DEFROSTING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF REFRIGERATION

• US 20110094245A1
• Filed: 10/22/2010
• Published: 04/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Innotek Company Limited (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Innotek Company Limited (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Seoyoung
• Granted Patent: US 9,423,169 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/80
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 21/02 Detecting the presence of frost or condensate

Abstract

Disclosed is a defrosting system and a defrosting method of a refrigerator, the system including an evaporator configured to reduce an ambient temperature by heat exchange through movement of refrigerant, a frost monitoring camera by photographing a state of frost adhered to the evaporator, a controller configured to grasp changes of an image captured by the frost monitoring camera to determine a defrosting start time, and a heat-generating unit configured to emit heat in response to a signal applied from the controller to remove the frost, whereby an unnecessary operation of a heat-generating unit is prevented by appropriately coping with an environment that flexibly changes according to an inner situation of a refrigerator and by accurately determining, by the controller, a start time and a completion time of defrosting operation for removing frost adhered to the refrigerator.

Claims

1. A defrosting system of a refrigerator, comprising:

an evaporator configured to reduce an ambient temperature by heat exchange through movement of refrigerant;

a frost monitoring camera by photographing a state of frost adhered to the evaporator;

a controller configured to grasp changes of an image captured by the frost monitoring camera to determine a defrosting start time; and

a heat-generating unit configured to emit heat in response to a signal applied from the controller to remove the frost.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller compares a photographing start time of the frost monitoring camera with an RGB value of an image captured at a predetermined time interval to determine a defrosting start time.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the defrosting start time is determined by comparing at least one of the frost photographing start time, a gray scale change value of an image captured at the predetermined time interval, a black color ratio and a white color ratio, with a pre-set threshold value.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the frost monitoring camera further includes an illuminating unit configured to illuminate the frost.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the heat generating unit is a heater configured to generate a heat generator, or a steam generator configured to inject a steam, in a case a power is applied

6. A defrosting system of a refrigerator, comprising:

an evaporator configured to reduce an ambient temperature by heat exchange through movement of refrigerant;

a frost monitoring camera by photographing a state of frost adhered to the evaporator;

a controller configured to grasp changes of an image captured by the frost monitoring camera to determine a defrosting start time and a defrosting completion time; and

a heat-generating unit configured to emit heat in response to a signal applied from the controller to remove the frost.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the controller compares a photographing start time of the frost monitoring camera with an RGB value of an image captured at a predetermined time interval to determine a defrosting start time.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the defrosting start time is determined by comparing at least one of the frost photographing start time, a gray scale change value of an image captured at the predetermined time interval, a black color ratio and a white color ratio, with a pre-set threshold value.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the controller compares the defrosting start time of the heat generating unit with an RGB value of an image captured at a pre-set time interval to determine a defrosting completion time.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the defrosting completion time is determined by comparing at least one of the defrosting start time of the heat generating unit, a gray scale change value of an image photographed at the predetermined time interval, a changed value of the black color ratio and a changed value of the white color ratio, with a pre-set threshold value.

11. A defrosting method of a refrigerator, comprising:

photographing a state of frost adhered to an evaporator;

grasping whether a gray scale change value of the photographed image is greater than a threshold value to determine a defrosting start time; and

emitting a heat to the evaporator to remove the frost if it is determined that the gray scale change value is greater than the threshold value.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising illuminating the frost when the state of the frost is photographed by a frost monitoring camera, where the state of frost is photographed by the frost monitoring camera.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the gray scale change value is a change value of gray scale color determined in an RGB value of the photographed image at the photograph start time as time lapses.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising removing an embedded humidity of the frost monitoring camera or a frost generated inside the frost monitoring camera by turning on the power of the frost monitoring camera, if it is determined that the power of the frost monitoring camera is turned off over a predetermined period of time.

15. A defrosting method of a refrigerator, comprising:

photographing a state of frost adhered to an evaporator;

grasping whether a gray scale change value of the photographed image is greater than a threshold value to determine a defrosting start time;

emitting a heat to the evaporator to remove the frost if it is determined that the gray scale change value is greater than the threshold value;

determining a defrosting completion time by determining whether the gray change value is less than the threshold value; and

stopping the defrosting operation if it is determined that the gray change value is less than the threshold value.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising illuminating the frost when the state of the frost is photographed by the frost monitoring camera, where the state of frost is photographed by the frost monitoring camera.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the gray scale change value is a change value of gray scale color determined in an RGB value of the photographed image at the photograph start time as time lapses.