Control method of refrigerator and refrigerator

Abstract

The present application relates to a refrigerator control method and a refrigerator, the refrigerator comprising a storage compartment and a storage device arranged in the storage compartment, the storage device having a dry mode and a humidification mode, and comprising a supply air outlet and a return air inlet, the refrigerator further comprising an evaporator, a supply air fan, and a supply air damper arranged on an air flow path between the evaporator and the supply air outlet. The control method comprises: when the storage device is set to the humidification mode, controlling the supply air damper to be closed and starting timing; when the storage compartment reaches a refrigeration starting condition, determining whether the timing time reaches 1 / N of a preset maximum timing duration; if yes, first controlling the supply air damper to perform a reset action, and then starting refrigeration; if no, directly starting refrigeration. The present application can prevent the supply air damper from freezing due to too long closing time, and also can prevent the refrigeration of the storage compartment from being interrupted due to the reset of the supply air damper, thereby avoiding affecting the refrigeration of the storage compartment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to refrigeration and freezing technology, and in particular to a control method for a refrigerator and a refrigerator. Background Technology

[0002] As refrigerators become an integral part of people's daily lives, users have increasingly diverse functional requirements. For instance, people want refrigerators to be used not only for storing common foods that require high humidity, such as fruits, vegetables, and meats, but also for storing dry goods that require a low-humidity environment. To meet users' needs for both dry and high-humidity spaces, and to avoid wasting space, existing technologies have developed drawers within refrigerators that can switch between dry and wet functions to store foods with different humidity requirements.

[0003] When a drawer is set to dry mode, the common dehumidification method is to introduce cooling airflow into the drawer. As the airflow passes over the cooler evaporator, the moisture in the airflow condenses on the evaporator, thus reducing humidity. When a drawer is set to humidification mode, the common humidification method is to close the drawer's air damper to prevent cooling airflow from entering, relying on the moisture evaporated from the fruits and vegetables stored inside to maintain higher humidity. However, when a drawer is in humidification mode for an extended period, the air damper remains closed. One side of the air damper is in contact with the cooler airflow, while the other side is connected to the higher humidity inside the drawer. Therefore, if the air damper remains closed for a long time, there is a risk of freezing, and it may not be able to open properly when the drawer is set to dry mode. Summary of the Invention

[0004] One objective of the first aspect of the present invention is to overcome at least one deficiency of the prior art and to provide a refrigerator control method that can effectively prevent the air supply damper from freezing and will not affect the cooling of the storage compartment.

[0005] Another objective of the first aspect of the present invention is to avoid the impact of the operation of preventing the air supply damper from freezing on the humidity inside the storage device.

[0006] The second aspect of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can effectively prevent the air supply door from freezing.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a control method for a refrigerator, the refrigerator including a storage compartment and a storage device disposed in the storage compartment, the storage device having a drying mode and a humidifying mode with preset humidity ranges, and including an air inlet and a return air inlet, the refrigerator further including an evaporator for providing cooling airflow, an air supply fan for directing the cooling airflow to the storage compartment and / or the storage device, and an air supply damper disposed on the airflow path between the evaporator and the air inlet; the control method includes:

[0008] When the storage device is set to the humidification mode, the air supply damper is controlled to close and a timer is started.

[0009] When the storage room reaches the cooling start-up condition, determine whether the timing time has reached 1 / N of the preset maximum timing time;

[0010] If so, the air supply damper will first be controlled to perform a reset action, and then the cooling system will be started; if not, the cooling system will be started directly.

[0011] The operation of starting the refrigeration includes introducing refrigerant into the evaporator and starting the air supply fan; the reset action of the air supply damper includes opening the air supply damper and then closing the air supply damper.

[0012] Optionally, after directly starting the cooling system, the control method further includes:

[0013] When the timing reaches the preset maximum timing duration, the status of the air supply fan is obtained;

[0014] If the air supply fan is in a stopped state, the air supply damper is directly controlled to perform a reset action;

[0015] If the air supply fan is in operation, the air supply fan is stopped first, and then the air supply damper is controlled to perform a reset action. After the air supply damper completes its reset action, the air supply fan is restarted.

[0016] Optionally, the control method further includes:

[0017] When the timing reaches the preset maximum timing duration and the storage room has not yet met the refrigeration start-up conditions, the air supply damper is controlled to perform a reset action.

[0018] Optionally, the control method further includes:

[0019] The timer is reset and restarted after each reset action of the air supply damper.

[0020] Optionally, the control method further includes:

[0021] When the storage device is set to the drying mode, the timer is reset to zero and stops.

[0022] Optionally, the preset maximum timing duration is set to be more than N times the cooling time of the storage room.

[0023] Optionally, the storage device further includes a return air damper disposed at the return air inlet; and

[0024] The return air damper is configured to perform a reset action synchronously with the supply air damper.

[0025] Optionally, the control method further includes:

[0026] When the storage device is in the drying mode, the humidity inside the storage device is obtained;

[0027] When the humidity inside the storage device is higher than a first preset humidity threshold, it is determined whether the refrigerator is in a cooling state.

[0028] If the refrigerator is in cooling mode, the air supply damper is opened directly to allow the cooling airflow generated by the evaporator to flow into the storage device;

[0029] If the refrigerator is not in a cooling state, the cooling will be forcibly started, and the air supply damper will be opened after the preset conditions are met, so as to allow the cooling airflow generated by the evaporator to flow into the storage device.

[0030] Optionally, the preset condition is that the refrigerator is forced to start cooling for a first preset duration; or the preset condition is that the relative humidity value of the cooling airflow generated by the evaporator relative to the environment inside the storage device is lower than a second preset humidity threshold; or

[0031] The preset condition is that the temperature of the cooling airflow along the airflow path between the evaporator and the air outlet is lower than a preset temperature threshold.

[0032] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention also provides a refrigerator, comprising a storage compartment and a storage device disposed in the storage compartment, the storage device having a drying mode and a humidifying mode with preset humidity ranges, and including an air supply vent and an air return vent; the refrigerator further includes:

[0033] Evaporator used to provide cooling airflow;

[0034] A blower is used to direct cooling airflow toward the storage compartment and / or the storage device;

[0035] An air supply damper is installed on the airflow path between the evaporator and the air supply outlet;

[0036] A timing device for keeping time; and

[0037] A control device includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing a machine-executable program, and the machine-executable program being executed by the processor to implement the control method described in any of the above schemes.

[0038] The refrigerator control method of this invention, when the storage device is set to humidification mode, not only controls the air supply damper to close to prevent low-humidity cooling airflow from entering the storage device, but also starts a timer to monitor the duration of the air supply damper's closure. When the storage compartment reaches the cooling start condition and needs to cool, this invention does not directly start cooling. Instead, it determines whether the current timer has reached 1 / N of the preset maximum timer duration. If so, it indicates that the air supply damper has been closed long enough and is close to the time it needs to reset. Therefore, the air supply damper can be controlled to perform a reset action (i.e., open the air supply damper and then close it) before starting cooling. This is because after the reset action, the air supply damper generally does not need to be reset again during the cooling period of the storage compartment. Therefore, it can prevent the air supply damper from freezing due to excessively long closing time, and it will not interrupt the cooling of the storage compartment due to the need for the air supply damper to reset, thus avoiding any impact on the cooling of the storage compartment.

[0039] Furthermore, when the timer reaches the preset maximum timer duration, the air supply damper needs to be reset. The applicant recognizes that even if the air supply damper is opened for a very short time during the reset action, if the cooling airflow velocity is high, a large amount of cooling airflow will still flow into the storage device, causing a significant decrease in humidity within the storage device. Therefore, when the timer reaches the preset maximum timer duration, the control method of this invention does not directly control the air supply damper to perform the reset action. Instead, it acquires the status of the air supply fan and selects the timing for the air supply damper to perform the reset action based on the status of the air supply fan. When the air supply fan is stopped, it will not drive any airflow to the storage device, and the air supply damper can be directly controlled to perform the reset action. When the air supply fan is running, it is stopped first, and then the air supply damper is controlled to perform the reset action. After the air supply fan stops, the cooling airflow velocity is almost zero, so the cooling airflow will not flow to the storage device when the air supply fan performs the reset action, thus avoiding the impact of the air supply damper reset action on the humidity within the storage device.

[0040] The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0041] The following sections will describe some specific embodiments of the invention in detail by way of example and not limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts or portions. Those skilled in the art should understand that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings:

[0042] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 2This is a schematic flowchart of a refrigerator control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 3 This is a schematic flowchart of a refrigerator control method according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart of a refrigerator control method according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart of a refrigerator control method according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 6 This is a schematic structural block diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0048] This invention first provides a method for controlling a refrigerator. Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator 1 of the present invention includes a storage compartment 11 for storing items and a storage device 20 disposed in the storage compartment 11. The storage device 20 has a drying mode and a humidifying mode with different preset humidity ranges. That is, the preset humidity range of the storage device 20 in the drying mode is different from its preset humidity range in the humidifying mode. Specifically, the preset humidity range of the storage device 20 in the drying mode is lower than its preset humidity range in the humidifying mode. When the storage device 20 is set to the drying mode, its humidity is lower, which can be used to store precious items, dried goods, etc.; when the storage device 20 is set to the humidifying mode, its humidity is higher, which can be used to store fruits and vegetables, etc.

[0049] Furthermore, the storage unit 20 includes an air inlet 21 for allowing airflow to enter and an air outlet 22 for allowing airflow to exit from its interior. The refrigerator 1 also includes an evaporator 30 for providing cooling airflow, a blower 70 for directing cooling airflow toward the storage compartment 11 and / or the storage unit 20, and an air damper 40 disposed in the airflow path between the evaporator 30 and the air inlet 21.

[0050] The refrigerator control method of the present invention is based on a refrigerator 1 having the above-described structure. The control method of the present invention includes:

[0051] When the storage device 20 is set to the humidification mode, the air supply damper 40 is closed and the timer starts;

[0052] When the storage room 11 meets the cooling start-up conditions, determine whether the timing time has reached 1 / N of the preset maximum timing time;

[0053] If so, first control the air supply damper 40 to perform a reset action, and then start the cooling system; if not, start the cooling system directly; where...

[0054] The operation of starting the refrigeration includes introducing refrigerant into the evaporator 30 and starting the air supply fan 70 to deliver cooling airflow into the storage compartment 11; the reset action of the air supply damper 40 includes opening the air supply damper 40 and then closing the air supply damper 40.

[0055] The refrigerator control method of the present invention, when the storage device 20 is set to the humidification mode, not only controls the air supply damper 40 to close to prevent the low-humidity cooling airflow from entering the storage device 20, but also starts a timer to monitor the duration of the air supply damper 40's closure to avoid the air supply damper 40 being closed for too long. The applicant recognizes that if the air supply damper 40 is only controlled to reset when the preset maximum timeout period has been reached, the storage compartment 11 may be in a cooling state, i.e., the air supply fan 70 is running. The low-temperature, low-humidity cooling airflow will flow into the storage device 20 at the moment the air supply damper 40 resets, affecting the humidity inside the storage device 20. To avoid this phenomenon, cooling can be paused before the air supply damper 40 resets; however, an interruption in cooling will have a certain impact on the cooling of the storage compartment 11.

[0056] Therefore, this invention links the closing duration of the air supply damper 40 with the cooling start-up of the storage compartment 11. When the storage compartment 11 meets the cooling start-up conditions and requires cooling, this invention does not directly start cooling. Instead, it determines whether the current timing time has reached 1 / N of the preset maximum timing time. If so, it indicates that the closing time of the air supply damper 40 is long enough, and the time to reach the maximum timing time to cause the air supply damper 40 to reset is relatively close. Therefore, the air supply damper 40 can be controlled to perform a reset action (i.e., open the air supply damper 40 first and then close it) before starting cooling. This is because after the reset action is performed, the air supply damper 40 generally does not need to be reset again during the cooling period of the storage compartment 11. Therefore, it can prevent the air supply damper 40 from freezing due to excessive closing time, and it will not cause the cooling of the storage compartment 11 to be interrupted due to the need for the air supply damper 40 to reset, thus avoiding any impact on the cooling of the storage compartment 11.

[0057] It is understandable that the above-mentioned cooling start-up conditions can be that the temperature in the storage compartment 11 rises to the preset temperature, or that the storage compartment 11 stops cooling for a preset time period, or other conditions that can cause the refrigeration system of the refrigerator 1 to start to provide cooling capacity to the storage compartment 11.

[0058] Figure 2This is a schematic flowchart of a refrigerator control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control method of the present invention may specifically include:

[0059] Step S10: Obtain the functional mode of the storage device 20;

[0060] Step S20: Determine whether the function mode of the storage device 20 is drying mode or moisturizing mode; if it is moisturizing mode, proceed to step S31.

[0061] Step S31: Control the air supply damper 40 to close and start timing;

[0062] Step S32: Determine whether the storage room 11 meets the conditions for starting the cooling system; if so, proceed to step S33.

[0063] Step S33: Determine whether the timing time has reached 1 / N of the preset maximum timing duration; if yes, proceed to step S34; otherwise, proceed to step S35.

[0064] Step S34: First, control the air supply damper 40 to perform a reset action, and then start the cooling.

[0065] Step S35: Start the cooling system directly.

[0066] In some embodiments, the control method of the present invention further includes:

[0067] When the storage room 11 has not yet reached the cooling start-up condition, but the timing time has reached the preset maximum timing time, the air supply damper 40 is controlled to perform a reset action.

[0068] In other words, the longest closing time of the air supply damper 40 is the preset maximum timeout, which can effectively prevent the air supply damper 40 from freezing.

[0069] Figure 3 This is a schematic flowchart of a refrigerator control method according to another embodiment of the present invention. When it is determined in step S32 that the storage compartment 11 has not met the cooling start-up conditions, the control method of the present invention further includes:

[0070] Step S33': Determine whether the timing time has reached the preset maximum timing duration; if yes, proceed to step S34'; otherwise, return to step S32.

[0071] Step S34′: Control the air supply damper 40 to perform a reset action.

[0072] In some embodiments, the aforementioned preset maximum timing duration can be set to more than N times the cooling duration of the storage room 11. Therefore, when the timing reaches 1 / N of the preset maximum timing duration, the air supply damper 40 is controlled to perform a reset action before cooling is restarted. This ensures that the closing time of the air supply damper 40 during the cooling process will never reach the preset maximum timing duration. Thus, the situation where cooling is forced to stop during the cooling process of the storage room 11 due to the air supply damper 40 needing to perform a reset action can be completely avoided.

[0073] Specifically, the value of N is preferably 2. In some alternative embodiments, the value of N may be slightly less than 2, for example 1.5, or slightly greater than 2, for example 2.5.

[0074] In some embodiments, see Figure 4 The schematic flowchart shown is a refrigerator control method according to another embodiment of the present invention. After directly starting the cooling in step S35, the control method of the present invention further includes:

[0075] Step S36: Determine whether the timing time has reached the preset maximum timing duration; if so, proceed to step S37.

[0076] Step S37: Obtain the status of the air supply fan 70;

[0077] Step S38: Determine whether the air supply fan 70 is in a stopped or running state; if the air supply fan 70 is in a stopped state, proceed to step S391; if the air supply fan 70 is in a running state, proceed to step S392.

[0078] Step S391: Directly control the air supply damper 40 to perform a reset action;

[0079] Step S392: First, stop the air supply fan 70, then control the air supply damper 40 to perform a reset action, and restart the air supply fan 70 after the reset action of the air supply damper 40 is completed.

[0080] After the cooling system is directly activated, the air supply damper 70 remains closed, and the timing is not interrupted. Therefore, the timing duration may reach the preset maximum timing duration, requiring the air supply damper 70 to perform a reset action to prevent freezing. The applicant recognizes that even if the air supply damper 40 is opened for a very short time during the reset action, if the cooling airflow velocity is high, a large amount of cooling airflow will still flow into the storage device 20 after the air supply damper opens, resulting in a significant decrease in humidity within the storage device 20. Therefore, when the timing duration reaches the preset maximum timing duration, the control method of this invention does not directly control the air supply damper 40 to perform the reset action. Instead, it acquires the state of the air supply fan 70 and selects the timing for the air supply damper 40 to perform the reset action based on the state of the air supply fan 70. Specifically, when the air supply fan 70 is stopped, it will not drive any airflow to the storage device 20, so the air supply damper 40 can be directly controlled to perform a reset action. When the air supply fan 70 is running, the air supply fan 70 is stopped first, and then the air supply damper 40 is controlled to perform a reset action. After the air supply fan 70 stops, the flow rate of the cooling air is almost zero. Therefore, when the air supply damper 40 performs a reset action, the cooling airflow will basically not flow to the storage device 20, thus avoiding the impact of the air supply damper 40's reset action on the humidity inside the storage device 20. Furthermore, the air supply fan 70 is started immediately after the air supply damper 40 performs a reset action. Since the reset action of the air supply damper 40 takes a short time, the forced stop time of the air supply fan 70 is also relatively short, and the impact of the air supply fan 70 stopping its operation on the storage compartment 11 is also relatively small.

[0081] In some embodiments, the control method of the present invention further includes: resetting the timer and restarting the timer after each reset action of the air supply damper 40, and repeating a series of steps after step S32. This not only effectively avoids the risk of the air supply damper 40 being frozen, but also minimizes the impact on the cooling of the storage room 11.

[0082] In some embodiments, the control method of the present invention further includes: resetting the timer and stopping the timing when the storage device 20 is set to the drying mode. When the storage device 20 is set to the drying mode, the air supply damper 40 needs to be opened to deliver cooling airflow into the storage device 20. Therefore, there is no risk of the air supply damper 40 freezing. At this time, timing is no longer needed, and the timer is reset so that it can start timing from zero when the storage device 20 is set to the moisturizing mode again.

[0083] The applicant recognizes that the prior art typically prevents cooling airflow from continuing to enter the storage device 20 by closing the air supply damper, but neglects the return air vent of the storage device 20. The return air vent of the storage device 20 is directly exposed to the storage chamber 11, which means that the return air from the storage chamber 11 enters the storage device 20 through the return air vent of the storage device 20 and affects the temperature and humidity inside the storage device 20.

[0084] Therefore, in some embodiments, the storage device 20 further includes a return air damper 24 disposed at the return air inlet 22, and the return air damper 24 is configured to perform a reset action synchronously with the supply air damper 40. That is, the return air damper 24 is configured to open and close synchronously with the supply air damper 40. Thus, it is no longer necessary to separately time the closing time of the return air damper 24, avoiding the risk of the return air damper 24 being frozen.

[0085] When the storage device 20 is set to dry mode, the return air damper 24 is configured to open and close synchronously with the supply air damper 40. That is, the return air damper 24 is configured to open synchronously with the supply air damper 40 to allow the return airflow within the storage device 20 to flow towards the evaporator 30, and to close synchronously with the supply air damper 40 to prevent airflow into and out of the storage device 20. When the supply air damper 40 and the return air damper 24 are open, the cooling airflow generated by the evaporator 30 is allowed to flow into the storage device 20. The original air in the storage device 20 returns to the evaporator 30 through the return air inlet 22 and the return air duct of the storage chamber 11, thereby replacing the air in the storage device 20. Because the moisture in the airflow condenses on the evaporator 30 when it flows through the lower-temperature evaporator, the temperature and humidity of the resulting cooling airflow are relatively low. Therefore, after the cooling airflow replaces the air in the storage device 20, a low-temperature, low-humidity dry storage space can be formed inside the storage device 20. When the humidity inside the storage device 20 drops to the preset humidity threshold corresponding to the drying mode, the supply air damper 40 and the return air damper 24 can be closed in a controlled manner. At this time, even if there is return airflow in the return air duct of the storage compartment 11, and regardless of whether negative pressure is formed inside the storage device 20, the return air duct of the storage compartment and the airflow in the storage compartment 11 will not flow into the storage device 20 and affect the humidity inside the storage device 20 due to the obstruction of the return air damper 24.

[0086] As can be seen, by setting up an air supply damper 40 and a return air damper 24, and controlling the opening and closing of the air supply damper 40 and the return air damper 24, the present invention forms a storage space with adjustable humidity within the storage device 20, and the humidity of the storage space is not affected by the storage room 11, thereby improving the preservation quality of the items in the storage device 20.

[0087] The applicant recognizes that when the storage device 20 is in drying mode, it is necessary to supply cooling airflow into the storage device 20. However, when refrigerant is first introduced into the evaporator 30, the temperature of the evaporator 30 has not yet dropped, and the humidity of the cooling airflow generated at this time is high. If airflow is supplied into the storage device 20 at this time, high humidity water vapor will be brought into the storage device 20, affecting the drying performance of the storage device 20 and causing the dried goods to absorb moisture and deteriorate.

[0088] For this reason, see Figure 5 The diagram shown is a schematic flowchart of a refrigerator control method according to another embodiment of the present invention. When it is determined in step S20 that the storage device 20 is in drying mode, the control method of the present invention further includes:

[0089] Step S41: Obtain the humidity inside the storage device 20;

[0090] Step S42: Determine whether the humidity inside the storage device 20 is higher than the first preset humidity threshold; if yes, proceed to step S44; if no, proceed to step S43.

[0091] Step S43: Keep the air supply damper 40 closed;

[0092] Step S44: Determine whether refrigerator 1 is in cooling mode; if yes, proceed to step S45; if no, proceed to step S46.

[0093] Step S45: Directly open the air supply damper 40 to open the airflow path between the evaporator 30 and the air outlet 21, thereby allowing the cooling airflow generated by the evaporator 30 to flow into the storage device 20.

[0094] Step S46: Force the refrigeration to start, and open the air supply damper 40 after the preset conditions are met, so as to open the airflow path between the evaporator 30 and the air supply port 21, thereby allowing the cooling airflow generated by the evaporator 30 to flow into the storage device 20.

[0095] When the refrigerator 1 of the present invention is in dry mode and the humidity inside the storage device 20 is high, it does not directly open the air vent 40. Instead, it first determines whether the refrigerator 1 is in cooling mode, and then performs different operations depending on whether the refrigerator 1 is cooling or not. When the refrigerator 1 is in cooling mode, it means that refrigerant has been introduced into the evaporator 30. At this time, the temperature of the evaporator 30 is already very low, and the temperature and humidity of the cooling airflow formed after the airflow passes through the evaporator 30 are relatively low. At this time, the air vent 40 can be opened directly, allowing the cooling airflow to immediately flow into the storage device 20, thereby quickly creating a low-humidity storage environment inside the storage device 20. When the refrigerator 1 is in non-cooling mode, it means that no refrigerant is flowing through the evaporator 30. At this time, it is necessary to force the cooling to start so that the refrigerant flows through the evaporator 30, thereby lowering the temperature of the evaporator 30 and reducing the humidity after the airflow passes through the evaporator 30. Opening the air supply damper 40 after the preset conditions are met is equivalent to delaying the opening time of the air supply damper 40. At this time, the humidity of the cooling airflow formed is low enough to effectively reduce the humidity inside the storage device 20. There will be no temporary increase in humidity inside the storage device 20, which ensures the good preservation quality of dry goods and avoids the dry goods from getting damp and deteriorating.

[0096] In some embodiments, the aforementioned preset condition is that the refrigerator 1 is forced to start cooling for a first preset time. That is to say, the opening of the air supply damper 40 can be controlled by delaying the opening time of the air supply damper 40, without needing to obtain other parameters or perform complex analysis and processing of the parameters, thus simplifying the control logic of the refrigerator.

[0097] In these embodiments, the steps of forcibly starting the cooling system and then opening the air supply damper after the preset conditions are met may specifically include:

[0098] Start the cooling system to allow refrigerant to flow through the evaporator 30;

[0099] Determine whether the cooling start-up time has reached the first preset time;

[0100] If so, the air supply damper 40 is opened to open the airflow path between the evaporator 30 and the air outlet 21, thereby allowing the cooling airflow generated by the evaporator 30 to flow into the storage device 20.

[0101] Specifically, after the refrigerator is forced to start cooling for the first preset time, the temperature of the evaporator 30 has dropped low enough, and the humidity of the cooling airflow formed after flowing through the evaporator 30 is also low enough. At this time, the air supply damper 40 is opened, and the cooling airflow flows into the storage device 20, ensuring that the storage device 20 always maintains a low humidity, which is beneficial for the preservation of dry goods.

[0102] The applicant recognizes that the fundamental reason for the delayed opening of the air supply damper 40 is the high humidity of the cooling airflow when the refrigeration is first started, which does not meet the requirements. Therefore, the aforementioned preset condition can be that the relative humidity of the cooling airflow generated by the evaporator 30 relative to the environment inside the storage device 20 is lower than a second preset humidity threshold. In other words, the opening of the air supply damper 40 can also be controlled directly based on the comparison between the relative humidity of the cooling airflow and the second preset humidity threshold, which is more in line with actual conditions and has higher control precision.

[0103] Furthermore, the relative humidity value of the cooling airflow can be obtained in the following way:

[0104] The absolute humidity value of the cooling airflow along the airflow path between the evaporator 30 and the air outlet 21, and the temperature value inside the storage device 20 are obtained; and

[0105] Find the relative humidity value of the absolute humidity value at the temperature value in the preset air temperature and humidity comparison table, or calculate the relative humidity value of the absolute humidity value at the temperature value according to the preset calculation formula.

[0106] This invention obtains the absolute humidity of the cooling airflow and the temperature inside the storage device 20, and obtains the relative humidity value of the cooling airflow under the temperature environment inside the storage device 20 by looking up a table or calculation, which has a low cost.

[0107] In some other embodiments, the aforementioned preset condition may also be that the temperature of the cooling airflow along the airflow path between the evaporator 30 and the air outlet 21 is lower than a preset temperature threshold. That is, the opening of the air supply damper 40 can be directly controlled based on the temperature of the cooling airflow.

[0108] The applicant recognizes that after the airflow passes through the evaporator 30, both the temperature and humidity of the airflow decrease simultaneously. Therefore, the humidity level of the cooling airflow can be indirectly determined by its temperature. Furthermore, the temperature of the cooling airflow is directly obtained through a temperature sensing device such as a temperature sensor, which is much cheaper than devices for obtaining airflow humidity. Therefore, this invention directly controls the opening of the air supply damper 40 based on the comparison between the cooling airflow temperature and a preset temperature threshold, which not only conforms to practical considerations but also effectively controls the increase in the cost of the refrigerator 1.

[0109] The applicant recognizes that when the refrigerator 1 is forced to start cooling, the storage compartment 11 may not need to be cooled. If cooling air is supplied to the storage compartment 11 at this time, the temperature inside the storage compartment 11 may be too low and damage the items placed directly in the storage compartment 11.

[0110] Therefore, in some embodiments, a compartment air supply damper may be provided at the air supply outlet of the storage compartment 11. In these embodiments, the control method of the present invention further includes:

[0111] When the refrigerator is forced to start cooling, the temperature inside storage compartment 11 is obtained;

[0112] When the temperature inside the storage compartment 11 is higher than its set temperature, the compartment air supply damper is opened to allow cooling airflow into the storage compartment 11; when the temperature inside the storage compartment 11 is lower than its set temperature, the compartment air supply damper is closed to prevent cooling airflow from entering the storage compartment 11.

[0113] Therefore, by controlling the opening and closing of the air supply damper in the compartment, the humidity regulation operation of the storage device 20 can be prevented from having an adverse effect on the temperature inside the storage compartment 11.

[0114] The present invention also provides a refrigerator, Figure 6 This is a schematic structural block diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. See also... Figure 1 and Figure 6The refrigerator 1 of the present invention includes a storage compartment 11 for storing items and a storage device 20 disposed in the storage compartment 11. The storage device 20 has a drying mode and a moisturizing mode with different preset humidity ranges, and includes an air outlet 21 and an air return outlet 22.

[0115] Furthermore, the refrigerator 1 also includes an evaporator 30 for providing cooling airflow, a blower 70 for directing the cooling airflow to the storage compartment 11 and / or storage unit 20, a blower 40 disposed on the airflow path between the evaporator 30 and the air outlet 21, a timing device 80 for timing, and a control device 60. The control device 60 includes a processor 61 and a memory 62, the memory 62 storing a machine-executable program 63, and the machine-executable program 63, when executed by the processor 61, is used to implement the control method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0116] Specifically, the number of storage devices 20 can be one, two or more. When the number of storage devices 20 is two, the two storage devices 20 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction inside the refrigerator 1.

[0117] The refrigerator 1 in this application is a refrigerator in a broad sense, which includes not only the refrigerator in the narrow sense as commonly referred to, but also storage devices with refrigeration, freezing or other storage functions, such as refrigerator boxes, freezers, etc.

[0118] Those skilled in the art should also understand that, unless otherwise specified, the humidity mentioned in this invention refers to relative humidity.

[0119] Therefore, those skilled in the art should recognize that although numerous exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail herein, many other variations or modifications conforming to the principles of the present invention can be directly determined or derived from the disclosure of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the scope of the present invention should be understood and construed as covering all such other variations or modifications.

Claims

1. A control method for a refrigerator, the refrigerator comprising a storage compartment and a storage device disposed in the storage compartment, the storage device having a drying mode and a humidifying mode with preset humidity ranges, and including an air inlet and a return air inlet, the refrigerator further comprising an evaporator for providing cooling airflow, an air supply fan for directing the cooling airflow to the storage compartment and / or the storage device, and an air supply damper disposed on the airflow path between the evaporator and the air inlet; the control method comprising: When the storage device is set to the humidification mode, the air supply damper is controlled to close and a timer is started. When the storage room reaches the cooling start-up condition, it is determined whether the timing time has reached 1 / N of the preset maximum timing time; If so, the air supply damper will first be controlled to perform a reset action, and then the cooling system will be started; if not, the cooling system will be started directly. The operation of starting the refrigeration includes introducing refrigerant into the evaporator and starting the air supply fan; the reset action of the air supply damper includes opening the air supply damper and then closing the air supply damper.

2. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising, after directly starting the cooling system: When the timing reaches the preset maximum timing duration, the status of the air supply fan is obtained; If the air supply fan is in a stopped state, the air supply damper is directly controlled to perform a reset action; If the air supply fan is in operation, the air supply fan is stopped first, and then the air supply damper is controlled to perform a reset action. After the air supply damper completes its reset action, the air supply fan is restarted.

3. The control method according to claim 1 further includes: When the timing reaches the preset maximum timing duration and the storage room has not yet met the refrigeration start-up conditions, the air supply damper is controlled to perform a reset action.

4. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: The timer is reset and restarted after each reset action of the air supply damper.

5. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising: When the storage device is set to the drying mode, the timer is reset to zero and stops.

6. The control method according to claim 1, wherein The preset maximum timing duration is set to be more than N times the cooling time of the storage room.

7. The control method according to claim 1, wherein, The storage device also includes a return air damper disposed at the return air inlet; and The return air damper is configured to perform a reset action synchronously with the supply air damper.

8. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising: When the storage device is in the drying mode, the humidity inside the storage device is obtained; When the humidity inside the storage device is higher than a first preset humidity threshold, it is determined whether the refrigerator is in a cooling state. If the refrigerator is in cooling mode, the air supply damper is opened directly to allow the cooling airflow generated by the evaporator to flow into the storage device; If the refrigerator is not in a cooling state, the cooling will be forcibly started, and the air supply damper will be opened after the preset conditions are met, so as to allow the cooling airflow generated by the evaporator to flow into the storage device.

9. The control method according to claim 8, wherein, The preset condition is that the refrigerator is forced to start cooling for a first preset time; or the preset condition is that the relative humidity value of the cooling airflow generated by the evaporator relative to the environment inside the storage device is lower than a second preset humidity threshold; or The preset condition is that the temperature of the cooling airflow along the airflow path between the evaporator and the air outlet is lower than a preset temperature threshold.

10. A refrigerator, comprising a storage compartment and a storage device disposed in the storage compartment, the storage device having a drying mode and a humidifying mode with preset humidity ranges, and including an air supply vent and an air return vent; the refrigerator further comprising: Evaporator used to provide cooling airflow; A blower is used to direct cooling airflow toward the storage compartment and / or the storage device; An air supply damper is installed on the airflow path between the evaporator and the air supply outlet; A timing device used for keeping time; as well as A control device includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing a machine-executable program, which, when executed by the processor, is used to implement the control method according to any one of claims 1-9.

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