KR101120317B1 - Apparatus for making slush - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention includes an inner container defining an inner space in which a liquid can be stored, an outer container forming an exterior, and a refrigerating material filled between the inner container and the outer container, wherein the upper and lower portions of the container are in different temperature ranges. Positioned to provide a slush manufacturing apparatus for storing the liquid therein in a supercooled state.

Slush Manufacturing, Containers, Supercooling, Fillers, Accumulators

Description

Slush manufacturing apparatus {APPARATUS FOR MAKING SLUSH}

The present invention relates to a slush manufacturing apparatus having a slush manufacturing container which is put into a slush manufacturing apparatus to display the state of a liquid and maximize the amount of slush generation when the supercooled liquid generates a phase change.

Subcooling means a phenomenon that no change occurs even when the melt or solid is cooled to below the phase transition temperature at equilibrium. Each substance has a stable state corresponding to the temperature at that time, so that the temperature can be gradually changed so that members of the substance can keep up with the temperature change while maintaining the stable state at each temperature. However, if the temperature suddenly changes, the member cannot afford to change to the stable state according to each temperature, so that the state remains stable at the starting point temperature, or a portion thereof changes to the state at the end point temperature.

For example, if water is gradually cooled, it will not temporarily solidify even if it reaches a temperature of 0 ° C or lower. However, when the object is in the supercooled state, it becomes a kind of metastable state, and the unstable equilibrium state is broken even by a slight stimulus and it is easy to move to a more stable state. That is, when a small piece of material is added to the supercooled liquid or the liquid is suddenly shaken, the liquid starts to solidify immediately and the temperature of the liquid rises to the freezing point, thereby maintaining a stable equilibrium at that temperature.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, an electrostatic field atmosphere is created in a refrigerator, and thawing of meat and fish in the refrigerator is performed at a negative temperature. In addition to meat and fish, freshness of fruits is maintained.

This technique uses a supercooling phenomenon, which refers to a phenomenon in which the melt or solid does not change even when the melt or solid is cooled to below the phase transition temperature at equilibrium.

Such a technique includes the electrostatic field treatment method, the electrostatic field treatment apparatus, and electrodes used in them.

1 is a view showing an embodiment of a thawing and freshness holding device according to the prior art, wherein the cold storage 1 is constituted by a heat insulator 2 and an outer wall 5, and the internal temperature control mechanism (not shown). Is installed. The metal shelf 7 installed in the interior has a two-stage structure, and each stage is equipped with the object of thawing or freshness maintenance and ripening of vegetables, meat and fish and shellfish. The metal shelf 7 is insulated from the bottom of the furnace by the insulator 9. The high voltage generator 3 can generate direct current and alternating voltage up to 0 to 5000 V, and the inside of the heat insulating material 2 is covered with an insulating plate 2a such as vinyl chloride. The high voltage cable 4 for outputting the voltage of the high voltage generator 3 is connected to the metal shelf 7 through the outer wall 5 and the heat insulator 2.

When the door 6 provided on the front side of the cold storage 1 is opened, the safety switch 13 (refer FIG. 2) which is not shown in figure is turned off, and the output of the high voltage generator 3 is interrupted | blocked.

2 is a circuit diagram showing the circuit configuration of the high voltage generator 3. AC 100V is supplied to the primary side of the voltage regulating transformer 15. Reference numeral 11 denotes a power supply lamp, and reference numeral 19 denotes a lamp indicating an operating state. The relay 14 operates when the above-mentioned door 6 is closed and the safety switch 13 is turned on. This state is indicated by the relay operation lamp 12. The relay contact ( 14a, 14b, and 14c are closed, and an AC 100V power source is applied to the primary side of the voltage regulating transformer 15.

The applied voltage is adjusted by the adjusting knob 15a on the secondary side of the voltage adjusting transformer 15, and the adjusted voltage value is displayed on the voltmeter. The adjusting knob 15a is connected to the primary side of the secondary boosting transformer 17 of the voltage adjusting transformer 15. In this boosting transformer 17, the boosting voltage is boosted at a ratio of 1:50, for example. When a voltage of 60V is applied, it is stepped up to 3000V.

_One end O ₁ of the secondary side output of the boosting transformer 17 is connected to the metal shelf 7 insulated from the cold storage via the high voltage cable 4, and the other end O _{2 of the} output is earthed. Moreover, since the outer wall 5 is earthed, even if the user of the cold storage 1 contacts the outer wall of the cold storage, electric shock will not occur. In addition, if the metal shelf 7 is exposed in the furnace in FIG. 1, since the metal shelf 7 needs to be kept insulated in the furnace, it is necessary to separate it from the walls of the furnace (the air insulates). . In addition, when the object 8 protrudes from the metal shelf 7 and contacts the inner wall, current flows to the ground through the high wall. Therefore, when the insulating plate 2a is attached to the inner wall, the drop of applied voltage is prevented. In addition, even if the metal shelf 7 is covered with vinyl chloride or the like without exposing the inside of the furnace, the entire interior of the furnace becomes an electric field atmosphere.

In the prior art, since an electric field or a magnetic field is applied to an object to be cooled and stored so that the object enters a supercooled state, a complicated device for generating an electric field or a magnetic field for storage in the supercooled state of the object is provided. High power consumption is required for the generation of such electric or magnetic fields. In addition, such a device for generating an electric field or a magnetic field is additionally provided with a device (for example, an electric field or magnetic field shielding structure, a blocking device, etc.) for the safety of the user when the electric field or the magnetic field is generated, when the electric field or magnetic field is generated due to the high power. Should be.

An object of the present invention is to provide a slush manufacturing apparatus having a liquid storage container for a slush manufacturing apparatus capable of manufacturing the slush by storing the liquid in a supercooled state by controlling the temperature of the upper space and the lower space differently.

The present invention includes an inner container defining an inner space in which a liquid can be stored, an outer container forming an outer appearance, and a coolant filled between the inner container and the outer container, wherein the cold air is supplied to the slush manufacturing container and the slush manufacturing container. And a device in which a slush manufacturing container is accommodated, wherein the upper and lower portions of the container are located in different temperature regions, thereby providing a slush manufacturing apparatus for storing the liquid therein in a supercooled state.

In still another aspect of the present invention, a slush manufacturing container provides a slush manufacturing apparatus, wherein a boundary of a different temperature region in which the container is located is indicated on the outer container.

In another aspect of the present invention, the slush manufacturing container further provides a slush manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that it further comprises a display unit for displaying when the liquid inside the container is within a predetermined temperature range.

In another aspect of the present invention, when the liquid in the container is within a predetermined temperature range, the display portion is provided with a slush manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that printed with a Zion pigment.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slush manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the coolant is filled only in the lower portion of the vessel located in the lower temperature region.

The slush manufacturing container provided by the slush manufacturing apparatus provided by the present invention can not only maximize the slush manufacturing performance of the slush manufacturing apparatus, but also help the user to easily make the slush using the slush manufacturing apparatus.

In addition, the container for slush manufacturing provided by the present invention can increase the amount of slush produced by allowing the coolant of the slush manufacturing container to keep the liquid temperature as long as possible in the region of the maximum ice crystal generation zone when the liquid in the supercooled state causes a phase change. .

It is also possible to indicate whether or not the liquid has reached the supercooled state in the slush manufacturing container itself, so that the liquid contained in each slush manufacturing container is supercooled even if the liquid is contained in a plurality of slush manufacturing containers and introduced into the slush manufacturing device at different times. It's easy to see if you've reached or not.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a supercooling process applied to a slush manufacturing container, a slush manufacturing device, and a cooling device according to the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as a slush manufacturing container, a slush manufacturing device, and a cooling device collectively). As shown in FIG. 3, the container C containing the liquid L in the cooling space S is cooled.

It is assumed that the cooling temperature of the cooling space S is cooled, for example, from room temperature to 0 degrees (phase transition temperature of water) or below the phase transition temperature of the liquid L. When such cooling proceeds, for example, at water below the maximum ice crystal formation zone (about -1 to -5 ° C) of the water where liquid crystals are produced at a maximum of about -1 to -5 ° C, or liquid (L). It is intended to maintain the supercooled state of water or liquid (L) even at a cooling temperature below the maximum ice crystal generation zone of.

Evaporation takes place from the liquid L during this cooling, so that water vapor flows into the gas (or space) Lg in the vessel C. When the container C is closed by the lid Ck, the gas Lg may be in a supersaturated state due to the vaporized water vapor. However, in the present specification, the container (C) may optionally include a lid (Ck), if included, the cold air of the cooling space directly flows in, or the surface of the liquid (L) or the temperature of the gas (Lg) on the surface The cooling by the cold air can be prevented to some extent.

Water droplets in the inner wall of the vessel or water vapor in the gas Lg may freeze as the cooling temperature reaches or passes the temperature of the maximum ice crystal generation zone of the liquid L. Alternatively, condensation takes place at a portion where the surface Ls of the liquid L and the inner wall of the container C (which substantially coincide with the cooling temperature of the cooling space S) are formed and the condensed liquid L is iced. It can be formed into crystalline tuberculosis.

For example, when the frozen tuberculosis in the gas Lg descends and penetrates into the liquid L through the surface Ls of the liquid L, the supercooled state of the liquid L is released to the liquid L. A freezing phenomenon is caused and the supercooling of the liquid L is released.

Alternatively, when the frozen tuberculosis comes into contact with the surface Ls of the liquid L, the supercooled state of the liquid L may be released, thereby causing a freezing phenomenon in the liquid L. FIG.

Accordingly, the supercooling device of the present invention applies or supplies energy (for example, thermal energy) to the container C and the liquid L stored in the cooling space S, so that the gas Lg and the liquid L By controlling the temperature, the liquid L is maintained in the freezing state, that is, the supercooling state, even below the liquid phase transition temperature. Here, the gas (Lg) is located in the upper layer portion of the liquid (L) in contact with the liquid (L), and is defined herein as the liquid upper layer (or the upper portion of the package), in addition to the gas (Lg), It may be an object containing an oil layer or plastic or other resin that may float in the liquid (L). In addition, in the present embodiment, it is described as a liquid (L) for convenience, but may be applied to not only the liquid (L) but also general objects such as meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, and the like.

The maintenance of the supercooled state by this temperature control is described in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5.

4 is a view showing a process for preventing the formation of ice tuberculosis applied to the supercooling apparatus according to the present invention.

First, FIG. 4 shows a liquid L (in this embodiment, distilled water or water) stored therein when the cooling space S is maintained at a constant temperature (for example, about −12 ° C.) or cooled. The temperature of the liquid upper layer portion Lg is gradually lowered corresponding to the cooling temperature. However, as described in FIG. 3, energy (for example, thermal energy) is applied to the liquid L and / or the liquid upper layer portion Lg so that the temperature of the liquid upper layer portion Lg is higher than the temperature of the liquid L. In the case of holding, it can be seen that the liquid L is freezing by maintaining the supercooled state even at about −10 ° C., which is lower than the maximum ice crystal generation temperature of water.

If the liquid L is frozen, the temperature of the liquid L maintains the phase transition temperature constant or rises rapidly to the phase transition temperature below the phase transition temperature.

5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a supercooling apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cooling temperature of the cooling space S maintains a substantially constant cooling temperature with a slight fluctuation depending on the operation of the refrigeration cycle (ie, cooling means). In the case of the container C, since it comes into contact with the liquid L, the temperature of the container C is almost equal to the temperature of the liquid L. Therefore, even if the temperature of the upper, middle, and lower portion of the container (C) is sensed, the temperature is substantially the same. Also in FIG. 5, when the temperature of the upper liquid layer Lg is controlled above the temperature of the upper, middle, and lower portions of the container C, that is, the temperature of the liquid L, the liquid L maintains the supercooled state even at a temperature lower than the phase transition temperature. It can be seen that.

That is, the supercooling device of the present invention applies energy to the liquid L and / or the container C so that the temperature of the liquid upper layer portion Lg is higher than the temperature of the liquid L, more preferably, the liquid upper layer portion. By keeping the temperature of (Lg) at or above the phase transition temperature of the liquid (L), the liquid (L) in the container (C) is maintained at a supercooled state at or below the phase transition temperature or below the maximum ice crystal generation temperature of the liquid (L). Done.

Although the case of the liquid (L) has been exemplarily described, even in the case of the containment containing the liquid it is possible to keep the fresh long-term storage of the containment by continuously supercooling the liquid in the containment, by applying the above process, It can be maintained under supercooled temperature. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, even if the cooling temperature is changed, the temperature of the liquid L may be maintained at a desired temperature through temperature control.

In addition, the energy applied to the present invention may be applied to thermal energy, electric or magnetic energy, ultrasonic energy, light energy and the like.

6 is a sectional view of the slush manufacturing apparatus, and FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the slush manufacturing apparatus. The slush manufacturing apparatus includes a casing (100) defining an inner space in which a container is stored and a door (200) for opening and closing the casing (100), and installed in a cooling apparatus for storing food at subzero temperatures such as a freezer of a refrigerator. do. The casing 100 divides an outer space, that is, a space in the cooling apparatus in which the slush manufacturing apparatus is installed, and an internal space of the slush manufacturing apparatus, and includes outer casings 110 and 120 that form an appearance of the slush manufacturing apparatus. 110, 120 includes a front outer casing 110 and a rear outer casing 120. The front outer casing 110 constitutes the exterior of the front and bottom of the slush manufacturing apparatus, and the rear outer casing 120 constitutes the exterior of the rear and top of the slush manufacturing apparatus. The casing 100 allows a container for storing liquid to be stored with the top and the bottom positioned in different temperature zones, and more specifically, the bottom of the vessel is approximately the temperature range of the maximum ice crystal generation zone (about -1 ° C). ~ -5 ° C), and the top of the vessel is higher so that it can be located in the temperature range (about-1 ° C ~ 2 ° C) where ice crystals are not easily produced. To this end, the casing 100 has a lower space 100L, which is a temperature range (about -1 ° C to -5 ° C) of the maximum ice crystal generation zone, and a temperature range (about -1 ° C to 2 ° C) where ice crystals are not easily produced. The upper space 100U. The upper space 100U and the lower space 100L are divided by the partition wall 140. The casing 100 has an inner casing 130 defining the lower space 100L together with the partition 130 and a cap casing 150 defining the upper space 100U together with the partition 140 within the outer casing 110. ).

The cooling fan is located behind the lower space 100L so that the liquid stored in the lower portion of the vessel located in the lower space 100L reaches the maximum temperature range of the ice crystal generation zone (about -1 ° C to -5 ° C) and becomes supercooled. 170 is installed, a lower heater 164 for adjusting the temperature of the lower space (100L) is also installed. An upper heater 162 is installed around the cap casing 140 to maintain the upper portion of the vessel located in the upper space 100U in a temperature range (about -1 ° C to 2 ° C) in which ice crystals are not easily produced. In addition, the partition wall so as to prevent heat exchange between the upper space 100U and the lower space 100L as much as possible due to the forced flow generated by the cooling fan 170 between the upper space 100U and the lower space 100L having different temperatures. The separation membrane 142 of an elastic material is installed at 140.

On the other hand, the lower portion of the outer casing (110, 120) is provided with a heat insulating material 112 for insulating the outer space and the lower space (100L), the upper portion of the outer casing (110, 120) and the outer space and the upper space (100U). A heat insulator 122 is provided to insulate. In addition, a power switch 182, a display unit 184, and the like are installed between the front outer casing 110 and the heat insulator 122, and a control unit (not shown) is provided between the rear outer casing 120 and the heat insulator 122. The control unit installation unit 186 is installed.

The door 200 is installed at the front of the front outer casing 110 to open and close the lower space 100L. The door 200 is fixed to the door window 220 of the transparent or translucent material, the door casing 210 in the door casing 100, the door frame 230 and the door frame 230 for fixing the door window 220 together It is mounted to the rear, and includes a gasket 240 for sealing between the door 200 and the front outer casing (110).

8 is a view illustrating a state in which a container for manufacturing slush according to an embodiment of the present invention is inserted into a slush manufacturing apparatus. The slush manufacturing container 300 according to the present invention is used to maximize the slush manufacturing effect in the slush manufacturing apparatus shown in FIGS. 6 to 7, and includes a body 310 and a lid. The body 310 is shaped like a water bottle which is commonly used to store liquids. In addition, when the slush manufacturing container 300 is put into the slush manufacturing apparatus, the display line 320 is formed outside the body 310 at a position located at the boundary between the upper space 100U and the lower space 100L. It may be indicated how much to fill the liquid into the container 300 for manufacturing. Since the boundary between the liquid and the gas, that is, the interface of the liquid, must be located in the upper space 100U to prevent freezing of the liquid and store the liquid in a supercooled state, the liquid may be stored in the slush manufacturing container 300 through the display line 320. Can tell you how much to fill. At this time, along with the display line 320, the guidance phrases such as 'fill the liquid to a position higher than the display line' may be added together. The display line 320 may be drawn in the slush manufacturing container 300 with ink or the like, or may be formed by stamping or the like during the slush manufacturing container 300. Further, as long as it can be visually identified from the outside, the display line 320 may be formed by any method.

The body 310 is coupled to the outer container 312 and the inner container 314, the coolant 316 is filled in the space between the outer container 312 and the inner container 314. The heat storage material 316 is made of a material having a large specific heat, and the temperature of the liquid stored in the container is delayed by the cold air of the heat storage material 316. Therefore, when the slush manufacturing container 300 is taken out of the slush manufacturing apparatus to cause a phase change in the liquid of the supercooled state to make the slush, a greater amount of slush can be made, and the liquid of the supercooled state without making the slush is to be drinked as it is. The liquid can be kept cool for a longer time. In addition, even when the door 200 (shown in FIG. 7) of the slush manufacturing apparatus is opened or the door of the refrigerator in which the slush manufacturing apparatus is installed, the temperature of the liquid stored in the slush manufacturing container 300 may be delayed. .

The cool storage material 316 is preferably a material in which a phase change occurs in the temperature range (about -1 ° C to -5 ° C) of the maximum ice crystal generation zone. When the liquid phase changes in the region of the maximum ice crystal formation zone, the coolant 316 also delays the temperature rise of the liquid until the latent heat as well as the sensible heat of the coolant 316 when the phase change occurs. Since the residence time at the temperature of the crystal formation zone can be lengthened, the amount of slush formation can be further increased.

On the other hand, the upper portion of the slush manufacturing container 300, that is, the portion located in the upper space 100U may not be filled with the coolant 316 to delay the temperature change. Even if the coolant 316 is filled up to the upper part of the slush manufacturing container 300, since the temperature of the upper part of the coolant 316 is higher than the temperature of the lower part, heat transfer is not easily performed by convection. The difference in temperature does not prevent the slush manufacturing apparatus from interfering with the upper and lower portions of the vessel to be achieved in different temperature ranges. However, heat is easily transferred from the upper heater 162 so that the ice on the upper portion of the slush manufacturing vessel 300 is reduced. It is better that the cold storage material 316 is not filled so that crystals do not form. In addition, when nothing is filled in the space between the outer container 312 and the inner container 314 at the top of the container, the empty space may act as a heat insulating layer, so that the temperature range of the maximum ice crystal generation zone (about -1 ° C to- 5 ° C.) can be filled with a liquid and low specific heat material. In addition, the body 310 itself is a dual structure of the outer container 312 and the inner container 314 only in the lower portion of the display line 320, the upper portion of the display line 320 may be composed of only a single layer of the outer container 312. Can be.

Furthermore, when the liquid 300 reaches the supercooled state, the slush manufacturing container 300 is provided with a display unit 330 that can be visually recognized through the outside of the outer container 312. The display unit 330 simply prints a predetermined picture or text by using a cyan pigment so that the picture or text appears when the liquid is in the temperature range of the maximum ice crystal generation zone (about -1 ° C to -5 ° C). Let the user know about this. By displaying the state of the liquid through the display unit 330 printed by the cyan pigment, the state of the liquid can be displayed without installing a separate element or sensor in the slush manufacturing container 300, and thus the slush manufacturing container 300 ) Does not require power.

By using the slush manufacturing container 300 in the slush manufacturing apparatus, not only can maximize the slush manufacturing performance of the slush manufacturing apparatus, but also help the user to easily make a slush using the slush manufacturing apparatus. In addition, without using the function of the slush manufacturing apparatus, it is possible to indicate whether or not the liquid has reached the supercooled state in the slush manufacturing container 300 itself, so that the slush at different times by putting the liquid in the plurality of slush manufacturing containers 300 Even if it is put into a manufacturing apparatus, it is easy to know whether the liquid contained in each slush manufacturing container 300 reached the supercooling state.

1 is a view showing an embodiment of a thawing and freshness holding device according to the prior art;

2 is a circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration of a high voltage generator;

3 is a view showing a supercooling process applied to the supercooling apparatus according to the present invention,

4 is a view showing a process for preventing the formation of ice tuberculosis applied to the supercooling apparatus according to the present invention,

5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a supercooling apparatus according to the present invention;

6 is a cross-sectional view of the slush manufacturing apparatus is a container for slush manufacturing of the present invention,

7 is an exploded perspective view of a slush manufacturing apparatus in which the slush manufacturing container of the present invention is inserted;

8 is a view or diagram showing a state in which the slush manufacturing container of the present invention is put into the slush manufacturing apparatus.

Claims (5)

A container including an inner container for storing liquid, an outer container spaced apart from the inner container, and an outer container having an indicator line formed at a predetermined height, and a coolant filled between the inner container and the outer container; And An apparatus for storing a container and supplying cold air to the container, comprising: a device for storing the container so that the lower part of the container and the upper part of the container may be stored at different temperature regions, respectively, with a heater near the display line; The upper portion of the vessel display line is stored in a temperature region where heat is supplied by a heater, where ice crystals are not easily generated, and the lower portion of the vessel display line is stored in a temperature region of the maximum ice crystal generation zone, thereby storing the liquid in the supercooled state. Slush manufacturing apparatus. delete The method of claim 1, The container, the slush manufacturing apparatus further comprises; a display unit for displaying when the liquid in the container is within a predetermined temperature range. The method of claim 3, The display part is printed with the Zion pigment, The slush manufacturing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 1, The cool storage material is filled in only the lower portion of the container located in the lower temperature region, the slush manufacturing apparatus.

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