Chiller Temper Mode for Controlled Heating and Cooling of Wine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current beverage and wine chillers lack a dedicated heating mode, leading to inefficient temperature adjustment for red wine, which requires temperatures between 13° C and 18° C, and can result in over-cooling or slow warming of wine bottles when their initial temperature is lower than the target, potentially causing damage or prolonged warming times.
Innovation Solution
A chiller with an additional 'temper mode' that uses internal temperature sensors to monitor and adjust the heat load, allowing for both cooling and heating processes to quickly and accurately reach the target temperature, incorporating heat transfer calculations and air flow measurements to determine the content temperature and switch between cooling and heating modes as needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a pull-down mode is used to cool content in a chiller, then the content temperature can be reduced to target temperature, but the content may be over-cooled or frozen if the initial temperature is already below the target temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The chiller controller continuously monitors the content temperature and compares it with the target temperature, adjusting the cooling operation accordingly. When the content temperature reaches or drops below the target temperature, the controller stops or reduces cooling to prevent over-cooling damage
Solution Approach 2:
The chiller system dynamically switches between different operating modes (cooling mode, heating mode, sustain mode) based on the real-time temperature difference between content and target temperature, making the system adaptable to different initial conditions
2Productivity
If a chiller only has cooling modes, then the cooling function is simple and reliable, but the chiller cannot efficiently heat up content when the initial temperature is below the target temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The chiller is designed with multiple operating modes including cooling mode, heating mode, and sustain mode, allowing it to perform both cooling and heating functions. This multi-functionality enables the chiller to handle various initial temperature conditions efficiently
Solution Approach 2:
The chiller changes its operational parameters (cooling capacity, heating capacity, air circulation) based on the temperature difference between content and target temperature, optimizing performance for different scenarios
3Loss of time
If the chiller enters sustain mode immediately without pull-down, then energy consumption is reduced, but the content temperature will not reach the target temperature quickly
Solution Approach 1:
The chiller applies partial cooling or heating action continuously rather than full pull-down, which consumes less energy but takes longer to reach the target temperature. This is suitable when the content temperature is close to the target temperature
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
Enables fast and precise temperature adjustment of wine bottles to serving temperatures, preventing damage and reducing warming times, while maintaining the chiller's existing cooling capabilities, thus improving the handling of red wine and other beverages in various logistical scenarios.
Implementation Method 1
the content temperature is determined with at least one temperature sensor
Implementation Method 2
the content temperature can be determined by a heat load calculation
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a chiller including a pull-down procedure or pull-down mode, a sustain procedure or sustain mode and, additionally, a heat-up procedure or heat-up mode or temper mode. This allows the chiller to deliberately and determined heat up content if the starting temperature of the content is below the target temperature for serving the content.