EP3364041A1 - Lüfterschaufel und entsprechender lüfter - Google Patents

Lüfterschaufel und entsprechender lüfter Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3364041A1
EP3364041A1 EP17175886.5A EP17175886A EP3364041A1 EP 3364041 A1 EP3364041 A1 EP 3364041A1 EP 17175886 A EP17175886 A EP 17175886A EP 3364041 A1 EP3364041 A1 EP 3364041A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
blade
fan
gas
freezer
interior space
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP17175886.5A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Michael D. Newman
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Linde GmbH
Original Assignee
Linde GmbH
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Linde GmbH filed Critical Linde GmbH
Publication of EP3364041A1 publication Critical patent/EP3364041A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
    • F04D29/26—Rotors specially for elastic fluids
    • F04D29/32—Rotors specially for elastic fluids for axial flow pumps
    • F04D29/38—Blades
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B08—CLEANING
    • B08B—CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
    • B08B5/00—Cleaning by methods involving the use of air flow or gas flow
    • B08B5/02—Cleaning by the force of jets, e.g. blowing-out cavities
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
    • F04D29/26—Rotors specially for elastic fluids
    • F04D29/32—Rotors specially for elastic fluids for axial flow pumps
    • F04D29/325—Rotors specially for elastic fluids for axial flow pumps for axial flow fans
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
    • F04D29/70—Suction grids; Strainers; Dust separation; Cleaning
    • F04D29/701—Suction grids; Strainers; Dust separation; Cleaning especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps
    • F04D29/705—Adding liquids
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D25/00—Pumping installations or systems
    • F04D25/02—Units comprising pumps and their driving means
    • F04D25/06—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the pump being electrically driven
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D13/00—Stationary devices, e.g. cold-rooms
    • F25D13/06—Stationary devices, e.g. cold-rooms with conveyors carrying articles to be cooled through the cooling space
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D21/00—Defrosting; Preventing frosting; Removing condensed or defrost water
    • F25D21/06—Removing frost
    • F25D21/10—Removing frost by spraying with fluid
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D2317/00—Details or arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Details or arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces, not provided for in other groups of this subclass
    • F25D2317/06—Details or arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Details or arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces, not provided for in other groups of this subclass with forced air circulation
    • F25D2317/068—Details or arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Details or arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces, not provided for in other groups of this subclass with forced air circulation characterised by the fans
    • F25D2317/0681—Details thereof
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D2400/00—General features of, or devices for refrigerators, cold rooms, ice-boxes, or for cooling or freezing apparatus not covered by any other subclass
    • F25D2400/22—Cleaning means for refrigerating devices

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a fan blade as well as to a fan, in particular used in a freezer, for example in a tunnel freezer, such as in a cryogenic tunnel freezer, for at least one product, in particular for at least one food product.
  • Axial flow fans are used in cryogenic tunnel freezers. When hot steamy products, such as for example food products, are frozen in cryogenic processes, ice and snow accumulate on the surfaces of the axial flow fan blades. This snow and ice accumulation creates two main issues:
  • the fan becomes imbalanced, causing vibration which affects the bearings in the motor driving the fans. Bearings fail prematurely and motors must be replaced more frequently. The freezer becomes susceptible to downtime to do repairs, leading to greater inefficiencies in the freezing process.
  • an object of the present invention is to overcome the limitations and problems that earlier apparatus have experienced.
  • a self de-icing fan blade in particular for hot products, and more specifically there is provided herein a fan blade which includes an interior space, in particular an annular space, and a plurality of holes in fluid communication with said interior space and from which a high pressure cryogenic gas is ejected for cleaning a surface of the fan blade.
  • the rotary coupling may provide a passageway therethrough for the cryogenic gas to be fed or directed to the interior space.
  • a high pressure rotary seal may be disposed in the rotary coupling, said seal allowing a hub of the rotary coupling to rotate and/or a gas feed pipe to remain stationary.
  • a self-cleaning fan which includes a blade having an interior space and a plurality of holes along the blade in fluid communication with the interior space; a rotary coupling, mounted to and operatively associated with the blade, the rotary coupling having an interior portion in fluid communication with the interior space and a source of cryogenic gas; and a valve interposed between the interior portion of the rotary coupling and the cryogenic gas source for selectively releasing a high pressure flow of the cryogenic gas into the interior portion and through the interior space for discharge from the plurality of holes onto a surface of the blade without having to cease rotation of the blade.
  • the fan may be rotatably mounted to a shaft which may be operationally associated with a motor disposed at an exterior of a freezer so as not to transfer heat from the motor to an interior of the freezer.
  • the freezer may be a cryogenic tunnel freezer, in particular for chilling and/or freezing food products being transported by means of a conveyor belt through the interior of the freezer.
  • a pipe may extend along an exterior of the freezer and may comprise a proximate end in fluid communication with the interior portion such that the cryogenic gas can be introduced through the rotary coupling and into the interior space.
  • a distal end of the pipe may be in fluid communication with a buffer tank for the cryogenic gas, said buffer tank being intermittently fed with the cryogenic gas from the source and/or operating as an accumulator which may be pressurized to ultimately provide the cryogenic gas to the interior space for cleaning the surface at select time periods or intervals.
  • the present embodiments enable the fans to shed snow and ice during operation, and overcome the problematic issues outlined above with respect to known axial flow fans.
  • the present embodiments include fan blades constructed with an interior void for pressurization with high pressure nitrogen gas or high pressure carbon dioxide gas.
  • the surface of the blade includes a plurality of small holes which restrict gas flow and create high velocity jets of nitrogen gas when the fan blade void is pressurized.
  • a rotary coupling is installed for operation with the fan.
  • An electrically powered fan motor is mounted to the roof of a food freezer and connected by a shaft to the rotary coupling.
  • the fan motor rotates the fan blade a speeds of from 1750 revolutions per minute (rpm) to 3500 rpm.
  • the rotary coupling includes an interior annular space or chamber portion which is provided or fed with high pressure nitrogen gas through a high flow valve from a high pressure buffer storage tank.
  • the buffer storage tank can be filled with the high pressure nitrogen gas over a select duration of time.
  • the storage tank does not require a fast recharge (refill) time period and therefore, the flow rate of the nitrogen gas into said tank can be done over a period of minutes.
  • the cycle of using the gas in the present embodiments may, for example, be only three seconds.
  • the high flow valve is opened to release the high pressure nitrogen gas to the annular space of the rotating fan blade, which gas is then discharged through the plurality of holes in the blade.
  • a self de-icing fan blade of the present embodiments is shown generally at 10 and includes a body portion 12 having an exterior surface 14 and defining an internal chamber 16, annular space or void within the blade.
  • the chamber 16 can assume the proportions of and also be referred to as an annular space 16.
  • the fan 10 referred to may have a plurality of blades 12, each one of which is joined to a rotary coupling 18, or be considered as a single blade to which the rotary coupling 18 is interposed as a central, unifying member.
  • the rotary coupling 18 transmits a rotating force to the fan blade 12 for generating an axial gas flow 19 to products 60, such as for example food products, to be chilled and/or frozen as described below.
  • the rotary coupling 18 provides a passageway 20 therethrough for high pressure cryogenic gas 34 to be fed or directed to the chamber 16 of the blade 12 along the blades' axis of rotation while same is rotating or spinning, as indicated with arrow 22.
  • a high pressure rotary seal disposed in the rotary coupling 18 allows a hub of the coupling 18 to rotate and the gas feed pipe 24 to remain stationary.
  • the fan blade 12 includes a plurality of holes 26 and for certain applications a myriad of the holes 26, in close proximity to each other along the surface 14 of the fan blade 12, each one of the holes 26 in fluid communication with the annular space 16 of the fan blade 12 for a purpose to be described hereinafter.
  • the rotary coupling 18 has an internal portion 28 in fluid communication with the annular space 16 of the fan blade 12 as shown in FIG. 1 , such that the cryogenic gas, such as for example gaseous nitrogen or gaseous carbon dioxide can be directed through a passageway 30 of a shaft 32 into the rotary coupling 18 and dispersed to the annular space 16 of the fan blade 12.
  • cryogenic gas such as for example gaseous nitrogen or gaseous carbon dioxide
  • pressurized gas 34 will be moved from the annular space 16 of the fan blade 12 through the plurality of holes 26 for the self-cleaning of the external surface 14 of the fan blade 12.
  • the fan 10 embodiment may be mounted for operation in an internal space 36 or chamber of a freezer 38, such as for example a tunnel freezer for food products 60.
  • the fan 10 is rotatably mounted to the shaft 32 which in turn is operationally associated with a motor 40 disposed at an exterior of the freezer 38 so as not to transfer heat from the motor 40 to the internal chamber 36 of the freezer 38.
  • a pipe 39 or fluid conduit extends along an exterior of the freezer 38 and has one or a proximate end 46 (cf. FIG. 2 ) of the pipe 39 in fluid communication with the internal portion 28 of the rotary coupling 18 such that cryogenic gas 34 under pressure can be introduced through the rotary coupling 18 and into the annular space 16 of the fan blades 12.
  • Another or a distal end 48 of the pipe 39 is in fluid communication with a buffer storage tank 50 for the cryogenic gas 34, which tank 50 can be intermittently fed with the cryogenic gas 34 such as nitrogen gas or carbon dioxide gas from a remote source (not shown).
  • a buffer storage tank 50 for the cryogenic gas 34 such as nitrogen gas or carbon dioxide gas from a remote source (not shown).
  • the buffer tank 50 operates as an accumulator which is pressurized to ultimately provide the cryogen gas 34 to the annular space 16 of the fan blade 12 for cleaning the external surface 14 thereof at select time periods or intervals.
  • a high flow valve 52 is interposed in the pipe 39 interconnecting the buffer tank 50 and the rotary coupling 18.
  • the buffer tank 50 is charged with the cryogen gas 34 to a predetermined pressure, at which point the high flow valve 52 is opened causing said pressurized gas 34 to be delivered through the pipe 39, through the rotary coupling 18 and into the annular space 16 of the fan blade 12 for expulsion through the plurality of holes 26 to dislodge and clean the accumulated snow and/or ice from the surface 14 of the fan blade(s) 12.
  • the expulsion of the gas 34 from the holes 26 is in the form of jet sprays 56.
  • a conveyor belt 58 can be used to transport the products 60 through the space 36 of the freezer 38 so that the products 60 are subjected to the chilling atmosphere in the space 36 and contacted by the chilled axial gas flow 19.
  • the frequency of the de-icing can be adjusted based on the severity of the ice and snow accumulation on the fan blades 12.
  • cryogenic gas being selected from the group consisting of nitrogen gas and CO 2 gas.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Structures Of Non-Positive Displacement Pumps (AREA)
EP17175886.5A 2017-02-17 2017-06-13 Lüfterschaufel und entsprechender lüfter Withdrawn EP3364041A1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US201762460126P 2017-02-17 2017-02-17

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP3364041A1 true EP3364041A1 (de) 2018-08-22

Family

ID=59061871

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP17175886.5A Withdrawn EP3364041A1 (de) 2017-02-17 2017-06-13 Lüfterschaufel und entsprechender lüfter

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP3364041A1 (de)
WO (1) WO2018152085A1 (de)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN109750799A (zh) * 2019-01-16 2019-05-14 付艺佳 一种多功能风力屋顶除雪装置
FR3107759A1 (fr) * 2020-03-02 2021-09-03 Air Liquide France Industrie Système de nettoyage d’équipements de refroidissement ou cuisson de produits alimentaires, cosmétiques, ou pharmaceutiques
CN116122211A (zh) * 2023-04-14 2023-05-16 中铁三局集团有限公司 一种隧道壁快速除冰装置

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1804004A2 (de) * 2005-12-29 2007-07-04 LG Electronics Inc. Klimaanlage für Deckeninstallation
US20140166048A1 (en) * 2006-04-20 2014-06-19 Rudolf Erwin Berghoff Method and device for deicing and cleaning of fans
EP2884206A1 (de) * 2013-12-16 2015-06-17 Linde Aktiengesellschaft Energiewandlerkühlsystem und Verfahren dafür

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4333318A (en) * 1981-05-04 1982-06-08 Lewis Tyree Jr CO2 Freezer
GB9402840D0 (en) * 1994-02-15 1994-04-06 Air Prod & Chem Tunnel freezer
US5574321A (en) * 1994-05-04 1996-11-12 Emerson Electric Co. Integral refrigerator motor fan blades
FR2756085B1 (fr) * 1996-11-21 1998-12-31 Air Liquide Installation de traitement de produits alimentaires commandee en fonction de parametres de consigne
CN2881166Y (zh) * 2006-01-05 2007-03-21 关圣浩 驱蚊增香电扇
US20110107774A1 (en) * 2009-11-12 2011-05-12 Linde Aktiengesellschaft Self-Powered Refrigeration Apparatus

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1804004A2 (de) * 2005-12-29 2007-07-04 LG Electronics Inc. Klimaanlage für Deckeninstallation
US20140166048A1 (en) * 2006-04-20 2014-06-19 Rudolf Erwin Berghoff Method and device for deicing and cleaning of fans
EP2884206A1 (de) * 2013-12-16 2015-06-17 Linde Aktiengesellschaft Energiewandlerkühlsystem und Verfahren dafür

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN109750799A (zh) * 2019-01-16 2019-05-14 付艺佳 一种多功能风力屋顶除雪装置
FR3107759A1 (fr) * 2020-03-02 2021-09-03 Air Liquide France Industrie Système de nettoyage d’équipements de refroidissement ou cuisson de produits alimentaires, cosmétiques, ou pharmaceutiques
EP3875780A1 (de) * 2020-03-02 2021-09-08 L'air Liquide Société Anonyme Pour L'etude Et L'exploitation Des Procedes Georges Claude Reinigungssystem für kühl- oder kochgeräte für lebensmittel, kosmetische oder pharmazeutische produkte
CN116122211A (zh) * 2023-04-14 2023-05-16 中铁三局集团有限公司 一种隧道壁快速除冰装置

Also Published As

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