A valve structure that may control the flow rate of a fluid when the fluid starts to be released is provided. In a valve structure including a valve sheet having two outlets to release a fluid and a valve body arranged to be rotational against the valve sheet to regulate a degree of opening of the outlet, the valve body has a fluid control recess formed in the circumferential direction whose area overlapping the outlet is changed by rotation of the valve body, and the center of the outlet is forced to deviate from a rotation trajectory of a front end portion of the fluid control recess that starts to overlap the outlet by the rotation of the valve body.

A method for controlling a refrigerator includes determining whether an ice bin accommodated in an ice making compartment that receives cold air from the first storage compartment is full of stored ice, determining, by a controller, whether an algorithm that prevents the ice stored in the ice bin from melting needs to be performed upon determining that the ice bin is full, and performing the algorithm.

A method for controlling a refrigerating system using a non-azeotropic mixed refrigerant is provided. The refrigerating system may include a first evaporator configured to supply cold air to a freezer compartment located upstream and a second evaporator configured to supply cold air to a refrigerating compartment located downstream, based on a flow direction of the non-azeotropic mixed refrigerant. The method may include a first operation comprising operating a compressor, a freezer compartment fan to blow air to the first evaporator, and a refrigerating compartment fan to blow air to the second evaporator; a second operation comprising when the freezer compartment reaches a target temperature or the refrigerating compartment reaches a target temperature, continuously operating the compressor, and stopping the freezer compartment fan or the refrigerating compartment fan corresponding to one of the freezer compartment or the refrigerating compartment that reaches the target temperature; and a third operation comprising when both the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment reach the target temperatures, turning off both of the refrigerating compartment fan and the freezer compartment fan and stopping the compressor.

Proposed is a refrigerator in which the internal air of a first storage compartment of two storage compartments whose temperatures are controlled by an evaporator is reintroduced into the evaporator by a circulating air path guide to be circulated, whereby even if an evaporator having small capacity is applied, freezing or refrigeration temperature may be freely embodied, and the circulation of cold air can be efficiently performed without interference.

A refrigerator (100) includes: a cabinet (110), in which are defined a cooling chamber (150) at a lower portion and a first storage compartment and a second storage compartment which are spaced side by side above the cooling chamber (150); and an evaporator, arranged in the cooling chamber (150) and configured to cool an airflow entering the cooling chamber (150) to form a cooled airflow. At least one first return air inlet communicated with the cooling chamber (150) is formed in a left sidewall of the first storage compartment such that a return airflow of the first storage compartment enters the cooling chamber (150) to be cooled via the first return air inlet. At least one second return air inlet communicated with the cooling chamber (150) is formed in a right sidewall of the second storage compartment such that a return airflow of the second storage compartment enters the cooling chamber (150) to be cooled via the second return air inlet. The available compartment volume of the refrigerator is increased, and the return air inlets communicated with the cooling chamber (150) are formed in left and right sidewalls of the cabinet respectively.

A refrigerator includes a first cooler; a freezer compartment an inside of which is cooled by circulation of cooled air subjected to heat exchange by the first cooler; and a refrigerator compartment cooled by direct-cooling, using a cooling plate, wherein the cooled air subjected to heat exchange by the first cooler is to be supplied to the refrigerator compartment.

The refrigerator and freezer conversion system addresses the problem described above. The refrigerator and freezer conversion system is configured for use with a refrigerator. The refrigerator and freezer conversion system incorporates an insulating cabinet and a refrigeration system. The refrigeration system maintains the temperature within the insulating cabinet. The insulating cabinet is organized into a plurality of chambers. The refrigeration system independently maintains the temperature within each of the plurality of chambers. By independently maintained is meant that the temperature maintained in any initial chamber selected from the plurality of chambers is not affected by the temperature of any subsequent chamber selected from the plurality of chambers.

A refrigerator includes a controller that is configured to perform operations including driving a refrigerator compartment compressor, determining whether a sensed temperature in the refrigerator compartment satisfies a first temperature, driving, based on the sensed temperature in the refrigerator compartment satisfying the first temperature, a freezer compartment compressor, stopping the refrigerator compartment compressor, maintaining, after stopping the refrigerator compartment compressor, operation of the freezer compartment compressor, restarting the refrigerator compartment compressor, and varying a driving frequency of the refrigerator compartment compressor.

A refrigeration appliance includes at least one warm storage compartment and one cold storage compartment and a refrigeration device having at least two mutually parallel evaporators connected in series with a compressor, a condenser, and a shut-off valve between the condenser and evaporators in a refrigerant circuit so that each evaporator cools one storage compartment. An operating method for the refrigeration appliance includes the steps a) deciding whether a need for cooling has newly occurred in the warm storage compartment, and, if so, b) operating the compressor while the shut-off valve is closed to cause refrigerant to back up in the condenser, c) opening the shut-off valve and supplying the evaporator of the warm storage compartment with the backed up refrigerant. In step b) the mass flow rate through the compressor is estimated and the time for performing step c) is determined by using the estimated mass flow rate.

Methods and systems for power management are provided. Aspects include receiving, by a controller, load data associated with two or more refrigeration systems, wherein the two or more refrigeration systems comprise at least a first refrigeration system and a second refrigeration system, determining, by the controller, an available power capacity for the first refrigeration system and the second refrigeration system, operating, by the controller, the first refrigeration system and the second refrigeration system in a plurality of modes based at least in part on the load data and the available power capacity, wherein the plurality of modes comprise an unloaded mode and a plurality of loaded modes.