JP2021145853A - Show case - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce power consumption also in the case that an upper region of an installed middle duct is made a high temperature region on or above a normal temperature.SOLUTION: The show case includes: a storage chamber 14 in which a sales product shelf 24 is provided in a plurality of steps along a vertical direction, in the front side of a vertically extended back plate 12a; a blowing fan 17 which circulates air in-between a ventilation trunk 15 communicated to the storage chamber; an evaporator 18 which cools air circulated by the fan; a heat exhaust duct 16 which discharges to the outside the air heated by the heat acquired in the evaporator 18; and a middle duct 25 which, if installed below the arbitrary sales product shelf 24 in a state penetrating the back plate 12a, vertically divides the storage chamber 14 while blocking the back face duct 15b. Also, a discharge adjustment means is provided, which, in the event that no middle duct 25 is installed, the air that passes the heat exhaust duct 16 is allowed to be discharged outside and which, in the event that the middle duct 25 is installed, the air that passes the heat exhaust duct 16 is made to be blown off from an outlet 13b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a showcase, and more particularly to a showcase that holds a product placed on a product storage shelf in a desired temperature state.

Conventionally, the following showcases are known as showcases for holding products placed on product storage shelves in a desired temperature state.

For example, a plurality of product storage shelves are provided in the storage chamber of the case body so as to be lined up in the vertical direction, and products are placed and displayed on each product storage shelf. Further, in a place inside the case body that is outside the storage chamber, a ventilation passage through which air sucked through a suction port formed in the lower front portion of the storage chamber passes is provided. This ventilation path is provided with an evaporator that cools the air that passes by driving the installed blower fan, and the air cooled by this evaporator is blown out from the air outlet formed in the upper front part of the storage chamber. Will be done.

By the way, when an intermediate duct is attached to the lower part of an arbitrary product storage shelf in a manner of penetrating the back plate constituting the back surface of the storage chamber, the ventilation passage is blocked by the intermediate duct. In a showcase equipped with an intermediate duct, air is sucked into the ventilation passage through a suction port, cooled by an evaporator, and then introduced from an introduction port provided at the rear end of the intermediate duct and provided at the front end. An air curtain is formed by blowing out from the intermediate air outlet.

As a result, in the above showcase, when the intermediate duct is installed, the storage chamber is divided into upper and lower parts by the intermediate duct, and the upper region is set as the high temperature region and the lower region is set as the low temperature region with the intermediate duct as a boundary. As a result, the product can be held at different temperatures (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4636505

In the above showcase, the air cooled by the evaporator is blown out from the intermediate outlet of the intermediate duct to cool the lower area of the intermediate duct, and the air cooled by the evaporator is sent out to the upper area of the intermediate duct. By not doing so, it is considered to be a higher temperature range than the lower range. In other words, the upper region of the intermediate duct is only set to a relatively higher temperature region than the lower region of the intermediate duct because the cooled air is not sent out, and in fact, due to the influence of cold air leakage from the lower region, etc. It is said to be in a temperature range below room temperature.

Therefore, when the upper region of the intermediate duct is set to a high temperature region of room temperature or higher, in the above showcase, it is necessary to drive a heating means such as a heater to heat the product placed on the product storage shelf, which consumes the product. It has led to an increase in the amount of electricity.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a showcase capable of reducing power consumption even when the upper region of the mounted intermediate duct is set to a high temperature region of room temperature or higher. And.

In order to achieve the above object, the showcase according to the present invention has a storage chamber in which a plurality of product storage shelves are provided along the vertical direction on the front side of a back plate extending vertically, and the storage chamber. An air passage that communicates with the storage chamber through an air outlet formed in the front upper part of the storage chamber and a suction port formed in the front lower portion of the storage chamber, a blower fan that circulates air between the storage chambers, and the above. It is provided in a manner of being partitioned into a cooler that cools the air circulated by the blower fan and a back duct that constitutes the ventilation passage installed on the rear side of the back plate, and is provided by the cooler from the air. While shutting off the heat exhaust duct for discharging the air heated by the acquired heat to the outside and the back duct when it is mounted under an arbitrary product mounting shelf in a manner of penetrating the back plate. The storage chamber is divided into upper and lower parts, and an intermediate duct is provided which introduces air passing through the ventilation passage from an introduction port provided at the rear end and blows out from an intermediate outlet provided at the front end. It is a showcase in which the lower region and the upper region of the intermediate duct in the storage chamber are set to two different temperature ranges when the duct is installed, and when the intermediate duct is not installed, the heat exhaust duct is used. While allowing the air passing through the air to be discharged to the outside, when the intermediate duct is attached, the heat exhaust duct and a part of the ventilation passage are communicated with each other and passed through the heat exhaust duct. It is characterized by being provided with an discharge adjusting means for blowing out air from the outlet.

Further, according to the present invention, in the showcase, the discharge adjusting means selectively selects a discharge port that is an outlet of the heat exhaust duct and a communication port that communicates the heat exhaust duct with a part of the ventilation passage. The opening / closing mechanism that can be closed, the mounting detection unit that detects whether or not the intermediate duct is mounted, and the opening / closing mechanism when the mounting detection unit detects that the intermediate duct is not mounted. It is provided with a control unit that drives the opening / closing mechanism to close the discharge port when the mounting detection unit detects that the intermediate duct is mounted, while driving the communication port to close the communication port. It is characterized by that.

Further, according to the present invention, in the showcase, the exhaust adjusting means normally closes the communication port for communicating the heat exhaust duct and a part of the ventilation passage by being arranged at a reference position. When the intermediate duct is attached, when the adjusting member that opens the communication port by moving toward the advancing position below the reference position and the adjusting member are arranged at the reference position, It is characterized in that it is provided with an opening / closing door mechanism that closes the discharge port when the adjusting member moves to the advance position while opening the discharge port that is the outlet of the heat exhaust duct.

According to the present invention, the exhaust adjusting means allows the air passing through the heat exhaust duct to be discharged to the outside when the intermediate duct is not attached, while exhausting when the intermediate duct is attached. Since the heat duct and a part of the ventilation passage are communicated with each other and the air passing through the exhaust heat duct is blown out from the air outlet, the exhaust heat can be effectively utilized to heat the upper area of the intermediate duct, and the heater. It is not necessary to use a heating means such as. Further, even when the upper region of the intermediate duct is heated by using the heating means, it can be supplementarily heated by exhaust heat, so that the amount of electric power required to drive the heating means can be reduced. Therefore, even when the upper region of the mounted intermediate duct is set to a high temperature region of room temperature or higher, the effect of reducing the power consumption can be obtained.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing a showcase according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of the showcase according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is an explanatory view showing a state in which the opening / closing mechanism shown in FIG. 2 closes the communication port, and FIG. 3B is an explanatory view showing a state in which the opening / closing mechanism shown in FIG. 2 closes the outlet. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view for explaining the circulation of air in the showcase shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing a showcase according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing the showcase according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

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

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing a showcase according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block schematically showing a control system of the showcase according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure. The showcase 1 illustrated here is for accommodating products in a store such as a supermarket or a convenience store, and is configured to include a case main body 10, an intermediate duct 25, and a control unit 30.

The case body 10 includes a bottom surface portion 11, a rear surface portion 12, and a top surface portion 13, and a storage chamber 14 having front and left and right side surfaces open in a portion surrounded by the bottom surface portion 11, the rear surface portion 12, and the top surface portion 13 is configured. ing. Further, the case body 10 is provided with a ventilation passage 15 in a manner of being partitioned from the storage chamber 14, and is provided with a heat exhaust duct 16 in a manner of being partitioned from the storage chamber 14 and the ventilation passage 15. There is.

The ventilation passage 15 is formed inside the bottom surface portion 11, the rear surface portion 12, and the top surface portion 13, and includes a lower duct 15a, a back duct 15b, and an upper duct 15c.

The lower duct 15a is formed in a portion of the bottom surface portion 11 that is lower than the bottom surface plate 11a that constitutes the bottom surface of the storage chamber 14. A suction port 11b extending along the left-right direction is formed at the front end portion of the bottom plate 11a. That is, the suction port 11b is an opening formed in the lower front portion of the storage chamber 14.

The back duct 15b is formed in a portion of the rear surface portion 12 that is rearward of the back plate 12a that constitutes the back surface of the storage chamber 14. The lower end portion of the back duct 15b communicates with the rear end portion of the lower duct 15a.

The upper duct 15c is formed in a portion of the top surface portion 13 that is above the top surface plate 13a that constitutes the top surface of the storage chamber 14. The rear end portion of the upper duct 15c communicates with the upper end portion of the back duct 15b. An air outlet 13b extending in the left-right direction is formed at the front end portion of the top plate 13a. That is, the air outlet 13b is an opening formed in the front upper portion of the storage chamber 14.

A blower fan 17 and an evaporator 18 are installed inside the ventilation passage 15. The blower fan 17 is driven by being given a command from the control unit 30. When the fan 17 is driven, the air sucked into the ventilation passage 15 through the suction port 11b is sent out to the outlet 13b and blown out from the outlet 13b to the storage chamber 14, whereby the storage chamber 14 and the ventilation passage 15 are blown out. It circulates air between and.

The evaporator 18 constitutes a refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant is circulated together with the compressor 19, the condenser 20, and the electronic expansion valve 21. The compressor 19 is installed in a machine room 22 provided below the bottom surface portion 11 while forming the case main body 10. The compressor 19 is driven by a command given from the control unit 30, and when driven, the refrigerant of the evaporator 18 is sucked and compressed. The condenser 20 is installed in the machine room 22 like the compressor 19. The condenser 20 condenses the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 19 and dissipates heat.

An exhaust heat fan 23 is provided in the vicinity of the condenser 20. The exhaust heat fan 23 is driven by being given a command from the control unit 30. When the exhaust heat fan 23 is driven, outside air is introduced from a ventilation hole (not shown) formed in the front cover 22a forming the front surface of the machine room 22 and passed around the condenser 20 toward the rear. It is a thing.

The opening degree of the electronic expansion valve 21 is adjusted by a command given from the control unit 30, and the refrigerant condensed by the condenser 20 is adiabatically expanded to be in a low temperature and low pressure state.

The evaporator 18 exchanges heat between the air passing through the ventilation passage 15 by driving the blower fan 17 and the refrigerant that has been put into a low temperature and low pressure state by the electronic expansion valve 21, and more specifically, the low temperature and low pressure. It is a cooler that cools the air passing through the ventilation passage 15 by evaporating the refrigerant of the above. The refrigerant vaporized by the evaporator 18 is sucked by the compressor 19 and circulates in the refrigeration cycle.

As a result, in the showcase 1, when the compressor 19 and the blower fan 17 are driven, the air that has passed through the evaporator 18 is circulated and supplied to the storage chamber 14 through the ventilation passage 15, and the storage chamber 14 reaches a desired refrigerating temperature. It will be maintained.

The storage chamber 14 is provided with a plurality of tiers (six tiers in the illustrated example) of product storage shelves 24 along the upper and lower sides. The product loading shelves 24 are attached to shelf columns (not shown) provided on the left and right sides of the back plate 12a, and the products are placed and displayed.

The heat exhaust duct 16 is an air passage provided in a manner extending along the vertical direction on the rear side of the bottom surface portion 11, and is partitioned from the back surface duct 15b. The heat exhaust duct 16 has an inlet 16a formed at the lower end thereof, and communicates with the machine room 22 through the inlet 16a. Further, the heat exhaust duct 16 is formed with an outlet 16b as an outlet at the upper end portion. Further, the heat exhaust duct 16 has a communication port 16c formed in the front portion of the upper end portion, and communicates with the ventilation passage 15, specifically, the boundary portion between the rear duct 15b and the upper duct 15c through the communication port 16c. There is.

The intermediate duct 25 has a substantially flat plate shape as a whole. Although the configuration of the intermediate duct 25 will be described later, the rear end portion of the intermediate duct 25 penetrates the through hole 12b of any height level provided in the mounting area A of the back plate 12a, and the rear end portion constitutes the rear surface of the back duct 15b. By abutting against the back wall plate 26, the ventilation passage 15 (rear duct 15b) is blocked and the storage chamber 14 is detachably attached to the back wall plate 26.

Here, the mounting area A of the back plate 12a is an area extending from the lower part of the uppermost product storage shelf 24 to the lower part of the fourth product storage shelf 24 from the top, and is the uppermost product storage shelf 24. The height level of the lower part of the product storage shelf 24 in the second tier from the top, the lower part of the product storage shelf 24 in the third tier from the top, and the lower part of the product storage shelf 24 in the fourth tier from the top. A through hole 12b is formed in the hole.

The intermediate duct 25 is composed of an intermediate duct main body 25a. A wind tunnel 251 is provided inside the intermediate duct main body 25a. The wind tunnel 251 extends along the front-rear direction. The intermediate duct main body 25a is provided with an introduction port 252 and an intermediate air outlet 253.

The introduction port 252 is formed on the lower surface of the rear end portion of the intermediate duct main body 25a and communicates with the wind tunnel 251. It is an opening for introducing the air passing through the rear duct 15b into the wind tunnel 251. The intermediate outlet 253 is formed on the lower surface of the front end portion of the intermediate duct main body 25a and communicates with the wind tunnel 251. The intermediate outlet 253 is an opening for blowing out air passing through the wind tunnel 251.

The control unit 30 is electrically connected to the blower fan 17, the compressor 19, the electronic expansion valve 21, and the exhaust heat fan 23 described above, and is also electrically connected to the mounting detection unit 32 and the opening / closing mechanism 34. .. The control unit 30 comprehensively controls the operation of each unit of the showcase 1 according to the programs and data stored in the storage unit 31 which is also electrically connected.

The control unit 30 may be realized by, for example, a processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program, that is, by software, or by hardware such as an IC (Integrated Circuit). Alternatively, it may be realized by using software and hardware together.

The mounting detection unit 32 detects whether or not the intermediate duct 25 is mounted in the mounting area A of the back plate 12a. The mounting detection unit 32 gives the detection result to the control unit 30 as a detection signal.

The mounting detection unit 32 is configured by a proximity switch or the like, and is arranged in the vicinity of each through hole 12b of the back plate 12a or in each product mounting shelf 24 provided in the mounting area A. The mounting detection unit 32 detects whether or not the intermediate duct 25 is mounted in the vicinity of itself by detecting a detected portion such as a metal body installed in the intermediate duct 25. Although the mounting detection unit 32 has been described here as being arranged on the back plate 12a and the product mounting shelf 24, in the present invention, the mounting detection unit 32 is located in the vicinity of each through hole 12b of the back plate 12a and on each product. The detected portion may be installed on the shelf 24, and the mounting detection portion 32 may be arranged on the intermediate duct 25.

The opening / closing mechanism 34 includes an opening / closing motor 341 and a flapper member 342. The opening / closing motor 341 is driven in forward / reverse rotation according to a command given from the control unit 30. The flapper member 342 has a size sufficient to close each of the discharge port 16b and the communication port 16c, and is provided so as to be swingable around the axis of the shaft portion 343 extending in the left-right direction. Has been done.

In such an opening / closing mechanism 34, when the opening / closing motor 341 is driven in a forward rotation in response to a command given from the control unit 30, the flapper member 342 is the axial center of the shaft portion 343 as shown in FIG. 3A. As shown in FIG. 3B, when the opening / closing motor 341 is driven in the reverse rotation in response to a command given from the control unit 30, the flapper member is closed while swinging downward to block the communication port 16c. The 342 swings upward around the axis of the shaft portion 343 to close the discharge port 16b. That is, the opening / closing mechanism 34 can selectively close the discharge port 16b and the communication port 16c.

In the showcase 1 having the above-described configuration, when the intermediate duct 25 is not mounted, that is, when the mounting detection unit 32 does not detect that the intermediate duct 25 is mounted, the control unit 30 issues a command to the opening / closing motor 341. Then, the opening / closing motor 341 is driven in a forward rotation, and the flapper member 342 is swung to close the communication port 16c. That is, the discharge port 16b is opened and the communication port 16c is closed.

Then, the control unit 30 adjusts the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve 21 to a predetermined size and drives the compressor 19, the blower fan 17, and the exhaust heat fan 23 to drive the ventilation passage 15 through the suction port 11b. The air sucked into the lower duct 15a is passed through the lower duct 15a and then through the back duct 15b.

The air passing through the rear duct 15b is cooled by the evaporator 18, and the air cooled by the evaporator 18 is passed through the rear duct 15b and the upper duct 15c in this order, and is blown out from the outlet 13b toward the suction port 11b. The air blown out from the air outlet 13b can be circulated in the storage chamber 14 and the air passage 15 by passing the air blown out from the air outlet 13b through the front end region of the product loading shelf 24 and then sucking the air into the ventilation passage 15 from the suction port 11b. can. As a result, an air curtain made of air cooled by the evaporator 18 can be formed on the front surface of the storage chamber 14.

Since the air curtain is formed on the front surface of the storage chamber 14 by the air (cold air) blown out from the air outlet 13b in this way, the entire storage chamber 14 can be cooled. As a result, the product in the storage chamber 14 can be cooled and held at a desired temperature.

By the way, the air passing around the condenser 20 by driving the exhaust heat fan 23 is heated by condensing the refrigerant passing through the condenser 20. That is, the air is heated by the heat acquired from the air passing through the ventilation passage 15 by the evaporator 18.

The air that has passed around the condenser 20 in this way passes backward inside the machine room 22, and then the rear surface of the machine room 22 is blocked, so that the air has passed from the entrance 16a to the heat exhaust duct 16. It enters, passes through the heat exhaust duct 16 upward, and is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 16b. That is, the heat exhaust duct 16 is provided so as to be partitioned by the back duct 15b, and is for discharging the air heated by the heat acquired from the air passing through the ventilation passage 15 by the evaporator 18 to the outside. Is.

Further, in the showcase 1, when the intermediate duct 25 is mounted as shown in FIG. 4, that is, when the mounting detection unit 32 detects that the intermediate duct 25 is mounted, the control unit 30 is attached to the opening / closing motor 341. A command is given to drive the opening / closing motor 341 in a reverse rotation, and the flapper member 342 is swung to close the discharge port 16b. That is, the communication port 16c is opened and the discharge port 16b is closed.

Then, the control unit 30 adjusts the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve 21 to a predetermined size and drives the compressor 19, the blower fan 17, and the exhaust heat fan 23 to drive the ventilation passage 15 through the suction port 11b. The air sucked into the lower duct 15a is passed through the lower duct 15a and then through the back duct 15b.

The air passing through the rear duct 15b is cooled by the evaporator 18, the air cooled by the evaporator 18 is introduced into the wind tunnel 251 from the introduction port 252, and the air passing through the wind tunnel 251 is introduced from the intermediate outlet 253 to the suction port 11b. Blow out toward. The air blown out from the intermediate outlet 253 is circulated in the storage chamber 14 and the ventilation passage 15 by passing the air blown out from the intermediate outlet 253 through the front end region of the product loading shelf 24 and then sucking the air into the ventilation passage 15 from the suction port 11b. Can be done. As a result, an air curtain with air cooled by the evaporator 18 can be formed on the front surface of the lower region of the intermediate duct 25 in the storage chamber 14.

In this way, the air (cold air) blown out from the intermediate outlet 253 forms an air curtain in front of the lower region of the intermediate duct 25, so that the lower region of the intermediate duct 25 in the storage chamber 14 is above the intermediate duct 25. It can be cooled more than the area.

The air passing around the condenser 20 by driving the exhaust heat fan 23 is heated by condensing the refrigerant passing through the condenser 20. The air that has passed around the condenser 20 in this way passes backward inside the machine room 22, then enters the heat exhaust duct 16 from the entrance 16a, and the heat exhaust duct 16 is directed upward. It passes through, enters the duct 15c above the communication port 16c, passes through, and is blown downward from the outlet 13b. By the air blown out from the air outlet 13b, the upper region of the intermediate duct 25 can be set to a high temperature region of room temperature or higher, and the product placed on the product storage shelf 24 in the upper region can be brought to a desired temperature. Can be adjusted.

In the showcase 1 according to the first embodiment described above, when the mounting detection unit 32, the opening / closing mechanism 34, and the control unit 30 are not mounted with the intermediate duct 25, the air passing through the heat exhaust duct 16 is external. On the other hand, when the intermediate duct 25 is attached, the exhaust heat duct 16 and a part of the ventilation passage 15 are communicated with each other, and the air passing through the exhaust heat duct 16 is blown out to the outlet 13b. It constitutes a discharge adjusting means for blowing out from.

Then, according to such a showcase 1, when the intermediate duct 25 is attached, the exhaust heat duct 16 and a part of the ventilation passage 15 are communicated with each other to blow the air passing through the exhaust heat duct 16. Since it is blown out from the outlet 13b, it is possible to heat the upper region of the intermediate duct 25 by effectively utilizing the exhaust heat, and it is not necessary to use a heating means such as a heater. Further, when the upper region of the intermediate duct 25 is heated by using the heating means, it can be supplementarily heated by exhaust heat, so that the amount of electric power required to drive the heating means can be reduced. Therefore, even when the upper region of the mounted intermediate duct 25 is set to a high temperature region of room temperature or higher, the power consumption can be reduced.

<Embodiment 2>
5 and 6 are cross-sectional side views schematically showing a showcase according to a second embodiment of the present invention, respectively. The showcase 2 illustrated here is for accommodating products in a store such as a supermarket or a convenience store, and is configured to include a case main body 40, an intermediate duct 60, and an opening / closing door mechanism 65.

The case body 40 includes a bottom surface portion 41, a rear surface portion 42, and a top surface portion 43, and a storage chamber 44 having front and left and right side surfaces open in a portion surrounded by the bottom surface portion 41, the rear surface portion 42, and the top surface portion 43 is configured. ing. Further, the case body 40 is provided with a ventilation passage 45 in a manner of being partitioned from the storage chamber 44, and is provided with a heat exhaust duct 46 in a manner of being partitioned from the storage chamber 44 and the ventilation passage 45. There is.

The ventilation passage 45 is formed inside the bottom surface portion 41, the rear surface portion 42, and the top surface portion 43, and includes a lower duct 45a, a back duct 45b, and an upper duct 45c.

The lower duct 45a is formed in a portion of the bottom surface portion 41 that is lower than the bottom surface plate 41a that constitutes the bottom surface of the storage chamber 44. A suction port 41b extending along the left-right direction is formed at the front end portion of the bottom plate 41a. That is, the suction port 41b is an opening formed in the lower front portion of the storage chamber 44.

The back duct 45b is formed in a portion of the rear surface portion 42 that is rearward of the back plate 42a that constitutes the back surface of the storage chamber 44. The lower end portion of the back duct 45b communicates with the rear end portion of the lower duct 45a.

The upper duct 45c is formed in a portion of the top surface portion 43 that is above the top surface plate 43a that constitutes the top surface of the storage chamber 44. The rear end portion of the upper duct 45c communicates with the upper end portion of the back duct 45b. An air outlet 43b extending in the left-right direction is formed at the front end portion of the top plate 43a. That is, the air outlet 43b is an opening formed in the front upper portion of the storage chamber 44.

A blower fan 47 and an evaporator 48 are installed inside the ventilation passage 45. When the blower fan 47 is driven, the air sucked into the ventilation passage 45 through the suction port 41b is sent out to the outlet 43b and blown out from the outlet 43b to the storage chamber 44, thereby causing the storage chamber 44 and the ventilation passage 45. It circulates air between them.

The evaporator 48 constitutes a refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant is circulated together with the compressor 49, the condenser 50, and the electronic expansion valve 51. The compressor 49 is installed in a machine room 52 provided below the bottom surface 41 while forming the case body 40. The compressor 49 sucks and compresses the refrigerant of the evaporator 48 when it is driven. The condenser 50 is installed in the machine room 52 like the compressor 49. The condenser 50 condenses the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 49 and dissipates heat.

An exhaust heat fan 53 is provided in the vicinity of the condenser 50. When the exhaust heat fan 53 is driven, the exhaust heat fan 53 introduces outside air through a ventilation hole (not shown) formed in the front cover 52a forming the front surface of the machine room 52 and allows the outside air to pass rearward around the condenser 50. Is.

The opening degree of the electronic expansion valve 51 is adjusted by a command given from a control unit (not shown), and the refrigerant condensed by the condenser 50 is adiabatically expanded to a low temperature and low pressure state.

The evaporator 48 is driven by a blower fan 47 to exchange heat between the air passing through the ventilation passage 45 and the refrigerant that has been brought into a low temperature and low pressure state by the electronic expansion valve 51. More specifically, the low temperature and low pressure. It is a cooler that cools the air passing through the ventilation passage 45 by evaporating the refrigerant of the above. The refrigerant vaporized by the evaporator 48 is sucked by the compressor 49 and circulates in the refrigeration cycle.

As a result, in the showcase 2, when the compressor 49 and the blower fan 47 are driven, the air that has passed through the evaporator 48 is circulated and supplied to the storage chamber 44 through the ventilation passage 45, and the storage chamber 44 reaches a desired refrigerating temperature. It will be maintained.

The storage chamber 44 is provided with a plurality of tiers (six tiers in the illustrated example) of product storage shelves 54 along the upper and lower sides. The product loading shelves 54 are attached to shelf columns (not shown) provided on the left and right sides of the back plate 42a, and the products are placed and displayed.

The heat exhaust duct 46 is an air passage provided in a manner extending along the vertical direction on the rear side of the bottom surface portion 41, and is partitioned from the back surface duct 45b. The heat exhaust duct 46 has an inlet 46a formed at the lower end thereof, and communicates with the machine room 52 through the inlet 46a. Further, the heat exhaust duct 46 is formed with a discharge port 46b as an outlet at the upper end portion. Further, the heat exhaust duct 46 has a communication port 46c formed in the front portion of the upper end portion, and communicates with the ventilation passage 45, specifically, the boundary portion between the rear duct 45b and the upper duct 45c through the communication port 46c. There is.

An adjusting member 55 is provided on the back duct 45b. The adjusting member 55 is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction along the front surface of the back wall plate 56 forming the rear surface of the back duct 45b on the rear side of the mounting area B of the back plate 42a. More specifically, the adjusting member 55 is supported so that both left and right ends can be moved in the vertical direction on both left and right sides forming the back duct 45b.

Here, the mounting area B of the back plate 42a is an area extending from the lower part of the uppermost product storage shelf 54 to the lower part of the fourth product storage shelf 54 from the top, and is the uppermost product storage shelf 54. The height level of the lower part of the product storage shelf 54 in the second stage from the top, the lower part of the product storage shelf 54 in the third stage from the top, and the lower part of the product storage shelf 54 in the fourth stage from the top. A through hole 42b is formed in the hole 42b.

The adjusting member 55 can move along the vertical direction between the reference position shown in FIG. 5 and the advancing position shown in FIG. 6, and is normally elastic of the leaf spring member 551 attached to the upper end portion 55a. It is placed in the reference position by the restoring force and the urging force of the urging means (not shown) provided as needed. The advance position is below the reference position.

When such an adjusting member 55 is arranged at a reference position, the communication port 46c is closed by the upper end portion 55a while maintaining the communication state between the back duct 45b and the upper duct 45c. On the other hand, when the adjusting member 55 is arranged at the advanced position, the communication port 46c is opened and the leaf spring member 551 regulates the communication state between the back duct 45b and the upper duct 45c.

The adjusting member 55 is provided with a plurality of (four in the illustrated example) protrusions 552. These protrusions 552 are formed so as to project forward corresponding to each through hole 42b when the adjusting member 55 is arranged at a reference position. The front surface 552a of the protrusion 552 is an inclined surface that gradually inclines forward as it goes downward.

The intermediate duct 60 has a substantially flat plate shape as a whole. The structure of the intermediate duct 60 will be described later, but the rear end portion of the intermediate duct 60 abuts on the adjusting member 55 through the through hole 42b of any height level provided in the mounting area B of the back plate 42a. Therefore, the ventilation passage 45 (rear duct 45b) is blocked and the storage chamber 44 is detachably attached to the storage chamber 44.

The intermediate duct 60 is composed of an intermediate duct main body 61. A wind tunnel 611 is provided inside the intermediate duct main body 61. The wind tunnel 611 extends along the anteroposterior direction. The intermediate duct main body 61 is provided with an introduction port 612 and an intermediate air outlet 613.

The introduction port 612 is formed on the lower surface of the rear end portion of the intermediate duct main body 61 and communicates with the wind tunnel 611. It is an opening for introducing the air passing through the rear duct 45b into the wind tunnel 611. The intermediate outlet 613 is formed on the lower surface of the front end portion of the intermediate duct main body 61 and communicates with the wind tunnel 611. The intermediate outlet 613 is an opening for blowing air passing through the wind tunnel 611.

When such an intermediate duct 60 penetrates the through hole 42b from the front, the rear end portion of the intermediate duct 60 comes into contact with the front surface 552a of the protrusion 552 corresponding to the through hole 42b. Since the front surface 552a of the protrusion 552 is an inclined surface that gradually inclines forward as it goes downward as described above, the rear end portion of the intermediate duct 60 penetrating the through hole 42b is in sliding contact with the front surface 552a. The adjusting member 55 moves downward from the reference position against the elastic restoring force (or the urging force of the urging means) of the leaf spring member 551. After that, as shown in FIG. 6, the rear end portion of the intermediate duct 60 comes into contact with the front surface 553 on the upper side of the protrusion 552, so that the intermediate duct 60 blocks the back duct 45b and the adjusting member 55 advances. Placed in position. By arranging the adjusting member 55 at the advanced position in this way, the communication port 46c is opened.

The opening / closing door mechanism 65 has an opening / closing door 651. The opening / closing door 651 has a size sufficient to close the discharge port 46b, and is provided so as to be swingable around the axis of the opening / closing shaft portion 652 extending in the left-right direction. The opening / closing door 651 opens the discharge port 46b when swinging upward, while closing the discharge port 46b when swinging downward. In such an opening / closing door mechanism 65, the opening / closing door 651 may automatically swing in conjunction with the movement of the adjusting member 55, or may swing manually.

In the showcase 2 having the above-described configuration, when the intermediate duct 60 is not attached, the opening / closing door 651 is swung upward to open the discharge port 46b. When the intermediate duct 60 is not attached, the adjusting member 55 is arranged at the reference position, so that the communication port 46c is closed.

Then, with the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve 51 adjusted to a predetermined size, the compressor 49, the blower fan 47, and the exhaust heat fan 53 are driven to drive the lower duct of the ventilation passage 45 through the suction port 41b. The air sucked into the 45a is passed through the lower duct 45a and then through the back duct 45b.

The air passing through the rear duct 45b is cooled by the evaporator 48, and the air cooled by the evaporator 48 is passed through the rear duct 45b and the upper duct 45c in this order, and is blown out from the outlet 43b toward the suction port 41b. The air blown out from the air outlet 43b can be circulated in the storage chamber 44 and the air passage 45 by passing the air blown out from the air outlet 43b through the front end region of the product loading shelf 54 and then sucking the air into the ventilation passage 45 from the suction port 41b. can. As a result, an air curtain made of air cooled by the evaporator 48 can be formed on the front surface of the storage chamber 44.

Since the air curtain is formed on the front surface of the storage chamber 44 by the air (cold air) blown out from the outlet 43b in this way, the entire storage chamber 44 can be cooled. As a result, the product in the storage chamber 44 can be cooled and held at a desired temperature.

By the way, the air passing around the condenser 50 by driving the exhaust heat fan 53 is heated by condensing the refrigerant passing through the condenser 50. That is, the air is heated by the heat acquired from the air passing through the ventilation passage 45 by the evaporator 48. The air that has passed around the condenser 50 in this way passes backward inside the machine room 52, and then the rear surface of the machine room 52 is blocked, so that the air has passed from the entrance 46a to the heat exhaust duct 46. It enters, passes through the heat exhaust duct 46 upward, and is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 46b. That is, the exhaust heat duct 46 is provided so as to be partitioned by the back duct 45b, and is for discharging the air heated by the heat acquired from the air passing through the ventilation passage 45 by the evaporator 48 to the outside. Is.

Further, in the showcase 2, when the intermediate duct 60 is attached as shown in FIG. 6, the adjusting member 55 is arranged at the advanced position and the communication port 46c is opened. Further, the opening / closing door 651 is swung downward to close the discharge port 46b.

Then, with the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve 51 adjusted to a predetermined size, the compressor 49, the blower fan 47, and the exhaust heat fan 53 are driven to drive the lower duct of the ventilation passage 45 through the suction port 41b. The air sucked into the 45a is passed through the lower duct 45a and then through the back duct 45b.

The air passing through the rear duct 45b is cooled by the evaporator 48, the air cooled by the evaporator 48 is introduced into the wind tunnel 611 from the introduction port 612, and the air passing through the wind tunnel 611 is introduced from the intermediate outlet 613 to the suction port 41b. Blow out toward. The air blown out from the intermediate outlet 613 is circulated in the storage chamber 44 and the ventilation passage 45 by passing through the front end region of the product loading shelf 54 and then sucking the air into the ventilation passage 45 from the suction port 41b. Can be done. As a result, an air curtain with air cooled by the evaporator 48 can be formed on the front surface of the lower region of the intermediate duct 60 in the storage chamber 44.

In this way, the air (cold air) blown out from the intermediate outlet 613 forms an air curtain in front of the lower region of the intermediate duct 60, so that the lower region of the intermediate duct 60 in the storage chamber 44 is above the intermediate duct 60. It can be cooled more than the area.

The air passing around the condenser 50 by driving the exhaust heat fan 53 is heated by condensing the refrigerant passing through the condenser 50. The air that has passed around the condenser 50 in this way passes backward inside the machine room 52, then enters the heat exhaust duct 46 from the entrance 46a, and the heat exhaust duct 46 is directed upward. It passes through, enters the duct 45c above the communication port 46c, passes through, and is blown downward from the outlet 43b. By the air blown out from the air outlet 43b, the upper region of the intermediate duct 60 can be set to a high temperature region of room temperature or higher, and the product placed on the product storage shelf 54 in the upper region can be brought to a desired temperature. Can be adjusted.

In the showcase 2 according to the second embodiment described above, when the adjusting member 55 and the opening / closing door mechanism 65 are not equipped with the intermediate duct 60, the air passing through the heat exhaust duct 46 is discharged to the outside. On the other hand, when the intermediate duct 60 is installed, the exhaust heat duct 46 and a part of the ventilation passage 45 are communicated with each other to blow out the air passing through the exhaust heat duct 46 from the outlet 43b. It constitutes an adjustment means.

Then, according to such a showcase 2, when the intermediate duct 60 is attached, the exhaust heat duct 46 and a part of the ventilation passage 45 are communicated with each other to blow the air passing through the exhaust heat duct 46. Since it is blown out from the outlet 43b, it is possible to heat the upper region of the intermediate duct 60 by effectively utilizing the exhaust heat, and it is not necessary to use a heating means such as a heater. Further, even when the upper region of the intermediate duct 60 is heated by using the heating means, it can be supplementarily heated by exhaust heat, so that the amount of electric power required to drive the heating means can be reduced. Therefore, even when the upper region of the mounted intermediate duct 60 is set to a high temperature region of room temperature or higher, the power consumption can be reduced.

Each configuration shown in the above-described first and second embodiments shows an example of the emission adjusting means, and does not necessarily have to be physically shown. That is, the form of distribution / integration of each device and component is not limited to the one shown in the figure, and all or part of the device and components are functionally or physically distributed / integrated in arbitrary units according to various usage conditions. Can be configured.

In the first embodiment described above, when the intermediate duct 25 is attached, the communication port 16c is opened and the air that has passed through the heat exhaust duct 16 is introduced into the upper duct 15c. However, in the present invention, the communication port 16c is introduced. When opening the mouth 16c, it is preferable to shield the back duct 15b and the upper duct 15c with a shielding member (not shown). According to this, the air that has passed through the communication port 16c can be circulated toward the air outlet 13b, and the amount of air blown out by the air outlet 13b can be sufficiently secured. Although it has been described here that the back duct 15b and the upper duct 15c are shielded by a shielding member, in the present invention, each through hole 12b on the upper side of the intermediate duct 25 is closed by a closing member (not shown). You may do so. Also by this, the air passing through the communication port 16c can be circulated toward the air outlet 13b, and the amount of air blown out by the air outlet 13b can be sufficiently secured.

In the first embodiment described above, when the intermediate duct 25 is attached, the control unit 30 communicates the exhaust heat duct 16 with a part of the ventilation passage 15 and blows the air passing through the exhaust heat duct 16. Although it was designed to blow out from the outlet 13b, in the present invention, it may be as follows.

That is, it is equipped with an internal temperature sensor that detects the internal temperature of the storage chamber above the storage chamber, specifically, above the location where the intermediate duct is mounted, and the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor (internal temperature). The opening / closing mechanism may be operated accordingly.

That is, when the intermediate duct is installed, the internal temperature is detected by the internal temperature sensor, and when the detected internal temperature is equal to or less than the preset lower limit threshold value, the control unit performs a part of the heat exhaust duct and the ventilation passage. And may be communicated with each other so that the air that has passed through the exhaust heat duct is blown out from the air outlet. On the other hand, when the detected internal temperature is higher than the lower limit threshold value and exceeds the preset upper limit threshold value, the communication port is closed and the air that has passed through the exhaust heat duct is closed as in the case where the intermediate duct is not installed. Is not blown out from the outlet.

According to this, not only the intermediate duct is installed, but also the inflow of air passing through the exhaust heat duct into the storage chamber can be controlled based on the internal temperature on the upper side of the installed intermediate duct, and the temperature can be finely adjusted. Adjustment becomes possible.

1 ... Showcase, 10 ... Case body, 11b ... Suction port, 12a ... Back plate, 12b ... Through hole, 13b ... Air outlet, 14 ... Storage room, 15 ... Ventilation passage, 15a ... Lower duct, 15b ... Back duct , 15c ... Upper duct, 16 ... Heat exhaust duct, 16a ... Entrance, 16b ... Discharge port, 16c ... Communication port, 17 ... Blower fan, 18 ... Evaporator, 22 ... Machine room, 23 ... Exhaust fan, 24 ... Product storage shelf, 25 ... Intermediate duct, 25a ... Intermediate duct body, 251 ... Wind cave, 252 ... Introduction port, 253 ... Intermediate outlet, 30 ... Control unit, 32 ... Mounting detection unit, 34 ... Opening / closing mechanism, 341 ... Opening / closing Motor, 342 ... Flapper member, 343 ... Shaft.

Claims (3)

On the front side of the back plate that extends vertically, there is a storage room with multiple product storage shelves along the vertical direction.
A blower fan that circulates air between the air passage that communicates with the storage chamber through the air outlet formed in the front upper part of the storage chamber and the suction port formed in the front lower portion of the storage chamber, and the storage chamber. When,
A cooler that cools the air circulated by the blower fan,
In order to discharge the air heated by the heat acquired from the air by the cooler to the outside, which is provided in a manner of being partitioned by the back duct constituting the ventilation passage installed on the rear side of the back plate. Heat exhaust duct and
When mounted under an arbitrary product storage shelf in a manner of penetrating the back plate, the storage chamber is divided into upper and lower parts while blocking the back duct, and the air passing through the ventilation passage is supplied to the rear end. It is provided with an intermediate duct that is introduced from the introduction port provided in the portion and blown out from the intermediate outlet provided at the front end portion, and when the intermediate duct is attached, the lower region and the upper portion of the intermediate duct in the storage chamber are provided. It is a showcase that makes the range into two different temperature ranges.
When the intermediate duct is not installed, the air passing through the heat exhaust duct is allowed to be discharged to the outside, while when the intermediate duct is installed, the heat exhaust duct and the ventilation passage are provided. A showcase characterized in that it is provided with an exhaust adjusting means for blowing out air that has passed through the exhaust heat duct from the outlet by communicating with a part of the air. The emission adjusting means is
An opening / closing mechanism capable of selectively closing the discharge port that serves as the outlet of the heat exhaust duct and the communication port that communicates the heat exhaust duct with a part of the ventilation passage.
A mounting detection unit that detects whether or not the intermediate duct is mounted, and
When it is detected by the mounting detection unit that the intermediate duct is not mounted, the opening / closing mechanism is driven to close the communication port, while the mounting detection unit mounts the intermediate duct. The showcase according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that drives the opening / closing mechanism to close the discharge port when detected. The emission adjusting means is
In the normal state, the communication port that communicates the heat exhaust duct and a part of the ventilation passage is closed by being placed at the reference position, while when the intermediate duct is attached, it is below the reference position. An adjusting member that opens the communication port by moving toward the advance position of
An opening / closing door that opens the discharge port that is the outlet of the heat exhaust duct when the adjusting member is arranged at the reference position, and closes the discharge port when the adjusting member moves to the advanced position. The showcase according to claim 1, wherein the showcase is provided with a mechanism.

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