Refrigeration device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Single-circuit refrigeration devices face challenges in maintaining desired temperatures in multiple zones, especially when ambient temperatures change, leading to inefficient cooling and potential damage to refrigerated goods due to unsuitable temperature deviations.
Innovation Solution
A refrigeration device with temperature sensors placed on evaporators to detect the arrival of liquid refrigerant, allowing for precise control of compressor operation, ensuring effective cooling in one zone without excessively affecting the other, and incorporating a user-activated rapid cooling mode for fresh goods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the compressor is controlled based on the refrigeration demand of one temperature zone, then the cooling efficiency for that zone is improved, but the temperature control in the other zone deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the temperature control into two independent segments: the first temperature zone with its own evaporator and temperature sensor, and the second temperature zone with its own evaporator and temperature sensor. Each zone can be controlled independently through separate compressor operation modes, allowing optimized cooling efficiency for each zone without compromising the other's temperature control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic control modes that can switch between different operational states: a first control mode for cooling the first temperature zone, a second control mode for cooling the second temperature zone, and a third control mode for simultaneous cooling of both zones. This dynamic adaptability allows the system to optimize cooling efficiency for the active zone while maintaining appropriate temperature control in the other zone.
2Productivity
If the evaporators are matched for proportional refrigeration demand, then the system works efficiently under normal conditions, but performance deteriorates when ambient temperature deviates from design conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the system dynamically adaptable to varying ambient temperatures by implementing multiple control modes that can be activated based on actual operating conditions. When ambient temperature deviates from design conditions, the controller can switch between the first, second, and third control modes to maintain optimal performance, preventing the system from being locked into a fixed configuration that only works under specific conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the evaporators and compressor through different control modes. By adjusting which evaporator is active and how the compressor operates, the system can adapt its cooling capacity and distribution to match varying ambient temperature conditions, maintaining both efficiency and adaptability across different environmental scenarios.
3Speed
If the compressor runs continuously to cool warm refrigerated goods in the uncontrolled temperature zone, then the cooling speed is improved, but energy consumption and risk of overcooling in the controlled zone increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cooling function by providing separate evaporators for the first and second temperature zones. When warm refrigerated goods need to be cooled in the uncontrolled zone, the system can activate the second evaporator through the second control mode, directing cooling capacity specifically to that zone without unnecessarily overcooling the controlled zone, thus improving cooling speed while reducing energy waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses temperature sensors in both zones to provide feedback to the controller. This feedback mechanism allows the system to monitor temperature conditions in real-time and adjust compressor operation accordingly, activating cooling only when and where needed, thereby improving cooling speed for warm goods while preventing energy waste from continuous operation and avoiding overcooling in the controlled zone.
4Temperature
If a winter shift mechanism is used to increase refrigeration demand in the warmer zone, then temperature control in both zones is improved, but system efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the need for winter shift mechanisms by segmenting the cooling system into two independently controllable zones with separate evaporators. Each zone's temperature control is handled by its own evaporator under specific control modes, allowing the system to naturally adapt to different ambient temperature conditions without requiring artificial demand manipulation, thus maintaining both temperature control and system efficiency.
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 enables efficient temperature maintenance across zones without empirical curves, quick cooling of newly loaded goods, and minimizes temperature deviations, enhancing the overall performance and safety of refrigerated items.
Implementation Method 1
A first temperature sensor arranged on the downstream evaporator in an upstream region thereof is used to detect the arrival of liquid refrigerant
Implementation Method 2
the refrigerant can either circulate through both evaporators connected in series at the same time or through neither of them
Implementation Method 3
two temperature zones, here a freezer compartment 2 and a normal cooling compartment 3... Both temperature zones, freezer compartment 2 and normal cooling compartment 3, are each assigned an evaporator 5 or 6
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a refrigeration device, in particular a domestic refrigeration device, has at least two different temperature zones (2, 3), which are cooled by evaporators (5, 6) connected in series to a compressor (7), a first temperature sensor (12), and a control circuit (11) for controlling the operation of the compressor (7). The first temperature sensor (12) is arranged on one of the evaporators (5, 6). The control circuit (11) has an operating mode in which the control circuit is designed to switch off the compressor (7) if the first temperature sensor (12) is exposed to a temperature drop while the compressor (7) is switched on.