JP3276927B2 - Defroster and cooling storage with defroster - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a defroster for defrosting a frost of a cooler and a cooling storage provided with the defroster.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A cooling storage provided with a conventional defroster will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional cooling storage. During the cooling operation, the cooler 01
Although the second storage unit 03 is cooled, frost adheres with the elapse of time, and the cooling efficiency decreases. Therefore, a defrosting operation is appropriately performed, and the glass tube heater 04 heats the cooler 01 and melts and removes frost adhering to the cooler 01.

[0003]

By the way, the glass tube heater 04 radiates heat over substantially the entire periphery thereof, and a portion other than the cooler 01, for example, the heat insulating wall 06 of the heat insulating box 06.
a is also heated. As described above, when a portion other than the cooler 01 is also heated, it is necessary to cool the heated portion when the cooling operation is started again. As a result, the energy cost required for cooling increases, and the time required to lower the temperature to the set temperature also increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide a defrosting device that does not heat portions other than the cooler as much as possible during a defrosting operation and a cooling storage provided with the defrosting device. The purpose is.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The cooling storage of the present invention is a multiple storage.
The number of heating units 30c of the closed Peltier module 30
Defrosting device uniformly attached to a flat heat conductor 29
1 provided in a cool air duct circulated to a refrigerator compartment
8 with a heat conductor 29 facing the same, and a cooler
Refrigeration cycle in which hydrocarbon-based refrigerant is circulated to compressor 18
In a single cold storage.

[0006]

[0007]

[0008]

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a first embodiment of a defrosting device and a cooling storage according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the cooling storage according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. FIG.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams of a defrosting apparatus, wherein FIG. 3A is a perspective view, and FIG.

The main body of a refrigerator-freezer as a cooling storage is constituted by a heat-insulating box 1 having an open front. The internal space of the heat-insulating box 1, that is, the interior 2 is partitioned into three spaces by two substantially horizontal heat-insulating partition walls 3, 4, the upper space is a refrigerator room 6, and the central space is a freezer room 7. The lower space is a vegetable room 8. The front openings of the refrigerator compartment 6, the freezing compartment 7, and the vegetable compartment 8 are closed by a heat insulating door 11 so as to be openable and closable.

The refrigerating compartment 6 is provided with a refrigerating compartment ventilation duct 16 for supplying cool air into the refrigerating compartment 6. Freezer room 7
Is provided with a cooler ventilation duct 21 in which the cooler 18 is disposed, and a freezer compartment ventilation duct 22 as a cool air passage.
Is provided, and the freezing room ventilation duct 22 supplies cool air into the freezing room 7. A partition plate 19 made of resin is provided between the cooler ventilation duct 21 and the freezer compartment ventilation duct 22. The lower end of the cooler ventilation duct 21 communicates with the lower portion of the storage section 7 a of the freezer compartment 7 via the freezer compartment return ventilation duct 23. Ventilation duct 2 for cooler
1 and a blower room 24 above the freezing room ventilation duct 22.
Are formed. The blower room 24 has a function as a ventilation duct, and a cooler blower 26 is arranged. The blower room 24 communicates with the lower end of the refrigerator compartment ventilation duct 16 via a ventilation duct (not shown). Further, on the lower heat insulating partition wall 4, a return ventilation duct 27 for the vegetable room is provided, and the return ventilation duct 27 for the vegetable room is connected to the upper part of the vegetable room 8 and the ventilation duct 21 for the cooler.
Communicates with the lower part. The refrigerator compartment 6 and the vegetable compartment 8 communicate with each other via a ventilation duct (not shown).

A defrosting device 28 is disposed between the partition plate 19 and the cooler 18. As shown in FIG. 3, the defrosting device 28 includes a heat conductor 29 having a high heat conductivity, such as a flat copper or aluminum, and four hermetic Peltier modules 30. The Peltier module 30, which is a thermoelectric element, is provided with two lead wires 30a, 30b, respectively, and these lead wires 30a, 30b are connected to a DC power supply (not shown) via a switch circuit. When turned ON, one lead wire 30a is connected to the anode (+), and the other lead wire 30b is connected to the cathode (-). When a current flows through the Peltier module 30, one surface of the Peltier module 30
c, the temperature rises, while the Peltier module 3
The other surface of 0, that is, the surface opposite to the heating unit 30c is the cooling unit 30d, and the temperature is reduced. The heating section 30 c of the Peltier module 30 is attached to the heat conductor 29. The heat conductor 29 has a Peltier module mounting side facing the partition plate 19, and a side opposite to the Peltier module mounting side faces the cooler 18. The plate-shaped heat conductor 29 has substantially the same size as the surface (that is, the front surface) of the cooler 18 facing the heat conductor 29, and has a larger area than the Peltier module 30. . Therefore, the heating unit 30 of the Peltier module 30
The heat of c can be diffused widely, and relatively uniform heating can be performed over a wide range of the cooler 18.

[0013] A machine room 31 is formed at the lower rear portion of the heat-insulating box 1, and a compressor 32 and the like are arranged in the machine room 31. The compressor 32 constitutes a refrigeration cycle together with the above-described cooler 18 and a condenser and a capillary tube (not shown). When the compressor 32 operates, hydrocarbon-based refrigerants such as isobutane, pentane and propane circulate in the refrigeration cycle, and the temperature of the cooler 18 decreases. The cooler 18 cools the surrounding air to generate cool air, and the cool air is supplied to the interior 2 by the cooler blower 26 as shown by an arrow in FIG. are doing. That is, by the operation of the cooler blower 26, the air in the cooler ventilation duct 21 rises while being cooled by the cooler 18, and the blower chamber 2
4 flows into. Most (for example, about 80%) of the cool air in the blower room 24 is sent to the freezer room ventilation duct 22 by the cooler blower 26, flows into the storage portion 7a of the freezer room 7, and cools the storage portion 7a. Later, it returns to the lower part of the cooler ventilation duct 21 via the freezer compartment return ventilation duct 23. Further, a part (for example, about 20%) of the cool air in the blower room 24 flows into the refrigerator compartment ventilation duct 16 through a ventilation duct (not shown), flows into the storage portion 6a of the refrigerator compartment 6, and the storage portion 6a. After cooling 6a, it flows into the vegetable compartment 8 via a ventilation duct (not shown), cools the vegetable compartment 8, and returns to the lower part of the cooler ventilation duct 21 via the vegetable compartment return ventilation duct 27.

In this way, during the cooling operation, the cooler 1
Although the interior 2 is cooled at 8, frost adheres to the cooler 18 over time. Then, it becomes defrosting operation,
The cooler blower 26 and the compressor 32 are stopped, and power is supplied to the Peltier module 30 that has not been supplied with power. Then, the Peltier module 30
The temperature of the heating unit 30c rises and starts heating, while the temperature of the cooling unit 30d falls and starts cooling. Then, the heat of the heating unit 30c is radiated to the cooler 18 via the heat conductor 29 by heat conduction or radiation, and
Melting frost. On the other hand, the cooling unit 30d faces the partition plate 19 and cools the partition plate 19 and the ventilation duct 22 for the freezer compartment. When the frost of the cooler 18 is completely melted, the cooling operation is started again, the cooler blower 26 and the compressor 32 are operated, the power supply to the Peltier module 30 is cut off, the heating of the heating unit 30c, and the cooling unit 30
The cooling of d ends.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the defroster 28 heats the cooler 18 and cools the partition plate 19 and the ventilation duct 22 for the freezer compartment. Therefore, during the defrosting operation, the partition plate 1
9 and the temperature of the freezing room ventilation duct 22 can be prevented from rising as much as possible, and the cooling energy required at the time of restarting the cooling operation can be reduced.

The Peltier module 30 has a coefficient of performance (COP) of 1.0 or more and a glass tube heater 04.
Since the energy efficiency is high compared to 1.0 or less, power consumption can be reduced.

Further, the Peltier module 30
The heating temperature is lower than that of the glass tube heater 04. Therefore, even if the flammable hydrocarbon-based refrigerant leaks from the cooler 18 or the like, the leaked hydrocarbon is removed by the Peltier module 3
A value of 0 can reduce the possibility of firing. Moreover, the Peltier module 30 is a closed type,
Since the generation of spark is extremely small, it is possible to prevent the leaked hydrocarbon from being ignited by the spark.

The defrosting device 28 is disposed so as to face the vertical surface of the cooler 18, and the glass tube heater 04 conventionally provided below the cooler 18 becomes unnecessary. By using the space of the glass tube heater 04, the cooler 18 can be extended downward to be enlarged, and the cooling efficiency of the cooler 18 is improved.

Next, a second embodiment of the cooling storage according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view of the cooling storage according to the second embodiment with the front door removed. In the description of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to components corresponding to the components of the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

An ice-making chamber 36 as a cooler is provided in the interior 2 of the heat-insulating box 1 of the refrigerator as a cooling storage. A dew tray 37 is provided below the ice making chamber 36, and a defrosting device 28 is mounted on a lower surface of the dew tray 37 with the Peltier module mounting side as a lower side. Further, the defrosting device 28 is also arranged on the side of the ice making chamber 36 with the Peltier module mounting side facing the storage part of the refrigerator compartment 2. Therefore, at the time of the defrosting operation, the defrosting device 28 can heat the ice making chamber 36 and the dew receiving tray 37 to defrost, and also can cool the storage section in the refrigerator 2.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
Within the gist of the present invention described in the claims,
Various changes can be made. Modification examples of the present invention are exemplified below. (1) In the embodiment, the defrosting device is used for a cooling storage, but it can be used for defrosting a cooler used for other purposes.

(2) In the first embodiment, four Peltier modules 30 are provided, but the number and arrangement thereof can be changed as appropriate. The partition plate 19 is preferably made of a material having a high heat conductivity such as a metal plate, but may be made of a material having a low heat conductivity. (3) In the embodiment, the heat conductor 29 is made of copper or aluminum. However, as long as the heat conductivity is high, the material thereof can be appropriately selected.

(4) In the embodiment, a hydrocarbon-based refrigerant is employed as the refrigerant, but the type of the refrigerant can be appropriately selected, and it is also possible to use Freon. The Peltier module 30 is less likely to cause sparks and has a relatively low heating temperature, so that it is optimal when a flammable hydrocarbon-based refrigerant is used. (5) In the embodiment, the heat conductor 29 is in the shape of a flat plate, but is not necessarily required to be in the shape of a flat plate, and may be, for example, a curved plate.

(6) The defrosting device may or may not be in contact with the cooler or the partition plate. In addition, when the cooling part 30d of the Peltier module 30 is in contact with a partition plate having a high thermal conductivity separating the cooler from the cool air flow path or the inside of the refrigerator, at the time of the defrosting operation,
It is possible to more efficiently prevent the temperature of the storage section and the cold air flow path in the refrigerator from rising.

[0025]

According to the defroster of the present invention, the heating section of the thermoelectric element heats the cooler. This thermoelectric element has a heating unit and a cooling unit, and heats and defrosts a cooler, and can cool a part other than the cooler by the cooling unit. Therefore, the temperature of the parts other than the cooler
The height can be prevented as much as possible.

Also, by arranging the thermoelectric elements uniformly,
The heat conductor generates heat almost uniformly, and the heat of the heating portion of the thermoelectric element can be diffused over a wide range, and the cooler can be relatively uniformly heated over a wide range. As a result, the heating unevenness of the cooler is suppressed and the defrosting effect of the cooler
The rate can be reduced.

Further, if a hydrocarbon-based refrigerant is flowing through the cooler, even if the flammable hydrocarbon-based refrigerant leaks, the heating temperature of the thermoelectric element is reduced by the heating of the conventional glass tube heater. The temperature is lower than the temperature, and the risk of ignition of the leaked hydrocarbon can be reduced.

In the case where a storage section or a cold air flow path in the refrigerator is arranged on the thermoelectric element mounting side of the heat conductor,
During the defrosting operation, the cooling section of the thermoelectric element can cool the storage section and the cold air flow path in the storage. Therefore, during the defrosting operation, the temperature of the storage section and the cool air flow path in the refrigerator can be kept relatively low. As a result, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the quality of articles stored in the storage, and
The cooling energy required at the time of restarting the cooling operation can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a cooling storage according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a defrosting device, (a) is a perspective view,
(B) is a bb sectional view of (a).

FIG. 4 is a front view of a cooling storage according to a second embodiment with a front door removed.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional cooling storage.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Freezer 7 Freezer compartment 7a Freezer compartment storage unit 18 Cooler 22 Freezer compartment ventilation duct (cold air flow path) 28 Defroster 29 Thermal conductor 30 Peltier module (thermoelectric element) 30c Peltier module heating unit 30d Peltier module Cooling section

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. Heating a plurality of closed Peltier modules
Defrosting device with uniform installation on flat heat conductor
To the cooler provided in the duct of cold air circulated to the refrigerator compartment.
The heat conductor is arranged to face and the cooler
Refrigeration cycle that circulates hydrocarbon-based refrigerant with a compressor
Defroster characterized by being housed in a single cooling storage
Cooling storage with.