FR2561364A1 - REFRIGERATION CIRCUIT FOR PACKAGING LIQUIDS USING A EVAPORATOR-EXCHANGER IN WHICH THE RESPECTIVE FLUIDS FLOW IN DIRECTIONS OPPOSED IN THE MANNER AS "CURRENT" - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A LIQUID REFRIGERATION CIRCUIT. THE CIRCUIT INCLUDES AN EVAPORATOR-EXCHANGER CONSISTING OF A COIL SHAPED BY CONCENTRIC TUBES 5, 6 IN WHICH THE REFRIGERANT AND THE LIQUID TO BE TREATED RESPECTIVELY PASS; THE ASSEMBLY IS ENCLOSED IN AN INSULATING ENCLOSURE TO AVOID SPILLAGE; THE SPECIAL PROFILE OF THE EVAPORATOR-EXCHANGER ALSO ALLOWS THE CONTROL OF THE TEMPERATURE BY MEANS OF A PRESSURE MEASURING APPARATUS 9, INSTEAD OF THE THERMOSTATS COMMONLY USED.

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid refrigeration circuit,

  in which is incorporated an exchanger of a refrigeration apparatus which is composed in the most conventional manner of a serpentine tubular housing inside which is disposed a second pipe

  in which the liquid to be refrigerated passes.

  The cooling gas, which cools the liquid held in the inner tube, is forced to flow into space (gap I existing between the

two tubes.

  To prevent gas from absorbing heat from the ambient air, the outdoor coil

  is completely surrounded by a thermal insulation enclosure

  than. As a result, the efficiency of the system is maximized, since all the efficiency of the gas is exerted on the inner tube, and consequently on the

liquid to use.

  An exchanger-evaporator of this type makes it possible to regulate the temperature by means of pressure measuring devices, which exploit the physical law relating to gases and consisting in a relation between the two factors.

  consisting of pressure and temperature.

  The resulting advantage is remarkable since, although the temperature can vary instantly in different ways in the different points of a given volume - tending to become uniform only after a certain period of time - the pressure variation instead spreads immediately throughout the volume

  therefore allowing simultaneous control of

  all the points intervening in the clean volume

said.

  In the field of liquid cooling, in particular of drinks, various processes are known.

  in the prior art, for example that consisting in using

  use water as a means of transporting cold from the evaporator volume to the coil in which the beverage to be cooled circulates; however, there are some disadvantages, such as the need to keep the water continuously agitated to ensure a more correct temperature distribution; the obligation to periodically change the liquid to avoid contamination; the limited service life of the agitator because it

works continuously.

  Other processes currently used in this field employ as a conveyor of the refrigeration unit a bath of molten metal (usually aluminum) in which both

  coils respectively containing the cooling agent

and the drink are immersed.

  With the aid of this second solution, it is possible to eliminate some of the disadvantages mentioned above, such as, for example, the limited service life of the stirrer; however, it takes a long time to stabilize the temperature throughout the system; Correspondingly, the intervention of the thermostat, which puts the compressor back into service, is always done with a certain delay. On the contrary, in the two processes described, it has proved effective to use a mass, (liquid or solid) filling the function of a thermal flywheel, which allows on the one hand to distribute in a short time a considerable amount chilled drink .;

  on the other hand, however, this advantage is partly

  balanced by the fact that the drink itself is affected by a notable thermal inertia between the beginning

and the end of the distribution.

  According to the method of the present invention, on the contrary, it is not necessary to provide thermal flywheels, because the imperative of being able to

  distribute large quantities of drink can be compensated

  and satisfied by proper sizing of the refrigeration circuit, and the compressor in particular, of

  to ensure that the refrigeration units produced satisfy

  the obligation to distribute beverages at the same

  correct and in a continuous manner.

  At first glance, this might seem costly in terms of energy expenditure .; in fact, if we consider the short working time of the compressor by

  compared to the total time, the above method is in general

  less expensive than the above-mentioned cold storage systems, which must operate during the day and

  night to be always available.

  Another difference between the present invention and the prior art is the better and greater stability of the temperature of the dispensed beverage; in fact, in cold storage systems, the variation may have a value corresponding to a large number of degrees centigrade, precisely because the quantity of refrigeration units that can be accumulated is proportional to the difference between the maximum and the maximum levels. minimum of the set temperature, apart from the differences between the temperatures causing

  the opening and closing of the thermostats.

  In the present invention, as already mentioned, the temperature control is carried out by means of pressure measuring devices, which

  work more accurately and quickly.

  Also in consideration of the fact that the typical disadvantages of cold storage systems are eliminated, it can be safely concluded that the present process allows for the transition from temporary ejection.

  and extremely limited to continuous ejection, the temperature

  ture being maintained at a nearly constant level. Finally, it should be noted that for certain types of drinks, such as beer for example, the temperature reduction should be as gradual as possible, so as not to

  alter its taste and organoleptic characteristics.

  For this purpose, it is ensured that the refrigeration

  manager flows in a direction opposite to that of the

  drink. Thus the entry of the refrigerant - whose temperature

  ture is ordered - corresponds to the output of the drink

  which, precisely for this reason, is thermally stabilized

  in the best possible way. On the other hand, the output of the refrigerant - whose temperature is higher

  because of the transfer of the refrigeration units - corre-

  at the entrance of the hot drink, which consequently begins to cool gradually, without being subjected to

no heat shock.

  Other features and advantages of the invention will be highlighted later in the

  description, given by way of non-limiting example, in

  reference to the attached single drawing where fig. 1 shows schematically the essential components of the circuit of

  refrigeration according to the invention.

  These components include:

  traditional 1, the condenser 2 which transmits

  through a valve 3 the gas to the exchanger-evaporator

  4 consisting of the outer coil 5 in which

pass the second tube 6.

  The gas leaving the valve 3 is admitted into the outer tube 5; as stated above, this gas inlet corresponds to the outlet of the drink

which is distributed by the nozzle 7.

  At the other end of the coil 5, there is provided the return pipe of the compressor, connected to the pipe 8 which is also connected to the pressure measuring device

  9. As the drawing clearly shows, the side of the snake

  tin 5 which is connected to the pipe 8 corresponds to the inlet side

  of the pipe 6, that is to say at the inlet of the liquid to be cooled.

  The function of the cover 4 is to thermally insulate the coil 5 in order to prevent the

  cold is dispersed in the ambient air.

  In the drawing, we intentionally did not represent all the components that, although still being

  present in a refrigeration circuit are of no importance.

for the present invention.

  Naturally, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown, from which we can provide other modes and other embodiments, without departing from the

framework of the invention.

Claims (8)

  l. Refrigeration circuit for condition-   liquids, using an evaporator-exchanger consisting of concentric elements in which the respective fluids flow in opposite directions, in the so-called "countercurrent" manner, characterized in that the evaporator-exchanger is formed a coil consisting of two tubes (5, 6), one of which (6) is contained in the other (5), within which circulate   respectively the refrigerant and the refrigerated liquid.   2. Refrigeration circuit according to the claim   1, characterized in that the coils (5, 6) forming   evaporator-exchanger are bent with a circular shape lair, oval or polygonal.   3. Refrigeration circuit according to one of the   1 or 2, characterized in that the outer tube (5) contains one or more inner tubes (6) in   which circulates the fluid to be cooled.   4. Refrigeration circuit according to any one   Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the order   temperature is achieved by means of pressure measurement.   5. Refrigeration circuit according to any one   Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the two   fluids circulating inside the coil (5, 6) are   slow in opposite directions, corresponding to the   definition commonly defined by the term "counter- current ".   6. Refrigeration circuit according to any one   Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the material   whose tubes (5, 6) consist of a metal alloy that or any other type of material.   7. Refrigeration circuit according to any one   Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the housing   containing the evaporator-exchanger is formed of a material   very insulating in which is placed the unit itself.   8. Refrigeration circuit according to any one   Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the unit   forming the evaporator-exchanger is housed inside a container in which a vacuum is produced, for the purpose   to isolate the unit itself from the ambient air.