JP2002195738A - Low-temperature storage house - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low-temperature storage house, capable of surely evaporating drain water stored in an evaporating tray in the cabinet of a type for eliminating drain hose in the cabinet for storing grain or the like at a low temperature, and to provide a method and an apparatus for storing unpolished rice under optimum conditions. SOLUTION: The low-temperature storage house comprises a storage chamber 2 for housing a material to be stored, and a cooling chamber 3 having a cooling unit for cooling in the chamber 2. The cooling unit has a refrigerating cycle and an evaporating tray 23 for storing defrosted water of the cooler 15, so that the exhaust gas of a radiating fan 16 of a condenser 12 in the cycle acts on the tray 23. The fan 16 is stopped by making a prescribed time delay starting from the time a compressor 11 has stopped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a low-temperature storage for storing brown rice and vegetables for a long period of time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of apparatus is provided with a storage room for storing articles requiring low-temperature storage, and a cooling unit for supplying cool air into the storage room, and the storage unit is controlled by controlling the cooling unit. There is known an apparatus for cooling to a temperature and humidity suitable for storing stored articles. This cooling unit is provided with a refrigeration cycle including a closed loop of a compressor, a cooler, a condenser, and the like. The cooler is cooled by circulating the refrigerant by the operation of the compressor in the refrigeration cycle, and the cooled cooler is cooled. Heat is exchanged by operating a circulating fan that circulates the air in the storage, and the inside of the storage is cooled. In such a device, it is possible to select whether the inside of the refrigerator has high humidity or low humidity. In the case of high humidity, the circulation fan is continuously driven regardless of driving / stop of the compressor, and the low humidity is maintained. In this case, the circulation fan is driven / stopped in synchronization with the drive / stop of the compressor.

[0003] Since such cooling operation causes frost to adhere to the cooler, defrosting operation (defrosting) is performed at predetermined time intervals. The frost melted by defrosting is generally drained to a container outside the device by a drain hose.However, an evaporating dish that communicates with a water receiver provided at the lower part of the cooler is provided. There has been proposed a device in which a drain hose is eliminated by using the exhaust of a radiating fan for radiating heat. As a result, the drain water stored in the evaporating dish is volatilized by the exhaust of the radiating fan.

[0004]

However, such an apparatus has the following problems. I. Since the conventional heat radiating fan operates and stops in synchronization with the compressor, the driving time of the heat radiating fan is short, and the volatilization of the drain water is insufficient. B. Even during the normal operation in which the drain water other than the defrosting does not accumulate much, the radiating fan is driven by full energization, so that the noise is large and the power consumption is large. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve these problems and to provide a low-temperature storage that can reliably evaporate drain water stored in an evaporating dish in a low-temperature storage that eliminates a drain hose. It is.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises a storage room for storing an object to be stored and a cooling room provided with a cooling unit for cooling the storage room. The cooling unit includes a refrigeration cycle and an evaporating dish for storing defrost water of a cooler, and a low-temperature storage provided so that exhaust of a radiating fan of a condenser in the refrigeration cycle acts on the evaporating dish. The heat radiation fan is stopped after a predetermined time delay from the stop of the compressor.

In such an apparatus, the radiating fan is driven at full power during rapid cooling and defrosting, and at a lower duty ratio than during full cooling during a normal cooling operation after a predetermined time has elapsed since the power was turned on. Is to be driven.

Further, a non-woven fabric for sucking up the drain water stored in the evaporating dish is provided, and the exhaust of the radiating fan also acts on the non-woven fabric, and a part of a high-temperature pipe from the condenser to the compressor is provided. Is located at the inner bottom of the evaporating dish.

[0008]

According to the present invention, since the heat radiation fan is driven for a predetermined time after the compressor is stopped, the evaporation of the drain water in the evaporating dish is promoted by the delay. In addition, during defrosting where a large amount of drain water is generated, the radiating fan is driven by full energization, but during normal cooling operation when there is not much drain water, it is driven with a small energization rate, reducing noise and saving power. It is planned. This evaporating dish is provided with a nonwoven fabric that sucks up drain water,
The exhaust air from the heat radiating fan also acts on the nonwoven fabric. Further, since a part of the high-temperature pipe from the condenser to the compressor is arranged at the inner bottom of the evaporating dish, the evaporation is further effectively promoted.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view showing a low-temperature storage according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing the inside of the storage. Reference numeral 1 denotes a low-temperature storage main body, and five surfaces except the front surface are insulated panels 2a to 2a.
The storage room 2 is formed in a box shape having a predetermined capacity by 2e, and a cooling room 3 formed above the storage room 2 and having a built-in cooling unit. The heat insulating panels 2a to 2e are formed by foam-filling a heat insulating material such as urethane into a space surrounded by the outer skin and the inner skin.

Of these, a pair of left and right side panels 2a, 2
A first panel frame f1 is formed at a lower end and a rear end of the rear panel 2b and a lower end of the rear panel 2c. And a second panel frame f2 that is unevenly coupled to the second panel frame f2. The first panel frame f1 forms two concave portions f1a and f1b and one convex portion f1c in about half of the portion located inside the panel, and the second panel frame f2 is formed of the first panel frame f2.
The concave portion f2a into which the convex portion f1c of the panel frame f1 fits, and the convex portion f2 into which the second concave portion f1b of the first panel frame f1 fits.
b is formed. Thus, the panels are connected at right angles by connecting the panel frames. In addition, it is preferable that the convex part and the concave part of each panel frame have a semi-spherical cross section in order to make the panel frame hardly affected by the internal pressure when filling the heat insulating material.

Reference numerals 4 and 4 denote doors which are attached to the front opening of the storage room 2 and comprise two double doors which are opened and closed substantially at the center of the front of the main body. The gasket packing 5 which adheres tightly is attached. FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view of the door 4. The door 4 is also formed by foaming and filling a heat insulating material such as urethane into a space surrounded by the outer skin and the inner skin, similarly to the above-mentioned heat insulating panels. The gasket packing 5 includes an arrow-shaped fixing portion 5a fitted to the door 4, a magnet chamber 5b in which the magnet 6 is housed, and an inner elastic piece for connecting the fixing portion 5a and the magnet chamber 5b to form a space s1. 5c, an outer elastic piece 5d, and partition pieces 5e, 5 forming two layers of spaces s2, s3 outside the inner elastic piece 5c.
f, and two fins 5g extending from the partition piece 5f to the back of the door,
5h. Thereby, in the gasket packing 5, the spaces s1, formed by the respective elastic pieces are formed.
In addition to s2 and s3, the fins 5g and 5h abut against the back surface of the door to form two more spaces, so that it is possible to prevent cold air from leaking in the refrigerator with the five-layer sealed space.

The mating portion of each door 4 is sealed by a door mating member 7 fixed to one of the rear surfaces of the doors. The door matching member 7 has a front surface made of a synthetic resin such as vinyl chloride, and is formed by surrounding the outer periphery with a rigid material so as to have a square shape in a plane, and filling the inside with a heat insulating material. In addition, at the joint between the doors 4, a seal molding 8 made of synthetic resin is formed so as to protrude, and serves to prevent invasion of outside air and to prevent condensation due to heat conduction.

Numeral 9 is a rib formed in the vertical direction of the inner wall surface of the storage room 2 for improving the circulation of cool air, eliminating the inconvenience of brown rice bags coming into contact with the wall surface of the storage room and generating mold, and reinforcing the entire storage room. It is functioning. Reference numeral 10 denotes a shelf plate which is detachably supported and fixed to a notch 9a of a rib 9 provided on a side wall surface. This shelf plate 10 is unnecessary when brown rice bags are stored to a predetermined capacity when brown rice is stored. However, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 2, the shelf plate 10 is not needed between the side panels 2a and 2b of the storage room 2. By mounting it with the surface facing the front, it can be used as a cargo collapse prevention card.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a cooling unit incorporated in the cooling chamber 3, and FIG. 5 is a plan view. The cooling unit is
This is a known refrigeration cycle in which a compressor 11, a condenser 12, a dryer 13, a capillary tube 14, and a cooler 15 are sequentially arranged so as to form a closed loop. Reference numeral 16 denotes a heat radiating fan that exhausts heat generated in the condenser 12 to the outside of the cooling chamber 3. 17 is a circulation fan of the storage room 2,
The air sucked from the suction port 18 opened in the top panel 2e of the storage room 2 and cooled through the cooler 15 is circulated again into the storage room 2 from the supply port 19 arranged in parallel with the suction port 18. It is to let. A duct 20 having an L-shaped cross section is attached to the supply port 19 so that the flow of cool air is regulated. With such a configuration, the compressor 11
The refrigerant circulates through the refrigeration cycle by the operation of, and cooler 15 is cooled. By the operation of the circulation fan 17, the air in the storage room 2 circulates while passing through the cooler 15, exchanges heat with the air in the storage room 2, and cools the inside of the storage room 2.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a temperature sensor attached to the cooler 15 for relatively detecting the temperature in the storage room 2. Reference numeral 22 denotes a drain pan attached to a lower portion of the cooler 15, which receives frost melted from the cooler 15. Reference numeral 23 denotes an evaporating dish, which is connected to the drain pan 22 via a hose 24 and stores water droplets received by the drain pan 22. The evaporating dish 23 is provided with a part of a high-temperature pipe 25 extending from the condenser 12 to the compressor 11, and is provided with a non-woven fabric 26 folded in a bellows shape for sucking up stored drain water. The cooling fan 3 is disposed in the cooling chamber 3 so that the exhaust air from the heat radiating fan 16 acts on the nonwoven fabric 26 and the water surface. Thus, in addition to the fact that the exhaust air from the radiating fan 16 directly acts on the evaporating dish, the action of sucking the drain water by the nonwoven fabric 26 and indirectly dissipating it, and the heat of the high-temperature pipe 25 serve as the evaporating dish 2.
The function of directly heating the drain water stored in the evaporating tray 3 is given, and the drain water stored in the evaporating dish 23 is reliably evaporated.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control system of the present invention. Reference numeral 27 denotes a control unit which includes a microcomputer having a CPU 28, a memory 29, and an input / output port 30, and executes a program stored in the memory 29 in response to an input from an operation panel 31 provided on the front of the cooling chamber 3. The cooling unit 11 performs various cooling operations, and operates / stops the compressor 11 in accordance with the temperature in the storage chamber 2 mainly detected by the temperature sensor 21, thereby controlling the operations of the heat radiation fan 16 and the circulation fan 17. .

The operation panel 31 includes a temperature display section 32 for displaying the temperature in the storage room 2, a power supply lamp 33 for indicating whether or not the power supply is energized, a warning lamp 34 for lighting when various errors occur, and a defrosting apparatus. A defrost lamp 35 indicating that the operation is in progress, a power switch 36, a temperature adjustment switch 37 for adjusting an arbitrary set temperature, and a "high humidity" key 38 for selecting a high humidity mode suitable for storing vegetables and the like. "Low humidity" key 39 for selecting a low humidity mode suitable for storage of root vegetables
And a brown rice key 40 for selecting brown rice mode,
A juice / beer / brown rice key 41 suitable for storing beer or the like in combination with brown rice and lamps 42 to 45 corresponding to each mode key are provided. In addition, the temperature display part 32
In a state where the inside of the refrigerator has not yet changed from the ambient temperature in the early stage of use, the temperature in the storage room 2 detected by the temperature sensor 21 is displayed as it is. For example, 13 in brown rice mode
° C), and "dF" during the defrosting operation described later.

The operation of the present invention having such a configuration will be described. FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing the operation timing of each device. It should be noted that each numerical value shown here is based on verification by the present applicant, is merely for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is not to be interpreted as being particularly limited. It can be appropriately selected without departing from the scope.

When the power switch 36 is turned on, the power lamp 33 and the initially set brown rice lamp 44 are turned on.
From this state, the desired internal temperature is set by using the temperature control switch 37, or the desired mode is selected by using each mode key, so that the setting is made according to the user's convenience. First, the circulation fan 17
Are driven, and the compressor 11 and the radiating fan 16 are driven after a predetermined time M1 has elapsed. This is because, for example, when the power supply is shut down
This is a function for preventing the inside of the compressor 1 from being restarted from a high pressure state. When the compressor is stopped, it is not restarted until the start suspension time M1 elapses. According to the verification of the present applicant, this activation suspension time M
In the case of No. 1, it was confirmed that about 3 minutes was sufficient.

When the compressor 11 and the radiating fan 16 start driving after the elapse of the startup suspension time M1, the temperature sensor 21
, The temperature in the storage room 2 is detected, and the temperature is displayed on the temperature display section 32. As a result, when the detected temperature T is higher than the upper target temperature Ta, the compressor 11 is operated to perform a cooling operation, thereby cooling the inside of the refrigerator to the lower target temperature Tb. When the refrigerant circulates through the refrigeration cycle with the operation of the compressor 11, the cooler 15 is cooled. By operating the circulation fan 17 from this state, the air in the storage room 2 convects, the air cooled by the cooler 15 is supplied into the storage room 2 and the moisture contained in the air in the storage room is removed. Partly cooler 15
Will adhere to the surface of the surface as frost.

When the temperature T detected by the temperature sensor 21 becomes lower than the lower target temperature Tb, the compressor 11 is stopped, and the cooling in the refrigerator is stopped until the temperature becomes higher than the upper target temperature Ta. When the compressor 11 stops, the cooler does not cool down and the attached frost begins to melt, but if the circulating fan 17 continues to operate at this time, the vaporized moisture will be returned to the storage chamber 2 again. Conversely, when the circulation fan 17 is stopped, it is melted into the drain pan 22 and stored in the evaporating dish 23 through the hose 24 to lower the humidity in the storage chamber 2.
The target temperatures Ta and Tb in this temperature control are set to stabilize the set temperature in each mode within a range of ± t ° C.

The humidity in each storage mode is determined by changing the operation timing of the circulation fan 17, and the subsequent operation will be described for each storage mode. ○ High humidity mode When the high humidity mode is set, the circulation fan 17 is always operated regardless of the operation / stop of the compressor 11. By such an operation, frost is less likely to adhere to the cooler 15, and the humidity in the storage room can be kept high. As a result, the inside of the refrigerator is kept at a humidity of about 75 to 85%. When the compressor 11 has been stopped for a predetermined time (for example, one hour) or more, the circulation fan is also stopped to save energy and prevent noise.

○ Low humidity mode When the low humidity mode is set, the circulation fan 17 is stopped with a delay of M2 time after the compressor 11 is stopped. Thereafter, the circulation fan 17 is started in synchronization with the start of the compressor 11, and the circulation fan 17 is stopped with a delay of M2 time every time the compressor 11 is stopped. With such an operation,
The moisture recovery rate in the storage room is increased, and the humidity in the storage room can be kept low. Moreover, the circulation fan 17
Is stopped slightly after the stop of the compressor 11, the amount of frost sticking to the cooler 15 can be reduced, and the performance of the cooler 15 is not impaired. As a result, the inside of the refrigerator is kept at a humidity of about 50 to 60%.
According to the verification by the present applicant, when the stop delay time M2 of the circulation fan in the low humidity mode is set to about 90 seconds shorter than the minimum stop time M1 of the compressor 11, the humidity in the refrigerator can be reduced to 50 to 100 in any season. It could be maintained at 60%.

○ Brown rice mode When the brown rice mode is set, the circulation fan 17 is stopped by delaying the compressor 11 for M3 hours, and after a lapse of a predetermined time M4 from the stop of the circulation fan 17, the compressor 11
The circulation fan 17 is operated for M5 hours irrespective of the operation of. At this time, the circulation fan stop delay time M3 is set shorter than the minimum stop time M1 of the compressor 11, so that the circulation fan 17 is stopped at least once while the compressor is stopped. Thereafter, the circulation fan 17 is started in synchronization with the start of the compressor 11, and this operation is performed once every several times (here, once every two times) when the compressor 11 stops. That is, by stopping the circulation fan 17 at least once while the compressor 11 is stopped, the operation rate of the circulation fan is made lower than in the high humidity mode, while the compressor 11 is stopped. By driving the circulation fan 17 intermittently, the relative operation rate of the circulation fan 17 is made higher than that in the low humidity mode, and the inside of the storage room 2 is kept at the intermediate humidity between the high humidity mode and the low humidity mode. is there. As a result, the inside of the refrigerator was
It is kept at about 0 to 70%. If the compressor 11 restarts after the minimum stop time M1 has elapsed during the intermittent operation of the circulation fan 17 during the time M5, the circulation fan 17 operates
5, the operation is continued, and thereafter the above control is executed in conjunction with the compressor 11. According to the verification by the present applicant, the stop delay time M3 in the brown rice mode is set to two.
If the stop time M4 is set to about 2 minutes and the intermittent operation time M5 is set to about 3 minutes, the humidity inside
It could be kept at 0-70%.

Juice / Beer / Brown Rice Mode When the juice / beer / brown rice mode is set, the basic operation is the same as that of the brown rice mode,
Since the initial setting temperature is set lower (5 ° C.) than the brown rice mode (13 ° C.) so as to be suitable for storing beer, the operation frequency of the compressor 11 increases. The circulation fan 1
7, the operation rate of the circulation fan 1 must be higher than that of the brown rice mode, and the humidity in the refrigerator must be adjusted.
7 for a predetermined time M4 after the circulation fan 17 is stopped.
After the lapse of time, regardless of the operation of the compressor 11, the circulation fan 1
7 is operated for M5 time every time the compressor 11 stops. As a result, the inside of the refrigerator was
It could be maintained at about 70%.

During the operation of each of the storage modes, the radiator fan 16 of the condenser is started in synchronization with the start of the compressor 11 regardless of the set mode. It operates so as to be delayed and stopped. The delay time M6 is set to promote the evaporation of the drain water stored in the evaporating dish, and is set to about one minute. As a result, the evaporation of the drain water in the evaporating dish was greatly promoted. In addition, the radiation fan 16
After a certain period of time (here, 50 hours) has elapsed since the power switch was turned on, the duty ratio is reduced to about 90% to save energy and reduce noise. However, during the defrosting operation to be described later, the motor is driven at a duty ratio of 100%.

Each storage mode is executed as described above, and is always executed so as to keep the inside of the refrigerator in an appropriate state. Now, in each mode, the defrosting operation is performed at a constant cycle.
In the initial operation state just after the power is turned on,
In each mode, the defrosting operation is performed after a predetermined time (here, 4 hours), and thereafter, the defrosting operation is performed in each mode at a predetermined cycle. That is, in the low humidity mode in which frost easily forms on the cooler, defrosting is performed in a short cycle, and in the high humidity mode in which frost does not easily form, defrosting is performed in a long cycle. Defrosting operation is
The compressor 11 is stopped, and the radiating fan 16 and the circulation fan 17 are stopped.
Is operated continuously for a fixed time (30 minutes).
When the circulation fan 17 is driven, the frost on the cooler melts out and is collected from the drain pan into the evaporating dish. And
The drain water collected in the evaporating dish is evaporated by driving the radiating fan 16.

As described above, in the low-temperature storage of the present invention, the operation of each device such as the compressor, the circulation fan, and the radiating fan is made independent with the mounting of the control unit, and the control according to the use environment and the situation in the storage is performed. Is now possible. Since the exclusive mode is set according to the article to be stored, the user can easily set the mode according to the object to be stored.

[0029]

As described above, the present invention is configured and the radiating fan is driven for a predetermined time after the compressor is stopped. Therefore, the evaporation of the drain water in the evaporating dish is accelerated by the delay, so that the mold and the mold in the evaporating dish are removed. It is sanitary without germs growing. Further, since there is no drain hose and no maintenance work such as discarding drain water is required, it is easy to use.

Further, the radiation fan is driven by full energization during defrosting in which a large amount of drain water is generated, but is driven at a low energization rate during a normal cooling operation in which little drain water is generated. It is economical because energy is saved.

By arranging a nonwoven fabric for sucking up the drain water and a part of the high-temperature pipe from the condenser to the compressor in the evaporating dish, the drain water can be more efficiently evaporated. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a low-temperature storage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front internal sectional view of the storage.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view of a door 4 of the storage.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a cooling unit of the storage.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a cooling unit of the storage.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control system of the storage unit.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing the operation of the storage.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Storage room 3 Cooling room 11 Compressor 15 Cooler 16 Radiation fan 17 Circulation fan 23 Evaporating dish

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3L045 AA02 BA01 CA02 DA02 EA01 GA07 HA01 LA01 LA05 LA09 LA14 MA12 MA14 NA05 NA16 PA01 PA02 PA04 3L048 AA03 AA08 BA01 BC01 CA02 DA03 DB03 DB07 DC02 EA04 FA01 GA01 GA02

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A storage room for storing an object to be stored, and a cooling room provided with a cooling unit for cooling the storage room,
The cooling unit includes a refrigeration cycle and an evaporating dish for storing defrost water from a cooler, and a low-temperature storage provided so that exhaust of a radiating fan of a condenser in the refrigeration cycle acts on the evaporating dish. A low temperature storage, wherein the heat radiating fan is stopped with a predetermined time delay after the compressor stops. 2. The low-temperature storage according to claim 1, wherein during rapid cooling and defrosting, the radiating fan is driven by full energization,
A low-temperature storage, characterized in that the heat radiation fan is driven at a lower duty ratio than the full power supply during a normal cooling operation after a predetermined time has elapsed since the power was turned on. 3. The low-temperature storage according to claim 1, wherein a nonwoven fabric for sucking drain water stored in the evaporating dish is provided, and the exhaust air of the heat radiation fan also acts on the nonwoven fabric. Cold storage. 4. The low-temperature storage according to claim 1, wherein a part of a high-temperature pipe from the condenser to the compressor is located at an inner bottom of the evaporating dish.