CN115560513A

CN115560513A - Refrigerator and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN115560513A
Application number: CN202211160159.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 梁星; 王文明
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-09-22
Filing date: 2022-09-22
Publication date: 2023-01-03

Abstract

The invention provides a refrigerator and a control method of the refrigerator, wherein the refrigerator comprises an evaporator, a defrosting heater, a metal water pan, a water pan heater, a drain pipe, a second water pan, a liquid level detection device and a control unit, wherein the second water pan is internally provided with a first height position and a second height position, the second height position is lower than the first height position, and the water outlet end of the drain pipe extends into the second water pan. The control unit is used for controlling the water pan heater to work in the next defrosting period when the liquid level position is lower than the second height position; and the defrosting device is also used for controlling the water pan heater to stop working in the next defrosting period when the liquid level reaches or is higher than the first height position. The invention can solve the problems of temperature rise in the refrigerator and energy consumption increase caused by invalid work of the water pan heater in the prior art.

Description

Refrigerator and control method thereof

Technical Field

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

Background

In the prior art, an aluminum water pan is uniformly distributed at the bottom of an evaporator of a general air-cooled refrigerator, the aluminum water pan has a certain inclination, and an opening is formed in the position of the lowest point of the aluminum water pan and used for collecting defrosting water on the evaporator of the air-cooled refrigerator, and the defrosting water is discharged to the outside of the refrigerator through a drain pipe. In order to prevent the ice from being frozen by the residual water on the aluminum water pan or the incomplete heating of the evaporator heating wire, and the ice at the water level outlet of the aluminum water pan cannot be melted, the water pan heating wire is generally arranged at the outlet of the aluminum water pan.

Generally speaking, control evaporimeter heater strip during operation, the also synchronous work of water collector heater strip, in the in-service use, the switch door is got and is put food and can be more frequent, so can lead to evaporimeter heater strip operating frequency to increase, and same water collector heater strip operating frequency also can increase, can cause the most condition of water collector heater strip to be invalid work like this, leads to the inside temperature of refrigerator to rise, and the energy consumption increases simultaneously.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a refrigerator and a control method thereof, aiming at solving the problems of temperature rise and energy consumption increase in the refrigerator caused by invalid operation of a water pan heater in the prior art.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a refrigerator, comprising: the evaporator is used for providing cold energy for the refrigerator; the defrosting heater is arranged close to the evaporator and used for heating the evaporator to melt frost on the evaporator; the metal water pan is arranged below the evaporator and used for collecting defrosting water on the evaporator, and a groove is formed in the metal water pan; the water pan heater is arranged close to the metal water pan and used for heating the metal water pan; the water inlet end of the water outlet pipe is communicated with the groove and is used for discharging defrosting water in the metal water pan; the second water pan is internally provided with a first height position and a second height position, the second height position is lower than the first height position, and the water outlet end of the water discharge pipe extends into the second water pan; the liquid level detection device is arranged close to the second water pan and used for detecting the position of the liquid level in the second water pan; the control unit is electrically connected with the defrosting heater, the liquid level detection device and the water pan heater; the control unit is used for controlling the water pan heater to work in the next defrosting period when the liquid level position is lower than the second height position; the control unit is also used for controlling the water pan heater to stop working in the next defrosting period when the liquid level position reaches or is higher than the first height position.

As an optional technical solution, the control unit is further configured to, when the liquid level position reaches or is higher than the second height position and is lower than the first height position, determine whether an operation time of a compressor of the refrigerator is greater than or equal to a preset time, if the determination result is yes, control the water pan heater to operate in a next defrosting cycle, and if the determination result is no, control the water pan heater to stop operating in the next defrosting cycle.

As an optional technical solution, the water outlet end of the water outlet pipe is lower than the second height position.

As an optional technical solution, a partition is arranged in the second water receiving tray, the partition divides the second water receiving tray into a first water receiving area and a second water receiving area, the water outlet end of the water discharge pipe is located in the first water receiving area, the height of the partition is lower than that of the second water receiving tray, and the upper edge of the partition is higher than the water outlet end of the water discharge pipe.

As an optional technical scheme, the partition plate and the second water pan are of an integrally formed structure.

As an optional technical solution, the first height position is flush with the upper edge of the partition.

The invention also provides a control method of the refrigerator, the refrigerator comprises an evaporator, a defrosting heater, a metal water pan, a water pan heater, a drain pipe, a second water pan, a liquid level detection device and a control unit, wherein the evaporator is used for providing cold energy for the refrigerator; the defrosting heater is arranged close to the evaporator and used for heating the evaporator to melt frost on the evaporator; the metal water pan is arranged below the evaporator and used for collecting defrosting water on the evaporator, and a groove is formed in the metal water pan; the water pan heater is arranged close to the metal water pan and used for heating the metal water pan; the water inlet end of the water outlet pipe is communicated with the groove and is used for discharging defrosting water in the metal water pan; a first height position and a second height position are arranged in the second water receiving tray, and the second height position is lower than the first height position; the water outlet end of the drain pipe extends into the second water pan; the liquid level detection device is used for detecting the position of the liquid level in the second water receiving tray; the control unit is electrically connected with the defrosting heater, the liquid level detection device and the water pan heater, wherein the control method of the refrigerator comprises the following steps:

step S1, ending the current defrosting cycle of the refrigerator;

s2, judging whether the liquid level position in the second water receiving tray reaches or is higher than the second height position, and if so, entering the step S3; if the judgment result is negative, controlling the water pan heater to work in the next defrosting period;

and S3, judging whether the liquid level position in the second water receiving tray reaches or exceeds the first height position, and controlling the water receiving tray heater to stop working in the next defrosting cycle if the judgment result is yes.

As an optional technical solution, the step S3 further includes: if the judgment result is negative, executing the step S4;

s4, judging whether the running time of a compressor of the refrigerator is greater than or equal to a preset time, and if so, controlling the water pan heater to work in the next defrosting cycle; if the judgment result is negative, controlling the water pan heater to stop working in the next defrosting period.

As an optional technical scheme, a partition plate is arranged in the second water receiving tray, the second water receiving tray is divided into a first water receiving area and a second water receiving area by the partition plate, the water outlet end of the drain pipe is located in the first water receiving area, the height of the partition plate is lower than that of the second water receiving tray, and the upper edge of the partition plate is higher than the water outlet end of the drain pipe.

Compared with the prior art, the defrosting method and the defrosting device have the advantages that whether the water receiving tray heater needs to work or not is judged by detecting the liquid level position of the defrosting water in the water receiving tray or the water quantity of the defrosting water in the water receiving tray, so that the water receiving tray heater can work as required, the invalid work is avoided, and the problem that the energy consumption is increased when the temperature in the refrigerator rises is solved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts.

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a second drip tray of the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the refrigerator according to the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to further understand the objects, structures, features and functions of the present invention, the following embodiments are described in detail.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, but do not indicate or imply that the device or element being referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, fig. 1 is a schematic view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; fig. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a second drip tray of the refrigerator in fig. 1. The refrigerator of the present embodiment is approximately in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Generally, an external appearance of a refrigerator is defined by a storage compartment defining a storage space and a plurality of door bodies provided on the compartment. The refrigerator door comprises a door body, a door cover, a door body and a door body, wherein the door body comprises a door shell positioned on the outer side of the refrigerator, an inner container positioned on the inner side of the refrigerator and a heat insulation layer between the door shell and the inner container; typically, the insulation layer is filled with a foam material. And generally, the storage compartments may be configured as a refrigerating storage compartment 2, a freezing storage compartment 1, a temperature-changing storage compartment, etc. according to a refrigerating temperature. Specifically, the number, functions, layout modes and the like of the storage compartments can be configured according to requirements.

The refrigerator 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is, for example, an air-cooled refrigerator, and a refrigeration system thereof is implemented by using a compression refrigeration cycle, and the refrigeration system generally includes: the compressor, the fan, the damper, the condenser, the evaporator 3, and the connecting line may further include a dry filter, a capillary tube, and the like. The compressor pressurizes the refrigerant and provides power to the refrigeration system. The condenser is the primary location for the heat rejection liquefaction of the refrigerant. The capillary tube throttles and reduces the pressure, and the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant is reduced. The evaporator 3 is the main location of refrigerant vaporization refrigeration. The fan is the power of the refrigeration, freezing and air cooling circulation. The cold storage air door controls the cold storage chamber to refrigerate, the air door is opened when the cold storage needs refrigerating, and the air door is closed after the cold storage temperature reaches. Since the refrigeration system of the refrigerator is well known to those skilled in the art, the connection relationship between the components and the operation principle thereof will not be described in detail herein.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the refrigerator 100 includes, in addition to the above elements, a defrosting heater 4, a metal water pan 5, a water pan heater 6, a drain pipe 7, a second water pan 8, a liquid level detection device 9, and a control unit 10. The evaporator 3 is used for providing cold energy for the refrigerator. The defrosting heater 4 is disposed adjacent to the evaporator 3, and is used for heating the evaporator 3 to melt frost on the evaporator 3, and preferably, the defrosting heater 4 is disposed close to the evaporator 3, and may adopt a semi-surrounding type structure, a side type structure, and the like. The metal water pan 5 is disposed below the evaporator 3 and used for collecting defrosting water on the evaporator 3, and a groove 51 is disposed on the metal water pan 5, wherein the metal water pan is, for example, an aluminum water pan. The water pan heater 6 is disposed adjacent to the metal water pan 5, for example, around the metal water pan 5, and is configured to heat the metal water pan 5. The water pan heater 6 is arranged in a foaming layer of the refrigerator and is adhered to the inner container, and when the water pan heater 6 is heated, the metal water pan 5 can be heated, so that residual water on the metal water pan is prevented from freezing or the defrosting heater is prevented from being heated incompletely. The drain pipe 7 comprises a water inlet end and a water outlet end, the water inlet end of the drain pipe 7 is communicated with the groove 51, and defrosting water in the metal water pan 5 can flow into the drain pipe 7 through the groove 51. The drainage pipe 7 may be provided in one or more sections as needed or in actual circumstances, for example, in the present embodiment, the drainage pipe 7 includes a first drainage pipe connector 71 and a second drainage pipe connector 72 connected to each other, the other end of the first drainage pipe connector 71 is communicated with the groove 51 of the metal water receiving tray 5, and the other end of the second drainage pipe connector 72 is inserted into the second water receiving tray 8. The second water receiving tray 8 has a first height position 81 and a second height position 82, the second height position 81 is lower than the first height position 82, and the water outlet end 73 of the water outlet pipe 7 extends into the second water receiving tray 8. The liquid level detection device 9 is disposed adjacent to the second water pan 8, and may be disposed, for example, on a side surface of the second water pan 8, and is configured to detect a liquid level position in the second water pan 8.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a block diagram of the refrigerator of the present invention, wherein a control unit 10 is electrically connected to the defrosting heater 4, the liquid level detection device 9 and the water pan heater 6. The structure of the metallic water pan 5 under the evaporator 3 will generally have a certain slope, and the lowest point position has a groove 51 or opening for collecting the defrosting water on the evaporator 3. When the refrigerator enters a defrosting period, the defrosting heater 4 below the evaporator 3 works, and defrosting water is discharged into a second water pan 8 outside the refrigerator through a drain pipe 7 arranged below the evaporator 3. Furthermore, at the end of the current defrosting cycle of the refrigerator 100, the control unit 10 is configured to control the water collector heater 6 to operate in the next defrosting cycle when the liquid level position is lower than the second height position 82. The control unit 10 is further configured to control the drip tray heater 6 to stop working in the next defrosting cycle when the liquid level reaches or is higher than the first height position 81. That is, the control unit can control whether the defrosting pan heater 6 works or not according to the needs, so that the invalid work of the defrosting pan heater 6 can be reduced, thereby avoiding the temperature rise inside the refrigerator and reducing the energy consumption.

In addition, the control unit 10 is further configured to determine whether an operation time of a compressor of the refrigerator is greater than or equal to a preset time when the liquid level position reaches or is higher than the second height position 82 and is lower than the first height position 81, control the water pan heater 6 to operate in a next defrosting cycle if the determination result is yes, and control the water pan heater 6 to stop operating in the next defrosting cycle if the determination result is no. The preset time can be set according to empirical values or parameter values, such as 1 day or 12 hours.

With reference to fig. 2, a partition 83 is further disposed in the second water receiving tray 8, the partition 83 partitions the second water receiving tray 8 into a first water receiving area 84 and a second water receiving area 85, the water outlet end 73 of the water discharge pipe 7 is located in the first water receiving area 84, the partition 83 is lower than the second water receiving tray 8, and the upper edge of the partition 83 is higher than the water outlet end 73 of the water discharge pipe 7, so that the defrosted water can overflow to the second water receiving area 85 after the liquid level (or water level) of the first water receiving area 84 exceeds the partition 83.

Moreover, the water outlet end 73 of the water outlet pipe 7 is lower than the second height position 82, so that even if less defrosting water is formed in the refrigerator 100, the defrosting water can flow out of the water outlet pipe 7 into the second water receiving tray 8 to seal the lower end of the water outlet pipe 7, thereby effectively preventing external air from entering the refrigerator 100 from a gap between the water outlet pipe 7 and the second water receiving tray 8.

Moreover, preferably, the partition 83 and the second drip tray 8 are formed integrally. In addition, the first height position 81 is preferably flush with the upper edge of the partition 83.

Referring to fig. 4 and 4, which are schematic flow charts of a control method of a refrigerator according to the present invention, the present invention further provides a control method of a refrigerator, which can be seen in fig. 1 to 3, and the refrigerator includes an evaporator 3, a defrosting heater 4, a metal water pan 5, a water pan heater 6, a drain pipe 7, a second water pan 8, a liquid level detection device 9, and a control unit 10. The evaporator 3 is used for providing cold energy for the refrigerator. The defrosting heater 4 is disposed adjacent to the evaporator 3, and is used for heating the evaporator 3 to melt frost on the evaporator 3, and preferably, the defrosting heater 4 is disposed close to the evaporator 3, and may adopt a semi-surrounding type structure, a side type structure, and the like. And the defrosting heater 4 takes the form of a heating wire or a heating sheet, for example. The metal water pan 5 is disposed below the evaporator 3 and used for collecting defrosting water on the evaporator 3, and a groove 51 is disposed on the metal water pan 5, where the metal water pan is, for example, an aluminum water pan. The water pan heater 6 is disposed adjacent to the metal water pan 5, for example, around the metal water pan 5, and is configured to heat the metal water pan 5. And the drip tray heater 6 takes the form of a heating wire or sheet, for example. The water pan heater 6 is arranged in a foaming layer of the refrigerator and is adhered to the inner container, and when the water pan heater 6 is heated, the metal water pan 5 can be heated, so that residual water on the metal water pan is prevented from freezing or the defrosting heater is prevented from being heated incompletely. The drain pipe 7 comprises a water inlet end and a water outlet end, the water inlet end of the drain pipe 7 is communicated with the groove 51, and defrosting water in the metal water pan 5 can flow into the drain pipe 7 through the groove 51. For example, in the present embodiment, the drainage pipe 7 includes a first drainage pipe connector 71 and a second drainage pipe connector 72 connected to each other, the other end of the first drainage pipe connector 71 communicates with the groove 51 of the metal water pan 5, and the other end of the second drainage pipe connector 72 is inserted into the second water pan 8. The second water receiving tray 8 has a first height position 81 and a second height position 82, the second height position 81 is lower than the first height position 82, and the water outlet end 73 of the water outlet pipe 7 extends into the second water receiving tray 8. The liquid level detection device 9 is disposed adjacent to the second water pan 8, and may be disposed, for example, on a side surface of the second water pan 8, and is configured to detect a liquid level position in the second water pan 8. The control unit 10 is electrically connected to the defrosting heater 4, the liquid level detection device 9, and the drip tray heater 6, and the refrigerator is, for example, the refrigerator 100.

The control method of the refrigerator comprises the following steps:

step S1, ending the current defrosting cycle of the refrigerator;

and S3, judging whether the liquid level position in the second water receiving tray reaches or is higher than the first height position, and if so, controlling the water receiving tray heater to stop working in the next defrosting cycle.

That is, the control unit may control whether the drip tray heater 6 operates or not according to the needs, and thus, the ineffective operation of the drip tray heater 6 may be reduced, thereby preventing the temperature inside the refrigerator from rising to reduce the power consumption.

Wherein, the step S3 further includes: if the judgment result is negative, executing the step S4;

s4, judging whether the running time of a compressor of the refrigerator is greater than or equal to a preset time, and if so, controlling the water pan heater to work in the next defrosting cycle; if the judgment result is negative, controlling the water pan heater to stop working in the next defrosting period. The preset time can be set according to an empirical value or a parameter value, such as 1 day or 12 hours.

In summary, the invention judges whether the water pan heater needs to work or not by detecting the liquid level position of the defrosted water in the water pan or the water volume of the defrosted water in the water pan, thereby ensuring that the water pan heater can work as required, avoiding invalid work and further solving the problem that the energy consumption is increased when the temperature in the refrigerator rises.

The present invention has been described in relation to the above embodiments, which are only exemplary of the implementation of the present invention. Furthermore, the technical features mentioned in the different embodiments of the present invention described above may be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other. It should be noted that the disclosed embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention. Rather, it is intended that all such modifications and variations be included within the spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, characterized in that the refrigerator comprises:

the evaporator is used for providing cold energy for the refrigerator;

the defrosting heater is arranged close to the evaporator and used for heating the evaporator to melt frost on the evaporator;

the metal water pan is arranged below the evaporator and used for collecting defrosting water on the evaporator, and a groove is formed in the metal water pan;

the water pan heater is arranged close to the metal water pan and used for heating the metal water pan;

the water inlet end of the water outlet pipe is communicated with the groove and is used for discharging defrosting water in the metal water pan;

the second water pan is internally provided with a first height position and a second height position, the second height position is lower than the first height position, and the water outlet end of the water discharge pipe extends into the second water pan;

the liquid level detection device is arranged close to the second water receiving tray and used for detecting the position of the liquid level in the second water receiving tray; and

the control unit is electrically connected with the defrosting heater, the liquid level detection device and the water pan heater; the control unit is used for controlling the water pan heater to work in the next defrosting period when the liquid level position is lower than the second height position; the control unit is also used for controlling the water pan heater to stop working in the next defrosting period when the liquid level position reaches or is higher than the first height position.

2. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to determine whether an operation time of a compressor of the refrigerator is greater than or equal to a preset time when the liquid level position reaches or is higher than the second height position and is lower than the first height position, control the water tray heater to operate in a next defrosting cycle if the determination result is yes, and control the water tray heater to stop operating in the next defrosting cycle if the determination result is no.

3. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein said discharge end of said drain tube is below said second elevation.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a partition is disposed in the second water pan, the partition divides the second water pan into a first water receiving area and a second water receiving area, the water outlet end of the water discharge pipe is located in the first water receiving area, the partition is lower than the second water pan, and the upper edge of the partition is higher than the water outlet end of the water discharge pipe.

5. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 4, wherein the partition is formed integrally with the second drip tray.

6. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first height position is flush with an upper edge of the partition.

7. The control method of the refrigerator is characterized in that the refrigerator comprises an evaporator, a defrosting heater, a metal water pan, a water pan heater, a drain pipe, a second water pan, a liquid level detection device and a control unit, wherein the evaporator is used for providing cold energy for the refrigerator; the defrosting heater is arranged close to the evaporator and used for heating the evaporator to melt frost on the evaporator; the metal water pan is arranged below the evaporator and used for collecting defrosting water on the evaporator, and a groove is formed in the metal water pan; the water pan heater is arranged close to the metal water pan and used for heating the metal water pan; the water inlet end of the water outlet pipe is communicated with the groove and is used for discharging defrosting water in the metal water pan; a first height position and a second height position are arranged in the second water receiving tray, and the second height position is lower than the first height position; the water outlet end of the water discharge pipe extends into the second water receiving tray; the liquid level detection device is used for detecting the position of the liquid level in the second water receiving tray; the control unit is electrically connected with the defrosting heater, the liquid level detection device and the water pan heater, wherein the control method of the refrigerator comprises the following steps:

step S1, ending the current defrosting cycle of the refrigerator;

s2, judging whether the liquid level position in the second water receiving tray reaches or is higher than the second height position, and if so, entering S3; if the judgment result is negative, controlling the water pan heater to work in the next defrosting period;

8. The method for controlling a refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the step S3 further comprises: if the judgment result is negative, executing the step S4;

9. The controlling method of a refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the water outlet end of the drain pipe is lower than the second height position.

10. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein a partition is provided in the second water receiving tray, the partition divides the second water receiving tray into a first water receiving area and a second water receiving area, the water outlet end of the water discharge pipe is located in the first water receiving area, the height of the partition is lower than that of the second water receiving tray, and the upper edge of the partition is higher than that of the water outlet end of the water discharge pipe.