Refrigerator and / or freezer

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and / or freezer with a body containing a cooled interior space, which has a usable area for storing cooled and / or frozen goods, and one or more lighting units arranged in the cooled interior space and / or on the body, wherein a control unit is provided which is configured to output control signals to the lighting units, wherein a bus system is provided which is connected to the control unit and to the lighting units in such a way that the lighting units are controlled by the control unit using the bus system.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator and / or freezer with a body containing a cooled interior space which has a usable space for storing cooled and / or frozen goods, and one or more lighting units which are arranged in the cooled interior space and / or on the body, wherein a control unit is provided which is configured to output control signals to the lighting units.

[0002] It is known from the prior art that lighting units in cooling appliances can only be controlled as a whole unit with regard to the brightness and color of the light sources, such as LEDs.

[0003] It is known that the lighting is controlled by electronic control units, with one control output used for each LED color. For example, in RGBW lighting systems, this means that four individually controllable light outputs are required, one for each light color. Furthermore, the entire wiring of the device must be correspondingly complex.

[0004] The present invention is based on the objective of further developing a cooling and / or freezing appliance of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that complex control of the lighting means is possible without the need for elaborate hardware, in particular elaborate wiring.

[0005] This problem is solved by a refrigerator and / or freezer with the features of claim 1.

[0006] It is then provided that a bus system is available which is connected to the control unit and to the lighting units in such a way that the lighting units are controlled by the control unit using the bus system.

[0007] This makes it possible, for example, to individually control individual or segmented LEDs or other light sources within a lighting unit, without having to lay individual wiring for each LED.

[0008] It is conceivable to dynamically control multiple lighting units and / or multiple light sources within a lighting unit independently of each other. This enables flexibly changeable lighting scenarios.

[0009] This means that new light modules or light modules with enhanced functionality compared to the state of the art can be controlled via a separate control bus.

[0010] For slow processes, this can be the existing device bus system or a separate bus system tailored to lighting requirements. Such a bus system forms the architectural basis for various future lighting solutions.

[0011] At least one lighting unit can be used to illuminate the interior as well as an area outside the device or the outside of the device.

[0012] At least one lighting unit can be used for both lighting purposes, such as illuminating the cooled interior, and for effect purposes.

[0013] The lighting units can be used independently or combined with other functions.

[0014] The commands required for controlling the light modules come from a control unit, which represents the counterpart of the bus system for the lighting unit(s).

[0015] The bus system can be either a wired bus system or a wireless system.

[0016] The connection of the wired bus system to the lighting unit(s) can be either galvanically coupled or galvanically isolated.

[0017] The galvanic isolation of the bus system's control signals from the lighting units' supply voltage offers the advantage of being able to scale the light output independently of the control electronics' performance.

[0018] In a simple design, the bus system can be unidirectional, meaning the lighting units can only receive control signals.

[0019] In this case, the bus system is designed to operate unidirectionally, so that it can only transmit control signals to the lighting unit, but cannot receive signals from the lighting unit.

[0020] The invention also includes a bidirectional bus system. This allows the lighting units to be connected bidirectionally, e.g., in both half-duplex and full-duplex modes.

[0021] The bus system can therefore be designed to operate bidirectionally, so that it can transmit control signals to the lighting unit as well as receive signals from the lighting unit.

[0022] The design of the bus system (uni- / bidirectional; half- / full-duplex) must be considered in combination with galvanic isolation.

[0023] The wireless connection of the lighting units can be achieved by taking the power supply for the wireless system from the power supply of the lighting units.

[0024] In a further embodiment of the invention, it is thus provided that the lighting unit has a radio interface for wireless control of the lighting unit by the bus system, that the lighting unit has a power supply and that the power supply is designed in such a way that it also forms the power supply for the radio interface.

[0025] In a further embodiment of the invention, a control intelligence is provided which is located only in the control unit, only in the lighting units, or both in the control unit and in the lighting units.

[0026] A "control intelligence" refers to a processor and an algorithm or software that is executed by the processor of the control unit and / or the lighting device in order to achieve, for example, certain lighting effects.

[0027] The distribution of the control intelligence can therefore be placed on the controller of the control unit, on the lighting units, or on both.

[0028] The control complexity on the lighting units and / or on the controller of the control unit can vary depending on the application, from the joint control of all light sources installed on a lighting unit to the individual control of each individual light source (such as LEDs), and may be varied or adjustable, i.e. by a user or service technician or at the factory.

[0029] For this purpose, for example, a controller is used on each control unit, which forms the interface to the light bus system and performs the control of the light sources used on the lighting unit.

[0030] The light sources are controlled by the controller. This can be done individually or in corresponding control groups.

[0031] In a further embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the control unit and / or the lighting unit has an interface for communication with an external device.

[0032] Preferably, it is a wireless radio interface.

[0033] This has the advantage that communication with the user's device, such as a mobile phone or tablet, is possible. The user can then, if necessary, select a lighting type via an app, such as the light color, the number and / or distribution of the lighting units activated (e.g., when a door is opened), the brightness, lighting effects, etc.

[0034] The control unit and / or the lighting equipment itself can be networked via appropriate communication devices and thus controlled via app or other external applications.

[0035] It is possible to purchase or configure additional options via the app or other means, so that the scope of use can be adjusted to include different lighting effects depending on the scope of the booked options.

[0036] This also allows different lighting scenarios to be created offline and executed on the device.

[0037] The invention also relates to a group of two or more than two refrigerators and / or freezers, wherein a common bus system is provided via which the lighting units of several appliances are controlled. The common bus system can form part of an appliance or be implemented as an external unit.

[0038] This also makes it possible to configure multiple devices on the same bus system. This allows for innovative lighting designs, particularly in the business and industrial sectors.

[0039] The lighting units can be designed in such a way that corresponding updates to the control software are possible via the bus system.

[0040] The control unit allows for the implementation of a wide variety of lighting scenarios.

[0041] It is conceivable that the control unit and / or the bus system is designed to control the light color and / or the lighting location of the lighting devices depending on at least one parameter.

[0042] The parameter(s) can be, for example, one or more of the following: actual value (e.g., temperature or humidity in the cooled interior), target value (e.g., temperature or humidity in the cooled interior), deviation between actual and target value, change in target value (e.g., red for an increase in the target value, blue for a decrease in the target value), presence of a warning, time of day, type of chilled or frozen goods (e.g., wine, soft drinks, mineral water, fruit, vegetables, etc.), storage duration of the chilled or frozen goods, time difference between the actual storage duration and the maximum permissible storage duration of the chilled or frozen goods, degree of meat maturation in a dry-aging appliance.

[0043] It is possible that alarms are indicated by a light on the device (e.g., red or yellow). For example, the device could light up red if the temperature does not meet the specifications or light up yellow if there are instructions to follow.

[0044] It is also conceivable to set a custom lighting scenario (e.g., via app or other input devices). For example, ambient lighting / mood lighting / indoor lighting can be set, i.e., a change from cool to warm white, or a change of colors depending on the time of day or other events.

[0045] It is also possible (for example, with a beverage cooler) to define brand-specific lighting effects, including the option of defining "signature lighting effects" that draw attention to the products inside and are individually associated with specific brands. Sales psychology effects of color on the purchasing process can also be achieved through the lighting of the devices (e.g., with beverage coolers / ice cream freezers or food retail equipment).

[0046] In a further embodiment, the device has a detection means or is connected to a detection means, wherein the detection means is configured to detect user input, wherein the detection means are connected to the control unit and / or to the bus system, and wherein the control unit and / or the bus system is configured to control the lighting means depending on the user input.

[0047] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to claim 13, characterized in that the input means is a camera or a touch surface or a keyboard of the device or of an external device, in particular a smartphone or tablet.

[0048] The following applications are conceivable, for example: • Inventory management of wine (or other beverages): The intended position of a wine bottle is displayed on the device using light (spot functionality) after scanning in an app. o Help in finding a bottle: The position of the wine bottle is indicated by light (spot functionality) to facilitate targeted removal. The color signal can indicate wine bottles whose maximum storage period has been exceeded or who have reached their drinking age. -> The area lights up red / yellow, for example. • Food inventory management: ◯ In combination with a camera, the cooling unit can use light to indicate expired or improperly stored food. ◯ In combination with a camera, the position of a food item from the digital inventory is displayed using light. • Inventory management Scientific / Healthcare ◯ Light can indicate expired medications or other samples via light (spot functionality) and make them known to the user. ◯ Help in locating a medication / sample: Position is indicated via light (spot functionality) to facilitate targeted removal.

[0049] It should be noted here that the terms "ein" and "eine" do not necessarily refer to exactly one of the elements, although this is a possible interpretation, but can also denote a plurality of elements. Likewise, the use of the plural also includes the presence of the element in question in the singular, and conversely, the singular also includes several of the elements in question.

[0050] Furthermore, all features of the invention described herein can be combined with one another or claimed separately from one another as desired.

[0051] Further details and advantages of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an exemplary embodiment described below.

[0052] The embodiment relates to a cooling appliance with several lighting units located inside and on the outside of the appliance.

[0053] Each of the lighting units has a plurality of LEDs.

[0054] The device also includes a control unit that communicates with the multiple lighting units via a control bus and transmits commands or control signals to them via the control bus.

[0055] The complexity of the commands can vary depending on the use case.

[0056] For example, the PWM parameters (PWM = Pulse Width Modulation) of the available LED channels can be transmitted. This requires little intelligence on the lighting unit. However, this does require a correspondingly high bandwidth for the bus system.

[0057] On the other hand, complex commands can also be transmitted.

[0058] The implementation into the corresponding lighting scene is then carried out by the intelligence of the lighting unit, such as a processor of the lighting unit.

[0059] The control bus can use control signals to synchronize the lighting elements, all channels within a lighting unit, and all other connected lighting units.

[0060] This may be necessary for optical reasons as well as for reasons of recording performance.

[0061] According to the invention, lighting units with the following properties can be realized: • Individual color and brightness settings, whereby the color and brightness settings can be individually implemented down to each individual light source. • Flash and spot functionalities to generate warnings or to selectively direct the viewer's focus. • Dynamic, time-changing light displays

[0062] Any number of lighting units can be connected to the bus system.

[0063] The various lighting units can be powered by one or several independent voltage sources. Galvanic isolation ensures that all units can still be controlled synchronously.

[0064] The lighting units can be positioned anywhere inside or outside the device. For example, the lighting unit(s) can be located inside the cooled interior and serve to illuminate it.

[0065] It is conceivable that a user could use an app or directly on the device to set a light color, the light distribution (back, front, right, left, top and bottom), the brightness, etc., and then transmit this setting to the control unit and / or the lighting unit(s) of the device.

[0066] These signals are then stored in a memory of the device and, in the event of a specific event, e.g. when the door is opened, at a specific time, depending on the time of day, etc., are passed from the control unit to the control bus and from there to the lighting units, which implement this accordingly.

[0067] This makes it possible to adjust the lighting of the device (inside and / or outside) individually for each user.

Claims

[1] Refrigerator and / or freezer with a body containing a cooled interior space which has a usable space for storing cooled and / or frozen goods, and one or more lighting units arranged in the cooled interior space and / or on the body, wherein a control unit is provided which is configured to output control signals to the lighting units, characterized by that a bus system is present which is connected to the control unit and to the lighting units in such a way that the lighting units are controlled by the control unit using the bus system. [2] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to claim 1, characterized by that the connection of the lighting unit to the bus system is galvanically isolated or galvanically connected. [3] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , that the bus system is designed to operate wirelessly or via wired connections. [4] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to claim 3, characterized by that the lighting unit has a radio interface for wireless control of the lighting unit by the bus system, that the lighting unit has a power supply and that the power supply is designed in such a way that it also provides the power supply for the radio interface. [5] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the bus system is designed to operate unidirectionally, so that it can only transmit control signals to the lighting unit, but cannot receive signals from the lighting unit. [6] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized bythat the bus system is designed to operate bidirectionally, so that it can transmit control signals to the lighting unit as well as receive signals from the lighting unit. [7] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that a control intelligence is present which is located only in the control unit, only in the lighting units, or in both the control unit and the lighting units. [8] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by that the lighting units have only a single or a group of light sources, the light sources preferably being LEDs. [9] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that a control intelligence is present which is designed to control a single light source or a group of light sources. [10] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by that the control unit has an interface for communication with an external device. [11] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the control unit and / or the bus system is designed to control the light color and / or the lighting location of the lighting devices depending on at least one parameter. [12] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to claim 11, characterized by , that the parameter(s) is one or more of the following: actual value, target value, deviation between actual and target value, change in target value, presence of a warning, time of day, type of chilled or frozen goods, storage duration of chilled or frozen goods, time difference between the actual storage duration and a maximum permissible storage duration of chilled or frozen goods, degree of meat maturation. [13] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by that the device has or is connected to a detection means configured to detect user input, wherein the detection means are connected to the control unit and / or the bus system, and wherein the control unit and / or the bus system is configured to control the lighting means depending on the user input. [14] Refrigerator and / or freezer according to claim 13, characterized by that the input devices are a camera, a touch surface, or a keyboard. [15] Group of two or more than two refrigerators and / or freezers according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by that a common bus system exists, via which the multiple devices are controlled.