A COOLING DEVICE WITH TWO COMPARTMENTS
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The present invention relates to a cooling device comprising a fresh food compartment and a freezer compartment.
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Domestic type cooling devices generally consist of two separate compartments, fresh food and freezer, that are kept at different temperatures. The fresh food compartment is utilized preferably for storing fresh food and the freezer compartment for storing frozen food. In the state of the art, the cooling device having two compartments kept at different temperatures is provided to cool by means of a different refrigerant circuit for each compartment. Such cooling devices have high cost.
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The cooling devices with two compartments operating at different temperatures can also be provided to cool by means of a single refrigerant circuit and a temperature sensor disposed in the fresh food compartment. The major problem in the refrigerators wherein the refrigeration is performed by taking the temperature of the fresh food compartment as reference is encountered when the external ambient temperature is lower than the determined value. In this case, the heat gain in the fresh food compartment of the refrigerator is very low and the runtime ratio of the compressor decreases thus lowering the refrigerating efficiency of the freezer compartment. When the compressor does not operate for a long time, the temperature of the freezer compartment exceeds the desired temperature value and causes the storage life of the frozen foods to decrease or the foods to be spoiled.
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In the state of the art embodiments, a heating element is placed in the fresh food compartment of the refrigerator to solve the problem. In case the external ambient temperature is lower than the determined value, the temperature of the fresh food compartment is increased by activating the heating element and thus the compressor is provided to operate. In this embodiment, in cases wherein the external ambient temperature is low and the compressor does not operate for a long time, temperature variations are observed in both compartments. Furthermore, the temperature of the freezer compartment cannot be prevented from exceeding the determined value.
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In the French Patent No FR2254762, an embodiment of the cooling devices with two compartments operating at different temperatures is explained which is realized by using a single refrigeration circuit and a temperature sensor disposed in the fresh food compartment. In this embodiment, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a more efficient runtime ratio for the compressor is tried to be provided by enabling the heater to be activated during the time the compressor does not operate. This method results in energy consumption since the heater is also operated in cases wherein the external ambient temperature is high.
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In another state of the art embodiment, Italian Patent No. IT1027733, the heater is provided to be deactivated by means of a manual control at high temperatures. This technique is not sensitive enough since it is dependent on the user.
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Another state of the art embodiment is provided in the French Patent No. FR2347634. In this embodiment, a temperature sensor is mounted outside the refrigerator and thus the external ambient temperature is provided to be detected. However, this technique is considerably complex, can be easily affected by the ambient temperature changes and the costs increase due to the temperature sensor that is mounted outside the refrigerator.
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In the European Patent Application No. EP0388726 wherein another state of the art embodiment is provided, a timer is added to the system in order to decrease the energy consumption. The ambient temperature is detected by means of a sensor disposed in the fresh food compartment. If the stopping time of the compressor is lower than a determined delay time, the heater is not activated, thus unnecessary energy consumption is prevented. In cases wherein the external ambient temperature is low, the stopping time of the compressor is higher than the determined delay time and the heater is activated. Although this technique is simpler and efficient compared to the other techniques, since the heating operation starts after a determined delay time, high power heating elements are needed and since the heating element occupies much space, the heating element causes local temperature increases.
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The aim of the present invention is the realization of a cooling device wherein efficient cooling is performed independently of the ambient temperature.
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The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is explicated in the attached claims.
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In the cooling device of the present invention, if the duration wherein the compressor is stopped reaches a limit duration predetermined by the producer, the control unit operates the fan that provides air circulation in the fresh food compartment. Since operation of the fan increases the temperature of the refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration circuit, the control unit operates the compressor when this temperature is detected by the temperature sensor to reach the temperature for starting of the compressor. Thus, the compressor is prevented from being stopped for a long time period at low ambient temperature and the foods in the freezer compartment from being spoiled.
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In an embodiment of the present invention, when the fan is operated due to the compressor being stopped for a long time, the fan is operated until the temperature detected by the temperature sensor reaches at least the temperature whereat the compressor is started.
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In another embodiment of the present invention, when the fan is operated due to the compressor being stopped for a long time period, the fan is operated until the temperature detected by the temperature sensor reaches the temperature whereat the compressor is stopped.
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In an embodiment of the present invention, a fan is disposed inside the fresh food compartment that provides air circulation therein. In an embodiment of the present invention, when the heater is operated due to the compressor being stopped for a long time, the fan is also operated. Thus, heat transfer is accelerated and the freezing risk of the foods in the fresh food compartment resulting from the compressor being stopped for a long time is eliminated.
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In different embodiments of the present invention, the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the fresh food compartment or the temperature of the fresh food compartment evaporator in order to control starting and stopping of the compressor.
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By means of the present invention, the need for heating the fresh food compartment in order to provide starting of the compressor in cold environments is provided by the present heater used for preventing frosting of the freezer compartment evaporator and thus the use of additional heating element to this end is eliminated.
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The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:
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Figure 1 – is the schematic view of a cooling device.
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The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:
- Cooling device
- Fresh food compartment
- Freezer compartment
- Compressor
- Fresh food compartment evaporator
- Freezer compartment evaporator
- Temperature sensor
- Fan
- Control unit
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The cooling device (1) of the present invention comprises:
- a fresh food compartment (2) wherein the foods are placed for the aim of cooling,
- a freezer compartment (3) wherein the foods are stored therein for freezing, kept at lower temperatures than the fresh food compartment (2),
- a compressor (4) which enables the compression of the refrigerant fluid,
- at least one fresh food compartment evaporator (5) providing the fresh food compartment (2) to be cooled by providing heat transfer between the refrigerant fluid and the environment,
- at least one freezer compartment evaporator (6) providing the freezer compartment (3) to be cooled by providing heat transfer between the refrigerant fluid and the environment,
- a temperature sensor (7) measuring the temperature of the fresh food compartment (2) for controlling the refrigeration process,
- a fan (8) providing circulation of air in the fresh food compartment (2),
- a control unit (9) which controls the operation of the compressor (4) and the fan (8) according to the data detected by the temperature sensor (7).
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The following symbols are used for explicating the cooling device (1) of the present invention:
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TS : Temperature detected by the temperature sensor (7)
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TScut-in : Cut-in temperature predetermined by the producer that provides the starting of the compressor (4) by the control unit (9) when detected by the temperature sensor (7).
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TScut-out : Cut-out temperature predetermined by the producer that provides the stopping of the compressor (4) by the control unit (9) when detected by the temperature sensor (7).
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tcompOFF: Duration wherein the compressor (4) remains stopped.
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tcompOFFlim: Limit time predetermined by the producer during which the compressor (4) can remain stopped.
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TfanON: Cut-in temperature predetermined by the producer which provides the activation of the fan (8) by the control unit (9) when detected by the temperature sensor (7).
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TfanOFF: Cut-out temperature predetermined by the producer which provides the deactivation of the fan (8) by the control unit (9) when detected by the temperature sensor (7).
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All the values predetermined by the producer are saved in the memory of the control unit (9).
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The control unit (9) compares the temperature (TS) detected by the temperature sensor (7) with the cut-out temperature (TScut-out) of the compressor (4) predetermined by the producer while the compressor (4) operates. When the temperature (TS) detected by the temperature sensor (7) reaches the cut-out temperature (TScut-out) of the compressor (4) predetermined by the producer, the control unit (9) stops the compressor (4) and thus the refrigeration operation is paused. While the compressor (4) is stopped, the control unit (9) this time compares the temperature (TS) detected by the temperature sensor (7) with the cut-in temperature (TScut-in) of the compressor (4) predetermined by the producer. When the temperature (TS) detected by the temperature sensor (7) reaches the cut-in temperature (TScut-in) of the compressor (4) predetermined by the producer, the control unit (9) starts the compressor (4) and the refrigeration process is restarted. The refrigeration process is realized in this cycle.
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During this cycle, in case the duration wherein the compressor (4) remains stopped (tcompOFF) reaches a limit duration (tcompOFFlim) predetermined by the producer, the control unit (9) starts the fan (8) even if the temperature (TS) detected by the temperature sensor (7) does not reach the cut-in temperature (TfanON) predetermined by the producer for starting of the fan (8) by the control unit (9) when detected by the temperature sensor (7). Consequently, the temperature (TS) detected by the temperature sensor (7) reaches the cut-in temperature (TScut-in) of the compressor (4) predetermined by the producer and accordingly the compressor (4) is provided to be started by the control unit (9). Thus, especially in the case the external environment is cold, the compressor (4) is prevented from being stopped for a long time period and therefore the temperature of the freezer compartment (3) from exceeding the required temperature.
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In an embodiment of the present invention, when the control unit (9) starts the fan (8) even if the temperature (TS) detected by the temperature sensor (7) does not reach the cut-in temperature (TfanON) predetermined by the producer for starting of the fan (8) by the control unit (9) upon detection by the temperature sensor (7) since the time (tcompOFF) the compressor (4) remains stopped reaches a limit duration (tcompOFFlim) predetermined by the producer, the fan (8) is operated until the temperature (TS) detected by the temperature sensor (7) reaches at least the cut-in temperature (TScut-in) of the compressor (4).
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In another embodiment of the present invention, when the control unit (9) activates the fan (8) even if the temperature (TS) detected by the temperature sensor (7) does not reach the cut-in temperature (TfanON) predetermined by the producer for activation of the fan (8) by the control unit (9) upon detection by the temperature sensor (7) since the time (tcompOFF) the compressor (4) remains stopped reaches a limit duration (tcompOFFlim) predetermined by the producer, the fan (8) is operated until the temperature (TS) detected by the temperature sensor (7) reaches the cut-off temperature (TfanOFF) predetermined by the producer for deactivation of the fan (8) by the control unit (9) upon detection by the temperature sensor (7).
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In an embodiment of the present invention, the temperature sensor (7) detects the temperature of the fresh food compartment (2). The control unit (9) controls the refrigeration process by taking the temperature of the fresh food compartment (2) as reference.
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In another embodiment of the present invention, the temperature sensor (7) detects the temperature of the fresh food compartment evaporator (5). The control unit (9) controls the refrigeration process by taking the temperature of the fresh food compartment evaporator (5) as reference.
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By means of the present invention, even if operating in low temperature environments, the compressor (4) being stopped for a long time period and thus the thawing risk of the foods in the freezer compartment (3) is prevented by providing the control of the components present in the cooling device (1) suitably without requiring the use of an additional heating device.
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It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art can easily introduce different embodiments. These should be considered within the scope of the protection postulated by the claims of the present invention.