Supercooling refrigerator and method for controlling the same
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigeration devices struggle to maintain uniform supercooling temperatures in storage chambers, leading to cell destruction and quality degradation of foods like meat and fish due to uneven freezing and ice crystal formation, resulting in flavor loss and nutrient escape.
Innovation Solution
A supercooling refrigerator system with a cooling unit, cool air supplying unit, and cool air controlling unit that includes an evaporator, compressor, condenser, temperature sensors, and a controller to maintain a consistent temperature range of 0 to −20°C, ensuring uniform temperature distribution and preventing ice crystal formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conventional refrigeration devices cool the storage chamber to below freezing temperature, then the food is refrigerated and stored, but water in the food is frozen forming ice crystals that destroy cells and degrade food quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by controlling the storage chamber temperature to be below the freezing point (0°C) but above the actual freezing point of food water (typically -18°C to -20°C), creating a supercooled state. This parameter adjustment prevents ice crystal formation while maintaining refrigeration, thereby avoiding cell destruction and preserving food quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the phase transition principle by maintaining the food water in a supercooled liquid state rather than allowing it to freeze into solid ice crystals. By controlling the temperature in the supercooling zone, the system prevents the phase transition from liquid to solid, thereby avoiding the harmful effects of ice crystal formation on food cells
2Temperature
If the temperature of the storage chamber is decreased to refrigerate food, then the food is preserved, but a large temperature difference between surface and center causes uneven freezing speeds and increased cell destruction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the temperature parameter to a supercooling range that is below freezing point but above the actual freezing point of food. This parameter adjustment ensures uniform temperature distribution throughout the food without creating large temperature gradients, thereby preventing uneven freezing and reducing cell destruction
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the temperature is continuously monitored to prevent freezing, then food quality is maintained, but the temperature control system becomes complex and difficult to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent simplifies temperature control by establishing a fixed supercooling temperature range (below 0°C but above -18°C to -20°C). This parameter setting eliminates the need for complex continuous monitoring and adjustment systems, as the refrigerator simply maintains the temperature within this predefined supercooling zone, making the system easy to operate while preserving food quality
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 system effectively maintains food in a supercooled state, preventing tissue liquid from freezing, preserving protein and fatty tissue integrity, and maintaining freshness by minimizing temperature fluctuations, thus preventing bacterial growth and maintaining the food's original texture and flavor.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling unit cooling internal air of the storage chamber
Implementation Method 2
a refrigeration cycle in which refrigerant is circulated to refrigerate the stored goods through cool air generated while absorbing ambient heat when a refrigerant in a liquid state is evaporated
Implementation Method 3
a refrigeration cycle in which refrigerant is circulated to refrigerate the stored goods
Implementation Method 4
The supercooling is a phenomenon in which, although a melted object or a solid object is cooled to a phase-transition temperature or lower in a balance state, the melted object or solid object is not changed
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a supercooling refrigerator including, so as to supercool foods such as fish or meat and more uniformly and stably maintain a temperature in a storage chamber supercooling the foods, a body including a storage chamber storing goods such as the fish or meat in a supercooled state, a door installed in the body, a plurality of shelves installed in the storage chamber, on which the goods are stored, a cooling unit cooling internal air of the storage chamber, a cooling air supplying unit circulating the air cooled by the cooling unit into the storage chamber, and a cool air controlling unit controlling the temperature of the cool air supplied from the cool air supplying unit in a supercooling temperature range of the stored goods.