KR101550400B1 - controlling method of refrigerating system, and refrigerator adopting the method - Google Patents

Abstract

A control method of a special-purpose refrigeration system such as a blood refrigerator, and a refrigerator. The disclosed control method includes the steps of: controlling a heat exchange system that regulates the temperature of a reservoir in which storage is stored; Adjusting the temperature of the reservoir to within a target temperature range by a temperature controller that controls the heat exchange system; Determining whether a master controller controlling a circuit part of the refrigeration system including the temperature controller has failed; And when the master controller fails, the temperature controller independently controls the heat exchange system to maintain the temperature of the storage tank within the target range.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerating system,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a control method of a refrigeration system requiring strict temperature control and a refrigerator to which the refrigerator is applied, and more particularly to a refrigerator for storing reagents, specimens, blood and the like.

Refrigerators that store reagents, specimens, and blood must maintain the storage temperature within a certain range. If the storage temperature fails to be managed, the stored material will be altered or denatured.

Refrigerators for storing such special stores, in particular blood storage refrigerators, require an alternative to malfunction or shutdown as well as strict temperature control.

Conventional refrigerators, especially the above-mentioned special purpose refrigerators, have applied multiple sensing circuits to prevent temperature control failures and have applied separate compressors and temperature controllers to each room.

However, in any case, there was no safety device against the failure of the refrigerator when an error or shutdown of the main board controlling the entire refrigerator occurred.

KR 10-2005-0001753 A KR 10-0547257 B

The present invention provides a control method of a refrigeration system capable of stably storing a stored product for a predetermined time even in the event of a system failure of the refrigerator, and a refrigerator to which the refrigeration system is applied.

A method of driving a refrigeration system according to the present invention includes:

In a refrigeration system, controlling a temperature-controlled heat exchange system of a storage room where the stored product is stored;

Adjusting the temperature of the reservoir to within a target temperature range by a temperature controller that controls the heat exchange system;

Determining whether a master controller for controlling a circuit system including the temperature controller has failed; And

And when the failure occurs in the master controller, the temperature controller independently controls the compressor to maintain the temperature of the reservoir within the target range.

A refrigerator according to the present invention comprises:

A heat exchange system including a refrigerant compressor and an evaporator by regulating the temperature of the refrigerating compartment;

A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the refrigerating compartment;

A temperature controller connected to the temperature sensor and controlling the compressor to adjust a temperature of the refrigerating chamber within a predetermined control temperature range;

And a main controller including the temperature controller to determine the control temperature range by controlling the entire refrigerator system,

The temperature controller automatically controls the compressor without controlling the main controller when an error occurs in the main controller.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the refrigeration system and the refrigerator include a main temperature controller and a spare temperature controller, and the main controller controls the heat exchange system by the preliminary temperature control when a failure occurs in the main temperature controller do.

The refrigeration system and the refrigerator have an external alarm system and transmit information on the occurrence of a fault through the external alarm system when an internal fault occurs.

According to the present invention, when the control of the entire circuit system becomes difficult due to a failure of the main controller, the temperature controller itself controls the driving of the compressor, and the target temperature of the storage can be maintained. In addition, when an internal hardware failure occurs, an alarm system that notifies the outside through the wired / wireless communication network can be quickly eliminated. The present invention is suitable for a special-purpose refrigerator, for example, a reagent, a specimen, or a blood refrigerator in which blood is stored at a low temperature, which requires strict storage temperature management of the stored product.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a refrigeration system (refrigerator) according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic block diagram of a refrigeration system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the master controller in the refrigeration system according to the present invention.
4 is an operational flow diagram of the display control in the refrigeration system according to the present invention.
5 is an operational flowchart of the temperature controller in the refrigeration system according to the present invention.
6 is a software error processing flowchart in the refrigeration system according to the present invention.
7 is a hardware error processing flowchart in the refrigeration system according to the present invention.

Various embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic circuit diagram of a refrigeration system or a refrigerator according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a master controller 101 controls and controls the entire system, and is connected to all elements such as a display controller 105, a temperature controller 102, a distributor circuit 104, And provides necessary information or commands, acquires status information from them, and performs system control corresponding thereto. The status information includes signals related to normal operation of the display controller 105, the subcontroller or temperature controller 102, the distributor circuit 104 and the like, and the alarm controller 116, To notify the manager of the fault through a communication path such as a telephone or the Internet.

The display controller 105 is connected to the display device 106 and the input device 115 to display necessary information and perform external information input for temperature control and the like. The input device 115 has a very simple structure such as a temperature control, and it does not depend on a separate controller according to an embodiment of the present invention, To the controller (101).

The temperature controller 102 as a sub-controller for assisting the master controller in a circuit part for controlling the refrigeration system controls the operation of the compressor 111 to a given target temperature range in accordance with a command from the master controller 101. [ The compressor 111 is a component of a heat exchange system that induces a phase change of the refrigerant, so that the temperature controller 102 regulates the temperature of the reservoir under the control of a heat exchange system.

The target temperature range is determined by the input device 112, which is passed to the temperature controller 102 after being determined by the master controller 101. The temperature controller 102 continuously detects the temperature of the refrigerating compartment or the storage compartment 114 through the temperature sensor 109 and compares the detected temperature with the target temperature range to control the operation of the compressor 111. [ The temperature controller 102 controls a compressor, a fan, a heater, a solenoid valve, and the like, which are generally provided in a refrigeration system.

The temperature control of the reservoir 114 is performed by the operation of the compressor 111 and the cold air blowing or circulating fan (hereinafter simply referred to as blowing fan 112). The temperature controller 102 generates a control signal required for operation of the compressor 111 and the fan 112 required for temperature control of the storage 114 and supplies it to a circuit for driving the hardware, Relay, 103).

The hardware such as the compressor 111, the blower fan 112, and the heater 113 receives power from the power supply line 108 through the SSR 103 circuit. The direct control of the hardware by the SSR circuit 103 is performed by a control signal transmitted through a distributor circuit (104).

The control signal includes a control signal of the compressor 111 and the fan 112 from the temperature controller 102 and an enable signal Enable from the master controller 101 which finally determines whether or not the SSR circuit outputs power signal).

The temperature controller 102 drives the compressor 111, the fan 112, and the like so that the temperature of the storage tank is maintained within the target temperature range determined by the master controller 101. At this time, the temperature controller 102 also receives the status information of the master controller 101 according to the feature of the present invention, and operates in accordance with the command from the master controller 101 while the master controller 101 is operating normally , The master controller 101 performs a given temperature control function independently of the command of the master controller 101 when the master controller 101 is operating abnormally or when an operation maintenance is performed. The main function of the temperature control is to keep the temperature of the reservoir at the target range through the continuous operation of the compressor. This operation is independent of the master controller 101 and controls the operation of the compressor 111 or the like based on the target temperature range received when the master controller 101 operates normally. When the temperature controller 102 controls the compressor 111 or the like, the enable signal from the master controller 101 is not determined by the distribution circuit 103, but only by the signal from the temperature controller 102 do. By doing so, the temperature control for the storage is maintained even if the master controller 101 fails. In this manner, the temperature controller 102 performs temperature control according to the single operation or operation of the temperature controller 102, and the temperature controller 102 provides the fault information to the alarm controller 116 and transmits it to the alarm controller 116 through a wired / wireless communication network, Notify the system administrator of the failure.

On the other hand, the internal power device 107 is connected to the power supply line 108 to supply power to the circuit part of the refrigeration system. Unlike compressor 111, fan 112, etc., which are directly connected to external power lines, the circuit part requires a static DC voltage. The internal power device 107 includes a power supply device for reducing external DC power, for example, a Switched-Mode Power System (SMPS). SMPS applies DC voltage to all circuit parts such as master controller, temperature controller, display, display controller and so on. The power device 107 has a separate battery and charging system so that the battery can be driven by the circuit part when the external power source is shut off, Notify the fact.

2 is a schematic circuit configuration diagram of a refrigeration system or a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The refrigeration system shown in Fig. 2 has the feature of further including a spare temperature controller 102a as one of the other sub-controllers.

The master controller 101, the display controller 105, and the temperature controllers 102 and 102a exchange mutual information using a communication method according to the RS232 standard. The master controller 101, the display controller 105, and the temperature controllers 102 and 102a all have a microprocessor-based board structure. In this embodiment, the display, the display controller, and the input device may be provided in a single module form.

The temperature controllers 102 and 102a are classified into a main temperature controller 102 as a first sub controller and a spare temperature controller 102a as a second sub controller and when a failure occurs in the first sub controller or the main temperature controller 102 , And when this is detected by the master controller 101, the master controller 101 controls the compressor 111 or the like through the second sub-controller or the spare temperature controller 102a. In addition, two compressors connected to the SSR circuit 104 are provided, and this is in accordance with the specifications of the refrigeration system, and only one compressor may be provided.

The operation of the refrigeration system shown in FIG. 2 will be briefly described below.

When the power is turned on, the master controller 101 transmits the control setting values and the like to the display controller, the main temperature controller, the spare temperature controller, and the like.

The entire system is basically started and the operation of each given circuit part relating to the refrigeration is performed. In the beginning, temperature control by the main temperature controller 102 occurs.

At this time, all the controllers 102, 102a, and 105 are connected to the RS232 communication port through a hardware fault signal. Therefore, command transfer and hardware fault signals can be exchanged between them.

The alarm controller 116 independently receives error information from the main controller 101, the temperature controllers 102 and 102a, and the display controller 105 when an error condition occurs, and notifies the manager of the error information.

If a malfunction occurs in the main temperature controller 102 and it becomes impossible to operate the master controller 101, the master controller 101 detects the malfunction and switches the operation board to the preliminary temperature controller 102a and transmits it to the alarm controller 116 .

On the other hand, the external AC power source is cut off, and the power device 107 connects the battery so that the master controller 101, the temperature controllers 102 and 102a, the display controller 105, Since the power is supplied to the power supply 111 and the like, it is possible to notify an error situation through the alarm controller 116. [

The failure of the circuit part, for example, the failure of the master controller 101, the main temperature controller 102, the spare temperature controller 102a, the display controller 105, etc., .

That is, the master controller 101 continuously monitors the respective reset IC outputs such as the main temperature controller 102, the spare temperature controller 102a, and the display controller 105 to determine whether or not each controller has failed. At this time, When a failure occurrence of the temperature controller 102 is detected, the master controller 101 selects the spare temperature controller 102a as an operation temperature controller.

On the other hand, the reset IC output of the master controller 101 is monitored by the main temperature controller 102 or the spare temperature controller 102a. As a result of the monitoring, when the failure of the master controller 101 is detected, the main temperature controller 102 or the spare temperature controller 102a in operation enters its own temperature control, and a compressor, a blowing fan, The temperature control is performed so that the internal temperature of the storage tank is within the target temperature range.

It is a feature of the present invention that the basic operation of the refrigeration system is maintained by a temperature controller that can operate independently despite the failure of the master controller, and at the same time notifies the manager immediately. In addition, the present invention enables continuous and stable operation of the refrigeration system through a spare temperature controller when a failure of the temperature controller occurs.

Hereinafter, a detailed operation flow will be described, and the refrigerating system driving method of the present invention and the refrigerator according to the present invention will be deeply understood.

3 is an operational flowchart of the master board having the master controller 101. Fig.

When the refrigeration system starts operating (S3), the master controller 101 transmits a parameter or command to the display controller, the main temperature controller (sub 1, 102), the spare temperature controller (sub 2, 102a) (S31). Each controller thus commanded operates in accordance with the given parameters and the operation of the refrigeration system is maintained. The parameters in the refrigeration system may include set temperature, upper and lower limits of alarm set temperature, defrost setting, and the like.

While the refrigeration system is in operation, the master controller monitors or monitors the hardware devices of the display controller, the main temperature controller, and the spare temperature controller (S32). At the same time, it processes the report packet of the display controller, the main temperature controller and the spare temperature controller. It is determined whether an error has occurred from the monitoring or packet processing result (S34). An error has occurred and the error content is notified to the alarm controller 116 and the content of the error is a failure of the main temperature controller and the operation temperature controller is switched to the sub temperature controller (36).

It is determined whether the data has been changed from the packet processing result (S37). When data change occurs, the data is changed and stored in a memory device such as an EEPROM, and transferred to the temperature controllers 102 and 102a to change the control temperature range by the temperature controller (S38). In this process, the response packet transmission from the display controller and the temperature controller is performed in an infinite loop (S39).

4 is an operational flowchart in the display controller (board). The display controller board may include a display and a key input device in a module form.

When the display board starts to operate (S40), the display (S41) and the report packet process (S42) for the temperature / error / door state are preceded first and the temperature detection (S44) and the key input do. When the key input is detected (S45), the parameters such as stop (S46) and temperature of the refrigeration system are reset (47) according to the type of the inputted key. On the other hand, if the key input is wrong, or if the problem of the display or the controller itself occurs, the alarm controller is notified and a hardware fault signal is turned on so that the master controller can detect or recognize it (S49).

5 shows an operation flow chart in the temperature controller.

When the operation of the temperature controller is started, a report packet process (S51) and a temperature control (S50) are performed first. In the temperature control (S50), the detection temperature of the storage tank is reflected, and the intermittent drive of the compressor or the like proceeds. After the packet processing step S51, the data is changed (S54), the data is changed (S56), the response packet processing step S52 is performed, and the process returns to the report packet processing step S51. After the report packet processing step S53, if an error is detected (S53), the alarm system is notified of the error information. If a hardware problem is identified, a hardware fault signal is turned on so that the master controller can detect the error (S55).

Fig. 6 schematically shows the software error processing flow in the master controller in the refrigeration system according to the present invention.

In the error processing, packets of the display controller, the main temperature controller (sub 1), and the spare temperature controller (sub 2) are received (S61, S62, S63), and this packet is processed to extract desired data (S64). When an error such as a temperature abnormality, door opening (S66), power source abnormality (S67), etc. is detected from the extracted data, it is notified to the alarm system and then returns to the initial packet reception step (S61, S62, S63).

7 is a flowchart for processing hardware errors in the refrigeration system according to the present invention.

7, the state (Low or High) of the reset ICs of the display controller, the main temperature controller, the spare temperature controller, and the like is detected (S71). RESET is generated in any one of the controllers and is notified to the alarm system The manager is notified (S74). If no error occurs, the reset IC monitoring (S71) and reset determination (S73) are repeated.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. The scope of the present invention is not to be determined by the described embodiments but should be determined by the technical idea described in the claims

101: Master controller
102, 102a: Temperature controller (sub-controller)
103: Distribution circuit
104: SSR circuit
105: Display controller
106: Display
107: Power device
108: External line
111: Compressor
112: blowing fan
113: Heater
114: Storage (Refrigerator)
115: input device

Claims (7)

Controlling a heat exchange system for controlling the temperature of the storage by detecting the temperature of the storage space where the storage is stored by the temperature sensor;
Adjusting the temperature of the reservoir to within a target temperature range by a temperature controller that controls the heat exchange system;
Determining whether a master controller controlling a circuit part of the refrigeration system including the temperature controller has failed; And
And controlling the heat exchange system to maintain the temperature of the storage tank within a target range when the failure occurs in the master controller. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the temperature controller detects the state of the master controller and when the failure occurs in the master controller, controls the heat exchange system independently of the control of the master controller. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
A plurality of temperature controllers are provided,
Wherein the master controller determines whether the plurality of temperature controllers have failed,
And the other temperature controller is driven when a failure occurs in one of the temperature controllers. The method of claim 3,
And notifies the user through the wired / wireless communication network when a failure occurs in the master controller and the temperature controller. The control method according to claim 1,
A heat exchange system comprising a refrigerant compressor and an evaporator for controlling the temperature of the reservoir;
A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the reservoir;
A temperature controller to which the temperature sensor is connected and controls the compressor to adjust the temperature of the reservoir within a predetermined target temperature range;
And a master controller for controlling a circuit part including the temperature controller,
Wherein the temperature controller is adapted to independently control the heat exchange system without controlling the main controller when an error occurs in the master controller. 6. The method of claim 5,
Further comprising a spare temperature controller separate from the temperature controller,
Wherein the main controller drives another temperature controller to perform temperature control when one of the temperature controllers fails. The method according to claim 5 or 6,
And notifies the user through the wired / wireless communication network when a failure occurs in the master controller and the temperature controller.

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