Classifications

• • 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
  • F25D27/00—Lighting arrangements
  • F25D27/005—Lighting arrangements combined with control means
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F21V23/00—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices
  • F21V23/04—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices the elements being switches
  • F21V23/0442—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices the elements being switches activated by means of a sensor, e.g. motion or photodetectors

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a refrigerator with interior lighting.
• Refrigerating devices such as refrigerators or freezers are conventionally provided with interior lighting which is automatically switched on and off by a switch arranged on the door of the device.
• the illuminants currently used for the interior lighting of refrigeration appliances actually only convert a small fraction of their electrical power consumption into light output; the vast majority of the power consumption is converted into heat, which undesirably heats up and dissipates the interior. This heat input could of course be avoided by dispensing with interior lighting; on the other hand, the lighting is felt to be necessary in order to be able to find a desired object quickly in the interior.
• the object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration device in which the heating of the interior can be reduced by illuminating it, without this having to be bought with a reduction in comfort for the user. On the contrary, comfort for the user can even be increased with skillful use.
• the task is solved by a refrigerator with interior lighting, which with a
• Control circuit for controlling the performance of the interior lighting depending on a brightness value detected by a light-sensitive element.
• Such a control circuit allows the control, in particular the reduction, of the output of the interior lighting if the ambient brightness is sufficient to also adequately illuminate the interior of the refrigerator when the door is open.
• the light-sensitive element is arranged on an outside of the refrigeration device in order to directly determine the intensity of the light in the Detect the environment of the refrigerator.
• the light-sensitive element is preferably located on an operating panel of the refrigeration device, which together with the door forms the visible side of the refrigeration device and is thus exposed to an ambient light intensity that also falls into the interior of the refrigeration device when the door is open.
• the attachment to the control panel is also preferred because this allows the wiring of the light-sensitive element with the associated control circuit with little effort, together with the wiring of other control elements.
• the light-sensitive element is arranged in the interior of the refrigerator, so that it is exposed to the combined intensity of the interior lighting and the ambient light (with the door open).
• This configuration allows in particular the regulation of the performance of the interior lighting depending on the degree of opening of the door or the shading of the interior by a user standing in front of it.
• the light-sensitive element and the control circuit can be connected to the interior lighting to form a structural unit which can be installed as a prefabricated element in the interior.
• the effort for the assembly of such an element is not higher than that for the assembly of a conventional interior lighting.
• the control circuit is preferably equipped with an actuator for setting the dependence between the detected brightness value and the power of the interior lighting.
• an actuator for setting the dependence between the detected brightness value and the power of the interior lighting.
• the control can be carried out in such a way that the power of the interior lighting set by the control circuit supplements the luminous intensity incident from the outside, so that, regardless of the brightness of the surroundings, an essentially constant brightness is always achieved in the interior, ie that of the control circuit set power changes in the opposite direction to a change in the ambient brightness;
• the room in which the refrigerator is installed for example, directly Sunlight shining in is extremely brightly lit, and the eyes of a user are adapted to this illuminance, so that in order to be able to find objects comfortably in the refrigeration device, the illuminance in the refrigeration device is higher than when looking into the refrigeration device in a dim environment.
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic section through a refrigerator according to the invention.
• Fig. 2 is a view of a housing for interior lighting according to a second embodiment of the invention.
• Fig. 1 shows a schematic section through a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the invention.
• a control panel 2 on its front, on which various setting and display elements, not shown in the figure, e.g. for the temperature of the interior are arranged.
• control electronics 3 with which the various operating and display elements are connected and which e.g. regulates the operation of a coolant circuit (not shown) in a conventional manner.
• a photodiode 4 is mounted as a light-sensitive element and supplies a photocurrent representative of the brightness in the vicinity of the refrigerator to the control electronics 3.
• the control electronics 3 is also connected to a switch 5 for detecting the opening or closing of the door 1.
• the control electronics 3 supplies the interior lighting 6 with a current, the power of which it regulates as a function of the photocurrent of the photodiode 4. Examples of a possible control behavior of the control electronics 3 are shown as characteristic curves of the supply power P for the interior lighting as a function of the intensity of the ambient lighting or of the photocurrent I.
• the power P supplied to the interior lighting 6 is the nominal power Pmax of the illuminant of the interior lighting 6; With increasing ambient brightness I, the power P decreases and finally reaches the value 0 when the ambient brightness has reached such a value that it can be assumed that it is also sufficient to illuminate the interior of the refrigerator.
• Curve b shows an opposite control behavior: In the case of low ambient brightness (I close to 0), the interior is first illuminated with a low power Pmin, and with increasing brightness the lighting power also increases until it finally reaches the nominal power Pmax for which the interior lighting 6 is designed.
• This type of control is based on the consideration that, in the case of a low ambient brightness, the eyes of a user will generally be accommodated to such a brightness that excessive indoor lighting could dazzle him, while conversely, strong indoor lighting is also desirable in a very bright environment can be.
• FIG. 2 shows a housing 10 for interior lighting of a refrigeration device, which is suitable for realizing a second embodiment of the present invention.
• the housing 10 comprises a transparent housing part 11, behind which an illuminant 12, such as a conventional light bulb or halogen bulb, is installed, and an opaque housing part 13, which receives the socket of the illuminant and a control circuit for the electrical power with which the illuminant 12 supplies becomes.
• an illuminant 12 such as a conventional light bulb or halogen bulb
• a light-sensitive element connected to the control circuit is arranged behind a window 14 on a side of the opaque housing part 13 facing away from the illuminant 12, so that light which falls on the light-sensitive element through the window 14 of the housing mounted in a refrigerator is overlaid by the open door of the refrigerator and the outside light coming in Interior lighting is self-generated light that is scattered on the walls of the interior and nearby objects.
• the housing 10 forms, together with the components contained therein, a structural unit which can be mounted on the inner wall of a refrigeration device with little effort.
• a single line pair is sufficient for the electrical supply of the entire structural unit, which is switched by a door switch such as switch 5, because the control circuit only requires a supply current when the lamp is also in operation.
• a rotary switch 15 for setting the slope of the P / I characteristic curve is mounted on the housing part 13.
• Another controller can be provided for setting the P-axis section of the P / I characteristic.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Devices That Are Associated With Refrigeration Equipment (AREA)
• Circuit Arrangement For Electric Light Sources In General (AREA)
• Cold Air Circulating Systems And Constructional Details In Refrigerators (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

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• 2001
  • 2001-07-25 DE DE10136223A patent/DE10136223A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2002
  • 2002-07-25 AT AT02762398T patent/ATE408793T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2002-07-25 ES ES02762398T patent/ES2312615T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-07-25 WO PCT/EP2002/008301 patent/WO2003010474A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 2002-07-25 CN CN02814806.1A patent/CN1283971C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2002-07-25 DE DE50212793T patent/DE50212793D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-07-25 EP EP02762398A patent/EP1415117B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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