Patent Grant
8297725
This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0122426 filed on Dec. 4, 2008, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field
The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a method of controlling the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a refrigerator equipped with a door opening device enabling a user to easily open a door of the refrigerator and a method of controlling the refrigerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a refrigerator cools articles stored therein through a cooling cycle of a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator. The refrigerator is provided therein with a storage compartment to allow a user to store and take out the articles in the refrigerator. The refrigerator includes at least one storage compartment according to the capacity of the refrigerator. For example, the storage compartment may be divided into two compartments, such as a cooling compartment and a refrigerating compartment, or may be divided into four compartments, such as a cooling compartment, a refrigerating compartment, an auxiliary cooling compartment, and an auxiliary refrigerating compartment.
Meanwhile, the refrigerator having at least one storage compartment includes a door, which opens/closes the storage compartment. The door is divided into a hinge coupling type door that is rotatably open/closed relative to the storage compartment and a drawer type door that is open/closed relative to the storage compartment like a drawer.
Meanwhile, typically, a user must pull a door of a refrigerator when the user wants to manually open the door. In addition, when the user wants to close the door, the user must push the door using a hand or a foot such that the door can be closed by the weight thereof.
Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator and a method of controlling the same, capable of automatically opening/closing a door using a motor.
In addition, it is another aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator and a method of controlling the same, capable of reducing noise in the process of changing a direction of a motor when a door is open/closed.
Further, it is still another aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator and a method of controlling the same, capable of setting a door in an initial position when the refrigerator is powered on.
Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention are achieved by providing a refrigerator including first and second doors which open/close first and second storage compartments defined in a body, respectively, and a door opening device. The door opening device includes a plurality of sliding bars which selectively open the first and second doors, and a motor which opens/closes the first door or the second door by moving back and forth the sliding bars in directions opposite to each other.
The door opening device may further include a switch unit inputting a door opening signal used to open the first door or the second door.
The door opening device may further include a controller controlling the first door or the second door to be open according to the door opening signal input to the switch unit.
The door opening device may further include a plurality of position detectors detecting at least one protrusion provided at one side of the sliding bars.
The door opening device may further include a display unit displaying failure of the door opening device.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a refrigerator including a door opening device, which includes first and second doors opening/closing first and second storage compartments defined in a body, a plurality of sliding bars selectively opening the first and second doors, a motor opening the first door or the second door by moving back and forth the sliding bars in directions opposite to each other, a plurality of position detectors detecting at least one protrusion provided in one side of the sliding bars, a switch unit inputting door opening signals, and a controller controlling operation of the first and second doors according to the door opening signals, and the method includes opening/closing the first and second doors by controlling the door opening device if the door opening signals are input in order to open the first door or the second door.
The sliding bar may be moved by driving the motor for a first set time sufficient for enabling the at least one protrusion to deviate from a detection region of the position detector if the door opening signals are input.
A time point, at which the at least one protrusion enters the detection region of the position detector, is recognized if the first set time elapses.
The sliding bar may be moved by driving the motor for a second set time sufficient for enabling the at least one protrusion to enter a reliable detection region of the position detector if the at least one protrusion has entered the detection region of the position detector.
The motor may be stopped if the second set time elapses, so that the first door or the second door maintains an open state for a third set time.
The sliding bar may be moved by driving the motor for a fourth set time sufficient for enabling the at least one protrusion to deviate from the detection region of the position detector if the third set time elapses.
The time point, at which the at least one protrusion enters the detection region of the position detector, is recognized if the fourth set time elapses.
The sliding bar may be moved by driving the motor for a fifth set time sufficient for enabling the at least one protrusion to enter the reliable detection region of the position detector if the at least one protrusion has entered the detection region of the position detector.
If the door opening signals of the first and second doors are simultaneously input, the controller may determine an input sequence of the door opening signals to recognize only the door opening signal that is primarily input such that one of the first and second doors corresponding to the primary door opening signal is open.
If the door opening signals of the first and second doors are simultaneously input, the controller may not recognize all the door opening signal, or recognizes only the door opening signal of a preset door.
If the door opening signal for one of the first and second doors is input when a remaining one door is open/closed, the door opening signal may not be recognized.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a refrigerator equipped with first and second doors opening/closing first and second storage compartments partitioned in a body. The refrigerator includes a door opening device including a plurality of sliding bars selectively opening the first and second doors, a motor opening the first door or the second door by moving back and forth the sliding bars in directions opposite to each other, a plurality of position detectors detecting at least one protrusion provided at one side of the sliding bar, a switch unit inputting door opening signals, and a controller controlling operation of the first door and the second door according to the door opening signals. The method of controlling the refrigerator includes detecting a position of the at least one protrusion if the refrigerator is powered on, and controlling the first and second doors to be closed according to a position of the at least one protrusion.
The method may further include rotating the motor in one preset direction if the position of the at least one protrusion is not detected.
The method may further include controlling the first and second doors such that the first and second doors are closed according to the position of the at least one protrusion if the position of the at least one protrusion is detected due to the rotating of the motor.
The method may further include recognizing that the at least one protrusion is placed at a preset position if the at least one position of the protrusion is not detected.
The method may further include controlling the first and second doors such that the first and second doors are closed according to the at least one position of the protrusion.
If the position of the at least one protrusion is not detected for a predetermined time when the first and second doors are controlled to be closed, the door opening device may be regarded as failed.
The door opening device may further include a display unit, and the display unit displays failure of the door opening device if the door opening device is regarded as failed.
As described above, according to one aspect, a plurality of doors can be open by moving two sliding bars using one motor, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
According to another aspect, when a door is open due to the rotation of the motor, or the door position is changed from the maximum open state to a closed state, the operation of the door is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed, so that noise can be reduced when the door is open/closed.
According to still another aspect, when power is turned off and then turn on due to cut-off of electric current, a state of the door can be exactly determined by the position detectors, so that the door can return to a waiting state without an unnecessary operation.
These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The embodiments are described below by referring to the figures.
As shown in
The door opening device 20 may be mounted on a top surface of the body 10 to push the upper portions of the first and second doors 11 and 12 forward and open the first and second doors 11 and 12, so that a user can easily open the first and second doors 11 and 12.
As shown in
The first and second switch units 16 and 17 are provided at the first and second handles 14 and 15 of the first and second doors 11 and 12 to allow a user to control the operation of the motor 38. The first and second switch units 16 and 17 may be detectors that detect touch of the user on the first and second handles 14 and 15, or power switches that directly turn on/off power applied to the motor 38.
The first to third position detectors 31 to 33 may detect a rotation position of the motor 38, that is, a position of the first and second sliding bars 40 and 41. The first to third position detectors 31, 32, and 33 may detect the rotation position of the motor 38 by detecting first, second, and third protrusions 42, 43, and 44. In addition, the first to third position detectors 31 to 33 may be a typical optical sensor. According to the present embodiment, the first to third position detectors 31 to 33 are turned on if a signal phase is changed due to the first and second protrusions 42 and 43, and turned off if the signal phase is not changed.
The memory 34 stores a program to control the operation of the motor 38, and the timer 35 can measure the driving time of the motor 38.
The controller 30 can transmit an operational control signal for the motor 38 to the motor driver 36 according to the program previously stored in the memory 34 by using door opening signals of the first and second switches 16 and 17, information delivered from the first to third position detectors 31 to 33, and the timer 35.
The display unit 37 may be a display (not shown) positioned on the front surface of the body 10 of the refrigerator, and can display the failure of the door opening device 20.
As shown in
The first and second sliding bars 40 and 41 are geared with both sides of the motor 38 (e.g., a rack and a pinion assembly) to selectively push the two first and second doors 11 and 12. The two first and second protrusions 42 and 43 are provided on the first sliding bar 40 to detect the position of the first sliding bar 40 by the first and second position detectors 31 and 32. Meanwhile, as shown in
The motor 38 is geared with the first and second sliding bars 40 and 41 (e.g., a rack and a pinion assembly) to rotate. When the motor 38 rotates in a first direction (clockwise), the first door 11 can be open by the first sliding bar 40. When the motor 38 rotates in a second direction (counterclockwise), the second door 12 can be open by the second sliding bar 41.
The first and second position detectors 31 and 32 may be installed in order to detect the rotation position of the motor 38, that is, the position of the first sliding bar 40. The first and second position detectors 31 and 32 detect the two first and second protrusions 42 and 43 of the first sliding bar 40 through an optical sensor (not shown) to detect the rotation position of the motor 38. In addition, the first and second position detectors 31 and 32 include typical optical sensors. According to one embodiment, the first and second position detectors 31 and 32 are turned on if the signal phase is changed by the two first and second protrusions 42 and 43, and turned off if the signal phase is not changed.
Meanwhile, the present invention is not limited to the first and second position detectors 31 and 32, but can employ a lead switch to detect the positions of the first and second protrusions 42 and 43 and a limit switch to detect the positions of the first and second protrusions 42 and 43 in the contact with the first and second protrusions 42 and 43.
Hereinafter, the operation of the door opening device 20 will be described with reference to
If a user grasps or pulls the second handle 15 of the first door 11 in order to open the first door 11, the motor 38 operates with the manipulation of the second switch unit 17. In this case, as shown in
In addition, if the user grasps or pulls the first handle 14 of the second door 12 in order to open the second door 12, the motor 38 rotates in the second direction (counterclockwise) with the manipulation of the first switch unit 16 to push the second sliding bar 41 forward, so that the second door 12 is open. In addition, if the second position detector 32 detects the first protrusion 42, and the first position detector 31 does not detect any protrusion, it is determined that the door 12 has the maximum open state, and the motor 38 is stopped.
As shown in
In addition, if the first position detector 31 detects a protrusion, and the second position detector 32 does not detect a protrusion, the controller 30 determines that the first door 11 is open. In contrast, if the first position detector 31 does not any protrusion, and the second position detector 32 detects a protrusion, the controller 30 determines that the second door 12 is open.
If both of the first and second position detectors 31 and 32 do not detect the first and second protrusions 42 and 43, the controller 30 may determine that the first door 11 or the second door 12 is open or is being opened.
As shown in
Subsequently, if the motor 38 is driven due to the user manipulation of the first switch unit 16 or the second switch unit 17, the controller 30 measures a time, in which the motor 38 is driven, to determine if a first preset time elapses. The first preset time is previously stored in the memory 34, and is obtained by experimentally calculating a time spent until the first and second protrusions 42 and 43 of the first sliding bar 40 deviate from detection regions of the first and second position detectors 31 and 32 after the motor 38 in the waiting state is driven (operation S30).
Next, if the controller 30 determines that the first preset time has elapsed in operation S30, the controller 30 determines if a first state comes. In this case, the first state means an initial time point at which the first protrusion 42 enters the detection region of the second position detector 32 or the second protrusion 43 enters the detection region of the first position detector 31 due to continuous rotation of the motor 38 after the first and second protrusions 42 and 43 of the first sliding bar 40 have deviated from the detection regions of the first and second position detectors 31 and 32 (operation S40).
Thereafter, the controller 30 determines if a second preset time elapses after the first state is determined in operation S40. The second preset time is previously stored in the memory 34, and means a time spent until the first protrusion 42 of the first sliding bar 40 or the second protrusion 43 moves into a reliable detection region of the second position sensor 32 or the first position sensor 31 from the initial time point at which the first protrusion 42 enters the detection region of the second position detector 32 or the second protrusion 43 enters the detection region of the first position detector 31 (operation S50).
Next, if the controller 30 determines that the second preset time has elapsed in operation S50, the controller 30 stops the motor 38 and determines if a third preset time elapses. In this case, the third preset time is previously stored in the memory 34, and means a time, in which the motor 38 is stopped, in order to reduce noise created when the direction of the motor 38 is changed (operations S60 and S70).
As shown in
Then, if the motor 38 is driven, the controller 30 measures the driving time of the motor 38 to determine if a fourth preset time has elapsed. The fourth preset time is previously stored in the memory 34. In addition, the fourth preset time is obtained by experimentally calculating a time spent until the motor 38 is driven in a door open state so that the first protrusion 42 or the second protrusion 43 of the sliding bar 40 deviates from the detection region of the second position detector 32 or the first position detector 31 (operation S90).
Thereafter, if the fourth preset time has elapsed in operation S90, the controller 30 determines if a second state comes. The second state means an initial time point at which the first and second protrusions 42 and 43 of the first sliding bar 30 enter the detection regions of the first and second position detectors 31 and 32 due to the continuous rotation of the motor 38 after the first protrusion 42 or the second protrusion has deviated from the detection region of the second position detector 32 or the first position detector 31 (operation S100).
Then, the controller 30 determines if a fifth preset time has elapsed after the second state has come in operation S100. The fifth preset time is previously stored in the memory 34, and means a time spent until the first protrusion 42 or the second protrusion 43 of the first sliding bar 40 moves into the reliable region of the second position detector 32 or the first position detector 31 from the initial time point at which the first protrusion 42 or the second protrusion 43 enters the detection region of the second position detector 32 or the first position detector 31 (operation S110).
Thereafter, if the fifth preset time has elapsed in operation S110, the controller 30 stops the motor 38 to terminate a door opening/closing operation (operation S120).
Meanwhile, the above operational procedure prevents the motor 38 from erroneously operating due to chattering. The chattering refers to a phenomenon in which an electrical contact is abnormally turned on/off for a very short time due to mechanical vibration. According to the present embodiment, the above operation procedure is performed in order to drive the motor 38 for several times previously stored in the memory 34 and open/close the first door 11 or the second door 12, so that the motor 38 moves the sliding bar 40 or 41 into a reliable detection region of the position detectors 31 and 32.
As shown in
Then, the controller 30 determines if the time (T) of the timer 35 exceeds a preset time T. If the time (T) does not exceed the preset time T, the controller 30 determines if the first door 11 or the second door 12 of the refrigerator stays in a waiting state. In other words, the controller 30 determines if the first and second protrusions 42 and 43 are simultaneously detected by the second and first position detectors 32 and 31, respectively, to determine if both of the first and second doors 11 and 12 are closed (operations S220 and S230).
Thereafter, if the first door 11 or the second door 12 of the refrigerator is in the waiting state in operation S230 when power is applied to the first door 11 or the second door 12 of the refrigerator, the controller 30 determines the operational state of the motor 38. If the motor 38 is driven, the controller 30 stops the operation of the motor 38 to terminate the initialization operation. However, if the first door 11 or the second door 12 is in the waiting state when power is applied to the refrigerator, since the motor 38 is in a stop state, the initialization operation is instantly terminated (operations S260 and S270).
Meanwhile, if the first door 11 or the second door 12 is not in the waiting state in operation S230, the controller 30 determines if the first door 11 is open. In other words, the controller 30 determines if the second protrusion 43 of the sliding bar 40 is detected by the first position detector 31. However, the first and second position detectors 31 and 32 do not detect the type of the first and second protrusions 42 and 43. Accordingly, if the first position detector 31 detects a protrusion, and the second position detector 32 does not detect a protrusion, the controller 30 determines that the first door 11 is open through the program previously stored in the memory 34 (operation S240).
Thereafter, if the controller 30 determines that the first door 11 is open in operation S240, the controller 30 rotates the motor 38 in the second direction (counterclockwise) to move the first sliding bar 40 such that the first door 11 is closed (operation S280).
Then, if the controller 30 determines that the first door 11 is not open in operation S240, the controller 30 determines if the second door 12 is open. In other words, the controller 30 determines that the first protrusion 42 of the first sliding bar 40 is detected by the second position detector 32. However, the first and second position detectors 31 and 32 do not detect the type of the protrusions 42 and 43. Accordingly, if the second position detector 32 detects the protrusion, and the first position detector 31 does not detect the protrusion, the controller 30 determines that the second door 12 is open through the program previously stored in the memory 34 (operation S250).
Thereafter, if the controller 30 determines that the second door 12 is open in operation S250, the controller 30 rotates the motor 38 in the first direction (clockwise) to move the first sliding bar 40 such that the second door 12 is closed (operation S290).
Meanwhile, if the controller 30 determines that the first door 11 or the second door 12 is not in any one of the waiting state, a first door open state, and a second door open state in operations S230 to S250, the controller 30 rotates the motor 38 in a reference direction stored in the memory 34. In other words, in the case of an open state of a certain door as shown in the table of
Thereafter, if the motor 38 is rotated in operations S280 to S300, the controller 30 returns to operation S220 to determine if the time T of the timer 45 exceeds the preset time T1. If the time T of the timer 45 does not the preset time T1, the controller 30 determines if the doors 11 and 12 are adjusted to the waiting state due to the rotation of the motor 38. In this case, if the doors 11 and 12 do not become the waiting state until the time T of the timer 45 exceeds the preset time T1, the controller 30 stops the operation of the motor 38, determines that the door opening device 20 is failed, and displays the failure of the door opening device 20 on the display unit 37 (operations S310 to S330).
If the door 11 or 12 becomes the waiting state within the preset time T1 through the above procedure, the controller 30 determines the operational state of the motor 38 and then stops the motor 38 to terminate the initialization operation (operations S260 and S270).
As shown in
The sliding bars 40 and 41 are geared with both sides of the motor 38 (e.g., a rack and a pinion assembly) such that the two first and second doors 11 and 12 can be selectively pushed, and the two first and second protrusions 42 and 43 are provided on the first sliding bar 40 to be detected by the first and second position detectors 31 and 32. One protrusion 44 is provided on the second sliding bar 41, so that the position of the second sliding bar 41 can be detected by the third position detector 33.
The motor 38 is geared with the first and second sliding bars 40 and 41 (e.g., a rack and a pinion assembly) to rotate. When the motor 30 rotates in a first direction (clockwise), the first door 11 is open by the first sliding bar 40. When the motor 38 rotates in a second direction (counterclockwise), the second door 12 can be open by the second sliding bar 41.
The first to third position detectors 31 to 33 detect the rotation position of the motor 38, that is, positions of the first and second sliding bars 40 and 41. In detail, the first to third position detectors 31 to 33 can detect magnets (not shown) provided in the three protrusions 42, 43, and 44 to detect the rotation position of the motor 38.
Meanwhile, when both of the two first and second doors 11 and 12 are closed, that is, when both of the two first and second doors 11 and 12 are in a waiting state, the first and second position detectors 31 and 32 detect the second and third protrusions 42 and 43, and the third position detector 33 does not detect the third protrusion 44.
Hereinafter, the operation of the door opening device 20 will be described with reference to
As shown in
As shown in
In addition, as shown in
In addition, as shown in
As shown in
Then, the controller 30 determines if the time T of the timer 35 exceeds a preset time T1. If the time T does not exceed the preset time T1, the controller 30 determines if the first and second doors 11 and 12 of the refrigerator are in the waiting state. In other words, the controller 30 determines if the first and second protrusions 42 and 43 of the first sliding bar 40 are detected by the first and second position detectors 31 and 32, and the third position detector 33 does not detect the protrusion 44, to determine the closed state of the first and second doors 11 and 12 (operations S420 and S430)
Next, if the controller 30 determines that both of the first and second doors 11 and 12 are in the waiting state when the refrigerator is powered on in operation S430, the controller 30 determines the operational state of the motor 38. Accordingly, if the motor 48 is operating, the controller 30 stops the rotation of the motor 38 and terminates the initialization operation. However, if the first and second doors 11 and 12 are in the waiting state when the refrigerator is powered on, since the motor 38 has been stopped, the initialization operation is instantly terminated (operations S450 and S460).
Meanwhile, the controller 30 determines that both of the first and second doors 11 and 12 of the refrigerator are not in the waiting state in operation S430, the controller 30 determines if the third protrusion 44 is detected by the third position detector 33. In other words, the controller 30 determines if the third protrusion 33 of the second sliding bar 41 is detected by the third position detector 44.
Thereafter, the controller 30 determines that the door 12 is open if the third protrusion 44 is detected by the third position detector 33 in operation S440, and rotates the motor 38 in the first direction (clockwise) to move the second sliding bar 41 such that the second door 12 is closed (operation S470).
Therefore, the controller 30 determines that the first door 11 is open if the third protrusion 44 is not detected by the third position detector 33, and rotates the motor 38 in the second direction (counterclockwise) to move the first sliding bar 40 such that the first door 11 is closed in operation S470. In other words, the controller 30 determines that the second door 12 is open if the third protrusion 44 is detected by the third position detector 33, and the first door 11 is open if the third protrusion 44 is not detected by the third position detector 33 according to the program stored in the memory 34. Accordingly, the controller 30 rotates the motor 38 such that the two first and second doors 11 and 12 are regulated to be closed, that is, be in the waiting state (operation S480).
If the motor 38 rotates in operations S470 to S480, the controller 30 returns to operation S420 to determine if the time T of the timer 35 exceeds the preset time T1. If the time T of the timer 35 does not exceed the time T1, the controller 30 repeats operations S430 to S440. In this case, if the first and second doors 11 and 12 do not reach the waiting state until the time T of the timer 35 exceeds the time T1, the controller 30 stops the motor 38, determines that the door opening device 20 is failed, and displays the failure of the door opening device 20 on the display unit 37 (operations S490 to S510).
However, if the first and second doors 11 and 12 reach the waiting state within the preset time T1 through the above procedure, the controller 30 determines the operational state of the motor 38 and then stops the motor 38, thereby terminating the initialization operation (operations S450 and S460).
Although few embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
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