US-12624888-B2 - Processing of core material in a vacuum insulated structure

US12624888B2US 12624888 B2US12624888 B2US 12624888B2US-12624888-B2

Abstract

A filling system for a vacuum insulated structure includes a powder processor configured to load an internal cavity of the vacuum insulated structure with a heated and at least partially degassed vacuum insulation material. The powder processor includes a hopper with inner and outer hopper walls. The inner hopper wall includes an air permeable surface. A heater is positioned in a space defined between the inner and outer hopper walls. A feed screw is positioned along an inside edge of the inner hopper wall. A vacuum port is positioned on the outer hopper wall. An aperture exit is positioned at a bottom of the hopper. At least one evacuator is coupled to the vacuum port of the powder processor. The at least one evacuator is configured to couple to a vacuum port of the vacuum insulated structure and apply a vacuum to the internal cavity of the vacuum insulated structure.

Inventors

GUSTAVO FRATTINI
Anna Jedralski
Ashish Nigam
Subrata Shannigrahi

Assignees

WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240425

Claims (16)

1 . A vacuum insulated refrigerator structure comprising: a shell defining an internal vacuum cavity; at least one gas permeable feature disposed in the internal vacuum cavity, wherein the at least one gas permeable feature includes a porous winding tube; and a vacuum core material fill positioned in the internal vacuum cavity, wherein the vacuum core material fill has a moisture content of less than 2 wt % and is evacuated to and stored at a pressure less than 0.01 atm.
2 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 1 , wherein the at least one gas permeable feature includes at least one vacuum tube.
3 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 1 , wherein the at least one gas permeable feature includes at least one pressure equalization holes.
4 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 1 , wherein the vacuum core material fill includes at least one of perlite, fumed silica, silica, glass microspheres, or a combination thereof.
5 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 1 , wherein the vacuum core material fill is evacuated to and stored at a pressure less than about 0.001 atm.
6 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 1 , further comprising: a loading port positioned on a surface of the shell.
7 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 1 , further comprising: a liner; a wrapper; and a trim breaker coupled to an outer liner edge and an outer wrapper edge, wherein the trim breaker, the outer liner edge, and the outer wrapper edge form the shell and define outer boundaries for the internal vacuum cavity.
8 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 7 , wherein the liner includes one or more vacuum ports, and wherein the one or more vacuum ports are used to apply a vacuum to the internal vacuum cavity of the shell.
9 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 8 , wherein the at least one gas permeable feature includes several individual structures positioned throughout the internal vacuum cavity, and wherein each gas permeable feature of the at least one gas permeable feature is separately coupled to the one or more vacuum ports.
10 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 1 , wherein the vacuum core material fill is heated and partially degassed.
11 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 1 , further comprising: a sealing member.
12 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 11 , wherein the sealing member includes at least one of electromagnets, strong permanent magnets, vacuum cups, or mechanical fasteners.
13 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 11 , wherein the sealing member includes a seal made from a viscoelastic polymer including, but not limited to, a natural rubber, a thermoplastic, a siloxane, a neoprene, a nitrile rubber, a butyl rubber, ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM), or a combination thereof.
14 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 1 , wherein the at least one gas permeable feature includes a polymer material, a glass fritted filter, a filter paper material, a ceramic filter, a metal frit filter, a plastic frit filter, or a combination thereof.
15 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 1 , wherein the vacuum core material fill is inserted at a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius or greater.
16 . The vacuum insulated refrigerator structure of claim 1 , wherein the at least one gas permeable feature is a single structure extending throughout the internal vacuum cavity.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/272,695, filed on Mar. 2, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,971,209, entitled “PROCESSING OF CORE MATERIAL IN A VACUUM INSULATED STRUCTURE,” which is a National Stage entry of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2018/049565, filed on Sep. 5, 2018, entitled “PROCESSING OF CORE MATERIAL FOR BETTER EVACUATION TIME AND MINIMUM OUT-GASSING IN A VACUUM INSULATED STRUCTURE,” the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to producing insulated structures, and more particularly, to a vacuum core filling system used to fill the vacuum cavities of a vacuum insulated structure. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Refrigerators and freezers may account for a significant percentage of total residential energy usage. Technological advances in compressors, thermal insulation, heat exchangers, motors, and fans have increased the energy efficiency in refrigerators. Although incremental gains through continuous improvements and component technologies and system optimizations may be possible, the industry needs major technological breakthroughs to meet the ever-changing energy standards. Refrigerator cabinets, including vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) have been developed. VIPs may include low thermal conductivity core materials that are vacuum sealed in an envelope made of composite barrier films. VIPs may be placed inside cabinet walls with polyurethane foam insulation. Thanks to the advances in the last two decades in barrier films, core materials, and manufacturing technologies, VIP technology is slowly becoming a commercially viable solution for improving the energy efficiency of a refrigerator, even though there are still many problems that must be addressed in order for vacuum insulation technology to reach its fullest potential in the refrigerator and freezer markets. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a filling system for a vacuum insulated structure includes a powder processor configured to load an internal cavity of the vacuum insulated structure with a heated and at least partially degassed vacuum insulation material. The powder processor includes a hopper that has an inner hopper wall and an outer hopper wall. The inner hopper wall includes an air permeable surface. A heater is positioned in a space defined between the inner hopper wall and the outer hopper wall. A feed screw is positioned along an inside edge of the inner hopper wall. A vacuum port is positioned on the outer hopper wall. An aperture exit is positioned at a bottom of the hopper. At least one evacuator is coupled to the vacuum port of the powder processor. The at least one evacuator is configured to couple to a vacuum port of the vacuum insulated structure and apply a vacuum to the internal cavity of the vacuum insulated structure. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a vacuum insulated refrigerator structure includes a shell that defines an internal cavity. At least one gas permeable feature is disposed in the internal vacuum cavity. A vacuum core material fill is positioned in the internal cavity. The vacuum core material fill has a moisture content of less than 2 wt % and is evacuated to and stored at a pressure less than 0.01 atm. According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for adding a vacuum insulation material into a vacuum insulated structure includes providing a powder processor that includes a hopper with an inner hopper wall and an outer hopper wall. The inner hopper wall includes an air permeable surface. A heater is positioned in a space defined between the inner hopper wall and the outer hopper wall. A vacuum port is positioned on the outer hopper wall and an aperture exit is positioned at a bottom of the hopper. The method also includes loading the vacuum insulation material into the hopper and then applying heat using the heater and a first vacuum to the vacuum insulation material to form a dry and degassed vacuum insulation material. Next, a second vacuum is applied to an internal cavity of the vacuum insulated structure via a vacuum port of the vacuum insulated structure. The method then includes loading the dry and degassed vacuum insulation material into the internal cavity of the vacuum insulated structure through the aperture exit and a loading port of the vacuum insulated structure. The powder processor is removed and applying the second vacuum to the vacuum port of the vacuum insulated structure is continued. Finally, the loading port is sealed to form the vacuum insulated structure. These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present invention will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following