JP4263511B2 - Storage device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a showcase or a storage device installed in a supermarket or a convenience store.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a showcase installed in a supermarket or the like to display or display a product, an air curtain is formed on the front of the case, and a showcase called an open showcase that can refrigerate products such as beverage cans is known. ing. In particular, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-133671 discloses a multi-temperature zone open showcase that can set two different temperature zones in a warehouse, and products with different appropriate temperatures at the time of display or display are different in the warehouse. It can be displayed in the temperature zone area.
[0003]
This multi-temperature zone showcase is provided with area division plates that divide the interior into two areas in the vertical direction, and shelves for placing products are arranged in each of the two areas. In addition, this multi-temperature zone showcase is provided with two ducts on the back, and one of the ducts is an external air curtain covering the front of the two areas by blowing cool air down from the air outlet in front of the top plate. Form. The other duct blows out cold air from the air outlet located in front of the area partition plate to form an internal air curtain only on the front surface of the lower area. Therefore, the upper area in the warehouse is only the external air curtain, and the lower area has a double structure of the external air curtain and the internal air curtain. By forming an internal air curtain having a temperature different from that of the external air curtain, the upper and lower two areas are set to different temperature zones.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-5-133671 [0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In such a showcase that forms a double air curtain, there is an advantage that different temperature zones can be set in the cabinet, but two ducts are required, and the appearance of the showcase with respect to the capacity for storing products Increases, and the storage efficiency decreases. Further, since two fans for supplying air to the ducts and two heat exchangers for adjusting the temperature of the air in the ducts are required for each duct, the storage efficiency of the showcase is further reduced. If an area to be controlled at three or more temperatures is provided, three or more ducts are required, and the storage efficiency is further reduced. In addition, when displaying the same type of products in two areas, these areas may be controlled to the same temperature, but it is necessary to control the two systems independently to control them at the same temperature, which is wasteful. is there.
[0006]
On the other hand, if one duct is used and one air curtain is formed from the ceiling, the internal area cannot be controlled at a plurality of temperatures. There is a similar problem when trying to form areas with different conditions such as humidity and fragrance in the case without being limited to temperature.
[0007]
Therefore, in the present invention, there is provided a storage device capable of setting a plurality of temperature zones in a warehouse or case by simple control with one system or a duct system having a number smaller than the number of areas for controlling environmental conditions such as temperature. The purpose is that.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
For this reason, in the present invention, in an open-type storage device having a zone opened so that a product can be taken out in at least one direction, air for adjustment is supplied and exhausted in units of zones, and air conditions are supplied to the supply duct. Adjustable means are arranged. That is, a zone in which at least one direction is opened to take out the goods, the display for space available divided into the first zone and the second zone circulating individually air for environment adjustment, first A supply duct common to the first zone and the second zone, in which air flows from the first zone toward the second zone, A supply duct having a plurality of outlets for distributing air to each of the first zone and the second zone, and an exhaust duct common to the first zone and the second zone, the inside of the second zone The air flows from the first zone toward the first zone, and the exhaust duct having a plurality of exhaust ports for exhausting air from each of the first zone and the second zone, and the first duct in a state accommodated in the supply duct . Zone of Provided in the present invention a storage device having a preliminary first adjusting means adjustable second zone air conditions in different conditions and the second adjustment means. In this storage device, the second adjusting means is stored at a position upstream of the air outlet for distributing air to the second zone and downstream of the air outlet for distributing air to the first zone. The adjusting means is accommodated at a position upstream of the air outlet that distributes air to the first zone. The storage device preferably further includes a first sensor for controlling the first adjusting means and a second sensor for controlling the second adjusting means, which are stored in the exhaust duct. The second sensor is housed at a position downstream of the exhaust port for exhausting air from the second zone and upstream of the exhaust port for exhausting air from the first zone. It is desirable to be stored in a position downstream of the exhaust port for exhausting air from the zone.
[0009]
The storage device of the present invention supplies or exhausts adjustment air in units of zones in order to adjust or maintain the environment of the open zone so that goods can be taken out in at least one direction. Cycle to keep the conditions in the zone. Therefore, it is not necessary to collectively block the open side of the display space from the outside with the air curtain. For this reason, it is not necessary to eject a large amount of air from one end of the display space, in many cases from the ceiling, and to block the display space from the outside by an air curtain. Environmental control of each zone is performed by distributing and supplying air for adjustment to each zone for controlling temperature and the like. Therefore, the environmental conditions of each zone can be individually controlled by changing the conditions of the adjustment air supplied to each zone, and the conditions of the adjustment air supplied to each zone or grouped zone can be controlled by the adjustment air. Need to be able to control them before they reach those zones. For this reason, by providing adjusting means such as a heater, a cooler, and a humidifier that adjust the conditions of the air supplied to the zone in the state of being housed in the supply duct, one set is provided for a plurality of zones having different environmental conditions. Alternatively, it is possible to circulate air with fewer supply and exhaust ducts than the number of different environmental conditions.
[0010]
In the storage device of the present invention that supplies air for adjustment dispersedly to each zone, the amount of air output to each zone is blown out in a storage device that blows out from the ceiling or the like to form an air curtain. It is much less than the amount of air that is produced, and the pressure that blows out can be small. Therefore, the amount of air supplied to each zone can be controlled with sufficient accuracy by a relatively simple air volume control device such as a damper. Also in this respect, by providing a common supply duct and exhaust duct for a plurality of zones having different environmental conditions, the conditions of each zone can be controlled with sufficient accuracy.
[0011]
On the other hand, in the air curtain system in which a large amount of air needs to be ejected from the outlet, if air of different conditions is output from different outlets, the pressure loss for controlling the flow rate and pressure is large. In addition, if it is attempted to accurately control the pressure and the amount of air blown from each outlet, the cost of the control system increases. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain economic merits by using a common duct, and there are great demerits. On the other hand, in the distributed supply type storage device of the present invention, the duct can be made common without causing such a disadvantage. By using a common duct, it is possible to provide an economical and compact storage device by sharing equipment such as a cooling device and a heating device that adjust the basic conditions of the supply / exhaust fan and supply air. . In addition, when the environment inside the display space is controlled under a single condition or under a plurality of conditions, the adjustment air can be supplied and exhausted with a duct system having a simple configuration.
[0012]
One example of supplying and exhausting air for each zone is supplying and / or exhausting air from separators that face each zone. There is a system in which air is supplied from the separator to the zone, and the air in the zone is directly collected by an exhaust duct. In addition, there is a system in which air is supplied from a supply duct to a zone and is recovered from an exhaust duct via a separator. There is also a method of supplying and exhausting air from the separator to the zone.
[0013]
The present invention can also be applied to a flat type storage device or a showcase in which separators are arranged in the horizontal direction. In a storage device in which display shelves on which display items can be mounted are arranged in the vertical direction, such as an open showcase that is also opened in front or in other directions, the display shelf is supplied with adjustment air and / or By using a separator for exhausting, a storage device in which zones are formed in the vertical direction can be provided. In the storage device in which the zone is formed in the vertical direction, a heater is suitable as the adjusting means. That is, when the adjustment air flows from the bottom to the top of the supply duct, the air above the heater is downstream of the heater, and no downdraft occurs even if the temperature is set high. For this reason, when the set temperature of the upper zone is increased, the temperature of the upper zone can be adjusted without affecting the lower zone. Therefore, the temperature adjustment of the upper and lower zones can be performed independently without separating the duct, and the temperature of all the zones can be set to the same only by stopping the heater.
[0014]
Furthermore, even if the lower zone is cooled or refrigerated, the storage device of the present invention can warm the upper zone by installing a heater in the duct. Therefore, it is possible to realize a storage device having a refrigeration and a warm storage area simply by preparing a set of ducts. For this reason, the display area | region of a several different condition can be set in a store | warehouse | chamber or a case with one duct, and an open showcase with high storage efficiency can be provided.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a storage device according to the present invention. The storage device 1 of this example includes a display case 10 that also serves as a heat-insulating housing, and a display shelf 2 that is disposed in a display space (inside the box or in the case) 11 inside the display case 10. is doing. In the cabinet 11, a plurality of display shelves 2 arranged side by side serve as separators, and are divided into a plurality of zones 3 in the vertical direction, in this example, six zones. The storage device 1 maintains the environmental conditions of each zone 3 by an air cycle that supplies and exhausts the adjustment air A1 for each zone. Therefore, the storage device 1 is an open showcase type in which the front surface 10a of the display case 10 is opened, and a form for easily displaying and replenishing products from the front side and taking out the products or displays displayed from the front surface 10a. However, an air curtain is not formed by a large amount of air blown from the ceiling.
[0016]
The storage device 1 has a supply duct 21 that distributes and supplies the temperature-controlled air A <b> 1 to each zone 3, and an exhaust duct 22 that exhausts the air A <b> 1 from each zone 3. The bottom side of the display case 10 of the storage device 1 is a machine room 9, which sucks air from each zone 3 through an exhaust duct 22 and enters each zone 3 through a supply duct 21. A fan 31 for supplying air A1 and a device for adjusting the temperature of air supplied to each zone 3 are installed. In this example, a cooling device 30 that generates refrigeration air and a heater 32 that generates temperature for the cooling air and air for storage are arranged. The temperature-adjusted air A1 is supplied to the supply duct 21 by these temperature adjusting devices.
[0017]
The display shelf 2 includes an internal duct 23 connected to the supply port 21a of the supply duct 21 and a plurality of blowout holes 24 formed in a distributed manner on the surface 2a. The blowout holes 24 are connected to the internal ducts 23, and air A <b> 1 supplied to the internal ducts 23 from the supply ports 21 a of the supply ducts 21 is blown upward from the respective blowout holes 24. The exhaust port 22a is arranged at a position slightly above the display shelf 2, and the air A1 blown into the zone 3 is collected from the exhaust port 22a to the exhaust duct 22. Therefore, in the storage device 1, the air A 1 whose temperature is adjusted by the temperature adjusting devices 30 and 32 in the lower machine room 9 is supplied upward by the supply duct 21 and distributed to each zone 3 through the display shelf 2. . Then, the air A <b> 1 that circulates in each zone 3 and adjusts and maintains the environment in each zone is collected in the machine room 9 through the exhaust duct 22. For this reason, the temperature of each zone 3 is controlled by the air A1 for environmental adjustment supplied for each zone, and the display can be refrigerated or refrigerated.
[0018]
The storage device 1 further includes a heater 7 stored in the supply duct 21. The heater 7 functions as a means for further adjusting the temperature of the air A1 in the duct. Accordingly, the upper zone 3 on the downstream side of the heater 7 can be supplied with air A2 having a high temperature after being heated by the heater 7. Assuming that the air A1 for refrigeration can be changed to the air A2 for refrigeration by the heater 7, the two zones 3 above the position of the heater 7 can be used as regions for refrigeration. The zone 3 can be a refrigerated region. When warming air is supplied as conditioning air A1 through the duct 21 by the temperature regulation device in the machine room 9, the region above the heater 7 is in the high temperature zone 8h and the heater 7 The lower four zones 3 can be set to a low temperature zone 8c. Thus, the storage device 1 of this example can form different temperature zones 8h and 8c in the interior 11 with one duct 21. If the position of the heater 7 can be moved up and down, the number of zones 3 having different temperatures can be freely adjusted.
[0019]
Therefore, the storage device 1 of this example first supplies the adjustment air A1 or A2 to each zone 3 to adjust the temperature of each zone, so that a large amount of air is ejected from the ceiling to form an air curtain. There is no need. For this reason, the ceiling part 10c of the upper part of the display case 10 can be made of transparent acrylic, and the products displayed in the uppermost zone 3 can be visually recognized only by lighting of the store or the event venue.
[0020]
Furthermore, a plurality of zones 3 having different temperatures can be set. For this purpose, a set of ducts 21 and 22 may be arranged. Therefore, the area occupied by the duct can be reduced, and the storage device 1 with high storage efficiency can be provided. In this example, the inside of the rear wall 10b which becomes the back surface of the display case 10 becomes a duct space 10x, and a supply duct 21 having a plurality of outlets 21a capable of supplying air A to each zone 3, and each zone An exhaust duct 22 provided with a plurality of exhaust ports 22a for exhausting air A from 3 is disposed so as to extend vertically along the rear wall 10b. For this reason, air A can be distributed and supplied to each zone 3 from one duct 21 extending vertically, and air A can be exhausted from one duct 22 extending vertically. Although the two ducts 21 and 22 are shown side by side in the front-rear direction, the ducts 21 and 22 can be arranged side by side in the horizontal direction or the horizontal direction. Therefore, it is only necessary to provide a thin duct space on the back surface 10b of the case 10.
[0021]
It is also possible to provide a skeleton type storage device that supports the display shelf 2 with a support column, and these ducts 21 and 22 can be arranged along the support column or incorporated in the support column. Ducts 21 and 22 may be arranged along different columns, and ducts 21 and 22 may be arranged along one column. In this case, it is possible to provide a storage device in which the display shelf 2 is supported by a single column and can set a plurality of zones having different conditions. As described above, in the storage device of this example, zones having different temperatures can be set by one set of ducts, and therefore the flexibility of arrangement of the ducts is very high.
[0022]
In the storage device 1, when the heater 7 built in the supply duct 21 is turned on, the air A1 adjusted by the temperature adjusting devices 30 and 32 in the lower machine room 9 is heated and has a temperature higher than that of the air A1. It becomes air A2 and is blown out from the upper display shelf 2. Since the air A2 heated by the heater 7 is lighter than the air A1 having a temperature lower than that, the downdraft does not occur, and the updraft state is reversed. Therefore, the heated air A2 does not flow backward through the duct 21, and does not affect the air A1 before heating and the zone 3 to which the air A1 is supplied. On the contrary, since the heated air A2 becomes an updraft, the heated air A2 can be easily supplied to the zone 3 above the heater 7 without arranging a fan, and the temperature inside the display space 10 is increased. The display sections (zones) 3 having different sizes can be easily formed.
[0023]
Thus, the storage device 1 does not use an air curtain, but manages each zone 3 in a target temperature zone by circulating the air A for each zone. For this reason, the adjustment airs A1 and A2 are distributed and supplied to each zone 3, and the blowout pressure and the amount of air supplied to each zone 3 are such that a damper is provided at the outlet 21a of the supply duct 21. It is possible to control with. Therefore, the design of the air supply system can be changed from a system that ejects a large amount of air from the ceiling to form an air curtain. That is, in order to form two different air curtains corresponding to two regions having different temperatures, a large amount of high pressure air is blown into two places separated from each other by an expensive damper and a A device to control is required. In many cases, it is difficult to obtain appropriate air volume and pressure at two locations. Therefore, it is cheaper and more reliable to control each air curtain independently of the duct system. However, even if this method is economical and easy to control because a plurality of air curtains are formed, the number of ducts increases and it cannot be said that it is economical as a storage device. Furthermore, when all the interiors are set to the same temperature, it is necessary to use two systems of ducts. If the storage device has a high possibility of being set to the same temperature, it may be said as a useless configuration.
[0024]
On the other hand, the storage device 1 of this example can set a plurality of temperature display zones 3 with one system of ducts. For this reason, it is economical and easy to control, and even when the entire display area 10 is controlled to one temperature, all the ducts are used and the heater 7 does not operate. There are few things.
[0025]
FIG. 2 shows an example of the control of the storage device 1. The storage device 1 includes a control unit 35 that controls the heater 7 described above in addition to the fan 31 and the temperature adjusting devices 30 and 32 of the machine room 9. The control unit 35 includes a fan control unit 36 that controls the fan 31, a first temperature control unit 41 that controls the cooling device 30 and the heater 32 installed in the machine room 9, and the heater 7 disposed in the supply duct 21. And a second temperature control unit 42 to be controlled. The first temperature control unit 41 controls the outputs of the temperature adjusting devices 30 and 32 by the first sensor S1 disposed in the exhaust duct 22 so as to detect the temperature Tc of the air A1 exhausted from the low temperature region 8c. The temperature of the air A1 is adjusted. The second temperature control unit 42 controls the output of the heater 7 by the second sensor S2 disposed in the exhaust duct 22 so as to detect the temperature Th of the air A2 exhausted from the high temperature region 8h. Adjust the temperature. The arrangement of the sensors S1 and S2 is not limited to this example, but is one of suitable locations for detecting the temperature inside the zone 3.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 3, the second temperature control unit 42 turns on the upper heater 7 (step 52) when controlling the inside of the display case 10 with two temperatures (step 51). When the inside of the display case 10 is controlled at one temperature, the second temperature control unit 42 is not activated or the heater 7 is not turned on.
[0027]
When performing two temperature control, the 1st temperature control part 41 and the 2nd temperature control part 42 operate | move independently. When the set temperature of the high temperature range 8h is set to X ° C. and the set temperature of the low temperature range 8c is set to Y ° C., the first temperature control unit 41 sets the heater 32 of the machine room 9 to the positions shown in FIGS. Control by the algorithm as shown in). That is, the temperature Tc is detected by the first sensor S1 (step 61), and when the temperature Tc is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature (Y−α) (step 62), the heater 32 is turned on (step 65). On the other hand, if the temperature Tc is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature (Y + α) (step 63), the heater 32 is turned off (step 64). The control for the cooling device 30 is in the opposite direction to that of the heater 32, but basically does not change.
[0028]
The second temperature control unit 42 also performs the same control as described above except that the set value is different. That is, the temperature Th is detected by the second sensor S2 (step 61), and when the temperature Th is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature (X−β) (step 62), the heater 7 is turned on (step 65). On the other hand, if the temperature Tc is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature (X + β) (step 63), the heater 32 is turned off (step 64).
[0029]
Thus, the storage device 1 can form different temperature zones in the interior 11 with very simple control.
[0030]
In the zone 3, by using a humidifier or aroma as an air conditioner, not only cold air and warm air, but also air humidified for humidity adjustment, dried air, deodorized air, and aroma. Air that is conditioned to set a wide variety of environmental conditions, such as air, can be supplied. For this reason, the adjustment means installed in the supply duct includes equipment capable of adjusting the air conditions such as a humidifier and a cooling device.
[0031]
Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to display shelves arranged side by side, but can also be applied to a showcase or storage device in which zones are divided in the horizontal direction by separators such as walls. is there. However, when the display shelf is used as a separator and the display shelf is used as a means for supplying and exhausting the adjustment air A1 or A2, the environment around the display object mounted on the display shelf can be controlled more accurately with the adjustment air. Therefore, the storage device 1 having a display shelf is one of the most preferred embodiments of the present invention.
[0032]
In addition, the storage device 1 is provided with one heater 7 in the supply duct 21 to form two temperature zones in the interior 11, but by installing a plurality of heaters 7, more It is possible to form a temperature zone. Furthermore, the range of the high temperature area 8c can be narrowed or widened only by changing the position of the heater 7 in the vertical direction. Therefore, it is possible to provide a more flexible storage device that can not only form a plurality of temperature zones in the interior 11 but also change the range controlled to different temperatures.
[0033]
Furthermore, in the storage device 1, a plurality of temperature zones can be formed by the single supply duct 21, and therefore, compared to a showcase in which different supply ducts are provided for different regions, the supply duct The occupied area can be reduced, and the effect becomes more prominent as the number of regions having different temperatures increases. In addition, since the storage device 1 does not need to form an air curtain on the case front surface 10a, the ceiling duct that is necessary for forming the air curtain is also unnecessary. Therefore, it is a storage device provided with display regions having different temperatures, has a light structure, and can provide a storage device with high storage efficiency of display objects.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the present invention, adjustment air is supplied and exhausted in units of zones, and means capable of adjusting the air condition is disposed in the supply duct. In this way, the air is circulated in units of zones, and the environmental conditions are adjusted by the adjusting means in the supply duct. By using one supply duct, the zones having different environmental conditions on the upstream side and the downstream side of the adjusting means, For example, zones with different temperatures can be easily set. Therefore, by applying the present invention to an open showcase with an open front, it is possible to form a plurality of temperature ranges in the cabinet without using an air curtain and without performing complicated control. Can provide.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an outline of a storage device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which two temperature regions are formed in the storage of the storage device illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing when two-temperature control is performed.
FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a state in which a heater is turned on / off during two-temperature control, and FIG. 4B is a flowchart illustrating processing of the first and second temperature control units during the two-temperature control. It is.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage device 2 Display shelf 3 Zone 10 Display case 11 Inside (space for display)
21 Supply duct 22 Exhaust duct 31 Fan 35 Controller

Claims (6)

A display space that is open in at least one direction so that goods can be taken out, and can be divided into a first zone and a second zone that individually circulate environmental adjustment air; and
The first is located along zone and the second zone, said first zone and a common supply duct to said second zone, said second zone inwardly from the first zone A supply duct comprising a plurality of air outlets through which air flows toward and distributes air to each of the first zone and the second zone ;
An exhaust duct common to the first zone and the second zone, in which air flows from the second zone toward the first zone, and the first zone and the second zone An exhaust duct having a plurality of exhaust ports for exhausting air from each of the zones;
Wherein in a state of being accommodated in the supply duct, have a said first zone and said first adjusting means adjustable second zone of the air conditions in different conditions and the second adjustment means,
The second adjusting means is housed in a position upstream of the air outlet for distributing air to the second zone and downstream of the air outlet for distributing air to the first zone,
A storage device in which the first adjusting means is stored at a position upstream of the air outlet that distributes air to the first zone . The first sensor for controlling the first adjusting means and the second sensor for controlling the second adjusting means housed in the exhaust duct according to claim 1. ,
The second sensor is housed in a position downstream of an exhaust port for exhausting air from the second zone and upstream of an exhaust port for exhausting air from the first zone,
A storage device in which the first sensor is stored at a position downstream of an exhaust port for exhausting air from the first zone. According to claim 1 or 2, comprising a separator disposed facing each said zone, storage devices for air supply and / or exhausting the air from these separators. 4. The storage device according to claim 3 , wherein the separator is a display shelf on which display objects can be placed. 5. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the display space is a display case whose front surface is an opening. In any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first zone and the second zone are arranged in the vertical direction, the first adjusting means and the second adjustment means is a heater housing unit.

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