Refrigeration – Processes – Congealing flowable material – e.g. – ice making
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-09
2003-09-16
Tapolcal, William E. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Processes
Congealing flowable material, e.g., ice making
C062S307000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06619050
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to supercooled water-freezing method and apparatus which are used in an ice thermal storage system of a freezing machine, for example and adapted to release the supercooled water from a supercooled state through freezing. The invention also relates to a method and a system for circulating or flowing cooled water at least a part of which is released from a supercooled state. Particularly, the invention relates to the method and the apparatus for freezing supercooled water having a low supercooled degree, which method and apparatus can positively release the supercooled water from the supercooled state at an arbitrary point of time and at an arbitrary place. The invention also relates to the method and the system for circulating or flowing the supercooled water at least a part of which is released from the supercooled state.
2. Related Art Statement
A method in which flowing supercooled water is made to spontaneously fall and impinge upon a plate to freeze it is known as a conventional supercooled state-removing (freezing) technique.
However, since this method requires a sufficient long distance for freezing, an apparatus for this becomes bulky. Further, the supercooled water cannot be frozen at any time or any place. In addition, if the supercooled water is at a low supercooled degree, it is unfavorably difficult to freeze the water.
The present invention is aimed at solving the problems of the prior art apparatuses through discovery of the new supercooled state-removing method and apparatus having a smaller size than the conventional ones and being able to positively release the supercooled water from the supercooled state at any time and any place and rapidly freeze the supercooled water, even if the supercooled water is at such a low supercooled degree as not allowing easy freezing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first aspect of the present invention relates to a method for freezing supercooled water comprising the steps of (1-1) filling said supercooled water in a sealed container, reducing pressure of said supercooled water to generate bubbles from the supercooled water, mixing said generated bubbles in the supercooled water, or (1-2) filling said supercooled water in a sealed container with a bubble-mixing inlet, reducing pressure of the supercooled water to mix bubbles into the supercooled water from outside of the container through the bubble mixing inlet, or (1-3) filling said supercooled water in the sealed container with the bubble-mixing inlet, introducing bubbles into the supercooled water from outside the container through the bubble-mixing inlet under pressure, mixing the bubbles into the supercooled water, (2) simultaneously repeating expansion, compression, disruption, clustering and disappearance of the bubbles mixed into the supercooled water and (3) thereby freezing the supercooled water by vigorously oscillating gas-liquid boundaries between the bubbles and the supercooled water.
A second aspect of the present invention relates to an apparatus for producing frozen water from supercooled water, comprising (a) a sealed container with a supercooled water-filling opening or a sealed container with a supercooled water-filling opening and a bubble-mixing inlet for sealingly filling said supercooled water therein, (b) a charger for filling the supercooled water into the sealed container, (c) a bubble mixer for mixing bubbles into the supercooled water filled in the sealed container by (c-1) reducing pressure of said supercooled water inside the container to generate bubbles from the supercooled water and mixing said generated bubbles in the supercooled water, or (c-2) reducing pressure of the supercooled water filled in said container with the bubble-mixing inlet to mix bubbles into the supercooled water from outside of the container through the bubble mixing inlet, or (c-3) introducing bubbles into the supercooled water filled in the container from outside the container through the bubble-mixing inlet under pressure to mix the bubbles into the supercooled water, wherein while the bubble mixer mixes the bubbles into the supercooled water, expansion, compression, disruption, clustering and disappearance of the bubbles are simultaneously repeated, and gas-liquid boundaries between the bubbles and the supercooled water are vigorously oscillated to produce the frozen water from the supercooled water.
In the second aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that said sealed supercooled water container is a supercooled water cylinder, said supercooled water charger is a supercooled water piston gas-tightly, liquid-tightly and slidably fitted into the supercooled water cylinder, said supercooled water piston also serves as the bubble mixer, and the bubbles are mixed into the supercooled water inside the sealed supercooled water container by reducing pressure of the supercooled water through operating the supercooled water piston.
Further, in the second aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that said bubble mixer comprises a gas cylinder and a gas piston gas-tightly and slidably fitted into said gas cylinder, the gas cylinder and the sealed supercooled water container are connected to each other through the bubble-mixing inlet, the bubbles are introduced into the supercooled water in said container under pressure through the bubble-mixing inlet by operating the gas piston.
A third aspect of the present invention relates to a method for circulating or flowing supercooled water, comprising the steps of (1-1) taking at least a part of circulating or flowing supercooled water into a sealed container with a supercooled water-filling opening, reducing pressure of said supercooled water filled in the container to generate bubbles from the supercooled water, mixing said generated bubbles in the supercooled water, or (1-2) taking at least a part of circulating or flowing supercooled water into a sealed container with a supercooled water-filling opening and a bubble-mixing inlet, reducing pressure of the supercooled water filled in the container to mix bubbles into the supercooled water from outside of the container through the bubble mixing inlet, or (1-3) taking at least a part of circulating or flowing supercooled water into a sealed container with a supercooled water-filling opening and a bubble-mixing inlet, introducing bubbles from outside the container through the bubble-mixing inlet under pressure to mix the bubbles into the supercooled water, (2) simultaneously repeating expansion, compression, disruption, clustering and disappearance of the bubbles mixed into the supercooled water, (3) thereby freezing the supercooled water by vigorously oscillating gas-liquid boundaries between the bubbles and the supercooled water, and (4) returning the supercooled water at least a part of which is released from being supercooled into the circulating or flowing supercooled water.
A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a supercooled water-circulating or flowing system, comprising (a) means for circulating or flowing supercooled water, (b) a sealed container provided with a supercooled water-filling opening or a sealed container provided with a supercooled water-filling opening and a bubble-mixing inlet, said container being adapted for sealingly receiving the supercooled water, (c) a charger for filling at least a part of the circulating or flowing supercooled water into the sealed container, (d) a bubble mixer for mixing bubbles into the supercooled water in the sealed container by (d-1) reducing pressure of said supercooled water filled in the container to generate bubbles from the supercooled water, and mixing said generated bubbles in the supercooled water, or (d-2) reducing pressure of the supercooled water filled in the container to mix bubbles into the supercooled water from outside of the container through the bubble-mixing inlet, or (d-3) introducing bubbles into the supercooled water filled in the container from outside the container through the bubble-mixing inlet u
Hozumi Tsutomu
Kumano Hiroyuki
Ohkawa Seiji
Saito Akio
Tapolcal William E.
Tokyo Institute of Technology
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