JP2022164316A - Heat insulating box body and heat insulating door - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a heat insulating box body and a heat insulating door in which heat insulating performance and an internal volume are improved to realize energy saving and space saving.SOLUTION: A heat insulating box body or heat insulating door comprises a heat insulating body composed of: a plurality of metal plates arranged oppositely; a sealing unit made of a material different from that of the metal plates, which seals the outer peripheral sides of the plurality of metal plates; and a decompression space surrounded by the plurality of metal plates. Further, it may have an outer box made of a steel plate, the heat insulating body may be arranged so as to face the inner surface of the outer box, and instead of the outer box made of a steel plate, the heat insulating body may be used to form a design surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5A

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an insulated box body and an insulated door.

For example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are known as conventional heat insulating boxes. In Patent Document 1, "In a refrigerator provided with rigid urethane foam and a vacuum insulation material between an outer box and an inner box, the vacuum heat insulating material has an aluminum deposition film on one side and a metal foil on the other side. (Claim 8). In addition, in Patent Document 2, ``The outer box structure is formed by abutting and fixing two metal plates having a recess to form the pressure-reduced space with the recess, and the metal plate as a part of the outer box. The outer circumference of the plate is fixed to the outer case" (Claim 4).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-20148 JP 2016-80281 A

The vacuum heat insulating material described in Patent Document 1 has been generally used in the past, and is formed by inserting a core material such as glass wool into a skin material laminated with a film and evacuating the inside. . However, with such a conventional vacuum insulation material, there is a limit to further improving the thermal conductivity of the heat insulating box and the heat insulating door, and further reducing the wall thickness of the heat insulating box and the heat insulating door. Further, in the outer box structure described in Patent Document 2, welding, caulking, or the like is used in the portion where the two metal plates are butted together, so there is a possibility that heat bridging may occur in this portion.

In view of the above problems, the heat insulating box body or the heat insulating door of the present invention includes a plurality of metal plates facing each other, and a sealing portion made of a material different from that of the metal plates, which seals the outer peripheral sides of the plurality of metal plates. and a vacuum space surrounded by the plurality of metal plates.

The front view of the refrigerator which concerns on this embodiment. AA sectional view of FIG. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The plane schematic diagram which shows an example of the vacuum insulation panel which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line A-A′ of FIG. 3A. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Side sectional drawing of the refrigerator which concerns on Example 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a partial horizontal cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 is a partial horizontal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to a modification of Embodiment 1; 1 is a horizontal sectional view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1; FIG. FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to Modification 1 of Embodiment 1; FIG. 8 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to Modification 2 of Embodiment 1; FIG. 8 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to Modification 3 of Embodiment 1; FIG. 8 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to Modification 4 of Embodiment 1; FIG. 10 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to Modification 5 of Embodiment 1; FIG. 11 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to Modification 6 of Embodiment 1; FIG. 11 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to Modification 7 of Embodiment 1; FIG. 11 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to Modification 8 of Embodiment 1; FIG. 11 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to Modification 9 of Embodiment 1; FIG. 11 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to Modification 10 of Embodiment 1; FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment; The horizontal sectional view of the refrigerator which concerns on Example 2. FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the vacuum insulation panel and the heat radiation pipe in Embodiment 2; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a vacuum heat insulating panel used in a refrigerator according to a modification of Example 2; FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view of a heat insulating door according to Example 3; FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of a heat insulating door according to Example 3;

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

First, the overall configuration of the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the refrigerator 1 has storage compartments in the order from top to bottom: a refrigerating compartment 2, an ice making compartment 3, an upper freezing compartment 4, a lower freezing compartment 5, and a vegetable compartment 6. The front openings are provided with heat insulating doors for opening and closing these openings. The arrangement of each storage room is not limited to this.

The heat-insulating doors include rotating refrigerating compartment doors 2a and 2b that rotate about hinges (not shown), a drawer-type ice making compartment door 3a, an upper freezing compartment door 4a, a lower freezing compartment door 5a, and a vegetable compartment. It consists of a door 6a. A vacuum heat insulating panel 30 (not shown in FIG. 2) is arranged inside each heat insulating door, and the space other than the vacuum heat insulating panel 30 is filled with foam heat insulating material 15 such as rigid urethane foam. . The details of the configuration of the vacuum insulation panel 30 will be described later.

The heat insulating box body of the refrigerator 1 includes an outer box 7 made of steel plate and an inner box 8 made of synthetic resin, and a space formed by the outer box 7 and the inner box 8 is provided with a heat insulating layer to provide heat insulation. Each storage room in the box is insulated from the outside. The outer box 7 is composed of a top plate 7a, left and right side plates 7b and 7c (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), a rear plate 7d and a bottom plate 7e, and the top plate 7a and the side plates 7b and 7c are integrated. The rear plate 7d and the bottom plate 7e are formed by bending, and are fixed to the top plate 7a and the side plates 7b and 7c afterward to be integrated.

The heat insulating layer portion of the heat insulating box is filled with foamed heat insulating material 15 such as rigid urethane foam, or filled with a molded heat insulating material that has been previously foam-molded outside the heat insulating box. Vacuum insulation panels 30 are arranged on, for example, the sides and back of the insulation box.

A first heat insulating partition 9 separates the refrigerator compartment 2 from the ice making compartment 3 and the upper freezer compartment 4 , and a second heat insulator partition 10 separates the lower freezer compartment 5 from the vegetable compartment 6 . These heat insulating partitions may be composed of foam heat insulating material and vacuum heat insulating material using glass wool, or vacuum heat insulating panels 30 may be provided.

Furthermore, the refrigerator 1 is provided with a cooler for cooling each storage compartment to a predetermined temperature range. In this embodiment, a first cooler 11a for cooling the refrigerator compartment 2 and a second cooler 11b for cooling the ice making compartment 3, the upper freezer compartment 4, the lower freezer compartment 5, and the vegetable compartment 6 are provided. However, the number of coolers and the storage chambers to be cooled are not limited to this. Compressor 12 for compressing the refrigerant, heat dissipation means for dissipating heat from the refrigerant sent from the compressor 12 (condenser and heat dissipation pipe 13 not shown), decompression means for decompressing the refrigerant sent from the heat dissipation means (capillary not shown) A refrigerating cycle is configured by connecting a tube) and a cooler (evaporator) in which the refrigerant sent from the decompression means evaporates and cools the air. In addition, since the compressor 12 and the condenser arranged in the lower part of the back surface of the heat insulating box are parts that generate a large amount of heat, the inside of the bottom plate 7e is also provided with a vacuum heat insulating material and a vacuum insulation material in order to prevent heat from entering the chamber. A heat insulating panel 30 is placed.

A conventional vacuum heat insulating material generally consists of glass wool as a core material, a skin material formed by pasting a plurality of resin sheets together, and an adsorbent that adsorbs gas. Since the melting point of the resin sheet itself is low and polyethylene is used for the welding layer for bonding the resin sheets together, it has been difficult to raise the heating temperature. In addition, glass wool with a small fiber diameter is used to increase the porosity. was getting higher. As a result, there is a limit to the further improvement in thermal conductivity of vacuum insulation materials using glass wool. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a plurality of metal plates adhered by a sealing material and a pressure-reduced space surrounded by the plurality of metal plates are provided, and the sealing material is made of a material different from that of the metal plate. A heat-insulating box and a heat-insulating door were constructed using the vacuum heat-insulating panel 30 .

[Configuration of vacuum insulation panel]
FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view showing an example of the vacuum insulation panel 30 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA' of FIG. 3A.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the vacuum insulation panel 30 according to the present embodiment has a pair of metal plates 31 and 32 whose main surfaces face each other with a predetermined gap. A decompression space 34 is formed by being sealed by the portion 33 . Spacers 35 for maintaining a predetermined interval are distributed in the decompression space 34 in the form of a planar lattice.

At least one of the pair of metal plates 31 and 32 is formed with an exhaust port 37 for evacuating the decompressed space 34 . It is sealed with a stop portion 36 .

The degree of vacuum in the reduced pressure space 34 is preferably less than 1×10 ⁻¹ Pa, more preferably 5×10 ⁻² Pa or less. In this embodiment, a vacuum degree of less than 1×10 ⁻¹ Pa is defined as high vacuum. Incidentally, the degree of vacuum of a conventional vacuum insulation material using glass wool is on the order of 10 ⁰ Pa (1 to 9 Pa), which is in the category of medium vacuum.

In the vacuum insulation panel 30 according to the present embodiment, the metal plates 31 and 32, which are outer packaging materials, are not directly joined to each other but are joined through the outer peripheral sealing portion 33, and are formed between the metal plates 31 and 32. Since the decompression space 34 is in a high vacuum state, it exhibits a lower thermal conductivity (less than 2 mW/(m·K) at room temperature) as compared with the conventional vacuum insulation material using glass wool. The interval between the metal plates 31 and 32 (the height of the decompressed space 34) may be appropriately set within the range of 0.2 mm or more and 18 mm or less so as to satisfy the thermal conductivity required for refrigerators. Note that it is not necessary to achieve the required thermal conductivity with only one vacuum insulation panel 30, and the thermal conductivity may be adjusted by stacking a plurality of vacuum insulation panels 30 in the thickness direction.

Next, each component constituting the vacuum insulation panel 30 will be described in more detail.

(metal plate, metal lid)
The metal plates 31 and 32 and the metal lid 38 have rigidity to withstand the surface pressure of the atmospheric pressure (rigidity to the extent that the height of the reduced pressure space 34 does not become zero due to the stress caused by the differential pressure between the outside and the reduced pressure space 34). It is necessary to use a metal material that has The thicknesses of the metal plates 31 and 32 and the metal lid 38 are preferably 0.1 mm or more from the viewpoint of rigidity and airtightness, and preferably 1 mm or less from the viewpoint of reducing the weight of the vacuum insulation panel 30 . The rigidity of the vacuum heat insulating panel 30 is higher than that of the vacuum heat insulating material 18 which is a thin metal covering material, and the thickness of the metal plates 31 and 32 is, for example, 0.3 mm or more.

As materials for the metal plates 31 and 32 and the metal lid 38, for example, alloy steel plate, stainless steel plate, or aluminum alloy plate can be used, but stainless steel plate is preferably used from the viewpoint of corrosion resistance and strength. The metal plates 31, 32 and the metal lid 38 may be made of the same material, or may be a combination of different materials. The main surface size (length x width) of the metal plates 31 and 32 is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately matched to the size of the refrigerator using the vacuum insulation panel 30 of the present embodiment.

The shape and size of the exhaust port 37 are not particularly limited as long as the vacuum space 34 can be efficiently evacuated. It is preferable to control the width to be equal to or less than the width of the stopping portion 33 . The position of the exhaust port 37 is also not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of manufacturability of the vacuum insulation panel 30, it is more convenient to position it in the vicinity of the peripheral sealing portion 33. FIG.

(Spacer)
The spacer 35 is used to maintain the height of the depressurized space 34 (the distance between the pair of metal plates 31 and 32 facing each other). In order to suppress contact heat transfer as much as possible, it is preferable to configure the spacer 35 with a spherical body or a columnar body made of a glass material or a resin material having a thermal conductivity lower than that of metal. More preferably, the spacers 35 are made of glass having a high melting point so that even if the metal plates 31 and 32 are heated to, for example, 200° C. or higher for vacuum sealing, the spacers 35 hardly generate gas. Moreover, moisture and gas adhering to the surface of the spacer 35 can be removed. As a result, the decompression space 34 formed between the metal plates 31 and 32 can be brought into a high vacuum state. More preferably, the contact heat transfer amount can be suppressed by configuring the spacer 35 with a spherical body having a small contact area with the metal plates 31 and 32 .

Here, from the viewpoint of suppressing the amount of contact heat transfer between the pair of metal plates 31 and 32 as much as possible, it is preferable that the spacers 35 are dispersed in the decompression space 34 in a planar grid pattern. There is no particular limitation on the mode of the planar lattices to be dispersedly arranged, and for example, one or more of the group consisting of square lattices, rectangular lattices, equilateral triangular lattices, rhombic lattices and parallel lattices can be appropriately selected. FIG. 3A described above shows an example in which the spherical spacers 35 are distributed in a square lattice manner. The size of the spacer 35 may be appropriately selected according to the desired height of the decompression space 34 (desired distance between the pair of metal plates 31 and 32 facing each other), and is preferably 0.2 mm or more and 18 mm or less, for example. If the spacer 35 is a sphere, it can be prevented from moving during the manufacturing process of the vacuum insulation panel 30 by fixing the sphere to either side of the metal plates 31 and 32 with an adhesive.

(Peripheral sealing portion 33, lid sealing portion 36)
Like the spacer 35, the peripheral sealing portion 33 and the lid sealing portion 36 need not only the function of suppressing contact heat transfer, but also the function of preventing gas from entering from the outside unlike the spacer 35. be. For this reason, the peripheral sealing portion 33 and the lid sealing portion 36 are made of a glass material or a resin material that not only has a lower thermal conductivity than the metal plates 31 and 32, but also has a low gas permeability. A glass material is preferably used. Further, the glass sealing material used for the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 and other glass sealing material for sealing the metal lid 38 have a softening point of 330° C. from the viewpoint of reducing the environmental load and manufacturability of the vacuum insulation panel. A lead-free glass material with a low melting point of 0° C. or less is preferred. The softening point of the glass sealing material is more preferably 300° C. or lower, still more preferably 270° C. or lower. Also, the other glass sealing material is preferably a glass material having a softening point lower than that of the glass sealing material by 50° C. or more. When a resin material is used for the peripheral sealing portion 33 and the lid sealing portion 36, the melting point is lower than that of a glass material, so the vacuum insulation panel 30 is less vacuumed, but the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

By using the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 having a lower thermal conductivity than the metal plates 31 and 32 on the side periphery of the vacuum heat insulating panel 30, a structure in which heat bridging in the side periphery is suppressed can be achieved. In addition, even if the heat radiation pipe 13 is arranged in contact with or close to the thickness region of the vacuum heat insulation panel 30, that is, the region overlapping the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 in the side view of the vacuum heat insulation panel 30, the heat radiation pipe 13 does not reach the storage chamber. can suppress heat transfer to

[Manufacturing method of vacuum insulation panel]
A first heat insulating plate (for example, the metal plate 31) is formed by accumulating and applying a glass sealing material to the peripheral edge region of one of the pair of metal plates 31 and 32 constituting the vacuum heat insulating panel 30 and pre-baking it. prepare. Next, the first heat insulating plate and the second heat insulating plate (for example, the metal plate 32) are placed facing each other so that the surface of the first heat insulating plate to which the glass sealing material is calcined faces the inside, and the glass sealing material is softened. The temperature is raised to a temperature of −10° C. or higher and a softening point of +20° C. or lower, and the first and second heat insulating plates are sealed to form the peripheral sealing portion 33 . After that, while evacuating the decompressed space 34 from the exhaust port 37, the temperature is raised to a temperature higher than the softening point of the other glass sealing material and lower than the softening point +20° C., and the metal lid 38 and the other glass sealing material are heated. The exhaust port 37 is vacuum-sealed using (the lid sealing portion 36).

The vacuum insulation panel 30 according to the present embodiment can reduce the thickness of the heat insulator without deteriorating the thermal conductivity of the heat insulator as compared with a vacuum heat insulator using glass wool. Therefore, if the vacuum insulation panel 30 according to the present embodiment is used for the heat insulation box body and the heat insulation door of a refrigerator, the heat insulation performance and the internal volume can be improved, and it is possible to realize a refrigerator that achieves both energy saving and space saving. Become.

Embodiment 1 is an example in which the above-described vacuum insulation panel 30 is arranged between the outer box 7 and the inner box 8 of the heat insulating box body of a refrigerator, and will be described below with reference to FIGS. .

4 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment, FIG. 5A is a partial horizontal cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment. It is a diagram. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the heat insulating box of this embodiment has vacuum heat insulating panels 30 on its left and right sides and on its rear surface. In addition to the vacuum insulation panel 30, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 12 flows between the outer casing 7 and the inner casing 8, and the heat of the refrigerant is radiated from the outer surface of the outer casing 7 to the outside air. A pipe 13 is also provided. The heat radiating pipe 13 extends vertically and longitudinally along the side plates 7b, 7c and the rear plate 7d and extends in the left-right direction along the top plate 7a while being substantially in contact with the inner surface of the outer case 7 made of steel. . As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the heat radiation pipe 13 is fixed to the inner surface of the outer case 7 by an aluminum tape 100 or the like. It can be in any state. The vacuum insulation panel 30 may be fixed to the outer box 7 and/or the inner box 8 by welding, fusing, gluing, or the like. As the adhesion, for example, a hot melt, an adhesive obtained by introducing nitrogen gas or the like into a hot melt to foam, a single-sided tape, a double-sided tape, or the like can be used.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5B, the vacuum insulation panel 30 is manufactured so that the metal plate 31 protrudes from the outer end of the outer peripheral sealing portion 33, and the metal plate 31 is structured so as to be in direct contact with the heat dissipation pipe 13. may By doing so, the heat of the heat radiation pipe 13 can be released to the outside through the metal plate 31, so that the heat radiation performance can be improved.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 6, the rear corner of the inner box 8 is inclined linearly or curvedly when viewed from above, and the space between the inner box 8 and the outer box 7 is is getting wider. This space is provided with a foamed heat insulating material 15 that is foam-filled when the heat insulating box is assembled, or a molded heat insulating material that has been foam-molded in advance. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, at the left and right front opening ends of the heat insulating box, a foam insulating material 15 is filled between the inner box 8 and the outer box 7 in order to secure the strength of the heat insulating box as a whole. ing. A molded heat insulating material such as polystyrene foam may be used instead of the heat insulating foam material 15 as long as the strength can be secured. The vacuum heat insulating panel 30 is fixed to the inner surface of the outer box 7 with an adhesive.

Here, the heat insulation performance in the thickness direction of the region where the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 of the vacuum insulation panel 30 is located is lower than that of the other region of the vacuum insulation panel 30, that is, the region where the spacers 35 and the reduced pressure space 34 are located. . Therefore, if only the peripheral sealing portion 33 exists between the inner box 8 and the outer box 7, cold heat in the refrigerator is transmitted to the outer surface of the outer box 7, and dew condensation may occur partially. . As the condensation grows, it may drip from the surface of the outer case 7 onto the floor surface, or cause mold and the like.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 6, the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 is positioned behind the maximum width region of the inner box 8 and outside the maximum depth region of the inner box 8. was placed in The maximum width area of the inner box 8 means the front-rear direction range of the inner box 8 in the area where the inner box 8 has the maximum lateral dimension, and the maximum depth area of the inner box 8 means the area where the inner box 8 has the maximum depth. means the lateral range of the inner box 8 in the region where Since the space formed at the rear corner of the inner box 8 contains a relatively thick foamed heat insulating material 15 or molded heat insulating material, heat transfer through the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 is reduced, and dew condensation is suppressed. . Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the heat radiation pipe 13 is positioned near the outer periphery sealing portion 33 so as to face the outer periphery sealing portion 33 , the heat from the heat radiation pipe 13 causes the outer periphery sealing portion 33 to break. It is possible to suppress overcooling and prevent dew condensation as a result.

In addition, since the vacuum insulation panel 30 is difficult to press and corrugate compared to a vacuum insulation material using glass wool, it is also difficult to form a stepped shape or a wave shape that avoids the heat radiation pipe 13 . However, as in the present embodiment, by arranging the heat radiation pipe 13 inside the outer box 7 in a region where the vacuum insulation panel 30 does not exist, it is possible to prevent the wall of the heat insulation box from becoming thick, It becomes possible to secure the internal volume of the refrigerator.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the connection portion 7z of the outer cases 7b and 7c may be filled with a foam insulation material 15 or may be an air layer.

[Modification of Embodiment 1]
A modification of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7J. 7A to 7J are horizontal sectional views of refrigerators according to modified examples 1 to 10, respectively.

In Modification 1 shown in FIG. 7A, the vacuum insulation panels 30 arranged on the left and right sides are extended to the front opening end by not providing the foam insulation material 15 or the molded insulation material at the front opening end of the insulation box. It has a configuration. Since the vacuum insulation panel 30 is made by arranging the metal plates 31 and 32 facing each other, it has higher rigidity than a vacuum insulation material using glass wool. Therefore, as in this modification, the vacuum insulation panel 30 can be extended forward to widen the covered area, and as a result, the insulation performance of the entire insulation box can be improved.

Modification 2 shown in FIG. 7B is provided with a foamed heat insulating material 15 or a molded heat insulating material in addition to the vacuum heat insulating panel 30 between the inner box 8 and the outer box 7 on the left and right side walls of the heat insulating box. It is configured. Since the foamed heat insulating material 15 or the molded heat insulating material is provided closer to the inner box 8 than the vacuum heat insulating panel 30, the strength of shelf ribs and rail members provided on the left and right sides of the inner box 8 can be improved. .

In the modification 3 shown in FIG. 7C, a vacuum insulation panel 30 and a vacuum insulation material 18 using glass wool are provided between the inner box 8 and the outer box 7 on the left and right side walls of the heat insulation box. It is configured. The vacuum heat insulating material 18 using glass wool extends forward from the vacuum heat insulating panel 30 . Since the front region where the vacuum insulation panel 30 cannot be extended due to the heat radiation pipe 13 can be covered with the vacuum insulation material 18 using glass wool, the insulation performance of the entire insulation box can be improved. Also, even if the heat insulation performance of the left and right side walls is not sufficient with only one vacuum heat insulation panel 30, the heat insulation performance can be satisfied by using it together with the vacuum heat insulation material 18 using glass wool.

Modification 4 shown in FIG. 7D has a configuration in which the area covered by the vacuum insulation panels 30 is widened at the rear of the insulation box, and in particular, the vacuum insulation panels 30 arranged on the left and right sides are extended rearward. The rear peripheral sealing portions 33 of the vacuum insulation panels 30 on the left and right sides are located behind the rear surface of the inner box 8, and can suppress dew condensation at the corners of the insulation box. Behind the vacuum insulation panel 30 on the rear surface of the heat insulation box, there is a space provided with a foam insulation material 15 or a molded heat insulation material, and further a heat radiation pipe 13 is laid.

Modification 5 shown in FIG. 7E has a configuration in which the area covered by the vacuum insulation panel 30 is widened at the rear of the insulation box, and in particular, the vacuum insulation panel 30 arranged on the rear surface is extended sideways. The outer peripheral sealing portion 33 of the vacuum insulation panel 30 on the back side is positioned outside the side surface of the inner box 8, so that dew condensation at the corners of the heat insulation box can be suppressed.

In the sixth modification shown in FIG. 7F, the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 of the vacuum insulation panel 30 on the back side is positioned outside the side surfaces of the inner box 8, and glass wool instead of the vacuum insulation panel 30 is provided on the left and right sides. It has a configuration in which a vacuum heat insulating material 18 using In this modification, the vacuum heat insulating materials 18, which are easier to process than the vacuum heat insulating panel 30, are arranged on the left and right sides, and the heat radiating pipes 13 may be provided between the vacuum heat insulating materials 18 and the outer case 7. Therefore, the heat radiating pipes The degree of freedom of the layout of 13 increases. In this way, the vacuum insulation panel 30 is provided on a part of the surface of the heat insulation box, and the other part or the remaining surface is provided with the vacuum insulation material 18, the foam insulation material 15, or the molded insulation material while heat is dissipated. A pipe 13 may be provided.

Modification 7 shown in FIG. 7G has a structure in which unevenness is formed on the surface of the metal plate positioned on the outer case 7 side for the vacuum insulation panels 30 arranged on the left and right side surfaces. Positioning the heat radiating pipe 13 on the uneven surface facilitates the installation of the heat radiating pipe 13 on the side surface of the heat insulating box. In addition, it is desirable that the portion where the unevenness is formed on the metal plate be a region where the spacer 35 does not exist.

Modification 8 shown in FIG. 7H has a configuration in which unevenness is formed on the surface of the metal plate positioned on the outer casing 7 side of the vacuum heat insulating panel 30 arranged on the rear surface. Positioning the heat radiating pipe 13 on the uneven surface facilitates the installation of the heat radiating pipe 13 on the rear surface of the heat insulating box.

In the ninth modification shown in FIG. 7I, the back wall of the heat insulation box is provided with a vacuum heat insulation panel 30, and the left and right side walls are a vacuum heat insulation material 18 using glass wool and a foam heat insulation material 15 or molded and a heat insulating material. Therefore, the heat radiation pipe 13 can be easily installed in contact with the left and right side surfaces of the outer case 7, and the strength of shelf ribs and rail members provided on the left and right side surfaces of the inner case 8 can be increased.

In the modification 10 shown in FIG. 7J, the left and right side walls of the heat insulating box are provided with a foam heat insulating material 15 or molded heat insulating material for securing strength and a vacuum heat insulating panel 30 for enhancing heat insulating performance. On the other hand, the rear wall is provided with a vacuum heat insulating material 18 using glass wool in order to facilitate the installation of the heat radiation pipe 13 between the outer casing 7 and the outer casing 7 . In addition, in this modification, the rear peripheral sealing portions 33 of the vacuum insulation panels 30 on the left and right sides are positioned behind the back surface of the inner box 8, and dew condensation at the corners of the heat insulating box is further prevented. can be suppressed.

These modifications are not independent of each other, and can be appropriately combined within a range that does not interfere.

Embodiment 2 is an example of a heat insulation box body of a refrigerator in which the outer box is omitted and is mainly composed of a vacuum heat insulation panel 30 and an inner box 8, which will be described below with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. FIG.

8 is a side sectional view of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment, FIG. 9 is a horizontal sectional view of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a vacuum insulation panel and a heat radiation pipe in the second embodiment. is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship of. Vacuum insulation using glass wool is covered with a skin material made of a resin sheet, so if the skin material is rubbed or stressed, the vacuum may be broken and the thermal conductivity may increase. . However, since the vacuum insulation panel 30 described above is configured by arranging the metal plates 31 and 32 facing each other, it is resistant to rubbing and stress and has a high surface design. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the outer box 7 made of steel is replaced with a vacuum insulation panel 30. As shown in FIGS.

In this way, the outer side (outer side of the refrigerator) of the vacuum heat insulating panel 30 is a surface that can be visually observed by the user, and serves as a design surface of the refrigerator. In this embodiment, since the inner box 8 is provided inside the vacuum insulation panel 30 (on the storage room side), the inside of the vacuum insulation panel 30 does not constitute the design surface of the refrigerator.

A vacuum insulation panel 30 forms the entire outer shell of the refrigerator. That is, the shape of the vacuum insulation panel 30 is not limited to a rectangle, and may be other polygons. For example, as shown in FIG. A shape having a concave portion 30a when viewed from the short direction is adopted in a portion corresponding to the machine room where the machine chamber is installed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the front projection or left-right projection of the decompressed space of the vacuum insulation panel 30 (the portion excluding the outer peripheral sealing portion 33) at least partially overlaps with the storage space in the inner box 8, The front projection or left-right projection of the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 of the vacuum insulation panel 30 does not overlap at least partially. Specifically, first, at least a part of the rear peripheral sealing portion 33 of the left and right side vacuum insulation panels 30 is positioned behind the rear surface of the inner box 8 (the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 9). It is possible to suppress dew condensation at the corners of the heat insulating box. Furthermore, at least a part of the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 on the side of the back vacuum insulation panel 30 is also positioned outside the side surface of the inner box 8 (the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 9), and the heat insulation box body Condensation at the corners of the A foamed heat insulating material 15 or a molded heat insulating material is provided between the inner box 8 and the vacuum heat insulating panel 30 on the back surface of the heat insulating box body of this embodiment.

As for the heat radiation pipe 13, as shown in FIG. 10, it is installed inside the vacuum insulation panel 30, particularly in the vicinity of the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 (so as to be in contact with or close to the outer peripheral sealing portion 33). desirable. Thereby, the heat of the heat radiation pipe 13 can be easily radiated to the outside of the refrigerator through the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 having a relatively high thermal conductivity. In this embodiment, an example in which the outer box 7 is omitted and the heat insulating box body is configured has been described. can be

In addition, since the outer side of the vacuum insulation panel 30 (the outer side of the refrigerator) is the designed surface of the refrigerator, the surface with the metal lid 38 is configured to be the inner side (the storeroom side), although not shown. As a result, not only is the design improved, but the sealed state by the metal lid 38 can be reliably maintained.

[Modification of Embodiment 2]
A modification of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 11 . FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a vacuum insulation panel used in a refrigerator according to a modification of Example 2. FIG. As described above, since the vacuum insulation panel 30 uses a metal plate, it has a higher surface design than a vacuum insulation material using glass wool. However, there is a possibility that the metal plate may become slightly uneven due to the evacuation. Therefore, in this modified example, the metal plate 31 forming the outer vacuum insulation panel 30, which serves as the design surface of the refrigerator, is made thicker than the inner metal plate 32. As shown in FIG. This further improves the exterior design of the refrigerator.

Embodiment 3 is an example in which a vacuum insulation panel 30 is used instead of a glass or steel outer panel for an insulation door of a refrigerator, and will be described below with reference to FIGS.

12 is a side cross-sectional view of a heat insulating door according to Example 3, and FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view of the heat insulating door according to Example 3. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the heat insulating door of this embodiment includes a vacuum heat insulating panel 30 located on the surface, a frame body 14 extending from the periphery of the vacuum heat insulating panel 30 toward the storage room, and a vacuum heat insulating panel 30 and the frame. and a foam insulation 15 disposed in the space formed by the body 14 .

In the heat insulating door of this embodiment, rail members 16 extending in the front-rear direction are fixed to the left and right sides of the frame 14 on the storage room side, and box-side rails (not shown) are provided on the left and right sides of the storage room. It is possible to move along the In the present embodiment, the rail member 16 is provided in order to explain a drawer type heat insulating door as an example, but it goes without saying that the vacuum heat insulating panel 30 can also be applied to a rotating type heat insulating door.

By constructing the heat insulating door using the vacuum heat insulating panel 30 instead of the conventional vacuum heat insulating material as in this embodiment, the thickness of the heat insulating door can be reduced, and the external dimensions of the refrigerator as a whole can be saved. It is possible to create a space or expand the internal volume. Since the vacuum insulation panel 30 is used as the design surface of the door, the surface with the metal lid 38 is configured to face the inside (the storage room side). As a result, not only is the design improved, but the sealed state by the metal lid 38 can be reliably maintained.

Further, a rectangular packing 17 is provided on the surface of the frame 14 facing the storage compartment so as to match the shape of the front opening of the storage compartment. As shown in FIG. 13, the packing 17 has locking pieces 17a, which are inserted into packing insertion recesses 14a formed in the edge of the frame 14 on the storage chamber side. Thus, the packing 17 is locked to the frame body 14 . In addition, the packing 17 is made of a rubber-based material having a magnet in order to improve the sealing property with the heat insulating box side.

Here, the frame 14 at the location where the packing 17 is locked is formed with a packing insertion recess 14a and the like, and the foam insulation material 15 is thinner than other locations, so that the cold heat in the storage chamber is transferred to the heat insulating door. easily transmitted to the outside of However, in the present embodiment, the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 (the portion having relatively high thermal conductivity) of the vacuum insulation panel 30 is located on the outer peripheral side (door edge side) of the packing insertion recess 14a. . Therefore, cold heat in the storage chamber on the inner peripheral side (door center side) of the packing 17 is insulated in the vacuum space (portion with relatively low thermal conductivity) of the vacuum insulation panel 30, and passes through the outer peripheral sealing portion 33. It is prevented from being transmitted to the outside of the refrigerator. Although it is desirable that the entire outer peripheral sealing portion 33 is located on the outer peripheral side of the packing insertion recess 14a, a certain effect can be obtained even if only a part of the outer peripheral sealing portion 33 is located on the outer peripheral side of the packing insertion recess 14a. can be expected.

In this embodiment, the vacuum insulation panel 30 is positioned on the surface of the heat insulation door, but a glass or steel outer plate may be provided outside the vacuum insulation panel 30 .

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible. For example, in Embodiments 1 and 2 described above, the vacuum insulation panels 30 are used on the left and right side walls and the rear wall of the insulation box, but the vacuum insulation panels are used on the top and bottom walls of the insulation box. 30 may be used. Further, the above-described embodiments are illustrated for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations. Furthermore, it is also possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Moreover, it is also possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Refrigerator 2... Refrigerating compartment 2a... Refrigerating compartment door 3... Ice-making compartment 3a... Ice-making compartment door 4... Upper freezer compartment 4a... Upper freezer compartment door 5... Lower freezer compartment 5a... Lower freezer compartment Door 6... Vegetable compartment 6a... Vegetable compartment door 7... Outer box 7a... Top plate 7b, 7c... Side plate 7d... Back plate 8... Inner box 9... First insulation partition 10... Second 2 Thermal insulation partition 11a First cooler 11b Second cooler 12 Compressor 13 Radiation pipe 14 Frame 15 Foam insulation material 16 Rail member 17 Packing 17a Locking piece 18 Vacuum heat insulating material 30 Vacuum heat insulating panel 31, 32 Metal plate 33 Peripheral sealing portion 34 Depressurized space 35 Spacer 36 Lid sealing portion 37 Exhaust port , 38... metal lid, 100... aluminum tape

Claims (14)

a plurality of metal plates arranged facing each other;
a sealing portion made of a material different from that of the metal plates, which seals the outer peripheral sides of the plurality of metal plates;
and a vacuum space surrounded by a plurality of the metal plates. The heat insulating box according to claim 1,
having an inner box that forms a storage space,
A heat insulating box body in which the front projection of the depressurized space of the heat insulator located on the back surface overlaps at least a part of the storage space, and the front projection of the sealing portion does not overlap at least a part of the storage space. The heat insulating box according to claim 1,
having an inner box forming a storage space,
A heat insulating box body in which the lateral projection of the depressurized space of the heat insulating body located on the side surface overlaps at least a part of the storage space, and the lateral projection of the sealing portion does not overlap at least a part of the storage space. The heat insulating box according to claim 1,
A heat insulating box in which a heat radiating pipe through which a refrigerant discharged by a compressor flows is arranged near the sealing portion. The heat insulating box according to claim 1,
The heat insulating body is a heat insulating box having a shape having a concave portion when viewed from the lateral direction. The heat insulating box according to claim 1,
It has an outer case made of steel plate,
A heat radiating pipe through which the refrigerant discharged by the compressor flows is arranged substantially in contact with a part of the inner surface of the outer case,
A heat insulating box in which the heat insulator is arranged to face another part of the inner surface of the outer box. The heat insulating box according to claim 1,
The metal plate protrudes from the outer end of the sealing portion,
A heat insulating box body in which a heat radiation pipe through which a refrigerant discharged by a compressor flows is substantially in contact with the metal plate. The heat insulating box according to claim 1,
A heat insulating box body in which the heat insulating body forms a design surface. The heat insulating box according to claim 8,
The heat insulating body is a heat insulating box body in which a lid sealing portion different from the sealing portion is provided on the metal plate, which does not form a design surface, among the plurality of metal plates. The heat insulating box according to claim 8,
The heat insulating body is a heat insulating box body in which the metal plate forming the design surface is thicker than the metal plate not forming the design surface. a plurality of metal plates arranged facing each other;
a sealing portion made of a material different from that of the metal plates, which seals the outer peripheral sides of the plurality of metal plates;
and a vacuum space surrounded by a plurality of said metal plates. The insulated door of claim 11, comprising:
A heat insulating door, wherein the heat insulating body forms a design surface. The insulated door of claim 11, comprising:
The heat insulator is an insulated door in which a cover sealing portion different from the sealing portion is provided on the metal plate, which does not form a design surface, among the plurality of metal plates. The insulated door of claim 11, comprising:
In the heat insulator, the metal plate forming the design surface is thicker than the metal plate not forming the design surface.

Images