JP2012107823A - Refrigerating showcase - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerated showcase using a flammable refrigerant, and an object thereof is to improve safety at the time of refrigerant leakage.
Since a plurality of communication holes 13 and legs 14 are provided in a bottom plate portion of a machine room 3, exhaust can be performed not only from a side surface of the machine room 3 but also from a lower part in the case of refrigerant leakage, and a condenser fan is continuously connected. By operating, gas diffusion can be made faster. Furthermore, since the communication hole 15 is provided in the merchandise storage 1 and the machine room 3, an increase in gas concentration at the time of leakage in the merchandise storage 1 can be suppressed, and safety at the time of refrigerant leakage can be improved.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerated showcase using a flammable refrigerant in a closed type refrigerated showcase in which products such as can drinks are stored in a chilled state and the inside can be seen.

In recent years, refrigerated showcases, like other electrical products, have been increasingly demanded to reduce power consumption. In addition, refrigerants with low global warming potential and non-fluorocarbon refrigerants have been proposed as refrigerants that have little impact on the environment. Has been. (For example, see Patent Document 1)
Patent Document 1 relates to a refrigeration apparatus using a mixed refrigerant obtained by mixing a combustible natural refrigerant and a carbon dioxide refrigerant.

  Hereinafter, a conventional refrigerated showcase will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a conventional refrigerated showcase. Such a desktop closed showcase is often used when a beverage or a refrigerated product is stored and sold in a convenience store or a lunch box store.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a conventional refrigerated showcase has an evaporator 2 in a product storage 1, a compressor 4 installed in a machine room 3 outside the product storage 1, a condenser 5, and an expansion mechanism 6. And a cooling system sequentially connected in an annular manner. A refrigerant (not shown) is sealed in the cooling system, and in many cases, an HFC refrigerant such as R134a is used for small machines and R404A is used for large machines. A fan motor 7 that circulates cool air from the evaporator 2 in the commodity storage 1 and a condenser fan 8 are provided in the machine room 3. The wall surface is configured by the glass plate 9 so that the product in the product storage 1 can be seen. Moreover, the glass door 10 which can be opened and closed is provided so that goods can be taken in and out. The glass plate 9 and the glass door 10 are made of a highly heat-insulating glass plate or double-glazed glass to enhance the heat insulation performance of the glass surface and suppress the occurrence of condensation. In addition, an intake port 11 and an exhaust port 12 are provided on the side surface of the machine room 3 so that intake and exhaust can be performed from the surroundings.

  The operation of the conventional refrigerated showcase configured as described above will be described below.

  When the commodity storage 1 is cooled, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 4 is condensed by the condenser 5, decompressed by the expansion mechanism 6, and supplied to the evaporator 2. Then, the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator 2 is returned to the compressor 4. By circulating the cool air of the evaporator 2 with the fan motor 7, the beverage and the refrigerated product in the product storage 1 are cooled, and the temperature is maintained at about 5 ° C to 8 ° C.

  As described above, since a highly heat-insulating glass plate or double-glazed glass is used, the occurrence of condensation can be suppressed and the power consumption can be suppressed.

  The operation of the conventional refrigerated showcase configured as described above will be described below.

When the commodity storage 1 is cooled, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 4 is condensed by the condenser 5, decompressed by the expansion mechanism 6, and supplied to the evaporator 2. Then, the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator 2 is returned to the compressor 4. By circulating the cool air of the evaporator 2 through the duct by the fan motor 7, the beverage and the refrigerated product in the product storage 1 are cooled, and the temperature is maintained at about 5 ° C to 8 ° C. On the other hand, in the machine room 3, the condenser fan 8 performs a synchronous operation with the compressor 4, condenses the refrigerant in the condenser 5, and further cools the compressor 4 and drains water from the evaporator 2. Evaporation is promoted. At this time, as the air path of the machine room 3, the air is sucked from the side air inlet 11 and is exhausted from the exhaust port 12.

JP 2004-198062 A

  However, in the conventional configuration, when the refrigerant is R134a or R404A, the ozone depletion coefficient is 0. However, there is a problem in changing to a natural refrigerant having a large global warming coefficient and less environmental impact or a refrigerant having a small global warming coefficient. It has become. In the case of large equipment, carbon dioxide refrigerants are mainly studied from the viewpoint of the amount of refrigerant enclosed and the refrigerating capacity. However, for small devices, a flammable natural refrigerant or a slightly flammable HFO-1234yf has been studied as candidates from the lineup of compressors and cost. In the case of a flammable or slightly flammable refrigerant, there is a concern that an abrupt pressure increase phenomenon may occur if there is an ignition source due to a refrigerant leak. Therefore, from the aspect of ensuring safety, it is necessary to eliminate the ignitability of electrical components, reduce the risk of refrigerant leakage, reduce the amount of refrigerant, and the like.

  In the unlikely event that a gas leak occurred in the product storage, there was concern about the damage of glass due to the pressure rise phenomenon due to ignition, and the expansion of damage due to scattering, and countermeasures against it were issues.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems and to provide a refrigerated showcase that prevents the scattering of glass and ensures safety against an emergency.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the refrigerated showcase of the present invention uses a flammable refrigerant as a refrigerant of the cooling system, and includes a visible light permeable wall surface through which the product in the product storage can be visually recognized. The bottom plate part of the machine room is provided with a plurality of communication holes and legs.

  As a result, in the unlikely event of a gas leak, the gas can be diffused not only from the intake and exhaust ports on the side of the machine room but also from the lower part of the machine room, and the gas concentration can be lowered more quickly.

  In addition, by providing a communication hole in the product storage and the machine room, if a gas leak occurs in the product storage, the internal pressure in the product storage will increase, so it will be discharged from the communication hole to the machine room, and the increase in gas concentration will be suppressed. The gas concentration can be lowered more quickly.

  The refrigerated showcase of the present invention uses a flammable refrigerant as a refrigerant of a cooling system, and has a visible light permeable wall surface through which a product in a product storage can be visually recognized, and has a plurality of communication holes in the bottom plate portion of the machine room In the unlikely event of a gas leak, the gas can be diffused not only from the intake and exhaust ports on the side of the machine room, but also from the lower part of the machine room. Safety can be improved.

  In addition, by providing communication holes in the product storage and the machine room, if a gas leak occurs in the product storage, it is discharged from the communication holes, suppressing an increase in gas concentration and lowering the gas concentration faster and improving safety. be able to.

Side surface sectional drawing of the refrigerated showcase by Embodiment 1 of this invention Side sectional view of a conventional refrigerated showcase

  The invention according to claim 1 is a product storage for displaying and storing products, an evaporator installed in the product storage, a compressor and a condenser installed in a machine room outside a compartment for storing products. In a refrigerated showcase comprising a cooling system annularly connected by an expansion mechanism and piping, and a visible light transmissive wall surface through which products in the product storage are visible, a plurality of communication holes are provided in the bottom plate portion of the machine room. Combustible refrigerant is used as a refrigerant for the cooling system, and in the event of a gas leak, gas is not only supplied from the intake and exhaust ports on the side of the machine room but also from the lower part of the machine room. Diffusion can be performed, and the gas concentration can be lowered more quickly to improve safety.

  The invention according to claim 2 is a product storage for displaying and storing products, an evaporator installed in the product storage, a compressor and a condenser installed in a machine room outside the compartment for storing products. In a refrigerated showcase comprising a cooling system connected in an annular shape by an expansion mechanism and piping, and a visible light transmissive wall surface through which products in the product storage are visible, the product storage and the machine room have communication holes. In the case where a flammable refrigerant is used as the refrigerant of the cooling system, and a gas leak occurs in the product storage, the internal pressure in the product storage rises, so it is discharged from the communication hole to the machine room, and the gas concentration is increased. The gas concentration can be lowered more quickly while being suppressed.

  The invention according to claim 3 is a product storage for displaying and storing products, an evaporator installed in the product storage, a compressor and a condenser installed in a machine room outside the compartment for storing products. In a refrigerated showcase comprising a cooling system connected in an annular shape by an expansion mechanism and a pipe, and a visible light permeable wall on which the product in the product storage can be visually recognized, a combustible refrigerant is used as the cooling system refrigerant. The condenser fan in the machine room operates continuously. In the unlikely event of a gas leak, gas diffusion from the lower part of the machine room as well as the intake and exhaust ports on the side of the machine room is instantaneous. Can be performed and the gas concentration can be reduced immediately.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flammable refrigerant is a hydrocarbon refrigerant, an HFC refrigerant, an HFO refrigerant, or a hydrocarbon. Two or more mixed refrigerants including at least one of a refrigerant, an HFC refrigerant, and an HFO refrigerant can prevent global warming in a small cooling device.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a refrigerated showcase according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a side sectional view of a refrigerated showcase according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

  In FIG. 1, a cooling system in which a vaporizer 2 in a product storage 1, a compressor 4 installed in a machine room 3 outside the product storage 1, a condenser 5, and an expansion mechanism 6 are sequentially connected in an annular manner by piping. . A refrigerant (not shown) is enclosed in the cooling system, and a flammable refrigerant is used as the refrigerant. For example, hydrocarbon refrigerants such as methane, ethane, propane, isobutane and pentane, HFC refrigerants such as R32, R152a and R143a, HFO refrigerants such as HFO1234yf and HFO1234ze, or two or more kinds including at least one of these A mixed refrigerant can be used.

These refrigerants are those that burn when there is fire as an ignition source at a gas concentration within the combustion range. Particularly, hydrocarbon refrigerants have an ozone depletion coefficient of 0, a low global warming coefficient, Natural refrigerant with little impact. Further, the HFO refrigerant is a refrigerant having a slight flammability and R1
It has been developed in recent years as an alternative refrigerant for 34a.

  Although the specific gravity of the refrigerant gas varies depending on the refrigerant, the hydrocarbon-based refrigerant propane is 1.55 and isobutane is 2.01, which is heavier than air and easily collects below. A fan motor 7 that circulates cool air from the evaporator 2 in the commodity storage 1 and a condenser fan 8 are provided in the machine room 3. The condenser fan 8 is designed to perform continuous operation.

  The wall surface is configured with a visible light transmissive wall surface 9 so that the product in the product storage 1 can be seen. In addition, a visible light transmissive door 10 that can be opened and closed is provided so that goods can be taken in and out. For the visible light transmissive wall surface 9 and the visible light transmissive door 10, for example, a highly heat-insulating glass plate or double-glazed glass is used to enhance heat insulation performance and suppress the occurrence of condensation.

  An intake port 11 and an exhaust port 12 are provided on the side surface of the machine room 3 so that intake and exhaust can be performed from the surroundings. A plurality of communication holes 13 are provided in the bottom plate portion of the machine room 3, and are further raised by the legs 14 so that intake and exhaust can be performed from the bottom of the machine room 3. The product storage 1 and the machine room 3 are partitioned by a heat insulating material, and a communication hole 15 is provided in a part thereof.

  About the refrigerated showcase comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  When the commodity storage 1 is cooled, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 4 is condensed by the condenser 5, decompressed by the expansion mechanism 6, and supplied to the evaporator 2. Then, the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator 2 is returned to the compressor 4. By circulating the cool air of the evaporator 2 with the fan motor 7, the beverage and the refrigerated product in the product storage 1 are cooled, and the temperature is maintained at about 5 ° C to 8 ° C. On the other hand, the machine room 3 continuously operates the condenser fan 8 regardless of the operation of the compressor 4. The flammable refrigerant in the cooling system only recirculates inside the sealed system by brazing or welding a copper tube, and does not leak outside. However, gas leakage to the outside can be considered due to pipe breakage or pipe corrosion due to vibration.

  When a gas leak occurs from the piping part of the machine room 3, the gas is discharged from the intake port 11 and the exhaust port 12 to the side surface of the machine room 3 and from the plurality of communication holes 13 provided in the bottom plate part of the machine room 3 to the surroundings of the equipment. Can diffuse. For example, when installed along a wall or installed in a corner, some of the inlet 11 and exhaust 12 may be blocked, but especially propane and isobutane with heavy specific gravity from the bottom. The exhaust becomes effective. Furthermore, since the condenser fan 8 is continuously operated, gas diffusion can be instantaneously performed and the gas concentration does not increase to a dangerous concentration.

  When a gas leak occurs inside the product storage 1, the pressure in the product storage 1 slightly increases. Therefore, the air is exhausted from the communication hole 15 with the machine room 3 to the machine room 3. Therefore, an increase in the gas concentration in the commodity storage 1 can be suppressed, and the gas concentration can be lowered without maintaining a high gas concentration state when the gas leakage is finished. Furthermore, since the condenser fan 8 is continuously operated, gas diffusion can be instantaneously performed in the machine room 3 and the gas concentration does not rise to a dangerous concentration.

  As a result, it is possible to provide a refrigerated showcase that can increase safety and can be relieved even when a gas leak occurs by using a flammable refrigerant.

  In the present embodiment, the location of the plurality of communication holes 13 provided in the bottom plate portion of the machine room 3 is not specified, but under the portion where the compressor 4 or the welded portion of the condenser 5 or the pipe is located. Providing the communication hole 13 is more effective.

Moreover, although the communicating hole 15 is provided in a part of the goods storage 1 and the machine room 3, this communicating hole may utilize the discharge port of drain water.

  The condenser fan 8 is continuously operated regardless of whether or not the compressor 4 is operated. However, in consideration of energy saving, the compressor 4 may be stopped at a lower rotational speed.

  As described above, the refrigerated showcase according to the present invention is provided with a plurality of communication holes and legs on the bottom plate portion of the machine room, and can perform intake and exhaust from the lower part of the machine room to cope with gas leakage. Therefore, it can be applied to small and desktop storages, commercial equipment, and vending machines.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Commodity store 2 Evaporator 4 Compressor 5 Condenser 6 Expansion mechanism 9 Visible light permeable wall 10 Visible light transmissive door 11 Intake port 12 Exhaust port 13 Communication hole 14 Leg 15 Communication hole

Claims (4)

A product storage for displaying and storing products, an evaporator installed in the product storage, a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and piping installed in a machine room outside the compartment for storing products In the refrigerated showcase provided with a cooling system and a visible light permeable wall on which the product in the product storage can be visually recognized, the bottom plate portion of the machine room is provided with a plurality of communication holes and legs, A refrigerated showcase using a flammable refrigerant as the refrigerant. A product storage for displaying and storing products, an evaporator installed in the product storage, a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and piping installed in a machine room outside the compartment for storing products In the refrigerated showcase provided with the cooling system and a visible light permeable wall where the product in the product storage can be visually recognized, the product storage and the machine room have communication holes, and are combustible as a refrigerant of the cooling system. A refrigerated showcase using a refrigerant. A product storage for displaying and storing products, an evaporator installed in the product storage, a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and piping installed in a machine room outside the compartment for storing products In the refrigerated showcase provided with the cooling system and the visible light permeable wall where the product in the product storage is visible, a combustible refrigerant is used as a refrigerant of the cooling system, and the condenser fan in the machine room is A refrigerated showcase characterized by continuous operation. As a flammable refrigerant, any one of hydrocarbon refrigerant, HFC refrigerant, HFO refrigerant, or two or more mixed refrigerants including at least one of hydrocarbon refrigerant, HFC refrigerant, HFO refrigerant The refrigerated showcase according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein

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