JP2011033265A - Cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling device capable of easily improving cooling efficiency without increasing the number of components. <P>SOLUTION: The cooling device is constituted by sequentially interconnecting, by refrigerant piping 15, evaporators 14 each arranged within a commercial product storage 3 and evaporating a supplied refrigerant to cool inner air of the commercial product storage 3, a compressor 11 for sucking and compressing the refrigerant evaporated by the evaporators 14, a condenser 12 for condensing the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 11 and a capillary tube 13 adiabatically expanding the refrigerant condensed by the condenser 12. The cooling device further includes an air cooling means 20 for cooling air to be passed through around the condenser 12 by a Peltier element 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device, and more particularly to a cooling device applied to, for example, a vending machine.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a cooling device applied to, for example, a vending machine, an apparatus configured by sequentially connecting an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion mechanism with a refrigerant pipe is known.

  The evaporator is disposed inside the commodity storage of the vending machine. This evaporator cools the internal air (internal atmosphere) of the product storage box by the supplied refrigerant passing through a predetermined flow path and evaporating. The compressor is disposed in the machine room inside the vending machine main body and outside the product container. The compressor sucks the refrigerant evaporated by the evaporator and compresses the sucked refrigerant into a high temperature and high pressure state. Are discharged. The condenser is disposed in the machine room in the same manner as the compressor, introduces the refrigerant compressed by the compressor through the refrigerant pipe, and heats the ambient air by condensing the introduced refrigerant, that is, into the ambient air. It dissipates heat. The expansion mechanism is disposed in the machine room in the same manner as the compressor and the condenser, and decompresses the refrigerant condensed in the condenser and adiabatically expands the refrigerant.

  In this type of cooling device, a cooling device is proposed in which the cooling temperature of the Peltier element is thermally connected to a part of the refrigerant pipe, and the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant pipe is cooled to improve the cooling efficiency. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-255813 A

  By the way, the Peltier element is formed by alternately connecting p-type semiconductors and n-type semiconductors in series by electrode plates and disposing insulating plates on the front and back of these semiconductors, and has a flat plate shape as a whole. Therefore, it is difficult to bend the Peltier element or the like. In order to cool the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant pipe using the Peltier element, a member having thermal conductivity is used as at least a part of the refrigerant pipe. It is necessary to bond the cold temperature part of the Peltier element to such a member. In order to thermally connect the Peltier element to the refrigerant pipe in this way, it is necessary to perform processing on a member having thermal conductivity and interpose such member, resulting in an increase in the number of parts. In addition, it is necessary to process the member, which is complicated.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device that can easily improve cooling efficiency without increasing the number of components.

  In order to achieve the above object, a cooling device according to claim 1 of the present invention includes an evaporator that is disposed inside a target chamber and that evaporates the supplied refrigerant to cool the internal atmosphere of the target chamber. A compressor that sucks and compresses the refrigerant evaporated by the evaporator, a condenser that condenses the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, and an expansion mechanism that adiabatically expands the refrigerant condensed by the condenser In the cooling device configured by sequentially connecting with refrigerant pipes, it is characterized in that air cooling means for cooling air for passing through the periphery of the condenser with a Peltier element is provided.

  The cooling device according to claim 2 of the present invention is characterized in that, in claim 1 described above, the Peltier element is driven by supply of DC power from a solar cell.

  According to the cooling device of the present invention, since the air cooling means cools the air for passing around the condenser by the Peltier element, the temperature of the refrigerant reaching the evaporator can be lowered, and thereby the cooling capacity Can be improved. Further, since the air is only cooled by the Peltier element, there is no need for a member having thermal conductivity as in the prior art, and there is no possibility of causing an increase in the number of parts, and processing or the like is unnecessary. Therefore, there is an effect that the cooling efficiency can be easily improved without increasing the number of parts.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a case where an internal structure of a vending machine to which a cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied is viewed from the front. FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the vending machine shown in FIG. 1, and is a cross-sectional side view of the right commodity storage. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram conceptually showing the cooling device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a cooling device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings as appropriate.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a case where an internal structure of a vending machine to which a cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied is viewed from the front. The vending machine illustrated here includes a main body cabinet 1.

  The main body cabinet 1 has a rectangular shape with an open front surface. The main body cabinet 1 is provided with three independent commodity containers 3 partitioned by, for example, two heat insulating partition plates 2 in a side-by-side manner. This product storage 3 is for storing products such as canned beverages and beverages containing plastic bottles while maintaining a desired temperature, and has a heat insulating structure.

  FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the vending machine shown in FIG. 1 and is a cross-sectional side view of the right product storage case 3. Here, the internal structure of the right product storage 3 (hereinafter also referred to as the right storage 3a) is shown, but the central product storage 3 (hereinafter also referred to as the intermediate storage 3b) and the left product storage 3 are shown. The internal structure (hereinafter also referred to as the left warehouse 3c as appropriate) has substantially the same configuration as the right warehouse 3a. In the present specification, the right side indicates the right side when the vending machine is viewed from the front, and the left side indicates the left side when the vending machine is viewed from the front.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an outer door 4 and an inner door 5 are provided on the front surface of the main body cabinet 1. The outer door 4 is for opening and closing the front opening of the main body cabinet 1, and the inner door 5 is for opening and closing the front surface of the commodity storage 3. The inner door 5 is divided into upper and lower parts, and the upper door 5a opens and closes when a product is replenished.

  The product storage 3 is provided with a product storage rack 6, a product carry-out mechanism 7 and a product carry-out shooter 8. The commodity storage rack 6 is for storing commodities in a manner arranged in the vertical direction. The product carry-out mechanism 7 is provided at the lower part of the product storage rack 6 and is used to carry out the products at the bottom of the product group stored in the product storage rack 6 one by one. The merchandise carry-out shooter 8 is for guiding the merchandise carried out from the merchandise carry-out mechanism 7 to a merchandise outlet 4 a provided in the outer door 4.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram conceptually showing the cooling device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The cooling device exemplified here includes the refrigerant circuit 10 and the air cooling means 20.

  The refrigerant circuit 10 is configured by sequentially connecting a compressor 11, a condenser 12, a capillary tube (expansion mechanism) 13 and an evaporator 14 through a refrigerant pipe 15, and a refrigerant (for example, R134a) is enclosed inside. is there.

  The compressor 11 is disposed in the machine room 9 as shown in FIG. The machine room 9 is a room inside the main body cabinet 1, partitioned from the product storage 3 and below the product storage 3. The compressor 11 sucks the refrigerant through the suction port, compresses the sucked refrigerant to be in a high-temperature and high-pressure state (high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant), and discharges it from the discharge port.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the condenser 12 is disposed in the machine room 9 similarly to the compressor 11. The condenser 12 condenses the refrigerant that passes therethrough. More specifically, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 11 and discharged from the discharge port through the refrigerant pipe 15 is condensed by exchanging heat with ambient air.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the capillary tube 13 is disposed in the machine room 9 similarly to the compressor 11 and the condenser 12. The capillary tube 13 is used for adiabatic expansion by reducing the pressure of the refrigerant passing therethrough.

  A plurality (three in the illustrated example) of the evaporators 14 are provided, which are disposed in the lower interior of each commodity storage 3 and on the front side of the rear duct D (see FIG. 2). The refrigerant pipe 15 connecting the evaporator 14 and the capillary tube 13 is branched into three by a distributor 16 disposed in the middle thereof, and the evaporator 14 (hereinafter, right evaporation) disposed in the right warehouse 3a. The evaporator 14 (also referred to as a container 14a) is provided on the inlet side of the evaporator 3 (hereinafter also referred to as the middle evaporator 14b) on the inlet side of the left container 3c. Hereinafter, they are respectively connected to the inlet side of the left evaporator 14c).

  In the refrigerant pipe 15, an electromagnetic valve 17 is provided in the middle of the path from the distributor 16 to each of the right evaporator 14a, the middle evaporator 14b, and the left evaporator 14c. The solenoid valve 17 is a valve body that can be opened and closed. When the opening command is given from a control unit (not shown), the solenoid valve 17 opens and allows the passage of the refrigerant. On the other hand, the solenoid valve 17 closes when the closing command is given. This restricts the passage of refrigerant. Refrigerant piping 15 connected to the outlet side of each evaporator 14 joins in the middle and is connected to the compressor 11.

  The air cooling means 20 includes an external fan 21 and a Peltier element 22. The external fan 21 is disposed in the vicinity of the condenser 12. This outside blower fan 21 is rotated by being driven to allow outside air to flow in through the vent 23 and to pass around the condenser 12 to promote condensation of the refrigerant in the condenser 12. It is.

  Although the Peltier element 22 is conventionally known, p-type semiconductors and n-type semiconductors are alternately connected in series by electrode plates, and insulating plates are arranged on the front and back of these semiconductors. Such a Peltier element 22 is connected to a solar cell 24 via an electric wire 25, and a direct current generated by sunlight obtained by the solar cell 24 with a light receiving panel is applied to the electrode plate, whereby one insulation The plate absorbs heat (becomes a cold part) and the other insulating plate generates heat (becomes a hot part).

  The Peltier element 22 is disposed in the vicinity of the air vent 23 as shown in FIG. 1, and cools the outside air passing through the air vent 23 at its cold temperature portion.

  An electric wire 25 connecting the Peltier element 22 and the solar cell 24 is branched in the middle and connected to a light source (LED) 26 disposed on the front surface of the outer door 4. The light source 26 is turned on when a direct current is applied from the solar cell 24, and appeals that the user is using the solar cell 24 by turning on the light source 26.

  The cooling device having the above configuration cools the products stored in each product storage 3 as follows.

  The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 11 reaches the condenser 12, and dissipates heat to the surrounding air while passing through the condenser 12 to condense. The refrigerant condensed in the condenser 12 reaches the capillary tube 13 and adiabatically expands and vaporizes in the capillary tube 13. The refrigerant thus adiabatically expanded and vaporized is branched into three by the distributor 16, reaches the right evaporator 14 a, the middle evaporator 14 b and the left evaporator 14 c, and is evaporated by each evaporator 14 to be stored in the commodity storage. Heat is taken from the internal air machine 3 and the internal air is cooled. The cooled internal air circulates in the interior by driving each internal blower fan F (see FIG. 2), whereby the products stored in each product storage 3 are cooled to the circulating internal air. The refrigerant evaporated in each of the evaporators 14 is then sucked into the compressor 11 and is repeatedly compressed by the compressor 11 to repeat the above-described circulation.

  And in the cooling device which is this Embodiment, when the outside ventilation fan 21 drives, it will flow in external air from the ventilation port 23, and will pass the circumference | surroundings of the condenser 12, A Peltier element 22 is provided in the vicinity, and the Peltier element 22 cools the outside air passing through the ventilation port 23, so that the temperature of the air passing around the condenser 12 can be reduced, and the It becomes possible to increase the heat radiation amount of the refrigerant in the condenser 12, and as a result, the temperature of the refrigerant reaching the evaporator 14 can be lowered.

  As described above, according to the cooling device of the present embodiment, the air cooling means 20 cools the air for passing through the periphery of the condenser 12 with the Peltier element 22, so that the refrigerant reaching the evaporator 14 Thus, the cooling capacity can be improved. Further, since the air flowing in from the ventilation port 23 is only cooled by the Peltier element 22, there is no need for a member having thermal conductivity as in the prior art, and there is no possibility of causing an increase in the number of parts. Etc. are unnecessary. Therefore, it is possible to easily improve the cooling efficiency without increasing the number of parts.

  According to the above cooling device, the Peltier element 22 is driven by the supply of DC power from the solar cell 24, so that an apparatus such as an inverter for converting from AC to DC is not required, and the DC current generated by the solar cell 24 is converted. The peltier element 22 can be efficiently supplied. In addition, it is excellent in maintainability.

  Furthermore, according to the cooling device, air for passing through the condenser 12 is cooled by the Peltier element 22, and the Peltier element 22 is driven by the supply of a direct current from the solar cell 24, so that power consumption is reduced. Thus, it is possible to save energy in the vending machine to be applied.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

  In the above-described embodiment, the Peltier element 22 is not provided in the refrigerant pipe 15 constituting the refrigerant circuit 10, but in the present invention, the Peltier element 22 is thermally connected to the refrigerant pipe 15 as necessary. You may connect.

  In the above-described embodiment, the refrigerant circuit 10 constituting the cooling device is a dedicated cooling circuit. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a heat pump circuit or the like.

  As described above, the cooling device according to the present invention is useful for vending machines.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Refrigerant circuit 11 Compressor 12 Condenser 13 Capillary tube 14 Evaporator 15 Refrigerant piping 20 Air cooling means 21 Outside ventilation fan 22 Peltier element 23 Ventilation opening 24 Solar cell 25 Electric wire 26 Light source

Claims (2)

An evaporator disposed inside the target chamber and evaporating the supplied refrigerant to cool the internal atmosphere of the target chamber;
A compressor that sucks and compresses the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator;
A condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed by the compressor;
A cooling device configured by sequentially connecting an expansion mechanism for adiabatic expansion of the refrigerant condensed in the condenser with a refrigerant pipe;
A cooling device comprising air cooling means for cooling air for passing around the condenser by a Peltier element.   The cooling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the Peltier element is driven by a DC power supply from a solar cell.

Images