Smell sensing chip, temperature control system and method and refrigeration equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to a smell sensing chip, a temperature control system and method and refrigeration equipment, and the smell sensing chip comprises a temperature sensing unit which is configured to be used for detecting the temperature of the smell sensing chip; the heating electrode is configured to be used for increasing the temperature of the smell sensing chip; the smell sensing chip can send an electric signal representing the temperature of the smell sensing chip to a peripheral circuit, and can control the operation of the heating electrode based on the peripheral circuit so as to adjust the temperature of the smell sensing chip. According to the gas-sensitive sensing chip, the temperature-sensitive resistor is integrated in the chip, so that the influence of external environment temperature change on the temperature-sensitive resistor is reduced, the sensitivity and the accuracy of temperature detection can be improved, more accurate and timely temperature control can be realized, and the detection performance of the gas-sensitive sensing chip is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of refrigeration equipment, and in particular to a temperature control system, a temperature control method and a refrigeration equipment for an odor sensor chip. Background Art

[0002] In order to provide users with a better user experience, existing refrigeration equipment uses odor sensors / odor sensors in the refrigeration chamber to detect the storage status of food. Once the food is detected to have an odor, the user can be notified and sterilization can be performed simultaneously. Since the odor sensor / odor sensor is a temperature-sensitive semiconductor device, its detection accuracy is closely related to the change in the temperature of the refrigeration chamber, which is specifically manifested in:

[0003] Accuracy: The working principle of semiconductor sensors is based on the effect of temperature on resistance or voltage. Precise temperature control can ensure that the sensor's measurement results are accurate. Small changes in temperature may cause significant fluctuations in the sensor's output value.

[0004] Reliability: The performance and life of semiconductor sensors are affected by temperature. Too high or too low temperature may cause the performance of the sensor to degrade or damage, and in severe cases even cause the sensor to fail. Consistency: In some applications, multiple semiconductor sensors need to be used for measurement at the same time, such as monitoring temperature distribution. If the operating temperatures of the sensors are inconsistent, their performance will be different, thus affecting the accuracy of the overall measurement results.

[0005] Environmental adaptability: In some special environments, such as extremely high or low temperatures or large temperature changes, the performance and stability of the sensor may be affected.

[0006] The temperature control method of the odor sensor / odor sensor in the prior art has certain limitations. The thermistor (temperature sensitive resistor) used to detect the temperature of the odor sensor is usually set outside the odor sensor chip. Therefore, it has high requirements on environmental conditions and needs to compensate for the temperature. The limitations of this compensation are mainly:

[0007] Complexity: Some temperature compensation methods require precise temperature calibration and complex algorithms to implement, which increases the complexity of system design and debugging. In addition, some temperature compensation methods have high requirements for environmental conditions and require more external devices or circuits to achieve compensation, which increases system cost and complexity.

[0008] Timeliness: Some temperature compensation methods may require temperature calibration before each use of the sensor to ensure the accuracy of compensation. However, the timeliness of temperature calibration may be affected. If the temperature drift rate is fast or the environmental conditions change, the compensation effect may be reduced.

[0009] Limited range: Some temperature compensation methods are only applicable to a specific temperature range. Beyond this range, the compensation effect may be reduced or even ineffective. This limits the application range and reliability of the sensor.

[0010] Cost and power consumption: Some high-precision temperature compensation methods may require more complex circuit design or higher-quality sensor devices, which increases cost.

[0011] Therefore, it is necessary to improve the existing odor sensor chip, and its temperature control system and method. Summary of the invention

[0012] Based on this, it is necessary to provide an odor sensor chip, and a temperature control system or temperature control method that can control the temperature of the odor sensor chip in real time and accurately in response to the above technical problems.

[0013] The present application provides an odor sensor chip, comprising:

[0014] a temperature sensing unit configured to detect the temperature of the odor sensing chip; and

[0015] A heating electrode configured to increase the temperature of the odor sensor chip;

[0016] The odor sensor chip can send an electrical signal representing the temperature of the odor sensor chip to a peripheral circuit, and can control the operation of the heating electrode based on the peripheral circuit to adjust the temperature of the odor sensor chip.

[0017] Optionally, the temperature sensing unit includes a thermistor and a thermistor test electrode, and the thermistor and the thermistor test electrode are sequentially packaged between the heating electrode and the substrate of the odor sensor chip.

[0018] Optionally, an insulating layer is provided between the heating electrode and the thermistor testing electrode.

[0019] In order to achieve the above-mentioned invention object, the present application provides a temperature control system, including the above-mentioned odor sensor chip and peripheral circuit, wherein the peripheral circuit includes:

[0020] a thermistor test circuit connected to the temperature sensing unit and capable of sending a corresponding control signal to the heating control circuit based on an electrical signal representing the actual temperature of the odor sensing chip detected by the temperature sensing unit; and

[0021] The heating control circuit is connected to the thermistor test circuit and the heating electrode, and can control the operation of the heating unit based on a control signal sent by the thermistor test circuit.

[0022] Optionally, the thermistor test circuit includes: a first resistor, a second resistor, a third resistor and a comparator, the first end of the first resistor is connected to a power supply, the second end of the first resistor is respectively connected to the first end of the second resistor and the in-phase input end of the comparator, the second end of the second resistor is connected to a common ground, the first end of the third resistor is connected to a common ground, the second end of the third resistor is connected to the first end of the thermistor of the temperature sensing unit and the inverting input end of the comparator, the second end of the thermistor is connected to a common ground, and the output end of the comparator is connected to the input end of the heating control circuit.

[0023] Optionally, the heating control circuit includes a switching tube and a fourth resistor, the source of the switching tube is connected to the power supply, the gate of the switching tube is the control end / input end of the heating control circuit, and is connected to the output end of the thermistor test circuit, the drain of the switching tube is configured to be connected to the first end of the heating electrode, and the two ends of the fourth resistor are respectively connected to the gate and source of the switching tube.

[0024] Optionally, the temperature control system also includes: a fault detection circuit for detecting whether a working fault occurs in the heating electrode, including a fifth resistor, a sixth resistor, and a capacitor, the second end of the fifth resistor being connected to the first end of the sixth resistor and the second end of the heating electrode, respectively, the second end of the sixth resistor being connected to a common ground, the first end of the capacitor being connected to the first end of the fifth resistor and being configured to be connected to a sampling end of an external control module, and the second end of the capacitor being connected to a common ground.

[0025] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the invention, the present application provides a temperature control method, including the temperature control system described above, to control the temperature of the odor sensor chip.

[0026] In order to achieve the above-mentioned invention object, the present application provides a temperature control method, which is applied to control the temperature of an odor sensor chip, comprising:

[0027] Detect the temperature of the odor sensor chip;

[0028] In response to the temperature being lower than a preset range, the odor sensor chip is heated by a heating electrode until its temperature is raised to within a preset range.

[0029] Optionally, the “heating the odor sensor chip by heating the electrode” includes:

[0030] Obtain the current value when the heating electrode is running;

[0031] If the current value is continuously outside the preset range for a number of times reaching a preset value, it is determined that the heating electrode has a fault.

[0032] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose of the invention, the present application provides a refrigeration device, which is integrated with the odor sensor chip mentioned above, or, uses the temperature control system mentioned above, or, the temperature control method mentioned above, to control the temperature of the odor sensor chip.

[0033] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose of the invention, the present application provides a refrigeration device, which is equipped with an odor sensor, and uses the temperature control system or temperature control method described above to control the temperature of the odor sensor.

[0034] The gas sensor chip provided in the present application reduces the influence of the temperature changes of the thermistor on the thermistor by integrating the thermistor inside the chip, thereby improving the sensitivity and accuracy of temperature detection, thereby achieving more accurate and timely temperature control, and improving the detection performance of the gas sensor chip.

[0035] In addition, compared with the prior art solution in which temperature control is performed through control modules such as a single-chip microcomputer, the temperature control system provided in the present application does not require an integrated single-chip microcomputer. It can achieve automatic temperature control of the gas sensor chip through the design of peripheral circuits, which not only saves costs and power consumption, but also reduces the complexity of temperature control without the need for software compensation.

[0036] In addition, the temperature control system provided in the present application is also equipped with a fault detection circuit for the heating electrode. The setting of this circuit can enable the user to promptly detect and handle the abnormal operation of the gas sensor chip or module. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the packaging structure of the odor sensor chip provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the packaging structure of the odor sensor chip provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the circuit structure of a temperature control system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 4 A flow chart of heating electrode fault determination of a temperature control system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 5 A flow chart of a temperature control method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 6 A flow chart of another temperature control method provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to facilitate understanding of the present application, the present application will be described more fully below with reference to the relevant drawings. Embodiments of the present application are provided in the drawings. However, the present application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the disclosure of the present application more thorough and comprehensive.

[0044] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application belongs. The terms used herein in the specification of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application.

[0045] It is understood that the terms "first", "second", etc. used in this application may be used herein to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish a first element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of this application, a first resistor may be referred to as a second resistor, and similarly, a second resistor may be referred to as a first resistor. Both the first resistor and the second resistor are resistors, but they are not the same resistor.

[0046] It can be understood that the “connection” in the following embodiments should be understood as “electrical connection”, “communication connection”, etc. if the connected circuits, modules, units, etc. have electrical signals or data transmission between each other.

[0047] It can be understood that “at least one” means one or more, “plurality” means two or more, and “at least a portion of an element” means a part or all of an element.

[0048] When used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "said / the" may also include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "include / comprise" or "have" and the like specify the presence of stated features, wholes, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof, but do not exclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof. At the same time, the term "and / or" used in this specification includes any and all combinations of the relevant listed items.

[0049] In one embodiment, Figure 1As shown, the present embodiment provides a smell sensor chip 100, which includes: a Si substrate 110, a temperature-sensitive resistor 120, a temperature-sensitive resistor test electrode 130, a first insulating layer 140, a heating electrode 150, a second insulating layer 160, a gas-sensitive material test electrode 170, and a gas-sensitive material layer 180, which are packaged in sequence. The temperature-sensitive resistor 120 and the temperature-sensitive resistor test electrode 130 together constitute a temperature sensing unit 200.

[0050] Among them, the temperature sensing unit 200 is integrated inside the odor sensor chip 100, and can more accurately feedback the current working temperature of the odor sensor chip. Compared with the prior art method of installing the temperature sensing unit on a circuit board to monitor changes in external environmental temperature, it can directly sense the real-time temperature of the heating electrode and accurately adjust the heating power, thereby reducing the influence of the temperature sensing unit on the interference of changes in external environmental temperature, improving the sensitivity and accuracy of the test, and thereby improving the performance of the temperature sensor 200.

[0051] In addition, the first insulating layer 140 is disposed between the heating electrode 150 and the temperature-sensitive resistor test electrode 130 to avoid mutual influence between the two.

[0052] Alternatively, if Figure 2 As shown, the odor sensor chip 100 can be packaged in E-SOP6, wherein the first pin and the sixth pin are configured to be connected to the gas sensitive resistor test circuit, the second pin and the fifth pin are configured to be connected to the thermistor test circuit 300, and the third pin and the fourth pin are configured to be connected to the heating control circuit 400.

[0053] Combine the following Figure 3 , the structure and working principle of the temperature control system provided in this embodiment are described, which includes a peripheral circuit and a gas-sensitive sensor chip, and the peripheral circuit includes: a temperature-sensitive resistor test circuit 300, a heating control circuit 400 and a fault detection circuit 500. The odor sensor chip 100 can send an electrical signal representing the temperature of the odor sensor chip 100 to the peripheral circuit, and can control the operation of the heating electrode based on the peripheral circuit to adjust the temperature of the odor sensor chip 100.

[0054] The thermistor test circuit 300 includes: a first resistor R1, a second resistor R2, a third resistor R3 and a comparator U1A, the first end of the first resistor R1 is connected to the power supply VCC, the second end of the first resistor R1 is respectively connected to the first end of the second resistor R2 and the non-inverting input end of the comparator U1A, the second end of the second resistor R2 is connected to a common ground, the first end of the third resistor R3 is connected to the common ground, the second end of the third resistor is connected to the first end of the thermistor 120 and the inverting input end of the comparator U1A, the second end of the thermistor 120 is connected to the common ground, and the output end of the comparator U1A is connected to the input end of the heating control circuit 500.

[0055] The first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2, as well as the third resistor R3 and the thermistor 120 respectively constitute a voltage divider circuit, and the two voltage divider circuits respectively control the changes of the non-inverting input terminal and the inverting input terminal of the comparator U1A. Since the resistance values ​​of the first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2 are constant, the voltage at the non-inverting input terminal of the comparator U1A is a fixed value, and the resistance of the thermistor 120 decreases with the increase of temperature. At this time, the voltage at the inverting input terminal of the comparator U1A decreases accordingly. When the voltage is less than the voltage at the non-inverting input terminal, the output terminal of the comparator U1A outputs a high-level signal to the heating control circuit 400. Conversely, the resistance of the thermistor 120 increases with the decrease of temperature. At this time, the voltage at the inverting input terminal of the comparator U1A increases accordingly. When the voltage is greater than the voltage at the non-inverting input terminal, the output terminal of the comparator U1A outputs a low-level signal to the heating control circuit 500.

[0056] The heating control circuit 400 includes a switch tube Q1 and a fourth resistor R4, the source of the switch tube Q1 is connected to the power supply VCC, the gate of the switch tube Q1 is the control end / input end of the heating control circuit 400, and is used to receive the high / low level signal sent by the thermistor test circuit, the drain of the switch tube Q1 is configured to be connected to the first end of the heating electrode, and the two ends of the fourth resistor R4 are respectively connected to the gate and source of the switch tube Q1, wherein the switch tube Q1 can be a PNP type transistor, whose gate is turned on when a low level signal is received and turned off when a high level signal is received.

[0057] In this embodiment, a temperature range with better detection accuracy is determined based on the semiconductor characteristics of the odor sensor chip 100, and then the resistance values ​​of the first resistor R1, the second resistor R2 and the third resistor R3 are set based on the temperature range, so that when it is detected that the actual temperature of the odor sensor chip 100 is greater than the upper limit of the temperature range, the comparator U1A outputs a high-level signal, so that the switch tube Q1 is turned off and the heating electrode stops heating; when it is detected that the actual temperature of the odor sensor chip 100 is less than the lower limit of the temperature range, the comparator U1A outputs a low-level signal, so that the switch tube Q1 is turned on and the heating electrode starts heating. Based on such a design, the temperature of the odor sensor chip 100 can be detected and accurately controlled in real time without the intervention of an external control unit through the cooperation of the odor sensor chip 100 and its peripheral circuits (thermistor test circuit 300 and heating control circuit 400), thereby ensuring the detection accuracy of the odor sensor chip 100 under the premise of lower power consumption and circuit cost.

[0058] Optionally, the temperature control system provided in this embodiment further includes a fault detection circuit 500, which is used to detect whether the heating electrode of the odor sensor chip 100 has a working fault. Figure 1 The fault detection circuit 500 includes a fifth resistor R5, a sixth resistor R6, and a capacitor C. The second end of the fifth resistor R5 is respectively connected to the first end of the sixth resistor R6 and the second end of the heating electrode, the second end of the sixth resistor R6 is connected to a common ground, the first end of the capacitor C is connected to the first end of the fifth resistor R5, and is configured to be connected to a sampling end of an external control module, and the second end of the capacitor C is connected to a common ground.

[0059] Among them, the fifth resistor R5 and the capacitor C constitute an RC filter circuit, the sixth resistor R6 is a current limiting resistor, and the sampling end of the external control module can collect the electrical signal representing the current value of the heating electrode, and compare it with the preset range, and judge whether the heating electrode fails based on the comparison result.

[0060] The external control module may be a single chip microcomputer, which has an analog-to-digital sensor integrated therein.

[0061] Specifically, refer to Figure 4 The heating electrode fault judgment flow chart shown, first, in response to the preset time, the analog-to-digital converter integrated in the control module starts sampling the electrical signal representing the heating electrode current value and accumulates the sum of the electrical signals. If the number of collected signals reaches a predetermined number of times, the average value of the sampled values ​​is calculated and the number of sampling times is cleared, and the average value is compared with the preset range. If the average value is not within the preset range, the number of faults is accumulated. When the accumulated value of the number of faults is greater than the preset value, it is determined that a heating electrode fault has occurred. If the average value is within the preset range, the number of faults is cleared.

[0062] It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the continuous deviation of the current value of the heating electrode from the normal range is determined as a fault. In some implementations, the result of comparing the statistical ratio of the working time and the stopping time of the heating electrode with a preset ratio can also be used as the basis for determining whether a fault has occurred.

[0063] Optionally, refer to Figure 5 This embodiment also provides a temperature control method, including:

[0064] Detecting the temperature of the odor sensor chip 100;

[0065] In response to the temperature being lower than the preset range, the smell sensor chip 100 is heated by the heating electrode until its temperature is raised to within the preset range.

[0066] In order to realize the detection function of heating electrode failure, refer to Figure 6 , wherein heating the odor sensor chip 100 by heating the electrode comprises:

[0067] Obtain the current value when the heating electrode is running;

[0068] If the current value is continuously outside the preset range for a number of times reaching a preset value, it is determined that the heating electrode has a fault.

[0069] Optionally, this embodiment also provides a refrigeration device, which may be a refrigerator, a freezer or other product used for refrigeration, wherein the interior of the refrigeration chamber thereof is provided with the odor sensor chip 100 and a temperature control system described above, or the temperature control method described above is applied to perform temperature control on the odor sensor chip 100 or an odor sensor module integrating the odor sensor chip 100.

[0070] The technical features of the above embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0071] The above embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the present application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. An odor sensor chip, characterized in that: include: a temperature sensing unit configured to detect the temperature of the odor sensing chip; as well as A heating electrode configured to increase the temperature of the odor sensor chip; The odor sensor chip can send an electrical signal representing the temperature of the odor sensor chip to a peripheral circuit, and can control the operation of the heating electrode based on the peripheral circuit to adjust the temperature of the odor sensor chip.

2. The odor sensor chip according to claim 1, characterized in that: The temperature sensing unit comprises a thermistor and a thermistor testing electrode, and the thermistor and the thermistor testing electrode are sequentially packaged between the heating electrode and the substrate of the odor sensor chip.

3. A temperature control system, characterized in that: The device comprises the odor sensor chip and the peripheral circuit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the peripheral circuit comprises: a thermistor test circuit connected to the temperature sensing unit and capable of sending a corresponding control signal to the heating control circuit based on an electrical signal representing the actual temperature of the odor sensing chip detected by the temperature sensing unit; and The heating control circuit is connected to the thermistor test circuit and the heating electrode, and can control the operation of the heating unit based on a control signal sent by the thermistor test circuit.

4. The temperature control system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The thermistor test circuit includes: a first resistor, a second resistor, a third resistor and a comparator, the first end of the first resistor is connected to a power supply, the second end of the first resistor is respectively connected to the first end of the second resistor and the non-inverting input end of the comparator, the second end of the second resistor is connected to a common ground, the first end of the third resistor is connected to a common ground, the second end of the third resistor is connected to the first end of the thermistor of the temperature sensing unit and the inverting input end of the comparator, the second end of the thermistor is connected to a common ground, and the output end of the comparator is connected to the input end of the heating control circuit.

5. The temperature control system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The heating control circuit includes a switching tube and a fourth resistor, the source of the switching tube is connected to a power supply, the gate of the switching tube is the control end / input end of the heating control circuit, and is connected to the output end of the thermistor test circuit, the drain of the switching tube is configured to be connected to the first end of the heating electrode, and the two ends of the fourth resistor are respectively connected to the gate and source of the switching tube.

6. The temperature control system according to claim 3, characterized in that: Also includes: A fault detection circuit is used to detect whether a working fault occurs in the heating electrode, including a fifth resistor, a sixth resistor, and a capacitor. The second end of the fifth resistor is respectively connected to the first end of the sixth resistor and the second end of the heating electrode, the second end of the sixth resistor is connected to a common ground, the first end of the capacitor is connected to the first end of the fifth resistor, and is configured to be connected to a sampling end of an external control module, and the second end of the capacitor is connected to a common ground.

7. A temperature control method, characterized in that: The temperature of the odor sensor chip is controlled by using the temperature control system described in any one of claims 3 to 6.

8. A temperature control method, applied to control the temperature of an odor sensor chip, characterized in that: include: Detect the temperature of the odor sensor chip; In response to the temperature being lower than a preset range, the odor sensor chip is heated by a heating electrode until its temperature is raised to within a preset range.

9. The temperature control method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The “heating the odor sensor chip by heating the electrode” includes: Obtain the current value when the heating electrode is running; If the current value is continuously outside the preset range for a number of times reaching a preset value, it is determined that the heating electrode has a fault.

10. A refrigeration device, characterized in that: The odor sensor chip is provided with the odor sensor chip as described in claim 1 or 2, or the temperature control system as described in any one of claims 3 to 6 is applied, or the temperature control method as described in any one of claims 7 to 9 is used to control the temperature of the odor sensor chip.

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