JP2870560B2 - Cool air circulation open showcase - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cool air circulation type open showcase, and more particularly to a structure of a cool air circulation ventilation passage at a bottom portion of a refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a cool air circulation type open showcase, two layers of inner ducts and outer ducts are defined between an inner box and an outer box of a case body surrounding a product display room, and at the bottom of the cabinet. Is equipped with a fan plenum in which an inner fan and an outer fan are mounted side by side, and cool air collected from an air curtain suction port of a main body case is distributed to an inner duct and an outer duct through the inner fan and the outer fan to circulate air. Layer air curtain systems are known.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 show a conventional structure of the open showcase. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes an outer box of a case main body, and 2 denotes an inner space in which a product display room 3 is defined. A box 4, 4 is a merchandise display shelf, 5 is a deck pan provided on the bottom side of the merchandise display room 3, and 6, 7 surround the merchandise display room 3 and interpose a duct partition 8 between the outer box 1 and the inner box 2. Inner and outer two-layer inner duct and outer duct, 9 is a cooler (evaporator of a refrigerator) arranged in the inner duct 6, 10 is a fan plenum arranged on the duct partition 8 at the bottom of the refrigerator, 11 is fan plenum 10
It is a blower fan mounted on the.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an inner fan 11a (two on the left and right) and an outer fan 11b (one on the center) are juxtaposed and mounted side by side on the fan plenum 10. The partition between the inner fan 11a and the outer fan 11b is separated by a partition wall. In particular, for the outer fan 11b, the rear surface of the fan plenum 10 is closed by the cover plate 10a and the air outlet 10b is formed on the bottom surface side.
A window hole 8a communicating with the outer duct 7 is opened in the duct partition wall 8 at the bottom of the refrigerator so as to face the outlet.

[0005] With this configuration, the fan 11 is kept cool during operation.
The inner duct 6, outer duct 7
Cool air is circulated and blown into the refrigerator through the inside, and two layers of inner and outer cool air curtains (inner cool air flow is represented by solid lines, outer cool air flow is represented by dotted lines) are blown out at the front opening of the case body to display the product display room 3. The products (not shown) arranged on the shelf 4 are kept cool. Further, the cool air flow collected from the air curtain suction port of the case body is merged in the first half area of the bottom of the refrigerator and then sucked into the fan plenum 10 where the inner fan 1
The air flow passing through 1a flows from the back of the fan plenum 10 to the inner duct 6 equipped with the cooler 9, and the air flow passing through the outer fan 11b flows from the bottom opening of the fan plenum 10 through the duct partition 8 through the window hole 8a. 7 and blown.

[0006]

However, the above-described conventional configuration has the following drawbacks in terms of the structure and the air blowing function. (1) The fan plenum 10 arranged on the bottom side in the refrigerator is arranged on the duct partition 8 so as to be two-tiered and arranged so as to be vertically aligned with the outer duct 7. For this reason, the height of the space occupied by these members in the warehouse increases, and the space used as a product display room is limited by that much, and the space efficiency in the warehouse decreases.

(2) For the outer fan 11b,
An air outlet 10b is opened on the bottom side of the fan plenum 10, and the airflow blown through the outlet 10b strikes the bottom wall of the outer box 1 almost directly downward, and then changes its direction at right angles. It follows a ventilation path that flows through the outer duct 7. For this reason, a large windage loss occurs in this portion, and the amount of air blown through the outer duct 7 decreases,
It adversely affects the characteristics of the outer air curtain (which protects the inner air curtain by shielding between the inner air curtain and the surrounding air). Therefore, in order to compensate for the windage loss and secure a sufficient air volume in the outer duct,
A large fan having a larger blowing capacity than the inner fan must be used as the outer fan 11a. In addition, adopting a large fan increases power consumption and raises noise and other problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to solve the above-mentioned problems and to improve the space efficiency in a refrigerator in a cold air circulating open showcase of a two-layer air curtain system. Open showcase, which has improved the air quality and reduced the windage loss of the outer air passage, and also made it easier to perform maintenance work on the bottom of the refrigerator.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a structure of a cool air circulation passage at the bottom of the refrigerator.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the open showcase of the present invention, the structure of the cool air circulating air passage is configured as follows. (1) The fan plenum arranged at the bottom of the refrigerator is placed on the bottom wall of the case body while being arranged in front of the outer duct arranged at the bottom of the refrigerator, and protruding rearward on the rear side of the fan plenum. A plenum cover is provided for forming a communicating air passage between the discharge side of the outer fan and the outer duct.

(2) In the above item (1), the plenum cover is constituted by a wind tunnel having a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape with an opening for blowing air that is communicated with the outer duct on the bottom surface. (3) In the above item (1), the plenum cover is fixed to the fan plenum, and the fan plenum is incorporated into the main body case so as to be able to be pulled upward from the operating position via a hinge fitting.

[0011]

According to the above construction, the fan plenum equipped with the blower fan and the outer duct arranged in the rear area of the bottom of the refrigerator are lined up and down without overlapping vertically, and the space between the outer fan and the outer duct is The air flow discharged from the outer fan is blown through the plenum cover so as to be introduced into the outer duct through the plenum cover.

Here, the plenum cover has a substantially triangular cross section and an outlet is opened at the bottom thereof, and the outlet is overlapped with the inlet end face of the outer duct, so that the air flow discharged from the outer fan is reduced by the plenum cover. With the inclined wall surface as a wind direction guide, the air flows into the outer duct from a diagonally upper part along a smooth path, so that a large windage does not occur in this portion, and a decrease in the air volume of the outer duct is avoided.

In addition, the plenum cover is attached to the fan plenum, and the fan plenum is incorporated into the main body case so as to be able to be pulled up from the operating position through a hinge fitting so as to be able to inspect the bottom inside the compartment.
If the fan plenum is lifted upward from the operating position during maintenance work such as cleaning, the plenum cover moves upward together with the fan plenum, so a wide inspection and cleaning space at the bottom of the chamber can be secured, making maintenance work easier. I can do it.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) and FIG. It should be noted that FIG.
The same reference numerals are given to the same members corresponding to FIGS.
In FIGS. 1 and 2, an inner fan 11a and an outer fan 11b are mounted on a fan plenum 10 arranged at the bottom in the refrigerator in the same manner as in FIG. The fan plenum 10 is placed directly on the outer box 1 of the case main body and is disposed at the center of the bottom of the refrigerator, and the rear upper edge of the fan plenum 10 is connected via a hinge fitting (hinge) 12. It is installed so that it can be lifted and moved from the operating position indicated by the solid line to the inspection position indicated by the chain line. Also, at the center of the rear side of the fan plenum 10,
A plenum cover 13 protruding rearward is provided corresponding to the outer fan 11b. This plenum cover 13 forms an air guide passage leading to the outer duct 7.
The shape of the fan plenum is made as a wind tunnel whose cross section with a ventilation outlet opened at the bottom is substantially triangular.
It is screwed to the back of and is integrally attached.

On the other hand, a channel-like duct 7a made of sheet metal, which communicates with the outer duct 7 on the rear side of the main body case, is provided in front of and behind the fan plenum 10 at the center of the rear area of the inner bottom of the cabinet so as to face the plenum cover 13. The duct 7a is provided with a ventilation inlet, which is mounted side by side on the bottom wall of the outer box 1 and overlaps the outlet of the plenum cover 13 vertically and closely.

With this configuration, the inner cold air flow discharged from the inner fan 11a during operation (solid arrow)
Is blown straight to the inner duct 6 from the back of the fan plenum 10. On the other hand, the outer cool airflow discharged from the outer fan 11b (dotted arrow)
Enters the duct 7a from the back of the fan plenum 10 via the plenum cover 13, and is blown to the outer duct 7 on the back side through the duct 7a. Here, the plenum cover 13 has a triangular cross-section so that its air guide path is inclined toward the outlet on the bottom side, so that the airflow discharged from the outer fan 11b is applied to the inclined wall surface of the plenum cover 13. As a wind direction guide, the air is guided along the smooth air blowing path to the duct 7a without a sudden change of direction from diagonally above. Therefore, a large windage loss due to a sudden change in the direction of the airflow as shown in FIG. 4 does not occur at the entrance to the duct 7a, and a sufficient airflow to the outer guide 7 is secured.

Further, since the fan plenum 10 is arranged in front and rear without overlapping vertically with the duct 7a arranged at the bottom of the warehouse, the space occupied in the vertical direction can be reduced, and the inside of the warehouse can be reduced accordingly. Wide space for product display room. Furthermore, when inspecting and cleaning the bottom of the chamber,
The fan plenum 10 is pulled up through the hinge fitting 12 to the position indicated by the dotted line in the figure. As a result, the plenum cover 13 also retreats to the dotted line position together with the fan plenum 10, so that the inspection of the cooler 9, the defrost heater 14 disposed on the lower surface entrance side thereof, and the cleaning of the inner bottom of the refrigerator can be easily performed. it can.

[0018]

As described above, according to the structure of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) A plenum cover is formed on the rear side of a fan plenum equipped with a blower fan, the plenum cover forming an air guide passage extending between the outer fan and the outer duct, and the plenum cover is formed into a substantially triangular cross section and blows out to the bottom side thereof. By opening the opening, it is possible to guide the air flow discharged from the outer fan to the outer duct by following a smooth airflow path without a sudden change in direction, thereby generating airflow in a portion of the airflow path. Wind loss is reduced, and the performance of the outer air curtain can be improved while ensuring sufficient airflow in the outer duct.

(2) Since the fan plenum and the outer duct arranged on the rear side of the bottom of the refrigerator are arranged in front and rear without overlapping vertically, the space occupied by these members is reduced, and the space occupied by these members can be reduced. Advantageously, the space for the product display room can be widened in the case body having the specified external dimensions. (3) Further, the above-mentioned plenum cover is attached to the fan plenum, and the fan plenum is incorporated so as to be able to be pulled upward from the operating position via a hinge fitting.
Work such as inspection and cleaning of the bottom of the chamber can be performed easily, improving maintainability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a main structure of an embodiment according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of a bottom part in a refrigerator, and FIG. 1B is a plan layout view of a fan plenum in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the configuration of the entire cool air circulation type open showcase based on the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the entire configuration of a conventional cool air circulation type open showcase.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of a bottom portion in the refrigerator in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a structure of a main part in FIG. 4,
(A) is an external view of the outer duct, (b) is an external view of the fan plenum.

[Description of Signs] 1 Outer box 2 Inner box 3 Product display room 6 Inner duct 7 Outer duct 9 Cooler 10 Fan plenum 11 Blower fan 11a Inner fan 11b Outer fan 12 Hinge bracket 13 Plenum cover

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A two-layer inner duct and an outer duct are defined between an inner box and an outer box of a case body by surrounding a commodity display room, and an inner fan and an outer fan are juxtaposed at a bottom part of the inside of the case. A two-layer air curtain type cold air circulation type that has a fan plenum mounted and distributes cold air collected from the air curtain suction port of the main body case to the inner duct and outer duct through the inner fan and outer fan and circulates the air. In the open showcase, the fan plenum is arranged on the bottom wall of the case body side by side in front of an outer duct arranged at the bottom of the cabinet, and the rear side of the fan plenum projects rearward to discharge the outer fan discharge side. A plenum cover for forming a communicating air passage between the outer duct and the outer duct. Gas-circulation-type open showcase. 2. The open air showcase according to claim 1, wherein the plenum cover is a wind tunnel having a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape with a ventilation outlet opening on the bottom surface and communicating with the outer duct. Open showcase. 3. The open showcase according to claim 1, wherein the plenum cover is fixed to the fan plenum, and the fan plenum is incorporated in the main body case so as to be able to be pulled upward from the operating position via a hinge. A cool air circulation type open showcase.