Grooved Vacuum Insulation Board for Flexible Bending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vacuum insulation materials lack flexibility and bending properties, leading to stress on outer skin materials and reduced insulation performance when attempting to shape them around complex structures, such as refrigerators, resulting in increased manufacturing costs and incomplete insulation.
Innovation Solution
A groove-type vacuum insulation material with block-shaped core materials featuring inclined surfaces, covered by a flexible outer skin material, allowing for adjustable bending and minimizing stress on the outer skin, while maintaining vacuum insulation performance through vacuum-sealing and thermal processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a vacuum insulation material is manufactured as a monolithic board type, then insulation performance is improved, but bending flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The core material is divided into multiple block-shaped segments arranged in a groove-type configuration rather than using a single monolithic board. This segmentation allows the insulation material to bend while maintaining vacuum insulation performance in each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible outer skin material is used to envelop the block-shaped core materials, allowing the entire structure to bend and adapt to complex surfaces while maintaining the vacuum environment for insulation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a vacuum insulation material is forcibly bent to achieve groove-type insulation, then adaptability is improved, but stress on core and outer skin materials increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the core material into blocks with inclined surfaces, the structure naturally accommodates bending and groove formation without requiring forcible deformation, thereby reducing stress on the materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The block-shaped core materials with inclined surfaces are designed to dynamically adapt to bending requirements, allowing the structure to flex and conform to groove-type configurations without excessive stress concentration.
3Reliability
If multiple vacuum insulation materials are used to surround four sides of a case, then complete insulation coverage is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple block-shaped core materials are merged into a single integrated groove-type insulation board structure that can surround all four sides of a case as one piece, eliminating the need for separate insulation materials and reducing assembly complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The groove-type insulation board is designed as a universal component that can provide complete insulation coverage for all sides of a case, serving multiple functions that previously required separate insulation materials.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a monolithic board type core material with grooves is used, then bending properties are improved, but outer skin material is likely to be broken
Solution Approach 1:
Segmenting the core material into blocks creates natural flex points that allow bending without concentrating stress on the outer skin, preventing cracks and breaks.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer skin material is designed as a flexible film that can accommodate the bending enabled by the block-shaped core structure, maintaining integrity while allowing the necessary flexibility.
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 solution enables flexible and efficient shaping of vacuum insulation materials, maintaining long-term performance by minimizing stress on the outer skin and preventing cracking, while reducing manufacturing complexity and costs, and ensuring complete insulation coverage without gaps.
Implementation Method 1
an outer skin material formed in a film pouch shape and surrounding the entirety of upper and lower sides of the groove-type insulation board, the outer skin material being brought into close contact with the groove-type insulation board by vacuum-sealing
Implementation Method 2
core materials, each being processed to a block shape having inclined surfaces at lateral walls, are linearly arranged and covered with an outer skin material, so that the groove-type vacuum insulation material facilitates adjustment of the degree of bending via the inclined surfaces of the core material, maintains performance of vacuum insulation for a longer time than the conventional groove-type vacuum insulation material by minimizing stress to the outer skin material upon bending
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a groove-type vacuum insulation material and a method of manufacturing the same. The groove-type vacuum insulation material includes core materials each having a block shape, at least one lateral wall of which has an inclined surface; a groove-type insulation board, in which the core materials are arranged on a plane of the board to be separated from each other, with the inclined surfaces thereof facing each other; an outer skin material formed in a film pouch shape and surrounding the entirety of upper and lower sides of the groove-type insulation board, the outer skin material being brought into close contact with the groove-type insulation board by vacuum-sealing, and exhibiting bending characteristics in a space between the core materials. The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the same.