Evaporator fan control system for a multi-compartment refrigerator
AssigneeRanco Incorporated of Delaware
InventorsWilliam B. Bennett, James T. Reier
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An evaporator fan control system is provided for a multi-compartment refrigerator that coordinates operation of the evaporator fan among a cooling cycle for a freezer compartment, a cooling cycle for a fresh food compartment, and an adaptive defrost cycle. An adaptive defrost timer control module is utilized to coordinate operation of the evaporator fan. This control module includes an embedded electronic controller having control logic programmed to operate the evaporator fan whenever either of the thermostats requires cooling, and to lock out operation of the evaporator fan whenever the system is performing a defrost cycle.
Claims15
An evaporator fan control system for a multi-compartment refrigerator having a damper controlling an opening between compartments to allow cooling from a first compartment to be transferred to a second compartment, comprising:
- a first thermostat positioned to sense temperature in the first compartment;
- a second thermostat positioned to sense temperature in the second compartment;
- an adaptive defrost timer control module operably coupled to the first and the second thermostat to determine when each compartment requires cooling, the adaptive defrost timer control module providing an energization output to an evaporator fan;
- and
- wherein the adaptive defrost timer control module energizes the evaporator fan when the second thermostat indicates that the second compartment requires cooling.
An evaporator fan control system for a refrigerator having a freezer compartment and a fresh food compartment, cooling of the fresh food compartment being controlled via a damper regulating an opening between the freezer compartment and the fresh food compartment, comprising:
- an adaptive defrost timer control module having an output coupled to the evaporator fan for turning the evaporator fan on and off;
- a thermostat positioned to sense a temperature of the fresh food compartment, the thermostat providing an input to the adaptive defrost timer control module indicating when the fresh food compartment requires cooling;
- and
- wherein the adaptive defrost timer control module turns the evaporator fan on when the thermostat indicates that the fresh food compartment requires cooling.
An evaporator fan control system for use in a frost free multi-compartment refrigerator having a freezer compartment that is cooled by a compressor and an evaporator fan, and a fresh food compartment that is cooled by operation of the evaporator fan to blow air from the freezer compartment into the fresh food compartment through a damper controlled opening between the freezer compartment and the fresh food compartment, each compartment having installed therein a thermostat, the refrigerator further including a defrost heater to effectuate frost free operation, the system comprising an adaptive defrost timer control module having control inputs for sensing the thermostat in the fresh food compartment and the thermostat in the freezer compartment, and control outputs for energizing the evaporator fan, the compressor, and the defrost heater in accordance with programmed logic contained within the adaptive defrost timer control, the programmed logic including a logical OR gate having an input indicating that the thermostat installed in the fresh food compartment requires cooling and an input indicating that the thermostat installed in the freezer compartment requires cooling and an output, and a logical NAND gate having an input from the output of the logical OR gate and an inverted input indicating that the refrigerator is in a defrost cycle and an output, the adaptive defrost timer control module energizing the evaporator fan upon generation of a logical 1 at the output of the logical NAND gate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.