Patent Application
20220307756
Residential refrigerators generally include both fresh food compartments and freezer compartments, with the former maintained at a temperature above freezing to store fresh foods and liquids, and the latter maintained at a temperature below freezing for longer-term storage of frozen foods. Due to the varying environmental conditions, such as varying temperatures and/or humidity levels, various exterior surfaces of a refrigerator may be subject to condensation, resulting in moisture undesirably forming on those surfaces.
Many residential refrigerators also include as a convenience feature an integrated dispenser for dispensing a fluid (e.g., water) and/or ice. Such dispensers may also be externally accessible, and often include a sump or tray that collects any dispensed ice and/or water that has dripped or spilled from the dispenser during or after dispensing ice and/or water into a container. Dispensers are also prone to condensation in some instances, particularly when ice is being dispensed and cold air is expelled from the dispenser with the ice.
Condensation generally forms on a surface whenever the temperature of the surface drops below the dew point of the air surrounding the surface, and as a result, many refrigerators incorporate various heating devices capable of supplying heat to various surfaces to inhibit condensation. Heat generated by the condenser of a refrigerator cooling system as an inherent byproduct of the refrigeration process may be used in some areas of a refrigerator (e.g., via tubing extensions from the condenser); however, in many areas of a refrigerator, particularly on the doors or on other moving parts in a refrigerator, electric heaters are used to heat surfaces that are potentially subject to condensation. The use of electric heaters, however, increases energy consumption, so it is generally desirable to limit the use of such heaters only to circumstances where condensation has or is likely to be formed. Conventional refrigerators, however, rely either on user selection of an energy saver function or on preprogrammed algorithms that run generally any time the cooling system is active. In either case, however, a risk exists that condensation may occur.
The herein-described embodiments address these and other problems associated with the art by utilizing a dynamic multi-zone anti-sweat heating system in a refrigerator to reduce moisture on various surfaces of the refrigerator. Moreover, in some instances, the determination of when moisture is present and/or absent from a surface may be made based at least in part on detection of the presence or absence of an elevated thermal load on the surface while a heater is activated.
Therefore, consistent with one aspect of the invention, a refrigerator may include a cabinet including one or more food compartments and one or more doors providing external access to the one or more food compartments, a surface heater positioned to heat a surface of the cabinet, a temperature sensor positioned to sense a temperature for the surface, and a controller coupled to the surface heater and the temperature sensor, the controller configured to detect moisture on the surface by activating the surface heater, sensing temperature with the temperature sensor, and determining that moisture is present on the surface in response to detecting an elevated thermal load on the surface while the surface heater is activated.
Some embodiments may also include an articulating mullion disposed on one of the one or more doors, and the surface is disposed on the articulating mullion. Also, in some embodiments, the controller is further configured to generate an alert indicating that a door among the one or more doors has been left open in response to a temperature sensed by the temperature sensor. Further, in some embodiments, the controller is further configured to generate an alert indicating that a gasket of a door among the one or more doors may be disrupted in response to a temperature sensed by the temperature sensor.
Some embodiments may further include an externally-mounted dispenser disposed on the cabinet and including a dispenser recess sump, and the surface is disposed on the dispenser recess sump. In some embodiments, the controller is further configured to generate an alert indicating a presence of fluid in the dispenser recess sump in response to a temperature sensed by the temperature sensor.
In addition, in some embodiments, the surface is a first surface, the surface heater is a first surface heater, the temperature sensor is a first temperature sensor, the refrigerator further includes a second surface heater positioned to heat a second surface in a dispenser recess and a second temperature sensor positioned to sense a temperature for the second surface, and the controller is further configured to separately activate the first and second surface heaters based upon moisture respectively detected on the first and second surfaces.
In some embodiments, the surface is a first surface, the surface heater is a first surface heater, the temperature sensor is a first temperature sensor, the refrigerator further includes a second surface heater positioned to heat a second surface of the cabinet and a second temperature sensor positioned to sense a temperature for the second surface, and the controller is further configured to detect moisture on the second surface and to separately activate the first and second surface heaters based upon moisture respectively detected on the first and second surfaces. Some embodiments may also include an evaporative tray disposed on the cabinet, and the surface is disposed on the evaporative tray.
In some embodiments, the controller is configured to determine the elevated thermal load based upon a rate of temperature rise during activation of the surface heater. In addition, in some embodiments, the controller is configured to determine the elevated thermal load based upon a comparison of temperature rise with applied current to the heater.
Moreover, in some embodiments, the controller is further configured to predict a likelihood of condensation forming on the surface based upon the temperature sensed by the temperature sensor, and to activate the surface heater in response to predicting that condensation is likely to be forming on the surface. In some embodiments, the controller is further configured to predict the likelihood of condensation forming on the surface based upon ambient temperature and/or humidity sensed by one or more additional sensors of the refrigerator. Moreover, in some embodiments, the controller is configured to predict the likelihood of condensation by executing a prediction algorithm, and the controller is configured to dynamically execute the prediction algorithm in response to consumer or appliance behavior.
In some embodiments, the controller is configured to dynamically execute the prediction algorithm in response to detected ice retrieval, detected door opening, occupancy monitoring, sealed system cycling, fan operation and/or ice production. In addition, in some embodiments, the controller is configured to predict the likelihood of condensation by executing a prediction algorithm, and the controller is configured to dynamically execute the prediction algorithm in response to ambient monitoring or input received from an HVAC system. In some embodiments, the temperature sensor is integrated into the surface heater.
Consistent with another aspect of the invention, a refrigerator may include a cabinet including one or more food compartments and one or more doors providing external access to the one or more food compartments, the cabinet further including a fluid receptacle for receiving fluid, a heater positioned to heat the fluid receptacle, a temperature sensor positioned to sense a temperature proximate the fluid receptacle, and a controller coupled to the heater and the temperature sensor, the controller configured to activate the heater to evaporate fluid disposed in the fluid receptacle, and the controller further configured to automatically deactivate the heater when the fluid disposed in the fluid receptacle has been evaporated based upon the temperature sensed by the temperature sensor.
Some embodiments may further include an externally-mounted dispenser disposed on the cabinet, and the fluid receptacle includes a dispenser recess sump for the externally-mounted dispenser. Also, in some embodiments, the fluid receptacle includes an evaporative tray configured to collect condensation generated by a cooling system of the refrigerator.
In some embodiments, the controller is configured to determine when the fluid disposed in the fluid receptacle has been evaporated by determining a decrease in thermal load in the fluid receptacle while the heater is activated.
In addition, in some embodiments, the controller is configured to determine the decrease in thermal load by detecting an increased temperature rise during activation of the heater. Also, in some embodiments, the controller is configured to determine the decrease in thermal load based upon a comparison of temperature rise with applied current to the heater. Moreover, in some embodiments, the controller is further configured to detect moisture in the fluid receptacle in response to detecting an elevated thermal load in the fluid receptacle while the surface heater is activated.
Consistent with another aspect of the invention, a refrigerator may include a cabinet including one or more food compartments and one or more doors providing external access to the one or more food compartments, a plurality of surface heaters positioned to heat respective surfaces among a plurality of surfaces of the cabinet, a plurality of temperature sensors positioned to sense temperatures for respective surfaces among the plurality of surfaces, and a controller coupled to the plurality of surface heaters and the plurality of temperature sensors, the controller configured to detect moisture on a selected surface of the plurality of surfaces by activating the respective surface heater for the selected surface, sensing temperature with the respective temperature sensor for the selected surface, and determining that moisture is present on the selected surface in response to detecting an elevated thermal load on the selected surface while the surface heater for the selected surface is activated.
These and other advantages and features, which characterize the invention, are set forth in the claims annexed hereto and forming a further part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, and of the advantages and objectives attained through its use, reference should be made to the Drawings, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is described example embodiments of the invention. This summary is merely provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description, and is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Turning now to the drawings, wherein like numbers denote like parts throughout the several views,
Fresh food compartment 16 is generally maintained at a temperature above freezing for storing fresh food such as produce, drinks, eggs, condiments, lunchmeat, cheese, etc. Various shelves, drawers, and/or sub-compartments may be provided within fresh food compartment 16 for organizing foods, and it will be appreciated that some refrigerator designs may incorporate multiple fresh food compartments and/or zones that are maintained at different temperatures and/or at different humidity levels to optimize environmental conditions for different types of foods. Freezer compartment 18 is generally maintained at a temperature below freezing for longer-term storage of frozen foods, and may also include various shelves, drawers, and/or sub-compartments for organizing foods therein.
Refrigerator 10 as illustrated in
Refrigerator 10 also includes a door-mounted dispenser 26 for dispensing ice and/or a fluid such as water. In the illustrated embodiments, dispenser 26 is an ice and water dispenser capable of dispensing both ice (cubed and/or crushed) and chilled water, while in other embodiments, dispenser 26 may be an ice only dispenser for dispensing only cubed and/or crushed ice, or a water only dispenser for dispensing only water. In still other embodiments, dispenser 26 may dispense hot water, coffee, beverages, or other fluids, and may have variable and/or fast dispense capabilities, as well as an ability to dispense predetermined or measured quantities of fluids. In some instances, ice and water may be dispensed from the same location, while in other instances separate locations may be provided in the dispenser for dispensing ice and water.
Refrigerator 10 also includes a control panel 28, which in the illustrated embodiment is integrated with dispenser 26 on door 20, and which includes various input/output controls such as buttons, indicator lights, alphanumeric displays, dot matrix displays, touch-sensitive displays, etc. for interacting with a user. In other embodiments, control panel 28 may be separate from dispenser 26 (e.g., on a different door), and in other embodiments, multiple control panels may be provided. Further, in some embodiments audio feedback may be provided to a user via one or more speakers, and in some embodiments, user input may be received via a spoken or gesture-based interface. Additional user controls may also be provided elsewhere on refrigerator 10, e.g., within fresh food and/or freezer compartments 16, 18. In addition, refrigerator 10 may be controllable remotely, e.g., via a smartphone, tablet, personal digital assistant or other networked computing device, e.g., using a web interface or a dedicated app.
Furthermore, as will be discussed in greater detail below, dispenser 26 may additionally include a dispenser recess sump 30 that is used to capture ice, water, or other fluids dispensed from dispenser 26. As will also be discussed in greater detail below, dispenser recess sump 30 may retain a volume of fluid for which it may be desirable to remove, e.g., through evaporation. In addition, due to the fact that cold water and ice may be dispensed by dispenser 26, as well as the fact that the dispenser recess (i.e., the portion under the dispenser outlet(s) that is recessed within door 20) is potentially exposed to lower temperatures and thus a greater risk of condensation, it may be desirable to incorporate an anti-sweat heating capability for the dispenser.
A refrigerator consistent with the invention also generally includes one or more controllers configured to control a refrigeration system as well as manage interaction with a user.
As shown in
Controller 40 may also be interfaced with various sensors 56 located to sense environmental conditions inside of and/or external to refrigerator 10, e.g., one or more temperature sensors, humidity sensors, etc. Such sensors may be internal or external to refrigerator 10, and may be coupled wirelessly to controller 40 in some embodiments. In addition, controller 40 may be interfaced with one or more heaters 58, e.g., for use in a dynamic multi-zone anti-sweat heating system as described in greater detail herein.
In some embodiments, controller 40 may also be coupled to one or more network interfaces 60, e.g., for interfacing with external devices via wired and/or wireless networks such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, cellular and other suitable networks, collectively represented in
In some embodiments, refrigerator 10 may be interfaced with one or more user devices 64 over network 62, e.g., computers, tablets, smart phones, wearable devices, etc., and through which refrigerator 10 may be controlled and/or refrigerator 10 may provide user feedback. Refrigerator 10 may also be interfaced in some embodiments with one or more remote services 66, e.g., various cloud or remote computing services.
In some embodiments, controller 40 may operate under the control of an operating system and may execute or otherwise rely upon various computer software applications, components, programs, objects, modules, data structures, etc. In addition, controller 40 may also incorporate hardware logic to implement some or all of the functionality disclosed herein. Further, in some embodiments, the sequences of operations performed by controller 40 to implement the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using program code including one or more instructions that are resident at various times in various memory and storage devices, and that, when read and executed by one or more hardware-based processors, perform the operations embodying desired functionality. Moreover, in some embodiments, such program code may be distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of computer readable media used to actually carry out the distribution, including, for example, non-transitory computer readable storage media. In addition, it will be appreciated that the various operations described herein may be combined, split, reordered, reversed, varied, omitted, parallelized and/or supplemented with other techniques known in the art, and therefore, the invention is not limited to the particular sequences of operations described herein.
Numerous variations and modifications to the refrigerator illustrated in
Some embodiments consistent with the invention, as mentioned above, are directed in part to the use of a dynamic multi-zone anti-sweat heating system for inhibiting the formation of moisture on various surfaces of a refrigerator and/or to evaporate fluid collected in a refrigerator, e.g., in a dispenser recess sump, evaporative tray, or other fluid collection structure.
An anti-sweat heating system may be considered to be dynamic from the standpoint that, at least in some embodiments, the heating system is capable of dynamically activating one or more heaters in response to detection of the presence of moisture on a surface, or at least detection of conditions that are indicative of a likely presence of moisture on a surface. An anti-sweat heating system may be considered to be multi-zone from the standpoint that, at least in some embodiments, multiple individually-actuatable zones exist that can be independently monitored and activated to address potential moisture within such zones.
A zone, in particular, may include one or more heaters and one or more temperature sensors, and may cover one or more interior and/or exterior surfaces of a refrigerator cabinet (which, for the purposes of this disclosure, may include both the main case and the doors of the refrigerator, as well as any other component or structure in the refrigerator upon which it may be desirable to prevent condensation from forming and/to or evaporate any condensation or fluid that may exist). As such, in some embodiments a zone may encompass multiple surfaces, while in other embodiments one surface may have multiple zones.
The heaters in a zone may be heating elements capable of heating associated surfaces, and the temperature sensors may be surface temperature sensors capable of sensing a temperature on associated surfaces. Multiple heating elements within a zone may be supported in some embodiments, and the multiple heating elements may be disposed in the same heating assembly in some embodiments, or may be disposed in different heating assemblies. Further, in some embodiments, the heating elements may be considered to be surface heaters to the extent that the heat generated thereby provides heat to an associated surface. In addition, it will be appreciated that multiple zones may operate in a group in some embodiments, such that activities occurring within multiple zones of a group may be affect the activation of the heating elements in various zones in the group (e.g., as is the case with a dispenser recess as discussed below in connection with
By utilizing multiple zones, each zone may be provided with individual temperature feedback, and the temperature feedback may be used to enable a controller to dynamically react to sensed temperature by selectively activating heaters. As such, in some embodiments zones may be monitored on an ongoing basis, with heaters activated on demand when needed, and only in zones within which moisture may be present, thereby minimizing overall energy usage.
In some embodiments, activation of a heater in a zone may be based on a dew point determined, for example, from a sensed ambient relative humidity, along with one or more surface temperature readings that detect when a surface temperature drops below a calculated dew point. In other embodiments, the temperature in each zone may be monitored to detect drops in temperature, which may be indicative of heat flux, and indicating the desirability of energizing a heater in a particular zone.
Furthermore, in some embodiments, moisture detection (and/or detection of removal of moisture) may be based in part on the evaporative cooling effect of moisture. In particular, in some embodiments moisture detection may be based at least in part on sensing the thermal load on a surface, in particular while a heater associated with the surface is active, as moisture present on a surface will generally present as a thermal mass that, when heated, will resist an increase in surface temperature as a result of the phase change occurring as the moisture evaporates. This resistance to change may be sensed, for example, by monitoring the rate of change of the sensed surface temperature, or alternatively by comparing a rate of change of the sensed surface temperature to an amount of applied current to a heater (e.g., by dividing temperature increase by applied amperage in some embodiments). Moisture may therefore be detected based upon a reduced or slower than expected rise in temperature when a heater is activated (i.e., an increased thermal load), while the evaporation of moisture may be detected based upon a transition to a faster temperature rise when a heater is activated (i.e., a decreased thermal load). Further, the detection of moisture in one zone or on one surface or portion of a surface could be used to trigger activation of heaters in other zones or associated with other surfaces, given that environmental conditions particularly suitable for condensation may have been detected.
Thus, in some embodiments consistent with the invention, a controller coupled to a heater and a temperature sensor may be able to detect moisture on a surface by activating the heater, sensing a surface temperature with the temperature sensor while the heater is activated, and determining that moisture is present on the surface in response to detecting an elevated thermal load on the surface while the surface heater is activated.
It will also be appreciated that, in addition to or in lieu of condensation formed on interior and/or exterior surfaces of a refrigerator, the techniques described herein may also be used to accelerate the evaporation of fluids collected in various receptacles in a refrigerator, e.g., a dispenser recess sump and/or an evaporative tray used to collect condensation generated by a refrigerator cooling system. In particular, heaters may be used to accelerate fluid evaporation, and monitored surface temperatures may be used to detect when fluid is present and/or when all of the fluid in a receptacle has been removed.
Now turning to
One potential application of such a heating system is in connection with addressing condensation on an articulating mullion of a refrigerator door. Door 20, for example, is illustrated in
It will be appreciated that the various applications illustrated in
Now turning to
Controller 102 may utilize temperature sensors 108 to monitor surface temperatures for the purpose of determining when to dynamically activate and/or deactivate the associated heaters 106 in a zone 104. In addition to or in lieu of temperature sensors 108, however, various additional inputs may be used in a dynamic multi-zonal anti-sweat heating system consistent with the invention. For example, an ambient temperature sensor 110 and/or ambient humidity sensor 112 may be used to determine the temperature and/or humidity of the environment within which the refrigerator is installed. In addition, input may be provided from a cooling system 114, e.g., indicating when the cooling system is currently active. Door switches 116 may be used to determine the open/closed status of various doors in the refrigerator, while a dispensing system 118 may provide information such as whether ice and/or water is currently being dispensed, whether an ice duct door is open, etc. Further, in some embodiments, a motion sensor 120 may be used to detect occupancy in the room in which the refrigerator is installed. Still further, in some embodiments, input may be received from various external devices, e.g., from an HVAC system through a network interface 124, whereby controller 102 may receive information such as whether the HVAC is currently running, to which temperature setpoint the HVAC system is currently set, ambient temperature and/or humidity sensed by the HVAC system, etc. In still other embodiments, weather information may be received over network interface 124, e.g., from a remote service, so that controller 102 may account for upcoming changes in weather such as storms that could change ambient conditions over the near future. It will be appreciated that in some embodiments, many of the aforementioned inputs may be omitted, so the invention is not limited to the particular combination of inputs illustrated in
Moreover, the prediction algorithm may calculate a likelihood (e.g., in terms of a percentage) to allow for a greater or lesser chance of activating heaters, and in some instances, an energy saving function may be used to vary the prediction algorithm based upon whether or not the energy saving function is activated, e.g., to allow a greater chance of moisture and/or a lower chance of heaters being activated. A prediction algorithm may be based on a machine learning model in some embodiments, while in other embodiments, rule-based or procedural algorithms may instead be used. In many instances, however, and regardless of how implemented the likelihood of condensation may be predicted at least in part on a surface temperature measurement of a surface, so that a heater proximate to that surface may be activated whenever condensation is determined to be likely.
Thus, after the likelihood of surface condensation is predicted in block 206, block 208 either returns control to block 202 if no surface condensation is predicted, or passes control to block 210 to energize the heaters or heating elements in any affected zones (i.e., zones where condensation is determined to be likely). Thereafter, block 212 monitors the thermal load in each energized zone, and block 214 determines if evaporation has completed in any energized zone. As noted above, based upon the evaporative cooling effect, heat applied by a heater will increase the surface temperature more slowly when moisture is present on a surface as energy is expended on the phase change from liquid to gas. Thus, by monitoring for temperature spikes during activation of a heater (e.g., based on temperature sensing and/or determining a temperature rise/amperage applied ratio), the evaporation of moisture can be detected. As such, for any zone where evaporation completion is detected, block 214 may pass control to block 216 to deactivate the heater(s) in that zone, and block 218 may then determine if any other zones are still active. Returning to block 214, if no evaporation completion is detected in any zone, block 216 is bypassed and control passes directly to block 218.
If any zones are still active, block 218 returns control to block 212 to continue to monitor the thermal load in each energized zone. Then, once all zones have been deenergized, block 218 returns control to block 202 to return to periodically running the prediction algorithm to detect when condensation is likely in one or more zones.
Returning to block 224, if the door is determined to be opened, control passes to block 232 to continue to monitor the zone for potential moisture, specifically to determine if the moisture is sufficiently removed within a predetermined period of time (e.g., using the operations described above in connection with blocks 210-218 of
Returning to block 254, if the duct door is determined to be opened, and thus ice is currently being dispensed, control passes to block 262 to continue to monitor the zone for potential moisture, specifically to determine if the moisture is sufficiently removed within a predetermined period of time (e.g., using the operations described above in connection with blocks 210-218 of
It will be appreciated that the various features and techniques disclosed herein may be used separately from one another or in various combinations, so the specific applications of the herein-described techniques in association with particular surfaces of a refrigerator may be implemented separately in different embodiments. Other modifications will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instant disclosure. Therefore, the invention lies in the claims hereinafter appended.
