COOLING DEVICE, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A COOLING DEVICE, AND TRANSPORT DEVICE HAVING A COOLING DEVICE
20220120477 · 2022-04-21
Inventors
Cpc classification
F25D21/14
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F25B39/02
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F25B49/02
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F25B2339/044
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F25B13/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F25B2339/024
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F25B30/02
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F25B2400/071
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
International classification
F25B13/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
Abstract
A cooling device having a vaporizer for vaporizing a working liquid, wherein the working liquid is held on a vaporizer bottom; a compressor for compressing a vaporized working liquid, wherein the compressor is configured to convey the vaporized working liquid from the bottom to the top in a setup direction; a liquefier having an upper wall configured such that the vaporized and compressed working liquid is condensable at the upper wall and drips down from top to bottom; and an intermediate bottom configured to collect a dripped-down working liquid, wherein the intermediate bottom comprises at least one opening through which the dripped-down working liquid may reach the vaporizer bottom.
Claims
1. A cooling device, comprising: a vaporizer for vaporizing a working liquid, wherein the working liquid is held on a vaporizer bottom; a compressor for compressing a vaporized working liquid, wherein the compressor is configured to convey the vaporized working liquid from the bottom to the top in a setup direction; a liquefier comprising an upper wall configured such that the vaporized and compressed working liquid is condensable at the upper wall and drips down from top to bottom; and an intermediate bottom configured to collect a dripped-down working liquid, wherein the intermediate bottom comprises at least one opening through which the dripped-down working liquid may reach the vaporizer bottom.
2. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the vaporizer bottom is able to be brought into direct contact with an area to be cooled, and/or wherein the upper wall of the liquefier is able to be brought into direct contact with an area to be heated.
3. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the compressor is configured as a turbo compressor comprising a compressor wheel, a conduction path for a working vapor conveyed by the compressor wheel, and a drive motor for the compressor wheel, wherein the vaporizer is configured as a lower unit, and wherein the liquefier is configured a an upper partial unit, wherein the vaporizer wheel and the conduction space are located between the lower unit and the upper partial unit, and wherein the drive motor extends into the upper partial unit.
4. The cooling device according to claim 1, configured to use water as a cooling agent, wherein the liquefier is configured to operate at a liquefier pressure below 300 mbar, and wherein the vaporizer is configured to operate at a vaporizer pressure that is less than the liquefier pressure and is below 150 mbar.
5. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the vaporizer is configured as a lower unit, and the vaporizer bottom is configured as a lower heat transmitter, wherein the liquefier is configured as an upper partial unit, and the upper wall is configured as an upper heat transmitter, wherein the compressor and the intermediate bottom are configured in a central unit, and wherein seals are configured at interfaces between the units and the upper partial unit, respectively, and wherein the cooling device is operated at an internal pressure of less than half of the atmospheric pressure so that, due to the atmospheric pressure, the upper partial unit and the lower unit are pressed onto the central unit.
6. The cooling device according to claim 1, comprising a cuboid-shaped dimension with a height of less than 50 cm and a length or width of less than 100 cm.
7. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the upper wall is configured as a lamella wall, and/or wherein the vaporizer bottom is configured as a lamella wall, wherein the lamella bottom comprises at least one lamella balance element so that an essentially uniform working liquid level is formed along the lower lamella wall, and wherein a working liquid filling in the cooling device is dimensioned such that a level of the working liquid on the vaporizer bottom is between 10 and 70% of a lamella height of the lower lamella element.
8. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the upper wall is configured to be planar, and wherein a structure for providing a plurality of fluid channels through which the air or liquid as a cooling medium for the upper wall is able to be guided is attached on the upper wall and outside of an interior space of the cooling device, and/or wherein the vaporizer bottom is configured to be planar, and wherein, at the vaporizer bottom, a structure for providing a plurality of fluid channels through which the air or liquid may be guided as a medium to be cooled is configured outside of an interior space of the cooling device.
9. The cooling device according to claim 8, wherein the planar surface of the upper wall in the interior of the cooling device or a surface of the vaporizer bottom in the interior of the cooling device is configured to be structured so as to provide a seed effect for vaporizer seeds or condensation seeds.
10. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate bottom is configured such that one or several deepest possible points are at a periphery of the cooling device, and such that a dripped-down working liquid on the intermediate bottom runs from a central area to the periphery, and wherein the at least one drill hole is present at the periphery, dimensioned such that it acts as a throttle between the vaporizer and the liquefier.
11. The cooling device according to claim 10, wherein the periphery comprises at least three corners, and a drill hole is present at each corner, or a drill hole comprises a diameter of less than 6 mm and more than or equal to 0.5 mm.
12. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein a liquefier-side ventilator and a vaporizer-side ventilator are arranged to generate an air flow past the vaporizer bottom or the upper wall, respectively, wherein a motor axis is connected to both ventilators to drive the ventilators with a single motor.
13. The cooling device according to claim 12, wherein the liquefier-side ventilator is arranged to be driven by an external flow of a cooling medium, wherein the vaporizer-side ventilator is able be driven without a motor, wherein a controller is further configured to monitor a rotational speed of a ventilator, and, in case of too little a rotational speed, to increase the rotational speed by means of the motor, and/or, in case of too large a rotational speed, to generate electrical power by means of the motor in a generator operation.
14. The cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising a drip tray outside of a vaporizer space of the cooling device in order to collect a condensate from the vaporizer bottom or from an element in thermal interaction with the vaporizer bottom, wherein the cooling device further comprises a conduit configured to bring the collected condensate into thermal interaction with an outside of the upper wall in order to generate an adiabatic cooling for the upper wall.
15. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein a wall thickness of the upper wall and/or the vaporizer bottom is less than 1 mm, or wherein the vaporizer bottom or the upper wall are made of metal.
16. A method for manufacturing a cooling device, comprising: arranging a vaporizer for vaporizing a working liquid so that the working liquid is held on a vaporizer bottom, and above a liquefier, wherein the liquefier comprises an upper wall configured such that, at the upper wall, a vaporized working liquid compressed by a compressor is condensable and drips down from top to bottom; and arranging an intermediate bottom such that a dripped-down working liquid is collected, wherein the intermediate bottom comprises at least one opening through which the dripped-down working liquid may reach the vaporizer bottom.
17. A transport device or building, comprising: an interior space; a cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device is arranged at the transport device or the building such that the vaporizer bottom is arranged in the interior space, and wherein the upper wall of the liquefier is in thermal contact with an area around the transport device or outside of the interior space of the building.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] Embodiments of the present invention will be detailed subsequently referring to the appended drawings, in which:
[0017]
[0018]
[0019]
[0020]
[0021]
[0022]
[0023]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024]
[0025] In particular, in an embodiment, the vaporizer bottom 120 may be brought into direct contact with an area to be cooled. Alternatively or additionally, the upper wall 310 of the liquefier may be brought into direct contact with an area to be heated.
[0026] In an embodiment of the present invention, as is shown in
[0027] In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device, as is illustrated in the drawings, uses water as a cooling agent. In particular, the liquefier 100 is configured to operate/work at a liquefier pressure below 300 mbar, wherein pressures between 10 and 250 mbar and pressures around 100 mbar are advantageous in particular. In addition, the vaporizer is configured to work/operate at a vaporization pressure that is smaller than the liquefaction pressure, and in particular at a vaporizer pressure that is smaller than 150 mbar and is advantageously 10 and 80 mbar, and in particularly embodiments is at below 20 mbar.
[0028] In the embodiment of the present invention, as is shown in
[0029] As is exemplarily illustrated in
[0030] The area 600 to be heated and the area 500 to be cooled, as illustrated in
[0031] In the embodiment shown in
[0032] Depending on the implementation, the motor 720 may be coupled to a controller 740 that transmits the rotational speed of the ventilator 700, or the two ventilators 700, 710, and in case of the rotational speed being too high either decelerates the motor 720, or activates a generator function so as to generate current and output it to the system in order to decelerate the shaft 730. This current may either be input into an electricity network such as the on-board electrical system of a vehicle, or may be used directly in order to drive the compressor. However, if the rotational speed is too slow, the motor may drive the ventilator 700, and therefore also the ventilator 710, in addition to the headwind so as to achieve a desired rotational speed.
[0033] Even though the embodiment shown in
[0034] In addition,
[0035]
[0036] The embodiment shown in
[0037] The present invention is characterized by a compact structural shape. In particular, the direct vaporizer 100 and the direct liquefier 300 allow a good heat transfer into the air. The turbo compressor 200 is located in the center of the unit and generates the required pressure ratio depending on the outside temperature. The turbo compressor is advantageously driven with a current, however, depending on the implementation, it may also be driven directly in a mechanical way by the motor of the driving device. The cooling device operates with water as a cooling agent in the coarse vacuum, wherein vaporizer pressures of 10 mbar to 80 mbar and liquefier pressures from 10 mbar to 250 mbar are advantageous. Thus, the cooling device is always in a vacuum, so to speak. Through this, the heat transmitters are pressed onto the equipment from the top and the bottom in a tight manner by means of the atmospheric pressure. The equipment may be integrated into an intermediate ceiling of a building or on a vehicle roof, e.g. on the roof of a train, a bus, a truck, or any other transport device. Due to the turbo compressor, pressure differences between the cold side (lower side) and hot side (upper side) of up to 5 are possible. For small cooling capacities of 2 to 15 kW, the cooling device may be implemented in a very compact manner. The thin-walled corrugated sheet for realizing the lamellas generates the required surface area for the heat transfer on both sides. This enables the realization of air conditioners having a space requirement for the installation into an intermediate sealing of more than 0.5 m.sup.2 to less than 2 m.sup.2 depending on the cooling capacity. Due to the gravitational force, the water in the lower heat exchanger is distributed evenly. However, in embodiments, the lamellas should be at most half filled with water. In order to realize this, the lamellas are connected with corresponding balance elements 180c, depending on the implementation, configured as pipelines, as can be seen in
[0038] In order to improve the heat exchange with the air, heat flow may be forced along the lamellas, as is particularly illustrated with reference to
[0039] In particular, condensate may form on the cold side in case of very high humidity, as is illustrated with reference to
[0040] In a method for manufacturing the cooling device, in the operation direction of the cooling device, the vaporizer is arranged above the liquefier, and the intermediate bottom is arranged between the vaporizer and the liquefier so as to collect the dripped-down working liquid. In addition, an opening through which the dripped-down working liquid may reach the vaporizer bottom is provided in the intermediate bottom.
[0041] Depending on the embodiment, instead of a lamella-like bottom, a planar vaporizer bottom may be used. The cooling liquid, e.g. which is water, then stands as a planar “puddle” on the vaporizer bottom. Additionally or alternatively, the upper wall of the liquefier may also be configured to be planar and not lamella-like.
[0042] Advantageously, accordingly-described lamella structures through which brine or any other liquid cooling medium instead of air may be guided are attached below the vaporizer bottom or the liquefier cover.
[0043] In addition, the surface structure may be configured accordingly to provide condensation/vaporization seeds.
[0044] The advantage of the “sandwich” of the cooling device, which may be configured to be round or angular, also consists in the fact that it is suited for outside use, since the water may freeze without resulting in any damages, seeing as the water is not guided in tubes or the like. The cooling device in its “sandwich” implementation is a hermetically closed system without interfaces to the surroundings.
[0045] While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents which fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and compositions of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0046] 100 vaporizer
[0047] 110 working liquid
[0048] 120 vaporizer bottom
[0049] 130 vaporized working liquid
[0050] 150 lower unit
[0051] 160 upper unit
[0052] 160a upper partial unit
[0053] 160b central unit
[0054] 170a upper seal
[0055] 170b lower seal
[0056] 180a upper lamellar structure
[0057] 180b lower lamellar structure
[0058] 180c balance conduit
[0059] 190a upper structure
[0060] 190b lower structure
[0061] 200 compressor
[0062] 210 compressor wheel
[0063] 220 guide path
[0064] 230 compressor motor
[0065] 300 liquefier
[0066] 310 upper wall of the liquefier
[0067] 320 dripped-down working liquid
[0068] 340 vaporized and compressed working liquid
[0069] 400 intermediate bottom
[0070] 420 opening in the intermediate bottom
[0071] 430a deepest possible point
[0072] 430b deepest possible point
[0073] 500 area to be cooled
[0074] 600 area to be heated
[0075] 700 liquefier-side ventilator
[0076] 710 vaporizer-side ventilator
[0077] 720 motor
[0078] 730 connection axis
[0079] 740 controller
[0080] 750 drip tray
[0081] 760 condensate conduit
[0082] 800 transport device
[0083] 810 interior space