Ice making control method, ice making control apparatus, and refrigeration apparatus

Abstract

This application discloses an ice-making control method, ice-making control equipment, and refrigeration equipment, belonging to the technical field of refrigeration equipment. The refrigeration equipment includes a housing and an ice maker. The housing forms a cold storage compartment, and the ice maker is installed in the cold storage compartment. The method includes: when the water tank of the ice maker contains water, controlling the compressor and blower of the refrigeration equipment to operate, so that the temperature of the cold storage compartment and the water temperature in the water tank of the ice maker reach 2℃-8℃; when the ice maker is turned on, controlling the compressor to operate, supplying refrigerant to the ice-making evaporator of the refrigeration equipment, so that the ice maker obtains ice blocks with a wall thickness of 4mm-8mm, and the time from the start to the end of ice making is 5min-15min.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of refrigeration equipment technology, and particularly relates to an ice-making control method, ice-making control equipment, and refrigeration equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In related technologies, ice makers are usually operated as independent modules. Their ice-making efficiency and ice quality are easily affected by ambient temperature and inlet water temperature. They lack precise time and thickness control over the ice-making process, resulting in unstable ice-making cycles and inconsistent ice quality. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, this invention proposes an ice-making control method, ice-making control equipment, and refrigeration equipment, which ensures the forming quality and user experience of ice blocks, and achieves efficient, energy-saving, and stable quantitative ice making.

[0004] In a first aspect, this application provides an ice-making control method, the method being applied to a refrigeration device, the refrigeration device including a housing and an ice maker, the housing forming a cold storage compartment, the ice maker being installed in the cold storage compartment, the method comprising: When the water tank of the ice maker is filled with water, the compressor and blower of the refrigeration equipment are controlled to work so that the temperature of the cold storage compartment and the water temperature in the water tank of the ice maker reach 2℃-8℃. When the ice maker is turned on, the compressor is controlled to work and refrigerant is supplied to the ice evaporator of the refrigeration equipment so that the ice maker can obtain ice blocks with a wall thickness of 4mm-8mm, and the time from the start to the end of ice making is 5min-15min.

[0005] According to the method of this application, by pre-cooling the water in the water tank and the environment of the cold storage room in a coordinated manner before ice making, the water temperature is stabilized at a near-freezing point of 2℃-8℃, which effectively reduces the initial heat load when ice making starts, laying a thermodynamic basis for rapid ice making. On this basis, by controlling the time for the compressor to deliver refrigerant to the ice evaporator within 5min-15min, the growth rate and thickness of the ice block are precisely controlled, ensuring that the wall thickness of the ice block is stable within the range of 4mm-8mm. This phased coordinated control strategy not only significantly shortens the overall ice making cycle and improves ice making efficiency, but also effectively avoids problems such as increased energy consumption due to excessively high water temperature or ice blocks that are too thin and fragile or too thick and difficult to demold due to uncontrolled ice making time. This ensures the forming quality and user experience of the ice block, and achieves efficient, energy-saving, and stable quantitative ice making.

[0006] According to one embodiment of this application, the method further includes: When the refrigeration equipment is in ice-making mode, control the refrigeration equipment to pause entering the refrigerator compartment refrigeration mode; When the refrigeration equipment finishes making ice, the refrigeration equipment is controlled to enter the refrigeration mode of the cold storage compartment so that the temperature of the cold storage compartment is between 2°C and 8°C.

[0007] According to one embodiment of this application, the ice block wall thickness is determined based on the temperature of the ice-making evaporator and the ice-making time; the temperature of the ice-making evaporator is determined based on the speed of the compressor, the temperature of the environment in which the refrigeration equipment is located, and the water temperature.

[0008] According to one embodiment of this application, the ice maker includes an ice-making container and an ice-making branch, the ice-making branch being connected to the refrigeration system of the refrigeration equipment, and at least a portion of the ice-making evaporator of the ice-making branch extending into the ice-making container. After ice making is completed, the method further includes: Turn on the heating element of the ice-making branch; When the time for switching the ice-making branch to the ice-making path reaches the second ice-making time, the ice-making container is controlled to the de-icing position, and the ice-making branch is controlled to switch to the de-icing path.

[0009] According to one embodiment of this application, after controlling the switching of the ice-making branch to the de-icing path, the method further includes: When the time for switching from the ice-making branch to the de-icing path reaches the third de-icing time, the heating element is turned off.

[0010] According to one embodiment of this application, the ice maker further includes a water tank and a water circuit assembly, the water tank and the ice-making container being connected via the water circuit assembly. Before controlling the compressor and blower of the refrigeration equipment to operate, the method further includes: Control the ice-making branch to switch to the ice-making path, and control the ice-making container to the ice-making position; The water tank is controlled to supply water to the ice-making container through the water circuit assembly for a first water supply duration.

[0011] Secondly, this application provides an ice-making control device, the refrigeration device including a housing and an ice maker, the housing forming a cold storage compartment, the ice maker being installed in the cold storage compartment, and the ice-making control device including: A water level detector, used to detect the water level in the water tank of the ice maker; A controller, connected to the water level detector, is used to perform the following steps: When the water tank of the ice maker is filled with water, the compressor and blower of the refrigeration equipment are controlled to work so that the temperature of the cold storage compartment and the water temperature in the water tank of the ice maker reach 2℃-8℃. When the ice maker is turned on, the compressor is controlled to deliver refrigerant to the ice-making evaporator of the refrigeration equipment so that the ice maker can obtain ice blocks with a wall thickness of 4mm-8mm, and the time from the start to the end of ice making is 5min-15min.

[0012] According to the ice-making control equipment of this application, by co-precooling the water in the water tank and the environment of the cold storage room before ice making, the water temperature is stabilized at a near-freezing point of 2℃-8℃, which effectively reduces the initial heat load when ice making starts, laying a thermodynamic basis for rapid ice making. On this basis, by controlling the time for the compressor to deliver refrigerant to the ice-making evaporator within 5min-15min, the growth rate and thickness of the ice block are precisely controlled, ensuring that the wall thickness of the ice block is stable within the range of 4mm-8mm. This phased co-control strategy not only significantly shortens the overall ice-making cycle and improves ice-making efficiency, but also effectively avoids problems such as increased energy consumption due to excessively high water temperature or ice blocks that are too thin and fragile or too thick and difficult to demold due to uncontrolled ice-making time. This ensures the forming quality and user experience of the ice block, and achieves efficient, energy-saving, and stable quantitative ice making.

[0013] Thirdly, this application provides a refrigeration device, which includes a housing and an ice maker. The housing forms a cold storage compartment, and the ice maker is installed in the cold storage compartment. The refrigeration device is connected to the ice-making control device according to claim 7.

[0014] According to the refrigeration equipment of this application, by pre-cooling the water in the water tank and the environment of the cold storage room in a coordinated manner before ice making, the water temperature is stabilized at a near-freezing point of 2℃-8℃, which effectively reduces the initial heat load when ice making starts, laying a thermodynamic basis for rapid ice making. On this basis, by controlling the time for the compressor to deliver refrigerant to the ice evaporator within 5min-15min, the growth rate and thickness of the ice block are precisely controlled, ensuring that the wall thickness of the ice block is stable within the range of 4mm-8mm. This phased coordinated control strategy not only significantly shortens the overall ice making cycle and improves ice making efficiency, but also effectively avoids problems such as increased energy consumption due to excessively high water temperature or ice blocks that are too thin and fragile or too thick and difficult to demold due to uncontrolled ice making time. This ensures the forming quality and user experience of the ice block, and achieves efficient, energy-saving, and stable quantitative ice making.

[0015] Fourthly, this application provides an electronic device including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to implement the ice-making control method as described in the first aspect above.

[0016] Fifthly, this application provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the ice-making control method as described in the first aspect above.

[0017] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the ice-making control method as described in the first aspect above.

[0018] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of this application will become apparent and readily understood from the description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 This is a schematic flowchart of the ice-making control method for the refrigeration equipment provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 3 This is one of the cross-sectional views of the ice maker provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 4 This is a second cross-sectional view of the ice maker provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 5 This is one of the schematic diagrams of the system structure of the refrigeration equipment provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 6 This is the second schematic diagram of the system structure of the refrigeration equipment provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0020] Figure label: Ice maker 500; Casing 510; Ice container 520, overflow outlet 521; Ice storage container 530; Water tank 540; Electrical component 561, water system component 562; Ice-making branch 580, ice-making evaporator 581, distribution component 5811, ice-making column 5812, ice-making throttling section 582; Refrigeration system 800, compressor 810, condenser 820, refrigeration evaporator 831, refrigeration throttling unit 832. Filter device 840, valve assembly 850, first throttling section 592, heat storage device 593, heating element 725. Refrigeration branch 830, freezing branch 830a, refrigeration branch 830b, third throttling section 832a, fourth throttling section 832b. First evaporator 831a, second evaporator 831b. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0022] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such use of data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first," "second," etc., are generally of the same class and the number of objects is not limited; for example, a first object can be one or more. Furthermore, in the specification and claims, "and / or" indicates at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0023] The ice-making control method, ice-making control device, refrigeration equipment, electronic equipment, and readable storage medium provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and through specific embodiments and application scenarios.

[0024] It should be noted that the refrigeration equipment in this embodiment includes, but is not limited to, refrigerators, freezers, display cases, beverage cabinets, wine cabinets, refrigerated display cases, and refrigerated vending machines, etc. The refrigeration equipment has a variety of structural forms and a wide range of applications.

[0025] The following is for reference. Figures 3-5 This application describes a refrigeration device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] In some embodiments, the refrigeration device includes: a housing, a refrigeration system 800, and an ice maker 500. The housing forms a compartment; the refrigeration system 800 is installed in the housing; the ice maker 500 is installed in the compartment, and the ice maker 500 includes an ice-making container 520 and an ice-making branch 580. The ice-making branch 580 is connected to the refrigeration system 800, and the ice-making branch 580 includes an ice-making throttling section 582 and an ice-making evaporator 581 connected in sequence. The ice-making evaporator 581 conducts heat with the ice-making container 520 or conducts heat with the liquid inside the ice-making container 520.

[0027] The refrigeration equipment enclosure may include a cabinet and a door. The door is installed on the open side of the cabinet, thereby sealing the cabinet to form a closed compartment for storage. The cabinet may include an outer shell, an inner liner, and an insulation layer. The inner liner may be located inside the outer shell, and the insulation layer may be formed between the outer shell and the inner liner through a foaming process. The compartment may include, but is not limited to, a refrigeration compartment, a freezer compartment, or a variable temperature compartment, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not impose such limitations.

[0028] The refrigeration system 800 can have at least one of the following structural forms: Firstly, the refrigeration system 800 can be used to cool the room. The cooling method can include, but is not limited to, direct cooling, air cooling, or a combination of both. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0029] like Figure 5 As shown, the refrigeration system 800 may include a compressor 810, a condenser 820, a refrigeration throttling section 832, and a refrigeration evaporator 831. The compressor 810, condenser 820, refrigeration throttling section 832, and refrigeration evaporator 831 are connected sequentially to form a complete refrigeration cycle. The refrigeration throttling section 832 can throttle and reduce the pressure of the high-pressure liquid refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 820 outlet, turning it into a low-pressure liquid refrigerant, which then flows into the refrigeration evaporator 831 to evaporate and absorb heat, thereby providing cooling capacity to the corresponding room.

[0030] like Figure 5 As shown, the refrigeration system 800 may also include a filter device 840. The filter device 840 may be located between the inlet of the refrigeration throttling section 832 and the outlet of the condenser 820. The filter device 840 is used to filter impurities from the refrigerant and lubricating oil that have not yet entered the refrigeration throttling section 832 and the ice-making throttling section 582, so as to prevent the refrigeration throttling section 832 and the ice-making throttling section 582 with small diameter from becoming blocked, and to maintain the smooth flow of the pipeline system.

[0031] Secondly, the refrigeration system 800 can be an independent refrigeration system 800.

[0032] In this embodiment, the refrigeration system 800 operates independently from the original compartment refrigeration system 800 of the refrigeration equipment and does not interfere with each other. The refrigeration system 800 may include a compressor 810 and a condenser 820. The compressor 810, the condenser 820 and the ice-making branch 580 are connected end to end to form a complete ice-making and refrigeration cycle.

[0033] The ice maker 500 can be installed as an independent ice-making module that can generate and store ice inside the refrigeration equipment room.

[0034] The ice maker 500 of this application is installed inside the refrigerator compartment of a refrigeration system. The ice maker 500 can be installed on the inner liner of the refrigerator compartment; or, the ice maker 500 can also be installed on the door of the refrigerator compartment.

[0035] In some embodiments, at least a portion of the ice-making evaporator 581 extends into the ice-making container 520 to allow heat conduction between the ice-making evaporator 581 and the liquid within the ice-making container 520. This portion of the ice-making evaporator 581 extending into the ice-making container 520 can directly contact the water within the ice-making container 520, causing the water surrounding this portion of the ice-making evaporator 581 to freeze upon cooling, forming an ice block surrounding this portion of the ice-making evaporator 581. Because this portion of the ice-making evaporator 581 is located in the central region of the ice block structure, the resulting ice block is a hollow structure with a central groove.

[0036] The specific shape of the ice block may include, but is not limited to, hollow cylinder, hollow cube, hollow prism, hollow sphere, or hollow hemisphere, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0037] The ice maker 500 may also include structures such as an ice storage container 530, a water tank 540, electrical components 561, and a water circuit assembly 562. The water tank 540 can supply water to the ice-making container 520 through the water circuit assembly 562. The water in the ice-making container 520 that has not frozen into ice can be circulated back to the water tank 540 by the drive of the electrical components 561. In other words, a water circuit is formed between the water tank 540 and the ice-making container 520. A part of the ice-making evaporator 581 can be buried below the liquid surface in the ice-making container 520. The refrigerant flowing through it evaporates and absorbs heat, causing the surface temperature of the ice-making evaporator 581 to drop sharply. This causes the water immersed around the ice-making evaporator 581 to freeze rapidly and eventually condense and adhere to the ice-making evaporator 581 to form ice. Ice blocks adhering to the ice evaporator 581 can be peeled off by the flowing hot refrigerant and fall into the ice storage container 530. Users can open the compartment at any time to retrieve the ice blocks stored in the ice storage container 530 of the ice maker 500.

[0038] In other embodiments, the ice-making evaporator 581 is located outside the ice-making container 520, in which case the ice-making evaporator 581 is isolated from the liquid inside the ice-making container 520. The ice-making evaporator 581 can directly contact the ice-making container 520, or it can indirectly contact the ice-making container 520 through a heat-conducting layer. The ice-making evaporator 581 transfers cold energy to the ice-making container 520, which in turn transfers the cold energy to the water inside. The water freezes into ice blocks inside the ice-making container 520, which acts as a mold. The shape of the ice blocks depends on the shape of the internal cavity of the ice-making container 520.

[0039] The specific shape of the ice block may include, but is not limited to, a solid cube, a solid sphere, a solid cylinder, or a solid hemisphere, etc., and this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0040] like Figure 5 As shown, the refrigeration system 800 also includes a valve assembly 850, which is used to control the on / off connection between the condenser 820 and the ice-making throttling section 582.

[0041] like Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 This is a sectional perspective view of the ice maker 500 taken at an angle to the cross-section. A water circulation path is formed between the ice container 520 and the water tank 540, and the ice container 520 is rotatable relative to the ice evaporator 581. At least a portion of the ice evaporator 581 is adapted to extend into the ice container 520.

[0042] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the ice-making evaporator 581 includes a distribution component 5811 and a plurality of ice-making columns 5812 connected to the distribution component 5811. The distribution component 5811 is connected to the refrigeration system 800. The plurality of ice-making columns 5812 are vertically opposite to the ice storage container 530. The rotatably mounted ice-making container 520 can selectively separate the ice storage container 530 and the plurality of ice-making columns 5812. Figure 3 As shown, in the ice-making state, at least a portion of the multiple ice-making columns 5812 extend into the ice-making container 520 to generate ice. In the de-icing state, the ice-making container 520 rotates to be offset from the multiple ice-making columns 5812, that is, rotates to the side of the multiple ice-making columns 5812, so that there is no longer an ice-making container 520 obstructing the ice storage container 530 and the multiple ice-making columns 5812, so that the ice generated on the ice-making columns 5812 can fall into the ice storage container 530 under the action of gravity.

[0043] The distribution component 5811 is used to distribute refrigerant from the refrigeration system 800 to multiple ice-making columns 5812. The distribution component 5811 can be, but is not limited to, a distribution plate or a distribution pipe, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0044] It should be noted that, as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the ice-making column 5812 is designed in a cylindrical shape, and multiple ice-making columns 5812 can simultaneously form multiple ice blocks.

[0045] In this context, "multiple" refers to two or more ice columns. The specific number of ice columns 5812 depends on actual needs, and this application embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0046] In some embodiments, such as Figure 4 As shown, the ice container 520 has an overflow port 521 on at least one side adjacent to the opening.

[0047] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the ice maker 500 also includes a housing 510.

[0048] Ice evaporator 581, ice container 520 and water tank 540 are mounted on housing 510.

[0049] In this embodiment, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the housing 510 serves as the supporting structure and external enclosure frame of the ice maker 500. The interior of the housing 510 can form an installation space for accommodating the ice evaporator 581, ice container 520, ice storage container 530, water tank 540, electrical components 561, and water circuit components 562, so that the ice maker 500 can be assembled and maintained as a complete module.

[0050] At least a portion of the water tank 540 can be installed within the receiving space formed by the housing 510, and at least a portion of the ice storage container 530 can be installed within the receiving space formed by the housing 510. For example, as... Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the water tank 540 can be pulled out and installed on the housing 510, and the ice storage container 530 can be supported on the water tank 540, so that the water tank 540 and the ice storage container 530 can be pulled out synchronously.

[0051] Third, the refrigeration system 800 can be used to cool the room, i.e., the cold storage room; The cooling method may include, but is not limited to, direct cooling, air cooling, or a combination of both, and the embodiments of this application do not impose any restrictions on this.

[0052] In this embodiment, such as Figure 6As shown, the refrigeration system 800 may include a compressor 810, a condenser 820, and a refrigeration branch 830. The refrigeration branch 830 includes a refrigeration throttling section 832 and a refrigeration evaporator 831 connected in series. The compressor 810, condenser 820, refrigeration throttling section 832, and refrigeration evaporator 831 are connected sequentially to form a complete refrigeration cycle. The refrigeration throttling section 832 can throttle and reduce the pressure of the high-pressure liquid refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 820 outlet, turning it into a low-pressure liquid refrigerant, which then flows into the refrigeration evaporator 831 to evaporate and absorb heat, thereby providing cooling capacity to the corresponding room.

[0053] As shown in Figure 6, the ice-making branch 580 can be branched off from the outlet of the condenser 820 of the refrigeration system 800, and includes an ice-making throttling section 582 and an ice-making evaporator 581. The ice-making throttling section 582 can throttle and reduce the pressure of the high-pressure liquid refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 820 outlet, turning it into a low-pressure liquid refrigerant, which then flows into the ice-making evaporator 581 to evaporate and absorb heat, causing the water in the ice-making container to freeze into ice.

[0054] like Figure 6 As shown, the ice-making evaporator 581 may include a distribution member 5811 and a plurality of ice-making columns 5812 connected to the distribution member 5811. At least a portion of the plurality of ice-making columns 5812 extends into the ice-making container. The inlet of the distribution member 5811 may be connected to the outlet of the heat storage device 593 and the outlet of the ice-making throttling section 582.

[0055] like Figure 6 As shown, the distributor 5811 is used to distribute the refrigerant from the heat storage device 593 or the ice-making throttling section 582 to a plurality of ice-making columns 5812. The distributor 5811 may be, but is not limited to, a distribution plate or a distribution pipe, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0056] It should be noted that, as Figure 6 As shown, the ice-making column 5812 is designed as a cylinder, and multiple ice-making columns 5812 can simultaneously form multiple ice blocks, so that the ice blocks formed on multiple ice-making columns 5812 are hollow cylindrical.

[0057] In this context, "multiple" refers to two or more ice columns. The specific number of ice columns 5812 depends on actual needs, and this application embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0058] The refrigeration throttling section 832, the ice-making throttling section 582, and the first throttling section 592 can be at least one of the following structural forms: Firstly, such as Figure 6 As shown, the refrigeration throttling section 832, the ice-making throttling section 582, and the first throttling section 592 all use independent throttling elements.

[0059] In this embodiment, the refrigeration throttling section 832, the ice-making throttling section 582, and the first throttling section 592 can be common throttling elements such as capillary tubes, thermostatic expansion valves, or electronic expansion valves, and can be selected according to the specific specifications and performance requirements of the refrigeration equipment. This application embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0060] Secondly, the refrigeration throttling section 832, the ice-making throttling section 582, and the first throttling section 592 are all integrated into the valve of the refrigeration system 800.

[0061] It should be noted that, as Figure 6 As shown, the refrigeration system 800 also includes a valve assembly 850, which is used to control the on / off connection between the condenser 820 and the refrigeration throttling section 832, the ice-making throttling section 582 and the first throttling section 592.

[0062] In this embodiment, the refrigeration throttling section 832, the ice-making throttling section 582, and the first throttling section 592 can be integrated into the corresponding valve port positions of the valve assembly 850, and the corresponding throttling function can be achieved by pre-setting a valve port with a fixed diameter.

[0063] Third, a portion of the refrigeration throttling section 832, the ice-making throttling section 582, and the first throttling section 592 adopts an independent throttling element, while another portion can be integrated into the valve of the refrigeration system 800.

[0064] like Figure 6 As shown, the heat storage device 593 and the first throttling section 592 are connected in series to form a branch. The ice-making evaporator 581 can be selectively connected to the refrigeration system 800 through one of the branch formed by the heat storage device 593 and the first throttling section 592 and the ice-making throttling section 582.

[0065] The heat storage device 593 can absorb and temporarily store heat before starting de-icing, and release heat to heat the refrigerant flowing through it after starting de-icing. Specifically, the heat storage device 593 may include, but is not limited to, a phase change heat storage device, a water heat storage tank, or a heat exchanger 593a, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0066] The heat storage device 593 can utilize the ambient temperature to store heat. For example, the heat storage device 593 can be placed in the vicinity of the compressor 810, the condenser 820, or the decondenser pipe. Alternatively, the heat storage device 593 can also utilize additional heating elements, such as electric heating wires or PTC heaters. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0067] In actual implementation, such as Figure 6As shown, during the ice-making stage, the first throttling section 592 and the heat storage device 593 are disconnected from the refrigeration system 800 and the ice-making branch 580. The ice-making evaporator 581 is connected to the refrigeration system 800 through the ice-making throttling section 582. After the ice-making throttling section 582 reduces the pressure of the refrigerant flowing through it, the low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant is sent to the ice-making evaporator 581 for evaporation and heat absorption, causing the water in the ice-making container to freeze into ice. During this period, the heat storage device 593 has accumulated enough heat for subsequent de-icing. During the de-icing stage, the ice-making throttling section 582 is disconnected from the refrigeration system 800, and the ice-making evaporator 581 is connected to the refrigeration system 800 through the first throttling section 592 and the heat storage device 593. The refrigerant is connected to the refrigeration system 800 via the device 593. After the first throttling section 592 reduces the pressure of the refrigerant flowing through it, the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant is sent into the heat storage device 593. Since the heat storage device 593 has stored a large amount of heat in advance, this heat is transferred to the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant flowing through the heat storage device 593, causing the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant to be rapidly heated. Then, the hot refrigerant flows rapidly into the ice-making evaporator 581, evenly transferring heat to the entire ice-making evaporator 581, causing the ice to form a water film on the surface of the ice-making evaporator 581. The ice is peeled off from the ice-making evaporator 581 by gravity and falls into the ice basket, achieving comprehensive and rapid de-icing.

[0068] Understandably, because the heat storage device 593 accumulates a large amount of heat in advance during the ice-making stage, it releases this heat during the de-icing stage to fully heat the refrigerant in the upstream flow path of the ice-making evaporator 581, rather than just heating a localized area of ​​the ice-making evaporator 581. The heated refrigerant can quickly push away the original low-temperature refrigerant inside the ice-making evaporator 581 and fill the entire ice-making evaporator 581, thus effectively solving the problem of low heating efficiency caused by the material of the ice-making evaporator 581 (such as food-grade stainless steel, which has low thermal conductivity). In this way, it effectively solves the problem of excessively high heating temperatures caused by using heating elements to ensure de-icing efficiency, reduces material fatigue and aging caused by localized extremely high temperatures, and thus extends the service life of the ice maker 500. Using this rapid and uniform de-icing method also significantly improves the situation where ice partially melts due to prolonged local heating. Hot air is quickly injected into the ice-making evaporator 581, allowing the ice to be quickly and uniformly removed. This reduces the risk of irregular ice shape or partial melting caused by uneven de-icing, thereby improving the integrity and quality of the ice.

[0069] It should be noted that, since the refrigerant undergoes throttling and pressure reduction through the first throttling section 592 before returning to the compressor 810 during de-icing, compared with the common de-icing scheme that bypasses the throttling device, the de-icing scheme described in the embodiments of this application reduces the high-pressure impact and liquid impact of the refrigerant on the compressor 810, thereby extending the service life of the compressor 810 and thus extending the service life of the refrigeration equipment.

[0070] The refrigeration equipment provided in this application embodiment, through the configuration of the aforementioned heat storage device 593 and the first throttling section 592, allows the heat storage device 593 to accumulate sufficient heat before the ice removal process begins. During the ice removal stage, the large amount of heat pre-stored in the heat storage device 593 is used to fully heat the refrigerant in the upstream flow path of the ice evaporator 581, causing a large amount of high-temperature refrigerant to flow rapidly into the ice evaporator 581. This achieves uniform and rapid ice removal, significantly shortening the ice removal time and improving the ice removal efficiency. It also significantly improves the situation where ice partially melts due to prolonged localized heating, thereby comprehensively improving the ice quality. Furthermore, it reduces the aging effects and safety hazards caused by localized extremely high temperatures resulting from the use of heating elements, extending the service life of the ice maker 500.

[0071] In some embodiments, such as Figure 6 As shown, the ice maker 500 also includes a heating element 725.

[0072] The heating element 725 is used to transfer heat to the heat storage device 593.

[0073] The heating element 725 can be a common heating element such as an electric heating wire, a PTC heater, a thin film heater, or an induction heater. Its power and heating temperature can be adjusted according to actual needs, and this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0074] The heating element 725 can be attached to the heat storage device 593 by binding, clamping or embedding; or the heating element 725 can also conduct heat through an intermediate structure (mounting bracket, thermal conductive adhesive, etc.) by indirect installation; or the heating element 725 can also achieve non-contact heat conduction by energy radiation. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0075] The refrigeration equipment provided in this application embodiment is designed to absorb heat from the heating element 725 through the heat storage device 593. The heating element 725, as an independent heating element, preheats the heat storage device 593 before starting the de-icing process, realizing direct, active and controllable heat exchange between the heat source and the heat storage device 593. While providing stable and reliable heat output, it can quickly raise the temperature of the heat storage device 593 to the level required for de-icing, thereby improving heating efficiency and thus improving de-icing efficiency.

[0076] In some implementations, with Figure 6For example, the refrigeration system 800 includes a first evaporator 831a, a third throttling section 832a, a second evaporator 831b, and a fourth throttling section 832b. In this case, both the second multi-way valve 852 and the third multi-way valve 853 can be three-way valves. At this time, the three valve ports of the second multi-way valve 852 can be connected to the outlet of the condenser 820, the inlet of the ice-making throttling section 582, and the inlet of the first throttling section 592, respectively, to control the connection and disconnection between the condenser 820 and the ice-making branch 580 and the branch where the first throttling section 592 is located. At this time, the three valve ports of the third multi-way valve 853 can be connected to the outlet of the condenser 820, the inlet of the third throttling section 832a, and the inlet of the fourth throttling section 832b, respectively, to control the connection and disconnection between the condenser 820 and the freezing branch 830a and the refrigeration branch 830b.

[0077] This application provides another structure for an ice maker 500.

[0078] The housing 510 serves as the supporting structure and external enclosure frame of the ice maker 500. The interior of the housing 510 can form an installation space for accommodating the ice evaporator 581, ice container 520, ice storage container 530, water tank 540, electrical components 561, and water circuit components 562, so that the ice maker 500 can be assembled and maintained as a complete module.

[0079] The ice storage container 530 can be pulled out and installed on the housing 510 along the front and rear direction of the refrigeration equipment via a guide rail structure, and is used to receive ice blocks that fall off the ice evaporator 581.

[0080] The ice storage container 530 is lower than the ice evaporator 581 in the height direction. The ice storage container 530 can be located directly below the ice evaporator 581, or it can be at least partially offset from the ice evaporator 581. The specific relative position relationship shall be based on not affecting the normal ice storage function, and this application embodiment does not limit it.

[0081] The water tank 540 can be pulled out and installed on the housing 510 along the front and rear direction of the refrigeration equipment via a guide rail structure, and is used to store water for ice making.

[0082] The water tank 540 is lower than the ice storage container 530 in the height direction. The water tank 540 can be located directly below the ice storage container 530, or it can be at least partially offset from the ice storage container 530. The specific relative position relationship shall be based on not affecting the normal discharge of ice melt water and the water circulation function. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0083] As an example, the ice maker 500 may also include structures such as electrical components 561 and water circuit components 562. The water tank 540 can supply water to the ice container 520 through the water circuit components 562. The water in the ice container 520 that has not frozen into ice can be flipped back to the water tank 540 under the drive of the electrical components 561, thereby realizing water circulation between the ice container 520 and the water tank 540.

[0084] The portion of the ice-making evaporator 581 that extends into the ice-making container 520 can directly contact the water in the ice-making container 520, causing the water surrounding the portion of the ice-making evaporator 581 to freeze after being cooled, so as to form an ice block that is fitted outside the portion of the ice-making evaporator 581. Since the portion of the ice-making evaporator 581 is located in the central area of ​​the ice block structure, the produced ice block is a hollow structure with a central groove.

[0085] The specific shape of the ice block may include, but is not limited to, hollow cylinder, hollow cube, hollow prism, hollow sphere, or hollow hemisphere, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0086] The ice-making evaporator 581 includes a distribution member 5811 and a plurality of ice-making columns 5812 connected to the distribution member 5811. The distribution member 5811 is connected to the refrigeration system 800. The plurality of ice-making columns 5812 constitute the ice-making part of the ice-making evaporator 581. In other words, the plurality of ice-making columns 5812 and the ice storage chamber of the ice storage container 530 are vertically opposite each other, and the plurality of ice-making columns 5812 and the water passage chamber of the ice storage container 530 are offset. The rotatably mounted ice-making container 520 can selectively separate the ice storage container 530 and the plurality of ice-making columns 5812. In the ice-making state, at least a portion of the plurality of ice-making columns 5812 extends into the ice-making container 520 to generate ice. In the de-icing state, the ice-making container 520 rotates to be offset from the multiple ice-making columns 5812, that is, rotates to the side of the multiple ice-making columns 5812, so that there is no longer an ice-making container 520 obstructing the ice storage cavity of the ice storage container 530 and the multiple ice-making columns 5812, so that the ice generated on the ice-making columns 5812 can fall into the ice storage cavity of the ice storage container 530 under the action of gravity.

[0087] The distribution component 5811 is used to distribute refrigerant from the refrigeration system 800 to multiple ice-making columns 5812. The distribution component 5811 can be, but is not limited to, a distribution plate or a distribution pipe, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0088] It should be noted that, based on the design of the ice-making column 5812 as a cylinder, multiple ice-making columns 5812 can simultaneously form multiple ice blocks, so that the ice blocks formed on multiple ice-making columns 5812 are hollow cylindrical.

[0089] In this context, "multiple" refers to two or more ice-making columns 5812. The specific number depends on actual needs, and this application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this. The following is a general description of the ice-making electronic control process.

[0090] After the system is powered on, it first performs a self-test and reads sensor data such as water level, temperature, and ice full signal. If the water level is normal and no ice fullness is detected, water is added to the set level and then shut off, and the refrigeration cycle is started. During the ice-making process, the temperature of the ice evaporator 581 is monitored in real time, or the cumulative running time is recorded. When the preset threshold for ice completion is reached, the system enters the de-icing mode. The heating wire is heated to cause the ice layer to fall off and trigger the ice-falling switch to confirm that the ice block falls into the ice storage container 530. Then, the ice fullness is checked again. If it is not full, the system automatically enters the next water-filling-ice-de-icing cycle. If ice fullness is detected or there are abnormalities such as water shortage, overheating, or communication failure, the system immediately stops and displays the corresponding fault code to protect the equipment.

[0091] In actual operation, the ice-making function can be achieved as follows: When the ice maker 500 is in the ice-making state, the opening of the ice container 520 faces upward, and a portion of each ice column 5812 of the ice evaporator 581 can be buried below the liquid surface in the ice container 520. Through the evaporation and heat absorption of the flowing refrigerant, the temperature of the surface of the ice evaporator 581 drops sharply, thereby causing the water soaked around each ice column 5812 to freeze quickly and eventually condense and adhere to each ice column 5812 to form ice blocks. During this period, the water tank 540 continuously supplies water to the ice-making container 520 through the water circuit assembly 562. When the water level rises to exceed the maximum capacity of the ice-making container 520, the excess water will overflow from the open side of the ice-making container 520 and fall into the water tank 540 under the action of gravity. In other words, the water tank 540 continuously supplies water to the ice-making container 520 throughout the entire ice-making process, and will not stop supplying water when the ice-making container 520 reaches the maximum water level, so that the water in the ice-making container 520 is always circulating. This circulating water can reduce the generation of air bubbles in the ice.

[0092] The de-icing function is achieved as follows: Electrical component 561 drives the ice-making container 520 to rotate. During rotation, the controller of the refrigeration equipment precisely controls the rotational speed of the tilting shaft of the ice-making container 520 to maintain smooth rotation as much as possible. By driving the ice-making container 520 to tilt, the unfrozen water inside the ice-making container 520 is returned to the water tank 540. When the ice maker 500 is in the de-icing state, the opening of the ice-making container 520 faces to the side, and the ice-making container 520 does not obstruct the space below the multiple ice columns 5812. After the ice evaporator 581 is heated, the ice layer adhering between the ice and the corresponding ice column 5812 melts into a water film, greatly reducing the adhesion. Thus, the ice originally attached to the ice column 5812 can be peeled off by its own gravity and fall into the ice storage container 530 below. The user can open the compartment at any time to take out the ice stored in the ice storage container 530.

[0093] The ice-making control method can be applied to the terminal, and can be executed by the hardware or software in the terminal.

[0094] The ice-making control method provided in this application embodiment can be executed by an electronic device or a functional module or entity in an electronic device that can implement the ice-making control method. The electronic devices mentioned in this application embodiment include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, tablets, computers, cameras, and wearable devices. The ice-making control method provided in this application embodiment will be described below using an electronic device as the execution subject.

[0095] The ice-making control method is applied to refrigeration equipment, which includes a cabinet and an ice maker 500. The cabinet forms a cold storage compartment, and the ice maker 500 is installed in the cold storage compartment.

[0096] like Figure 1 As shown, the ice-making control method includes steps S1 and S2.

[0097] Step S1: With water in the water tank 540 of the ice maker 500, control the compressor 810 and the blower of the refrigeration equipment to work so that the temperature of the cold storage compartment and the water temperature in the water tank 540 of the ice maker 500 reach 2℃-8℃. In this embodiment, when water is detected in the water tank 540, the compressor 810 and the blower are used to pre-cool the water and the surrounding environment, reducing the water temperature from room temperature to 2°C-8°C. This can significantly reduce the heat that needs to be removed in the subsequent ice-making stage, thereby ensuring that the ice maker 500 can complete the freezing process with higher efficiency and in a shorter time after starting, while avoiding excessively long ice-making time or poor ice quality due to excessively high water temperature.

[0098] It should be noted that the air supply fan blows air into the refrigerator compartment, and the water tank 540 is placed in the refrigerator compartment, so the water temperature is close to the temperature of the refrigerator compartment.

[0099] Step S2: With the ice maker 500 turned on, control the compressor 810 to work and deliver refrigerant to the ice evaporator 581 of the refrigeration equipment so that the ice maker 500 produces ice blocks with a wall thickness of 4mm-8mm, and the time from the start to the end of ice making is 5min-15min.

[0100] In this embodiment, the compressor 810 continuously supplies cooling to the ice-making evaporator 581, using the principle of heat exchange to allow water to gradually freeze on the surface of the ice-making evaporator 581. By limiting the ice-making time to 5-15 minutes, the growth rate of the ice layer is precisely controlled, thereby ensuring that the final ice block wall thickness is stable within a specific range of 4mm-8mm to meet the user's specific requirements for ice block thickness and hardness.

[0101] According to the ice-making control method provided in this application embodiment, by pre-cooling the water in the water tank 540 and the environment of the cold storage room before ice making, the water temperature is stabilized at a near-freezing point of 2℃-8℃, which effectively reduces the initial heat load when ice making starts, laying a thermodynamic basis for rapid ice making. On this basis, by controlling the time for the compressor 810 to deliver refrigerant to the ice-making evaporator 581 to be within 5min-15min, the growth rate and thickness of the ice block are precisely controlled, ensuring that the wall thickness of the ice block is stable within the range of 4mm-8mm. This phased collaborative control strategy not only significantly shortens the overall ice-making cycle and improves ice-making efficiency, but also effectively avoids problems such as increased energy consumption due to excessively high water temperature or ice blocks that are too thin and fragile or too thick and difficult to demold due to uncontrolled ice-making time, thereby ensuring the forming quality and user experience of the ice block, and realizing efficient, energy-saving, and stable quantitative ice making.

[0102] In some embodiments, the method further includes: When the refrigeration equipment is in ice-making mode, control the refrigeration equipment to pause entering the refrigerator compartment refrigeration mode; When the refrigeration equipment finishes making ice, control the refrigeration equipment to switch to the cold storage compartment refrigeration mode so that the temperature of the cold storage compartment is between 2℃ and 8℃.

[0103] In this embodiment, by optimizing the operating logic of the refrigeration equipment, the continuous cooling of the ice-making circuit is prioritized during ice making, and the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator compartment is temporarily interrupted to avoid the dispersion of cold energy. After ice making is completed, the system automatically switches back to the refrigerator mode for temperature compensation, ensuring that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is always maintained in the preservation range of 2℃-8℃, thereby ensuring ice making efficiency while taking into account the food storage needs.

[0104] The compressor power, ice-making time of 10 minutes, ice thickness of 5-6 mm, ice evaporator operating temperature, and the cold storage air duct are all set at a water temperature of 5℃.

[0105] The ice-making module is placed in the refrigerator compartment and shares a compressor and condenser cooling system with the refrigerator. When the refrigeration system is making ice, the refrigerator compartment stops cooling; when not making ice, the refrigerator compartment operates, keeping the temperature of the entire module within the refrigerator temperature range (2~8℃).

[0106] In some embodiments, the ice block wall thickness is determined based on the temperature of the ice-making evaporator 581 and the ice-making time; the temperature of the ice-making evaporator 581 is determined based on the rotational speed of the compressor 810, the ambient temperature of the refrigeration equipment, and the water temperature.

[0107] In this embodiment, the ice block wall thickness is precisely controlled by comprehensively judging the real-time temperature of the ice evaporator and the cumulative ice-making time. The temperature of the evaporator is determined by the compressor speed, ambient temperature and inlet water temperature. The system dynamically adjusts its operating status accordingly to ensure that the ice block thickness meets the set requirements.

[0108] The target thickness of the ice cubes is 5-6 mm. The size of the ice cubes is controlled by adjusting the evaporation temperature of the ice evaporator and the ice-making time. The evaporation temperature is affected by the compressor speed, ambient temperature, and water temperature. To obtain a relatively constant evaporation temperature, a scheme was established to determine the compressor speed based on the water temperature and ambient temperature. The evaporation temperature was then fixed within a certain range, as shown in Table 1.

[0109] In some embodiments, controlling the operation of the compressor 810 and the blower of the refrigeration equipment includes: Based on the difference between the current temperature of the refrigerator compartment and the preset temperature range, adjust the operating frequency of the compressor 810 and the speed of the blower to ensure that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment and the water temperature in the water tank 540 reach 2℃-8℃.

[0110] In this embodiment, the current temperature of the refrigerator compartment is acquired in real time, and the difference between it and a preset target temperature range (e.g., 2°C-8°C) is calculated. Based on this difference, the operating frequency of the compressor 810 and the speed of the blower are adjusted: when the temperature difference is large, the frequency and speed are increased to achieve rapid cooling; when the temperature difference decreases and approaches the target range, the frequency and speed are appropriately reduced to prevent temperature overshoot or energy waste. This closed-loop control strategy enables the water temperature in the refrigerator compartment and water tank 540 to reach and maintain the ideal range more accurately and stably, providing a more reliable guarantee for subsequent efficient ice making.

[0111] In some embodiments, controlling the compressor 810 to supply refrigerant to the ice-making evaporator 581 of the refrigeration equipment includes: Based on the ice wall thickness detection signal of the ice maker 500, the operating frequency of the compressor 810 is adjusted so that the ice wall thickness is 4mm-8mm and the time from the start to the end of ice making is 5min-15min.

[0112] In some embodiments, the precision and adaptability of the ice-making process are further improved by introducing a closed-loop control strategy based on real-time feedback. The ice thickness is monitored in real-time using ice wall thickness detection signals (e.g., infrared, ultrasonic, or capacitive sensors). Based on these signals, the operating frequency of the compressor 810 is dynamically adjusted: when the ice growth rate deviates from the expected range, the refrigeration power is increased or decreased to precisely control the ice wall thickness within the target range of 4mm-8mm, while ensuring the entire ice-making cycle remains stable between 5min and 15min. This real-time control mechanism effectively addresses uncertainties such as fluctuations in water source temperature and changes in ambient temperature, thereby ensuring the consistency of ice quality and the stability of production.

[0113] Table 1

[0114] In some embodiments, the ice maker 500 includes an ice-making container 520 and an ice-making branch 580, the ice-making branch 580 being connected to the refrigeration system 800 of a refrigeration device, and at least a portion of the ice-making evaporator 581 of the ice-making branch 580 extending into the ice-making container 520. The method further includes the following after ice making is complete: Turn on the heating element of ice-making branch 580; When the ice-making branch 580 switches to the ice-making path for a period of time equal to the second ice-making time, the ice-making container 520 is moved to the de-icing position, and the ice-making branch 580 is switched to the de-icing path.

[0115] The heating element is an electric heating device in the ice maker 500 used to apply heat to the ice evaporator 581 or the ice during the de-icing stage to facilitate the smooth detachment of the ice.

[0116] In this step, after ice making is completed, the ice has reached a state where it can be removed. At this time, the heating element in the ice making branch 580 is turned on to briefly and controllably heat the ice evaporator 581 or the bottom of the ice block, so as to weaken the adhesion between the ice and the surface of the ice evaporator 581 before the ice is officially removed, and prepare for the subsequent smooth removal of ice.

[0117] The second ice-making time is the threshold time required for water to be completely frozen into removable ice blocks when the ice-making branch 580 is in the ice-making passage state.

[0118] The de-icing position is as follows Figure 4As shown, the ice-making container 520 is rotated to be offset from the multiple ice-making columns 5812, that is, rotated to the side of the multiple ice-making columns 5812, so that there is no longer an ice-making container 520 between the ice storage container 530 and the multiple ice-making columns 5812, so that the ice generated on the ice-making columns 5812 can fall into the ice storage container 530 under the action of gravity.

[0119] The de-icing pathway is the pipeline state switched in the ice-making branch 580 to achieve de-icing. It can stop refrigeration or introduce heating to raise the temperature of the ice-making evaporator 581 to loosen and detach the ice.

[0120] In this step, when the ice-making branch 580 has been running continuously for a preset second ice-making time since it was switched to the ice-making path, the ice-making stage is determined to be completed. The ice-making container 520 is moved or flipped to the de-icing position to prepare for the ice to detach. The ice-making branch 580 is switched from the ice-making path to the de-icing path, which raises the temperature of the ice-making evaporator 581, thereby weakening the adhesion between the ice and the surface of the ice-making evaporator 581, creating conditions for the ice to detach smoothly.

[0121] In some embodiments, after the ice-making branch 580 is switched to the de-icing path, the method further includes: When the ice-making branch 580 switches to the de-icing path for the duration of the third de-icing time, the heating element is turned off.

[0122] In this embodiment, after confirming that the ice-making function of the ice maker 500 is normal, in order to prevent overheating or energy waste, the heating element can be automatically turned off when the ice-making branch 580 is in the de-icing passage state for a period of time that reaches the third de-icing time, thus ending the de-icing stage and preparing for the next ice-making cycle.

[0123] In some embodiments, the ice maker 500 further includes a water tank 540 and a water circuit assembly 562, the water tank 540 and the ice-making container 520 being connected via the water circuit assembly 562. Before controlling the operation of the compressor 810 and the blower of the refrigeration equipment, the method further includes: Switch the ice-making branch 580 to the ice-making path and move the ice-making container 520 to the ice-making position. The water tank 540 supplies water to the ice container 520 through the water circuit assembly 562 for a first water supply duration.

[0124] The ice-making position is the location of the ice-making container 520 when at least a portion of the multiple ice-making columns 5812 extend into the ice-making container 520 to generate ice.

[0125] The first water supply duration is a preset duration for water tank 540 to inject water into ice container 520 through water circuit assembly 562, which is used to ensure that an appropriate amount of water is injected to form standard ice blocks.

[0126] In this embodiment, before turning on the heating element, the system first switches the ice-making branch 580 to the ice-making channel and moves the ice-making container 520 to the ice-making position. Then, it controls the water tank 540 to continuously supply water to the ice-making container 520 through the water circuit assembly 562 for a first water supply time to ensure sufficient water volume.

[0127] This application also provides an ice-making control device.

[0128] The refrigeration equipment includes a cabinet and an ice maker 500. The cabinet forms a cold storage compartment, and the ice maker 500 is installed in the cold storage compartment. The ice-making control equipment includes a water level detector and a controller.

[0129] The water level detector is used to detect the water in the water tank 540 of the ice maker 500; The controller is connected to the water level detector and is used to perform the following steps: When there is water in the water tank 540 of the ice maker 500, control the compressor 810 and the blower of the refrigeration equipment to work so that the temperature of the cold storage compartment and the water temperature in the water tank 540 of the ice maker 500 reach 2℃-8℃. When the ice maker 500 is turned on, the compressor 810 is controlled to deliver refrigerant to the ice-making evaporator 581 of the refrigeration equipment so that the ice maker 500 produces ice blocks with a wall thickness of 4mm-8mm, and the time from the start to the end of ice making is 5min-15min.

[0130] According to the ice-making control device of the refrigeration equipment provided in the embodiments of this application, by co-precooling the water in the water tank 540 and the environment of the cold storage room before ice making, the water temperature is stabilized at a near-freezing point of 2℃-8℃, which effectively reduces the initial heat load when ice making starts and lays a thermodynamic basis for rapid ice making. On this basis, by controlling the time for the compressor 810 to deliver refrigerant to the ice evaporator 581 to be within 5min-15min, the growth rate and thickness of the ice block are precisely controlled, ensuring that the wall thickness of the ice block is stable within the range of 4mm-8mm. This phased co-control strategy not only significantly shortens the overall ice-making cycle and improves ice-making efficiency, but also effectively avoids problems such as increased energy consumption due to excessively high water temperature or ice blocks that are too thin and fragile or too thick and difficult to demold due to uncontrolled ice-making time. This ensures the forming quality and user experience of the ice block and achieves efficient, energy-saving, and stable quantitative ice making.

[0131] This application also provides a refrigeration device.

[0132] The refrigeration equipment includes a cabinet and an ice maker 500. The cabinet forms a cold storage compartment, and the ice maker 500 is installed in the cold storage compartment. The refrigeration equipment is connected to the aforementioned ice-making control equipment.

[0133] According to the refrigeration equipment provided in this application embodiment, by pre-cooling the water in the water tank 540 and the environment of the cold storage room in a coordinated manner before ice making, the water temperature is stabilized at a near-freezing point of 2℃-8℃, which effectively reduces the initial heat load when ice making starts, laying a thermodynamic basis for rapid ice making. On this basis, by controlling the time for the compressor 810 to deliver refrigerant to the ice evaporator 581 to be within 5min-15min, the growth rate and thickness of the ice block are precisely controlled, ensuring that the wall thickness of the ice block is stable within the range of 4mm-8mm. This phased coordinated control strategy not only significantly shortens the overall ice making cycle and improves ice making efficiency, but also effectively avoids problems such as increased energy consumption due to excessively high water temperature or ice blocks that are too thin and fragile or too thick and difficult to demold due to uncontrolled ice making time, thereby ensuring the forming quality and user experience of the ice block, and realizing efficient, energy-saving, and stable quantitative ice making.

[0134] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, this application embodiment also provides an electronic device 400, including a processor 401, a memory 402, and a computer program stored in the memory 402 and executable on the processor 401. When the program is executed by the processor 401, it implements the various processes of the above-described ice-making control method embodiment and achieves the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0135] It should be noted that the electronic devices in the embodiments of this application include the mobile electronic devices and non-mobile electronic devices described above.

[0136] This application also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the various processes of the above-described ice-making control method embodiments and achieves the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0137] The processor is the processor in the electronic device described in the above embodiments. The readable storage medium includes computer-readable storage media, such as computer read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0138] This application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the above-described ice-making control method.

[0139] The processor is the processor in the electronic device described in the above embodiments. The readable storage medium includes computer-readable storage media, such as computer read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0140] This application embodiment also provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor. The processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the various processes of the above-described ice-making control method embodiments and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0141] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0142] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatuses in the embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing functions substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0143] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Of course, they can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the related technology, can be embodied in the form of a computer software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes several instructions to cause a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0144] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and all of these forms are within the protection scope of this application.

[0145] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," 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. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0146] Although embodiments of this application have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of this application, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An ice making control method, characterized by, The method is applied to a refrigeration device, the refrigeration device including a cabinet and an ice maker, the cabinet forming a cold storage compartment, the ice maker being installed in the cold storage compartment, and the method comprising: When the water tank of the ice maker is filled with water, the compressor and blower of the refrigeration equipment are controlled to work so that the temperature of the cold storage compartment and the water temperature in the water tank of the ice maker reach 2℃-8℃. When the ice maker is turned on, the compressor is controlled to work and refrigerant is supplied to the ice evaporator of the refrigeration equipment so that the ice maker can obtain ice blocks with a wall thickness of 4mm-8mm, and the time from the start to the end of ice making is 5min-15min.

2. The ice-making control method according to claim 1, characterized by, The method further includes: When the refrigeration equipment is in ice-making mode, control the refrigeration equipment to pause entering the refrigerator compartment refrigeration mode; When the refrigeration equipment finishes making ice, the refrigeration equipment is controlled to enter the refrigeration mode of the cold storage compartment so that the temperature of the cold storage compartment is between 2°C and 8°C.

3. The ice-making control method according to claim 1, characterized by, The ice block wall thickness is determined based on the temperature of the ice-making evaporator and the ice-making time; the temperature of the ice-making evaporator is determined based on the speed of the compressor, the temperature of the environment in which the refrigeration equipment is located, and the water temperature.

4. The ice-making control method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The ice maker includes an ice-making container and an ice-making branch, the ice-making branch being connected to the refrigeration system of the refrigeration equipment, and at least a portion of the ice-making evaporator of the ice-making branch extending into the ice-making container. After ice making is completed, the method further includes: Turn on the heating element of the ice-making branch; When the ice-making branch switches to the ice-making path for a period of time equal to the second ice-making time, the ice-making container is controlled to move to the de-icing position, and the ice-making branch is controlled to switch to the de-icing path.

5. The ice-making control method according to claim 4, characterized in that, After controlling the ice-making branch to switch to the de-icing path, the method further includes: When the time for switching from the ice-making branch to the de-icing path reaches the third de-icing time, the heating element is turned off.

6. The ice-making control method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The ice maker further includes a water tank and a water circuit assembly, the water tank and the ice-making container being connected via the water circuit assembly. Before controlling the compressor and blower of the refrigeration equipment to operate, the method further includes: Switch the ice-making branch to the ice-making path and control the ice-making container to the ice-making position; The water tank is controlled to supply water to the ice-making container through the water circuit assembly for a first water supply duration.

7. An ice-making control device, characterized in that, The refrigeration equipment includes a cabinet and an ice maker, the cabinet forming a cold storage compartment, the ice maker being installed in the cold storage compartment, and the ice-making control device including: A water level detector, used to detect the water level in the water tank of the ice maker; A controller, connected to the water level detector, is used to perform the following steps: When the water tank of the ice maker is filled with water, the compressor and blower of the refrigeration equipment are controlled to work so that the temperature of the cold storage compartment and the water temperature in the water tank of the ice maker reach 2℃-8℃. When the ice maker is turned on, the compressor is controlled to deliver refrigerant to the ice-making evaporator of the refrigeration equipment so that the ice maker can obtain ice blocks with a wall thickness of 4mm-8mm, and the time from the start to the end of ice making is 5min-15min.

8. A refrigeration device, characterized in that, The refrigeration equipment includes a housing and an ice maker. The housing forms a cold storage compartment, and the ice maker is installed in the cold storage compartment. The refrigeration equipment is connected to the ice-making control device as described in claim 7.

9. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that, When the processor executes the program, it implements the ice-making control method as described in any one of claims 1-6.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When executed by a processor, the computer program implements the ice-making control method as described in any one of claims 1-6.

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