Refrigerator and control method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses a refrigerator and a control method thereof. The refrigerator includes a refrigerator, an infrared detection device arranged on the inner side of the refrigerator door, an independently controlled air outlet door arranged in each compartment of the refrigerator, and a controller for controlling the operation of the infrared detection device according to the switch state of the refrigerator door and the set time; the controller controls the opening or closing of the air outlet door of the corresponding compartment according to the temperature of the food in each compartment. The present invention adopts an infrared detection device to replace multiple traditional temperature sensors to detect the temperature of the refrigerator compartment. The infrared sensor is used to scan the food in each compartment of the refrigerator to obtain the real-time temperature of the food, and the air supply and refrigeration are independently controlled as needed. The refrigerator can accurately measure the temperature of the food and can reasonably and accurately control the temperature.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to refrigeration equipment, and in particular to a refrigerator capable of accurately detecting the temperature of food in a compartment and reasonably and precisely controlling the temperature, and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] The home appliance industry is developing rapidly, and people's lives are becoming increasingly intelligent. Traditionally, refrigerator compartment temperature monitoring uses a single temperature sensor installed within the refrigerator compartment. This temperature sensor measures the real-time temperature within the refrigerator compartment and controls the compressor's on / off function to determine whether or not to activate cooling. Due to uneven temperatures within the refrigerator compartment, a single temperature sensor often cannot accurately measure the temperature within the compartment. To address this issue, for example, Chinese Patent CN103398540A utilizes multiple temperature sensors to collect temperatures at different locations within the refrigerator compartment to determine whether or not cooling is required. However, this approach does not fundamentally address the problem, as both methods rely on temperature sensors to collect the temperature within the refrigerator compartment to determine whether or not to activate or deactivate cooling. However, when warmer food is placed in a refrigerator compartment when the compartment temperature is low, the compartment temperature does not rise immediately; only the newly placed food is warmer. Consequently, a refrigerator with a traditional temperature measurement method will not activate cooling. This results in a situation where the compartment temperature is low, but the food does not reach the appropriate fresh-keeping temperature. This impacts the food's freshness and shelf life, reducing its freshness.

[0003] Therefore, how to overcome the defects of inaccurate temperature measurement of food in existing refrigerator compartments and the inability to reasonably and accurately control temperature is an urgent problem to be solved in the industry. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the problem that the temperature measurement of the existing refrigerator compartment is inaccurate and the temperature cannot be reasonably and accurately controlled, the present invention provides a refrigerator and a control method thereof that can accurately detect the temperature of food and can reasonably and accurately control the temperature.

[0005] The present invention provides a refrigerator comprising a refrigerator, an infrared detection device provided on the inner side of the refrigerator door, an independently controlled air outlet door provided in each compartment of the refrigerator, and a controller for controlling the operation of the infrared detection device according to the open / close state of the refrigerator door and a set time; the controller controls the opening or closing of the air outlet door of the corresponding compartment according to the maximum surface temperature of food in each compartment.

[0006] Preferably, the controller controls the opening or closing of the air outlet door of the corresponding compartment according to the highest temperature of the surface of the food in each compartment.

[0007] Preferably, the infrared detection device is arranged in the middle of the inner side of the refrigeration door.

[0008] Preferably, the infrared detection device includes an infrared sensor with an infrared irradiation port and a stepping motor that drives the infrared sensor to rotate.

[0009] Preferably, the infrared sensor, the stepping motor and the air outlet door are electrically connected to the controller.

[0010] Preferably, the infrared sensor and the stepping motor are arranged in a housing having an irradiation hole, and the infrared irradiation port corresponds to the irradiation hole and emits infrared rays outward.

[0011] Preferably, the housing is a plastic housing.

[0012] The present invention also provides a control method for the refrigerator, which includes real-time detection of the switch state of the refrigeration door and the temperature of the surface of each compartment of food in the refrigerator, and controlling the opening or closing of the infrared detection device according to the switch state of the refrigeration door and the set time; and controlling the opening or closing of the corresponding compartment air outlet door according to the result of comparing the detected temperature with the set temperature.

[0013] Preferably, the control method comprises the following steps:

[0014] When the refrigerator door is closed, the infrared sensor scans the surface temperature of the food on each layer according to the set scanning time for each layer. When the highest temperature detected on the surface of the food is greater than the set temperature, the air outlet door of the corresponding layer opens; when the refrigerator door is opened, the infrared detection device stops working;

[0015] According to the set interval time, the infrared sensor cyclically detects the highest temperature of the food surface in each compartment, calculates the temperature difference with the previous highest temperature, and controls the opening or closing state of the air outlet door of the corresponding compartment based on the result of comparing the temperature difference with the set temperature difference threshold.

[0016] Preferably, when the temperature difference of a partition is greater than the threshold, the air outlet door of the corresponding partition is fully opened;

[0017] When the temperature difference of a compartment is less than the threshold value but greater than 0°C, the air outlet door of the corresponding compartment is half-opened;

[0018] When the maximum temperature of a compartment is less than or equal to 0°C, the air outlet door of the corresponding compartment is closed.

[0019] The present invention uses an infrared detection device to replace multiple traditional temperature sensors to monitor refrigerator temperature. Specifically, the infrared sensor scans the food in each compartment of the refrigerator with infrared radiation, obtaining the food's real-time temperature. This determines the corresponding compartment requiring refrigeration and independently controls air supply and cooling as needed. This allows the refrigerator to accurately measure and precisely control the temperature of food within each compartment, achieving optimal freshness preservation. The infrared detection device can also be turned on or off based on the refrigerator door's open / close status and a set time, contributing to energy conservation and environmental protection. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of an infrared detection device used in the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 It is a side view of the structure of the refrigerator box of the refrigerator embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 、 Figure 4 、 Figure 5 Schematic diagram of infrared sensors scanning the upper, middle and lower compartments of the refrigerator respectively;

[0023] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the working process of the refrigerator control method of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples.

[0025] like Figure 1 As shown, an embodiment of an infrared detection device 10 provided by the present invention includes a plastic housing 4 having an irradiation hole 8, an infrared sensor 5 disposed within the plastic housing 4, and a stepper motor 7 capable of driving the infrared sensor 5 to rotate. The infrared irradiation port 6 provided on the infrared sensor 5 corresponds to the irradiation hole 8 on the plastic housing 4. Driven by the stepper motor 7, the infrared sensor 5 can rotate intermittently and emit infrared rays from the infrared irradiation port 6 through the irradiation hole 8 to scan.

[0026] like Figure 2As shown, the simple structure of the refrigerator box of the refrigerator embodiment provided by the present invention, the inner cavity of the refrigerator box can be divided into several compartments by the glass shelf 12. In this embodiment, the refrigerator box is divided into three layers, namely the upper compartment 1, the middle compartment 2 and the lower compartment 3. Moreover, each compartment is provided with an air outlet door 9 that can be independently controlled to facilitate the flow of cold air. The infrared detection device 10 provided by the present invention is arranged on the inner side of the refrigerator door 11, which is responsible for collecting and recording the temperature of the food in each compartment of the refrigerator box to determine whether air supply cooling is required. In this embodiment, the infrared detection device 10 is arranged in the middle of the inner side of the refrigerator door 11 so as to evenly and accurately scan and detect the temperature of the food in each compartment. The infrared sensor 5, the stepper motor 7 and the air outlet door 9 of each compartment are connected to the controller of the refrigerator mainboard.

[0027] like Figure 3 、 4 As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the controller can control the operation of the infrared detection device 10 based on the open / close state of the refrigerator door 11 and a set time. Specifically, the rotation cycle and number of steps of the stepping motor 7 can be pre-set, so that the stepping motor 7 drives the infrared sensor 5 to operate according to the set time. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the controller can also receive the highest temperature of each surface of the food in each compartment from the infrared sensor 5 and control the opening or closing of the air outlet door 9 of the corresponding compartment based on the comparison result of this highest temperature with the set temperature. Specifically, when the refrigerator door 11 is closed, the controller controls the stepping motor 7 to start operating and drive the infrared sensor 5 to rotate. The infrared sensor 5 emits infrared light from the infrared irradiation port 6, scanning the temperature of each surface of the food in each compartment according to the set scanning time per compartment. The highest temperature of each surface of the food in each compartment is stored and fed back to the controller, thereby achieving zoned scanning, recording, and feedback of the food temperature in each compartment of the refrigerator. Based on the comparison result of the highest temperature with the set temperature, the controller controls the opening or closing of the air outlet door 9 of the corresponding compartment. This allows for accurate measurement of food temperature and stratified air supply for refrigeration and preservation. Even if new food is added to the compartment, it can be refrigerated in time to ensure the freshness of the food. When the refrigeration door 11 is detected to be open, the infrared detection device 10 stops operating to save energy and protect the environment. Since all objects with a temperature greater than absolute zero have heat and will generate thermal radiation, all food is actually a source of thermal radiation. The infrared sensor 5 can receive infrared rays with a wavelength of 1mm to 750nm from the thermal radiation of food to determine the temperature of the food. Even if the food is blocked by objects such as the glass shelf 12, it cannot block the electromagnetic waves radiated by the food. Therefore, the infrared sensor 5 can still accurately detect the temperature of each surface of the food.

[0028] Please read Figures 3 to 6The present invention also provides a control method for the refrigerator, which detects the open / close state of the refrigeration door 11 and the temperature of each compartment of the refrigerator in real time, and controls the operation of the infrared detection device 10 according to the open / close state of the refrigeration door 11 and the set time; and controls the opening or closing of the air outlet door 9 of the corresponding compartment according to the result of comparing the detected temperature of each compartment of the food with the set temperature.

[0029] The specific control method includes the following steps:

[0030] When the refrigerator door 11 is closed, the controller controls the infrared detection device 10 to start working. That is, the infrared sensor 5 scans the temperature of each surface of each layer of food in the refrigerator from top to bottom, that is, scans the temperature of the food in the upper compartment 1, middle compartment 2 and lower compartment 3 of the refrigerator in turn. The scanning time of each compartment is set to H1, ensuring that the highest temperature t1 (1), t2 (1), t3 (1) among the surface temperatures of the food in the three layers is scanned and recorded, and these highest temperatures are fed back to the controller and compared with the set temperature t0 in the refrigerator. When the highest temperature scanned by a compartment is greater than the set temperature t0, the air outlet door 9 of the corresponding compartment is opened to supply air and cool the food in the corresponding compartment separately, thereby lowering the temperature of the food in this layer, thereby achieving the effect of timely preservation. When the refrigerator door 11 is opened, the infrared detection device 10 stops working.

[0031] After all the interlayers have been scanned and the set interval time H2 has passed, the controller controls the infrared detection device 10 to work again. That is, the infrared sensor 5 repeats the first operation and scans each interlayer of the refrigerator. The highest temperatures t1 (2), t2 (2), and t3 (2) among the surface temperatures of the food in the three layers are recorded, and the highest temperature scanned this time is fed back to the controller, and the temperature difference with the highest temperature fed back last is calculated. That is, the temperature differences Δt1, Δt2, and Δt3 between t1 (1) and t1 (2); t2 (1) and t2 (2); and t3 (1) and t3 (2) are calculated, and then these temperature differences Δt1, Δt2, and Δt3 are compared with the set temperature difference threshold ΔT respectively:

[0032] When the temperature difference of a layer is greater than the temperature difference threshold ΔT, the controller controls the air outlet door 9 of the corresponding layer to be fully opened. The food in this layer is cooled quickly, so that the food can be cooled quickly to the appropriate preservation temperature.

[0033] When the temperature difference of a compartment is less than the temperature difference threshold ΔT but greater than 0°C, the air outlet door 9 of the corresponding compartment is half-opened, so that the food can be kept fresh and refrigerated and unnecessary energy consumption of the refrigerator can be reduced;

[0034] When the highest temperature of the food surface of a layer is less than or equal to 0°C, the air outlet door 9 of the corresponding layer is closed. That is, the air supply and cooling of this layer is stopped, and the food has reached the appropriate fresh-keeping temperature and does not need to be refrigerated.

[0035] After the interval time H2 has passed, the infrared sensor 5 performs the above operation again, and the cycle continues.

[0036] The specific setting values ​​of the parameters including the set temperature t0, the temperature difference threshold ΔT, the scanning time per layer H1, and the interval time H2 after all interlayer scanning can be set according to the test results.

[0037] The present invention uses an infrared detection device, replacing multiple traditional temperature sensors, to monitor the refrigerator's temperature. Specifically, the infrared sensor scans the food in each compartment of the refrigerator with infrared radiation, obtaining the food's real-time temperature. This determines the corresponding compartment requiring refrigeration and independently controls air supply and cooling as needed. This allows the refrigerator to accurately measure and precisely control food temperature, achieving optimal food preservation. The infrared detection device can also be turned on or off based on the refrigerator door's open / close status and a set time, contributing to energy conservation and environmental protection.

[0038] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A refrigerator control method, characterized in that: The steps include: When the refrigerator door is closed, the infrared detection device scans the surface temperature of each layer of food according to the set scanning time for each layer. When the highest temperature detected on the surface of the food is greater than the set temperature, the air outlet door of the corresponding layer opens; when the refrigerator door is opened, the infrared detection device stops working; According to the set interval time, the infrared detection device cyclically detects the highest temperature of the food surface of each compartment, calculates the temperature difference with the previous highest temperature, and controls the opening or closing state of the air outlet door of the corresponding compartment according to the result of comparing the temperature difference with the set temperature difference threshold; The refrigerator comprises a refrigerator box and a refrigerator door, an infrared detection device arranged on the inner side of the refrigerator door, and an independently controlled air outlet door arranged in each compartment of the refrigerator box, and a controller that controls the operation of the infrared detection device according to the opening and closing state of the refrigerator door and the set time; the controller controls the opening or closing of the air outlet door of the corresponding compartment according to the temperature of the food in each compartment.

2. The refrigerator control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the temperature difference of a partition is greater than the threshold, the air outlet door of the corresponding partition is fully opened; When the temperature difference of a compartment is less than the threshold value but greater than 0°C, the air outlet door of the corresponding compartment is half-opened; When the maximum temperature of a compartment is less than or equal to 0°C, the air outlet door of the corresponding compartment is closed.

3. The refrigerator control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The infrared detection device is arranged at the middle part of the inner side of the refrigeration door.

4. The refrigerator control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The infrared detection device comprises an infrared sensor with an infrared irradiation port and a stepping motor driving the infrared sensor to rotate.

5. The refrigerator control method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The infrared sensor, the stepping motor and the air outlet door are connected to the controller in telecommunication.

6. The refrigerator control method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The infrared sensor and the stepping motor are arranged in a shell with an irradiation hole, and the infrared irradiation port corresponds to the irradiation hole and emits infrared rays outward.

7. The refrigerator control method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The shell is a plastic shell.

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