Ice making control method, device and ice making apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of energy-saving refrigeration equipment, and discloses an ice-making control method, device and ice-making equipment. The method is applied to an ice-making equipment comprising an ice demolding mechanism, an ice-making box, a cooling system and at least one strain sensor, and the strain sensor is arranged on the outer surface of an ice mold. Liquid water is injected into the ice mold, and the cooling system is controlled to supply cooling. After the cooling system runs for a preset delay duration, a strain signal output by the strain sensor is acquired, the strain signal is processed to obtain strain data, a strain change rate is determined according to the continuously acquired strain data, and the ice block freezing state is judged based on the strain data, the strain change rate, a preset freezing judgment threshold and a preset strain change rate threshold. When the ice block is frozen solid, the ice demolding mechanism is controlled to perform a demolding and ice discharging action, and when the ice block is not frozen solid, the cooling system is controlled to continue supplying cooling. The present application is beneficial to improving the frozen solid judgment accuracy, ice-making efficiency and ice demolding reliability of energy-saving refrigeration products.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to intelligent ice-making control technology in the field of energy-saving refrigeration equipment, and in particular to an ice-making control method, device and ice-making equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Ice-making equipment is widely used in energy-saving refrigeration products such as refrigerators, freezers, and stand-alone ice makers. It typically supplies cold to the ice mold through a cooling system, causing the liquid water inside to gradually freeze into ice cubes. Once the ice cubes are solid, a de-icing mechanism removes them from the mold. For energy-saving refrigeration equipment, the ice-making process not only affects ice dispensing efficiency and ice cube quality but also directly impacts the cooling system's operating time, ineffective cooling time, and overall ice-making energy consumption.

[0003] Existing ice-making equipment mostly uses methods such as timed ice making, temperature threshold detection, or mechanical ice probes to determine whether the ice is frozen solid. Timed ice making is controlled by preset fixed freezing time. To ensure that the ice is reliably frozen solid, a large time margin is usually required, which can easily lead to a longer ice-making cycle and wasted cooling capacity. Temperature threshold detection is easily affected by the sensor installation location, uneven temperature field of the cooling system, and changes in environmental conditions, making it difficult to accurately reflect the overall freezing state of the ice in the ice mold. Mechanical ice probes require moving parts, and long-term operation may lead to reliability issues such as wear and jamming.

[0004] Therefore, in the ice-making efficiency improvement control technology for energy-saving refrigeration products such as refrigerators and freezers, there is an urgent need for a control scheme that can directly and in real time reflect the freezing state of ice blocks, so as to promptly perform demolding and ice removal when the ice blocks are frozen, and continue to supply cooling when the ice blocks are not frozen, thereby reducing ineffective freezing time and improving the accuracy of ice-making control, the reliability of ice removal, and the operating efficiency of energy-saving refrigeration equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the problems of existing technologies, such as timed ice-making control methods being unable to adapt to fluctuations in ambient temperature, water temperature, and refrigeration efficiency, temperature monitoring methods being unable to accurately reflect the overall freezing state of ice blocks, and mechanical ice-detection methods suffering from mechanical wear, jamming, and insufficient reliability, which lead to long ice-making cycles, low ice-making efficiency, inaccurate ice removal timing, and unstable ice block forming quality, this invention provides an ice-making control method, device, and ice-making equipment.

[0006] The present invention adopts the following technical solution.

[0007] A first aspect of the present invention provides an ice-making control method applied to an ice-making device, the ice-making device including an ice-removing mechanism, an ice-making box, a cooling system, and at least one strain sensor, the ice-making box including at least one ice mold, the strain sensor being disposed on the outer surface of the ice mold, and the ice-making control method comprising: Liquid water is injected into the ice mold, and the cooling system is controlled to cool the ice mold. After the cooling system has been running for a preset delay period, the strain signal output by the strain sensor is acquired; wherein, the strain signal is used to characterize the elastic deformation of the ice mold caused by the volume expansion due to the phase change of water and ice. The strain signal is processed to obtain digitized strain data; Based on the strain data collected multiple times consecutively, the strain rate of change at the current moment is determined; The freezing state of the ice in the ice box is determined based on the strain data at the current moment, the strain change rate, the preset freezing judgment threshold, and the preset strain change rate threshold. When it is determined that the ice in the ice-making box is frozen, the ice-removing mechanism is controlled to perform the demolding and ice-removing action; when it is determined that there is unfrozen ice in the ice-making box, the cooling system is controlled to continue to supply cooling and continuously acquire the strain signal output by the strain sensor.

[0008] Preferably, the ice-making box includes multiple ice molds, and the strain sensor is configured as follows: Each of the ice molds is equipped with a corresponding strain sensor to monitor the freezing state of each ice mold. Alternatively, the strain sensor can be installed on a portion of the ice mold, including a representative ice mold with the slowest ice-making speed.

[0009] Preferably, the representative ice mold is determined based on the ice-making speed of each ice mold in the ice-making box; The representative ice molds include those furthest from the ice-making vent.

[0010] Preferably, the strain sensor is attached to the center of the outer surface or the center of the outer bottom surface of the ice mold; When the strain sensor is attached to the center of the outer side of the ice mold, the strain sensor is used to monitor the tensile strain of the sidewall of the ice mold caused by the lateral expansion of the ice block; When the strain sensor is attached to the center of the outer bottom surface of the ice mold, the strain sensor is used to monitor the micro-deformation of the bottom surface caused by the freezing expansion of the ice block.

[0011] Preferably, acquiring the strain signal output by the strain sensor includes: After the cooling system has been running for a certain period of time, the strain signal output by the strain sensor is acquired according to a preset sampling period.

[0012] Preferably, determining the strain rate of change at the current moment based on the strain data collected multiple times consecutively includes: The strain change rate is determined based on the difference in strain data between adjacent sampling times and the sampling time interval.

[0013] Preferably, the freezing state of the ice in the ice-making box is determined based on the strain data at the current moment, the strain change rate, a preset freezing determination threshold, and a preset strain change rate threshold, including: Determine whether the strain data at the current moment is greater than or equal to the preset freeze determination threshold, and determine whether the strain change rate at the current moment is less than or equal to the preset strain change rate threshold; The ice in the ice maker is considered to be frozen solid when at least one of the following conditions is met: The strain data at the current moment is greater than or equal to the preset freeze determination threshold; The strain rate of change at the current moment is less than or equal to the preset strain rate of change threshold.

[0014] Preferably, the preset freezing threshold is obtained through experimental calibration, which includes measuring the peak strain of the ice mold when the ice is completely frozen, and determining the benchmark freezing threshold based on the peak strain. The preset freezing threshold is determined based on the benchmark freezing threshold and the temperature compensation amount. The temperature compensation amount is determined based on the difference between the ambient temperature and the benchmark ambient temperature, the temperature compensation coefficient, and the benchmark freezing threshold. The preset strain rate threshold is determined based on the preset quantile values ​​of multiple strain rate samples after the ice is completely frozen.

[0015] A second aspect of the present invention provides an ice-making control device for executing an ice-making control method as described in any of the preceding claims, the ice-making control device comprising a controller and a signal processing module; The signal processing module is connected to the strain sensor and is used to process the strain signal output by the strain sensor to obtain digitized strain data; wherein, the strain signal is used to characterize the elastic deformation of the ice mold caused by the volume expansion due to the phase change of water and ice. The controller is connected to the signal processing module, the cooling system and the de-icing mechanism respectively, and is used to control the cooling system to cool the ice mold after liquid water is injected, and to obtain the digitized strain data through the signal processing module after the cooling system has been running for a preset delay time. The controller is also used to determine the strain change rate at the current moment based on the strain data collected multiple times in succession, and to judge the freezing state of the ice in the ice box based on the strain data at the current moment, the strain change rate, the preset freezing judgment threshold and the preset strain change rate threshold. The controller is also used to control the ice removal mechanism to perform the demolding and ice removal action when it is determined that the ice in the ice box is frozen; and to control the cooling system to continue to supply cooling and continuously acquire the strain signal when it is determined that there is ice in the ice box that is not frozen.

[0016] A third aspect of the present invention provides an ice-making apparatus, comprising an ice-removing mechanism, an ice-making box, a cooling system, at least one strain sensor, and the aforementioned ice-making control device; The ice-making box includes at least one ice mold; The strain sensor is disposed on the outer surface of the ice mold and is used to collect the strain signal generated by the volume expansion of the ice mold due to the phase change of water and ice. The cooling system is used to cool the ice mold; The de-icing mechanism is used to perform the demolding and ice removal action; The ice-making control device is connected to the strain sensor, the cooling system, and the de-icing mechanism, respectively, and is used to determine the freezing state of the ice in the ice box based on the strain signal, and to control the cooling system to continue cooling or to control the de-icing mechanism to perform the demolding and ice removal action based on the freezing state.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention include at least the following: 1. This invention places a strain sensor on the outer surface of an ice mold to acquire strain signals characterizing the elastic deformation of the ice mold caused by the volume expansion of the water-ice phase change. Based on the strain data and strain change rate, the freezing state of the ice blocks inside the ice-making box is determined. When the ice blocks are frozen, the ice-removal mechanism is controlled in real-time to perform the demolding and ice-removal action; when the ice blocks are not frozen, the cooling system continues to supply cooling. This allows for switching between cooling and ice-removal processes based on the actual freezing state of the ice blocks. Compared to methods that rely solely on fixed ice-making time, local temperature, or mechanical ice detection to determine the freezing state, this invention more directly reflects the degree of ice solidity, improving the accuracy of freezing state determination, reducing ineffective freezing time, and enhancing the reliability of ice removal.

[0018] 2. When the ice maker includes multiple ice molds, the present invention can adopt a method of setting a strain sensor for each ice mold to monitor the freezing state of each ice mold separately, thereby improving the precision of detecting the freezing state of ice molds at different locations in a multi-ice mold ice maker; or strain sensors can be set only on some ice molds, and these ice molds include the representative ice mold with the slowest ice-making speed, thereby reducing the number of sensors and costs while improving the reliability of judging the overall demolding time of the ice maker.

[0019] 3. The representative ice mold of this invention is determined based on the ice-making speed of each ice mold in the ice-making box, and may include the ice mold furthest from the ice-making vent. Since ice molds farther from the ice-making vent are usually cooled relatively later and have a slower ice-making speed, using this ice mold as a representative ice mold for strain monitoring helps avoid the problem of some ice blocks falling off before being fully frozen due to judging the ice solidity solely based on ice molds with faster ice-making speeds, thus improving the reliability of the overall ice-falling judgment.

[0020] 4. The strain sensor of this invention can be attached to the center of the outer surface of the ice mold to monitor the tensile strain of the ice mold sidewall caused by the lateral expansion of the ice; it can also be attached to the center of the outer bottom surface of the ice mold to monitor the micro-deformation of the bottom surface caused by the freezing expansion of the ice. This allows for flexible selection of the sensor installation position based on the ice mold structure, installation space, direction of expansion force, and detection sensitivity requirements, improving adaptability and detection reliability under different ice box structures.

[0021] 5. After the cooling system has been running for a preset delay period, the present invention acquires the strain signal output by the strain sensor according to a preset sampling period. This avoids the initial stage when the liquid water has just begun to cool down and the strain of the ice mold is not yet obvious, thus reducing invalid sampling and invalid data processing. At the same time, by periodically acquiring the strain signal, the change of the ice mold strain during the freezing process can be continuously tracked, providing a continuous data basis for timely judgment of whether the ice block is frozen solid.

[0022] 6. This invention determines the strain change rate based on the difference in strain data at adjacent sampling times and the sampling time interval. This allows the ice-making control process to not only use the strain data itself to characterize the deformation of the ice mold caused by freezing expansion, but also to use the strain change rate to characterize the trend of strain data changing over time. This enables a more comprehensive reflection of the state change of the ice block from gradual freezing to near-solidification, thus improving the accuracy of freezing state judgment.

[0023] 7. This invention determines that the ice in the ice-making box is frozen solid when at least one of the following conditions is met: whether the strain data at the current moment is greater than or equal to a preset freezing threshold, and whether the strain change rate at the current moment is less than or equal to a preset strain change rate threshold. This allows for the identification of the ice's freezing completion status from both the strain amplitude and strain change trend perspectives. This helps reduce the risk of ice removal failure due to ice not being fully frozen, and also helps reduce the prolonged ice-making cycle and increased energy consumption caused by continuing to cool the ice after it has solidified.

[0024] 8. The preset freezing threshold of the present invention is obtained through experimental calibration, and a benchmark freezing threshold is determined based on the strain peak value of the ice mold when the ice is completely frozen. Further, the preset freezing threshold can be determined based on the benchmark freezing threshold and a temperature compensation amount. The temperature compensation amount is determined based on the difference between the ambient temperature and the benchmark ambient temperature, the temperature compensation coefficient, and the benchmark freezing threshold. Simultaneously, the preset strain change rate threshold is determined based on the preset quantile values ​​of multiple strain change rate samples after the ice is completely frozen. This allows the freezing threshold and strain change rate threshold to originate from experimental calibration and actual freezing characteristics, and to adapt to changes in ambient temperature, improving the matching between the threshold setting and the actual frozen state.

[0025] 9. The ice-making control device of the present invention includes a controller and a signal processing module. The signal processing module processes the strain signal output by the strain sensor to obtain digitized strain data. The controller determines the freezing state based on the digitized strain data and the rate of change of strain, and controls the cooling system to continue cooling or controls the de-icing mechanism to perform demolding and ice removal actions. This establishes a clear functional division of labor among signal acquisition and processing, freezing state determination, cooling control, and de-icing control, improving the integration and feasibility of the ice-making control device.

[0026] 10. The ice-making equipment of the present invention includes an ice-removing mechanism, an ice-making box, a cooling system, at least one strain sensor, and an ice-making control device. The strain sensor collects the strain signal generated by the volume expansion of the ice mold due to the phase change of water and ice. The ice-making control device determines the freezing state of the ice blocks in the ice-making box based on the strain signal, and controls the cooling system to continue supplying cooling or controls the ice-removing mechanism to perform the demolding and ice-removing action based on the freezing state. This integrates strain monitoring, cooling control, and ice-removing control into the ice-making equipment, improving the overall ice-making efficiency, ice-removing reliability, and intelligence level. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the ice-making box and strain sensor arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention, including: 1. De-icing mechanism; Xi, the i-th ice mold; Yi, the i-th strain sensor, where i is a positive integer.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic flowchart of an ice-making control method provided according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the cooling system and ice maker's interaction according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprising: 2. Ice maker; 301. Compressor; 302. Condenser; 303. Dryer filter; 304. Evaporator.

[0030] Figure 4 This is a structural block diagram of an ice-making device provided according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprising: 1. De-icing mechanism; 2. Ice box; 3. Cooling system; 4. Ice making control device. Detailed Implementation

[0031] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of this invention. The described embodiments are merely some embodiments of this invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the spirit of this invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of this invention.

[0032] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper," "lower," "inner," "outer," "side," "bottom," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship that the ice-making equipment is usually placed in during normal use. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the structure referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this invention.

[0033] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "connection," "setting," "attachment," "acquisition," and "control" should be interpreted broadly. For example, "connection" can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate component; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a signal connection. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0034] This invention provides an ice-making control method, an ice-making control device, and an ice-making equipment. The invention utilizes the characteristic of water expanding in volume during the freezing process and acting on the ice mold wall. A strain sensor installed on the outer surface of the ice mold collects the strain signal generated by the volume expansion due to the water-ice phase change. Based on the strain data and the strain change rate, it determines whether the ice is solidly frozen. Thus, when the ice is frozen, the ice-removal mechanism is controlled to perform the demolding and ice-removal action; when the ice is not frozen, the cooling system continues to supply cooling. Therefore, compared to simply relying on a fixed ice-making time, a local temperature threshold, or mechanical ice detection, this invention can more directly reflect the freezing state of the ice inside the ice mold, which is beneficial for shortening the ice-making cycle, reducing ineffective cooling time, and improving the reliability of ice removal.

[0035] Example 1 This embodiment provides an ice-making control method applied to an ice-making device. The ice-making device includes an ice-removing mechanism 1, an ice-making box 2, a cooling system 3, and at least one strain sensor. The ice-making box 2 includes at least one ice mold, and the strain sensor is disposed on the outer surface of the ice mold.

[0036] Specifically, the de-icing mechanism 1 is used to perform the demolding and ice removal action after the ice blocks have frozen solid, such as by flipping, twisting, heating to demold, ejecting, or other methods that can detach the ice blocks from the ice mold. The ice-making box 2 is used to form at least one ice mold, which contains liquid water and forms ice blocks under the action of the cooling system 3. The cooling system 3 is used to cool the ice mold. The strain sensor is used to output a corresponding strain signal when the ice mold undergoes elastic deformation due to the expansion of the frozen ice blocks.

[0037] like Figure 3 As shown, the cooling system 3 may include a compressor 301, a condenser 302, a dryer filter 303, and an evaporator 304. The compressor 301, condenser 302, dryer filter 303, and evaporator 304 can be connected in sequence to form a refrigeration cycle for supplying cooling to the ice molds in the ice maker 2. It should be noted that... Figure 3 The cooling system 3 shown is only one example. The cooling system 3 can also be air-cooled, water-cooled, direct-cooled, or other refrigeration structures that can cool the ice mold. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0038] like Figure 2 As shown, an ice-making control method in this embodiment includes the following steps.

[0039] Step 1: Inject liquid water into the ice mold and control the cooling system 3 to cool the ice mold.

[0040] Preferably, at the start of the ice-making cycle, a predetermined amount of liquid water is injected into the ice mold of the ice-making box 2. The predetermined amount of liquid water can be determined based on the ice mold volume, the target ice block size, the ice removal allowance, and the control strategy of the ice-making equipment.

[0041] More preferably, after the liquid water is injected, the cooling system 3 is activated to cool the ice mold. After the cooling system 3 is activated, the temperature of the liquid water inside the ice mold gradually decreases and begins to freeze after falling below the freezing point.

[0042] Specifically, when the cooling system 3 includes a compressor 301, a condenser 302, a dryer filter 303, and an evaporator 304, controlling the cooling system 3 to cool the ice mold can include controlling the compressor 301 to run, so that the refrigerant is condensed by the condenser 302, filtered by the dryer filter 303, and evaporated and absorbed heat by the evaporator 304, thereby cooling the ice mold in the ice box 2.

[0043] For example, the cooling system 3 may also include a cooling damper. When the ice-making device is in ice-making mode, the cooling damper can be controlled to open to direct the cold energy to the ice-making box 2, so that the liquid water in the ice mold gradually freezes.

[0044] Step 2: After the cooling system 3 has been running for a preset delay period, the strain signal output by the strain sensor is acquired; wherein, the strain signal is used to characterize the elastic deformation of the ice mold caused by the volume expansion of the water-ice phase change.

[0045] Preferably, the preset delay time is used to avoid invalid sampling when liquid water has just been injected and has not yet begun to form obvious freeze expansion.

[0046] In other words, in the initial stage after the cooling system 3 is started, the liquid water in the ice mold is mainly in the cooling stage, and the strain caused by the expansion of the ice block is small or not obvious. After the cooling system 3 has been running for a preset delay time, the strain signal output by the strain sensor is acquired, which helps to improve the effective sampling ratio and reduce invalid data processing.

[0047] More preferably, after the cooling system 3 has been running for a preset delay period, the strain signal output by the strain sensor can be acquired according to a preset sampling period.

[0048] The preset sampling period can be determined based on the ice-making speed, ice mold material, ice mold size, strain sensor response speed, and controller processing capability.

[0049] Specifically, the ice container 2 may include multiple ice molds. The multiple ice molds may be arranged in an array, such as in a single row, multiple rows, matrix, or other regular / irregular arrangement.

[0050] The setup methods for strain sensors can include: Each ice mold is equipped with a strain sensor to monitor the freezing status of each ice mold. Alternatively, strain sensors can be installed on a portion of the ice mold, including a representative ice mold with the slowest ice-making speed.

[0051] More specifically, when each ice mold is equipped with a corresponding strain sensor, the strain signal of each ice mold can be obtained independently, thereby enabling independent monitoring of the freezing state of each ice mold. This method is suitable for ice-making equipment with high requirements for ice-making uniformity and the reliability of individual ice block de-icing.

[0052] More specifically, when strain sensors are installed on a portion of the ice mold, the portion of the ice mold may include the representative ice mold with the slowest ice-making speed.

[0053] Representative ice molds can be determined based on the ice-making speed of each ice mold in ice-making box 2, for example, based on the relative positions of different ice molds in ice-making box 2 with the ice-making vent, evaporator, or cooling path. Since ice molds farther from the ice-making vent usually receive cooling later or have a slower ice-making speed, representative ice molds can include the ice molds farthest from the ice-making vent.

[0054] By setting strain sensors on representative ice models, the reliability of overall freeze-thaw determination can be improved while reducing the number of sensors.

[0055] Preferably, the strain sensor can be attached to the center of the outer side or the center of the outer bottom of the ice mold.

[0056] More preferably, when the strain sensor is attached to the center of the outer surface of the ice mold, the strain sensor is used to monitor the tensile strain of the ice mold sidewall caused by the lateral expansion of the ice. During the freezing process, when the ice expands laterally, the sidewall of the ice mold produces a slight outward bulge deformation. The strain sensor attached to the center of the outer surface of the ice mold can sense this tensile strain and output a strain signal related to the degree of freezing.

[0057] This installation method is suitable for situations where the ice mold has thin sidewalls, significant lateral expansion, and where sensors can be easily attached to the side of the ice mold.

[0058] More preferably, when the strain sensor is attached to the center of the outer bottom surface of the ice mold, the strain sensor is used to monitor the micro-deformation of the bottom surface caused by the freezing expansion of the ice block.

[0059] This installation method is suitable for situations where the bottom surface of the ice mold is relatively flat, the side wall structure is complex, or it is inconvenient to install sensors on the side.

[0060] Specifically, the strain sensor can be a resistance strain gauge, a thin-film strain sensor, a flexible strain sensor, or other sensors capable of detecting minute elastic deformations on the outer surface of the ice mold.

[0061] The strain sensor is preferably placed on the outer surface of the ice mold without directly contacting the ice-making water, thereby reducing the impact of water quality changes, scaling, low-temperature immersion, or cleaning processes on the sensor's reliability.

[0062] Step 3: Perform signal processing on the strain signal to obtain digitized strain data.

[0063] Preferably, signal processing of the strain signal may include conditioning, amplifying, and analog-to-digital conversion of the strain signal to obtain digitized strain data.

[0064] More preferably, the raw strain signal output by the strain sensor is typically a weak electrical signal, and signal processing may include at least one of bridge circuit conversion, filtering, amplification, zero-point calibration, temperature drift compensation, and analog-to-digital conversion. After signal processing, digital strain data that is easy for the controller to recognize and calculate can be obtained.

[0065] Specifically, signal processing can be performed by a signal processing module. The signal processing module may include at least one of a signal conditioning circuit, an amplifier circuit, a filter circuit, an analog-to-digital converter circuit, and a communication interface.

[0066] The signal processing module is connected to the strain sensor to receive the strain signal output by the strain sensor and send the processed digital strain data to the controller.

[0067] For example, when the ice box 2 includes multiple ice molds and each ice mold is equipped with a strain sensor, the strain signals output by each strain sensor can be processed to obtain digital strain data corresponding to each ice mold.

[0068] The digital strain data corresponding to each ice model can be stored according to the sampling time and ice model number, so as to calculate the strain change rate and determine the freezing state later.

[0069] Step 4: Determine the strain rate of change at the current moment based on the strain data collected multiple times.

[0070] Preferably, the strain rate of change is used to characterize how quickly the strain data changes over time. During the freezing process, the volume expansion of water-ice phase change gradually acts on the ice mold wall, and the strain data usually changes with the freezing process; as the ice gradually approaches the frozen state, the trend of strain data change slows down. Therefore, the strain rate of change can be used as an auxiliary parameter to determine the freezing state.

[0071] More preferably, determining the strain change rate at the current moment based on strain data collected multiple times consecutively may include: determining the strain change rate based on the difference in strain data between adjacent sampling moments and the sampling time interval.

[0072] Specifically, the strain rate at the current sampling moment can be obtained by dividing the difference between the strain data at the current sampling moment and the strain data at the previous sampling moment by the time interval between the current sampling moment and the previous sampling moment.

[0073] For example, the current sampling time is The previous sampling time was The strain data at the current sampling time is The strain data at the previous sampling time was The rate of change of strain at the current moment can be determined by the following formula:

[0074] As a further example, moving average, linear fitting, or difference calculation can also be performed based on strain data from multiple consecutive sampling points to reduce the impact of noise at a single sampling point on the strain rate calculation results.

[0075] Step 5: Determine the freezing state of the ice in the ice box 2 based on the current strain data, strain change rate, preset freezing judgment threshold, and preset strain change rate threshold.

[0076] Preferably, judging the freezing state of the ice in the ice container 2 based on the strain data at the current moment, the strain change rate, the preset freezing judgment threshold, and the preset strain change rate threshold may include: Determine whether the strain data at the current moment is greater than or equal to the preset freeze threshold, and determine whether the strain change rate at the current moment is less than or equal to the preset strain change rate threshold.

[0077] More preferably, the ice cubes in the ice-making container 2 are determined to be frozen solid when at least one of the following conditions is met: The strain data at the current moment is greater than or equal to the preset freeze judgment threshold; The strain rate of change at the current moment is less than or equal to the preset strain rate of change threshold.

[0078] Specifically, if the strain data at the current moment is greater than or equal to the preset freezing judgment threshold, it means that the elastic deformation of the ice mold caused by the freezing expansion of the ice block has reached the preset freezing judgment requirement. If the strain rate of change at the current moment is less than or equal to the preset strain rate of change threshold, it indicates that the change in strain data is slowing down, and the strain change caused by the continued freezing of ice is already small.

[0079] If any of the above conditions are met, it can be determined that the ice in ice container 2 is frozen solid.

[0080] Specifically, the preset freezing threshold can be obtained through experimental calibration. Experimental calibration may include measuring the peak strain of the ice mold when the ice is completely frozen, and determining the baseline freezing threshold based on this peak strain. The baseline freezing threshold can be determined based on at least one of the following: ice mold material, ice mold wall thickness, ice mold structure, strain sensor installation location, and ice block size.

[0081] More specifically, the preset freezing threshold can be determined based on the baseline freezing threshold and the temperature compensation amount. The temperature compensation amount is determined based on the difference between the ambient temperature and the baseline ambient temperature, the temperature compensation coefficient, and the baseline freezing threshold. In other words, when the ambient temperature changes relative to the baseline ambient temperature, temperature compensation can be applied to the baseline freezing threshold to obtain a preset freezing threshold that is compatible with the current ambient temperature.

[0082] For example, a preset freeze determination threshold is set. It can be determined in the following way:

[0083] in, Indicates the baseline freeze determination threshold. Indicates the current ambient temperature. Indicates the reference ambient temperature. This represents the temperature compensation coefficient. The above formula is only an example. In practical applications, the preset freezing threshold can also be determined by segmented correction, table lookup correction, or model correction based on the ice model material, structural dimensions, and experimental calibration results.

[0084] As a further example, when the ice mold is an injection-molded engineering plastic ice mold, the peak strain when the ice is completely frozen can be measured experimentally, and a baseline freezing judgment threshold can be determined based on the peak strain of multiple experimental samples. If the current ambient temperature is higher than the baseline ambient temperature, the baseline freezing judgment threshold can be corrected according to the temperature compensation coefficient to improve the accuracy of the frozen solidity judgment.

[0085] Specifically, the preset strain rate threshold can be determined based on the preset quantile values ​​of multiple strain rate samples after the ice is completely frozen.

[0086] In other words, during the experimental calibration process, multiple strain rate of change samples can be collected after the ice is completely frozen, and a preset strain rate of change threshold can be determined based on the preset quantile values ​​of these multiple strain rate of change samples. The preset strain rate of change threshold determined in this way can reflect the characteristic of small changes in strain data after the ice is completely frozen.

[0087] For example, the preset quantile value can be set according to the control accuracy requirements, anti-misjudgment requirements, and ice removal reliability requirements of the ice-making equipment. For instance, when it is necessary to improve the ice removal reliability, a more conservative preset quantile value can be selected as the preset strain change rate threshold; when it is necessary to further shorten the ice-making cycle, the preset strain change rate threshold can be adjusted by combining the preset freezing judgment threshold and the historical operating data of the ice-making equipment.

[0088] Step 6: When it is determined that the ice in the ice box 2 is frozen, control the ice removal mechanism 1 to perform the demolding and ice removal action; when it is determined that there is ice in the ice box 2 that is not frozen, control the cooling system 3 to continue to supply cooling and continuously acquire the strain signal output by the strain sensor.

[0089] Preferably, when the ice in the ice container 2 is frozen, the controller can send an ice removal control command to the ice removal mechanism 1. The ice removal mechanism 1 responds to the ice removal control command by performing a demolding and ice discharge action to remove the ice from the ice mold and discharge it to the ice storage area.

[0090] More preferably, when it is determined that there are unfrozen ice blocks in the ice container 2, the controller controls the cooling system 3 to continue supplying cooling and maintains the acquisition, processing and judgment of strain signals until it is determined that the ice blocks have frozen solid or the preset abnormal exit conditions are met.

[0091] Specifically, the preset abnormal exit conditions may include at least one of the following: ice-making time exceeding the preset maximum ice-making time, abnormal strain sensor signal, abnormal operation of cooling system 3, or malfunction of de-icing mechanism 1. When the preset abnormal exit conditions are met, the ice-making equipment may stop the current ice-making cycle, issue an alarm message, or switch to protection control mode.

[0092] For example, when the output signal of the strain sensor remains at an abnormally low value, an abnormally high value, or changes intermittently for a long time, it can be determined that there is an abnormality in the strain sensor or the signal processing module, and the freeze-thaw judgment based on the strain signal can be stopped to avoid accidental de-icing or excessive cooling.

[0093] Example 2 This embodiment provides an ice-making control device for executing an ice-making control method as described in Embodiment 1. The ice-making control device is applied to an ice-making device, which includes an ice-removing mechanism 1, an ice-making box 2, a cooling system 3, and at least one strain sensor. The ice-making box 2 includes at least one ice mold, and the strain sensor is disposed on the outer surface of the ice mold.

[0094] The ice-making control device 4 includes a controller and a signal processing module.

[0095] The signal processing module is connected to the strain sensor and is used to process the strain signal output by the strain sensor to obtain digitized strain data; the strain signal is used to characterize the elastic deformation of the ice model caused by the volume expansion of the water-ice phase change.

[0096] Preferably, the signal processing module may include at least one of a signal conditioning unit, an amplification unit, a filtering unit, an analog-to-digital conversion unit, and a communication unit.

[0097] The signal conditioning unit is used to condition the raw strain signal; The amplification unit is used to amplify weak strain signals; The filtering unit is used to filter out noise interference; The analog-to-digital converter is used to convert analog signals into digital strain data; The communication unit is used to send digitized strain data to the controller.

[0098] The controller is connected to the signal processing module, the cooling system 3, and the de-icing mechanism 1. The controller controls the cooling system 3 to cool the ice mold after liquid water is injected, and acquires digitized strain data through the signal processing module after the cooling system 3 has been running for a preset delay time.

[0099] The controller is also used to determine the strain change rate at the current moment based on the strain data collected multiple times in succession, and to judge the freezing state of the ice in the ice box 2 based on the strain data at the current moment, the strain change rate, the preset freezing judgment threshold and the preset strain change rate threshold.

[0100] The controller is also used to control the ice removal mechanism 1 to perform the demolding and ice removal action when it is determined that the ice in the ice box 2 is frozen; and to control the cooling system 3 to continue to supply cooling and continuously acquire strain signals when it is determined that there is ice in the ice box 2 that is not frozen.

[0101] Preferably, the controller may include a processor, a memory, an input / output interface, and a control output interface. The memory may store a preset delay duration, a preset sampling period, a preset freezing determination threshold, a preset strain rate of change threshold, a temperature compensation coefficient, a reference ambient temperature, and a control program. The processor executes the control program to perform strain data processing, strain rate of change calculation, freezing state determination, and de-icing control.

[0102] More preferably, the controller can also be connected to an ambient temperature sensor to obtain the current ambient temperature and correct the baseline freezing threshold based on the current ambient temperature. The controller can also be connected to a display module or an alarm module to output prompt information when the ice-making cycle is completed, the sensor malfunctions, or the cooling system malfunctions.

[0103] Specifically, the ice-making control device 4 can be integrated into the main control board of the ice-making equipment, or it can be set up as an independent control board within the ice-making equipment. The signal processing module can be integrated with the controller on the same circuit board, or it can be used as an independent signal acquisition board to communicate with the controller.

[0104] Example 3 This embodiment provides an ice-making device. The ice-making device includes an ice-removing mechanism 1, an ice-making box 2, a cooling system 3, at least one strain sensor, and the ice-making control device 4 described in Embodiment 2.

[0105] The ice container 2 includes at least one ice mold. The ice mold is used to hold liquid water, and the liquid water is frozen into ice blocks by the cooling system 3.

[0106] A strain sensor is placed on the outer surface of the ice mold to collect strain signals generated by the volume expansion of the ice mold due to the phase change of water and ice. The strain sensor is preferably attached to the outer surface of the ice mold to monitor the elastic deformation of the ice mold without direct contact with the water used for ice making.

[0107] The cooling system 3 is used to cool the ice mold. The cooling system 3 may include a compressor 301, a condenser 302, a dryer filter 303 and an evaporator 304, and may also include a cooling damper, a heat exchange duct or other cooling structure.

[0108] The de-icing mechanism 1 is used to perform the demolding and ice removal action. The de-icing mechanism 1 can be an ice-twisting mechanism, an ice-lifting mechanism, a heating de-icing mechanism, or a combination of the above mechanisms, depending on the type of ice-making equipment.

[0109] The ice-making control device 4 is connected to the strain sensor, the cooling system 3 and the ice-removing mechanism 1 respectively. It is used to determine the freezing state of the ice in the ice box 2 based on the strain signal, and to control the cooling system 3 to continue to supply cooling or to control the ice-removing mechanism 1 to perform the demolding and ice-removing action based on the freezing state.

[0110] Preferably, such as Figure 4 As shown, the ice-making equipment may include an ice-removing mechanism 1, an ice-making box 2, a cooling system 3, and an ice-making control device 4. The ice-making control device 4 can receive strain signals output by strain sensors disposed on the outer surface of the ice mold in the ice-making box 2, and control the operation of the cooling system 3 and the ice-removing mechanism 1 according to the strain signals.

[0111] More preferably, the ice-making box 2 may include multiple ice molds, which may be evenly distributed within the ice-making box 2. Each ice mold may be equipped with a corresponding strain sensor, or strain sensors may be installed only on some of the ice molds. The "partial ice molds" may include a representative ice mold with the slowest ice-making speed, which may be the ice mold furthest from the ice-making vent.

[0112] Specifically, such as Figure 1As shown, multiple ice molds can be placed inside the ice-making box 2, and these ice molds can be arranged in two rows. For ease of explanation, the multiple ice molds can be denoted as Xi, where i is a positive integer representing the i-th ice mold; the corresponding strain sensor can be denoted as Yi, representing the i-th strain sensor. Xi and Yi are only used to illustrate the correspondence between the multiple ice molds and the multiple strain sensors, and are not used to limit the specific number of ice molds and strain sensors.

[0113] More specifically, when there are fourteen ice molds, the first row of ice molds can be designated as X1 to X7, and the second row of ice molds can be designated as X8 to X14. Each ice mold can be equipped with a corresponding strain sensor to independently monitor the freezing state of each ice mold. Alternatively, strain sensors can be installed only on one or more ice molds furthest from the ice-making vent to determine whether the ice in the ice-making box 2 has reached the demolding condition based on the ice mold with the slower ice-making speed.

[0114] Example 4 This embodiment provides a specific application example of an ice-making control method. This embodiment can be applied to an ice-making device comprising fourteen ice molds. Fourteen ice molds are arranged in two rows within the ice-making box 2. A strain sensor is attached to the center of the outer surface of each ice mold. The cooling system 3 includes a compressor 301, a condenser 302, a dryer filter 303, and an evaporator 304. The ice-making control device 4 includes a controller and a signal processing module.

[0115] After the ice-making cycle begins, the controller controls the water inlet structure to inject a fixed amount of liquid water into each ice mold and controls the cooling system 3 to start. After the cooling system 3 starts running, the liquid water in the ice mold gradually cools down and begins to freeze.

[0116] Once the cooling system 3 has been running for a preset delay, the controller begins acquiring the strain signals output by each strain sensor through the signal processing module. Each strain sensor detects the tensile strain on the outer surface of the corresponding ice mold caused by the lateral expansion of the ice block and outputs the corresponding strain signal. The signal processing module conditions, amplifies, and converts each strain signal to digital data corresponding to each ice mold.

[0117] The controller calculates the strain rate of change at the current moment based on strain data collected multiple times consecutively. Specifically, the controller determines the strain rate of change based on the difference in strain data between adjacent sampling moments and the sampling time interval.

[0118] The controller determines whether the strain data at the current moment is greater than or equal to a preset freezing threshold, and whether the strain change rate at the current moment is less than or equal to a preset strain change rate threshold. When the strain data at the current moment is greater than or equal to the preset freezing threshold, or the strain change rate at the current moment is less than or equal to the preset strain change rate threshold, the controller determines that the ice in the ice-making box 2 is frozen solid, and controls the de-icing mechanism 1 to perform the demolding and ice removal action. When neither of the above conditions is met, the controller determines that there is ice in the ice-making box 2 that is not frozen solid, controls the cooling system 3 to continue cooling, and continues to acquire strain signals.

[0119] In this application example, a preset freeze determination threshold is used. The results were obtained through experimental calibration. Specifically, an injection-molded engineering plastic ice mold can be used as a reference ice mold, such as an ice mold made of ABS material, whose elastic modulus E is approximately 2.5 GPa. The peak strain on the outer surface of the ice mold when the ice is completely frozen was measured experimentally. The typical range of the peak strain when the ice is completely frozen is 800°C. Up to 1200 Based on this strain peak range, a preset freezing threshold can be determined. Take 1000 This fixed threshold is applicable to operating conditions with an ambient temperature of 25℃±5℃.

[0120] Furthermore, considering that changes in ambient temperature may affect the elastic response of the ice mold material, the ice-making speed, and the stress state of the ice mold, a preset freezing threshold can be set based on the ambient temperature. Dynamic corrections are performed. For example, when the ambient temperature... When the temperature is above 25℃, a preset freezing threshold is set. It can be determined using the following formula:

[0121] For example, when the ambient temperature The preset freezing threshold is set at 35℃. It can be calculated using the following formula:

[0122] Therefore, when the ambient temperature rises, the preset freezing threshold can be appropriately increased. This is to make the frozen state judgment result more consistent with the current environmental conditions.

[0123] In this application example, a preset strain rate threshold is used. The strain rate is determined based on the characteristics of the strain signal after freezing. Specifically, after the ice block is frozen solid, the strain data on the outer surface of the ice mold changes slowly, and the strain rate approaches zero. Therefore, multiple strain rate samples can be collected after the ice block is completely frozen during the experimental calibration process, and the 95th percentile value of these multiple strain rate samples can be used as the preset strain rate threshold. For example, a preset strain rate threshold is used. You can take 0.5. This fixed threshold can be used to determine whether the current rate of strain change has decreased to the level of change after the ice has frozen solid.

[0124] In this embodiment, a strain sensor mounted on the outer surface of the ice mold can directly monitor the elastic deformation of the ice mold caused by the freezing expansion of the ice block, and determine whether the ice block is frozen solid based on the strain data and the rate of change of strain. Since the strain sensor does not directly contact the ice-making water and there is no need for mechanical ice-detecting components, it improves the reliability of ice-making status judgment and reduces the risk of mechanical wear and jamming. Simultaneously, timely demolding and ice removal upon determining that the ice block is frozen helps reduce excessive freezing time margin and improves ice-making efficiency.

[0125] This disclosure can be a system, method, and / or computer program product. A computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions loaded thereon for causing a processor to implement various aspects of this disclosure.

[0126] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can still be made to the specific implementation of the present invention. Any modifications or equivalent substitutions that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be covered within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ice-making control method applied to an ice-making device, the ice-making device comprising an ice-removing mechanism (1), an ice-making box (2), a cooling system (3), and at least one strain sensor, the ice-making box (2) comprising at least one ice mold, the strain sensor being disposed on the outer surface of the ice mold, characterized in that, include: Liquid water is injected into the ice mold, and the cooling system (3) is controlled to cool the ice mold; After the cooling system (3) has been running for a preset delay time, the strain signal output by the strain sensor is acquired; wherein, the strain signal is used to characterize the elastic deformation of the ice mold caused by the volume expansion of water-ice phase change; The strain signal is processed to obtain digitized strain data; Based on the strain data collected multiple times consecutively, the strain rate of change at the current moment is determined; The freezing state of the ice in the ice box (2) is determined based on the strain data at the current moment, the strain change rate, the preset freezing judgment threshold, and the preset strain change rate threshold. When it is determined that the ice in the ice box (2) is frozen, the ice removal mechanism (1) is controlled to perform the demolding and ice removal action; when it is determined that there is ice in the ice box (2) that is not frozen, the cooling system (3) is controlled to continue to supply cooling and continuously acquire the strain signal output by the strain sensor.

2. The ice-making control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ice-making box (2) includes multiple ice molds, and the strain sensor is configured in the following ways: Each of the ice molds is equipped with a corresponding strain sensor to monitor the freezing state of each ice mold. Alternatively, the strain sensor can be installed on a portion of the ice mold, including a representative ice mold with the slowest ice-making speed.

3. The ice-making control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The representative ice mold is determined based on the ice-making speed of each ice mold in the ice-making box (2); The representative ice molds include those furthest from the ice-making vent.

4. The ice-making control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The strain sensor is attached to the center of the outer side or the center of the outer bottom of the ice mold. When the strain sensor is attached to the center of the outer side of the ice mold, the strain sensor is used to monitor the tensile strain of the sidewall of the ice mold caused by the lateral expansion of the ice block; When the strain sensor is attached to the center of the outer bottom surface of the ice mold, the strain sensor is used to monitor the micro-deformation of the bottom surface caused by the freezing expansion of the ice block.

5. The ice-making control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Acquiring the strain signal output by the strain sensor includes: After the cooling system (3) has been running for a certain period of time, the strain signal output by the strain sensor is obtained according to the preset sampling period.

6. The ice-making control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Determining the strain rate of change at the current moment based on the strain data collected multiple times consecutively includes: The strain change rate is determined based on the difference in strain data between adjacent sampling times and the sampling time interval.

7. The ice-making control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Based on the strain data at the current moment, the strain change rate, the preset freezing judgment threshold, and the preset strain change rate threshold, the freezing state of the ice in the ice-making box (2) is determined, including: Determine whether the strain data at the current moment is greater than or equal to the preset freeze determination threshold, and determine whether the strain change rate at the current moment is less than or equal to the preset strain change rate threshold; The ice in the ice container (2) is considered to be frozen solid when at least one of the following conditions is met: The strain data at the current moment is greater than or equal to the preset freeze determination threshold; The strain rate of change at the current moment is less than or equal to the preset strain rate of change threshold.

8. The ice-making control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The preset freezing threshold is obtained through experimental calibration, which includes measuring the peak strain of the ice mold when the ice is completely frozen, and determining the benchmark freezing threshold based on the peak strain. The preset freezing threshold is determined based on the benchmark freezing threshold and the temperature compensation amount. The temperature compensation amount is determined based on the difference between the ambient temperature and the benchmark ambient temperature, the temperature compensation coefficient, and the benchmark freezing threshold. The preset strain rate threshold is determined based on the preset quantile values ​​of multiple strain rate samples after the ice is completely frozen.

9. An ice-making control device for executing an ice-making control method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The ice-making control device (4) includes a controller and a signal processing module; The signal processing module is connected to the strain sensor and is used to process the strain signal output by the strain sensor to obtain digitized strain data; wherein, the strain signal is used to characterize the elastic deformation of the ice mold caused by the volume expansion due to the phase change of water and ice. The controller is connected to the signal processing module, the cooling system (3) and the de-icing mechanism (1) respectively, and is used to control the cooling system (3) to cool the ice mold after liquid water is injected, and to obtain the digitized strain data through the signal processing module after the running time of the cooling system (3) reaches the preset delay time. The controller is also used to determine the strain change rate at the current moment based on the strain data collected multiple times in succession, and to judge the freezing state of the ice in the ice box (2) based on the strain data at the current moment, the strain change rate, the preset freezing judgment threshold and the preset strain change rate threshold. The controller is also used to control the ice removal mechanism (1) to perform the demolding and ice removal action when it is determined that the ice in the ice box (2) has frozen; and to control the cooling system (3) to continue to supply cooling and continuously acquire the strain signal when it is determined that there is ice in the ice box (2) that has not frozen.

10. An ice-making device, characterized in that, Includes an ice-removing mechanism (1), an ice-making box (2), a cooling system (3), at least one strain sensor, and an ice-making control device as described in claim 9; The ice-making box (2) includes at least one ice mold; The strain sensor is disposed on the outer surface of the ice mold and is used to collect the strain signal generated by the volume expansion of the ice mold due to the phase change of water and ice. The cooling system (3) is used to cool the ice mold; The de-icing mechanism (1) is used to perform the demolding and ice removal action; The ice-making control device (4) is connected to the strain sensor, the cooling system (3) and the de-icing mechanism (1) respectively. It is used to determine the freezing state of the ice in the ice box (2) according to the strain signal, and to control the cooling system (3) to continue to supply cooling or to control the de-icing mechanism (1) to perform the demolding and ice removal action according to the freezing state.

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