Heat storage material unit, and automatic vending machine equipped with said heat storage material unit
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Solution Overview
Problem
In automatic vending machines, the installation of heat storage materials within the product accommodating compartment is limited by space constraints, leading to reduced efficiency in heat solidification and melting, as only a portion of the surface area is utilized for heat dissipation, necessitating an increase in the quantity or volume of the heat storage material.
Innovation Solution
A heat storage material unit is designed with a metal accommodating container made of high thermal conductivity materials, such as aluminum, having a thin box shape with one open surface and a flange, allowing it to be embedded in heat-insulating panels within the compartment, thereby exposing the container to the atmosphere and enhancing heat transfer efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If heat storage material is installed inside the product accommodating compartment, then temperature maintenance capability is improved, but space for product accommodation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The heat storage material unit is nested within the heat-insulating panel structure. The accommodating container is embedded in the heat-insulating panel, utilizing the panel's internal space rather than adding separate components into the product accommodation compartment. This nesting approach allows the heat storage material to be integrated into the existing structural framework without encroaching on product space.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat storage material unit utilizes the thickness dimension of the heat-insulating panel for installation. By embedding the accommodating container within the panel's depth rather than occupying horizontal or vertical product accommodation space, the solution transfers the heat storage function into the dimensional space of the insulation layer itself.
2Volume of stationary object
If heat storage material is embedded in heat-insulating panel, then space utilization is improved, but heat transfer efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A metal plate with high thermal conductivity is introduced as an intermediary between the heat storage material and the product accommodation compartment atmosphere. The metal plate serves as a heat transfer mediator that conducts thermal energy from the heat storage material to the surrounding air, overcoming the thermal insulation barrier while maintaining the embedded configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat storage material unit employs a composite structure combining the heat-insulating panel material with a high thermal conductivity metal plate. This composite design integrates materials with opposing thermal properties - the insulating panel for space efficiency and the conductive metal plate for heat transfer - creating a multi-functional component that resolves the contradiction between embedding and heat exchange.
3Temperature
If quantity of heat storage material is increased, then temperature maintenance capability is improved, but volume of the unit increases
Solution Approach 1:
The high thermal conductivity metal plate acts as a heat transfer amplifier that enhances the thermal interaction between the heat storage material and the environment. This intermediary allows the system to achieve better temperature maintenance capability with a smaller quantity of heat storage material by improving the efficiency of heat release during melting and heat absorption during solidification.
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 configuration improves the solidification and melting efficiency of the heat storage material, allowing for effective temperature maintenance within the compartment without increasing the volume of the heat storage material, and utilizes dead space within the vending machine's design, maintaining the machine's external dimensions.
Implementation Method 1
a metal accommodating container having a high thermal conductivity
Implementation Method 2
a heat storage material that stores heat by changing physically or chemically
Data Source
AI summary
In order to improve the efficiency of solidification and melting of a heat storage material in a heat storage material unit, a heat storage material covered with a coating material is accommodated in a metal accommodating container having a high thermal conductivity, and the heat storage material unit is embedded in a thermal insulation panel in such a way that the accommodating container is exposed inside a merchandise accommodating compartment, thereby enabling a surface of the heat storage material that is embedded in the thermal insulation panel also to exhibit an action equivalent to that if the accommodating container is exposed in the merchandise accommodating compartment as a heat transfer element, thereby improving the efficiency of solidification (heat storage) and melting (heat dissipation) of the heat storage material.