WO2020194183A1 - Automatic managing and monitoring system of predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant - Google Patents

Automatic managing and monitoring system of predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2020194183A1
WO2020194183A1 PCT/IB2020/052745 IB2020052745W WO2020194183A1 WO 2020194183 A1 WO2020194183 A1 WO 2020194183A1 IB 2020052745 W IB2020052745 W IB 2020052745W WO 2020194183 A1 WO2020194183 A1 WO 2020194183A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
refrigeration plant
managing
refrigerated zones
zones
automatic system
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2020/052745
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Giangiuseppe TATEO
Michele TATEO
Teresa TATEO
Original Assignee
Centerfrigo S.R.L.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Centerfrigo S.R.L. filed Critical Centerfrigo S.R.L.
Priority to EP20716943.4A priority Critical patent/EP3948814A1/en
Publication of WO2020194183A1 publication Critical patent/WO2020194183A1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F9/00—Details other than those peculiar to special kinds or types of apparatus
    • G07F9/02—Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus
    • G07F9/026—Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D13/00—Stationary devices, e.g. cold-rooms
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D29/00—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B15/00—Systems controlled by a computer
    • G05B15/02—Systems controlled by a computer electric
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
    • G05B19/418—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F9/00—Details other than those peculiar to special kinds or types of apparatus
    • G07F9/10—Casings or parts thereof, e.g. with means for heating or cooling
    • G07F9/105—Heating or cooling means, for temperature and humidity control, for the conditioning of articles and their storage
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
    • F25B2600/00—Control issues
    • F25B2600/07—Remote controls
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
    • F25B49/00—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
    • F25B49/02—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices for compression type machines, plants or systems
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/26—Pc applications
    • G05B2219/2654—Fridge, refrigerator
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P90/00—Enabling technologies with a potential contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
    • Y02P90/02—Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an automatic managing and monitoring system for predetermined refrigerated zones of a small, medium or large refrigeration plant.
  • the automatic system according to the present invention can be implemented with reference to cold rooms, both at positive and negative temperature, i.e. processing rooms and equipment at controlled temperature (e.g., vacuum coo lers, hydrocoo lers and frigid tanks).
  • processing rooms and equipment at controlled temperature e.g., vacuum coo lers, hydrocoo lers and frigid tanks.
  • the present automatic managing and monitoring system is an original technical solution to solve the problems currently encountered in the control and management of data from refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant.
  • the current web servers do not allow signaling, in real time and in an adequate way, any alarms related to anomalies or malfunctions of the monitored refrigeration plant, both as a whole and with specific reference to one or more of its components;
  • Fi q .1 diagrammatically shows an automatic managing and monitoring system of predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant, according to an example of embodiment of the present invention
  • Fi q .2 is a general wiring diagram of a electrical panel with the automatic system shown in Fig.l.
  • the automatic managing and monitoring system of predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to the present invention is indicated by reference numeral 1 as a whole.
  • the automatic system 1 comprises, in a known manner:
  • said Router 3 may be configured to route a plurality of data, divided into packets, to different subnets, thus on logical level representing an internal network node delegated to the level three switching of an 0SI model or the Internet layer in the TCP/IP model. Said indirect data routing can take place to directly connected networks, on heterogeneous physical interfaces, or to other non-neighboring sub-networks, which, through the information contained in routing tables, can be reached through other nodes in the network, ensuring their interoperability ( internetworking );
  • Modem 4 i.e. , a transceiver device having analog or digital modulation/demodulation logic functions, capable of connecting by telephone a terminal to a data transmission network converting digital signals into analog pulses and, during reception, converting or demodulating analog pulses into digital signals;
  • thermo sensors 7 operationally connected to said main PLC 2, configured for detecting data related to temperatures inside the predefined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant, and successive transmission of detected data to said main PLC 2, and
  • a plurality of temperature regulation devices 11 of the monitored temperatures operationally connected to said main PLC 2, configured to regulate the temperatures inside said predefined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant, on the basis of the data detected by said plurality of thermal sensors 7,
  • Said automatic system 1 is also provided with a plurality of motors or ratio motors 8, and a plurality of valves 9.
  • said system 1 is configured to perform the management and monitoring operations of said predefined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant from a remote location, through Cloud Computing 5.
  • a serial communication protocol is configured to establish an operational connection between said main PLC 2 and at least one Remote Control Unit (RTU) 6, i.e. other system components 1 or external to the latter.
  • RTU Remote Control Unit
  • a communication protocol of the CANopen 13 type is configured to operate as a support medium for managing a network for the remote control of the thermal sensors 7 and other system components 1 from a remote location, as well as for managing communications between them and means configured for controlling them from a remote location, said communication protocol of the CANopen 13 (Controller Area Network) type including a transport layer for the segmentation/desegmentation of messages.
  • the system 1 can also include one or more secondary PLCs 10, different from said main PLC 2, and operationally connected to it (Fig. 1).
  • the system 1 may also comprise a Monomaster Multi Slave communication network (MMS) .
  • MMS communication network includes a Field Bus 12.
  • MMS communication network includes a Field Bus 12.
  • Connection means are provided for the operational connection of said system 1, through said main PLC 2, to one or more external devices.
  • the system 1 may comprise connection means to a personal computer (PC) 14 or a tablet 15, HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) type connection means 16, or connection means to a mobile device (mobile Internet device or MID or mobile computing device) 17, such as a mobile phone, PDA, smartphone, tablet, MP3 player, or GPS receiver (Fig. 1).
  • Said main PLC 2 may be implemented with dedicated software means, defined for a predetermined refrigeration plant, and configured for the processing of analogical and digital signals coming from said thermal sensors 7, and subsequent transmission of said processed signals to a plurality of actuators 8, 9, 11 of the refrigeration plant.
  • said main PLC 2 can be implemented with dedicated software means, defined for standard refr gerat on plants, and configured for the processing of analogical and digital signals coming from said thermal sensors 7, and for subsequent transmitting said processed signals to a plurality of actuators 8, 9, 11 of the refrigeration plant.
  • Said system 1 can be configured for the installation in an electrical cabinet (e.g. the electrical cabinet S diagrammatically shown in Fig. 2), downstream of differential and breaker switches of said electrical panel , to allow the automatic management of said refrigeration plant.
  • an electrical cabinet e.g. the electrical cabinet S diagrammatically shown in Fig. 2
  • differential and breaker switches of said electrical panel downstream of differential and breaker switches of said electrical panel
  • said system 1 can be configured for installation in a plurality of electrical panels, downstream of the respective differential and breaker switches, said electrical panels being each installed upstream of said refrigeration plant.
  • Hardware and software means may be provided in said main PLC 2 for the real-time generation of an alarm signal , upon the detection of a thermal variation or other anomaly condition in one or more of said predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant.
  • said system 1 may further include hardware and software means which, following the execution of a step of starting-up said system 1 and of controlling of the operation of each of its components, activate a stand-by mode of the system 1 in response to the detection of a state of system i noperateness for a predetermined time, said system stand-by mode 1 remaining operational until a specific input is detected by the operator, or the reception of a signal relating to the detection, through one or more said thermal sensors 7, of a thermal variation or other anomaly condition in one or more of said predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant.
  • the consumption needed for the operation of the system 1 can be appreciably optimized.
  • system 1 can also be implemented with hardware and software means configured for interaction with an intelligent mobile device (e.g. a smartphone, tablet or similar), to achieve the convenient direct management of the monitoring of said predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant from a remote location.
  • an intelligent mobile device e.g. a smartphone, tablet or similar
  • Alert or alarm means may be provided in said system 1 to provide an alarm signal (e.g. visual and/or acoustic) when an anomaly condition of the monitored refrigeration plant is detected.
  • an alarm signal e.g. visual and/or acoustic
  • the claimed system 1 can be applied i n :
  • said automatic system 1 allows the timely recognition of temperature variations (even small ones) and/or other anomalies in these predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant (e.g. , refrigerated rooms), allowing the timely sending of an alarm signal and the subsequent execution of monitoring and/or intervention operations on the refrigeration plant in a considerably short time.
  • the claimed system 1 also has advantages in terms of high adaptability, being applicable to different types of small , medium and large refrigerated systems.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
  • Devices That Are Associated With Refrigeration Equipment (AREA)

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automatic managing and monitoring system (1) of the refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant, substantially consisting of a main PLC (2); a Router (3); a Modem (4); a Cloud Computing (5), a Modbus RTU (6), a plurality of thermal sensors (7) for an appropriate control of the temperatures of the refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant; a plurality of motors or ratio motors (8); a plurality of valves (9); a plurality of PLCs (10), different from said main PLC (2); a plurality of temperature control devices (11) of the monitored temperatures; a Profibus communication network (12), a CANopen communication protocol (13), multiple connections (14, 15, 16, 17), in particular for PCs (14), for tablets (15), for devices which can be connected via HDMI (16) or via a mobile Internet device (17) or smartphone.

Description

AUTOMATIC MANAGING AND MONITORING SYSTEM OF
PREDETERMINED REFRIGERATED ZONES OF REFRIGERATION PLANT
Figure imgf000003_0001
The present invention relates to an automatic managing and monitoring system for predetermined refrigerated zones of a small, medium or large refrigeration plant.
More specifically, the automatic system according to the present invention can be implemented with reference to cold rooms, both at positive and negative temperature, i.e. processing rooms and equipment at controlled temperature (e.g., vacuum coo lers, hydrocoo lers and frigid tanks).
The present automatic managing and monitoring system is an original technical solution to solve the problems currently encountered in the control and management of data from refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant.
To date, various systems are known to monitor the refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant, most of which monitor the refrigerated zones via a web server the software of which is usually provided by the refrigeration plant manufacturer. The end-user of the system can check data related to the refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant directly at the refrigeration plant, or from a remote location, e.g. through known instruments such as "Teamvi ewer*" or "Supremo®".
However, it is worth noting that said systems for monitoring refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant, known in the prior art, display drawbacks of various kinds. For example, it is worth noting that:
- said known systems make it necessary for the user to subscribe to the offered software service, together with the respective and continuous updates necessary to avoid making the monitoring program obsolete or to resolve critical points or anomalies in the refrigeration plant or one or more of its components, detected during the respective moni tori ng ;
- said known systems do not offer software means which are adequately updated or otherwise in line with the technologies currently implemented with reference to the latest intelligent mobile devices, such as smartphones and/or tablets, with the result in terms of compatibility issues or, in any case, poor operational efficiency;
- the current web servers do not allow signaling, in real time and in an adequate way, any alarms related to anomalies or malfunctions of the monitored refrigeration plant, both as a whole and with specific reference to one or more of its components;
- in such known systems, it is necessary to install telephone dialers or similar instruments, capable of receiving real-time calls and/or instant messages indicating faults or anomalies in the refrigeration plant to remedy any drawbacks in a relatively short time, so as to avoid the onset of undesirable temperature changes which could affect the integrity of one or more refrigerated products comprised in said refrigeration plant. In this respect, it worth noting that such dialers are often subject to various malfunctions or other operational inefficiencies due, for example, to insufficient credit on a "SIM” card, with the result that calls and/or instant messages cannot be sent. The ability to promptly send calls and/or instant alarm messages may also be affected by the occurrence of momentary failures which inhibit adequate signal coverage in an area where the "SIM" card is located. In this case, the sending of calls and/or instant messages may also be impossible if the dialer is configured to send calls and/or messages repeatedly (e.g. by making at least three attempts).
Therefore, it is the object of the present system to provide an innovative automatic managing and monitoring system of predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant which solves the aforesaid problems of the prior art, and which may be validly implemented with reference to different areas of application such as, for example: logistic platforms with controlled temperature and refrigerated storage environments through air handling units; fruit and vegetable warehouses including refrigerated zones using positive and negative temperature refrigerants, which also keep the aisles separating the individual cold rooms or the processing area from the storage area at a controlled temperature; laboratories for processing fresh or cooked and prepared fruit and vegetables, packaged and ready for consumption; as well as other industrial sectors in which there are refrigerated zones and equipment.
B It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system as mentioned, in which materials and components are used which have a substantially lower cost and a significantly reduced environmental impact index, the constructive and functional characteristics being the same.
Such objects are achieved through an automatic managing and monitoring system of predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to claim 1.
Said objects and the consequent advantages, as well as the features of the invention according to the present invention, will be more apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
> Fi q .1 diagrammatically shows an automatic managing and monitoring system of predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant, according to an example of embodiment of the present invention;
> Fi q .2 is a general wiring diagram of a electrical panel with the automatic system shown in Fig.l.
The automatic managing and monitoring system of predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to the present invention is indicated by reference numeral 1 as a whole.
As shown in Fig. 1, the automatic system 1 comprises, in a known manner:
- a refrigeration plant, divided into a plurality of predefined refrigerated zones;
- a main Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) 2; - a packet-sw tched computer network device (Router) 3. In particular, said Router 3 may be configured to route a plurality of data, divided into packets, to different subnets, thus on logical level representing an internal network node delegated to the level three switching of an 0SI model or the Internet layer in the TCP/IP model. Said indirect data routing can take place to directly connected networks, on heterogeneous physical interfaces, or to other non-neighboring sub-networks, which, through the information contained in routing tables, can be reached through other nodes in the network, ensuring their interoperability ( internetworking );
- a Modem 4 (i.e. , a transceiver device having analog or digital modulation/demodulation logic functions), capable of connecting by telephone a terminal to a data transmission network converting digital signals into analog pulses and, during reception, converting or demodulating analog pulses into digital signals;
- a plurality of thermal sensors 7, operationally connected to said main PLC 2, configured for detecting data related to temperatures inside the predefined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant, and successive transmission of detected data to said main PLC 2, and
- a plurality of temperature regulation devices 11 of the monitored temperatures, operationally connected to said main PLC 2, configured to regulate the temperatures inside said predefined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant, on the basis of the data detected by said plurality of thermal sensors 7,
Said automatic system 1 is also provided with a plurality of motors or ratio motors 8, and a plurality of valves 9.
Advantageously, according to the present invention, said system 1 is configured to perform the management and monitoring operations of said predefined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant from a remote location, through Cloud Computing 5.
It is worth noting that the possibility of performing managing and monitoring operations using said Cloud Computing 5 means, allows intervening on the refrigeration plant efficiently, reliably and with appreciably short times.
A serial communication protocol is configured to establish an operational connection between said main PLC 2 and at least one Remote Control Unit (RTU) 6, i.e. other system components 1 or external to the latter.
Furthermore, a communication protocol of the CANopen 13 type is configured to operate as a support medium for managing a network for the remote control of the thermal sensors 7 and other system components 1 from a remote location, as well as for managing communications between them and means configured for controlling them from a remote location, said communication protocol of the CANopen 13 (Controller Area Network) type including a transport layer for the segmentation/desegmentation of messages.
The system 1 can also include one or more secondary PLCs 10, different from said main PLC 2, and operationally connected to it (Fig. 1).
The system 1 may also comprise a Monomaster Multi Slave communication network (MMS) . Specifically, said MMS communication network includes a Field Bus 12. In this manner, it is possible to significantly reduce the wiring required for the connection between nodes constituting a network, it being only necessary to position a single shielded cable, configured to connect the main PLC 2 to remote 1/0 means, with data transmission in serial mode, e.g. through a "token ring" type mode.
Connection means are provided for the operational connection of said system 1, through said main PLC 2, to one or more external devices. For example, the system 1 may comprise connection means to a personal computer (PC) 14 or a tablet 15, HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) type connection means 16, or connection means to a mobile device (mobile Internet device or MID or mobile computing device) 17, such as a mobile phone, PDA, smartphone, tablet, MP3 player, or GPS receiver (Fig. 1).
Said main PLC 2 may be implemented with dedicated software means, defined for a predetermined refrigeration plant, and configured for the processing of analogical and digital signals coming from said thermal sensors 7, and subsequent transmission of said processed signals to a plurality of actuators 8, 9, 11 of the refrigeration plant.
Alternatively, said main PLC 2 can be implemented with dedicated software means, defined for standard refr gerat on plants, and configured for the processing of analogical and digital signals coming from said thermal sensors 7, and for subsequent transmitting said processed signals to a plurality of actuators 8, 9, 11 of the refrigeration plant.
Said system 1 can be configured for the installation in an electrical cabinet (e.g. the electrical cabinet S diagrammatically shown in Fig. 2), downstream of differential and breaker switches of said electrical panel , to allow the automatic management of said refrigeration plant.
Alternatively, said system 1 can be configured for installation in a plurality of electrical panels, downstream of the respective differential and breaker switches, said electrical panels being each installed upstream of said refrigeration plant.
Hardware and software means may be provided in said main PLC 2 for the real-time generation of an alarm signal , upon the detection of a thermal variation or other anomaly condition in one or more of said predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant.
Additionally, said system 1 may further include hardware and software means which, following the execution of a step of starting-up said system 1 and of controlling of the operation of each of its components, activate a stand-by mode of the system 1 in response to the detection of a state of system i noperateness for a predetermined time, said system stand-by mode 1 remaining operational until a specific input is detected by the operator, or the reception of a signal relating to the detection, through one or more said thermal sensors 7, of a thermal variation or other anomaly condition in one or more of said predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant. In this manner, the consumption needed for the operation of the system 1 can be appreciably optimized.
On the other hand, the system 1 can also be implemented with hardware and software means configured for interaction with an intelligent mobile device (e.g. a smartphone, tablet or similar), to achieve the convenient direct management of the monitoring of said predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant from a remote location.
Alert or alarm means may be provided in said system 1 to provide an alarm signal (e.g. visual and/or acoustic) when an anomaly condition of the monitored refrigeration plant is detected.
Advantageously, the claimed system 1 can be applied i n :
- logistic platforms with temperature controlled and refrigerated storage environments through air handling uni ts ;
fruit and vegetable warehouses where there are positive and negative temperature refrigerated zones, which also keep the aisles separating the individual cold rooms or the processing area from the storage area at a controlled temperature;
industrial sectors in general where there are refrigerated zones.
Based on the above, therefore, it is possible to appreciate how the automatic system 1 for monitoring refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to the present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.
In particular, said automatic system 1 allows the timely recognition of temperature variations (even small ones) and/or other anomalies in these predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant (e.g. , refrigerated rooms), allowing the timely sending of an alarm signal and the subsequent execution of monitoring and/or intervention operations on the refrigeration plant in a considerably short time.
It is also worth noting that the technical- structural characteristics of the system 1 according to the present invention allow significantly limiting the use of memory necessary for the operation of the system 1 itself, and minimizing the levels of electrical power required for the operation of the system 1, with the resulting reduction in energy consumpti on .
On the other hand, the claimed system 1 also has advantages in terms of high adaptability, being applicable to different types of small , medium and large refrigerated systems.
As a further advantage, it can be seen that the construction, installation and subsequent maintenance of the system 1 according to the invention can be performed in an essentially simple manner and with appreciably low costs.
KEY 1. Automatic refrigerated zone management system
2. PLC
3. Router
4. Modem
5. Internet Cloud or Cloud Computing
6. Modbus RTU
7. Sensors
8. Engines
9. Valves
10. Other PLCs
11. Temperature control devices
12. Profibus
IB. CANopen
14. PC connection
15. Tablet connection
16. Connection via HDMI
17. Connection via a Mobile Internet Device MDI or cell phone
S General electrical panel diagram

Claims

1. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant, comprising:
- a refrigeration plant, divided into a plurality of predefined refrigerated zones;
- a main Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) (2);
- a packet-switched computer network device (Router) (3);
- a modem (4) ;
- a plurality of thermal sensors (7), operationally connected to said main PLC (2), configured for detecting data related to temperatures inside the predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant, and successive transmission of detected data to said main PLC (2), and
- a plurality of temperature control devices (11) of the monitored temperatures, operationally connected to said main PLC (2), configured to regulate the temperatures inside said predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant, on the basis of the data detected by said plurality of thermal sensors (7),
characterized in that:
- said system (1) is configured to perform the managing and monitoring operations of said predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant from a remote location, by means of Cloud Computing (5);
- a serial communication protocol is configured to establish an operational connection between said main PLC (2) and at least one Remote Control Unit (RTU) (6), or other system components (1) or external to the latter, and
- a communication protocol of the CANopen (IB) type is configured to operate as a support means for managing a network for the remote control of the thermal sensors (7) and other system components (1) from a remote location, as well as for managing communications between them and means configured for controlling them from a remote location, said communication protocol of the CANopen (13) type including a transport layer for the segmentation/desegmentation of messages.
2. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to claim 1, characterized in that said automatic system (1) further comprises one or more secondary PLCs (10), operationally connected to said main PLC (2).
3. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said automatic system (1) further comprises a Monomaster Multi Slave (MMS) communication network.
4. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to claim 3, characterized in that said MMS network comprises a field bus (12).
5. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said automatic system (1) further comprises a plurality of connection means for the operational connection to one or more external devices (14, 15, 16, 17).
6. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said main PLC (2) is implemented with dedicated software means, defined for a predetermined refrigeration plant, and configured for the processing of analogical and digital signals coming from said thermal sensors (7), and subsequent transmission of said processed signals to a plurality of actuators (8, 9, 11) of the refrigeration plant.
7. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to one or more of claims from 1 to 5, characterized in that said main PLC (2) is implemented with dedicated software means, defined for standard refrigeration plants, and configured for the processing of analogical and digital signals coming from said thermal sensors (7), and for subsequent transmitting said processed signals to a plurality of actuators (8, 9, 11) of the refrigeration pi ant .
8. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said system
(1) is configured for installation in an electrical panel , downstream of differential and breaker switches of said electrical panel , to allow the automatic management of said refrigeration plant.
9. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said system
(1) is configured for installation in a plurality of electrical panels, downstream of the respective differential and breaker switches, said electrical panels being each installed upstream of said refrigeration plant.
10. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said main PLC
(2) is provided with hardware and software means configured for the real-time generation of an alarm signal , upon the detection of a thermal variation or other anomaly condition in one or more of said predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration pi ant .
11. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said system
(1) comprises hardware and software means which, following the execution of a step of starting-up of said system (1) and of controlling of the operation of each of its components, activate a stand-by mode of the system in response to the detection of a state of system inoperativeness for a predetermined time, said system stand-by mode (1) remaining operational until a specific input from the operator is detected or until the reception of a signal relating to the detection, through one or more of said thermal sensors (7), of a thermal variation or other anomaly condition in one or more of said predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant.
12. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said system (1) is implemented with hardware and software means configured to interact with an intelligent mobile device to achieve the direct management of the monitoring of said predetermined refrigerated zones of the refrigeration plant from a remote location.
IB. An automatic system (1) for managing and monitoring predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said system (1) further comprises warning or alarm means.
PCT/IB2020/052745 2019-03-25 2020-03-24 Automatic managing and monitoring system of predetermined refrigerated zones of a refrigeration plant WO2020194183A1 (en)

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