WO2023098354A1

WO2023098354A1 - Refrigerator and control method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2023098354A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/127971
Authority: WO
Inventors: 吴光瑞; 刘桂信; 刘畅
Original assignee: 青岛海尔电冰箱有限公司; 海尔智家股份有限公司
Priority date: 2021-11-30
Filing date: 2022-10-27
Publication date: 2023-06-08
Also published as: CN116202293A

Abstract

A control method for a refrigerator. The refrigerator comprises a body and an ice making module, which is arranged on the body, wherein the ice making module comprises an ice making tray for making ice, a water tank for supplying water to the ice making tray, a driving apparatus for driving the turnover of the ice making tray, and an ice storage box for receiving ice that falls down from the ice making tray. The control method comprises: determining a target number of instances of ice making of an ice making tray within a target ice making period; determining the shortest ice making time of a refrigerator according to the target number of instances of ice making and the shortest ice making time of a single ice making instance of the ice making tray; in response to the shortest ice making time not being longer than a power consumption valley period, controlling the refrigerator to complete ice making within the power consumption valley period; and in response to the shortest ice making time being longer than the power consumption valley period, controlling the refrigerator to continuously perform ice making within the power consumption valley period.

Description

Refrigerator and its control method

technical field

The invention belongs to the technical field of refrigerators, and specifically provides a refrigerator and a control method thereof.

Background technique

With the development of technology and the increasing demands of users, some refrigerators now have the function of making ice. Specifically, some refrigerators with an ice-making function include a water tank, a water pump, a water pipe, an ice-making tray, a driving device, and an ice storage box. Wherein, the water tank is used for storing water. One end of the water pipe is communicated with the water tank, and the other end of the water pipe is located above the ice making tray. The water pump is used to pump the water in the water tank into the water pipe, so that the water pipe can deliver the water to the ice making tray. The ice tray is used to cool the water inside it into ice. The ice storage bin is located under the ice maker tray and is used to store ice cubes. The driving device is used to drive the ice making tray to turn over, so as to dump the ice cubes in the ice making tray into the ice storage box.

At present, refrigerators with ice making function usually make ice when the ice cubes in the ice storage box are not full, regardless of day or night, so that the ice storage box is always kept full of ice. It not only increases the electricity load of the entire power grid during the peak hours of electricity consumption, but also the unused ice in the ice storage box will stay for a long time and is not fresh, which will affect the user experience.

Contents of the invention

An object of the present invention is to solve the problem that the existing refrigerators with ice-making function increase the power load of the entire power grid due to their working day and night.

Another object of the present invention is to keep the ice in the ice storage box of the refrigerator fresh, so as to improve user experience.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a refrigerator control method in a first aspect, the refrigerator includes a box body and an ice-making module arranged on the box body, the ice-making module includes a an ice making tray, a water tank for supplying water to the ice making tray, a driving device for driving the ice making tray to turn over, and an ice storage box for receiving ice falling from the ice making tray;

The control methods include:

determining the target ice-making times of the ice-making tray within the target ice-making cycle;

determining the fastest ice-making time of the refrigerator according to the target ice-making times and the single fastest ice-making time of the ice-making tray;

In response to the fastest ice-making time being not greater than the low power consumption period, controlling the refrigerator to complete ice making within the low power consumption period;

In response to the fastest ice making time being greater than the low power consumption period, the refrigerator is controlled to continue making ice during the low power consumption period.

Optionally, the determining the target number of ice-making times of the ice-making tray within the target ice-making cycle includes:

Acquiring the last number of ice-making times of the ice-making tray in the last ice-making cycle;

Obtain the remaining amount of ice in the ice storage box;

comparing the remaining ice volume with the single ice production volume of the ice tray;

According to the comparison result and the last number of times of ice making, determine the next number of ice making times of the ice making tray in the next ice making cycle; the next ice making cycle is the target ice making cycle, and the next The number of times of ice making is the target number of times of ice making.

Optionally, the determining the next ice-making number of the ice-making tray in the next ice-making cycle according to the comparison result and the last ice-making number includes:

In response to the remaining ice amount being less than the single ice-making amount and greater than 0, making the next ice-making count equal to the previous ice-making count; and/or,

In response to the remaining ice amount being equal to 0, making the next number of ice making equal to the previous number of ice making plus 1; and/or,

In response to the remaining ice amount being greater than the single ice-making amount, the next ice-making count is equal to the previous ice-making count minus M, where M is the difference between the remaining ice amount and the single ice-making count. Integer part of the result of ice volume division.

Optionally, the single fastest ice-making time is the time when the refrigerator uses the maximum ice-making power to make a tray of ice on the ice-making tray.

Optionally, in response to the fact that the fastest ice-making time is not greater than the low power consumption period, controlling the refrigerator to complete ice making within the low power consumption period includes:

In response to the fact that the fastest ice-making time is not greater than the low power consumption period, the ice-making power of the refrigerator is determined according to the target number of ice-making times and the low power consumption period;

The refrigerator is operated at the ice-making power during the low power consumption period, so that the ice making tray can produce ice for the target number of ice making times during the low power consumption period.

Optionally, in response to the fastest ice-making time being greater than the low power consumption period, controlling the refrigerator to continue making ice during the low power consumption period includes: responding to the fastest ice-making time greater than the low power consumption period, control the refrigerator to continue making ice during the low power consumption period and before the low power consumption period, and make the ice-making tray make ice when the low power consumption period ends. Take the ice of the target number of ice making times.

Optionally, the control method further includes: detecting the voltage of the power supply of the refrigerator to determine the low power consumption period.

Optionally, the detecting the voltage of the power supply of the refrigerator to determine the low power consumption period includes:

If the voltage of the power supply does not reach the preset threshold, it is determined that the current moment is a low power consumption time, and the set of all continuous low power consumption moments is recorded as a low power consumption period; and/or,

If the voltage of the power supply reaches the preset threshold, it is determined that the current moment does not belong to the low power consumption period.

Optionally, the detecting the voltage of the power supply of the refrigerator to determine the low power consumption period further includes:

Record the low power consumption period determined by the refrigerator itself as the first low power consumption period;

Record the low power consumption period received by the refrigerator as the second low power consumption period;

Determine the intersection of the first low power consumption period and the second low power consumption period, and use the intersection as the final low power consumption period.

Further, the present invention also provides a refrigerator in the second aspect, including a processor, a memory, and execution instructions stored in the memory, and the execution instructions are configured to enable the refrigerator to Executing the control method described in any one of the first aspects.

Based on the foregoing description, those skilled in the art can understand that, in the foregoing technical solution of the present invention, by determining the target ice-making times of the ice-making tray within the target ice-making cycle, and according to the target ice-making times and the ice-making tray The fastest single ice-making time, to determine the fastest ice-making time of the refrigerator; and when the fastest ice-making time is not greater than the low power consumption period, control the refrigerator to complete ice production during the low power consumption period; When the time is longer than the low power consumption period, the refrigerator is controlled to continue making ice during the low power consumption period, so that the refrigerator of the present invention can make full use of the low power consumption period to produce ice that meets user needs. Therefore, the refrigerator of the present invention not only reduces the electricity load of the entire grid during the peak hours of electricity consumption, but also reduces the user's electricity expense.

Furthermore, since the current low electricity consumption period (23:00 in the evening to 08:00 in the morning of the next day) is generally delineated by the electricity management department and is relatively fixed, this value is not accurate enough. For example, in a certain period of time, 23:00 to 24:00 may still be in the peak hour of electricity consumption. Therefore, in order to overcome this problem, the present invention also detects the voltage of the power supply of the refrigerator, and when the voltage of the power supply reaches the preset threshold, it is determined that the current moment is the low power consumption time, and the set of all continuous low power consumption time Record it as the low power consumption period, so that the refrigerator of the present invention can independently determine the actual low power consumption period of the entire power grid. In other words, the refrigerator of the present invention can avoid making ice as much as possible during the false low power consumption period, effectively reducing the power load of the entire power grid.

Optionally, by recording the low power consumption period determined by the refrigerator itself as the first low power consumption period, recording the low power consumption period received by the refrigerator as the second low power consumption period, and determining the first low power consumption period The intersection with the second low power consumption period, and then the intersection is used as the final low power consumption period, so that the refrigerator can not only make ice during the actual low power consumption period, but also reduce the user's electricity bill.

Furthermore, by obtaining the last ice-making times of the ice-making tray in the previous ice-making cycle, the remaining ice volume in the ice storage box is obtained, and then the remaining ice volume is compared with the single ice-making volume of the ice-making tray, and then according to Comparing the result with the previous number of ice making times determines the next number of ice making times for the ice making tray in the next ice making cycle, so that the refrigerator of the present invention can learn the user's ice use habits autonomously, especially when the refrigerator is repeating multiple ice making cycles. After the cycle, the user's ice-using habits can be accurately confirmed, and then a corresponding amount of ice can be produced, so as to avoid excessive ice production by the refrigerator while producing the amount of ice required by the user, thereby avoiding wasting electricity. In short, the refrigerator of the present invention can produce the amount of ice that meets the user's needs according to the user's habit of using ice, so that the user can use up the ice in the ice storage box in each ice-making cycle. or almost used up, thereby avoiding the long-term retention of ice in the ice storage box, ensuring the freshness of the ice used by the user, and improving the user experience.

Those skilled in the art will be more aware of the above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention according to the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

In order to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention more clearly, some embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art should understand that the components or parts indicated by the same reference number in different drawings are the same or similar; the drawings of the present invention are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the attached picture:

Fig. 1 is the effect schematic diagram of refrigerator in some embodiments of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the composition of an ice-making module in some embodiments of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a flow chart of the main steps of the refrigerator control method in some embodiments of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a flow chart of the steps for obtaining the target number of ice making times of the ice making tray in some embodiments of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a refrigerator in another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described below are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments of the present invention. To limit the protection scope of the present invention. Based on the embodiments provided by the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts should still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that, in the description of the present invention, the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", " Terms indicating directions or positional relationships, such as "inner" and "outer", are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, which are for convenience of description only, and do not indicate or imply that devices or elements must have a specific orientation, use a specific Azimuth configuration and operation, therefore, should not be construed as limiting the invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only, and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

Further, in addition, it should be noted that, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly stipulated and limited, the terms "installation", "connection", and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it may be a fixed connection, It can also be a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection, or it can be an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediary, or an internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention according to specific situations.

In addition, it should be noted that, in the description of the present invention, each functional module can be a physical module composed of multiple structures, components or electronic components, or a virtual module composed of multiple programs; Modules can be modules that exist independently of each other, or modules that are divided according to functions from a whole module. Those skilled in the art should understand that, on the premise that the technical solution described in the present invention can be realized, no matter how the composition, implementation, and positional relationship of each functional module change, they will not deviate from the technical principle of the present invention, so all Should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The partial structure of the refrigerator of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 . For the convenience of description, and in order to enable those skilled in the art to quickly understand the technical solution of the present invention, only the technical problems to be solved in the present invention and/or the technical ideas that are strongly related (directly related or indirectly related) The technical features are described in detail, and the technical features that are weakly related to the technical problems and/or technical concepts to be solved by the invention will not be described in detail. Since the weakly related technical features belong to common knowledge in the field, even if the present invention does not describe the weakly related features, it will not lead to insufficient disclosure of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 1, in some embodiments of the present invention, the refrigerator includes a box body 1 and an ice-making module 2, and a plurality of storage rooms (not shown in the figure) are formed on the box body 1, and the storage rooms are used to place Food, beverages, vegetables, fruits and other stored items. The refrigerator makes ice through the ice making module 2 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , in some embodiments of the present invention, the ice making module 2 includes a water tank 21 , a water pipe 22 , a water pump 23 , an ice making tray 24 , a driving device 25 and an ice storage box 26 . Wherein, the water tank 21 is detachably installed on the tank body 1 and used for storing water. The water pipe 22 is fixedly installed on the box body 1 , one end of the water pipe 22 communicates with the water tank 21 , and the other end of the water pipe 22 is located above the ice tray 24 . The water pump 23 is fixedly installed on the box body 1 , and the water pump 23 is used to pump the water in the water tank 21 into the water pipe 22 so that the water pipe 22 can deliver the water to the ice making tray 24 . The ice making tray 24 is rotatably mounted on the box body 1, and the ice making tray 24 is used to cool the water therein into ice. The driving device 25 is fixedly installed on the box body 1 and is used to drive the ice making tray 24 to turn over. The ice storage box 26 is installed on the box body 1 and is located below the ice making tray 24, and the ice storage box 26 is used for storing ice cubes.

Wherein, the ice making tray 24 is installed in the storage room on the box body 1 , and optionally, the ice storage box 26 is also installed in the storage room on the box body 1 . In addition, those skilled in the art can also install the ice making tray 24 and/or the ice storage box 26 at other positions of the box body 1 as required. For example, a separate chamber is provided on the box body 1, so that the ice making tray 24 and/or the ice storage box 26 are placed in the separate chamber.

In an example of the present invention, the driving device 25 includes a motor, the housing of the motor is fixedly connected with the box body 1 , and the rotating shaft of the motor is drivingly connected with the ice making tray 24 . Optionally, a gear set is also provided between the rotating shaft of the motor and the ice making tray 24, so as to realize the function of decelerating through the gear shaft, so that the motor drives the ice making tray 24 to rotate slowly.

In some embodiments of the present invention, when the refrigerator makes ice, the water pump 23 is first controlled to pump the water in the water tank 21 into the ice making tray 24, and then the ice making tray 24 is made to cool the water therein into ice. After the ice making tray 24 cools the water therein into ice, the driving device 25 drives the ice making tray 24 to turn over, so that the ice cubes in the ice making tray 24 fall into the ice storage box 26 .

Alternatively, in other embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art may also replace the water pump 23 with an electric control valve as required, and arrange the water tank 21 above the ice making tray 24 . The solenoid valve is used to control whether the water in the water tank 21 flows to the ice tray 24 . Specifically, when the electromagnetic valve is opened, the water in the water tank 21 flows to the ice making tray 24 under the action of its own gravity.

The method for controlling the refrigerator in some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 3 .

As shown in Figure 3, in some embodiments of the present invention, the control method of the refrigerator includes:

Step S110, determining the target ice-making times of the ice-making tray 24 within the target ice-making cycle.

As shown in Figure 4, step S110 specifically includes:

In an optional step S111 , in the first ice-making cycle of the refrigerator, make the ice-making tray 24 make ice a preset number of times.

Wherein, the preset number of times is a natural number not less than 1. Preferably, the preset number of times is the number of ice-making times when the ice-making tray 24 makes the ice storage box 26 full of ice, and its specific value can be obtained through experiments. Once the ice making tray 24 makes ice, the ice storage box 26 can obtain a tray of ice cubes.

Alternatively, those skilled in the art may also set the preset number of times to any other feasible value, such as 5 times, 7 times, 8 times, etc., as required.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the reason why the ice making tray 24 makes ice for a preset number of times during the first ice making cycle of the refrigerator is to enable the refrigerator to quickly determine the actual amount of ice used by the user. The closer the ice made by the ice making tray 24 to the preset number of times is closer to the user's actual ice consumption, the faster the refrigerator can determine the user's actual ice consumption. This will be described in detail later in conjunction with step S112 to step S115.

Step S112, acquiring the last number of ice making times of the ice making tray 24 in the last ice making cycle.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the previous ice making cycle and the next ice making cycle are adjacent to each other in time. In other words, the last ice making cycle and the next ice making cycle are two consecutive and adjacent ice making cycles.

Preferably, each ice-making cycle of the refrigerator is 24 hours, that is, the ice-making cycle of the refrigerator is one day, so that the refrigerator can produce ice in each ice-making cycle to meet the user's daily demand for ice.

Further, the start and end times of the ice making cycle can be any feasible time, for example, 22:00, 23:00, 24:00, 1:00 and so on.

Optionally, the refrigerator is provided with a processor and a memory, and the memory is used for storing the last number of ice making times of the ice making tray 24 in the last ice making cycle. The refrigerator reads the data on the memory through the processor, so as to obtain the last ice-making times of the ice-making tray 24 in the last ice-making cycle.

Step S113, obtaining the remaining amount of ice in the ice storage box 26.

As a first example, the refrigerator further includes a load cell, which is used to measure the weight of the ice storage box 26 . The refrigerator weighs the ice storage box 26 through the weighing sensor, and then subtracts the weight of the ice storage box 26 itself from the weighed weight to obtain the remaining amount of ice in the ice storage box 26 .

As a second example, the refrigerator further includes an elevating rod and a detection sensor, and the detecting sensor is triggered when the elevating rod touches an obstacle while the elevating rod is descending. The detection sensor can be any sensor that realizes this function, such as a micro switch or a pressure sensor. The lifting rod can extend into the ice storage box 26 . Further, when the lifting rod touches the bottom wall of the ice storage bin 26 or the ice cubes in the ice storage bin 26 during its downward movement, the detection sensor is triggered, and then the lifting rod is raised to its original position. In this example, the descending speed of the elevating rod can be kept constant, and then the remaining ice volume in the ice storage bin 26 can be determined by obtaining the descending time of the elevating rod. Those skilled in the art can understand that the longer the elevating rod descends, the closer the elevating rod is to the bottom wall of the ice storage box 26, and the less the amount of remaining ice in the ice storage bin 26; the shorter the elevating rod's descending time, The farther the lifting rod is from the bottom wall of the ice storage box 26, the more the remaining ice in the ice storage box 26 will be.

Preferably, step S113 is executed near the end of the previous ice making cycle or just at the beginning of the next ice making cycle, so as to ensure that all ice making times of the ice making tray 24 in the last ice making cycle are counted.

Step S114 , comparing the amount of remaining ice in the ice storage box 26 with the amount of ice made by the ice tray 24 at a time.

Wherein, the single ice production amount of the ice making tray 24 is stored on the refrigerator by the manufacturer during the process of generating or assembling the refrigerator. The single ice production amount of the ice making tray 24 can be obtained in any feasible way, for example, first make the ice making tray 24 make a tray of ice, and then weigh or calculate the volume of the tray of ice.

Step S115 , according to the comparison result and the last ice making frequency, determine the next ice making frequency of the ice making tray 24 in the next ice making cycle.

Wherein, the next ice-making cycle is the target ice-making cycle, and the next ice-making frequency is the target ice-making frequency.

In some embodiments of the present invention, step S115 includes parallel steps S1151, S1152 and S1153, specifically as follows:

In step S1151, if the remaining ice volume in the ice storage bin 26 is less than the single ice production volume of the ice tray 24 and greater than 0, make the next ice production count equal to the previous ice production count. Those skilled in the art can understand that, when the remaining ice volume in the ice storage box 26 is less than the single ice production volume of the ice making tray 24 and greater than 0, it means that the ice cubes in the ice storage box 26 are in the last ice making cycle. The interior has not been used up, and the remaining ice cubes are not enough for the single ice production amount of the ice tray 24. In this case, the amount of ice produced by the refrigerator not only meets the needs of the user, but also has very little surplus, and the waste of ice cubes is almost negligible.

Those skilled in the art can also understand that, in step S1151, since the ice storage box 26 may add new ice cubes in each ice-making cycle, as the ice-making cycle increases, the ice storage box 26 The remaining ice volume will be greater than the single ice production volume of the ice making tray 24 . If this situation occurs, the refrigerator will execute step S1153.

Step S1152, if the remaining amount of ice in the ice storage bin 26 is equal to 0, make the next ice making count equal to the previous ice making count plus 1. Those skilled in the art can understand that, when the remaining amount of ice in the ice storage box 26 is equal to 0, it means that the ice cubes in the ice storage box 26 have been completely used, and there may be a situation where the ice cubes are not enough for the user . Therefore, in order to meet the user's demand for ice, it is necessary to make the ice making tray 24 make at least one more tray of ice in the next ice making cycle. However, in order to prevent the ice making tray 24 from making too much ice in the next ice making cycle, it is only necessary to prevent the ice making times of the ice making tray 24 in the next ice making cycle from being 1 more than the number of ice making in the previous ice making cycle That's it. If the amount of remaining ice in the ice storage box 26 is still equal to 0 at the end of the ice making cycle, then the number of times of making ice in the ice tray 24 is increased by one more time until the amount of remaining ice in the ice storage box 26 is less than that of the ice tray 24. Single ice production and greater than 0.

Those skilled in the art can understand that since the ice cubes in the ice storage box 26 are difficult to be completely removed by the user, in order to avoid the remaining ice cubes in the ice storage box 26, it will affect the ice making tray 24 in the next ice making cycle. The number of ice making times, those skilled in the art can also determine that the remaining ice volume in the ice storage box 26 is equal to 0 when the remaining ice volume in the ice storage box 26 is less than the set value according to needs, so as to improve the intelligence of the refrigerator. sex and accuracy. The preset value can be any feasible value, for example, the preset value can be less than the weight of 1 piece of ice (the ice cubes made by the ice-making tray 24), or it can be equal to the weight of 1 piece, or it can also be equal to 2 pieces or 3 pieces of ice. The weight of a block of ice.

Step S1153, if the remaining ice volume in the ice storage box 26 is greater than the single ice production volume of the ice tray 24, make the next ice production count equal to the previous ice production count minus M, where M is a natural number not less than 1 . Those skilled in the art can understand that when the amount of remaining ice in the ice storage box 26 is greater than the single ice production volume of the ice making tray 24, it means that the ice cubes in the ice storage box 26 have not been frozen during the previous ice making cycle. Use up, and the remaining ice cubes are more than the single ice production amount of the ice making tray 24, in order to avoid the waste of ice cubes and electric energy, the ice making tray 24 can make M trays of ice less in the next ice making cycle.

As example one, M=1. That is, when the amount of remaining ice in the ice storage box 26 is greater than one tray (the single ice production amount of the ice tray 24), the ice tray 24 is made to make one less tray of ice in the next ice making cycle.

Considering that the remaining amount of ice in the ice storage box 26 in the last ice-making cycle may be multiple trays, so in order to quickly reduce the energy consumption of the refrigeration equipment and make the refrigeration equipment quickly and accurately produce the amount of ice required by the user, The present invention also provides Example 2: M is the integer part of the result of dividing the remaining ice volume by the single ice production volume.

Based on the foregoing description, those skilled in the art can understand that, in some embodiments of the present invention, by obtaining the last ice-making times of the ice-making tray 24 in the last ice-making cycle, the ice storage capacity in the ice storage box 26 is obtained. The remaining ice volume, and then compare the remaining ice volume with the single ice production volume of the ice-making tray, and then determine the next ice-making frequency of the ice-making tray 24 in the next ice-making cycle according to the comparison result and the previous ice-making frequency, so that The refrigerator of the present invention can learn the user's habit of using ice independently, especially after the refrigerator repeats multiple ice-making cycles, it can accurately confirm the user's habit of using ice, and then make a corresponding amount of ice, so that it can be used in making ice for the user. While reducing the required amount of ice, it also avoids excessive ice production by the refrigerator, thereby avoiding wasting electric energy.

Step S120, determining the fastest ice making time of the refrigerator according to the target ice making times and the single fastest ice making time of the ice making tray.

Among them, the single fastest ice-making time is the time for the refrigerator to make a tray of ice with the maximum ice-making power. Preferably, when the refrigerator is running at the maximum ice-making power, the lowest temperature of the storage room where the ice-making tray 24 is installed on the box body 1 is -30°C. Or, those skilled in the art can also make the lowest temperature of the storage room where the ice-making tray 24 is installed on the box body 1 be any other feasible temperature, such as -25°C, when the refrigerator is running at the maximum ice-making power as required. , -20°C, -18°C, etc.

Those skilled in the art can understand that if the temperature of the storage room where the ice-making tray 24 is installed on the casing 1 is too low, it will affect the stored objects (comprising food, medicine, wine, biological reagents, bacterial colonies, etc.) in the storage room. Freezing and refrigeration effects of chemical reagents, etc.

It can be seen that the maximum ice-making power can be any feasible power, and those skilled in the art can obtain the specific value of the maximum ice-making power through experiments.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the ice making tray 24 is capable of receiving water, freezing the received water into ice, and dumping the ice into the ice storage bin 26 and flipping it back to its original position within a single fastest ice making time . Therefore, the fastest ice making time=the target ice making times×the single fastest ice making time of the ice making tray 24 .

Step S130, in response to the fact that the fastest ice-making time is not greater than the low power consumption period, control the refrigerator to complete ice making within the low power consumption period.

Specifically, in response to the fact that the fastest ice-making time is not greater than the low power consumption period, the ice-making power of the refrigerator is determined according to the target number of ice-making times and the low power consumption period; the refrigerator is operated at the ice-making power during the low power consumption period to The ice making tray 24 is made to make ice for the target number of times of ice making during the low power consumption period.

For example, if the refrigerator can complete the ice-making task with the normal ice-making power during the low-power consumption period, the refrigerator is made to continuously produce ice with the normal ice-making power during the low-power consumption period until the ice-making task is completed. Preferably, the end time of ice making by the refrigerator is the same as the end time of the low power consumption period, so that the user can use the freshest ice.

If the refrigerator cannot complete the ice-making task with conventional ice-making power during the period of low power consumption, it is judged whether the refrigerator can complete the ice-making task during the period of low power consumption when the refrigerator is running in the quick-freezing mode. If it can be completed, make the refrigerator run in the quick freezing mode during the low power consumption period to continuously make ice until the ice making task is completed. Preferably, the end time of ice making by the refrigerator is the same as the end time of the low power consumption period, so that the user can use the freshest ice.

If the refrigerator cannot complete the ice-making task by running in the quick-freezing mode during the period of low electricity consumption, continue to increase the ice-making power of the refrigerator, and repeat the preceding steps.

Step S140, in response to the fastest ice making time being greater than the low power consumption time period, controlling the refrigerator to continue making ice during the low power consumption time period.

If the fastest ice making time is longer than the low power consumption period, it means that the refrigerator cannot produce the amount of ice required by the user during the low power consumption period. In order to meet the needs of users, it is necessary to make the refrigerator continue to make ice at times other than the low power consumption period.

Since the user's ice use time is generally concentrated in the peak or flat peak hours of electricity consumption, especially in the morning, noon and afternoon of each day, in order to meet the user's ice use needs, when the fastest ice making time is greater than the low electricity consumption period, The refrigerator is preferably controlled to continue making ice during and before the low power consumption period, and when the low power consumption period ends, the ice making tray 24 is made to produce ice for the target number of ice making times.

Based on the foregoing description, those skilled in the art can understand that the present invention allows the refrigerator to make full use of the low power consumption period to produce ice that meets user needs. Therefore, the refrigerator of the present invention not only reduces the electricity load of the entire grid during the peak hours of electricity consumption, but also reduces the user's electricity expense.

It should be noted that some of the above-described embodiments of the present invention are only some basic embodiments capable of realizing the object of the present invention. In other words, the refrigerator control method to be protected by the present invention is not limited to some embodiments described above, but also includes any other feasible embodiments, such as other embodiments to be described later.

Although not shown in the figure, in some other embodiments of the present invention, before step S130, the control method of the refrigerator further includes: detecting the voltage of the power supply of the refrigerator to determine the low power consumption period. details as follows:

As shown in FIG. 5 , the refrigerator further includes a voltage detection module 3 , which is electrically connected to the power line 4 and used for detecting the voltage of the power supply 5 of the refrigerator.

As an example 1, if the voltage of the power supply 5 does not reach the preset threshold, it is determined that the current moment is a low power consumption time, and the set of all consecutive low power consumption times is recorded as a low power consumption time period. If the voltage of the power supply 5 reaches the preset threshold, it is determined that the current moment does not belong to the low power consumption period.

Wherein, the preset threshold can be obtained through multiple experiments. Specifically, the voltage of the power supply 5 is detected respectively during the valley period of power consumption and the peak period of power consumption, and a voltage value is selected therefrom. The voltage value is less than or equal to the voltage value of the power supply 4 during peak power consumption hours, and greater than the voltage value of the power supply 5 during peak power consumption hours. The preset threshold can be any feasible value, such as 200V, 205V, 218V and so on.

Those skilled in the art can understand that since the current low power consumption period (23:00 in the evening to 08:00 in the morning of the next day) is generally defined by the power consumption management department and is relatively fixed, this value does not Not accurate enough. For example, in a certain period of time, 23:00 to 24:00 may still be in the peak hour of electricity consumption. Therefore, the first example enables the refrigerator to autonomously determine the actual low power consumption period of the entire grid. In other words, Example 1 enables the refrigerator to avoid making ice as much as possible during the false low power consumption period, effectively reducing the power load of the entire power grid.

As Example 2, the low power consumption period determined by the refrigerator itself is recorded as the first low power consumption period, that is, the low power consumption period obtained in Example 1 is recorded as the first low power consumption period. The low power consumption time period received by the refrigerator is recorded as the second low power consumption time period. Determine the intersection of the first low power consumption period and the second low power consumption period, and use the intersection as the final low power consumption period. In this way, the refrigerator can not only make ice during the actual low power consumption period, but also reduce the user's electricity bill.

Among them, the low power consumption period received by the refrigerator can be obtained by at least one of the following methods:

Method 1: When the refrigerator is manufactured, the manufacturer stores the low power consumption period on the refrigerator.

In the second way, the user manually inputs the information through the touch screen or the operation buttons arranged on the refrigerator, and the refrigerator stores the information after receiving the information input by the user.

Method 3: The communication module of the refrigerator itself obtains the information through the Internet.

In addition, although not shown in the figure, in still some embodiments of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a processor, a memory, and execution instructions stored in the memory, and the execution instructions are configured to enable the refrigerator to Execute the control method described in any one of the foregoing embodiments.

Wherein, the memory is used to store execution instructions, and the execution instructions are specifically computer programs that can be executed. Further, the memory may include internal memory and non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), and provide execution instructions and data to the processor. Exemplarily, the memory may be a high-speed random-access memory (Random-Access Memory, RAM), and the non-volatile memory may be at least one disk memory.

Those skilled in the art can understand that the above control method can be applied to a processor, and can also be implemented by means of a processor. Exemplarily, a processor is an integrated circuit chip capable of processing signals. During the process of the processor executing the above control method, each step of the above control method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit in the form of hardware or an instruction in the form of software in the processor. Further, the above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), a network processor (Network Processor, NP), a digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field-Programmable Gate Array (Field-Programmable Gate Array, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, microprocessors, and any other conventional processors.

So far, the technical solutions of the present invention have been described in conjunction with the foregoing embodiments. However, those skilled in the art can easily understand that the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments. Without departing from the technical principles of the present invention, those skilled in the art can split and combine the technical solutions in the above-mentioned embodiments, and can also make equivalent changes or replacements to the relevant technical features. Any changes, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the concept and/or technical principles will fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

A method for controlling a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a box body and an ice-making module arranged on the box body. The ice-making module includes an ice-making tray for making ice, and is used for supplying water to the ice-making tray. a water tank, a driving device for driving the ice-making tray to turn over, and an ice storage box for receiving ice falling from the ice-making tray;

The control methods include:

determining the target ice-making times of the ice-making tray within the target ice-making cycle;

determining the fastest ice-making time of the refrigerator according to the target ice-making times and the single fastest ice-making time of the ice-making tray;

In response to the fastest ice-making time being not greater than the low power consumption period, controlling the refrigerator to complete ice making within the low power consumption period;

In response to the fastest ice making time being greater than the low power consumption period, the refrigerator is controlled to continue making ice during the low power consumption period.
The control method of the refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein,

The determination of the target ice-making times of the ice-making tray within the target ice-making cycle includes:

Acquiring the last number of ice-making times of the ice-making tray in the last ice-making cycle;

obtaining the remaining amount of ice in the ice storage box;

comparing the remaining ice volume with the single ice production volume of the ice tray;

According to the comparison result and the last number of times of ice making, determine the next number of ice making times of the ice making tray in the next ice making cycle; the next ice making cycle is the target ice making cycle, and the next The number of times of ice making is the target number of times of ice making.
The control method of the refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein,

According to the comparison result and the previous number of ice making times, determining the next ice making times of the ice making tray in the next ice making cycle includes:

In response to the remaining ice amount being less than the single ice-making amount and greater than 0, making the next ice-making count equal to the previous ice-making count; and/or,

In response to the remaining ice amount being equal to 0, making the next number of ice making equal to the previous number of ice making plus 1; and/or,

In response to the remaining ice amount being greater than the single ice-making amount, the next ice-making count is equal to the previous ice-making count minus M, where M is the difference between the remaining ice amount and the single ice-making count. Integer part of the result of ice volume division.
The control method of the refrigerator according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein,

The single fastest ice-making time is the time for the refrigerator to make a tray of ice with the maximum ice-making power.
The control method of the refrigerator according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein,

In response to the fact that the fastest ice-making time is not greater than the low power consumption period, controlling the refrigerator to complete ice making within the low power consumption period includes:

In response to the fact that the fastest ice-making time is not greater than the low power consumption period, the ice-making power of the refrigerator is determined according to the target number of ice-making times and the low power consumption period;

The refrigerator is operated at the ice-making power during the low power consumption period, so that the ice making tray can produce ice for the target number of ice making times during the low power consumption period.
The control method of the refrigerator according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein,

In response to the fastest ice-making time being greater than the low power consumption period, controlling the refrigerator to continue making ice during the low power consumption period includes:

In response to the fastest ice-making time being greater than the low power consumption period, the refrigerator is controlled to continue making ice during the low power consumption period and before the low power consumption period, and ends at the low power consumption period , the ice making tray is made to make ice for the target number of ice making times.
The control method of the refrigerator according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein,

The control method also includes:

Detecting the voltage of the power supply of the refrigerator to determine the low power consumption period.
The control method of the refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein,

The detection of the voltage of the power supply of the refrigerator to determine the low power consumption period includes:

If the voltage of the power supply does not reach the preset threshold, it is determined that the current moment is a low power consumption time, and the set of all continuous low power consumption moments is recorded as a low power consumption period; and/or,

If the voltage of the power supply reaches the preset threshold, it is determined that the current moment does not belong to the low power consumption period.
The control method of the refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein,

The detection of the voltage of the power supply of the refrigerator to determine the low power consumption period further includes:

Record the low power consumption period determined by the refrigerator itself as the first low power consumption period;

Record the low power consumption period received by the refrigerator as the second low power consumption period;

Determine the intersection of the first low power consumption period and the second low power consumption period, and use the intersection as the final low power consumption period.
A refrigerator, comprising a processor, a memory, and execution instructions stored in the memory, and the execution instructions are configured to enable the refrigerator to execute any one of claims 1 to 9 when executed by the processor. the control method described above.