Patent Description:
In an air-cooling device such as a wine cabinet, thermostatic control is usually achieved for products in dual temperature zones in a manner of using a single evaporator + dual evaporation blowers. When a certain chamber needs to be refrigerated, the compressor operates, and the corresponding evaporation blowers operate to achieve the refrigeration of the chamber; this manner is structurally simple, but cannot achieve the thermostatic control under a lower ambient temperature as cold air blends each other seriously.

The thermostatic control can ensure optimal tastes and the storage of stored articles such as wines thereof. In the prior art, dual evaporators + dual evaporator blowers + dual heating wires + a solenoid valve are usually employed to control to switch to achieve the thermostatic control. When a first chamber needs to be refrigerated, the solenoid valve switches to the first chamber so that the evaporator in the first chamber refrigerates, and the evaporation blower in the first chamber operates; when a second chamber needs to be refrigerated, the solenoid valve switches to the second chamber so that the evaporator in the second chamber refrigerates, and the evaporation blower in the second chamber operates; switch of the solenoid valve is performing between the two chambers; when each chamber needs to be heated, the heating wire in the chamber is activated, and the evaporation blower in the chamber operates; this manner can achieve the thermostatic control, but it has problems such as a complicated structural design and a cumbersome production process.

<CIT> discloses an air-cooled wine cabinet with double temperature zones. The wine cabinet comprises an air volume distribution module, an upper air curtain module, a lower air curtain module, an upper fan and a lower fan, wherein the lower air curtain module divides the internal part of the wine cabinet into an upper temperature zone and a lower temperature zone. The air volume distribution module sends the wind generated by the upper fan into the upper temperature zone through the upper air curtain module, and sends the wind generated by the lower fan into the lower temperature zone through the lower air curtain module. The operation of the upper fan is affected by the temperature in the upper temperature zone, the operation of the lower fan is affected by the temperature in the lower temperature zone, and the two temperature zones are independent of each other, thereby realizing the independent control of the two temperature zones. In addition, the upper air curtain module is provided with a plurality of upper air outlets and the lower air curtain module is provided with a plurality of lower air outlets, so that the wind blown into the upper temperature zone and the lower temperature zone is more uniform.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of controlling an air-cooling device and a air-cooling device, which achieves the thermostatic control of the dual temperature zones of a single air-cooling system with a simplified structural design and process by employing a structural design with a single evaporator + a single evaporation blower + two dampers + three heating wires, in conjunction with the control of operational relationship of the compressor, the evaporation blower, the heating wires and the dampers.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method of controlling an air-cooling device, and an air-cooling device according to the appended set of claims.

As compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and active effects: in the method of controlling an air-cooling device and the air-cooling device of the present invention, the thermostatic control is achieved by employing a single cycle refrigeration system, structurally with the circulation air passage, the compressor, the single evaporator, the single evaporation blower, and the first damper and second damper which are respectively disposed at the first chamber and second chamber and both connected to the circulation air passage; if both chambers need to be refrigerated, the compressor and evaporation blower are activated, and the two dampers are opened; if both chambers need to be heated, the compressor is controlled to stop and the evaporation blower is controlled to operate, the two dampers are closed, and the heating wires in the chambers are activated; if one chamber needs to be refrigerated and the other chamber needs to be heated, the damper of the chamber to be refrigerated is opened and the damper of the chamber to be heated is closed, and the heating wire in the chamber to be heated is activated; when the temperature of the chamber to be refrigerated reaches the preset refrigeration temperature, the compressor is controlled to stop and the damper of the chamber to be refrigerated is closed after a delay when the defrost temperature reaches the first preset temperature; when the temperature of the chamber being heated meets the heating temperature, the heating wire therein is turned off, and the damper of the chamber being heated is opened when the defrost temperature reaches the second preset temperature after a delay after the damper of the chamber being refrigerated is closed. In conjunction with the control in the above three manners, the thermostatic control may be implemented individually for the two chambers respectively with the structure of the single air-cooling system. As compared with the dual evaporators + dual evaporation blowers + dual heating wires +an solenoid valve manner that can achieve the thermostatic control in the prior art, the single air-cooling system exhibits a more simplified structural design and process, and achieves the thermostatic control of the air-cooling device with the single air-cooling system and dual temperature zones with the simplified structural and process design.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be made more apparent by reading through detailed depictions of embodiments of the present invention with reference to figures.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to figures.

As shown in <FIG>, an air-cooling device according to the present invention comprises a cabinet <NUM> and a liner <NUM>, the liner <NUM> is mounted in the cabinet <NUM>, the internal cavity of the liner <NUM> is partitioned into a first chamber <NUM> and a second chamber <NUM>, a first heating wire <NUM> is mounted in the first chamber <NUM>, and a second heating wire <NUM> is mounted in the second chamber <NUM>; the air-cooling device employs a single cycle refrigeration system to achieve refrigeration; the single cycle refrigeration system comprises a circulation air passage <NUM>, a compressor <NUM> and an evaporator <NUM>, and is disposed on a rear side outside the liner <NUM>; the rear side outside the liner <NUM> is further provided with an evaporation blower <NUM> on which is mounted a defrost sensor for detecting defrost temperature; a first damper <NUM> is provided on the first chamber <NUM> and connected to the circulation air passage <NUM>; a second damper <NUM> is provided on the second chamber <NUM> and connected to the circulation air passage <NUM>.

On the architecture of the air-cooling device shown in <FIG>, the present invention provides a method of controlling the air-cooling device to achieve dual-temperature thermostatic control with the single cycle refrigeration system. Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, the method comprises the following steps:
Step S21: activating the compressor and the evaporation blower and opening the first damper and the second damper.

An example is taken in which the air-cooling device activates refrigeration. After the air-cooling device is powered on, the single cycle refrigeration system is activated at first , and the first damper <NUM> and second damper <NUM> are opened to implement refrigeration for the first chamber <NUM> and second chamber <NUM>, respectively.

Step S22: judging whether refrigeration temperature in the two chambers both meet refrigeration requirements.

During respective refrigeration in the two chambers, judgment is respectively made as to whether the refrigeration temperatures in the two chambers meet respective refrigeration requirements; after refrigeration in a period of time, there are two cases of the refrigeration in the two chambers: <NUM>) the refrigeration temperatures in the two chambers both meet the refrigeration requirements and both chambers need to enter thermostatic regulation; <NUM>) one chamber already meets its refrigeration requirement and needs to enter thermostatic regulation, and the other chamber does not meet its refrigeration requirement and needs to be further refrigerated.

Based on the above two cases, different steps are respectively performed according to the controlling method proposed by the present invention. When case <NUM> occurs first, step S23 is performed as follows: controlling the compressor to power off, opening the first damper and the second damper and controlling the evaporation blower to continue to operate, and activating the first heating wire and second heating wire.

After both chambers meet their respective refrigeration requirements, the first heating wire <NUM> of the first chamber <NUM>, and the second heating wire <NUM> of the second chamber <NUM> are respectively activated to perform thermostatic control of the two chambers; in the embodiment of the present invention, a compensatory heating wire <NUM> is disposed on a rear side of the evaporator <NUM>; upon thermostatic control, the defrost process of the evaporator <NUM> is accelerated through the operation of the compensatory heating wire <NUM> to quickly increase the surface temperature of the evaporator <NUM>, and compensatory heating is performed for the thermostatic control in the chambers through the operation of the evaporation blower <NUM>. Specifically, when the compressor <NUM> stops to enter the thermostatic control, the evaporation blower <NUM> is kept in operation, the first damper <NUM> and second damper <NUM> are kept in the open state, and the compensatory heating wire <NUM> is activated. When both chambers perform thermostatic regulation through their respective heating wires, the heat of the compensatory heating wire <NUM>, due to the action of the evaporation blower <NUM>, enters the first chamber <NUM> through the first damper <NUM> and enters the second chamber <NUM> through the second damper <NUM> to perform compensation for the temperature in the two chambers, respectively.

When it occurs that one chamber needs to be heated, and the other chamber needs to be refrigerated when case <NUM> happens, or during the thermostatic regulation of step S23, an example is taken in which the first chamber <NUM> needs to be refrigerated and the second chamber <NUM> needs to be heated to, to perform:
Step S24: controlling the compressor and the evaporation blower to operate, opening the first damper and closing the second damper, and activating the second heating wire.

The compressor <NUM> is activated, the evaporation blower <NUM> continues to operate, the first damper <NUM> is opened and the second damper <NUM> is closed, the second heating wire <NUM> is activated to operate, and cold air running in the single cycle refrigeration system enters the first chamber <NUM> through the first damper <NUM> to refrigerate the first chamber <NUM>; since the second damper <NUM> is closed, cold air does not enter the second chamber <NUM> and the second chamber <NUM> continues to be heated by the operation of the second heating wire <NUM>. During this period, when the first chamber <NUM> reaches its preset refrigeration temperature, the following step is performed:
Step S25: controlling the compressor to stop, and closing the first damper after a delay until the defrost temperature reaches a first preset temperature.

After the first chamber <NUM> meets its refrigeration requirement again, the compressor <NUM> is controlled to stop, the defrost temperature detected by a defrost sensor is obtained, and the first damper <NUM> is closed when the defrost temperature reaches the first preset temperature T1.

After the compressor <NUM> stops, the compensatory heating wire <NUM> is activated immediately to assist the evaporator <NUM> in defrosting to increase the surface temperature of the evaporator <NUM> as quickly as possible to prepare for subsequent thermostatic regulation of the chambers.

Step S26: opening the second damper when the defrost temperature reaches a second preset temperature after the first damper is closed.

After the first damper <NUM> is closed, the second chamber <NUM> continued to be heated. The defrost sensor detects the defrost temperature. When the defrost temperature reaches the second preset temperature T2, the second damper <NUM> is opened. In the period of time after the compressor <NUM> stops until the second damper <NUM> is opened, the compensatory heating wire <NUM> already starts to operate, and the defrost temperature on the surface of the evaporator <NUM> is high; after the second damper <NUM> is opened, the heating of the second chamber <NUM> can be compensated to quicken the thermostatic regulation of the second chamber <NUM>.

Step S27: turning off the second heating wire when the temperature of the second chamber satisfies a heating temperature.

Regarding to the control of the evaporation blower <NUM>, when the defrost temperature reaches the first preset temperature T1, i.e., when the first damper <NUM> is closed in step S25, the evaporation blower <NUM> is controlled to stop. At this time, the compensatory heating wire <NUM> already starts to perform auxiliary defrost for the evaporator <NUM> to increase the defrost temperature as soon as possible; when the defrost temperature reaches the second preset temperature T2, i.e., after the second air damper is opened in step S26, the evaporation blower <NUM> is again activated to operate, the heating of the second chamber <NUM> is compensated more quickly due to the action of the evaporation blower <NUM>, the thermostatic regulation of the second chamber <NUM> is further quickened, and the second heating wire is turned off only when the second chamber satisfies the heating temperature.

Then, if the two chambers need to be refrigerated or heated again and again during the thermostatic control, the two chambers both may individually implement the thermostatic regulation in a manner that they are refrigerated simultaneously, or heated simultaneously, or one is refrigerated and the other is heated. As compared with the dual evaporators + dual evaporation blowers + dual heating wires +an solenoid valve manner that can achieve the thermostatic control in the prior art, the solution of the present invention is implemented based on the single cycle refrigeration system, exhibits a more simplified structural design and process, achieves the thermostatic control of the air-cooling device with a single air-cooling system and dual temperature zones, and is more adapted to be applied to the industry.

After the above step S26, when the compressor <NUM> is activated again, the second damper <NUM> needs to be closed immediately. That is to say, as long as the compressor <NUM> operates, the damper of the chamber which is currently being heated needs to be closed immediately to avoid the impact exerted by cold air on the heating.

After the first heating wire <NUM> and second heating wire <NUM> are activated, they both operate with a current conduction rate as required by a heating level, and the compensatory heating wire <NUM>, after being activated, operates with a <NUM>% current conduction rate.

Based on the abovementioned method of controlling the air-cooling method, as shown in <FIG>, the air-cooling device according to the present invention further comprises a full air-cooling control module <NUM>, a full heating control module <NUM> and a single chamber air-cooling/heating control module <NUM>; the full air-cooling control module <NUM> is configured to control the compressor <NUM> and the evaporation blower <NUM> to operate and open the first damper <NUM> and second damper <NUM>; the full heating control module <NUM> is configured to control the compressor <NUM> to stop, open the first damper <NUM> and second damper <NUM>, and control the evaporation blower <NUM> to operate; and activate the first heating wire <NUM>, the second heating wire <NUM> and the compensatory heating wire <NUM> to operate; the single chamber air-cooling/heating control module <NUM> is configured to: control the compressor <NUM> and the evaporation blower <NUM> to operate, open the first damper <NUM> and close the second damper <NUM>, and activate the second heating wire <NUM>; when the temperature of the first chamber <NUM> reaches the preset refrigeration temperature, control the compressor <NUM> to stop, and close the first damper <NUM> after a delay when the defrost temperature reaches the first preset temperature T1; close the second heating wire <NUM> when the temperature of the second chamber <NUM> meets the heating temperature; and open the second damper <NUM> after the first damper <NUM> is closed until when the defrost temperature reaches the second preset temperature T2.

The single chamber air-cooling/heating control module <NUM> comprises an evaporation blower control unit <NUM> configured to control the evaporation blower <NUM> to stop when the defrost temperature reaches the first preset temperature T1; and control the evaporation blower <NUM> to operate until the temperature of the second chamber <NUM> meets the heating temperature, when the defrost temperature reaches the second preset temperature T2.

The air-cooling device according to the present invention further comprises a compensatory heating control module <NUM> configured to activate the compensatory heating wire <NUM> after the compressor <NUM> stops, specifically, activate the compensatory heating wire according to a <NUM>% current conduction rate.

A specific control method for the air-cooling device to achieve the thermostatic control has already been described above in detail, and will not be detailed any more here.

Claim 1:
A method of controlling an air-cooling device, the air-cooling device comprising:
a cabinet (<NUM>);
a liner (<NUM>) which is mounted in the cabinet and whose internal cavity is partitioned into a first chamber (<NUM>) and a second chamber (<NUM>);
a first heating wire (<NUM>) mounted in the first chamber;
a second heating wire (<NUM>) mounted in the second chamber;
a single cycle refrigeration system comprising a circulation air passage (<NUM>), a compressor (<NUM>)
and an evaporator (<NUM>);
a defrost sensor detecting defrost temperature is mounted on the evaporator;
an evaporation blower (<NUM>) mounted outside the liner;
a first damper (<NUM>) provided on the first chamber and connected to the circulation air passage;
a second damper (<NUM>) provided on the second chamber and connected to the circulation air passage;
wherein the air-cooling device further comprises a compensatory heating wire (<NUM>) disposed on a rear side of the evaporator;
the controlling method comprises:
when the first chamber does not meet its refrigeration requirement and the second chamber meets its refrigeration requirement, controlling the compressor and the evaporation blower to operate, opening the first damper and closing the second damper, and activating the second heating wire;
controlling the compressor to stop and activating the compensatory heating wire when the first chamber reaches a preset refrigeration temperature, and closing the first damper and controlling the evaporation blower to stop after a delay after stopping the compressor until the defrost temperature reaches a first preset temperature;
turning off the second heating wire when the second chamber meets a heating temperature; and opening the second damper and controlling the evaporation blower to operate when the defrost temperature reaches the second preset temperature after a delay after the first damper is closed, and controlling the evaporation blower to stop when the second chamber meets a heating temperature;
the second preset temperature is higher than the first preset temperature.