Pennsylvania Patent of the Month – October 2022
Refrigeration systems have seen massive innovative progress since their initial conception. Ice Qube, Inc. has been contributing to this development since their founding in 1995. The company has been working to fulfill market needs in an environmentally friendly, diverse, and cost effective way. This can only be accomplished through regular R&D – which is why the company has been recently granted a new patent for their technology.
Their vending machine refrigeration method works to bring improved cooling abilities to vending machines. With existing systems, vending machines are cooled with a fixed-speed, full-speed operation mode. The immaturity of this process is clearly seen when comparing against other refrigeration technology. For instance, vending machines typically do not have any reasonable or automated way to regulate the temperature and their cooling systems draw large amounts of power.
Ice Qube’s design includes a compressor, evaporator, condenser controller, and a temperature sensor. This sensor is crucial to the reliable temperature control, providing feedback of a detected temperature to the controller. This feedback is compared to the set temperature. Any deviation automatically adjusts the motor speed of the compressor, fan speed of the evaporator, and fan speed of the condenser. This intricate interactivity ensures the system can avoid full speed operation, conserving energy efficiency while maintaining a desired temperature.
Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.
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Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.
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