Twinbird Corporation develops a practical "New Cooling System using Natural Refrigerant (Helium Gas)"
Twinbird Corporation (Mr. Shigekatsu Nomizu, President and Chief Excecutive Officer, Head quartered in Niigata Prefecture Japan) has successfully developed a compact FPSC (Free Piston Stirling Cooler) after the technical introduction and collaboration with Global Cooling BV (Arnhem, The Netherlands, Research Center in Athens Ohio, USA; Principal Dr. David Berchowitz). Having maintained quality and reliability, further work is underway and concentrated on manufacturing and processing technology.
Twinbird Corporation are in the final stage of the development work on the Free Piston Stirling Cooler "FPSC-TB40" and expects to have market ready products in Fiscal Year 2003. The TB40 has significant differences to the conventional Rankine compressor or Peltier (thermoelectric) module type refrigeration systems. It is a new type of refrigeration system that uses neither ozone depleting nor global warming gas and no lubrication oil. The cooling technique is based on the Stirling cycle for maximum efficiency. Aside from being environmentally friendly, the unit is also compact, light weight and may be operated on many different power sources such as AC or DC electricity and photovoltaics (solar battery).
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Main Features
1) Rapid Cooling to deep temperature
It is possible to achieve -20° (-4°F) in a small sized freezer with one FPSC whereas it
may be difficult to reach such temperatures with conventional Rankine compressors.
Under no-load conditions -50°C (-58°F) can be obtained in about 2 minutes at an
ambient temperature of 25°C(77°F). |
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Major Specification (data on the trial samples)
| Item | Specification | |
| 1 | Cooling system | Free piston Stirling cooler |
| 2 | Refrigerant | Helium gas |
| 3 | Capacity | 40W at -23.3°C Cold side , +35°C warm side |
| 4 | COP | 1.2 |
| 5 | Power supply | DC12V, 3A |
| 6 | Dimension | 86mm diameter, 245mm length |
| 7 | Weight | 1.6Kg |
| 8 | Ambient temperature | 0°C - 50°C |
Comparison table of cooling systems (on Twinbird product)
| System | FPSC | Compressor | Thermoelectric |
| Power Consumption | 40W | 40W | 60W |
| COP* | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
| Lowest temperature | -50°C | -20°C | -5°C |
| Availability of cool and warm | No | No | Yes |
| Freezing | Yes | Yes | Not good |
| Solar battery operation | Yes | Not good | Fair |
| Size | Good | Not good | Fair |
| Weight | Good | Not good | Fair |
| Influence to environment | Good | Fair | Not good** |
** Uses a lot of energy and is therefore poor from a global warming view point.
The Background of FPSC Research and Development:
We, at Twinbird Corporation, developed and marketed the various thermo-electric
module (Peltier) type hot/cool boxes for such as outdoor, automobile and personal, for
the first time in 1989 and have since sold large numbers of these products. During this
period we concentrated on research and development of refrigeration technology with
Peltier and others, and introduced novel design concepts. Simultaneously the
requirement and needs for global environment conservation and energy saving were
raised and we have been extended our efforts to meet and satisfy these requests of our
customers.
Given these circumstances, we have been engaged in refrigeration technology as one of
our core technologies and in particular decided to introduce Global Cooling's FPSC
environmentally friendly and higher efficiency technology for our next generation
refrigeration systems.
The development of mass production FPSC refrigeration systems enable us to meet the
following market demands and needs that was difficult to obtain with the thermo-
electric (Peltier) and compressor type refrigeration systems;
1) To cool faster
2) To cool to deeper temperatures.
3) Compact and smaller sized.
4) No chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) nor hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gas and no lubrication oil/grease.
5) High efficiency and energy saving
The FPSC is environmentally friendly and energy saving, and offers new product
opportunities. For example, we are able to anticipate a dry-ice type freezer / refrigerator
using this device.
The Current Status of FPSC Engineering Development:
We have organized the Core Technology Laboratory (CTL) and started the development project of the FPSC in 1998. This effort has since been promoted to our new and core business unit. Utilizing our know how technology of thermo-electric refrigeration, joint research and study with university institutions, and concentrating local associates in precision technologies of stainless steel processing (and other materials), we have completed a number of sample units of FPSC-TB40.
From now on, we will be concentrating our development work on mass production engineering development aiming at cost equivalence to the Rankine compressor. We will work to expand the line-up beside the TB40 and add these new models to our business operations in the near future.
The Application of FPSC:
Our FPSC-TB40 can be operated by various energy sources such as AC electricity, DC
car battery, photovoltaic (solar battery) or in-house generators etc.
FPSC-TB40 can start operation with smaller voltage than DC 12V electricity because it
is operated in resonance by an electronically controlled linear motor. The FPSC is most
suitable to apply to small counter top freezers / refrigerators, cooler boxes for outdoor
use and car use. The portable domestic refrigerators and refrigeration systems for use
in remote areas where no electricity is available become practical with this technology.
The biggest advantageous characteristics of FPSCs is the use of naturally occurring Helium gas and the hermetically sealed stainless casing (sealed type refrigeration system) that makes easier for designing the integration of FPSC to the various products. Additionally FPSCs can be user set to a precise temperature within a wider range such as zero degree refrigeration or minus 30°C(minus 22°F) freezer conditions because it operates on a continuous modulation principle.
In the first year of the production, we intend to integrate the FPSC into small freezer / refrigerators and commercial applications such as small water coolers. As we approach the mass production stage in the following year, we shall start applying the technology to automotive cooler boxes, small outdoor leisure refrigerators and other consumer appliances in order to develop the market. We will introduce a wide range of products that can be developed with this next generation refrigeration technology featuring compactness, lightweight and environmentally friendly characteristics.
For Inquiry, please contact to; e-mail : sc@twinbird.co.jp,
Mr. H. Fujino or Mr. K. Sone,
SC Business Development Operations, Twinbird Corporation