Intelligent sterilization method and system, refrigerator, terminal equipment and storage medium
By detecting the status and duration of the refrigerator door, the system automatically determines and activates the sterilization mode. It utilizes photocatalysts and lighting components to achieve intelligent sterilization of the refrigerator, solving the problem of complex structure in existing technologies, reducing difficulty and energy consumption.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- QINDAO HAIER REFRIGERATOR CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-22
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-24
AI Technical Summary
Existing intelligent sterilization solutions for refrigerators are complex in structure and difficult to implement technically.
By detecting the open or closed status of the refrigerator compartment door and the duration thereof, the system automatically determines whether to activate the sterilization mode. It uses a displacement sensor or torque sensor to detect the door status and activates the sterilization mode when the door is closed or open for more than a preset time, using a photocatalyst and lighting components for sterilization.
It achieves intelligent and automated refrigerator sterilization, reduces the technical difficulty of operation, reduces energy consumption, and ensures sterilization effect.
Smart Images
Figure CN121916623A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of refrigeration, and in particular to an intelligent sterilization method, system, refrigerator, terminal equipment, and storage medium. Background Technology
[0002] Refrigerators are indispensable household appliances in our daily lives, primarily used for food storage and preservation, slowing down the spoilage process by regulating temperature. However, refrigerators are not sterile environments; bacteria can not only cause food to spoil and rot, producing unpleasant odors, but can also spread diseases through food, affecting human health. Therefore, regular sterilization of refrigerators is necessary. Current intelligent sterilization solutions automatically identify the bacterial situation inside the refrigerator through integrated sensors and intelligent algorithms, and take appropriate sterilization measures. However, their relatively complex structure increases the difficulty of technological implementation. Summary of the Invention
[0003] To address the high technical difficulty in implementing current intelligent sterilization solutions for refrigerators, this application provides an intelligent sterilization method, comprising:
[0004] The first state is determined by whether the door of the detection room is open or closed.
[0005] The system detects the duration of the first state and determines whether the duration exceeds a preset duration threshold. If it does, the sterilization mode is activated; otherwise, the sterilization mode is not activated.
[0006] Furthermore, the first state of the detection chamber door includes:
[0007] The angle or torque value from the displacement sensor is used as the first measurement value;
[0008] The first state of the door is determined based on the first measurement value.
[0009] Furthermore, when the first measured value is zero, the first state is that the door is closed; when the first measured value is greater than zero, the first state is that the door is open.
[0010] Furthermore, activating the sterilization mode includes controlling the lighting components to emit light, thereby causing a catalytic reaction in the photocatalyst inside the drawer.
[0011] This application also provides an intelligent sterilization system, including:
[0012] A detection device is used to detect a first state in which the compartment door is open or closed and a first duration of the first state.
[0013] Sterilization device, the sterilization device is turned on to perform sterilization operation;
[0014] The control device activates the sterilization device when the first duration exceeds a preset duration threshold.
[0015] Furthermore, the detection device includes either an angular displacement sensor or a torque displacement sensor.
[0016] Furthermore, the sterilization device includes an illumination component and a photocatalyst. When the sterilization device performs a sterilization operation, the illumination component emits light to irradiate the photocatalyst.
[0017] This application also provides a refrigerator that includes the aforementioned intelligent sterilization system.
[0018] Furthermore, the refrigerator also includes a fresh-keeping drawer, which includes an inner cavity formed by the shell and an upper cover covering the inner cavity. The photocatalyst of the sterilization device is disposed on a first surface of the upper cover near the inner cavity.
[0019] Furthermore, the upper cover is provided with a humidity-regulating film, and the photocatalyst is disposed on the first surface of the humidity-regulating film near the inner cavity of the accommodating cavity.
[0020] This application also provides a terminal device, which includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the processor and executable on the processor. When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the steps of the above-described intelligent sterilization method.
[0021] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the above-described intelligent sterilization method.
[0022] This application relates to an intelligent sterilization method, system, refrigerator, terminal device, and storage medium. It detects the open or closed state of the compartment door as a first state; it then detects the duration of the first state for a first time and determines whether the duration exceeds a preset time threshold. If so, a sterilization mode is activated; otherwise, the sterilization mode is deactivated. This application automatically detects the open or closed state of the door and, through reasonable duration judgment and sterilization mode switching, reduces energy consumption while ensuring sterilization effectiveness. Furthermore, compared to more complex automated sterilization control, this application is relatively simple to implement, achieving intelligent sterilization of the refrigerator while reducing operational technical difficulty. Attached Figure Description
[0023] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the intelligent sterilization method of this application;
[0024] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the first state of the door of the testing chamber in this application;
[0025] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the refrigerator in this application (with the door removed);
[0026] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the terminal device used in this application.
[0027] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures
[0028] 1. Refrigerator; 11. Fresh food drawer; 12. Humidity regulating film; 2. Terminal equipment; 21. Memory; 22. Processor; 23. Computer program. Detailed Implementation
[0029] To provide a more detailed understanding of the features and technical content of the embodiments of this disclosure, the implementation of the embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the embodiments of this disclosure. In the following technical description, for ease of explanation, several details are used to provide a full understanding of the disclosed embodiments. However, one or more embodiments may still be implemented without these details. In other cases, well-known structures and devices may be simplified in their depiction to simplify the drawings.
[0030] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this disclosure are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate for the embodiments of this disclosure described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.
[0031] In this disclosure, the indicated orientations or positional relationships are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. These terms are primarily used to better describe the embodiments of this disclosure and their implementations, and are not intended to limit the indicated devices, elements, or components to having a specific orientation. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of these terms in the embodiments of this disclosure according to the specific circumstances.
[0032] Unless otherwise stated, the term "multiple" means two or more.
[0033] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in the present disclosure can be combined with each other.
[0034] To provide a better understanding of the purpose, structure, features, and functions of this application, detailed descriptions are provided below with reference to specific embodiments.
[0035] To address the high technical difficulty in implementing current intelligent sterilization solutions for refrigerators, this application provides an intelligent sterilization method, see [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 1 Intelligent sterilization methods include:
[0036] S1: Detects whether the door of the detection room is open or closed, as the first state;
[0037] S2: Detect the first duration of the first state, and determine whether the first duration is greater than a preset duration threshold. If yes, start the sterilization mode; otherwise, do not start the sterilization mode.
[0038] This application determines whether to activate the sterilization mode based on the detection of the door's status and the duration of that status. Specifically, it monitors the open or closed state of the refrigerator's first compartment door using sensors, recording the detected state as a first state; simultaneously, it monitors the duration of the first state as a first duration, and compares it with a preset duration threshold to determine whether to activate the sterilization mode.
[0039] If the first state is the door closed, the duration threshold is set to 15 minutes. If the first duration is longer than the preset duration threshold of 15 minutes, it means that the door has been closed for a period of time. It is determined that sterilization is required at this time, so the sterilization mode is activated.
[0040] If the first state is the door open, the duration threshold is set to 5 minutes. If the first duration is longer than the preset duration threshold of 5 minutes, it means that the door has been open for a period of time. It is determined that sterilization is required at this time, so the sterilization mode is activated.
[0041] The duration threshold can be set according to actual needs. Considering that the duration of the door in the open state is generally shorter than the duration of the door in the closed state, the duration threshold for the door in the open state is generally set to be shorter than the duration threshold for the door in the closed state. Of course, this application does not impose specific restrictions on the duration threshold.
[0042] In addition, once the sterilization mode has been activated for a predetermined duration, the sterilization mode will be deactivated. The predetermined sterilization duration can be set according to actual needs, and this application does not impose any restrictions.
[0043] Turning off the sterilization mode includes turning off the lighting components, that is, controlling the lighting components to cut off power.
[0044] See Figure 2 The first state of the detection chamber door includes:
[0045] S11: Detect the angle or torque value of the displacement sensor as the first measurement value;
[0046] S12: Determine the first state of the door based on the first measurement value.
[0047] The first state of the detection chamber door is detected by a displacement sensor, which can be either an angular displacement sensor or a torque displacement sensor.
[0048] An angular displacement sensor is used to measure the rotation angle of an object around a point or axis. The angular displacement sensor can accurately capture the angular changes during the opening or closing of a door, and by detecting the angle value of the angular displacement sensor, it is used as the first measurement value, and the state of the door is determined based on the first measurement value.
[0049] The torque displacement sensor is used to detect the torque required when the door is opened or closed. The torque value of the torque displacement sensor is used as the first measurement value, and the state of the door is determined based on the first measurement value.
[0050] In summary, the first measurement value is either the angle value of the angle displacement sensor or the torque value of the torque displacement sensor. When the first measurement value is zero, the first state is that the door is closed; when the first measurement value is greater than zero, the first state is that the door is open.
[0051] When the first measurement value of the displacement sensor is zero, the first state is the closed state of the door. In this state, the door is in close contact with the door frame or sealing strip, forming an effective closed space.
[0052] When the first measurement value detected by the displacement sensor is greater than zero, it indicates that the door is at least partially not in contact with the door frame, meaning that the door has left the closed position and is in the open state. The open state may be partially open or fully open, depending on the magnitude of the measurement value. Generally speaking, the larger the value of the first measurement value, the greater the degree to which the door is open.
[0053] When the first duration of the first state is greater than the preset duration threshold, the sterilization mode is activated. Activating the sterilization mode includes: controlling the lighting component to emit light so that the photocatalyst inside the drawer undergoes a catalytic reaction.
[0054] Sterilization mode is a process that reduces or eliminates microorganisms, such as bacteria or viruses, through specific technical means.
[0055] When the lighting component emits light that shines onto the photocatalyst, the photocatalyst absorbs the light energy and converts it into chemical energy, thereby triggering a catalytic reaction. This reaction can destroy the cell structure of microorganisms or interfere with their life activities, thus achieving a sterilization effect.
[0056] Photocatalysts generate highly reactive, oxidizing free radicals under light irradiation. These free radicals are extremely active and can damage the cell membrane structure or cell wall of microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses. They also react with intracellular biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, disrupting their function and thus achieving a sterilization effect. In this application, the photocatalyst is coated inside the drawer, specifically on the top wall or one of the side walls of the drawer.
[0057] Under light conditions, photocatalysts can rapidly generate a large number of free radicals, achieving rapid sterilization. Furthermore, photocatalysts can be reused and do not produce harmful products during use.
[0058] In one embodiment, the photocatalyst in this application is titanium dioxide. Besides titanium dioxide, the photocatalyst can also be other metal oxides, such as zinc oxide, tin oxide, or tungsten oxide; the photocatalyst can also be a sulfide, such as zinc sulfide or cadmium sulfide. Of course, the listed gaseous photocatalysts can also be used, and this application does not impose specific limitations.
[0059] Generally, a specific wavelength of illumination component is selected based on the specific photocatalyst to match the absorption spectrum of the photocatalyst.
[0060] In an optional embodiment, the illumination component is selected as visible light. Generally speaking, titanium dioxide photocatalysts mainly absorb ultraviolet light, but through doping modification, they can be made to have visible light responsiveness. The modified titanium dioxide photocatalysts can also exhibit good catalytic activity under visible light irradiation.
[0061] For example, by introducing metallic or nonmetallic elements, the band structure of titanium dioxide can be altered, broadening its photoresponse range into the visible light region. The doping element can be at least one of iron, nitrogen, or carbon.
[0062] This application also provides an intelligent sterilization system, including:
[0063] The detection device is used to detect the first state of the door being open or closed and the first duration of the first state. Specifically, a sensor can be installed on the door or at the hinge position of the door to detect the first state of the door being open or closed, and a timing element can be used to record the duration of the door being kept open or closed.
[0064] The sterilization device is activated to perform a sterilization operation; the sterilization operation is performed to kill or remove harmful microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses in the room.
[0065] The control device controls the sterilization device to be turned on when the first duration exceeds a preset duration threshold; when the first duration of the door opening or closing state reported by the detection device exceeds the threshold, the control device will send a command to turn on the sterilization device.
[0066] If the sterilization device is turned on for a predetermined sterilization duration, it will then be turned off. The predetermined sterilization duration can be set according to actual needs, and this application does not impose any restrictions.
[0067] Turning off the sterilization device includes turning off the lighting components, that is, controlling the lighting components to cut off power.
[0068] This application achieves intelligent and automated sterilization operation by automatically detecting and judging the state of the door and the duration of the door state, without the need for manual intervention.
[0069] In order to accurately detect the first state of the door being open or closed, the detection device includes either an angular displacement sensor or a torque displacement sensor.
[0070] An angular displacement sensor is used to measure the rotation angle of an object around a point or axis. An angular displacement sensor can accurately capture the angular changes during the opening or closing of a door, and determine the open or closed state of the door by detecting the angle value of the angular displacement sensor.
[0071] Torque-displacement sensors are used to detect the torque required for a door to open or close. The open or closed state of the door is determined by detecting the torque value of the torque-displacement sensor.
[0072] In one embodiment, the sterilization device includes an illumination component and a photocatalyst. When the sterilization device performs a sterilization operation, the illumination component emits light to irradiate the photocatalyst.
[0073] During the sterilization process, the lighting component is turned on, i.e., the lighting component is powered on. When the lighting component is turned on, it emits light to illuminate the photocatalyst, thereby activating the photocatalyst and causing it to generate highly oxidizing free radicals. These free radicals have extremely high activity and can destroy the cell membrane structure or cell wall of microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses. They can also react with biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids within the cells, disrupting their functions and thus achieving a sterilization effect.
[0074] This application also provides a refrigerator 1, which includes the above-mentioned intelligent sterilization system.
[0075] Specifically, the refrigerator 1 also includes a food storage drawer 11, see [link to refrigerator]. Figure 3 The food preservation drawer 11 includes an inner cavity formed by the shell and an upper cover covering the inner cavity. The photocatalyst of the sterilization device is disposed on the first surface of the upper cover near the inner cavity, that is, the photocatalyst is disposed on the lower surface of the upper cover inside the food preservation drawer 11, with the lower surface close to the inner cavity of the food preservation drawer 11. When the lighting component emits light to irradiate the photocatalyst, the photocatalyst is activated, producing an active substance with strong oxidizing properties, thereby killing bacteria, viruses and other harmful microorganisms inside the food preservation drawer 11. Generally, the lighting component uses high-efficiency and energy-saving light sources such as LED lights to ensure light intensity and uniformity to meet the activation requirements of the photocatalyst. Of course, this application does not impose specific restrictions on the material, performance and installation position of the lighting component and the photocatalyst.
[0076] Photocatalytic sterilization is highly efficient and rapid, effectively killing various harmful microorganisms inside refrigerator 1. Through real-time monitoring and automatic sterilization by the intelligent sterilization system, intelligent management of the internal environment of refrigerator 1 is achieved.
[0077] In one embodiment of this application, the upper cover is provided with a humidity regulating film 12, and the photocatalyst is disposed on the first surface of the humidity regulating film 12 near the accommodating cavity.
[0078] The humidity-regulating membrane 12 can automatically absorb or release moisture according to the humidity changes inside the fresh food drawer 11, thereby maintaining a relatively stable humidity level inside the fresh food drawer 11. The photocatalyst is carefully placed on the first surface of the humidity-regulating membrane 12 near the inner cavity. Light can directly penetrate the humidity-regulating membrane 12 and activate the photocatalyst, generating a highly oxidizing active substance for sterilization. Based on the photocatalyst being coated on the surface of the moisture-permeable membrane near the inner cavity, the light illumination component in this application can be set in the inner cavity of the fresh food drawer 11, that is, the light illumination component and the photocatalyst are in the same space; of course, the light illumination component can also be set in a different space from the photocatalyst, that is, the light illumination component is set outside the fresh food drawer 11 and the photocatalyst is set inside the fresh food drawer 11.
[0079] The dual function of the humidity-regulating film 12 and the photocatalyst provides more comprehensive and meticulous protection for the food in the freshness drawer 11, maintaining a suitable humidity environment and ensuring internal cleanliness and hygiene, thus realizing intelligent monitoring and management of the environment of the freshness drawer 11 inside the refrigerator 1.
[0080] This application also provides a terminal device 2, see [link to application]. Figure 4 The terminal device 2 includes a memory 21, a processor 22, and a computer program stored on the processor 22 and capable of running on the processor 22. When the computer program is executed by the processor 22, it implements the steps of the above-described intelligent sterilization method.
[0081] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program that, when executed by processor 22, implements the steps of the intelligent sterilization method described above. The computer-readable storage medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or equipment, or any suitable combination thereof. Alternatively, the computer-readable storage medium may be a machine-readable signal medium. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media include electrical connections based on one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.
[0082] This application relates to an intelligent sterilization method, system, refrigerator 1, terminal device 2, and storage medium. The method involves detecting the open or closed state of the compartment door as a first state; detecting the duration of the first state for a first time; and determining whether the first time exceeds a preset duration threshold. If it does, a sterilization mode is activated; otherwise, the sterilization mode is deactivated. This application automatically detects the open or closed state of the door and, through reasonable duration judgment and sterilization mode switching, reduces energy consumption while ensuring sterilization effectiveness. Furthermore, compared to more complex automated sterilization control, this application is relatively simple to implement, achieving intelligent sterilization of the refrigerator 1 while reducing operational technical difficulty.
[0083] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "an embodiment," "an alternative embodiment," "an example," or "a specific example," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate the different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as the features of those different embodiments or examples.
[0084] The logic and / or steps represented in the flowchart or otherwise described herein, for example, can be considered as a sequenced list of executable instructions for implementing logical functions, and can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by, or in conjunction with, an instruction execution system, apparatus or device (such as a computer-based system, a system including processor 22 or other system that can fetch and execute instructions from an instruction execution system, apparatus or device).
[0085] This application has been described with reference to the above-mentioned embodiments; however, the above embodiments are merely examples for implementing this application. It must be noted that the disclosed embodiments do not limit the scope of this application. On the contrary, any modifications and refinements made without departing from the spirit and scope of this application are within the scope of patent protection of this application.
Claims
1. An intelligent sterilization method, characterized in that, include: The first state is determined by whether the door of the detection room is open or closed. The system detects the duration of the first state and determines whether the duration exceeds a preset duration threshold. If it does, the sterilization mode is activated; otherwise, the sterilization mode is not activated.
2. The intelligent sterilization method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first state of the detection chamber door includes: The angle or torque value from the displacement sensor is used as the first measurement value; The first state of the door is determined based on the first measurement value.
3. The intelligent sterilization method according to claim 2, characterized in that, When the first measured value is zero, the first state is that the door is closed; when the first measured value is greater than zero, the first state is that the door is open.
4. The intelligent sterilization method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Activating the sterilization mode includes controlling the lighting components to emit light, thereby catalyzing the photocatalyst inside the drawer.
5. An intelligent sterilization system, characterized in that, include: A detection device is used to detect a first state in which the compartment door is open or closed and a first duration of the first state. Sterilization device, the sterilization device is turned on to perform sterilization operation; The control device activates the sterilization device when the first duration exceeds a preset duration threshold.
6. The intelligent sterilization system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The detection device includes either an angular displacement sensor or a torque displacement sensor.
7. The intelligent sterilization system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The sterilization device includes an illumination component and a photocatalyst. When the sterilization device performs a sterilization operation, the illumination component emits light to irradiate the photocatalyst.
8. A refrigerator, characterized in that, Including the intelligent sterilization system described in claims 5-7.
9. The refrigerator according to claim 8, characterized in that, The refrigerator also includes a fresh-keeping drawer, which includes an inner cavity formed by the shell and an upper cover covering the inner cavity. The photocatalyst of the sterilization device is disposed on the first surface of the upper cover near the inner cavity.
10. The refrigerator according to claim 9, characterized in that, The upper cover is provided with a humidity regulating film, and the photocatalyst is disposed on the first surface of the humidity regulating film near the inner cavity.
11. A terminal device, characterized in that, The terminal device includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the processor and executable on the processor. When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the steps of the intelligent sterilization method according to any one of claims 1-4.
12. A computer-readable storage medium having a program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the program is executed by the processor, it implements the steps of the intelligent sterilization method according to any one of claims 1-4.