Cooler for a vehicle
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Food items sensitive to temperature, such as dairy, meat, and poultry, can spoil during transportation in vehicles due to exposure to higher temperatures, especially during hot days or long trips.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle cooler system with a temperature-controlled compartment using a peripheral wall and phase change material (PCM) maintained by a cooling system, which includes heat exchangers and conduits to regulate temperature and extend coolant flow through the PCM for effective temperature control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional cooler is used to maintain foodstuff at controlled temperatures, then food spoilage is prevented, but the cooler requires continuous power consumption and adds device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-cools the phase change material in the peripheral wall before food storage, so that the PCM is already in a cooled state ready to absorb heat from the foodstuff during transport, eliminating the need for continuous power consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The phase change material in the peripheral wall automatically absorbs heat from the foodstuff through phase transition (solid-liquid or liquid-gas), providing self-regulating temperature control without requiring active cooling systems or continuous power input
2Temperature
If a phase change material is integrated into the peripheral wall for temperature control, then temperature regulation effectiveness is improved, but the cooler structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The phase change material is integrated directly into the peripheral wall structure of the cooler, merging the thermal management function with the structural component, thereby achieving temperature control without adding separate complex cooling mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The peripheral wall incorporates phase change material that absorbs and releases heat during phase transitions, providing passive temperature regulation that simplifies the overall system by eliminating the need for active cooling components
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
Maintains food items in a controlled temperature environment, preventing spoilage by keeping the compartment cool for extended periods without continuous power usage.
Implementation Method 1
a phase change material (PCM) maintained by a cooling system
Implementation Method 2
Heat from a second coolant in the second flow line can be transferred to the first coolant via the second heat exchanger. The second flow line can extend through a phase change material of the temperature controlled compartment so the second coolant can charge the phase change material.
Implementation Method 3
a first heat exchanger, a second heat exchanger, a first flow line passing through the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger
Implementation Method 4
Heat from a second coolant in the second flow line can be transferred to the first coolant via the second heat exchanger
Data Source
AI summary
A cooler includes a peripheral wall forming a chamber, wherein the chamber is configured to maintain foodstuff in a temperature controlled environment. The cooler can be removably inserted or integrated into the trunk, front trunk or frunk, or side compartment of a vehicle. The cooler optionally includes a partition that subdivides the chamber into a first sub chamber and a second sub chamber. The cooler optionally includes a cooling system that charges a phase change material in the peripheral wall of the cooler.