Method For Supplying Pressurized Refrigerant, And Pressurized Refrigerant Tank
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current refrigerants used in laser tissue treatment devices, such as R-134a, have high global warming potential (GWP) and are subject to strict regulations, necessitating the search for environmentally friendly alternatives that can function as 'drop-in' replacements without requiring significant modifications to the treatment devices.
Innovation Solution
Filling a gas tank with a liquid refrigerant like R-1234ze(E) under pressure and then introducing an inert gas, such as nitrogen, to achieve a total pressure that is at least 95% of the equilibrium vapor pressure of R-134a at ambient temperature, ensuring the refrigerant maintains similar dispensing properties and cooling effects while minimizing the need for device reprogramming or changes in operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If R-134a refrigerant is used in laser treatment devices, then the device achieves reliable cooling effectiveness and operational stability, but the global warming potential increases significantly due to high GWP value
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameter of the refrigerant from R-134a to R-1234ze(E), which has significantly lower GWP while maintaining similar thermodynamic properties. This parameter change allows the system to reduce environmental harm while preserving cooling effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the phase transition properties of R-1234ze(E) from liquid to vapor state during dispensing, similar to R-134a, to achieve the required cooling effect through evaporative cooling while using an environmentally friendly refrigerant
2Object-generated harmful factors
If a new environmentally friendly refrigerant like R-1234ze(E) is used, then the global warming potential is reduced, but the dispensing pressure and operational compatibility with existing devices differ from the original R-134a system
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary inert gas (nitrogen or argon) into the refrigerant system to act as a pressure regulator. This intermediary gas mediates between the refrigerant's natural vapor pressure and the device's required dispensing pressure, enabling compatibility with existing R-134a designed equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a multi-functional pressurized gas mixture that serves both as a propellant for dispensing the refrigerant and as a pressure regulator to match device requirements, allowing a single modified system to replace multiple specialized systems
3Quantity of substance
If the tank is filled with only liquid refrigerant under pressure, then the refrigerant quantity is maximized, but the dispensing pressure may be insufficient to match the equilibrium vapor pressure requirements of R-134a systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the refrigerant gas phase with an added inert gas in the tank's headspace to create a pressurized mixture that combines the cooling function of the refrigerant with the pressure-regulating function of the inert gas, achieving both adequate pressure and maximum refrigerant quantity
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 approach allows for a more environmentally friendly refrigerant to replace R-134a, maintaining the cooling effectiveness and operational compatibility with existing devices, thus reducing logistical and financial burdens associated with updating the equipment.
Implementation Method 1
The pressurized refrigerant is dispensed onto the patient's skin and rapidly evaporates, resulting in a vapor that cools the skin to a substantially lower temperature than the ambient room temperature
Implementation Method 2
This approach has the effect of cooling the skin in the treatment area and therefore, reducing pain from the procedure
Implementation Method 3
supplying an inert gas into the tank to a second filled state... the second pressure being greater than the first pressure
Data Source
AI summary
A method of filling a tank includes filling the tank with a predetermined amount of a liquid refrigerant under pressure and supplying an inert gas into the tank, such that, after the filling and supplying steps, the total pressure of the contents within the tank at an ambient temperature is at least 95% of the equilibrium vapor pressure of liquid R-134a at the ambient temperature. The total pressure of the contents within the tank may be in a range from 517.1 to 792.9 kPa when at a temperature of 21.1° C. The inert gas may be nitrogen, and the liquid refrigerant may be R-1234ze(E). The disclosed method may allow for a more environmentally friendly refrigerant to be used as a replacement for a less environmentally friendly one in connection with a device, such as a laser skin treatment device, that was originally designed to use the less environmentally friendly refrigerant.