Refrigerator control method and system with inverter compressor

• US 10,739,066 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2016
• Issued: 08/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qingdao Haier Joint Stock Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Qingdao Haier Joint Stock Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Ji, Lisheng, Liu, Jianru, Zhu, Xiaobing, Qi, Feifei, Zhang, Shufeng, Zhao, Caiyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Landrum, Edward F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Comings, Daniel C
• Application Number:
  US15/770,202
• Publication Number:
  US 20180266755A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,516 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2500/19 Calculation of parameters
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/021 Inverters therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/0253 with variable speed
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 49/022 Compressor control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 49/025 Motor control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/023 Air curtain closures
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/12 Arrangements of compartments additional to cooling compartments; Combinations of refrigerators with other equipment, e.g. stove
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2600/06 Controlling according to a predetermined profile
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2700/12 Sensors measuring the inside temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/00 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/005 Mounting of control devices

Abstract

A control method and control system of a refrigerator with an inverter compressor. The control method includes: calculating the total cooling amount needed by a compartment to be cooled within a unit time; taking the total cooling amount as a first power of the inverter compressor and calculating a first frequency of the inverter compressor operating at the first power; and controlling the inverter compressor to operate at the first frequency. The present invention effectively controls the power consumption amount while satisfying the refrigerator cooling condition by calculating the total cooling amount needed by a refrigerator compartment within a unit time and adjusting the frequency of the inverter compressor.

Claims

1. A control method of a refrigerator adopting an inverter compressor, comprising:

calculating a total cooling amount needed by a compartment to be cooled within a unit time;

taking the total cooling amount as a first power of the inverter compressor and calculating a first frequency of the inverter compressor operating at the first power; and

controlling the inverter compressor to operate at the first frequency;

wherein the control method further comprises a method for determining the compartment to be cooled which is;

monitoring the compartment temperature T in each compartment;

comparing the compartment temperature in the compartment to a preset compartment temperature threshold T0 corresponding to each compartment; and

if the compartment temperature T is greater than the corresponding preset compartment temperature threshold T0, then deeming that the compartment needs to be cooled; and

if the compartment temperature T is less than or equal to the corresponding preset compartment temperature threshold T0, then deeming that the compartment does not need to be cooled;

monitoring whether the compartment to be cooled has changed; and

if yes, then recalculating the total cooling amount needed by the compartment to be cooled within the unit time, taking the current total cooling amount as a second power of the inverter compressor, calculating a second frequency of the inverter compressor operating at the second power, and controlling the inverter compressor to operate at the second frequency; and

if not, then controlling the inverter compressor to continue operating at the first frequency;

after the inverter compressor has operated for a predetermined period of time, recalculating the total cooling amount needed by the compartment to be cooled within the unit time;

taking the current total cooling amount as a third power of the inverter compressor and calculating a third frequency of the inverter compressor operating at the third power;

controlling the inverter compressor to operate at the third frequency; and

repeating the recalculation of the total cooling amount at every time when the inverter compressor operates at the third frequency for the predetermined period of time, and updating the third frequency based on the repeated recalculation of the total cooling amount, the third frequency being less than the first frequency.

2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein calculating the total cooling amount needed by the compartment to be cooled within the unit time comprises:

calculating heat conducted by heat conduction walls of each compartment to be cooled out of at least two compartments to be cooled within the unit time, the calculation formula of the heat conducted by each heat conduction wall being;

Φ

=λ

AΔ

T/δ

;

where Φ

is the heat conducted by the heat conduction wall within the unit time, A is the area of the heat conduction wall, λ

, is the heat conduction rate of the heat conduction wall, δ

is the thickness of the heat conduction wall, and Δ

T is the temperature difference between two surfaces of the heat conduction wall, that is, the difference between the ambient temperature and the compartment temperature;

calculating the sum of the heat conducted by the heat conduction walls of each compartment to be cooled to obtain the cooling amount needed by the compartments to be cooled; and

calculating the sum of the cooling amounts needed by the at least two compartments to be cooled to obtain the total cooling amount.

3. The control method according to claim 1, wherein monitoring whether the compartment to be cooled has changed is:

monitoring whether the state of an air door in a cooling loop of a single-cooling system air-cooled refrigerator has changed.

4. The control method according to claim 1, wherein monitoring whether the compartment to be cooled has changed is:

monitoring whether at least one of states of air doors in cooling loops of a multi-cooling system air-cooled refrigerator has changed.

5. A control system of a refrigerator adopting an inverter compressor, comprising:

a temperature monitoring device and a main control board connected to the temperature monitoring device, wherein;

the temperature monitoring device comprises;

a first temperature monitoring device provided external to the refrigerator for monitoring an operating ambient temperature of the refrigerator and a plurality of second temperature monitoring devices respectively provided in compartments of the refrigerator for monitoring compartment temperatures in the compartments; and

the main control board is configured for;

calculating a total cooling amount needed by a compartment to be cooled within a unit time;

taking the total cooling amount as a first power of the inverter compressor and calculating a first frequency of the inverter compressor operating at the first power;

controlling the inverter compressor to operate at the first frequency;

comparing the compartment temperature in the compartment to a preset compartment temperature threshold T0 corresponding to each compartment; and

if the compartment temperature T is greater than the corresponding preset compartment temperature threshold T0, then deeming that the compartment needs to be cooled; and

if the compartment temperature T is less than or equal to the corresponding preset compartment temperature threshold T0, then deeming that the compartment does not need to be cooled;

monitoring whether the compartment to be cooled has changed;

if yes, then recalculating the total cooling amount needed by the compartment to be cooled within the unit time, taking the current total cooling amount as a second power of the inverter compressor, calculating a second frequency of the inverter compressor operating at the second power, and controlling the inverter compressor to operate at the second frequency; and

if not, then controlling the inverter compressor to continue operating at the first frequency;

after the inverter compressor has operated for a predetermined period of time, recalculating the total cooling amount needed by the compartment to be cooled within the unit time;

taking the current total cooling amount as a third power of the inverter compressor and calculating a third frequency of the inverter compressor operating at the third power;

controlling the inverter compressor to operate at the third frequency; and

repeating the recalculation of the total cooling amount at every time when the inverter compressor operates at the third frequency for the predetermined period of time, and updating the third frequency based on the repeated recalculation of the total cooling amount;

the third frequency being less than the first frequency.

6. The control system according to claim 5, wherein the main control board is further configured for:

calculating heat conducted by heat conduction walls of each compartment to be cooled out of at least two compartments to be cooled within the unit time, the calculation formula of the heat conducted by each heat conduction wall being;

Φ

=λ

AΔ

T/δ

;

where Φ

is the heat conducted by the heat conduction wall within a unit time, A is the area of the heat conduction wall, λ

, is the heat conduction rate of the heat conduction wall, δ

is the thickness of the heat conduction wall, and Δ

T is the temperature difference between two surfaces of the heat conduction wall, that is, the difference between the ambient temperature and the compartment temperature;

calculating the sum of the heat conducted by the heat conduction walls of each compartment to be cooled to obtain the cooling amounts respectively needed by the compartments to be cooled; and

calculating the sum of the cooling amounts needed by the at least two compartments to be cooled to obtain the total cooling amount.

7. The control system according to claim 5, wherein the main control board is further configured for monitoring whether the state of an air door in a cooling loop of a single-system air-cooled refrigerator has changed.

8. The control system according to claim 5, wherein the main control board is further configured for monitoring whether at least one of states of air doors in cooling loops of a multi-system air-cooled refrigerator has changed.