# US 11,079,163 B2 · Method for controlling defrost in refrigeration systems

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- Number: US 11,079,163 B2
- Document ID: US11079163B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/444,445
- Filed: 2019-06-18
- Published: 2020-01-02
- Granted: 2021-08-03
- Earliest claimed: 2018-06-27
- Assignees: Standex International Corporation
- Applicants: Standex International Corporation
- Inventors: Teddy Glenn Bostic, Jr.; Gregory Joseph Deutschmann; Chang H. Luh; Laura Steiner
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11079163B2

## CPC

- F25D 21/12: by hot-fluid circulating system separate from the refrigerant system
- F25D 11/006: {with cold storage accumulators}
- F25D 17/06: by forced circulation
- F25D 21/006: {with electronic control circuits}
- F25D 21/008: {by timer}
- F25D 21/08: by electric heating
- F25D 2500/02: Geometry problems
- F25D 2700/10: Sensors measuring the temperature of the evaporator
- F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B)

## Abstract

Automatic defrost technology for refrigeration equipment, in particular, defrosting refrigeration equipment by acceleration defrosting sublimation effects in refrigeration chambers in continual operation below the freezing point of water. Useful for refrigeration equipment for storage of vaccines and other products having storage temperatures ranging from −58 degrees Fahrenheit and 5 degrees Fahrenheit.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A refrigeration defrost system for a refrigerator wherein said refrigeration defrost system is used for storage of vaccines or other products having such low temperature storage requirements, said refrigeration defrost system comprises:
a digital controller for measuring temperatures and regulating the operation of the refrigeration system including initiating a refrigeration defrost cycle;
a condenser having metal tubing ranging in length from 180 to 240 inches;
a hermetically sealed compressor;
an evaporator having metal tubing ranging in length of 80 to 160 inches; wherein said evaporator further having fins for heat transfer and an integrated heating element and an expansion device, wherein said evaporator is positioned in an evaporator chamber; when said heating element of said evaporator becomes hot when subjected to an electrical current;
a product storage chamber for storing vaccines or other products having low temperature storage requirements;
an axial airflow induction fan;
a temperature variance moderation chamber (hereinafter TVMC);
a plurality of thermal reservoirs arranged and disposed in the TVMC;
a dividing plenum wall dividing said TVMC from said product storage chamber, wherein the evaporator chamber is separated from the product storage chamber by the TVMC, the plurality of thermal reservoirs of the TVMC and the dividing plenum wall acting as a thermal barrier between the evaporator chamber and the product storage chamber;
and
wherein the volume of said product storage chamber to the volume of said TVMC has a range from 3 to 5.5; and
wherein the volume of the product storage chamber relative to said thermal reservoirs total latent heat ratio has a tolerance zone of 0.1 to 1.5 (in3/J/g)); and
wherein the temperature of said product storage chamber maintains a temperature of −58 degrees Centigrade and −15 degrees Centigrade during the defrost cycle of the refrigerator.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The refrigeration defrost system of claim 1 wherein said TVMC further comprises a dividing plenum wall; a plurality of integrated clips and a plurality of vents positioned to induce convection and sized to optimize thermal transfer to said plurality of said thermal reservoirs.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The refrigeration defrost system of claim 2 wherein said TVMC is adjacent to said product storage chamber.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The refrigeration defrost system of claim 3 wherein said axial induction fan is approximately 3.5 inches in diameter.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The refrigeration defrost system of claim 4 wherein the plurality of thermal reservoirs is four.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The refrigeration defrost system of claim 5 wherein the freezing point temperature in said plurality of thermal reservoirs has a minimum delta of zero degrees Centigrade to a maximum delta of −20 degrees Centigrade of the stored product when the stored product is a vaccine.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The refrigeration defrost system of claim 6 such that when the temperature of said TVMC and the temperature of said product storage chamber is reduced to the operating range, said plurality of thermal reservoirs loose heat through the process and freeze.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The refrigeration defrost system of claim 7 when said digital controller initiates said refrigeration defrost cycle, said plurality of thermal reservoirs absorb heat via free convection in said product storage chamber and maintain the temperature of said product storage chamber below the specified maximum allowed vaccine storage temperature throughout said refrigeration defrost cycle.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The refrigeration defrost system of claim 8 wherein said axial induction fan will not be engaged by said digital controller until the air temperature around said evaporator and said evaporator chamber has dropped in temperature ranging from 5 degrees to 20 degrees Fahrenheit after the refrigeration defrost system has undergone said refrigeration defrost cycle defrost cycle.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The refrigeration defrost system of claim 9 wherein said plurality of thermal reservoirs and said plenum dividing wall create a barrier between a thermal barrier between said evaporator and said product storage chamber such that the temperature increase induced by said integrated heating element during said refrigeration defrost cycle does not adversely affect the stored product.