KR20080003221A - Supercooling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A supercooling device is provided to keep an object in supercooled state for a long time by forming an electric field for a certain area. A supercooling device comprises a storing chamber, a cooling cycle, an electrode unit. The storing chamber stores an object in a receiving space. The cooling cycle cools down the receiving space. The electrode unit is symmetrically arranged to the receiving space. The electrode unit is composed of a first electrode(11a) and a second electrode(11b) which have different sizes to keep the object in supercooled state below phase transformation temperature. The electrode unit is mounted at an inner surface of the storing chamber. The first electrode is an active electrode which is also called a planar electrode. The second electrode is a grounding electrode. The first electrode has a larger area than the second electrode.

Description

Supercooling Unit {SUPERCOOLING APPARATUS}

1 is a view conceptually showing the electrode structure of the subcooling device to maintain a basic subcooling state.

FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating a supercooling phenomenon in the subcooling apparatus according to FIG. 1.

3 is an embodiment of a subcooling apparatus according to FIG. 1.

4 conceptually illustrates an improved electrode structure of a supercooling device that maintains a supercooled state.

5 is an embodiment of a subcooling apparatus according to FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 conceptually illustrates another improved electrode structure of the supercooling device to maintain the supercooled state.

7 is an embodiment of a subcooling apparatus according to FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 conceptually illustrates another improved electrode structure of the supercooling device to maintain the supercooled state.

9 is an embodiment of a subcooling apparatus according to FIG. 8.

10 is a block diagram illustrating a method of operating a supercooling device.

The present invention relates to a supercooling apparatus that maintains the supercooled state of an object stably for a long time by allowing energy to be concentrated at a predetermined region.

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.

Although it is possible to preserve an object such as water in a supercooled state for a short time, when moisture is frozen in a food containing water, it is necessary to maintain the supercooled state for a long time in terms of long-term storage of food quality food.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a subcooling device capable of stably maintaining a supercooled state of an object for a long time.

Moreover, an object of this invention is to provide the subcooling apparatus which can stably maintain the supercooling state of an object at a lower temperature.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a supercooling apparatus capable of intensively forming an electric field in a specific region to maintain a more stable and long term supercooling state in a specific region.

The supercooling device of the present invention comprises an electrode having a storage compartment having an accommodating space therein, a refrigeration cycle for cooling the accommodating space, and a first electrode and a second electrode which are symmetrically disposed in the accommodating space and differ in area from each other. It is made negative to keep the enclosure free of freezing below the phase transition temperature.

In addition, the electrode unit is preferably mounted on the inner side of the reservoir.

Further, it is preferable that the first electrode is an active electrode, the second electrode is a ground electrode, and the first electrode has a larger area than the second electrode.

In addition, the ground electrode is preferably formed corresponding to the center of the active electrode.

In addition, the ground electrode and the active electrode is preferably spaced apart from a certain distance.

In addition, the present invention, the supercooling apparatus includes an accommodating space for accommodating the object, a refrigeration cycle for cooling the accommodating space, and generating and applying an electric field to the accommodating space, wherein the electrode part includes an active electrode and a ground electrode corresponding thereto. The active electrode surrounds the ground electrode to form an accommodation space, thereby keeping the enclosure free of freezing at or below the phase transition temperature.

In the following, the present invention will be described in detail with an example of a supercooling apparatus based on the embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying drawings.

If the liquid, for example water, is gradually cooled, it will not temporarily solidify even at temperatures below 0 ° C. 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.

At this time, even if the temperature is lower than the phase transition temperature, if the molecule can continuously move at least one of the rotation, vibration, translation, it is possible to maintain the supercooled state continuously. That is, when energy is supplied to prevent liquid from phase transition to solid at the same time as cooling, which is a process of taking energy of liquid, it is possible to stably maintain a liquid state for a long time even at a temperature lower than the temperature at which phase transition occurs. In this case, the process of supplying energy is inadequate as it is influenced by each other when the process of energy is taken. In the case of ordinary cooling devices, it is inappropriate to supply thermal energy when supplying energy because it uses a method of depriving thermal energy.

1 is a view conceptually showing the electrode structure of the subcooling device to maintain a basic subcooling state.

In FIG. 1, the case 1 in which the storage space S1 is formed includes two electrodes 10a and 10b facing each other with respect to the storage space S1. A power supply unit 2 for applying a high voltage AC voltage to the electrodes 10a and 10b is provided. The power supply unit 2 applies a high-voltage alternating voltage to the electrodes 10a and 10b, and an electric field is formed in the storage space S1 between the electrodes 10a and 10b to supply energy to the storage space S1.

In addition, the storage space S1 is cooled by a cooling cycle (not shown), so that it is possible to supply another type of energy (that is, electric field energy) while taking heat energy in the storage space S1. For this reason, in the case of the food containing water and water accommodated in the storage space S1, it is possible to maintain a stable cooling state for a long time without solidifying or freezing even below phase transition temperature.

2 is a temperature graph when water is stored in the supercooling apparatus according to FIG. 1 and then cooled.

Normally, when water cools below the phase transition temperature, phase transition occurs.

Distilled water is contained in the storage space S1 in the case 1 as shown in FIG. 2, and the electrode faces of the electrodes 10a and 10b facing the storage space S1 are wider than the surface of the storage space S1. . The interval between these electrodes 10a and 10b is 20 mm. The case 1 is made of an acrylic material, and the case 1 is housed in a cooling space (a refrigerating device, which is a space without an additional electric field generating device other than the electrodes 10a and 10b) to which cold air is uniformly supplied, and is cooled.

At this time, the power supply unit 2 is a case where an alternating voltage of 0.91 kV (6.76 mA) and 20 kHz is applied to the electrodes 10a and 10b, and the internal temperature of the cooling space is about -7 ° C.

As can be seen in Figure 2, by applying energy through the electric field it can be seen that it is possible to stably maintain the supercooled state (non-freezing state) for a long time.

3 is an embodiment of a supercooling apparatus according to FIG. 1. The subcooling apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is a device equipped with a cooling cycle and is an intercooling subcooling apparatus.

The supercooling device opens and closes one open side of the case 110 and a case 110 having a shelf 130 that partially divides the storage space A, and forms a storage space A therein. The door 120 is made. The refrigeration cycle 30 of the intercooled supercooling apparatus 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 cold air generated in this way. Fan 34 forcibly flowing, an inlet duct 36 for introducing cold air into the storage space A, and a discharge duct 38 for guiding 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. In addition, the supercooling device may be implemented not only between intercooling but also by direct cooling.

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. Although an intercooled subcooling apparatus is illustrated, it is obvious that it can also be implemented with a direct cooling subcooling apparatus.

When the electric field is formed through the electrode in this manner, a uniform electric field may be formed in the storage space. However, in the case of a cooling device for cooling an object, when the objects such as food are different from each other, and the mass is different, the cooling time is different, and thus the time when energy must be concentrated for supercooling is different. Can be. If the energy needs to be concentrated at different times, a stronger electric field can be provided where needed to provide energy at each point, thus creating a more efficient supercooled state.

4 conceptually illustrates an improved electrode structure of a supercooling device that maintains a supercooled state. 4 is provided with a planar electrode 11a and a cylindrical electrode (for example, conducting wire) 11b, and when each electrode is connected to a power supply to receive power (especially high voltage AC power), the cylindrical electrode 11b is provided. Stronger electric fields are formed in the vicinity. From the electric field lines, it can be seen that the electric field lines are densely around the cylindrical electrode 11b, which forms a strong electric field closer to the cylindrical electrode. (In the case of Fig. 4, the cylindrical electrode is merely an example of a structure for concentrating the electric field in a specific area.)

5 is an embodiment of a subcooling apparatus according to FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is an intercooled refrigerator, which includes a refrigeration cycle having a shelf 130, a case 110, a door 120, a compressor 32, an evaporator 33, a fan 34, and the like, as compared with FIG. 3. The same is true. One electrode part 50b of the electrode parts 50b and 50c is planar, and the other electrode part 50c is cylindrical.

The electrode portions 50a and 50b of the intercooled refrigerator in FIG. 3 are all planar, whereas one of the electrode portions 50c in FIG. 5 is cylindrical. This has been described above that a stronger electric field is formed around the cylindrical electrode 50c than elsewhere. When the object on which the supercooled state is to be concentrated on the shelf 130 is placed on the cylindrical electrode 50c, the supercooled state may be maintained more stably than other parts.

FIG. 6 conceptually illustrates another improved electrode structure of the supercooling device to maintain the supercooled state. 6 is provided with a planar electrode 11c and a spherical electrode 11d, and when each electrode is connected to a power supply and is supplied with power (especially an AC high voltage power supply), it is stronger than the other place around the spherical electrode 11d. An electric field is formed. As can be seen from the electric force lines and the like, the electric force lines are densely around the spherical electrode 11d, which means that a strong electric field is formed closer to the spherical electrode 11d. In FIG. 4, the cylindrical electrode 11b is included, and in FIG. 6, the spherical electrode 11d is included to have a structure in which an electric field can be concentrated in a specific region. By utilizing these various types of electrodes, a stronger electric field can be formed where desired, so that the supercooling device can perform the supercooling more efficiently. In the case of FIG. 4 or 6, the cylindrical electrode or the spherical electrode can generate the electric field. It is just an example of a structure for focusing on a specific area.)

7 is an embodiment of a subcooling apparatus according to FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is the same as having a refrigeration cycle with a shelf 130, a case 110, a door 120, a compressor 32, an evaporator 33, a fan 34, and the like. Do. One electrode part 50b of the electrode parts 50b and 50d is planar, and the other electrode part 50d is spherical. The electrode portions 50a and 50b of the intercooled refrigerator in FIG. 3 are all planar, whereas one of the electrode portions 50d in FIG. 5 is spherical. As a result, it has been described above that a stronger electric field is formed around the spherical electrode 50d than elsewhere. When the object on which the supercooled state is to be concentrated on the shelf 130 is placed on the spherical electrode 50d, the supercooled state may be maintained more stably than other parts.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5 or FIG. 7, if the structure has a structure capable of moving the cylindrical electrode or the spherical electrode, the supercooling device can be intensively supplied by moving the cylindrical electrode or the spherical electrode to the portion where the supercooling state is necessary. Can be used very efficiently.

FIG. 8 conceptually illustrates another improved electrode structure of the supercooling device to maintain the supercooled state. There is a cylindrical electrode (for example, conducting wire) 13b, and it is a structure provided with the other electrode 13a which surrounds it. The closer it is from the cylindrical electrode 13b, the stronger the electric field is formed. (Also, the cylindrical electrode is an exemplary structure for forming a strong electric field in a specific region.) Preferably, the electrode 13a surrounding the cylindrical electrode is a cylindrical electrode ( It may be a hollow cylindrical electrode centered on the center of 13b), in this case, the intensity of the electric field at each point can be obtained through Maxwell's equations and the like, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Where r is the distance between the point to measure the electric field and the center of the cylindrical electrode, a is the radius of the cylindrical electrode, b is the distance between the electrode surrounding the cylindrical electrode and the center of the cylindrical electrode (see drawing).

As such, the closer to the cylindrical electrode, that is, the smaller r in Equation 1, the stronger the electric field is formed.

9 is an embodiment of a subcooling apparatus according to FIG. 8. There is a cylindrical electrode 13c and an electrode 13d surrounding it, and includes a cooling cycle having a compressor 32 for compressing the refrigerant and an evaporator 39 for evaporating the refrigerant. As a result, the supercooling device has a cooling cycle to cool the object, and supplies power to the cylindrical electrode 13c and the electrode 13d surrounding the cylindrical electrode 13c by using a power supply (not shown). Energy can be concentrated.

10 is an illustration of a block diagram illustrating a method of operating a supercooling device. This is an example of the operation method, the supercooling apparatus 100 is a load sensing unit 20 for detecting the state of the storage space, the state of the storage (not shown), etc. stored in the storage space, and the refrigeration to cool the storage space Cycle 30, the voltage generator 40 for generating a voltage so that the electric field is applied to the storage space, the electrode unit 50 for generating the electric field by applying the generated voltage and the opening / closing of the door 120 A door detection unit 60 for detecting a state, an input unit 70 for receiving a degree of cooling, a performance of a supercooling mode, and the like from the user, a display unit 80 for displaying an operation state of the supercooling device 100, and a supercooling device. While performing the refrigeration or refrigeration control of the (100), it consists of a microcomputer 90 to perform the supercooling mode.

In detail, the load detector 20 detects or stores the state of the storage space and the state of the storage stored in the storage space, and informs the microcomputer 90 of the storage space. For example, the load detector 20 may store information about the volume of the storage space in a storage space, a thermometer that senses the temperature of the storage space or the storage space, or confirm whether the storage is stored in the storage space. It may be a durometer, ammeter or voltmeter or weight meter or light sensor (or laser sensor) or pressure sensor. In particular, the load sensing unit 20 may be an ammeter or a voltmeter, and when the storage space is empty, and when there is a storage object, the total resistance value of the resistor through which the electric field flows is changed. You can check whether or not. 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.

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 a set value (voltage magnitude, voltage frequency, etc.) from the microcomputer 90 to the electrode unit 50, and thus an electric field is applied to the storage space. Be sure to

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 a storage space. The electrode unit 50 is usually made of a flat plate (thin film) or a conductive wire made of a material such as copper, platinum, and aluminum. Since the electric field applied to the storage space 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 detector 60 stops the operation of the voltage generator 40 according to the opening of the door 120 that opens and closes the storage space, and the microcomputer 90 stops the operation by notifying the microcomputer 90 of the opening. It may be performed, or may be stopped by short-circuiting the power applied to the voltage generator 40, it may be provided with a switch to change the power supply according to the door opening and closing may cut off the power supplied to the voltage generator.

The input unit 70 allows the user to input the performance selection of the supercooling mode for the storage space or the object, in addition to the temperature setting for the general refrigeration and refrigeration control, the selection of the service type of the dispenser (flake ice, water, etc.). Means. 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 barcode reader or an RFID reader, and may provide the microcomputer 90 with the information of the contents of the reading. In addition, the input unit 70 allows the user to input or select a subcooling temperature (temperature at which the supercooling state is maintained), which is a degree of subcooling of the storage space or the object.

The display unit 80 may basically display the freezing and refrigerating temperatures, and display the service type of the dispenser. The display unit 80 may also display a scheduled time to reach a current supercooled state, progress or termination of the supercooled state, and the like.

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 space or the storage object in the supercooled state, the microcomputer 90 stores relationship information between the amount of energy to be applied to the storage space or the storage object, the amount of energy to be taken away, and the cooling temperature. Accordingly, the microcomputer 90 may control the setting and application of the amount of energy according to the subcooling temperature or the calculation of the amount of energy and the calculation of the subcooling temperature accordingly. The energy here may be a variety of energy sources, the present invention uses the electric field energy. Here, the microcomputer 90 contains a considerable amount of moisture in most of the objects, so in the calculation of energy, the specific heat is the specific heat of water, the mass is detected from the load sensing unit 20, and the temperature information is also the load sensing unit. It calculates by (20) and can calculate energy to take away. Further, when the microcomputer 90 applies electric field energy, for example, the supplied energy is calculated from a function of voltage, current, and frequency, and this calculation is easy for a person familiar with the technical field to which the present invention belongs. .

In addition, the microcomputer 90 acquires a state of the storage space or the storage object from the input unit 70 or the load sensing unit 20 to generate an AC voltage having a frequency and a magnitude corresponding to the obtained information or load degree. In addition, it can be in charge of performing AI freezing mode.

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 energy amount Q2 according to the electric field applied from the electrode unit 50. This energy calculation is obvious to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains and thus will not be described.

In addition, the microcomputer 90 controls the operation of the non-freezing operation unit including the voltage generator 40 and the electrode unit 50, thereby reducing power consumption of the supercooling device 100 while maintaining a freezing mode. Efficient control methods such as modes are also performed.

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 intensively supplying energy by forming a stronger electric field than other places where energy should be concentrated for supercooling.

In addition, the present invention, when the time to be concentrated energy supply according to the object is different from each other, for example, when a new object is introduced, it is possible to provide a concentrated energy supply to this object, more quickly and stably There is an effect of reaching the supercooled state.

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail based on the embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying drawings. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited by the above embodiments and drawings, and the scope of the present invention should be limited only by the contents described in the claims below.

Claims (8)

A reservoir having a storage space for storing the objects; A refrigeration cycle for cooling the storage space; An apparatus for supercooling, comprising an electrode part symmetrically disposed in a storage space and comprising an electrode part having a first electrode and a second electrode having different areas, and keeping the object free of freezing at or below a phase transition temperature. The method of claim 1, The supercooling apparatus, characterized in that the electrode portion is mounted on the inner side of the reservoir. The method of claim 1, Wherein the first electrode is an active electrode, the second electrode is a ground electrode, and the first electrode has a larger area than the second electrode. The method of claim 3, And the ground electrode is formed corresponding to the center of the active electrode. The method according to claim 3 or 4, Sub-cooling device, characterized in that the ground electrode and the active electrode spaced apart a certain distance. A storage space for storing the storage object; A refrigeration cycle for cooling the storage space; An electric field is generated and applied to the storage space, and includes an electrode part including an active electrode and a ground electrode corresponding thereto, wherein the active electrode surrounds the ground electrode to form a storage space, thereby freeing the object at or below the phase transition temperature. Subcooling apparatus, characterized in that to maintain. The method of claim 6, The supercooling device, characterized in that the active electrode and the ground electrode spaced apart at a predetermined interval. The method according to claim 6 or 7, Subcooling device, characterized in that the active electrode is cylindrical.

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