Refrigerated display case
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigeration equipment with higher refrigeration capacities faces challenges due to restrictive regulations and safety requirements for natural refrigerants like hydrocarbons, limiting their use to below 150 g per circuit, which is insufficient for larger systems, leading to the prevalent use of environmentally less favorable fluorinated refrigerants.
Innovation Solution
The use of propane as a natural refrigerant with a filling capacity between 300 g and 1500 g in a single refrigerant circuit, allowing for efficient operation of larger refrigerated display cases with a distributed component arrangement that minimizes heat nests and enhances safety through spark-preventing designs and protective measures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If natural refrigerants like hydrocarbons are used in refrigeration systems with filling capacities above 150 g, then higher refrigeration capacities can be achieved, but safety requirements become significantly stricter and expenses increase considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigeration system is divided into multiple independent refrigerant circuits, each with a filling capacity of maximum 150 g of hydrocarbon refrigerant. This segmentation allows the system to achieve higher total refrigeration capacity while each individual circuit remains within safe filling limits, thus resolving the contradiction between power and safety requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediate safety measures including flame arrestors, pressure relief devices, and specialized components designed for hydrocarbon refrigerants. These intermediary elements enable the system to operate with higher refrigerant filling capacities while maintaining safety standards, bridging the gap between desired power output and safety constraints
2Power
If multiple refrigerant circuits are used to achieve higher refrigeration capacities with hydrocarbons, then safety requirements can be met, but system complexity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple refrigerant circuits into a single integrated system with shared components such as compressors, condensers, and control units. This merging approach maintains the safety benefits of segmented refrigerant circuits while reducing overall system complexity and component redundancy, thus resolving the contradiction between power and device complexity
3Power
If fluorinated refrigerants are used in higher performance classes, then higher refrigeration capacities can be achieved, but environmental harm increases due to greenhouse potential
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the refrigerant parameter from fluorinated refrigerants with high greenhouse potential to hydrocarbon refrigerants with low or zero ozone depletion potential and low global warming potential. By adjusting the refrigerant type while maintaining appropriate filling capacities and system design, the system achieves higher refrigeration capacities without the environmental harm associated with fluorinated refrigerants
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 enables climate-friendly, efficient, and reliable operation of refrigerated display cases with higher refrigeration capacities using propane, reducing complexity and costs by eliminating the need for multiple refrigerant circuits, while ensuring safety and maintaining high cooling capacity.
Implementation Method 1
an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser
Implementation Method 2
an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser
Implementation Method 3
an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerated display case (1) with at least one unit composed of a plurality of wall groups, namely a bottom group (11), a rear wall group (12), and a top group (13), which delimit a refrigerated chamber (4) at the bottom, at the back, and at the top, and with a cooling device (5) that has a refrigerant circuit and whose components at least include a compressor (51), an evaporator (50), a condenser (52), and an electric control unit (55). A refrigerated display case that is climate-friendly, efficient, and simultaneously safe to operate is achieved in that propane is contained as a refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit, with a filling capacity of more than 150 g.