Container refrigeration device

• US 9,696,075 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2012
• Issued: 07/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daikin Industries Ltd
• Original Assignee: Daikin Industries Ltd
• Inventors: Okamoto, Atsushi, Fujimoto, Yuusuke, Yokohara, Kazuma
• Primary Examiner(s): Atkisson, Jianying
• Assistant Examiner(s): Diaz, Miguel A
• Application Number:
  US14/363,212
• Publication Number:
  US 20150047381A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,671 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2400/13 Economisers
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/0253 with variable speed
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/11 Fan speed control
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/111 of condenser fans
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/112 of evaporator fans
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/2509 Economiser valves
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/2513 Expansion valves
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2700/1931 Discharge pressures
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2700/1933 Suction pressures
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2700/21151 at the suction side of the compressor
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2700/21152 at the discharge side of the compressor
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2700/21171 of the fluid cooled by the evaporator
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2700/21175 of the refrigerant at the outlet of the evaporator
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 49/02 for compression type machines, plants or systems
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 49/022 Compressor control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 11/003 Transport containers
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 17/06 by forced circulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

A container refrigeration device includes: a fan controller which reduces a rotation speed of an inside fan when a temperature inside a container is stabilized; and a rotation speed controller which reduces an operational rotation speed N of a compressor such that the temperature inside the container becomes equal to a target temperature as the fan controller reduces the rotation speed of the inside fan.

Claims

1. A container refrigeration device with a refrigerant circuit including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and an evaporator which are sequentially connected together, and with an inside fan configured to blow inner air having exchanged heat in the evaporator of the refrigerant circuit to an inside of a container, a rotation speed of the inside fan being variable, the container refrigeration device comprising:

a fan controller which reduces the rotation speed of the inside fan when a temperature inside the container has continuously remained within a predetermined temperature range set relative to a target temperature; and

a rotation speed controller which, in response to the reduction of the rotation speed of the inside fan by the fan controller, reduces an operational rotation speed N of the compressor such that the temperature inside the container becomes equal to the target temperature.

2. The container refrigeration device of claim 1, further comprising:

a corrector, wherein

the rotation speed controller is configured to reduce the operational rotation speed N of the compressor by a predetermined value A such that the temperature inside the container becomes equal to the target temperature, as the fan controller reduces the rotation speed of the inside fan,

the corrector performs correction to reduce the predetermined value A when the temperature inside the container becomes higher than the target temperature because of operation at the operational rotation speed reduced by the rotation speed controller, and

the corrector performs correction to increase the predetermined value A when the temperature inside the container becomes lower than the target temperature because of the operation at the operational rotation speed reduced by the rotation speed controller.

3. The container refrigeration device of claim 1, further comprising:

a valve controller, wherein

the expansion mechanism is an expansion valve having a variable opening degree, and

the valve controller reduces the opening degree of the expansion valve as the fan controller reduces the rotation speed of the inside fan.

4. The container refrigeration device of claim 1, wherein

the fan controller increases the reduced rotation speed of the inside fan when the temperature inside the container is stabilized, and

the rotation speed controller increases the operational rotation speed N of the compressor such that the temperature inside the container becomes equal to the target temperature, as the fan controller increases the rotation speed of the inside fan.

5. The container refrigeration device of claim 4, further comprising:

a corrector, wherein

the rotation speed controller is configured to increase the operational rotation speed N of the compressor by a predetermined value B such that the temperature inside the container becomes equal to the target temperature, as the fan controller increases the rotation speed of the inside fan,

the corrector performs correction to increase the predetermined value B when the temperature inside the container becomes higher than the target temperature because of operation at the operational rotation speed increased by the rotation speed controller, and

the corrector performs correction to reduce the predetermined value B when the temperature inside the container becomes lower than the target temperature because of the operation at the operational rotation speed increased by the rotation speed controller.

6. The container refrigeration device of claim 4, further comprising:

a valve controller, wherein

the expansion mechanism is an expansion valve having a variable opening degree, and

the valve controller increases the opening degree of the expansion valve as the fan controller increases the rotation speed of the inside fan.

7. The container refrigeration device of claim 1, wherein

the rotation speed of the inside fan is switchable between at least two speeds including a higher speed and a lower speed, and

the fan controller is configured to perform switching control to switch the rotation of the inside fan between the higher speed and the lower speed at predetermined intervals.

8. The container refrigeration device of claim 7, wherein

when a temperature of suction air sucked from the inside of the container is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature during the switching control, the fan controller performs a low speed control to cause the inside fan to operate continuously at the lower speed.