The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 31, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 03, 1997
Jeffrey W Chen, Irvine, CA (US);
The Joseph Company, Laguna Niguel, CA (US);
Abstract
A gravity independent space vehicle freezer system which is adapted to provide optimal heat exchange to a medium to be cooled. The space vehicle freezer includes a heat exchange unit located in a housing or cold space, compressor, expander and electric motor. The expander allows the compressed refrigerant to expand at constant entropy instead of constant enthalpy, allowing the refrigerant gas to expand down to a very lower temperature. As a result, the compressed refrigerant can reject heat at a higher temperature prior to expanding to the necessary freezing temperature, thus reducing the size of radiators and providing critical weight and cost savings. The work produced by the expander is directed to the compressor to reduce the work load of the electric motor powering the compressor. The heat exchange unit includes a liner member routing the liquid refrigerant along the heat transfer surface, thereby isolating the evaporation process and overcoming the problem of separating liquid from gas in zero gravity. As a result of this process, the time required for the heat transfer process is decreased, thereby allowing for more effective cooling of the product.