JP2001033154A - Storage apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectually cool the inside of a storage space because the heat from illumination is prevented from being transmitted, and the inside of the storage space can be illuminated enough brilliantly. SOLUTION: The present show case 1 includes a tubular clad 23, and a core 22 constructed with a higher refractive index material than a clad material, and further a plurality of band shaped reflection layers formed between the tubular clad 23 and the core 22 longitudinally thereof. The inside of the storage space 9 is illuminated with an optical transmission tube 21 adapted such that light passing through the core 22 is reflected on and scattered from the reflection layers, and hence radiated in a plurality of directions from an outside peripheral surface of the tubular clad 23 on the opposite side to a reflection layer formation side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a storage device such as a showcase or a refrigerator, and more particularly to a storage device having an improved lighting device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to illuminate the inside of a refrigerator, an incandescent lamp is usually provided in a refrigerator (including freezing) space of the refrigerator. In order to illuminate as uniformly as possible,
Usually, a plurality of such incandescent lamps are installed at different heights and left and right positions.

FIG. 9 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
In Nos. 11 to 11, a plate made of a translucent material such as PMMA resin is used as a shelf, a translucent resin sheet is provided on the upper surface of the shelf, and light from an incandescent lamp facing the rear end face of the shelf is used for the shelf. It is described that the light is guided into a plate and dispersed and irradiated from the entire lower surface of the shelf.

[0004]

When a light source such as an incandescent lamp is disposed facing an article storage space such as a refrigerated space, the temperature of the storage space increases due to heat from the incandescent lamp. In particular, in the case of a showcase, since the light is continuously illuminated, the heat generated by the light source is large. Therefore, a fluorescent lamp is often used as a light source, but has disadvantages such as a cold color, easy flickering of light, easy switching off of the lamp, and high conversion frequency.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to provide a storage device in which illumination is performed by a light transmission tube which emits light with high directivity from a side peripheral surface (outer surface portion). With the goal.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A storage device according to the present invention is a storage device having an article storage space and a lighting device for illuminating the article storage space, the lighting device comprising a tubular clad, and a tubular clad. A light passing through the core, comprising: a core made of a material having a higher refractive index than the constituent material; and a reflective layer provided between the tubular clad and the core along the longitudinal direction of the tubular clad. And a light source for irradiating light to an end face of the light transmission tube, comprising a light transmission tube that reflects and scatters the light from the reflection layer and emits the light from the outer peripheral surface of the tubular cladding side opposite to the reflection layer formation side. It is characterized by having.

In such a storage device, light is radiated from the peripheral surface of the light transmission tube to illuminate the article storage space. By arranging the light source that gives light to the light transmission tube outside the article storage space, the heat of the light source is not transmitted at all outside the article storage space. Therefore, this storage device is suitable for application to refrigerators and showcases that dislike heat, especially refrigerated showcases.

In the optical transmission tube used in the present invention, the reflection layer is formed in a band shape along the length direction of the tube between the tubular cladding and the core. The light is reflected by the belt-like reflective layer, and is emitted as strong light with high directivity from the tube-side peripheral surface opposite to the reflective layer. As a result, the brightness becomes extremely high and the brightness becomes very bright.

In the present invention, the tubular cladding is made of a (meth) acrylic polymer, the core is made of polystyrene, polycarbonate or a styrene- (meth) acrylic copolymer, and the reflection layer contains a white pigment or a scattering material. ) It is preferable that it is made of an acrylic polymer.

[0010] Such a light transmission tube uses a multicolor extruder such as a three-color extruder having three screw parts, and includes a core material, a clad material, and a reflective material containing a white pigment or a scattering material. For example, a tube for introducing the core material into a cylindrical shape, the reflective material in a plurality of strips on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical core material, and the cladding material covering the core material and the reflective material is introduced into each of the bases of the color extruder. By extruding them at the same time, and forming a strip-shaped reflective layer between the tubular cladding and the core along the length direction thereof, it is possible to manufacture at low cost with high productivity.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a vertical side view of the showcase 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The showcase 1 is an open showcase of a vertical frozen / refrigerated or warm storage type which is installed in a store such as a supermarket, for example, and has a substantially U-shaped vertical section with an open front portion. Insulation wall 2
And side plates (not shown) attached to the left and right sides of the heat insulating wall 2 at the installation site. An outer-layer partition plate 4 and an inner-layer partition plate 6 are attached to the inside of the heat-insulating wall 2 at intervals, and an outer-layer duct 7, an inner- and outer-layer partition plate 6, 4 are provided between the heat-insulating wall 2 and the outer layer partition plate 4. The space between them is an inner layer duct 8, and the inside of the inner layer partition plate 6 is a storage room 9.

A plurality of shelves 11 are installed in the storage room 9 with a low inclination toward the front side, and a deck pan 12 is attached to the bottom of the storage room 9. Bottom duct 13 communicating with 7, 8
Are formed. A fan case 14 having a built-in blower (not shown) is installed in the bottom duct 13, and a cooler 16 included in the refrigerating device is vertically installed in the inner layer duct 8.

The upper edge of the front opening of the storage room 9
The outer-layer discharge port 22 and the inner-layer discharge port 23 are arranged side by side in the front and rear. The outer-layer discharge port 22 is connected to the outer-layer duct 7 by the inner-layer discharge port 23.
Are connected to the inner layer duct 8, respectively. A suction port 24 is formed at the lower edge of the front opening of the storage chamber 9 and communicates with the bottom duct 13.

When the blower in the fan case 14 is operated, the air in the bottom duct 13 is blown toward the inner and outer layer ducts 7 and 8 at the rear, and is blown up as it is in the outer layer duct 7. Is blown up after exchanging heat with the cooler 16 and is blown out from the inner and outer layer discharge ports 22 and 23 toward the suction port 24 at the lower edge.

As a result, an inner cold air curtain and an outer air curtain for protecting the same are formed in the front opening of the storage room 9 to prevent or suppress the invasion of the outside air from the opening 21. A part of the inside cold air curtain circulates in the storage room 9 and the inside of the storage room 9 is cooled. Then, the cool air or the like returns from the suction port 24 to the bottom duct 13 and is sucked into the blower again.

At the front end of the top wall of the showcase 1, an overhanging box 2A that projects forward in the longitudinal direction is installed, and a light source unit 20 is installed inside the box 2A. Light transmission tubes 21 for illuminating the inside of the storage room 9 are attached to the lower side of the box 2A, the lower side of the inner layer partition plate 6 inside the inner layer discharge port 23, and the lower surface of the tip of each shelf 11, respectively. ing. The light transmission tube 21 is, for example, a Ω-shaped saddle band (not shown).
It is attached to the box 2A, the shelf 11 or the like by the above method.

The light transmission tube 21 is configured so that the light from the light source unit 20 is introduced into the inside and radiates this light downward from the side peripheral surface of the light transmission tube. That is, one end of the light transmission tube is drawn into a side plate (not shown) of the showcase 1, and is drawn into the box 2A through the inside. The LED of the light source unit 20 is disposed facing the end face of the light transmission tube.

A door 2a for maintenance and inspection of the light source unit is provided on the front surface of the box 2A.

Next, the configuration of the light transmission tube will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the optical transmission tube, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG.

The light transmission tube 21 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 has a band-shaped reflection layer 24 extending in the longitudinal direction of the tube between a core 22 and a tubular cladding 23 covering the core. Note that the reflective layer 24 may be formed in a state in which the reflective layer 24 slightly penetrates into the core 23 from the surface of the core 23.

The material (core material) constituting the core 22 includes:
A transparent material having a higher refractive index than the material (cladding material) forming the tubular cladding 23 is used, and is generally appropriately selected from plastics, elastomers and the like according to the purpose.

Specific examples of the core material include polystyrene,
Styrene / methyl methacrylate copolymer, (meth) acrylic resin, polymethylpentene, allyl glycol carbonate resin, spirane resin, amorphous polyolefin, polycarbonate, polyamide, polyarylate, polysulfone, polyallylsulfone, polyethersulfone, polyether Imide, polyimide, diallyl phthalate, fluororesin, polyester carbonate,
Transparent materials such as a norbornene-based resin (ARTON), an alicyclic acrylic resin (Optrez), a silicone resin, an acrylic rubber, and a silicone rubber can be used. .).

On the other hand, the clad material can be selected from transparent materials having a low refractive index, and examples thereof include organic materials such as plastics and elastomers.

Specific examples of the clad material include polyethylene, polypropylene, polymethyl methacrylate, fluorinated polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyethylene. -Polyvinyl alcohol copolymer, fluororesin, silicone resin, natural rubber, polyisoprene rubber, polybutadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene copolymer, butyl rubber,
Halogenated butyl rubber, chloroprene rubber, acrylic rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer (EPD
M), acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer, fluorine rubber, silicone rubber and the like.

Among the above core materials and clad materials, polystyrene, polycarbonate, styrene- (meth) acryl copolymer ( MS polymer) and the like, and the clad material is (meth)
Acrylic polymers are preferred.

The reflection layer contains a white pigment and a scattering material (meta).
It is preferable to use an acrylic polymer.

Examples of the white pigment and the scattering material include organic polymer particles such as silicone resin particles and polystyrene resin particles, metal oxide particles such as Al ₂ O ₃ , TiO ₂ and SiO ₂ , and sulfate particles such as BaSO _4. And carbonate particles such as CaCO ₃ , and one of these can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

In consideration of reflection efficiency, coextrusion workability, and the like, the average particle size of the particles of these white pigments and scattering materials is preferably about 0.1 to 200 μm, particularly preferably about 0.5 to 50 μm. The content in the reflective layer constituting material (reflective material) is about 0.5 to 20% by weight, particularly 1 to 10% by weight.
It is preferred that it is about.

Although the thickness of the reflection layer 24 is not particularly limited,
It is preferably from 10 to 200 μm, particularly preferably from 50 to 100 μm. If the thickness is too small, the reflected light decreases and the luminance decreases.If the thickness is too large, the reflected light increases and the luminance increases. In some places, the brightness may be disadvantageously reduced.

The diameter of the core 22 is not particularly limited, but is usually about 2 to 30 mm, especially about 5 to 15 mm.
The thickness of the tubular cladding 23 is usually 0.05 to 4 mm.
In particular, it is about 0.2 to 2 mm.

The width (length in the circumferential direction) of the reflective layer 24 is, for example, about 5 to 40%, preferably about 10 to 30% of the circumferential length of the core, but may be outside this range.

In the optical transmission tube used in the present invention, a pair of overhanging pieces is provided by making the cross section of the tubular cladding into an Ω shape, and this overhanging piece is attached to the box 2A, the shelf 11, or the like. good.

In this light transmission tube, a reflective protective layer may be formed on the outer surface of the annular cladding 23 so as to cover the peripheral surface that does not emit light. In the case of an optical transmission tube having such a reflective protective layer formed thereon, if the reflective layer 24 has a defect such as a pinhole, the reflective layer 2 passes through the defective portion.
By reflecting the light leaking to the back side of the reflective layer 4 and the light leaking from the side of the reflective layer 24 with the reflective protective layer, the loss of light can be reduced, and the brightness on the opposite side of the reflective layer 4 can be further increased. it can.

It is preferable that the entire portion of the optical transmission tube, which extends around the portion other than the storage space, is covered with the reflective protective layer.

As a constituent material of the reflective protective layer, a material which does not transmit the light leaked from the reflective layer 4 to the outside, does not absorb the light, and efficiently reflects the light is preferable. And a metal foil or metal sheet of silver, aluminum, or the like, or a coating film in which the above-described scattering particles that scatter light are dispersed.

To manufacture this light transmission tube, a core material, a clad material, and a reflective material containing a white pigment or a scattering material are extruded using a multicolor extruder, for example, a three-color extruder having three screw portions. The core material is extruded into a cylindrical shape, the reflective material is extruded into a plurality of strips on the outer peripheral surface of the columnar core material, and the clad material is extruded simultaneously into a tube shape covering the core material and the reflective material. .

According to this method, three types of materials having different refractive indices and physical properties can be simultaneously extruded, and a laminated structure having three types of functions can be formed at a time.
Moreover, since the respective materials are laminated in a softened state, an optical transmission tube having excellent adhesion between the respective layers can be efficiently manufactured. In order to divide and extrude the reflecting material into a plurality of strips, a plurality of bases of the reflecting material may be used, or one base may be provided with a partition wall corresponding to the interval between the reflective layers and extruded.

The light transmission tube 21 generates substantially no heat, and since the light source unit 20 is disposed outside the storage room 9, the heat of the light source is not transmitted into the storage room 9.
Efficient refrigeration can be performed. Further, the light transmission tube 21 is of a high brightness provided with the reflection layer 24, and can illuminate the inside of the storage room 9 sufficiently brightly.

Although the above embodiment relates to a showcase, the present invention may be applied to a refrigerator or the like.

[0041]

As described in detail above, the storage device of the present invention does not transmit heat from the lighting, so that the storage space can be efficiently cooled. The light transmission tube used in the present invention has high brightness, and can illuminate the storage space sufficiently brightly. Since the optical transmission tube is extremely free from failure and is not damaged even if it hits the tube, the article can be taken in and out with ease. Further, by arranging the light source outside the storage space, the storage space can be increased, and maintenance and inspection and repair of the light source can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical transmission tube used in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a showcase according to the embodiment.

[Description of Signs] 1 Showcase 9 Storage room 11 Shelf 20 Light source unit 21 Light transmission tube 22 Core 23 Tubular cladding 24 Reflective layer

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A storage device having an article storage space and an illumination device for illuminating the article storage space, wherein the illumination device is formed of a tubular cladding and a material having a higher refractive index than a constituent material of the tubular cladding. And a reflective layer provided between the tubular clad and the core along the longitudinal direction of the tubular clad, wherein the light passing through the core is reflected and scattered by the reflective layer, and A storage device comprising: a light transmission tube configured to emit light from a peripheral surface of a tubular clad on a side opposite to a side on which a reflective layer is formed; and a light source configured to apply light to an end surface of the light transmission tube. 2. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the tubular cladding is made of a (meth) acrylic polymer. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the core is polystyrene, polycarbonate or styrene- (meth).
A storage device comprising an acrylic copolymer. 4. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the reflection layer is made of a (meth) acrylic polymer containing a white pigment or a scattering material. 5. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the storage device is a showcase. 6. The storage device according to claim 5, wherein the showcase has a refrigerated space. 7. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the storage device is a refrigerator having a refrigerator space. 8. The storage device according to claim 6, wherein the light source is disposed outside a refrigerated space.