WO2016173165A1

WO2016173165A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2016173165A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/088666
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李春阳; 苗建林; 何胜涛; 王铭
Original assignee: 青岛海尔股份有限公司
Priority date: 2015-04-30
Filing date: 2015-08-31
Publication date: 2016-11-03
Also published as: CN104896825A; CN104896825B

Abstract

Provided is a refrigerator. The refrigerator comprises a refrigerator body, multiple detection assemblies (100), and a capacity calculation device (200). The refrigerator body defines a storage compartment (400), and comprises a top wall and a bottom wall that are horizontally disposed, and comprises vertically-disposed side walls. The detection assemblies (100) are selectively disposed on one or more of the top wall, the bottom wall and the side walls. Each detection assembly (100) at least comprises a light-sensitive component (130) that is configured to detect the visible light intensity and the infrared light intensity in the positions where the detection assemblies (100) are located. The capacity calculation device (200) is separately connected to the multiple detection assemblies (100), and is configured to acquire the visible light intensity and the infrared light intensity and calculate the used capacity of the storage compartment (400) according to the visible light intensity and the infrared light intensity. The refrigerator can detect the used capacity of the storage compartment (400) of the refrigerator by means of an optical principle, and the detection result is precise, thereby improving the use experience of a user.

Description

refrigerator

Technical field

The invention relates to the field of refrigerator control, and in particular to a refrigerator.

Background technique

The intelligentization of refrigerators is one of the development directions of refrigerators, and it is also the focus of research and development of many refrigerator manufacturers. With the improvement of living standards, people's requirements for refrigerators not only stay at the level of basic food storage and preservation functions, but also meet the requirements for intelligent operation that can facilitate people's lives and improve their quality of life.

As a household appliance for storing food, the user needs to know the use of the internal space of the refrigerator to determine the amount of food stored. In the prior art, people generally estimate the volume of use of the refrigerator by opening the door of the refrigerator for observation. This requires the user to operate near the refrigerator, and often switching the refrigerator door will adversely affect the storage of the food, which brings great inconvenience to the user.

Based on the above problems, various techniques such as measuring the weight of objects in the refrigerator, detecting the storage state of a specific storage place, and arranging a camera by using a weight sensor have also appeared in the prior art for obtaining the use of the space of the refrigerator, but some of these solutions are used. The test results are inaccurate, some can only detect special foods, and can not accurately reflect the actual use of the refrigerator volume.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator that achieves volumetric detection of a refrigerator by optical sensing.

It is a further object of the present invention to enable a user to accurately understand how much food is stored indoors in a large volume storage room.

In particular, the present invention provides a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes: a casing defining a storage compartment, and the casing includes a horizontally disposed top wall, a bottom wall, and a vertically disposed side wall; and a plurality of detecting components selectively disposed on the top wall and the bottom wall And one or more of the side walls, each of the detecting components at least comprising: a light sensing device configured to detect a visible light intensity and an infrared light intensity at a position where the detecting component is located; and a volume calculating device respectively connected to the plurality of detecting components And configured to: obtain visible light intensity and infrared light intensity, and calculate the use volume of the refrigerator compartment according to visible light intensity and infrared light intensity.

Optionally, at least two of the plurality of detection assemblies are disposed on the top or bottom wall, and the line connecting the center points of any two of the detection assemblies disposed on the top or bottom wall and the vertical direction of the side wall The angle of the straight plane is not 0 degrees or 90 degrees.

Optionally, at least two of the plurality of detection assemblies are disposed on the side walls, and the detection assemblies disposed on the side walls are spaced apart in the vertical direction.

Optionally, the detection components are three, respectively disposed on three sides of the side walls.

Optionally, the storage compartment is further provided with at least one shelf disposed parallel to the top wall to divide the storage compartment into a plurality of storage compartments, and one detection component is disposed in each storage compartment.

Optionally, each detecting component is further provided with an infrared light source configured to emit infrared light to the storage compartment for the light sensing device to detect the intensity of the infrared light after the infrared light is reflected.

Optionally, each detecting component is further provided with a visible light source, and the visible light source is configured to emit visible light to the storage compartment for the light sensing device to detect the visible light intensity after the visible light is reflected.

Optionally, the above refrigerator further includes: an illumination source disposed in the refrigerator compartment, configured to provide visible light to the refrigerator compartment.

Optionally, the above refrigerator further comprises: a control device respectively connected to the volume calculation device and the plurality of detection components, and configured to: acquire a volume calculation trigger signal, and control the volume calculation device and the plurality of detection components to be turned on.

Optionally, the control device is further configured to: acquire the usage volume calculated by the volume calculation device; and adjust the refrigeration state of the refrigerator according to the usage volume and/or output the usage volume to the user.

The refrigerator of the invention selectively arranges a plurality of detecting components on the top wall, the bottom wall and the side wall of the box body, and uses the optical principle to detect the used volume of the refrigerator storage room, and the detection result is accurate, and the refrigerator does not need to be opened. The door body improves the user experience and maintains a good storage environment for food.

Further, the refrigerator of the present invention further improves the detection accuracy by optimizing the arrangement position of the detecting component, and can realize the intelligent control of the refrigerator by using the detected refrigerator volume, thereby improving the intelligence degree of the refrigerator.

The above as well as other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the <

DRAWINGS

Some specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below by way of example, and not limitation. The same reference numbers in the drawings identify the same or similar parts. Those skilled in the art should understand that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the figure:

1 is a schematic structural view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a schematic block diagram of a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a schematic block diagram of a refrigerator in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

1 is a schematic view showing the structure of a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator may generally include a case, a plurality of detection assemblies 100, and a volume calculation device 200.

In the refrigerator of the present embodiment, the casing defines a storage compartment 400, and the casing includes a horizontally disposed top wall, a bottom wall, and vertically disposed side walls. In general, the vertically disposed side wall includes three vertical side walls as a left side wall, a right side wall and a rear wall, respectively, and the left side wall and the right side wall are arranged in parallel, the rear wall and the left side wall and the right side The side walls are vertically arranged, and the door body of the refrigerator is opposite to the rear wall.

The plurality of detecting assemblies 100 are distributed inside the storage compartment 400, and require that the line connecting the center points of any two detecting assemblies 100 on the same plane inside the box and the other planes intersecting the plane in the inside of the box The angles are not 0 degrees or 90 degrees; the angle between the line connecting the center points of any two detecting assemblies 100 disposed on different planes inside the box is not 0 degrees or 90 degrees from the horizontal plane or the vertical plane.

According to the above requirements, if at least two of the plurality of detecting assemblies 100 are disposed on the top or bottom wall, the wires and sidewalls of the center points of any two of the detecting assemblies 100 disposed on the top or bottom wall The angle of the vertical plane is not 0 or 90 degrees. If at least two of the plurality of detecting assemblies 100 are disposed on the side walls, the detecting assemblies 100 disposed on the side walls are spaced apart in the vertical direction. If the storage compartment 400 is further provided with a shelf disposed in parallel with the top wall to divide the storage compartment 400 into a plurality of storage compartments, a detection assembly 100 needs to be disposed in each storage compartment.

2 and 3 are schematic block diagrams of a refrigerator according to two embodiments of the present invention, respectively. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the visible light detected by the detection assembly 100 is from a visible light source 110 that is provided with a detection assembly. This method is mainly applicable to the situation that the illumination source in the storage room of the refrigerator cannot meet the detection requirements. In the embodiment shown in FIG. Where the illumination source 500 meets volume detection requirements, the original illumination source 500 can be used to emit visible light without having to set a visible official on the detection assembly. Each detection component 100 further includes at least an infrared light source 120 and a light sensing device 130. The infrared light source 120 is configured to emit infrared light to the interior of the storage compartment 400. The light sensing device 130 is configured to detect the intensity of visible light and the intensity of infrared light at the location where the detection assembly 100 is located. The number of detection assemblies 100 can be determined based on the volume and configuration of the storage compartment 400.

With the change in the size of the use volume of the storage compartment 400, visible light and infrared light are stored The reflection and occlusion of the object room 400 are changed, and the propagation characteristics of visible light and infrared light are also different. After summarizing and testing by the inventors, it is concluded that the visible light intensity and the infrared light intensity vary with the use volume. Regularity, so that the optical principle can be used to detect the volume of the refrigerator.

The volume calculation device 200 is electrically connected to the at least one detection component 100, respectively, and configured to: acquire visible light intensity and infrared light intensity, and calculate a use volume of the storage compartment 400 according to the visible light intensity and the infrared light intensity.

The volume calculation device 200 further determines a projection of the center of the plurality of detection assemblies in the vertical direction before calculating the usage volume, and determines an adjacent positional relationship of the plurality of detection assemblies in the vertical direction according to the projection. A specific way is to number the plurality of detection components in order from the top to the bottom in the vertical direction of the plurality of detection components.

Taking the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 as an example, three detecting assemblies 100 are respectively disposed on three sides of the side walls. According to the positional relationship of the three detecting components 100 in the vertical direction, they are respectively referred to as a first detecting component, a second detecting component, and a third detecting component.

The structure shown in Figure 1 uses a specific algorithm for volumetric detection:

The calculation of the used volume of the storage interval of the detection target includes estimating the volume of the storage interval of the detection target according to Equation 1:

Formula 1: Vn'=SnA×kn,

In Equation 1, n is the sequence number of the detection component 100 within the detection target storage interval, Vn' is the estimated value corresponding to the nth detection component 100, and SnA is the visible light intensity value detected by the nth detection component 100, kn is a visible light estimation coefficient of the nth detecting component 100;

The estimated Vn' is corrected according to Equation 2:

Formula 2: Vn=Vn'+∑SmA×Mmn;

In Formula 2, m is the serial number of the detecting component 100 adjacent to the detecting component 100 in the vertical direction of the storage interval of the detecting target, m is taken as n-1 and/or n+1, and SmA is mth. The detection component 100 detects the obtained visible light intensity, and Mmn is a calculated correction factor of the mth detection component 100 for the nth detection component 100, which is calculated according to Formula 3:

Equation 3: Mmn = (Smp × Jmn) / (SmA × Tmn),

In Equation 3, Smp is the infrared light intensity detected by the mth detecting component 100, Jmn is the mth detecting component 100 detecting the infrared light correction constant for the nth detecting component 100, and Tmn is the mth detecting component 100. The distance value corresponding to the obtained infrared light intensity is detected. Kn and Jmn are constants pre-stored in the refrigerator, and are obtained by preliminary test statistics.

For the first detecting component, the detecting component 100 adjacent in the vertical direction is a second detecting component, and the volume thereof is:

V1 = S1A × k1 + S2A × ((S2P × J21) / (S2A × T21)).

For the second detecting component, the detecting components 100 adjacent in the vertical direction are the first detecting component and the third detecting component, and the volume thereof is:

V2 = S2A × k2 + S1A × ((S1P × J12) / (S1A × T12)) + S3A × ((S3P × J32) / (S3A × T32)).

For the third detecting component, the adjacent detecting component 100 in the vertical direction is the second detecting component, and its volume is:

V3 = S3A × k3 + S2A × ((S2P × J23) / (S3A × T23)).

Through the above calculation, the use volumes V1, V2, and V3 of the storage interval where the first detecting component, the second detecting component, and the third detecting component are located can be obtained. If it is necessary to detect the total used volume of the storage compartment 400, V1, V2, and V3 can be accumulated. The above volume calculating device 200 may be integrated with one of the detecting assemblies 100 or may be disposed on the main control board of the refrigerator.

The refrigerator of the present example may further include: a control device 300. The control device 300 can control the detection unit 100 and the volume calculation device 200, or can intelligently control the refrigeration of the refrigerator based on the calculated usage volume. For example, control device 300 can be coupled to volume computing device 200 and at least one detection component 100, respectively, and configured to: acquire a volumetric calculation trigger signal, and control volumetric computing device 200 and at least one detection component 100 to be turned on. The trigger signal may be a refrigerator closing signal. Generally, the refrigerator door is generally opened for picking up and discharging food, so the control device 300 can trigger a volume detection every time the door is closed.

In addition, the control device 300 is further configured to: acquire the usage volume calculated by the volume calculation device 200; and adjust the cooling state of the refrigerator according to the usage volume and/or output the usage volume to the user. For example, after acquiring the door closing signal of the refrigerator, the volume detecting device in the refrigerator storage room 400 is activated to detect the use volume of the storage room 400; the detected use volume and the used volume before the refrigerator is closed; The used volume is greater than the usage volume before the door is closed, and the cold source driving the storage compartment 400 is operated at a high power to bring the refrigerator into the quick cooling mode. So that the temperature of the food just put in drops rapidly. The time to enter the quick cooling mode can be determined according to the magnitude of the volume change. The control device 300 can also output the usage volume to the user terminal in a wireless manner, and output a food supplemental cueing signal to the refrigerator user when the usage volume is less than the preset volume threshold.

To this end, those skilled in the art will recognize that although the invention has been shown and described in detail herein Many other variations and modifications of the principles of the present invention can be directly determined or derived from the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be understood and construed as covering all such other modifications or modifications.

Claims

A refrigerator comprising:

a tank defining a storage compartment, and the casing includes a horizontally disposed top wall, a bottom wall, and a vertically disposed side wall;

a plurality of detecting components selectively disposed on one or more of the top wall, the bottom wall, and the sidewalls, each detecting component including at least: a light sensing device configured to detect the detecting Visible light intensity and infrared light intensity at the location of the component;

a volume calculation device respectively connected to the plurality of detection components and configured to: acquire the visible light intensity and the infrared light intensity, and calculate the use of the refrigerator compartment according to the visible light intensity and the infrared light intensity Volume.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein

At least two of the plurality of detection assemblies are disposed on the top or bottom wall, and

The angle between the line connecting the center points of any two of the detecting assemblies disposed on the top or bottom wall and the vertical plane in which the side walls are located is not 0 degrees or 90 degrees.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein

At least two of the plurality of detection assemblies are disposed on the side wall, and

The detecting components disposed on the side walls are spaced apart in a vertical direction.
A refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein

The detecting components are three, respectively arranged on three sides of the side walls.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein

The storage compartment is further provided with at least one shelf disposed in parallel with the top wall to divide the storage compartment into a plurality of storage compartments, and one of each storage compartment is disposed The detection component.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein

An infrared light source is further disposed on each of the detecting components, and the infrared light source is configured to emit infrared light to the storage compartment, wherein the light sensing device detects the reflected infrared light of the infrared light. strength.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein

Each of the detecting components is further provided with a visible light source, and the visible light source is configured to emit visible light to the storage compartment for the light sensing device to detect the visible light intensity of the visible light.
The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising:

An illumination source disposed in the refrigerator compartment is configured to provide visible light to the refrigerator compartment.
The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising:

And a control device coupled to the volume calculation device and the plurality of detection components, and configured to: acquire a volume calculation trigger signal, and control the volume calculation device and the plurality of detection components to be turned on.
The refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein said control means is further configured to:

Obtaining the usage volume calculated by the volume calculation device; and

The cooling state of the refrigerator is adjusted according to the usage volume and/or the usage volume is output to a user.