Defrosting device, refrigerator and defrosting control method

Abstract

The application provides a defrosting device, a refrigerator and a defrosting control method, and relates to the technical field of refrigerators. The main purpose is to solve the problems of incomplete defrosting and easy icing at the water pan of the traditional defrosting device, and to provide a defrosting device and a defrosting method which can solve the problem of icing at the water pan and have better defrosting effect. The defrosting device comprises a water pan, a temperature sensor and a heater, the heater comprises a first heater and a second heater, a water inlet is formed on the water pan, and the temperature sensor and the second heater are located on the side of the water inlet. The refrigerator comprises an evaporator and the above defrosting device. The defrosting control method of the above refrigerator comprises the following steps: obtaining the working state of the first heater in the defrosting mode; obtaining the temperature at the water inlet when the first heater stops working; and if the temperature at the water inlet is less than 0 DEG C, the refrigerator enters a forced defrosting mode.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of refrigerators, in particular to a defrosting device, a refrigerator and a defrosting control method. BACKGROUND

[0002] Nowadays, the household appliance industry is developing rapidly, and people's life is becoming more and more intelligent. Frost-free refrigerator has become the mainstream of refrigerator. The traditional refrigerator defrosting device, as shown in the figure, can melt the frost on the evaporator and fall into the water pan through the heater arranged outside the evaporator, and then flow into the corresponding collection device through the water inlet to achieve the purpose of defrosting. When the defrosting device works, it is inevitable to encounter the problem of ice formation in the water inlet due to the supercooling of defrosting water. When the water inlet is iced, it will seriously affect the defrosting effect of the refrigerator. Figure 1

[0003] In order to solve the problem of ice formation at the water pan and make the defrosting effect of the refrigerator more accurate, a new type of defrosting device, refrigerator and defrosting control method need to be developed. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide a defrosting device, a refrigerator and a defrosting control method to solve the problem of ice formation at the water pan and affect the defrosting effect in the prior art. The preferred technical solutions in many technical solutions provided by the present application can produce many technical effects, which will be described in detail below.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] The present application provides a defrosting device, comprising a water pan, a temperature sensor and a heater, wherein the heater comprises a first heater and a second heater.

[0007] The water pan is formed with a water inlet, and the temperature sensor and the second heater are located on the side of the water inlet.

[0008] On the basis of the above technical solutions, the present application can also be improved as follows.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present application, the second heater is a ring heater.

[0010] The present application also provides a refrigerator comprising an evaporator and any of the above-mentioned defrosting devices.

[0011] The present application also provides a defrosting control method for the above-mentioned refrigerator, comprising an evaporator, wherein the first heater is located below or beside the evaporator for heating the evaporator. The control method comprises:

[0012] Obtaining the working state of the first heater in the defrosting mode; ​

[0013] acquiring the temperature at the water outlet when the first heater stops working;

[0014] if the temperature at the water outlet is less than 0℃, the refrigerator enters a forced defrosting mode.

[0015] As a further improvement of the present application, if the temperature at the water outlet is not less than 0℃, the refrigerator is controlled to enter a refrigeration mode.

[0016] As a further improvement of the present application, the forced defrosting mode is:

[0017] acquiring the temperature at the water outlet;

[0018] starting the second heater until a exit condition is met.

[0019] As a further improvement of the present application, the exit condition is:

[0020] presetting the longest running time of the second heater as t1;

[0021] if the temperature at the water outlet is always less than 0℃ during the running of the second heater for t1, the refrigerator is controlled to enter a forced refrigeration mode;

[0022] if the temperature at the water outlet is not less than 0℃ after the second heater runs for A, the refrigerator is controlled to enter a refrigeration mode;

[0023] A and t1 are positive numbers and A≤t1.

[0024] As a further improvement of the present application, the forced refrigeration mode is that the refrigerator is controlled to continuously refrigerate for a preset time, which is t2, and t2 is a positive number.

[0025] As a further improvement of the present application, after the forced refrigeration mode ends, the temperature at the water outlet is acquired;

[0026] if the temperature at the water outlet is less than 0℃, the refrigerator is controlled to enter the forced defrosting mode again;

[0027] if the temperature at the water outlet is not less than 0℃, the refrigerator is controlled to enter a refrigeration mode.

[0028] The present application also provides a refrigerator, comprising:

[0029] one or more memories having stored thereon executable programs;

[0030] one or more processors for executing the executable programs in the memories to implement the steps of the above method.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides the following beneficial effects:

[0032] This solution, by installing a temperature sensor and a second heater near the water inlet, can effectively detect the temperature at the inlet and heat it as needed, thereby preventing ice buildup and achieving precise defrosting. This solution can also acquire the temperature around the water inlet after the first heater acting on the evaporator stops working, determining whether ice has formed at the inlet and heating it to melt the ice. This ensures more precise defrosting while minimizing and resolving the problem of ice buildup in the drip tray. Attached Figure Description

[0033] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the defrosting device in the prior art;

[0035] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the defrosting device in this invention;

[0036] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the defrosting control method of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a specific implementation of the defrosting control method in this invention.

[0038] In the diagram: 1. Water tray; 11. Water inlet; 2. Temperature sensor; 3. First heater; 4. Second heater; 5. Evaporator; 6. Water collection tray. Detailed Implementation

[0039] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions of this invention will be described in detail below. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely some embodiments of this invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this invention, all other implementation methods obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0040] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise," etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0041] In the description of this invention, it should also be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they can refer to mechanical connections or electrical connections; they can refer to direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0042] Example 1:

[0043] like Figure 2 As shown, the present invention provides a defrosting device, including a water receiving tray 1, a temperature sensor 2 and a heater, wherein the heater includes a first heater 3 and a second heater 4, a water inlet 11 is formed on the water receiving tray 1, and the temperature sensor 2 and the second heater 4 are both located around the water inlet 11.

[0044] Of the two heaters mentioned above, the first heater 3 heats the evaporator 5, causing the frost adhering to the evaporator 5 to melt and fall into the drip tray 1, thus achieving the purpose of defrosting the evaporator 5. The second heater 4 heats the inlet 11 and its vicinity during operation, preventing ice formation at the inlet 11 and reheating any unmelted ice to melt it, effectively avoiding clogging at the inlet 11 and achieving precise defrosting. The inlet 11 is connected to the drip tray 6 via corresponding pipes or other structures.

[0045] The second heater 4 can be arranged on the outer periphery of the water inlet 11, or it can be arranged exactly above or below the water inlet 11, as long as the second heater 4 can achieve a good heating and ice melting effect at the water inlet 11.

[0046] In this embodiment, the second heater 4 is configured as a ring heater.

[0047] It is understood that the defrosting device provided in this embodiment can determine whether there is an ice problem on the water inlet 11 and the water tray 1 by detecting the temperature of the water inlet 11 and its vicinity, and perform heating and ice melting treatment. This effectively avoids and solves the problem of the water inlet 11 freezing due to the excessively cold defrosting water at the water tray 1, and prevents the water inlet 11 from being blocked due to freezing, so that the corresponding equipment has a more accurate and complete defrosting effect.

[0048] Example 2:

[0049] The present invention also provides a refrigerator, including an evaporator 5 and a defrosting device as described in any of the preceding claims.

[0050] The structure and operation of the defrosting device described above in this embodiment have been introduced in Embodiment 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0051] It is understood that the refrigerator provided in this embodiment can effectively prevent and solve the problem of ice formation at the water tray 1 and water inlet 11 through the defrosting device, thereby achieving the purpose of precise defrosting.

[0052] Example 3:

[0053] The present invention also provides a defrosting control method for the above-mentioned refrigerator, including an evaporator 5, and a first heater 3 located below or beside the evaporator 5 for heating the evaporator 5; the control method is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, it includes:

[0054] Step S1: Obtain the operating status of the first heater 3 in defrosting mode;

[0055] Step S2: When the first heater 3 stops working, obtain the temperature at the water inlet 11;

[0056] Step S3: If the temperature at water inlet 11 is less than 0°C, the refrigerator will enter the forced defrosting mode.

[0057] It should be noted that the refrigerator's ability to enter defrost mode based on detected parameters and its periodic switching between defrost and cooling modes are existing technologies, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0058] When the refrigerator enters defrost mode, the first heater 3, located near the evaporator 5, starts and defrosts the evaporator 5. During this process, the frost adhering to the outside of the evaporator 5 melts and falls into the drip tray 1.

[0059] When the first heater 3 stops working, it indicates that defrosting at the evaporator 5 is complete. However, if the temperature at the water inlet 11 measured by temperature sensor 2 is less than 0°C, it means the defrosting water is too cold, posing a risk of freezing at the water inlet 11, or that freezing has already occurred at the water inlet 11. In this case, the refrigerator is not completely defrosted, and therefore needs to enter forced defrosting mode. Similarly, if the temperature at the water inlet 11 is not less than 0°C, it means the refrigerator is completely defrosted, and it can normally switch to cooling mode. In cooling mode, both the first heater 3 and the second heater 4 stop working, and the compressor starts.

[0060] It should be noted that when the refrigerator enters defrost mode, it needs to simultaneously start acquiring the temperature data at the water inlet 11. When the temperature at the water inlet 11 is less than 0°C, the second heater 4 needs to be activated; when the temperature at the water inlet 11 is greater than 0°C, the second heater 4 stops working.

[0061] In other words, in defrosting mode, it is necessary to acquire the temperature data at the water inlet 11 in real time. During the operation of the first heater 3, as long as the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 2 is less than 0°C, the second heater 4 will continue to work. If the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 2 is greater than or equal to 0°C, the second heater 4 will stop working. After the first heater 3 stops working, it continues to acquire the temperature data at the temperature sensor 2. If the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 2 is greater than or equal to 0°C at this time, the second heater 4 will stop working. If the temperature data is less than 0°C, the forced defrosting mode will be activated, and the second heater 4 will continue to work to the next stage.

[0062] In this embodiment, the temperature sensor 2 used to detect the water inlet 11 is a thermistor.

[0063] The following describes the working state of the forced defrosting mode:

[0064] In forced defrosting mode, the temperature at water inlet 11 needs to be obtained; the second heater 4 is started until the exit conditions are met.

[0065] The above exit conditions are:

[0066] The maximum operating time of the second heater 4 in forced defrosting mode is preset to t1;

[0067] If the temperature at water inlet 11 remains below 0°C during the operation time t1 of the second heater 4, the refrigerator will be controlled to enter the forced cooling mode.

[0068] If the temperature at the water inlet 11 is not less than 0℃ after the second heater 4 has been running for A time, then the refrigerator will be controlled to enter the cooling mode.

[0069] Both A and t1 are positive numbers and A ≤ t1.

[0070] In forced defrosting mode, the maximum running time of the second heater 4 is t1. During the time t1, the temperature at the water inlet 11 needs to be monitored in real time (i.e., the temperature data at the temperature sensor 2 needs to be acquired in real time). If the temperature at the water inlet 11 is not less than 0℃, the second heater 4 will be turned off immediately (at this time, the working time of the second heater 4 is A), and the refrigerator can enter the cooling mode normally. If the temperature at the water inlet 11 is always less than 0℃ during the time t1, in order to avoid the refrigerator's preservation effect being affected by prolonged defrosting, the second heater 4 is set to stop working after the continuous running time t1, and the refrigerator enters the forced cooling mode.

[0071] As an optional implementation, the forced cooling mode controls the refrigerator to continuously cool for a preset duration, where the preset duration is t2 and t2 is a positive number.

[0072] The difference between forced cooling mode and normal cooling mode is that the cooling time in forced cooling mode is fixed and independent of the internal temperature of the refrigerator (i.e., it is not affected by changes in the internal temperature). In this mode, the compressor runs continuously for t2. During the cooling process, the drain pipe absorbs heat, thus helping to defrost the ice at the drain inlet 11.

[0073] After the forced cooling mode ends, the temperature at water inlet 11 needs to be measured again.

[0074] If the temperature at water inlet 11 is less than 0℃ at this time, the refrigerator will be controlled to re-enter the forced defrosting mode;

[0075] If the temperature at water inlet 11 is not less than 0℃, then the refrigerator will be controlled to enter the cooling mode.

[0076] In other words, if the temperature at water inlet 11 is not less than 0℃, the refrigerator will be controlled to enter the normal cooling mode. In this mode, the start and stop of the compressor is controlled by the temperature change inside the refrigerator. Then, according to the refrigerator system settings, it will enter the defrosting cycle and repeat the above process.

[0077] If the temperature at water inlet 11 is below 0°C, the refrigerator needs to re-enter the forced defrosting mode. The second heater 4 will then operate and heat the water inlet 11 to defrost the refrigerator. This process is repeated until defrosting is complete. Afterward, the refrigerator enters normal cooling mode according to the system settings and repeats the above process.

[0078] The above steps are as follows Figure 4 As shown.

[0079] It is understood that the technical solution provided in this embodiment can achieve precise defrosting without affecting the refrigerator's preservation effect through the above steps, effectively solving the problem of ice forming and clogging the water tray 1 at the water inlet 11, and improving the user experience.

[0080] Example 4:

[0081] The present invention also provides a refrigerator, comprising:

[0082] One or more memories on which executable programs are stored;

[0083] One or more processors are configured to execute the executable program in the memory to implement the steps of the method described above.

[0084] Regarding the refrigerator in the above embodiments, the specific method by which its processor executes the program in the memory has been described in detail in Embodiment 3 of the method, and will not be elaborated here.

[0085] It is understood that the same or similar parts in the above embodiments can be referred to each other, and the contents not described in detail in some embodiments can be referred to the same or similar contents in other embodiments.

[0086] It should be noted that in the description of this application, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. Furthermore, in the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" or "more" means at least two.

[0087] It should be understood that when an element is referred to as "fixed to" or "set on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or may have an intervening element present at the same time; when an element is referred to as "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or may have an intervening element present at the same time. In addition, the term "connected" as used herein may include wireless connections; the word "and / or" as used includes any unit and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0088] Any process or method description in the flowchart or otherwise herein can be understood as: representing a module, segment, or portion of code comprising one or more executable instructions for implementing a particular logical function or process, and the scope of the preferred embodiments of this application includes additional implementations in which functions may be performed not in the order shown or discussed, including substantially simultaneously or in reverse order depending on the function involved, as should be understood by those skilled in the art to which embodiments of this application pertain.

[0089] It should be understood that various parts of this application can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the above embodiments, multiple steps or methods can be implemented using software or firmware stored in memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented in hardware, as in another embodiment, it can be implemented using any one or a combination of the following techniques known in the art: discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing logical functions on data signals, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having suitable combinational logic gates, programmable gate arrays (PGAs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.

[0090] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of the methods in the above embodiments can be implemented by a program instructing related hardware. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, the program includes one or a combination of the steps of the method embodiments.

[0091] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into a processing module, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into a module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. If the integrated module is implemented as a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0092] The storage media mentioned above can be read-only memory, disk, or optical disk, etc.

[0093] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0094] Although embodiments of this application have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting this application. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A defrosting control method for a refrigerator, characterized in that, It includes a water receiving tray, a temperature sensor, and a heater, wherein the heater includes a first heater and a second heater; A water inlet is formed on the water receiving tray, and the temperature sensor and the second heater are both located around the water inlet. The system includes an evaporator, wherein a first heater is located below or beside the evaporator for heating the evaporator; the control method includes: Obtain the operating status of the first heater in defrosting mode; When the first heater stops working, the temperature at the water inlet is obtained; If the temperature at the water inlet is less than 0°C, the refrigerator enters the forced defrosting mode. The forced defrosting mode is as follows: Obtain the temperature at the water inlet; Start the second heater until the exit condition is met; The exit condition is as follows: The maximum operating time of the second heater is preset to t1; If the temperature at the water inlet remains below 0°C during the second heater's operation time t1, the refrigerator is controlled to enter forced cooling mode. If the temperature at the water inlet is not less than 0°C after the second heater has been running for a period of time A, then the refrigerator is controlled to enter the cooling mode. Both A and t1 are positive numbers and A ≤ t1.

2. The defrosting control method for a refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second heater is an annular heater.

3. The defrosting control method for a refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, If the temperature at the water inlet is not less than 0°C, the refrigerator is controlled to enter the cooling mode.

4. The defrosting control method for a refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The forced cooling mode is to control the refrigerator to continuously cool for a preset duration, where the preset duration is t2, and t2 is a positive number.

5. The defrosting control method for a refrigerator according to claim 4, characterized in that, After the forced cooling mode ends, the temperature at the water inlet is obtained; If the temperature at the water inlet is less than 0°C, the refrigerator will be controlled to re-enter the forced defrosting mode. If the temperature at the water inlet is not less than 0°C, the refrigerator is controlled to enter the cooling mode.

6. A refrigerator, characterized in that, include: One or more memories on which executable programs are stored; One or more processors are configured to execute the executable program in the memory to implement the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1-5.

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