KR20080003141A - Supercooling apparatus and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

A device and a method for supercooling is provided to maintain supercooled state of a stored object stably by regulating energy. A supercooling device comprises an energy taking unit, and a motion induction unit. The energy taking unit takes an energy(Q1) from a stored object by exerting an electric field. The energy induction unit inducts one of rotation, vibration and translation of water molecule in the stored object by supplying an energy(Q2) which is less than the stored object's energy. The energy taking unit uses a cooling system. The energy induction unit makes the energy by converting at least one voltage, frequency and current.

Description

SUPERCOOLING APPARATUS AND METHOD {SUPERCOOLING APPARATUS AND ITS METHOD}

1 shows a phase transition state due to cooling.

2a to 2c is a principle diagram of the supercooling apparatus according to the present invention.

3 is a block diagram of a supercooling apparatus according to the present invention.

4a and 4b are embodiments of the subcooling apparatus according to the present invention.

5a and 5b are graphs of the supercooling phenomenon in the subcooling apparatus according to the present invention.

6A and 6B are correlation graphs between power and subcooling temperature in the simplified supercooling apparatus according to the present invention.

7 is a graph showing the relationship between the strength of the electric field and the storage temperature and the subcooling temperature applied in the subcooling method according to the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

20: load detection unit 30: refrigeration cycle

40: voltage generator 50: electrode

90: micom

The present invention relates to a subcooling apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a subcooling apparatus and method for maintaining a subcooled state of an article stably for a long time through the control of energy.

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.

Generally, foods such as vegetables, fruits and meats, food and beverages are refrigerated or frozen and kept fresh. In this case, these foods contain a liquid component such as water, and when the liquid component is cooled below the phase transition temperature, a transition occurs to the solid component after a certain time.

1 shows a phase transition state due to cooling. As shown in FIG. 1, when the storage temperature of the refrigerator is maintained at about −7 ° C., the distilled water maintains a supercooled state from 1 hour to 5 hours in evaporation at 1 atmosphere, but a phase change occurs suddenly at about 5 hours. It can be seen that the temperature of the water rises to around 0 ° C. which is the phase transition temperature.

As such a phenomenon, it is possible to hold the storage such as water in a supercooled state for a short time, but there is a need to maintain the supercooled state for a long time in terms of long-term storage of food.

In order to solve this problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a supercooling apparatus and method capable of stably maintaining a supercooled state of an article for a long time.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a subcooling apparatus and method capable of stably maintaining a supercooled state of an article at a lower temperature.

The supercooling device of the present invention includes a means for depriving the energy of the object, and means for supplying less energy than the deprived energy to induce at least one movement of rotation, vibration and translation of the water molecules in the object. The article is kept in a liquid state at or below a phase transition temperature.

In addition, it is preferable that the inducing means apply an electric field.

In addition, it is preferable that the means for taking away the energy possessed by the enclosure utilizes a cooling system.

In addition, it is preferable that the inducing means sets the supplied energy by varying at least one of voltage, frequency, and current with less energy.

Further, the deprived energy preferably depends on the difference between the cooling temperature applied to the enclosure and the current temperature of the enclosure.

In addition, the deprived energy is preferably dependent on the amount of the deposit.

In addition, the present invention, the super-cooling method of the step of setting the energy taken from the enclosure, the step of taking the set energy from the enclosure, and supplying less energy than the set amount of energy, rotation, vibration of the water molecules in the enclosure And sequentially or simultaneously causing the movement of at least one of the translations to maintain the enclosure in the liquid state below the phase transition temperature.

The supercooling method of the present invention also includes the steps of supplying energy to an enclosure and depriving more energy than the supplied energy, thereby exercising at least one of rotation, vibration and translation of the water molecules in the enclosure. Causing the enclosure to remain in a liquid state below the phase transition temperature.

In the following, the invention is explained in detail on the basis of the embodiments of the invention and the accompanying drawings. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited by the following embodiments and drawings, and the scope of the present invention will be limited only by the contents described in the claims below.

2a to 2c is a principle diagram of the supercooling apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2A illustrates a process of depriving energy Q1 from liquid water, which is an object stored in the storage space S in the case 1. In this way, the energy Q1 is taken away from the water and cooled, and when such cooling is maintained at about −7 ° C., for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the energy Q1 is the water before cooling (Cw) and the cooling storage temperature ( Proportional to the difference between Cr). Of course, the energy Q1 is also affected by the specific heat and mass of the object, but in Figs. 2A to 2C, only the energy according to the temperature is considered without considering that the specific heat and mass of the object are the same. As the deprived energy Q1 increases, the motion between the water molecules (for example, rotation, vibration, translational motion, etc.) is slowed down, and the hydrogen bonds are counted relatively. At some point, phase transition occurs as shown in FIG. 1. .

2B illustrates a process of supplying energy Q2 so that movement between water molecules, which are objects, can be performed. As the movement between the water molecules becomes active by the supply of the energy Q2, since the kinetic force between these water molecules is relatively greater than that of the hydrogen bonds, phase transition is not achieved.

2C illustrates a process of depriving energy Q1 and supplying energy Q2. First, through the process of taking energy Q1, the measured temperature C of the water is lowered to -7 ° C as shown in FIG. 2A through 0 ° C (1 atm), which is a phase transition temperature. Q2) is supplied so that water remains liquid even below the phase transition temperature. At this time, even if the process of supplying energy Q2 is performed simultaneously with the process of depriving energy Q1, energy sources that do not affect each other's processes should be selected. For example, when heat energy is used in the same manner, the supply process and the takeover process are influenced each other, and thus cannot be applied to the present invention. In addition, energy Q2 should be an energy source that affects the movement of water molecules.

What is important here is the magnitude of the energy Q2 supplied to the water. That is, the energy Q1 taken may be initially calculated as the difference between the water temperature Cw and the cooling storage temperature Cr, but since the cooling of the water proceeds with time, the energy Q1 actually taken is the measured temperature of the water. Can be estimated according to the difference between the present present temperature (C) and the cold storage temperature (Cr) or the difference between the present measured temperature (C), which is the measured temperature of water, and the measured internal temperature (Cm) of the reservoir in which the case (1) is stored. The energy (Q2) must be equal to or less than this energy (Q1) so that the water temperature (C) remains at or slightly higher than or equal to the cold storage temperature (Cr) or the measured internal temperature (Cm). do.

In addition, as the cooling proceeds, when the measured internal temperature Cm is lowered and the magnitude of the energy Q1 is changed, the energy Q2 supplied accordingly is also changed, so that the temperature C of the water is lower than the phase transition temperature. It is possible to maintain a supercooled temperature.

In addition, if the mass of the enclosure is changed even under the same temperature conditions, its energy magnitude must also be changed.

Therefore, the energy Q2 to be supplied is determined according to the energy Q1 taken from the package, or the energy Q1 to be taken is determined according to the energy Q2 supplied, and the supplied energy Q2 is energy to be taken away. It should be sized less than or equal to (Q1), to activate the movement of water molecules in the enclosure.

3 is a configuration diagram of a supercooling apparatus according to the present invention, Figures 4a and 4b are embodiments of the subcooling apparatus according to the present invention.

The supercooling apparatus 100 includes a load sensing unit 20 for detecting a state of the storage spaces A and B, a state of an object (not shown) stored in the storage spaces A and B, and a storage space A. , A refrigeration cycle 30 for cooling B), a voltage generator 40 generating a voltage to apply an electric field in the storage spaces A and B, and an electrode part receiving the generated voltage to generate an electric field ( 50, the door detection unit 60 for detecting the opening / closing of the door 120, the input unit 70 for receiving the degree of cooling, the performance of the supercooling mode, and the like from the user, and the operation of the supercooling device 100. The display unit 80 displaying the state and the microcomputer 90 performing the supercooling mode while performing the refrigeration or refrigeration control of the subcooling apparatus 100. However, although a power supply unit (not shown) for supplying power to the above-described elements is naturally provided, such a power supply is a technology clearly recognized by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, and thus description thereof is omitted.

In detail, the load detector 20 detects or stores the state of the storage spaces A and B, and the state of the storage items stored in the storage spaces A and B, and informs the microcomputer 90 of the storage spaces. The load detector 20 stores information about the volume of the storage spaces A and B in the state of the storage spaces A and B, or senses the temperature of the storage spaces A or B. It may be a thermometer or a hardness meter, an ammeter or a voltmeter or a weight meter or an optical sensor (or a laser sensor) or a pressure sensor for checking whether the object is accommodated in the storage spaces A and B. In particular, the load sensing unit 20 may be an ammeter or a voltmeter, and when the storage spaces (A, B) are empty, and when there is an enclosure, the overall resistance value of the resistor through which the electric field flows is changed. Depending on the value, it can be checked whether or not it is stored. In addition, the microcomputer 90 may check the amount of the object and the water content of the object according to the resistance value from the load sensing unit 20, thereby identifying the kind of the object having the identified water content.

Next, the refrigeration cycle 30 is divided into inter-cooling and direct cooling according to the method for cooling the stored object. The embodiment of FIG. 4A is an intercooled refrigerator, and the embodiment of FIG. 4B is a direct cooled refrigerator, which is described in detail below.

In addition, the voltage generator 40 generates an AC voltage according to a predetermined size and frequency. The voltage generator 40 may generate at least one of a magnitude of a voltage and a frequency of the voltage to generate an AC voltage. In particular, the voltage generator 40 applies an AC voltage corresponding to the set value (voltage magnitude, voltage frequency, etc.) from the microcomputer 90 to the electrode unit 50, and thus the electric field is stored in the storage space (A). , B). The voltage generator 40 according to the present invention can vary the magnitude of the voltage within the range of 500V to 15kV by varying the frequency. In addition, the voltage generator 40 sets the frequency of the voltage in a high frequency range of 1 to 500 kHz.

The electrode unit 50 is a means for converting an alternating voltage from the voltage generating unit 40 into an electric field and applying it to the storage spaces A and B. The electrode unit 50 is usually made of a plate or conductive wire made of a material such as copper or platinum.

Since the electric field applied to the storage spaces A and B or the object by the electrode unit 50 is due to a high frequency AC voltage, the polarity thereof changes with frequency. Due to this electric field, water molecules composed of oxygen (O) with negative polarity and hydrogen (H) with positive polarity are continuously vibrated, rotated, and translated. The liquid phase is maintained even at a temperature below the phase transition temperature.

The door detection unit 60 stops the operation of the voltage generator 40 according to the opening of the door 120 that opens and closes the storage spaces A and B. The door detection unit 60 notifies the microcomputer 90 of the opening of the door 120. ) May perform the stop operation, or may be stopped by shorting the power applied to the voltage generator 40.

In addition to the temperature setting for general refrigeration and refrigeration control, and the selection of the service type of the dispenser (flake ice, water, etc.), the input unit 70 allows the user to select the performance of the supercooling mode for the storage spaces A and B or the objects. It is a means to be able to input. In addition, the user may input the object information such as the type and amount of the object through the input unit 70. The input unit 70 may be a bar code reader or an RFID reader, and may provide the microcomputer 90 with information of the contents of the reading. In addition, the input unit 70 allows a user to input or select a supercooling temperature (temperature at which the supercooling state is maintained), which is a degree of subcooling of the storage spaces A and B or the storing object.

The display unit 80 may basically display a freezing and refrigerating temperature, a service type display of the dispenser, and may indicate that a supercooling mode is currently being performed.

The microcomputer 90 performs basic refrigeration and freezing control, and performs the supercooling mode according to the present invention.

When the microcomputer 90 maintains the storage spaces A and B or the storage object in a supercooled state, the amount of energy Q2 to be applied to the storage spaces A and B or the storage object and the amount of energy Q1 to be taken away And relationship information between the cooling temperature. Accordingly, the microcomputer 90 may control the setting and application of the energy amounts Q1 and Q2 according to the subcooling temperature or the calculation of the energy amounts Q1 and Q2 and the calculation of the subcooling temperature accordingly. Here, the energy (Q2) can be used a variety of energy sources, the present invention uses the electric field energy. Here, the microcomputer 90 contains a considerable amount of water in most of the stored objects. Therefore, in the calculation of energy Q1, the specific heat is the specific heat of water, the mass is sensed by the load sensing unit 20, and the temperature information is also included. The load detection unit 20 can calculate the energy Q1 to be taken away. In addition, when the microcomputer 90 applies electric field energy, for example, the supplied energy Q2 is calculated from a function of voltage, current, and frequency, and such calculation is easy for a person familiar with the technical field to which the present invention belongs. That's one thing.

The microcomputer 90 performs the subcooling mode, but may set or change the subcooling temperature at which the subcooling mode is performed. This setting or variable can be performed by the microcomputer 90 from the relationship between the amounts of energy Q1 and Q2 and the subcooling temperature described below. For this purpose, the microcomputer 90 may control the voltage generator 40 to adjust the amount of energy Q2 according to the electric field applied from the electrode unit 50. Or the magnitude of the current) and the frequency, and the amount of energy can also be estimated from the correlation of voltage, current and frequency. This energy calculation is obvious to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains and thus will not be described.

4a and 4b are embodiments of the subcooling apparatus according to the present invention. This embodiment is applied to a refrigerator, Figure 4a is a cross-sectional view of the intercooled refrigerator, Figure 4b is a cross-sectional view of the direct-cooling refrigerator.

The intercooled refrigerator has a case 110 having one side open and a storage space A formed therein, and a case 110 having a shelf 130 that partially divides the storage space A, and opening and closing an open one surface of the case 110. The door 120 is made. The refrigeration cycle 30 of the intercooled refrigerator includes a compressor 32 for compressing a refrigerant, an evaporator 33 for generating cold air (indicated by an arrow) for cooling the storage space A or the stored object, and the generated cold air. A fan 34 forcibly flowing, an inlet duct 36 for introducing cold air into the storage space A, and a discharge duct 38 for guiding the cold air passing through the storage space A to the evaporator 33. . In addition, the freezing cycle 30 may include a condenser, a dryer, an expansion device, and the like, which are not shown.

Electrode portions 50a and 50b are formed between the inner surfaces 112a and 112c facing the storage space A and the outer surface of the case 110, and each of the electrode portions 50a and 50b faces the storage space A. It is formed, so that the electric field can be applied to the entire storage space (A). In addition, the storage space A is spaced apart from the ends of the electrode portions 50a and 50b inwardly or in the center direction of the electrode portions 50a and 50b by a predetermined interval so that a uniform electric field is stored in the storage space A or the storage space. Allow to be applied to water.

In addition, the inlet duct 36 and the discharge duct 38 described above are formed on the inner surface 112b of the case 110. In addition, the surface of the inner surface (112a, 112b, 112c) of the case 110 is made of a hydrophobic material, so that the surface tension of water, such as water is reduced to prevent freezing during the supercooling mode. Of course, the outer surface and the inner surface (112a, 112b, 112c) of the case 110 is made of an insulating material, so that the user is not electric shock from the electrode portions (50a, 50b) and at the same time the objects are inner surface (112a, 112b, The electrical contact with the electrode portions 50a and 50b through the 112c is prevented.

Next, the case 110, the door 120, and the shelf 130 of the direct cooling refrigerator of FIG. 4B are the same as the intercooling refrigerator of FIG. 4A, and the inner surfaces 114a, 114b, and 114c of the case 110 are the case 112a. Compared to 112b, 112c, the same except for the inlet duct 36 and the discharge duct 38.

The freezing cycle 30 of the direct-cooling refrigerator of FIG. 4B is installed in the case 110 adjacent to the compressor 32 compressing the refrigerant and the case inner surfaces 114a, 114b, and 114c around the storage space B. It consists of an evaporator 39 which evaporates. However, the direct cooling refrigeration cycle 30 is configured to include a condenser (not shown) and expansion valve (not shown).

In particular, the electrode portions 50c and 50d are inserted between the evaporator 39 and the case 110 to prevent the cold air from being blocked by the evaporator 39.

5a and 5b are graphs illustrating the supercooling phenomenon in the freezing refrigerator according to the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a diagram of experimental structures and conditions for FIG. 5B. As shown, the storage space (S1) is formed in the case 111, 0.1L of distilled water is contained in the storage space (S1), the electrodes 50e, 50f are symmetrically toward the storage space (S1). It is inserted into the side wall of the case 111 to be positioned. In addition, the electrode surfaces of the electrodes 50e and 50f facing the storage space S1 are formed wider than the surface of the storage space S1. The interval between these electrodes 50e and 50f is 20 mm. The case 111 is made of an acrylic material, and the case 111 is stored and cooled in a storage space (a refrigerating device which is a space without an additional electric field generating device other than the electrodes 50e and 50f) to which cold air is uniformly supplied.

At this time, the microcomputer 90 is a case where the voltage generator 40 applies 0.91 kV (6.76 mA) and an AC voltage of 20 kHz to the electrode unit 50, the temperature of the storage space is about -7 ℃. It can be seen from the supercooling phenomenon graph of FIG. 5B that the non-freezing refrigerator 100 according to the present invention has a supercooling even at about -6.5 ° C. which is below the phase transition temperature, and thus maintains the non-freezing state of water for 50 hours or more.

6A and 6B are correlation graphs between power and freezing temperature in the simplified freezing refrigerator according to the present invention. 6A and 6B are applied to the same experimental structure as that of FIG. 5A, and the storage temperature (control temperature), that is, the internal temperature of the inside of the storage space in which the case 111 is housed, is fixedly controlled to -6 ° C. In this case, the microcomputer 90 sets and applies a plurality of power energy amounts applied to the voltage generator 40, and measures the change in the freezing temperature accordingly. That is, the amount of energy Q1 to be taken is constant, and the case where the energy Q2 supplied is variable.

6A are graphs of freezing temperatures of water supplied with different amounts of power energy. As shown in FIG. 6A, the baseline O, to which no power energy is supplied, remains freeze to -5 ° C. by cooling and causes a phase transition to a frozen state 3 hours before cooling.

In addition, since the first energy ray I (1.38W) is considerably larger than the amount of energy Q1 applied to the water Q2, the water is cooled at a phase transition temperature (1 atm 0 ° C). Even if it is made, it is maintained at almost 0 ° C. so that no supercooling phenomenon occurs.

The second energy ray II (0.98 W) maintains a supercooled state, and the supercooling temperature at that time is maintained at -3 to -3.5 占 폚.

The third energy ray (III) (0.91 W) maintains the supercooling state, and the supercooling temperature at that time is maintained at -4 to -5 deg.

The fourth energy ray IV (0.62W) maintains a supercooled state, and the supercooling temperature at that time is maintained at -5.5 to -5.8 占 폚.

The fifth energy ray V (0.36W) does not reach the supercooled state and is frozen (phase shifted).

FIG. 6B is a graph showing the correlation between the first to fifth energy rays of FIG. 6A. As shown, it can be seen that in a state where a constant cool air is supplied, the amount of energy Q2 applied to the water, which is a package, and the supercooling temperature of the water, which is a package have a proportional relationship. That is, the greater the amount of energy Q2 applied to the object, the higher the supercooling temperature. The smaller the amount of energy Q2 applied to the object, the lower the supercooling temperature. However, when determining the amount of energy Q2, if the amount of energy is too small, as described above, the supercooled state cannot be adjusted because it does not cause the movement of water molecules, resulting in the same result as the fifth energy ray.

In addition, the supercooling temperature according to the experiment is determined according to the amount of energy applied when the storage temperature (indoor temperature, high temperature) is -6 ℃, if the storage temperature is different, that is, the amount of energy (Q1) is taken away The amount of energy Q2 applied accordingly must also be changed. Therefore, when the storage temperature is constant, the microcomputer 90 may store only correlation information between the simple amounts of energy Q1 and Q2 and the supercooling temperature. Otherwise, when the storage temperature is adjusted or changed, such controlled storage may be performed. Correlation information between the amount of energy Q1 and Q2 at which temperature is considered and the supercooling temperature should be stored.

7 is a graph showing the relationship between the strength of the electric field and the storage temperature and the subcooling temperature applied in the subcooling method according to the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 7, the supercooling temperature Cs of the package is calculated from the correlation between the intensity of the electric field (energy Q2 supplied) and the storage temperature Cm (energy Q1 taken away).

For example, if the electric field strength W1 and storage temperature Cm are stabilized by the supercooling temperature Cs of the stored object, when the temperature is lowered to the storage temperature Cm ', that is, the energy Q1 deprived increases, the supercooling temperature ( Cs '), and stabilizes to Cs' <Cs. In another example, increasing the storage temperature (Cm "), that is, reducing the deprived energy (Q1), changes to the supercooling temperature (Cs") and stabilizes Cs "> Cs.

6A, 6B, and 7, the deprived energy Q1 and the supplied energy Q2 can be adjusted to adjust the supercooling temperature Cs of the stored object.

The present invention of such a configuration has the effect that it can maintain the supercooled state of the object stably for a long time.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of stably maintaining the supercooled state of the object at a lower temperature by adjusting the energy supplied and the energy to be taken away.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of adjusting the supercooling temperature at this time, while maintaining the object in the supercooled state.

Claims (13)

In constructing the supercooling device of the object, Means for depriving energy of the article; Means for supplying less energy than said deprived energy to induce at least one or more motions of rotation, vibration, and translation of water molecules in said enclosure, thereby maintaining said enclosure in a liquid state at or below a phase transition temperature; Supercooling device. The method of claim 1, Said inducing means applying an electric field. The method of claim 1, The means for depriving the energy contained in the object utilizing a cooling system. The method of claim 2, And the inducing means sets the supplied energy by varying at least one of voltage, frequency and current with less energy. The method of claim 1, And said energy deprived depends on the difference between the cooling temperature applied to said enclosure and the current temperature of said enclosure. The method of claim 1, And said deprived energy is dependent on the quantity of said containment. Setting energy deprived of the article; Taking the set energy from the package and supplying less energy than the set amount of energy to cause at least one of rotation, vibration and translation of water molecules in the package, sequentially or simultaneously And maintaining the enclosure in a liquid state at or below a phase transition temperature. The method of claim 7, wherein The step of setting the energy is dependent on the difference between the cooling temperature applied to the enclosure and the current temperature of the enclosure. The method of claim 7, wherein Setting the energy is dependent on the amount of containment. The method of claim 7, wherein The step of depriving the energy is to cool the enclosure. The method of claim 7, wherein The inducing step includes setting the applied energy and setting a voltage, a frequency, and a current corresponding to the set applied energy. Supplying energy to the enclosure; Deriving more energy than the supplied energy, causing movement of at least one of rotation, vibration, and translation of the water molecules in the enclosure, thereby maintaining the enclosure in a liquid state below the phase transition temperature. The supercooling method to be special. The method of claim 12, The step of depriving the energy is to cool the enclosure.

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