Vacuum Insulation Powder Processor for Moisture and Gas Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vacuum insulation technologies in refrigerators face challenges in achieving optimal energy efficiency due to residual adsorbed gases and moisture in insulation materials, leading to increased pressure and reduced performance over time.
Innovation Solution
A powder processor system that heats and degasses vacuum insulation material using a hopper with an air-permeable surface and a feed screw, coupled with a gas-permeable feature in the vacuum insulated structure, to load the dry and degassed material efficiently, ensuring minimal adsorbed gases and maintaining a low pressure within the structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If vacuum insulation material is loaded directly without pre-treatment, then the loading process is simple and fast, but the material contains residual moisture and adsorbed gases that reduce vacuum quality and energy efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-heating and pre-vacuuming the insulation material in a hopper before loading it into the vacuum insulated structure. This preliminary treatment removes moisture and adsorbed gases from the material, ensuring high vacuum quality without requiring complex post-loading vacuum systems. The hopper serves as a pre-treatment chamber that prepares the material in advance, resolving the contradiction between simple loading and high vacuum quality.
2Reliability
If a complex vacuum and heating system is used to pre-treat the insulation material, then moisture and adsorbed gases are effectively removed, but the system complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hopper in the patent serves multiple functions: it acts as a material storage container, a heating chamber for moisture removal, a vacuum chamber for gas evacuation, and a loading mechanism for the insulation material. By combining these functions into a single multi-functional component, the system achieves effective pre-treatment without requiring separate complex systems for each function, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining high moisture removal efficiency.
3Reliability
If the hopper is made air-tight to maintain vacuum during loading, then vacuum integrity is preserved, but the loading of atmospheric material becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The hopper system employs dynamic pressure control by adjusting the vacuum level during different loading stages. During material loading, the vacuum is temporarily relaxed to allow atmospheric material to be fed into the hopper. Once loading is complete, the vacuum is restored to maintain integrity during the vacuuming and operation phases. This dynamic adjustment of vacuum pressure resolves the contradiction between maintaining vacuum integrity and enabling easy material loading.
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 reduces moisture content and adsorbed gases in the insulation material, improving the vacuum integrity and energy efficiency of the refrigerator by ensuring a stable low-pressure environment, thus enhancing the overall performance and longevity of the insulation.
Implementation Method 1
a heater positioned in a space defined between the inner and outer hopper walls
Implementation Method 2
an evacuator coupled to a vacuum port positioned in the outer hopper wall
Implementation Method 3
the inner hopper wall having an air permeable surface
Implementation Method 4
at least one gas permeable feature positioned in the internal cavity configured to help apply a vacuum
Data Source
AI summary
A filling system for a vacuum insulated structure is provided having a powder processor including a hopper having an inner hopper wall and an outer hopper wall. The filling system also includes a vacuum insulated structure having a liner positioned inside a wrapper, a trim breaker coupling an outer liner edge and an outer wrapper edge to form a shell defining an internal cavity with at least one gas permeable feature positioned in the internal cavity configured to help apply a vacuum. A loading port is positioned on a surface of the shell. The powder processor loads the shell with a heated and at least partially degassed vacuum insulation material through the loading port while a vacuum is applied to the shell through the at least one gas permeable feature.