Refrigerated Display Cabinet Airflow Screen to Limit Product Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Horizontal refrigerated display cabinets face challenges in maintaining optimal storage conditions outside opening hours, leading to product drying and condensation issues, requiring labor-intensive operations and energy inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a protective screen positioned between the delivery and return apertures, allowing the delivery aperture to open directly onto the display compartment and the return aperture to open externally, with air flow regulation to maintain low speeds, preventing short-circuiting and ensuring even air distribution for reduced drying and condensation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If products are stored in the cabinet outside opening hours with normal air circulation, then cooling efficiency is maintained, but product drying increases and condensation forms
Solution Approach 1:
A protective screen is introduced as an intermediary element between the delivery and return apertures. This screen modifies the air flow pattern by forcing air to travel through the entire display compartment rather than short-circuiting, thereby reducing direct exposure of products to drying air currents while maintaining cooling effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The air flow speed parameter is reduced to low speeds during outside opening hours. This parameter change minimizes the drying effect on products caused by air circulation while still maintaining adequate cooling. The protective screen works in conjunction with reduced air flow speed to prevent both drying and condensation
2Temperature
If air flow speed is increased to prevent short-circuiting, then cooling distribution improves, but product drying worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The protective screen acts as a flow director that ensures adequate temperature distribution without requiring high air flow speeds. By physically guiding the air path, it prevents short-circuiting between apertures while maintaining low speeds that protect products from drying
3Reliability
If products are removed and stored in cold rooms outside opening hours, then product quality is maintained, but labor requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cabinet is designed to maintain product quality independently during outside opening hours through the protective screen system. Products remain in the cabinet without requiring manual removal and relocation to cold rooms, enabling the system to serve itself during closing periods
Solution Approach 2:
The protective screen is positioned in advance during opening hours to prepare for the transition to outside opening hours operation. This preliminary configuration allows the cabinet to automatically maintain product quality without requiring subsequent manual intervention
4Reliability
If the cabinet is emptied and cleaned outside opening hours, then hygiene is maintained, but energy consumption and time loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cabinet maintains its own hygiene conditions during outside opening hours through the protective screen system that prevents condensation and drying. This reduces the frequency and intensity of cleaning operations required, allowing the cabinet to maintain itself with minimal intervention
Solution Approach 2:
The protective screen enables continuous protection of products during outside opening hours, preventing the accumulation of hygiene issues that would require frequent emptying and cleaning. This continuous protective action reduces the discontinuous energy-intensive cleaning cycles
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
This method significantly reduces product drying, simplifies operations, and maintains storage quality by allowing products to be kept in the cabinet without thermal shock, reducing the frequency of emptying and cleaning, and minimizing energy consumption.
Implementation Method 1
a heat exchanger E for absorbing heat
Implementation Method 2
ventilation means, suitable to generate a flow of air D which circulates between the heat exchanger 2 and the display compartment 3
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~6
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a method of operating a horizontal refrigerated display cabinet for storing products outside opening hours, The cabinet 1 comprises at least one heat exchanger 2, connected to a refrigerating circuit and destined to absorb heat, and ventilation means suitable to generate a flow of air D which circulates between the heat exchanger and the display compartment 3 of the cabinet, passing through a delivery aperture 4 and a return aperture 5. The method comprises a step a) of placing a protective screen 6 inside the cabinet to separate the display compartment from the external environment. The screen is positioned between the delivery and return aperture, so that the delivery aperture opens directly onto the display compartment and the return aperture opens directly onto the external environment. The method comprises a step b) of regulating the ventilation means so that the speed V1 of the flow of air D is barely sufficient to flow inside the space under the protective screen. The flow of air returns to the heat exchanger passing through the screen which is made of a material permeable to air or provided with holes for the passage of air, to then reach the return aperture. The screen creates a pressure drop in the circulation of the air flow between the delivery and return apertures such that the air flow tends to fill the entire display compartment under the protective screen before passing through the screen and reaching the return aperture.