CN106855332B

CN106855332B - Refrigeration equipment and working method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN106855332B
Application number: CN201510902525.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王永红; 鲁松涛
Original assignee: Bo Xihua Electric Jiangsu Co Ltd; BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: Bo Xihua Electric Jiangsu Co Ltd; BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2015-12-09
Filing date: 2015-12-09
Publication date: 2021-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 2035-12-09
Also published as: CN106855332A

Abstract

A refrigerating apparatus and an operating method thereof, wherein the refrigerating apparatus includes: a body (10); a first door (12) and a second door (13); a beam (14) pivotally connected to the free end and rotatable about an axis of rotation (X) between a retracted position and an extended position, the beam (14) being in the extended position when the first door (12) is closed, the beam (14) being rotatable from the extended position to the retracted position when the first door (12) is opened; a locking unit (15) for locking the beam (14) in a retracted position when the first door (12) is in the open position; the working method of the refrigeration equipment comprises the following steps: controlling a locking unit (15) to lock the beam (14) at the retracted position based on a door opening signal of the first door (12); a locking unit (15) is controlled to release the locking of the beam (14) based on a door closing signal of the first door (12). The refrigeration equipment and the working method thereof are beneficial to improving the user experience.

Description

Refrigeration equipment and working method thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to a refrigeration device and a working method thereof.

Background

A refrigerator includes: a body; the first door and the second door which are provided with the ground are opposite, and the first door is provided with a free end far away from a rotating shaft of the first door; a beam rotatably connected to the free end. In the first door-closed state, the beam is in the deployed position to act as a seal between the first door and the second door; when the first door is opened, the beam is gradually rotated to the retracted position under the guidance of the guide mechanism, and is returned to the deployed position from the retracted position after the first door is completely opened.

When the first door and the second door are closed, the first door is closed first, and then the second door is closed, and the first door and the second door are closed easily because the beam is in the unfolding position. However, when the user closes the second door first, at this time, because the beam is in the unfolded position, the beam interferes with the second door in the closing process of the first door, so that the first door cannot be closed, which brings inconvenience to the user and is poor in user experience.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to solve the problems in the prior art and provides refrigeration equipment which is beneficial to improving user experience.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method of operating a refrigeration apparatus, wherein the refrigeration apparatus includes: a body having a front opening;

a first door and a second door, which are arranged on the front opening in a split manner, wherein the first door is provided with a free end far away from the rotating shaft of the first door;

a beam pivotally connected to said free end and rotatable about an axis of rotation between a retracted position and an extended position, said beam being in said extended position when said first door is closed and said beam being rotatable from said extended position to said retracted position when said first door is opened;

a locking unit to lock the beam at the retracted position when the first door is at the open position;

the working method of the refrigeration equipment comprises the following steps:

controlling the locking unit to lock the beam at the retracted position based on a door opening signal of the first door;

and controlling the locking unit to release the locking of the beam based on a door closing signal of the first door.

Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme has the following advantages:

after the first door is opened, an opening signal is generated and the locking unit is controlled to lock the beam at the retreat position based on the opening signal, and the beam is always locked at the retreat position until the closing signal of the first door. Thus, when it is desired to close the first door and the second door, if the second door is closed first, the beam is locked in the retracted position without interfering with the second door. When the first door needs to be closed, a door closing signal is generated, and the locking unit is controlled to release the locking of the beam based on the door closing signal, so that the beam rotates from the retreated position to the unfolded position when the first door is closed, and the first door is not prevented from being closed continuously. Therefore, by using the working method of the refrigeration equipment, the sequence of the first door and the second door when the first door and the second door are closed is not limited, so that the door can be easily closed, the use by a user is facilitated, and the user experience is good.

Furthermore, the beam is locked against rotation in the retracted position, and even if the user forcibly pulls the beam, the beam remains in the retracted position, which reduces the likelihood that the first door will be closed when the beam is in the deployed position, which in turn may increase the service life of the refrigeration appliance.

Optionally, the operation method of the refrigeration equipment comprises the following steps:

detecting whether the first door is opened for a predetermined time and/or whether the first door is opened to a first predetermined angle, and generating the door opening signal after detecting that the first door is opened for the predetermined time and/or the first door is opened to the first predetermined angle. The scheme sets the preset time and/or the first preset angle, the door opening signal is generated only after the first door is opened and the preset time is opened and/or the first preset angle is opened, the locking unit acts to lock the beam, and therefore the locking action of the locking unit is controlled intelligently and accurately.

Optionally, the detecting whether the first door is opened for a predetermined time includes: detecting whether the first door has an opening motion, and whether the predetermined time has elapsed since the first door has the opening motion. Since the beam has not reached the retreat position when the first door starts to be opened, the control unit sends a control command to lock the beam at the retreat position after the first door is opened for a predetermined time. This effectively prevents the locking unit from starting to lock the beam once it has not reached the retracted position and causing the beam to be unable to rotate back to the retracted position.

Optionally, detecting whether the first door is opened to the first predetermined angle comprises:

detecting whether the first door has an opening action and generating a first door signal after detecting that the first door has the opening action; and

detecting whether the first gate reaches the first predetermined angle after the first gate signal;

determining that the first door is opened to the first predetermined angle after detecting that the first door reaches the first predetermined angle for the first time. Because the opening and closing process of the first door comprises the opening step and the closing step, the first door can pass through the position of the first preset angle twice when being opened and closed, wherein the first preset angle after the first door is opened means that the first door is opened to the first preset angle.

Optionally, after the first door signal, if it is detected that the first door is at the first predetermined angle for the second time, the door closing signal is generated. And detecting that the first door is positioned at the first preset angle for the second time, determining that the beam needs to rotate from the retreating position to the unfolding position, and generating a door closing signal at the moment, wherein the generation time of the door closing signal is proper.

Optionally, the operation method of the refrigeration equipment comprises the following steps: detecting whether the first door is closed to a first predetermined angle, and generating the door closing signal after detecting that the first door is closed to the first predetermined angle. This achieves that the locking unit releases the precise control of the locking of the beam.

Optionally, detecting whether the first door is closed to the first predetermined angle comprises:

detecting whether the first door has an opening action and generating a first door signal after detecting that the first door has the opening action;

detecting whether the first gate is at the first predetermined angle after the first gate signal;

determining that the first door is closed to the first predetermined angle after detecting that the first door is at the first predetermined angle for the second time. This enables accurate detection of whether the first door is closed to the first predetermined angle.

The present invention also provides a refrigerating apparatus, comprising: a body having a front opening;

a control unit;

the control unit is used for: controlling the locking unit to lock the beam at the retracted position based on a door opening signal of the first door;

releasing the locking of the beam based on a door closing signal of the first door.

Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme has the following advantages:

by means of the refrigeration equipment, after the first door is opened, the control unit generates the door opening signal and controls the locking unit to lock the beam at the retreating position based on the door opening signal, and the beam is always locked at the retreating position until the door closing signal of the first door is received. Thus, when it is desired to close the first door and the second door, if the second door is closed first, the beam is locked in the retracted position without interfering with the second door. When the first door needs to be closed when the door is closed, the control unit generates a door closing signal and controls the locking unit to release the locking of the beam based on the door closing signal, so that the beam gradually rotates from the retracted position to the unfolded position when the first door is closed, and the first door is not prevented from being closed continuously. Therefore, by using the refrigeration equipment, the sequence of the first door and the second door when the doors are closed is not limited, so that the doors can be easily closed, the use by a user is facilitated, and the user experience is good.

Furthermore, the beam is locked against rotation in the retracted position, and even if the user forcibly pulls the beam, the beam remains in the retracted position, which fundamentally reduces the possibility that the first door is closed when the beam is in the deployed position, and thus may increase the service life of the refrigeration appliance.

Optionally, the control unit is configured to: and when the first door is detected to be opened for a preset time and/or the first door is opened to a first preset angle, generating the door opening signal. Thus, the control unit generates a door opening signal based on the set preset time and/or the first preset angle, and the control unit accurately controls the locking unit to lock the beam at the retreated position.

Optionally, the refrigeration device further comprises:

the first door detection unit is used for detecting whether the first door has an opening action or not and generating a first door signal when the first door is detected to have the opening action;

the control unit is used for: receiving the first gate signal and starting timing to the predetermined time when receiving the first gate signal. The first door detection unit and the control unit communicate to enable accurate calculation of the predetermined time.

Optionally, the refrigeration device further comprises:

a second door detection unit for detecting whether the first door is at the first predetermined angle and generating a first predetermined angle signal after detecting that the first door is at the first predetermined angle;

the control unit is used for: receiving the first gate signal and the first predetermined angle signal, and determining that the first gate is opened to the first predetermined angle after the first gate signal is received for the first time. In this way, the control unit learns whether the first door is opened or not from the first door detection unit, and learns that the first door reaches the first predetermined angle for the first time from the second door detection unit after the first door signal to determine that the first door is opened to the first predetermined angle, and then generates the door opening signal. This enables an accurate detection of whether the first door is opened to the first predetermined angle.

Optionally, the control unit is further configured to: generating the door-closing signal after receiving the first predetermined angle signal a second time after the first door signal. The control unit learns that the first door reaches the first preset angle for the second time from the second door detection unit after the first door signal so as to determine that the first door is closed and is closed to the first preset angle, and then generates a door closing signal, so that the time for generating the door closing signal by the control unit is accurate.

Optionally, the control unit is configured to: and generating the door closing signal when the first door is detected to be closed to the first preset angle.

Optionally, the refrigeration device further comprises:

the control unit is used for: receiving the first gate signal and the first predetermined angle signal, and determining that the first gate is closed to the first predetermined angle after receiving the first predetermined angle signal a second time after the first gate signal.

Optionally, the second door sensing unit is provided in association with a hinge assembly of the first door. For example, the second door sensing unit may include a magnetic member on one of the hinge cover of the hinge assembly and the first door and a magnetic sensor on the other of the hinge cover and the first door, and the magnetic sensor may generate and transmit a first predetermined angle signal to the control unit only when the first door is positioned at a first predetermined angle.

Optionally, the locking unit includes a driving element and a locking portion, the driving element drives the locking portion to lock the beam at the retracted position based on the door opening signal, and reversely drives the locking portion to unlock the beam based on the door closing signal.

Optionally, the driving member comprises a solenoid valve that is energized based on the door opening signal to effect driving of the latching portion to latch the beam, and de-energized based on the door closing signal to effect reverse driving of the latching portion to release latching of the beam.

Optionally, the driving member comprises a linear motor, and the linear motor is applied with a current in one direction to drive the locking part to be locked based on the door opening signal, and is applied with another current in the opposite direction to drive the locking part to be unlocked based on the door closing signal.

Optionally, the locking portion is non-rotatable relative to one of the first door and the beam, and the locking unit further comprises a locking aperture non-rotatable relative to the other of the first door and the beam, the locking portion being aligned with the locking aperture when the beam is in the retracted position and being offset from the locking aperture when the beam is in the deployed position.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigeration apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention when both first and second doors provided in a half-opened state are opened;

fig. 2 is a perspective view of a locking unit provided to a first door in the cooling apparatus of fig. 1 when locking a girder;

fig. 3 is a perspective view of a locking unit provided to the first door in the refrigeration apparatus of fig. 1 when the locking of the beam is released;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the positional relationship between the door sensing unit and the hinge assembly of the first door in the refrigeration appliance of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the communication relationship between the control unit and the first and second door sensing units in the control strategy of the first embodiment of the refrigeration appliance of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the communication relationship between the control unit and the first door detection unit and the second door detection unit in the control strategy of the second embodiment of the refrigeration appliance of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a second guide having a guide slot for one embodiment of the refrigeration unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a schematic partial perspective view of the refrigeration unit of FIG. 1 with the guide protrusion of the beam in a retracted position entering the guide slot when the first door is closed;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the relative positional relationship between the latch portion and the hinge unit of the beam of FIG. 2 in a latched condition;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the relative positional relationship between the locking portion and the hinge unit when the locking of the beam shown in FIG. 3 is released;

fig. 11 is a schematic view showing a positional relationship between hinge units of a first door and a beam in a refrigerating apparatus according to another embodiment;

fig. 12 is a flowchart of a method of operating the refrigeration appliance of the first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a flowchart for detecting whether the first door is opened to the first predetermined angle in step S1 shown in fig. 12;

FIG. 14 is a flow chart of a method of operating a refrigeration unit in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 15 is a flowchart of detecting whether the first door is opened for a predetermined time in step S1 shown in fig. 14;

fig. 16 is a flow chart of a method of operating a refrigeration unit in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

The invention provides a refrigeration device and a working method thereof, and with reference to fig. 1 to 3, the refrigeration device comprises: a body 10 having a front opening 11;

a first door 12 and a second door 13 which are oppositely arranged at the front opening 11, wherein the first door 12 is provided with a free end A far away from the rotating shaft of the first door 12, and the free end A is one end of the first door 12 facing the second door 13 when the first door 12 and the second door 13 are both closed;

a beam 14 pivotally connected to the free end a and rotatable about an axis of rotation X between a retracted position and an extended position, the beam 14 being in the extended position when the first door 12 is closed, said beam 14 being rotatable from the extended position to the retracted position when the first door 12 is opened;

a locking unit 15 to lock the beam 14 in a retracted position when the first door 12 is in the open position;

a control unit;

the control unit is used for: controlling the locking unit 15 to lock the beam 14 at the retreat position based on the door opening signal of the first door 12;

the locking of the beam 14 is released based on the door-closing signal of the first door 12.

Compared with the prior art, with the refrigeration equipment of the technical scheme, after the first door 12 is opened, the control unit generates the door opening signal and controls the locking unit 15 to lock the beam 14 at the retreating position based on the door opening signal, and the beam 14 is always locked at the retreating position until the door closing signal of the first door 12. Thus, when it is necessary to close the first door 12 and the second door 13, if the second door 13 is closed first, the beam 14 is locked at the retracted position without interfering with the second door 13. When it is desired to close the first door 12, the control unit generates a door-closing signal and unlocks the beam 14 based on the door-closing signal, such that the beam 14 gradually rotates from the retracted position to the deployed position as the first door 12 closes, such that there is no obstruction to the closing of the first door 12. Therefore, in the refrigeration equipment, the sequence of the first door 12 and the second door 13 when being closed is not limited, so that the door can be easily closed, the use by a user is facilitated, and the user experience is good.

Moreover, the beam 14 is locked against rotation in the retracted position, and even if the user forcibly pulls the beam 14, the beam 14 remains in the retracted position, which substantially reduces the likelihood that the first door 12 will be closed when the beam 14 is in the deployed position, which in turn may increase the service life of the refrigeration appliance.

The beam 14 has a generally flat rectangular cross-section and includes a wider abutment side 140 for sealingly abutting the inner sides of the first and

second doors

12, 13. When both the first door 12 and the second door 13 are closed, the beam 14 extends to the inside of the second door 13, and the abutting side 14 seals a gap between the first door 12 and the second door 13.

With combined reference to fig. 4, the refrigeration appliance of the present solution further comprises a first door detection unit 16 and a second door detection unit 26 that are capable of communicating with the control unit. The first door detection unit 16 is used for detecting whether the first door 12 has an opening action and generating a first door signal when the first door 12 is detected to have the opening action;

the second door detecting unit 26 is configured to detect whether the first door 12 is at a first predetermined angle and generate a first predetermined angle signal after detecting that the first door 12 is at the first predetermined angle.

The first door detecting unit 16 may detect whether the first door 12 is opened by a contact-type mechanical door switch or a non-contact-type door switch (e.g., a magnetic sensor) commonly used in the art. The first gate detection unit 16 is set to: is triggered and sends a first door signal to the control unit when the first door 12 has an opening motion.

The second detection unit 26 is used for detecting the opening angle of the first door 12. The second door detecting unit 26 may include a magnetic sensor provided at one of the first door 12 and the body 10 and a magnetic element provided at the other of the first door 12 and the body 10. The magnetic sensor and the magnetic element may be arranged such that: when the first door 12 is at a first predetermined angle, the magnetic sensor generates a first predetermined angle signal and sends it to the control unit.

Wherein the second door sensing unit 26 may be provided in association with the hinge assembly 25 of the first door 12. For example, the first door 12 is rotated to be opened and closed by the hinge assembly 25, and the associated arrangement is: the hinge assembly 25 includes a hinge cover 250 fixed to the upper end of the body 1, the hinge cover 250 being provided with a magnetic member 251; the magnetic sensor is disposed on the upper side of the first door 12. When the first door 12 does not reach the first preset angle, the magnetic element 251 and the magnetic sensor are staggered in the vertical direction, and the magnetic sensor is not triggered; when the first door 12 is opened such that the magnetic member 251 is positioned just above the magnetic sensor, the magnetic sensor generates a first predetermined angle signal.

The control strategy of the control unit for the locking unit 15 differs for different operating methods of the refrigeration device, and is described in detail in the following in three embodiments.

The control strategy of the first embodiment is:

with combined reference to fig. 5, the control unit 30 is configured to: when the first door 12 is detected to be opened to a first preset angle, generating a door opening signal;

the door closing signal is generated when it is detected that the first door 12 is closed to a first predetermined angle.

Wherein the control unit 30 receives the first door signal from the first door detecting unit 16 and the first predetermined angle signal from the second door detecting unit 26, and determines that the first door 12 is opened to the first predetermined angle after receiving the first predetermined angle signal for the first time after the first door signal, generating the door opening signal;

further, the control unit 30 determines that the first door 12 is closed to the first predetermined angle after receiving the first predetermined angle signal for the second time after the first door signal, and generates the door closing signal.

The second door detecting unit 26 may detect the first predetermined angle twice in one opening and closing process of the first door 12 after the first door signal is generated from the first door detecting unit 16.

First, the control unit 30 receives a first door signal from the first door detector 16 at the time of the opening action of the first door 12; then, when the first door 12 is opened to the first predetermined angle, the second door detecting unit 26 detects the state for the first time and generates a first predetermined angle signal for the first time, and the control unit 30 receives the first predetermined angle signal for the first time after receiving the first door signal and then generates a door opening signal to control the locking unit 15 to lock the beam 14 at the retracted position; next, when the first door 12 is closed to the first predetermined angle after being opened, the second door detecting unit 26 again detects the state and generates the first predetermined angle signal for the second time, and the control unit 30 receives the first predetermined angle signal for the second time after receiving the first door signal, and then generates the door closing signal to control the locking unit 15 to release the locking of the beam 14.

It should be noted that, since the beam 14 has not reached the retracted position when the first door 12 starts to open, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 30 sends a control command to lock the beam 14 at the retracted position after the first door 12 is opened to the first predetermined angle. This effectively avoids the locking unit 15 starting to lock the beam 14 when the beam 14 has not reached the retracted position and the beam 14 being unable to rotate back to the retracted position. The first predetermined angle may be predetermined by the manufacturer. The first door 12 has the beam 14 rotated from the extended position to the retracted position when opened to the first predetermined angle, and the first door 12 has the first predetermined angle when closed and the beam 14 begins to rotate from the retracted position to the extended position, such that the beam 14 is in the retracted position when the first door 12 is opened to the first predetermined angle and the first door 12 is closed to the first predetermined angle.

In correspondence with the control strategy to be implemented by the control unit 30, the control unit 30 comprises:

a receiving unit 31 for receiving a first gate signal from the first gate detecting unit 16 and a first predetermined angle signal from the second gate detecting unit 26;

the instruction unit 32 is configured to obtain the first door signal from the receiving unit 31, and then receive the first predetermined angle signal from the receiving unit 31 for the first time and generate a door opening signal, and receive the first predetermined angle signal from the receiving unit 31 for the second time and generate a door closing signal.

With reference to fig. 1 to 4 and fig. 6, the control strategy of the second embodiment is as follows:

the control unit 30' is adapted to: generating a door opening signal when it is detected that the first door 12 is opened for a predetermined time; and

the door-closing signal is generated after receiving the first predetermined angle for the second time after the first door signal.

First, the first door detection unit 16 generates a first door signal when detecting that the first door 12 has an opening motion; then, the control unit 30' receives the first door signal and starts timing to a predetermined time, and then generates a door opening signal. The timing may be implemented by a timing unit 34 integrated in the control unit 30 'or by a timer independent from the control unit 30'. When the time reaches a predetermined time, the control unit 30' generates a door opening signal, and the locking unit 15 locks the beam 14 in the retracted position based on the door opening signal.

Since the beam 14 has not reached the retracted position when the first door 12 starts to be opened, the control unit 30' sends a control command to lock the beam 14 at the retracted position after the first door 12 is opened for a predetermined time according to an embodiment of the present invention. This effectively avoids the locking unit 15 starting to lock the beam 14 when the beam 14 has not reached the retracted position and the beam 14 being unable to rotate back to the retracted position.

The delay time may be preset by the manufacturer. For example, the delay time may be 2 seconds to 10 seconds.

In this embodiment, the control unit 30' receives the first predetermined angle signal from the second gate detecting unit 26 twice after the first gate signal. The control unit 30' does not operate after receiving the first predetermined angle signal for the first time, but determines that the first door 12 is closed to the first predetermined angle after receiving the first predetermined angle signal for the second time after receiving the first door signal, and generates a door closing signal to control the locking unit 15 to release the locking of the beam 14.

Corresponding to the control strategy of the control unit 30', the control unit 30' comprises:

a receiving unit 33 for receiving the first gate signal from the first gate detecting unit 16 and the first predetermined angle signal from the second gate detecting unit 26;

a timing unit 34, configured to acquire the first gate signal from the receiving unit 33, start timing after the first gate signal is acquired, and send a predetermined time signal when the timing reaches the predetermined time;

an instruction unit 35 for acquiring a predetermined time signal from the timing unit 34 and then generating a door opening signal; and receives the first predetermined angle signal from the receiving unit 33 for the second time, and then generates a door-closing signal.

The control strategy of the third embodiment is:

the control unit is used for generating the door opening signal when the first door 12 (refer to fig. 1) is detected to be opened for a preset time and the first door 12 is opened to a first preset angle; and

when it is detected that the first door 12 is closed to the first predetermined angle, that is, the first door 12 is closed to the first predetermined angle, a door closing signal is generated.

With combined reference to fig. 1 to 3, 7 and 8, the refrigeration appliance further comprises a guide mechanism 17 for guiding the rotation of the beam 14, so that said first predetermined angle is greater than or equal to the angle from the opening of said first door 12 to the end of the action of the guide mechanism 17 to guide the rotation of the beam 14. This not only facilitates smooth opening of the first door 12 for easy handling by the user, but also facilitates avoiding damage to the guide mechanism 17 during opening of the first door 12.

The guide means 17 comprise a first guide 18 arranged at the upper end of the beam 14 and a second guide 19 arranged at the edge of the front opening 11. It will be appreciated that the guide means 17 may also be provided between the lower end of the beam 14 and the lower edge of the front opening 11.

The first guide 18 includes a guide protrusion 20, and the second guide 19 includes a guide groove 21. The guide protrusion 20 is movable in the guide groove 21 to rotate the beam 14. The guide protrusion 20 has an arc-shaped cross section. When the first door 12 is closed, the end of the guide protrusion 20 on the beam 14 in the retracted position near the narrow side enters the entrance 210 of the guide groove 21, and the convex-side edge 22 of the guide protrusion 20 comes into contact with the groove wall 23 of the guide groove 21. As the second door 12 is further closed, the convex side edge 22 slides along the side of the slot wall 23 facing the guide slot 21, thereby bringing the beam 14 to pivot about the vertical axis until the beam 14 is in the deployed position, where the abutting side 140 of the beam 14 is flush with the frame 24 of the body 10.

Similarly, when the first door 12 is opened, the guide protrusion 20 also rotates within the guide groove 21 to bring the beam 14 to rotate to the retracted position, while gradually moving the beam 14 away from the side of the closed second door 13, so that the first door 12 can be opened with the second door 13 closed.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, the locking unit 15 includes a driver 27 and a locking portion 28, and the driver 27 drives the locking portion 28 to lock the beam 14 at the retracted position based on the door opening signal and reversely drives the locking portion 28 to unlock the beam 14 based on the door closing signal.

Wherein, the locking strategy can be set as: the locking portion 28 is non-rotatable relative to one of the first door 12 and the beam 14, and the locking unit 15 further comprises a locking aperture 141 non-rotatable relative to the other of the first door 12 and the beam 14, the locking portion 28 being aligned with said locking aperture 141 when said beam 14 is in said retracted position and being offset from said locking aperture 141 when in the deployed position.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the locking unit 15 is fixed in the beam 14, the locking portion 28 locks the beam to the first door 12 when the beam 14 is in the retracted position, and releases the beam 14 from the first door 12 when in the deployed position. That is, the latch portion 28 is only operative to latch the beam 14 when the beam 14 is in the retracted position, and the latch portion 28 releases the beam 14 during rotation of the beam 14 between the deployed and retracted positions, with the beam 14 in a free state relative to the first door 12. The specific settings are as follows:

referring to fig. 9 and 10 in combination, the refrigerating apparatus further includes a hinge unit 29 engaged with the girder 14, the hinge unit 29 having a hinge shaft 290 fixed to the first door 12, and a rotation member 291 fixed to the girder 14 and rotatable with respect to the hinge shaft 290;

the hinge shaft 290 is provided with a locking groove 292, a locking hole 141 is provided in the rotary 291, and since the locking unit 15 is provided in the beam 14, the locking portion 28 and the locking hole 291 can be provided and maintained in alignment at all times. When the first door 12 is opened until the beam 14 is rotated to the retracted position, the latching hole 141, the latching groove 292, and the latching portion 28 are sequentially aligned, and the driving member 27 drives the latching portion 28 to extend into the latching groove 292 through the latching hole 141, and the latching portion 28 latches the beam 14 to the first door 12 via the hinge shaft 290 since the hinge shaft 290 and the first door 12 are simultaneously stationary; when the first door 12 is closed, the driving member 27 reversely drives the locking portion 28 to exit from the locking groove 292, the locked state of the beam 14 and the first door 12 is released, and the beam 14 can rotate relative to the first door 12. That is, only in the retracted position, the locking hole 141 and the locking groove 292 can be aligned, and in other positions, the locking hole 141 and the locking groove 292 are offset, and the locking portion 28 cannot lock the beam 14 to the first door 12 even if it is extended. It should be noted that since the locking unit 15 is fixed in the beam 14, the locking unit 15, the rotary 291, and the beam 14 are kept in synchronization, and therefore, when the first door 12 is closed, the locking portion 28 may exit the locking groove 292 without exiting the locking hole 141, or may exit the locking hole 141, which does not affect the rotation of the beam 14 with respect to the first door 12.

Besides the above setting mode, the following steps can be also included: a locking groove is provided directly on the inside of the first door 12, the beam 14 is provided with a locking hole and the locking portion 28 is always aligned with the locking hole, and the locking hole can be aligned with the locking groove to effect locking of the beam 14 only when the beam 14 is in the retracted position.

In another embodiment, with combined reference to FIG. 11, the latch unit 15 is secured to the first door 12, the latch aperture 141 is provided in the beam 14, and the latch portion 28 is aligned with the latch aperture 141 when the beam 14 is in the retracted position and is offset from the latch aperture 141 when in the deployed position. Also, the latch aperture 141 and the latch portion 28 remain biased out of alignment as the first door 12 opens during rotation of the beam 14 from the deployed position to the retracted position and the first door 12 closes during rotation of the beam 14 from the retracted position to the deployed position.

Specifically, when the first door 12 is opened until the beam 14 is rotated to the retracted position, the locking hole 141 is properly aligned with the locking portion 28, and the locking portion 28 is inserted into the locking hole 141 to connect the beam 14 and the first door 12, the locking portion 28 blocks the beam 14 from rotating relative to the first door 12, and the beam 14 is locked at the retracted position. When the first door 12 is to be closed, the driving member 27 reversely drives the locking portion 28 to withdraw from the locking hole 141 based on the door closing signal, the connection state of the beam 14 and the first door 12 is released, and the beam 14 rotates relative to the first door 12, at which time the locking hole 141 and the locking portion 28 are biased to be out of alignment. The specific settings are as follows:

the latch unit 15 is fixed to the first door 12 by a hinge shaft 290, and a latch hole 141 is provided at the rotation member 291. Specifically, the hinge shaft 290 is fixed to the first door 12 through a base 293, and the latch unit 15 may be provided on the base 293 to achieve fixation to the first door 12. Wherein, the rotating member 291 is sleeved on the hinge shaft 290 in a sleeve manner, the beam 14 is connected with the rotating member 291, and the rotating member 291 and the beam 14 are kept synchronous. The locking hole 141 penetrates the rotary 291 in the radial direction.

Besides the above setting mode, the following steps can be also included: the locking unit 15 is fixed directly inside the first door 12, as the installation occasion permits.

Regarding the type of the driving member 27, in one embodiment, the driving member 27 includes a solenoid valve 270, the solenoid valve 270 being energized based on the door open signal to effect driving of the blocking portion 28 to block the beam 14 in the retracted position, and de-energized based on the door close signal to effect reverse driving of the blocking portion 28 to unblock the beam 14. The solenoid valve 270 includes a cylinder 271 having a valve chamber, a valve body (not shown) and an electromagnet which are located in the valve chamber, and a lock portion 28 connected to the valve body and extending from the valve chamber, and a return spring (not shown) is connected between the lock portion 28 and the cylinder 271. Referring to fig. 2, the cylinder 271 is fixedly arranged, the electromagnet is electrified and magnetized to attract the valve core to drive the locking part 28 to move leftwards, and at the moment, the return spring is stretched; referring to fig. 3, when the electromagnet is de-energized, the return spring is reset to move the locking portion 28 to the right.

As a modification, it is also possible to: the driving member 27 includes a linear motor to which a one-directional current is applied based on the door opening signal to realize the locking of the driving locking portion, and to which another reverse current is applied based on the door closing signal to realize the reverse driving of the locking portion to release the locking. The linear motor comprises a primary stage and a secondary stage, wherein one stage of the primary stage and the secondary stage is a movable piece, the other stage of the primary stage and the secondary stage is a non-movable piece, the movable piece can do reciprocating linear motion relative to the non-movable piece, and the locking part is connected to the movable piece.

The present invention also provides a working method of a refrigeration device, which, with reference to fig. 1 to 3, includes:

controlling the locking unit 15 to lock the beam 14 at the retreat position based on the door opening signal of the first door 12;

the locking unit 15 is controlled to release the locking of the beam 14 based on the door-closing signal of the first door 12.

The operation of the refrigeration device is described in detail below in three embodiments.

First embodiment

With reference to fig. 12, the operation method of the refrigeration apparatus in the embodiment includes:

step S1 is executed to detect whether the first door 12 is opened to a first predetermined angle;

executing step S2, generating a door opening signal after detecting that the first door 12 is opened to the first predetermined angle;

step S3 is executed to detect whether the first door 12 is closed to the first predetermined angle;

step S4 is executed to generate a close signal after detecting that the first door 12 is closed to the first predetermined angle.

Compared with the prior art, the working method of the refrigeration equipment has the following advantages:

after the first door 12 is opened, a door opening signal is generated and the locking unit 15 is controlled to lock the beam 14 in the retracted position based on the door opening signal, and the beam 14 is always locked in the retracted position until the door closing signal of the first door 12. Thus, when it is necessary to close the first door 12 and the second door 13, if the second door 13 is closed first, the beam 14 is locked at the retracted position without interfering with the second door 13. When the first door 12 needs to be closed, a door closing signal is generated, and the locking unit 15 is controlled to release the locking of the beam 14 based on the door closing signal, so that the beam 14 rotates from the retracted position to the deployed position, and the first door 12 is not blocked from being closed further. Therefore, by using the working method of the refrigeration equipment, the sequence of the first door 12 and the second door 13 when being closed is not limited, so that the doors can be easily closed, the use by a user is facilitated, and the user experience is good.

With further reference to fig. 13, in step S1, detecting whether the first door 12 (with reference to fig. 1) is opened to the first predetermined angle includes:

step S11 is executed to detect whether the first door 12 has an opening motion;

executing step S12, generating a first door signal after detecting that the first door 12 has an opening action; and

step S13 is executed to detect whether the first door 12 reaches the first predetermined angle after the first door signal;

step S14 is executed to determine that the first door 12 is opened to the first predetermined angle after detecting that the first door 12 reaches the first predetermined angle for the first time, and generate a door opening signal.

Thereafter, in step S3, detecting whether the first door 12 (refer to fig. 1) is closed to the first predetermined angle includes: after the first door signal, the door closing signal is generated if it is detected that the first door 12 reaches the first predetermined angle for the second time. That is, the second time the first door 12 is at the first predetermined angle after the first door signal determines that the first door 12 is closed to the first predetermined angle.

Second embodiment

With combined reference to fig. 1 and 14, the operation method of the refrigeration apparatus in the embodiment includes:

step S1 is executed to detect whether the first door 12 is opened for a predetermined time;

executing step S2, generating a door opening signal after detecting that the first door 12 is opened for a predetermined time;

The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the door opening signal is generated on the premise that the first door 12 is detected to be opened for a predetermined time.

Referring to fig. 15 in combination, in step S1, the detecting whether the first door 12 is opened for a predetermined time includes:

step S11 is executed to detect whether the first door 12 has an opening motion;

step S12 is executed to determine whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the first door 12 had been started to count the time of the opening motion.

For how to determine that the first door 12 is closed to the first predetermined angle, please refer to the scheme of the first embodiment for determining whether the first door 12 is closed to the first predetermined angle.

Third embodiment

Referring to fig. 1 and 16, the operation method of the refrigeration apparatus in the present embodiment includes:

step S1 is executed to detect whether the first door 12 is opened for a predetermined time and whether the first door 12 is opened to a first predetermined angle;

executing step S2, generating a door opening signal after detecting that the first door 12 is opened for a predetermined time and the first door 12 is opened to a first predetermined angle;

Different from the first and second embodiments, the precondition for generating the door opening signal in the solution of the present embodiment is: the door open signal must be generated after it is detected that the first door 12 is opened for a predetermined time and the first door 12 is opened to a first predetermined angle.

Although the present invention is disclosed above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method of operating a refrigeration appliance, the refrigeration appliance comprising: a body (10) having a front opening (11);

a first door (12) and a second door (13) disposed in a split manner at the front opening (11), the first door (12) having a free end (A) away from a rotation axis thereof;

-a beam (14) pivotally connected to said free end (a) and rotatable about a rotation axis (X) between a retracted position and an extended position, said beam (14) being in said extended position when said first door (12) is closed, said beam (14) being rotatable from said extended position to said retracted position when said first door (12) is opened;

a locking unit (15) to lock the beam (14) in the retracted position when the first door (12) is in the open position;

the working method of the refrigeration equipment is characterized by comprising the following steps:

controlling the locking unit (15) to lock the beam (14) at the retracted position based on a door opening signal of the first door (12);

controlling the locking unit (15) to release the locking of the beam (14) based on a door closing signal of the first door (12).

2. The method of operating a refrigeration appliance as set forth in claim 1 and including: -detecting whether the first door (12) is open for a predetermined time and/or whether the first door (12) is open to a first predetermined angle, and-generating the door open signal after detecting that the first door (12) is open for the predetermined time and/or the first door (12) is open to the first predetermined angle.

3. The operating method of a refrigerating apparatus as recited in claim 2, characterized in that said detecting whether said first door (12) is opened for a predetermined time comprises: -detecting whether the first door (12) has an opening action, and-whether the predetermined time has elapsed since the first door (12) has an opening action.

4. The operating method of a refrigeration appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that the detection of whether the first door (12) is open up to the first predetermined angle comprises:

-detecting whether the first door (12) has an opening movement and generating a first door signal upon detecting that the first door (12) has an opening movement; and

detecting whether the first gate (12) reaches the first predetermined angle after the first gate signal; determining that the first door (12) is open to the first predetermined angle after detecting that the first door (12) reaches the first predetermined angle for the first time.

5. Method for operating a refrigerating appliance according to claim 4, characterized in that after the first door signal, the door-closing signal is generated if it is detected that the first door (12) is at the first predetermined angle for the second time.

6. The method of operating a refrigeration unit of claim 2, comprising: -detecting whether the first door (12) is closed to a first predetermined angle, and-generating the door closing signal after detecting that the first door (12) is closed to the first predetermined angle.

7. The operating method of a refrigerating apparatus as recited in claim 6, characterized in that the detection of whether the first door (12) is closed to the first predetermined angle comprises:

-detecting whether the first door (12) has an opening movement and generating a first door signal upon detecting that the first door (12) has an opening movement;

detecting whether the first gate (12) is at the first predetermined angle after the first gate signal;

determining that the first door (12) is closed to the first predetermined angle after detecting that the first door (12) is at the first predetermined angle for the second time.

8. A refrigeration apparatus, comprising: a body (10) having a front opening (11);

it is characterized by also comprising: a control unit (30, 30');

the control unit (30, 30') is configured to: controlling the locking unit (15) to lock the beam (14) at the retracted position based on a door opening signal of the first door (12);

releasing the locking of the beam (14) based on a door closing signal of the first door (12).

9. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 8, characterized in that the control unit (30, 30') is adapted to: the door open signal is generated when it is detected that the first door (12) is opened for a predetermined time and/or the first door (12) is opened to a first predetermined angle.

10. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 9, further comprising:

a first door detection unit (16) for detecting whether the first door (12) has an opening motion and generating a first door signal when the first door (12) is detected to have an opening motion;

the control unit (30') is configured to: receiving the first gate signal and starting timing to the predetermined time when receiving the first gate signal.

11. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 9, further comprising:

a second door detection unit (26) for detecting whether the first door (12) is at the first predetermined angle and generating a first predetermined angle signal upon detecting that the first door (12) is at the first predetermined angle;

the control unit (30) is configured to: receiving the first gate signal and the first predetermined angle signal, and determining that the first gate is opened to the first predetermined angle after the first gate signal is received for the first time.

12. A cold appliance according to claim 11, wherein the control unit (30) is further adapted to: generating the door-closing signal after receiving the first predetermined angle signal a second time after the first door signal.

13. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 8, characterized in that the control unit (30, 30') is adapted to: the door closing signal is generated when it is detected that the first door (12) is closed to a first predetermined angle.

14. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 13, further comprising:

the control unit (30, 30') is configured to: receiving the first gate signal and the first predetermined angle signal and determining that the first gate (12) is closed to the first predetermined angle after receiving the first predetermined angle signal a second time after the first gate signal.

15. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 11, 12 or 14, characterized in that the second door detection unit (26) is provided in association with the hinge assembly (25) of the first door (12).

16. The refrigerating apparatus according to any of claims 8 to 14, wherein said latch unit (15) comprises an actuating member (27) and a latch portion (28), said actuating member (27) driving said latch portion (28) to latch said beam (14) in said retracted position based on said door opening signal and reversely driving said latch portion (28) to release the latching of said beam (14) based on said door closing signal.

17. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 16, wherein said drive member (27) includes a solenoid valve (270), said solenoid valve (270) being energized to actuate said latch portion (28) to latch said beam (14) based on said door open signal and de-energized to actuate said latch portion (28) in reverse to unlatch said beam (14) based on said door close signal.

18. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 16, wherein said drive member (27) comprises a linear motor, said linear motor being energized with a current in one direction to actuate said latch portion (28) for latching based on said door open signal, and being energized with a current in the other direction to actuate said latch portion (28) in the opposite direction to unlatch based on said door close signal.

19. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 16, wherein said latch portion (28) is non-rotatable with respect to one of said first door (12) and said beam (14), and said latch unit (15) further comprises a latch aperture (141) non-rotatable with respect to the other of said first door (12) and said beam (14), said latch portion (28) being aligned with said latch aperture (141) when said beam (14) is in said retracted position and being offset from said latch aperture (141) when said beam (14) is in said deployed position.