JP7215140B2 - Product storage device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a product storage device, and more particularly to a product storage device such as a showcase that keeps stored products in a desired temperature state.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a so-called showcase is known as a product storage device for keeping stored products in a desired temperature state, and such a showcase includes a storage and a machine room inside a case body.

The storage is a chamber in which a plurality of product placement shelves are provided in a plurality of stages along the vertical direction. A product is placed on each product placement shelf, and thus the storage stores the products.

The machine room is separated from the storage room, and refrigeration equipment such as a condenser that constitutes a cooling unit for cooling the internal atmosphere of the storage is installed. The machine room has a front opening closed by a cover detachably attached to the case body, and is provided with an outside fan and a condenser filter.

When the outside fan is driven, it takes in the outside air through the ventilation holes formed in the cover and sends the taken outside air to the condenser, thereby promoting heat exchange in the condenser. The condenser filter is installed in the front region of the condenser and collects dust particles in the outside air passing through the ventilation holes, thereby suppressing clogging of the condenser.

The showcase is provided with a cleaning brush for removing dust adhering to the condenser filter. In the cleaning brush, a brush body having a plurality of brush bristles is moved along an upper rail and a lower rail extending in the left-right direction so that the brush bristles are attached to the condenser filter. Dust is removed by sliding contact (see Patent Document 1, for example).

Japanese Patent No. 6415657

By the way, in the above-mentioned showcase, since the brush body constituting the cleaning brush moves along the upper rail and the lower rail to remove dust, the showcase is elongated such that the vertical direction is the longitudinal direction. Since the handle for moving the brush body is provided at the upper end of the brush body, the following problems arise.

That is, since the lower end of the brush body, which is separated from the handle, is restrained by the lower rail, when an operating force is applied to the handle, twisting occurs due to the action of moment or the like, and such twisting occurs. As a result, the operating force was excessive. Although the showcase is shown here as an example of the product storage device, this problem is not limited to the showcase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a product storage device capable of reducing the operation force by suppressing twisting of the brush when applying the operation force to the brush. and

In order to achieve the above object, the commodity storage apparatus according to the present invention is provided in a machine room inside the apparatus main body, and temperature control means for adjusting the internal atmosphere of the storage compartment separated from the machine room to a predetermined temperature. a cover provided detachably on the apparatus main body in a manner to block the front opening of the machine room, and having a plurality of ventilation holes formed therein; and the outside heat exchanger and a filter frame member disposed between the cover and having a filter portion for collecting dust contained in passing air, and maintaining the products stored in the storage at a desired temperature. The storage device has an upper rail extending in the horizontal direction above the filter unit, and brush bristles that can contact the front surface of the filter unit, and are suspended from the upper rail. The brush bristles are supported and the lower end portion is restricted by the cover from separating from the filter portion, and the brush bristles come into sliding contact with the filter portion by moving along the extending direction of the upper rail It is characterized by comprising: a brush; and an operation part provided near the upper rail of the brush so as to protrude forward through an operation hole formed in the cover.

Further, in the commodity storage device according to the present invention, the brush has a sliding portion slidably guided by the upper rail and a sliding portion extending downward from the sliding portion, and the brush bristles are attached to the sliding portion. and a main body portion, wherein the sliding portion is formed so as to be larger in lateral dimension than the main body portion.

Further, according to the present invention, in the commodity storage device, the filter frame member is attached to the cover, and the upper rail is attached to the cover in a manner interposed between the filter frame member and the cover. Characterized by

According to the present invention, the upper rail is provided in the upper region of the filter section so as to extend along the left-right direction, and the brush having bristles that can contact the front surface of the filter section is suspended from the upper rail. In addition, the lower end portion is regulated by the cover from separating the bristles from the filter portion, and an operation portion protruding forward in a manner passing through an operation hole formed in the cover is provided in the vicinity of the upper rail of the brush. Therefore, although the lower end of the brush is restricted from being separated from the filter by the cover, it is in a free state. Therefore, when an operating force is applied to the operating portion, there is no possibility that the lower end portion of the brush, which is separated from the operating portion, will be twisted. Therefore, when an operation force is applied to the brush, it is possible to prevent the brush from being twisted, thereby reducing the operation force.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing a product storage device that is an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a perspective view showing the cover shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the cover shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the cover shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing essential parts of the cover shown in FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the brush shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the brush shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the brush shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the brush shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. FIG. 10 is an enlarged rear view showing a state in which the brushes shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are attached to the cover. FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which the brushes shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are attached to the cover. 12 is a cross-sectional side view of the cover shown in FIGS. 2 and 3; FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a product storage device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing a product storage device that is an embodiment of the present invention. The product storage device illustrated here is a showcase installed in a store such as a convenience store or a supermarket, and includes a case main body 10 that is a main body of the device.

The case main body 10 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing, and has a storage chamber 10a having a heat-insulating structure and a machine chamber 10b formed below the storage chamber 10a. The storage chamber 10a has an opening (hereinafter also referred to as a front opening) 10a1 on the front surface, and a storage shed 11 is defined therein, and an air circulation means 12 is provided. The storage shed 11 is defined so as to face the front opening 10a1, and a plurality of product placement shelves 13 are arranged in a plurality of stages along the vertical direction.

The air circulation means 12 comprises an air passage 14 and a circulation fan 15 . The air passage 14 is an air passage from the suction port 16 to the blowout port 17 . Here, the suction port 16 is an opening for sucking the air inside the storage 11 and extends along the horizontal direction of the storage 11 . The suction port 16 is arranged at the lower front edge of the storage 11, that is, at the lower portion near the front opening 10a1 of the case body 10. As shown in FIG. The blowout port 17 is an opening for blowing air into the inside of the storage 11 . The outlet 17 extends along the lateral direction of the storage 11 and is disposed at the upper front edge of the storage 11, that is, at the upper portion near the front opening 10a1 of the case body 10. As shown in FIG.

Such an air passage 14 consists of a lower duct 14a outside and below the storage 11, a rear duct 14b outside and behind the storage 11, and outside the storage 11. and the upper duct 14c located above it are configured in a manner in which they communicate with each other.

The circulation fan 15 is arranged at a predetermined portion of the lower duct 14a. In this embodiment, the circulation fan 15 is arranged at a predetermined portion of the lower duct 14a. It may be placed in any position as long as it can exhibit its function. The circulation fan 15 is rotated by being driven by a command given from a control unit (not shown).

In such an air circulation means 12, the circulation fan 15 is rotationally driven to suck the air inside the storage 11 through the suction port 16, and the sucked air passes through the air passage 14 to the blowout port 17. Air is circulated between the inside and the outside of the storage 11 by blowing out the air sent out through the blowout port 17 into the storage 11 .

An evaporator 21 is provided in the rear duct 14b of the air passage 14. As shown in FIG. The evaporator 21 constitutes temperature control means 20 that cools the internal atmosphere of the storage 11 by circulating refrigerant together with refrigeration equipment such as a compressor 22 and a condenser 23 disposed in the machine room 10b.

Here, the compressor 22 compresses the refrigerant, and the condenser 23 condenses the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 22 . The refrigerant condensed in the condenser 23 is adiabatically expanded by an expansion mechanism (not shown) to a low temperature and low pressure state. The evaporator 21 exchanges heat between the air passing through the rear duct 14b from the bottom to the top by the rotation of the circulation fan 15 and the refrigerant adiabatically expanded by the expansion mechanism. evaporates to cool the air passing through the rear duct 14b (air passage 14). The refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator 21 is returned to the compressor 22 and compressed again.

The machine room 10b is provided below the accommodation room 10a so as to be separated from the accommodation room 10a including the storage shed 11. As shown in FIG. The machine room 10b has an opening (hereinafter also referred to as a front opening) 18 on the front side, and an outside fan 25 is provided in addition to the above-described refrigeration equipment. The outside fan 25 is installed on the front side of the condenser 23 and is rotated by being driven by a command given from the control unit. A front opening 18 of the machine room 10b is closed by a cover 30. As shown in FIG.

2 to 4 respectively show the cover 30 shown in FIG. 1, FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the cover 30 is formed by processing, for example, sheet metal, and is a plate-shaped member having an upper end portion 31, a lower end portion 32, and left and right end portions 33 and 34 bent rearward. is. The upper end portion 31 of the cover 30 is bent downward at the rear end portions of both left and right ends to form cover downwardly extending portions 31a. is bent to form a cover upwardly extending portion 32a.

The cover 30 is detachably attached to the case main body 10, and when attached to the case main body 10, closes the front opening 18 of the machine chamber 10b. A vent hole 35 and an operation hole 36 are formed in such a cover 30 .

A plurality of ventilation holes 35 are formed in the ventilation area of the cover 30 . The ventilation area is an area located on the front side of the condenser 23 . The operation hole 36 is a long hole extending in the left-right direction in the upper area of the ventilation area.

An upper rail 40 and a filter frame member 50 are attached to such cover 30 . The upper rail 40 is, for example, an elongated member formed by processing sheet metal or the like and whose longitudinal direction is the left-right direction. 5, the upper rail 40 has a rail base portion 41, a rail downwardly extending portion 42, a rail upwardly extending portion 43, and a rail rearwardly extending portion 44. As shown in FIG.

The rail base 41 is a horizontally extending portion that extends along the left-right direction. The rail base portion 41 is formed with an elongated rail hole 41a extending in the left-right direction. The rail downwardly extending portion 42 is a flat portion extending downward from the rear edge portion of the rail base portion 41 . The rail upwardly extending portion 43 is a flat portion extending upward from the front edge of the rail base portion 41 . The rearward rail extension portions 44 are a pair of left and right rail extension portions 44, and are plate-shaped portions extending rearward from the left and right extension end portions of the upper rail extension portion 43, respectively. Of these rail rearward extensions 44, the right end portion of the right rail rearward extension portion 44 and the left end portion of the left rail rearward extension portion 44 are provided with attachment pieces extending downward from the respective extension end portions. A portion 44a is formed.

With respect to the cover 30, the upper rail 40 has the rail upwardly extending portion 43 in contact with the rear surface of the upper portion of the operation hole 36 in the cover 30, and the rail rearwardly extending portion 44 is in contact with the lower surface of the upper end portion 31 of the cover 30. A mounting pin P is formed in the mounting piece portion 44a, and the mounting piece portion 44a is inserted in such a manner that the mounting piece portion 44a is in contact with the front surface of the cover downward extending portion 31a. It is attached to the cover 30 by inserting it through the rail attachment hole 441 and screwing it.

The filter frame member 50 is formed by processing a sheet metal or the like, for example, and has a plurality of (four in the illustrated example) filter openings 51 formed therein. The filter frame member 50 has a filter portion 53 that collects dust contained in passing air by closing the filter opening 51 with a porous mesh material 52 .

As shown in FIG. 4, such a filter frame member 50 has mounting pins P passing through filter mounting holes 54 formed in both left and right sides of the upper end and lower end of the filter frame member 50 from behind. By inserting and screwing through the mounting support holes 312 and 322 formed in the extending portion 32a, the rail 40 is attached to the cover 30 to which the upper rail 40 is attached in such a manner as to cover the rear side of the ventilation region of the cover 30. be.

In other words, the upper rail 40 is interposed between the cover 30 and the filter frame member 50 and supports the brush 60 in a suspended manner.

6 to 9 show the brush 60 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 respectively, FIGS. 6 and 7 being perspective views and FIGS. 8 and 9 being exploded perspective views. As also shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the brush 60 has an elongated brush base portion 60a whose longitudinal direction is the vertical direction. The brush base portion 60a is formed by processing a sheet metal or the like, for example, and has a body portion 61 and a sliding portion 62. As shown in FIG.

The body portion 61 is a long portion whose longitudinal direction is the vertical direction, and the left end portion 611 and the right end portion 612 are bent forward, and the lower end portion 613 is bent forward and then bent upward. . By attaching the brush support members 63 to the rear surface 614, the left end portion 611, the right end portion 612, and the lower end portion 613 of the main body portion 61, the brush support members 63 are arranged in a left-right pair on the rear surface 614 along the vertical direction. There are attached bristles 65 extending along the length. The tip portion of the brush bristles 65 can be brought into sliding contact with the filter portion 53 .

Further, a mounting piece 66 for an operating portion is attached to the upper end portion of the front surface of the main body portion 61 . The operation portion attachment piece 66 is formed by bending a sheet metal or the like, and has an operation portion attachment hole 66a formed in the upper end portion thereof. An operation portion 67 passing through the operation hole 36 of the cover 30 from the front is inserted and attached to the operation portion attachment hole 66a.

Furthermore, a plurality (two in the illustrated example) of projections 68 projecting forward are attached to an upwardly extending portion 613a of the lower end portion 613 of the main body portion 61 . These protrusions 68 are made of, for example, a resin material.

The sliding portion 62 is provided in the upper portion of the main body portion 61 and has a rearward sliding portion 621 , an upward sliding portion 622 , and a horizontal sliding portion 623 . The rear sliding portion 621 is a portion that extends rearward from the upper end portion of the main body portion 61 . The upward sliding portion 622 extends upward from the rear end portion of the rearward sliding portion 621 , and has a lateral dimension larger than that of the rearward sliding portion 621 . The sliding horizontally extending portion 623 is a horizontally extending portion that extends forward from the upper end portion of the sliding upwardly extending portion 622 . The sliding portion 62 is formed in such a manner that the lateral dimension thereof is larger than that of the main body portion 61 .

Such a brush 60 is suspended and supported by the upper rail 40 as follows. That is, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, with spacers S interposed above and below the rail base 41, the slide horizontally extending portion 623 is arranged above the rail base 41, and the rail A sliding upward extension 622 is arranged behind the downward extension 42 . A rail pin RP passing through a through hole (not shown) formed in each of the spacers S and the rail hole 41a from below is inserted through a rail support hole 623a formed in the slide horizontally extending portion 623 and screwed. By joining together, the brush 60 is suspended and supported. At this time, the operating portion 67 attached to the operating portion mounting piece 66 protrudes forward from the operating hole 36 .

In the brush 60 suspended and supported by the upper rail 40 in this manner, the tips of the brush bristles 65 are in contact with the filter portion 53 as shown in FIG. The lower end 613 of the brush 60 , that is, the projecting portion 68 of the upwardly extending portion 613 a of the lower end 613 of the main body 61 is in contact with the rear surface of the cover 30 . In other words, the brush 60 is in a free state, with the lower end portion 613 only restricted by the cover 30 from separating the brush bristles 65 from the filter portion 53 . Moreover, since the operation portion 67 is attached to the operation portion attachment piece 66 attached to the upper end portion of the main body portion 61 , it is attached near the upper rail 40 of the brush 60 .

In a showcase (merchandise storage device) having such a configuration, an operator such as an employee of the store grasps the operation portion 67 protruding forward from the operation hole 36 and moves it along the extending direction of the operation hole 36. By moving, the rail pin RP relatively moves in the rail hole 41 a , so that the brush 60 can move along the extending direction of the upper rail 40 . As a result, the brush bristles 65 come into sliding contact with the filter portion 53 , and the dust collected and adhered to the filter portion 53 can be removed from the filter portion 53 .

As described above, in the showcase of the present embodiment, the upper rail 40 is provided on the cover 30 in a manner extending in the left-right direction in the upper region of the filter portion 53, and the front surface of the filter portion 53 A brush 60 having bristles 65 that can contact is supported by the upper rail 40 while being suspended from the lower end 613 by the cover 30 so that the bristles 65 are restricted from separating from the filter portion 53. Since the operation portion 67 protruding forward in a manner penetrating the formed operation hole 36 is provided near the upper rail 40 of the brush 60, the lower end portion 613 of the brush 60 is separated from the filter portion 53 by the cover 30. Although it is regulated, it is in a free state. Therefore, when an operating force is applied to the operating portion 67 , there is no possibility that the lower end portion 613 of the brush 60 separated from the operating portion 67 will be twisted. Therefore, according to the showcase, it is possible to reduce the operation force by suppressing twisting of the brush 60 when applying the operation force to the brush 60 .

Moreover, according to the showcase, since the brush 60 is suspended and supported by the upper rail 40, unlike the conventional case, the lower rail is not required. can be improved.

Further, according to the showcase, the sliding portion 62 constituting the brush 60 is formed so as to be larger in the horizontal direction than the body portion 61 to which the brush bristles 65 are attached. When the brush 62 slides on the upper rail 40 , the posture of the body portion 61 can be stabilized, and the brush bristles 65 can be brought into good sliding contact with the filter portion 53 .

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

In the above-described embodiment, the condenser 23 is used as an external heat exchanger, but in the present invention, if the internal atmosphere of the storage is heated, the external heat exchanger is an evaporator. good too.

Although the upper rail 40 and the filter frame member 50 are attached to the cover 30 in the above-described embodiment, the upper rail and filter frame member do not necessarily have to be attached to the cover in the present invention.

In the above-described embodiments, a showcase was exemplified as a product storage device, but in the present invention, a vending machine or the like may be used.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 case body 10b machine room 11 storage 20 temperature control means 23 condenser 18 front opening 25 outside fan 30 cover 35 ventilation hole 36 operation hole 40 upper rail 50 filter frame member 41 rail base 42 rail downward extension 43 rail upward extension Part 44 Rail extension part 41a Rail hole 51 Filter opening 53 Filter part 60 Brush 60a Brush base 61 Body part 62 Sliding part 611 Left end 612 Right end 613 Lower end 614 Rear surface 63 Brush support member 65 Brush bristles 66 Attachment for operation part Piece 67 Operation part 68 Protrusion 621 Sliding rear extension part 622 Sliding upward extension part 623 Sliding horizontal extension part RP Rail pin

Claims (3)

an external heat exchanger that is installed in the machine room inside the apparatus main body and constitutes a temperature adjustment means that adjusts the internal atmosphere of the storage that is partitioned from the machine room to a predetermined temperature;
a cover detachably provided on the apparatus main body in a manner to close the front opening of the machine room and having a plurality of vent holes;
a filter frame member disposed between the outside heat exchanger and the cover, and having a filter portion that collects dust contained in passing air; In a product storage device that maintains the temperature of
an upper rail provided in an upper region of the filter portion so as to extend along the left-right direction;
It has bristles that can come into contact with the front surface of the filter part, and is suspended and supported by the upper rail so that the lower end is in a free state, and the lower end part is separated from the filter part by the cover. a brush whose movement is restricted and whose bristles are in sliding contact with the filter portion by moving along the extending direction of the upper rail;
A product storage device, comprising: an operation portion protruding forward in the vicinity of the upper rail of the brush so as to pass through an operation hole formed in the cover. The brush
a sliding portion slidably guided by the upper rail;
a main body portion extending downward from the sliding portion and to which the brush bristles are attached;
2. A product storage device according to claim 1, wherein said sliding portion is formed so as to be larger in lateral dimension than said body portion. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filter frame member is attached to the cover, and the upper rail is attached to the cover in a manner interposed between the filter frame member and the cover. A product storage device as described.

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