Cold storage material

Abstract

To provide a cold storage material that makes it easy to visually recognize whether or not a cold storage liquid is frozen.SOLUTION: A cold storage material 10 is provided with: a container body 11 that comprises a container or a bag, and the inside of which is visible; a cold storage liquid 20 that is contained in the container body 11, and is a transparent liquid at a normal temperature, and a transparency of which decreases when frozen; and a freeze confirmation marker 35 that is visible through the container body 11 and the cold storage liquid 20 at the normal temperature.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a heat storage material. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cold storage material is known that is used by freezing a cold storage liquid contained in a container or other receptacle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-97984 A (paragraph

[0021] ) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It is desirable to make it easier to visually check whether the cold storage liquid is frozen or not, as compared with conventional cold storage materials. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, First aspect of the invention is a cold storage material comprising a container or bag-type storage body that allows the inside to be seen, cold storage liquid that is stored in the container and becomes a transparent liquid at room temperature but becomes less transparent when frozen, and a freeze confirmation marker that is visible through the container and the cold storage liquid at room temperature.

[0006] Second aspect of the invention The cold storage liquid is colored transparently with a dye or pigment. First aspect The cold storage material described in the above item 1 is a cold storage material.

[0007] Third aspect of the invention At room temperature, the color of the container and the cold storage liquid and the color of the freezing confirmation marker are different and have a substantially complementary color relationship. Second aspect The cold storage material described in the above item 1 is a cold storage material.

[0008] Fourth aspect of the invention the freezing confirmation marker is a solid object contained in the container and whose movement within the container is restricted by the container; Any one of the first to third aspects The cold storage material described in the above item 1 is a cold storage material.

[0009] Fifth aspect of the invention a message is written on the freezing confirmation marker to advise the user to freeze the cooling liquid until the freezing confirmation marker becomes unnoticeable, Fourth aspect The cold storage material described in the above item 1 is a cold storage material.

[0010] Sixth aspect of the invention The freezing confirmation marker is in the form of a plate, a sheet or a rod. Any one of the first to fourth aspects The cold storage material described in the above item 1 is a cold storage material.

[0011] Seventh aspect of the invention The freezing confirmation marker is cylindrical or net-shaped. Any one of the first to fourth aspects The cold storage material described in the above item 1 is a cold storage material.

[0012] Eighth aspect of the invention The freezing confirmation marker is a soft material that has lower fluidity than the cold storage liquid and can be frozen. Any one of the first to seventh aspects The cold storage material described in the above item 1 is a cold storage material.

[0013] Ninth aspect of the invention The color of the freezing confirmation marker is different when the cold storage liquid is frozen and when the cold storage liquid is at room temperature. Any one of the first to eighth aspects The cold storage material described in the above item 1 is a cold storage material. Effect of the Invention

[0014] First aspect of the inventionIn this cold storage material, the freezing confirmation marker is visible at room temperature, i.e., when the cold storage liquid is not frozen, so it is easier to visually confirm that the cold storage liquid is not frozen, compared to conventional configurations in which only cold storage liquid is contained in a container. Also, when the cold storage liquid freezes, the transparency of the cold storage liquid decreases, so the freezing confirmation marker becomes more difficult to visually confirm than at room temperature. That is, in addition to the decrease in transparency of the cold storage liquid, the freezing confirmation marker becomes more difficult to visually confirm that the cold storage liquid is frozen, making it easier to visually confirm than before. As a result of the above, this Aspects According to this, it is possible to easily visually check whether the cold storage liquid is frozen or not.

[0015] Second aspect of the invention In this case, by coloring the cold storage liquid, it is possible to make the freeze confirmation marker less visible when the cold storage liquid freezes, making it easier to know that the cold storage liquid has frozen.

[0016] Third aspect of the invention In the embodiment, the colors of the container and the cold storage liquid and the color of the freezing confirmation marker are substantially complementary to each other, so that the freezing confirmation marker can be easily seen at room temperature.

[0017] Fourth aspect of the invention In the present embodiment, the freezing confirmation marker is restricted from moving within the container, so the position of the freezing confirmation marker is unlikely to change, making it easy to see the freezing confirmation marker at room temperature. Also, since the freezing confirmation marker is a solid, the shape of the freezing confirmation marker is unlikely to change, making it easy to see the freezing confirmation marker at room temperature.

[0018] Fifth aspect of the invention According to this, it is possible to easily grasp to what extent the cold storage material should be frozen.

[0019] The freezing confirmation marker may be in the form of a plate, sheet or rod ( Sixth aspect of the invention ). The freezing confirmation marker may be cylindrical or net-shaped ( Seventh aspect of the inventionIn this case, the volume of the freezing confirmation marker is small compared to the apparent size of the freezing confirmation marker, so the amount of cold storage liquid in the container is prevented from decreasing, and the cold storage effect can be prevented from decreasing. The freezing confirmation marker may be a soft material that has a lower fluidity than the cold storage liquid. In this case, the freezing confirmation marker may be freezable ( Eighth aspect of the invention ).

[0020] Ninth aspect of the invention In the embodiment, the color of the freezing confirmation marker is different when the cold storage liquid is frozen and when it is at room temperature, so that it is easier to visually determine whether the cold storage liquid is frozen or not. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a heat storage material according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 1B is a plan view of the heat storage material; [Diagram 2] Enlarged cross-sectional side view of the cooling material [Diagram 3] Table showing each experimental example in the confirmation experiment [Figure 4] (A) Photograph of the cold storage liquid in Experimental Example 1 before freezing, (B) Photograph of the cold storage liquid after freezing DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] 1 and 2, the cold storage material 10 of this embodiment is configured by storing cold storage liquid 20 in a storage body 11 whose inside can be seen. The storage body 11 is a thermally conductive container, and the cold storage material 10 is used by freezing the cold storage liquid 20.

[0023] The container 11 may be colorless and transparent, or colored and transparent. As shown in Fig. 1(A) and Fig. 1(B), in this embodiment, the container 11 is flat and rectangular in plan view, and has an inlet 12 for the cold storage liquid 20 at one short side. The inlet 12 is closed with a cap. The container 11 is made of, for example, resin.

[0024] The cold storage liquid 20 is a transparent liquid at room temperature, and becomes less transparent when frozen. The cold storage liquid 20 may be colorless and transparent (e.g., water), or may be colored and transparent by dissolving a dye 41 or a pigment in a solvent (e.g., water).

[0025] 1 and 2, in the cold storage material 10 of the present embodiment, the freezing confirmation marker 35 is suspended in the cold storage liquid 20 in the container 11. For example, the cold storage liquid 20 is contained in an amount sufficient to entirely cover the freezing confirmation marker 35.

[0026] The freezing confirmation marker 35 is visible through the containing body 11 and the cold storage liquid 20 at room temperature. In this embodiment, the freezing confirmation marker 35 has a color different from the containing body 11 and the cold storage liquid 20 at room temperature. When the cold storage liquid 20 is colored, it is preferable that the color of the freezing confirmation marker 35 and the color of the cold storage liquid are in a substantially complementary relationship. As an example of this case, the cold storage liquid 20 is a bluish color and the color of the freezing confirmation marker 35 is a yellowish color.

[0027] In this disclosure, the term "transparent" with respect to the container 11 and the cold storage liquid 20 means that they are at least transparent enough to allow the freezing confirmation marker 35 to be visible through the container 11 and the cold storage liquid 20 at room temperature, and this also includes being translucent.

[0028] In this embodiment, the freezing confirmation marker 35 is a solid, and as shown in Figures 1(B) and 2, is, for example, rod-shaped (more specifically, has a thickness that allows it to be inserted through the injection port 12).

[0029] The connection confirmation marker 35 may be, for example, plate-shaped, sheet-shaped, cylindrical, or mesh-shaped. When the connection confirmation marker 35 is cylindrical or mesh-shaped, the volume of the freezing confirmation marker 35 can be made small in comparison with the apparent size of the freezing confirmation marker 35, so that the amount of the cold storage liquid 20 in the container 11 is prevented from decreasing, and the decrease in the cold storage effect can be suppressed.

[0030] The freezing confirmation marker 35 may be a soft material (for example, a gel-like material) that has lower fluidity than the cold storage liquid. In these cases, the freezing confirmation marker 35 may be freezable.

[0031] In this embodiment, the movement of the freezing confirmation marker 35 within the container 11 is restricted. Specifically, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the container 11 is provided with a plurality of ribs 13, and these ribs 13 restrict the movement of the freezing confirmation marker 35. In detail, the container 11 is provided with a pair of opposing walls 14, 14 that sandwich an internal region that contains the cold storage liquid 20 and the freezing confirmation marker 35 in the thickness direction of the container 11, and the rib 13 connects the opposing walls 14, 14 to each other and penetrates the internal region of the container 11. In this embodiment, by providing the rib 13, even if the cold storage liquid 20 expands, the container 11 can be prevented from expanding so that the opposing walls 14, 14 move away from each other, and the container 11 is prevented from bursting.

[0032] In this embodiment, the rib 13 has a constricted shape, for example, tapering toward the center in the thickness direction of the housing 11. As a result, an annular recess 13U is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the rib 13. In this embodiment, the rib 13 has a configuration in which the bottoms of a pair of cup portions 15C are butted against each other, and each cup portion 15C opens to the outside of the opposing wall portion 14. More specifically, the housing 11 is formed by joining together rectangular dish-shaped plate portions 15 having opposing wall portions 14 and cup portions 15C, and the most constricted portion of the rib 13 is located at the boundary between the plate portions 15, 15.

[0033] 1(B) and 2, in this embodiment, the ribs 13 are provided in pairs in the short side direction of the container 11. The pair of ribs 13, 13 sandwich the freezing confirmation marker 35. In this embodiment, a plurality of pairs of ribs 13, 13 (for example, two pairs) are provided in the long side direction of the container 11, and the plurality of pairs of ribs 13 restrict the rotation of the freezing confirmation marker 35 and the movement in the short side direction of the container 11. In addition, the movement of the freezing confirmation marker 35 in the long side direction of the container 11 is restricted by the short sides of the container 11 so that the freezing confirmation marker 35 is maintained in a state sandwiched between the ribs 13.

[0034] The cold storage material 10 may be configured so that the outer edge of the freezing confirmation marker 35 is received in the annular recess 13U between the ribs 13, 13 that sandwich the freezing confirmation marker 35 (see FIG. 2). In this way, the movement range of the freezing confirmation marker 35 can be restricted to the center side in the thickness direction of the containing body 11, and the freezing confirmation marker 35 can be disposed away from each of the opposing wall portions 14.

[0035] The cold storage liquid 20 may contain a thickener. Examples of the thickener include carboxymethyl cellulose. The cold storage liquid 20 may also include alum (e.g., potassium alum). The cold storage liquid 20 may further include inorganic salts such as those listed below. By dissolving inorganic salts in the cold storage liquid 20, the freezing point of the cold storage liquid 20 can be lowered, and the cold storage effect can be improved. In addition, adding a large amount of inorganic salts makes it easier for the cold storage liquid 20 to become cloudy when frozen, and makes it easier to lower the transparency. Examples of inorganic salts include sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, ammonium chloride, sodium sulfate, potassium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, aluminum sulfate, potassium nitrate, and calcium nitrate.

[0036] In addition, when the cold storage liquid 20 is colored transparently, examples of the dye that can be used include acid dyes such as Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Blue No. 202, Yellow No. 4, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 202, Yellow No. 203, Yellow No. 402, Red No. 2, Red No. 3, Red No. 102, Red No. 104, Red No. 105, Red No. 106, Red No. 227, Red No. 502, Orange No. 205, Orange No. 207, Green No. 3, Green No. 204, Green No. 205, Purple No. 401, Black No. 401, and Brown No. 201, as well as basic dyes such as Basic Blue 99, Basic Yellow 57, Basic Red 76, Basic Brown 16, and Basic Brown 17. The above-mentioned dyes can be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds.

[0037] In the cold storage material 10 of the present embodiment, at room temperature, i.e., when the cold storage liquid 20 is not frozen, the freezing confirmation marker 35, which is a different color from the container 11 and the cold storage liquid 20, is visible, so that it is easier to visually confirm that the cold storage liquid 20 is not frozen, compared to a conventional configuration in which only the cold storage liquid is contained in the container. In addition, when the cold storage liquid 20 freezes, the transparency of the cold storage liquid 20 decreases, so that the freezing confirmation marker is more difficult to visually confirm than at room temperature. That is, in addition to the decrease in the transparency of the cold storage liquid 20, the freezing confirmation marker 35 becomes more difficult to visually confirm, so that the freezing of the cold storage liquid 20 is more easily visually confirmed than in the conventional case. As described above, according to the cold storage material 10, it is possible to easily visually confirm whether the cold storage liquid 20 is frozen or not. Furthermore, in conventional ice storage materials, when the ice storage liquid is transparent at room temperature, the ice storage liquid may appear frozen depending on the background color of the ice storage material. However, in the ice storage material 10 of this embodiment, the freeze confirmation marker 35 is provided, making it easier to visually check whether the ice storage liquid 20 is frozen or not.

[0038] In this embodiment, by coloring the cold storage liquid 20, it is possible to make the freezing confirmation marker 35 more difficult to see when the cold storage liquid 20 freezes, and it is possible to make it easier to know that the cold storage liquid 20 has frozen. Furthermore, if the color of the cold storage liquid 20 and the color of the freezing confirmation marker 35 are in a substantially complementary relationship, it is possible to make the freezing confirmation marker 35 more noticeable at room temperature. Furthermore, since the movement of the freezing confirmation marker 35 within the container 11 is restricted by the rib 13, the position of the freezing confirmation marker 35 is less likely to change, and the freezing confirmation marker 35 is easily visible at room temperature. Furthermore, since the freezing confirmation marker 35 is a solid, the shape of the freezing confirmation marker 35 is less likely to change, and the freezing confirmation marker 35 is easily visible at room temperature. Furthermore, if the cold storage material 10 is configured so that the outer edge of the freezing confirmation marker 35 is received in the annular recess 13U between the ribs 13, 13 that sandwich the freezing confirmation marker 35, the movement range of the freezing confirmation marker 35 can be restricted to the center side in the thickness direction of the container 11, and the freezing confirmation marker can be disposed away from each of the opposing walls 14. This makes it easier to hide the freezing confirmation marker 35 when the cold storage liquid 20 freezes.

[0039] The freezing confirmation marker 35 may have a different color when the cold storage liquid 20 is frozen and at room temperature. Such a freezing confirmation marker 35 may be made of a material or paint that changes color depending on temperature (for example, ink that changes color depending on temperature). With this configuration, even if the transparency of the cold storage liquid 20 is unlikely to change before and after freezing, the color of the freezing confirmation marker 35 is different when the cold storage liquid 20 is frozen and at room temperature, making it easier to visually determine whether the cold storage liquid 20 has frozen.

[0040] [Confirmatory experiment] In the following confirmation experiment, the visibility of whether the cold storage liquid 20 was frozen was confirmed for the cold storage material including the cold storage liquid 20 and the freezing confirmation marker 35, like the cold storage material 10 of the above embodiment.

[0041] 1. Composition of the cooling material <Experimental Examples 1-7> In Experimental Examples 1 to 7, the cold storage liquid 20 made by mixing the raw materials shown in Fig. 3 and the freezing confirmation marker 35 were enclosed in the container 11 to obtain a cold storage material. Details of the raw materials of the cold storage liquid 20 are shown in Fig. 3 and below. The values ​​in the table in the figure indicate the parts by weight of each raw material component.

[0042] (A) Cold storage liquid Solvent; Water Inorganic salts; sodium chloride Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC); product name "F350HC-4" manufactured by Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. Potassium alum; Trade name "potassium alum" manufactured by Taimei Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Dyes: (1) Blue No. 1: Trade name "Blue No. 1" manufactured by Daiwa Chemical Industries, Ltd.; (2) Blue No. 2: Trade name "Blue No. 2" manufactured by Daiwa Chemical Industries, Ltd.; (3) Yellow No. 4: Trade name "Yellow No. 4" manufactured by Daiwa Chemical Industries, Ltd.

[0043] The cold storage liquid 20 in each experimental example is colored and transparent or colorless and transparent. The container 11 is a container having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the size of the area occupied by the cold storage liquid 20 and the freezing confirmation marker 35 contained inside the container 11 is 150 mm × 200 mm × 20 mm.

[0044] (B) Freezing confirmation marker As the freezing confirmation marker 35, a black cylindrical one was used in Experimental Example 1, a red plate-shaped one was used in Experimental Example 2, a colorless and transparent plate-shaped one was used in Experimental Example 4, and a purple plate-shaped one was used in Experimental Example 5. The color of the freezing confirmation marker 35 in Experimental Examples 1, 2, 4, and 5 does not change with temperature. In Experimental Example 3, a cylindrical freezing confirmation marker 35 that changes color depending on temperature (white at room temperature and bluish-white when frozen) was used. The freezing confirmation markers 35 in Experimental Examples 1 to 5 were of a size that could be entirely contained (covered) in the cold storage liquid 20 in the container 11. Also, the cold storage materials in Experimental Examples 6 and 7 were not provided with a freezing confirmation marker 35.

[0045] 2. Evaluation Method <Color of cold storage liquid before freezing and visibility of freezing confirmation marker> At room temperature, the color of the cold storage liquid 20 and the freezing confirmation marker 35 were visually confirmed through the container 11. The freezing confirmation marker 35 was evaluated as "◯" when it was visible and as "×" when it was not visible.

[0046] <Colour of ice storage liquid after freezing and visibility of freezing confirmation marker> After checking the color before freezing, the cold storage material was placed in a freezer, and the cold storage liquid 20 was frozen at -30°C. Immediately after removing the cold storage material from the freezer, the color of the cold storage liquid 20 and the freezing confirmation marker 35 were visually checked through the container 11. When a decrease in transparency of the cold storage liquid 20 (e.g., cloudiness) was observed compared to before freezing, the cold storage liquid 20 was evaluated as "○", and when no decrease in transparency of the cold storage liquid 20 was observed, the cold storage liquid 20 was evaluated as "×". In addition, for the visual evaluation of the freeze confirmation marker 35, a clear change in appearance (visibility, color, etc.) of the freeze confirmation marker 35 before and after the freezing of the cold storage liquid 20 was evaluated as ``◎'' (for example, it was visible before freezing but became invisible after freezing, or the color was different before and after freezing), a ``○'' was evaluated as a case where an unclear change in the freeze confirmation marker 35 before and after the freezing of the cold storage liquid 20 was observed (for example, it was visible after freezing but became less visible due to the cold storage liquid 20 than before freezing), and an ``X'' was evaluated as a case where no change was observed in the freeze confirmation marker 35 before and after the freezing of the cold storage liquid 20 (including cases where a freeze confirmation marker was not provided).

[0047] 3. Evaluation results As shown in FIG. 3, in Experimental Examples 1 to 5 having the freezing confirmation marker 35, it was easier to visually check whether the cold storage liquid 20 was frozen (visibility evaluation of the freezing confirmation marker was ◯ or higher) than in Experimental Examples 6 and 7 not having the freezing confirmation marker 35. In Experimental Examples 1, 2, and 5, the transparency of the cold storage liquid 20 was reduced well, and the freezing confirmation marker 35 was no longer visible after the cold storage liquid 20 was frozen, making it easier to check whether the cold storage liquid 20 was frozen. In Experimental Example 5, the colors of the cold storage liquid 20 and the freezing confirmation marker 35 were approximately complementary at room temperature, so the freezing confirmation marker 35 was more noticeable at room temperature, making it easier to check whether the cold storage liquid 20 was frozen. In Experimental Examples 3 and 4, the degree of reduction in the transparency of the cold storage liquid 20 due to freezing was small, but the visual confirmation state of the freezing confirmation marker 35 changed before and after the cold storage liquid 20 was frozen, making it easier to visually check whether the cold storage liquid 20 was frozen than in Experimental Examples 6 and 7. In particular, in Experimental Example 3, the freezing confirmation marker 35 changed color before and after freezing, so it was easy to visually confirm whether the cold storage liquid 20 was frozen or not, compared to Experimental Example 4. Note that Fig. 4 is a photograph of the cold storage material before and after the cold storage liquid 20 was frozen when the same freezing confirmation marker 35 and cold storage liquid 20 as in Experimental Example 1 were used (however, the shape of the containing body 11 differed from that of the containing body 11 in Experimental Example 1).

[0048] In the present confirmatory experiments, Experimental Examples 1 to 5 correspond to "Examples", and Experimental Examples 6 and 7 correspond to "Comparative Examples".

[0049] [Other embodiments] (1) In the above embodiment, the freezing confirmation marker 35 is provided inside the housing 11 and is separate from the housing 11, but it may be configured as a part of the housing 11. In this case, for example, the bottom of the housing 11 may have a protrusion that protrudes into the inside of the housing 11, and the protrusion may have a color different from that of the housing 11 and the cold storage liquid 20 at room temperature, and may be visible through the housing 11 and the cold storage liquid 20. Also, in the above embodiment, the outer circumferential surface of the rib 13 may configure the freezing confirmation marker 35, and may have a color different from that of the housing 11 and the cold storage liquid 20 at room temperature.

[0050] (2) In the above embodiment, letters or symbols may be attached to the freezing confirmation marker 35, and the letters or symbols may be made invisible or difficult to see when the cold storage liquid 20 is frozen, and visible when the cold storage liquid 20 is not frozen (at room temperature, etc.). For example, the freezing confirmation marker 35 may be provided with a message recommending that the cold storage liquid 20 be frozen and used until the freezing confirmation marker 35 becomes invisible or difficult to see. Specifically, for example, the freezing confirmation marker 35 may be provided with a message saying "Please freeze until it is no longer visible before use." This configuration makes it easier to understand to what extent the cold storage liquid 20 should be frozen.

[0051] (3) The freezing confirmation marker 35 may be made of resin or metal. If the freezing confirmation marker 35 is made of resin, it may be made of a non-foamed material or a foamed material (e.g., sponge). If the freezing confirmation marker 35 is made of a material that is elastically deformable, such as a foamed material, it is possible to easily insert the freezing confirmation marker 35 through the injection opening 12.

[0052] (4) In the above embodiment, the freezing confirmation marker 35 may be fixed to the container 11. In this case, the freezing confirmation marker 35 may be sandwiched between the ribs 13, for example.

[0053] (5) In the above embodiment, the portion of the housing 11 through which the interior of the housing 11 can be seen may be the entire housing 11 or only a portion of the housing 11. In the latter case, it is sufficient that the portion of the housing 11 through which the interior can be seen is disposed so that the freezing confirmation marker 35 can be seen through the cold storage liquid 30.

[0054] (6) The freezing confirmation marker 35 only needs to be visible through the container 11 and the cold storage liquid 20 at room temperature, and may be the same color as the container 11 and the cold storage liquid 20 at room temperature.

[0055] (7) In the above embodiment, the container 11, the inside of which can be seen, is configured as a container. However, the container may be configured as a bag. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 10 Cold storage material 11 Containment Unit 20 Cold storage liquid 35 Freeze confirmation marker

Claims

1. A container having an interior that can be seen, a cold storage liquid that is contained in the container and is a transparent liquid at room temperature and loses transparency when frozen; a freeze confirmation marker that is contained in the container and is visible through the container and the cold storage liquid at room temperature; The freeze confirmation marker is a cold storage material that is a solid whose movement within the container is restricted by the container.

2. A container or bag having an interior that can be visually observed; a cold storage liquid that is contained in the container and is a transparent liquid at room temperature and loses transparency when frozen; a freeze confirmation marker that is contained in the container and is visible through the container and the cold storage liquid at room temperature; The cold storage material has a message printed on the freezing confirmation marker, which advises the user to freeze the cold storage liquid until the freezing confirmation marker becomes unnoticeable.

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