Patent · US Active

Refrigerator and controlling method thereof

US11326828B2 · kind B2 · utility

0Cited by
19References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 13, 2019
Grant dateMay 10, 2022
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 15, 2040

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01N2291/102
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

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.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.