Portable hand-held device for accommodating and transporting food or a beverage, and method for controlling temperature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing portable hand-held devices for heating and transporting food or drinks lack efficient temperature control and insulation, leading to suboptimal heating and retention of thermal energy.
Innovation Solution
A portable hand-held device with a thermal container featuring an evacuated insulating space between inner and outer walls, containing a working medium that reversibly changes from a solid to a liquid state upon thermal energy input, allowing efficient heat transfer from the outer wall to the inner wall and the contents, while maintaining thermal insulation when energy is removed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a working medium is used to transfer heat from outer wall to inner wall, then heating efficiency is improved, but thermal insulation performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The working medium dynamically changes its state between solid and liquid phases based on thermal energy input. When heated, it transitions to liquid state and expands to contact both walls for heat transfer. When cooling, it returns to solid state and contracts to insulate. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize between heating efficiency and thermal insulation performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transitions of the working medium between solid and liquid states. In solid state, the medium provides thermal insulation by not contacting the inner wall. In liquid state, it provides thermal conduction by expanding and contacting both outer and inner walls. This phase transition mechanism enables the system to switch between insulation and heating modes.
2Reliability
If the working medium expands to contact both walls for heat transfer, then heat conduction is improved, but volume of the insulating space increases
Solution Approach 1:
The working medium changes its physical parameters (phase state and volume) in response to thermal energy input. Upon heating, it transitions from solid to liquid phase and expands, increasing its volume to establish thermal contact with both walls. This parameter change enables effective heat conduction while the expansion is reversible, allowing the medium to return to its compact state when cooling occurs.
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 device efficiently heats and insulates food or drinks, allowing for reversible heat transfer and effective thermal energy management, ensuring the contents remain heated during transport and storage.
Implementation Method 1
When the thermos is heated, the working substance absorbs heat from the bottom wall of the outer container, vaporizes, and releases the latent heat of vaporization to other parts of the thermos
Implementation Method 2
releases the latent heat of vaporization to other parts of the thermos
Implementation Method 3
a working medium is arranged in an insulating space that is formed as a sealed and evacuated space between an inner and an outer wall
Implementation Method 4
The hand-held device has a thermal container and a container closure that is suitable for closing a container opening of the thermal container
Implementation Method 5
If the thermal energy supply is switched off again, the gas particles condense
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
Figure 5
AI summary
The invention relates to a portable hand-held device for accommodating and transporting food or a beverage, having a thermally insulated container (2), which is intended to accommodate food or a beverage in an accommodating space (7) and which has an inner and an outer wall (8), and an insulating space (9) arranged therebetween, enclosing the accommodating space, the insulating space being of closed and sealed design and having been evacuated; and having a container closure (3), which is intended to close a container opening (4) of the thermally insulated container (2), wherein the insulating space (9) contains a working medium (11) which, by means of thermal energy being supplied from the outside via the outer wall (8), can be transferred in a reversible manner between a thermally insulating, initial state, in which the working medium (11) is in the solid state and is in contact with the outer wall (6), and is not in contact with the inner wall (5), and a thermally conductive state, in which at least some of the working medium (11) is in the liquid state and has expanded and is in thermally conductive contact both with the outer wall (6) and with the inner wall (5). The invention also provides a method for controlling the temperature of food or of a beverage in a portable hand-held device.