JP3694191B2 - Louver structure - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a louver structure, and more particularly, to a louver disposed in a device in which heat is exchanged by blowing external air to a condenser by a fan, such as a refrigeration system of an automatic ice making machine. The present invention relates to a louver structure capable of reliably sweeping dust and the like adhering and accumulating on a slat that defines a ventilation port for taking in external air.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An automatic ice making machine having a refrigeration mechanism and an ice making mechanism inside a housing and configured to produce a large number of ice blocks in an ice making room cooled by the refrigeration mechanism is suitably used in kitchen facilities such as restaurants. The refrigeration mechanism is basically composed of a compressor, a condenser, a capillary tube, an evaporator, and the like, and is disposed in a machine room in a housing. The evaporator is disposed in an ice making mechanism to cool the ice making chamber. It is like that. The condenser which constitutes a part of the refrigeration mechanism is forcibly air-cooled by a cooling fan provided in the machine room and performs heat exchange with the refrigerant.
[0003]
The structure related to the heat exchange of the air-cooled condenser in the ice making machine will be briefly described below. As shown in FIG. An opening 18a is largely opened at a position corresponding to the chamber 18, and a front panel 28 in which a louver 36 is integrally formed is detachably disposed in the opening 18a. As shown in FIG. 11, the front panel 28 of the illustrated example is integrally formed with a suction louver portion 36a that functions as an air suction port and a discharge louver portion 36b that functions as an air discharge port. The external air sucked in through the suction louver portion 36a as the cooling fan (not shown) disposed in the machine room 18 rotates is brought into contact with the condenser 22 for heat exchange, and then discharged. It is discharged to the outside through the louver part 36b. Inside the suction louver portion 36a, a filter 46 set to a size capable of covering the entire surface of the louver portion 36a is disposed, and dust or the like mixed in external air is collected by the filter 46. ing. As a result, dust and the like are prevented from adhering and accumulating on the condenser 22, and the occurrence of overheating and the like is prevented.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described conventional front panel 28, the suction louver portion 36a is formed by disposing a plurality of slats 62 parallel to each other in the rectangular opening 60 in the vertical direction. Therefore, dust and the like adhere to and accumulate on the upper surface of the slat 62 over time. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically clean the suction louver portion 36a to remove dust and the like. In this case, the inner surface of the opening 60 in the front panel 28 is formed to be orthogonal to the slat 62 as shown in FIG. Moreover, the filter 46 is disposed in a substantially contacted state inside the suction louver portion 36a. For this reason, the dust or the like deposited on the portion of the slat 62 adjacent to the inner surface of the opening is difficult to wipe off because the cloth body or the like used for wiping interferes with the filter 46. In addition, there is a concern that the dust remaining in this portion cannot be sufficiently wiped off during cleaning during maintenance and inspection and accumulates over time, resulting in unsanitary conditions.
[0005]
In addition, since the slat 62 has a flat plate shape with a small cross section, the dust adhering to the filter 46 can be seen from between the upper and lower slats 62, 62, and the appearance is poor. Further, the slat 62 has a drawback that warping or twisting or the like is likely to occur when the louver 36 is formed, resulting in poor quality and a large cost loss. Furthermore, it is pointed out that the strength of the slat itself is low and it is easily damaged when an external force is applied.
[0006]
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks inherent in the prior art described above, and it has been proposed to suitably solve this, and dust and the like deposited on the louver can be easily and easily wiped off. It is another object of the present invention to provide a louver structure capable of improving strength and improving appearance.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended purpose, the louver structure according to the present invention includes:
A plurality of slats are formed in a frame-like main body disposed in an opening of a machine room in which a condenser is disposed, and are separated from each other in the vertical direction, and the machine passes through an air vent defined between the upper and lower slats. In louvers that take outside air into the room,
The slat is formed with a rear vertical part protruding upward at a rear end edge of the horizontal main body part,
Between the upper and lower slats, in the vicinity of both ends in the width direction , the rear vertical portion is connected to close the vent hole, and the rear of the machine room side toward the both ends in the width direction of the frame-shaped main body A wall surface is formed by rounding forward from the front to the outer surface of the frame-shaped main body.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, a preferred embodiment of the louver structure according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiment, a case where the louver structure is implemented in an automatic ice maker will be described.
[0009]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an automatic ice making machine 10 according to an embodiment has an ice storage chamber 14 for storing ice blocks produced by an ice making mechanism (not shown) in a housing 12 constituting a main body thereof. And a machine room 18 that houses the refrigeration mechanism 16 are defined in a vertical relationship. A front opening corresponding to the storage chamber 14 of the housing 12 is formed with a rectangular opening that opens to the front, and the opening is formed by a door 20 that is rotatably disposed on the front surface of the housing 12. It is configured to be opened and closed freely.
[0010]
In the machine room 18 defined in the housing 12, a condenser 22 constituting the refrigeration mechanism 16, a cooling fan (not shown) and a compressor 24 are arranged on a base plate 26 constituting the bottom of the machine room 24. They are arranged in order from the left to the right (see FIG. 1). A front opening corresponding to the machine room 18 of the housing 12 is formed with a rectangular opening 18a that opens to the front, and the opening 18a is opened and closed by a front panel 28 on which a louver 36 is formed. It is configured to be. Further, front portions 30a bent at right angles toward the inner side (the other side panel side) are formed in the front portions corresponding to the machine room 18 in the left and right side panels 30, 30 constituting the housing 12. At the same time, a bent portion 30b is formed that is bent at a right angle from the open end of the front surface portion 30a toward the rear (machine room). The opening 18a is defined by the bent portions 30b and 30b and the base plate 26.
[0011]
A shroud 32 is disposed between the condenser 22 disposed in the machine room 18 and the front panel 28 to separate the air suction side and the discharge side. A front part 32a bent toward the left side panel 30 is formed in the front part of the shroud 32, and the front part of the front part 32a and the front part 30a of the left side panel 30 are aligned on the same plane. It is set to do. When the opening 18a is closed by the front panel 28, a partition plate 34 (to be described later) of the panel 28 comes into contact with the front surface 32a of the shroud 32, thereby blocking the air suction side and the discharge side. It is configured to prevent a decrease in heat exchange efficiency due to a short cycle.
[0012]
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the front panel 28 is formed in a rectangular box shape that opens to the rear side, and has an outer diameter dimension set to a dimension that can cover the opening 18 a. The front panel 28 has an upper panel portion 28a having a large thickness in the front-rear direction at a portion extending approximately 2/3 downward from the upper end with respect to the entire length of the vertical dimension. A portion from the lower side to the lower end of 28a is defined as a lower panel portion 28b having a thickness set to approximately ３ of the front and rear thickness of the upper panel portion 28a. That is, the front panel 28 is formed in a staircase shape in which the front lower portion is recessed rearward. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a pair of partition plates 34, 34 are disposed in the front panel 28 at positions spaced apart from each other across the substantial center in the width direction (the left-right direction in the figure). The left and right spaces SL and SR are separated from each other inside the front panel 28. A louver 36 is opened on the front side of the front panel 28 in common for both spaces SL and SR. Among these, the front surface portion corresponding to the left space SL is a suction louver portion 36a that functions as an air suction port, and the front surface portion corresponding to the right space SR is a discharge louver portion 36b that functions as an air discharge port. .
[0013]
That is, the louver 36 is configured by arranging a plurality of slats 38 in parallel at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction on a frame body (frame-shaped main body) 28c forming the front panel 28. The air enters and exits through the vent hole 43 defined between the upper and lower slats 38. As shown in FIG. 5, the slat 38 is integrally formed with a rear vertical portion 38b projecting upward at a rear end edge thereof with respect to a main body portion 38a extending horizontally in the width direction, and at a lower end thereof. A front vertical portion 38c that protrudes toward the bottom is integrally formed to have a cross-sectional crank shape as a whole. The rear vertical portion 38 b is set to a height that is approximately ½ of the vent hole 43.
[0014]
A wall surface 45 that closes the vent hole 43 is connected to the rear vertical portion 38b at positions in the vicinity of both ends in the width direction between the upper and lower slats 38, 38, and the front surface of the wall surface 45 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the frame body 28c is formed so as to be rounded from the rear to the front and to be continuous with the outer surface of the frame body 28c as it goes to both ends in the width direction. In other words, by rounding the front surface of the wall surface 45, the dust and the like attached to the main body 38a of the slat 38 can be reliably and easily removed.
[0015]
On the front surface facing the left space SL in the upper panel portion 28a, an insertion / removal port 41 having a width dimension substantially the same as the width dimension of the suction louver portion 36a is opened above the position where the suction louver portion 36a is formed, A filter 46 to be described later is detachably attached to the rear side of the front panel 28 from the front side through the insertion / removal port 41. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a guide portion 42 is formed behind the insertion / removal port 41. The guide portion 42 is inclined in an arc shape spaced apart from the insertion / removal port 41 toward the lower side from the upper part to the lower part. The lower end of the filter 46 to be inserted is guided by the guide portion 42 downward. The position of the lower end of the guide portion 42 is set at substantially the same level as the lower end of the insertion / removal port 41, and the guide portion 42 prevents the operator's fingers from entering the machine room via the insertion / removal port 41. It has come to double as.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of engaging pieces 44, 44 project from the lower surface of the front panel 28 so as to be spaced apart from each other in the width direction. The upper portion of the front panel 28 is screwed to the housing 12 in a state where the front panel 28 is engaged with the provided engaged portion 26a, so that the front panel 28 closes the opening 18a. Positioning is fixed. When the opening 18a is closed by the front panel 28, as shown in FIG. 1, the open end of the partition plate 34 on the left side of the drawing is substantially in contact with the vicinity of the bent portion of the front portion 32a of the shroud 32, Thus, the gap defined between the condenser 22 and the front panel 28 is shielded, and the external air sucked from the suction louver portion 36a flows to the compressor side without cooling the condenser 22. This is configured to prevent (short cycle prevention). Further, the front surface portion 32a of the shroud 32 extends to the left from the contact portion with the partition plate 34 by a predetermined length, and approaches the rear end of the front panel 28 substantially parallel to the left side surface. The front surface portion 30a of the panel 30 faces the rear end of the panel 28 so as to be substantially parallel to the rear of the left space SL of the front panel 28. Both front surface portions 30a and 32a It functions as a guide for guiding both sides in the width direction.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 6, the dust collecting filter 46 has a rectangular opening 48 a formed in an elastically deformable synthetic resin main body 48 formed in a substantially rectangular shape. The mesh body 52 having a predetermined mesh is stretched so as to cover the entire surface of the opening 48a. The width dimension of the main body 48 is set to a dimension that can be inserted into and removed from the insertion / removal opening 41 of the front panel 28, and the vertical dimension of the main body 48 is set to the left space SL (of the front panel 28 through the insertion / removal opening 41). When inserted into the rear side), the lower end of the main body 48 faces the lower end of the lower panel portion 28b, so that the dust contained in the air sucked from all the suction louver portions 36a can be removed. Is set.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 7, a base 54 protruding forward is formed above the portion of the main body 48 of the filter 46 where the opening 48 a is formed. The base 54 is recessed substantially in the center in the vertical direction of the base 54. A recess 54a is formed. In addition, a lock claw 56 having elasticity in the vertical direction is formed at an upper portion of the base 54 corresponding to the recess 54a in the center in the width direction, and the lock claw 56 is located behind the insertion / removal port 41 in the front panel 28. The filter 46 is detachably engaged with the locking portion 28d formed on the front panel 28 and functions to hold the filter 46 on the front panel 28. Further, the lock claw 56 is integrally formed with an operation piece 58 extending forward, and the operation piece 58 is configured to unlock the locking portion 28d of the lock claw 56. As shown in the drawing, the vicinity of the upper portion of the filter body 48, that is, the portion from the base 54 to the lower part of the required length, is curved and formed in an arc shape whose front surface is the inner peripheral side. 41 can be easily inserted and removed.
[0019]
[Effect of the embodiment]
Next, the operation of the louver structure according to the embodiment will be described. By rotating a cooling fan (not shown) disposed in the machine room 18 during the operation of the automatic ice making machine, external air is sucked into the machine room via the suction louver part 36a. On the upper surface of the main body 38a of the slat 38 in the suction louver 36a, dust mixed in the air adheres and accumulates over time. When sweeping this dust or the like, a cloth body (not shown) is moved from the main body portion 38a in the vicinity of the partition plate 34 toward both sides in the width direction of the frame body portion 28c of the front panel 28. Let In this case, as described above, the wall surfaces 45 that are rounded toward the outer surface of the side portion of the frame body portion 28c are formed in the vicinity of the respective end portions in the width direction of the suction louver portion 36a and the discharge louver 36b. Yes. Therefore, the dust collected toward the frame body portion 28 c is guided along the wall surface 45 to the outer surface of the frame body portion 28 c and reliably removed from the upper portion of the slat 38.
[0020]
The slat 38 is formed in a so-called crank shape by a main body portion 38a and front and rear vertical portions 38b and 38c. For this reason, dust or the like sucked together with the external air adheres and accumulates most at a portion located on the rear side (machine room side) from the front end surface of the front panel 28, that is, at the corner between the rear vertical portion 38b and the main body portion 38a. As a result, dust or the like is difficult to visually recognize from the outside of the front panel 28 (louver 36), and a clean feeling (appearance) can be maintained well over a long period of time.
[0021]
As described above, according to the louver structure of the embodiment, dust and the like deposited on each slat 38 of the louver 36 can be reliably and easily removed through the wall surface 45, and can always be kept hygienic. In addition, since the cross-sectional shape of the slat 38 in the louver 36 is a crank shape, the strength of the slat 38 and the louver 36 itself can be improved, and it can be prevented from being damaged when an external force is applied. Furthermore, since it is possible to suppress the slats 38 from warping up and down or twisting during louver molding, it contributes to reducing the occurrence rate of defective products and keeping cost loss low.
[0022]
[About changes]
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the wall surface 45 is formed even in the louver 36 of the type that is completely open in the front-rear direction without forming the front and rear vertical portions 38b, 38c in the slat 38. A similar effect can be expected. In the embodiment, the case where the louver is integrally formed on the front panel has been described. However, the front panel and the louver may be formed independently, and the louver may be detachably disposed on the front panel. By forming wall surfaces that are rounded so as to be continuous with the outer surface of the frame-like body at both ends in the width direction between the upper and lower slats constituting the louver, it is possible to reliably and easily sweep dust and the like. .
[0023]
In the illustrated embodiment, the louver structure when the condenser of the refrigeration mechanism in the automatic ice maker is air-cooled has been described. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The machine room defined in the housing is provided with a heat exchanger such as a condenser. The opening of the machine room is closed with a panel with a louver part, and external air sucked through the louver part is supplied to the heat exchanger. The louver structure according to the present invention can be implemented as long as the apparatus has a basic structure for exchanging heat by contact, such as a refrigerator, a freezer, or an air conditioner.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the louver structure according to the present invention, the wall surface that rounds toward the outer surface of the frame-shaped main body is formed in the vicinity of both ends in the width direction between the upper and lower slats. By sweeping the slats with this cleaning tool, dust and the like deposited on the slats can be guided to the outer surface side of the frame-shaped main body and reliably removed, and can always be kept hygienic. Further, by forming the cross-sectional shape of the slat in a crank shape, even when dust or the like is accumulated on the slat, the dust or the like becomes difficult to visually recognize from the outside, and there is an advantage that the dirt of the louver becomes inconspicuous. is there. Furthermore, the effect which can improve the intensity | strength of slat and louver itself is also show | played.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of an essential part of an automatic ice maker that employs a louver structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing the automatic ice making machine according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a front panel of the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view showing the front panel of the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal side view of the front panel of the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal side view showing a state in which a filter is mounted on the front panel of the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a front panel equipped with a filter.
FIG. 8 is a front view showing a front panel of a modified example.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a modified front panel.
FIG. 10 is a vertical side view showing a front panel employing a louver structure according to the prior art.
11 is a cross-sectional plan view of the front panel shown in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
18 machine room, 18a opening, 22 condenser, 28c frame body (frame-shaped main body)
38 slats, 38a body part, 38b rear vertical part, 38c front vertical part 43 vent hole, 45 wall surface

Claims (2)

A plurality of slats (38) are formed in the frame-shaped main body (28c) disposed in the opening (18a) of the machine room (18) in which the condenser (22) is disposed, spaced apart in the vertical direction, In the louver that takes in external air into the machine room through the vent (43) defined between the upper and lower slats (38, 38),
The slat (38) is formed with a rear vertical portion (38b) protruding upward at a rear end edge of the horizontal main body portion (38a) ,
Between the upper and lower slats ( 38, 38) in the vicinity of both ends in the width direction , the rear vertical part (38b) is connected to the vent hole (43) to close the frame-shaped main body (28c). ) And a wall surface (45) continuous to the outer surface of the frame-shaped main body (28c) by rounding from the rear toward the front on the machine room side toward both ends in the width direction. A front vertical portion (38c) projecting downward is formed at a front end edge of a main body portion (38a) in which the rear vertical portion (38b) is formed, and the slat (38) has a cross-sectional crank shape. The louver structure according to 1.

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