Integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device and water ice resource mining system

Abstract

The invention discloses an integrated water-ice resource collection and utilization device and a water-ice resource mining system, and relates to the technical field of water-ice resource extraction in the polar region of the moon. The device comprises a sealing shell, an opening is formed in the bottom of the sealing shell, a cover plate is detachably installed on the top of the sealing shell, a flow guide plate is fixedly installed in the sealing shell, a plurality of condensation mechanisms are detachably installed on the flow guide plate and the outer side wall of the sealing shell, and the condensation mechanisms are annularly distributed at equal intervals around the center of the sealing shell; and the condensation mechanism comprises a condensation outer shell installed in the flow guide plate, a first through hole is formed in the bottom of the condensation outer shell, an upper shell is fixedly installed at the top of the condensation outer shell, and a cavity is formed in the condensation outer shell and the upper shell. According to the device, efficient water ice capturing can be carried out, conversion of the water ice from the gas state to the solid state to the liquid state is formed, capturing and utilization of water ice resources in the polar region of the moon can be stably achieved, and a new solution is provided for in-situ mining engineering practice of the water ice resources in the polar region of the moon.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of water ice resource extraction technology in lunar polar regions, specifically to an integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device and a water ice resource mining system. Background Technology

[0002] Lunar water ice, as an in-situ resource on the Moon, is a crucial strategic material for future deep space exploration and the construction of extraterrestrial bases. It can not only provide water for astronaut life support systems and in-situ industrial production, but more importantly, it can be electrolyzed to produce hydrogen and oxygen—oxygen for breathing and the combination of hydrogen and oxygen to form high-performance rocket propellants. Achieving in-situ extraction and utilization of lunar water ice can reduce payload costs and launch energy consumption for round-trip transportation between Earth and the Moon, providing material support for long-term lunar stays and even more distant deep space exploration missions.

[0003] Currently, lunar regolith water ice resource extraction technologies are mainly divided into two categories: off-site extraction and in-situ extraction. The mainstream in-situ extraction technology route involves directly or indirectly heating the ice-containing lunar regolith with a heat source to sublimate solid water ice into water vapor, which is then captured and condensed into liquid water or solid ice using a collection device. However, existing research focuses primarily on front-end heat source design, heat transfer optimization, and sublimation rate improvement. Research on key aspects such as effective capture, directional transport, and phase conversion of water vapor at the back end is relatively weak, and there is a lack of systematically integrated water ice resource collection and utilization devices. This unbalanced development of front-end and back-end technologies leads to problems such as water vapor loss during capture, low phase conversion efficiency, and insufficient sealing reliability. Therefore, this invention proposes an integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device and a water ice resource extraction system. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device and a water ice resource mining system, which integrates efficient water vapor capture, stable condensation, sealing and anti-dispersion, and controllable melting, so as to realize the whole process controllable conversion of lunar soil water ice from gaseous to solid to liquid state.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the present invention provides the following technical solution: an integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device, comprising a sealed shell, wherein the bottom of the sealed shell is configured as an opening and the top is detachably installed with a cover plate, a flow guide plate is fixedly installed inside the sealed shell, and multiple condensation mechanisms are detachably installed between the flow guide plate and the outer side wall of the sealed shell, the multiple condensation mechanisms being arranged in a ring at equal intervals around the center of the sealed shell; The condensation mechanism includes a condensation shell installed inside the guide plate. The bottom of the condensation shell has a first through hole, and an upper shell is fixedly installed on the top of the condensation shell. The condensation shell and the upper shell form a cavity. A condensation tube is installed inside the cavity for collecting the escaped water vapor. The bottom of the condenser shell is slidably connected to a movable plate, which has a second through hole. A driving mechanism is installed on the top of the upper shell to drive the movable plate to slide horizontally at the bottom of the condenser shell, thereby aligning and misaligning the first through hole and the second through hole.

[0006] Furthermore, multiple vacuum gauges are installed on the top of the guide plate, and the vacuum gauges are arranged through the cover plate.

[0007] Furthermore, a heat insulation pad is provided between the guide plate and the cover plate, and a sealing strip is installed between the guide plate and the sealing shell.

[0008] Furthermore, both the guide plate and the side wall of the sealing shell are provided with assembly holes, and a first sealing ring is installed on the inner wall of the assembly hole of the guide plate.

[0009] Furthermore, both the cover plate and the guide plate have multiple mining holes inside for installing drilling tools to realize the mining of water ice resources.

[0010] Furthermore, the condenser shell and the upper shell are detachably installed by bolts. The upper shell is made of transparent acrylic material, and a second sealing ring is provided on the outer side wall of both the condenser shell and the upper shell.

[0011] Furthermore, the drive mechanism includes a servo motor fixedly mounted on the top of the upper shell, a transmission disk mounted on the output end of the servo motor, and a drive shaft fixedly mounted at an eccentric position on the outer side wall of the transmission disk. The cover plate has a slotted groove at one end near the drive mechanism that is adapted to the drive shaft. The drive shaft is installed inside the slotted groove. When the transmission disc drives the drive shaft to rotate, it can drive the movable plate to move in a straight line.

[0012] Furthermore, the width of the movable plate is adapted to the internal width of the condenser shell.

[0013] Furthermore, the condenser tube has a hollow structure, and a VCR connector is connected to the end of the condenser tube for introducing liquid nitrogen. Multiple heating elements are installed on the side wall of the condenser tube, and the heating elements cover the outer side wall of the condenser tube.

[0014] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a water ice resource extraction system, including the integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device described in the first aspect.

[0015] This invention has at least the following beneficial effects: 1. This invention highly integrates three major functional modules—capture (gas-to-solid), storage (solid ice), and conversion (solid-to-liquid)—into a single device. Through the alternating operation of liquid nitrogen circulation in the condenser and heating elements, the complete phase change process of "gas-solid-liquid" is completed continuously within a closed system. The refrigeration and heating functions are integrated into a single condenser, eliminating the need for ice layer transfer. This enables in-situ capture and immediate use of the ice, improving resource utilization efficiency and energy conversion rate.

[0016] 2. This invention employs multiple circumferentially arranged condensation mechanisms operating in parallel, supplemented by a movable plate precisely controlled by a servo motor, to quickly switch between capture and other states. This increases the effective condensation area and improves capture efficiency, ensuring that the captured water ice resources can be reliably sealed and reducing escaping losses. Furthermore, the first and second sealing rings installed at key interfaces such as the guide plate and condenser shell together form a highly reliable double seal, further ensuring the airtightness of the device in the lunar vacuum environment.

[0017] 3. This invention adopts a modular and detachable design. The condensation mechanism is detachably installed on the sealed outer shell, which has a compact layout, occupies little space, and is convenient for lunar surface deployment and collaborative operation of multiple devices. The condensation outer shell and the transparent acrylic upper shell are connected by bolts, which greatly reduces the weight while ensuring structural strength and meeting the payload restrictions of deep space exploration. At the same time, the transparent upper shell allows for real-time observation of the ice layer's adhesion and melting status, providing a direct basis for adjusting operational parameters.

[0018] Of course, any product implementing this invention does not necessarily need to achieve all of the advantages described above at the same time. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the overall structure of the present invention at point AA; Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the overall structure of the present invention at point BB; Figure 4 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the condensation mechanism of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing the alignment of the first through hole and the second through hole in the capture state of the condensation mechanism of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram showing the misalignment of the first through hole and the second through hole in the sealed state of the condensation mechanism of the present invention.

[0020] Figure label: 1. Sealed outer shell; 2. Cover plate; 3. Guide plate; 4. Condensation mechanism; 41. Condensation outer shell; 42. Upper shell; 43. Condensation tube; 44. Second sealing ring; 45. VCR connector; 5. Assembly hole; 6. First sealing ring; 7. Movable plate; 8. Drive mechanism; 81. Servo motor; 82. Transmission disc; 83. Drive shaft; 84. Strip groove; 9. Vacuum gauge; 10. Heat insulation pad; 11. Heating element; 12. First through hole; 13. Second through hole. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0022] Example 1: Please see Figures 1-6 The present invention provides a technical solution: an integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device, including a sealed shell 1, the bottom of the sealed shell 1 is set as an opening, the top is detachably installed with a cover plate 2, a guide plate 3 is fixedly installed inside the sealed shell 1, and multiple condensation mechanisms 4 are detachably installed on the guide plate 3 and the outer side wall of the sealed shell 1, and the multiple condensation mechanisms 4 are arranged in a ring at equal intervals around the center of the sealed shell 1. The condensation mechanism 4 includes a condensation shell 41 installed inside the guide plate 3. A first through hole 12 is provided at the bottom of the condensation shell 41. An upper shell 42 is fixedly installed on the top of the condensation shell 41. The condensation shell 41 and the upper shell 42 form a cavity. A condensation tube 43 is installed inside the cavity for collecting the escaped water vapor. A movable plate 7 is slidably connected to the bottom of the condenser housing 41. A second through hole 13 is provided on the movable plate 7. A drive mechanism 8 is installed on the top of the upper housing 42 to drive the movable plate 7 to slide horizontally at the bottom of the condenser housing 41, thereby aligning and misaligning the first through hole 12 and the second through hole 13, and thus realizing the conversion between the capture state and the sealing state.

[0023] Regarding the technical solution of this embodiment, multiple vacuum gauges 9 are installed on the top of the guide plate 3, and the vacuum gauges 9 are arranged through the cover plate 2. The sensing end of the vacuum gauge 9 extends directly into the sealed chamber, which can obtain water vapor concentration data in real time and accurately, avoiding measurement lag or error.

[0024] Regarding the technical solution of this embodiment, a heat insulation pad 10 is provided between the guide plate 3 and the cover plate 2, and a sealing strip is installed between the guide plate 3 and the sealing shell 1. The heat insulation pad 10 can greatly block the heat transfer from the guide plate 3 to the cover plate 2, which effectively prevents the heat from being ineffectively lost to the upper space of the device, avoids overheating of the cover plate 2 and the components above it, maintains the temperature gradient in the sealed chamber, ensures that the condenser works in a suitable low-temperature environment, and improves the water vapor capture efficiency. The sealing strip fills the assembly gap between the edge of the guide plate 3 and the sealing shell 1, eliminating the possibility of water vapor escaping at this critical connection point, and ensuring that the airflow flows directionally towards the condenser along the guide plate 3.

[0025] In this embodiment, both the guide plate 3 and the sealing shell 1 have assembly holes 5 on their side walls. A first sealing ring 6 is installed on the inner wall of the assembly hole 5 of the guide plate 3. When the condensing shell 41 is inserted into the assembly hole 5, the first sealing ring 6 and the outer wall of the condensing shell 41 form a tight interference fit. This ensures that the only channel for water vapor to flow from the inside of the sealing shell 1 to the inside of the condensing shell 41 is a controllable and preset path, effectively preventing water vapor from leaking at the assembly gap between the guide plate 3 and the condensing shell 41, thereby ensuring the water vapor capture rate. Furthermore, the aligned assembly holes 5 on the side walls of the guide plate 3 and the sealing shell 1 provide a natural positioning reference for the installation of the condensing mechanism 4. During assembly, the condensing mechanism 4 can be directly inserted, simplifying the positioning and fastening steps, reducing assembly difficulty and time costs, and making it particularly suitable for operation in complex or restricted environments.

[0026] Regarding the technical solution of this embodiment, both the cover plate 2 and the guide plate 3 have multiple mining holes for installing drilling tools. The drilling tools pass through the mining holes to drill directly downwards to extract lunar soil and heat it. The water vapor generated by sublimation enters the condensation mechanism 4 directly upwards in the sealed chamber. Multiple mining holes allow multiple sets of drilling tools to be deployed simultaneously for multi-point parallel mining, expanding the mining coverage area and improving the resource acquisition rate.

[0027] Regarding the technical solution of this embodiment, the condenser shell 41 and the upper shell 42 are detachably installed by bolts. The upper shell 42 is made of transparent acrylic material, and a second sealing ring 44 is provided on the outer side wall of the condenser shell 41 and the upper shell 42. The transparent upper shell 42 allows direct observation of the ice layer adhesion and melting process on the surface of the condenser tube 43, which is convenient for real-time evaluation of capture efficiency and working status. The second sealing ring 44 is convenient to cooperate with the first sealing ring 6 to form a double seal after the condenser shell 41 is installed in the assembly hole 5, which significantly improves the overall sealing reliability and effectively prevents water vapor from leaking from the assembly gap.

[0028] Regarding the technical solution of this embodiment, the drive mechanism 8 includes a servo motor 81 fixedly installed on the top of the upper shell 42, a transmission disk 82 installed at the output end of the servo motor 81, and a drive shaft 83 fixedly installed at the eccentric position of the outer side wall of the transmission disk 82. The cover plate 2 has a strip groove 84 that is adapted to the drive shaft 83 at one end near the drive mechanism 8. The drive shaft 83 is arranged through the strip groove 84. When the transmission disc 82 drives the drive shaft 83 to rotate, it can drive the movable plate 7 to move linearly. The circular motion at the output end of the servo motor 81 is naturally and efficiently converted into the linear reciprocating motion required by the movable plate 7 through the cooperation of the eccentrically set drive shaft 83 and the strip groove 84, thereby precisely controlling the opening and closing of the first through hole 12 and the second through hole 13 at the bottom; such as Figure 5 As shown, when water vapor is captured, the first through hole 12 is aligned with the second through hole 13. At this time, water vapor can directly enter the cavity and contact the condenser tube 43, condensing into ice on the surface of the condenser tube 43. After the capture state ends, it needs to be switched to a sealed state to melt the condensed ice into liquid water. Figure 6 As shown, the first through hole 12 and the second through hole 13 are misaligned at this time to prevent liquid water from leaking out.

[0029] The reason for adopting the structure of servo motor 81 and drive shaft 83 is that the servo motor 81 is external and only the drive shaft 83 is inserted, which greatly reduces the sealing interface, reduces the risk of water vapor leakage, makes it easy to implement single-point sealing at the drive shaft 83, maintains the vacuum degree of the chamber, and is more direct in motion conversion than complex gear rack or linkage mechanisms. In addition, the servo motor 81 is convenient for precise control.

[0030] Regarding the technical solution of this embodiment, the width of the movable plate 7 is adapted to the internal width of the condenser shell 41. The inner sidewall of the condenser shell 41 can guide and limit the movable plate 7, so that it can only move in a straight line. It should be noted that in other embodiments, guide blocks can also be installed on both sides of the movable plate 7, and guide grooves adapted to the guide blocks can be opened on the inner wall of the condenser shell 41 to further enhance the guiding effect.

[0031] Regarding the technical solution of this embodiment, the condenser tube 43 has a hollow structure, and a VCR connector 45 is connected to the end of the condenser tube 43 for introducing liquid nitrogen. Multiple heating elements 11 are installed on the side wall of the condenser tube 43, and the heating elements 11 cover the outer side wall of the condenser tube 43. The addition of heating elements 11 on the outside of the condenser tube 43 enables the same condenser tube 43 to have both cooling and heating functions. By switching between liquid nitrogen circulation and the start and stop of the heating elements 11, the phase conversion of "water vapor → ice → liquid water" is realized without the need for additional ice layer transfer, simplifying the process and improving the continuity of resource utilization. Furthermore, the multiple heating elements 11 directly and tightly cover the outer side of the tube wall, and the heat can be conducted radially inward along the shortest path, directly acting on the attached ice layer. This heating method has low heat loss and fast thermal response, and can quickly melt the ice, shortening the cycle from capture to production. It should be further noted that the number or position of the heating elements 11 can be adjusted according to needs to increase the contact area and distribute them evenly, thereby improving heating efficiency.

[0032] Example 2: This embodiment provides a water ice resource extraction system, including the integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device described in the first aspect.

[0033] It should be noted that the integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device and other parts of a water ice resource extraction system provided in this application can be designed, manufactured, and sold separately, or they can be assembled together and then sold as a whole. Whether they are individual units formed before assembly or as a whole formed after assembly, they all fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0034] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0035] For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention can be understood according to the specific circumstances. When an element is referred to as being "assembled on," "mounted on," "fixed to," or "set on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be an intermediate element present. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intermediate element present. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only possible embodiments.

[0036] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0037] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "an embodiment," "example," "specific example," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this disclosure. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

Claims

1. An integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device, characterized in that, Includes a sealed outer shell (1), the bottom of which is set as an opening and the top is detachably installed with a cover plate (2). A guide plate (3) is fixedly installed inside the sealed outer shell (1), and multiple condensation mechanisms (4) are detachably installed on the outer side wall of the sealed outer shell (1). The multiple condensation mechanisms (4) are arranged in a ring at equal intervals around the center of the sealed outer shell (1). The condensation mechanism (4) includes a condensation shell (41) installed inside the guide plate (3). The bottom of the condensation shell (41) is provided with a first through hole (12). An upper shell (42) is fixedly installed on the top of the condensation shell (41). The condensation shell (41) and the upper shell (42) form a cavity. A condensation tube (43) is installed inside the cavity for collecting the escaped water vapor. The bottom of the condenser shell (41) is slidably connected to a movable plate (7), and a second through hole (13) is provided on the movable plate (7). A driving mechanism (8) is installed on the top of the upper shell (42) to drive the movable plate (7) to slide horizontally at the bottom of the condenser shell (41) so as to achieve the alignment and misalignment of the first through hole (12) and the second through hole (13).

2. The integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Multiple vacuum gauges (9) are installed on the top of the guide plate (3), and the vacuum gauges (9) are arranged through the cover plate (2).

3. The integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device according to claim 2, characterized in that: A heat insulation pad (10) is provided between the guide plate (3) and the cover plate (2), and a sealing strip is installed between the guide plate (3) and the sealing shell (1).

4. The integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device according to claim 2, characterized in that: Assembly holes (5) are provided on the side walls of both the guide plate (3) and the sealing shell (1), and a first sealing ring (6) is installed on the inner wall of the assembly hole (5) of the guide plate (3).

5. The integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Both the cover plate (2) and the guide plate (3) have multiple mining holes inside for installing drilling tools to realize the mining of water ice resources.

6. The integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The condenser shell (41) and the upper shell (42) are detachably installed by bolts. The upper shell (42) is made of transparent acrylic material, and a second sealing ring (44) is provided on the outer side wall of the condenser shell (41) and the upper shell (42).

7. The integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The drive mechanism (8) includes a servo motor (81) fixedly installed on the top of the upper shell (42), a transmission disk (82) is installed at the output end of the servo motor (81), and a drive shaft (83) is fixedly installed at the eccentric position on the outer side wall of the transmission disk (82). The cover plate (2) has a strip groove (84) that is adapted to the drive shaft (83) at one end near the drive mechanism (8). The drive shaft (83) is arranged in the strip groove (84). When the transmission disc (82) drives the drive shaft (83) to rotate, it can drive the movable plate (7) to move in a straight line.

8. The integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The width of the movable plate (7) is adapted to the internal width of the condenser shell (41).

9. The integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The condenser tube (43) has a hollow structure. The end of the condenser tube (43) is connected to a VCR connector (45) for introducing liquid nitrogen. Multiple heating elements (11) are installed on the side wall of the condenser tube (43), and the heating elements (11) cover the outer side wall of the condenser tube (43).

10. A water ice resource extraction system, characterized in that, The device includes the integrated water ice resource collection and utilization device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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