JP2001280789A - Low temperature compartment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform subsequent cold storage operation effectively in an appropriate time when cold is stored following to the delivery of very short time or when cold storage operation is interrupted temporarily. SOLUTION: The low temperature compartment incorporates a cold storage agent, a refrigerating system for storing cold by cooling and freezing the cold storage agent, and a sensor for detecting the temperature of the cold storage agent. At the time of cold storage operation through the refrigerating system, the refrigerating system is operated for a set time after the temperature detected by the temperature sensor of the cold storage agent dropped down to a specified level so that the cold storage agent is frozen completely. In such a low temperature compartment, the set time is regulated depending on the time elapsed after ending the operation of the refrigerating system and the regulation rate is varied depending on the outdoor air temperature.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a built-in regenerator and a refrigerating device for cooling and refrigerating the regenerative agent. The present invention relates to a low-temperature storage that can be transported on a truck or the like while cooling the product.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A low-temperature refrigerator is provided with a regenerator and a refrigerating device for freezing the regenerator inside a portable storage having a roller at the bottom. Then, at a distribution center or the like, an external AC power supply is connected, the refrigerating device is driven, and the regenerator is frozen and frozen to store cold.
After the freezing is completed, the external AC power supply is removed, and then the goods are stored in the storage, mounted on trucks and transported. In this way, the delivery of goods is performed while keeping the inside of the refrigerator cool with a regenerator.

[0003] In such a low-temperature storage, during cold storage operation,
When the external AC power supply is turned on, the refrigeration apparatus starts operating and cold storage in the cold storage agent is started. At that time, the temperature of the regenerator drops relatively rapidly at first, but when the temperature drops below a predetermined temperature (about −30 ° C.), the refrigerating agent starts freezing and the temperature drop thereafter slows down. Almost no temperature change. Therefore, it is difficult to determine whether or not the freezing of the cold storage agent is completed only by monitoring the temperature of the cold storage agent.

Therefore, a conventional low-temperature refrigerator is provided with a timer for counting the time of cold storage in the cold storage agent. When an external AC power supply is turned on for cold storage, first, the timer is cleared, then the cold storage operation is started, and the cold storage operation is started. When the temperature of the agent reaches the predetermined temperature, the timer is started. And
Freezing has been completed when the timer has counted a predetermined time (e.g., 9 hours), and the freeze completion display lamp is turned on. By doing so, the cold storage operation can be started in a state where the regenerator is reliably frozen.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional low-temperature storage, the timer operates uniformly regardless of whether the cool storage is performed after the delivery takes a long time or the cool storage is performed after the delivery is completed in a short time. Since the completion of freezing of the cold storage agent is determined in this manner, when cold storage is performed after delivery in a very short time, there is a problem that long-time cold storage operation is performed unnecessarily for a long time even though cold storage is not required.

When the external AC power supply is temporarily cut off for the sake of work, such as when the low-temperature storage needs to be moved during the cold storage operation, when the power supply is turned on again, the timer is cleared and counting is started from the beginning. Therefore, there is a problem that the cold storage operation is performed for a long time unnecessarily.

The present invention solves such a problem, and in the case where cold storage is performed after delivery in a short time, or when the cold storage operation is temporarily interrupted halfway, the subsequent cold storage operation is performed at an appropriate time. It is intended to be able to do so.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a low-temperature storage according to claim 1, wherein a storage room for storing goods, a cold storage agent for cooling the storage room, and a cooling agent for cooling the cold storage agent. A refrigerating device that performs cold storage by freezing and cooling, a regenerator temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the regenerator, a power-on detection device that detects that an external AC power is supplied to the refrigerating device, and the refrigerating device. A control device for controlling the operation of the refrigerator, the control device, when the power-on detection device detects the application of external AC power, starts the operation of the refrigeration device, the detected temperature of the cold storage agent temperature sensor When the set time has elapsed from the time when the temperature has dropped to the predetermined temperature, the cold storage device is configured to terminate the operation of the refrigeration apparatus as the completion of freezing of the regenerator, and the control device terminates the operation of the refrigeration apparatus. Later sutra Depending on the time, characterized by being adapted to adjust the setting time. In this way, when cold storage is performed after delivery in a short time, subsequent cold storage operation can be performed in an appropriate time.

In the low-temperature storage device according to the present invention, if the external AC power supply is turned on again within a predetermined time after the external AC power supply is turned off, the low-temperature storage is processed ignoring the cut-off time. I do. In this way, even if the external AC power supply is temporarily cut off for a very short time during the cold storage operation, the subsequent cold storage operation can be performed in an appropriate time.

Further, the low-temperature storage according to the third aspect is characterized in that, when the set time is adjusted, the magnitude of the adjustment is changed according to the outside air temperature. In this way, the set time can be adjusted at a rate suitable for the actual state of the regenerator.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the low-temperature storage, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the low-temperature storage. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes an operation panel, 2 denotes an external power supply connection part, 3 denotes a door, 4 denotes a shaft for locking the door 3, 5 denotes a lever for operating the shaft 4, and 6 denotes a cooler A cool storage agent assembly, 7 is a cooling fan, 8 is a duct for circulating cool air, 9 is an electrical component storage unit, and 10 is a product.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation panel 1 has an upper portion indicating whether the regenerator is frozen or in a state where the refrigerating agent is completely frozen, or whether the inside of the refrigerator is being cooled at the same time as the regenerator. It has a freezing operation display lamp 11, a freezing completion display lamp 12, and a cold storage display lamp 13 to be displayed. Also,
It also has a refrigerator operation button 14 that is pressed when the user wants to cool the inside of the refrigerator during cold storage and use it as a refrigerator.

The lower part of the operation panel 1 is provided with a refrigeration selection button 15 and a refrigeration selection button 16 for designating whether the cooling operation is performed at the refrigeration temperature or the refrigeration temperature. 17 and a freezing display lamp 18 are used to display them. In addition, an internal temperature indicator 19 for displaying the internal temperature is provided.

The power connector 2 is provided with a cord connector, on which a lid that can be opened and closed is provided.
At the time of cold storage, a cold storage operation is performed by connecting a cord of an external AC power supply to the power supply connection unit 2.

Opening and closing of the door 3 is performed by lifting the lever 5 upward, pulling it toward the user, and rotating the shaft 4 to release the lock. There is a storage room in which the goods 10 can be stored. A cooler / cool storage agent assembly 6 in which a cooler and a cool storage agent are alternately stacked is disposed below the storage room. Although not shown, the cooler / cooling agent assembly 6 is provided with a cooling agent temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the cooling agent. In addition, a cooler / cool storage agent assembly 6
Of the refrigerator, together with a compressor and a condenser not shown, constitute a refrigerating device.
The temperature of the cooler of the cool storage agent assembly 6 becomes low, and cools and freezes the cool storage agent laminated and provided with the cooler.

After the freezing of the cold storage agent is completed, the merchandise 10 is put into the storage room, and the operation for keeping cool is started. In the cold keeping operation, the cooling fan 7 is rotated by a battery (not shown), air is passed through the cooler / coolant assembly 6, and the cool air cooled by the cool storage agent in the cooler / coolant assembly 6 is cooled. It is sent through the duct 8 into the storage room. In this way, the merchandise 10 is delivered while refrigeration or refrigeration of the merchandise 10 is performed by circulating cool air in the storage room. The refrigerating device and the battery are housed in the electrical component storage unit 9 together with the electrical device.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the low-temperature storage.
The control of the low-temperature storage is performed by the microcomputer 20. A cord is connected to the power supply connection unit 2 and an external three-phase AC power supply (RS
T), the charging of the battery 22 is started by the battery charging circuit 21, and the AC power connection determination circuit 25 via the rectifier circuit 23 determines that an external power supply is connected, and switches the power supply. The circuit 24 switches the power supply of the control device from the battery 22 to the AC power supply.

When the connected three-phase AC power supply is connected in reverse phase, the reverse-phase detection circuit 26 detects this and notifies the microcomputer 20 of it. The phase loss detection circuit 27 detects the disconnection of one of the three phases of the connected three-phase AC power supply and notifies the microcomputer 20 of the disconnection. The microcomputer 20 receives the notification that the external power supply is connected from the AC power supply connection determination circuit 25, and instructs the relay control circuit 28 to close the electromagnetic switch 29 and start the operation of the compressor 30. At this time, when a notification of the reverse phase connection is received from the reverse phase detection circuit 26, the electromagnetic switching device 29 performs phase switching to operate the compressor 30 in a normal rotation direction. In addition, the phase loss detection circuit 27
, The relay control circuit 28 is instructed, the electromagnetic switch 29 is opened, the compressor 30 is forcibly stopped, and the compressor 30 is protected.

The charging of the battery 22 is performed while monitoring the discharging state of the battery 22 by the battery voltage monitoring circuit 31 and detecting the charging current by the battery charging current detecting circuit 32 to monitor the charging state. The temperature sensor 33 includes a temperature sensor in the storage room, a temperature sensor of a cold storage agent, and the like, and controls the cooling operation by the cooling fan 7 and the cold storage operation by the compressor 30 based on the output of the temperature sensor. The setting switch 34 is used to set various control data. The display 35 includes various lamps of the operation panel 1, a temperature indicator 19 in the refrigerator, and the like, the display of which is controlled by the microcomputer 20. Fan motor control circuit 3
6 controls the operation of the fan motor 37 that drives the cooling fan 7.

Control related to the cold storage operation by such a control device will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG.
5 is a flowchart of control related to the cold storage operation of the low-temperature storage. Step 1: Based on the output of the AC power supply connection determination circuit 25, it is determined whether or not an external AC power supply is connected.

Step 2: When an external AC power supply is connected, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the regenerator drops below the freezing temperature of the regenerator (eg, -30 ° C.) based on the output of the regenerator temperature sensor. I do. Step 3: When the temperature falls below the freezing temperature, the count of the first timer configured in software in the microcomputer 20 is started. Step 4 ... count value CNT ₁ of the first timer, the predetermined time is a sufficient cooling time to freeze T _C (e.g., 9 hours) to determine whether or not reached. Step 5: When the predetermined time is reached, it is determined whether or not the charging of the battery 22 is completed based on the output of the battery charging current detection circuit 32. Step 6: If charging is completed, freeze completion
The freeze operation display lamp 11 of the operation panel 1 is turned off, and the freeze completion display lamp 12 is turned on. As a result, the cold storage can be used in a state where the regenerator is completely frozen and the battery is fully charged.

Step 7: When the external AC power supply is cut off in Step 1, the temperature of the regenerator is determined based on the output of the regenerator temperature sensor as a temperature at which the freezing of the regenerator is considered to be released. -23 ° C.) or more. Step 8: If the temperature is not equal to or higher than the freeze release temperature, the second timer configured by software in the microcomputer 20 starts counting. Step 9: second count value CNT ₂ of the timer is time T _S in the range that can be regarded as little effect on the frozen state (e.g., 5 minutes) to determine whether or less, when there below time T _S Return as it is.

Step 10: If the time is not shorter than the time T _S , a value obtained by multiplying the count value CNT ₂ of the second timer by a predetermined coefficient a is subtracted from the count value CNT _{1 of the first} timer. Here, the coefficient a is a coefficient that varies depending on various characteristics of the regenerator used, the outside air temperature, and the like, and is empirically obtained for each model of the low-temperature storage. For example, as shown in FIG. It is held inside as a table in the shape of a bent. Then, when performing the process of step 10, a coefficient corresponding to the outside air temperature at that time is read from the table and used. Step 11: Assuming that the refrigerating agent has been frozen,
The freeze completion indicator lamp 12 is turned off. Thereafter, when performing the cold-storage operation, the count of the first timer is started from the count value CNT ₁ calculated in step 10. As a result, the time of the cold storage operation is shorter than the predetermined time T _C.

Step 12: If the temperature is equal to or higher than the freezing release temperature in step 7, the count value CNT of the first timer
Clear ₁ Step 13: Assuming that the freeze of the regenerator has been released,
The freeze completion indicator lamp 12 is turned off. Thereafter, when performing the cold storage operation, the count of the first timer is started from 0, and the cold storage operation is performed until the predetermined time T _C has completely elapsed.

In the above-described embodiment, the count value of the first timer is adjusted by using the count value of the second timer, so that the time of the subsequent cool storage operation is adjusted. Adjustment may be made using the count value of the timer so as to shorten the predetermined time T _C.

[0026]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. That is, the low-temperature storage according to claim 1 starts the operation of the refrigerating apparatus when the power-on detection device detects the input of the external AC power, and starts from the time when the temperature detected by the regenerator temperature sensor drops to a predetermined temperature. When the set time has elapsed, in the low-temperature storage where the operation of the refrigeration apparatus is terminated as completion of freezing of the regenerator, the set time is adjusted according to the elapsed time after the operation of the refrigeration apparatus is terminated. I made it. As a result, when cold storage is performed after delivery in a short time, subsequent cold storage operation can be performed in an appropriate time.

In the low-temperature storage device according to the second aspect, when the external AC power supply is turned on within a predetermined time after the external AC power supply is turned off, the processing is performed ignoring the cut-off time. Even if the external AC power supply is temporarily cut off for a very short time during the cold storage operation, the subsequent cold storage operation can be performed in an appropriate time.

Further, in the low-temperature storage device according to the third aspect, when the set time is adjusted, the magnitude of the adjustment is changed in accordance with the outside air temperature. The set time can be adjusted at a rate suitable for

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a low-temperature storage.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a low-temperature storage.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an operation panel of a low-temperature storage.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of a low-temperature storage.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of control related to a cold storage operation of a low-temperature storage.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a timer adjustment coefficient table.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Operation panel 2 ... External power supply connection part 3 ... Door 6 ... Cooler and regenerator assembly 7 ... Cooling fan 8 ... Cold air circulation duct 9 ... Electrical equipment storage unit 10 ... Product 11 ... Freezing operation display lamp 12 ... Freezing Completion display lamp 13 ... Internal cooling display lamp 14 ... Refrigerator operation button 15 ... Refrigeration selection button 16 ... Freezing selection button 17 ... Refrigeration display lamp 18 ... Freezing display lamp 19 ... Internal temperature display 30 ... Compressor 37 ... Fan motor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A storage room for storing a product, a regenerator for cooling the storage room, a refrigerating device for performing cold storage by cooling and freezing the regenerator, and a regenerator for detecting a temperature of the regenerator. An agent temperature sensor, a power-on detection device for detecting that external AC power is supplied to the refrigerating device, and a control device for controlling operation of the refrigerating device, wherein the control device includes the power-on detecting device. Starts the operation of the refrigerating apparatus when detecting that the external AC power supply is turned on, and when a set time has elapsed from the time when the temperature detected by the regenerator temperature sensor has decreased to a predetermined temperature, the refrigerating apparatus determines that the refrigerating agent has been frozen and completes the refrigerating operation. A low-temperature storage for terminating the operation of the device,
The low-temperature storage, wherein the control device adjusts the set time according to an elapsed time after the operation of the refrigeration device is terminated. 2. The low-temperature storage according to claim 1, wherein when the external AC power is turned on again within a predetermined time after being turned off, the processing is performed ignoring the cut-off time. 3. The low-temperature storage according to claim 1, wherein when the set time is adjusted, the magnitude of the adjustment is changed in accordance with the outside air temperature.