Commercial refrigerator with energy saving mode

Abstract

A commercial refrigerator for energy savings and a method to operate thereof. The refrigerator comprises a cabinet, the cabinet with a first cavity with an inner part, an access to said inner part and an air chamber set in the inner part, the air chamber comprising a fan which makes the air pass through an evaporator, a thawing resistance which thaws the evaporator, a cover with first slits which allow an air flow emanating from the first cavity towards the inner part of said air chamber and second slits that allow air flow cooled by the evaporator emanating from the inner part of said air chamber to the first cavity; temperature sensors set within the inner part of the air chamber, a first temperature sensor set between the first slit and the fan and a second temperature sensor set between the evaporator and the second slits, said sensors connected to an electronic control. The method collects temperature data from a sensor and temperature data from another sensor within an air chamber; compares the data from one sensor to the data from the other sensor to obtain a temperature value and calculates the stability of the data from the comparison; averages said data such that the temperature obtained is presumed as very close to the temperature of the products within the inner part of a chamber; de-energize a compressor by means of an electronic control.

1 . A method for operating a commercial refrigerator with a cabinet, the cabinet with at least one first cavity with an inner part, an access to said inner part and an air chamber set within the inner part, wherein said air chamber set comprises a fan which makes the air pass through an evaporator to carry out a heat transfer, a thawing resistance which thaws the evaporator, a cover with first slits which allow an air flow emanating from the first cavity towards the inner part of said air chamber and second slits which allow an air flow cooled by the evaporator emanating from the inner part of said air chamber towards the first cavity; said method comprising:
 setting at least two temperature sensors within the inner part of the air chamber, a first temperature sensor between the first slit and the fan and a second temperature sensor set between the evaporator and second slits, said sensors in connection with an electronic control;   collecting first temperature data from the first sensor and second temperature data from the second sensor within the air chamber;   comparing the first temperature data from the first sensor to the second temperature data from the second sensor to obtain a temperature value and to calculate stability of the first and second temperature data from the comparison;   wherein, if said data is stable, averaging said first and second temperature data such that the temperature obtained is deemed very near the product temperature within an inner part of a first chamber;   and wherein, if the difference between said first and second temperature data increases, de-energizing a compressor by means of the electronic control.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein once the temperature value of the objects stored within the inner part of the first cavity has been determined, start, by the electronic control, a timer termed as cycle timer, which in a nested manner will keep count of the time in which the compressor remains turned on during a normal operation mode. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein said cycle time is maintained for a 24 hour period. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein it also starts a second timer which counts the time that an energy savings mode is active. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the target temperature value of the objects stored within the inner part of the refrigerator are already set in the memory of the electronic control. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the target temperature value of the objects stored within the inner part of the refrigerator is determined by the user. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the energy savings mode comprises de- energizing the fan for determined periods of time and calculating, by means of the electronic control, the temperature of the objects stored in the inner part of the upper cavity, to determine the time lapse at which the refrigerator can be in the energy savings mode. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the method additionally comprises energizing both the compressor as well as the fan; acquiring the data from the sensors to compare the determined average temperature versus a target temperature of the normal operation mode;
 wherein, once the objects stored within the inner part of the refrigerator have reached the target temperature, de-energizing the compressor to enter into the normal operation mode; and counting the time that an access has remained closed, until said access is opened.   
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the method additionally comprises determining that an access has not been opened for a period of time and conserving the energy savings mode until the door is opened. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the time period is  15  hours. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the method additionally comprises de-energizing the thawing resistance by means of the electronic control each pre-determined time period and energizing the thawing resistance which allows thawing the evaporator. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the pre-determined time period is 8 hours. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the electronic control comprises a power stage and a rectifying stage. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the rectifying stage grants continuous current to a microcontroller and a flash memory which receives data from the sensors and emits pulses to a plurality of drivers of actuators. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the continuous current is 5V. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the microcontroller is 8 bits. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the drivers are selected from the group consisting of at least one transistor, triac, relay, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the actuators drive the fans, a compressor, a lighting source and the thawing resistance. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the refrigerator comprises a user interface. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the user interface is selected from the group consisting of at least one display, potentiometer, encoder, and combinations thereof.