Cooling system and method of controlling the same

Abstract

An oscillatory wave generating unit and an oscillatory wave sensing unit are installed at both ends of a refrigerant pipe of an evaporator of the cooling system, an amount of frost formed on the refrigerant pipe is determined by comparing a wave form of an oscillatory wave generated from one end of the refrigerant through the oscillatory wave generating unit and a wave form of the oscillatory wave sensed by the other one end of the refrigerant through the oscillatory wave sensing unit, and whether or not a defrosting operation is performed is determined by a result of the determination. The cooling system increases the accuracy in sensing the amount of the frost formed on the evaporator of a refrigerator, a Kimchi refrigerator, or an air conditioner, and respectively starts and ends the defrosting operation at proper points of time, thus enhancing a heat-exchanging performance and increasing energy efficiency.

1 . A cooling system comprising:
 an oscillatory wave generating unit installed at one end of a refrigerant pipe and generating an oscillatory wave;   an oscillatory wave sensing unit installed at the other end of the refrigerant pipe and sensing the oscillatory wave; and   a control unit determining an amount of frost formed on the refrigerant pipe based on a difference of wave forms between the oscillatory wave generated from the oscillatory wave generating unit and the oscillatory wave sensed by the oscillatory wave sensing unit.   
   
   
       2 . The cooling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the difference of wave forms is a phase difference between the oscillatory wave generated from the oscillatory wave generating unit and the oscillatory wave sensed by the oscillatory wave sensing unit. 
   
   
       3 . The cooling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the difference of wave forms is an amplitude difference between the oscillatory wave generated from the oscillatory wave generating unit and the oscillatory wave sensed by the oscillatory wave sensing unit. 
   
   
       4 . The cooling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls a defrosting operation based on the amount of frost. 
   
   
       5 . The cooling system according to  claim 4 , wherein the control unit determines an amount of frost remaining on the refrigerant pipe based on the difference of wave forms in the defrosting operation, and determines whether or not the defrosting operation is terminated based on the amount of the remaining frost. 
   
   
       6 . A cooling system comprising:
 a plurality of oscillatory wave generating units installed on a refrigerant pipe and generating oscillatory waves;   a plurality of oscillatory wave sensing units installed on the refrigerant pipe corresponding to the plurality of oscillatory wave generating units and sensing the oscillatory waves; and   a control unit determining amounts of frost formed in sections of the refrigerant pipe based on differences of wave forms between the oscillatory waves generated from the oscillatory wave generating units and the oscillatory waves sensed by the oscillatory wave sensing units.   
   
   
       7 . The cooling system according to  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of oscillatory wave generating units sequentially generates the oscillatory waves. 
   
   
       8 . The cooling system according to  claim 6 , wherein:
 the refrigerant pipe is divided into plural sections; and   the plurality of oscillatory wave generating units are respectively installed at ends of the sections and the plurality of oscillatory wave sensing units are respectively installed at the other ends of the sections.   
   
   
       9 . The cooling system according to  claim 6 , wherein the differences of wave forms are phase differences between the oscillatory waves generated from the plurality of oscillatory wave generating units and the oscillatory waves sensed by the plurality of oscillatory wave sensing units. 
   
   
       10 . The cooling system according to  claim 6 , wherein the differences of wave forms are amplitude differences between the oscillatory waves generated from the plurality of oscillatory wave generating units and the oscillatory waves sensed by the plurality of oscillatory wave sensing units. 
   
   
       11 . The cooling system according to  claim 6 , wherein the control unit controls a defrosting operation based on the amounts of the frost in respective sections. 
   
   
       12 . The cooling system according to  claim 11 , wherein the control unit determines amounts of frost remaining in the sections of the refrigerant pipe in the defrosting operation, and determines whether or not the defrosting operation is completed based on the amounts of the remaining frost. 
   
   
       13 . The cooling system according to  claim 6 , wherein the control unit performs the defrosting operation when the amount of frost in at least one section of the sections is more than a reference amount. 
   
   
       14 . A method of controlling a cooling system, comprising:
 generating an oscillatory wave by operating an oscillatory wave generating unit installed at one end of a refrigerant pipe;   sensing the oscillatory wave by an oscillatory wave sensing unit installed at the other end of the refrigerant pipe; and   determining an amount of frost formed on the refrigerant pipe based on a difference of wave forms between the generated oscillatory wave and the sensed oscillatory wave.   
   
   
       15 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the determination of the amount of frost includes calculating a phase difference between the generated oscillatory wave and the sensed oscillatory wave. 
   
   
       16 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the determination of the amount of frost includes calculating an amplitude difference between the generated oscillatory wave and the sensed oscillatory wave. 
   
   
       17 . The method according to  claim 14 , further comprising determining whether or not it is a defrosting time point based on the amount of the frost formed on the refrigerant pipe. 
   
   
       18 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising:
 performing a defrosting operation, when it is determined that it is the defrosting time point;   determining an amount of frost remaining on the refrigerant pipe by generating an oscillatory wave and sensing the oscillatory wave; and   determining whether or not it is a defrosting operation ending time point based on the amount of the remaining frost.   
   
   
       19 . A method of controlling a cooling system, comprising:
 generating oscillatory waves by operating a plurality of oscillatory wave generating units;   sensing the oscillatory waves by a plurality of oscillatory wave sensing units corresponding to the plurality of oscillatory wave generating units; and   determining amounts of frost formed in sections of a refrigerant pipe based on differences of wave forms between the generated oscillatory waves and the sensed oscillatory waves.   
   
   
       20 . The method according to  claim 19 , wherein the generation of the oscillatory waves includes sequentially operating the plurality of oscillatory wave generating units. 
   
   
       21 . The method according to  claim 19 , wherein the sensing of the oscillatory waves includes:
 dividing the refrigerant pipe into plural sections; and   respectively sensing the oscillatory waves in the sections of the refrigerant pipe.   
   
   
       22 . The method according to  claim 19 , wherein the determination of the amounts of frost includes calculating phase differences between the generated oscillatory waves and the sensed oscillatory waves. 
   
   
       23 . The method according to  claim 19 , wherein the determination of the amounts of frost includes calculating amplitude differences between the generated oscillatory waves and the sensed oscillatory waves. 
   
   
       24 . The method according to  claim 19 , further comprising determining whether or not it is a defrosting time point based on the amounts of frost formed in the sections of the refrigerant pipe. 
   
   
       25 . The method according to  claim 24 , further comprising:
 performing a defrosting operation, when it is determined that it is the defrosting time point;   determining amounts of frost remaining in the sections of the refrigerant pipe by generating oscillatory waves and sensing the oscillatory waves; and   determining whether or not it is a defrosting operation ending time point based on the amounts of the remaining frost.   
   
   
       26 . The method according to  claim 19 , further comprising:
 respectively comparing the amounts of frost in the sections with a reference amount; and   performing the defrosting operation, when the amount of frost in at least one section of the sections is more than the reference amount.