Air composition adjusting device
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In containers used for transporting agricultural products, maintaining a high carbon dioxide concentration is challenging due to the discharge of carbon dioxide when oxygen is supplied and external air leaks in, especially without a pump, leading to difficulties in controlling the internal air composition effectively.
Innovation Solution
An air composition adjusting device with a carbon dioxide separator, gas supply paths, and a controller that selectively supplies high or low carbon dioxide concentration gases to the target space, using gas separation membranes to increase the carbon dioxide concentration and manage oxygen levels, ensuring optimal conditions for plant freshness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If external air flows into the internal space without a pump, then the system is simpler, but carbon dioxide concentration becomes difficult to maintain because external air has low carbon dioxide concentration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gas separation membrane as an intermediary device that selectively separates carbon dioxide from external air. This membrane acts as a mediator between external air and the internal space, extracting carbon dioxide from the external air and supplying it to the internal space through the second gas supply path, thereby maintaining high carbon dioxide concentration without requiring a pump.
2Quantity of substance
If carbon dioxide is discharged to external space when oxygen is supplied, then oxygen concentration can be maintained, but it becomes difficult to control internal air composition effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the air composition control into two independent control paths with separate supply lines. The first gas supply path controls oxygen concentration independently, while the second gas supply path controls carbon dioxide concentration independently. This segmentation enables precise and effective control of internal air composition without the interference that occurs when gases are mixed in a single supply system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively maintains higher carbon dioxide concentrations within the container, enhancing the freshness of agricultural products by selectively controlling gas compositions, reducing the need for pumps and minimizing external air infiltration.
Implementation Method 1
a carbon dioxide separator (41, 61) that separates carbon dioxide from air-to-be-treated to be supplied to the target space (5)
Data Source
AI summary
An air composition adjusting device includes: a carbon dioxide separator that separates carbon dioxide from air-to-be-treated to be supplied to a target space; a gas supply path including a high concentration gas supply path through which the carbon dioxide separator communicates with the target space; and a controller that performs a carbon dioxide concentration raising operation of supplying a high carbon dioxide concentration gas, which has a higher carbon dioxide concentration than air-to-be-treated before being treated, to the target space through the high concentration gas supply path.