JP2002107080A - Thermal storage device and refrigerator using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cool, refrigerate, thaw and heat fast, without having to make design changes and the like in a refrigerator. SOLUTION: A thermal storage device 30 is formed into a vessel-shaped case 31 with the upper part opening out of the upper bottom 32 and the lower bottom 33. A good heat conductor, such as aluminum, copper, etc., is used for the member at this time. A thermal storage material 31 is enclosed in a airtight space held between the upper bottom 32 and the lower bottom 33.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat storage device capable of rapidly cooling or heating food or the like to a desired temperature and a refrigerator using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, refrigerators (including refrigerators)
It is used when cooling drinking water such as canned juice or when storing meat in a frozen state, and is a necessity in general households and the like.

[0003] Such a refrigerator is provided with a refrigeration circuit to generate cool air, and cools the air in the refrigerator with the cool air to cool foods and the like.

[0004] On the other hand, when meat and fish are stored frozen, they are thawed and used. However, if they are rapidly thawed, the cells are destroyed and the freshness and quality are deteriorated. Now, a function that allows slow thawing at low temperatures has begun to be introduced.

[0005] In addition, some foods may be damaged when frozen and the taste of the food may be lost, and such foods are stored in a temperature range immediately before freezing (about -1 ° C) (hereinafter referred to as ice temperature). (Called frozen).

[0006]

However, in the cooling of canned juice and the like, the thawing of frozen food and the like, or the freezing of ice at the temperature just before freezing, unexpected failures occur for the following reasons. There was a case.

That is, in the refrigerator, as described above, when cooling food or the like, the air in the refrigerator is circulated through an evaporator serving as a source of cold air in the refrigeration circuit to cool the air in the refrigerator. And then cool the food with that air.

However, since various kinds of foods are stored in the refrigerator, the air around the foods is not always replaced by the circulating air in the refrigerator. There may also be places where the air flow stagnates.

Therefore, the food stored in such a place takes a longer time to cool than other foods.

In particular, as can be understood from the fact that air is also used as a heat insulating material, when air layers having different temperatures are formed so as to wrap food, cooling does not proceed because this air layer acts as a heat insulating material. I will.

Under such circumstances, in the case of food such as canned juice, etc., which is desired to be cooled in a relatively short time, an operation such as lowering the temperature in the refrigerator is performed. The temperature of the food is too low, and the food stored in a refrigerator not intended for freezing, such as a refrigerator, may freeze.

Also, when meat or fish is frozen or thawed, the air layer formed around the food similarly inhibits heat transfer, so that freezing and thawing as desired may not be possible. .

That is, when food such as meat or fish is frozen, an air layer having a large temperature difference is generated between the food and the air in the refrigerator because the temperature of the food is approximately room temperature. Therefore, in order to rapidly freeze this, the set temperature must be lowered.

However, since the food is cooled from its surface, if the set temperature is too low, the surface may be completely frozen even if the inside is frozen at ice temperature.

Also, when thawing is performed, there is a problem that the thawing time becomes long due to the air layer.

Further, since the interior of the refrigerator and trays are generally made of a resin having low thermal conductivity,
For example, when a fish is thawed, there is a problem that the temperature of a portion in contact with the fish does not drop down forever and freezing and thawing are delayed.

Of course, in order to solve such a problem, the air circulating on the surface of the food should always be blown so as to suppress the generation of the air layer having the above-mentioned temperature difference. However, it is difficult to realize such a refrigerator in which various foods are arbitrarily stored, and in order to do so, the amount of circulating air must be increased.

When the air volume is increased, there arises a problem that the energy consumption such as an electricity bill increases, and also a problem that the food dries or that when the door is opened, cool air blows into the room violently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a heat storage device capable of rapidly cooling, freezing, thawing and heating without changing the design of the refrigerator and a refrigerator using the same.

[0020]

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is formed on a double bottom including an upper bottom and a lower bottom, and is formed by a good thermal conductor such as aluminum or copper. , A container-like case with an open top, and a heat storage material sealed in a closed space sandwiched between the upper and lower bottoms, so that cooling, freezing, thawing and heating can be performed quickly. Features.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the heat storage material is formed of a material having a large latent heat, such as inexpensive water or an aqueous glycerin solution.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the surface of the upper bottom is covered with a flexible member, and the contact area of the food is increased by deforming the flexible member according to the shape of the food to be placed. It is characterized by.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that a plurality of ribs which are in thermal contact with the heat storage material and in thermal contact with the upper bottom are provided in the closed space.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a convection promoting plate inclined from the lower bottom to the upper bottom is provided in the closed space to promote convection of the heat storage material.

The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that a heat replenisher for replenishing heat to the heat storage material is provided at the lower bottom side of the closed space.

The invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that a volume change regulator for absorbing a volume change of the heat storage material is provided.

[0027] The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that a semi-cylindrical groove is formed in the upper bottom, and the width of the groove is set to the size of a cylindrical food such as a canned juice or a plastic bottle.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a lid is provided so as to be opened and closed so as to face the semi-cylindrical groove, and is provided so as to cover the cylindrical food stored in the cylindrical groove. And

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the right and left ends of the cylindrical groove are appropriately adjusted so that the groove surface of the cylindrical groove comes into contact with or comes close to the cylindrical food stored in the cylindrical groove on many surfaces. It is characterized by being raised and formed.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator for cooling and preserving food, comprising a cool air generating means, comprising the heat storage device according to any one of the first to tenth aspects.

[0031]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the refrigerator 10. The refrigerator 10 is provided with a refrigerator 11, a vegetable room 14, an ice room 15, a select room 16, a freezer room 17, and the like, with the inside of a housing 11 partitioned by a partition wall 12.

The refrigerator compartment 13 mainly stores foods to be stored without freezing. In FIG. 1, an ice temperature chamber 18 is provided below the refrigerator compartment 13. A tray 19 is provided in the ice temperature chamber 18, and foods are put in the tray 19 and stored at the ice temperature.

The vegetable compartment 14 is used to store fruits and vegetables, and the ice room 15 is used to store ice and ice cream. The freezer compartment 17 is used for storing foods to be frozen and stored.

The select room 16 is, for example, a refrigerator room set at about 3 ° C., a chilled room set at about 1 ° C., and about −1.
° C and an ice greenhouse, set to about -3 ° C and a partial room, set to about -7 ° C and a soft freezer, and about -18
It is set to ° C. and used by switching as a freezing room.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tray 19 used for the above-mentioned ice green room 18 and the like, and FIG. 3 is a view showing a state where the heat storage device 30 according to the present invention is installed on the tray 19. It is.

As will be understood from the following description, the heat storage device 30 is not required to be installed on the tray 19 and may be used alone or may be used outside the refrigerator 10. . Further, it is not required to use in the ice greenhouse 18 or the like.
7, may be used in the select room 16 and the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, the heat storage device 30 has a case 31 made of a material having excellent heat conductivity such as aluminum or copper, and the case 31 has an upper bottom 32 and a lower bottom 33. The heat storage material 3 is provided to form a double bottom.
4 is a hermetically sealed space.

In the following description, a case where cold heat is stored in the heat storage material 34 will be described as an example. However, a case where warm heat is stored may be used.

In the heat storage device 30 shown in FIG. 4, a semi-cylindrical groove 35 is formed in a part of the upper bottom 32. This is to prevent rolling when a cylindrical food such as canned juice (including a container having a cylindrical shape) is placed thereon, and to increase the contact area with the upper bottom 32. It is provided to increase the cooling efficiency.

For this reason, it is preferable that the size of the semi-cylindrical groove 35 be formed in accordance with the use such as canned juice or plastic bottle.

Therefore, when such an application is not assumed, the upper bottom 32 may be formed flat as shown in FIG. In the following description, a case where the semi-cylindrical groove 35 shown in FIG. 4 is provided will be described as an example.

As the heat storage material 34, a material having a large latent heat such as water, an aqueous glycerin solution such as propylene glycol, or alcohol can be used.

When meat or canned juice or the like is cooled or thawed using such a heat storage device 30, the heat storage device 30 is stored in the ice temperature chamber 18 in advance, and the heat storage material 34 is stored.
Keep cool.

In this state, meat, fish, and the like are placed on the flat surface of the upper bottom 32. In the case of a cylindrical food such as canned juice, it is placed in the semi-cylindrical groove 35.

At the start of cooling, the temperature of the meat or fish is approximately room temperature, so that the temperature of the placed flat surface rises.
The heat storage material 34 is sealed in the lower part of the case, and the case 31 is formed of copper or aluminum having excellent heat conductivity, so that fish and meat can be cooled in the same manner as in the case where the fish and meat are directly in contact with a constant temperature heat source. To receive it.

That is, since such a food comes into direct thermal contact with the heat source, the food is always cooled by a large heat conduction, and the cooling time is shortened.

Further, since the latent heat of the heat source is large, even if the cooling of the fish or the like progresses (the heat storage material is heated by the fish), the cooling is always performed at a substantially constant temperature, so that the inside of the food and the food are cooled. The temperature difference from the surface is reduced, and cooling can be performed without deteriorating the quality.

On the other hand, in the case of food stored in a cylindrical container such as canned juice, the food does not roll as described above, and the installation area increases, so that the cooling time is greatly reduced. It becomes possible to do.

Although FIG. 4 shows a case where one semi-cylindrical groove 35 is provided, it is clear that a plurality of semi-cylindrical grooves 35 may be provided, and the groove shape is also limited to the semi-cylindrical groove 35. Not something.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the end of the semi-cylindrical groove 35 may be raised to form a sleeve 37 so as to surround the stored cylindrical food, and as shown in FIG.
The flexible member 38 may be adhered on the second member 2. FIG.
A cover 39 may be provided corresponding to the semi-cylindrical groove 35 as shown in FIG.

In the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the sleeve portion 37 also functions as a heat source, so that the cylindrical food comes into special heat contact with the semi-cylindrical groove 35 and heats through the adjacent sleeve portion 37 via a thin air layer. The contact improves the cooling efficiency.

In the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 7, even when the upper lid or the bottom lid is protruded to the side as in a plastic bottle or canned juice having an uneven surface, for example, the flexible member 3 can be used.
The elastic deformation of 8 allows the side surfaces of the PET bottle or the like to be in close contact with each other so that heat can be efficiently transferred.

In the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 8, the side surface of the cylindrical food is covered with the semi-cylindrical groove 35 and the lid 39.
The heat of the heat storage material 34 is confined in the space sandwiched between them, so that heat can be transferred effectively.

At this time, the lid 39 may be made of a resin or the like, but is more preferably made of the same heat conductor as the case 31. However, even if the lid 39 is formed of a resin, the effect of promoting cooling by the closing action of cold generated by closing the lid 39 can be obtained.

It is desired that the heat storage material 34 be a constant-temperature heat source. However, such a constant-temperature heat source does not actually exist, and the heat storage material 34 has a sufficiently large heat amount with respect to the heat amount of the food to be cooled. If it can be stored, it can be practically used as a constant temperature heat source.

In order to store a large amount of heat, the heat storage material 34
It is conceivable to increase the amount of the material or use a material having a large latent heat as the heat storage material 34.

However, it is not preferable to increase the amount of the heat storage material 34 because the storage capacity decreases accordingly.
In addition, when a material having a large latent heat is used, the degree of freedom of selection is narrow from the viewpoint of food safety and the like, and the cost is often high.

Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIG.
A storage space for the heat storage material 34 formed by the upper bottom 32 and the outer bottom is partitioned by a plurality of ribs 40. This rib 40
Like the case 31, it is formed of a good heat conductor such as copper or aluminum.

In this way, the upper bottom 32, which is in contact with foods, comes into thermal contact with a large amount of the heat storage material 34, so that the same effect as when the heat storage material 34 having a large latent heat is used can be obtained. Will be possible.

That is, the food can receive heat from the heat storage material 34 in contact with the upper bottom 32 and also receive heat from the heat storage material 34 in the lower bottom 33 in contact with the rib 40.

In particular, since the ribs 40 are formed of a good heat conductor such as copper or aluminum, it is possible to exhibit the same effect as the heat storage material 34 made of a material having a large latent heat.

When a material used in a liquid state is selected as the heat storage material 34, the temperature of the upper bottom 32 with which the food comes into contact rises, and accordingly, a temperature distribution occurs in the heat storage material 34. And cause natural convection.

By utilizing this, the convection promoting plate 4 inclined from the lower bottom 33 to the upper bottom 32 as shown in FIG.
2 may be provided so that convection generated by the above temperature distribution is likely to occur.

Since the convection occurs in a direction in which the temperature distribution disappears, a heat storage material 34 having a lower temperature is provided on the upper bottom 32 side.
The fluid flows from the side, and the cooling efficiency can be increased.

Further, in the above description, the case where the heat storage material 34 is stored in advance and is used for cooling food in that state is described. For example, as shown in FIG. A heat replenishing device 44 such as an auxiliary heat source tube or a heating element such as an electric heater is buried, and the food receives heat from the heat storage material 34, and the heat storage material 34 receives replenishment of heat from the heat replenisher 44. It is good.

In this case, the method of arranging the heat replenisher 44 does not limit the present invention. For example, the heat replenisher 44 can be laid in a meandering manner as shown in FIG.

With such a configuration, when a large amount of heat is suddenly taken away, such as when the cooling of food is started, the heat storage material 34 supplies the heat, and the temperature difference is increased with the start of cooling. If the heat replenisher 44 supplies an insufficient amount of heat when the temperature becomes small, the amount of the heat storage material 34 can be reduced, and efficient cooling can be performed.

The substance including the heat storage material 34 thermally expands in response to a temperature change, and its expansion coefficients are different.

Therefore, when the heat storage material 34 is completely sealed in the case 31 made of aluminum or the like, the upper bottom 32 is deformed due to a difference in thermal expansion coefficient, and the heat transfer between the food and the heat storage material 34 is prevented. The case 31 may be lowered or the case 31 may be damaged.

Such a case can be dealt with by adopting a configuration as shown in FIGS.

That is, the structure shown in FIG.
5 are formed, and the thickness of the concave portion 45 is made thinner than other portions.

Thus, for example, when the heat storage material 34 expands and its volume increases, the concave portion 45 is deformed preferentially over other portions, so that the volume increase can be absorbed.

In the structure shown in FIG. 13, an air layer 46 is provided slightly without completely enclosing the heat storage material 34, and an air valve 47 is provided so that the air layer 46 communicates with the outside.

At this time, the thinner the air layer 46 is, the more efficiently the heat of the heat storage material 34 can be transmitted to the food.
As a result of reducing the thickness of the air layer 46, if the volume of the air layer 46 is smaller than the volume expansion amount of the heat storage material 34, the air valve 47
Therefore, the heat storage material 34 may overflow.

Therefore, in the present invention, the thickness of the air layer 46 is made as small as possible so that the heat of the heat storage material 34 can be efficiently transmitted to the food, and the heat storage material 34 in which the heat storage material 34 expands in volume is formed. Store air so that it does not overflow from the air hole 4
8 is provided, and the air valve 47 is formed in the air reservoir 48.

As a result, even if the heat storage material 34 expands in volume, the case 31 is not damaged or leaks out of the air valve 47, and heat can be efficiently exchanged with food.

Further, in the configuration shown in FIG. 14, a deformation accelerating portion 49 in which a part of the upper bottom 32 is made thinner than the other is formed.

In this way, when the temperature of the heat storage material 34 rises and contracts, the upper bottom 32 and the heat storage material 3
Although a gap is generated between the heat accumulating material 34 and the heat accumulating material 34, the deformation accelerating portion 49 is deformed by the shrinkage force or the weight of the food.

For example, when water is used as the heat storage material 34, if the water is frozen and cold heat is stored, the volume shrinks when the ice is melted by the food. However, until all the ice is melted, the water temperature is kept at 0 ° C., so that it acts as the heat storage material 34, but when the volume shrinks, a gap is generated between the upper bottom 32.

If the upper base 32 is easily deformed by the volume contraction force and the weight of the food, the upper base 32 is always
4, so that the cooling efficiency is increased.

[0081]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the upper portion is formed on the double bottom of the upper bottom and the lower bottom, and the upper portion is formed of a good conductor such as aluminum or copper. Since it is composed of an open container-like case and a heat storage material sealed in a closed space sandwiched between the upper bottom and the lower bottom, cooling, freezing, thawing and heating can be performed quickly.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the heat storage material is formed of a material having a large latent heat, such as inexpensive water or an aqueous glycerin solution, the cost can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the surface of the upper bottom is covered with the soft member, and the soft member is deformed according to the shape of the food to be placed, thereby increasing the contact area of the food. As a result, cooling, freezing, thawing and heating can be performed quickly.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since a plurality of ribs which are in thermal contact with the heat storage material and in thermal contact with the upper bottom are provided in the closed space, cooling, freezing, thawing and heating can be performed quickly. become.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the convection of the heat storage material is promoted by providing the convection promoting plate which is inclined from the lower bottom to the upper bottom in the closed space, so that the cooling,
Freezing, thawing and heating can be performed.

According to the invention of claim 6, since the heat replenisher for replenishing heat to the heat storage material is provided at the lower bottom side of the closed space, cooling, freezing, thawing and heating can be performed quickly. .

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the volume change regulator for absorbing the volume change of the heat storage material is provided, the cooling, freezing, thawing and heating can be performed safely and promptly.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the semi-cylindrical groove is formed in the upper bottom and the width of the groove is set to the size of a cylindrical food such as a canned juice or a plastic bottle, cooling can be performed quickly. Freezing, thawing and heating can be performed.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the lid is provided so as to be opened and closed so as to face the semi-cylindrical groove, and is provided so as to cover the cylindrical food stored in the cylindrical groove. Cooling, freezing, thawing and heating can be performed quickly.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the left and right end portions of the cylindrical groove are so arranged that the groove surface of the cylindrical groove comes into contact with or comes in close contact with the cylindrical food stored in the cylindrical groove on many surfaces. Is formed as appropriate, so that cooling, freezing, thawing and heating can be performed quickly.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, since the refrigerator is provided with the heat storage device according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, the convenience is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator applied to the description of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tray.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state when a heat storage device is set on a tray.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a heat storage device.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a heat storage device replacing FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a heat storage device in which a sleeve is provided in a semi-cylindrical groove.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a heat storage device in which a semi-cylindrical groove is covered with a soft member.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a heat storage device in which a lid is provided in a semi-cylindrical groove.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a heat storage device in which ribs are provided in a closed space.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a heat storage device provided with a convection promoting plate.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a heat storage device provided with a heat replenisher.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a heat storage device provided with a concave portion as a volume change controller.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a heat storage device provided with an air valve as a volume change regulator.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a heat storage device provided with a deformation promoting unit as a volume change controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Refrigerator 19 Tray 30 Heat storage device 31 Case 32 Upper bottom 33 Lower bottom 34 Heat storage material 35 Semi-cylindrical groove 37 Sleeve 38 Soft member 39 Cover 40 Rib 42 Convection promoting plate 44 Heat replenisher 45 Depression 46 Air layer 47 Air valve 49 Deformation Promotion department

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hitoshi Aoki 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Junichi Mogi 2-chome Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No.5-5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masaya Matsuoka 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka F-term in Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. 3L045 BA04 BA10 CA02 KA16

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A container-shaped case which is formed on a double bottom of an upper bottom and a lower bottom, is formed of a good heat conductor such as aluminum or copper, and has an open upper part. A heat storage device characterized by having a heat storage material sealed in a closed space sandwiched therebetween. 2. The heat storage device according to claim 1, wherein the heat storage material is formed of a material having a large latent heat, such as water or an aqueous glycerin solution. 3. A surface of the upper bottom is covered with a soft member,
The heat storage device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the contact area of the food is increased by deforming the flexible member according to the shape of the food to be placed. 4. The heat storage device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of ribs that are in thermal contact with the heat storage material and are in thermal contact with the upper bottom are provided in the closed space. 5. A convection promoting plate inclined from a lower bottom to an upper bottom in the closed space to promote convection of the heat storage material. Heat storage device. 6. The heat storage device according to claim 1, wherein a heat replenisher for replenishing heat to the heat storage material is provided at a lower bottom side of the closed space. 7. The heat storage device according to claim 1, further comprising a volume change regulator that absorbs a volume change of the heat storage material. 8. A semi-cylindrical groove is formed in the upper bottom, and the width of the groove is set to the size of a cylindrical food such as a canned juice or a plastic bottle. 2. The heat storage device according to claim 1. 9. A lid provided so as to be opened and closed in opposition to the semi-cylindrical groove, and provided to cover the cylindrical food stored in the cylindrical groove.
The heat storage device as described in the above. 10. A sleeve whose left and right ends of the cylindrical groove are appropriately raised so that the groove surface of the cylindrical groove comes into contact with or comes close to the cylindrical food stored in the cylindrical groove on many surfaces. The heat storage device according to claim 8, wherein a portion is formed. 11. A refrigerator for cooling and preserving food, comprising a cool air generating means, wherein the refrigerator comprises the heat storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.