EP3779331A1

EP3779331A1 - Transportable cold storage container

Info

Publication number: EP3779331A1
Application number: EP19775254.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Akihiro Kobayashi; Yuji Kishima
Original assignee: Koki Holdings Co Ltd
Current assignee: Koki Holdings Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-03-30
Filing date: 2019-02-22
Publication date: 2021-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 2039-02-22
Also published as: CN111699353A; EP3779331A4; CN111699353B; WO2019187849A1; EP3779331B1; JP6954457B2; JPWO2019187849A1; JP2021131227A

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to reduce power consumption and improve cooling efficiency by independently controlling Peltier elements and fans in a transportable cold storage container, and to provide a transportable cold storage container wherein a shoulder belt can be used as a pulling cord during movement by means of casters. Peltier elements are driven by a first power supply unit 80, and fans are driven respectively by second power supply units 81 and 82. In accordance with the temperature inside the container, operation of the Peltier elements is switched between a first driving voltage and a second driving voltage which is lower than the first driving voltage, and at this time the fans are controlled independently from the operation of the Peltier elements; therefore, highly efficient cooling performance can be achieved while minimizing power consumption. Furthermore, it is possible to select a first attachment state, in which first and second belt attachment parts 16 and 17 are used, or a second attachment state, in which transport is possible while casters 88a are in contact with the ground.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a cold storage container that is transportable and can be driven by a battery.

Related Art

A transportable cold storage container that has a housing capable of accommodating food and the like and can cool the food and the like (containments) accommodated in the housing is commercially available (patent literature 1). In a place where an external power supply is available, the cold storage container described in patent literature 1 cools the containments by driving Peltier elements with the external power supply. At this time, cooling while a battery pack mounted on the cold storage container is charged is possible. In a place where an external power supply is not available, the containments are cooled by using electric power of a charged internal battery to drive the Peltier elements. The Peltier element is a semiconductor element capable of freely performing temperature control such as cooling or heating by a direct current and can generate a temperature difference between both surfaces of the element. By passing a direct current through the Peltier element, heat can be absorbed on the low-temperature side and be generated on the high-temperature side, and the amount of heat to be pumped can be changed by changing the voltage applied to the Peltier element. In addition, because the direction of the heat to be pumped can be changed by only changing the polarity of the current flowing through the Peltier element, the above container can be used not only as a cold storage container but also as a hot storage container, and a cold and hot storage container which is also capable of keeping warm is formed in the technique of patent literature 1.
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional cold storage container 101. The cold storage container 101 is equipped with a heat exchange mechanism 150 using a Peltier element 151 in a door portion 130 that opens and closes an upper opening of a container portion 110, and is driven by a battery 61 accommodated inside a battery accommodation chamber 120 arranged on the side surface of the container portion 110. Above the left and right sides of the container portion 10, a first grip portion 116 and a second grip portion 117 serving as handles during gripping are formed. The heat exchange mechanism 150 includes: the Peltier element 151 arranged in the door portion 130 and used for cooling the interior, an interior fan 157 arranged on the inner side (inner wall) of the door portion 130 and used for stirring air in the interior, and an outer fan 155 arranged on the outer side (outer wall) of the door portion 130 and used for cooling the Peltier element 151. An outer heat sink 154 is arranged on the outer side of the Peltier element 151.

[Literature of related art]

[Patent literature]

Patent literature 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2017-122521

SUMMARY

[Problems to be Solved]

In the transportable cold storage container of patent literature 1, cooling performance of about 20°C with respect to the outside air temperature can be expected, but there is a demand for further cooling performance when the outside air temperature is as high as in summer. In addition, there is a demand that the cold storage container be configured to be as transportable as possible, and that the interior capacity (internal volume) be as large as possible with respect to the limited external volume of the housing.
Furthermore, in order to facilitate movement on a flat ground such as asphalt road surface and the like, two casters are arranged at the bottom, a large synthetic resin handle is arranged on a side surface opposite to the casters, and one side of the container portion is moved while being lifted up with the handle (a caster movement mode). However, because a dedicated handle is arranged, the size of the handle is relatively large and bulky. In particular, it is more advantageous for a user who does not or rarely performs the caster movement that there is no handle.
The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an objective thereof is to provide a transportable cold storage container in which cooling performance is improved by arranging two or more Peltier elements.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a transportable cold storage container in which power consumption is reduced and cooling efficiency is improved by separately arranging power supplies of Peltier elements and element cooling fans and effectively controlling the Peltier elements and the fans.
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a transportable cold storage container, in which a caster is arranged at the bottom on one side of a container portion and a third belt attachment portion with a shoulder belt hung thereon is arranged on the other side surface to facilitate transport during a caster mode.
Furthermore, a cold storage container is provided in which a caster is arranged at the bottom on one side of a container portion and not only transport using a shoulder belt but also transport using the caster can be performed.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a transportable cold storage container which has a belt attachment portion and in which a shoulder belt can be attached, wherein an additional belt attachment portion is arranged and the shoulder belt can also be used as a pulling cord during caster movement.

[Means to Solve Problems]

Representative features of the inventions disclosed in this application are as follows.
According to one feature of the present invention, a transportable cold storage container capable of being driven by: a container portion that defines an interior in which an article is accommodated, a door portion that closes an opening of the container portion, a plurality of Peltier elements that cools the interior, an interior fan that stirs air in the interior, an outer fan for cooling the Peltier elements, a control unit that controls the Peltier elements, and a battery being attachable/detachable; wherein the Peltier elements are driven by a first power supply unit, the interior fan and the outer fan are driven by a second power supply unit, and the first power supply unit and the second power supply unit are controlled independently of each other. In addition, the second power supply unit is configured by two independent power supply units, and the interior fan and the outer fan are also driven independently. A plurality of Peltier elements is arranged and is connected in parallel to a common power supply unit.
According to another feature of the present invention, two Peltier elements are disposed in the door portion, one heat conductor and an inner fin that are in common contact with an inner surface side of the two Peltier elements are arranged, the interior fan is arranged to be adjacent to the inner fin; an outer fin (an outer heat sink) that is in common contact with an outer surface side of the two Peltier elements is arranged, and the outer fan is arranged to be adjacent to the outer fin. In addition, the Peltier elements and the heat conductor are disposed in a region that is equal to or less than half of the area of the door portion facing the opening in a top view. The Peltier element has a quadrangular shape in a top view and an electric wire is drawn out from the vicinity of a corner of one side of the quadrilateral, and the two Peltier elements are disposed in parallel so that the drawing directions of the electric wires are opposite to each other. One side of the Peltier element from which the electric wire is drawn is respectively disposed to be close to the long side of the door portion.
According to still another feature of the present invention, in order to set the temperature of the interior to a target value, a first driving voltage being a rated voltage of a driving rate of the Peltier elements or close to the rated voltage and a second driving voltage lower than the first driving voltage are used, and temperature control for the interior is performed while switching between the first driving voltage, the second driving voltage and driving stop. In addition, an external power supply part is included in addition to the electric power supply using a battery, and the Peltier elements are driven by a driving rate of 100% when electric power is supplied from the external power supply. Furthermore, even when the Peltier elements is lowered to the second driving voltage in order to keep the temperature of the interior at the target value, the driving of the interior fan and the outer fan is kept constant.
According to still another feature of the present invention, two Peltier elements are arranged in a transportable cold storage container and are connected in parallel to a common power supply unit. A temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the interior is arranged, and the control unit independently controls energization or cutoff of the two Peltier elements based on an output from the temperature sensor. The container portion has an opening at the upper surface, and the door portion is a swing type door portion being horizontal in a closed state and has a substantially rectangular shape in a top view. Two Peltier elements are disposed in parallel in the door portion so that the drawing directions of electric wires are opposite to each other. At this time, the two Peltier elements are respectively attached in common to a metal heat conductor arranged to be in contact with the inner surface side of the Peltier elements, an outer fin arranged on the outer surface side of the Peltier elements, and an inner fin arranged on the inner side of the heat conductor. In addition, one outer fan is arranged on the outer fin, and the interior fan is arranged on the inner fin. A battery accommodation chamber having a housing protruding to an outer part of the container portion and capable of accommodating two batteries is disposed on a short side surface of the container portion.
According to still another feature of the present invention, the transportable cold storage container includes: a caster arranged on one side of the bottom surface of the container portion, a first belt attachment portion which is arranged on an outer edge portion of the opening of the container portion and a side where the caster is located, a second belt attachment portion which is arranged on an outer edge portion of the opening and a side opposite to the side where the caster is located, and a belt for shouldering being caused to pass through the first belt attachment portion and the second belt attachment portion; wherein a third belt attachment portion is arranged near the second belt attachment portion, and the belt can be used in a first attachment state in which the first belt attachment portion and the second belt attachment portion are used. In addition, a part of the belt for shouldering can be drawn out from the space between the second belt attachment portion and the third belt attachment portion by engaging the part of the belt with the third belt attachment portion, and thereby transport is possible while the caster is brought into contact with the ground and one side of the container portion is floated (a second attachment state). The first attachment state and the second attachment state can be selected. In addition, the transportable cold storage container has Peltier elements for cooling the inside of the container portion and a pack-type battery being attachable/detachable for supplying electric power to the Peltier elements, and a battery accommodation chamber that accommodates the battery is arranged on a side surface on a side of the container portion on which the third belt attachment portion is arranged.
According to still another feature of the present invention, the function of the caster is restricted in a state that the container portion is placed horizontally, and the caster functions only in a state that one side of the container portion is floated. In addition, a part of the belt extending along the second belt attachment portion and the third belt attachment portion is caused to pass through a drawing ring, and a change from the first attachment state to the second attachment state can be made by a user drawing out the drawing ring.
According to still another feature of the present invention, the third belt attachment portion is arranged at an upper part of the battery accommodation chamber, and the second belt attachment portion and the third belt attachment portion are disposed with a distance therebetween in the horizontal or/and vertical direction. In addition, the Peltier elements, the interior fan, the outer fan, and the outer heat sink are arranged on a side of the door portion opposite to the caster and a side close to the battery accommodation chamber. Furthermore, an elastic body is arranged in a gap between the outer heat sink and the housing of the door portion, thus the rattle of the outer heat sink during caster movement is suppressed.
According to still another feature of the present invention, an axial direction of the rotary shaft of the caster and an axial direction of a pivot shaft of the door portion are disposed to intersect with each other. In addition, the axial direction of the rotary shaft of the caster and the sliding direction for mounting of the battery are disposed parallel to each other. Furthermore, the battery accommodation chamber has an opening for allowing the battery to be mounted inside, and a pivot cover that closes the opening, and the axial direction of the rotary shaft of the caster and the axial direction of a pivot shaft of the cover of the battery accommodation chamber are disposed to intersect with each other. Furthermore, in the second attachment state being a caster movement mode, the belt works to press the door portion and thus the rattle of the door portion during movement can be suppressed.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, a plurality of Peltier elements is efficiently disposed inside a limited housing, and thus cooling efficiency can be greatly improved. In addition, because power supplies for Peltier elements and element cooling fans (interior fan and outer fan) are separately arranged, rotation fluctuations of the fans caused by voltage switching of the Peltier elements can be prevented, a stable air blowing effect of the fans can be maintained regardless of an operating condition of the Peltier elements, and the cooling efficiency can be increased compared with the conventional case. In addition, because the operation time for the obtained cooling effect can be extended, the usable time when the battery is used can be extended. Furthermore, by changing the usage of the shoulder belt, it is possible to easily make a change into not only a shouldering state (the first attachment state) but also a caster utilization state (the second attachment state) in which the caster is used to cause a side opposite to the caster to move while rising upward and rotating, and thus a convenient transportable cold storage container can be achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a cold storage container 1 of an example of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a right side view of the cold storage container 1 in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a right side view of the cold storage container 1 in FIG. 1, showing a state in which a cover 24 of a battery accommodation chamber 20 is opened.
FIG. 4 is a diagram of a cross-section A-A in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view showing a heat exchange mechanism 50 in FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a diagram of a cross-section B-B in FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 is a diagram of a cross-section D-D in FIG. 2.
FIG. 8 is a diagram of a cross-section C-C in FIG. 1.
FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of the cold storage container 1 of the example of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a relationship between control of a Peltier element voltage and the interior temperature in a conventional portable cold storage container.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a relationship between control of a Peltier element voltage and the interior temperature in the cold storage container 1 of the example.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state in which a part of a shoulder belt 65 in the cold storage container 1 of the example is drawn out to be in a second attachment state.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the shape of a grip 69 arranged as a drawing ring of the cold storage container 1 in FIG. 12.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the single grip 69 in FIG. 13, wherein (A) of FIG. 14 is a front view, (B) of FIG. 14 is a top view, and (C) of FIG. 14 is a left side view.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the second attachment state in which a part of the shoulder belt in the cold storage container 1 of the example is also engaged with a third belt attachment portion.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an attachment state in which a part of the shoulder belt in the cold storage container 1 of the example is also engaged with the third belt attachment portion.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a cold storage container 1A of a second example of this example.
FIG. 18 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional cold storage container 101.
FIG. 19 is a horizontal cross-sectional view showing an arrangement state of a Peltier element 151 in the conventional cold storage container 101.
FIG. 20 is a top view showing a DC connection cable and an AC adapter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Example 1

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention are described with reference to the drawings. Besides, in the following drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference signs, and repeated description is omitted. In addition, in this specification, description is made assuming that the front, rear, up, and down directions are directions shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a cold storage container 1. The cold storage container 1 is obtained by adding a heat exchange mechanism using electric power to a so-called cooler box type container, and is configured to be capable of cooling or warming food and the like accommodated therein (hereinafter, referred to as "containments") with pack-type batteries 61 and 62 (see FIG. 3) widely used for power tool as power supplies. The cold storage container 1 has a transportable configuration with an internal volume of about 10-40 liters, for example, 25 liters. A Peltier element is used as the heat exchange mechanism of the cold storage container 1 to enable not only cooling but also warming, but the configuration of this example can also be used to form a cold storage container dedicated to cooling or a hot storage container dedicated to keeping warm. In the specification, regardless of the presence or absence of a hot storage mechanism, the container is referred to as a "cold storage container" as long as there is a cooling function. In the cold storage container 1, a door portion 30 serving as a lid for closing an opening is arranged in a container portion 10 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that has an opening on the upper side. The container portion 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape in which only one surface (the upper surface) is open, and includes four side wall portions (a front wall portion 11a, a rear wall portion 11b (see FIG. 2), a right wall portion 11c, and a left wall portion 11d) defining the opening, and a bottom wall portion 12b serving as a surface on the opposite side when viewed from the opening of the container portion 10. The front wall portion 11a and the rear wall portion 11b (see FIG. 2) are disposed substantially in parallel, the right wall portion 11c connects the right edge of the front wall portion 11a and the right edge of the rear wall portion 11b, and the left wall portion 11d connects the left edge of the front wall portion 11a and the left edge of the rear wall portion 11b. In addition, the upper end of each of the front wall portion 11a, the rear wall portion 11b, the right wall portion 11c, and the left wall portion 11d defines an opening having a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view.
The opening of the container portion 10 is closed by the door portion 30 that can be opened and closed with respect to the container portion 10. The door portion 30 is pivotally supported by a hinge 19 (described later with reference to FIG. 4) on one side of a long side of the opening of the container portion 10. Two latches 18a and 18b are arranged on a long side (here, the upper edge of the front wall portion 11a) of the opening of the door portion 30 opposite to the long side on which the hinge is arranged. The latches 18a and 18b are manually operable lock mechanisms that are fixed in a manner that convex portions formed on the latches 18a and 18b side are caught on convex portions 34a and 34b (described later in FIG. 6) formed on the door portion 30 side, and a known fixing member such as a patch lock, a latch or the like can be used. At the upper edge of the front wall portion 11a of the container portion 10, a convex portion 14 for holding the latches 18a and 18b and forming a recess 14a for a hand to open the door portion 30 is formed. Because the bottom surface of a part of the outer edge of the door portion 30 is exposed above the recess 14a, the outer edge in front of the door portion 30 can be easily pulled upward when the latches 18a and 18b are opened. The state in FIG. 1 is a closed state in which the opening of the container portion 10 is closed. When the door portion 30 is turned upward and comes into an open state, the opening of the container portion 10 is opened, and containments can be accommodated into an accommodation space via the opening. In addition, because the opening is closed when the door portion 30 is in the closed state, an accommodation space 13 comes into a closed state, and the heat exchange by the direct contact of the inside and outside air is minimized.
A first grip portion 16 is formed on the left side of the opening of the container portion 10. Similarly, a second grip portion 17 is formed on the right side of the opening of the container portion 10. The first grip portion 16 and the second grip portion 17 are convex portions formed for transporting while the vicinity of the opposite short sides of the cold storage container 1 is held with both hands, and are arranged near the upper parts of the right wall portion 11c and the left wall portion 11d of the container portion 10. The first grip portion 16 and the second grip portion 17 are formed integrally with the outer surface of the container portion 10 made of a synthetic resin. Recesses 16a and 17a for the operator to easily hold the cold storage container when gripping with both hands are formed on the lower surface side of the parts of the first grip portion 16 and the second grip portion 17 protruding outward in the horizontal direction. In addition, an unillustrated through-hole (described later) for the shoulder belt 65 to penetrate from top to bottom is formed near the center in the front-rear direction of the recesses 16a and 17b. The first grip portion 16 in which the through-hole is formed serves as a first belt attachment portion, and the second grip portion 17 in which the through-hole is formed serves as a second belt attachment portion.
One belt-shaped shoulder belt 65 is stretched between the first belt attachment portion and the second belt attachment portion. Belt adjusters 66 and 67 are members which are fixed so that overlapped parts of the shoulder belt 65 formed by folding back both ends are penetrated and thereby the overlapped belts do not move relatively, and which adjust an effective length used for shouldering. The belt adjusters 66 and 67 are integrally molded parts made of a synthetic resin or metal, and have a shape in which three parallel elongated plates are connected at both ends by an orthogonal connection portion, and in which two E-shaped members are prepared and joined with the opening sides facing each other. The belt adjusters 66 and 67 have sufficient strength when made of a synthetic resin. The shoulder belt 65 is equipped with a shoulder pad 68 for distributing a local load applied to the shoulder of the operator during shouldering. A known pad can be used as the shoulder pad 68, and the shape and material thereof are arbitrary.
A pair of casters 88a is arranged near the left end of the bottom wall portion 12b of the container portion 10. Similarly, caster 88b (not shown in FIG. 1) is arranged near the corner of the rear wall portion, the left wall portion 11d, and the bottom wall portion 12b; the caster 88a is pivotally supported by the container portion 10 and a rotary shaft 89a thereof is directed in the front-rear direction. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the rotary shaft of the caster 88b on the rear side is located coaxially with the rotary shaft 89a, and the axial direction thereof is the front-rear direction. When the container portion 10 is kept horizontal as shown in FIG. 1, even if the casters 88a and 88b are installed, the casters 88a and 88b do not substantially operate and the casters 88a and 88b can operate by making the container portion 10 inclined. Here, the state in which the casters 88a and 88b do not substantially operate includes a state in which the opposite side of the casters 88a and 88b on the lower surface of the bottom wall portion 12b comes into contact with the ground and thereby the horizontal movement of the container portion 10 is restricted.
A battery accommodation chamber 20 having a second rectangular parallelepiped housing is arranged in the right wall portion 11c of the container portion 10. The housing volume of the battery accommodation chamber 20 is configured to be sufficiently smaller than the housing volume of the container portion 10. The battery accommodation chamber 20 is an independent space for accommodating two batteries (described later) and a control circuit board (described later). When the outer wall of the container portion 10 and the outer wall of the battery accommodation chamber 20 are manufactured by integral molding of a synthetic resin, the strength can be sufficiently increased. Because the container portion 10 serving as a container of the cold storage container and the battery accommodation chamber 20 that accommodates a power supply unit such as a battery not shown or the like are configured in separate sections as described above, a limited space can be used effectively without squeezing the internal space of the container portion 10 for mounting of the battery.
A heat exchange mechanism 50 (described later with reference to FIG. 5) using a Peltier element is arranged in the door portion 30 that can be opened and closed. The container portion 10 is not equipped with any main body component of the heat exchange mechanism such as a fan, a heat sink or the like. In order to arrange the heat exchange mechanism, an air suction port 35 of the outer fan described later is arranged on a part of the upper side of the door portion 30, and an air discharge port 36 is arranged on a part of the front side surface of the door portion 30. Besides, although not shown in FIG. 1, an air discharge port similar to the air discharge port 36 on the front is also arranged on a part of the rear side surface of the door portion 30. The air sucked into the door portion 30 from the air suction port 35 is discharged from the air discharge port 36 on the front and the air discharge port at the rear (not shown in FIG. 1)
FIG. 2 is a right side view of the cold storage container 1. Here, a state in which the shoulder belt 65 (see FIG. 1) is removed is shown. The door portion 30 has substantially the same appearance as the door portion of a commercially available cooler box, except that the air suction port 35 and the air discharge port 36 (see FIG. 1) are formed at the upper part. However, the heat exchange mechanism is accommodated in the door portion 30, and thus the height occupied by the door portion 30 in the up-down direction increases. The battery accommodation chamber 20 disposed on the right side of the container portion 10 is a housing that is smaller in the up-down direction and the front-rear direction than the outer housing of the container portion 10. In addition, a front wall portion 21a, a rear wall portion 21b, an upper side wall 21c, and a lower side wall 21d of the battery accommodation chamber 20 are connected to the right wall portion 11c of the container portion 10 with no gap in the joining portions. An opening portion 21f (see FIG. 3 described later) is arranged closer to the rear side than a central surface in the front-rear direction (a cross-section D-D) of the battery accommodation chamber 20, and an openable/closable cover 24 is arranged to cover the opening portion 21f. The cover 24 is formed so as to extend over two surfaces from a right wall portion 21e to the rear wall portion 21b of the battery accommodation chamber 20, and the front edge of the cover 24 is pivotally supported by a pivot shaft 24a whose axis extends in the vertical direction, and a closed state is locked in the rear wall portion 21b by two latch parts, that is, a first latch 26a and a second latch 26b. As the latch parts, for example, a patch lock made of resin that allows a movable claw to be engaged with a convex latch portion formed on the cover 24 side can be used. In FIG. 2, for the sake of description, the first latch 26a is shown in an unlocked state and the second latch 26b is shown in a locked state.
A power supply jack cover 23 that covers an opening for accessing a power supply jack 71 connecting a power supply cord described later is formed in a part of the battery accommodation chamber 20 on the front lower side. The power supply jack cover 23 is an openable/closable lid which has a plate shape and in which one side is supported pivotally and a lock mechanism is arranged on the other opposite side. An operation display panel not shown is arranged in a partial region 22 on the outer surface of the battery accommodation chamber 20. The operation display panel is equipped with a power switch, various operation buttons (switching of cooling/heating, output mode setting), a display lamp indicating an operating condition, and the like which are not shown.
The second grip portion 17 having a flange shape protruding in a convex shape toward the outer side in the horizontal direction is formed at the outer edge close to an opening 12a at the upper end of the container portion 10. The second grip portion 17 is a handle for the user to grip with both hands together with the first grip portion 16, and has a sufficient length in the front-rear direction compared with the hands of the user; a recess 17a for facilitating hooking of fingers is formed, and a through-hole (a second belt attachment portion 17b) penetrating the second grip portion 17 from top to bottom is formed in order to cause the shoulder belt 65 to penetrate the vicinity of the center in the front-rear direction of the recess 17a. The cross-sectional shape of the through-hole is an elongated and substantially quadrangular shape, a width WB (the length in the long side direction) of the through-hole serving as the second belt attachment portion 17b is made slightly larger than the width of the belt-shaped shoulder belt 65, and the length of the short side of the through-hole is made larger than the thickness of the shoulder belt 65, and thereby the penetrating shoulder belt 65 can easily move relative to the through-hole. A cord accommodation convex portion 15 which is elongated and protrudes outward is formed from the second grip portion 17 to the upper side wall 21c of the battery accommodation chamber 20. The cord accommodation convex portion 15 is formed to secure a space for wiring in an inner part thereof.
FIG. 3 shows a state in which the cover 24 is opened from the state of FIG. 2. The cover 24 is rotatable by about 180 degrees around the pivot shaft 24a. The pivot shaft 24a is disposed so as to extend in the vertical direction (the up-down direction). When the axial direction (the front-ear direction) of the rotary shaft 89a of the casters 88a and 88b is parallel to the axial direction (the up-down direction) of the pivot shaft 24a, a force for opening the cover 24 repeatedly acts in order that the direction of vibration generated centering on the rotary shaft 89a of the casters 88a and 88b is the same as the pivot shaft direction of the cover 24, and the load applied to the first latch 26a, the second latch 26b and the pivot shaft 24a increases. On the contrary, in the arrangement of the pivot shaft 24a of the example, the direction of the vibration generated centering on the casters 88a and 88b intersects with the axial direction of the pivot shaft 24a, and thereby it is possible to prevent a force from being applied in the direction in which the cover 24 is to be opened due to the vibration.
The two batteries 61 and 62 are arranged in parallel in the up-down direction so that the mounting surfaces on which connection terminals are disposed are directed in the vertical direction. The mounting direction is directed to the front side from the rear of the battery accommodation chamber 20, and the batteries 61 and 62 are mounted by being moved from the rear to the front in a lying state. When viewed from the right side surface, the length in the front-rear direction of the opening portion 21f is set as a length DB that is about substantially half of the batteries 61 and 62 to be accommodated. The length DB is set to a length that does not hinder an operation of the user pressing latch buttons (not shown) of the batteries 61 and 62 in a state of being mounted in the battery accommodation chamber 20. In addition, a height HB of the accommodation space inside the battery accommodation chamber 20 is set to a size for securing a predetermined space around the batteries 61 and 62, which is a size corresponding to two batteries or larger so that the user can press each of the latch buttons and draw out the batteries 61 and 62. Here, the height HB of the accommodation space is made substantially equal to the height of the opening portion 21f. In the example, a plurality of batteries can be accommodated in the battery accommodation chamber 20, and the accommodation space of the battery accommodation chamber 20 can be hermetically closed by arranging the openable/closable lid (the cover 24) at the opening part, and thus the batteries 61 and 62, the control circuit board and the like can be completely covered and can be protected from intrusion of dust, rainwater and the like.
FIG. 4 is a diagram of a cross-section A-A in FIG. 1. The accommodation space 13 is a space for accommodating containments and is defined by inner surfaces of the surrounding wall portions (the rear surface of the front wall portion 11a, the front surface of the rear wall portion 11b, the left surface of the right wall portion 11c, the right surface of the left wall portion 11d, and the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 12b). The outer surface and the inner surface of the wall portion of the container portion 10 are made of ABS resin for example, and the space between the outer surface and the inner surface is filled with a heat insulating material 33 such as urethane foam or the like, and thereby the heat insulating property in the accommodation space 13 is secured. An outer wall 31 and an inner wall 32 are arranged in the door portion 30. The heat exchange mechanism 50 is arranged inside the door portion 30. The heat exchange mechanism 50 is a cooling device that removes heat in the accommodation space 13 and discharges the heat to the atmosphere, or a heating device that absorbs heat in the atmosphere and discharges the heat into the accommodation space 13. The heat exchange mechanism 50 mainly includes two Peltier elements 51 and 52, an outer heat sink 54 and an outer fan 55 disposed on the front surface side (the outer surface side) of the Peltier elements 51 and 52, an inner heat sink 56 (56a-56c) disposed on the rear surface side (the inner surface side) of the Peltier elements 51 and 52, and an interior fan 57. In the example, because the batteries 61 and 62 are accommodated in the battery accommodation chamber 20 instead of the door portion 30, an increase in weight of the door portion 30 can be suppressed, the center of gravity decreases and the stability or portability of the cold storage container 1 can be improved. Besides, as disclosed in patent literature 1, a configuration is also conceivable in which the heat exchange mechanism 50 and the battery 61 is mounted in the door portion 30. However, according to this configuration, the door portion 30 becomes heavy, and there is a high possibility that the door portion 30 is difficult to open and close.
FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view showing the heat exchange mechanism 50 in FIG. 4. In the inner wall 32 of the door portion 30, a through-hole 32a for arranging the heat exchange mechanism is formed. The Peltier elements 51 and 52 are disposed adjacently with a narrow gap 53a in the front-rear direction so as to be parallel to the surface direction of the inner wall 32. The upper surfaces of the Peltier elements 51 and 52 are in common contact with the outer heat sink 54, and the lower surfaces are in common contact with a heat conductor 56a of the inner heat sink 56. A red cord and a black cord described later are respectively connected to the Peltier elements 51 and 52, and when a current flows from the red cord to the black cord, the upper surfaces generate heat and the lower surfaces absorb heat (the lower surfaces are cooled). On the other hand, when a current flows from the black cord to the red cord, the upper surfaces absorb heat and the lower surfaces generate heat. The heat conductor 56a is, for example, an aluminum block, and is formed with a size corresponding to the through-hole 32a. Here, a gap 32c is formed between the through-hole 32a and the heat conductor 56a, and the gap 32c may be filled with an adhesive resin.
The outer heat sink 54 is formed by a plate-shaped base portion 54a that comes into contact with the upper surfaces of the Peltier elements 51 and 52, and a fin portion 54b that consists of a plurality of plate-shaped fins extending upward from the base portion 54a in an orthogonal direction. The fin portion 54b extends in the front-rear direction and has a predetermined length in the up-down direction, and the outer heat sink 54 is manufactured by integral molding of a light metal such as aluminium or the like. An elastic body 58 such as rubber or the like is interposed between the base portion 54a of the outer heat sink 54 and the inner wall 32. By arranging the elastic body 58 in the gap between the outer heat sink 54 and the housing of the door portion 10 in this manner, the rattle of the outer heat sink 54 during caster movement can be suppressed. The outer fan 55 is arranged adjacent to the upper side of the fin portion 54b. The outer fan 55 is a centrifugal fan, and the outside air is sucked, by the rotation of the outer fan 55, in the axial direction (from top to bottom) from a plurality of slits 35a formed at the air suction port 35, flows in the radial direction as indicated by an arrow AF1 and is discharged from the air discharge port 36 (see FIG. 1). At this time, the outside air comes into contact with the heated outer heat sink 54, thereby removing heat from the outer heat sink 54. Here, the arrow AF1 shows the airflow flowing from above to the rear direction, but an airflow flowing from above to the front direction is also generated in the same manner on the Peltier element 52 side.
The inner heat sink 56 includes the heat conductor 56a, the base portion 56b, and the fin portion 56c, and these parts are manufactured by integral molding of a light metal such as aluminium or the like. The plate-shaped base portion 56b having a large area is connected to the lower surface of the heat conductor 56a, and the fin portion 56c consisting of a plurality of plate-shaped fins extending from the base portion 56b in an orthogonal direction is formed below the plate-shaped base portion 56b. The fin portion 56c extends in the front-rear direction and has a predetermined length in the up-down direction. The interior fan 57 is formed adjacently below the fin portion 56c. A fan cover 37 made of a synthetic resin and having a plurality of air windows (here, invisible from the relationship of the cross-sectional shape) is arranged on the lower side in the axial direction of the interior fan 57. The interior fan 57 is close to the fin portion 56c, and sucks the air on the upper surface of the interior of the container portion 10 from below in the axial direction, makes the air flow so as to come into sufficient contact with the fin portion 56c, and discharges the air toward the outer side in the radial direction as indicated by an arrow AF2. In FIG. 5, only the components of the airflow AF2 directed backward are indicated by the arrow, but the airflow AF2 is also discharged in the same manner to the front side in the inner heat sink 56. The cooled inner heat sink 56 removes heat from the air flowing as the AF2, thereby reducing the temperature of the interior. In addition, the air in the interior is sufficiently stirred by the circulation of the air as indicated by the arrow AF2.
FIG. 6 is a diagram of a cross-section B-B in FIG. 1. The outer edge shape of the door portion 30 has a substantially rectangular shape in a bottom view or a top view, and convex portions 34a and 34e engaged with the latches 18a and 18b are formed on one (front) side of the long side of the outer edge. Near the center clamped between the convex portions 34a and 34b, a narrow recess 34c for the user to put hands when opening the door portion 30 is formed. On the other (rear) side of the long side of the outer edge, attachment portions 34d and 34c for fixing the hinge 19 are arranged. Among the inner wall of the door portion 30, a concave portion 32b recessed upward is formed on the substantially left half, and the substantially right half becomes an arrangement portion 41 of the heat exchange mechanism 50. On the left side of the concave portion 32b, a pivot stopper piece 43 is arranged so as to maintain an open state at a predetermined angle when the door portion 30 is opened. The stopper piece 43 is pivotally supported at the rear by the door portion 30 via a pivot shaft 44, the front side 43a serves as a free end and abuts the upper surface near the opening of the container portion 10, and thereby the door portion 30 can be maintained in a slightly opened state.
The cross-sectional position in FIG. 6 is the same as that of the lower surfaces of the two Peltier elements 51 and 52. The Peltier elements 51 and 52 have the same size and the same standard and are adjacent to each other with the narrow gap 53a therebetween. The size of the base portion 54a of the outer heat sink 54 is configured to be larger than the combined size of the two Peltier elements 51 and 52. By disposing the two Peltier elements 51 and 52 on one outer heat sink 54 in this manner, it is possible to improve cooling performance and suppress an increase in manufacturing cost caused by an increase in the number of parts. The two surfaces of the Peltier elements 51 and 52 have a square shape, and two power supply cords are drawn out from one side. That is, a red cord 51a and a black cord 51b are drawn out from the Peltier element 51 to the front side, and a red cord 52a and a black cord 52b are drawn out from the Peltier element 52 to the rear side. The drawn-out power supply cords (51a, 51b, 52a, 52b) are wired to a control circuit board 70 of the battery accommodation chamber 20 through the cord accommodation convex portion 15 (see FIG. 2). Here, the direction of the cords drawn out from the Peltier elements 51 and 52 is directed not to the lateral side (the right side) but to the front side or the rear side, and thereby the space required for wiring is reduced, and the size in the left-right direction occupied by the arrangement portion 41 of the heat exchange mechanism is set equal to or less than the size in the left-right direction occupied by a non-arrangement portion 42 of the heat exchange mechanism.
Here, for comparison with the configuration of the example, the arrangement of a Peltier element 151 in a conventional cold storage container is described with reference to FIG. 19. The configuration of the example is a configuration in which a conventional door portion 130 is replaced with the door portion 30 shown in FIG. 6. In the conventional door portion 130, only one Peltier element 151 is arranged. The size of an outer heat sink 154 in contact with the Peltier element 151 is also a size corresponding to one Peltier element 151. In addition, a red cord 151a and a black cord 151b are disposed so as to be drawn out to the right side for wiring with a control circuit board arranged in the battery accommodation chamber 20. If two Peltier elements are disposed according to the arrangement of the conventional Peltier element 151, the two Peltier elements 151 are adjacent in the front-rear direction, and the red cord 151a and the black cord 151b are drawn back to the right side from each Peltier element 151. Accordingly, a space for drawing back the red cord 151a and the black cord 151b is required as in the example of FIG. 19, and thus a horizontal width denoted by A1 is required to a certain degree and then a length B1 of a concave portion 132b becomes shorter. Therefore, in the example, as shown in FIG. 6, the Peltier elements 51 and 52 are disposed with the gap 53a therebetween so that a side 51d of the Peltier element 51 and a side 52d of the Peltier element 52 are adjacent to each other, wherein the side 51d is opposite to a side 51c of the Peltier element 51 from which the red cord 51a and the black cord 51b are drawn out, and the side 52d is opposite to a side 52c of the Peltier element 52 from which the red cord 52a and the black cord 52b are drawn out. As a result, an increase in the area occupied by the accommodation space of the heat exchange mechanism 50 can be suppressed even if two Peltier elements 51 and 52 are arranged in parallel. In addition, the direction of the power supply cords drawn out from the Peltier elements 51 and 52 is not directed to the lateral side (the right side), but the positions of the Peltier elements 51 and 52 are shifted closer to the right side than the conventional example shown in FIG. 19, and thus the length of the red cords 51a and 52a and the length of the black cords 51b and 52b can be suppressed.
FIG. 7 is a diagram of a cross-section D-D in FIG. 2. Here, when the inner width of the container portion 10 is set as W, the distance between a side on which the heat exchange mechanism 50 is accommodated and a side on which the heat exchange mechanism 50 is not accommodated is made substantially equal to W/2. With this configuration, a large area of the part having the maximum height H (= H1 + H2) in the container can be secured by the recess 32b, which is advantageous for accommodating a high container. Battery attachment portions 25a and 25b are disposed in the up-down direction in the battery accommodation chamber 20. The battery attachment portions 25a and 25b have connection terminals not shown and are connected to connection terminals (not shown) formed on the batteries 61 and 62 sides. A pair of guide rails (not shown) extending parallel to each other is formed in the battery attachment portions 25a and 25b. The control circuit board 70 is disposed in a part of the battery accommodation chamber 20 closer to the container portion 10 than the batteries 61 and 62. The control circuit board 70 is disposed so that the surface direction thereof is vertical, and a cord group 59 including a power supply cord to the Peltier elements 51 and 52, a power supply cord to the outer fan 55, a power supply cord to the interior fan 57, a signal line to a temperature sensor 78 (described later with reference to FIG. 9), and the like is wired to the door portion 30.
FIG. 8 is a diagram of a cross-section C-C in FIG. 1. The two batteries 61 and 62 are disposed in parallel in the up-down direction with a predetermined distance therebetween. The sliding direction for mounting of the batteries 61 and 62 is a direction from the rear to the front (the horizontal direction), and the direction is parallel to the axial direction of the rotary shaft 89a of the casters 88a and 88b. The control circuit board 70 is arranged on the front side of the batteries 61 and 62. The control circuit board 70 is equipped with a power supply connection portion, that is, a power supply jack 71 for enabling connection to an external power supply other than the batteries 61 and 62. In the power supply jack 71, a terminal 85b as shown in (A) of FIG. 20 that can be connected to the power supply jack 71 is included at one end, and an in-vehicle DC cord 85 including a cigar socket 85a, or an AC-DC conversion adapter 86 as shown in (B) of FIG. 20 that converts AC power to DC power can be connected to the other end. The AC-DC conversion adapter 86 has an outlet 86a connected to a household commercial power supply (for example, AC of 100 V), an adapter portion 86b that accommodates an AC-DC converter, and a terminal 86c that can be connected to the power supply jack 71.
Next, an electric configuration of the cold storage container 1 is described using FIG. 9. The equipment shown in FIG. 9 is accommodated in the housing of the battery accommodation chamber 20 where the Peltier elements 51 and 52 are not disposed, and a microcomputer 77 or an electric circuit part is mainly mounted on the control circuit board 70 (see FIG. 8). The cold storage container 1 uses a power supply to supply a predetermined direct current to the two Peltier elements 51 and 52, and thereby causes one surface of the Peltier elements 51 and 52 to absorb heat and causes the other surface to generate heat. The amount of heat absorbed by the Peltier elements 51 and 52 is substantially proportional to the magnitude of an applied voltage (V), but when the applied voltage is too large, the amount of generated heat increases and the cooling efficiency is reduced, and thus the efficiency of about 50-60% of the maximum voltage increases. The driving of the Peltier elements 51 and 52 and the driving of the fans 55 and 57 are controlled by the microcomputer 77. The microcomputer 77 controls the operation of the cold storage container 1, and a commercially available one-chip type microcontroller is used therefor. The microcomputer 77 operates at a voltage of 5 V or 3.3 V, and a power supply circuit for the microcomputer 77 is not shown in FIG. 9. The power supply for the microcomputer 77 may be generated utilizing electric power of the batteries 61 and 62 and using a DC-DC converter such as a three-terminal regulator circuit or the like.
The power supply of the cold storage container 1 is a three-power supply system. One power supply is the batteries 61 and 62 disposed in the battery accommodation chamber 20. By enabling movement using the batteries 61 and 62, the cold storage container 1 can be operated even in an environment in which a commercial power supply or an in-vehicle power supply cannot be obtained. Here, two attachable/detachable batteries can be mounted so that the operating time determined by the battery is extended. When two batteries are used, a connection method such as switching control, series connection, or parallel connection can be employed. In the example, the switching control method is employed; in the case of battery driving, the microcomputer 77 selects and uses one of the battery 61 and the battery 62 in order. Therefore, the batteries 61 and 62 are connected in parallel to the Peltier elements 51 and 52 serving as loads, and relay switches 75 and 76 are arranged respectively on the batteries 61 and 62. In addition, diodes D1 and D2 are arranged so that a current does not circulate between the batteries 61 and 62. The opening and closing of the relay switches 75 and 76 are controlled by the microcomputer 77.
In accordance with a predetermined rule, the microcomputer 77 can select, for example, (1) an order of using the battery 61 first and then using the battery 62, (2) an order of measuring respective voltage of the batteries 61 and 62 and using the batteries 61 and 62 from the battery side with a higher remaining amount or from the battery side with a lower remaining amount, and the like. In addition, not only battery packs having the same standard but also batteries having different rated voltages can be mixed and mounted as the batteries 61 and 62. For example, a battery having a rated voltage of 14.4 V may be used as the battery 61, and a battery having a rated voltage of 18 V may be used as the battery 62. However, because the battery is limited to those that can be physically mounted on the battery attachment portions 25a and 25b of the battery accommodation chamber 20, a configuration is preferable in which a plurality of types of batteries is mounted directly or mounted via a conversion adapter on the battery attachment portions 25a and 25b (see FIG. 7).
The batteries 61 and 62 accommodate a plurality of secondary battery cells. In the example, a lithium ion secondary battery is used. Although not shown here, the batteries 61 and 62 have four signal terminals for control, namely, a temperature signal output terminal (T), an overcharging signal output terminal (V), a battery type discrimination terminal (Ls), and a battery remaining amount signal output terminal (LD), in addition to power supply connection terminals that are a charging positive terminal (C+), a discharging positive terminal (+), and a charging/discharging negative terminal (-). All or a part of the sign terminals are connected to the microcomputer 77. Accordingly, the microcomputer 77 can detect the type, the remaining amount, and the like of the batteries 61 and 62.
A DC-DC converter 80 serving as a first power supply unit supplies a direct current for driving to the Peltier elements 51 and 52. For example, a voltage of 12 V or 6 V is generated from a battery of 14.4 V, 18 V, or 12 V or higher and supplied to the Peltier elements 51 and 52. The "Peltier element" is referred to as an electronic cooling element and can make use of a principle that heat is transferred between metals by joining different metals and passing a current therethrough, to cool one surface side. The Peltier elements have excellent durability and reliability because they have no movable parts, and the handling is also simple. In addition, there is no risk of gas leakage or corrosion of a refrigerant, and the handling is also simple. Furthermore, the Peltier element can invert between a surface to be heated and a surface to be cooled by inverting the polarity of the applied voltage (positive, negative). FIG. 9 shows that the polarity of the current flowing through the Peltier elements 51 and 52 is fixed, but the cold storage container 1 can also be used as a hot storage container without changing the overall configuration thereof by interposing an unillustrated switching circuit for inverting the polarity.
Switching elements M6 and M7 such as FETs (field effect transistors) are interposed in the electric power supply circuit to the Peltier elements 51 and 52. A control signal from the microcomputer 77 is input to the gates of the switching elements M6 and M7, and the microcomputer 77 can stop the operation of one or both of the Peltier elements 51 and 52 by disconnecting one or both of the switching elements M6 and M7. The resistors 1 and R3-R5 are circuits for setting a feedback voltage (return voltage) FB to the DC-DC converter 80, and semiconductor switching elements M3-M5 are directly arranged in the resistors R3-R5 respectively. The output of the microcomputer 77 is connected to the gates of the semiconductor switching elements M3-M5, and respective connection or disconnection can be performed by the control of the microcomputer 77. By the combination of the connection or disconnection of the switching elements M3-M5, the feedback voltage (return voltage) to the DC-DC converter 80 is changed, and the output voltage from the DC-DC converter 80 to the Peltier elements 51 and 52 can be changed.
DC-DC converters 81 and 82 serving as a second power supply unit are arranged on the output sides of the batteries 61 and 62. The DC-DC converter 81 is a power supply for driving the outer fan 55. The DC-DC converter 82 is a fan for driving the interior fan 57. In addition, a switching element M1 is interposed for electric power supply to the outer fan 55, and a semiconductor switching element M2 is interposed for electric power supply to the interior fan 57. The switching elements M1 and M2 can be controlled to be on/off by the microcomputer 77.
When input is made via the power supply jack 71 serving as a connection portion of an external power supply and via a commercial power supply or an external DC power supply, a charging circuit 72 operates. The output of the charging circuit 72 is connected to the batteries 61 and 62 and connected to the DC-DC converters 80-82 via the relay switches 75 and 76. Accordingly, electric power can be supplied to the DC-DC converters 80-82, and the batteries 61 and 62 can be charged. In the circuit of the example, a charging control circuit 73 is arranged to control charging of the batteries 61 and 62. The microcomputer 77 detects, by an input detection circuit 74, whether an external power supply is connected or not, and outputs the detection result to the microcomputer 77. The microcomputer 77 controls the charging control circuit 73 according to this output. Besides, the batteries 61 and 62 can be charged even when the relay switches 75 and 76 are both turned off. Furthermore, the temperature sensor 78 such as a thermistor or the like that detects the temperature of the interior is arranged, and thus the microcomputer 77 can detect the interior temperature. The microcomputer 77 optimizes the electric power supplied to the Peltier elements 51 and 52 based on the battery mounting state (one or two), the connection state with the external power supply, and the interior temperature (the temperature in the accommodation space 13). At this time, the outer fan 55 and the interior fan 57 can be operated continuously regardless of the operating condition of the Peltier elements 51 and 52, and thus the operation of the heat exchange mechanism 50 and the operation of the outer fan 55 and the interior fan 57 can be controlled independently of each other, and efficient operation can be performed even with limited electric power of the batteries 61 and 62.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a control method of the Peltier element 151 in the conventional example; the upper graph shows a relationship between the elapse of time (unit: minute) and the interior temperature (unit: °C), and the lower graph shows a relationship between the elapse of time (unit: minute) and the supply voltage (unit: V) to the Peltier element 151. The horizontal axes of the upper and lower graphs are shown together. When the power supply of the Peltier element 151 is turned on at time t = 0, an interior temperature 91 decreases as indicated by an arrow 91a and reaches a desired temperature C1 (here, a temperature lower than the outside air temperature by 20°C) at time t1 as indicated by an arrow 91b. A voltage 92 applied to the Peltier element 151 so far is constant at 12 V, and the voltage supply to the Peltier element 151 is stopped at time t1 (the voltage is set to 0 as indicated by an arrow 92b). When the electric power supply to the Peltier element 151 is stopped at time t1, the interior temperature gradually increases as indicated by an arrow 91c. When the temperature reaches a predetermined threshold value at time t2 as indicated by an arrow 91d, that is, the temperature reaches a temperature at which electric power supply to the Peltier element 151 is restarted, a voltage of 12 V is applied to the Peltier element 151 as indicated by an arrow 92c. As a result, the interior temperature decreases as indicated by an arrow 91e. Similarly, after time t3, the on/off control of the Peltier element 151 as at time t1-t3 is repeated. In the conventional cold storage container, the Peltier element 151, the outer fan and the interior fan use a common power supply circuit, and thus voltage switching of only the Peltier element 151 cannot be made.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a control method of the Peltier elements 51 and 52 in the example. The upper graph in FIG. 11 shows a relationship between the elapse of time (unit: minute) and the interior temperature (unit: °C), and the lower graph shows a relationship between the elapse of time (unit: minute) and the supply voltage to the Peltier elements (unit: V). Here, by supplying the same voltage to the two Peltier elements, the temperature is lowered to a temperature C2 (wherein, C2 < C1) lower than the outside air temperature by 25°C. However, because the interior temperature is controlled by the microcomputer 77, the temperatures C1 and C2 are controlled not to reach a predetermined temperature (for example, less than 5°C). In addition, the temperature C2 is a setting value when the cooling mode is "strong", and a setting temperature difference is set small when the cooling mode is "medium" or "small".
When the power supply of the Peltier element is turned on at time t = 0, the interior temperature 93 decreases as indicated by an arrow 93a and reaches the desired temperature C2 (here, a temperature lower than the outside air temperature by 25°C) at time t1. A voltage 93 applied to the Peltier elements 51 and 52 so far is constant at 12 V, and at time t1, the voltage to the Peltier elements 51 and 52 is reduced from 12 V as indicated by an arrow 94a to 6V as indicated by an arrow 94b. The voltage of 6V may be generated by reducing the output of the DC-DC converter 80, or reducing the effective value of the voltage to 6V by performing PWM control on the switching elements M6 and M7 (see FIG. 9). When the voltage is reduced to 6 V at time t1 as indicated by the arrow 94b, the interior temperature 93 becomes substantially constant as indicated by an arrow 93c. However, the temperature may also slightly decrease as indicated by an arrow 93d (or increase) as time elapses. Because the temperature change state largely depends on the type, size, temperature, and the like of the containments accommodated in the interior, the temperature change as indicated by the arrow 93d is an example.
When the temperature reaches a predetermined threshold value at time t2 as indicated by an arrow 93e, that is, the temperature reaches a temperature at which electric power supply to the Peltier elements 51 and 52 is stopped, the microcomputer 77 stops the voltage supply to the Peltier elements 51 and 52 as indicated by an arrow 94c. Then, the interior temperature 93 increases as shown by an arrow 93f as time elapses, but when the temperature reaches a predetermined threshold value at time t4 as indicated by an arrow 93g, that is, the temperature reaches a temperature at which electric power supply to the Peltier elements is restarted, a voltage of 12 V is applied to the Peltier elements 51 and 52 as indicated by an arrow 94d. At this time, instead of a voltage of 12 V, a voltage of 6 V may be applied to the Peltier elements 51 and 52, but selection of 12 V or 6 V may be determined by the microcomputer 77 in consideration of the increasing speed of the arrow 93f. When the electric power supply to the Peltier elements is restarted at time t3, the interior temperature gradually decreases as indicated by an arrow 93h. At time t4, when the temperature reaches a predetermined threshold, that is, a threshold temperature at which the electric power of the Peltier elements 51 and 52 is reduced, the voltage to the Peltier elements is reduced to 6V as indicated by an arrow 94e. Hereinafter, similar control is repeated.
As described above, according to the example, in the portable cold storage container 1, two Peltier elements 51 and 52 are used for operation while the voltages of a plurality of voltages (12 V, 6 V) are switched, and thus the cooling performance is greatly improved compared with the conventional cold storage container. In addition, because a long driving time is secured in a voltage region where the cooling efficiency of the Peltier element is the best, that is, at a driving voltage of 50-60% of the maximum allowable voltage, an increase in overall electric power consumption can also be avoided. Besides, in the above example, only the cooling mode in which the upper surfaces of the Peltier elements 51 and 52 generate heat and the lower surfaces absorb heat when electric power is supplied to the Peltier elements 51 and 52 has been described, but the operation in a hot storage mode where the upper surfaces of the Peltier elements 51 and 52 are cooled and the lower surfaces are made to generate heat can be controlled in the same manner.
Next, referring to FIG. 12, the state (the second attachment state) is shown in which a part of the shoulder belt 65 in the cold storage container 1 (the vicinity of an arrow 65c) is drawn outside from the second belt attachment portion 17b, and the casters 88a and 88b are used to operate the cold storage container 1. Here, a part of the shoulder belt 65 located on the outer side (here, the right side) of the second grip portion 17 is drawn upward in a state that the belt adjuster 67 is adjusted so as to be located sufficiently upside, that is, the effective length of the shoulder belt is shortened. At this time, if a drawing ring or a grip 69 is made to pass through the shoulder belt 65 at the outer part of the second grip portion 17 as indicated by the arrow 65c of the shoulder belt 65, the operator can perform caster movement by pulling the grip 69. At this time, if the position of the belt adjuster 67 is appropriately set, the second attachment state in which the caster movement is easily performed can be changed without changing the configuration of the first grip portion 16 and the second grip portion 17 from the conventional configuration. When a change from the second attachment state of the shoulder belt 65 shown in FIG. 12 to the first attachment state shown in FIG. 1 is made, it is only necessary to move the vicinity of an arrow 65a of the shoulder belt 65 upward. In addition, when returning to the first attachment state, the grip 69 is held at a position in contact with the second grip portion 17, and thus when the operator moves the cold storage container 1 in a shouldering state, there is no risk of rattle of the grip 69 or obstruction caused by the grip 69. Besides, although illustration of a shoulder pad 68 is omitted in FIG. 12, the shoulder belt can be changed into the second attachment state as shown in FIG. 12 even when the shoulder pad 68 is attached.
FIG. 12 shows a state in which the grip 69 is gripped and the right side of the container portion 10 is slightly lifted counterclockwise. The swing centers at this time are the pivot shafts 89a and 89b of the casters 88a and 88b. In FIG. 12, both the caster 88b and the pivot shaft 89b thereof are not shown, but the caster 88b and the rotary shaft 89b thereof are located at the same position as the caster 88a when viewed through from the front. When the user walks while lifting up the grip portion 69 with one hand, the battery accommodation chamber 20 swings up and down due to up-down fluctuation of the arm position during walking. In addition, vibration caused by unevenness of the ground is transmitted via the casters 88a and 88b, and similar to the swing direction, the vibration direction is also the up-down direction of the container portion 1. At this time, the batteries 61 and 62 with a heavy weight are mounted inside the battery accommodation chamber 20. In the example, with a relationship in which the mounting direction of the batteries 61 and 62 (the longitudinal direction of a mounting rail portion) is parallel to the axial directions of the rotary shafts 89a and 89b of the casters 88a and 88b, among the vibration (the swing direction in FIG. 12) transmitted to the batteries 61 and 62 during the caster movement, the force component acting in the direction for removing the batteries 61 and 62 can be significantly reduced.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific shape of the grip 69 used as the drawing ring shown in FIG. 12. The grip 69 is manufactured by integral molding of a synthetic resin, and includes a cylindrical grip portion 69a for the operator to grip, a belt holding portion 69c in which a through-hole 69d for penetration of the shoulder belt 65 is formed, and a connection portion 69e that connects the belt holding portion 69c to both ends of the grip portion 69a. An opening portion 69b surrounded by the grip portion 69a, the belt holding portion 69c, and the connection portion 69e has a size large enough for placing four fingers from the index finger to the little finger of the operator. The belt holding portion 69c, which is a holding part that allows the shoulder belt 65 to penetrate from one side to the other side via the through-hole 69d, has a horizontal width sufficiently larger than the horizontal width of the shoulder belt 65, and secures sufficient strength to withstand a tensile load applied to the opening portion 69b. In addition, it is important that the shoulder belt 65 and the through-hole 69d can easily slide, and the corners are formed with a gently curved surface so that the shoulder belt 65 does not hurt during the sliding.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the single grip 69, wherein (A) of FIG. 14 is a front view, (B) of FIG. 14 is a top view, and (C) of FIG. 14 is a left side view. The horizontal width of the grip portion 69a is set to a size optimal for gripping with one hand. Here, FIG. 14 is a diagram of the single grip 69, and thus the not-in-use state is shown, and the direction is shown on the right side. In actual use, the user grips the grip portion 69a and moves the vicinity of the arrow 65c of the shoulder belt 65 (see FIG. 12) upward through the through-hole 69d, and thus the grip 69 rises up. At this time, at the part where the load is applied to the user finger, particularly on the side facing the opening 69b of the grip portion 69a, a soft layer (elastomer) is formed on the surface so that the hand hardly slips and the operator can grip in a comfortable state.
(B) of FIG. 14 is a top view of the grip 69, and it can be understood that the belt holding portion 69c is sufficiently thinner than the grip portion 69a when viewed together with the left side view in (C) of FIG. 14. The shoulder belt 65 is made to penetrate the belt holding portion 69c from one side to the other side as shown by a dotted line. When the operator moves the grip portion 69a obliquely upward in this state, the shoulder belt 65 is drawn upward as indicated by the arrow 65c shown in FIG. 12. As described above, the shape of the grip 69 has been described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, but the shape of the grip 69 has a high degree of freedom in design, and other shapes are available as long as the grip portion 69a and the through-hole 69d for penetration of the belt are arranged. In addition, the material of the grip 69 is not limited to synthetic resin and may be made of cloth, leather, metal frame, other materials, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, the grip 69 may not be always fixed to the shoulder belt 65, and may have a shape in which a cantilever type hook is formed instead of the through-hole 69d and the grip 69 can be easily mounted on or detached from the shoulder belt 65.
Next, the state (the second attachment state) is shown in FIG. 15 in which a part of the shoulder belt in the cold storage container 1 of a variant of the example is drawn out from the second belt attachment portion and penetrates a third belt attachment portion 27. Here, the third belt attachment portion 27 is a convex portion arranged at the upper part of the battery accommodation chamber 20 and protruding upward, and a through-hole penetrating from left to right side in the horizontal direction is formed near the center in the front-rear direction of the convex portion. In FIG. 15, a part of the shoulder belt 65 that is extended to the outer peripheral side (the right side) of the second grip portion 17 is drawn out downward, and the drawn-out part is made to penetrate the through-hole of the third belt attachment portion 27 of the battery accommodation chamber 20 from left side to right side and further drawn outside (rightward). FIG. 15 shows this drawing-out state. By passing the shoulder belt 65 through the through-hole of the third belt attachment portion 27 in this manner, the vicinity of an arrow 68a of the shoulder belt 65 is drawn as indicated by an arrow 96, and the belt adjuster 67 approaches the second grip portion 17.
From the belt adjuster 67, the shoulder belt 65 penetrates through the second belt attachment portion 17b of the second grip portion 17, passes through the through-hole of the third belt attachment portion 27 as indicated by an arrow 68b, forms a loop shape as indicated by arrows 68c, 68d, and 68e to penetrate through the third belt attachment portion 27 again from right to left, and is connected to the belt adjuster 67 from the third belt attachment portion 27 as indicated by an arrow 68f. In this state, the part of the arrows 68c-68e of the shoulder belt 65 functions as a pulling cord, and thus the user can grip the vicinity of the arrow 68d of the shoulder belt 65 and thereby pull the shoulder belt 65 rightward while the battery accommodation chamber 20 side is floated up from the ground. Because the direction of the rotary shafts of the caster 88a and the caster 88b arranged rearward (not shown in the drawing) is the front-rear direction, by directly pulling the shoulder belt 65 rightward while the battery accommodation chamber 20 side is floated up from the ground, movement toward the right direction using the casters 88a and 88b is possible. In the movement using the casters 88a and 88b, vibration is transmitted from the container portion 10 to the door portion 30 according to the unevenness condition of the ground, and the vibration is easily transmitted to the door portion 30. When the axial direction (the front-back direction) of the casters 88a and 88b is parallel to the direction of the pivot shaft (the left-right direction) of the hinge 19 of the door portion 30, a force for opening the door portion 30 is repeatedly applied in order that the direction of the vibration generated centering on the rotary shaft of the caster is the same as the pivot direction of the door, and the load applied to the latches 18a and 18b and the pivot shaft of the hinge 19 increases. On the contrary, if the arrangement is made so that the axial direction (the front-back direction) of the casters 88a and 88b intersects with the direction of the pivot shaft (the left-right direction) of the hinge 19 of the door portion 30 as in the example, the vibration direction intersects with the pivot direction of the door portion 30, and thus the load on the latches 18a and 18b and the pivot shaft of the hinge 19 is reduced.
In this manner, in the variant of the example, by arranging the third belt attachment portion 27 on the upper surface of the battery accommodation chamber 20 and drawing out the shoulder belt 65 to penetrate the third belt attachment portion 27, it is possible to easily perform the caster movement in which the casters 88a and 88b are used as rotating casters to enable movement around the ground. In addition, in the second attachment state in which large vibration is applied from the casters 88a and 88b, the shoulder belt 65 is disposed along the upper surface of the door portion 30, and thus the force for opening the door portion 30 can be suppressed. In particular, even if the latches 18a and 18b of the door portion 30 are incompletely locked, the shoulder belt 65 always works to press the upper surface of the door portion 30, and thus the vibration to the parts arranged in the door portion 30 is also suppressed. Furthermore, because the third belt attachment portion 27 is located at a position separated from the caster 88a, the amount of swing in the up-down direction of the container portion 10 can be reduced compared with the example in FIG. 12.
In order to cancel the setting for caster movement of the shoulder belt 65 as shown in FIG. 15, it is only necessary to pull the vicinity of the arrow 68f upward and thereby pass the parts of the arrows 68c-68e of the shoulder belt 65 through the through-hole of the third belt attachment portion 27 from right to left. Regarding the change to the shoulder mode, the vicinity of the arrow 68a of the shoulder belt 65 may be moved upward only, and the user can easily return the state to the original state (the first attachment state) in FIG. 1. Besides, in the state of the shoulder belt 65 as shown in FIG. 15, the shoulder belt 65 comes close directly above the air suction port 35. However, compared with the horizontal width of the shoulder belt 65, the diameter of the outer fan 55 is sufficiently large, and the expansion of the air window of the air suction port 35 is also sufficiently larger than the horizontal width of the shoulder belt 65, and thus the shoulder belt 65 does not completely block the air suction port 35. Accordingly, even if the cold storage is maintained by battery driving during the caster movement, it is possible to keep the air suction via the air suction port 35 unaffected.
As described above, in the example, a part of the shoulder belt 65 drawn out from the second belt attachment portion 17b is penetrated and latched, and thereby a caster mode can be realized in addition to the conventional shoulder belt mode. Moreover, because it is unnecessary to arrange a dedicated grip portion for caster movement, an increase in size of the cold storage container 1 caused by installation of the grip portion can be avoided. In addition, movement on flat ground such as asphalt or the like becomes easy by enabling the caster movement, and thus it is possible to achieve a cold storage container with improved convenience. Furthermore, because the mounting portions of the batteries 61 and 62 are separated from the casters 88a and 88b which become vibration sources when the casters are used, the vibration generated between the batteries and the battery accommodation chamber (a battery attachment/detachment portion) can be reduced. Besides, if the third belt attachment portion 27 is arranged as shown in FIG. 15, it is possible to not only get into the caster movement mode (the second attachment state) by drawing-back of the shoulder belt 65 as shown in FIG. 15, but also form a configuration in which an independent towing belt is arranged in the third belt attachment portion 27.
FIG. 16 is a variant of the example of FIG. 15. As shown in FIG. 15, when the shoulder belt 65 is made to pass through the third belt attachment portion 27 in an overlapped state, the taking-back of the belt during the shoulder movement and the caster movement, in particular, the operation for causing the shoulder belt 65 to penetrate the third belt attachment portion 27 may be troublesome. Thus, as shown in (A) of FIG. 16, the end of the shoulder belt 65 is made to penetrate in one direction from the second belt attachment portion 17b to the third belt attachment portion 27 as indicated by the arrow 68b, and then is connected to the belt adjuster 67 on the outer side of the third belt attachment portion 27 and the second grip portion 17 as indicated by the arrow 68c. By being made to pass through the third belt attachment portion 27 in advance in this manner, the shoulder belt 65 can be used as shown in (A) of FIG. 16 during shouldering, and the caster movement can be easily performed by only drawing out the vicinity of the arrow 68c during caster movement. In order to facilitate this drawing-out operation, the second belt attachment portion 17b and the third belt attachment portion 27 may be disposed with a certain distance therebetween so as to have a gap that is large enough for easy entrance of fingers of the operator. When returning to the shoulder mode from the state of (B) of FIG. 16, it is only necessary to pull the vicinity of the arrow 68a upward.

Example 2

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a cold storage container 1A of a second example of the example. Here, a container portion 10A is higher than the container portion 10 of Example 1 and has a larger volume. Configurations other than the container portion 10A are formed of the same components as those of the cold storage container 1 of the first example shown in FIGS. 1-8. In particular, the door portion 30 and the heat exchange mechanism 50 attached to the door portion 30 are interchangeable. The first grip portion 16 is arranged on the side (the left side wall surface) of the container portion 10A where the casters 88a and 88b (88b is not shown in the drawing) are arranged. On the other hand, on the side (the right side wall surface) of the container portion 10A where the battery accommodation chamber 20 is arranged, the second grip portion 17 and a third belt attachment portion 28 are arranged with a predetermined interval in the up-down direction. The outer edge shape of the third belt attachment portion 28 is completely the same shape as the second grip portion 17. However, because the third belt attachment portion 28 is used not as a grip portion but only for penetration of the shoulder belt, it is unnecessary to arrange a recess functioning as a handle, such as the recess 17a, on the third belt attachment portion 28 side. In addition, because the third belt attachment portion 28 does not function as a handle portion, the size of the third belt attachment portion 28 is specialized only to a function for passing the belt, the length in the front-rear direction may be shorter than that of the second grip portion 17, and the size may be a sufficient size necessary for holding the shoulder belt 65.
The shoulder belt 65 causes the vicinity of the arrow 65b (the inner shoulder belt 65) following the arrow 65a to penetrate the through-hole of the second grip portion 17 and extends downward as indicated by the arrow 65c, further penetrates the through-hole of the third belt attachment portion 28 and is drawn out from the lower side toward the outer side of the third belt attachment portion 28 to bend upward as indicated by an arrow 65d, and again penetrates the through-hole of the second grip portion 17 surrounding the outer side (the right side) of the second belt attachment portion 17b as indicated by an arrow 65e to reach the belt adjuster 67 in parallel with the inner shoulder belt 65 as indicated by an arrow 65f. Here, the shoulder belt 65 is made to pass through the drawing ring 97 at the part of the arrow 65e. The drawing ring 97 serves as a part gripped by the operator during the caster movement, and the grip 69 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 may be used therefor, or the drawing ring 97 may be formed of a belt with the same member as that of the shoulder belt 65. By arranging the drawing ring 97 in this manner, the drawing-out of the shoulder belt 65 becomes easy even if the interval between the second belt attachment portion 17 and the third belt attachment portion 28 is relatively small.
In (B) of FIG. 17, when the drawing ring 97 is drawn out from the state of (A) of FIG. 17, the part of the arrow 65a of the shoulder belt 65 moves in the direction of the arrow 96, and a looped part closer to the front end side than the belt adjuster 67 is drawn out in the direction of an arrow 98, that is, the direction of pulling by the user during the caster movement. Here, the arrows 65d and 65f of the shoulder belt 65 are pulled outward, but the drawing amount is limited by the contact of the shoulder belt 65 with the upper surface of the door portion 30 near the arrow 65a. Besides, depending on the attachment position of the belt adjuster 67, the drawing amount of the arrows 65d and 65f may be limited by the contact of the belt adjuster 67 with the second grip portion 17. As described above, in Example 2, the operator can perform the caster movement while holding the drawing ring 97. When returning to the shoulder mode from the state of (B) of FIG. 17, it is only necessary to lift up the vicinity of the arrow 65a of the shoulder belt 65, that is, the space between the belt adjusters 66 and 67, in the direction of an arrow 99, and thus a convenient cold storage container 1A can be achieved.
As described above, according to the second example, in addition to the first belt attachment portion 16b and the second belt attachment portion 17b, the third belt attachment portion 28 which is disposed with a predetermined distance below the second belt attachment portion 17b is arranged in the container portion 10A, and a part of the shoulder belt 65 which is bridged from the second belt attachment portion 17b to the third belt attachment portion 28 can be drawn outside. In addition, because the drawn-out belt part can be used for gripping during the caster movement, a portable cold storage container that is easy to use for both shoulder movement and caster movement can be achieved.
The portable cold storage container of the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims. For example, in the above examples, the example of the cold storage container 1 has been described, but the present invention is not limited hereto and can be applied to a temperature adjustment container that performs only cooling or only heating using a battery as a power supply, or electrical equipment that uses a plurality of Peltier elements to perform temperature adjustment.
In addition, the present invention can be similarly applied to any portable container that can select between a shoulder mode and a caster movement mode via a shoulder belt.
In addition, these inventions in the present invention may have the following contents and configurations.

(Example 1-1)

A transportable cold storage container capable of being driven by: a container portion that defines an interior in which an article is accommodated, a door portion that closes an opening of the container portion, a plurality of Peltier elements that cools the interior, an interior fan that stirs air in the interior, an outer fan for cooling the Peltier elements, a control unit that controls the Peltier elements, and a battery being attachable/detachable; wherein the Peltier elements are driven by a first power supply unit, the interior fan and the outer fan are driven by a second power supply unit, and the first power supply unit and the second power supply unit are controlled independently of each other.

(Example 1-2)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 1-1, wherein the second power supply unit is configured by two independent power supply units, and the interior fan and the outer fan are driven independently.

(Example 1-3)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 1-1 or 1-2, wherein a plurality of Peltier elements is arranged and is connected in parallel to a common power supply unit.

(Example 1-4)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 1-3, wherein two Peltier elements are disposed in the door portion, and one heat conductor and an inner fin that are in common contact with an inner surface side of the two Peltier elements are arranged; the interior fan is arranged to be adjacent to the inner fin; an outer fin that is in common contact with an outer surface side of the two Peltier elements is arranged, and the outer fan is arranged to be adjacent to the outer fin.

(Example 1-5)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 1-4, wherein the Peltier elements and the heat conductor are disposed in a region that is equal to or less than half of the area of the door portion facing the opening in a top view; the Peltier element has a quadrangular shape in a top view, and an electric wire is drawn out from the vicinity of a corner of one side of the quadrilateral; two Peltier elements are disposed in parallel so that the drawing directions of the electric wires are opposite to each other; and the one side of the Peltier element from which the electric wire is drawn out is respectively disposed close to the long side of the door portion.

(Example 1-6)

The transportable cold storage container according to any one of Examples 1-1 to 1-5, wherein in order to set the temperature of the interior to a target value, a first driving voltage being a rated voltage of a driving rate of the Peltier elements or close to the rated voltage and a second driving voltage lower than the first driving voltage are used, and temperature control for the interior is performed while switching between the first driving voltage, the second driving voltage and driving stop.

(Example 1-7)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 1-6, wherein even when the Peltier element is lowered to the second driving voltage in order to keep the temperature of the interior at a target value, the driving of the interior fan and the outer fan is kept constant.

(Example 1-8)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 1-7, including an external power supply part in addition to the electric power supply using the battery, wherein the Peltier elements are driven by the first driving voltage when electric power is supplied from the external power supply.

(Example 1-9)

A transportable cold storage container, including: a container portion that defines an interior in which an article is accommodated, a door portion that closes an opening of the container portion, Peltier elements that are arranged in the door portion and used for cooling the interior, an interior fan that is arranged on the inner side of the door portion and used for stirring air in the interior, an outer fan that is arranged on the outer side of the door portion and used for cooling the Peltier elements, a battery that is attachable/detachable and supplies electric power to the Peltier elements, and a control unit that controls energization to the Peltier elements; wherein two Peltier elements are arranged and are connected in parallel to a common power supply unit.

(Example 1-10)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 1-9, wherein a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the interior is arranged, and the control unit independently controls energization or cutoff of the two Peltier elements based on an output from the temperature sensor.

(Example 1-11)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 1-10, wherein the container portion has an opening at the upper surface; the door portion is a pivot door portion being horizontal in a closed state and has a substantially rectangular shape in a top view; and two Peltier elements are arranged in parallel so that the drawing directions of electric wires are opposite to each other.

(Example 1-12)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 1-11, wherein the two Peltier elements are respectively attached in common to a metal heat conductor arranged in contact with the inner surface side of the Peltier elements, an outer fin arranged on the outer surface side of the Peltier elements, and an inner fin arranged on the inner side of the heat conductor.

(Example 1-13)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 1-12, wherein one outer fan is arranged in the outer fin, and the interior fan is arranged in the inner fin.

(Example 1-14)

The transportable cold storage container according to any one of Examples 1-9 to 1-13, wherein a battery accommodation chamber having a housing protruding to an outer part of the container portion and capable of accommodating two batteries is disposed on a short side surface of the container portion.

(Example 2-1)

A transportable cold storage container, including: a cubic container portion of which the upper surface is open, a door portion which closes the opening of the container portion, a caster arranged on one side of a bottom surface of the container portion, a first belt attachment portion which is arranged on an outer edge portion of the opening of the container portion and a side where the caster is located, and a second belt attachment portion which is arranged on an outer edge portion of the opening and a side opposite to the side where the caster is located, a belt for shouldering being caused to pass through the first belt attachment portion and the second belt attachment portion; wherein a third belt attachment portion is arranged near the second belt attachment portion; the belt can select between a first attachment state in which the first belt attachment portion and the second belt attachment portion are used, and a second attachment state, in which a part of the belt can be drawn out from the space between the second belt attachment portion and the third belt attachment portion by engaging the part of the belt with the third belt attachment portion, and thereby transport is possible while the caster is brought into contact with the ground and one side of the container portion is floated.

(Example 2-2)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 2-1, including Peltier elements for cooling the inside of the container portion and a battery being attachable/detachable for supplying electric power to the Peltier elements, wherein a battery accommodation chamber that accommodates the battery is arranged on the side surface on a side of the container portion on which the third belt attachment portion is arranged.

(Example 2-3)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 2-2, wherein the function of the caster is restricted in a state that the container portion is placed horizontally, and the caster functions only in a state that one side of the container portion is floated.

(Example 2-4)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 2-2 or 2-3, wherein a part of the belt extending along the second belt attachment portion and the third belt attachment portion is caused to pass through a drawing ring, and a change from the first attachment state to the second attachment state can be made by drawing out the drawing ring.

(Example 2-5)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 2-4, wherein the third belt attachment portion is arranged at the upper part of the battery accommodation chamber, and the second belt attachment portion and the third belt attachment portion are disposed with a distance therebetween in the horizontal direction and/or the vertical direction.

(Example 2-6)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 2-5, wherein the Peltier elements, the interior fan, the outer fan, and an outer heat sink are arranged in the door portion.

(Example 2-7)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 2-6, wherein an elastic body is arranged in a gap between the outer heat sink and a housing of the door portion.

(Example 2-8)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 2-6 or 2-7, wherein the Peltier elements, the interior fan, the outer fan, and the outer heat sink are arranged on a side of the door portion opposite to the caster and a side close to the battery accommodation chamber.

(Example 2-9)

The transportable cold storage container according to any one of Examples 2-2 to 2-8, wherein an axial direction of a rotary shaft of the caster and an axial direction of a pivot shaft of the door portion are disposed to intersect with each other.

(Example 2-10)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 2-9, wherein the axial direction of the rotary shaft of the caster and the sliding direction for mounting of the battery are disposed parallel to each other.

(Example 2-11)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 2-10, wherein the battery accommodation chamber has an opening portion for allowing the battery to be mounted inside, and a pivot cover that closes the opening portion, and the axial direction of the rotary shaft of the caster and the axial direction of a pivot shaft of the cover of the battery accommodation chamber are disposed to intersect with each other.

(Example 2-12)

The transportable cold storage container according to Example 2-11, wherein the belt works to press the door portion in the second attachment state.

(Example 2-13)

A transportable cold storage container, including: a cubic container portion of which the upper surface is open, a door portion that closes the opening of the container portion, Peltier elements that are arranged in the door portion and used for cooling the interior, a battery that is attachable/detachable and supplies electric power to the Peltier elements, a caster arranged on one side of a bottom surface of the container portion, a first belt attachment portion which is arranged on an outer edge portion of the opening of the container portion and a side where the caster is located, and a second belt attachment portion which is arranged on an outer edge portion of the opening and a side opposite to the side where the caster is located, a belt for shouldering being caused to pass through the first belt attachment portion and the second belt attachment portion; wherein the caster is disposed so that the function thereof is restricted in a state that the container portion is placed horizontally, and the caster functions only in a state that one side of the container portion is floated; a battery accommodation chamber that accommodates the battery is arranged on the side surface on a side of the container portion on which the caster is arranged; a grip part passing through the belt wrapped around the second belt attachment portion is included; regarding the grip part and the belt, a part of the belt extending around the second belt attachment portion is drawn out by drawing out the grip part and is used as a pulling cord during the caster movement to enable transport while one side of the container portion is floated.

[Reference Signs List]

1, 1A: cold and hot storage container (cold storage container)
10, 10A: container portion
11a: front wall portion
11b: rear wall portion
11c: right wall portion
11d: left wall portion
12a: opening
12b: bottom wall portion
13: accommodation space
14: convex portion
14a: recess
15: cord accommodation convex portion
16: first grip portion
16a: recess
16b: first belt attachment portion
17: second grip portion
17a: recess
17b: second belt attachment portion
18a, 18b: latch
19: hinge
20: battery accommodation chamber
21a: front wall portion
21b: rear wall portion
21c: upper side wall
21d: lower side wall
21e: right wall portion
21f: opening portion
22: operation display panel
23: power supply jack cover
24: cover
24a: pivot shaft
25a, 25b: battery attachment portion
26a: first latch
26b: second latch
27, 28: third belt attachment portion
30: door portion
31: outer wall
32: inner wall
32a: through-hole
32b: concave portion
32c: gap
33: heat insulating material
34a: convex portion
34d: attachment portion
35: air suction port
35a: slit
36: air discharge port
37: fan cover
41: arrangement portion (of heat exchange mechanism)
42: non-arrangement portion (of heat exchange mechanism)
43: stopper piece
43a: front side
44: pivot shaft
50: heat exchange mechanism
51: first Peltier element
51a, 52a: red cord
51b, 52b: black cord
51c, 51d, 52c, 52d: side (of Peltier element)
52: second Peltier element
53a: gap
54: outer heat sink
54a: base portion
54b: fin portion
55: outer fan
56: inner heat sink
56a: heat conductor
56b: base portion
56c: fin portion
57: interior fan (inner fan)
58: elastic body
59: cord group
61,62: battery
65: shoulder belt
66, 67: belt adjuster
68: shoulder pad
69: grip
69a: grip portion
69b: opening portion
69c: belt holding portion
69d: through-hole
69e: connection portion
70: control circuit board
71: power supply jack
72: charging circuit
73: charging control circuit
74: input detection
75: first relay switch
76: second relay switch
77: microcomputer
78: temperature sensor
80: DC-DC converter (first power supply unit)
81: DC-DC converter (one of second power supply unit)
82: DC-DC converter (the other of second power supply unit)
85: in-vehicle DC cord
85a: cigar socket
85b: terminal
86: AC-DC conversion adapter
86a: outlet
86b: adapter portion
86c: terminal
88a, 88b: caster
89a: rotary shaft
91, 93: interior temperature
92,94: voltage
97: drawing ring
101: cold storage container
110: container portion
116: first grip portion
117: second grip portion
120: battery accommodation chamber
130: door portion
132b: concave portion
150: heat exchange mechanism
151: Peltier element
151a: red cord
151b: black cord
154: outer heat sink
155: outer fan
157: interior fan
D1, D2: diode
M1-M6: switching element
R1-R5: resistor
AF1, AF2: airflow

Claims

A transportable cold storage container capable of being driven by:
a container portion that defines an interior in which an article is accommodated,

a door portion that closes an opening of the container portion,

a plurality of Peltier elements that cools the interior,

an interior fan that stirs air in the interior,

an outer fan for cooling the Peltier elements,

a control unit that controls the Peltier elements, and

a battery being attachable/detachable;

wherein the Peltier elements are driven by a first power supply unit, the interior fan and the outer fan are driven by a second power supply unit, and the first power supply unit and the second power supply unit are controlled independently of each other.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 1, wherein the second power supply unit is configured by two independent power supply units, and the interior fan and the outer fan are driven independently.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 2, wherein two of the Peltier elements are disposed in the door portion, and one heat conductor and an inner fin that are in common contact with an inner surface side of the two of the Peltier elements are arranged, and the interior fan is arranged to be adjacent to the inner fin;
an outer fin that is in common contact with an outer surface side of the two of the Peltier elements is arranged, and the outer fan is arranged to be adjacent to the outer fin.
The transportable cold storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in order to set the temperature of the interior to a target value, a first driving voltage being a rated voltage of a driving rate of the Peltier elements or close to the rated voltage and a second driving voltage lower than the first driving voltage are used, and temperature control for the interior is performed while switching between the first driving voltage, the second driving voltage and driving stop.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 4, comprising an external power supply part in addition to electric power supply using the battery,
wherein the Peltier elements are driven by the first driving voltage when electric power is supplied from the external power supply.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 1, comprising:
an interior fan that is arranged on an inner side of the door portion and used for stirring air in the interior,

an outer fan that is arranged on an outer side of the door portion and used for cooling the Peltier elements,

a battery that is attachable/detachable and supplies electric power to the Peltier elements, and

a control unit that controls energization to the Peltier elements;

wherein two of the Peltier elements are arranged and are connected in parallel to a common power supply unit.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 6, wherein the container portion has an opening at the upper surface, the door portion is a pivot door portion being horizontal in a closed state and has a substantially rectangular shape in a top view, a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the interior is arranged, two of the Peltier elements are arranged in parallel so that drawing directions of electric wires are opposite to each other; and
the control unit independently controls energization or cutoff of the two of the Peltier elements based on an output from the temperature sensor.
The transportable cold storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a battery accommodation chamber having a housing protruding to an outer part of the container portion and capable of accommodating two of the batteries is disposed on a short side surface of the container portion.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 1, comprising:
a caster arranged on one side of a bottom surface of the container portion,

a first belt attachment portion which is arranged on an outer edge portion of the opening of the container portion and a side where the caster is located, and a second belt attachment portion which is arranged on an outer edge portion of the opening and a side opposite to the side where the caster is located, and a belt for shouldering being caused to pass through the first belt attachment portion and the second belt attachment portion;

wherein a third belt attachment portion is arranged near the second belt attachment portion;

the belt is capable of selecting between a first attachment state in which the first belt attachment portion and the second belt attachment portion are used, and

a second attachment state, in which a part of the belt is drawn out from the space between the second belt attachment portion and the third belt attachment portion by engaging the part of the belt with the third belt attachment portion, and thereby transport is possible while the caster is brought into contact with the ground and one side of the container portion is floated.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 9, comprising Peltier elements for cooling the inside of the container portion and a battery being attachable/detachable for supplying electric power to the Peltier elements,
wherein a battery accommodation chamber that accommodates the battery is arranged on an side surface on a side of the container portion on which the third belt attachment portion is arranged.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 10, wherein the function of the caster is restricted in a state that the container portion is placed horizontally, and the caster functions only in a state that one side of the container portion is floated.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 6, wherein the Peltier elements, the interior fan, the outer fan, and an outer heat sink are arranged in the door portion, and an elastic body is arranged in a gap between the outer heat sink and a housing of the door portion.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 12, wherein the Peltier elements, the interior fan, the outer fan, and the outer heat sink are arranged on a side of the door portion opposite to the caster and a side close to the battery accommodation chamber.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 13, wherein the battery accommodation chamber has an opening portion for allowing the battery to be mounted inside, and a pivot cover that closes the opening portion, and
an axial direction of the rotary shaft of the caster and an axial direction of a pivot shaft of the cover of the battery accommodation chamber are disposed to intersect with each other.
The transportable cold storage container according to claim 14, wherein the belt works to press the door portion in the second attachment state.