JP7012545B2 - Cool storage - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cold storage for storing articles in a low temperature state.

For example, a cold storage for storing articles such as beverages and foods in a refrigerated state (for example, a low temperature state of about 5 ° C.) or a frozen state (for example, a low temperature state of about −20 ° C.) is known.

Such a cooling storage includes a housing in which a storage room for storing articles is formed, a door for closing the front opening of the housing, and a cooling device for cooling the air in the storage room. ing.

In such a cooling storage, when the door is opened to put in and take out articles, the cold air in the storage room leaks to the outside (or the outside air invades the storage room), and the temperature inside the storage room rises.

In order to prevent this, in addition to the door for closing the front opening of the housing (hereinafter referred to as "outer door"), an inner door for closing the front opening of the refrigerator compartment is provided behind the outer door. A provided cooling storage has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-49961

In such a cooling storage, the inner door is made of a transparent material, and the inside of the storage can be visually recognized through the inner door even when only the outer door is open. In this state, the inner door is closed, so that the storage is closed. The cold air in the room does not leak to the outside (or the outside air does not enter the room), and the room can be kept at a low temperature. Further, since the space between the outer door and the inner door acts as a heat insulating air layer, the heat insulating performance of the cooling storage can be improved.

However, when the outer door is opened, the outside air invades the space between the outer door and the inner door, and the moisture contained in the outside air condenses on the outer surface of the inner door whose temperature is low due to the contact with the cold air in the refrigerator. do. When dew condensation occurs, the inner door becomes cloudy and opaque, which hinders the visual recognition of the inside of the refrigerator, which is not preferable.

As a countermeasure, it is considered effective to heat the inner door with a heater such as a film heater in order to prevent the occurrence of dew condensation or to remove (defrost) the generated dew condensation after the fact. However, when a heater is provided, the heated and high temperature inner door not only heats the dew on the outer surface to melt the dew, but also heats the cold air in the refrigerator that comes into contact with the inner surface. Therefore, there arises a problem that the temperature inside the refrigerator rises.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is for closing a housing in which a storage chamber for storing articles in a low temperature state is formed inside and a front opening of the housing. Provides a cooling storage that is equipped with an outer door and an inner door for closing the front opening of the storage room, and can prevent the formation of dew condensation on the outer surface of the inner door even when the outer door is opened. The purpose is to do.

In order to solve the above problems, the cooling storage of the present invention includes a housing in which a storage chamber for storing articles in a low temperature state is formed inside, and an outer door for closing the front opening of the housing. , A door frame arranged at a position rearward from the inner surface of the outer door in a state where the outer door is closed inside the housing, and a transparent inner door attached to the front surface of the door frame. In a state where both the outer door and the inner door are closed, an anterior chamber is formed between the outer door and the inner door, and in a state where the inner door is closed, the storage room and the inner door are closed. A passage communicating with the anterior chamber is formed , and the passage is a gap extending in the left-right direction formed between the inner door and the door frame at the upper part and the lower part of the inner door. Among the passages, the gap formed in the upper part of the inner door is a front-rear gap formed between the inner surface of the inner door and the front surface of the door frame .

According to the present invention, when the inner door is closed, a passage connecting the front chamber and the storage chamber formed between the outer door and the inner door is formed, so that the outer door is opened before the outer door is opened. Even if the outside air enters the room, the air in the front room containing moisture that causes dew condensation is quickly replaced by the air in the refrigerator room dehumidified by the evaporator. As a result, the moisture adhering to the outer surface of the inner door evaporates in the dehumidified air, and it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that dew condensation (cloudiness) can be quickly eliminated. Further, when a part of the outer door has a transparent structure such as a pair of glass, an excellent effect that the inside of the refrigerator can be clearly seen can be obtained.

It is a schematic perspective view of the cooling storage of this invention. It is a schematic cross-sectional view which looked at the cooling storage of this invention from the left side. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows one Example of the inner door in the cooling storage of this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows the other embodiment of the inner door in the cooling storage of this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows the example of another installation mode of the slit of the inner door in the cooling storage of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the cooling storage of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the cooling storage of the present invention as viewed from the left side.

The cooling storage 1 is composed of a storage unit S arranged at the upper part and a mechanical part M arranged at the lower part.

The storage unit S includes an outer box 10 (housing) which is a rectangular parallelepiped housing having a front opening, and an outer door 20 for closing the front opening of the outer box 10, the outer box 10 and the outer. Each of the doors 20 has a structure in which a heat insulating material is filled inside.

The outer door 20 opens and closes the front opening of the outer box 10 by rotating around a hinge (not shown) attached to the front surface of the side wall on the left side (or right side) of the outer box 10.

Further, on the peripheral edge of the inner surface of the outer door 20 (the portion facing the front surface of the upper, lower, left and right walls constituting the outer box 10 with the outer door 20 closed), the outer door 20 is closed. A packing 22 is attached to the entire circumference in order to prevent cold air from leaking to the outside from the inside of the box 10 (or outside air from entering the inside of the outer box 10).

Further, a pair of glasses 24 is fitted in the central portion of the outer door 20. This makes it possible to visually recognize the inside even when the outer door 20 is closed, while maintaining the heat insulating property by allowing the space between the two glasses constituting the pair glass 24 to act as a heat insulating air layer. If it is not necessary to visually recognize the inside with the outer door 20 closed, the pair glass may not be provided.

Inside the outer box 10, a rectangular door frame 11 is provided so as to be separated rearward from the inner surface of the outer door 20 with the outer door 20 closed, and an inner door frame 11 is provided on the front surface of the door frame 11. The door 30 is attached. As a result, when the outer door 20 and the inner door 30 are closed, the internal space of the outer box 10 is the front chamber FC formed between the outer door 20 and the inner door 30 by the inner door 30, and the inner door 30. It will be divided into a storage room SC formed behind the door (see FIG. 2). The door frame 11 may be formed integrally with the inner surfaces of the upper, lower, left, and right walls of the outer box 10, and a part of the door frame 11 may be formed as a separate part, or the upper, lower, left, and right sides of the inner box 40 described later. It may be formed by the front edge of the wall.

The inner door 30 is made of a transparent material such as acrylic, and even when only the outer door 20 is open, the inside of the refrigerator compartment SC can be visually recognized through the inner door 30, and the inner door 30 is closed in this state. , The inside of the storage room SC can be kept at a low temperature without the outside air invading the inside of the storage room SC. Further, since the front chamber FC formed between the outer door 20 and the inner door 30 acts as a heat insulating air layer, the heat insulating performance of the cooling storage 1 can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inner door 30 is formed as a double door that rotates about a hinge attached to the left side and the right side of the front surface of the door frame 11, respectively. However, the inner door 30 may be formed as a single door that rotates about a hinge attached to the left side or the right side of the front surface of the door frame 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inner box 40 is arranged inside the outer box 10 and behind the inner door 30 in the closed state.

The inner box 40 is a rectangular parallelepiped housing having a front opening, and is composed of an upper wall 42, a rear wall 44 and a lower wall 46, and left and right side walls.

The upper wall 42, the rear wall 44, and the lower wall 46 of the inner box 40 are arranged so as to be separated from the inner surfaces of the upper wall 12, the rear wall 14, and the lower wall 16 of the outer box 10. As a result, a cold air duct C through which cold air circulates is formed between the outer box 10 and the inner box 40.

The upper wall 42 and the lower wall 46 of the inner box 40 are formed with openings 42A and 46A, respectively. Further, the upper wall 42 of the inner box 40 is arranged so as to be separated from the rear surface of the door frame 11 to the rear, whereby a cold air passage 42P is formed between the front end of the upper wall 42 and the door frame 11. There is.

In the cold air duct C, in the vicinity of the central portion in the height direction between the rear wall 14 of the outer box 10 and the rear wall 44 of the inner box 40, an evaporator 56 constituting a cooling device 50 described later is provided. Above that, blower fans 56F are arranged respectively.

The machine unit M includes a machine room MC arranged below the outer box 10, and a cooling device 50 for cooling the air in the storage room SC is housed in the machine room MC.

The cooling device 50 includes a compressor 52, a condenser 54, an expansion mechanism (not shown) and an evaporator 56 as main components, and executes a refrigerating cycle. Among these devices, the compressor 52, the condenser 54 and the expansion mechanism (not shown) are arranged in the machine room MC, but the evaporator 56 is arranged in the cold air duct C as described above. ..

With the above configuration, the air in the refrigerator chamber SC cooled when passing through the evaporator 56 is the rear wall 14 and the inner box 40 of the outer box 10 of the cold air duct C due to the action of the blower fan 56F. It flows upward through a portion between the rear walls 44, and a part thereof flows into the storage chamber SC through the opening 42A provided in the upper wall 42 of the inner box 40. The remaining air flows into the chamber SC through the cold air passage 42P formed between the front end of the upper wall 42 of the inner box 40 and the door frame 11, and the inner surface of the inner door 30 in a closed state. That is, it forms a downward flow along the opening surface of the door frame 11. This air flow acts as an air curtain and prevents outside air from entering the chamber SC when the inner door 30 is opened. The cold air flowing downward in the storage chamber SC returns from the storage chamber SC to the cold air duct C through the opening 46A provided in the lower wall 46 of the inner box 40, and then returns to the evaporator 56.

Further, in the cooling storage 1 of the present invention, even when the outer door 20 is opened, the inner door is prevented from causing dew condensation on the outer surface (the surface facing the front chamber FC) of the inner door 30. 30 has the features described below.

That is, in the cooling storage 1 of the present invention, the inner door 30 has an embodiment in which a passage connecting the storage chamber SC and the anterior chamber FC is formed in a state where the inner door 30 is closed (in a closed position). It is supposed to be. This will be described in detail below.

As the above-mentioned features indicate (and as described in detail below), the inner door 30 does not completely close the opening inside the door frame 11 under any condition, so that the inner door 30 is "closed". "Position" is defined as pointing to the position where the inner surface of the inner door 30 is closest to the front surface of the door frame 11 within the rotation range of the inner door 30.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view showing an embodiment of the inner door in the cooling storage 1 of the present invention, and shows a state in which the inner door 30 is in the closed position. (A) is a front view of the inner door 30, (b) is a T-direction arrow view (top view) of (a), and (c) is a B-direction arrow view (bottom view) of (a). (D) shows an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of (a), and (e) shows an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line YY of (a).

In this embodiment, the inner door 30 is formed as a double door composed of inner doors 30L and 30R that rotate about a hinge 11H attached to the left side and the right side of the front surface of the door frame 11, respectively. Further, the left and right inner doors 30L and 30R are both divided into upper and lower parts, and are composed of an inner door section 30LU and an inner door section 30LL, an inner door section 30RU and an inner door section 30RL, respectively.

The left and right inner doors 30L and 30R are formed so that their vertical dimensions are larger than the inner dimensions of the door frame 11, whereby the inner door sections 30LU and 30RU are formed. The upper end portion and the lower end portions of the inner door sections 30LL and 30RL overlap with the door frame 11 in the front-rear direction.

At the same time, the left and right inner doors 30L and 30R are viewed from the front surface of the door frame 11 as shown in the T-direction arrow view (top view) in (b) and the B-direction arrow view (bottom view) in (c). It is separated forward. This is because the stoppers 48S that come into contact with the inner surfaces of the left and right inner doors 30L and 30R at the closed position of the inner door 30 are located at the upper and lower parts of the front surface of the partition wall 48 (see FIG. 1) that divides the inside of the inner box 40 to the left and right. This is because the stopper 48S is attached and the front surface of the stopper 48S projects forward from the front surface of the door frame 11. As a result, in the upper part and the lower part of the inner door 30, gaps GU and GL in the front-rear direction are formed between the inner surface thereof and the front surface of the door frame 11, respectively.

The stopper may be attached to the front surface of the door frame 11 or the inner surfaces of the left and right inner doors 30L and 30R instead of the front surface of the partition wall 48.

Further, as described above, since the left and right inner doors 30L and 30R are divided into upper and lower parts, a gap GM is formed between the inner door sections 30LU and 30RU and the inner door sections 30LL and 30RL. There is.

The gaps GU and GL formed in the upper part and the lower part of the inner door 30 are shown by arrows AE and AI in the XX enlarged cross-sectional view of (d) and the YY enlarged cross-sectional view of (e), respectively. A passage connecting the storage room SC and the front room FC is formed. Similarly, the gap GM formed in the central portion of the inner door 30 in the vertical direction also forms a passage connecting the storage chamber SC and the front chamber FC.

With the above configuration, a part of the cold air circulating in the chamber SC flows out into the anterior chamber FC via the gap GU and GM, and flows downward along the outer surface of the inner door 30. After that, it flows into the warehouse SC again through the gap GL. As for the flow flowing into the refrigerator chamber SC through the gap GL, the air in the refrigerator chamber SC is sucked into the cold air duct C through the opening 46A provided in the lower wall 46 of the inner box 40 by the action of the blower fan 56F. It is caused by being done.

Even if the outer door 20 is opened and the outside air enters the front chamber FC due to the above-mentioned flow of cold air, the air in the front chamber FC that has become hot and humid is still present. , It will be replaced by low temperature and low humidity air flowing in from the inside of the refrigerator room SC via the gap GU and GM. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of dew condensation on the outer surface of the inner door 30.

This effect of preventing the occurrence of dew condensation is further remarkable because the gaps GU, GM and GL are formed so as to extend over the entire area of the inner door 30 in the left-right direction. That is, since the gaps GU, GM, and GL extend over the entire area of the inner door 30 in the left-right direction, the low-temperature, low-humidity air flowing out from the inside of the refrigerator chamber SC is downward along almost the entire surface of the inner door 30. The effect of preventing the occurrence of dew condensation will appear on almost the entire surface of the inner door 30.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the gap GU formed in the upper part of the inner door 30 is assumed to form a meandering passage as shown in the XX enlarged cross-sectional view of (d). This is because the position where the gap GU is formed corresponds to the position where the cold air flowing forward collides with the portion of the cold air duct C between the upper wall 12 of the outer box 10 and the upper wall 42 of the inner box 40. It is intended to increase the fluid resistance of the passage in order to prevent an excessive amount of cold air from flowing out from the SC into the anterior chamber FC.

In the same embodiment, since the inner door sections 30LU and 30RU and the inner door sections 30LL and 30RL are parts having the same shape (that is, common parts), the gap GL formed in the lower part of the inner door 30 is also (e). ), It forms a meandering passage as shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of YY. However, the gap GL having a function of sucking cold air from the front chamber FC into the refrigerator chamber SC does not necessarily have to form a passage with increased fluid resistance. Therefore, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 3, by shortening the vertical dimensions of the inner door sections 30LL and 30RL, the gap GL becomes a passage that linearly communicates the storage chamber SC and the front chamber FC in the front-rear direction. 'May form.

Further, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the left and right inner doors 30L and 30R are both divided into upper and lower parts, but the number of divisions in the vertical direction may be 3 or more. On the contrary, it is not necessary to divide it in the vertical direction. Even if the left and right inner doors 30L and 30R are not divided into upper and lower parts, cold air flows out from the inside of the storage room SC into the front room FC through the gap GU extending over the entire area of the inner door 30 in the left-right direction. Therefore, a sufficient effect of preventing the occurrence of dew condensation can be obtained.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, since the inner door 30 and the door frame 11 are not in contact with each other, the moisture generated by dew condensation straddles the outer edge portion of the inner door 30 and the door frame 11. It is possible to prevent the inner door 30 and the door frame 11 from being frozen due to freezing of the inner door 30 and making it difficult to open and close the inner door 30.

FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view showing another embodiment of the inner door in the cooling storage 1 of the present invention, and shows a state in which the inner door 130 is in the closed position. Similar to FIG. 3, (a) is a front view of the inner door 130, (b) is a T-direction arrow view (top view) of (a), and (c) is a B-direction arrow view of (a). (Bottom view), (d) shows an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of (a), and (e) shows an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line YY of (a).

The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 3 is that the left and right inner doors 130L and 130R constituting the inner door 130 are the T-direction arrow view (top view) and (c) of (b). ) B direction arrow view (bottom view), it is a point in contact with the front surface of the door frame 111. In such an arrangement, no gap is formed between the inner surface of the inner door 130 and the front surface of the door frame 111 at the upper part and the lower part of the inner door 130.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the left and right inner doors 130L and 130R are used to form a passage connecting the storage chamber SC and the front chamber FC instead of the gap GU and GL in the embodiment described with reference to FIG. Slits SU and SL extending in the left-right direction are provided at the upper part and the lower part of each of the above. More specifically, slits SU and SL are provided at the upper and lower portions of the inner door sections 130LU and 130LL constituting the inner door 130L on the left side, respectively, at positions that do not overlap the front surface of the door frame 111 in the front-rear direction. ing. Similarly, slits SU and SL are provided at the upper and lower portions of the inner door sections 130RU and 130RL constituting the inner door 130R on the right side, respectively, at positions that do not overlap the front surface of the door frame 111 in the front-rear direction. ..

As a result, a part of the cold air circulating in the refrigerator chamber SC flows out into the front chamber FC through the slit SU, flows downward along the outer surface of the inner door 130, and then passes through the slit SL again in the refrigerator chamber. Since it flows into the SC, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of dew condensation on the outer surface of the inner door 130, as in the embodiment described with reference to FIG.

Also in this embodiment, the number of divisions of the left and right inner doors 130L and 130R in the vertical direction may be 3 or more, and conversely, it may not be divided in the vertical direction.

The installation mode of the slit is not limited to that shown in FIG. An example of another installation mode of the slit of the inner door in the cooling storage 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

The slits SU and SL are provided in the upper part and the lower part of the inner door in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, but as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the slits SU and SL are provided in the door frame 211. Of these, they may be provided at locations located above the upper end of the inner door 230LU and below the lower end of the inner door 230LL, respectively.

Further, particularly for the slit provided in the upper part of the inner door, the portion of the inner door 330LU adjacent to the upper side of the slit SU is formed as a louver LV projecting forward (that is, toward the front chamber FC side) (FIG. 5). (C)) Alternatively, the slit SU provided in the inner door 430LU may be formed as having a shape inclined downward from the rear to the front (see FIG. 5D). As a result, the cold air flowing out from the inside of the refrigerator chamber SC through the slit SU to the front chamber FC can be more reliably flowed along the outer surface of the inner door, and the effect of preventing or eliminating dew condensation can be improved. ..

Further, particularly for the slit provided in the upper part of the inner door, a windshield (wall) BF is arranged at a position facing the slit SU provided in the inner door 530LU in the refrigerator compartment SC (see FIG. 5 (e)). Alternatively, the portion of the inner door 630LU adjacent to the upper side of the slit SU may be formed as a louver LV projecting rearward (that is, toward the storage chamber SC side) (see FIG. 5 (f)). As a result, the fluid resistance of the passage formed by the slit SU can be increased, and it is possible to prevent an excessive amount of cold air from flowing out from the inside of the storage chamber SC into the front chamber FC.

1 Cooling storage 10 Outer box (housing)
11,111 Door frame 20 Outer door 24 Pair glass 30, 130 Inner door FC Front room SC Storage room GU, GM, GL Gap (passage)
SU, SL slit (passage)

Claims (1)

A housing with an internal storage chamber for storing goods in a low temperature state,
An outer door for closing the front opening of the housing and
A door frame inside the housing, which is arranged at a position rearwardly separated from the inner surface of the outer door in a state where the outer door is closed.
With a transparent inner door attached to the front of the door frame,
With the outer door and the inner door closed together, an anterior chamber is formed between the outer door and the inner door.
With the inner door closed, a passage connecting the storage room and the front room is formed .
The passage is a gap extending in the left-right direction formed between the inner door and the door frame at the upper part and the lower part of the inner door.
Among the passages, the gap formed in the upper part of the inner door is a cooling storage which is a front-rear gap formed between the inner surface of the inner door and the front surface of the door frame. ..

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