US 11,326,828 B2Granted

Refrigerator and controlling method thereof

AssigneeLG Electronics Inc.

InventorsYonghwan Eom, Hoyoun Lee, Youngjin Kim

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A refrigerator including a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion unit that constitute a refrigeration cycle, an evaporator that evaporates a refrigerant that has passed through the expansion unit, a heating unit that provides heat for defrosting the evaporator, and a frost sensor unit that is provided at one side of the evaporator to sense the amount of frost on the evaporator, the frost sensor unit including a sound-source transmitting unit that generates a sound-source of a first volume to the evaporator, and a sound-source receiving unit that receives a sound-source of a second volume formed after the sound-source transmitted by the sound-source transmitting unit reflects from or passes through the evaporator, and a controller that controls the heating unit to generate heat, when the difference between the first volume and the second volume reaches a predetermined value.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A refrigerator, comprising:

an inner case having a storage chamber;
a cover plate provided at a rear portion of the inner case, wherein the storage chamber is formed at a front side of the cover plate;
an evaporator that is provided in a space formed at a rear side of the cover plate, the evaporator including a refrigerant pipe and cooling fins;
a heater that provides heat for defrosting the evaporator, the heater provided at a side of the refrigerant pipe;
and
a frost sensor that is configured to sense an amount of frost on the evaporator, the frost sensor being provided in the space formed at the rear side of the cover plate, the frost sensor including:
a sound-source transmitter that generates a sound-source of a first volume to the evaporator;
and
a sound-source receiver that receives a sound-source of a second volume formed after the sound-source transmitted by the sound-source transmitter reflects from or passes through the evaporator, and
a controller that controls the heater to generate heat, when the difference between the first volume and the second volume reaches a predetermined value.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/569,805Filed 13 Sep 2019 · continuation
Priority: KR 10-2010-001602823 Feb 2010
Published: US 2020/0003478 A12 Jan 2020
Granted: 10 May 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

F25D 21/02
Defrosting; Preventing frosting; Removing condensed or defrost water: detecting the presence of frost or condensate
F25D 21/006
Defroster control: with electronic control circuits
G01N 29/48
Processing the detected response signal , e.g. electronic circuits specially adapted therefor: by amplitude comparison
F25B 2700/111
Sensor to detect if defrost is necessary: using an emitter and receiver, e.g. sensing by emitting light or other radiation and receiving…

Family

PCT/KR2011/001046Parent of this division · filed 17 Feb 2011
Application14/961,595Parent of this continuation · filed 7 Dec 2015
US 9,328,953 B2Parent of this division · filed 3 May 2016
US 10,488,098 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 26 Nov 2019
US 2020/0003478 A1Pre-grant publication · published 2 Jan 2020
Application13/580,417Parent of this division
Application14/961,595Parent of this division
US 2013/0042638 A1Published application
US 2016/0084566 A1Published application
US 11,326,828 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.