Vegetable Compartment LED Synchronization for Uniform Freshness Lighting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerators with multiple vegetable compartments face challenges in maintaining food freshness and visual aesthetics due to uncontrolled light exposure and color interactions, as different wavelengths of light affect the storage life and color preservation of fruits and vegetables.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a synchronization unit that ensures multiple illumination units emit the same color light simultaneously by using PWM signals with synchronized duty cycles applied to LEDs, ensuring consistent light exposure across compartments while scanning a range of the light spectrum.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different illumination units in different vegetable compartments emit different colored lights independently, then each compartment can provide optimal wavelength for specific vegetable types, but the color interactions between compartments create visual inconsistency and uncontrolled light exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the control of multiple illumination units by introducing a central control unit that coordinates all LED modules across different compartments. This control unit receives feedback from sensors and sends synchronized control signals to ensure all compartments emit light of the same color simultaneously, thereby eliminating color interaction issues while maintaining the ability to provide optimal wavelengths for different vegetable types.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where sensors detect the actual light emission and compartment conditions, and this information is fed back to the central control unit. The control unit adjusts the PWM duty cycles of different LED modules based on this feedback to maintain synchronized color emission and optimal light exposure for food preservation.
2Productivity
If multiple illumination units operate independently with different PWM duty cycles, then each compartment can be optimized for specific storage conditions, but the light colors are not synchronized creating visual inconsistency when refrigerator door is opened
Solution Approach 1:
The central control unit merges the operation of all illumination units by synchronizing their PWM duty cycles. This ensures that when the refrigerator door is opened, all compartments emit light of the same color simultaneously, creating a consistent and aesthetically pleasing visual appearance while maintaining optimized storage conditions for food freshness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses periodic PWM signals with synchronized duty cycles to control the illumination units. The central control unit coordinates the timing and duration of light emission across all compartments, ensuring periodic synchronization that maintains both food preservation efficiency and visual consistency.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If illumination units scan a wide range of light spectrum continuously, then fruits and vegetables are exposed to varying wavelengths that extend freshness, but the light color changes continuously creating visual instability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic PWM signals to control the illumination units, where the duty cycles are synchronized across all compartments. This periodic control allows the system to scan through different wavelengths over time for food preservation benefits, while the synchronized timing ensures that all compartments transition through color changes simultaneously, maintaining visual stability and consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous light emission with synchronized PWM control across all compartments. This ensures that the useful action of light exposure for food preservation continues without interruption, while the coordinated control maintains visual consistency by ensuring all compartments emit the same color at any given moment.
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 extends the freshness of fruits and vegetables by exposing them to a specific range of light wavelengths, while providing a uniform and esthetically pleasing color appearance inside the refrigerator.
Implementation Method 1
at least one LED having three separate ends that can emit light in three different colors being red, green and blue when fed by the power source
Implementation Method 2
a microprocessor that provides the light having continuously changing wavelength to be emitted by controlling the application of PWM signal having different duty cycles to the ends of the LED such that a certain range of the light spectrum is scanned
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a refrigerator (1) comprising a body (2), more than one compartment (3) disposed inside the body (2), wherein fruits and vegetables are placed and more than one illumination unit (4) that illuminate the inside of the compartment (3), having a power source and more than one LED that can emit light by being fed by the power source and provides the light in the required wavelength to be emitted for preserving the nutritive values of the fruits and vegetables.