Automatic refrigerant filling

Abstract

A valve controller ( 1 ) for filling a refrigerating circuit with refrigerant includes a valve ( 2 ), a temperature sensor ( 3 ), a pressure sensor ( 4 ) and a controller ( 5 ). The controller ( 5 ) is configured to calculate a parameter from the measurement data of the temperature sensor ( 3 ) and/or the pressure sensor ( 4 ), and the controller ( 5 ) is further configured to activate the valve ( 2 ) until the calculated parameter has reached a target value.

1 . A valve controller (1) for filling a refrigerating circuit with refrigerant, the valve controller comprising: a valve (2),
 a temperature sensor (3),   a pressure sensor (4),   a controller (5) configured to calculate a parameter from at least one of measurement data of the temperature sensor (3) or the pressure sensor (4), and the controller (5) is further configured to activate the valve (2) until the calculated parameter has reached a target value.   
     
     
         2 . The valve controller (1) as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising a memory (7) that stores thermodynamic data on a refrigerant, the controller being configured to includes said data in the calculation performed by the controller (5) and to choose between different refrigerants. 
     
     
         3 . The valve controller (1) as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the temperature sensor (3) or the pressure sensor (4) is wirelessly connected to the controller (5), and data transmission take place at least one of on a number of radio channels simultaneously or at time intervals of less than ten seconds. 
     
     
         4 . The valve controller (1) as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising at least one of a flow sensor (11) or a balance (12) arranged to determine an amount of refrigerant delivered into the refrigerating circuit, the controller being configured to receive and process measurement data from the at least one of the flow sensor (11) or the balance (12). 
     
     
         5 . The valve controller (1) as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the balance (12) is provided, and a weighing platform (13) is formed on the balance (12) as a standing surface for a cylinder (14). 
     
     
         6 . The valve controller (1) as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein a largest dimension (16) of the weighing platform (13) corresponds to a largest dimension (18) of the standing area (19) of a cylinder (14). 
     
     
         7 . The valve controller (1) as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the largest diameter of the weighing platform is a diagonal (17), and a largest diameter of the standing area of the cylinder is a diameter (20) of the cylinder (14). 
     
     
         8 . The valve controller (1) as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising an input unit (8) configured for a user to establish at least one of target parameters, filling amounts or other data describing at least one of the refrigerating circuit, the refrigerant, or the filling operation. 
     
     
         9 . The valve controller (1) as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the controller (5) is configured to control the filling operation in dependence on an amount of refrigerant delivered. 
     
     
         10 . The valve controller (1) as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the controller (5) is configured to iteratively control the filling operation. 
     
     
         11 . The valve controller (1) as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the controller (5) is configured to detect an inadmissible state, including at least one of filling with an excessive amount of refrigerant or an occurrence of leakages. 
     
     
         12 . The valve controller (1) as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the controller (5) is configured to at least one of inform a user or interrupt a filling operation when the inadmissible state is detected.