JP2006042964A - Showcase - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption and save the energy by implementing an efficient cooling operation of a showcase. <P>SOLUTION: This showcase is so constituted as to cool a display chamber 8 for displaying articles by a cooler 13; and impress the output of solar batteries on electric components such as a defrosting heater 42 of the cooler 13, a dew condensation preventing heater 44, an illuminating lamp 40 for illuminating the display chamber 8, a compressor 20 constituting a part of a refrigerant circuit sealed with carbon dioxide as refrigerant, along with the cooler 13, and an air blower 13 circulating the cool air obtained by exchanging the heat with the cooler 13 to the display chamber 8. This showcase is provided with a control device 60 controlling the temperature of the interior of the display chamber 8 and controlling to increase the set temperature of the interior of the display chamber 8 by a predetermined value at night. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a showcase installed in a store such as a supermarket.

  Conventionally, showcases installed in stores such as supermarkets constitute a display room for displaying products in the main body composed of heat insulating walls, and cool air cooled by a cooler is circulated into the display room by a blower Therefore, the goods displayed in the display room are supposed to be cooled.

That is, when the compressor that forms a part of the refrigerant circuit together with the cooler is energized, the compressor is activated and the compressor is started for compression operation. Thereby, the refrigerant | coolant compressed with the compressor enters a condenser, and after radiating heat | fever there, it is pressure-reduced with a decompression device. The decompressed refrigerant flows into the cooler and evaporates. At this time, the surrounding air is cooled by exerting a cooling action. The air (cold air) cooled by exchanging heat with the cooler is circulated to the display room to cool the display room to a predetermined temperature by the operation of the blower (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-9-113088

  In such a showcase, if the cooler is operated for a long time, frost formation occurs, which causes a disadvantage that the cooling capacity of the cooler is significantly reduced. Therefore, a defrost heater is provided near the cooler to cause frost formation. In such a case, the defroster is used to heat the cooler for defrosting. Moreover, in order to improve the display effect of the goods in a display room, the lighting etc. are also installed and the goods are illuminated. As described above, in order to realize an efficient cooling operation of the showcase, it is necessary to energize a plurality of electrical components, so that there is a problem that power consumption is remarkably increased.

  The present invention has been made to solve the conventional technical problems, and provides a showcase capable of reducing power consumption and saving energy while performing more efficient cooling. Objective.

  The showcase of the present invention cools the display room in which products are displayed by a cooler and / or illuminates the defrost heater and / or the dew condensation prevention heater and / or the display room of the cooler. In order to circulate through the display chamber the cooler air that exchanges heat with the compressor and / or the compressor that forms part of the refrigerant circuit in which carbon dioxide is enclosed as a refrigerant together with the illuminating lamp and / or the cooler A control device for controlling the temperature inside the display room while applying the output of the solar cell to an electrical component such as a blower of this type is provided, and this control device executes control to increase the set temperature in the display room at a predetermined value at night It is.

  According to the present invention, a display room for displaying products is cooled by a cooler, and the output of a solar cell is combined with a defrost heater for the cooler, a heater for preventing condensation, an illumination lamp for illuminating the display room, and a cooler. Applying cold air that has exchanged heat with the compressor that forms part of the refrigerant circuit, or a blower to circulate to the display room, achieves more efficient cooling and saves energy. It becomes possible to plan.

  In addition, if the control device executes control to increase the set temperature in the display room by a predetermined value at night when the solar cell cannot generate power, it is possible to reduce power consumption.

  Furthermore, it becomes possible to contribute to environmental problems by using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant.

  The main feature of the present invention is to reduce the power consumption of the showcase and to save energy. Controls to increase the set temperature in the display room at night while applying the output of solar cells to the electrical components of the showcase with the goal of reducing power consumption and saving energy and realizing more efficient cooling It was realized by executing.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of a showcase 2 as an embodiment to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a vertical side view of the showcase 2, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electric circuit of the showcase 2.

  In each figure, the showcase 2 is composed of a heat insulating wall 5 having a substantially U-shaped cross-section opening on the front surface and side plates 15 attached to both sides thereof, and a main body 4 is formed along the inside of the heat insulating wall 5. A plate 6 is disposed, and a duct 9 is formed between the partition plate 6 and the heat insulating wall 5.

  Further, a deck pan cover 11 extending forward is provided at the lower end of the partition plate 6, and a display chamber 8 for displaying products is configured inside the partition plate 6 and the deck pan cover 11.

  On the deck pan cover 11, a slide shelf device 1A that can be pulled out forward is provided, and below the deck pan cover 11, a lower duct 12 that communicates with and forms part of the duct 9 is configured. . A cooler 13 constituting a part of the refrigerant circuit of the cooling device is vertically provided in the lower part of the duct 9 at the back, and the cooler 13 is located below the deck pan cover 11 in the lower duct 12. A blower 14 for circulating cold air is provided for circulating the cold air heat-exchanged with the heat exchanger 13 to the display chamber 8.

  Further, a defrost heater 42 for defrosting the frost of the cooler 13 is provided in the vicinity of the cooler 13 (not shown in FIG. 2), and is connected to a control device 60 described later. ing.

  A cold air discharge port 16 and a cold air suction port 17 communicating with the ducts 9 and 12 are formed at the upper edge and the lower edge of the opening of the display chamber 8, respectively. In the display chamber 8, a temperature sensor 65 for detecting the temperature in the display chamber 8 is installed, and a plurality of slide shelf devices 1 are installed up and down via a bracket 28 and can be drawn forward. It is said that. An illuminating lamp 40 for illuminating the inside of the display chamber 8 is attached in a tub 37 in front of the cold air discharge port 16 formed at the upper edge of the opening of the display chamber 8. The temperature sensor 65 and the illumination lamp 40 are connected to the control device 60.

  When the blower 14 is operated, air is sucked from between the upper deck pan cover 11 and supplied to the cooler 13. The cool air cooled by heat exchange with the cooler 13 passes through the duct 9 and is blown out from the cool air discharge port 16 at the upper edge of the opening, thereby cooling the display chamber 8 while forming an air curtain in the opening. The cold air blown out in this way returns to the lower duct 12 from the cold air suction port 17 at the lower edge of the opening and is sucked into the blower 14 again. Further, a dew condensation prevention heater 44 is provided below the cold air suction port 17 to prevent the condensation from adhering to the cold air suction port 17.

  In addition, a small clearance is formed between the shelf device 1A and the deck pan cover 11, and a bottom cool air inlet 10 is formed in the deck pan cover 11. Therefore, the cold air circulated in the display chamber 8 passes through between the shelf device 1 </ b> A and the deck pan cover 11 and is sucked into the blower 14 also from the bottom cold air inlet 10.

  On the other hand, a machine room 19 is formed below the heat insulating wall 5, and a compressor 20, a radiator 21, and a radiator blower constituting a part of the refrigerant circuit of the cooling device together with the cooler 13 in the machine room 19. 22B etc. are installed on the base plate 30. The front surface of the machine room 19 is closed by a panel 53 so as to be freely opened and closed, and an outside air inlet 54 formed of a plurality of slits is formed from the center of the panel 53 toward the left side. Further, an operation unit 52A of an electrical box (not shown) faces forward from the right side toward the outside air inlet 54, and the operation unit 52A is also provided with the illumination switch 41 of the illumination lamp 40. The operation of the compressor 20 is controlled by the control device 60.

  A back plate 57 is attached to the back surface of the heat insulating wall 5 with a space therebetween, and an exhaust passage 58 extending vertically is formed between the back plate 57 and the heat insulating wall 5. The lower end of the exhaust passage 58 communicates with the rear upper portion of the machine room 19, and the upper end of the exhaust passage 58 opens to the upper portion of the main body 4 at the exhaust port 59. Further, both sides of the machine room 19 are closed by side plates 15 and 15, and the rear surface is closed by a back plate 57. Further, the lower surface is closed with a base plate 30.

The above-described refrigerant circuit is configured by sequentially connecting a decompressor (not shown) including a compressor 20, a radiator 21, a capillary tube, an expansion valve, or the like, and a cooler 13 in an annular manner. That is, the discharge side piping of the compressor 20 is connected to the inlet of the radiator 21, the outlet of the radiator 21 is connected to the pressure reducing device, and the outlet side piping of the pressure reducing device is connected to the inlet of the cooler 13, An annular cycle in which the outlet of the cooler 13 returns to the compressor 20 is configured. In this embodiment, carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ), which is a natural refrigerant that is friendly to the global environment and takes into consideration flammability and toxicity, is used as the refrigerant sealed in the refrigerant circuit 10. By using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant, it becomes possible to contribute to environmental problems.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the showcase 2 includes the general-purpose microcomputer for controlling the operation of the compressor 20, the blower 14, the condensing blower 22B, and the defrosting heater 42 in the refrigerant circuit. A device 60 is provided. That is, the compressor 20, the blower 14, the condensing blower 22B, and the defrosting heater 42 are connected to the output of the control device 60. Further, the temperature sensor 65 installed in the display chamber 8 and a night setback (NSB) shift amount setting switch 68 described later are connected to the input of the control device 60. Furthermore, the illumination switch 41 is connected to the NSB input of the control device 60.

  Here, the showcase 2 of the present invention is operated by applying electric power (output) generated by the solar cell 46 to an electrical component. That is, the output of the solar cell 46 is applied to the defrost heater 42, the dew condensation prevention heater 44, the illumination lamp 40, the compressor 20, the blower 14, and the condensing blower 22B of the cooler 13 described above of the showcase 2. It is composed.

  That is, the defrost heater 42, the dew condensation prevention heater 44, the illumination lamp 40, the compressor 20, the blower 14, and the condensing blower 22B of the showcase 2 are connected to the indoor distribution board 70, and the indoor distribution board 70 has a DC. A solar cell 46 that is installed on a roof or the like and obtains predetermined generated power by sunlight is connected via an AC converter 78 and a battery 76. Furthermore, a system commercial AC power supply AC (commercial power supply) is connected to the indoor distribution board 70. The indoor distribution board 70 is also connected to an in-store load 74 made up of electrical equipment such as lighting equipment, air conditioners, heating equipment, electric fans, audio equipment, telephones or machine tools.

  Moreover, the battery 76 is for storing the electric power generated by the solar cell 46, and by storing the electric power in the battery 76, there is little sunlight and the solar cell 46 uses the electric parts of the showcase 2 and the load in the store. When the power generation sufficient to operate 74 cannot be performed, or the electric power charged in the battery 76 is supplied to the in-store load 74 and the electric parts of the showcase 2 at night when the solar cell 46 cannot receive sunlight. Has been.

  The indoor distribution board 70 divides the store into a plurality of parts and supplies power in order to prevent the power supply of the entire store from being stopped due to a large amount of power flowing through a part of the store wiring. In order to prevent an electrical accident from occurring due to a large amount of power flowing through a part of the device, the device distributes the amount of power according to the location of use.

  Further, the solar cell 46 is provided with a battery having a large power generation capacity enough to cover the entire power used in the daytime in the store, such as the in-store load 74 and the showcase 2. And since the electric power generated with the solar cell 46 is direct current (DC) electric power as already known, DC electric power is converted in the store by the DC / AC converter 78 for converting into electric power usable in the store. Since the technology for converting into usable frequency and voltage is a well-known technology, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Further, the indoor distribution board 70 is provided with a power selling device (not shown) capable of selling the power generated by the solar battery 46 to the system commercial AC power supply AC. In the power selling apparatus, when the battery 76 is charged with the electric power generated by the solar battery 46 and surplus power is generated in the state where the showcase 2 and the in-store load 74 are operated, the solar battery The surplus power generated in 46 is supplied to the grid commercial AC power source AC and sold to the power company.

  If there is a shortage in the power generated by the solar battery 46 and the power charged in the battery 76 cannot be covered, the power is purchased from the commercial AC power source AC, and the indoor distribution board 70 is connected to the showcase 2. It will be supplied to electrical parts and in-store loads 74. Here, the technology for converting the power generated by the solar cell 46 with an inverter and supplying it to the grid commercial AC power supply AC to buy and sell to an electric power company is a well-known technology and will not be described in detail. The power selling device may be provided on the indoor distribution board 70 or provided separately.

  The operation of the showcase 2 will be described with the above configuration. The control device 60 operates the showcase 2 by applying electric power (output) generated by the solar cell 46 to the electric parts of the showcase 2 when the sunlight is emitted, and the sun is low in sunlight. When the battery 46 cannot generate enough power to operate the showcase 2 or the indoor load 74, or when the solar battery 46 cannot receive sunlight, it is operated with the power charged in the battery 76. At the same time, when the storage of the battery 76 is reduced, the showcase 2 is driven by the system commercial AC power supply AC.

  Further, for example, the lighting switch 41 is closed by the user during the store operation from 10:00 to 21:00, and when the lighting switch 41 is closed, the control device 60 applies the power of the solar battery 46 to the lighting lamp 40. The illumination lamp 40 is turned on.

  First, when the showcase 2 is turned on by the operator, the control device 60 applies the power (output) of the solar cell 46 to the compressor 20, the dew condensation prevention heater 44, the blower 14, and the condensing blower 22B. Drive these. At this time, based on the temperature in the display chamber 8 detected by the temperature sensor 65 provided in the display chamber 8, the control device 60 sets the display chamber 8 to a set temperature, for example, −5 ° C. The compressor 12 is operated by controlling the rotation speed. When the compressor 20 is driven by the electric power generated by the solar battery 46, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant compressed by the compressor 20 is discharged from the discharge side and flows into the radiator 21. Here, the high-temperature refrigerant is sucked from the outside air suction port 54 of the panel 53 by the operation of the condenser blower 22 </ b> B, and is cooled by the outside air to be radiated by the outside air. On the other hand, the outside air heated by removing heat from the refrigerant in the radiator 21 is discharged from the upper rear part of the machine chamber 19 through the exhaust passage 58 and from the exhaust port 59 at the upper part of the main body 4.

  Then, the refrigerant exiting the radiator 21 is depressurized by the decompression device, and then enters the cooler 13 and evaporates. At this time, the cooler 13 exhibits a cooling action to cool the surrounding air. Air (cold air) cooled by exchanging heat with the cooler 13 rises in the duct 9 by the operation of the blower 14, blows out from the cold air discharge port 16, and forms an air curtain at the opening of the display chamber 8. The display room 8 is cooled. The cold air blown into the display chamber 8 returns to the lower duct 12 from the cold air inlet 17 at the lower edge of the opening, is sucked into the blower 14, and is sent to the cooler 13 again.

  On the other hand, the refrigerant that has exited the cooler 13 is sucked into the compressor 20 and is compressed to become high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas, and the cycle of flowing into the radiator 21 is repeated.

  In addition, if a cooling operation is performed for a long time, frost will arise in the cooler 13 and cooling capacity will fall remarkably. For this reason, the temperature in the display chamber 8 detected by the temperature sensor 65 does not decrease when a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation was started, or the compressor 20 is operated at a high speed. In the case, the control device 60 starts defrosting of the cooler 13. That is, the control device 60 applies the output of the solar cell 46 to the defrost heater 42 to start the operation of the defrost heater 42 and stops the operations of the compressor 12, the blower 14, and the condenser blower 22 </ b> B.

  By the heating of the defrost heater 42, the frost on the cooler 13 can be melted. When a predetermined time elapses after the operation of the defrost heater 42 is started, the control device 60 stops the operation of the defrost heater 42 and outputs the output of the solar cell 46 to the compressor 12, the blower 14, and the condenser blower 22 </ b> B. Apply these, drive them, and repeat the cooling operation described above again.

  Next, during closing of the store from 21:00 to 10:00 on the next day (corresponding to the nighttime of the present invention), the illumination switch 41 is opened (OFF) by the user, so the illumination lamp 40 is turned off. When the illumination lamp 40 is turned off, the control device 60 performs control to increase the set temperature in the display chamber 8 by a predetermined value. For example, the compressor 20 is controlled and operated so as to be −3 ° C. shifted (increased) by + 2 ° C. from the set temperature −5 ° C. (night setback). The temperature shift width can be arbitrarily set by the shift amount setting switch 68.

  That is, based on the temperature in the display chamber 8 detected by the temperature sensor 65, the control device 60 increases the rotational speed of the compressor 20 when the temperature rises to -1 ° C, and increases the rotational speed when the temperature decreases to -3 ° C. Lower. As described above, assuming that the set temperature in the display room 8 is raised, the illumination lamps 40 are turned off as described above during the closing of the store, the amount of heat generated from them is zero, and the opening of the display room 8 is also not shown in the figure. Since it is closed by a cover or the like, the temperature of the product in the display room 8 is maintained unchanged from the temperature during opening.

  When the illumination switch 41 is closed by the user (ON), the control device 60 applies the output of the solar battery 46 to the illumination lamp 40, and the illumination lamp 40 is turned on. Thereby, the control apparatus 60 controls and operates the compressor 20 so that the temperature in the display chamber 8 becomes the original temperature (−5 ° C.).

  As described in detail above, by applying the output of the solar cell 46 to the electrical parts of the showcase 2 and operating the showcase 2, the power generated by the solar cell 46 can be effectively used to save energy. Can be planned.

  In particular, the Shokes 2 is driven by the output of the solar battery 46 during the daytime when the power consumption is at a peak, and the power generation is sufficient to operate the electric parts of the showcase 2 and the in-store load 74 with the solar battery 46 with little sunlight. If the electric power charged in the battery 76 is supplied to the in-store load 74 and the electric parts of the showcase 2 at night when the solar cell 46 cannot receive sunlight, the power consumption of the commercial power can be reduced. It will be possible to reduce and contribute to energy saving.

  In this case, the daytime electric power is usually supplied by the power generation by the solar battery 46, and when the power generation amount of the solar battery 46 is insufficient at night or by using the electric power charged in the battery 76, the battery 76 is less charged. For example, if the user subscribes to a plan that reduces the late-night power usage fee at an electric power company, the cost can be further reduced.

  In particular, the control device 60 performs control for increasing the set temperature in the display room 8 by a predetermined value at night when the solar battery 46 cannot generate power, that is, so-called night setback, so that the power consumption of the battery 76 at night or commercial Electricity consumption can be reduced, which can contribute to further cost reduction and energy saving.

  In the present embodiment, the operation of the compressor 20 is controlled so that the temperature in the display chamber 8 detected by the temperature sensor 65 becomes the set temperature. For example, when an expansion valve is used as a pressure reducing device, the opening degree of the expansion valve may be controlled. I do not care.

It is a perspective view of the showcase of the Example to which this invention is applied. It is a vertical side view of the showcase of FIG. It is a block diagram of the electric circuit regarding the showcase of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Slide shelf apparatus 2 Showcase 5 Heat insulation wall 6 Partition plate 8 Display room 9 Duct 11 Deck pan cover 12 Lower duct 13 Cooler 14 Blower 15 Side plate 16 Cold air discharge port 17 Cold air inlet 19 Machine room 20 Compressor 21 Heat radiator 22B Condensing blower 28 Bracket 30 Base 40 Illumination lamp 41 Illumination switch 42 Defrost heater 44 Dew condensation prevention heater 46 Solar battery 52A Operation section 53 Panel 54 Outside air intake port 57 Back plate 58 Exhaust passage 59 Exhaust port 60 Controller 65 Temperature sensor 68 Shift amount setting switch 70 Indoor distribution board 74 In-store load 76 Battery 78 DC / AC converter

Claims (1)

A display room in which products are displayed is cooled by a cooler, a defrosting heater of the cooler and / or a dew condensation prevention heater, and / or an illumination lamp for illuminating the display room, and / or A compressor constituting a part of a refrigerant circuit in which carbon dioxide is enclosed as a refrigerant together with a cooler and / or an electric component such as a blower for circulating cold air heat-exchanged with the cooler to the display chamber. While applying the battery output,
A showcase comprising a control device for controlling the temperature in the display room, wherein the control device executes control for increasing a set temperature in the display room by a predetermined value at night.

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