CN114017972A

CN114017972A - Refrigerator and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN114017972A
Application number: CN202111486077.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王洪明; 刘明坤
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Chongqing Haier Refrigeration Electric Appliance Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-07
Filing date: 2021-12-07
Publication date: 2022-02-08
Anticipated expiration: 2041-12-07
Also published as: CN114017972B; WO2023104034A1

Abstract

The invention provides a refrigerator and a control method thereof. The refrigerator comprises a refrigerator body, a drawer and a first movement mechanism for opening and closing the drawer, wherein the drawer is provided with a first object placing space, a first shell, a second movement mechanism for enabling the first object placing space to rise and retract, a second object placing space, a second shell and a third movement mechanism for enabling the second object placing space to rise and retract. The control method comprises the following steps: acquiring a door opening signal; after the door opening signal is acquired, controlling a first movement mechanism to open the drawer; the control induction module induces the motion direction of the human foot; if the feet of the person move from right to left, the second movement mechanism is controlled to lift the first object placing space; if the feet of the person move from left to right, the third movement mechanism is controlled to lift the second object containing space. So set up, can distinguish the parking space of article.

Description

Refrigerator and control method thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a refrigerator for storing articles and a control method thereof.

Background

The lower part of the refrigerator, especially a French refrigerator, is usually a large drawer in a drawing type. Although the design of the large pull-out drawer can provide sufficient storage space for users, due to the lower position, when the users need to take and place articles, the users often need to bend down and pull the articles hard. Therefore, chronic injury to the spine of a person may be caused in the past, and particularly, the spine-protecting pillow is inconvenient for middle-aged and elderly people. Designs are known in the art which allow the height of the lower drawer to be adjusted, typically by means of a specific movement mechanism, which automatically or manually raises the drawer to the appropriate height after the drawer door is opened. However, this design has the following drawbacks: the drawer is an independent big drawer, and the storage space of the articles can not be distinguished, so that the diversified requirements of users for taking and placing the articles can not be met.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a refrigerator capable of distinguishing article storage spaces and a control method thereof.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a refrigerator, including a cabinet having a storage compartment formed therein at a lower portion thereof, a drawer disposed in the storage compartment, and a first movement mechanism disposed between the cabinet and the drawer and configured to open and close the drawer, wherein the drawer includes a first storage space, a first housing formed around the first storage space, a second movement mechanism connected to the first housing and configured to raise and retract the first storage space, a second storage space laterally juxtaposed to the first storage space, a second housing formed around the second storage space, and a third movement mechanism connected to the second housing and configured to raise and retract the second storage space.

As a further improvement of the present invention, each of the first housing and the second housing has a bottom wall and a side wall extending upward from the periphery of the bottom wall, and each of the first housing and the second housing has a box shape with an opening at the top.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the first housing has a bottom wall and side walls formed by extending upward from the periphery of the bottom wall, the side walls include a first side wall disposed along the opening direction of the drawer, the second housing has a second side wall disposed parallel to and spaced apart from the first side wall, the second side wall extends toward the first side wall to form a third side wall and a fourth side wall, the second housing further has a movable wall formed between and perpendicular to the third side wall and the fourth side wall, one end of the movable wall is pivotally connected to a lower edge of the second side wall, and the other end of the movable wall is pivotally connected to an upper edge of the first side wall.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the second storage space is smaller than the first storage space, and the movable wall is disposed between the first side wall and the second side wall in an inclined manner when the drawer closes the storage compartment.

As a further improvement of the invention, the drawer is provided with an induction module for inducing the motion state of human feet, the refrigerator is provided with a control module arranged on the refrigerator body, and the control module is in communication connection with the induction module, the first motion mechanism, the second motion mechanism and the third motion mechanism.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the drawer has a drawer door for closing the storage compartment, a recessed area is formed in a lower end surface of the drawer door in a recessed manner, and the sensing module is disposed in the recessed area.

As a further improvement of the invention, the second motion mechanism and the third motion mechanism have a structure that a gear, a rack, a stepping motor and a slide rail are matched.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention further provides a control method of a refrigerator, including the steps of:

acquiring a door opening signal;

after the door opening signal is acquired, controlling a first movement mechanism to open the drawer;

the control induction module induces the motion direction of the human foot;

if the feet of the person move from right to left, the second movement mechanism is controlled to lift the first object placing space;

if the feet of the person move from left to right, the third movement mechanism is controlled to lift the second object containing space.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the control method further includes:

the control induction module induces the motion amplitude of the human foot;

and controlling the operating amplitudes of the second and third motion mechanisms according to the motion amplitude of the human foot, wherein the operating amplitudes of the second and third motion mechanisms are in direct proportion to the motion amplitude of the human foot.

judging whether a gate signal is related;

if the door signal is related, the second movement mechanism is controlled to withdraw the first object containing space to the initial position, the third movement mechanism is controlled to withdraw the second object containing space to the initial position, and the first movement mechanism is controlled to close the drawer;

if the door signal is not related, the induction module is controlled to induce whether the human foot leaves;

if the feet leave, after a seconds, if the door signals are not related, the second movement mechanism is controlled to withdraw the first object containing space to the initial position, the third movement mechanism is controlled to withdraw the second object containing space to the initial position, and the first movement mechanism is controlled to close the drawer.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the beneficial effects that: the storage space of the article can be distinguished.

Drawings

Embodiments of the invention are described in further detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the drawer of FIG. 1 in an open position;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the first storage space of FIG. 2 in a raised position;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the gear and rack combination structure of the second and third motion mechanisms;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the structure of the second and third motion mechanisms with gears, stepping motor, and support rod;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a preferred construction of the drawer of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the second accommodating space of FIG. 6 in a retracted state;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a rack and pinion configuration of the third motion mechanism of FIG. 6;

fig. 9 is a schematic view of the construction of the drawer door of fig. 2;

fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic flow chart of a further refinement of the control method shown in FIG. 10;

fig. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a further optimization of the control method shown in fig. 10.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments shown in the drawings. These embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, and structural, methodological, or functional changes made by those skilled in the art according to these embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the drawer 10 of fig. 1 in an open state.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of the first accommodating space 20 in a raised state in fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 1, the refrigerator includes a cabinet 1 having a storage compartment 2 formed therein at a lower portion, a drawer 10 disposed in the storage compartment 2, and a first movement mechanism 11 disposed between the cabinet 1 and the drawer 10 and configured to open and close the drawer 10, wherein the drawer 10 includes a first storage space 20, a first housing 21 formed around the first storage space 20, a second movement mechanism connected to the first housing 21 and configured to raise and retract the first storage space 20, a second storage space 30 laterally juxtaposed to the first storage space 20, a second housing 31 formed around the second storage space 30, and a third movement mechanism connected to the second housing 31 and configured to raise and retract the second storage space 30.

The drawer 10 further has a drawer door 40, and the drawer door 40 is connected to the third movement mechanism. When the drawer 10 is received in the storage compartment 2, the drawer door 40 can close the storage compartment 2, thereby preventing leakage of cool air in the storage compartment 2.

The third movement mechanism may be electrically driven or manually driven as long as it can open and close the drawer 10. For example, the third moving structure may be a sliding rail installed on both sides of the drawer 10, a sliding groove provided on the box body 1 and cooperating with the sliding rail, a servo motor capable of driving the sliding rail to move back and forth in the sliding groove, and the like.

So set up, can divide into two independent parking spaces respectively with drawer 10, the user can be according to the difference be the access needs select to rise and withdraw different object space to satisfy the diversified getting of user and put the demand.

The first casing 21 and the second casing 31 may each have a bottom wall 22 and a side wall 23 extending upward from the periphery of the bottom wall 22, and the first casing 21 and the second casing 31 may each have a box shape with an opening at the top.

So set up, can be convenient for getting of article and put, simple structure, processing low in manufacturing cost, and can make full use of storing space.

Preferably, the second storage space 30 is smaller than the first storage space 20. The second accommodating space 30 is used only for temporarily accommodating items, and the first accommodating space 20 is used for storing items.

Adopt this kind of structural design, in-service use, when the more article that need put are held in the user's hand, the user can place article in the second puts object space 30 earlier, then slowly puts to first putting object space 20 in, prevents that the user from needing frequently bowing to take the article that need deposit from subaerial.

When the user needs to take out various articles from the first storage space 20, the articles can be taken out one by one from the first storage space 20 and placed in the first storage space 20, and then the articles to be taken out placed in the first storage space 20 are taken out together.

Moreover, the first storage space 20 is used as a special storage space, and more articles are often stored therein, so that the overall weight is heavier, and therefore the load of the second motion mechanism is generally much larger than that of the third motion mechanism. Therefore, the second motion mechanism is slow in lifting operation, high in energy consumption and high in abrasion after being used for a long time. And the third motion mechanism is more flexible, less in abrasion and less in energy consumption. Therefore, the design can improve the flexibility and reliability of the operation of the drawer 10, improve the overall service life of the drawer 10 and save energy.

Based on the above reasons, divide into the special space of getting and putting with the thing space of putting of drawer 10, can be convenient for the user and get and put article, satisfy the manifold user demand of user to can promote flexibility, the reliability of the operation of drawer 10, improve the whole life of drawer 10, simultaneously can the energy saving.

Preferably, the second movement mechanism and the third movement mechanism have a structure in which a gear 12, a rack 13, a stepping motor 14 and a slide rail are matched.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the structure of the second and third motion mechanisms in which the gear 12 and the rack 13 are engaged.

As shown in fig. 4, the second and third moving mechanisms may be a structure in which the first and second

accommodating spaces

20 and 30 are raised and retracted by means of the gears 12 and the racks 13.

Wherein the gear 12 may be disposed on the first and

second housings

21 and 31, and correspondingly, the rack 13 may be disposed on the drawer door 40 or on the first moving mechanism 11 in cooperation with the gear 12.

Of course, it is also possible to adopt a structure in which the gear 12 is provided on the drawer door 40 or the first moving mechanism 11, and the rack 13 is cooperatively provided on the first and

second housings

21 and 31.

So set up, the motion precision is high, can realize the accurate control of second, third motion operating speed, range, direction, simple structure, convenient assembling, low cost.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second and third motion mechanisms in which the gear 12, the stepping motor 14 and the support rod 15 are engaged.

As shown in fig. 5, the second and third moving mechanisms drive the gear 12 to rotate relative to the rack 13 by the stepping motor 14, thereby raising and retracting the first and

second storage spaces

20 and 30.

The gears 12 may be provided in two, and a support rod 15 is connected between the two gears 12, so as to realize synchronous operation of the two gears 12. The support rod 15 may be disposed below a front end of the first housing 21 or the second housing 31 and support the first housing 21 or the second housing 31. The rear ends of the first housing 21 and the second housing 31 may be provided with a longitudinally movable slide rail and a slide rail structure.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a preferred construction of the drawer 10 of fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 6, the first housing 21 has a bottom wall 22 and a side wall 23 extending upward from the periphery of the bottom wall 22, the side wall 23 includes a first side wall 24 disposed along the opening direction of the drawer 10, the second housing 31 has a second side wall 25 parallel to the first side wall 24 and spaced apart from the first side wall 24, the second side wall 25 extends toward the first side wall 24 to form a third side wall 26 and a fourth side wall 27, the second housing 31 further has a movable wall 28 formed between the third side wall 26 and the fourth side wall 27 and perpendicular to the third side wall 26 and the fourth side wall 27, one end of the movable wall 28 is pivotally connected to the lower edge of the second side wall 25, and the other end of the movable wall 28 is pivotally connected to the upper edge of the first side wall 24.

The movable wall 28 may be hingedly connected to the first side wall 24 and the second side wall 25. The second, third, and

fourth sidewalls

25, 26, 27 can function as a barrier to prevent the articles in the second storage space 30 from falling.

When the angle of the movable wall 28 is not large, it can be used for temporarily placing articles. When the movable wall 28 is inclined upward by a large angle, the articles placed on the movable wall 28 can automatically slide down into the first storage space 20.

When the space of the first storage space 20 allows and the articles to be placed are appropriate, the user can lift the second storage space 30 to a certain height, place the articles in the second storage space 30, and then slowly continue to lift the second storage space 30, so that the articles automatically slide down into the first storage space 20.

So set up, can be convenient for the user and get and put article, satisfy the manifold user demand of user to can promote flexibility, the reliability of the operation of drawer 10, improve the whole life of drawer 10, simultaneously can the energy saving.

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of the second accommodating space 30 of fig. 6 in a retracted state.

As shown in fig. 7, it is preferable that the second storage space 30 is smaller than the first storage space 20, and the movable wall 28 is obliquely disposed between the first side wall 24 and the second side wall 25 when the drawer 10 closes the storage compartment 2.

With the arrangement, the user can conveniently take and place the articles, meanwhile, the occupied storage space is reduced, the drawer 10 can store more articles,

fig. 8 is a structural view of the rack 13 and the pinion 12 of the third moving mechanism of the second accommodating space 30 in fig. 6.

As shown in fig. 8, the second storage space 30 is displaced not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction. The gear 12 may be disposed on the third sidewall 26, and the rack 13 may be disposed in cooperation with the gear 12 and disposed in an arc shape according to a movement trace thereof.

According to the arrangement, the movement precision is high, the accurate control of the operation speed, the amplitude and the direction of the third movement mechanism can be realized, and the device is simple in structure, convenient to assemble and low in cost.

Preferably, the drawer 10 is provided with an induction module 43 for inducing the motion state of the human foot, the refrigerator is provided with a control module arranged on the box body 1, and the control module is in communication connection with the induction module 43, the first motion mechanism 11, the second motion mechanism and the third motion mechanism.

The control module can control the first motion mechanism 11, the second motion mechanism and the third motion mechanism according to the motion state of the human foot sensed by the sensing module 43. In actual use, when the user has both hands occupied or is otherwise inconvenient to operate by hand, the user may use his feet to effect control of the drawer 10.

The sensing module 43 may be a position movement sensor.

So set up, can control according to the motion state of people's foot drawer 10 liberates user's both hands, and the user of being convenient for gets and puts article, satisfies the manifold user demand of user.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of the drawer door 40 of fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 9, the drawer 10 has a drawer door 40 for closing the storage compartment 2, a lower end surface 41 of the drawer door 40 is recessed upward to form a recessed area 42, and preferably, the sensing module 43 may be disposed in the recessed area 42. The recessed area 42 can accommodate the movement of the foot therein. The sensing area of the sensing module 43 is limited within the recessed area 42.

So set up, can realize the hidden installation of response module 43, and can prevent the misidentification of response module 43, the operation of being convenient for, simple structure, easy dismounting.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

As shown in fig. 10, the control method includes the steps of:

acquiring a door opening signal;

after the door opening signal is acquired, controlling the first movement mechanism 11 to open the drawer 10;

the control sensing module 43 senses the motion direction of the human foot;

if the feet of the person move from right to left, the second movement mechanism is controlled to lift the first object placing space 20;

if the feet of the user move from left to right, the third moving mechanism is controlled to lift the second object holding space 30.

The door opening signal can be realized in various modes, such as voice awakening, door body knocking, door body pulling, intelligent screen touch control and the like.

Fig. 11 is a schematic flow chart of a further refinement of the control method shown in fig. 10.

As shown in fig. 11, the control method further includes:

the control sensing module 43 senses the motion amplitude of the human foot;

As shown in fig. 12, the control method further includes:

judging whether a gate signal is related;

if the door signal is related, the second moving mechanism is controlled to retract the first storage space 20 to the initial position, the third moving mechanism is controlled to retract the second storage space 30 to the initial position, and the first moving mechanism 11 is controlled to close the drawer 10;

if the door signal is not related, the control sensing module 43 senses whether the human foot leaves;

if the user leaves the drawer, after a second, if the user does not have any door signal, the second moving mechanism is controlled to retract the first object containing space 20 to the initial position, the third moving mechanism is controlled to retract the second object containing space 30 to the initial position, and the first moving mechanism 11 is controlled to close the drawer 10.

The door closing signal can be realized in various modes, such as voice control, door body knocking, inward door body pushing, intelligent screen touch control and the like. Preferably, the a second is 30 seconds.

So set up, can make drawer 10 in time closed when the user does not use, prevent that cold air from revealing, food destroys.

In summary, the technical scheme provided by the invention can effectively solve the problems that in the prior art, the drawers 10 are single large drawers 10, the storage space of the articles cannot be distinguished, and the diversified requirements of users for taking and placing the articles cannot be met. By adopting the technical scheme provided by the invention, the storage space of the articles can be distinguished, the articles can be conveniently taken and placed by a user, various use requirements of the user can be met, the flexibility and the reliability of the operation of the drawer 10 can be improved, the integral service life of the drawer 10 can be prolonged, energy can be saved, the drawer 10 can be controlled according to the motion state of human feet, and the hands of the user can be liberated.

It should be understood that although the present description refers to embodiments, not every embodiment contains only a single technical solution, and such description is for clarity only, and those skilled in the art should make the description as a whole, and the technical solutions in the embodiments can also be combined appropriately to form other embodiments understood by those skilled in the art.

The above-listed detailed description is only a specific description of a possible embodiment of the present invention, and they are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and equivalent embodiments or modifications made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. The refrigerator comprises a box body, a drawer and a first movement mechanism, wherein a storage compartment is formed in the box body, the drawer is arranged in the storage compartment, the first movement mechanism is arranged between the box body and the drawer and used for opening and closing the drawer, and the drawer is characterized by comprising a first storage space, a first shell formed around the first storage space, a second movement mechanism connected with the first shell and used for enabling the first storage space to rise and retract, a second storage space transversely arranged in parallel with the first storage space, a second shell formed around the second storage space, and a third movement mechanism connected with the second shell and used for enabling the second storage space to rise and retract.

2. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second casings each have a bottom wall and a side wall extending upward from a periphery of the bottom wall, and the first and second casings are each in a box shape having an open top.

3. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first housing has a bottom wall and side walls formed to extend upward from the periphery of the bottom wall, the side walls include a first side wall disposed along the opening direction of the drawer, the second housing has a second side wall disposed parallel to and spaced apart from the first side wall, the second side wall extends toward the first side wall to form a third side wall and a fourth side wall, the second housing further has a movable wall formed between and perpendicular to the third side wall and the fourth side wall, one end of the movable wall is pivotably connected to a lower edge of the second side wall, and the other end of the movable wall is pivotably connected to an upper edge of the first side wall.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the second storage space is smaller than the first storage space, and the movable wall is disposed obliquely between the first side wall and the second side wall when the drawer closes the storage compartment.

5. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drawer is provided with a sensing module for sensing a motion state of a human foot, the refrigerator has a control module provided on the cabinet, and the control module is communicatively connected with the sensing module, the first motion mechanism, the second motion mechanism, and the third motion mechanism.

6. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 5, wherein the drawer has a drawer door for closing the storage compartment, a lower end of the drawer door is recessed upward to form a recess, and the sensing module is disposed in the recess.

7. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second and third moving mechanisms have a structure in which a gear, a rack, a stepping motor, and a slide rail are engaged.

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

acquiring a door opening signal;

the control induction module induces the motion direction of the human foot;

9. The control method according to claim 8, characterized by further comprising:

the control induction module induces the motion amplitude of the human foot;

10. The control method according to claim 9, characterized by further comprising:

judging whether a gate signal is related;