving the first fan 357 of the refrigerating chamber 350, a second fan 367 of the freezing chamber 360 And a second fan motor 368 for driving the second fan motor 368. [

A first defrost heater 356 and a second defrost heater 366 may be provided on the surfaces of the first evaporator 354 and the second evaporator 364 to remove the property of the surface of the evaporator.

If the two evaporators are connected by only a refrigerant tube having the same inner diameter as the suction side refrigerant tube of the compressor 310, the evaporation temperatures of the first evaporator 354 and the second evaporator 364 become equal in the entire cooling mode. In this case, when the evaporation temperature of the second evaporator 364 is lowered in consideration of the cooling of the freezing chamber 360, the frost is conceived on the surface of the first evaporator 354, and evaporation of the second evaporator 364 When the temperature is raised, the freezing chamber 360 is not sufficiently cooled.

This problem is solved by connecting the second evaporator 364 and the first evaporator 354 to the intermediate expansion device 390.

The first expansion device 352 reduces the pressure of the refrigerant that has passed through the condenser 320 so that the refrigerant can evaporate at the evaporation temperature required by the first evaporator 354. The intermediate expansion device 390 decompresses the pressure of the refrigerant passing through the first evaporator 354 one more time so that the refrigerant can evaporate at the evaporation temperature required by the second evaporator 364. This is because the evaporation temperature required in the second evaporator 364 is lower than the evaporation temperature required in the first evaporator 354. The second expansion device 362 reduces the pressure of the refrigerant that has passed through the condenser 320 so that the refrigerant can evaporate at the evaporation temperature required by the second evaporator 364, The second expansion device 362 compresses the pressure of the refrigerant that has passed through the condenser 320 to the evaporation required by the second evaporator 364. The second expansion device 362 reduces the pressure of the refrigerant that has been firstly reduced by the expansion device 352, Decompress immediately to the extent that it can evaporate from the temperature. To this end, the resistance of the second expansion device 362 must be designed to be greater than the resistance of the intermediate expansion device 390, and consequently the degree of decompression of the refrigerant in each of the second expansion device 362 and the intermediate expansion device 390 Should be to obtain the evaporation temperature required by the second evaporator 364. The inner diameter of the intermediate expansion device 390 is designed to be smaller (for example, about 2 to 4 mm) than the inner diameter of the suction side refrigerant pipe of the compressor 310 so that the refrigerant can be reduced in pressure while passing through the intermediate expansion device 390 do. If the inner diameter of the intermediate expansion device 390 is too large, there is no great difference in the evaporation temperatures of the two evaporators. On the contrary, if the inner diameter is too small, the first evaporator 354 is excessively large A resistance is generated and the cooling rate of the refrigerating chamber 350 is slowed down.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a refrigerator to which a cooling device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 12 is a view illustrating a cooling device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a cooling apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the present embodiment, the description of the components that are the same as those described above will be omitted.

The refrigerator includes a refrigerating chamber (401), a freezing chamber (402), and a temperature changing chamber (403). Each region can be composed of three independent temperature regions.

The refrigerator can be driven by a dual loop cycle. The dual loop cycle may include a first cooling device 404 and a second cooling device 400.

The first cooling device 404 and the second cooling device 400 can be operated completely independently without interference and influence therebetween.

The first cooling device 404 is provided to lower the interior of the refrigerating chamber 401 to the target temperature.

The first cooling device 404 may include a compressor 405, a condenser 406, an expansion device 407, and an evaporator 408. The refrigerant compressed from the compressor 405 is discharged through the condenser 406 to the refrigerant in the liquid state at high temperature and high pressure and discharged through the expansion device 407 and the evaporator 408 into the low- And then flows into the compressor 405.

The second cooling device 400 is provided to lower the temperature of the freezing room 402 and the changing room 403 to the target temperature.

The second cooling device 400 includes a first refrigerant circuit, a second refrigerant circuit, and a third refrigerant circuit.

The first refrigerant circuit is configured such that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 410 flows through the condenser 420, the ejector 430 and the gas-liquid separator 440 to the suction side of the compressor 410, Liquid separator 440, a first expansion device 452, a first evaporator 454 and a second evaporator 464 to be sucked and circulated through the suction port of the ejector 430, Liquid separator 440 is sucked into the suction port of the ejector 430 through the second expansion device 462 and the second evaporator 464 and flows to the first expansion device 452, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 454 < / RTI >

The use of the first evaporator 454 and the second evaporator 464 is not limited, but in the embodiment of the present invention, the first evaporator 454 is used in the changing room 403 of the refrigerator, and the second evaporator 464 is used It can be used in the freezing chamber 402 of the refrigerator. That is, the first evaporator 454 may be referred to as a transformer room evaporator, and the second evaporator 464 may be referred to as a freezer compartment evaporator.

The refrigerant flow control between the second refrigerant circuit and the third refrigerant circuit is performed through the flow path switching device 470. Liquid separator 440 so that the liquid refrigerant that has passed through the gas-liquid separator 440 flows through at least one refrigerant circuit of the second and third refrigerant circuits And is arranged to switch the flow path of the refrigerant.

The flow path switching device 470 may include a three-way valve. The flow path switching device 470 may include a first valve 471 for opening and closing the second refrigerant circuit and a second valve 472 for opening and closing the third refrigerant circuit.

A condenser fan motor 422 for driving the condenser fan 421, a first fan motor 458 for driving the first fan 457 of the variable chamber 403, a second fan (not shown) for the freezing chamber 460 A second fan motor 468 for driving the second fan motor 467 is further provided.

A first defrost heater 456 and a second defrost heater 466 may be provided on the surfaces of the first evaporator 454 and the second evaporator 464 to remove the surface of the evaporator.

The foregoing has shown and described specific embodiments. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the technical idea of the present invention described in the following claims .

52: Key input unit 54: Freezer room temperature sensing unit
56: Refrigerator room temperature sensing part 58: Refrigerator room evaporator temperature sensing part
60: control unit 62: compressor driving unit
64: first fan driving unit 66: second fan driving unit
68: flow path switching device driving part 70: display part
72: Defrost heater driving part
100: refrigeration cycle 110: compressor
120: condenser 121: condenser fan
122: condenser fan motor 130: ejector
131: Nozzle part 132: Suction part
133: mixing section 134: diffuser section
140: gas-liquid separator 150: refrigerating chamber
152: first expansion device 154: first evaporator
156: first defrost heater 157: first fan
158: First motor 160: Freezer
162: second expansion device 164: second evaporator
166: second defrost heater 167: second fan
168: Second motor

Claims (19)

A first refrigerant circuit configured to cause a refrigerant discharged from the compressor to flow to a suction side of the compressor through a condenser, an ejector, and a gas-liquid separator;
A second refrigerant circuit configured to be sucked and circulated through an inlet of the ejector through the ejector, the gas-liquid separator, the first expansion device, the first evaporator, and the second evaporator;
The refrigerant passing through the ejector and the gas-liquid separator is sucked into the suction port of the ejector through the second expansion device and the second evaporator and flows through the third expansion device and the first evaporator, Circuit;
Wherein the ejector mixes the refrigerant discharged from the condenser and the refrigerant discharged from the second evaporator on the first refrigerant circuit, and discharges the mixed refrigerant to the gas-liquid separator. The method according to claim 1,
And a flow path switching device provided at one side of the discharge side of the gas-liquid separator and adapted to allow liquid refrigerant passing through the gas-liquid separator to flow through at least one refrigerant circuit of the second and third refrigerant circuits Lt; / RTI > 3. The method of claim 2,
The refrigerant is circulated through the second refrigerant circuit when the cooling device is powered on and the power supply is started, and when the cooling through the second refrigerant circuit is completed, the refrigerant flows through the third refrigerant circuit, And a control unit for controlling the cooling unit. The method according to claim 1,
In the second refrigerant circuit,
And the refrigerant passing through the first evaporator is configured to pass through the second evaporator. The method according to claim 1,
The ejector
A refrigerant discharged from the condenser and a refrigerant discharged from the second evaporator are mixed and the pressure of the mixed refrigerant is increased to discharge the mixed refrigerant to the gas-liquid separator. The method according to claim 1,
The gas-
Separating the refrigerant discharged from the ejector into gaseous refrigerant and liquid refrigerant, discharging the gaseous refrigerant to the first refrigerant circuit, and discharging the liquid refrigerant to the second refrigerant circuit or the third refrigerant circuit Cooling device. 6. The method of claim 5,
The ejector
A nozzle unit provided to expand and expand the refrigerant discharged from the condenser;
A suction unit for sucking the refrigerant discharged from the second evaporator;
A mixing unit for mixing a refrigerant flowing into the nozzle unit and a refrigerant flowing into the suction unit;
And a diffuser portion (20) configured to increase the refrigerant mixed in the mixing portion. The method according to claim 1,
The compressor includes:
And an inverter compressor for controlling the rotation to control the refrigerant flow rate. The method according to claim 1,
The expansion device includes:
A capillary tube, an electronic expansion valve, and a capillary tube. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising: a third expansion device provided in a discharge part of the condenser to raise the dryness of the refrigerant flowing into the ejector. 11. The method of claim 10,
And a SLHX heat exchanger (Suction Line Heat Exchange) that exchanges heat between the third expansion device and the compressor suction portion. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first refrigerant circuit comprises:
And a heat exchanger configured to perform heat exchange between the discharge portion of the condenser and the suction portion of the compressor. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the second refrigerant circuit comprises:
Further comprising an intermediate expansion device provided in the discharge portion of the first evaporator and configured to reduce the pressure of the refrigerant flowing to the second evaporator. 14. The method of claim 13,
The intermediate expansion device includes:
Wherein an inner diameter of the refrigerant pipe is smaller than an inner diameter of the suction side refrigerant pipe of the compressor. A main refrigerant circuit having a compressor for compressing the refrigerant into which the gaseous refrigerant separated from the gas-liquid separator flows, and a condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed from the compressor;
An overall cooling mode refrigerant circuit formed to pass through the first expansion device, the first evaporator, and the second evaporator;
A freezing mode refrigerant circuit configured to bypass the first expansion device and the first evaporator through the second expansion device and the second evaporator;
A flow path switching device configured to flow the liquid refrigerant separated from the gas-liquid separator to switch the flow path of the refrigerant to flow through the refrigerant circuit of at least one of the full mode refrigerant circuit and the freezing mode refrigerant circuit;
The refrigerant circuit according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein refrigerant discharged from the condenser in the main refrigerant circuit and refrigerant circulated through the second evaporator in at least one refrigerant circuit of the refrigerant circuit and the freezing mode refrigerant circuit are mixed to be introduced into the gas- And an ejector. 16. The method of claim 15,
The ejector
A refrigerant discharged from the condenser and a refrigerant discharged from the second evaporator are mixed and the pressure of the mixed refrigerant is increased to discharge the mixed refrigerant to the gas-liquid separator. A first refrigerant circuit in which a refrigerant discharged from a compressor flows through a condenser, an ejector, and a gas-liquid separator to a suction side of the compressor;
A second refrigerant circuit that is sucked into the suction port of the ejector through a second evaporator that cools the second cooling chamber and circulates, through the ejector, the gas-liquid separator, the first expansion device, the first cooling chamber, and the second evaporator;
A third refrigerant circuit for allowing the refrigerant having passed through the gas-liquid separator to be sucked into the suction port of the ejector through the second expansion device and the second evaporator and to flow to bypass the first expansion device and the first evaporator;
And a flow path switching device provided on one side of the discharge side of the gas-liquid separator for switching the flow path of the refrigerant such that liquid refrigerant passing through the gas-liquid separator flows through at least one refrigerant circuit among the second and third refrigerant circuits The cooling device comprising:
The refrigerant circulates in the first and second cooling chambers by controlling the flow path switching device so that the refrigerant flows through the first refrigerant circuit and the second refrigerant circuit,
Wherein when the temperature of the first cooling chamber reaches a target temperature, the flow path switching device is controlled so that the refrigerant flows through the first refrigerant circuit and the third refrigerant circuit, thereby cooling the second cooling chamber alone Method of operation of the device. 18. The method of claim 17,
Wherein the operation through the first refrigerant circuit and the second refrigerant circuit is referred to as a full cooling mode and the operation through the first refrigerant circuit and the third refrigerant circuit is referred to as a freezing mode,
Wherein the controller controls the rotation speed of the compressor to adjust the refrigerant flow rate in the entire cooling mode and the freezing mode. 18. The method of claim 17,
When the operation of the compressor is stopped, the third refrigerant circuit is closed by controlling the flow path switching device, and the second refrigerant circuit is opened to supply the compressed refrigerant already discharged from the compressor to the second refrigerant circuit, 1 evaporator is defrosted.

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