Appliances for use under appliance leasing agreements include a memory that stores a local parameter defining a lockout time at which the appliance will be locked out from performing an appliance leasing function and a controller that is configured to automatically switch the appliance from an operating mode to a locked mode at the stored lockout time. An asset management system for leased refrigeration appliances can include a remote server for sending a command to appliances which changes the lockout time stored in local memory. An encrypted key generator may also be used to enable a user to locally update the lockout time stored in the memory upon entry of an encrypted key.

A refrigerator and a control method, device and system thereof are provided. The method comprises detecting and confirming that the cumulative running time of a compressor is no less than a running time threshold, and an ice maker is currently in a working state, and controlling the ice maker to perform an defrosting operation after a current ice making period is ended, the running time threshold being a time difference between the defrosting period of the refrigerator and the ice making period of the ice maker. The method allows avoiding defrosting in the ice making period, and therefore, the influence of defrosting on ice making of the ice maker can be reduced, the ice making efficiency and the ice making capacity if the ice maker can be effectively promoted, the ice making period is shortened, energy consumption is reduced, and produce reliability is improved.

An appliance includes a temperature control system, a light source, and a spectrometer. The spectrometer works in conjunction with the light source to obtain a measured value of a foodstuff. The measured value is at least one of an absorbance value, a transmittance value, and a reflectance value. The measured value from the foodstuff is compared to a reference value for the foodstuff.

The present invention relates to a smart home controller refrigerator and a control method therefor, the smart home controller refrigerator, according to one embodiment of the present invention, comprising: a control unit comprising a control protocol communication unit for receiving control information for controlling a home appliance in a home, an operation protocol communication unit for generating an operation signal calculated from the control information, and a signal transmission unit for transmitting the operation signal to the home appliance; at least one storage space; and at least one door for controlling the opening/closing of the at least one storage space.

A control system automates control of reefer container resources in a reefer container system including a remote server computer in communication with reefer containers. Each reefer container includes a refrigeration system to control a climate of an interior cargo compartment of the reefer container. The refrigeration system includes a refrigeration circuit, including a compressor, a cooling space, and sensors to measure or estimate refrigeration system readings. The refrigeration system transmits refrigeration system parameter data; the remote server computer obtains the parameter data acquired during operation of the refrigeration system from at least one reefer container, and estimates a condition of the refrigeration system, including determining whether an alarm has been issued, or whether the estimated reefer container condition indicates that the refrigeration system requires maintenance or testing. A reefer container resource control unit receives the reefer container condition to automatically allocate the reefer container based on the reefer container condition.

Some embodiments include a control bypass system for industrial cold storage facilities. In some embodiments, the control bypass system includes a cloud scheduler and a bypass controller. The cloud scheduler may be located in a remote location. The cloud scheduler may create a power draw prescription for one or more items of cold storage equipment at the industrial cold storage facility. The power draw prescription, for example, can include a desired power draw level for one or more items of cold storage equipment at the industrial cold storage facility and the desired power draw level changes over a period of time. The bypass controller can be located at the industrial cold storage facility and receives the power draw prescription from the cloud scheduler, produces an environmental setpoint for the one or more items of equipment, and outputs the environmental setpoint to a device or system controller.

An artificial intelligence device mounted on a wine refrigerator including one or more divided spaces includes an input unit, a processor, and an output unit. The input unit is configured to recognize a wine label of each space and recognize an image for determining opening or non-opening of a wine. The processor is configured to acquire wine information by using an artificial intelligence model that receives image data acquired from the input unit as an input value, create a wine list table of each space by using the acquired information, and group wines having the same storage condition into at least one group according to the wine list table, and perform a control such that a temperature of each space is set based on the storage condition of the group. The output unit is configured to output a signal received from the processor.

An AI apparatus mounted in a refrigerator includes: an input interface configured to obtain environmental data; and a processor configured to provide the environmental data to an AI model, and to control the refrigerator to perform rapid refrigeration when a result of the AI model is greater than a first threshold. Accordingly, food stored in the refrigerator is stored in an appropriate condition without being spoiled.

An evaporator controller for a plural-coil evaporator of a refrigeration system, the evaporator controller comprising a mode determiner for selecting a mode of operation of the evaporator from a plurality of modes of operation, wherein one mode uses a first coil of the plurality of coils of the evaporator, another mode uses a second coil of the plurality of coils of the evaporator and at least one mode uses more than one of the plurality of coils, based on selection data and a refrigeration requirement, and a selection data updater for updating the selection data based on the selected mode of operation and a process variable of the refrigeration system.

Provided is a sensor package in a refrigerator configured to provide information related to refrigerated food. The sensor package may include a body having a mark classified by a type of food allocated to the sensor package and indicating the type of food of a food to which the sensor package is coupled, a battery, an operation switch, a memory configured to store food information corresponding to the type of food corresponding to the mark, a sensor communication module that communicates with a display provided in the refrigerator, a sensing module that senses state information associated with the food, and a sensor control module that controls the sensor communication module to initiate communication between the sensor package and the display of the refrigerator based on the state information sensed by the sensing module.