Method for controlling a refrigerator, a control unit and a refrigerator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerators consume excessive electrical energy during opening hours due to maintaining a lower temperature even when food and beverages are not being sold or consumed, leading to unnecessary energy usage.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a real-time usage-based control method that adjusts the refrigerator's operation mode between a lower and higher temperature depending on customer behavior, store hours, and other factors, introducing an intermediate time interval to switch to a higher temperature mode when usage is detected as absent, thereby reducing energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the refrigerator maintains a lower temperature during opening hours, then the food and beverages are ready for consumption when customers arrive, but the electrical energy consumption increases unnecessarily when no sales occur
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerator temperature is made dynamic rather than static. The control system continuously monitors usage patterns and adjusts the temperature setpoint in real-time, switching between lower temperature mode during active sales periods and higher temperature mode during inactive periods, thereby optimizing energy consumption while maintaining food safety
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback control by monitoring actual usage behavior (door openings, sales transactions) and using this information to adjust temperature settings. The control unit receives feedback about whether the refrigerator is actually being used and modifies the cooling strategy accordingly, preventing unnecessary energy consumption during low-usage periods
2Use of energy by moving object
If the refrigerator switches to higher temperature mode during closing hours, then energy consumption is reduced, but the temperature adjustment time may conflict with opening hours if usage patterns are unpredictable
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary cooling actions before anticipated opening hours based on learned usage patterns. By analyzing historical data, the control unit predicts when the refrigerator will be needed and initiates pre-cooling sequences ensuring the temperature is ready before customers arrive, while still allowing for energy-saving higher temperature periods during confirmed inactive times
3Device complexity
If a fixed timer schedule is used for temperature adjustment, then the control is simple to implement, but it cannot adapt to actual usage variations such as absent sales during opening hours or irregular customer behavior
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerator control system serves itself by automatically learning and adapting to usage patterns without requiring manual programming or intervention. The system monitors its own usage data, identifies patterns autonomously, and adjusts temperature settings based on this self-acquired knowledge, eliminating the need for complex manual timer schedules while achieving high adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The control system dynamically changes operational parameters (temperature setpoints, cooling intensity, timing) based on observed usage patterns. Rather than using fixed timer schedules, the system continuously adjusts these parameters in response to actual customer behavior, achieving adaptability while keeping the control logic relatively simple through pattern recognition algorithms
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for controlling a refrigerator. The method comprises the steps of establishing a time interval of a certain duration, a first use of the refrigerator starting a first time interval, starting a subsequent time interval based on the start of the first time interval, and subtracted a time difference. The subsequent time interval subtracted a time difference is being used for starting a cool-down period of the subsequent time interval. The invention also relates to a control unit for the refrigerator and to a refrigerator with such control unit.