Refrigerator with refrigerant recovery control
AssigneeLG Electronics Inc.
InventorsSangil Lee, Jinseok Hu, Buhwan Ahn, Seonggu Shin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method controls a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a compressor that includes a piston and uses refrigerant as lubricant for the piston, and the method includes determining an end time point of a refrigerant recovery operation based on a driving input value of the compressor to thereby reducer abrasion of the piston and power consumption.
Claims20
A method for controlling a refrigerator, the refrigerator including a refrigerating room evaporator, a freezing room evaporator, a compressor configured to supply refrigerant to each of the refrigerating room evaporator and the freezing room evaporator and to use the refrigerant as a lubricant for a piston, and a refrigerant control valve configured to control flow of the refrigerant from the compressor to each of the refrigerating room evaporator and the freezing room evaporator, the method comprising:
- determining whether a condition for performing a refrigerant recovery operation is satisfied, wherein the refrigerant recovery operation is an operation for causing the refrigerant in at least one of the refrigerating room evaporator or the freezing room evaporator to return to the compressor;
- based on the condition of the refrigerant recovery operation being satisfied, performing the refrigerant recovery operation;
- determining a first driving input value applied to the compressor at a first time point corresponding to a start time point of the refrigerant recovery operation;
- determining a second driving input value applied to the compressor at a time point subsequent to the first time point during the refrigerant recovery operation;
- determining a ratio of the second driving input value to the first driving input value;
- and
- terminating the refrigerant recovery operation based on the ratio of the second driving input value to the first driving input value being less than a preset ratio.
A refrigerator, comprising:
- a compressor configured to compress refrigerant, the compressor comprising a piston;
- a condenser configured to condense the refrigerant compressed by the compressor;
- a refrigerating room expansion valve and a freezing room expansion valve that are configured to decompress the refrigerant condensed by the compressor and to expand the refrigerant;
- a refrigerating room evaporator configured to evaporate the refrigerant expanded by the refrigerating room expansion valve to thereby generate cold air;
- a freezing room evaporator configured to evaporate the refrigerant expanded by the freezing room expansion valve to thereby generate cold air;
- a refrigerant control valve configured to adjust flow of the refrigerant from the condenser toward each of the refrigerating room evaporator and the freezing room evaporator;
- and
- a controller configured to control the compressor and the refrigerant control valve to thereby perform a refrigerant recovery operation for causing the refrigerant in at least one of the refrigerating room evaporator or the freezing room evaporator to return to the compressor,
- wherein the controller is configured to:
- determine whether a condition for performing the refrigerant recovery operation is satisfied,
- based on the condition of the refrigerant recovery operation being satisfied, perform the refrigerant recovery operation,
- determine a first driving input value applied to the compressor at a first time point corresponding to a start time point of the refrigerant recovery operation,
- determine a second driving input value applied to the compressor at a time point subsequent to the first time point during the refrigerant recovery operation,
- determine a ratio of the second driving input value to the first driving input value, and
- terminate the refrigerant recovery operation based on the ratio of the second driving input value to the first driving input value being less than a preset ratio.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.