WO2010057533A1

WO2010057533A1 - A cooling device

Info

Publication number: WO2010057533A1
Application number: PCT/EP2008/066035
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hasan Tahsin Oguz; Faruk Hosgor; Mustafa Tuksal
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2008-11-21
Filing date: 2008-11-21
Publication date: 2010-05-27

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooling device (1) that comprises a movement sensor (4) which detects the user performing an operation of loading, unloading inside the body (2). Thus, a cooling device (1) is realized wherein the alarm (5) and the illumination elements (6) are prevented from being actuated unnecessarily.

Description

A COOLING DEVICE

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling device wherein the door-open alarm and the interior illumination are controlled.

[0002] In cooling devices, systems are provided that detect the open/closed status of the door and warns the user if left open longer than a predetermined time for preventing the food stored in the cooling device from spoiling in cases when the user forgets to close the door. However, these systems both annoy the user and also cause unnecessary energy consumption by giving warnings when the user wants to clean the inside of the cooling device or when performing loading/unloading activities that take up a long period of time.

[0003] Various implementations have been developed in the technique for solving this problem.

[0004] In state of the art implementations, the United States of America No US3996434 and the Japanese No JP2003287332 patent applications, refrigerators are explained wherein the door-open alarm is deactivated by the user when cleaning and loading operations are performed. However, these implementations necessitate the user to activate and deactivate the alarm.

[0005] Another state of the art implementation, in the Japanese patent Application No JP4131680, a refrigerator is explained comprising an infrared ray temperature sensor disposed on the door that deactivates the door open alarm when a human being is in the proximity.

[0006] Another state of the art implementation is explained in the Japanese

Patent Application No JP2000111238. In this implementation, the need for a door-open alarm is tried to be eliminated. To this end, a refrigerator is realized comprising a sensor secured on the door and a control system that automatically closes the door when the door has stayed open for a long time unless a human body is present in the vicinity depending on the data received from the said sensor.

[0007] Another problem that arises is the unnecessary energy consumption by turning on all the cooling device interior lamps when the door is opened regardless of the user performing an operation at whichever shelf by not being able to detect whether or not the user is performing an operation inside the cooling device.

[0008] In the state of the art European Patent Application No EP1431689, a refrigerator is explained wherein the middle shelves are illuminated less since visibility is expected to be easier and the upper and lower shelves are illuminated more since visibility is expected to be poor.

[0009] Another state of the art implementation is explained in the Japanese Patent Application No JP2005164196. This implementation relates to measuring the angle of the door with the cooling device body thereby not illuminating the parts the user cannot access in the said position of the door and thus to provide energy savings even when the door is left open.

[0010] The aim of the present invention is the realization of a cooling device wherein the door-open alarm and the interior illumination elements are not operated unnecessarily.

[0011] The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises a movement sensor that is activated when the door is open, which is disposed inside the body or to interior of the door thus detecting the movements in these regions.

[0012] Consequently, the movement sensor detects the user performing an operation like loading, unloading etc. inside the cooling device.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present invention, if the movement sensor does not detect a movement for a predetermined duration when the door is open, the door-open alarm is activated. Thus, the sounding of the alarm and annoyance of the user is prevented during operations such as cleaning the inside of the cooling device or loading unloading for a long period of time.

[0014] In another embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device comprises more than one sensor disposed in different regions or shelves. Accordingly, by sensing in which region or shelves of the cooling device the user is operating the illumination is increased in that region or shelf, however the illumination in other regions or shelves is reduced or turned off entirely. Consequently, not only the user is enabled to see easily the region or shelf wherein he/she is performing an operation but also unnecessary energy consumption is prevented. [0015] The cooling device realized to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where: [0016] Figure 1 - is the perspective view of a cooling device. [0017] The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Cooling device

2. Body

3. Door

4. Movement sensor

5. Alarm

6. Illumination element

[0018] The cooling device (1) comprises a body (2) wherein objects to be cooled are stored, a door (3) providing access to inside of the body (2), and at least one movement sensor (4) that is activated when the door (3) is open, disposed inside the body (2) or at the interior side of the door (3) thereby detecting the movements in these regions (Figure 1).

[0019] The movement sensor (4) detects that an operation is performed by sensing the hand movements of the user on the body (2) or the door (3) while the user loads/unloads objects into/from the cooling device (1) or while cleaning the interior of the body (2). The movement sensor (4) can be a photocell or an infrared thermal sensor etc.

[0020] In an embodiment of the present invention, the movement sensor (4) scans the body (2) entrance all along like a screen and determines the movements of the user made for accessing into the body (2). Thus, performance of operations like loading, unloading etc. in the body (2) can be determined.

[0021] In another embodiment of the present invention, a movement sensor (4) is disposed on each shelf in the body (2) and on the door (3) that scans the entry of the shelves such that movements on the shelf are detected. Thus, on which shelf an operation of loading, unloading etc. is performed can be determined. [0022] In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) furthermore comprises an alarm (5) that warns the user if a movement is not detected by the movement sensor (4) for a predetermined time period when the door (3) is open. In this embodiment, when the door (3) is opened, the data delivered from the movement sensor (4) is analyzed. If the movement sensor (4) does not detect a movement for a predetermined time period, then it is ascertained that the door (3) is left open and the alarm (5) is activated. Thus, the alarm (5) is activated only when the door is left open and the user is not bothered due to the warning given by the alarm (5) during the operations such as cleaning the interior of the cooling device (1) or long lasting loading, unloading.

[0023] In another embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises at least one illumination element (6) for illuminating the interior of the cooling device (1) body (2) and more than one movement sensor (4) disposed in different regions or shelves. In this embodiment, the illumination element (6) is controlled by the movement sensor (4) such that the region wherein a movement is detected, hence an operation is performed is more effectively illuminated.

[0024] In a version of this embodiment, the illumination element (6) is movable. The illumination element (6) is turned such that the region/shelf wherein the user is detected to perform an operation is illuminated depending on the data delivered from the movement sensor (4). Consequently, the region wherein the user is performing an operation is illuminated effectively.

[0025] In another version of this embodiment, the cooling device (1) comprises at least one illumination element (6) for illuminating each region wherein a movement sensor (4) is situated. The illumination element (s) (6) is turned on or the light intensity is increased in whichever region or shelf wherein the user is detected to be performing an operation by the movement sensor (4). On the other hand, the illumination elements (6) that illuminate the region or shelves wherein an operation is not performed are turned off or the light intensity is reduced. Thus, both the effective illumination of the region wherein the user is performing an operation is maintained and also energy savings is provided. By means of the present invention, a cooling device (1) is realized wherein the alarm (5) and the illumination elements (6) are prevented from being actuated unnecessarily. Thus, not only savings in energy is provided but also the user is prevented from being annoyed by the alarm (5) sounding unnecessarily.

Claims

1. A cooling device (1) that comprises a body (2) wherein objects to be cooled are stored and a door (3) providing access to the interior of the body (2), and characterized by at least one movement sensor (4) that is activated when the door (3) is open, disposed inside the body (2) or at the interior side of the door (3) thereby detecting the movements in these regions.

2. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1 characterized by the movement sensor (4) that scans the body (2) entrance all along like a screen and detects the movements of the user made for accessing into the body (2).

3. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by movement sensors (4) disposed on each shelf in the body (2) and the door (3) that scan the entry of the shelves such that movements on the shelf are detected.

4. A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by an alarm (5) that gives a warning if a movement is not detected by the movement sensor (4) for a predetermined time period when the door (3) is open.

5. A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by an illumination element (6) that illuminates the region/shelf more effectively wherein the user is detected to perform an operation.

6. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 5, characterized by the illumination element (6) that is moved for illuminating the region/shelf wherein an operation is performed.

7. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 5, characterized by the illumination element (6) that is turned on or the light intensity is increased for illuminating the region/shelf wherein an operation is performed.

8. A cooling device (1) as in any one of the Claims 5 to 7, characterized by the illumination element (6) that is turned off or the light intensity is reduced which remains outside the region/shelf wherein an operation is performed.