Refrigeration device and method for detecting filling of wrong refrigerant
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Solution Overview
Problem
In refrigeration apparatuses, incorrect refrigerant charging can lead to reduced refrigeration capacity, abnormal pressure increases, and potential damage due to incompatibility, as operators may mistakenly charge a different refrigerant, which existing systems fail to detect reliably.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that determine the saturation temperature characteristics of the charged refrigerant by deriving them from pressure and temperature, issuing an alarm if different from the normal refrigerant, and prohibiting operation if incompatible, ensuring accurate detection and prevention of capacity decreases or damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If refrigerant charging is performed manually by operator, then charging operation can be completed, but risk of charging wrong refrigerant type increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system measures pressure and temperature of the charged refrigerant, derives saturation temperature characteristics, and compares them with stored characteristics of the correct refrigerant type. This feedback mechanism automatically verifies whether the correct refrigerant has been charged, eliminating reliance on manual operator accuracy while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual visual identification and operator judgment with an automated measurement and comparison system. Pressure and temperature sensors automatically detect refrigerant properties, and a processor compares these measurements against stored reference data, substituting human judgment with objective instrumental measurement.
2Measurement precision
If saturation temperature characteristics are derived and compared, then wrong refrigerant detection accuracy improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses existing pressure and temperature sensors already present in the refrigeration apparatus for their primary cooling control functions, and simultaneously utilizes these same measurements for refrigerant type identification. This multi-functionality approach avoids adding dedicated detection hardware, thereby improving measurement precision without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms readily available pressure and temperature parameters into saturation temperature characteristics through mathematical derivation. By comparing these derived characteristics against stored reference profiles, the system achieves high refrigerant identification accuracy using simple computational processing rather than complex physical measurement apparatus.
3Reliability
If alarm and prohibition mechanisms are implemented, then prevention of damage improves, but operational convenience decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs refrigerant type verification immediately after charging is completed, before the refrigeration apparatus is started for normal operation. By detecting wrong refrigerant types in advance and issuing alarms or prohibition signals before startup, the system prevents damage without interfering with the actual operation of the refrigeration function.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit acts as an intermediary between the refrigerant charging process and the refrigeration operation. It mediates by verifying refrigerant type characteristics and conditionally permitting or prohibiting startup based on the verification result, thereby preventing damage while maintaining operational convenience for legitimate cases.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively detects and prevents issues related to incorrect refrigerant charging, ensuring reliable operation and preventing damage by accurately identifying and addressing deviations in refrigerant characteristics, thus enhancing the reliability of refrigeration apparatuses.
Implementation Method 1
a characteristics determiner (101) configured to derive saturation temperature characteristics of a refrigerant charged into the refrigerant circuit (20) from a pressure and a temperature of the refrigerant
Implementation Method 2
a heat exchanger temperature detector and a pressure detector. At the time of stopping its operation, when a temperature of the exchanger is detected by the temperature detector
Implementation Method 3
the pressure detector detects a pressure in the cycle at that time
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for detecting whether a different refrigerant has been charged into a refrigeration apparatus (10) including a refrigerant circuit (20) includes: a charging step of charging a refrigerant into the refrigerant circuit (20); a characteristics determination step of determining whether saturation temperature characteristics of the refrigerant charged in the charging step are identical to saturation temperature characteristics of a previously determined normal refrigerant, the saturation temperature characteristics of the refrigerant being derived from a pressure and a temperature of the refrigerant; and an alerting step of, when, in the characteristics determination step, a determination is made that the saturation temperature characteristics of the charged refrigerant are different from those of the normal refrigerant, issuing an alarm indicating that the charged refrigerant is different from the normal refrigerant.