Evaporator self-cleaning system, control method and device and air conditioner

Abstract

The invention discloses an evaporator self-cleaning system, a control method and device and an air conditioner, and the system comprises an evaporator component which comprises a plurality of fins; the flexible piezoelectric film vibration assembly is attached to the fins, and the flexible piezoelectric film vibration assembly cleans condensate water of the fins through traveling wave excitation; the humidity detection module is arranged around the evaporator component and used for collecting humidity data; the control module is connected with the flexible piezoelectric film vibration assembly and the humidity detection module and used for receiving the humidity data, judging whether the flexible piezoelectric film vibration assembly is started or not to conduct cleaning operation on the basis of the humidity data and dynamically adjusting operation parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration assembly according to the humidity data in the cleaning operation process. Through traveling wave excitation of the flexible piezoelectric film, the adhesive force of condensate water on the surface of the fin can be effectively damaged, a water film is vibrated into small liquid drops to be thrown away from the surface of the fin, self-cleaning of the condensate water of the evaporator is achieved, and the cleaning effect is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of air conditioners, and in particular to an evaporator self-cleaning system, a control method, a device and an air conditioner. Background Art

[0002] The evaporator of a wall-mounted household air conditioner cools and dehumidifies the air through refrigeration, but this also produces a large amount of condensation on the fin surface. This problem is exacerbated by the current design of evaporator fins, which strive for "tighter, denser, and thinner" structures to improve heat exchange efficiency. For example, when indoor humidity exceeds 70%, a continuous film of water forms on the fin surface within just a few minutes. Once the condensation covers the fins, it reduces the evaporator's heat transfer coefficient, resulting in a decrease in the air conditioner's cooling capacity and energy efficiency. Furthermore, excessive water accumulation can be carried into the air duct by airflow, causing a dripping sound and breeding mold and odor, affecting the user experience.

[0003] To address the issue of evaporator condensation, the industry has proposed various solutions, each with its own shortcomings. For example, while traditional electric heating and drying or prolonged fan drying can evaporate some moisture, they cannot remove stubborn dirt and particles from the fins and consume a lot of energy. Other solutions involve adjusting the compressor and fan operation to achieve dehumidification (such as reducing frequency or dehumidifying without cooling), but this can affect the air conditioner's normal cooling operation and is not practical. A published patent proposal also proposes using a special heat pump dehumidification module on the heat exchanger. While this module can reduce condensation adhesion, it is complex and expensive, making it unsuitable for widespread adoption in conventional air conditioners. Additionally, some solutions have attempted to remove condensation through ultrasonic vibration, but these typically employ point-based excitation using rigid piezoelectric ceramic transducers. This arrangement makes it difficult to achieve uniform vibration over a large area of ​​the high-density fins, resulting in insufficient coverage and inconsistent amplitude, making it impossible to effectively shake off the water film across the entire fin. While adding multiple, evenly spaced transducers can improve cleaning effectiveness, it also increases assembly complexity and cost.

[0004] Therefore, in the prior art, how to achieve rapid desorption and orderly discharge of condensed water from the air conditioner evaporator in a low-power and high-efficiency manner remains a problem that needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present invention provide an evaporator self-cleaning system, a control method, a device and an air conditioner, which are intended to achieve self-cleaning of condensed water in the evaporator and improve the cleaning effect.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an evaporator self-cleaning system, comprising:

[0007] an evaporator component comprising a plurality of fins;

[0008] A flexible piezoelectric film vibration component is attached to the fin, and the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component can clean the condensed water on the fin by traveling wave excitation;

[0009] a humidity detection module, arranged around the evaporator component, for collecting humidity data around the evaporator component;

[0010] The control module is connected to the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component and the humidity detection module respectively, and is used to receive the humidity data, and determine whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component for a cleaning operation based on the humidity data, and dynamically adjust the operating parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component according to the humidity data during the cleaning operation.

[0011] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an evaporator self-cleaning control method, which is applied to the evaporator self-cleaning system according to the first aspect. The control method includes:

[0012] Collect humidity data around the evaporator components;

[0013] Determining whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component to perform a cleaning operation based on the humidity data;

[0014] After determining to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component to perform a cleaning operation, continue to collect the humidity data, and dynamically adjust the operating parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component according to the humidity data.

[0015] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an evaporator self-cleaning control device, which adopts the evaporator self-cleaning control method according to the second aspect, and the control device includes:

[0016] A data acquisition unit, used for collecting humidity data around the evaporator component;

[0017] a cleaning judgment unit, configured to judge whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component to perform a cleaning operation based on the humidity data;

[0018] The dynamic operation unit is used to continue collecting the humidity data after determining to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component for cleaning operation, and dynamically adjust the operation parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component according to the humidity data.

[0019] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an air conditioner, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the processor executes the computer program, the evaporator self-cleaning control method as described in the second aspect is implemented.

[0020] An embodiment of the present invention provides an evaporator self-cleaning system, control method, device and air conditioner, the system including: an evaporator component, comprising a plurality of fins; a flexible piezoelectric film vibration component, attached to the fins, the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component being capable of cleaning the condensed water on the fins by means of traveling wave excitation; a humidity detection module, arranged around the evaporator component, for collecting humidity data around the evaporator component; a control module, respectively connected to the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component and the humidity detection module, for receiving the humidity data, and judging whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component for a cleaning operation based on the humidity data, and dynamically adjusting the operating parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component according to the humidity data during the cleaning operation. The evaporator self-cleaning system described in an embodiment of the present invention includes evaporator fins, a flexible piezoelectric film vibration component attached to the evaporator fins, a humidity sensor arranged near the evaporator, and a control module, wherein the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component is tightly fitted to the surface of the evaporator fins, so that it can generate ultrasonic vibrations under the drive of the control module to vibrate and clean the condensed water on the fin surface, thereby simplifying the overall structure and reducing energy consumption. Moreover, this embodiment can effectively destroy the adhesion of condensed water on the fin surface through the traveling wave excitation of the flexible piezoelectric film, so that the water film is vibrated into small droplets and thrown off the fin surface, thereby realizing self-cleaning of the evaporator condensed water and improving the cleaning effect, thereby effectively solving the problem of condensed water adhesion and accumulation, and avoiding the evaporator fin surface under high humidity and long-term operation. The evaporator heat exchange efficiency is low and mold growth is avoided due to excessive condensed water condensation, which in turn leads to reduced cooling capacity and energy efficiency of the air conditioner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0022] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of an evaporator self-cleaning system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 Another structural schematic diagram of an evaporator self-cleaning system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 A schematic flow chart of a self-cleaning method for an evaporator provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a first sub-process of an evaporator self-cleaning method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a second sub-process of an evaporator self-cleaning method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a third sub-process of an evaporator self-cleaning method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 7 A schematic block diagram of an evaporator self-cleaning device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 8 A first sub-schematic block diagram of an evaporator self-cleaning device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 9 A first sub-schematic block diagram of an evaporator self-cleaning device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 10 A first sub-schematic block diagram of an evaporator self-cleaning device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 11 A schematic block diagram of an air conditioner provided in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments of the present invention without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0034] It will be understood that when used in this specification and the appended claims, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” indicate the presence of described features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof.

[0035] It should also be understood that the terminology used in this specification is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the present invention. As used in the specification and appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0036] It should be further understood that the term "and / or" used in the present description and the appended claims refers to and includes any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0037] See below Figure 1 and Figure 2 , an embodiment of the present invention provides an evaporator self-cleaning system, comprising:

[0038] an evaporator component 1 comprising a plurality of fins 11;

[0039] A flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 is attached to the fin 11, and the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 can clean the condensed water on the fin 11 by vibration;

[0040] a humidity detection module 3 , arranged around the evaporator component 1 , for collecting humidity data around the evaporator component 1 ;

[0041] The control module is connected to the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 and the humidity detection module 3 respectively, and is used to receive the humidity data, and determine whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 for cleaning operation based on the humidity data, and dynamically adjust the operating parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 according to the humidity data during the cleaning operation.

[0042] The evaporator is a key heat exchange component in an air conditioner. Its surface is typically covered with fine fins 11 to increase contact area with the air and improve heat exchange efficiency. The evaporator component 1 typically includes an air manifold, a liquid inlet pipe, an evaporator assembly, and a temperature-sensing sleeve. However, the spacing between these fins 11 is very short, typically 1.2mm-1.4mm. This is affected by temperature differences and humidity, leading to high condensation. This not only reduces indoor air volume but also affects heat exchange capacity and energy efficiency.

[0043] To address this issue, this embodiment proposes an evaporator self-cleaning system, comprising an evaporator fin 11, a flexible piezoelectric membrane vibrating assembly 2 attached to the evaporator fin 11, a humidity sensor disposed near the evaporator, and a control module. The flexible piezoelectric membrane vibrating assembly 2 is tightly attached to the surface of the evaporator fin 11, generating ultrasonic vibrations driven by the control module to vibrate and clean condensed water on the surface of the fin 11. A humidity detection module 3 is configured to detect humidity data of the air surrounding the evaporator in real time and transmit the humidity data to the control module. The control module intelligently determines when to start or stop vibration cleaning based on the humidity data and adjusts the operating frequency and power level of the flexible piezoelectric membrane vibrating assembly 2 accordingly. This simplifies the overall structure and reduces energy consumption. Furthermore, the traveling wave excitation of the flexible piezoelectric membrane effectively destroys the adhesion of condensed water to the surface of the fin 11, breaking the water film into small droplets that are then flung off the surface of the fin 11, thereby achieving self-cleaning of the condensed water in the evaporator and improving the cleaning effect. This avoids the problem of low heat exchange efficiency and mold growth of the evaporator due to excessive condensation of water on the surface of the evaporator fins 11 under high humidity and long-term operation, which in turn leads to reduced cooling capacity and energy efficiency of the air conditioner.

[0044] It is understandable that in actual applications, corresponding power modules will also be configured to provide the required power for components such as the control module, and the control module can also transfer power to the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 and the humidity detection module 3 through wires and other means. Specifically, the power module can be directly taken from the main power supply of the air conditioner indoor unit. The driving circuit of the piezoelectric film strip is connected to the air conditioner power supply, so that the piezoelectric film strip can start working synchronously when the air conditioner is running, without the need for an independent power supply. This design simplifies the system, using the stable power supply of the air conditioner to ensure continuous operation, and also facilitates the control module to coordinate the vibration timing according to the on / off status of the air conditioner. Of course, in order to completely dry the residual moisture after the air conditioner is turned off, a backup small battery can also be used to power the system, so that the ultrasonic vibration generated by the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 can continue to work for a period of time after shutdown.

[0045] In one embodiment, the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 includes a plurality of piezoelectric film strips arranged in a distributed manner, and each of the piezoelectric film strips is connected to the control module.

[0046] The flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 may include a PVDF piezoelectric film strip and its driving circuit. PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) piezoelectric film strip is a high-performance material that utilizes the piezoelectric effect. Multiple piezoelectric film strips are attached to both sides or one side of the evaporator fin 11, covering the main heat exchange area. The driving circuit can be integrated into the control motherboard of the air conditioner or an independent module, and connected to the piezoelectric film strip through an FPC flexible cable to apply a high-frequency voltage to the piezoelectric film strip to generate mechanical vibration. The piezoelectric film strip vibrates synchronously with the fin 11, which can shake off the attached condensed water and atomize it into small droplets. In order to improve the coverage effect, a distributed arrangement can be made according to the condensed water accumulation characteristics of different parts of the evaporator: for example, the fin 11 area can be divided into a central area and an edge area. In the central area, where air flows densely and condensed water is most likely to accumulate, the membrane strip vibrating plates can be arranged at a higher density (e.g., one membrane strip is attached to every 5 square centimeters of the surface area of ​​the fin 11); in the edge area, where airflow is less and condensation is relatively less, the arrangement density can be reduced (e.g., one membrane strip is attached to every 10 square centimeters). If necessary, a number of reflective plates (thin metal sheets) can be added to the leeward side of the evaporator, so that they can form a vibration that echoes the piezoelectric membrane strips, and perform reflection compensation cleaning on areas that are not impacted. Preferably, the operating frequency and intensity of the piezoelectric membrane strips are adjusted by the control module according to the humidity conditions, and can be operated in multiple gears of variable frequency to take into account both cleaning effect and energy consumption. Unlike traditional rigid vibrators, the piezoelectric membrane strips used in this embodiment are hidden inside the fin 11 stack, and have little effect on air flow resistance. In addition, an ultra-thin flexible piezoelectric film is used instead of a traditional rigid piezoelectric vibrator, which can achieve large-area uniform vibration cleaning of the evaporator fins 11.

[0047] Specifically, a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric film with a thickness not exceeding 0.2 mm can be cut into several narrow strips and hot-pressed onto the side edge surfaces of the evaporator fin 11 column. The driving circuit outputs a variable frequency (for example, 25-80kHz) and variable phase square wave signal to generate traveling wave vibrations in the film strip that propagate along the length direction. Compared with traditional "point-type" ceramic vibrators, this film is tightly attached to the side walls of the fins 11, and the excitation coverage area exceeds about 90% of the total area of ​​the fins 11, and the vibration amplitude is uniform, without the need to use adhesive to fix it, thus eliminating the risk of aging and falling off of the adhesive layer. More importantly, the traveling wave vibration mode can achieve efficient vibration without adding a reflector on the back of the membrane, thereby simplifying the structure and reducing energy consumption. Through the excitation of the traveling wave of the flexible piezoelectric film, the adhesion of the condensed water on the surface of the fin 11 can be effectively destroyed, so that the water film is broken into small droplets and thrown off the surface of the fin 11.

[0048] In one embodiment, the surface of the fin 11 is coated with a lotus leaf-like micro-nano hydrophobic coating.

[0049] This embodiment achieves hydrophobic drainage by spraying a layer of lotus leaf-like micro-nano hydrophobic coating on the surface of the fin 11. When the flexible piezoelectric membrane strip generates traveling wave vibration, the continuous water film on the surface of the fin 11 will be quickly sheared into countless tiny water droplets. These micro-water droplets can move or fall to the lower edge of the fin 11 under the action of the surface tension gradient formed by the hydrophobic coating, and eventually drip into the water receiving tray under the action of gravity. Among them, traveling wave vibration can provide a desorption force in the vertical direction. Specifically, the material of the hydrophobic coating can be a silica-fluorosilane micro-nano coating, which can form a rough structure at the micro-nano level, giving the surface of the fin 11 super-hydrophobicity. The coating cooperates with the traveling wave excitation of the ultrasonic vibration unit to make it easier for the condensed water to roll off to the lower edge of the fin 11 after being broken into pieces and discharged.

[0050] In some optional embodiments, the control module can be connected to a variety of sensors to obtain environmental and operating status information, such as humidity sensors, thermistor temperature sensors, and digital sensors. The humidity sensor is used to monitor changes in temperature and humidity in the air surrounding the evaporator in real time. The humidity sensor is preferably a compact, fast-response digital sensor (e.g., SHT35) and can be installed near the U-bend at the bottom of the evaporator, close to the underside of the fin stack 11. This location barely affects air flow and can sensitively detect signals indicating the onset of condensation on the fins 11. Alternatively, humidity sensors can be installed at multiple locations within the evaporator as needed to improve humidity sensing coverage and accuracy. In this embodiment, a single humidity sensor is installed on the lower middle side of the evaporator (because condensation is more likely to form on the underside of the evaporator assembly than on the upper side), which meets control requirements. After detecting changes in ambient humidity, the humidity sensor transmits an electrical signal to the control module. A temperature sensor can be installed at the evaporator outlet to monitor the evaporator wall temperature. It can also read the PWM speed control signal of the air conditioner fan to estimate air volume, etc.

[0051] Furthermore, the control module can input multi-sensor data into a pre-trained machine learning model to perform real-time predictions on condensate generation trends, thereby achieving more intelligent vibration cleaning start-stop control. Specifically, historical evaporator cleaning data can be first obtained; wherein, the historical evaporator cleaning data includes historical temperature data, historical humidity data, evaporator wall temperature, vibration data of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2, and PWM speed control signals, etc.; then, the machine learning model is trained using the historical evaporator cleaning data to construct a cleaning prediction model; then, the cleaning prediction model is used to perform a probabilistic prediction on the collected humidity data, and based on the results of the probabilistic prediction, it is determined whether to activate the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 for cleaning.

[0052] In practical applications, the control module connects to the air conditioner's main control board via a standard interface, making it easily retrofittable to existing air conditioner evaporators and removable and replaceable if performance degrades. Specifically, the control module is typically integrated onto the indoor unit's mainboard and includes a microcontroller (MCU), signal processing, and communication modules. The control module is connected to the humidity sensor and piezoelectric film driver circuit via wired or wireless communication. The control module's control program can incorporate a pre-trained cleaning prediction model (LSTM prediction model) and threshold logic to analyze humidity sensor feedback in real time and determine the accumulation of condensed water on the evaporator surface. When the monitored humidity data reaches a preset threshold or a prediction of significant condensation is expected, the control module can issue a command to activate vibration of the flexible piezoelectric film for cleaning. During the cleaning process, the control module can also dynamically adjust the vibration frequency, phase, and duration based on sensor data to adapt to changes in condensation conditions. Preferably, the control module is equipped with a memory to record humidity and vibration operating history data, enabling remote or on-site updating of algorithm parameters and facilitating subsequent optimization and maintenance. In this embodiment, the control module incorporates the aforementioned LSTM predictive control algorithm to predict condensation trends 10-20 seconds in advance, thereby enabling on-demand vibration.

[0053] In summary, this embodiment is based on the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 and the fin 11 coated with the lotus leaf-like micro-nano hydrophobic coating and the control module. Under the premise of not significantly increasing the power consumption of the whole machine, a closed-loop collaborative mechanism of vibration-hydrophobic-predictive control is established. An ultra-thin flexible piezoelectric film is attached to the side edge of the evaporator fin 11 to achieve traveling wave vibration along the length direction of the fin 11. Compared with the point excitation of the traditional rigid piezoelectric ceramic vibrator, the coverage area is increased. At the same time, since the diaphragm is directly attached to the fin 11, there is no need to use adhesive to fix it (avoiding the risk of aging and falling off of the adhesive layer), and the traveling wave vibration mode does not need to be equipped with a reflector on the back of the membrane to achieve efficient excitation, and the structure is simpler and the energy consumption is lower. A lotus leaf-like micro-nano hydrophobic coating is introduced on the surface of the fin 11. Since a low adhesion interface for water droplets to roll is formed on the surface of the hydrophobic coating, these tiny water droplets will quickly move to the lower edge of the fin 11 under the action of vibration and gravity and drip into the water receiving tray to avoid adhering to the surface of the fin 11 again. The hydrophobic coating works in conjunction with ultrasonic vibrations to atomize and shake off the condensed water on the one hand, and on the other hand, utilize the surface tension gradient to efficiently collect and discharge the residual water droplets, thereby achieving rapid detachment and removal of the condensed water.

[0054] In addition, this embodiment uses multi-dimensional environmental sensing data and a condensation trend prediction algorithm (i.e., the cleaning prediction model) to sense the condensation trend in advance based on parameters such as air humidity, temperature, fin 11 temperature, and fan speed, and start and stop vibration cleaning as needed. Through humidity threshold control, the humidity upper limit (such as 80%) and lower limit (such as 65%) are set to intelligently start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 of the evaporator self-cleaning system. For example, when it is detected that the humidity around the evaporator is approaching the upper limit threshold, and / or it is predicted that a large amount of condensation will appear in a short time, the system can start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 in advance, without having to wait for a large amount of condensation water to form before passive cleaning. When the cleaning is completed or it is predicted that there will be no more condensation in a short time, the vibration can be stopped in time to avoid ineffective work. At the same time, users can adjust the humidity threshold according to different environments.

[0055] In addition, this embodiment integrates the sensing, vibration and hydrophobic drainage functions into an integrated module on the evaporator, thereby realizing a modular design. Specifically, the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 can be directly implanted into the stacked structure of the fins 11 during the manufacturing process of the evaporator, and is connected and fixed to the control module through a flexible cable. The thickness of the entire module is equivalent to that of an ordinary fin 11, and the volume of the evaporator will not be increased. It is electrically connected to the air conditioner motherboard through a standard socket interface to achieve plug-and-play installation. If the performance of the self-cleaning component is found to be attenuated during the use of the air conditioner, it can be conveniently disassembled and replaced as a whole after sales, without the need to disassemble the evaporator and clean it piece by piece, which makes maintenance simple. The modular design also ensures that the solution can be seamlessly integrated into the existing air-conditioning product line, and has good prospects for industrial application.

[0056] Figure 3 A flow chart of an evaporator self-cleaning control method provided in an embodiment of the present invention is provided. The method is applied to the evaporator self-cleaning system as described above. The control method specifically includes steps S101 to S103.

[0057] Step S101, collecting humidity data around the evaporator component 1;

[0058] Step S102: determining whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 to perform a cleaning operation based on the humidity data;

[0059] Step S103 : After determining to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 for the cleaning operation, continue to collect the humidity data, and dynamically adjust the operating parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 according to the humidity data.

[0060] In this embodiment, humidity data is first collected, and then the determination of whether to activate the flexible piezoelectric membrane vibration component 2 is made based on the humidity data. When the flexible piezoelectric membrane vibration component 2 is activated, the traveling wave excitation of the flexible piezoelectric membrane can effectively destroy the adhesion of the condensed water on the surface of the fin 11, causing the water film to be broken into small droplets and flung off the surface of the fin 11, thereby achieving self-cleaning of the condensed water in the evaporator. After determining to activate the flexible piezoelectric membrane vibration component 2 for cleaning, the operating parameters of the flexible piezoelectric membrane vibration component 2 can also be adjusted based on the humidity data, such as adjusting the vibration frequency and power level, to adapt to different humidity conditions, thereby achieving the best cleaning effect.

[0061] In one embodiment, if Figure 4 As shown, the step S102 includes: steps S201 to S202.

[0062] Step S201: comparing the humidity data with a first preset humidity threshold;

[0063] Step S202: When the humidity data reaches a first preset humidity threshold, the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 is started to perform a cleaning operation.

[0064] This embodiment monitors the collected humidity data. Once the humidity data reaches the corresponding humidity threshold, it is determined that the condensation water cleaning operation can be performed at this time, thereby turning on the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 for vibration cleaning.

[0065] Furthermore, during the cleaning process, humidity data continues to be collected and compared with a preset humidity threshold (here, it is distinguished from the first preset humidity threshold, and can be referred to as the second preset humidity threshold). When the humidity data during the cleaning process drops to the second preset humidity threshold, the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 can be controlled to stop running to end the cleaning operation. Here, the first preset humidity threshold is greater than the second preset humidity threshold to avoid unnecessary losses to the system caused by frequent start and stop. By setting a reasonable humidity threshold range, the start and stop timing of vibration cleaning can be effectively managed to ensure that the evaporator maintains an efficient operating state while optimizing energy consumption performance. In addition, the control module also has the ability to learn and adapt, and can gradually optimize the setting of the humidity threshold based on historical operating data and user habits, making the entire self-cleaning process more intelligent and personalized.

[0066] For example, after the air conditioner is turned on, the humidity sensor begins to detect the air humidity near the evaporator in real time. During normal refrigeration operation, the air humidity will gradually rise and form condensed water on the fins 11. When the detected humidity data reaches 80-85% (that is, the first preset humidity threshold) and above, the water droplets on the surface of the fins 11 begin to affect the heat dissipation performance. At this time, the cleaning operation can be triggered, and the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 can be started for vibration cleaning. During the vibration cleaning process, the water droplets are gradually shaken off, and the humidity around the evaporator will drop. When the humidity drops to 60-65% (that is, the second preset humidity threshold) and below, it means that the surface of the fins 11 is basically dry, and it is determined that the cleaning is complete, so the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 can be turned off to stop vibration cleaning.

[0067] In one embodiment, if Figure 5 As shown, the evaporator self-cleaning control method further includes: steps S301 to S303.

[0068] Step S301, obtaining historical evaporator cleaning data; wherein the historical evaporator cleaning data includes historical temperature data, historical humidity data, evaporator wall temperature, and vibration data of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2;

[0069] Step S302: using the historical evaporator cleaning data to train a machine learning model to build a cleaning prediction model;

[0070] Step S303: Use the cleaning prediction model to perform probability prediction on the collected humidity data, and determine whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 to perform a cleaning operation based on the result of the probability prediction.

[0071] This embodiment constructs a cleaning prediction model based on historical data training, so as to analyze the data fed back by the humidity sensor in real time, judge the accumulation state of condensed water on the surface of the evaporator, and intelligently adjust the execution time of vibration cleaning according to the predicted results of condensed water accumulation. Specifically, this embodiment uses a machine learning algorithm (such as an LSTM network) to learn the cleaning demand pattern of the evaporator under different environmental conditions from historical data. These historical data cover key parameters such as temperature, humidity, evaporator wall temperature, and the working record of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2. The cleaning prediction model obtained through training can predict the accumulation trend of condensed water on the surface of the evaporator fin 11 in the future, so as to make cleaning decisions in advance. This data-driven predictive control method not only improves the response speed and accuracy of the evaporator self-cleaning system, but also effectively avoids unnecessary vibration cleaning operations, further reducing energy consumption.

[0072] In a specific embodiment, historical evaporator cleaning data is first collected. For example, key parameters such as temperature, humidity, evaporator wall temperature, and the operating history of the flexible piezoelectric membrane vibration component 2 are collected from historical records. This data should cover the evaporator's operating conditions under different environmental conditions to ensure the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the model. The collected data is then cleaned and preprocessed, including steps such as removing outliers, filling in missing values, and data standardization. These steps are intended to improve data quality and ensure the stability and accuracy of model training. Next, features useful for predicting evaporator cleaning needs are extracted from the raw data. Specifically, these features may include temperature and humidity trends, evaporator wall temperature fluctuations, and the operating frequency of the flexible piezoelectric membrane vibration component 2. An LSTM network is then selected as the prediction model: an LSTM network is a special type of recurrent neural network that is particularly well-suited for handling long-term dependencies in sequential data. In this embodiment, the LSTM network is used to capture the dynamic changing patterns of time series data (such as temperature and humidity) to predict the evaporator's cleaning needs. The LSTM network is trained using the preprocessed historical data. During training, network parameters (such as the learning rate and the number of hidden units) are adjusted to optimize model performance. At the same time, methods such as cross-validation can be used to assess the model's accuracy and robustness. The trained model is evaluated, including its predictive accuracy, stability, and adaptability under different environments. Based on the evaluation results, the model is optimized, such as by adjusting feature selection, refining data preprocessing steps, or adjusting the structure and parameters of the LSTM network. Finally, the optimized and validated model is deployed in the actual application environment. During actual operation, the model receives real-time data such as temperature, humidity, evaporator wall temperature, and the operating history of the flexible piezoelectric membrane vibration component 2, and predicts the evaporator's cleaning needs. Based on the predicted results, a corresponding cleaning plan can be formulated to ensure clean and efficient evaporator operation.

[0073] In one embodiment, if Figure 6 As shown, the step S103 includes steps S401 to S404.

[0074] Step S401: comparing the humidity data with a preset humidity range;

[0075] Step S401: When the humidity data is in a first humidity range, controlling the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 to operate at a first frequency;

[0076] Step S401: When the humidity data is in the second humidity range, controlling the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 to operate at a second frequency;

[0077] Step S401: When the humidity data is in the third humidity range, control the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 to operate at a third frequency; wherein the humidity values ​​of the first humidity range, the second humidity range, and the third humidity range increase successively, and the frequency values ​​of the first frequency, the second frequency, and the third frequency increase successively.

[0078] In order to avoid energy waste or incomplete cleaning caused by excessive or weak vibration at one time, the present embodiment adjusts the vibration frequency and power of the piezoelectric film in stages according to the humidity level.

[0079] (1) When the humidity is in the first humidity range (e.g., 65%-75%): At this time, only a small number of newly formed water droplets remain on the fins 11. The system initiates a slight vibration using low-frequency, low-power ultrasonic waves (e.g., 20-30 kHz) (i.e., the first frequency) to preventively shake off the newly formed water droplets. Low-frequency vibration consumes very little energy, preventing the water droplets from further accumulating into a film.

[0080] (2) When the humidity is in the second humidity range (e.g., 75%-90%): As condensation increases, the system automatically switches to medium-frequency vibration (e.g., 40-60kHz) (i.e., the second frequency). The medium-frequency vibration has a larger amplitude and can handle more condensed water, effectively vibrating the water droplets out of the water tray.

[0081] (3) When the humidity rises to the third humidity range (e.g., above 90%): At this point, a large number of water droplets have accumulated, significantly affecting heat exchange. The system then switches to high-frequency ultrasonic operation (e.g., 70-100 kHz) (i.e., the third frequency). High-frequency vibration provides maximum vibration acceleration, rapidly atomizing and shaking off the thick water film, thereby maximizing the heat transfer capacity of fins 11. Vibration continues until the humidity drops back to near the lower threshold, at which point the frequency is reduced until vibration ceases.

[0082] The above multi-level control strategy ensures efficient cleaning and optimized energy utilization at different condensation levels. When the humidity reaches 60-65% or below, it can be determined that the surface of the fin 11 is basically dry, and the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 can be turned off.

[0083] Furthermore, to adapt to different regional environments and user preferences, users can adjust the humidity threshold settings based on their actual needs. For example, in high-humidity areas, users can lower the upper threshold to 75-80% RH to initiate cleaning earlier and prevent water droplet accumulation; in drier areas, the threshold can be raised to reduce unnecessary cleaning frequency. If the user does not manually set the threshold, the system will operate at the default threshold. This user-friendly design allows the evaporator self-cleaning system to adapt to diverse usage scenarios, thereby enhancing the user experience.

[0084] In actual applications, the preset humidity threshold can be set corresponding to the humidity interval. For example, the first preset humidity threshold can be set to the minimum value of the first humidity interval. This ensures that the humidity data can be accurately matched with the preset humidity interval, thereby achieving precise control of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2.

[0085] In one embodiment, the evaporator self-cleaning control method further includes:

[0086] The flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 is controlled to perform a cleaning operation in a cyclic intermittent manner.

[0087] This embodiment adopts a cyclic intermittent control method to perform vibration cleaning, that is, after a vibration cleaning is completed (the humidity drops to a safe value) and stops, the system enters a standby observation state. Even if the humidity rises again later, the next round of vibration will not be triggered immediately. Instead, a minimum interval time (such as about 15 minutes) is set before the humidity judgment is made. This can avoid frequent starts and stops due to humidity fluctuations, reduce component wear and energy consumption. The minimum interval time can be intelligently adjusted according to historical operating data and user habits, making the entire self-cleaning process more energy-saving and efficient. For example, in a scenario where the air conditioner has been running for a long time and the ambient humidity is high, the system may automatically extend the minimum interval time to reduce unnecessary cleaning frequency; in a scenario where the air conditioner has just started to run or the ambient humidity changes suddenly, the system may shorten the minimum interval time to ensure that condensation water is cleaned in time to prevent water accumulation on the surface of the fin 11 from affecting the heat dissipation performance. Through this flexible cyclic intermittent control method, it is possible to achieve refined management of the evaporator self-cleaning process and ensure stable operation and efficient heat exchange of the air conditioning system.

[0088] Figure 7 An evaporator self-cleaning control device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present invention adopts the evaporator self-cleaning control method described above. The control device 700 includes:

[0089] The data collection unit 701 is used to collect humidity data around the evaporator component 1;

[0090] A cleaning judgment unit 702 is used to judge whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 to perform a cleaning operation based on the humidity data;

[0091] The dynamic operation unit 703 is used to continue collecting the humidity data after determining to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 for cleaning operation, and dynamically adjust the operation parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 according to the humidity data.

[0092] In one embodiment, if Figure 8 As shown, the cleaning judgment unit 702 includes:

[0093] a humidity comparison unit 801, configured to compare the humidity data with a first preset humidity threshold;

[0094] The cleaning start unit 802 is used to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 to perform a cleaning operation when the humidity data reaches a first preset humidity threshold.

[0095] In one embodiment, if Figure 9 As shown, the evaporator self-cleaning control device 700 further includes:

[0096] The data acquisition unit 901 is used to acquire historical evaporator cleaning data; wherein the historical evaporator cleaning data includes historical temperature data, historical humidity data, evaporator wall temperature, and vibration data of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2;

[0097] a model building unit 902 for training a machine learning model using the historical evaporator cleaning data to build a cleaning prediction model;

[0098] The model prediction unit 903 is used to perform probability prediction on the collected humidity data using the cleaning prediction model, and determine whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 for cleaning operation according to the result of the probability prediction.

[0099] In one embodiment, if Figure 10 As shown, the dynamic operation unit 703 includes:

[0100] The interval comparison unit 1001 is used to compare the humidity data with a preset humidity interval;

[0101] The first operating unit 1002 is configured to control the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 to operate at a first frequency when the humidity data is within a first humidity range;

[0102] The second operating unit 1003 is configured to control the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 to operate at a second frequency when the humidity data is in a second humidity range;

[0103] The third operating unit 1004 is used to control the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 to operate at a third frequency when the humidity data is in a third humidity range; wherein the humidity values ​​of the first humidity range, the second humidity range and the third humidity range increase successively, and the frequency values ​​of the first frequency, the second frequency and the third frequency increase successively.

[0104] In one embodiment, the evaporator self-cleaning control device 700 further includes:

[0105] The cycle control unit is used to control the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component 2 to perform a cleaning operation in a cycle intermittent manner.

[0106] Since the embodiments of the apparatus part correspond to the embodiments of the method part, please refer to the description of the embodiments of the method part for the embodiments of the apparatus part, and they will not be repeated here.

[0107] See also Figure 11 , an embodiment of the present invention further provides an air conditioner 1100, which is a device with wireless communication and wired communication.

[0108] See Figure 11 The air conditioner 1100 includes a processor 1102 , a memory, and a network interface 1105 connected via a system bus 1101 , wherein the memory may include a non-volatile storage medium 1103 and an internal memory 1104 .

[0109] The non-volatile storage medium 1103 can store an operating system 11031 and a computer program 11032. When the computer program 11032 is executed, the processor 1102 can execute an evaporator self-cleaning control method.

[0110] The processor 1102 is used to provide computing and control capabilities to support the operation of the entire air conditioner 1100.

[0111] The internal memory 1104 provides an environment for the operation of the computer program 11032 in the non-volatile storage medium 1103 . When the computer program 11032 is executed by the processor 1102 , the processor 1102 can execute an evaporator self-cleaning control method.

[0112] The network interface 1105 is used to communicate with other devices over the network. Figure 11 The structure shown in the figure is merely a block diagram of a portion of the structure related to the solution of the present invention, and does not constitute a limitation on the air conditioner 1100 to which the solution of the present invention is applied. The specific air conditioner 1100 may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or have a different component arrangement.

[0113] The processor 1102 is configured to run a computer program 11032 stored in a memory to implement any embodiment of the above-mentioned evaporator self-cleaning control method.

[0114] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present invention, the processor 1102 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0115] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or part of the steps in the method of the above-described embodiment can be implemented by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The computer program is executed by at least one processor in the computer system to implement the steps in the method of the above-described embodiment.

[0116] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon. When executed, the computer program can implement the steps provided in the above embodiments. The storage medium can include a USB flash drive, a mobile hard drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, among other media capable of storing program code.

[0117] The various embodiments in the specification are described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The same and similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. For the system disclosed in the embodiment, since it corresponds to the method disclosed in the embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the method part description. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, without departing from the principles of this application, several improvements and modifications can be made to this application, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the scope of protection of the claims of this application.

[0118] It should also be noted that, in this specification, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus comprising the element.

Claims

1. An evaporator self-cleaning system, characterized in that: include: an evaporator component comprising a plurality of fins; A flexible piezoelectric film vibration component is attached to the fin, and the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component can clean the condensed water on the fin by traveling wave excitation; a humidity detection module, arranged around the evaporator component, for collecting humidity data around the evaporator component; The control module is connected to the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component and the humidity detection module respectively, and is used to receive the humidity data, and determine whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component for a cleaning operation based on the humidity data, and dynamically adjust the operating parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component according to the humidity data during the cleaning operation.

2. The evaporator self-cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible piezoelectric film vibration component includes a plurality of piezoelectric film strips arranged in a distributed manner, and each of the piezoelectric film strips is connected to the control module.

3. The evaporator self-cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the fin is coated with a lotus leaf-like micro-nano hydrophobic coating.

4. An evaporator self-cleaning control method, applied to the evaporator self-cleaning system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The control method includes: Collect humidity data around the evaporator components; Determining whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component to perform a cleaning operation based on the humidity data; After determining to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component to perform a cleaning operation, continue to collect the humidity data, and dynamically adjust the operating parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component according to the humidity data.

5. The evaporator self-cleaning control method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The determining whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component to perform a cleaning operation based on the humidity data includes: comparing the humidity data with a first preset humidity threshold; When the humidity data reaches a first preset humidity threshold, the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component is started to perform a cleaning operation.

6. The evaporator self-cleaning control method according to claim 4, characterized in that: Also includes: Acquiring historical evaporator cleaning data; wherein the historical evaporator cleaning data includes historical temperature data, historical humidity data, evaporator wall temperature, and vibration data of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component; training a machine learning model using the historical evaporator cleaning data to construct a cleaning prediction model; The cleaning prediction model is used to perform probability prediction on the collected humidity data, and according to the result of the probability prediction, it is determined whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component to perform a cleaning operation.

7. The evaporator self-cleaning control method according to claim 5, characterized in that: After determining to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component to perform a cleaning operation, continuing to collect the humidity data and dynamically adjusting the operating parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component according to the humidity data, includes: Comparing the humidity data with a preset humidity range; When the humidity data is in a first humidity range, controlling the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component to operate at a first frequency; When the humidity data is in a second humidity range, controlling the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component to operate at a second frequency; When the humidity data is in the third humidity range, the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component is controlled to operate at a third frequency; wherein the humidity values ​​of the first humidity range, the second humidity range and the third humidity range increase successively, and the frequency values ​​of the first frequency, the second frequency and the third frequency increase successively.

8. The evaporator self-cleaning control method according to claim 4, characterized in that: Also includes: The flexible piezoelectric film vibration component is controlled in a cyclic intermittent manner to perform a cleaning operation.

9. An evaporator self-cleaning control device, using the evaporator self-cleaning control method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The control device comprises: A data acquisition unit, used for collecting humidity data around the evaporator component; a cleaning judgment unit, configured to judge whether to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component to perform a cleaning operation based on the humidity data; The dynamic operation unit is used to continue collecting the humidity data after determining to start the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component for cleaning operation, and dynamically adjust the operation parameters of the flexible piezoelectric film vibration component according to the humidity data.

10. An air conditioner, characterized in that: The method comprises a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the evaporator self-cleaning control method according to any one of claims 4 to 8 when executing the computer program.

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