WO2023104034A1

WO2023104034A1 - Refrigerator and control method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2023104034A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/136931
Authority: WO
Inventors: 王洪明; 刘明坤
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: 2021-12-07
Filing date: 2022-12-06
Publication date: 2023-06-15
Also published as: CN114017972B; CN114017972A

Abstract

A refrigerator and a control method therefor. The refrigerator comprises a first movement mechanism (11) for opening and closing a drawer (10), a second movement mechanism for lifting and retracting a first storage space (20) of the drawer (10), and a third movement mechanism for lifting and retracting a second storage space (30) of the drawer. The control method comprises controlling the movement mechanisms by sensing the direction of motion of a person's foot. The present arrangement allows for the storage spaces of items to be separated.

Description

Refrigerator and its control method

technical field

The invention relates to a refrigerator and a control method thereof, in particular to a refrigerator for storing articles and a control method thereof.

Background technique

The lower part of refrigerators, especially French refrigerators, is usually a large pull-out drawer. Although such a pull-out large drawer design can provide users with sufficient storage space, because its position is set relatively low, when users need to take and place items, they often need to bend down and pull them open forcefully. If things go on like this, chronic damage may be caused to people's spine, especially for middle-aged and elderly people, it is inconvenient especially. In the prior art, there is a design capable of adjusting the height of the lower drawer, usually through a specific movement mechanism, after the drawer door is opened, the drawer is automatically or manually raised to a suitable height. However, this design has the following defects: the drawers are all separate large drawers, which cannot distinguish the storage space for items, and cannot meet the diverse needs of users for picking and placing items.

Contents of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of distinguishing storage spaces for articles and a control method thereof.

In order to achieve the purpose of the above invention, the present invention provides a refrigerator, which includes a box body with a storage compartment formed at the bottom of the interior, a drawer arranged in the storage room, and a refrigerator between the box body and the drawer. And a first movement mechanism for opening and closing the drawer, the drawer has a first storage space, a first shell formed around the first storage space, connected with the first shell and used to make the A second movement mechanism for raising and retracting the first storage space, a second storage space arranged side by side with the first storage space, a second shell formed around the second storage space, and the second shell A third motion mechanism connected and used to raise and retract the second storage space.

As a further improvement of the present invention, both the first housing and the second housing have a bottom wall and side walls extending upward from the periphery of the bottom wall, and both the first housing and the second housing are above It is in the shape of a box with an opening.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the first housing has a bottom wall and side walls extending upward from the periphery of the bottom wall, the side walls include a first side wall arranged along the opening direction of the drawer, the first side wall The second housing has a second side wall parallel to the first side wall 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 also has a movable wall formed between the third side wall and the fourth side wall and perpendicular to the third side wall and the fourth side wall, the movable wall One end of the wall is pivotally connected to the lower edge of the second side wall, and the other end is pivotally connected to the 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 when the drawer closes the storage compartment, the movable wall is arranged obliquely between the first side wall and the storage compartment. between the second side walls.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the drawer is provided with an induction module for sensing the movement state of human feet, and the refrigerator has a control module arranged on the box, the control module is connected with the induction module, the second The first movement mechanism, the second movement mechanism and the third movement mechanism are connected by communication.

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

As a further improvement of the present invention, the second movement mechanism and the third movement mechanism have a structure in which gears, racks, stepping motors, and slide rails cooperate.

In order to achieve the purpose of the above invention, the present invention also provides a control method for a refrigerator, and the control method includes the following steps:

Get the door open signal;

After obtaining the door opening signal, controlling the first motion mechanism to open the drawer;

Control the sensing module to sense the movement direction of human feet;

If the human foot moves from right to left, control the second movement mechanism to raise the first storage space;

If the human foot moves from left to right, the third movement mechanism is controlled to raise the second storage space.

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

Control the sensing module to sense the movement range of human feet;

The operating ranges of the second and third motion mechanisms are controlled according to the motion ranges of human feet, and the operating ranges of the second and third motion mechanisms are in direct proportion to the motion ranges of human feet.

Determine whether to close the door signal;

If the door signal is closed, the second movement mechanism is controlled to retract the first storage space to the initial position, the third movement mechanism is controlled to retract the second storage space to the initial position, and the first movement mechanism is controlled to close the storage space. said drawer;

If there is no door signal, the control sensor module senses whether the person's feet leave;

If the human foot leaves, if there is still no door signal after a second, control the second movement mechanism to retract the first storage space to the initial position, and control the third movement mechanism to retract the second storage space to the initial position , controlling the first movement mechanism to close the drawer.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the beneficial effect of being able to distinguish storage spaces of articles.

Description of drawings

Below in conjunction with accompanying drawing, specific embodiment of the present invention is described in further detail, wherein:

Fig. 1 is the structural representation of refrigerator of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the drawer in Fig. 1 being in an open state;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the first storage space in Fig. 2 in a raised state;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the gear and rack cooperation structure of the second and third motion mechanisms;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the cooperating structure of gears, stepping motors and support rods of the second and third motion mechanisms;

Fig. 6 is the preferred structural representation of the drawer in Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the second storage space in Fig. 6 being retracted;

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of the rack and pinion structure of the third motion mechanism in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of the drawer door in Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 is a schematic flow chart of the control method of the refrigerator of the present invention;

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

FIG. 12 is a schematic flowchart of further optimization of the control method shown in FIG. 10 .

Detailed ways

The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, these embodiments do not limit the present invention, and any structural, method, or functional changes made by those skilled in the art according to these embodiments are included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of the refrigerator of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the drawer 10 in FIG. 1 in an open state.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the first storage space 20 in FIG. 2 in a raised state.

As shown in Figure 1, the refrigerator includes a box body 1 with a storage compartment 2 formed at the bottom of the interior, a drawer 10 arranged in the storage room 2, a box body 1 and a drawer 10 and is used to open and close the first movement mechanism 11 of the drawer 10, the drawer 10 has a first storage space 20, a first shell 21 formed around the first storage space 20, and the first A housing 21 is connected to a second movement mechanism for raising and retracting the first storage space 20, and a second storage space 30 arranged side by side with the first storage space 20 is formed in the second storage space. The second housing 31 around the space 30 and the third movement mechanism connected with the second housing 31 and used to raise and retract the second storage space 30 .

The drawer 10 also has a drawer door 40, and the drawer door 40 is connected with the third movement mechanism. When the drawer 10 is retracted into the storage compartment 2, the drawer door 40 can close the storage compartment 2, thereby preventing the cold air in the storage compartment 2 from leaking.

The third movement mechanism can be electric or manual as long as it can realize the opening and closing of the drawer 10 . For example, the third movement structure can be a slide rail installed on both sides of the drawer 10, a chute arranged on the box body 1 and cooperating with the slide rail, and a servo that can drive the slide rail to move back and forth in the chute. motor etc.

With this arrangement, the drawer 10 can be divided into two independent storage spaces, and the user can choose to raise and retract different storage spaces according to different access needs, so as to meet the diverse needs of users.

The first shell 21 and the second shell 31 may both have a bottom wall 22 and a side wall 23 extending upward from the bottom wall 22, and both the first shell 21 and the second shell 31 It is in the shape of a box with an opening at the top.

With such an arrangement, it is convenient to pick and place items, the structure is simple, the manufacturing cost is low, and the storage space can be fully utilized.

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

With this structural design, in actual use, when the user holds many items that need to be placed, the user can first place the items in the second storage space 30, and then slowly place them in the first storage space. In the space 20, users are prevented from frequently bending down to take items to be stored from the ground.

When the user needs to take out a variety of items from the first storage space 20, the items can be taken out one by one from the first storage space 20 and placed in the first storage space 20, and then placed in the first storage space 20 to be taken things together.

Moreover, the first storage space 20 is a special storage space, and many articles are often stored inside, and the overall weight is relatively heavy, so the load of the second movement mechanism is generally much larger than that of the third movement mechanism. Therefore, the lifting operation of the second kinematic mechanism will be relatively slow, consume more energy and wear after long-term use. The third motion mechanism is more flexible, wears less, and consumes less energy. Therefore, such a design can improve the flexibility and reliability of the operation of the drawer 10 , can improve the overall service life of the drawer 10 , and can save energy at the same time.

Based on the above reasons, the storage space of the drawer 10 is divided into a special space for picking and putting, which can facilitate the user to pick and place items, meet the various needs of the user, and can improve the flexibility and reliability of the operation of the drawer 10, and improve the efficiency of the drawer 10. The overall service life, while saving energy.

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 sliding rail cooperate.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the cooperating structure of the gear 12 and the rack 13 of the second and third motion mechanisms.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the second and third movement mechanisms can use the gear 12 and the rack 13 to realize the lifting and retracting of the first storage space 20 and the second storage space 30 .

The gear 12 can be arranged on the first casing 21 and the second casing 31 , and correspondingly, the rack 13 can be arranged on the drawer door 40 in cooperation with the gear 12 , or on the first moving mechanism 11 .

Of course, the gear 12 can also be arranged on the drawer door 40 or the first moving mechanism 11 , and the rack 13 is arranged on the first casing 21 and the second casing 31 in a coordinated manner.

With such an arrangement, the motion precision is high, and accurate control of the running speed, amplitude, and direction of the second and third motion mechanisms can be realized, and the structure is simple, the assembly is convenient, and the cost is low.

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

As shown in FIG. 5 , the second and third motion mechanisms drive the gear 12 to rotate relative to the rack 13 through the stepping motor 14, thereby realizing the lifting and closing of the first storage space 20 and the second storage space 30. take back.

There may be two gears 12, and a support rod 15 is connected between the two gears 12, so as to realize the synchronous operation of the two gears 12. The support rod 15 may be disposed under the front end of the first shell 21 or the second shell 31 and used to support the first shell 21 or the second shell 31 . The rear ends of the first housing 21 and the second housing 31 may be provided with longitudinally movable sliding rails and a structure in which the sliding rails cooperate with each other.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a preferred structure of the drawer 10 in 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 bottom wall 22 , and the side wall 23 includes a first side arranged along the opening direction of the drawer 10 . wall 24, 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 faces the first side The wall 24 is extended to form a third side wall 26 and a fourth side wall 27, and the second housing 31 also has a Wall 26 and the movable wall 28 perpendicular to the fourth side wall 27, one end of the movable wall 28 is pivotably connected to the lower edge of the second sidewall 25, and the other end is pivotally connected to the the upper edge of the first side wall 24 .

The movable wall 28 may be connected to the first side wall 24 and the second side wall 25 through a hinge. The second side wall 25 , the third side wall 26 , and the fourth side wall 27 can function as enclosures to prevent items in the second storage space 30 from falling.

When the movable wall 28 is inclined downward or the angle of horizontal or upward inclination is not large, it can be used for temporarily shelving articles. When the movable wall 28 is inclined upward at a relatively 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 is allowed and the items to be placed are appropriate, the user can raise the second storage space 30 to a certain height, put the items into the second storage space 30, and then slowly continue to raise the second storage space 30. The storage space 30 enables items to slide down into the first storage space 20 automatically.

Such setting can facilitate the user to pick and place items, meet the various needs of the user, and 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 at the same time.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the retracted state of the second storage space 30 in FIG. 6 .

As shown in FIG. 7 , preferably, the second storage space 30 is smaller than the first storage space 20 , and when the drawer 10 closes the storage compartment 2 , the movable wall 28 is obliquely arranged on the Between the first side wall 24 and the second side wall 25 .

Such setting can reduce the occupation of storage space while making it convenient for users to pick and place items, so that the drawer 10 can store more items.

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of the gear 12 and the rack 13 of the third movement mechanism of the second storage space 30 in FIG. 6 .

As shown in FIG. 8 , since the second storage space 30 not only displaces in the vertical direction, but also displaces in the horizontal direction. The gear 12 can be arranged on the third side wall 26 , and the rack 13 can be arranged in cooperation with the gear 12 and arranged in an arc shape according to its motion track.

With such an arrangement, the motion precision is high, and accurate control of the running speed, amplitude, and direction of the third motion mechanism can be realized, and the structure is simple, the assembly is convenient, and the cost is low.

Preferably, the drawer 10 is provided with an induction module 43 for sensing the movement state of human feet, the refrigerator has a control module arranged on the box body 1, the control module is connected with the induction module 43, the second A motion mechanism 11, a second motion mechanism, and a third motion mechanism are connected in communication.

The control module can control the first movement mechanism 11 , the second movement mechanism and the third movement mechanism according to the movement state of the human foot sensed by the sensing module 43 . In actual use, when both hands of the user are occupied, or it is inconvenient to operate by hand due to other reasons, the user can control the drawer 10 with his feet.

The sensing module 43 may be a position movement sensor.

With such arrangement, the drawer 10 can be controlled according to the movement state of the human feet, freeing the user's hands, making it convenient for the user to pick and place items, and satisfying the various needs of the user.

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of the drawer door 40 in FIG. 2 .

As shown in Figure 9, the drawer 10 has a drawer door 40 for closing the storage compartment 2, the lower end surface 41 of the drawer door 40 is recessed upwards to form a recessed area 42, preferably, the induction 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 in the recessed area 42 .

Such setting can realize the concealed installation of the sensing module 43 , and can prevent the wrong identification of the sensing module 43 , which is convenient for operation, simple in structure, and convenient for disassembly and assembly.

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

As shown in Figure 10, the control method includes the following steps:

Get the door open signal;

After obtaining the door opening signal, control the first motion mechanism 11 to open the drawer 10;

Control the sensing module 43 to sense the movement direction of the human foot;

If the human foot moves from right to left, control the second movement mechanism to raise the first storage space 20;

If the human foot moves from left to right, the third movement mechanism is controlled to raise the second storage space 30 .

The door-opening signal can be implemented in various ways, such as voice wake-up, knocking on the door, pulling the door, and smart screen touch.

FIG. 11 is a schematic flowchart of a further refinement of the control method shown in FIG. 10 .

As shown in Figure 11, the control method also includes:

Control the sensing module 43 to sense the motion range of the human foot;

With such arrangement, the drawer 10 can be controlled according to the motion state of the human feet, freeing the user's hands, making it easy for the user to pick and place items, and satisfying the various needs of the user.

As shown in Figure 12, the control method also includes:

Determine whether to close the door signal;

If the door signal is closed, control the second movement mechanism to retract the first storage space 20 to the initial position, control the third movement mechanism to retract the second storage space 30 to the initial position, and control the first movement mechanism 11 closing the drawer 10;

If there is no door signal, the control sensing module 43 senses whether the people's feet leave;

If the human foot leaves, if there is still no door signal after a second, then control the second movement mechanism to retract the first storage space 20 to the initial position, and control the third movement mechanism to retract the second storage space 30 to the initial position. In the initial position, the first movement mechanism 11 is controlled to close the drawer 10 .

The door closing signal can be implemented in various ways, such as voice control, knocking on the door body, pushing the door body inward, and smart screen touch. Preferably, the a second is 30 seconds.

With such arrangement, the drawer 10 can be closed in time when the user is not using it, so as to prevent cold air from leaking and food from being damaged.

To sum up, the technical solution provided by the present invention can effectively solve the problems in the prior art that the drawers 10 are all single large drawers 10 , cannot distinguish the storage space for items, and cannot meet the diverse needs of users for picking and placing items. By adopting the technical solution provided by the present invention, it is possible to realize different storage spaces for items, which is convenient for users to pick and place items, and meets various user needs, while improving the flexibility and reliability of the operation of the drawer 10 and improving the overall service life of the drawer 10 , at the same time energy can be saved, and the drawer 10 can be controlled according to the movement state of the human feet, freeing the user's hands.

It should be understood that although this description is described according to implementation modes, not each implementation mode only includes an independent technical solution, and this description in the description is only for clarity, and those skilled in the art should take the description as a whole, and each The technical solutions in the embodiments can also be properly combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

The series of detailed descriptions listed above are only specific descriptions of the feasible implementation modes of the present invention, and they are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. All changes should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

A refrigerator, comprising a box body with a storage compartment formed below the inside, a drawer arranged in the storage room, and a second device arranged between the box body and the drawer for opening and closing the drawer. A movement mechanism, characterized in that the drawer has a first storage space, a first shell formed around the first storage space, connected with the first shell and used to raise the first storage space and the retracted second movement mechanism, the second storage space arranged side by side with the first storage space, the second shell formed around the second storage space, connected with the second shell and used to make the Describe the third motion mechanism for raising and retracting the second storage space.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein both the first shell and the second shell have a bottom wall and side walls extending upward from the periphery of the bottom wall, and the first shell and the The second shells are box-shaped with openings above.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the first shell has a bottom wall and a side wall extending upward from the periphery of the bottom wall, and the side wall includes a first a side wall, the second housing has a second side wall parallel to the first side wall and spaced apart from the first side wall, the second side wall extends toward the first side wall to form a third a side wall and a fourth side wall, and the second housing also has a wall formed between the third side wall and the fourth side wall and perpendicular to the third side wall and the fourth side wall A movable wall, one end of the movable wall is pivotally connected to the lower edge of the second side wall, and the other end is pivotally connected to the upper edge of the first side wall.
The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the second storage space is smaller than the first storage space, and when the drawer closes the storage compartment, the movable wall is obliquely arranged on the second storage space. between one side wall and the second side wall.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the drawer is provided with an induction module for sensing the movement state of human feet, and the refrigerator has a control module arranged on the box body, and the control module is connected with the The sensing module, the first movement mechanism, the second movement mechanism and the third movement mechanism are connected in communication.
The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the drawer has a drawer door for closing the storage compartment, the lower end of the drawer door is recessed upward to form a recessed area, and the sensing module is arranged on in the recessed area.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the second movement mechanism and the third movement mechanism have a structure in which a gear, a rack, a stepping motor, and a slide rail cooperate.
A control method for a refrigerator, characterized in that the control method includes the following steps:

Get the door open signal;

After obtaining the door opening signal, controlling the first motion mechanism to open the drawer;

Control the sensing module to sense the movement direction of human feet;

If the human foot moves from right to left, control the second movement mechanism to raise the first storage space;

If the human foot moves from left to right, the third movement mechanism is controlled to raise the second storage space.
The control method according to claim 8, further comprising:

Control the sensing module to sense the movement range of human feet;

The operating ranges of the second and third motion mechanisms are controlled according to the motion ranges of human feet, and the operating ranges of the second and third motion mechanisms are in direct proportion to the motion ranges of human feet.
The control method according to claim 9, further comprising:

Determine whether to close the door signal;

If the door signal is closed, the second movement mechanism is controlled to retract the first storage space to the initial position, the third movement mechanism is controlled to retract the second storage space to the initial position, and the first movement mechanism is controlled to close the storage space. said drawer;

If there is no door signal, the control sensor module senses whether the person's feet leave;

If the human foot leaves, if there is still no door signal after a second, control the second movement mechanism to retract the first storage space to the initial position, and control the third movement mechanism to retract the second storage space to the initial position , controlling the first movement mechanism to close the drawer.