Refrigerator

Abstract

The refrigerator of the present invention comprises: a main body provided with at least one compartment; the at least one functional module is arranged in the compartment; a wireless power transmission module including at least one power transmission unit provided in the main body, and a power reception unit provided in each of the functional modules in pairs with the power transmission unit; the communication module comprises at least one first communication unit arranged on the main body and second communication units which are arranged on the functional modules in pairs with the first communication units; and the control module comprises a first control unit arranged on the main body and a second control unit arranged on each functional module. The first control unit is used for sequentially controlling each functional module at a specified time interval, and the first control unit is used for executing a power supply step, a functional module state judgment step, a communication establishment step and a data interaction step on each functional module. Therefore, a plurality of functional modules can be simultaneously controlled only through one first control unit, and the system has the advantages of simple architecture design and low hardware cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and particularly to a refrigerator that supplies power to functional modules. Background Art

[0002] With the improvement of people's living standards, the usage scenarios of refrigerator products are becoming more and more diverse. Traditional refrigerators use wire harnesses and connectors and cannot be functionally upgraded or replaced. To meet people's needs, refrigerators with detachable modules have emerged. As detachable modules of a refrigerator, for example, they can have various functions such as heating, sterilization, and CO2 detection. On the other hand, in order for the detachable module to achieve the above functions, the refrigerator needs to supply power, communicate, and control the detachable module.

[0003] In Patent Document 1 (CN202310081190), a power supply structure is disclosed in which power is supplied by contacting a first contact provided in the refrigerator cabinet and a second contact provided in the detachable module. However, for a structure using contact connection, when the load current of the detachable module is large, the design of the contact has a safety risk. In addition, the contact is also prone to wear and has low reliability.

[0004] In Patent Document 2 (CN202020030190), a power supply structure for supplying power to a detachable module by using wireless power supply instead of contact is adopted. However, when there are multiple detachable modules in the refrigerator, it is necessary to identify and individually control each module.

[0005] Existing Literature

[0006] Patent Document 1: CN202310081190

[0007] Patent Document 2: CN202020030190 Summary of the Invention

[0008] The present invention is proposed in view of the above actual situation, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator using a wireless power supply method, which can identify functional modules provided in the refrigerator and perform corresponding power supply and control operations.

[0009] A refrigerator according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a main body provided with at least one compartment; at least one functional module disposed in the compartment; a wireless power transmission module including: at least one power transmission unit disposed in the main body, and a power reception unit disposed in each of the at least one functional module in pairs with the power transmission unit, for transmitting power between the power transmission unit and the power reception unit; a communication module including: at least one first communication unit disposed in the main body, and a second communication unit disposed in each of the at least one functional module in pairs with the first communication unit; and a control module including a first control unit disposed in the main body and a second control unit disposed in each of the at least one functional module. The first control unit communicates with each second control unit through the corresponding communication module. The first control unit controls each functional module in sequence at a predetermined time interval. The first control unit performs, for each functional module: a power supply step of energizing the power transmission unit corresponding to the at least one functional module, a functional module state determination step of determining whether the functional module is disposed in the compartment after the power supply step, a communication establishment step of establishing communication between the first communication unit and the second communication unit of the communication module corresponding to the functional module when it is determined in the functional module state determination step that there is a functional module, and a data interaction step of continuously querying and receiving information of the second control unit corresponding to the communication module at a predetermined time interval through the communication module after the communication between the first communication unit and the second communication unit of the communication module is established.

[0010] In a refrigerator according to an aspect of the present invention, after the first control unit disposed in the main body determines that there is a functional module in the refrigerator compartment, power is transmitted between the power transmission unit disposed in the main body and the power transmission unit disposed in the functional module by establishing communication with the functional module and performing data exchange. Thereby, the functional module can be identified, and further, power can be provided according to the requirements of the functional module and the functional module can be controlled accordingly. In addition, the first control unit disposed in the main body controls each functional module in sequence at a predetermined time interval. Thereby, the control of multiple functional modules can be achieved only by the first control unit disposed in the main body, which has the advantages of simple architecture design and low hardware cost.

[0011] In a refrigerator according to an aspect of the present invention, in the functional module state determination step, it is also possible to determine whether the functional module is disposed in the compartment by the change of the current of the power transmission unit.

[0012] In a refrigerator according to an aspect of the present invention, in the communication establishment step, it is also possible to perform: a power reset step of de-energizing and then re-energizing the power transmission unit corresponding to the communication module to be paired, and a pairing step of pairing the first communication unit and the second communication unit of the communication module in the energized state to establish a communication connection.

[0013] A refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention may also be configured such that, when there are multiple communication modules to be paired, during the power reset step, after powering off all power transmission units corresponding to the communication modules to be paired, one of the power transmission units is first powered on. After establishing a communication connection with this communication module, the other power transmission units are powered on one by one.

[0014] A refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention may also be configured such that, during the communication establishment step, it is determined whether the second communication unit has exchanged data with the corresponding first communication unit. When it is determined that data has been exchanged, the power reset step is omitted and the pairing step is executed.

[0015] A refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention may also be configured such that, when the pairing step exceeds a predetermined time, the power reset step is executed again. When the power reset step is repeatedly executed more than a predetermined number of times and the judgment result in the function module status judgment step does not change, the pairing step is no longer performed.

[0016] A refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention may also be configured such that, when the communication is interrupted during the data exchange step, the function module status judgment step is executed again.

[0017] A refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention may also be configured such that the communication module is a Bluetooth communication module.

[0018] A refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention may also be configured such that the power transmission unit is provided on the side wall or bottom wall of the inner liner of the main body, or in the air duct assembly. The power receiving unit is correspondingly provided on the function module in such a way that it has a part overlapping with the power transmission unit, and the distance of the overlapping part between the power transmission unit and the power receiving unit is 10 mm or less.

[0019] A refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention may also be configured such that the control module performs OTA function upgrade on at least one function module through the communication module.

[0020] Effects of the Invention

[0021] In the refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention, the first control unit provided on the main body can identify each function module provided in the compartment. Furthermore, power is provided according to the requirements of each function module, and the function module is correspondingly controlled. In addition, the present invention controls each function module at a specified time interval. Therefore, by only using the first control unit provided on the main body, the control of multiple function modules can be achieved, which has the advantages of simple architecture design and low hardware cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 is schematically showingFigure 1 The figure of the functional modules shown.

[0024] Figure 3 It is a flowchart showing the control of the functional modules by the first control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 4 is Figure 3 The flowchart of the communication establishment step shown.

[0026] Figure 5 The figure showing an example where the first control unit controls each functional module periodically.

[0027] Figure 6 It is a flowchart of the communication establishment step when there are multiple communication modules to be paired.

[0028] Reference numeral

[0029] Refrigerator 100

[0030] Main body 1

[0031] Compartment 2

[0032] Functional modules 3, 3a, 3b, 3c

[0033] Wireless power transmission module 10

[0034] Power transmission units 11, 11a, 11b, 11c

[0035] Power reception units 12, 12a, 12b, 12c

[0036] Communication module 20

[0037] First communication units 21, 21a, 21b

[0038] Second communication units 22, 22a, 22b

[0039] Control module 30

[0040] First control unit 31

[0041] Second control units 32, 32a, 32b Detailed implementation mode

[0042] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. Figure 1 It is a perspective view of a refrigerator schematically showing an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 It is schematically shown Figure 1 The figure of the functional modules shown.

[0043] As Figure 1As shown, the refrigerator 100 of an embodiment of the present invention includes: a main body 1 provided with at least one compartment 2. A functional module 3 is disposed within the compartment 2. In Figure 1 it, two functional modules 3a, 3b are shown. The functional module 3 can be a detachable functional module. For example, it can be taken out from the compartment 2 for cleaning or maintenance. The functional module has functions such as carbon dioxide detection, LED lighting, weight detection, temperature and humidity detection, etc. Therefore, a new functional module can also be replaced for updating the function.

[0044] As Figure 2 shown, the refrigerator 100 further has: a wireless power transmission module 10, which includes a power transmission unit 11 and a power reception unit 12 arranged in pairs, and transmits power between the power transmission unit 11 and the power reception unit 12. In Figure 2 it, the power supply module converts external power supply, such as the commercial power provided by the power grid, into electrical energy that can be used by each component of the refrigerator. The output terminals of the power supply module are respectively connected to the power transmission unit 11 provided on the main body 1. The power transmission unit provides electrical energy with different voltages and currents that match each functional module in a wireless power transmission manner according to the requirements of each functional module 3.

[0045] The power transmission unit 11 can be mounted on the side wall or bottom wall of the inner liner of the main body 1, or on the air duct assembly. The power reception unit 12 is correspondingly arranged on the functional module 3 in a manner that has a part overlapping with the power transmission unit 11. There is an inner liner or an air duct cover plate of the refrigerator 100 between the power transmission unit 11 and the power reception unit 12. Therefore, in order to improve the power transmission efficiency, the distance between the overlapping parts of the power transmission unit 11 and the power reception unit 12 is set to 10 mm or less, so that the power transmission efficiency reaches more than 80%. In addition, the area of the overlapping part of the power transmission unit 11 and the power reception unit 12 can also be increased to further improve the power transmission efficiency.

[0046] Figure 2 Two functional modules 3a, 3b are shown in it. Power is transmitted in a wireless manner between the power reception unit 12a of the functional module 3a and the correspondingly arranged power transmission unit 11a on the main body 1, and between the power reception unit 12b of the functional module 3b and the correspondingly arranged power transmission unit 11b on the main body 1. However, the number of functional modules is not limited to this. When the number of functional modules is multiple, the number of wireless power transmission modules is the same as the number of functional modules.

[0047] As Figure 2 shown, the refrigerator 100 further has: a communication module 20, which includes a first communication unit 21 and a second communication unit 22 arranged in pairs. Figure 2Two functional modules 3a and 3b are shown. A second communication unit 22a is provided in the functional module 3a, which communicates with the first communication unit 21a provided in the main body 1. A second communication unit 22b is provided in the functional module 3b, which communicates with the first communication unit 21b provided in the main body 1. Figure 2 Two functional modules are shown, but the number of functional modules is not limited to this. When the number of functional modules is plural, the number of communication modules is the same as the number of functional modules. In the present embodiment, the communication module is a Bluetooth communication module.

[0048] In addition, the refrigerator 100 further includes: a control module 30, which includes a first control unit 31 provided in the main body 1 and a second control unit 32 provided in each functional module 3. In Figure 2 the case where the two functional modules 3 shown are the case, second control units 32a and 32b are respectively provided in the functional modules 3a and 3b. The first control unit 31 controls each of the second control units 32a and 32b through the corresponding communication module 20. Thus, the control of multiple functional modules can be achieved only through one control unit, and the system architecture is simple and the hardware cost is low.

[0049] Hereinafter, with reference to the attached Figure 3 , 4 , the control process of wireless power transmission of the refrigerator 100 will be described. Figure 3 It is a flowchart showing the control of a functional module by a first control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 A diagram showing an example in which the first control unit periodically controls each functional module. Figure 6 It is a flowchart of a communication establishment step when there are multiple communication modules to be paired. Hereinafter, the case where the refrigerator 100 has one functional module and multiple functional modules will be described in the first and second embodiments respectively.

[0050] [First Embodiment]

[0051] In the first embodiment, only one functional module (hereinafter, the functional module 3a will be taken as an example) is provided in the compartment 2 of the refrigerator 100. As Figure 3 shown, the first control unit 31 executes, for the functional module 3a: a power supply step S1, a functional module state determination step S2, a communication establishment step S3, and a data interaction step S4.

[0052] In the power supply step S1, the first control unit 31 provided in the main body 1 energizes the power transmission unit 11a corresponding to the functional module 3a. Then, after the power supply step S1, the first control unit 31 executes the functional module state determination step S2 to determine whether the functional module 3a is in the compartment 2. In the present embodiment, since the power transmission unit 11a is energized in the power supply step S1, when the functional module 3a exists in the compartment 2, the passive power receiving component of the functional module 3a, such as a Bluetooth module, receives power from the energized power transmission unit 11a through the power receiving unit 12a. At this time, the current of the power transmission unit 11a increases, so that it can be determined that the functional module 3a exists in the compartment 2. Thus, it is possible to determine the presence of the functional module 3a by simple current detection, which serves as a prerequisite for subsequent control. In addition, it should be understood that the determination method is not limited to this, and it is also possible to determine the presence of the functional module 3a by detecting, for example, the weight change at the corresponding position in the compartment.

[0053] When it is determined in the functional module state determination step S2 that the functional module 3a exists, the following is executed: the communication establishment step S3 of establishing communication between the first communication unit 21a corresponding to the functional module 3a and the second communication unit 22a.

[0054] As Figure 4 shown, in the communication establishment step S3, first, it is determined whether the second communication unit 22a of the functional module 3a has ever performed data interaction with the corresponding first communication unit 21a. When it is determined that the second communication unit 22a has performed data interaction, the pairing step is directly executed. In the present embodiment, the communication method is Bluetooth communication. That is, the second communication unit 22a that has performed data interaction directly performs Bluetooth pairing connection with the corresponding first communication unit 21a.

[0055] When it is determined that the second communication unit 22a has not performed data interaction, the power reset step is executed. In the power reset step, the power transmission unit 11a corresponding to the communication module to be paired is powered off and then powered on. Thus, the first communication unit 21a and the second communication unit 22a that need to be paired currently are determined. Then, in the pairing step, the first communication unit 21a and the second communication unit 22a of the communication module 20 in the powered-on state are paired to establish a communication connection.

[0056] When the time for performing the pairing step exceeds the predetermined time, the power reset step is performed again. In this embodiment, the predetermined time is 1 s. When the power reset step is repeatedly performed more than the predetermined number of times, the communication module 20 is determined to be faulty. In this embodiment, the predetermined number of times is 3 times. The communication module 20 determined to be faulty will no longer perform the pairing step. However, if the state of the functional module 3a changes, such as taking out the functional module 3a from the compartment 2 and then putting it back again, or inserting a new functional module 3a at this position in the compartment ， , then according to Figure 3 the control flow shown, the communication establishment step S3 is performed again.

[0057] After the first communication unit 21a and the second communication unit 22a of the communication module 20 establish communication, the data interaction step S4 is performed. In the data interaction step S4, through the communication module 20, at a specified time interval, information from the second control unit 32a is continuously queried and received. The information from the second control unit 32a may include: the voltage and current requirements of the functional module 3a, information of the sensors equipped in the functional module 3a, such as CO2 concentration, temperature and humidity in the functional module 3a, etc. The first control unit 31 performs corresponding control on the functional module 3a according to this information. For example, the voltage, current, etc. of the power supply unit 11a are adjusted. In addition, the OTA function upgrade of the functional module 3a can also be performed through the communication module 20. Thus, the function of the functional module 3a can be updated more conveniently to meet the needs of users.

[0058] If the state of the functional module 3a remains unchanged, the second communication unit 22a and the first communication unit 21a of the functional module 3a continuously perform data interaction, that is, the data interaction step S4 is continuously performed. However, when the communication is interrupted in the data interaction step S4, the functional module state judgment step S2 is performed again. That is, if the functional module 3a exists, the communication establishment step S3 is performed again. If the functional module 3a does not exist (for example, taken out from the compartment 2), it is continuously judged at a certain time interval whether the functional module 3a is in the compartment 2 (that is, the functional module judgment step S2 is performed).

[0059] [Second Embodiment]

[0060] The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that in the second embodiment, there are multiple functional modules 3. Here, it is described by taking the example that the compartment 2 can be provided with 3 functional modules 3a to 3c and only 2 functional modules 3a and 3b exist. Hereinafter, the description will be mainly focused on the differences between the second embodiment and the first embodiment, and the repeated descriptions will be omitted.

[0061] First, in the power supply step S1, all the power transmission units 11a to 11c are energized so as to determine whether there is a functional module in the compartment 2 based on the change in the current passing through the power transmission units 11a to 11c. Then, similar to the first embodiment, the functional module state determination step S2 is executed.

[0062] When multiple functional modules 3 can be provided in the compartment 2, the first control unit 31 controls each functional module 3 at a prescribed time interval in sequence. Specifically, as Figure 5 shown in an example, the first control unit 31 sequentially executes the functional module state determination step S2 for the functional modules 3a to 3c. In the execution of the functional module state determination step S2, the currents of the power transmission units 11a and 11b increase, and the current of the power transmission unit 11c does not change. Thus, it is determined that there are functional modules 3a and 3b in the compartment 2 and there is no functional module 3c. Therefore, after the functional module state determination step S2 is completed for the functional module 3c, the communication establishment step S3 (detailed below) is sequentially executed for the functional modules 3a and 3b, and the functional module state determination step S2 is continued for the functional module 3c. When the communication connections are established for the functional modules 3a and 3b, the data interaction step S4 is executed for the functional modules 3a and 3b, and the functional module state determination step S2 is continued for the functional module 3c. That is, for each functional module, the first control unit 31 controls at a period of n*T, where n is the number of functional modules 3 that can be provided in the compartment 2, and T is the control time preset by the first control unit 31 for each functional module. In this embodiment, three functional modules 3a to 3c can be provided. Therefore, the first control unit 31 controls each functional module at a period of 3*T. In this embodiment, T is 1000 ms and the communication rate is 9600 bit / s. The period T and the communication rate allocated to each functional module 3 can also be adjusted according to the information load rate. Thus, the control of multiple functional modules can be achieved only by one control unit 31, and the system architecture is simple and the hardware cost is low.

[0063] In addition, for the case where there are multiple functional modules 3 in the compartment 2, there is also the following problem, that is, when there are multiple communication modules 20 to be paired, how to correctly establish a communication connection between the corresponding first communication unit 21 and the second communication unit 22.

[0064] Here, there are a first communication unit 21a and a second communication unit 22a to be paired, and a first communication unit 21b and a second communication unit 22b. As Figure 6 shown, first, at a preset period T (such as Figure 5As shown in the figure, it is successively determined whether the second communication units 22a and 22b have ever performed data interaction with the corresponding first communication units 21a and 21b. When it is determined that the second communication unit 22a has performed data interaction, the power reset step is not executed in the control cycle of the next function module 3a, and the pairing step is directly executed.

[0065] In this embodiment, it is assumed that neither the second communication units 22a nor 22b have performed data interaction. Then, as Figure 6 shown, the second communication units 22a and 22b are added to the pairing queue. Next, in the power reset step, the power supply units 11a and 11b corresponding to the second communication units 22a and 22b to be paired are both powered off, and then only the power supply unit 11a corresponding to the second communication unit 22a to be paired is powered on. In other words, at this time, the power supply unit 11b corresponding to the function module 3b is not powered on. Therefore, the second communication unit 22b of the function module 3b is in a powered-off state and cannot perform a communication connection. Thus, it can be ensured that there is and only one pair of first communication unit 21a and second communication unit 22a to be paired, so that they can be correctly connected. The communication establishment and fault handling processes of the first communication unit 21a and the second communication unit 22a are the same as those in the first embodiment and will not be elaborated here. After establishing a communication connection with the communication module corresponding to the function module 3a, the power supply unit 11b corresponding to the function module 3b is powered on. At this time, it is determined that the communication module to be paired currently is the communication module corresponding to the function module 3b, that is, the first communication unit 21b and the second communication unit 22b. Then, as Figure 4 shown, the communication connection step of the second communication unit 22b of the function module 3b and the first communication unit 21b is executed.

[0066] In this embodiment, in the power reset step, after all the power supply units corresponding to the communication modules to be paired are powered off, one of the power supply units is first powered on. After a communication connection is established for this communication module, the other power supply units are powered on one by one. Thus, the problem that when there are multiple communication modes to be paired, the corresponding first communication unit and second communication unit cannot be correctly paired is solved. In addition, in this embodiment, a centralized architecture is adopted, that is, only one first control unit 31 provided in the main body 1 controls multiple function modules 3 at the same time. The first control unit 31 can be designed without being specifically based on the function module 3, which is convenient for the user to replace the function module 3 in the subsequent use process, and has the advantages of simple architecture design and low hardware cost.

[0067] Although the present invention has been specifically described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, it is understood that the above description does not limit the present invention in any way. Those skilled in the art can make modifications and variations to the present invention as needed without departing from the essential spirit and scope of the present invention, and these modifications and variations all fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, comprising: A main body provided with at least one compartment; At least one functional module disposed in the compartment; A wireless power transmission module including at least one power transmission unit disposed on the main body and a power reception unit disposed in each of the at least one functional module in pairs with the power transmission unit, for transmitting power between the power transmission unit and the power reception unit; A communication module including at least one first communication unit disposed on the main body and a second communication unit disposed in each of the at least one functional module in pairs with the first communication unit; And A control module including a first control unit disposed on the main body and a second control unit disposed in each of the at least one functional module, the first control unit communicating with each of the second control units through the corresponding communication module, The first control unit controls each of the functional modules in sequence at a prescribed time interval, The first control unit performs, for each of the functional modules: A power supply step of energizing the power transmission unit corresponding to the at least one functional module, A functional module state determination step of determining whether the functional module is disposed in the compartment after the power supply step, A communication establishment step of establishing communication between the first communication unit and the second communication unit of the communication module corresponding to the functional module when it is determined in the functional module state determination step that the functional module exists, and A data interaction step of continuously querying and receiving information of the second control unit corresponding to the communication module at the prescribed time interval through the communication module after the communication between the first communication unit and the second communication unit of the communication module is established.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein, In the functional module state determination step, it is determined whether the functional module is disposed in the compartment based on the change in the current of the power transmission unit.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, In the communication establishment step, the following are performed: A power reset step of de-energizing and then re-energizing the power transmission unit corresponding to the communication module to be paired, A pairing step of pairing the first communication unit and the second communication unit of the energized communication module to establish a communication connection.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein, When there are multiple communication modules to be paired, in the power reset step, after de-energizing all the power transmission units corresponding to the communication modules to be paired, first one of the power transmission units is energized, and after the communication connection of this communication module is established, the other power transmission units are energized one by one.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein, In the communication establishment step, it is determined whether the second communication unit has performed data interaction with the corresponding first communication unit, When it is determined that data interaction has been performed, the power reset step is omitted and the pairing step is performed.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein, When the pairing step exceeds a predetermined time, the power reset step is performed again, When the power reset step is repeatedly performed more than a predetermined number of times and the determination result in the functional module state determination step does not change, the pairing step is no longer performed.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, When the communication is interrupted in the data interaction step, the functional module state determination step is performed again.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The communication module is a Bluetooth communication module.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The power transmission unit is disposed on the side wall or bottom wall of the inner container of the main body, or on the air duct assembly. The power receiving unit is correspondingly disposed on the functional module in such a manner that it has a part overlapping with the power transmission unit. The distance between the overlapping parts of the power transmission unit and the power receiving unit is 10 mm or less.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The control module performs OTA function upgrade of the at least one functional module through the communication module.

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