Shelf assembly, refrigerator and control method of refrigerator

Abstract

The invention relates to a shelf assembly, a refrigerator and a control method of the refrigerator, and the shelf assembly comprises a support arranged on a refrigerator body; the storage rack is movably arranged on the bracket, and the storage rack divides the accommodating space in the box body into a plurality of storage areas; the driving part is in transmission connection with the storage rack, so that the storage rack can reciprocate on the bracket; the controller is electrically connected with the driving part, and the controller is configured to control the driving part to drive the storage rack to move relative to the support based on the first signal until the height of the storage area located on one side of the storage rack reaches a first preset height; wherein the first signal is a signal representing that the refrigerator enters a manual adjustment mode. The height of any layer of storage area can be freely adjusted, the difficulty of adjusting the height of the storage rack by a user can be greatly reduced, the user experience is improved, the space in the refrigerator can be fully utilized, objects with large sizes and high heights can be conveniently placed, and the utilization rate of the space in the refrigerator is increased.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of refrigerators, and in particular to a shelf assembly, a refrigerator and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] The refrigerator compartment is generally provided with multiple layers of partitions fixed on the inner wall for placing items. Most of the partitions can be adjusted up and down in the refrigerator to achieve the purpose of storing items of different heights.

[0003] In the related art, the partition is generally set on the protruding structure on both sides of the box body. This protruding structure has multiple layers, so that the partition can be placed on the protruding structures of different layers to achieve the purpose of adjusting the height. At present, this structure needs to be adjusted manually to adjust the height of the partition, and when adjusting, the items on the partition need to be removed first, and then put back after the adjustment is completed. Since the main body of the partition is mostly made of glass, the partition itself is heavy and not easy to pick up, and it is easy to be damaged and cause danger. Therefore, in daily use, users may be limited by the distance between the partition layers when taking and placing items, which makes the operation inconvenient, and the fixed distance between the layers will make it impossible to place larger items. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a shelf assembly, a refrigerator and a control method thereof to solve the technical problems that the height of the partitions of the existing refrigerator needs to be adjusted manually, the user may be limited by the partition layer distance when taking and placing items, which makes operation inconvenient, and the fixed layer distance may make it impossible to place larger items.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a shelf assembly, which is arranged in a refrigerator body, and the shelf assembly includes:

[0006] A bracket, arranged on the box body;

[0007] A storage rack is movably arranged on the bracket, and the storage rack divides the accommodating space inside the box into a plurality of storage areas;

[0008] A driving member, wherein a moving end of the driving member is drivingly connected to the rack so that the rack can reciprocate on the support;

[0009] A controller is electrically connected to the driving member, and the controller is configured to control the driving member to drive the shelf to move relative to the bracket based on a first signal until the height of the storage area located on one side of the shelf reaches a first preset height; wherein the first signal is a signal indicating that the refrigerator enters a manual adjustment mode.

[0010] In a possible implementation, n racks are provided, and two adjacent racks are arranged in parallel. The n racks divide the accommodating space into (n+1) storage areas, where n is an integer greater than 1.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the storage rack includes a connected beam and a partition, the beam is slidably connected to the bracket, the beam is arranged at an end of the partition away from the user, and the moving end of the driving member is transmission-connected to the beam.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the crossbeam includes a first side and a second side that are oppositely disposed, the driving member includes an electric push rod, the electric push rod has a moving end and a fixed end that are oppositely disposed, the moving end of the electric push rod is connected to the first side of the crossbeam, and the fixed end of the electric push rod is connected to the inner wall of the box;

[0013] Alternatively, the moving end of the electric push rod is connected to the first side of the crossbeam, and the fixed end of the electric push rod is connected to the second side of an adjacent crossbeam.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the bracket includes a guide rod, and a slider is provided on the crossbeam, and the slider is slidably connected to the guide rod.

[0015] In a possible implementation, a groove is provided on the inner wall of the box body, the bracket is arranged in the groove, the groove has a first height in the vertical direction, the accommodating space has a second height in the vertical direction, and the first height is greater than the second height.

[0016] In a possible implementation, a grating sensor is included, at least two of the grating sensors are provided, and the two grating sensors are provided in different storage areas, one of the grating sensors is provided on the box body, and the other grating sensor is provided on the storage rack;

[0017] The photoelectric grating sensor is electrically connected to the controller, and the controller is configured to control the driving member to stop working if an object is detected between the transmitting end and the receiving end of the photoelectric grating sensor.

[0018] In a possible implementation, a distance measuring sensor is included, and the distance measuring sensor is configured to detect the height of the storage area where the distance measuring sensor is located.

[0019] In a second aspect, the present application provides a refrigerator, comprising a box body and a shelf assembly as described above, wherein the shelf assembly is arranged in the box body.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the refrigerator includes a door body, a display panel is disposed on the door body, and adjustment buttons are disposed on the display panel.

[0021] In a possible implementation, a spacing display area is provided on the display panel, and the spacing display area can display the height of the storage area.

[0022] In a third aspect, the present application provides a refrigerator control method, which is applied to the refrigerator as described above, and the control method includes:

[0023] Acquire a first signal, where the first signal is a signal indicating that the refrigerator enters a manual adjustment mode;

[0024] Based on the first signal, the driving member is controlled to drive the rack to move relative to the support until the height of the storage area located on one side of the rack reaches a first preset height.

[0025] In a possible implementation, it includes:

[0026] obtaining a second signal, where the second signal is a signal indicating that the refrigerator enters an automatic adjustment mode,

[0027] Based on the second signal, all the storage racks are controlled to move in the same direction in sequence until part of the storage areas reaches a second preset height.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the refrigerator includes a grating sensor, and the control method includes:

[0029] A third signal is obtained, where the third signal is a signal indicating that the object has entered the detection range of the grating sensor, and the driving members on both sides of the rack where the object is located are controlled to stop working at the same time.

[0030] The above technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0031] The shelf assembly, refrigerator and control method thereof provided in the embodiment of the present application can be understood that, when the height of the refrigerator is high and the user needs to place or take items in the upper storage area of ​​the shelf, the driving member is controlled based on the first signal to drive the shelf to move relative to the bracket, and the shelf can automatically move downward for a distance, and the height of the upper storage area of ​​the shelf reaches the first preset height, and the first preset height can be the specified height of the storage area set by the user, so as to facilitate the user to place or take items on the shelf, avoid the shelf being too high to affect the convenience of using the refrigerator, and can greatly reduce the difficulty of the user to adjust the height of the shelf, thereby improving the user experience. In the case where the user needs to place large and high items, the multi-layer shelves can be controlled to move upward or downward, so that the height corresponding to the storage area at the bottom or the top reaches the maximum height. At this time, the storage area at the bottom or the top will have the largest storage space, which is convenient for the user to place large and high items, thereby making full use of the space in the refrigerator and improving the utilization rate of the space in the refrigerator. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0033] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0034] One or more embodiments are exemplarily described by pictures in the corresponding drawings, and these exemplified descriptions do not constitute limitations on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings represent similar elements, and unless otherwise stated, the figures in the drawings do not constitute proportional limitations.

[0035] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a shelf assembly provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 2 A side view of a partition provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a refrigerator provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a display panel of a refrigerator provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 5 A flowchart of a refrigerator control method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0040] Description of reference numerals:

[0041] 100. Refrigerator; 1. Shelf assembly; 11. Bracket; 111. Guide rod; 12. Storage rack; 121. Crossbeam; 1211. Slider; 122. Partition; 13. Driving member; 131. Electric push rod; 14. Grating sensor; 15. Distance sensor; 2. Box; 21. Accommodation space; 211. Storage area; 3. Door; 31. Display panel; 32. Adjustment button; 321. Up button; 322. Pause button; 323. Down button; 33. Spacing display area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0043] The disclosure below provides many different embodiments or examples to realize the different structures of the present application. In order to simplify the disclosure of the present application, the parts and settings of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are only examples, and the purpose is not to limit the present application. In addition, the present application can repeat reference numbers and / or letters in different examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplification and clarity, and does not itself indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed.

[0044] For ease of description, spatial relative terms may be used herein to describe the relative positional relationship or movement of one element or feature relative to another element or feature as shown in the figure, such as "inside", "outside", "inner side", "outer side", "below", "below", "above", "above", "front", "back", etc. Such spatial relative terms are intended to include different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figure. For example, if the device in the figure undergoes a position flip or a posture change or a motion state change, then these directional indications also change accordingly, for example: an element described as "below other elements or features" or "below other elements or features" will subsequently be oriented as "above other elements or features" or "above other elements or features". Therefore, the example term "below..." may include both upper and lower orientations. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or in other directions) and the spatial relative descriptors used herein are interpreted accordingly.

[0045] In the related art, the partition is generally set on the protruding structure on both sides of the box body. This protruding structure has multiple layers, so that the partition can be placed on the protruding structures of different layers to achieve the purpose of adjusting the height. At present, this structure needs to be adjusted manually to adjust the height of the partition, and when adjusting, the items on the partition need to be removed first, and then put back after the adjustment is completed. Since the main body of the partition is mostly made of glass, the partition itself is heavy and not easy to pick up, and it is easy to be damaged and cause danger. Therefore, in daily use, users may be limited by the distance between the partition layers when taking and placing items, which makes the operation inconvenient, and the fixed distance between the layers will make it impossible to place large and high items.

[0046] In order to solve the technical problem that the existing manual method of adjusting the height of refrigerator partitions is inconvenient to operate, and the fixed layer spacing of the partitions will make it impossible to place larger items, the present application provides a shelf assembly, a refrigerator and a control method thereof, which can freely adjust the height of any storage area, can greatly reduce the difficulty of users adjusting the height of the shelf, improve the user experience, and can make full use of the space in the refrigerator, facilitate the placement of larger and taller items, and improve the utilization rate of the space in the refrigerator.

[0047] Figure 1 and Figure 2A shelf assembly 1 is provided in the present application. The shelf assembly 1 is arranged in the box 2 of the refrigerator 100. The shelf assembly 1 includes a bracket 11, a storage rack 12 and a driving member 13. The bracket 11 is arranged on the box 2; the storage rack 12 is movably arranged on the bracket 11, and the storage rack 12 divides the accommodating space 21 inside the box 2 into a plurality of storage areas 211; the moving end of the driving member 13 is transmission-connected with the storage rack 12 so that the storage rack 12 can reciprocate on the bracket 11; the controller is electrically connected to the driving member 13, and the controller is configured to control the driving member 13 to drive the storage rack 12 to move relative to the bracket 11 based on a first signal until the height of the storage area 211 located on one side of the storage rack 12 reaches a first preset height; wherein the first signal is a signal indicating that the refrigerator 100 enters a manual adjustment mode.

[0048] For example, Figure 3 As shown, a containing space 21 is formed inside the box body 2, and the containing space 21 is used to place items that the user needs to refrigerate or freeze.

[0049] For example, Figure 3 As shown, the box body 2 may be in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, which is formed by an inner liner, an outer shell, and a foam layer located therebetween. The box body 2 may be divided into a plurality of storage compartments, for example, the box body 2 is vertically divided into a freezer compartment at the bottom and a refrigeration compartment at the top, and each of the separated spaces may have an independent storage space. Specifically, the freezer compartment is defined at the bottom side of the box body 2 and may be selectively covered by a drawer-type freezer compartment door, and the refrigeration compartment is defined at the top side of the box body 2, and the refrigeration compartment may be selectively opened or closed by a refrigeration compartment door 3 pivotally mounted on the refrigeration compartment.

[0050] Exemplarily, the shelf assembly 1 may be arranged in the above-mentioned refrigeration compartment.

[0051] For the convenience of explanation and understanding, the vertical direction may be the Z direction shown in the figure, and the two sides of the Z direction are upper and lower respectively. The rack 12 divides the internal space of the box body 2 into a plurality of storage areas 211, that is, when one rack 12 is provided, the rack 12 divides the internal space of the box body 2 into two storage areas 211, namely, an upper storage area 211 and a lower storage area 211; when multiple racks 12 are provided, the two sides of each rack 12 correspond to the upper storage area 211 and the lower storage area 211 of the rack 12, respectively, and the storage area 211 is defined by two adjacent racks 12, or the storage area 211 is defined between the rack 12 and the box body 2. It can be understood that, for example, when the height of the refrigerator 100 is relatively high and the user needs to place or take items on the upper storage area 211 of the shelf 12, the driving member 13 is controlled based on the first signal to drive the shelf 12 to move relative to the bracket 11, and the shelf 12 can automatically move downward for a distance, and the height of the upper storage area 211 of the shelf 12 reaches a first preset height, which can be a specified height of the storage area 211 set by the user, so as to facilitate the user to place or take items on the shelf 12, avoid the shelf 12 being too high to affect the convenience of use of the refrigerator 100, and can greatly reduce the difficulty of the user adjusting the height of the shelf 12, thereby improving the user experience. Alternatively, when the user needs to place items that are larger in size and taller in height, the multi-layer storage shelves 12 can be controlled to move upward or downward, so that the height corresponding to the storage area 211 on the bottom layer or the storage area 211 on the top layer reaches the maximum height. At this time, the storage area 211 on the bottom layer or the storage area 211 on the top layer will have the largest storage space, which is convenient for the user to place items that are larger in size and taller in height, thereby making full use of the space inside the refrigerator 100 and improving the utilization rate of the space inside the refrigerator 100.

[0052] In some embodiments, there are n racks 12, and two adjacent racks 12 are arranged in parallel. The n racks 12 divide the storage space 21 into (n+1) storage areas 211, where n is an integer greater than 1. That is, at least two racks 12 are provided. In one example, if there are two racks 12, the two racks 12 divide the storage space 21 inside the box 2 into three storage areas 211. In one example, Figure 1 and Figure 3As shown, three racks 12 are provided, and the three racks 12 divide the accommodating space 21 inside the box body 2 into four storage areas 211. When the user needs to place large and high items, the three racks 12 can be controlled to move upward so that the height of the storage area 211 located at the bottom layer reaches the maximum height. At this time, the storage area 211 at the bottom layer will have the maximum storage space, which is convenient for the user to place large and high items, thereby making full use of the space in the refrigerator 100 and improving the utilization rate of the space in the refrigerator 100.

[0053] Among the existing adjustment structures, there are also some methods that use lifting components such as screw transmission structures to adjust the shelves. Since the lifting components are fixed, the lowest position of the shelf is limited to the installation position of the lifting components. One of the shelves can only move to the end of the adjacent lifting components, and it is impossible to maximize the utilization of the internal space of the box 2 by a certain storage area 211. In this application, the two ends of each driving member 13 are respectively arranged on two adjacent beams 121. Since each driving member 13 can move with the beam 121, each layer of the storage rack 12 can achieve stepless adjustment, thereby maximizing the utilization of the storage space inside the box 2. The specific structural design is described as follows.

[0054] In some embodiments, Figure 1 As shown, the storage rack 12 includes a connected crossbeam 121 and a partition 122. The crossbeam 121 is slidably connected to the bracket 11. The crossbeam 121 is arranged at the end of the partition 122 away from the user. When multiple crossbeams 121 are arranged, the moving end of the driving member 13 is transmission-connected to the crossbeam 121, and the fixed end of the driving member 13 is connected to another adjacent crossbeam 12; or, the fixed end of the driving member 13 is connected to the inner wall of the box. For the convenience of explanation and understanding, the end of the partition 122 facing the user is called the front end of the partition 122, and the end of the partition 122 away from the user is called the rear end of the partition 122. The crossbeam 121 is arranged at the rear end of the partition 122. The moving end of the driving member 13 is connected to the crossbeam 121 in a transmission manner. When the driving member 13 drives the crossbeam 121 to reciprocate relative to the bracket 11, the crossbeam 121 can drive the partition 122 to move up and down, thereby adjusting the height of the storage area 211 on both sides of the partition 122, so that the user can place or take items on the storage rack 12, and can greatly reduce the difficulty of the user to adjust the height of the partition 122, thereby improving the user experience. The fixed end of the driving member 13 is connected to another adjacent crossbeam 121, so that the driving member 13 can move up and down with the crossbeam 121, thereby realizing stepless adjustment and maximizing the use of the storage space inside the box 2.

[0055] The partition 122 is set to be flat and placed horizontally to facilitate the placement of items. Optionally, the partition 122 can be set to be a glass partition 122 or a resin partition 122, which can improve the overall aesthetics of the storage rack 12 and save costs; on the other hand, since the glass partition 122 or the resin partition 122 has good light transmittance, the user can see the items placed in each storage area 211 through the partition 122, which is convenient for the user to take the required items.

[0056] In some embodiments, the crossbeam 121 includes a first side and a second side that are arranged opposite to each other, the driving member 13 includes an electric push rod 131, the electric push rod 131 has a moving end and a fixed end, the moving end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the first side of the crossbeam 121, and the fixed end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the inner wall of the box body 2; or, the moving end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the first side of the crossbeam 121, and the fixed end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the second side of another adjacent crossbeam 121. For the convenience of explanation and understanding, optionally, the first side of the crossbeam 121 can be the upper side of the crossbeam 121, and the second side of the crossbeam 121 can be the lower side of the crossbeam 121.

[0057] In one example, when only one storage rack 12 is provided, only one driving member 13 is provided accordingly, the moving end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the lower side of the cross beam 121, and the fixed end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the inner wall at the bottom of the box body 2. When the upper storage area 211 or the lower storage area 211 of the cross beam 121 needs to be adjusted, the electric push rod 131 drives the cross beam 121 to move up and down relative to the bracket 11, and the partition 122 moves up and down accordingly, thereby adjusting the height of the upper storage area 211 or the lower storage area 211. For example, when the height of the refrigerator 100 is relatively high and the user needs to place or take items on the upper storage area 211 of the shelf 12, the electric push rod 131 drives the cross beam 121 to automatically move the partition 122 downward for a certain distance, so that the height of the upper storage area 211 reaches a first preset height, which can be a specified height of the storage area 211 set by the user, so as to facilitate the user to place or take items on the shelf 12, avoid the shelf 12 being too high to affect the convenience of use of the refrigerator 100, and can greatly reduce the difficulty of the user adjusting the height of the partition 122, thereby improving the user experience.

[0058] In one example, if Figure 1In the illustrated shelf assembly 1, three storage racks 12 are provided, and the three storage racks 12 divide the accommodating space 21 into four storage areas 211, and three electric push rods 131 are provided accordingly. In the top storage area 211 and the middle storage area 211, the moving end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the lower side of the beam 121, and the fixed end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the upper side of another adjacent beam 121; in the bottom storage area 211, the moving end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the lower side of the beam 121, and the fixed end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the bottom inner wall of the box body 2. When it is necessary to adjust the height of the top storage area 211, the moving end of the electric push rod 131 drives the top cross beam 121 to move up and down relative to the bracket 11, thereby driving the top partition 122 to move up and down, so that the height of the top storage area 211 reaches the specified height; when it is necessary to adjust the middle storage area 211, the electric push rod 131 corresponding to the storage area 211 and the electric push rod 131 of the lower storage area 211 are controlled to work simultaneously, so that the height of the storage area 211 reaches the specified height; when it is necessary to adjust the bottom storage area 211, the electric push rod 131 corresponding to the storage area 211 and the electric push rod 131 of the lower storage area 211 are controlled to work simultaneously, so that the height of the bottom storage area 211 reaches the specified height.

[0059] Of course, in some other embodiments, the first side of the beam 121 may also be the lower side of the beam 121, and the second side of the beam 121 may be the upper side of the beam 121. In this case, the moving end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the upper side of the beam 121, and the fixed end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the inner wall of the top of the box body 2; or, the moving end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the upper side of the beam 121, and the fixed end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the lower side of another adjacent beam 121. The working process of the shelf assembly 1 refers to the above two examples, and this application will not be repeated here.

[0060] In one embodiment, the bracket 11 includes a guide rod 111, the length direction of the guide rod 111 is parallel to the vertical direction, both ends of the guide rod 111 are connected to the box body 2, and a slider 1211 is provided on the crossbeam 121, and the slider 1211 is slidably connected to the guide rod 111. Specifically, the slider 1211 can be set to be cylindrical, and the slider 1211 is sleeved on the peripheral side of the guide rod 111, so as to achieve a sliding connection between the crossbeam 121 and the guide rod 111; or, a sliding groove is provided on the guide rod 111, and the slider 1211 is slidably adapted to the sliding groove, so as to achieve a sliding connection between the crossbeam 121 and the guide rod 111. Through the sliding connection between the slider 1211 and the guide rod 111, the crossbeam 121 can be moved up and down along the guide rail, thereby improving the stability of the movement of the storage rack 12.

[0061] For the convenience of explanation and understanding, the two sides of the X direction in the figure are the left and right sides of the refrigerator 100 respectively. Furthermore, two guide rods 111 are provided, and the two guide rods 111 are respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the box body 2, and sliders 1211 slidably connected to the guide rods 111 are respectively provided at both ends of the crossbeam 121, so as to further improve the stability of the up and down sliding of the shelf 12 and avoid uneven weight of the items on the shelf 12, which leads to unbalanced force on the left and right ends of the shelf 12 and causes it to tip over.

[0062] In one embodiment, a groove is provided on the inner wall of the box body 2, the bracket 11 is provided in the groove, the groove has a first height in the vertical direction, the accommodating space 21 has a second height in the vertical direction, and the first height is greater than the second height. In this way, when the driving member 13 drives the top shelf 12 or the bottom shelf 12 to reciprocate relative to the bracket 11, the accommodating space 21 can be reached at the highest position or the lowest position, thereby effectively utilizing the storage space inside the box body 2.

[0063] In some embodiments, Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the shelf assembly 1 may include a grating sensor 14, at least two grating sensors 14 are provided, and the two grating sensors 14 are respectively provided in different storage areas 211, wherein one grating sensor 14 is provided on the box body 2, and the other grating sensor 14 is provided on the storage rack 12; the grating sensor 14 is electrically connected to the controller, and the controller is configured to control the driving member 13 to stop working if an object is detected between the transmitting end and the receiving end of the grating sensor 14. Such a setting can prevent the height of the object from exceeding the height of the storage area 211 where it is located, and avoid collision and damage between the object and the storage rack 12. For the convenience of explanation and understanding, the two sides of the Y direction in the figure are the front side and the rear side of the refrigerator 100, respectively, and the front side of the refrigerator 100 is the side of the refrigerator 100 facing the user.

[0064] In one example, when only one storage rack 12 is provided, the storage rack 12 divides the accommodating space 21 inside the box body 2 into an upper storage area 211 and a lower storage area 211, and only one driving member 13 is provided accordingly. The moving end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the lower side of the beam 121, and the fixed end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the inner wall of the bottom of the box body 2. At this time, the transmitting end and the receiving end of one of the grating sensors 14 are respectively arranged at the front end and the rear end of the box body 2, and the transmitting end and the receiving end of the other grating sensor 14 are respectively arranged at the front end and the rear end of the second side of the partition 122. When the rack 12 is controlled to move upward, if there are items placed in the upper storage area 211 and the top of the item enters between the transmitting end and the receiving end of the grating sensor 14, it means that the item has entered the detection range of the grating sensor 14, and the height of the item is about to exceed the height of the upper storage area 211. At this time, the electric push rod 131 on the lower side of the control partition 122 stops working, and the rack 12 stops at the current position, thereby avoiding the items and the rack 12 from colliding and being damaged; when the rack 12 is controlled to move downward, if there are items placed in the lower storage area 211 and the top of the item enters between the transmitting end and the receiving end of the grating sensor 14, it means that the item has entered the detection range of the grating sensor 14, and the height of the item is about to exceed the height of the lower storage area 211. At this time, the electric push rod 131 on the lower side of the control partition 122 stops working, and the rack 12 stops at the current position, thereby avoiding the items and the rack 12 from colliding and being damaged.

[0065] In one example, if Figure 1In the illustrated shelf assembly 1, three storage racks 12 are provided, and the three storage racks 12 divide the accommodating space 21 into four storage areas 211, and the four storage areas 211 include a top storage area 211, two middle storage areas 211, and a bottom storage area 211, and three electric push rods 131 are provided accordingly. In the top storage area 211 and the middle storage area 211, the moving end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the lower side of the beam 121, and the fixed end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the upper side of another adjacent beam 121; in the bottom storage area 211, the moving end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the lower side of the beam 121, and the fixed end of the electric push rod 131 is connected to the bottom inner wall of the box body 2. When the height of the top storage area 211 needs to be reduced, the moving end of the electric push rod 131 drives the top storage rack 12 to move upward. If there are items placed in the top storage area 211 and the top of the item enters between the transmitting end and the receiving end of the grating sensor 14, it means that the item has entered the detection range of the grating sensor 14, and the height of the item is about to exceed the height of the top storage area 211. At this time, the electric push rod 131 on the lower side of the top storage rack 12 is controlled to stop working, and the top storage rack 12 stops at the current position, thereby avoiding collision and damage between the items and the storage rack 12; when the height of a middle storage area 211 needs to be reduced, the electric push rod 131 corresponding to the storage area 211 is controlled to drive the storage rack 12 located in the middle layer to move upward, and the electric push rod 131 of the lower storage area 211 works at the same time. When there are items placed in the storage area 211 and the top of the item enters between the transmitting end and the receiving end of the grating sensor 14, it means that the item has entered the detection range of the grating sensor 14, and the height of the item is about to exceed the height of the storage area 211 of this layer. At this time, the electric push rods 131 on the upper and lower sides of the storage rack 12 of this layer are controlled to stop working at the same time, and the storage rack 12 stops at the current position; when it is necessary to reduce the height of the bottom storage area 211, the bottom storage rack 12 is controlled to move downward. If there are items placed in the lower storage area 211 and the top of the item enters between the transmitting end and the receiving end of the grating sensor 14, it means that the item has entered the detection range of the grating sensor 14, and the height of the item is about to exceed the height of the bottom storage area 211. At this time, the bottom electric push rods 131 are controlled to stop working, and the bottom storage rack 12 stops at the current position.

[0066] In one embodiment, Figure 1As shown, the shelf assembly 1 may include a distance sensor 15, and the distance sensor 15 is configured to detect the height of the storage area 211 where the distance sensor 15 is located, and the distance sensor 15 is electrically connected to the controller. The distance sensor 15 may be at least one of the following sensors: an ultrasonic distance sensor 15, an infrared distance sensor 15, a laser distance sensor 15, a piezoelectric distance sensor 15, an inductive distance sensor 15, and a Doppler distance sensor 15. The distance sensor 15 may be arranged on the inner wall of the top of the box body 2 to detect the height of the top storage area 211. The distance sensor 15 may also be arranged on the second side of the partition 122 to detect the height of the middle storage area 211 or the bottom storage area 211.

[0067] In some embodiments, the controller is provided with a preset height, and the controller can adjust the height of the storage area 211 located on one side of the shelf 12 to reach the preset height. The preset height may be a first preset height, which may be a designated height of a storage area 211 according to the user's current use; the preset height may be a second preset height, which may be a safety height set when the refrigerator 100 leaves the factory. Specifically, the safety height is the height occupied by the driving member 13 when the moving end of the driving member 13 is at the minimum stroke, so as to reserve a safety distance between two adjacent shelves 12.

[0068] like Figure 3 As shown, the present application also provides a refrigerator 100 , comprising a box body 2 and the shelf assembly 1 as described above, wherein the shelf assembly 1 is disposed in the box body 2 .

[0069] When the height of the refrigerator 100 is relatively high and the user needs to place or take items on the upper storage area 211 of the shelf 12, the driving member 13 is controlled based on the first signal to drive the shelf 12 to move relative to the bracket 11, and the shelf 12 can automatically move downward for a distance, and the height of the upper storage area 211 of the shelf 12 reaches a first preset height, which can be a specified height of the storage area 211 set by the user, so as to facilitate the user to place or take items on the shelf 12, avoid the shelf 12 being too high to affect the convenience of use of the refrigerator 100, and can greatly reduce the difficulty of the user to adjust the height of the partition 122, thereby improving the user experience. Alternatively, when the user needs to place items that are larger in size and taller in height, the multi-layer storage shelves 12 can be controlled to move upward or downward, so that the height corresponding to the storage area 211 on the bottom layer or the storage area 211 on the top layer reaches the maximum height. At this time, the storage area 211 on the bottom layer or the storage area 211 on the top layer will have the largest storage space, which is convenient for the user to place items that are larger in size and taller in height, thereby making full use of the space inside the refrigerator 100 and improving the utilization rate of the space inside the refrigerator 100.

[0070] In some embodiments, Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the refrigerator 100 includes a door body 3, a display panel 31 is provided on the door body 3, and an adjustment button 32 is provided on the display panel 31. The adjustment button 32 is electrically connected to the controller. The adjustment button 32 can be provided in multiple groups, and the multiple groups of adjustment buttons 32 correspond to the storage areas 211 one by one. For example, when there are four storage areas 211, four groups of adjustment buttons 32 are also provided accordingly, and each group of adjustment buttons 32 includes an up button 321, a pause button 322, and a down button 323.

[0071] When the up button 321 is pressed, the up button 321 can send a first signal to the controller, indicating that the manual adjustment mode has been entered and the height of the storage area 211 on this layer needs to be reduced. For example, if it is the top storage area 211, the driving member 13 located in the adjacent middle layer is controlled to drive the top storage shelf 12 to move upward, that is, the electric push rod 131 of the adjacent middle layer is extended; if the height of the storage area 211 located in the middle layer needs to be reduced, the driving member 13 of the adjacent lower layer is controlled to drive the storage shelf 12 on this layer to move upward, that is, the electric push rod 131 corresponding to the storage area 211 on this layer is shortened, and at the same time, the electric push rod 131 of the adjacent lower storage area 211 is extended; if the height of the bottom storage area 211 needs to be reduced, the driving member 13 of the storage area 211 on this layer is controlled to drive the storage shelf 12 to move downward. When the descending button 323 is pressed, the descending button 323 can send a first signal to the controller, indicating that the manual adjustment mode has been entered and the height of the storage area 211 on this layer needs to be increased. For example, if it is the top storage area 211, the driving member 13 located in the adjacent middle layer is controlled to drive the top storage shelf 12 to move downward, that is, the electric push rod 131 of the adjacent middle layer is shortened; if the height of the storage area 211 located in the middle layer needs to be increased, the driving member 13 of the adjacent lower layer is controlled to drive the storage shelf 12 on this layer to move downward, that is, the electric push rod 131 corresponding to the storage area 211 on this layer is extended, and at the same time, the electric push rod 131 of the adjacent lower storage area 211 is shortened; if the height of the bottom storage area 211 needs to be increased, the driving member 13 of the storage area 211 on this layer is controlled to drive the storage shelf 12 to move upward. When the pause button 322 is pressed, the pause button 322 can send a first signal to the controller, indicating that the manual adjustment mode has been entered and the rack 12 of the storage area 211 at this level has stopped moving, and the corresponding driving member 13 is controlled to stop moving. In this way, the user can freely set the height of each storage area 211 so that the height of each storage area 211 reaches the specified height required by the user.

[0072] When the up button 321 is pressed twice in succession, a second signal may be sent to the controller, indicating that the refrigerator 100 has entered the automatic adjustment mode and the height of the bottom storage area 211 needs to be adjusted to the maximum. Then, all the shelves 12 are controlled to move upward in sequence until the height of the middle storage area 211 reaches a second preset height. The second preset height may be a preset height corresponding to the automatic adjustment mode. The second preset height may be a safety height set when the refrigerator 100 leaves the factory. Specifically, the safety height is the height occupied by the driving member 13 when the moving end of the driving member 13 is at the minimum stroke, so as to reserve a space between two adjacent storage areas. The top storage area 211 has a safety distance from the rack 12. Since the top storage area 211 is not provided with a driving member 13, in this mode, the top storage area 211 does not need to reserve a safety distance to prevent a collision between the driving member 13 and the storage rack 12. When the top storage area 211 moves to the top of the box body 2, and the height of the middle storage area 211 moves upward to the second preset height, the middle storage area 211 has a minimum storage space. That is to say, the storage racks 12 on each layer are stored upward, so that the height of the bottom storage area 211 is adjusted to the maximum, and the bottom storage area 211 has the largest storage space, so that users can place taller items. When the down button 323 is pressed twice in succession, a second signal can be sent to the controller, indicating that the refrigerator 100 enters the automatic adjustment mode and the height of the top storage area 211 needs to be adjusted to the maximum. Then all the shelves 12 are controlled to move downward in sequence until the height of the storage areas 211 of the bottom and middle layers reaches a second preset height. The second preset height can be a preset height corresponding to the downward storage mode. Specifically, the safety height is the height occupied by the driving member 13 when the moving end of the driving member 13 is at the minimum stroke, preventing the driving member 13 from colliding with the shelf 12. That is to say, the shelves 12 on each layer are stored downward so that the height of the top storage area 211 is adjusted to the maximum, and the top storage area 211 has the largest storage space for users to place items of higher height.

[0073] In some embodiments, the display panel 31 is electrically connected to the controller, and a spacing display area 33 is provided on the display panel 31, and the spacing display area 33 can display the height of the storage area 211. The spacing display area 33 can intuitively display the height of each storage area 211 in the form of patterns and numbers, so that the user can judge the storage area 211 suitable for the storage items to be placed. If the items in the storage area 211 of this layer enter the detection range of the grating sensor 14, the electric push rod 131 on the lower side of the partition 122 is controlled to stop working, and the spacing display area 33 flashes to display a dotted square pattern, indicating that the height of the storage area 211 of this layer has reached the limit position.

[0074] like Figure 5 As shown, the present application also provides a control method for a refrigerator 100, which is applied to the refrigerator 100 as described above, and the control method includes the following steps:

[0075] S11, obtaining a first signal, where the first signal is a signal indicating that the refrigerator 100 enters a manual adjustment mode;

[0076] S12, based on the first signal, controlling the driving member 13 to drive the rack 12 to move relative to the support 11 until the height of the storage area 211 located on one side of the rack 12 reaches a first preset height.

[0077] It can be understood that, for example, when the height of the refrigerator 100 is relatively high and the user needs to place or take items on the upper storage area 211 of the shelf 12, the driving member 13 is controlled based on the first signal to drive the shelf 12 to move relative to the bracket 11, and the shelf 12 can automatically move downward for a distance, and the height of the upper storage area 211 of the shelf 12 reaches a preset height. The first preset height can be a specified height of the storage area 211 set by the user, so as to facilitate the user to place or take items on the shelf 12, avoid the shelf 12 being too high to affect the convenience of use of the refrigerator 100, and can greatly reduce the difficulty of the user adjusting the height of the partition 122, thereby improving the user experience. Alternatively, when the user needs to place items that are larger in size and taller in height, the multi-layer storage shelves 12 can be controlled to move upward or downward, so that the height corresponding to the storage area 211 on the bottom layer or the storage area 211 on the top layer reaches the maximum height. At this time, the storage area 211 on the bottom layer or the storage area 211 on the top layer will have the largest storage space, which is convenient for the user to place items that are larger in size and taller in height, thereby making full use of the space inside the refrigerator 100 and improving the utilization rate of the space inside the refrigerator 100.

[0078] For example, when the up button 321 is pressed, the up button 321 can send a first signal to the controller, indicating that the manual adjustment mode has been entered and the height of the storage area 211 on this layer needs to be reduced. For example, if it is the top storage area 211, the drive member 13 located in the adjacent middle layer is controlled to drive the top storage shelf 12 to move upward, that is, the electric push rod 131 of the adjacent middle layer is extended; if the height of the storage area 211 located in the middle layer needs to be reduced, the drive member 13 of the adjacent lower layer is controlled to drive the storage shelf 12 on this layer to move upward, that is, the electric push rod 131 corresponding to the storage area 211 on this layer is shortened, and at the same time, the electric push rod 131 of the adjacent lower storage area 211 is extended; if the height of the bottom storage area 211 needs to be reduced, the drive member 13 of the storage area 211 on this layer is controlled to drive the storage shelf 12 to move downward. When the descending button 323 is pressed, the descending button 323 can send a first signal to the controller, indicating that the manual adjustment mode has been entered and the height of the storage area 211 on this layer needs to be increased. For example, if it is the top storage area 211, the driving member 13 located in the adjacent middle layer is controlled to drive the top storage shelf 12 to move downward, that is, the electric push rod 131 of the adjacent middle layer is shortened; if the height of the storage area 211 located in the middle layer needs to be increased, the driving member 13 of the adjacent lower layer is controlled to drive the storage shelf 12 on this layer to move downward, that is, the electric push rod 131 corresponding to the storage area 211 on this layer is extended, and at the same time, the electric push rod 131 of the adjacent lower storage area 211 is shortened; if the height of the bottom storage area 211 needs to be increased, the driving member 13 of the storage area 211 on this layer is controlled to drive the storage shelf 12 to move upward. When the pause button 322 is pressed, the pause button 322 can send a first signal to the controller, indicating that the manual adjustment mode has been entered and the rack 12 of the storage area 211 at this level has stopped moving, and the corresponding driving member 13 is controlled to stop moving. In this way, the user can freely set the height of each storage area 211 so that the height of each storage area 211 reaches the specified height required by the user.

[0079] In some embodiments, at least two racks 12 are provided, and the control method further comprises the following steps:

[0080] A second signal is obtained, where the second signal is a signal indicating that the refrigerator 100 has entered an automatic adjustment mode.

[0081] Based on the second signal, all the storage racks 12 are controlled to move in the same direction in sequence until part of the storage area 211 reaches a second preset height.

[0082] Based on the second signal, all the shelves 12 are controlled to move in the same direction in sequence, and all the shelves 12 can be controlled to move upward in sequence, or all the shelves 12 can be controlled to move downward in sequence. The second preset height can be a preset height corresponding to the automatic adjustment mode, and the second preset height can be a safety height set when the refrigerator 100 leaves the factory. Specifically, the safety height is the height occupied by the driving member 13 when the moving end of the driving member 13 is at the minimum stroke, so as to reserve a safety distance between two adjacent shelves 12. Since some storage areas 211 are provided with driving members 13, in order to avoid collision between the driving member 13 and the shelf 12, the storage area 211 provided with the driving member 13 reserves a safety distance. Through the above control strategy, the top storage area 211 or the bottom storage area 211 of the box body 2 can be automatically adjusted to the maximum storage space, so that users can place large and high items conveniently, thereby making full use of the space in the refrigerator 100 and improving the utilization rate of the space in the refrigerator 100.

[0083] In some embodiments, the refrigerator 100 includes a grating sensor 14, and the control method includes:

[0084] A third signal is obtained, where the third signal is a signal indicating that the object has entered the detection range of the grating sensor 14 , and the driving members 13 on both sides of the storage rack 12 where the object is located are controlled to stop working at the same time.

[0085] Specifically, no matter the refrigerator 100 is in the manual adjustment mode or the automatic adjustment mode, during the movement of the shelf 12, as long as it is detected that an object enters the detection range of the grating sensor 14, the driving members 13 on both sides of the shelf 12 where the object is located are controlled to stop working at the same time, so that the shelf 12 stops at the current position, thereby avoiding collision and damage between the object and the shelf 12.

[0086] It should be understood that the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific example embodiments and are not intended to be limiting. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "one", "an" and "said" as used herein may also be meant to include plural forms. The terms "include", "comprise", "contain", and "have" are inclusive and therefore specify the existence of stated features, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, parts, and / or combinations thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not interpreted as necessarily requiring them to be performed in the specific order described or illustrated, unless the execution order is clearly indicated. It should also be understood that additional or alternative steps may be used.

[0087] Although the terms first, second, third, etc. can be used in the text to describe multiple elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms can only be used to distinguish an element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Unless the context clearly indicates, terms such as "first", "second" and other numerical terms do not imply order or sequence when used in the text. Therefore, the first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below can be referred to as the second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teaching of the example embodiments.

[0088] The above description is only a specific implementation of the present application, so that those skilled in the art can understand or implement the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest range consistent with the principles and novel features applied for herein.

Claims

1. A shelf assembly, arranged in a refrigerator, characterized in that: The shelf assembly comprises: A bracket, arranged on the box body; A storage rack is movably arranged on the bracket, and the storage rack divides the accommodating space inside the box into a plurality of storage areas; A driving member, wherein a moving end of the driving member is drivingly connected to the rack so that the rack can reciprocate on the support; A controller is electrically connected to the driving member, and the controller is configured to control the driving member to drive the shelf to move relative to the bracket based on a first signal until the height of the storage area located on one side of the shelf reaches a first preset height; wherein the first signal is a signal indicating that the refrigerator enters a manual adjustment mode.

2. The shelf assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are n racks, and two adjacent racks are arranged in parallel. The n racks divide the accommodating space into (n+1) storage areas, wherein n is an integer greater than 1.

3. The shelf assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The storage rack comprises a connected crossbeam and a partition, the crossbeam is slidably connected to the bracket, the crossbeam is arranged at an end of the partition away from the user, and the moving end of the driving member is transmission-connected to the crossbeam.

4. The shelf assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that: The crossbeam comprises a first side and a second side which are arranged opposite to each other, the driving member comprises an electric push rod, the electric push rod has a moving end and a fixed end which are arranged opposite to each other, the moving end of the electric push rod is connected to the first side of the crossbeam, and the fixed end of the electric push rod is connected to the inner wall of the box body; Alternatively, the moving end of the electric push rod is connected to the first side of the crossbeam, and the fixed end of the electric push rod is connected to the second side of an adjacent crossbeam.

5. The shelf assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that: The bracket comprises a guide rod, and a slider is arranged on the cross beam, and the slider is slidably connected with the guide rod.

6. The shelf assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: A groove is arranged on the inner wall of the box body, the bracket is arranged in the groove, the groove has a first height in the vertical direction, the accommodating space has a second height in the vertical direction, and the first height is greater than the second height.

7. The shelf assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: It includes a grating sensor, at least two of which are arranged, and the two grating sensors are arranged in different storage areas, one of which is arranged on the box body, and the other is arranged on the storage rack; The photoelectric grating sensor is electrically connected to the controller, and the controller is configured to control the driving member to stop working if an object is detected between the transmitting end and the receiving end of the photoelectric grating sensor.

8. The shelf assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: A distance measuring sensor is included, and the distance measuring sensor is configured to detect the height of the storage area where the distance measuring sensor is located.

9. A refrigerator, characterized in that: The invention comprises a box body and a shelf assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the shelf assembly is arranged in the box body.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 9, characterized in that: The refrigerator comprises a door body, a display panel is arranged on the door body, and adjustment buttons are arranged on the display panel.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 10, characterized in that: The display panel is provided with a spacing display area, and the spacing display area can display the height of the storage area.

12. A refrigerator control method, applied to the refrigerator according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that: The control method comprises: Acquire a first signal, where the first signal is a signal indicating that the refrigerator enters a manual adjustment mode; Based on the first signal, the driving member is controlled to drive the rack to move relative to the support until the height of the storage area located on one side of the rack reaches a first preset height.

13. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that: include: obtaining a second signal, where the second signal is a signal indicating that the refrigerator enters an automatic adjustment mode, Based on the second signal, all the storage racks are controlled to move in the same direction in sequence until part of the storage areas reaches a second preset height.

14. The control method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that: The refrigerator includes a grating sensor, and the control method includes: A third signal is obtained, where the third signal is a signal indicating that the object has entered the detection range of the grating sensor, and the driving members on both sides of the rack where the object is located are controlled to stop working at the same time.

Images