CN110553459B - Refrigerator and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a refrigerator, which comprises a storage chamber; a door opening and closing the storage chamber; an ice making device located in the storage compartment or on the door, the ice making device including an ice making tray for generating ice cubes and an ice storage compartment disposed below the ice making tray to receive the ice cubes generated in the ice making tray; the ice-making tray comprises a first ice-making tray and a second ice-making tray; when one of the first and second ice-making trays is in a water filling position, the other of the first and second ice-making trays is in an ice removing position. The two ice-making trays are alternately used for water injection, ice making and ice removing at the water injection position and the ice removing position, so that the time of synchronous operation of the two ice-making trays is saved, and the ice-making efficiency is improved.

Description

Refrigerator and control method thereof

Technical Field

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

Background

A related art refrigerator having an ice making device, such as a refrigerator, makes ice using cold air and stores the made ice. The ice making device includes an ice making tray that generates ice and stores the ice separated from the ice making tray in an ice storage chamber. The ice making chamber in which the ice making device is located may be provided inside the storage chamber or the storage chamber door. In the ice making process, a water supply system of the refrigerator supplies water to an ice making tray, cold air is introduced into an ice making chamber through a fan or a fixed air duct, ice blocks in a specific shape are formed in the ice making tray after a preset time, and the ice blocks are separated from the ice making tray and fall into an ice storage chamber by turning over the ice making tray.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a refrigerator capable of improving ice making efficiency and a control method thereof.

This object is achieved by the subject matter having the features of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the invention form the subject matter of the figures, the description and the dependent claims.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the object is achieved by a refrigerator including a storage compartment; a door opening and closing the storage chamber; an ice making device located in the storage compartment or on the door, the ice making device including an ice making tray for generating ice cubes and an ice storage compartment disposed below the ice making tray to receive the ice cubes generated in the ice making tray; the ice-making tray comprises a first ice-making tray and a second ice-making tray; when one of the first ice-making tray and the second ice-making tray is at a water injection position, the other of the first ice-making tray and the second ice-making tray is at an ice removal position.

The technical advantages thus achieved are, for example: and when one of the ice-making trays is filled with water at the water filling position and is used for making ice, the other ice-making tray continues to make ice at the dehydration position and is used for deicing. And after the other ice-making tray finishes ice removal, the two ice-making trays exchange positions, and water injection, ice making and ice removal are continuously carried out, so that the circulation is repeated until the ice making is finished. Therefore, the two ice-making trays are used for alternately carrying out water injection, ice making and ice removing at the water injection position and the ice removing position, so that the time of synchronous operation of the two ice-making trays is saved, and the ice-making efficiency is improved.

The water filling position refers to that the ice making tray is filled with water by the water filling pipe and enters the ice making process when the ice making tray is at the position.

The ice-releasing position is a position at which water in the ice-making tray is cooled to ice when the ice-making tray is in the position, and the ice-making is finished and the ice is released, so that the released ice falls into the ice storage chamber.

In a preferred embodiment, the ice making device includes a motor to drive the first and second ice-making trays to be alternately in the water filling position and the ice ejecting position, respectively.

In a preferred embodiment, the motor is also used for driving the first ice-making tray and the second ice-making tray to perform overturning ice-shedding.

In a preferred embodiment, the water filling position is located above the de-icing position.

In a preferred embodiment, the ice-shedding position is located above the ice storage chamber.

In a preferred embodiment, the ice making apparatus includes a support for supporting the first and second ice-making trays, the support having a slide thereon into which one end of the first and second ice-making trays extends and is actuable to slide.

In a preferred embodiment, the water injection position is set to: at the position, the ice-making tray is filled with water and the water in the ice-making tray is cooled to a preset icing temperature; the deicing position is set as follows: at this position, the ice cubes or water in the ice-making tray are cooled to a preset ice-shedding temperature and ice shedding is performed; wherein the preset deicing temperature is lower than the preset icing temperature.

By cooled to the preset freezing temperature is meant that the water is cooled to or below the preset freezing temperature. By cooled to the preset deicing temperature is meant that the ice cubes or water are cooled to or below the preset deicing temperature.

In a preferred embodiment, when the water of one of the first and second ice-making trays is cooled to a preset freezing temperature and the other of the first and second ice-making trays finishes de-icing, the first and second ice-making trays are actuatably switched in position.

Another aspect of the present invention also provides a control method of a refrigerator according to any one of the above embodiments, including the steps of:

the refrigerator starts to make ice;

one ice making tray located at the water injection position is injected with water;

judging whether the water in one ice making disc is at a preset icing temperature or not;

if the water in one of the ice-making trays reaches the preset icing temperature, continuously judging whether the other ice-making tray at the ice-removing position is ice-removed;

when the other ice-making tray is de-iced, the one ice-making tray and the other ice-making tray are actuated to interchange positions.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a storage compartment of a refrigerator having an ice-making device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating temperature changes in one ice making process of the ice-making tray according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural view of an ice-making tray according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flow chart of ice making with two ice-making trays in an embodiment of the present invention.

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.

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of one storage compartment of a refrigerator having an ice making device. As shown in fig. 1, a cabinet 10 of a refrigerator 100 includes a storage chamber 101 and a door 102 closing the cabinet 101. An ice making device including an ice making tray 1 and an ice storage compartment 2 is located above the inside of the case 10 near the top wall of the case 10. The ice cubes made by the ice-making tray 1 fall into the ice storage chamber 2 located below the ice-making tray 1, and since the inlet above the ice storage chamber 2 is lower than the bottom surface of the ice-making tray 1, the ice cubes separated from the ice-making tray 1 are first guided into the inlet of the ice storage chamber 2 and finally enter the ice storage chamber 2 to be preserved. The door 102 of the closed box 10 is provided with a connecting channel 3, and the connecting channel 3 is inclined at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with the horizontal plane. When the door 102 is closed, the connecting channel 3 is positioned below the ice storage chamber 2, one end of the connecting channel is connected to the discharge port 21 of the ice storage chamber 2, and ice cubes can be output from the ice storage chamber 2 along the connecting channel 3; at the other end of the connecting channel 3, i.e., below the connecting channel 3, an ice outlet 31 is provided, and the ice outlet 31 is closed by a shutter 32. The shutter 32 is provided on the dispenser housing 4 on the door 102, and the dispenser housing 4 has a dispensing opening 41, the dispensing opening 41 communicating with the ice outlet 31, and the bottom wall 42 of the ice dispenser housing 4 has a support platform on which an ice receiving container for receiving ice discharged from the connecting passage 3 when the shutter 32 is opened is placed.

A water supply system is provided in the refrigerator 100 to supply water from the outside of the refrigerator to the ice making device under the control of the refrigerator control device.

A temperature sensor is provided at the bottom of the ice-making tray 1 to measure a temperature change of the ice-making tray 1 and transmit a temperature signal to the refrigerator control device.

The general ice making process is roughly as follows: the water supply system supplies water to the ice making disc 1; entering an ice making state; after the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the ice-making tray 1 reaches the preset ice-removing temperature, for example, 14 degrees, the ice-making state is continuously kept for several minutes, so that all ice blocks in the ice-making tray 1 are firm; turning over the ice-making tray 1 to make ice blocks fall into the ice storage chamber 2, and meanwhile, probing the ice storage chamber 2 by the ice probing rod to confirm whether the ice storage chamber 2 is full of ice; if the ice in the ice storage chamber 2 is not full, the ice-making tray 1 is restored to the position before the turnover, and the water supply system supplies water to the ice-making tray 1 again to enter the circulation of the next ice-making process.

A passage through which air flows is generally provided in the refrigerator to introduce cold air into an ice making chamber in which the ice making device is located. In order to rapidly make ice, a fan is further provided in the storage compartment to blow cool air of the storage compartment into the ice-making compartment. The refrigerator control device controls the frequency and the rotational speed of the fan according to the ice making speed. The faster the ice making speed, the higher the frequency and the faster the speed of the fan. Generally, after the water supply system supplies water to the ice making tray, the fan is started to operate.

In the existing refrigerator with an ice water system, only one ice making tray is generally arranged in an ice making device. Referring to fig. 2, in the whole ice making process of one ice making tray, water is injected from the water inlet 6 to the ice making tray 1 and the time when the water in the ice making tray 1 is cooled to the preset icing temperature T1 is T1, so that the water in the ice making tray 1 is primarily made into ice cubes. During the movement of the ice making tray 1, water therein is not overflowed due to freezing. Next, the time required for the ice cubes in the ice making tray 1 to continue to be cooled to the predetermined deicing temperature T2 is T2. Finally, the time required for the ice cubes to be maintained at a temperature less than T2 for a certain period of time until being completely released from the ice making tray 1 is T3. The time t = t1+ t2+ t3 required for one ice making process of such an ice making tray 1.

In order to further save the ice making time and improve the ice making efficiency, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, the ice making device of the present application is provided with two ice making trays, namely, a first ice making tray 11 and a second ice making tray 12. Continuing with fig. 4, the ice making process with two ice trays is as follows: after the refrigerator starts to make ice, water is injected into the first ice-making tray 11 located at the water injection position a through the water inlet nozzle 6 of the refrigerator, and cold air from the air duct of the refrigerator blows to the first ice-making tray 11, so that water in the first ice-making tray 11 is cooled to be frozen to reach a preset freezing temperature T1. At this time, the second ice tray 12 is located at the ice-releasing position B directly below the bottom of the first ice tray 11 and faces the ice storage compartment 2 below. When the water in the first ice-making tray 11 is cooled into ice pieces to reach the preset freezing temperature T1 and the second ice-making tray 12 has finished ice removal, the first ice-making tray 11 may be moved from the filling position a to the ice removal position B and the second ice-making tray 12 is correspondingly moved from the ice removal position B to the filling position a upon activation of the motor 7. The ice making device comprises a support 8 for supporting the first and second ice-making trays 11, 12, the support 8 having a slide (not shown) thereon into which one end of the first and second ice-making trays 11, 12 extends and is actuable to slide.

When the second ice-making tray 12 is moved to the water filling position a, the refrigerator water inlet nozzle 6 accordingly fills water into the second ice-making tray 12. The ice cubes in the first ice-making tray 11 moved to the ice-releasing position B are continuously cooled, and after the temperature of the ice cubes in the first ice-making tray 11 reaches the preset ice-releasing temperature T2 and is lower than the preset ice-releasing temperature T2 for a certain period of time, the first ice-making tray 11 is reversely rotated by the motor 7, and the ice cubes are released and dropped into the ice storage compartment 2. And if the water in the second ice-making tray 12 located at the water filling position a has been cooled to ice to reach the preset ice temperature T1, the second ice-making tray 12 may be moved from the water filling position a to the ice removing position B and the first ice-making tray 11 is correspondingly moved from the ice removing position B to the water filling position a to enter the next cycle of the ice-making process, upon actuation of the motor 7.

The water injection position A is close to the water inlet nozzle 6 of the refrigerator and is positioned above the ice-removing position B, and the ice-removing position B is close to and is positioned above the ice storage chamber 2.

The two ice-making trays are alternately used for water injection, ice making and ice removing at the water injection position A and the ice removing position B, so that the time of synchronous operation of the two ice-making trays is saved, and the ice-making efficiency is improved. In connection with the illustrations of fig. 2 and 3, it can be explained how to save time in particular from the following two cases:

in the first case, when t1> (t 2+ t 3), at the initial position, the first ice-making tray 11 is located at the water filling position a and the second ice-making tray 12 is located at the ice releasing position B. The time when the water in the first ice-making tray 11 is cooled to reach the preset freezing temperature T1 is T1, and at this time, the water in the first ice-making tray 11 is primarily frozen into ice cubes. At this time, the second ice-making tray 12 at the ice-shedding position B has completed the ice-shedding procedure. Then, the motor 7 drives the first ice-making tray 11 and the second ice-making tray 12 to move to alternate positions. After the position is changed, the time required for the second ice-making tray 12 located at the water filling position a to be filled with water and the water therein to be cooled to the preset freezing temperature T1 is also T1, and after the water in the second ice-making tray 12 has been frozen into ice cubes, the first ice-making tray 11 located at the ice-releasing position B has completed the ice-releasing process. Then, the motor 7 drives the first ice-making tray 11 and the second ice-making tray 12 to move to alternate positions again, the first ice-making tray 11 is located at the water filling position a again, the second ice-making tray 12 is located at the ice releasing position B again, the first ice-making tray 11 and the second ice-making tray 12 complete one ice-making process, and the total time t' =2t1 is consumed. On the premise of obtaining the same ice making amount, the total time t' consumed in the first case is less than 2t (2t=2t1 +2t2+ 2t3) required by two ice making processes of one ice making tray.

In the second case, when t1< (t 2+ t 3), at the initial position, the first ice-making tray 11 is located at the water filling position a and the second ice-making tray 12 is located at the ice release position B. The time when the water in the first ice-making tray 11 is cooled to reach the preset freezing temperature T1 is T1, and at this time, the water in the first ice-making tray 11 is primarily frozen into ice cubes. The second ice-making tray 12 at this time at the ice-shedding position B has not yet finished the ice-shedding due to t1< (t 2+ t 3). The ice-releasing of the second ice-making tray 12 is performed only when the time when the second ice-making tray 12 is located at the ice-releasing position B reaches (t 2+ t 3). Then, the motor 7 drives the first ice-making tray 11 and the second ice-making tray 12 to move to alternate positions. After the exchange position, the time required for the second ice-making tray 12 located at the water filling position a to be filled with water and the water therein to be cooled to the preset icing temperature T1 is also T1, and after the water in the second ice-making tray 12 has been formed into ice cubes, the first ice-making tray 11 located at the ice-releasing position B has not yet completed releasing ice. Only when the time when the first ice-making tray 11 is located at the ice-releasing position B reaches (t 2+ t 3), the first ice-making tray 11 is released ice. Then, the motor 7 drives the first ice-making tray 11 and the second ice-making tray 12 to move to alternate positions again, the first ice-making tray 11 is located at the water filling position a again, the second ice-making tray 12 is located at the ice releasing position B again, the first ice-making tray 11 and the second ice-making tray 12 complete one ice-making process, and the total time t ″ =2 (t 2+ t 3) is consumed. On the premise of obtaining the same ice making amount, the total time t ″ consumed in the second case is still less than 2t (2t=2t1 +2t2+ 2t3) required by two ice making processes of one ice making tray.

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.

Claims (8)

1. A refrigerator, comprising:

a storage chamber (101);

a door (102) that opens and closes the storage chamber (101);

an ice-making device located in the storage compartment (101) or on the door (102), the ice-making device including an ice-making tray (1) and an ice storage chamber (2), the ice-making tray (1) being for generating ice pieces, the ice storage chamber (2) being disposed below the ice-making tray (1) to accommodate the ice pieces generated in the ice-making tray (1);

characterized in that the ice-making tray (1) comprises a first ice-making tray (11) and a second ice-making tray (12); when one of the first and second ice-making trays (11, 12) is at a water filling position (A), the other of the first and second ice-making trays (11, 12) is at an ice ejecting position (B),

wherein the first ice-making tray (11) and the second ice-making tray (12) are alternately located at a water filling position (A) and an ice ejecting position (B), respectively,

wherein the water injection position (A) is higher than the ice removal position (B), and

wherein the first and second ice-making trays (11, 12) cool water injected into the first and second ice-making trays (11, 12) at the water injection position (A) to ice when located at the water injection position (A).

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the ice making device includes a motor (7) to drive the first and second ice-making trays (11, 12) to be alternately in the water filling position (a) and the ice ejecting position (B), respectively.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the motor (7) is further used to drive the first ice-making tray (11) and the second ice-making tray (12) to perform the ice-overturning and ice-shedding.

4. A refrigerator according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the ice-shedding position (B) is located above the ice storage compartment (2).

5. A refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ice making means comprises a support (8) for supporting the first and second ice making trays (11, 12), the support (8) having a slideway therein into which one end of the first and second ice making trays (11, 12) extends and is actuable to slide.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the filling position (a) is set: at this position, the water in the ice-making tray (1) is cooled to a preset freezing temperature (T1); the ice-shedding position (B) is set as: in this position, the ice pieces in the ice-making tray (1) are cooled to a preset ice-shedding temperature (T2) and are de-iced; wherein the preset de-icing temperature (T2) is lower than the preset icing temperature (T1).

7. The refrigerator of claim 6, wherein when the water of one of the first and second ice-making trays (11, 12) is cooled to a preset freezing temperature (T1) and the other of the first and second ice-making trays (11, 12) completes de-icing, the first and second ice-making trays (11, 12) are actuatably switched in position.

8. A method of controlling a refrigerator as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising the steps of:

the refrigerator starts to make ice;

one ice making tray located at the water injection position is injected with water;

judging whether the water in one of the ice making trays reaches a preset icing temperature or not;

if the water in one of the ice-making trays reaches the preset icing temperature, continuously judging whether the other ice-making tray at the ice-removing position is ice-removed;

when the other ice-making tray is de-iced, the one ice-making tray and the other ice-making tray are actuated to interchange positions.

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