U.S. patent application number 15/318985 was filed with the patent office on 2017-05-04 for thermally insulated receptacle.
The applicant listed for this patent is LIEBHERR-HAUSGERATE LIENZ GMBH, LIEBHERR-HAUSGERATE OCHSENHAUSEN GMBH. Invention is credited to Michael Freitag, Jochen Hiemeyer, Martin Kerstner.
Application Number | 20170122628 15/318985 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53199931 |
Filed Date | 2017-05-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170122628 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hiemeyer; Jochen ; et
al. |
May 4, 2017 |
Thermally Insulated Receptacle
Abstract
The invention relates to a thermally insulated receptacle,
preferably a refrigeration and/or a freezing appliance, comprising
at least one temperature-controlled, preferably chilled interior
and at least one thermoelectric element (20), especially at least
one Peltier element (20), for controlling the temperature in the
interior, preferably for generating cold in the chilled interior;
further comprising at least one solid (10, 12) which is disposed in
such a way that heat is conducted to the thermoelectric element
(20), especially heat is dissipated from the chilled interior to
the thermoelectric element (20) and/or heat is dissipated from the
thermoelectric element (20) by having the solid (10, 12) conduct
heat.
Inventors: |
Hiemeyer; Jochen;
(Karlstadt, DE) ; Freitag; Michael; (Wurzburg,
DE) ; Kerstner; Martin; (Wurzburg, DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LIEBHERR-HAUSGERATE OCHSENHAUSEN GMBH
LIEBHERR-HAUSGERATE LIENZ GMBH |
Ochsenhausen
Lienz |
|
DE
AT |
|
|
Family ID: |
53199931 |
Appl. No.: |
15/318985 |
Filed: |
May 20, 2015 |
PCT Filed: |
May 20, 2015 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2015/001029 |
371 Date: |
December 15, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25B 21/02 20130101;
F28D 15/02 20130101; Y02B 40/00 20130101; F25B 49/00 20130101; F25B
2321/023 20130101; F25D 11/02 20130101; Y02B 40/34 20130101; F25B
21/04 20130101; F25B 2321/0251 20130101; F25D 2201/14 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F25B 21/04 20060101
F25B021/04; F25B 49/00 20060101 F25B049/00; F28D 15/02 20060101
F28D015/02; F25D 11/02 20060101 F25D011/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 16, 2014 |
DE |
10 2014 008 668.2 |
Claims
1. A thermally insulated container, preferably a refrigerator unit
and/or a freezer unit, having at least one temperature-controlled,
preferably cooled, inner space; and having at least one
thermoelectric element, in particular having at least one Peltier
element, for the temperature control of the inner space, preferably
for cold production in the cooled inner space, characterized in
that at least one solid body is present which is arranged such that
the conducting of heat to the thermoelectric element, in particular
the leading off of heat from the cooled inner space to the
thermoelectric element and/or the leading off of heat away from the
thermoelectric element takes place by thermal conduction by means
of the solid body.
2. A thermally insulated container, preferably a refrigerator unit
and/or a freezer unit, having at least one temperature-controlled,
preferably cooled, inner space; and having at least one
thermoelectric element, in particular having at least one Peltier
element, for the temperature control of the inner space, preferably
for cold production in the cooled inner space, characterized in
that at least one liquid heat exchanger and/or at least one heat
pipe is/are provided that is/are arranged such that it/they
conducts/conduct heat to the thermoelectric element, in particular
from the cooled inner space to the thermoelectric element, and/or
leads/lead off heat from the thermoelectric element.
3. A thermally insulated container, preferably a refrigerator unit
and/or a freezer unit, having at least one temperature-controlled,
preferably cooled, inner space; and having at least one
thermoelectric element, in particular having at least one Peltier
element, for the temperature control of the inner space, preferably
for cold production in the cooled inner space, characterized in
that at least one liquid heat exchanger and/or at least one heat
pipe is/are provided that is/are arranged such that it/they
conducts/conduct heat to the thermoelectric element, in particular
from the cooled inner space to the thermoelectric element, and/or
leads/lead off heat from the thermoelectric element, characterized
in that it is configured with the features of the characterizing
portion of claim 1.
4. A thermally insulated container in accordance with claim 1,
characterized in that the solid body is thermoconductively
connected to the outer skin of the unit and/or to the inner wall of
the unit or partly or completely forms the outer skin and/or the
inner wall of the unit.
5. A thermally insulated container in accordance with claim 1,
characterized in that it has a vacuum insulation which completely
or partly surrounds the preferably cooled inner space as heat
insulation of the preferably cooled inner space.
6. A thermally insulated container in accordance with claim 5,
characterized in that a heat insulation which consists in total or
regionally of a full vacuum system is arranged between the inner
wall bounding the inner space and the outer skin of the
container.
7. A thermally insulated container in accordance with claim 1,
characterized in that the thickness of the solid body increases
toward the thermoelectric element.
8. A thermally insulated container in accordance with claim 1,
characterized in that at least one fastening apparatus, preferably
at least one clamping body, is provided which fixes the solid body
and/or the liquid heat exchanger and/or the heat pipe to the
thermoelectric element, with provision preferably being made that
the fastening apparatus has a smaller thermal conductivity than the
solid body and/or in that the fastening apparatus is formed from
plastic.
9. A thermally insulated container in accordance with claim 1,
characterized in that the solid body consists of aluminum or
comprises aluminum.
10. A thermally insulated container in accordance with claim 1,
characterized in that at least one latent heat accumulator is
provided for providing a heat reservoir or a cold reservoir of the
thermoelectric element, with provision preferably being made that
the latent heat accumulator is thermoconductively connected to the
solid body and/or the liquid heat exchanger and/or to the heat
pipe.
11. A thermally insulated container in accordance with claim 1,
characterized in that it is a refrigerator unit and/or a freezer
unit; and in that the solid body or the inner wall of the unit is
configured such that a smaller temperature results at at least one
position at the surface of the solid body or the inner wall than in
other regions of the surface of the solid body or of the inner wall
and that means for dissipating the condensation arising there are
provided.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a thermally insulated
container, preferably a refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit
having at least one preferably cooled inner space and having at
least one thermoelectric element, in particular having at least one
Peltier element, for the temperature control of the inner space,
preferably for generating cold in the cooled inner space.
[0002] Different concepts are known from the prior art for cold
production in refrigerator units and freezer units. In all cases,
an effective heat exchanger is required both on the refrigerating
space side and on the waste heat side for an efficiency which is as
high as possible, and thus for good energy efficiency, to keep the
temperature difference to be overcome as small as possible. In this
connection, the coupling to the region of the cold production and
to the refrigerating space as well as to the outside air to which
the discharged air is output is of importance.
[0003] In customary compression refrigeration machines, both static
systems, i.e. static evaporators and condensers, and dynamic
systems such as no-frost evaporators, no-frost fans or block
condensers having forced convection are used for the coupling to
the inner space and to the outside air. In dynamic systems, the
advantage based on the achievable small temperature difference is
opposed by the additional effort for the mass transport for the
convection of the air.
[0004] A major parameter in the required refrigeration capacity of
a refrigerator unit or freezer unit is the thermal insulation which
surrounds the cooled inner space. If the thermal insulation is
improved, the requirement for refrigeration capacity is reduced.
With a small refrigeration requirement, the provision can take
place by simpler means than by compression refrigeration machines,
namely in particular by thermoelectric elements. The use of Peltier
elements is known, for example. A small refrigerator unit insulated
by vacuum insulation thus, for example, only requires a
refrigeration capacity of 3-4 W which can e.g. be produced by a
thermoelectric element.
[0005] There is a special feature in the use of Peltier elements in
that the refrigeration capacity produced and the waste heat occur
in direct spatial proximity--a refrigerant as a heat carrier is not
present. In this case, the heat transfer to the cooled inner space
as well as to the outside air to which the heat is output is of
special importance. It is known from the prior art to improve this
heat transfer in Peltier refrigerator units such as portable
coolers by ribbed recuperators and by an air flow produced by fans.
Their power requirement is at a similar order of magnitude to that
of the Peltier element.
[0006] These considerations are, however, by no means restricted to
refrigerator units and/or freezer units, but also apply to
thermally insulated containers in general.
[0007] The thermally insulated container has at least one
temperature-controlled inner space, with this being able to be
cooled or heated so that a temperature results in the inner space
below or above the ambient temperature of e.g. 21.degree. C.
[0008] It is the underlying object of the present invention to
further develop a thermally insulated container, preferably a
refrigerator unit and/or a freezer unit of the initially named
kind, such that the heat transport is improved with respect to
known containers, preferably units.
[0009] This object is achieved by a thermally insulated container,
in particular a refrigerator unit and/or a freezer unit having the
features of claim 1. At least one solid body is accordingly present
which is arranged such that the conduction of heat to the
thermoelectric element, in particular the leading off of heat from
the cooled inner space to the thermoelectric element and/or the
leading off of heat away from the thermoelectric element takes/take
place by means of the solid body.
[0010] The solid body is thus configured and arranged such that a
conduction of heat to the thermoelectric element by means of the
solid body, in particular a heat dissipation from the cooled inner
space to the thermoelectric element and/or a heat dissipation from
the thermoelectric element preferably takes place at a heat sink
and preferably to the ambient atmosphere of the container,
preferably a unit. The heat transport preferably takes place only
by thermal conduction through the solid body.
[0011] Provision is made in a further conceivable embodiment of the
invention that at least one liquid heat exchanger and/or at least
one heat pipe is provided which is/are arranged such that it/they
conducts/conduct heat to the thermoelectric element, in particular
from the cooled inner space to the thermoelectric element, and/or
dissipates/dissipate heat from the thermoelectric element.
[0012] A "liquid heat exchanger" is to be understood as a heat
exchanger which works with a liquid heat carrier medium. The
advantage results with respect to air heat exchangers of a higher
thermal capacity and a lower flow loss. A "heat pipe" is a tubular
body which is filled with a refrigerant, at whose hot end the
refrigerant evaporates and at whose cold end the refrigerant
condenses, whereby the evaporation enthalpy is output.
[0013] This embodiment of the invention provides that a heat
transport, in particular the transport of the waste heat from the
cooled inner space, takes place by means of at least one liquid
heat exchanger and/or by means of at least one heat pipe.
[0014] A distribution of the small heat flows to the environment
with a minimal temperature difference is possible by means of the
heat transport mechanisms in accordance with the invention.
[0015] It is conceivable that the solid body or the liquid heat
exchanger and/or the heat pipe transports/transport heat in a good
thermal coupling from the inner wall of the preferably cooled inner
space to the thermoelectric element and/or from the latter to the
outer skin of the container, preferably a unit.
[0016] The heat transport from the preferably cooled inner space to
the inner wall and/or the heat transport to the outer skin
preferably takes place from the outer skin to the environment of
the container, preferably a unit, preferably statically, i.e.
without forced convection.
[0017] A combination of the two aforesaid concepts is also
conceivable, i.e. that in particular or only in the region of the
greatest heat flow densities at the thermoelectric element, a
support of the solid body thermal conduction takes place by the
heat transport by means of a heat pipe and/or a liquid heat
exchanger or, vice versa, a support of the heat transport through
the heat pipe and/or liquid heat exchanger takes place through the
solid body heat conduction.
[0018] The container, in particular the refrigerator unit and/or
the freezer unit in accordance with claim 1 can thus be configured
with the features in accordance with claim 2.
[0019] Provision is made in a preferred embodiment of the invention
that the solid body is thermoconductively connected to the outer
skin of the container, preferably of the unit, and/or is connected
to the inner wall of the container, preferably of the unit, or
partly or completely forms the outer skin and/or the outer wall
bounding the cooled inner space.
[0020] The solid body preferably comprises metal or consists
thereof, with aluminum forming a preferred embodiment of the
metal.
[0021] It is conceivable that heat from the thermoelectric element
is conducted by an aluminum metal structure or another metal
structure onto the outer housing surface and/or from the inner
surface which bounds the cooled inner space through an aluminum
structure or another metal structure to the thermoelectric element.
In this respect, the shape of the metal structure is preferably
adapted such that the temperature drop in the incident heat flows
is distributed over the surface such that it only amounts to a few
degrees Kelvin between the location of the heat pump, i.e. the
thermoelectric element, and the respective surface.
[0022] The metal structure, i.e. the named solid body, preferably
partly or completely forms the outer skin and/or the inner wall of
the container, preferably of the unit.
[0023] Provision is preferably made that the container, preferably
the refrigerator unit and/or the freezer unit, only or also has a
vacuum insulation as a thermal insulation of the cooled inner
space. A vacuum insulation, for example by means of vacuum
insulation panels or by means of evacuated housing walls and/or by
means of an evacuated closing element, in particular of a door or
lid for closing the cooled inner space, forms a particularly
effective thermal insulation so that a comparatively small
capacity, preferably a refrigeration capacity, is sufficient in
operation to obtain the desired temperature.
[0024] An embodiment is particularly preferred in which a thermal
insulation is arranged between the inner wall bounding the inner
space and the outer skin and comprises a full vacuum system. A
thermal insulation is to be understood by this which comprises only
or primarily an evacuated region which is filled with a core
material. The bounding of this region can be formed, for example,
by a vacuum-tight film and preferably by a high barrier film. Only
such a film body can thus be present between the inner wall of the
container, preferably of the unit, and the outer skin of the
container, preferably of the unit, as the thermal insulation which
has a region which is surrounded by a vacuum-tight film, in which
there is a vacuum and in which a core material is arranged. A
foaming and/or vacuum insulation panels are preferably not provided
as thermal insulation or another thermal insulation is not
provided, except for the full vacuum system between the inner side
and the outer side of the container or unit.
[0025] This preferred form of thermal insulation in the form of a
full vacuum system can extend between the wall bounding the inner
space and the outer skin of the carcass and/or between the inner
side and the outer side of the closing element such as a door,
flap, lid, or the like.
[0026] The full vacuum system can be obtained such that an envelope
of a gas-tight film is filled with a core material and is
subsequently sealed in a gas-tight manner. In an embodiment, both
the filling and the vacuum-tight sealing of the envelope take place
at normal or ambient pressure. The evacuation then takes place by
the connection to a vacuum pump of a suitable interface worked into
the envelope, for example an evacuation stub which can have a
valve. Normal or ambient pressure is preferably present outside the
envelope during the evacuation. In this embodiment, it is
preferably not necessary at any time of the manufacture to
introduce the envelope into a vacuum chamber. A vacuum chamber can
be dispensed with in an embodiment to this extent during the
manufacture of the vacuum insulation.
[0027] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the thickness of
the solid body increases toward the thermoelectric element. In the
direction away from the thermoelectric element, the thickness of
the solid can reduce and its areal extent can in turn increase.
[0028] Provision can furthermore be made that at least one
fastening apparatus, preferably at least one clamping body, is
present which fixes the solid body and/or the liquid heat exchanger
and/or the heat pipe to the thermoelectric element, with provision
preferably being made that the fastening apparatus has a smaller
thermal conductivity than the solid body. The fastening apparatus
can comprise plastic, for example.
[0029] As stated above, a preferred embodiment of the invention
comprises the solid body consisting of aluminum or comprising
aluminum.
[0030] At least one latent heat accumulator can be provided to be
able to provide additional heating capacity or refrigerating
capacity on the loading with hot or cold goods. It can be arranged
at the useful space side, preferably at the surface of the inner
wall at the refrigerating space side. It takes up heat from the
temperature-controlled inner space or outputs heat into the
temperature-controlled inner space and thereby supports the
thermoelectric element.
[0031] The temperature-controlled inner space is either cooled or
heated depending on the type of the unit (cooling appliance,
heating cabinet, etc.).
[0032] Provision is preferably made that the latent heat
accumulator is thermoconductively connected to the solid body
and/or to the liquid heat exchanger and/or to the heat pipe.
[0033] The latent heat accumulator can consist of paraffin or
comprise paraffin, for example.
[0034] Provision is made in a further embodiment of the invention
that the container is a refrigerator unit and/or a freezer unit and
that the solid body or the inner wall of the unit is configured
such that a smaller temperature results at at least one position at
the surface of the solid body or the inner wall than in other
regions of the surface of the solid body or of the inner wall and
that means for dissipating the condensation arising there are
provided.
[0035] Provision is made in an embodiment that the container in
accordance with the invention is a refrigerator unit and/or a
freezer unit, in particular a domestic appliance or a commercial
refrigerator unit. Such units are, for example, covered which are
designed for a stationary arrangement at a home, in a hotel room,
in a commercial kitchen or in a bar. It can, for example, be a wine
cooler. Chest refrigerators and/or freezers are furthermore also
covered by the invention. The units in accordance with the
invention can have an interface for connection to a power supply,
in particular to a domestic mains supply (e.g. a plug) and can have
a standing aid or installation aid such as adjustment feet or an
interface for fixing within a furniture niche. The unit can, for
example, be a built-in unit or also a stand-alone unit.
[0036] In an embodiment, the container or the unit is configured
such that it can be operated at an AC voltage such as a domestic
mains voltage of e.g. 120 V and 60 Hz or of 230V and 50 Hz. In an
alternative embodiment, the container or the unit is configured
such that it can be operated with DC current of a voltage of, for
example, 5 V, 12 V or 24 V. Provision can be made in this
embodiment that a plug-in power supply is provided inside or
outside the unit via which the unit is operated. An advantage of
the use of thermoelectric heat pumps in this embodiment is that the
whole EMC problem only occurs at the power pack.
[0037] Provision can in particular be made that the refrigerator
unit and/or freezer unit has a cabinet-type design and has a useful
space which is accessible to a user at its front side (at the upper
side in the case of a chest). The useful space can be divided into
a plurality of compartments which are all operated at the same
temperature or at different temperatures. Alternatively, only one
compartment can be provided. Storage aids such as trays, drawers or
bottle-holders (also dividers in the case of a chest) can also be
provided within the useful space or within a compartment to ensure
an ideal storage of refrigerated goods or frozen goods and an ideal
use of the space.
[0038] The useful space can be closed by at least one door
pivotable about a vertical axis. In the case of a chest, a lid
pivotable about a horizontal axis or a sliding cover is conceivable
as the closing element. The door or another closing element can be
connected in a substantially airtight manner to the carcass by a
peripheral magnetic seal in the closed state. The door or another
closing element is preferably also thermally insulated, with the
thermal insulation being able to be achieved by a foaming and
optionally by vacuum insulation panels or also preferably by a
vacuum system and particularly preferably by a full vacuum system.
Door storage areas can optionally be provided at the inside of the
door in order also to be able to store refrigerated goods
there.
[0039] It can be a small appliance in an embodiment. In such units,
the useful space defined by the inner wall of the container has,
for example, a volume of less than 0.5 m.sup.3, less than 0.4
m.sup.3 or less than 0.3 m.sup.3.
[0040] The outer dimensions of the container or unit are preferably
in the range up to 1 m with respect to the height, width and
depth.
[0041] The invention is, however, not restricted to refrigerator
units and/or freezer units, but rather generally applies to units
having a temperature-controlled inner space, for example also to
heat cabinets or heat chests.
[0042] In the case of a container or unit having a heated inner
space, a thermal conduction takes place from the environment or
from the outer skin of the container by means of the solid body to
the thermoelectric element and from it by means of a solid body
through heat conduction to the inner space or to the inner wall of
the container bounding the inner space.
[0043] Further details and advantages of the invention will be
explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in
the drawing.
[0044] The only FIGURE shows a cross-sectional view through a
refrigerating unit in accordance with the invention.
[0045] The FIGURE shows by the reference numerals 10', 12' the
housing wall which comprises aluminum, which forms the outer
surface contacting the environment and the inner surface of the
cooled inner space.
[0046] A Peltier element is marked by reference numeral 20 whose
cold region is in thermoconductive connection with the aluminum
solid body 12 and whose hot region is in thermoconductive
connection with the aluminum solid body 10.
[0047] As can be seen from the FIGURE, the thickness, i.e. the
extent of the bodies 10, 12 perpendicular to the outside and inside
of the unit, increases toward the Peltier element 20.
[0048] The areal extent of the bodies 10, 12 in a direction in
parallel with the outside and the inside, in contrast, decreases
from the outside and from the inside toward the Peltier
element.
[0049] Reference numeral 30 denotes a clamping apparatus which
fixes the bodies 10, 12 to the Peltier element 20.
[0050] Reference numeral 40 denotes the door seal and the labyrinth
in a simplified representation. The unit door is not shown.
[0051] The vacuum insulation which extends between the inner wall
12' and the outer wall 10' is marked by the reference numeral 50.
The comparatively small thermal capacity by the Peltier element 20
is sufficient for cooling the inner space 100 due to the small heat
input through the vacuum insulation.
[0052] In the event that a larger amount of hot cooling goods is
introduced, a latent heat accumulator is provided such as paraffin
which supports the refrigeration capacity of the unit in this
case.
[0053] As can furthermore be seen from the FIGURE, the solid bodies
10, 12, which are thermoconductively connected to the Peltier
element 20, not only form the "heat transport means", but also
simultaneously the inner wall 12' and the outer wall 10' of the
unit.
[0054] The heat transfer to the inner wall 12' and from the outer
wall 10' preferably takes place statically, i.e. without the use of
fans, whereby a corresponding energy saving results.
[0055] In the embodiment drawn in the FIGURE, the heat transport
takes place from the inside to the outside only through the solid
bodies 10, 12. However, the use of one or more liquid heat
exchangers and/or heat pipes for the heat transport is also covered
by the invention. They can be used alternatively or in addition to
the named solid body thermal conduction.
* * * * *