According to the present disclosure, after a load operation is performed by satisfying a start condition of the load operation, the load operation is terminated when a compartment temperature of a storage compartment satisfies a termination condition when a door is opened or when a temperature change in the storage compartment satisfies the termination condition. Accordingly, excessive power consumption during the load operation may be prevented, and thus power consumption may be improved.

A method of measuring pressure includes the steps of (1) providing a vacuum cabinet with a storage compartment and an insulating space, and three temperature sensors; (2) sensing a first temperature level of an interior wall of the storage compartment; (3) sensing an ambient temperature level within the storage compartment; (4) sensing a second temperature level of an exterior wall of the storage compartment; (5) calculating an overall heat transfer coefficient (Q) using the ambient temperature level, the first temperature level, and a convective heat transfer coefficient for the interior wall of the storage compartment; (6) calculating a temperature differential between the second and first temperature levels; (7) determining a conductivity level (K) using the temperature differential, the overall heat transfer coefficient (Q) and a thickness of the insulating space; and (8) determining a pressure level (P) within the insulating space using the conductivity level (K).

Techniques for remotely monitoring the operation of a cargo shipping reefer container configured with a refrigeration system that has installed therewith a control computer coupled with sensors monitoring the operation of the refrigeration system include: collecting a first and second set of observation data comprising a respective first and second sequence of measurement values measured by sensors coupled to the control computer; running a simulation model that receives the first set of observation data as input and outputs simulated values; the simulation model is configured to output the simulated values as estimates of the second set of the observations; computing an indicator value as a function of residual values computed from the difference between the values of the second set of observations and the simulated values; and evaluating the indicator value against a predefined criterion and issuing an alarm signal in case the predefined criterion is exceeded.

A method of optimizing packaging for shipping a perishable item includes determining a cooling capacity of an insulated package assembly sufficient to maintain a temperature of a perishable item below a threshold temperature throughout shipping. A first volume of a consumable food product is determined such that the insulated package assembly including the perishable item and the first volume of the consumable food product has the determined cooling capacity. The insulated package assembly is assembled by providing an outer container and positioning within the outer container. A cooling pack is positioned within an insulated cavity defined by the insulator. The cooling pack includes the first volume of the consumable food product. A perishable item package is positioned within the insulated cavity proximate the cooling pack. The perishable item package includes the ordered perishable item. The insulated package assembly is shipped to the destination address.

Embodiments of the invention are directed to a computer-implemented method that includes determining, by a controller of a refrigeration system, an alarm zone and a non-alarm zone. The alarm zone corresponds to possible states of the refrigeration system that trigger a temperature alarm of the refrigeration system, and the non-alarm zone corresponds to possible states of the refrigeration system that do not trigger the temperature alarm. The method also includes predicting a future state of the refrigeration system. The method also includes determining whether the future state of the refrigeration system is within the alarm zone or the non-alarm zone. The method also includes generating an output data comprising a prediction of when the temperature alarm will be triggered. The method also includes triggering one or more compressors connected to the refrigeration system to improve a cooling effect.

An illustrative example method of controlling use of a portable cooling container includes determining at least one characteristic of an amount of use of the cooling container. The at least one characteristic is determined by at least one of a processor at a location remote from the cooling container and a container controller of the cooling container. A relationship between the at least one characteristic and continued use of the cooling container is determined. An indication to a user of the cooling container is provided regarding continued use of the cooling container based on the determined relationship.

The present invention relates to a temperature-context-aware refrigerator and a method for controlling the same. A temperature-context-aware refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a temperature context awareness unit for sensing a temperature of at least one storage compartment, and when the difference between the sensed temperature and a temperature set for the corresponding storage compartment is equal to or greater than a predetermined level, generating load-responsive operation information including a target temperature lower or higher than the set temperature; a temperature control unit for controlling a temperature sensor and the temperature context awareness unit, and performing a load-responsive operation for controlling the temperature of the storage compartment by using the load-responsive operation information; and a database unit which is required for the temperature context awareness unit to generate the load-responsive operation information.

Placement of items to be stored is proposed according to how the items to be stored in a chamber performing freezing or refrigerating are cooled. An information processing device including: a prediction section that predicts how items to be stored in a chamber performing freezing or refrigerating are cooled; and an output section that outputs proposal information on the placement of the items to be stored in the chamber performing freezing or refrigerating based on how the items to be stored in the chamber are cooled as predicted by the prediction section.

A refrigerator management method according to one aspect of the present invention includes: obtaining log information including temperature information indicating an interior temperature of a refrigerator and opened and closed information indicating whether or not a door of the refrigerator has been opened and closed; calculating, based on the log information, a timewise change in the interior temperature for when the door is opened and closed in a predetermined period and for when the door is not opened and closed in the predetermined period; and outputting result information indicating a calculation result calculated in the calculating.

The present invention relates to the field of the transportation and storage of goods and to a passive temperature control system for such a transport and storage containers. The present invention seeks to provide a system that can enable goods to be securely and reliably transported and stored for limited periods within specified temperature ranges. Pharmaceuticals, proteins, biological samples and other temperature sensitive products, including food items, are regularly shipped in containers year round and are subjected to a wide range of temperatures. Though they are shipped in insulated containers and/or climate controlled environments, the temperature stability of the shipping containers can be significantly improved by utilising suitable phase change materials in an ordered fashion. The present invention provides a simple solution to the maintenance of temperature profiles for the transport and storage of temperature sensitive products.