Refrigerator and defrosting control method thereof

Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigerator and a defrost control method thereof, the refrigerator comprising an evaporator and a heating device for heating the evaporator. The defrost control method comprises: in response to the evaporator reaching defrost conditions, determining the time period in which the current moment is located; in response to the current moment being in a first time period, determining a target duration from the current moment to the start time of a second time period; wherein the first time period includes a peak power consumption period, and the second time period includes at least a portion of a low power consumption period; determining an estimated amount of frost on the evaporator within the target duration based on the historical frosting conditions of the evaporator; determining a defrost rate for the evaporator based on the estimated amount of frost; and controlling the heating device to heat the evaporator according to the defrost rate, so as to defrost the evaporator until the refrigerator continues to operate until the second time period.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of refrigeration equipment, and specifically provides a refrigerator and a defrosting control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Existing refrigerators typically cool storage compartments (such as the freezer, refrigerator, and variable temperature compartment) using their evaporators. As the refrigerator is used, the low temperature of the evaporator causes moisture in the air to condense into frost. After a period of use, this frost can cover the entire evaporator, affecting its heat absorption capacity and, in turn, its cooling capacity. To address this issue, some refrigerators (particularly air-cooled models) are equipped with a heating device to heat the evaporator and melt the frost.

[0003] With the rise of energy-saving and environmentally friendly concepts like carbon peak and carbon neutrality, reducing resource waste in refrigerators has become a topic of widespread concern. Given the large inventory of refrigerators, even a small amount of resource savings per refrigerator can contribute significantly to overall savings. Since staggered electricity consumption can effectively alleviate resource pressures and reduce waste, how to enable refrigerators to operate their more power-intensive functions during periods of low electricity demand has become a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0004] One object of the present invention is to solve the problem of how to delay defrosting of a refrigerator until a period of low electricity consumption.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides, in a first aspect, a defrost control method for a refrigerator, the refrigerator comprising an evaporator and a heating device for heating the evaporator, the defrost control method comprising:

[0006] In response to the evaporator reaching a defrost condition, determining the time period at the current moment;

[0007] In response to the current time being in a first time period, determining a target duration from the current time to the start time of a second time period; wherein the first time period includes a peak power consumption period, and the second time period includes at least a portion of a valley power consumption period;

[0008] determining an estimated amount of frost on the evaporator within the target time period based on historical frost conditions of the evaporator;

[0009] determining a defrost rate for the evaporator based on the estimated amount of frost;

[0010] The heating device is controlled to heat the evaporator according to the defrost rate, so that the evaporator is defrosted and the refrigerator continues to operate until the second period.

[0011] Optionally, determining an estimated amount of frost on the evaporator within the target duration based on historical frost conditions of the evaporator includes:

[0012] determining the amount of frost in a period corresponding to the target duration from the historical frost conditions;

[0013] The determined frost amount is used as the estimated frost amount.

[0014] Optionally, the historical frosting condition is the amount of frost on the evaporator in the previous first time period; or, the historical frosting condition is the maximum amount of frost or the average amount of frost on the evaporator in at least two recent first time periods.

[0015] Optionally, the heating device includes a plurality of heating units; and controlling the heating device to heat the evaporator according to the defrost rate includes:

[0016] determining the operating quantity of the heating unit according to the defrosting rate;

[0017] The heating unit controlling the operating number heats the evaporator to defrost the evaporator.

[0018] Optionally, a plurality of the heating units are sequentially arranged on the evaporator from top to bottom; and the heating units controlling the working number to heat the evaporator include:

[0019] Determine the working number of the heating units in order from top to bottom;

[0020] The heating unit controlling the operating number heats the top of the evaporator.

[0021] Optionally, a plurality of the heating units are sequentially arranged on the evaporator from the windward side to the leeward side of the evaporator; and the step of controlling the number of the heating units working to heat the evaporator comprises:

[0022] Determining the working number of the heating units in order of being away from the windward surface;

[0023] The heating unit controlling the operating number heats the top of the evaporator.

[0024] Optionally, each of the heating units is an electric heating wire arranged on the evaporator.

[0025] Optionally, the defrost control method further includes:

[0026] In response to the current moment being in the second time period, the heating device is controlled to heat the evaporator so as to completely defrost the evaporator.

[0027] Optionally, the starting time of the second period is the same as the starting time of the low electricity consumption period, and the ending time of the second period is earlier than the ending time of the low electricity consumption period; the time difference between the second period and the low electricity consumption period is not less than the complete defrosting time of the evaporator.

[0028] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a refrigerator comprising:

[0029] evaporator;

[0030] a heating device for heating the evaporator;

[0031] a memory storing execution instructions;

[0032] A controller is used to execute the execution instruction so that the refrigerator executes the defrost control method according to any one of the first aspects.

[0033] Based on the foregoing description, those skilled in the art will understand that, in the aforementioned technical solution of the present invention, when the evaporator reaches the defrosting condition, the time period in which the current moment is located is determined; when the current moment is in the first time period, the target time length from the current moment to the start time of the second time period is determined; then, based on the historical frosting situation of the evaporator, the estimated amount of frost on the evaporator within the target time length is determined; based on the estimated amount of frost, the defrost rate of the evaporator is determined; then, the heating device is controlled to heat the evaporator according to the defrost rate, so that the evaporator defrosts until the refrigerator continues to work until the second time period, and then the refrigerator defrosts the evaporator. Therefore, when the refrigerator reaches the defrosting condition during the non-low-power consumption period, the present invention allows the refrigerator to defrost the evaporator in a small amount, so that the refrigerator can delay the complete defrosting until the low-power consumption period, effectively alleviating the pressure on resource supply and reducing resource waste.

[0034] Furthermore, by having the heating device include multiple heating units, and having the refrigerator determine the number of heating units operating according to the defrost rate, the evaporator is heated by a controlled number of heating units to defrost the evaporator. In other words, the present invention can partially or completely defrost the evaporator using the multiple heating units, thereby ensuring that the refrigerator can partially defrost the evaporator according to the defrost rate.

[0035] Furthermore, by arranging multiple heating units on the evaporator in sequence from top to bottom, and selecting multiple heating units in sequence from top to bottom, the heating device achieves the purpose of local defrosting of the evaporator by heating the top of the evaporator.

[0036] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that local defrosting by heating the top of the evaporator, compared with local defrosting by heating the bottom of the evaporator, avoids the defrost water in the upper part of the heated area from flowing down to the heated area of ​​the evaporator and freezing, or affecting the heating efficiency.

[0037] Based on the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will become more aware of the above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, some embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the same reference numerals in different drawings indicate the same or similar components or parts; the drawings of the present invention are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings:

[0039] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a simple structure of a refrigerator provided according to the purpose of the invention;

[0040] Figure 2 This is a simplified schematic diagram of a heating device provided according to the purpose of the invention;

[0041] Figure 3 is a flow chart of the main steps of a defrost control method for a refrigerator in some embodiments of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the simplified structure of another refrigerator provided according to the purpose of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described below are only some embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments of the present invention, and that these embodiments are intended to explain the technical principles of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Based on the embodiments provided by the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort should still fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0044] It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, terms such as "center," "upper," "lower," "top," "bottom," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer" indicating directions or positional relationships are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. These are merely for ease of description and do not indicate or imply that the device or element described must have a specific orientation, be constructed, or operate in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0045] Furthermore, it should be noted that, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; mechanical connections, electrical connections; direct connections, indirect connections through an intermediate medium, or internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on specific circumstances.

[0046] like Figure 1 As shown, in the present invention, refrigerator 100 includes a housing (not shown), an evaporator 110, and a heating device 120. The housing defines at least one of a freezer compartment, a refrigerator compartment, and a variable temperature compartment. Evaporator 110 is used to provide cooling to the freezer compartment, refrigerator compartment, and variable temperature compartment, thereby cooling the freezer compartment, refrigerator compartment, and variable temperature compartment. Heating device 120 is used to heat evaporator 110 to melt frost on evaporator 110.

[0047] In the present invention, no matter how many evaporators 110 the refrigerator 100 has, each evaporator 110 is respectively equipped with a heating device 120 .

[0048] It should be noted that during operation of the refrigerator 100 of the present invention, air can flow between the evaporator 110 and the compartment of the refrigerator 100, causing water vapor in the air to condense into frost on the evaporator 110. Therefore, the refrigerator 100 to be protected by the present invention includes air-cooled refrigerators 100 and direct-cooled refrigerators 100 in which at least a portion of the surface of the evaporator 110 is located within the compartment.

[0049] Furthermore, it should be noted that, for the convenience of description and to enable those skilled in the art to quickly understand the technical solution of the present invention, the following text only describes the technical features that are closely related (directly or indirectly related) to the technical problem and / or technical concept to be solved by the present invention, and does not describe the technical features that are less closely related to the technical problem and / or technical concept to be solved by the invention. Since such technical features with a lesser degree of relevance are common knowledge in the field, even if the present invention does not describe such features with a lesser degree of relevance, it will not result in insufficient disclosure of the present invention.

[0050] like Figure 1 As shown, in the present invention, the heating device 120 includes a plurality of heating units 121. Preferably, the plurality of heating units 121 are sequentially arranged on the evaporator 110 from top to bottom. Furthermore, those skilled in the art may also arrange the plurality of heating units 121 in any other feasible arrangement as needed, for example, sequentially placing the plurality of heating units 121 on the evaporator 110 from the windward side to the leeward side of the evaporator 110.

[0051] Optionally, the heating unit 121 may be any feasible component or structure such as an electric heating tube, an electric heating plate, an electric heating wire, a pipeline for circulating refrigerant, etc.

[0052] like Figure 2 As shown, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the heating unit 121 is an electric heating wire, and the heating device 120 further includes a switch 122, a positive power line 123, and a negative power line 124. Each heating unit 121 is connected in series with a switch 122. For ease of description, a heating unit 121 and a switch 122 are referred to as a series group.

[0053] like Figure 2 As shown, a plurality of series groups are connected in parallel with each other, and each series group is electrically connected to a positive power line 123 and a negative power line 124, respectively.

[0054] Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerator 100 can control some of the switches 122 to be closed, or control all of the switches 122 to be closed according to corresponding instructions.

[0055] Refer to the following Figure 3 The defrost control method for a refrigerator in some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0056] like Figure 3 As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the defrost control method of the refrigerator includes:

[0057] In step S100 , in response to the evaporator 110 reaching a defrosting condition, the time period at the current moment is determined.

[0058] The defrost condition is when the amount of frost on evaporator 110 reaches a preset threshold. When the amount of frost on evaporator 110 reaches this threshold, the cooling efficiency of evaporator 110 is low. In other words, the amount of frost on evaporator 110 is large, severely hindering heat exchange in evaporator 110. Based on this, those skilled in the art can determine this preset threshold through multiple experiments for different refrigerator models. Since the technical means for determining this preset threshold are conventional in the art and can be obtained by those skilled in the art through simple experience, they will not be detailed here.

[0059] Specifically, during the operation of the refrigerator 100, the refrigerator 100 detects in real time whether the amount of frost on the evaporator 110 has reached the defrost condition. When the refrigerator 100 detects that the amount of frost on the evaporator 110 has reached the defrost condition, the current time is obtained and it is determined whether the current time is in the first time period or the second time period.

[0060] The first time period includes the peak electricity consumption period, and the second time period includes at least a portion of the off-peak electricity consumption period. The first and second time periods can be obtained using any feasible method. As a first example, the first and second time periods can be manually pre-entered into the refrigerator 100 by the user and stored on the refrigerator 100. As a second example, the first and second time periods can be obtained from the user's mobile phone by a functional module such as a Bluetooth module or a WiFi module of the refrigerator 100 that is capable of communicating with the user's mobile phone.

[0061] In some embodiments of the present invention, the refrigerator 100 may determine the amount of frost on the evaporator 110 in any feasible manner.

[0062] Exemplarily, the refrigerator 100 obtains the number of times the door 122 is opened and closed, the time of each door opening, and the ambient humidity when the door is opened each time during this operation cycle, and determines the amount of frost on the evaporator 110 based on the three.

[0063] The operation cycle refers to a period of time from the start or end of the last defrost to the start or end of the next defrost of the refrigerator 100. The last defrost and the next defrost are two adjacent defrosts.

[0064] The number of door openings and closings 122 refers to the number of times the door of the refrigerator 100 is opened. If the refrigerator 100 has multiple doors, the number of times each door of the refrigerator 100 is opened, the time each door of the refrigerator 100 is opened, and the ambient humidity at each time the door is opened need to be counted separately.

[0065] The ambient humidity is the air humidity of the environment in which the refrigerator 100 is located. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that air humidity is related to temperature, and the water content in the air is different at different temperatures. In some embodiments of the present invention, the ambient humidity includes the air humidity corresponding to each temperature.

[0066] Specifically, the refrigerator 100 is operated in chronological order, and each time the refrigerator 100 opens and closes its doors 122, the door opening time and the ambient humidity at the time of door opening are counted. Based on the door opening time and the ambient humidity, the amount of frost on the evaporator 110 of the refrigerator 100 is determined from a pre-stored table of door opening time, ambient humidity, and frost amount. The number of times all doors 122 of the refrigerator 100 are opened and closed is counted, and the amount of frost accumulated each time is added together to determine the current amount of frost on the refrigerator 100 (denoted as S0 for ease of description).

[0067] The door opening time-ambient humidity-frost amount table is a data mapping table determined through repeated experiments for the corresponding model of refrigerator 100. Since obtaining this data mapping table through experiments is a conventional technical means in the art and can be obtained by those skilled in the art through simple experience, it will not be described in detail here.

[0068] It is understood by those skilled in the art that since the opening and closing of the door of the refrigerator 100 drives air flow, thereby promoting the exchange of cold air in the refrigerator 100 with the air in the environment, it is more likely to cause high-temperature and high-humidity air in the environment (relative to the air in the refrigerator 100) to enter the refrigerator 100, increasing the amount of frost in the refrigerator 100. In order to make the current frost amount of the present invention closer to the actual frost amount of the refrigerator 100, in some embodiments of the present invention, preferably, the number of times the door 122 is opened and closed is recorded as n, the cumulative door opening time of all the times the door 122 is opened and closed is recorded as L, and the final current frost amount is recorded as S, then

[0069]

[0070] In addition, those skilled in the art can also modify the comparison base "1 time / minute" in the formula to any other feasible value as needed, such as 0.8 times / minute, 1.2 times / minute, 1.3 times / minute, 1.5 times / minute, 2 times / minute, 3 times / minute, etc.

[0071] Step S200 , in response to the current time being in the first time period, determining a target duration from the current time to the start time of the second time period.

[0072] The first time period includes a peak power consumption period, and the second time period includes at least a portion of a valley power consumption period.

[0073] Preferably, the starting time of the second period is the same as the starting time of the low electricity consumption period, and the ending time of the second period is earlier than the ending time of the low electricity consumption period; and the time difference between the second period and the low electricity consumption period is not less than the complete defrosting time of the evaporator 110.

[0074] In addition, those skilled in the art may also set the second period to any other feasible period as needed. For example, the start time of the second period may be later than the start time of the low-consumption period, and the end time of the second period may be equal to the end time of the low-consumption period.

[0075] Specifically, if the current time is within the first time period, it means that the current time is not a low-consumption time period and the power grid load is relatively high. At this time, the time from the current time to the start time of the second time period is calculated and recorded as the target time.

[0076] Step S300 : determining an estimated frost amount of the evaporator 110 within a target time period based on the historical frost condition of the evaporator 110 .

[0077] Specifically, the frost amount in a period corresponding to the target duration is first determined from historical frost conditions, and then the determined frost amount is used as the estimated frost amount.

[0078] For example, if the second period is from 2:00 to 8:00 and the current time is 16:00, then the target period is from 16:00 to 2:00 the next day. At this time, the amount of frost on the evaporator 110 between 16:00 and 2:00 the next day is selected from the historical frost conditions, and this amount of frost is the estimated frost amount.

[0079] The historical frosting condition is the amount of frost on the evaporator 110 in the last first period; or, the historical frosting condition is the maximum amount of frost or the average amount of frost on the evaporator 110 in at least two recent first periods.

[0080] Step S400 : determining the defrost rate of the evaporator 110 according to the estimated frost amount.

[0081] Specifically, if the refrigerator 100 continues to operate until the second period, an estimated amount of frost will condense on the evaporator 110 . Therefore, it is necessary to remove frost on the evaporator 110 that is no less than the estimated amount of frost.

[0082] Preferably, the estimated frost amount is recorded as G0, and the final defrost amount is recorded as G, then:

[0083] G=f·G0

[0084] Wherein, f is a constant, and its value range is 1 to 1.5. Preferably, f=1.2.

[0085] Furthermore, the total condensation amount of the evaporator 110 during normal defrosting is recorded as G 总 , let the defrost rate be Φ, then:

[0086] Φ=G / G 总

[0087] In step S500 , the heating device 120 is controlled to heat the evaporator 110 according to the defrosting rate Φ, so that the evaporator 110 defrosts until the refrigerator 100 continues to operate until the second period.

[0088] Specifically, the number of operating units 121 is determined according to the defrosting rate Φ, and then the corresponding number of operating units 121 is controlled to heat the evaporator 110 to defrost the evaporator 110.

[0089] As example 1: multiple heating units 121 are arranged on the evaporator 110 in sequence from top to bottom, and step S500 further includes: determining the working number of heating units 121 in sequence from top to bottom; controlling the corresponding working number of heating units 121 to heat the top of the evaporator 110.

[0090] As example 2: multiple heating units 121 are arranged on the evaporator 110 in sequence from the windward side of the evaporator 110 to the leeward side of the evaporator 110, and step S500 includes: determining the working number of heating units 121 in order away from the windward side; controlling the corresponding working number of heating units 121 to heat the top of the evaporator 110.

[0091] For example: Assume that there are 10 heating units 121, and the 10 heating units 121 are arranged on the evaporator 110 from top to bottom. When the defrost rate Φ is 9%, the topmost heating unit 121 is operated. When the defrost rate Φ is 11%, the topmost two heating units 121 are operated. When the defrost rate Φ is 20%, the topmost two heating units 121 are operated. When the defrost rate Φ is 25%, the topmost three heating units 121 are operated. When the defrost rate Φ is 65%, the topmost seven heating units 121 are operated. When the defrost rate Φ is 92%, all 10 heating units 121 are operated.

[0092] In step S600 , in response to the current moment being in the second time period, the heating device 120 is controlled to heat the evaporator 110 so that the evaporator 110 is completely defrosted.

[0093] Specifically, when the current moment is in the second period, which indicates that the current moment is a low-power period, all the heating units 121 are operated, and the evaporator 110 is defrosted in a conventional manner.

[0094] like Figure 4As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the refrigerator 100 further includes a memory 130 and a controller 140. The memory 130 stores execution instructions; the controller 140 is configured to execute the execution instructions stored in the memory 130, so that the refrigerator 100 executes the defrost control method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0095] Based on the foregoing description, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention enables the refrigerator 100 to perform a small amount of defrosting on the evaporator 110 when the refrigerator 100 reaches the defrosting condition during non-low electricity consumption periods, so that the refrigerator 100 can delay complete defrosting until the low electricity consumption period, thereby effectively alleviating the pressure on resource supply and reducing resource waste.

[0096] Furthermore, by arranging multiple heating units 121 on the evaporator 110 from top to bottom, and selecting multiple heating units 121 in order from top to bottom, the heating device 120 achieves the purpose of partial defrosting of the evaporator 110 by heating the top of the evaporator 110, thereby enabling the refrigerator 100 to delay complete defrosting until the period of low electricity consumption.

[0097] The memory 130 is used to store execution instructions, which are specifically executable computer programs. Furthermore, the memory 130 may include a memory and a non-volatile memory 130, and provide execution instructions and data to the controller 140. For example, the memory may be a high-speed random-access memory 130 (RAM), and the non-volatile memory 130 may be at least one disk storage 130.

[0098] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the above-mentioned defrost control method can be applied to the controller 140, or can be implemented with the help of the controller 140. For example, the controller 140 is an integrated circuit chip with the ability to process signals. In the process of the controller 140 executing the above-mentioned defrost control method, each step of the above-mentioned defrost control method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit in the form of hardware or an instruction in the form of software in the controller 140. Furthermore, the above-mentioned controller 140 can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, microprocessors and any other conventional processors.

[0099] So far, the technical solutions of the present invention have been described in conjunction with the above multiple embodiments. However, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments. Without departing from the technical principles of the present invention, those skilled in the art may split and combine the technical solutions in the above various embodiments, and may also make equivalent changes or replacements to the relevant technical features. Any changes, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the technical concept and / or technical principles of the present invention will fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A defrost control method for a refrigerator, the refrigerator comprising an evaporator and a plurality of heating units for heating the evaporator, the plurality of heating units being sequentially arranged on the evaporator from top to bottom; The defrost control method comprises: In response to the evaporator reaching a defrost condition, determining the time period at the current moment; In response to the current time being in a first time period, determining a target duration from the current time to the start time of a second time period; wherein the first time period includes a peak power consumption period, and the second time period includes at least a portion of a valley power consumption period; determining an estimated amount of frost on the evaporator within the target time period based on historical frost conditions of the evaporator; determining a defrost rate for the evaporator based on the estimated amount of frost; controlling the heating unit to heat the evaporator according to the defrost rate, so as to defrost the evaporator and allow the refrigerator to continue to operate until the second period; The step of controlling the heating unit to heat the evaporator according to the defrost rate includes: determining the operating quantity of the heating unit according to the defrosting rate; Determine the working number of the heating units in order from top to bottom; The heating unit controlling the operating number heats the top of the evaporator to defrost the evaporator.

2. A defrost control method for a refrigerator, the refrigerator comprising an evaporator and a plurality of heating units for heating the evaporator, the plurality of heating units being sequentially arranged on the evaporator from a windward side to a leeward side of the evaporator; The defrost control method comprises: In response to the evaporator reaching a defrost condition, determining the time period at the current moment; In response to the current time being in a first time period, determining a target duration from the current time to the start time of a second time period; wherein the first time period includes a peak power consumption period, and the second time period includes at least a portion of a valley power consumption period; determining an estimated amount of frost on the evaporator within the target time period based on historical frost conditions of the evaporator; determining a defrost rate for the evaporator based on the estimated amount of frost; controlling the heating unit to heat the evaporator according to the defrost rate, so as to defrost the evaporator and allow the refrigerator to continue to operate until the second period; The step of controlling the heating unit to heat the evaporator according to the defrost rate includes: determining the operating quantity of the heating unit according to the defrosting rate; Determining the working number of the heating units in order of being away from the windward surface; The heating unit controlling the operating number heats the top of the evaporator to defrost the evaporator.

3. The defrost control method for a refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The step of determining an estimated amount of frost on the evaporator within the target time period based on the historical frost conditions of the evaporator includes: determining a frost amount in a period corresponding to the target duration from the historical frost conditions; The determined frost amount is used as the estimated frost amount.

4. The defrosting control method for a refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein: The historical frosting condition is the amount of frost on the evaporator during the previous first period; or The historical frost condition is the maximum frost amount or the average frost amount of the evaporator in at least two of the latest first time periods.

5. The defrosting control method for a refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: Each of the heating units is an electric heating wire arranged on the evaporator.

6. The defrosting control method for a refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The defrost control method further includes: In response to the current moment being in the second time period, the heating unit is controlled to heat the evaporator so as to completely defrost the evaporator.

7. The defrosting control method for a refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The start time of the second period is the same as the start time of the low electricity consumption period, and the end time of the second period is earlier than the end time of the low electricity consumption period; The time difference between the second period and the low electricity consumption period is not less than the complete defrosting time of the evaporator.

8. A refrigerator comprising: evaporator; a heating device for heating the evaporator; a memory storing execution instructions; A controller is configured to execute the execution instruction so that the refrigerator executes the defrost control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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