Refrigerator Power-Failure Cooling With Battery Mode Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators face challenges in maintaining cooling performance during power failures, as they require high starting voltage and large battery capacity, leading to increased manufacturing costs and inefficient power consumption.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator system that includes a commercial power supply unit, a battery, a power detection unit, and a power converter, which switches to a low-power operation mode during power failures by using battery power, reducing consumption and maintaining cooling performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a battery is provided to supply power during power failure, then the refrigerator can maintain cooling performance, but the battery capacity must be large to satisfy starting voltage requirements and long-term operation, increasing manufacturing costs
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerator performs preliminary cooling of the storage space before power failure occurs, storing cold energy in the form of cooled air and refrigerated contents. This preliminary action allows the refrigerator to maintain cooling performance during power failure without requiring a large battery capacity, as the pre-cooled environment acts as an energy buffer.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit changes operational parameters by adjusting the compressor and fan operation modes based on power availability. During normal operation, the system operates at full capacity to pre-cool the space. During power failure, it transitions to a maintenance mode with reduced power consumption, optimizing the balance between cooling performance and battery usage.
2Reliability
If the refrigerator operates continuously to maintain preset temperature, then cooling performance is maintained, but power consumption is large
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerator implements periodic operation of the compressor and fans instead of continuous operation. The control unit cycles the compressor on and off based on temperature sensor feedback, maintaining the preset temperature while allowing periods of inactivity that reduce overall power consumption. This periodic action is particularly effective when combined with pre-cooling before power failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The refrigerator uses temperature sensors to continuously monitor the storage space temperature and provides feedback to the control unit. This feedback mechanism allows the system to adjust compressor and fan operation dynamically, running them only when necessary to maintain temperature, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption while ensuring temperature stability.
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
The system stably supplies power to the refrigerator during outages, reducing energy consumption and extending battery life, thus maintaining food freshness and minimizing costs.
Implementation Method 1
a battery (40) connected to the commercial power supply unit (30)
Implementation Method 2
cool air generated by being heat-exchanged with a refrigerant circulated into a refrigeration cycle
Implementation Method 3
operate a compressor
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a refrigerator. The refrigerator may include a power supply unit configured to power the refrigerator using commercial power, a battery coupled to the power supply unit and configured to supply auxiliary power to the refrigerator, a power detection unit coupled to the power supply unit and the battery and configured to detect whether power is being supplied from the power supply unit, a driving unit to provide cold air, and a controller configured to control an operational mode of the driving unit based on the detection at the power detection unit. When the power supply unit is supplying power, the driving unit may be controlled to operate in a normal operation mode, and when the power supply unit is not supplying power, the driving unit may be controlled to operate in a power failure operation mode and to control the power to be supplied from the battery.