JP2023003630A - Thawing chamber - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a thawing chamber capable of making a temperature in a chamber more uniform at the time of thawing.SOLUTION: A thawing chamber 1 comprises: a thawing room 3; an air feeding device 24A for taking air of the thawing room 3 and then returning the taken air into the thawing room 3; and a columnar duct 30 having a hollow column shape and provided inside side walls 11B, 11C of the thawing room 3 in a vertical direction. The columnar duct 30 comprises plural blowout holes 33 opened inside the thawing room 3 in the vertical direction. The air feeding device 24A is constituted to blow the air to the thawing room 3 through the plural blow holes 33 by feeding the air taken from the thawing room 3 into the columnar duct 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present technology relates to thawing warehouses.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a thawing chamber for thawing frozen foods such as foods that have been frozen and stored in advance to a temperature suitable for cooking while maintaining quality. In order not to impair the quality of thawing, it is important to keep the temperature in the thawing chamber uniform in addition to controlling the temperature in the thawing chamber. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration in which the air in the thawing chamber is sucked up to adjust the temperature, and then returned to the interior by a fan on the side through a duct that is continuously provided on the back and sides. Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which the air in the thawing chamber is sucked out by a processing unit provided on the back, and after the temperature is adjusted, the air is blown out toward the front of the chamber through a side duct connecting the processing unit and a shelf pillar on the side. is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-130011 JP 2020-148388 A

However, according to the above configuration, insufficient thawing or uneven thawing tends to occur depending on the size of the frozen items to be thawed and the arrangement in the chamber, and there is room for improvement in the uniformity of the temperature inside the thawing chamber.

The present technology has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present technology is to provide a thawing chamber capable of making the temperature inside the thawing chamber more uniform during thawing.

The thawing chamber disclosed herein is a thawing chamber that thaws the frozen matter by sending air into a thawing chamber in which the frozen matter is accommodated, the thawing chamber for accommodating the frozen matter, and the thawing chamber. an air supply device for taking in the air and returning it to the thawing chamber; The duct has a plurality of blow-out holes that open toward the inside of the thawing chamber along the vertical direction, and the air supply device sends the air taken from the thawing chamber into the columnar duct, It has the structure which blows off to the said thawing|defrosting chamber through the said blowing hole of several.

According to the above configuration, since the plurality of blowout holes of the columnar duct are arranged at different positions along the vertical direction, the air in the thawing chamber can be distributed vertically and sent into the refrigerator. Also, the air blown out from the blowing holes can have directivity. As a result, even if a part of the flow of air sent into the refrigerator is blocked by, for example, the frozen items, the flow of air is formed above and below the frozen items. Large disturbance of the air flow in the thawing chamber is suppressed. As a result, the air in the thawing chamber can be circulated more uniformly during thawing, and the temperature in the thawing chamber can be made uniform at a high level.

In a preferred aspect, the thawing chamber is provided with a plurality of the columnar ducts for each of the pair of opposing side walls, and the plurality of the columnar ducts are arranged along the side walls. They are arranged at positions that do not overlap each other in the direction in which the ducts are arranged. According to the above configuration, the air blown out from the blowing holes of the respective columnar ducts circulates in the horizontal direction in the thawing chamber without colliding with each other. As a result, the air in the thawing chamber can be circulated not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction, and the temperature in the thawing chamber can be made uniform at a higher level.

In a preferred aspect, the thawing chamber has a box shape that opens forward, the columnar ducts are provided on left and right side walls, and the air supply device extends upward from the thawing chamber. A structure is provided for taking in air from the thawing chamber, and a channel is provided for sending the air taken from the thawing chamber along the back wall and the bottom wall to the lower ends of the pair of columnar ducts. According to the above configuration, since air is sent to the columnar duct from the side opposite to the direction in which the air is taken in, the air in the thawing chamber can be largely circulated.

In a preferred embodiment, the back wall of the defrosting chamber is provided with a back duct for sending the air sucked out of the defrosting chamber downward into the defrosting chamber, and the back duct is vertically A heating means for heating the air taken in from the thawing chamber is provided inside the rear duct, defining a channel extending in the direction of the thawing chamber. It is preferable in that the defrosting time can be shortened by appropriately warming the air sent into the defrosting chamber by using the heating means. Here, the air heated by the heating means rises relatively easily compared to the cold air. Therefore, when the air taken in from the thawing chamber is heated and then sent to the thawing chamber, by distributing it vertically through the blowout holes of the columnar duct 30, it is possible to suppress the upward deviation of the heated air. desirable for

In a preferred aspect, the thawing chamber is provided with a shelf bracket structure capable of supporting a plurality of rack nets while being spaced apart in the vertical direction, and the plurality of blow holes are supported by the shelf bracket structure. It is arranged on the lower side of the shelf net. According to the above configuration, a large number of frozen items can be arranged side by side on the shelf net, and even when there are a large number of frozen items, they can be accommodated in the thawing chamber in a state in which unevenness in temperature is unlikely to occur. In addition, since the blow-out holes are arranged on the lower side of the shelf net, even when the frozen goods are placed on the shelf net, the air sent from the blow-out holes to the thawing chamber is blocked by the frozen goods. Also, it is possible to reduce the situation where the air circulation in the thawing chamber is stagnant due to the air flow being disturbed.

In a preferred aspect, one end of the columnar duct is provided with a second air supply device for supplying the air sucked out from the thawing chamber toward the inside of the columnar duct. In the above configuration, a second air supply device for sending air to the columnar duct is provided separately from the air supply device for taking in air. As a result, even if the position where air is taken in from the thawing chamber and the position where air is sent to the columnar duct are separated, the air can be vigorously blown into the thawing chamber from the blow-out hole, and the temperature inside the thawing chamber can be maintained. can be made more uniform. In addition, heat exchange between the frozen material and air can be promoted, and the thawing time can be shortened.

In a preferred embodiment, the thawing chamber is configured inside a box-shaped heat-insulating casing that opens forward, and has a box shape that opens forward, and the thawing chamber is provided with a first space for taking in the air inside the thawing chamber, and below the thawing chamber are the lower end of the columnar duct and the second air supply device connected to the lower end. A second space is provided, and the first space and the second space are communicated with each other by a back duct extending vertically along the back wall of the defrosting chamber. According to the above configuration, it is possible to efficiently construct an air flow path around the thawing chamber for sucking out the air in the thawing chamber and returning it to the inside of the refrigerator.

In a preferred aspect, the second air supply device is a blower fan having a substantially disk shape and having an air intake port for taking in air in an axial direction and an air supply port for sending out air in a circumferential direction. The blower fan is disposed laterally of the columnar duct, and the air supply port is connected to the columnar duct via a connecting portion extending laterally at the lower end of the columnar duct. It is connected to the side surface of the duct, and the bottom surface of the connecting portion is provided with a drain hole. According to the above configuration, even if water enters the interior of the columnar duct, the water is prevented from reaching the blower fan. As a result, for example, the burden of adopting a waterproof blower fan can be reduced.

In a preferred aspect, a cooler is provided for cooling the air taken from the defrosting chamber, and the air taken from the defrosting chamber is cooled by the cooler. According to the above configuration, it is possible to suppress quality deterioration of the thawed product. It is also desirable in that the evaporator fan of the cooling unit that constitutes the refrigeration cycle can be suitably used as the air supply device.

In a preferred aspect, a defrosting heater is provided for heating the cooler when frost forms on the cooler, and the air taken in from the defrosting chamber is heated by the defrosting heater. ing. The above configuration is desirable in that the defrosting heater of the cooling unit that constitutes the refrigerating cycle can be preferably used to heat the air in the defrosting chamber.

According to the technology disclosed herein, the temperature inside the refrigerator can be made more uniform during thawing.

A perspective view of a defrosting warehouse according to one embodiment Front cross-sectional view of the thawing chamber in FIG. 1 (cross-sectional view along the AA line) Right side cross-sectional view of the thawing chamber of FIG. 1 (BB line cross-sectional view) Left side cross-sectional view of the thawing chamber in FIG. 1 (CC line cross-sectional view) Rear cross-sectional view of the thawing chamber of FIG. 1 (DD line cross-sectional view) Upper cross-sectional view of the thawing chamber of FIG. 1 (EE line cross-sectional view) Principal part perspective view of the first columnar duct Bottom view of the first columnar duct of FIG. Cross-sectional view of the second columnar duct Perspective view of essential parts of the thawing compartment without the door

A defrosting warehouse according to an embodiment of the present technology will be described with appropriate reference to FIGS. 1 to 10 . The reference numerals F, Rr, L, R, U, and D shown in each figure respectively refer to the front and back in the front-back direction of the thawing chamber 1, the left and right in the width direction when viewed from the front, and the top in the vertical direction. , showing below. However, the above direction is merely determined for convenience and should not be construed as limiting. Further, with respect to a plurality of identical members, one member may be denoted by a reference numeral, and the other members may be omitted.

The thawing chamber 1 is a storage chamber that can thaw frozen foods such as foodstuffs that have been frozen and stored, for example, to a temperature suitable for cooking, while maintaining the quality, and can store the thawed foods while maintaining the quality. is. In one example, a frozen product that has been frozen at -15 ° C. or lower (eg -20 ° C. to -25 ° C.) is thawed to, for example, a partial freezing temperature of around -3 ° C. or a chilled temperature of around 0 ° C., It has a temperature control mechanism that keeps it cool at this temperature. This thawing chamber 1, as shown in FIG. 9 supports it from below. Each component will be described below.

The thawing chamber main body 10 includes a heat insulating housing 11 having an open front surface, and a door 15 for opening and closing the opening of the heat insulating housing 11. - 特許庁The heat insulating casing 11 has an outer box 12 made of stainless steel plate and an inner box 13 also made of stainless steel plate. It is configured by being filled with the material 14 . The heat insulating housing 11 has a top wall 11A, a left side wall 11B, a right side wall 11C, a back wall 11D and a bottom wall 11E. An opening 11F communicating with the machine room 5 is provided in the upper wall 11A.

A cooling chamber duct 7A is attached above the heat insulating housing 11 to define the cooling chamber 7, and a drain pan 41 and the like are attached below the heat insulating housing 11 to define a bottom duct 40. ing. The cooling chamber 7 is an example of the first space in the present technology, and the bottom duct 40 is an example of the second space in the present technology. The remaining area inside the heat insulating housing 11, which is surrounded by the heat insulating housing 11, the cooling chamber duct 7A, and the drain pan 41, is the thawing chamber 3 for containing the frozen material to be thawed. It's becoming The thawing chamber main body 10 is provided with a structure for blowing the air taken in from the thawing chamber 3 back into the thawing chamber through a columnar duct 30, which will be described later.

The door 15 is constructed by filling the interior of an outer member 16 made of a stainless steel plate with a heat insulating material 17 made of foamed resin such as urethane foam. The door 15 is an element that opens and closes the opening of the thawing chamber 3. By covering the opening of the thawing chamber 3 with the door 15, a thawing space is constructed and a thawing space (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as inside). can be insulated from the outside. A handle 18 is provided on the right side of the door 15 when viewed from the front, and the door 15 is mounted so as to swing open and close with the right end as a swing axis. A packing 19 is attached to the peripheral portion of the rear surface 15A facing the inside of the chamber when the door 15 is closed. The packing 19 is a seal member made of an elastic material, and is interposed between the door 15 and the opening edge of the heat-insulating housing 11 when the door 15 is closed to hermetically seal the door 15 and the opening edge. stop.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the machine room 5 is arranged above the heat insulating housing 11, and includes a cooling unit 20 (of the cooling device) for cooling the air inside the thawing chamber 3 (inside the refrigerator). example) and a control device 100 that controls each part of the thawing chamber 1 . The machine room 5 and the cooling room 7 can be communicated with each other through an opening 11F provided in the upper wall 11A of the heat insulating housing 11. A heat insulating partition plate 29 is placed in the opening 11F from the machine room 5 side. It can be adiabatically sealed by being fitted. The control device 100 can be electrically connected to an external power source (not shown), and power is supplied to each part of the defrosting chamber 1 via the control device 100, for example.

The cooling unit 20 is an element mainly for cooling the air in the thawing chamber 3 to a temperature lower than that of the outside air and for warming the air in the thawing chamber 3 when the temperature in the thawing chamber 3 is too low. The cooling unit 20 roughly includes a compressor 21, a condenser 22, a condenser fan 22A, an expansion valve (not shown), an evaporator 24 (an example of a cooler), and an evaporator fan 24A (first air supply device). example), a refrigerant pipe 25 for circulating a refrigerant, an internal temperature sensor 26 (an example of an indoor temperature sensor), and a defrosting heater 27 (an example of a heating means). In the cooling unit 20, a known refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting the compressor 21, the condenser 22, the expansion valve, and the evaporator 24 in this order with a refrigerant pipe 25 to circulate the refrigerant. Of the cooling unit 20, the compressor 21, the condenser 22, and the condenser fan 22A are mounted on a heat insulating partition plate 29 and arranged in the machine room 5 (in other words, they are exposed to the outside air). ing). In the cooling unit 20, the evaporator 24, the evaporator fan 24A, the internal temperature sensor 26, the defrosting heater 27, and the expansion valve are installed below the heat insulation partition plate 29 and arranged in the cooling chamber 7. there is The evaporator 24 is arranged behind the evaporator fan 24A. Compressor 21 , condenser fan 22 A, evaporator fan 24 A, internal temperature sensor 26 , and defrosting heater 27 are electrically connected to control device 100 .

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 and the like, the cooling chamber duct 7A is inclined downward toward the rear, and is provided with a suction port 7B at the front and an outlet port 7C at the rear. An evaporator fan 24A is provided above the suction port 7B, and an internal temperature sensor 26 is provided above the evaporator fan 24A. The evaporator fan 24A of this example is provided with two air supply devices, and the cooling chamber duct 7A is provided with two suction ports 7B. The in-chamber temperature sensor 26 is composed of, for example, a thermistor.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the back wall 11D of the thawing chamber 3 is provided with a back duct 50 along the vertical direction. The rear duct 50 communicates with the cooling chamber 7 and the bottom duct 40 and is configured, for example, to send the air cooled in the cooling chamber 7 to the bottom duct 40 . The rear duct 50 generally includes a duct body 51 , a rear heater 52 (an example of heating means), and a temperature sensor 53 . Back heater 52 and temperature sensor 53 are electrically connected to control device 100 . Further, the rear duct 50 of this example is provided with a shelf support structure 54 .

The duct main body 51 is formed by bending a flat plate material made of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy so as to have a substantially convex cross section. A pair of wall portions 51B continuing to both ends of 51A and a pair of fixing portions 51C continuing to both ends of wall portions 51B are included. The body portion 51A is a portion that is spaced from the back wall 11D toward the interior side so that the plate surface extends along the front-rear direction. The pair of wall portions 51B are portions recessed from both ends of the main body portion 51A in the width direction toward the back wall 11D, and their plate surfaces are arranged along the front-rear direction. A pair of fixed portions 51C are portions extending outward in the width direction from both ends of the wall portion 51B, and the duct main body 51 is fixed to the back wall 11D at the fixed portions 51C. The upper end of the duct body 51 is connected to the rear end of the cooling chamber duct 7A, and the lower end of the duct body 51 is connected to the rear end of the drain pan 41 . As a result, an air flow path is formed inside the rear duct 50 from above to below. A temperature sensor 53 for measuring the temperature of the air flowing through the flow path is provided at the center of the lower end of the body portion 51A of the duct body 51 in the width direction. The temperature sensor 53 is composed of, for example, a thermistor.

As shown in FIG. 5, a back heater 52 is provided on the back surface of the body portion 51A of the duct body 51 (the surface facing the back wall 11D). The back heater 52 of this example is a so-called silicone cord heater in which a lead wire (copper wire) is coated with silicone rubber, and is divided into upper and lower portions of the duct body 51, one for each. The back heaters 52 are arranged in a plurality of rows while meandering along the vertical direction in each of the upper portion and the lower portion of the duct body 51, and are fixed to the back surface of the duct body 51 with an aluminum foil tape. there is

As shown in FIG. 2, on the surface of the main body portion 51A of the duct main body 51 (the surface facing forward), a shelf net 55 on which frozen items can be placed can be placed in a vertically aligned manner. A structure 54 is provided. The shelf support structure 54 includes shelf posts 56 and shelf support members 57 . The duct main body 51 is provided with long shelf posts 56 arranged one by one along the left and right ends thereof. The shelf post 56 is provided with a plurality of locking holes 56A at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. The shelf support member 57 can be fixed to the . This shelf support structure 54 is provided at the front end of the left side wall 11B and a second columnar duct 30B, which will be described later. The shelf support structure 54 at the front end of the left side wall 11B is attached to the room-facing surface of a square tubular column member 58 for alignment purposes. These four shelf support structures 54 allow the shelf net 55 to be detachably supported at a desired height in the thawing chamber 3 in a substantially horizontal posture. The shelf support structure 54 of this example shows how nine shelf nets 55 are supported at their basic mounting positions.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the thawing chamber 3 is provided with hollow columnar ducts 30 extending vertically on the left and right side walls 11B and 11C, respectively. More specifically, the left side wall 11B is provided with columnar ducts 30 slightly rearward and rearward of the front end, and the right side wall 11C is provided with the front end and slightly rearward of the center in the front-rear direction. is provided with a columnar duct 30. As shown in FIG. 6, the columnar ducts 30 are staggered so that they do not overlap in the front-rear direction. Since one columnar duct 30 is arranged at the front end of the thawing chamber 3, the air blown out from the columnar duct 30 functions as an air curtain. When the door 15 is opened, it is possible to prevent the temperature inside the thawing chamber 3 from becoming unstable due to the air entering and exiting the thawing chamber 3.例文帳に追加Of the four columnar ducts 30 described above, two columnar ducts 30 provided on the left side wall 11B and one columnar duct 30 provided slightly behind the center of the right side wall 11C (hereafter, when it is necessary to distinguish ) have the same structure. On the other hand, one columnar duct 30 provided in front of the right side wall 11C (hereinafter referred to as a second columnar duct 30B when it is necessary to distinguish between them) has a shelf support structure 54 attached thereto. The structure is slightly different from the columnar duct 30A. Hereinafter, the columnar duct 30 will be described based on the first columnar duct 30A provided on the left side wall 11B, and description of the other columnar ducts 30 will be omitted as appropriate by describing only the differences.

The first columnar duct 30A generally has a long columnar shape and is made of a metal material such as stainless steel or aluminum alloy. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the first columnar duct 30A includes a base material 31, a convex member 32, a lid member 34, a bottom member 35, a wind direction plate 36, and a blower fan 38 (an example of an air supply device). ), and Although the upper end of the first columnar duct 30A is arranged in the thawing chamber 3, the lower end of the first columnar duct 30A is arranged in the bottom duct 40. As shown in FIG.

First, the projecting member 32 is an element forming an air flow path extending in the vertical direction, and is configured to bulge toward the inside of the side walls 11B and 11C of the thawing chamber 3. As shown in FIG. More specifically, the convex member 32 is formed by bending a long flat plate material, and has a convex surface portion 32A disposed at the center in the width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction, and a convex surface portion 32A. It has a pair of wall portions 32B continuing to both ends, and a pair of base portions 32C continuing to both ends of the wall portions 32B. The convex portion 32A is the portion that protrudes most toward the interior side, and the plate surface is arranged along the front-rear direction. The pair of wall portions 32B are portions recessed from both ends of the convex portion 32A in the front-rear direction toward the side walls 11B and 11C. The pair of base portions 32C is a portion that supports the convex surface portion 32A while being separated from the side walls 11B and 11C.

The base material 31 is an additional element for increasing the rigidity of the convex member 32 . The base material 31 has a flat plate shape, is arranged on the sides of the side walls 11B and 11C with respect to the convex member 32, and is joined to the convex member 32. As shown in FIG. More specifically, the base member 31 is wider than the widthwise dimension of the convex member 32 by the bending margin, and is bent 180 degrees toward the center at both ends in the widthwise direction to form a convex shape. Both end portions (a pair of base portions 32C) are wrapped around the shaped member 32. As shown in FIG. As a result, the base material 31 and the convex member 32 are configured so that the contours of the surfaces along the side walls 11B and 11C are substantially the same. The base member 31 of this example is joined to the pair of base portions 32C of the projecting member 32 by spot welding after increasing the airtightness by folding back the bending margin and performing pressure welding. However, the base material 31 does not necessarily have to include the above-described bending margin, and the base material 31 and the convex member 32 may be formed so that their contours match each other when they are overlapped. .

A plurality of blowout holes 33 are formed through the convex portion 32A at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. The blowout hole 33 is an outlet through which the air flowing through the columnar duct 30 is blown into the thawing chamber 3 . Each blowout hole 33 is formed as an oblong hole extending in the horizontal direction (front-rear direction). The vertical position of the blow-out hole 33 is adjusted so that it is arranged immediately below the shelf net 55 attached to the basic mounting position in the shelf support structure 54 .

The wind direction plate 36 is an element that is additionally provided, and is an element that controls the blowing direction of the air blown from the blowing holes 33 . The wind direction plate 36 of this example is formed by bending one plate piece into a substantially L-shaped cross section. The piece extends from the upper portion of the blowout hole 33 into the room. The wind direction plate 36 of this example is installed so that the plate surface extends in the horizontal direction with respect to all the blowout holes 33 . As a result, the air can be blown out horizontally from the blowing holes 33 , and it is possible to prevent the flow of air in the thawing chamber 3 from being blocked by the frozen products. However, the airflow direction plate 36 may be provided in an arbitrary blowout hole 33, and the extending direction of the airflow direction plate 36 is not limited to the horizontal direction. For example, the extension direction of each wind direction plate 36 may be independently within a range of about ±30 degrees in the horizontal direction.

The cover member 34 is a member for closing the upper end of the first columnar duct 30A, and the upper end of the first columnar duct 30A is closed by the cover member 34 . By closing the upper end of the first columnar duct 30A, a larger amount of air can be vigorously sent toward the inside of the thawing chamber 3. The bottom member 35 is a member for closing the lower end of the first columnar duct 30A, and the bottom member 35 closes the lower end of the first columnar duct 30A. More specifically, the first columnar duct 30A is connected to the blower fan 38 at its lower end disposed within the bottom duct 40, and the first columnar duct 30A is connected to the blower fan 38 at its lower end. It has a connecting portion 37 in which the flow path is bent forward or rearward. For example, in the first columnar duct 30A attached to the left side wall 11B, the flow path of the connecting portion 37 is bent forward by 90 degrees. Along with this, at the lower end of the first columnar duct 30A, the base material 31 and the convex portion 32A extend forward, and the rear corners are chamfered (C-chamfered). Further, the front wall portion 32B extends forward, and the rear wall portion 32B is removed from the chamfered portion below. The bottom member 35 has an inclined surface portion 35A that inclines forward as it goes downward, and a bottom surface portion 35B that extends forward from this inclined surface portion. The base member 31 and the chamfered portion of the convex surface portion 32A are closed by the inclined surface portion 35A, and the extended portion is closed by the bottom surface portion 35B. The bottom surface portion 35B of the bottom member 35 is provided with a through hole 35C for draining water on the side slightly closer to the blower fan 38 . A first columnar duct 30A having the same configuration as described above is attached to the rear of the right side wall 11C in such a posture that the flow path at the connecting portion 37 is bent rearward by 90 degrees.

The second columnar duct 30B provided relatively forward of the right side wall 11C has roughly the same configuration as the first columnar duct 30A, and the flow path at the connecting portion 37 is oriented 90 degrees to the rear. It is attached to the right side wall 11C in a bendable posture. In the second columnar duct 30B, as shown in FIG. 4, the positions of the plurality of blowout holes 33 provided in the convex portion 32A are on the opposite side (here, front) to the blower fan 38 connection direction (here, rear). Displaced. A shelf post 56 and a shelf support member 57 of the shelf support structure 54 are attached to the space thus formed in the convex portion 32A of the second columnar duct 30B.

The blower fan 38 is arranged in the bottom duct 40 and connected to the lower end side surface (wall portion 32B) of the columnar duct 30 . The blower fan 38 is an air supply device for sending the air sucked out from the thawing chamber 3 into the columnar duct 30, and has an intake port 38A for sucking air and an air supply port 38B for sending air. . The blower fan 38 of this example has a substantially disk shape, and an intake port 38A is provided in the central portion of the disk to suck in air in the axial direction, and an air supply port 38B is provided in the circumferential portion to suck air in the tangential direction. It has a configuration that delivers air. Since the blower fan 38 can send out highly directional air in a direction different from the suction direction, the air in the bottom duct 40 can be efficiently sent to the columnar duct 30 . Blower fan 38 is electrically connected to control device 100 and its driving is controlled. Although the blower fan 38 is not limited to this, a brushless DC motor can be used. With the brushless DC motor, the control device 100 can electrically change the amount of current and the number of revolutions, so the amount of air blown can be easily adjusted. As a result, for example, it is possible to drive so as to increase the amount of air blown during the thawing operation, which will be described later, and to decrease the amount of air blown during the cooling operation of the cooling operation.

As shown in FIG. 10, the bottom duct 40 is constructed by covering the lower portion of the heat insulating housing 11 with a drain pan 41, a cover member 42, and a front cover 43. As shown in FIG. The drain pan 41, the cover member 42, and the front cover 43 are watertightly connected to the heat insulating housing 11, the rear duct 50, the columnar duct 30, and the column member 58, respectively. A drain port 44 is provided in the center of the width direction in front of the drain pan 41 , and the upper surface of the drain pan 41 is a tapered surface that slopes downward toward the drain port 44 . The bottom wall 11</b>E of the heat insulating housing 11 is provided with a drain hole 45 that is one size larger at a position corresponding to the drain port 44 . A drain hose 46 (see FIG. 3) is connected to the drain port 44 of the drain pan 41 on the side of the bottom duct 40 , and the lower end of the drain hose 46 is inserted through the drain hole 45 , so that the thawing chamber 3 The moisture generated inside can be drained to the outside of the thawing chamber 1. - 特許庁

The driving of the defrosting warehouse 1 having the above configuration will be described. The thawing chamber 1 uses the cooling unit 20 and, if necessary, the back heater 52 when thawing the frozen material stored in the thawing chamber 3, and is controlled by the control device 100 to execute the thawing operation. . In the defrosting operation, for example, the evaporator fan 24A and the defrosting heater 27 are driven while the compressor 21 and the condenser fan 22A are stopped. When the evaporator fan 24A is driven, the air in the thawing chamber 3 is drawn into the cooling chamber 7 through the suction port 7B. The inside temperature sensor 26 can detect the temperature of the taken-in air in the thawing chamber 3 . The air taken into the cooling chamber 7 is heated by exchanging heat with the defrosting heater 27 . The heated air is sent to rear duct 50, bottom duct 40, and columnar duct 30 in order through outlet 7C. The air sent to the columnar duct 30 is evenly blown vertically into the thawing chamber 3 through the vertically arranged blow holes 33 . By returning the heated air to the thawing chamber 3, the air in the refrigerator is uniformly warmed, and the frozen items are thawed.

The control device 100 can detect the temperature of the air in the thawing chamber 3 sucked into the cooling chamber 7 by the internal temperature sensor 26 . Also, the control device 100 can detect the temperature of the air flowing down the rear duct 50 with the temperature sensor 53 . Then, the controller 100 controls the air in the thawing chamber 3 measured by the internal temperature sensor 26 to reach the preset thawing temperature, or maintains the air in the thawing chamber 3 at the preset thawing temperature. The driving of the evaporator fan 24A, the blower fan 38, and the defrosting heater 27 is controlled so as to do so. In addition, the control device 100 drives the back heater 52 as necessary, heats the air flowing down the back duct 50, and controls the inside temperature to reach the preset defrosting temperature in a shorter time. do. As a result, the frozen food can be thawed while the temperature inside the refrigerator is maintained at a more uniform temperature.

The thawing chamber 1 causes the cooling unit 20 to perform a cooling operation under the control of the control device 100, for example, when the thawing chamber 3 is kept at a predetermined cooling temperature after thawing the frozen material. In the cooling operation, the gaseous refrigerant is compressed in the compressor 21 into a high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant, and then cooled in the condenser 22 by the condenser fan 22A to become a medium-temperature, high-pressure liquefied refrigerant. Then, the liquefied refrigerant is rapidly expanded by the expansion valve to change to a low-temperature, low-pressure liquefied refrigerant, and in the evaporator 24, by taking heat from the surrounding air, the liquefied refrigerant evaporates to become a low-temperature, low-pressure gaseous refrigerant. At this time, as shown in FIG. The delivered air is then cooled by exchanging heat with the evaporator 24 while passing through the evaporator 24 . The air cooled in this manner is returned to the thawing chamber 3, thereby cooling the air inside the refrigerator. The control device 100 measures the temperature of the air sucked into the cooling chamber 7 in the thawing chamber 3 by the internal temperature sensor 26, so that the air in the thawing chamber 3 reaches a preset cooling temperature, or The compressor 21, the condenser fan 22A, and the evaporator fan 24A are controlled so that the air in the thawing chamber 3 maintains a preset cooling temperature.

Further, when the cooling unit 20 is operated for cooling, water vapor contained in the air in the thawing chamber 3 is cooled by the evaporator 24 and adheres to the surface of the evaporator 24 as frost. Therefore, when defrosting the evaporator 24 in the thawing chamber 1, the control device 100 controls the cooling unit 20 to perform the defrosting operation. In the defrosting operation, for example, the compressor 21, the condenser fan 22A, and the evaporator fan 24A are stopped and the defrosting heater 27 is energized to heat and melt the frost (heater heating method). Only the evaporator fan 24A is driven without energizing the defrosting heater 27, and the frost is melted using the inside air as a heat source (off-cycle method). The frost melted by the defrosting operation is received by the cooling chamber duct 7A and discharged to the outside of the thawing chamber main body 10 by being sent to the discharge pipe 7D provided inside the back wall 11D.

An infrared temperature sensor 60 is provided between the two suction ports 7B in the cooling chamber duct 7A. The infrared temperature sensor 60 converges infrared rays emitted from an object on a thermopile detection element through a lens, and obtains temperature information of the object based on a voltage output from the detection element in proportion to the local temperature difference. It has a configuration that can obtain The infrared temperature sensor 60 is preferable in that the temperature of the frozen material stored in the thawing chamber 3 can be measured non-contact, directly, and at high speed. In the defrosting operation, cooling operation, and defrosting operation described above, the control device 100 independently measures the temperature of the air in the defrosting chamber 3 by the infrared temperature sensor 60 instead of the temperature measured by the internal temperature sensor 26. Each part may be controlled based on the temperature of the frozen material.

The thawing chamber 1 configured as described above includes a thawing chamber 3 for storing frozen items, an evaporator fan 24A (an example of an air supply device) for taking air from the thawing chamber 3 and then sending it to the thawing chamber 3, and a hollow and a columnar duct 30 provided along the vertical direction inside the left side wall 11B and the right side wall 11C of the thawing chamber 3, the columnar duct 30 opening toward the inside of the thawing chamber 3. A plurality of blow-out holes 33 are provided along the vertical direction. The evaporator fan 24</b>A is configured to send the air taken from the thawing chamber 3 into the columnar duct 30 to blow the air into the thawing chamber 3 through a plurality of blowout holes 33 . In such a configuration, since the plurality of blowout holes 33 of the columnar duct 30 are arranged at different positions along the vertical direction, the air in the thawing chamber 3 can be distributed vertically and sent into the refrigerator. . Also, the air blown out from the blowing holes 33 can have directivity. As a result, even if a part of the flow of air sent into the refrigerator is interrupted by, for example, frozen items, air flows are formed above and below the frozen items. Large disturbance of the air flow in the thawing chamber is suppressed. As a result, the air in the thawing chamber 3 can be circulated more uniformly during the thawing operation, and the temperature in the thawing chamber 3 can be made uniform at a higher level. As a result, it is possible to suppress deterioration in quality due to insufficient thawing, uneven thawing, excessive thawing, etc. of the thawed product.

In the thawing chamber 1 configured as described above, the thawing chamber 3 is provided with a plurality of columnar ducts 30 for each of the pair of opposing left side walls 11B and right side walls 11C. In addition, the plurality of columnar ducts 30 are arranged at positions that do not overlap each other in the front-rear direction, which is the direction in which the plurality of columnar ducts 30 are arranged along the left side wall 11B and the right side wall 11C. With such a configuration, the air blown out from the blowing holes 33 of the respective columnar ducts 30 does not collide with each other in the horizontal direction, and circulates favorably in the thawing chamber 3, for example, as shown in FIG. . As a result, the air in the thawing chamber can be circulated not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction, and the temperature in the thawing chamber can be made uniform at a higher level.

In the defrosting chamber 1 configured as described above, the defrosting chamber 3 has a box shape that opens forward, and the columnar ducts 30 are provided on the left side wall 11B and the right side wall 11C, respectively. The evaporator fan 24A, the cooling chamber 7, the rear duct 50, and the bottom duct 40 (an example of an air supply device) are configured to take in air from the thawing chamber 3 above the thawing chamber 3. A passage is provided for sending the air taken in from the rear wall 11D and the bottom wall 11E to the lower ends of the pair of columnar ducts 30. As shown in FIG. According to the above configuration, since air is sent to the columnar duct 30 from the lower side, which is opposite to the direction in which air is taken in, from the lower side, the air in the thawing chamber 3 can be largely circulated.

In the defrosting chamber 1 configured as described above, the back wall 11D of the defrosting chamber 3 is provided with a rear duct 50 for sending the air sucked out of the defrosting chamber 3 to the bottom of the defrosting chamber 3. The rear duct 50 is A back heater 52 (an example of heating means) is provided inside the back duct 50 to heat the air taken in from the thawing chamber 3 while forming a flow path extending in the vertical direction. It is preferable in that the defrosting time can be shortened by appropriately warming the air sent into the defrosting chamber by using the heating means. Here, warmed air rises relatively easily compared to cold air. Therefore, when the air taken in from the thawing chamber 3 is heated and then returned to the thawing chamber 3, it is distributed vertically through the blowout holes 33 of the columnar duct 30, thereby distributing the heated air upward. is desirable because it can suppress

In the thawing chamber 1 configured as described above, the thawing chamber 3 is provided with a shelf support structure 54 capable of supporting a plurality of shelf nets 55 with a space therebetween in the vertical direction. A plurality of blowout holes 33 are also provided with offensives arranged under a shelf net 55 supported by a shelf support structure 54 . With such a configuration, a large number of frozen items can be arranged side by side on the shelf net 55, and even when there are a large number of frozen items, they can be accommodated in the thawing chamber 3 in a state in which unevenness in temperature is unlikely to occur. . In addition, since the blow-out holes 33 are arranged below the shelf net 55, even when the frozen items are placed on the shelf net 55, the air sent from the blow-out holes 33 to the thawing chamber 3 is prevented. It is possible to reduce the situation where the circulation of air in the thawing chamber 3 is blocked due to being blocked by the frozen material or the flow of air being disturbed.

In the defrosting chamber 1 configured as described above, at one end of the columnar duct 30, a blower fan 38 (a second air supply device) is provided for supplying the air sucked out from the defrosting chamber 3 toward the inside of the columnar duct 30. example) is provided. In such a configuration, a second air supply device (blower fan 38) for sending air to the columnar duct 30 is provided separately from the air supply device (evaporator fan 24A) for taking in air. As a result, even when the position of taking in air from the thawing chamber 3 and the position of sending air to the columnar duct are separated, the air can be vigorously blown out to the thawing chamber 3 from the blowing hole 33, thereby thawing. The temperature in the room 3 can be made more uniform. In addition, heat exchange between the frozen material and air can be promoted, and the thawing time can be shortened.

In the thawing chamber 1 having the above configuration, the thawing chamber 3 is constructed inside a box-shaped heat insulating housing 11 that opens forward and has a box shape that opens forward. Above the thawing chamber 3, a cooling chamber 7 (an example of a first space) is provided for taking in the air inside the thawing chamber 3. Below the thawing chamber 3, a lower end of a columnar duct 30 and a A bottom duct 40 (an example of a second space) in which a blower fan 38 (an example of a second air supply device) connected to the lower end is arranged is provided. The cooling chamber 7 and the bottom duct 40 are communicated with each other by a rear duct 50 extending vertically along the rear wall 11D of the thawing chamber 3. As shown in FIG. According to the above configuration, it is possible to efficiently construct an air flow path around the thawing chamber 3 for sucking out the air in the thawing chamber 3 and returning it to the inside of the refrigerator.

In the thawing chamber 1 having the above configuration, the second air supply device is substantially disk-shaped and has an air intake port 38A that takes in air in the axial direction and an air supply port 38B that delivers air in the circumferential direction. A blower fan 38 is provided. The blower fan 38 is arranged on the side of the columnar duct 30, and the air supply port 38B is connected to the side surface of the columnar duct 30 via a connecting portion 37 extending sideways at the lower end of the columnar duct 30. A through hole 35C (an example of a drain hole) is provided in the bottom surface portion 35B (bottom surface) of the connection portion 37 . According to the above configuration, even if water enters the interior of the columnar duct 30 , the water is discharged from the through hole 35</b>C, so that the water is prevented from reaching the blower fan 38 . As a result, for example, the burden of adopting a waterproof blower fan can be reduced.

The defrosting chamber 1 configured as described above is provided with an evaporator 24 (an example of a cooler) for cooling the air taken from the defrosting chamber 3 , and the air taken from the defrosting chamber 3 is cooled by the evaporator 24 . If the thawing temperature is higher than the predetermined thawing temperature, or if the storage temperature after thawing is higher than the predetermined cold storage temperature, the quality of the thawed product may be significantly deteriorated due to the growth of bacteria in the thawed product. According to the above configuration, for example, when the temperature of the thawing chamber 3 rises excessively due to the operating heat of the evaporator fan 24A, or when the frozen food is finished thawing, the temperature of the thawing chamber 3 is set to the predetermined thawing temperature. or can be maintained at a cold storage temperature. This makes it possible to suppress deterioration in the quality of the thawed product to be thawed. It is also desirable in that the evaporator fan 24A of the cooling unit 20 constituting the refrigerating cycle can be suitably used as the air supply device.

The thawing chamber 1 configured as described above is provided with a defrosting heater 27 for heating the evaporator 24 (an example of a cooler) when frost forms on the evaporator 24, and the air taken in from the thawing chamber 3 is It has a configuration for heating by a defrosting heater 27 . The above configuration is desirable in that the defrosting heater 27 of the cooling unit 20 constituting the refrigerating cycle can be preferably used to heat the air in the thawing chamber 3 .

<Other embodiments>
The present technology is not limited to the examples disclosed in the above embodiments, and for example, the following aspects are also included in the scope of the present technology. In addition, the present technology can be implemented in various modified forms without departing from the essence thereof.

(1) The heat-insulating housing 11 in the above-described embodiment has one open front surface, a rear duct 50 on the rear wall 11D, and columnar ducts 30 on the left and right side walls 11B and 11C. However, the rear duct 50 does not necessarily need to be installed, and the position where the columnar duct 30 is installed is not limited to the left and right side walls 11B and 11C. For example, the columnar duct 30 may be configured such that its upper end is connected to the cooling chamber 7 and the air cooled in the cooling chamber 7 is directly introduced into the columnar duct 30 . Further, for example, the columnar duct 30 may be installed on any of the back surface 15A of the door 15, the left wall 11B, the right wall 11C, and the back wall 11D.

(2) In the above embodiment, the lower ends of all the plurality of columnar ducts 30 are provided with air supply devices. However, it is not always necessary to attach the air supply device to the lower end of the columnar duct 30, and the installation of the air supply device to the columnar duct 30 can be omitted as long as the air can be sent from the columnar duct 30 to the thawing chamber 3. can.

(3) In the above embodiment, one thawing chamber 3 is provided with four columnar ducts 30 . However, the number of columnar ducts 30 is not limited to this example, and can be appropriately adjusted depending on, for example, the size of the thawing chamber 3 and the thickness of the columnar ducts 30 .

(4) A blower fan (also called a sirocco fan) was used as the air supply device connected to the columnar duct 30, but the air supply device is not limited to this. Examples of air-supply devices include centrifugal air-supply devices such as turbo fans other than blower fans, axial-flow air-supply devices such as propeller fans, cross-flow air-supply devices such as cross-flow fans, and diagonal flow devices such as cross-flow fans. Various air supply devices such as a type air supply device may be used.

(5) In the above-described embodiment, the nine rack nets 55 are supported at the basic mounting positions directly above the blowout holes 33 . However, the configuration of the shelf bracket structure 54 is not limited to this. The support position of 55 is made variable.

(6) In the above embodiment, the contents of the thawing operation, cooling operation, and defrosting operation of the thawing chamber are merely examples, and various other operation methods can be adopted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Thawing chamber, 3... Thawing chamber, 7... Cooling chamber, 10... Thawing chamber main body, 11... Thermal insulation housing, 11A... Top wall, 11B... Left side wall, 11C... Right side wall, 11D... Back wall, 11E... Bottom Wall 20 Cooling unit 24 Evaporator (cooler) 24A Evaporator fan (air supply device) 26 Internal temperature sensor 27 Defrost heater 30 Columnar duct 30A First Columnar duct 30B...Second columnar duct 33...Blowout hole 35C...Through hole 36...Air direction plate 37...Connecting part 38...Blower fan 38A...Air inlet 38B...Air supply port 40...Bottom duct , 50... Back duct 52... Back heater 53... Temperature sensor 54... Shelf bracket structure 55... Shelf net 56... Shelf post 57... Shelf bracket member

Claims (10)

A thawing chamber that thaws the frozen material by sending air into a thawing chamber in which the frozen material is stored,
a thawing chamber for containing the frozen material;
an air supply device for taking in air from the thawing chamber and returning it to the thawing chamber;
a columnar duct that has a hollow columnar shape and extends vertically along the inner side of the side wall of the thawing chamber;
with
The columnar duct has a plurality of blowout holes that open toward the inside of the thawing chamber along the vertical direction,
The air supply device has a configuration in which the air taken in from the thawing chamber is blown into the thawing chamber through the plurality of blowout holes by sending the air into the columnar duct.
Defroster. The thawing chamber is provided with a plurality of the columnar ducts for each of the pair of opposing side walls,
2. The defrosting warehouse according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of columnar ducts are arranged at positions that do not overlap each other in the direction in which said plurality of columnar ducts are arranged along said side wall. The thawing chamber has a box shape that opens forward, and the columnar ducts are provided on left and right side walls,
The air supply device is configured to take in air from the thawing chamber above the thawing chamber, and to send the air taken in from the thawing chamber to the lower ends of the pair of columnar ducts along the back wall and the bottom wall. 3. A thawing cabinet as claimed in claim 1 or 2, comprising channels. The back wall of the defrosting chamber is provided with a back duct for sending the air sucked out of the defrosting chamber to the bottom of the defrosting chamber,
4. According to claim 3, the rear duct constitutes a flow path extending in the vertical direction, and heating means for heating the air taken in from the thawing chamber is provided inside the rear duct. Defroster as described. The thawing chamber is provided with a shelf support structure capable of supporting a plurality of shelf nets while being spaced apart in the vertical direction,
A thawing warehouse according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said plurality of blow-out holes are arranged below said shelf net supported by said shelf support structure. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein one end of said columnar duct is provided with a second air supply device for supplying air sucked out from said thawing chamber toward the inside of said columnar duct. A defrosting warehouse according to any one of the preceding paragraphs. The thawing chamber is configured inside a box-shaped heat insulating housing that opens forward and has a box shape that opens forward,
A first space is provided above the thawing chamber for taking in the air inside the thawing chamber,
A second space is provided below the thawing chamber, in which the lower end of the columnar duct and the second air supply device connected to the lower end are arranged,
7. The defrosting warehouse according to claim 6, wherein said first space and said second space are communicated with each other by a rear duct extending vertically along a rear wall of said defrosting chamber. The second air supply device is a blower fan having a substantially disk shape and having an intake port for taking in air in the axial direction and an air supply port for sending out air in the circumferential direction,
The blower fan is arranged on the side of the columnar duct, and the air supply port is connected to the side surface of the columnar duct via a connecting portion extending laterally at the lower end of the columnar duct. is connected to
8. The thawing chamber according to claim 7, wherein a drain hole is provided on the bottom surface of said connecting portion. A cooler for cooling the air taken in from the thawing chamber,
The thawing warehouse according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising a structure for cooling the air taken in from the thawing chamber by the cooler. A defrosting heater for heating the cooler when frost forms on the cooler,
10. The defrosting warehouse according to claim 9, comprising a structure for heating the air taken in from said defrosting chamber by said defrosting heater.

Images