Berlow is my investigations for the in-vehicle next generation refrigeration unit designed to meet challenges in the current units. Design HMI target design parameters as below:
- Both armrest and Frunk unit designed to keep refrigerated food items and drinks cool for six hours.
- Designed with supercapacitor integrated to power for fast cooling.
- The Frunk design to cool the entire area so that the area can be used as a normal luggage / goods storage or as a refrigeration unit for picnics or just storing food items on the way home.
- Both in the armrest and Frunk / Trunk the unit to have display and powering features.
- Design without high power blowers.
- Create two cooling surfaces (top and bottom) to reach 0C within 10 minutes.
- Maximum power consumption to be defined.
Current Design Solutions
The methodology to carry food, cold drinks or other chilled / frozen foods has not changed over the years. You carry a portable refrigerator in your car to transport cold or chilled items that need to stay in their temperature curve – like food drinks in a refrigerator. A lightweight insulated cooler keeps cold food and drinks for hours with its insulation – with or without a power connection. However, you need the power connection if the usage is that you may want to open and close the cooler at an outdoor event or if the timing to transport is more than few hours.
There are also choices for a collapsible thermoelectric soft bag cooler with a power point connection. The only issue is that the soft bags still look like a bag for groceries – not something you can leave in your vehicle after the event or as a standard product. Refer collapsable refrigerator – Google Search.
I also saw a soft refrigerator design, like a collapsable bag which looked interesting but still needs changes to make part of a Frunk or Trunk that does not look out of place – refer soft refrigerator | designboom.com.
Technology Application to Investigate: Peltier Module Refrigerator Cooling System DIY Thermoelectric Cooler Refrigeration Air Cooling Device 4-Chip TEC1-12706 12V Peltier Cooler Semiconductor Water Chiller TEC. The challenge with that is the cooling and water circulation needed in the basic concept. Refer 12v Peltier refregerator systems – Google Search.
Another cool design is the portable Litheli Frozen Pack Caer Fridge with a battery targeted to last six hours or more. It provides option but needs to be redesigned to match car Interiors.
The Tesla Model Y 12 Volt Portable Car Refrigerator, 5Liter(5.28qt), Compressor Freezer, Cooler, Warmer, Fridge for Outdoor, Travel, Camping, Compact Size Vertical is ideally suited for integration into the armrest.
Another is AKwing Tesla Model Y 5-Seater Car Refrigerator, 12V Refrigerator for Tesla Model Y Trunk Car Fridge 16 Quart Portable Freezer Cooler for Camping Tailgating. The customized refrigeration system for the Model Y offers you the flexibility to tailor the temperature according to your specific needs, allowing for a range between 23℉ and 68℉ (with a factory default setting at 41℉). Combined with an optimized condenser tube layout, this ensures that the car fridge rapidly chills its contents within just 20 minutes. Refer Amazon.com: AKwing Tesla Model Y 5 Seater Car Refrigerator, 12V Refrigerator for Tesla Model Y Trunk Car Fridge 16 Quart Portable Freezer Cooler for Camping Tailgating Road Trip (TMY15) : Automotive.
Colku BF-8H mini armrest fridge is not only a freezer but also a warmer, and the setting temperature is from -18-10℃ (cooling to 10-55℃(warming). With 8 liters capacity which can hold about 12 cans of drink with 330ml or 6 bottles of water with 500ml. Besides that, there are two hidden cup holders, an LED display screen and four usb sockets in our product which are very humanized design as for the users, make your travel more convenient. Below are few more examples:
The Bouge RV Rocky 41QT Dual Zone 12V Portable Fridge is another good example. Then there are refrigeration units specifically designed for EV’s Frunk as shown below but they are still basiuc units with the exception of the Ford cooler box is durable and easy to clean, and have a rubberized floor with anti-slide properties.
For more information email designhmi@gmail.com.
High-Efficiency Refrigerator with Cold Energy Storage Enabling Demand Flexibility: In-Vehicle refrigeration units for food items and drinks are based on Household refrigerator technology. Power consumption is high and thus not ideally suited for in-vehicle accessory refrigeration.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed patented solution that uses advanced evaporators with phase change material (PCM)–based long-duration cold energy storage, PCM heat conduction enhancement using a metal foam material, direct-contact defrosting technology, and a low–global warming potential (GWP) alternative refrigerant to achieve flexible load demand management and transformational efficiency improvement in excess of 20%.
This would directly support a smooth transition toward meeting the ambitious goals of net-zero carbon emissions and additionally, the novel refrigerator’s load shifting capability enables lower power consumption – important in EVs.
In refrigerators Novel long-duration load demand management: 1 on/off cycle and 100% of peak load shed/shift/modulate, enabling efficiency improvement by more than 20%
30% reduction in GHG, and 100% reduction in peak electricity use.
Novel load demand management: 1 on/off cycle and 100% of peak load shed/shift/modulate. Compressor on keep the freezer and fresh food compartments at appropriate temperature
Store cooling energy in PCMs.
Can help design two compartments for the FRUNK Refrigerator – one for frozen items and the other for chilled fresh food items. When lower power cooling is needed based on vehicle climate conditions the compressor off PCM provides cooling energy to manage the temperature of the two compartments.
The high-efficiency refrigerator has advanced PCM evaporators with long-duration cold energy storage; PCM evaporators placed in the freezer compartment and fresh food compartment.
For Technical Point of Contact Zhiming Gao at gaoz@ornl.gov.
