阅读说明：本技术 冰箱控制方法及运用该控制方法的冰箱 (Refrigerator control method and refrigerator applying same ) 是由 刘翔宇 朱卫忠 于 2020-04-08 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提出了一种用于冰箱的控制方法,包括如下步骤：判定冰箱是否将要启动制冷；如果冰箱将要启动制冷,先判断此时距离上一次化霜程序结束的过去时间是否大于或等于第一预设时间；如果该过去时间大于或等于所述第一预设时间,则在启动制冷前先执行化霜程序。尤其是进行速冻或速冷之前,通过不同方法判断蒸发器的结霜量是否比较大而决定是否在制冷前先行化霜,从而清除蒸发器的霜层,提高蒸发器的热交换效率,保证了良好的制冷效率,也同时节约能耗。(The invention provides a control method for a refrigerator, which comprises the following steps: judging whether the refrigerator is to start refrigeration or not; if the refrigerator is to start refrigeration, firstly judging whether the time in the past from the end of the last defrosting procedure at the moment is more than or equal to a first preset time; and if the elapsed time is greater than or equal to the first preset time, executing a defrosting program before starting cooling. Particularly, before quick freezing or quick cooling, whether the frosting amount of the evaporator is larger or not is judged by different methods, and whether defrosting is carried out before refrigeration is determined, so that a frost layer of the evaporator is removed, the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator is improved, the good refrigeration efficiency is ensured, and the energy consumption is saved.)

1. A control method for a refrigerator, comprising the steps of:

judging whether the refrigerator is to start refrigeration or not;

if the refrigerator is to start refrigeration, firstly judging whether the time in the past from the end of the last defrosting procedure at the moment is more than or equal to a first preset time;

and if the elapsed time is greater than or equal to the first preset time, executing a defrosting program before starting cooling.

2. The control method for the refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the first preset time is at least more than a half or four fifths of a defrosting interval time between an end of a last defrosting process to a start of a next defrosting process.

3. The control method for the refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first preset time may be set to a fixed value.

4. A control method for a refrigerator, comprising the steps of:

judging whether the refrigerator is to start refrigeration or not;

if the refrigerator is to start refrigeration, firstly judging whether the remaining time from the starting of the next defrosting program at the moment is less than or equal to a second preset time;

and if the remaining time is less than or equal to the second preset time, executing a defrosting program before starting refrigeration.

5. The control method for the refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the second preset time is at least less than a half or a fifth of a defrosting interval time between an end of a last defrosting routine and a start of a next defrosting routine.

6. The control method for the refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the second preset time may be set to a fixed value.

7. The control method for the refrigerator as claimed in claim 1 or 4, wherein the defrosting interval time between the end of a last defrosting routine and the start of a next defrosting routine is variable based on refrigerator operation and use conditions.

8. A control method for a refrigerator, comprising the steps of:

judging whether the refrigerator is to start refrigeration or not;

if the refrigerator is to start refrigeration, firstly judging whether the frosting amount of the evaporator of the refrigerator is larger than a preset value at the moment;

if the frosting amount of the refrigerator evaporator is larger than the preset value, a defrosting program is executed before refrigeration is started.

9. The control method for the refrigerator according to claim 1, 4 or 8, wherein the step of determining whether the refrigerator is to start cooling comprises determining whether the refrigerator is to start a quick-freeze mode or a quick-cool mode.

10. A refrigerator includes a cabinet having a compartment, a cooling and defrosting system, and a control device controlling the cooling and defrosting system; the refrigeration and defrosting system comprises a compressor, an evaporator, a fan, a defrosting heater and other elements; characterized in that said control means controls the operation of the refrigerator according to the control method of any one of the preceding claims.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of refrigerators, in particular to a household refrigerator and a control method thereof.

Background

In the household refrigerator, frost is inevitably formed on evaporators of a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber during use, so that a heater installed on the evaporator needs to be periodically or non-periodically activated to defrost the evaporator and defrost water through a drain duct. Accordingly, the operation control of the refrigerator includes a refrigeration cycle for refrigerating the storage chamber and a defrosting cycle for defrosting the evaporator.

In the prior art, a refrigerator generally performs a defrosting operation with a fixed defrosting interval period or a variable defrosting interval period.

Disclosure of Invention

One of the problems addressed by the present invention is to provide a more optimal control method to determine the timing of defrosting.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a control method for a refrigerator, comprising the steps of: judging whether the refrigerator is to start refrigeration or not;

if the refrigerator is to start refrigeration, firstly judging whether the time in the past from the end of the last defrosting procedure at the moment is more than or equal to a first preset time;

and if the elapsed time is greater than or equal to the first preset time, executing a defrosting program before starting cooling.

Further, the first preset time is at least more than half or four fifths of the defrosting interval time from the end of the last defrosting process to the start of the next defrosting process.

Further, the first preset time may be set to a fixed value.

The invention also provides another control method for the refrigerator, which comprises the following steps:

judging whether the refrigerator is to start refrigeration or not;

if the refrigerator is to start refrigeration, firstly judging whether the remaining time from the starting of the next defrosting program at the moment is less than or equal to a second preset time;

and if the remaining time is less than or equal to the second preset time, executing a defrosting program before starting refrigeration.

Further, the second preset time is at least less than half or one fifth of the defrosting interval time from the end of the last defrosting program to the start of the next defrosting program.

Further, the second preset time may be set to a fixed value.

Further, the defrosting interval time between the end of the last defrosting process and the start of the next defrosting process is variable based on the operation and use conditions of the refrigerator.

The invention also provides another control method for the refrigerator, which is characterized by comprising the following steps of: judging whether the refrigerator is to start refrigeration or not;

if the refrigerator is to start refrigeration, firstly judging whether the frosting amount of the evaporator of the refrigerator is larger than a preset value at the moment; if the frosting amount of the refrigerator evaporator is larger than the preset value, a defrosting program is executed before refrigeration is started.

Further, the step of determining whether the refrigerator is to start cooling includes determining whether the refrigerator is to start a quick-freeze mode or a quick-cool mode.

In addition, the invention also provides a refrigerator, which comprises a box body with a chamber, a refrigerating and defrosting system and a control device for controlling the refrigerating and defrosting system; the refrigeration and defrosting system comprises a compressor, an evaporator, a fan, a defrosting heater and other elements; the control device controls the operation of the refrigerator according to any one of the control methods.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: before refrigeration, particularly before quick-freezing or quick-cooling, whether the frosting amount of the evaporator is larger or not is judged by different methods, and whether defrosting is carried out before refrigeration is determined, so that a frost layer of the evaporator is removed, the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator is improved, the subsequent refrigeration, particularly the high-speed operation of quick-freezing or quick-cooling, has good refrigeration efficiency, and meanwhile, the energy consumption is saved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic longitudinal cut view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a logical view of defrosting control in one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a logic diagram for controlling whether to perform defrosting before cooling is started within a defrosting interval according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the timing of the initiation of cooling during the interval corresponding to FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is another control logic diagram for determining whether to perform defrosting before cooling is enabled during a defrosting interval according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of another point in time during the defrost interval corresponding to FIG. 5 when cooling is enabled;

reference numerals: 1-a box body; 2-refrigerator compartments; 3-compressor, 4-evaporator; 5-fan, 6-evaporator cover plate, 10-back wall.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1, a home refrigerator in one embodiment of the present invention has a cabinet 1 of a refrigerator compartment 2, a cooling and defrosting system, and a control unit controlling the cooling and defrosting system. Wherein the refrigerating and defrosting system includes a compressor 3, an evaporator 4, a fan 5, a heater (not shown), etc., and the control means includes an evaporator temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the evaporator and a refrigerator compartment temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting the temperature of the refrigerator compartment. In the present embodiment, the refrigerator compartment 2 is a freezer compartment of a refrigerator, and its normal set temperature is minus 18 degrees celsius, but in other embodiments, the refrigerator compartment 2 may be provided as a refrigerating compartment or a temperature-changing compartment of the refrigerator. The evaporator 4 is a freezing compartment evaporator (the space where the evaporator is placed may be referred to as an evaporator chamber) provided between the rear wall 10 of the cabinet 1 and the evaporator cover 6, and the fan 5 is an evaporator fan provided adjacent to and above the freezing compartment evaporator, the blades of which are horizontally disposed with a small distance from the rear wall 10 of the cabinet 1 and the evaporator cover 6. The heater may be a conventional electrical heating wire attached and secured together adjacent to the fins and refrigerant tubes of the evaporator. The evaporator temperature sensor can be arranged on the evaporator to detect the temperature of the evaporator, the refrigerator compartment temperature sensor can be arranged on the inner wall of the freezing compartment to detect the temperature in the freezing compartment, and the temperatures detected by the two temperature sensors are fed back to the control circuit board of the control device for processing. The control device sends corresponding control signals to the compressor 3, the evaporator 4, the fan 5, the heater and other elements according to the processing result, so that refrigeration of the freezing chamber and defrosting of the evaporator 4 are controlled.

Generally, a refrigerator has a fixed defrosting interval time between two defrosting procedures before and after the start of execution. Because the prior art has a plurality of defects in setting a fixed defrosting interval time to start a defrosting program, the defrosting interval time is further intelligently adjusted according to the actual operation and use condition of the refrigerator so as to determine an accurate defrosting interval time to start a corresponding defrosting program. In view of the above, as shown in fig. 2, the present invention provides an optimized refrigerator defrosting control logic, which mainly includes the following stages:

firstly, presetting an initial defrosting interval time:

after the last defrosting program is finished, determining the initial defrosting interval time for starting the next defrosting program based on the refrigerator running condition before the last defrosting program is finished;

secondly, correcting the interval time of the initial defrosting:

the initial defrosting interval time is corrected based on the operation and use condition of the refrigerator after the last defrosting program is finished so as to obtain the corrected actual defrosting interval time;

thirdly, starting the next defrosting program based on the actual defrosting interval time:

namely, whether the elapsed time after the last defrosting procedure is finished reaches the corrected real-time defrosting interval time or not is judged, and if the elapsed time after the last defrosting procedure is finished reaches the corrected real-time defrosting time, the next defrosting procedure is started.

The initial defrosting interval time may be the refrigerator power-on operation time and/or the accumulated refrigerating time of the refrigerator compartment 2 between the end of the last defrosting procedure and the start of the next defrosting procedure. When any one time value of the power-on running time of the refrigerator or the accumulated refrigerating time of the refrigerator compartment 2 reaches the initial defrosting interval time, the next defrosting program can be started.

Firstly, in the stage of presetting the interval time of the initial defrosting: after the last defrosting procedure is finished, the refrigerator control device may preset an initial defrosting interval time for starting the next defrosting procedure according to the refrigerator operating condition before the last defrosting procedure is finished (specifically, the refrigerator operating condition includes the last actual defrosting interval time and the last defrosting procedure execution stage). The initial assigned value of the initial defrosting time is mainly influenced by the following two refrigerator running conditions: firstly, the length of the continuous working time of the heater in the last defrosting program execution stage is short; secondly, the time interval of the last actual defrosting is short. The two refrigerator operating conditions can independently influence the assignment of the interval time of the initial defrosting and can also influence the assignment of the interval time of the initial defrosting in combination.

In one embodiment, if the operation time of the heater in the last defrosting process is longer, the control device determines that the evaporator is frosted to a greater extent and the frost is not completely removed even if the heater operates for a long time, and accordingly, the control device presets that the interval time of the initial defrosting for starting the next defrosting process is shorter, so that the next defrosting process is started as soon as possible to completely remove the frost on the evaporator 4, thereby ensuring the refrigerating performance of the refrigerator; on the contrary, if the working time of the heater in the last defrosting process is shorter, the control device judges that the frost on the evaporator 4 is completely or substantially completely removed according to the working time, and correspondingly, the control device presets the longer the interval time of the initial defrosting for starting the next defrosting process, so as to prevent the next defrosting process from being started too fast. Therefore, the unnecessary defrosting program is prevented from being started frequently, and the energy consumption is saved.

In one embodiment, if the last actual defrosting interval is longer, the control device determines that the frosting degree on the evaporator 4 is less, and accordingly, the control device presets the longer the initial defrosting interval for starting the next defrosting process so as to delay starting the next defrosting process.

In one embodiment, the last heater on time and the last actual defrost interval time are considered together to determine an initial defrost interval time assignment. Specifically, if the last actual defrosting interval time is long and the operating time of the heater in the last defrosting process is short, the control device determines that the frosting degree on the evaporator 4 is very light according to the determination result, and accordingly, the control device presets that the initial defrosting interval time for starting the next defrosting process is longer so as to delay starting the next defrosting process later.

In the above embodiment, the initial assignment of the initial defrost interval time is maximum limited. And if the initial defrosting interval time reaches the preset maximum initial interval time under the overlapping influence of the different refrigerator running conditions, the initial defrosting interval time is not prolonged based on the refrigerator running condition before the last defrosting program is finished.

Secondly, in the phase of correcting the initial defrosting interval time: the operation and use conditions of the refrigerator after the last defrosting procedure are finished all affect how to correct the preset initial defrosting interval time, and specifically, at this stage, the operation and use conditions of the refrigerator are mainly embodied in the following two aspects: firstly, the door opening condition of the refrigerator chamber 2; second is the single duration of the refrigeration time of the refrigerator compartment 2.

In one embodiment, during the operation and use of the refrigerator after the last defrosting process is finished, the initial defrosting interval time is modified correspondingly every time the door of the refrigerator compartment 2 is opened, and as the door of the refrigerator compartment 2 is opened, hot and humid air enters the refrigerator compartment 2, the refrigerating requirement of the refrigerator compartment 2 is increased, and thus the frosting degree on the evaporator 4 is increased, the control device correspondingly shortens the initialization interval time based on each door opening to start the next defrosting process in advance. When the refrigerator compartment 2 is opened a plurality of times, the closer to the time point when the previous defrosting process is finished, the more the initial defrosting interval time is shortened, that is, from the time point when the previous defrosting process is finished, the greater the influence of the initial opening on the frosting degree of the evaporator 4, that is, the greater the amount of frost added to the evaporator 4, and the smaller the influence of the later opening on the frosting degree of the evaporator 4, that is, the smaller the amount of frost added to the evaporator 4.

When the accumulated door opening time is longer and/or the accumulated door opening times is more, the control device judges that the frosting degree of the evaporator 4 is larger according to the accumulated door opening time, correspondingly, the control device can shorten the initial defrosting interval time to start the next defrosting program earlier, and the refrigerating performance of the refrigerator is prevented from being influenced by the fact that the frosting of the evaporator 4 is too serious.

In one embodiment, the control means corrects the initial defrosting interval time based on the single continuous cooling time of the refrigerator compartment 2 after the last defrosting process is finished. If the single continuous cooling time of the refrigerator compartment 2 after the last defrosting process is finished is greater than or equal to a preset cooling time, for example, the single continuous cooling time of the refrigerator compartment 2 is greater than or equal to 6 hours, the control device determines that more frost is formed on the evaporator 4 according to the single continuous cooling time, and accordingly, the initial defrosting interval time is shortened. The preset refrigeration time is a parameter value obtained according to experiments and refers to the continuous refrigeration time from the refrigeration beginning of the refrigerator chamber to the full frost formation of the evaporator. If the single continuous cooling time of the refrigerator compartment 2 is greater than or equal to the preset cooling time and the refrigerator compartment 2 is opened at least once within the single continuous cooling time, the control device determines that the evaporator 4 is completely frosted, and accordingly, the initial defrosting interval time is shortened to the preset minimum interval time, for example, the initial defrosting interval time is shortened to the preset 12 hours and is not shortened any more afterwards.

In any of the above embodiments, the corrected actual defrosting interval time is limited by a minimum value. If the corrected actual defrosting interval time reaches the preset minimum interval time, for example, the minimum interval time is set to be 12 hours, the control device does not continuously correct the actual defrosting interval time based on the operation and use conditions of the refrigerator, so that the refrigerator is ensured to have a certain reasonable defrosting period in operation, and a defrosting program is not started too frequently.

In one embodiment, the refrigerator is inevitably subjected to a power failure during operation. If the refrigerator is powered off and powered on again to operate, the temperature of the evaporator 4 is detected firstly; if the measured evaporator temperature is greater than or equal to a first preset temperature, for example, the evaporator temperature is greater than or equal to 8 degrees at the moment, the control device judges that the evaporator 4 is not frosted basically according to the measured evaporator temperature, and resets the defrosting interval time in the refrigerator control device to the original initial defrosting interval time for starting the next defrosting program, wherein the original initial defrosting interval time refers to the initial defrosting interval time stored in the control device when the refrigerator starts to run by electrifying for the first time; if the measured evaporator temperature is less than the first preset temperature, for example, less than 8 degrees, the control device determines that frosting is formed on the evaporator 4 according to the measured evaporator temperature, and uses the time obtained by subtracting the preset power-off time from the defrosting interval time stored in the refrigerator control device at the power-off time as the initial defrosting interval time for starting the next defrosting program. The preset power-off time is a fixed reference value that is preset, for example, the preset power-off time is set to 2 hours.

In one embodiment, in the determined defrosting interval time or a certain fixed defrosting interval period, if there is a cooling demand, it may be determined whether a defrosting procedure needs to be performed in advance before cooling, so as to clear a frost layer on an evaporator before cooling, ensure heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator, improve cooling efficiency of the refrigerator, and also save energy consumption. This is particularly advantageous for a cooling mode in which the refrigerator is about to enter a high-speed operation, such as a quick-freeze mode or a quick-cool mode, which is very advantageous for a sudden start of the refrigerator, and ensures a temperature reduction effect in a short time in the high-speed cooling mode.

Before refrigeration, whether a defrosting program needs to be executed in advance can be judged in the following ways:

firstly, referring to fig. 3 and 4, during the operation of the refrigerator, for example, at a certain time C in a defrosting interval time Δ T between the end of the nth defrosting and the start of the (N + 1) th defrosting, when the refrigerator determines that cooling is to be performed, especially quick freezing or quick cooling is required, it is determined whether the time C is greater than or equal to a first preset time T1 from the time Tp elapsed from the end of the nth defrosting; if the elapsed time Tp is greater than or equal to the first preset time T1, indicating that the frost formation amount of the evaporator is already large at this time, the defrosting process is performed in advance before the cooling is started. Specifically, the first preset time T1 may be set to at least half of a defrosting interval time Δ T between the end of the nth defrosting and the start of the (N + 1) th defrosting. In particular, the first preset time T1 may be set to four fifths of the defrosting interval time Δ T between the end of the nth defrosting and the start of the (N + 1) th defrosting.

In the case where the defrosting interval time Δ T is relatively large, for example, Δ T is greater than or equal to 90 hours, the first preset time T1 may also be set to a relatively large fixed value, for example, 30-32 hours, i.e., if this time C is greater than or equal to 30-32 hours from the elapsed time Tp of the nth defrosting end and even if Tp is less than four fifths of this defrosting interval time Δ T, indicating that the amount of frost formation of the evaporator is already large at this time, the defrosting process may be performed in advance before the cooling is started.

That is, in the specific judgment process, as long as Tp is satisfied to be greater than or equal to four fifths of the defrosting interval time Δ T; or if Tp is greater than or equal to a fixed value, the defrosting process can be executed in advance before the refrigeration is started.

For the case where the defrosting interval time Δ T is fixed, the first preset time T1 may also be set to a suitable fixed value.

In a second mode, as shown by referring to fig. 5 and fig. 6 in combination, during the operation of the refrigerator, for example, at a certain time C in a defrosting interval time Δ T between the end of the nth defrosting and the start of the (N + 1) th defrosting, the refrigerator determines that refrigeration is to be performed, especially quick-freezing or quick-cooling is required, and first determines whether the remaining time Tf between the time C and the start of the (N + 1) th defrosting is less than or equal to a second preset time T2; if the remaining time Tf is less than or equal to the second preset time T2, which indicates that the frost formation amount of the evaporator is already large, the defrosting process is performed in advance before the cooling is started. Specifically, the second preset time T2 may be set to at least half of a defrosting interval time Δ T between the end of the nth defrosting and the start of the (N + 1) th defrosting. In particular, the second preset time T2 may be set to be one fifth of a defrosting interval time Δ T between the end of the nth defrosting and the start of the (N + 1) th defrosting.

The second preset time T2 may also be set to a relatively small fixed value, for example, 6-8 hours, i.e., if the time C is less than or equal to 6-8 hours from the time Tf remaining after the (N + 1) th defrosting start and even if Tf is greater than one fifth of the defrosting interval time Δ T, indicating that the amount of frost formed on the evaporator is already large, the defrosting process may be performed in advance before the cooling is started.

That is, in the specific determination process, as long as Tf less than or equal to one fifth of the defrosting interval time Δ T or Tf less than or equal to a fixed value is satisfied, the defrosting process may be performed in advance before cooling is started.

For the case where the defrosting interval time Δ T is fixed, the second preset time T2 may also be set to a suitable fixed value.

A third mode is that a frosting sensor for detecting the frosting amount of the evaporator can be arranged on the evaporator of the refrigerator, and if the refrigerator is to start refrigeration, whether the frosting amount of the evaporator is larger than a preset value can be judged firstly based on the detection result of the frosting sensor; if the frosting amount of the evaporator is larger than the preset value, a defrosting procedure is executed before the refrigeration is started. The preset value can be a reasonable value obtained through experiments according to different refrigerators, different evaporators and different use environments.

When the refrigerator exits the quick-freezing mode or the quick-cooling mode, it is first determined whether the time during which the refrigerator compartment 2 has been continuously cooled is greater than or equal to another preset time, for example, greater than or equal to 20 hours. If the time that the refrigerator compartment 2 has continuously cooled is more than or equal to 20 hours until the refrigerator exits from the quick-freezing mode or the quick-cooling mode, the control device judges that the evaporator 4 is completely frosted at the moment according to the time, and controls the refrigerator to immediately start the defrosting program after exiting from the quick-freezing mode or the quick-cooling mode.

Although specific embodiments have been described above, these embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, even if only a single embodiment is described with respect to a particular feature. The characteristic examples provided in the present disclosure are intended to be illustrative, not limiting, unless differently expressed. In particular implementations, features from one or more dependent claims may be combined with features of the independent claims and features from respective independent claims may be combined in any appropriate manner and not merely in the specific combinations enumerated in the claims.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.