DE102017004607A1 - Fridge and / or freezer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and / or freezer with at least one source of energy and / or data and at least one receiver of energy and / or data, the source having at least one primary circuit with at least one primary coil and the receiver at least one secondary circuit has at least one secondary coil, which are not directly in contact with each other, wherein the impedances of the primary circuit and the secondary circuit to each other are tuned such that the transmission of energy and / or data is carried out by resonant inductive coupling.

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and / or freezer with at least one source of energy and / or data and at least one receiver of energy and / or data, wherein the energy and / or the data are transmitted without contact.

From the prior art according to the EP 1 760 733 A1 a cooling device is known in which a non-contact power transmission from a primary circuit, which is operated with AC voltage and a predetermined frequency takes place on a secondary circuit. Both circuits are wound around a respective ferromagnetic element.

The object of the present invention is to develop a refrigerator and / or freezer in which the non-contact energy or data transmission does not necessarily require the use of a ferromagnetic element, e.g. an iron or ferrite core is necessary and in which an energy and / or data transmission is possible even in a spatial loose arrangement of the two circles.

This object is achieved by a refrigerator and / or freezer with the features of claim 1.

Thereafter, it is provided that the source has at least one primary circuit with at least one primary coil and the receiver at least one secondary circuit with at least one secondary coil, which are not directly in contact with each other, wherein the impedances of the primary circuit and the secondary circuit are tuned to each other such that the transmission the energy and / or the data is done by resonant inductive coupling. The resonance frequency is adjusted to the transmission frequency. The resonance between the resonant circuits, i. between the primary circuit and secondary circuit leads to an improved magnetic coupling between transmitting and receiving coil at the transmission frequency.

In a conceivable and preferred embodiment, neither the primary circuit nor the secondary circuit is provided with a ferromagnetic element, although its use in the context of the present invention in the primary circuit and / or in the secondary circuit is also not excluded.

The primary circuit may be permanently installed in the device and / or the secondary circuit may be arranged movably in or on the device, such as a storage tray, etc. Basically, however, movable arrangement of the primary circuit and / or a stationary arrangement of the secondary circuit, e.g. conceivable on a fixed in the cooled interior lighting unit and includes the invention.

The information transmission can be done for example by means of inductive coupling. For example, data can be displayed, eg. For example, the temperature present in the cooled interior, e.g. can be displayed on a glass plate in the cooled interior.

Accordingly, the secondary circuit may be implemented with at least one display means for displaying one or more information or communicate with it. The display means may be designed, for example, as LEDs, as display, projector, etc.

In the display means or at the area on which a display is generated, it may be a shelf, in particular a glass plate, or a display, in particular a display in the closure element, by means of which the cooled interior is closed, act.

The information can be any values, text, logos, etc. These may relate to the device itself, such as parameters of one or more components of the device (e.g., evaporator temperature, compressor speed, etc.) and / or operating parameters of the device (e.g., actual temperatures), or other parameters such as ambient temperature, etc.

In a conceivable embodiment of the invention, the primary and the secondary circuit are spatially loosely coupled, wherein at least one capacitor is arranged both in the primary and in the secondary circuit. The reason for this is that if the circuits are spatially loose, the coupling factor may decrease so much that the efficiency and stability of the induced voltage is too low or rapidly decreases.

wobei M die Gegeninduktivität und L₁ und L₂ die Eigeninduktivitäten des Primär- und des Sekundärkreises sind. Der Kopplungsfaktor k drückt somit den Anteil des magnetischen Feldes aus, der - produziert vom Primärkreis - den Sekundärkreis durchsetzt.The coupling factor k of the inductive circuits is defined by: $$\text{k}=\text{M /}\left({\text{L}}_1{\text{L}}_2\right){}^{1/2})$$

where M is the mutual inductance and L ₁ and L _{2 are} the self-inductances of the primary and secondary circuits. The coupling factor k thus expresses the portion of the magnetic field, which - produced by the primary circuit - passes through the secondary circuit.

In the case of a loose coupling, the self-inductance of the primary circuit makes with increasing distance between the primary and secondary circuits increasingly noticeable and thus prevents efficient energy transfer.

wobei f_r die Resonanzfrequenz und C₁ die Kapazität des Primärkreises darstellt.To counteract this and to compensate for the influence of the self-inductance, at least one capacitor is inserted either in parallel or in series with the primary and / or secondary coil. Thus, a resonant circuit is formed, which is similar to an ohmic load when the resonant circuit is operated at the associated resonant frequency, which is as follows: $${\text{f}}_{\text{r}}=1/\left(2\mathrm{\pi }{\left({\text{L}}_1{\text{C}}_1\right)}^{1/2}\right)$$

wherein f _{r is} the resonant frequency, and C ₁ represents the capacitance of the primary circuit.

The capacitance may be arranged in series or parallel to the primary and secondary coils.

In the case of a loose coupling, it may be the case that the secondary circuit is differently oriented or not present relative to the primary circuit. Against this background, it is provided in a further preferred embodiment of the invention that the primary circuit has means which are designed to determine the presence of the secondary circuit.

These means may comprise communication means configured to communicate with the secondary circuit.

Alternatively or additionally, these means can be designed to determine the current flowing in the primary circuit and the voltage applied there and to determine the active power based thereon and / or in such a way that the resonance frequency and / or the transistor circuits are detected in the de-energized and / or de-energized state becomes.

It should be noted at this point that the terms "a" or "an" do not necessarily refer to exactly one of the elements in question, although this is also included in the invention. The terms also include a majority of the elements in question.

Preferably, an alternating current generated in the primary circuit, also referred to as an exciter or energy source, produces an alternating magnetic field which, with a suitable orientation of the secondary circuit, passes through it and induces an alternating voltage therein, from which electrical power and / or data can be obtained. The transmission takes place by means of a contactless coupling.

By means of the present invention it is possible to realize a contactless supply of consumers or display elements with energy or data without the device itself having to be optically changed. Thus, can be dispensed with punches and openings, for example, in the inner container for cable entry. It is conceivable, for example, the primary circuit foam side, i. To arrange behind the inner container wall and the secondary circuit within the cooled interior.

The secondary circuit may be part of one or more elements arranged in the cooled interior or also outside thereof, e.g. of shelves, drawers, door racks, etc. It can be installed so that it is not visible to the user, which preferably also applies to the primary circuit.

Further details and advantages of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing.

• 1: eine schematische Darstellung der berührungslosen induktiven Energieübertragung und die Abhängigkeit des Kopplungsfaktors von dem Wert Δx/r₂, wobei Δx der seitliche Versatz der Mittelpunkte der Primär- und der Sekundärspule und r₂ der Radius der Sekundärspule ist,
• 2: Schaltbilder unterschiedlicher Kopplungsarten,
• 3: Ersatzschaltbild eines resonanten Übertragungssystems,
• 4: Schaltbilder verschiedener Anordnungen der Kapazitäten im Primär- und im Sekundärkreis,
• 5: Schaltbild eines sekundärseitig resonanten Schwingkreises mit Vollwellnengleichrichter und
• 6: Schaltbild eines Sekundärkreises mit Präsenzerkennung durch C_d.

Show it:

• 1 : a schematic representation of the non-contact inductive energy transfer and the dependence of the coupling factor of the value .DELTA.x / r ₂ , where .DELTA.x the lateral offset of the centers of the primary and the secondary coil and r _{2 is} the radius of the secondary coil,
• 2 : Circuit diagrams of different coupling types,
• 3 : Equivalent circuit diagram of a resonant transmission system,
• 4 : Circuit diagrams of different arrangements of the capacities in the primary and in the secondary circuit,
• 5 : Circuit diagram of a resonant circuit on the secondary side with full wave rectifier and
• 6 : Circuit diagram of a secondary circuit with presence detection by C _d .

1 shows the basic functional principle of an inductive energy transfer, shown on the left is the primary circuit and the secondary circuit is shown on the right. Due to the alternating current present in the primary circuit, an alternating voltage is induced in the secondary circuit, so that electric power can be obtained therefrom, as indicated by arrows in FIG 1 is indicated.

In 1 is with r ₁ , d ₁ and r ₂ , d ₂ respectively the radius and the diameter of the primary coil and the secondary coil, in 1 V ₁ denotes the AC voltage applied to the primary circuit and V ₂ indicates the secondary circuit induced AC voltage. Δx is the lateral distance of the centers of the primary and the secondary coil and z the height offset of the two levels of the primary and the secondary coil. Φ ₁ is the magnetic flux through the primary coil and Φ ₂₁ the magnetic flux through the secondary coil. Or the other way Φ ₁ is that of the coil 1 generated flux and Φ ₂₁ is the "coupling flux".

1 The right-hand illustration shows the dependence of the coupling factor on the value Δx / r ₂ , where Δx is the lateral spacing of the centers of the primary coil and the secondary coil and r _{2 is} the radius of the secondary coil.

In a spatially loose, ie not fixed coupling of the inductive circuits, ie the primary circuit and the secondary circuit without the presence of ferromagnetic core elements for flow concentration, the coupling factor decreases - as from 1 , right hand representation - so strong that the efficiency and stability of the induced voltage decreases rapidly with the value Δx / r ₂ .

2 a ) shows the general equivalent circuit of both circles and 2 B ) a circuit diagram with a coupling factor close to 1. In 2 c ) shows the situation with loose coupling. In this case, the self-inductance of the primary circuit L ₁ makes more and more noticeable and prevents efficient energy transfer. As the proportion of reactive power increases, the transferable active power drops.

In 2 I stands for the current intensity, L for the self-inductance, V for the voltage and R for the ohmic resistance. The indices 1 respectively. 2 stand for the primary or secondary circuit.

As stated above, a capacitor C _{1 is} inserted either in parallel or in series with the coil. This creates a resonant circuit that resembles an ohmic load when operated at the resonant frequency according to formula (2).

The ohmic resistance is composed of the sum of the parasitic resistances of the individual inductances, capacitances and other components (transistors, interconnects, etc.) and thus moves in a very low range, as is the case 3 evident. Thus, with the resonant operation, the problems of loose coupling can be counteracted and the efficiency of transmission can be improved.

4 shows various arrangements of the capacitances C ₁ and C ₂ in the primary and secondary circuits in parallel and serially to the coil with the self-inductance L ₁ and L ₂ .

5 shows a resonant secondary circuit with full wave rectifier, which can also be actively carried out to increase efficiency.

As stated above, it may happen in a loose coupling of the two circles relative to each other, depending on the application, that the secondary circuit is oriented differently or not at all relative to the primary circuit.

The first case leads to a deterioration of the energy or data transmission, the second case only produces losses because there is no energy consumer.

Preferably, therefore, the primary circuit has means to control the presence or absence of the secondary circuit, i. load or foreign objects.

1. 1. Der Primär- und Sekundärkreis können miteinander kommunizieren und/oder
2. 2. Der Primärkreis kann die abgegebene Wirkleistung und/oder die Eigenschaften des Resonanzkreises erkennen.

This can be done with one or both of the following variants:

1. 1. The primary and secondary circuits can communicate with each other and / or
2. 2. The primary circuit can detect the delivered active power and / or the characteristics of the resonant circuit.

It is conceivable in the case 1 ., That the communication is either inductively aufmoduliert or otherwise, for example, optically.

Conceivable is a simple state recognition (present or absent, ie the secondary circuit signals its presence) up to a full duplex communication. Thus, the secondary circuit has means to signal its presence. One such case is in 6 shown.

As per case 2 , The current flowing in the primary circuit and the voltage applied there can be measured and used to calculate the active power. On the basis of these values, the primary circuit recognizes how much power is transferred and whether this corresponds to the typical load.

Another criterion that can be used alternatively or additionally is the resonant frequency or the monitoring of the transistor circuit in the zero-voltage (ZVS) or zero-current switching (ZCS) state. If the load is far or too far away, this leads to a reduction of the resonance frequency.

Electrically conductive foreign objects lead to a current increase in the primary circuit, which can disturb the switching pattern of the transistors.

Thus, it is possible that means are provided by means of which the switching frequency of the primary circuit can be retuned or the energy transfer can be stopped when no load, ie no secondary circuit is present or foreign objects.

The present invention can be used advantageously for loosely coupled circuits (primary and secondary circuit) without ferrite core or without a ferromagnetic core, it has the advantage of low switching losses due to the natural use of ZVS, ZCS in resonance mode and passive elements can be reduced in size due to operation at higher frequencies.

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• EP 1760733 A1 [0002]

Claims (11)

Refrigerating and / or freezing appliance with at least one source of energy and / or data and with at least one receiver of energy and / or data, characterized in that the source has at least one primary circuit with at least one primary coil and the receiver at least one secondary circuit with at least one Having secondary coil, which are not directly in contact with each other, wherein the impedances of the primary circuit and the secondary circuit to each other are tuned such that the transmission of energy and / or data is carried out by resonant inductive coupling. Cooler and / or freezer after Claim 1 , characterized in that neither the primary circuit nor the secondary circuit is provided with a ferromagnetic element. Cooler and / or freezer after Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the primary circuit is permanently installed in the device and / or that the secondary circuit is movably arranged in or on the device. Refrigerating and / or freezing appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the secondary circuit is designed with at least one display means for displaying one or more information or communicates with such a display means. Cooler and / or freezer after Claim 4 , characterized in that the display means or the surface on which the display means reproduces the information, a shelf, in particular a glass plate, or a display, in particular a display in the closure element, by means of which the cooled interior is closable acts. Cooler and / or freezer after one Claims 4 or 5 , characterized in that the information is at least one parameter of one or more components of the device and / or at least one operating parameter of the device. Cooling and / or freezing appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the primary and the secondary circuit are spatially loosely coupled and that at least one capacitor is arranged in the primary and / or secondary circuit. Cooler and / or freezer after Claim 7 , characterized in that the capacitance are arranged in series or parallel to the primary and secondary coils. Refrigerating and / or freezing appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the primary circuit has means which are designed to determine the presence of the secondary circuit. Cooler and / or freezer after Claim 9 characterized in that the means comprise communication means arranged to communicate with the secondary circuit. Cooler and / or freezer after Claim 9 or 10 , characterized in that the means are designed to determine the current flowing in the primary circuit and the voltage applied thereto and based on the active power is determined, and / or that the means are executed, the resonant frequency and / or the transistor circuits in the de-energized or de-energized State to capture.

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