Refrigerator

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator may have a refrigerator body having a first storage chamber and a second storage chamber, an evaporator located at the first storage chamber, a cooling fan disposed at one side of the evaporator, a circulation path formed to include the evaporator and the cooling fan, the circulation path having a plurality of openings at upper and lower parts of the first storage chamber, an upper communication portion arranged to connect upper regions of each of the first and second storage chambers, a lower communication portion arranged to connect lower regions of each of the first and second storage chambers, a temperature sensor unit configured to sense inner temperatures of the second storage chamber and a controller being configured to control a rotation direction of the cooling fan based on the detected temperatures of the temperature sensor unit.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a refrigerator body having at least a first storage chamber and a second storage chamber;   an evaporator located at the first storage chamber;   a cooling fan disposed at one side of the evaporator, the cooling fan being configured to be rotatable forward and backward;   a circulation path formed to include the evaporator and the cooling fan, the circulation path having a plurality of openings at upper and lower parts of the first storage chamber;   an upper communication portion arranged to connect upper regions of each of the first and second storage chambers;   a lower communication portion arranged to connect lower regions of each of the first and second storage chambers;   a temperature sensor unit configured to sense inner temperatures of the second storage chamber; and   a controller being configured to control a rotation direction of the cooling fan based on the detected temperatures of the temperature sensor unit.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the temperature sensor unit includes an upper temperature sensor located at the upper part of the second storage chamber and a lower temperature sensor located at the lower part of the second storage chamber. 
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to control the cooling fan of the first storage chamber to rotate forward when an upper temperature of the second storage chamber exceeds an upper preset temperature and a lower temperature of the second storage chamber exceeds a lower preset temperature. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to control the cooling fan of the first storage chamber to rotate backward when an upper temperature of the second storage chamber is less than an upper preset temperature and a lower temperature of the second storage chamber exceeds a lower preset temperature. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator of  claim 4 , wherein the refrigerator further comprises a blowing fan located at the lower communication portion, and
 wherein the controller controls the blowing fan to rotate when the cooling fan of the first storage chamber rotates backward.   
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of openings include an upper opening provided at an upper region of the first storage chamber and a lower opening provided at a lower region of the first storage chamber. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator of  claim 6 , wherein the upper opening is formed in plurality, the plurality of upper openings being spaced from each other in the vertical direction and a horizontal direction. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the cooling fan of the first storage chamber is a centrifugal fan. 
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the refrigerator body is provided with a mullion extending in the vertical direction, the mullion being configured to separate the first and second storage chambers from each other, and
 wherein the upper communication portion and the lower communication portion are formed in the mullion.   
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the first storage chamber is a freezing chamber and the second storage chamber is a refrigerating chamber. 
     
     
         11 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a refrigerator body having a plurality of storage chambers, each storage chamber including:
 an evaporator; 
 a cooling fan being disposed at one side of the evaporator, the cooling fan being configured to be rotatable forward and backward; 
 a circulation path formed to enclose the evaporator and the cooling fan, the circulation path having a plurality of openings at upper and lower parts of the storage chamber; and 
 a temperature sensor unit configured to sense inner temperatures of the second storage chamber; and 
   a controller configured to control a rotation direction of each cooling fan based on detected temperatures of the temperature sensor units for the corresponding storage chamber.   
     
     
         12 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein the refrigerator body is provided with a mullion extending in the vertical direction, the mullion being configured to separate adjacent storage chambers from each other. 
     
     
         13 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein the plurality of openings in each storage chamber includes an upper opening provided at an upper region thereof and a lower opening provided at a lower region thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein the upper opening is formed in plurality, the plurality of upper openings being spaced from each other in the vertical direction and a horizontal direction. 
     
     
         15 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein each temperature sensor unit includes an upper temperature sensor located at the upper part of the storage chamber and a lower temperature sensor located at the lower part of the storage chamber. 
     
     
         16 . The refrigerator of  claim 15 , wherein the controller is configured to control the cooling fan of the storage chamber to rotate forward when an upper temperature of the storage chamber exceeds an upper preset temperature and a lower temperature of the storage chamber exceeds a lower preset temperature. 
     
     
         17 . The refrigerator of  claim 15 , wherein the controller is configured to control the cooling fan of the storage chamber to rotate backward when an upper temperature of the storage chamber is less than an upper preset temperature and a lower temperature of the second storage chamber exceeds a lower preset temperature. 
     
     
         18 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein the cooling fan is an axial fan. 
     
     
         19 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein the cooling fan is a centrifugal fan. 
     
     
         20 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein one of the storage chambers is a freezing chamber and another of the storage chambers is a refrigerating chamber.