Refrigeration – Automatic control – Of external fluid or means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-08
2001-06-26
Tanner, Harry B. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Automatic control
Of external fluid or means
C062S180000, C062S408000, C062S229000, C236S09900R, C236S049500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06250092
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to environmental temperature controls and more particularly to systems for controlling temperatures in multiple compartment devices.
2. Background Information
The goal of most multiple compartment designs is to quickly and efficiently control the discrete compartment temperatures using one cold air source. This task becomes more difficult when there is a sudden temperature change in a compartment, for example, such as when a refrigerator door is opened and then closed.
Typically refrigerators have a partition that separates the freezer from the fresh food compartment. Refrigerators also have a cold air source, which directs cold air into the freezer. There is typically an aperture in the partition that allows the cold air in the freezer to migrate into the fresh food compartment. A damper selectively covers and uncovers the aperture in the partition to control the amount of cold airflow from the freezer to the fresh food compartment. Refrigerators usually have thermostats that control the cold air source.
One arrangement for controlling refrigerator compartment temperatures is to use a manually controlled damper and a thermostat located in the fresh food compartment. If the temperature in the freezer compartment suddenly increases, the damper will not move, and the cold air source will turn on when the warmer air has migrated from the freezer to the thermostat in the fresh food compartment. A drawback associated with this arrangement is that in most refrigerators, the freezer is located above the fresh food compartment and since heat rises, it could take a significant amount of time before the warmer air migrates down from the freezer to the thermostat in the fresh food compartment. This is especially true if the manual damper was positioned to substantially cover the aperture.
One proposed solution to this problem is to incorporate an automatic damper controller and a thermostat located in the freezer compartment rather than in the fresh food compartment. More specifically, the thermostat would control the cold air source in response to the temperature of the freezer compartment. Also, the automatic damper controller would incrementally control the damper in response to the temperature of the fresh food compartment.
A drawback to this system is that when the freezer compartment is cooled to its set point temperature, the cold air source will shut off, even if the fresh food compartment is warm and has not been sufficiently cooled. The set point temperatures refer to the preset high and low temperature range settings of the compartments. For example, when the air temperature in the fresh food compartment reaches a set point temperature, the cold air source will be either turned on or off. Hence, a need exists for a system which will quickly and efficiently control temperatures in a multiple compartment device in response to compartment temperature changes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to an embodiment of the invention, an actuator is provided for controlling temperatures in a multiple compartment device. The actuator includes a housing and a linear oscillator disposed within the housing. The linear oscillator is disposed integrally with a push rod, wherein the linear oscillator reciprocably moves the push rod along its longitudinal axis. In addition, the actuator includes a holder including a rigid member and a pin aperture. A sliding member has a knob on one end and a first clip connector at an other end, the sliding member having a range of motion limited by the rigid member. The push rod has a second clip connector on one end, which is coupled to the first clip connector of the sliding member. A lever arm has a first end and a second end, the first end including a protruding member and the second end including a lever arm aperture and a lever arm pin. The knob of the sliding member is pivotably engaged with the lever arm aperture and the lever arm pin is pivotably engaged with the pin aperture. The protruding member is adapted to pivotably couple with the damper.
The present invention provides, in another aspect, a method of fabricating an actuator for controlling temperatures in a refrigerator. A first step of this method is to provide a linear oscillator which is operable in response to input from a temperature sensor. Additional steps include integrally disposing a push rod with the linear oscillator, wherein the linear oscillator reciprocably moves the push rod along its longitudinal axis. A holder is provided which includes a rigid member and a pin aperture. A sliding member is provided which has a knob at one end and first clip connector at an other end, the sliding member having a range of motion limited by the rigid member. A second clip connector is provided on one end of the push rod. The second clip connector is coupled to the first clip connector of the sliding member. A first end of a lever arm is provided with a protruding member which is coupled with a damper. In this regard, those skilled in the art will recognize that any number of well-known coupling configurations, such as a pivot pin/receptacle, hinge, cam/follower, or resilient connector such as a metallic, polymeric or elastomeric spring, may be used in lieu of any of the coupling arrangements disclosed herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
A second end of the lever arm is provided with a lever arm aperture and a lever arm pin. The knob is pivotably engaged with the lever arm aperture, and the lever arm pin is pivotably engaged with the pin aperture.
The above and other features and advantages of this invention will be more readily apparent from a reading of the following detailed description of various aspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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Lanz Douglas C.
Starenchak Robert W.
England, Jr. John M.
Martin Terrence (Terry)
Morris Jules Jay
Robertshaw Controls Company
Tanner Harry B.
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