JP2016173150A - Vacuum heat insulation panel for refrigerator and method for recycling refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum heat insulation panel for a refrigerator that can further reduce a thickness and a weight while maintaining a thermal insulation performance and is facilitated in recycling to lower environmental load, and to provide a method for recycling a refrigerator.SOLUTION: The vacuum heat insulation panel 50 is used for the refrigerator including a heat insulation box with an inner box and an outer box and a configuration member provided on an inside of the heat insulation box, and interposed between the inner box and the outer box for thermal insulation between the inner box and the outer box. The vacuum heat insulation panel includes a core material 51 and an external capsule material 52. In the core material, nonwoven fabric comprising a resin fiber formed of the identical synthetic resin to the configuration member and having a fiber external diameter d to be d<1 μm and a fiber length to be 1,000 times or more of the external diameter d is laminated in multiple layers. The external capsule material is formed into a bag-shape storing the core material and the interior of which is de-pressurized.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present embodiment relates to a vacuum insulation panel for a refrigerator and a method for recycling the refrigerator.

  Vacuum heat insulation panels used in refrigerators are required to have high heat insulation and further reduction in thickness and weight. The core material of the conventional vacuum heat insulation panel is mainly formed of glass fiber. However, the glass fibers used as these core materials have a large specific gravity, and there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the thickness and weight of the vacuum heat insulating panel.

  Further, the glass fiber has a fiber length as short as less than 1 mm and exhibits a cotton shape. For this reason, it is difficult to separate the outer packaging material constituting the vacuum heat insulation panel and the glass fiber serving as the core material at the time of disposal. As a result, there is a problem that the vacuum insulation panel that has become unnecessary has to be discarded without separating the core material and the glass fiber.

Japanese Patent No. 4511565

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the thickness and weight are further reduced while maintaining heat insulation performance, and a vacuum heat insulation panel for a refrigerator that is easy to recycle and reduces the environmental load, and a method for recycling the refrigerator are provided. is there.

  The vacuum heat insulation panel according to the embodiment is used for a refrigerator including a heat insulation box having an inner box and an outer box, and a component provided inside the heat insulation box, and between the inner box and the outer box. Insulated between the inner box and the outer box. The vacuum heat insulation panel includes a core material and an outer packaging material. The core material is made of the same synthetic resin as that of the constituent member, and a nonwoven fabric made of resin fibers whose outer diameter d is d <1 μm and whose fiber length is 1000 times or more of the outer diameter d is laminated in a plurality of layers. Has been. The outer packaging material is formed in a bag shape that accommodates the core material, and the inside is decompressed.

Typical sectional drawing which shows the vacuum heat insulation panel by embodiment Typical sectional drawing which shows the refrigerator by embodiment The typical perspective view showing the refrigerator by an embodiment The typical perspective view which shows the vacuum heat insulation panel group of the refrigerator by embodiment The schematic diagram which shows the core material and nonwoven fabric of the vacuum heat insulation panel by embodiment The schematic diagram which shows the manufacturing apparatus of the vacuum heat insulation panel by embodiment

Hereinafter, the refrigerator and vacuum heat insulation panel of an embodiment are explained based on a drawing.
The refrigerator 10 of the embodiment will be described based on FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerator 10 includes a heat insulating box 11 having an open front surface. In the refrigerator 10, a refrigeration cycle (not shown) is attached to the heat insulating box 11. In addition, the refrigerator 10 includes a partition plate 13 that partitions the inside of the storage chamber 12 formed by the heat insulating box 11, a case 14, and a heat insulating door 15 that covers the front surface of the storage chamber 12. Moreover, the refrigerator 10 is provided with the drawer door 17 which moves the storage chamber 16 which the heat insulation box 11 forms back and forth.

  The refrigerator 10 includes a door pocket member 18 inside the heat insulating door 15, that is, on the storage chamber 12 side. In addition, the refrigerator 10 includes a storage case 19 inside the drawer door 17. The partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18, and the housing case 19 correspond to constituent members provided inside the heat insulating box 11. The partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18, and the housing case 19 are all examples of constituent members. Therefore, the constituent members are not limited to the partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18, the housing case 19, and the like exemplified above.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the heat insulating box 11 of the refrigerator 10 includes an outer box 21, an inner box 22, and a vacuum heat insulating panel set 30 sandwiched between the outer box 21 and the inner box 22. The outer box 21 is formed of a steel plate, and the inner box 22 is formed of a synthetic resin. The vacuum heat insulation panel set 30 is divided corresponding to each wall portion of the heat insulation box 11 of the refrigerator 10. Specifically, the vacuum heat insulating panel set 30 is divided into a left wall panel 31, a right wall panel 32, a ceiling panel 33, a rear wall panel 34, and a bottom wall panel 35 as shown in FIG. The left wall panel 31, the right wall panel 32, the ceiling panel 33, the rear wall panel 34, and the bottom wall panel 35 are all constituted by vacuum heat insulating panels. The left wall panel 31, the right wall panel 32, the ceiling panel 33, the rear wall panel 34 and the bottom wall panel 35 are assembled as a vacuum heat insulating panel set 30 and sandwiched between the outer box 21 and the inner box 22. A gap formed between the left wall panel 31, the right wall panel 32, the ceiling panel 33, the rear wall panel 34, and the bottom wall panel 35 constituting the vacuum heat insulation panel set 30 between the outer box 21 and the inner box 22. Is sealed with a heat insulating seal member (not shown). The seal member is formed of, for example, a foamable resin.

Next, the vacuum heat insulation panel which comprises the vacuum heat insulation panel group 30 is demonstrated in detail based on FIG. In FIG. 1, the vacuum heat insulation panel 50 is demonstrated. The vacuum heat insulation panel 50 constitutes a left wall panel 31, a right wall panel 32, a ceiling panel 33, a rear wall panel 34, and a bottom wall panel 35 that constitute the vacuum heat insulation panel set 30.
The vacuum heat insulation panel 50 includes a core material 51 and an outer packaging material 52. As shown in FIG. 5, the core material 51 has a non-woven fabric 53 laminated in a plurality of layers. The nonwoven fabric 53 is formed of resin fibers 54 that are intertwined randomly. The resin fiber 54 is formed by an electrospinning method. The resin fiber 54 formed by the electrospinning method is a long fiber whose outer diameter d is d <1 μm and whose length is 1000 times or more of the outer diameter d. Further, the resin fibers 54 are not linear as a whole, but are randomly curved and bent. Therefore, the resin fibers 54 are easily entangled with each other, and a plurality of layers are easily formed. By using the electrospinning method, the spinning of the resin fibers 54 and the formation of the nonwoven fabric 53 can be performed simultaneously. As a result, the core material 51 can be easily formed with a short man-hour.

Moreover, the resin fiber 54 which comprises the nonwoven fabric 53 can ensure an ultra-thin outer diameter of nanometer to micrometer easily by utilizing the electrospinning method. Therefore, the nonwoven fabric 53 has a very thin thickness per sheet, and the core material 51 in which the nonwoven fabric 53 is laminated also has a small thickness. In the case of a conventional glass fiber, the fiber length is short and the fibers are less entangled.
Thus, in the case of this embodiment, the core material 51 is formed with the nonwoven fabric 53 which consists of the laminated | stacked several layer. The core material 51 is formed by laminating, for example, several hundred to several thousand nonwoven fabrics 53. The resin fibers 54 forming the nonwoven fabric 53 of the present embodiment are formed in a circular or elliptical shape with a substantially uniform cross section.

  The resin fibers 54 forming the nonwoven fabric 53 are formed of an organic polymer having a density, that is, a specific gravity smaller than that of glass. That is, the resin fiber 54 is formed of a synthetic resin. As the resin fiber 54, any resin such as polystyrene or polyamideimide can be used as long as it can be dissolved in a solvent and spun. By forming the resin fibers 54 with a polymer having a density lower than that of glass, the resin fibers 54 can be reduced in weight. The nonwoven fabric 53 may be a mixture of two or more types of resin fibers 54 with different synthetic resins as raw materials. In the nonwoven fabric 53, when the volume of voids formed between the entangled resin fibers 54 is reduced, the number of voids is increased. As the number of voids between the resin fibers 54 increases, the heat insulation is improved. Therefore, it is preferable that the outer diameter d of the resin fiber 54 constituting the nonwoven fabric 53 is reduced to a nanometer order with d <1 μm. By reducing the outer diameter d of the resin fibers 54 in this manner, the number of voids formed between the resin fibers 54 is reduced while the number is increased. By reducing the diameter in this way, the volume of voids formed between the intertwined resin fibers 54 becomes smaller and the number thereof increases, and the heat insulating property of the nonwoven fabric 53 is improved. For example, various inorganic fillers such as silicon oxide, metal hydroxide, carbonate, sulfate, and silicate may be added to the resin fiber 54.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the outer packaging material 52 accommodates the core material 51 formed of the nonwoven fabric 53. The outer packaging material 52 is an airtight sheet in which gas permeability is eliminated by evaporating metal or metal oxide or the like on a resin film of one layer or two or more layers, for example. The outer packaging material 52 containing the core material 51 is sealed together with the core material 51 after reducing the inside to a pressure close to vacuum. Thereby, the core material 51 and the outer packaging material 52 that accommodates the core material 51 are formed as the vacuum heat insulation panel 50. In this case, the vacuum heat insulation panel 50 may accommodate a skeleton member serving as a skeleton inside the outer packaging material 52 in order to reduce crushing of the formed vacuum heat insulation panel 50.

Next, the manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method for forming the nonwoven fabric 53 which comprises said core material 51 are demonstrated.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the manufacturing apparatus 60. The manufacturing apparatus 60 includes a transport unit 61, a nozzle unit 62, a counter electrode plate 63, a separation unit 64, and a winding unit 65. The transport unit 61 includes a pair of rollers 66 and a roller 67. A circulating belt 68 is provided between the roller 66 and the roller 67. At least one of the pair of rollers 66 or 67 is rotationally driven by a drive unit (not shown). Thereby, the belt 68 passed between the roller 66 and the roller 67 circulates by the rotation of the roller 66 or the roller 67.

  The nozzle part 62 is provided above the transport part 61. A plurality of nozzle portions 62 are arranged along the traveling direction of the belt 68. A plurality of nozzle portions 62 are also arranged in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the belt 68, that is, in the depth direction of FIG. Thus, a plurality of nozzle parts 62 are arranged in a matrix above the transport part 61. The counter electrode plate 63 is provided to face the nozzle portion 62. A belt 68 is sandwiched between the nozzle portion 62 and the counter electrode plate 63. A high voltage of several kV or more is applied between the nozzle portion 62 and the counter electrode plate 63. That is, an electric field is formed between the nozzle part 62 and the counter electrode plate 63 by the applied high voltage.

  The separation portion 64 is provided on the downstream side in the traveling direction of the belt 68. The separation unit 64 separates the nonwoven fabric 53 formed on the nozzle unit 62 side of the belt 68 from the belt 68. The winding unit 65 is provided adjacent to the separation unit 64. The winding unit 65 winds the nonwoven fabric 53 separated from the belt 68 by the separating unit 64.

  The raw material resin to be the resin fibers 54 forming the nonwoven fabric 53 is supplied to the nozzle portion 62 in a state dissolved in a solvent. That is, the resin that is the raw material of the resin fiber 54 is supplied to the nozzle unit 62 as a solution. The resin solution supplied to the nozzle unit 62 is jetted from the nozzle unit 62 toward the belt 68 at a high pressure. At this time, an electric field by a high voltage is formed between the nozzle portion 62 and the counter electrode plate 63 as described above. The resin solution sprayed from the nozzle part 62 is refined by application of a high voltage, and is charged with electric charge. Therefore, the resin solution is randomly attracted from the nozzle part 62 to the counter electrode plate 63 while including fluctuations. It is done. Further, when the resin solution sprayed at a high pressure is sprayed from the nozzle portion 62, the solvent is vaporized. Therefore, the solvent of the resin solution sprayed from the nozzle part 62 evaporates before reaching the counter electrode plate 63, and becomes a fine fiber and adheres to the belt 68 in a random shape. As a result, the nonwoven fabric 53 in which fine fibers are randomly entangled is formed on the surface of the belt 68 on the nozzle portion 62 side. At this time, the nonwoven fabric 53 will be in the state where the resin fiber 54 injected from the several nozzle part 62 was entangled in several layers.

  At this time, the resin fibers 54 are jetted from the nozzle portion 62 in a random and random manner, that is, in an irregular state. For this reason, the resin fibers 54 are irregularly rotated until they are jetted from the nozzle portion 62 and reach the belt 68 on the counter electrode plate 63 side, and are formed in a random constricted shape that is not entirely straight. As a result, the resin fibers 54 that have reached the belt 68 on the counter electrode plate 63 side are entangled irregularly and firmly to form the nonwoven fabric 53. In addition, the resin fiber 54 may have a spiral shape when ejected from the nozzle portion 62. This spiral-shaped resin fiber 54 is entangled more strongly with the other resin fibers 54 and contributes to the improvement of the strength of the nonwoven fabric 53. Further, the resin fibers 54 are continuously ejected from the nozzle portion 62. Therefore, the formed resin fiber 54 becomes a single continuous fiber until the injection from the nozzle portion 62 is completed. As a result, the resin fiber 54 is a very long continuous fiber having a fiber length of 1000 times or more with respect to the outer diameter d of the fiber. For comparison, for example, a glass fiber formed by using a conventional flame method has an outer diameter of 3 to 4 μm and a fiber length of about 200 μm. In the case of a glass fiber having a short fiber length with respect to the outer diameter of the fiber, the short fibers are entangled with each other. Therefore, the formed nonwoven fabric has a cotton-like shape and is easily loosened, and it is difficult to keep the shape stable. On the other hand, when the resin fiber 54 is formed by the electrospinning method as in the present embodiment, the fiber has a sufficient length that is continuous without interruption. Therefore, the resin fiber 54 obtained by the electrospinning method is not only entangled with other fibers but also continuously entangled due to its length and an irregular shape due to rolling at the time of formation. As a result, the resin fiber 54 by the electrospinning method forms the nonwoven fabric 53 also by the strong entanglement of one fiber itself. Thereby, the resin fiber 54 of this embodiment forms the nonwoven fabric 53 of the shape more stable compared with glass fiber. In addition, since the shape of the nonwoven fabric 53 is stabilized, an advantage that the nonwoven fabric 53 can be easily laminated when the core material 51 is formed is also obtained.

  The formed nonwoven fabric 53 moves to the left in FIG. 6 along with the movement of the belt 68, and is separated from the belt 68 by the separation unit 64. The nonwoven fabric 53 is formed in a continuous sheet shape while the resin as the raw material is sprayed from the nozzle portion 62. Therefore, the nonwoven fabric 53 separated from the belt 68 is wound up in the form of a sheet at the winding portion 65. The wound nonwoven fabric 53 is cut into an appropriate size, and then, for example, 100 or more are laminated to form the core material 51.

  In the case of the manufacturing apparatus 60 shown in FIG. 6, the outer diameter d and length of the resin fibers 54 forming the nonwoven fabric 53 are the concentration of the resin solution supplied to the nozzle part 62, the pressure of the injection, the nozzle part 62 and the counter electrode plate 63. And the voltage applied between the nozzle portion 62 and the counter electrode plate 63, the moving speed of the belt 68, and the like. The concentration of the resin solution to be supplied, the pressure of injection, the voltage to be applied, the price of the nozzle part 62 and the counter electrode plate 63, the moving speed of the belt 68, and the like are determined according to the desired outer diameter d and length of the resin fiber 54. It can be arbitrarily adjusted accordingly.

Next, the recycling method of the refrigerator 10 by said embodiment is demonstrated.
The refrigerator 10 includes components such as the partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18, and the housing case 19 as described above. The partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18, and the housing case 19 that constitute these constituent members all use the same synthetic resin as the resin fibers 54 that constitute the core material 51 of the vacuum heat insulating panel 50. That is, the synthetic resin that forms the partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18, and the housing case 19 and the resin fiber 54 of the nonwoven fabric 53 that constitutes the core material 51 are the same synthetic resin. For example, when polystyrene is used as the material of the resin fiber 54, constituent members such as the partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18, and the housing case 19 are also formed of polystyrene.

  Thus, by forming the constituent members constituting the refrigerator 10 and the resin fibers 54 of the nonwoven fabric 53 with the same synthetic resin, the recovered constituent members such as the partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18 and the housing case 19. Is reused as the core material 51 of the vacuum heat insulation panel 50. Specifically, components such as the partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18, and the housing case 19 may cause products that cannot be used in the refrigerator 10 due to damage or nonconformity with standards, for example, during inspection. . The constituent members such as the partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18 and the housing case 19 which are out of specification become the raw material of the resin fiber 54 forming the nonwoven fabric 53 by, for example, dissolving in a solvent after pulverization.

  Moreover, in the case of the vacuum heat insulation panel 50, by separating the core material 51 and the outer packaging material 52, the resin fibers 54 of the nonwoven fabric 53 constituting the separated core material 51 are dissolved again in a solvent to form the nonwoven fabric 53. Used as a raw material for the resin fiber 54. The nonwoven fabric 53 which comprises the core material 51 isolate | separated from the outer packaging material 52 of this vacuum heat insulation panel 50 is corresponded to the isolation | separation nonwoven fabric in a claim. As described above, the resin fibers 54 of the nonwoven fabric 53 constituting the vacuum heat insulating panel 50 of the embodiment are long fibers having a fiber length of 1000 times or more with respect to the outer diameter d. Therefore, the resin fibers 54 constituting the nonwoven fabric 53 are intertwined firmly with each other. Thereby, the nonwoven fabric 53 of embodiment is hard to be separated from each other, and separation from the outer packaging material 52 is easy. In other words, the nonwoven fabric 53 of the embodiment is not easily loosened and separated even when separated from the outer packaging material 52. On the other hand, for example, a glass fiber having a fiber length of only about several hundreds of μm is short and has a cotton-like shape, is likely to be scattered, and is difficult to separate from the outer packaging material. As described above, the resin fibers 54 constituting the nonwoven fabric 53 of the present embodiment are easy to maintain an integral shape without being loosened when separated from the outer packaging material 52. As a result, the core material 51 made of the nonwoven fabric 53 is easily separated from the outer packaging material 52 of the vacuum heat insulating panel 50. The separated nonwoven fabric 53 becomes a raw material of the resin fiber 54 that forms the nonwoven fabric 53 again after being dissolved in a solvent, like the partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18, and the housing case 19. In this case, the collected components such as the partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18 and the housing case 19, and the nonwoven fabric 53 separated from the vacuum heat insulating panel 50 are used as raw materials for the nonwoven fabric 53 to be mixed and regenerated. Can do.

  In the case of the embodiment described above, the vacuum heat insulating panel 50 is configured such that the resin fibers 54 of the nonwoven fabric 53 constituting the core material 51 are components of the refrigerator 10 such as the partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18, and the housing case 19. Is the same synthetic resin. Therefore, the recovered components such as the partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18 and the housing case 19 and the nonwoven fabric 53 constituting the core material 51 recovered from the vacuum heat insulating panel 50 are the core material of the vacuum heat insulating panel 50. 51 is recycled as the material of the resin fiber 54 of the nonwoven fabric 53 constituting the 51. Therefore, recycling can be facilitated and the environmental load can be reduced.

  In the embodiment, the resin fiber 54 is formed by an electrospinning method. The partition plate 13, the case 14, the door pocket member 18, the housing case 19, and the nonwoven fabric 53 collected for recycling are dissolved in a solvent. Therefore, the resin fiber 54 is easily regenerated as a non-woven fabric by the electrospinning method by a simple process of dissolving the collected constituent members and the non-woven fabric 53 in a solvent. Therefore, recycling can be facilitated and the environmental load can be reduced.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment, by using the electrospinning method, the resin fiber 54 having an outer diameter d as thin as d <5 μm and a fiber length of 1000 times or more the outer diameter d is formed. Since the resin fiber 54 is formed of a synthetic resin, the specific gravity is small and the weight is reduced as compared with the glass fiber. Further, by using the resin fibers 54 having a fine outer diameter d, the gaps between the resin fibers 54 are small and the number is increased. Therefore, thickness and weight can be reduced while maintaining heat insulation performance.

  In the embodiment, the resin fibers 54 of the nonwoven fabric 53 constituting the core material 51 of the vacuum heat insulating panel 50 are long fibers having a length of 1000 times or more the outer diameter d. Thereby, the nonwoven fabric 53 is firmly intertwined by the resin fiber 54 which comprises this. Therefore, the nonwoven fabric 53 is not easily unraveled and the form is stable. As a result, the nonwoven fabric 53 that becomes the core material 51 of the vacuum heat insulating panel 50 is easily separated from the outer packaging material 52. Therefore, separation of the nonwoven fabric 53 from the vacuum heat insulating panel 50 at the time of recycling becomes easy, and recycling can be promoted.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, these embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  In the drawings, 10 is a refrigerator, 11 is a heat insulating box, 13 is a partition plate (component), 14 is a case (component), 18 is a door pocket member (component), 19 is a storage case (component), 21 Is an outer box, 22 is an inner box, 50 is a vacuum heat insulation panel, 51 is a core material, 52 is an outer packaging material, 53 is a non-woven fabric, 54 is a resin fiber, 62 is a nozzle portion, and 63 is a counter electrode plate.

Claims (5)

A heat insulating box having an inner box and an outer box, and a component provided inside the heat insulating box, is used in a refrigerator, and is sandwiched between the inner box and the outer box, and the inner box and the It is a vacuum insulation panel that insulates between the outer box,
A core in which a non-woven fabric made of a resin fiber formed of the same synthetic resin as that of the constituent member and having an outer diameter d of fibers of d <1 μm and a fiber length of 1000 times or more of the outer diameter d is laminated in a plurality of layers Material,
An outer packaging material that is formed in a bag shape that houses the core material, and whose inside is decompressed;
A vacuum insulation panel for refrigerators.   The resin fibers forming the nonwoven fabric are electrospun for injecting a resin dissolved in a solvent from the nozzle portion toward the counter electrode plate between a nozzle portion to which a voltage is applied and a counter electrode plate facing the nozzle portion. The vacuum heat insulation panel of the refrigerator of Claim 1 formed by the method. It is a recycling method of a refrigerator provided with the vacuum heat insulation panel of Claim 1 or 2, Comprising:
The refrigerator recycling method including the process of forming the said nonwoven fabric with the collect | recovered said structural member. Separating the nonwoven fabric as a separated nonwoven fabric from the outer packaging material constituting the core material;
The recycling method of the refrigerator of Claim 3 including the process of forming the said nonwoven fabric again from the said separated nonwoven fabric isolate | separated from the said outer packaging material.   The recycling method for a refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the constituent member and the separation nonwoven fabric are mixed to become a material for the nonwoven fabric.

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