Vacuum Insulation Panel Structure for Faster High-Vacuum Refrigerators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vacuum insulation panels face challenges in maintaining a high vacuum, requiring lengthy manufacturing times and high costs, and are limited in shaping flexibility, especially when trying to achieve improved thermal insulation for refrigerators.
Innovation Solution
The use of a vacuum insulation panel structure incorporating a metal adsorbent activated by electromagnetic waves to remove gases and water, combined with a porous cover to prevent heat transfer and a shielding layer to enhance insulation, allows for efficient maintenance of a high vacuum and reduced manufacturing time, enabling various three-dimensional shapes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a vacuum pumping process is performed in a vacuum chamber to manufacture a vacuum insulation panel, then a high vacuum can be formed, but a long time is consumed for forming the high vacuum
Solution Approach 1:
An adsorbent is pre-installed inside the vacuum insulation panel before vacuum pumping. This adsorbent actively captures residual gases and water vapor during the vacuum process, accelerating the achievement of high vacuum levels and reducing the time required for vacuum formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The adsorbent acts as an intermediary substance that facilitates the vacuum pumping process by chemically binding residual gases and moisture. This intermediary mechanism enhances the efficiency of vacuum achievement without requiring extended pumping durations.
2Reliability
If a vacuum insulation panel is manufactured by vacuum-pumping in a vacuum chamber, then a high vacuum can be achieved, but manufacturing costs become high
Solution Approach 1:
The adsorbent is pre-installed during panel manufacturing, enabling more efficient vacuum achievement. This reduces the operational time required in expensive vacuum chambers, thereby lowering overall manufacturing costs while maintaining high vacuum levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The adsorbent serves as a cost-effective intermediary that enhances vacuum efficiency. By chemically capturing residual gases, it reduces the time and energy consumption of vacuum pumping operations, leading to lower manufacturing costs.
3Reliability
If a vacuum insulation panel is manufactured by vacuum-pumping in a vacuum chamber, then a high vacuum can be achieved, but it is impossible to artificially control a shape of the vacuum insulation panel from the outside after the panel is disposed in the vacuum chamber, making it difficult to manufacture a three-dimensional shaped panel
Solution Approach 1:
The desired three-dimensional shape is pre-formed in the panel structure before vacuum pumping begins. The adsorbent is also pre-installed in this shaped configuration. This allows the panel to maintain its complex shape throughout the vacuum process without requiring post-vacuum shaping operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The adsorbent acts as an intermediary that stabilizes the internal pressure distribution within the vacuum panel. This stabilization helps maintain the integrity of three-dimensional shapes during vacuum processing, enabling successful manufacturing of complex geometries.
4Reliability
If a vacuum insulation panel in a high vacuum is manufactured, then insulation performance is improved, but it is difficult to maintain the high vacuum
Solution Approach 1:
The adsorbent serves as a long-term intermediary that continuously captures any gases or moisture that penetrate into the vacuum space. This active chemical capture mechanism maintains high vacuum levels over extended periods, preserving insulation performance throughout the product's service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The adsorbent provides continuous vacuum maintenance through ongoing adsorption of residual gases and moisture. This continuous action ensures that high vacuum levels are sustained over time, maintaining optimal insulation performance without requiring periodic re-vacuuming.
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 solution effectively maintains a high vacuum, reduces manufacturing time and costs, and enhances thermal insulation performance, allowing for the creation of vacuum insulation panels with improved energy efficiency and versatility in shape and design.
Implementation Method 1
an adsorbent disposed in the accommodation space to be activated at a temperature higher than room temperature by an electromagnetic wave generated outside the covering material and to remove at least one of gases and water present in the accommodation space
Implementation Method 2
an adsorbent disposed in the accommodation space to be activated at a temperature higher than room temperature by an electromagnetic wave generated outside the covering material
Implementation Method 3
a porous cover which encloses the first adsorbent to prevent heat generated by the first activated adsorbent from being transferred to the core material
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is a refrigerator including a vacuum insulation panel. The vacuum insulation panel includes a core material, a covering material disposed outside the core material to form an accommodation space in which the core material is accommodated and a first adsorbent disposed in the accommodation space to be activated at a temperature higher than room temperature and to remove at least one of gases and water present in the accommodation space.