JP2000258034A - Cooling storage chamber - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling storage chamber to achieve heat dissipation from a Peltier element with high-efficiency at a low cost through water cooling using a heat dissipation sink. SOLUTION: This cooling storage chamber 1 comprises a heat insulation box body 2 formed such that a space between outer and inner boxes 3 and 4 is filled with a heat insulation material 5; a storage chamber 7 formed in the heat insulation box body 2; a Peltier element 23 to cool the interior of the storage chamber 7 by a cooling surface; and a heat dissipation sink 12 situated in a heat-exchanging manner on surface of the Peltier element 23. This heat dissipation sink 12 is provided with a plurality of cooling water passages 13 formed by an extrusion molding die or a die casting mold of a good heat conductive material.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling storage which is formed by cooling a storage room formed in a heat insulating box by a cooling surface of a Peltier device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a guest room of a hotel or a hospital room of a hospital, an electronic refrigerator using a Peltier element as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-243747 is employed. This Peltier element is configured by joining two types of thermoelectric semiconductors, consisting of a P-type element and an N-type element, in a π-type with metal electrodes. When a current flows from the N-type element to the P-type element, the Peltier effect is applied. It absorbs heat from one surface (heat absorbing surface) and radiates heat from the other surface (radiating surface).
The heat absorption at this time is used to cool the storage room of the refrigerator.

In this case, since the operating efficiency of the Peltier element largely depends on the heat radiation efficiency on the heat radiation surface, conventionally, a method of cooling the air by attaching heat radiation fins to the heat radiation surface of the Peltier element, or providing a heat radiation sink on the heat radiation surface. A method of mounting and cooling with water by flowing cooling water into the heat sink has been adopted.

[0004]

According to the latter water cooling system, there is an advantage that it is less susceptible to the influence of the outside air temperature and the like and the performance can be stabilized as compared with the air cooling system. It has been conventionally desired to efficiently perform heat exchange during the heat treatment and to improve heat radiation efficiency.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional technical problem, and heat radiation from a Peltier device is efficiently performed by water cooling using a heat sink.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cooling storage that can be achieved at low cost.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling storage box comprising: a heat insulating box formed by filling a heat insulating material between an outer box and an inner box; a storage chamber formed in the heat insulating box; A peltier element that cools the storage chamber with a cooling surface, and a radiator sink provided on the radiator surface of the peltier element in an insulated manner, and the radiator sink is formed by extrusion molding of a thermally conductive material. Alternatively, a plurality of cooling water passages are formed inside by die casting.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the storage room is cooled by the heat insulation box formed by filling a heat insulating material between the outer box and the inner box, the storage room formed in the heat insulation box, and the cooling surface. In a cooling storage provided with a Peltier device, a heat sink is provided on the heat release surface of the Peltier device in a heat-exchange manner, and the heat sink is formed by extruding or die-casting a thermally conductive material. Since the cooling water passage is formed, the heat dissipation surface of the Peltier element can be efficiently dissipated by the heat sink.

Further, since the heat sink has a plurality of cooling water passages formed therein by extrusion molding or die-casting of a heat conductive material, the heat radiation efficiency can be improved and the heat radiation sink can be improved. Weight and cost can be reduced.

The cooling storage according to the second aspect of the present invention is the first aspect of the invention.
In addition to the invention, the heat sink is fixed to the outer box by heat exchange.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect of the present invention, since the heat sink is heat-exchangeably fixed to the outer box, it is possible to use the outer box to radiate heat on the heat radiating surface of the Peltier element. Therefore, the heat radiation efficiency of the heat radiation surface of the Peltier element can be further improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cooling storage according to the first aspect.
Alternatively, in addition to the invention according to claim 2, a cooling sink located in the storage room and fixed to the inner box and provided on the cooling surface of the Peltier element in an insulated manner, and a Peltier element between the cooling sink and the heat sink. And a fastening force adjusting screw for adjusting the surface pressure of the screw.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the second aspect, a cooling sink located in the storage chamber and fixed to the inner box and provided on the cooling surface of the Peltier element in an insulated manner, Since the fastening force adjusting screw for adjusting the surface pressure of the Peltier element between the cooling sink and the heat sink is provided, the distance between the sinks can be finely adjusted by the fastening force adjusting screw, and the Peltier element is destroyed. (Crushing) can be prevented beforehand.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling storage unit.
Alternatively, in addition to the third aspect of the present invention, a radiation fin is attached to an outer surface of the outer box where the radiation sink is located.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the second or third aspect of the present invention, since the radiation fins are attached to the outer surface of the outer box where the radiation sink is located, conduction from the radiation surface of the Peltier element is achieved. The heat of the heat sink can be conducted to the heat radiation fins, and the heat radiation efficiency of the heat sink can be improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling storage according to the fourth aspect.
In addition to the invention described above, the radiation fin is provided with a heating element constituting a control device.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the heat-generating element constituting the control device is attached to the radiation fin, the efficiency of heat radiation of the heat-generating element can be improved. become.

Further, since the heat radiating fins can dissipate the heat generating element, the heat generating element itself can be reduced in size, and the cost can be reduced and the space can be effectively used. Become.

[0018]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a cooling storage 1 to which the present invention is applied.
2 is a plan sectional view of the cooling storage 1 to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the cooling storage 1 to which the present invention is applied.

The cooling storage 1 of the embodiment is a refrigerator installed in, for example, a guest room of a hotel, a hospital room of a hospital, or the like, and has a main body constituted by a heat-insulating box body 2 having a front opening.

The heat-insulating box 2 is made of, for example, an inner box 4 made of, for example, a hard resin having an opening at the front, an outer box 3 made of a steel plate having an opening at the front, and a polyurethane foam-filled between the two boxes 4, 3. It is composed of a heat insulating material 5. A rear panel 9 is provided behind the rear plate 10 of the outer box 3 at a predetermined interval.

Inside the inner box 4 of the heat-insulating box 2, a storage room 7 having an opening 6 on the front surface is formed. On the front surface of the heat-insulating box 2, a heat-insulating door 8 that closes the opening 6 so as to be able to open and close is pivotally supported.

A cooling sink 20 of a Peltier cooling device 18, which will be described later, is attached to the back wall 4A of the inner box 4 of the storage room 7. On the front side of this cooling sink 20,
The cooling sink 20 is provided at a predetermined distance from the back wall 4A of the inner box 4.
A partition 21 extending from the lower part to the upper part in the storage room 7 is attached. In the storage room 7 in front of the partition 21, a shelf 46 for placing foods and the like is provided.

A vertically extending cold air duct 22 is formed between the partition wall 21 and the back wall 4A.
Are located in the cool air duct 22. The upper end of the partition wall 21 is inclined forward, for example, toward the center of the top wall 4B of the inner box 4 and has an inclined surface 21A formed therein. A cooling air discharge port 45 is formed on the inclined surface 21A. The blower 19 is disposed inside the discharge port 45 to
Attached to.

On the other hand, a duct 11 is formed between the back panel 9 and the back plate 10 of the outer box 3, and a heat sink 12 of a Peltier cooling device 18 to be described later (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 3), a brine (cooling water) liquid reservoir 1 communicatively connected to a cooling water passage 13 formed in the cooling water passage 13.
4, a circulating pump 15, and a fin tube type heat-radiating heat exchanger 16 are arranged. These cooling water passages 1
3. The brine reservoir 14, the circulation pump 15, and the heat-exchanging heat exchanger 16 are connected to each other by pipes to form an annular brine (cooling water) circulation path, and a water cooling circuit filled with brine is formed therein. I have. In addition, the heat exchanger 16 for heat radiation
A fan 17 for air-cooling the heat-dissipating heat exchanger 16 is attached to the upper part of the fan.

Then, between the back plate 10 of the outer box 3 and the back wall 4A of the inner box 4, the Peltier cooling device 1 as shown in FIG.
8 is attached. This Peltier cooling device 18
Is composed of a Peltier device 23, the heat sink 12 and the cooling sink 20.

The cooling sink 20 is attached to the front surface of the back wall 4A of the inner box 4 as described above.
0, that is, the surface on the side of the back wall 4A, the heat absorbing surface (front surface) of the Peltier element 23 is brought into contact with the back surface of the Peltier element 23 through a through-hole (not shown) formed in the back wall 4A after applying heat conductive grease or the like. Further, the heat radiation sink 12 is also in contact with the heat radiation surface (rear surface) of the Peltier element 23 after the heat radiation grease is applied thereto.

Here, the lower end and the upper end of the heat sink 12 are attached to the rear surface of the cooling sink 12 while holding the Peltier element 23 together with the cooling sink 12 by an L-shaped bracket 30 having an L-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. It is fixed by screws 31. The heat sink 12 of the L-shaped bracket 30
A long hole 34 is formed long in the front and rear of the fixing portion.
The L-shaped bracket 30 can be deleted.

The rear surface of the heat sink 12 is in heat contact with the inner surface of the back plate 10 of the outer box 3 and is fixed to the back plate 10 by screws 33. The rear plate 10 and the rear surface of the heat sink 12 are provided with through holes 10 at predetermined positions.
A and 12A are formed, and a screw hole 20A is formed on the rear surface of the cooling sink 20 at a position corresponding to the front of the through holes 10A and 12A.

Then, from the duct 11 side of the back plate 10, long fastening force adjusting screws 32 are inserted into the through holes 10A and 12A, and penetrate therethrough to form the screw holes 2 of the cooling sink 20.
0A. At this time, the fastening force adjusting screw 32
Is smaller than the through hole 12A of the heat sink 12, and the fastening force adjusting screw 32 and the heat sink 12 do not abut. The head of the fastening force adjusting screw 32 and the back plate 1
Between 0, a resin washer (not shown) is provided.

Thus, the heat sink 12 and the back plate 1 are formed.
The inconvenience of heat conduction via the fastening force adjusting screw 32 between the zero and the cooling sink 20 is prevented or suppressed.

On the other hand, an upper suction port 47 for sucking cool air on the shelf 46 into the cooling sink 20 is formed at a position on the partition wall 21 corresponding to the cooling surface of the Peltier element 23. A lower suction port 48 for sucking cold air in the lower part of the storage room 7 below the shelf 46 into the cool air duct 22 is formed at the lower end of the storage chamber 7.

With the above configuration, the Peltier cooling device 18
First, the heat insulating material 5 is attached to the outer box 3.
And between the inner box 4 to complete the heat insulating box 2. At this time, a jig is inserted into a portion where the Peltier cooling device 18 enters, and a storage space is formed and placed in the heat insulating material 5.

The heat absorbing surface of the Peltier element 23 is brought into contact with the rear surface of the cooling sink 20, and the heat sink 12 is brought into contact with the rear surface. Then, the L-shaped bracket 30 and the screw 31
The heat sink 12 is temporarily fixed to the cooling sink 20 with. In this state, the Peltier element 23 is connected to both the sinks 20 and 1.
It is held by 2. The screw 31 on the long hole 34 side of the L-shaped bracket 30 is temporarily set.

Next, the fastening force adjusting screw 32 is inserted from the duct 11 side of the back plate 10, and the screw hole 2 of the cooling sink 20 is inserted.
By adjusting the degree of screwing to 0A, the distance between the heat sink 12 and the cooling sink 20 is adjusted.
Then, the rear surface of the heat sink 12 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the back plate 10, and the heat sink 12 is fixed to the back plate 10 with screws 33.

After the surface pressure at which the Peltier element 23 contacts the heat sink 12 and the cooling sink 20 is adjusted by the above operation, the long hole 3 of the L-shaped metal fitting 30 which has been temporarily fixed earlier is adjusted.
The screw 31 of No. 4 is tightened to determine the position of the heat sink 12.

Thus, the heat sink 12 is connected to the back plate 10.
The heat dissipation from the heat dissipation surface of the Peltier element 23 can be efficiently performed using the back plate 10 of the outer box 3.

Further, as described above, the distance between the cooling sink 20 and the heat sink 12 can be finely adjusted by the fastening force adjusting screw 32. The heat conduction performance between the Peltier device 23 and both the sinks 20 and 12 can be improved while preventing the disadvantage that the device 32 is broken (crushed).

When the Peltier element 23 is energized, a cooling function is exerted on the heat absorbing surface, and the cooling sink 20
Is cooled. At this time, the blower 19 is operating, and the cool air cooled by the cooling sink 20 in the cool air duct 22 is discharged from the discharge port 45 into the storage room 7.

After circulating in the storage chamber 7, the air is sucked into the cool air duct 22 from the upper suction port 47 and the lower suction port 48, and returns to the cooling sink 20. At this time, the cool air sucked from the upper suction port 47 is stored in the storage room 7 on the shelf 46.
Since it acts only to cool the inside, it is possible to cool the shelf 46 more strongly to form a quick cooling corner.

On the other hand, the heat generated from the heat radiation surface of the Peltier element 23 is transmitted to the heat radiation sink 12. In the heat sink 12, brine is circulated in the cooling water passage 13 by the circulation pump 15, and the heat transmitted to the heat sink 12 is transmitted to the brine to heat it.

The brine whose temperature has increased due to the heat exchange with the heat sink 12 exits the cooling water passage 13 and reaches the heat radiation heat exchanger 16, where it is air-cooled by the outside air ventilated by the fan 17. As a result, the cooled brine is circulated again by the circulation pump 15 to the cooling water passage 13 of the heat sink 12.

As described above, the heat generated from the heat radiation surface of the Peltier element 23 is forcibly conveyed to the outside (outside air) via the heat radiation sink 12 and the brine and is radiated.

Further, the heat sink 12 is connected to the back plate 1 of the outer box 3.
Since the heat sink 12 is also in contact with zero, the heat of the heat sink 12 is also conducted to the back plate 10, and is radiated from almost the entire surface of the back plate 10 into the outside air flowing through the duct 11.

Next, the heat sink 12 according to the present invention will be described.
Will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the heat sink 12 is composed of a main body 24 made of a material having a good thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and bend members 25 and 26. The main body 24 has a rectangular shape, and a plurality of the cooling water passages 13 formed by, for example, extrusion molding of aluminum or die casting are formed inside the main body 24.

A plurality of such cooling water passages 13 are formed in a tubular shape across the left and right, and are opened at both ends of the main body 24. Then, the bend members 25 and 26 are attached to the left and right sides of the main body 24 to form a series of meandering passages by connecting the cooling water passages 13.

Each of the bend members 25 and 26 has a substantially U-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. 7, and has a curved passage formed therein for connecting the adjacent cooling water passages 13. It is. One of the bend members 25 is provided with the brine reservoir 14 and the heat exchanger 1 for heat radiation.
An outlet part 27 and an inlet part 28 for connecting to a pipe (not shown) connected to 6 are formed.

The main body 24 and the bend members 25, 2
6 is fixed by a screw (not shown) via an O-ring 29.

As described above, according to the present invention, the heat sink 12 is
A plurality of cooling water passages 13 are internally formed by extrusion molding of a thermally conductive material such as aluminum or die casting.
, The heat dissipation efficiency is improved, and the weight and cost of the heat sink 12 can be reduced.

On the other hand, although not shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a heat radiating fin 51 as shown in FIG. 8 may be attached to the outer surface of the back plate 10 of the outer box 3 where the heat sink 12 is located. The radiating fins 51 have a flat front surface and a plurality of fins 52 on the rear surface. With such a configuration, the heat of the heat sink 12 that has been conducted from the heat dissipation surface of the Peltier element 23 can be conducted to the heat dissipation fins 51, and the heat dissipation efficiency of the heat sink 12 can be improved.

A heat generating element 37 such as a transistor or a triac, which constitutes a control device for electrically controlling the cooling storage 1, is attached to the radiating fins 34 by screws 38.

With this configuration, the heat radiation of the heat generating element 37 can be performed by the heat radiation fins 51, and the heat radiation efficiency of the heat generating element 37 can be improved. As a result, the heat radiating fins 51 dissipate heat from the heat generating element 37, so that the heat generating element 37 itself can be downsized, and the cost can be reduced and the space can be effectively used.

Next, the structure of a heat sink 53 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this case, the heat sink 53 also includes a main body 36 formed by extrusion or die casting of a heat conductive material such as aluminum, and a resin cover 54 made of a hard resin.
It is composed of

The main body 36 has a front surface serving as a flat contact surface 56 that comes into contact with the heat radiation surface of the Peltier element 23. A plurality of ridges 39 extending left and right are formed on the rear surface of the main body 36. ing. Between this ridge 39
Thus, the cooling water passage 40 of the heat sink 53 is formed.

The resin cover 54 surrounds the rear and side surfaces of the respective cooling water passages 40 formed on the rear surface of the main body 36 as shown in FIGS.
On the main body 36 side of the resin cover 54, a plurality of projections 41 for turbulently flowing the cooling water in the respective cooling water passages 40 are formed. The projections 41 are formed in a staggered manner.

Further, a bend portion 42 is formed on a side surface of the resin cover 54 for connecting the adjacent cooling water passages 40 to each other. An outlet 43 or an inlet 44 of a brine for connecting to the circulating pump 15 or the like is formed on one side of the cooling water passage 40 formed at both ends.

As a result, the brine that has flowed into the cooling water passages 40 of the heat sink 53 flows while generating turbulent flows in the cooling water passages 40 sequentially, and has passed through all the cooling water passages 40 through the respective bend portions 42. After that, it returns to the circulation pump 15.

As described above, the heat sink 53 in this case is used.
Also, since a plurality of cooling water passages 40 are formed inside by extrusion molding or die-casting molding of a heat conductive material, the radiation efficiency can be improved and the radiation sink 53 This makes it possible to reduce the weight and cost.

[0058]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a heat insulating box formed by filling a heat insulating material between an outer box and an inner box, a storage room formed in the heat insulating box, and a cooling surface. In a cooling storage provided with a Peltier element for cooling the storage chamber,
A radiating sink is provided on the radiating surface of the Peltier element. The radiating sink has a plurality of cooling water passages formed therein by extrusion molding or die casting molding of a thermally conductive material. The heat dissipation surface of the element can be efficiently dissipated by the heat sink.

Further, since the heat sink has a plurality of cooling water passages formed therein by extrusion molding or die casting of a heat conductive material, the heat radiation efficiency can be improved and the heat radiation sink can be improved. Weight and cost can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above, since the heat sink is fixed to the outer box by heat exchange, the heat radiating surface of the Peltier element can be radiated using the outer box. Therefore, the heat radiation efficiency of the heat radiation surface of the Peltier device can be further improved.

According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the above,
A cooling sink positioned in the storage chamber and fixed to the inner box and provided on the cooling surface of the Peltier element in an insulated manner, and a fastening force adjustment for adjusting a surface pressure of the Peltier element between the cooling sink and the heat sink. Since the screws are provided, the distance between the two sinks can be finely adjusted by the fastening force adjusting screw, so that the Peltier element can be prevented from being broken (crushed).

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the second or third aspect of the present invention, since the radiation fins are attached to the outer surface of the outer box where the radiation sink is located, conduction from the radiation surface of the Peltier element is achieved. The heat of the heat sink can be conducted to the heat radiation fins, and the heat radiation efficiency of the heat sink can be improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above, since the heat generating element constituting the control device is attached to the heat radiation fin, the heat radiation efficiency of the heat generating element can be improved.

Further, since heat can be radiated from the heat generating element by the heat radiation fins, the heat generating element itself can be downsized, and the cost can be reduced and the space can be effectively used. Become.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of a cooling storage to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of a cooling storage to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a vertical side view of a cooling storage to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional side view of a cooling storage of a Peltier cooling device.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a heat sink of the cooling storage according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan sectional view of an outlet or an inlet of the heat sink of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan sectional view of the heat sink of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a part of the radiation fin.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a heat sink according to another embodiment of the cooling storage of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main body of the heat sink of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a plan sectional view of the heat sink of FIG. 9;

[Description of Signs] 1 Cooling storage 2 Heat insulation box 3 Outer box 4 Inner box 4A Back wall 4B Top wall 5 Insulation material 7 Storage room 10 Back plate 11 Duct 12, 53 Heat sink 13, 40 Cooling water passage 18 Peltier cooling device DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 19 Blower 20 Cooling sink 21 Partition wall 22 Cold air duct 23 Peltier element 24, 36 Main body 25, 26, 42 Bend part 27, 43 Exit 28, 44 Entrance 30 L-shaped fitting 32 Fastening force adjusting screw 38 Contact surface 39 Projection 41 Projection 51 Heat radiation fin 54 Resin cover

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Junichi Kubota 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Kenji Nojima 2-5-2, Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takeshi Yamada 2-5-5 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An insulating box comprising an outer box and an inner box filled with a heat insulating material, a storage chamber formed in the insulating box, and a Peltier element for cooling the storage chamber by a cooling surface. In the cooling storage, a radiating sink is provided on the radiating surface of the Peltier element in a heat-exchange manner, and the radiating sink has a plurality of cooling water passages formed therein by extrusion molding or die-casting molding of a thermally conductive material. A cooling storage, characterized in that: 2. The cooling storage according to claim 1, wherein the heat sink is fixed to the outer box by heat exchange. 3. A cooling sink located in the storage chamber and fixed to the inner box and provided on the cooling surface of the Peltier element in an insulated manner, and a surface pressure of the Peltier element between the cooling sink and the radiation sink. The cooling storage according to claim 2, further comprising a fastening force adjusting screw for adjusting. 4. The cooling storage according to claim 2, wherein a radiation fin is attached to an outer surface of the outer box where the radiation sink is located. 5. The cooling storage according to claim 4, wherein a heat generating element constituting a control device is attached to the radiation fin.