Patent Application
20230390728
The present invention relates to a 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus, and more particularly, to a 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus which may be conveniently used in a storehouse in which agricultural products are stored.
Cyclopropene derivatives including as 1-methylcyclopropene are substances inhibiting an action of ethylene, which is a plant hormone promoting a ripening process of fruits, flowers, or vegetables, and are known to have excellent effects.
In particular, since 1-MCP is present in a gas phase at room temperature, the inside of a storage warehouse for agricultural products may be easily treated with the 1-MCP. However, since cyclopropene compounds including 1-MCP are prone to polymerization, it may be difficult to store the cyclopropene compounds for a long period of time using a general method.
To address such an issue, Korean Patent Registration No. 10-18977419 discloses an apparatus for easily and directly generating 1-methylcyclopropene in a desired location using a carrier gas by preparing a first container and a second container.
However, such a prior art should develop an apparatus into which two or three containers are inserted, resulting in manufacturing and use inconveniences such as an increase in weight and volume of the apparatus and correct insertion of each container into the apparatus.
An object of the present invention is to provide a 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus including a main body in which a single container is mounted.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus having a simple structure in which a cap is simply coupled to and separated from the main body.
The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-described objects, and other objects not described will be more clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.
A 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a container a 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) precursor and a reaction solution, reacting with the 1-methylcyclopropene precursor to generate 1-methylcyclopropene, therein and having a pair of through-holes formed on an upper portion thereof, a main body having an accommodation space for accommodating the container, and a cap coupled to the upper portion of the main body in a state in which the container is accommodated in the accommodation space of the main body, wherein a recess region for accommodating a portion of the cap is formed in the upper portion of the main body, and a discharge terminal and an introduction terminal protruding upwardly are formed in the recess region, the cap includes an upper frame, a lower frame, and a first tube and a second tube disposed between the upper frame and the lower frame, the lower frame includes a pair of first tube connection terminals, disposed on one side and the other side, and a pair of second tube connection terminals disposed between the pair of first tube connection terminals, upper portions of the pair of first tube connection terminals are connected to one side of the first tube and one side of the second tube, upper portions of the pair of second tube connection terminals are connected to the other side of the first tube and the other side of the second tube, lower portions of the pair of first tube connection terminals are connected to the discharge terminal and the introduction terminal, respectively, the lower portions of the pair of second tube connection terminals are connected to the pair of through-holes, respectively, the introduction terminal is connected to a discharge hole formed in an outer side of the main body, and the 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus includes a control unit configured to discharge a carrier gas to the discharge terminal to discharge a reactant, including the 1-methylcyclopropene generated in the container, through the discharge hole.
In the 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, complementary coupling elements may be formed at the lower frame of the cap and the recess region of the main body such that the lower frame is accommodated in the recess region to be stably coupled thereto.
In the 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, a pair of through-holes may be formed in a side surface of the lower frame, a pusher, slidably movable by elastic force, may be formed in a location corresponding to the pair of through-holes in the recess region, a removable button may be formed on the main body to control sliding movement of the pusher, and the pusher may be inserted into the through-hole to be fixed when the lower frame is seated in the recess region, and the pusher may be put out from the through-hole to remove the lower frame from the recess region when the removable button is pressed by external force.
In the 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one projection may be formed on a side surface of the recess region such that an external side surface of the lower frame is brought into close contact with the side surface of the recess region to be fixed thereto.
In the 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, a rubber ring may be coupled to each of the lower portions of the pair of first tube connection terminals to maintain airtightness when the lower portions of the pair of first tube connection terminals are connected to the discharge terminal and the introduction terminal, respectively.
In the 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, each of the discharge terminal and the introduction terminal may include a tube joint, into which the lower portion of the first tube connection terminal is inserted, and an elastic material disposed below the tube joint to apply force in an upward direction, and the tube joints may be configured such that upward movements thereof are limited by external frames of the discharge terminal and the introduction terminal, respectively.
The 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include at least one magnetic material disposed inside the container and a magnetic motor disposed at the container and configured to apply magnetic force to the magnetic material such that the magnetic material is moved to mix materials accommodated in the container.
The 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a heating unit disposed at the container and configured to apply heat to the container in a state of being accommodated in the accommodation space of the main body.
The 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a circulation fan disposed at the main body and configured to facilitate diffusion of the reactant, comprising the 1-methylcyclopropene, discharged through the through-hole.
In the 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the container may include a container body and a container cap separably coupled an upper portion of the container body, and the pair of through-holes may be formed in an upper portion of the container cap, and an elastic material may be formed on an edge of each of the pair of through-holes to enhance airtightness.
A 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention adopts a simple structure including a main body in which only a single container is mounted, and thus may be easily manufactured and easily used by a user without confusion of a container.
In addition, a separable cap is provided in an upper portion of the main body, allowing a user to easily generate 1-methylcyclopropene in a storehouse and resulting in easy maintenance.
Advantageous effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-description, and other various effects are included in this specification.
Various advantages and features of the present invention and methods accomplishing the same will become apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein but will be implemented in various forms. The embodiments have made disclosure of the present invention complete and are provided so that those skilled in the art can easily understand the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will be defined by the scope of the appended claims. Like reference numerals throughout the description denote like elements.
Hereinafter, a 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The container 200 may contain a 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) precursor and a reaction solution, reacting with the 1-methylcyclopropene precursor to generate 1-methylcyclopropene, therein.
In this case, the reaction solution may be a fluorine anion-containing compound, and a mixed solution in the container 100 may be a solution in which an amount of the fluoride anion-containing compound solution is 1 to 5 equivalent weights based on 1 equivalent weight of the 1-methylcyclopropene precursor.
The fluoride anion-containing compound solution may be prepared by dissolving a fluoride anion-containing compound in a solvent. The solvent is not particularly limited as long as it dissolves the fluoride anion-containing compound. Specifically, the solvent may be a polar and aprotic solvent such as DMF, DMSO, dimethylacetamide, 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, or the like.
The 1-MCP precursor is in a liquid state, and thus may be used as it is without dissolving the 1-MCP precursor in a separate solvent. However, if there is a need to accurately produce a small amount of 1-MCP, the 1-MCP precursor may be diluted using a solvent and then used after accurately measuring the amount thereof.
In addition, a concentration of the fluoride anion-containing compound solution may be 5% to 65%, more preferably, 10% to 60%.
A material and a shape of the container 200 are not limited as long as the container has a structure allowing contained substances to be stably accommodated and to be discharged, as necessary. For example, the most widely used resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene may be used in terms of durability, lightweight, and economical costs, and a fluorinated resin such as Teflon may be also preferable in terms of durability, lightweight, handling convenience, and reliability of equipment.
In general, 1-MCP has a sufficient effect in air even at a low concentration of 1 ppm or less, so that approximately 0.275 to 19.25 g of a 60% diluted solution of the 1-MCP precursor and approximately 0.825 to 140 ml of a 20% diluted solution of the fluoride anion-containing compound are required to treat warehouses of 10 m3 to 1,000 m3. Accordingly, the container 200 used in the present invention may be a container having a capacity of approximately 200 ml. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the capacity of the container 200 may be selected within a range from 100 ml to 5000 ml depending on a capacity of a storehouse 100 and a size of the main body 300.
The container 200 may include a container body and a container cap 210 separably coupled to an upper portion of the container body. The container body may have a shape of a cylinder of which upper portion is opened, and the container cap 210 may be formed to have a shape of a hemisphere having a diameter decreased in an upward direction.
As will be described later in connection to
At least one magnetic material (not illustrated) may be disposed inside the container 200. The magnetic material may be a single magnetic bar or a plurality of magnetic bars, and may be rotated inside the container 200 by magnetic force, applied by a magnetic motor (not illustrated) disposed at the main body 300, to easily mix heterogeneous materials in the container 200.
The main body 300 may have an accommodation space for accommodating the container 200. A recess region for accommodating a portion of the cap 100 may be formed in the upper portion of the main body 300, and the accommodation space may be formed in a central portion of the recess region.
A discharge terminals 360a and an introduction terminals 360b, upwardly protruding from a bottom, may be formed on left and right sides of the accommodation space in the recess region.
As will be described later, when a compressor (not illustrated) operates under the control of a controller (not illustrated) installed at the main body 300, a carrier gas may be discharged through the discharge terminal 360a, the discharged carrier gas may pass through the inside of the container 200 via the cap, and a reactant inside the container 200 may be introduced back into the main body through the introduction terminal 360b by the carrier gas.
In the drawings, the recess region is illustrated as being formed to have a rectangular shape and the accommodation space is illustrated as having a cylindrical shape corresponding to the shape of the container 200, but this is only an example. The accommodation space may have another shape to correspond to the shape of the container 200, and the recess region may also have various other shapes such as a circular shape, an elliptical shape, or the like.
A power button 320 may be disposed on one side of an upper surface of the main body 300 to control turn-on and turn-off of the 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus 10. A display unit 330 may be disposed around the power button 320 to describe an operating state of the main body 300. Although only the power button 320 and the display unit 330 are illustrated in the drawings, buttons for various other controls such as a reset button or a test mode button may be formed, or the display unit 330 may be replaced with a touch panel.
A discharge hole 340 may be formed in the other side of the upper portion of the main body 300. The discharge hole 340 may serve to discharge a reactant, including 1-methylcyclopropene generated by mixing substances in the container 200, to an external entity.
The discharge hole 340 may be connected to the introduction terminal 360 by a pipe such as a tube to discharge the carrier gas and the reactant, introduced into the introduction terminal 360, to an external entity. Although the discharge hole 340 is illustrated as being formed in the upper portion of the main body 300, the discharge hole 340 may be formed in various locations such as a side surface of the main body 300, or the like.
In addition, although not illustrated, an air circulation outlet may be disposed adjacent to the discharge hole 340. A circulation fan may be disposed inside the air circulation outlet to facilitate diffusion of the reactant, including the 1-methylcyclopropene, discharge through the discharge hole 340.
A pair of removable buttons 360a and 360b may be disposed on the upper surface of the main body 300. A pair of pushers 380a and 380b may be disposed on a side surface of the recess region, and the pair of pushers 380a and 308b may be disposed to protrude from the side surface of the recess region. When the pair of removable buttons 360a and 360b are pressed by external force, the pair of pushers 380a and 380b may be slidably moved so as not to protrude from the side surface of the recess region by elastic force. A detailed operation thereof will be described later with reference to
The cap 100 may be coupled to the upper portion of the main body 300 in a state in which the container 200 is accommodated in the accommodation space of the main body 300. The cap 100 may be formed by coupling an upper frame 120 and a lower frame 140 to each other, and a pair of through-holes 142 for accommodating the pair of pushers 380a and 380b may be formed in one side and the other side of the lower frame 140.
The cap 100 may include a structure, such as a connection terminal and a tube, transferring the carrier gas, discharged from the discharge terminal 360a of the main body 300, into the container 200 and transferring the reactant, generated in the container 200, to the introduction terminal 360b, which will be described later with reference to
Projections 370a and 370b may be formed below the side surface of the recess region. Although not illustrated in
The projections 370a and 370b may be brought into close contact with a side surface of the lower frame 140 of the cap 100 to serve to stably couple the cap 100 to the main body 300 when the cap 100 is accommodated in the recess region of the main body 300.
The detailed structure and operation of the 1-methylcyclopropene generation apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
Referring to
A pair of first tube connection terminals 145a and 145b may be formed on one side and the other side of the lower frame 140, and a pair of second tube connection terminals 147a and 147b may be formed in a central portion between the pair of first tube connection terminals 145a and 145b.
The first tube connection terminals 145a and 145b and the second tube connection terminals 145a and 145b may be formed to protrude upwardly and downwardly from an upper surface and a lower surface of the lower frame 140, respectively.
An upper protruding portion of each of the first tube connection terminals 145a and 145b may be connected to one side of each of the first tube 162a and the second tube 162b, and an upper protruding portion of each of the second tube connection terminals 147a and 147b may be connected to the other side of each of the first tube 162b and the second tube 162b.
In
Lower protruding portions of the first tube connection terminals 145a and 145b may be coupled to the rubber rings 164a and 164b, respectively. The rubber rings 164a and 164b may serve to enhance airtightness when the first tube connection terminals 145a and 145b are coupled to the discharge terminal 360a and the introduction terminal 360b of the main body 300.
It may be identified that the pair of pushers 380a and 380b protrude to the side surface of the recess region of the main body through a through-hole formed in the side surface of the recess region. In an idle state, the pushers 380a and 380b may be disposed to protrude inwardly of the recess region through the through-hole formed in the side surface of the recess region, which may result from elastic force generated by an elastic material disposed inside the main body 300. The elastic material may be formed to have various structures such as a spring, an elastic plastic structure, or the like.
The elastic material may be connected to each of the pair of removable buttons 310a and 310b. When the removable buttons 310a and 310b are downwardly pressed by external force such as pressure applied by a user, the elastic material may be deformed, and thus the pushers 380a and 380b may be slidably moved to enter the through-hole so as not to protrude from the side surface of the recess region.
A cross-section of each of the pair of pushers 380a and 380b may be formed to have a tapered inclined surface formed such that left and right widths thereof are decreased in an upward direction. If they are formed as described above, when the lower frame 140 of the cap 100 is inserted into the recess region, a bottom surface of the lower frame 140 may press the inclined surfaces of each of the pushers 380a and 380b and the pushers 380a and 380b may be naturally moved into the through-hole formed on the side surface of the recess region by the pressing.
Accordingly, when the lower frame 140 is brought into contact with the bottom surface of the recess region, the pushers 380a and 380b may be automatically inserted again into the pair of through-holes 142 formed in the lower frame 140 by elastic force, and thus the cap 100 may be stably fixed to the recess region of the main body 300, as illustrated in
When a user simultaneously presses the removable buttons 310a and 310b in the fixed state as illustrated in
In this case, although not illustrated, an elastic projection may be provided on a bottom surface of the recess region or a bottom surface of the lower frame 140 to facilitate the separation of the cap 100. The elastic projection may allow the cap 100 to automatically protrude upwardly when the user presses the removable buttons 310a and 310b.
Referring to
Referring to
A circular through-hole 53 may be formed in an upper portion of the joint cap 51 to provide a space into which first tube connection terminals 145a and 145b are inserted. The through-hole 53, formed in the upper portion of the joint cap 51, may extend to the joint body 55 and the joint end 59 overall to form a path through which a carrier gas or a reactive material passes.
The carrier gas may be an inert gas such as nitrogen, normal air, or the like.
A body recess 57 grooved to a predetermined depth may be formed on a lower end of the joint body 55, and an end recess 58 grooved to a predetermined depth may be formed on an upper side of the joint end 59.
Although not illustrated in the drawing, a tube connected from a compressor may be connected to the end recess 58, and may be coupled while allowing airtightness thereof to be maintained by an external side surface of the end recess 58 formed to be tapered and the end recess 58.
Referring to
Springs 7a and 7b may be coupled to joint bodies 55 of the tube joints 5a and 5b. The spring may allow upper surfaces of the joint caps 51 of the tube joints 5a and 5b to be brought into contact with upper frames of the discharge terminal 360a and the introduction terminal 360b by elastic force.
When the first tube connection terminal 145a and the second tube connection terminal 145b are inserted into through-holes of the joint caps 51 of the tube joints 5a and 5b, the joint caps 51 may be designed to be partially flexible in a downward direction by the spring. In this case, a vertical movement range may be determined by a vertical width of the body recess 57 formed on the joint body 55. For example, the vertical width of the body recess 57 may be designed such that a vertical flexible range is approximately 10 mm.
In addition, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
In addition, referring to
That is, when the user presses the upper frame 120 of the cap 100 and inserts the upper frame 120 of the cap 100 into the recess region of the upper portion of the main body 300, the bottom surface of the lower frame 140 may be brought into contact with the bottom surface of the recess region while the pair of pushers 380a and 380b are inserted into a through-hole, formed in a side surface of the recess region, by the pressed force.
When the bottom surface of the lower frame 140 is brought into contact with the bottom surface of the recess region, the pair of pushers 380a and 380b may protrude outwardly of the through-hole in the side surface of the recess region and be inserted into the pair of through-holes of the lower frame 140 to stably fix the cap 100 to the main body 300.
In this case, when the cap 100 is coupled to the main body 300, the first tube connection terminals 145a and 145b are inserted into and coupled to the discharge terminal 360a and the introduction terminal 360b of the main body 300, and the second tube terminals 147a and 147b may be inserted into and coupled to the pair of through-holes 210a and 210b of the container 200 disposed in the accommodation space of the main body 300.
In this case, an element such as an elastic film formed of an elastic material may be additionally formed on edges of the pair of through-holes 210a and 210b to enhance the airtightness.
When the user presses a power button 320 in the coupled state as illustrated in
The injected carrier gas may pass through the through-hole 53 of the tube joint 5a and may be injected into the through-hole 210a of the container 200 through the first tube 162a.
The carrier gas injected into the through-hole 210a may discharge the reactant, containing 1-methylcyclopropene generated by a reaction between the 1-methylcyclopropene precursor and the reactive material mixed in the container 200, through the through-hole 210b to be transferred to the introduction terminal 360b through the second tube 162b.
The carrier gas and the reactant, transferred through the through-hole of the tube joint 5b of the introduction terminal 360b, may be discharged through the through-hole 340 via a connection pipe (not illustrated), such as a tube, connected to the joint end 59 of the tube joint 5b.
In this case, prior to the operating the compressor to circulate the carrier gas, mixing materials in the container 200 and heating the container 200 may be performed to promote the reaction of the materials in the container 200.
The mixing the materials in the container 200 may be performed by applying magnetic force, applied by a magnetic motor, to at least one magnetic bar disposed in the container 200 to rotate the magnetic bar.
The heating the container 200 may be performed by applying heat to the accommodation space through a heating element (not illustrated) disposed inside the body 300. In this case, heating temperature may be set between 10 degrees and 60 degrees, preferably between 20 degrees and 50 degrees.
In the embodiment of
In this case, only a discharge terminal may be formed at a main body 300 and an introduction terminal may be omitted. There may be provided a structure in which a tube, connected to a through-hole through which a reactant generated in a container is discharged, is connected to the discharge terminal 190.
Except for the above-described differences, other structures in which a power button 320 and a display unit 330 are provided at the main body 300 are the same, so that detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.
The foregoing description of the present invention is intended for exemplifications, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be easily modified in other specific forms without changing the technical idea and or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all aspects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented in a distributed manner, and similarly, components described as distributed may be implemented in a combined form. The scope of the present invention is shown by the following claims rather than the above description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2020-0146455 | Nov 2020 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2021/003805 | 3/27/2021 | WO |
