JP2019132557A - Cooling storage box - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cooling storage box capable of surely discharging water or ice generating by dew condensation or defrosting in an evaporator in a storage chamber, even in the case where a temperature in the storage chamber becomes below a freezing point.SOLUTION: A cooling storage box (1) includes: a housing (10) in which a storage chamber (SC) for storing articles at a low temperature is formed inside; and a cooling device(50) at least including an evaporator (56) arranged in the storage chamber and a compressor (52) housed in a machine chamber (MC) arranged below the housing, and for cooling air in the storage chamber. Below the storage chamber, a drain port (60E) is provided for discharging dew condensation water, defrosting water or ice pieces which are generated in the evaporator and fall down. In the machine chamber, a drain pipe (64) connected to the drain port is provided. An upstream part of a drain pipe is formed as a trap (66) for temporarily storing discharged water, and the trap is arranged in the vicinity of the compressor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a cold storage for storing articles in a low temperature state.

  For example, a cold storage for storing articles such as beverages and foods in a refrigerated state (for example, a low temperature state of about 5 ° C.) or a frozen state (for example, a low temperature state of about −20 ° C.) is known.

  Such a cooling storage is provided with a storage room for storing articles in a low temperature state and a cooling device for cooling the air in the storage room.

  The cooling device includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and an evaporator as main components, and executes a refrigeration cycle. Among these devices, the evaporator functioning as a cooler is disposed in the storage room, and the other devices are generally disposed outside the storage room such as the inside of a machine room provided in the lower part of the cooling storage.

  During operation of the cooling device, moisture contained in the air in the storage room may condense on the surface of the evaporator, and water droplets may be generated (condensation). The generated water droplets (condensation water) increase in diameter with time, and finally drop downward in the storage room.

  In addition, the condensed water may freeze (frost) on the surface of the evaporator. In this state, the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator decreases, so the operation to remove the attached frost, that is, defrosting is performed. Is called. As a result, the ice adhering to the surface of the evaporator melts and falls down as a water drop (defrost water) or as a small piece of ice to the lower side of the storage room.

  The fallen dew condensation water, defrost water or ice pieces are collected by a drain pan provided in the lower part of the storage room, and discharged from the drain port provided in the drain pan to the outside of the storage room through a drain pipe. The discharged water is collected in an evaporating dish arranged inside the machine room and evaporated.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-134585

  When the temperature in the storage room is below freezing (for example, a low temperature of about −20 ° C.) in the cooling storage as described above, the temperature in the region where the drain pan and the drain pipe are arranged may be below freezing. There is a risk that the stored water will freeze and block the drain pipe, making it impossible to drain.

  In order to prevent this, it is effective to heat the drain pipe (particularly, the portion near the drain port), and it is conceivable to install an electric heater as the means.

  However, if an electric heater is installed, in addition to increasing the power consumption of the cooling storage, not only the water in the drain pipe but also the air in the storage room may be heated through the drain pan. In such a case, there arises a problem that the temperature in the storage room increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is generated by condensation or defrosting in an evaporator disposed in the storage room even when the temperature in the storage room is below freezing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cold storage capable of reliably discharging water or ice.

  In order to solve the above problems, the cooling storage of the present invention includes a housing in which a storage room for storing articles at a low temperature is formed, an evaporator disposed in the storage room, and the housing. A compressor housed in a machine room disposed below, and a cooling device for cooling the air in the warehouse room, and the lower part of the warehouse room is generated and dropped in the evaporator A drain outlet for discharging the condensed water, defrost water or ice pieces to the machine room side is provided, and a drain pipe connected to the drain outlet is provided in the machine room, and the drain pipe The upstream portion is formed as a trap for temporarily storing discharged water, and the trap is disposed in the vicinity of the compressor.

  Preferably, a portion of the trap closer to the drain port than a lowermost portion passing through the lowest position is disposed in the vicinity of the compressor.

  Preferably, the surface of the portion closest to the compressor out of the lowermost side passing through the lowest position of the trap and closer to the drain port is when the outer diameter of the pipe constituting the trap is D The distance from the outer peripheral surface of the compressor is 1.5D or less.

  Preferably, the central portion of the drain outlet is disposed in a region whose distance from the outer peripheral surface of the compressor is 1.5 D or less, where D is the outer diameter of the pipe constituting the trap.

  According to the present invention, the upstream portion of the drain pipe for discharging condensed water, defrost water or ice pieces generated and dropped by the evaporator in the warehouse is formed as a trap, and the trap is compressed in the machine room. Because it is located in the vicinity of the machine, the trap can be heated using heat released from the outer surface of the compressor during operation to prevent freezing of the water stored in it. An excellent effect of being able to be obtained can be obtained.

It is a schematic perspective view of the cooling storage of this invention. It is the schematic sectional drawing which looked at the cooling storage of this invention from the left side. It is a schematic perspective view which shows arrangement | positioning of the apparatus in the machine room of the cooling storage of this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows the other Example regarding arrangement | positioning of the trap of the drain pipe in the cooling storage of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the cooling storage of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the cooling storage of the present invention as viewed from the left side. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the arrangement of devices in the machine room of the cooling storage of the present invention.

  The cooling storage 1 is comprised from the storage part S arrange | positioned at the upper part, and the machine part M arrange | positioned at the lower part.

  The storage unit S includes an outer box 10 (housing) that is a rectangular parallelepiped housing having a front opening, and an outer door 20 for closing the front opening of the outer box 10. Each of the doors 20 has a structure in which a heat insulating material is filled therein.

  The outer door 20 opens and closes the front opening of the outer box 10 by rotating around a hinge (not shown) attached to the front surface of the left (or right) side wall of the outer box 10.

  In addition, 30 is an inner door arrange | positioned at the back of the outer door 20, and opens and closes the front opening of the compartment SC mentioned later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an inner box 40 is disposed inside the outer box 10 and at a position behind the closed inner door 30.

  The inner box 40 is a rectangular parallelepiped housing having a front opening, and includes an upper wall 42, a rear wall 44, a lower wall 46, and left and right side walls.

  The upper wall 42, the rear wall 44, and the lower wall 46 of the inner box 40 are disposed separately from the inner surfaces of the upper wall 12, the rear wall 14, and the lower wall 16 of the outer box 10. Thereby, between the outer box 10 and the inner box 40, as shown in FIG. 2, the cold air | gas duct C through which cold air circulates is formed.

  Openings 42A and 46A are formed in the upper wall 42 and the lower wall 46 of the inner box 40, respectively. Further, the upper wall 42 of the inner box 40 is disposed rearwardly from the rear surface of the door frame 11, whereby a cool air passage 42 </ b> P is formed between the front end of the upper wall 42 and the door frame 11. Yes.

  In the cold air duct C, in the vicinity of the center portion in the height direction of the portion between the rear wall 14 of the outer box 10 and the rear wall 44 of the inner box 40, an evaporator 56 constituting a cooling device 50 described later is provided. Above that, the blower fans 56F are respectively arranged.

  The machine part M includes a machine room MC arranged below the outer box 10, and a cooling device 50 for cooling the air in the storage room SC is accommodated in the machine room MC.

  The cooling device 50 includes a compressor 52, a condenser 54, an expansion mechanism (not shown), and an evaporator 56 as main components, and executes a refrigeration cycle. Among these devices, the compressor 52, the condenser 54, and the expansion mechanism (not shown) are disposed in the machine room MC, but the evaporator 56 is disposed in the cold air duct C as described above. .

  By having the above configuration, the air in the storage room SC cooled when passing through the evaporator 56 is caused by the action of the blower fan 56F so that the rear wall 14 and the inner box 40 of the outer box 10 in the cold air duct C are obtained. A portion between the rear walls 44 flows upward, and a part thereof flows into the storage room SC through an opening 42 </ b> A provided in the upper wall 42 of the inner box 40. The remaining air flows into the storage room SC through the cold air passage 42P formed between the front end of the upper wall 42 of the inner box 40 and the door frame 11, and the inner surface of the closed inner door 30; That is, a downward flow along the opening surface of the door frame 11 is formed. This air flow acts as an air curtain, and when the inner door 30 is opened, it prevents leakage of cool air in the storage room SC to the outside and intrusion of outside air into the storage room SC. The cold air flowing downward in the storage room SC returns to the cold air duct C from the storage room SC through the opening 46 </ b> A provided in the lower wall 46 of the inner box 40, and then returns to the evaporator 56.

  During operation of the cooling storage 1, moisture contained in the air circulating in the cold air duct C may condense on the surface of the evaporator 56 and water droplets may be generated (condensation). The generated water droplets (condensation water) increase in diameter with time and finally fall downward.

  In addition, the condensed water may be frozen (frosted) on the surface of the evaporator 56. In this state, the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator 56 is reduced, so that the operation to remove the attached frost, that is, defrosting (defrost). Is done. As a result, the ice adhering to the surface of the evaporator 56 melts and falls downward as water droplets (defrosted water) or as small ice pieces.

  The condensed water, defrost water or ice pieces that have fallen are collected by the drain pan 60 provided at the lower part of the storage room SC together with the water or ice pieces that have been generated and dropped in other parts of the storage room SC. It is discharged from the provided drainage port 60E to the outside of the storage room SC.

  In the machine room MC, as shown in FIG. 3, a funnel-shaped water collector 62 is installed immediately below the drain port 60E, and a drain pipe 64 connected downstream of the water collector 62 is disposed in the machine room MC. It is drawn around and reaches the evaporating dish 68.

  The water discharged from the storage room SC through the drain port 60E reaches the evaporating dish 68 through the water collector 62 and the drain pipe 64 and is evaporated.

  A portion of the drain pipe 64 immediately downstream of the water collector 62 is formed as a trap 66 that temporarily stores the discharged water. The trap 66 includes a descending portion 66D, a horizontal portion 66H, and an ascending portion 66A in order from the upstream side. The descending portion 66D and the horizontal portion 66H, and the horizontal portion 66H and the ascending portion 66A are each configured by a smoothly curved bend pipe. ing.

  The descending portion 66D is a portion that extends substantially vertically downward from the lower portion of the water collector 62, and the ascending portion 66A is a portion that extends substantially vertically upward from the downstream end of the horizontal portion 66H. The horizontal portion 66H is a portion (lowermost portion) passing through the lowest position in the entire trap 66.

  Since the drain pipe 64 has the trap 66, even if the discharge of water from the storage room SC is temporarily stopped, the descending portion is centered on the horizontal portion 66H which is the lowermost portion of the trap 66. Water is always stored in a certain area including 66D and a part of the ascending portion 66A, and the cold air in the storage room SC is prevented from flowing out through the drain pipe 64.

  On the other hand, when the temperature in the storage room SC is a low temperature below the freezing point (for example, about −20 ° C.) and the temperature around the trap 66 is also below the freezing point, the water is discharged from the storage room SC. The water stored in the trap 66 when it is stopped is in a state of being easily frozen because it does not flow. Then, when the water stored in the trap 66 is frozen, there is a possibility that drainage cannot be performed as described above.

  Therefore, in the cooling storage 1 of the present invention, the trap 66 is disposed in the vicinity of the compressor 52 as shown in FIG. In particular, the descent part 66D in which the water stored therein is most likely to freeze, in other words, on the upstream side (that is, the side close to the drain port 60E) from the horizontal part 66H (that is, the lowermost part of the trap 66). The portion is arranged in the vicinity of the compressor 52. Thereby, the upstream part of the trap 66 can be heated using the heat radiation from the outer surface of the compressor 52 that is at a high temperature during operation, and the water stored in the trap 66 can be prevented from freezing.

  More specifically, the surface of the portion of the descending portion 66D closest to the compressor 52 has a distance from the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 52 when the outer diameter of the pipe constituting the trap 66 is D. It is arranged in an area of 1.5D or less. The distance is preferably 1.2D or less.

  In addition, when the drain pipe 64 is formed of a material that is not so high in heat resistance, such as ordinary resin, when the descending portion 66D of the trap 66 is disposed in the above-described region, it is not brought into contact with the surface of the compressor 52. It is necessary. However, when the drain pipe 64 is formed of a material having high heat resistance (for example, high temperature resistant resin, metal, etc.), it is preferable that the descending portion 66 </ b> D is in contact with the surface of the compressor 52. In any case, in order to make maximum use of heat radiation from the compressor 52 for heating the trap 66, the descending portion 66D of the trap 66 and the outer surface of the compressor 52 adjacent thereto may be covered with a heat insulating material. .

  Next, another embodiment relating to the arrangement of drain pipe traps in the cooling storage of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, the trap 166 is formed in a U-shape that is symmetric with respect to the upstream side and the downstream side around the lowermost part 166B, and is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 152. It arrange | positions so that it may extend in the plane parallel to arbitrary vertical surfaces. Thus, the trap 166 does not necessarily have a straight horizontal portion at the bottom as in the embodiment shown in FIG. Also in this embodiment, the surface of the portion closest to the compressor 152 among the portions upstream of the lowermost portion 166B of the trap 166 (that is, the side closer to the drain port 160E) is the pipe of the trap 166. When the outer diameter is D, the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 152 is 1.5D or less (preferably 1.2D or less) (hereinafter, the same applies to the series of embodiments shown in FIG. 4). .

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the trap 166 ′ may be disposed away from the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 152 ′ from the upstream side toward the downstream side, and in this case, the drain port 160E. The center O of 'may be arranged in a region whose distance from the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 152' is 1.5D or less. This arrangement includes the case where the center O of the drain port 160E 'is located on the broken line whose distance from the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 152' is 1.5D in FIG.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4C, the trap 266 has an upstream side and a downstream side that are asymmetric with respect to the lowermost part 266B, and is upstream of the lowermost part 266B (that is, close to the drain outlet 260E). The side portion is composed of a vertical portion 266V and an inclined portion 266S in order from the upstream side. Further, the trap 266 is disposed so as to extend along the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 252.

  By providing the inclined portion 266S, hot water having a small specific gravity collects on the drain outlet 260E side. When small ice pieces are discharged into the trap 266, the ice pieces rise toward the drain outlet 260E and gather there. Therefore, melting of ice pieces can be promoted.

  Further, by arranging the trap 266 so as to extend along the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 252, the total length thereof becomes longer, and the amount of water stored therein increases. Therefore, even if the heat capacity of the water in the trap 266 heated by the heat radiation from the outer surface of the compressor 252 increases and a large amount of ice pieces are discharged, it can be melted. Furthermore, by setting the amount of water stored inside the trap 266 to be equal to or greater than the amount of water discharged by one defrosting, the trap 266 is finally discharged from the trap 266 with the inflow of defrost water. The water that reaches the evaporating dish becomes warm water, and its evaporation becomes easy.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4D, a portion upstream of the horizontal portion 366H of the trap 366 (ie, the lowermost portion of the trap 366) (ie, the side close to the drain port 360E) is disposed on the upper surface of the compressor 352 and You may make it arrange | position in the vicinity of a side surface. Thus, by disposing the trap 366 including the vicinity of the upper surface of the compressor 352, the heat radiation from the compressor 352 can be used more effectively.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4E, at least the horizontal portion 466H of the trap 466 (that is, the lowermost portion of the trap 466) and the upstream portion (that is, the side close to the drain port 460E) of the horizontal portion 466H. You may make it arrange | position only the part of the near side in the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 452.

  In addition, in the said embodiment, although the compressors 52-452 are shown as what has a circular shape in planar view, the said shape may be other shapes, such as an ellipse.

1 Cooling storage 10 Outer box (housing)
50 Cooling device 52 Compressor 56 Evaporator 60E Drain port 64 Drain pipe 66, 166, 166 ', 266, 366, 466 Trap MC Machine room SC Storage room

Claims (4)

A housing in which a storage room for storing articles at a low temperature is formed;
Including at least an evaporator disposed in the chamber and a compressor housed in a machine chamber disposed below the housing, and a cooling device for cooling the air in the chamber.
In the lower part of the storage room, a drain outlet is provided for discharging condensed water, defrost water or ice pieces generated and dropped in the evaporator to the machine room side,
In the machine room, a drain pipe connected to the drain port is provided,
An upstream portion of the drain pipe is formed as a trap for temporarily storing discharged water, and the trap is disposed in the vicinity of the compressor.   The cooling storage according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the trap closer to the drain port than a lowermost portion passing through the lowest position is disposed in the vicinity of the compressor.   Of the side closest to the drain outlet from the lowest part passing through the lowest position of the trap, the surface of the part closest to the compressor is the compression when the outer diameter of the pipe constituting the trap is D. The cooling storage according to claim 2, wherein a distance from the outer peripheral surface of the machine is arranged in an area of 1.5D or less.   The central portion of the drain outlet is arranged in a region where the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the compressor is 1.5 D or less, where D is the outer diameter of the pipe constituting the trap. The cooling storage warehouse of any one of Claims 1-3.

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