JP7419190B2 - Cart-in refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cart-in type refrigerator that accommodates a cart loaded with food trays in multiple stages and cools or freezes cooked food on the trays.

In this type of refrigerator, it is known to provide an ultraviolet lamp for sterilization inside the refrigerator, for example, in Patent Document 1. In the refrigerator of Patent Document 1, an ultraviolet lamp is provided at the upper corner of the internal side of the refrigerator body, and the cooling operation is stopped and there is no food in the refrigerator, that is, the cart (stocker) is in the refrigerator. When taken out, an ultraviolet lamp is turned on to generate ozone, and the ozone is further circulated inside the refrigerator to sterilize the interior. In the cart of Patent Document 1, only the support frame structure portion that supports the tray is housed inside the refrigerator main body, and the cart including wheels is designed to sneak into the space under the bottom wall of the refrigerator main body.

In the refrigerator of the present invention, the entire cart is housed inside the refrigerator main body, and this type of refrigerator is known from Patent Document 2. In the refrigerator of Patent Document 2, a slope member having a triangular cross section is fixed to the front end of the bottom wall of the heat insulating box, and the entire cart can be stored inside the refrigerator main body using this slope member. I have to.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-258044 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-37636

From the viewpoint of improving the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator, a configuration in which only the support frame structure that supports the tray is housed inside the refrigerator main body and the cart sneaks into the space under the bottom wall of the refrigerator main body, as in Patent Document 1, is proposed. It is preferable to adopt a configuration in which the entire cart is housed inside the refrigerator main body as in Patent Document 2. This is because the closing structure of the doorway, which is mainly composed of packing between the door and the door that opens and closes the doorway, can be significantly simplified. However, in the configuration of the refrigerator in Patent Document 2, the wheels of the cart are also housed inside the refrigerator body, so in order to cool food in a more sanitary state, the wheels must be sterilized. Become. On the other hand, in a conventional refrigerator equipped with an ultraviolet lamp for sterilization (Patent Document 1), as described above, the ultraviolet lamp is provided at the upper corner of the internal side of the refrigerator main body, and the cooling operation is stopped and the refrigerator is stored. Since the UV lamps are turned on when there is no food inside the warehouse, that is, when the carts are taken out of the warehouse, it is not anticipated that the wheels of the carts will be sterilized using UV lamps. It has not been.

The present invention is a cart-in type refrigerator in which the entire cart is housed inside the refrigerator main body, and the wheels of the cart can be sterilized, so food can be cooled in a more sanitary state. The purpose is to make it possible.

The refrigerator according to the present invention includes a refrigerator main body 1 that accommodates a cart 19 on which trays 24 are stacked in multiple stages together with a cart 21, and a cooling unit 5 that supplies and circulates cold air inside the refrigerator main body 1. Targets cart-in type refrigerators. The refrigerator main body 1 is provided with an entrance 3 that allows a cart 19 to be taken in and out of the refrigerator main body 1 in the front and rear directions, and a door 4 that opens and closes the entrance 3. The inner surface of the inner box 13 constituting the refrigerator main body 1 is mirror-finished. The cart 19 is provided with a truck 21 having wheels 20 and a tray rack 22 that accommodates trays 24 in multiple stages. A sterilization unit 25 that emits ultraviolet light is arranged on the bottom wall 13a of the inner box 13. The sterilization unit 25 is operated when the cart 19 is housed in the refrigerator main body 1 and the food on the tray 24 is cooled.

The sterilizing unit 25 includes a sterilizing lamp 26 that is set shorter than the longitudinal length of the bottom wall 13a of the inner box 13, and a cover body 28 that covers the periphery of the sterilizing lamp 26. The sterilizing unit 25 is in a position where the extending direction of the sterilizing lamp 26 is oriented in the front-rear direction, and is installed at a position that does not interfere with the movement locus of the wheels 20 in the warehouse.

A configuration may be adopted in which sterilization units 25 are arranged at multiple locations on the bottom wall 13a.

A photocatalyst layer 39 is formed on the outer surface of the cover body 28 and is excited by ultraviolet light to decompose organic matter.

In the refrigerator of the present invention, a sterilization unit 25 that emits ultraviolet light is arranged on the bottom wall 13a of the inner box 13, and a cart 19 is accommodated in the refrigerator main body 1 to cool the food on the tray 24. Since the sterilization unit 25 is activated when the operation is performed, the cart 19 including the wheels 20 can be sterilized when the cooling operation is performed. This makes it possible to sterilize the wheels 20 of the cart 19 during the cooling operation, even though the entire cart 19 is housed inside the refrigerator body 1. This allows food to be cooled in a more sanitary manner. In addition, a sterilization unit 25 that emits ultraviolet light is disposed on the bottom wall 13a of the inner box 13, and the inner surface of the inner box 13 constituting the refrigerator body 1 is mirror-finished, so that the direct light emitted from the sterilization unit 25 is In addition, the cart 19 including the wheels 20 can be irradiated with the reflected light from the inner surface of the inner box 13. Therefore, every corner of the cart 19 can be sterilized more reliably. In addition, since the sterilization unit 25 that emits ultraviolet light is disposed on the bottom wall 13a of the inner box 13, it is possible to prevent the food on the tray 24 from being directly irradiated with ultraviolet light. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent food from deteriorating due to irradiation with ultraviolet light.

Since the sterilizing unit 25 is placed in a position where the extending direction of the sterilizing lamp 26 is oriented in the front-rear direction and does not interfere with the locus of movement of the wheels 20 in the warehouse, the wheels 20 contact and interfere with the sterilizing unit 25. This can be reliably prevented and the cart 19 can be taken in and out easily. For example, if the length of the germicidal lamp 26 is set to be slightly shorter than the length of the bottom wall 13a of the inner box 13 in the front-rear direction, more ultraviolet light can be directed directly to the wheels 20. Since the irradiation can be performed, the wheels 20 can be sterilized more reliably.

Since the sterilization units 25 are arranged at a plurality of locations on the bottom wall 13a, the wheels 20 can be evenly irradiated with ultraviolet light from a plurality of directions, and the sterilization effect can be further enhanced.

If a photocatalytic layer 39 that is excited by ultraviolet light to decompose organic substances is formed on the outer surface of the cover body 28, the photocatalytic layer 39 can be excited by the ultraviolet light reflected from the peripheral wall of the inner box 13. , germs and organic matter adhering to the outer surface of the cover body 28 can be sterilized.

1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a main part of a cart-in type refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a vertical side view of the refrigerator with the door open. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional front view of main parts showing the positional relationship between the sterilization unit and wheels. It is an exploded perspective view of a sterilization unit. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of a cart-in type refrigerator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

(Embodiment 1) Embodiment 1 of a cart-in type refrigerator according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. In this embodiment, front and back, left and right, and up and down follow the cross arrows shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the notation of front and back, left and right, and up and down in the vicinity of the arrows. As shown in FIG. 2, a refrigerator main body 1 constituting a refrigerator includes a main body case 2 which is a vertically rectangular parallelepiped-shaped heat-insulating box, and a door 4 that opens and closes an entrance/exit 3 on the front side of the main body case 2. A cooling unit 5 is provided above the main body case 2 to supply and circulate cold air inside the refrigerator. The cooling unit 5 includes a compressor 6, a condenser 7, a condenser fan 8, which are housed in a machine room above the main body case 2, an evaporator 9, a circulation fan 10, etc., which are arranged above the inside of the main body case 2. It is configured.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main case 2 is composed of an inner box 13, an outer box 14, and a foamed heat insulating material 15 filled between these two 13 and 14. The inner box 13 and the outer box 14 are each made of a stainless steel plate, and the inner surface of the inner box 13 is mirror-finished. Inside the main body case 2, the cart 19 can be accommodated together with the trolley 21, and for this purpose, an inclined plate 16 is removably attached to the front lower part of the doorway 3. The inclined plate 16 is used only when the door 4 is open.

The cart 19 includes a cart 21 having a pair of left and right wheels 20 at the front and rear, a tray rack 22 fixed on the cart 21, and a gate-shaped hand frame 23 fixed to the front end of the cart 21. The tray rack 22 can accommodate trays 24 on which foods are placed in multiple stages. Each wheel 20 is made of a commercially available rotatable caster, and the wheel 20 on the hand frame 23 side is provided with a foot-operated brake (not shown).

The food cooked in the cooking area is placed in each tray 24 on the tray rack 22, and the cart 19 and the food are stored inside the refrigerator main body 1 and cooled. At this time, there is a risk that the germs and organic matter adhering to the wheels 20 may impair the sanitary conditions within the refrigerator main body 1. In order to solve this situation, a sterilization unit 25 that emits ultraviolet light is installed at the left and right center of the bottom wall 13a of the inner box 13 facing the wheels 20 of the cart 19 and the trolley 21. is operated to sterilize germs and organic matter adhering to the wheels 20 and the trolley 21.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sterilization unit 25 is placed at a position where it does not interfere with the locus of movement of the left and right wheels 20, that is, between the loci of movement of the left and right wheels 20. The sterilization unit 25 includes a straight tube-shaped ultraviolet lamp (sterilization lamp) 26 which emits ultraviolet light and which is long in the front and rear, a holder 27 made of a leaf spring that supports the front and rear of the ultraviolet lamp 26, and a cover body that covers the circumference of the ultraviolet lamp 26. It is equipped with 28. The driving section of the ultraviolet lamp 26 is arranged in the machine room together with the compressor 6 and the like. As in the case of ordinary fluorescent lamps for illumination, the aforementioned driving section may be provided inside the cover body 28. The holder 27 is fixed to the upper surface of a frame 29 fixed to the bottom wall 13a of the inner box 13. The longitudinal length of the ultraviolet lamp 26 is about 90% or more of the longitudinal distance between the wheels 20, so the inner surfaces of all the wheels 20 in the left and right direction are in the direct radiation area of the ultraviolet lamp 26 (irradiated by the ultraviolet lamp 26). It is designed to face the area (area that is directly irradiated with ultraviolet light). Therefore, these wheels 20 can be sterilized more effectively.

The cover body 28 includes a pair of side walls 31 and 32 that cover the left and right sides of the ultraviolet lamp 26, a front wall 33 and a rear wall 34 that cover the front and rear of the ultraviolet lamp 26, and an upper wall 35 that covers the upper side of the ultraviolet lamp 26. It is formed into a long hollow rectangular parallelepiped. A group of long light emitting holes 36 are formed in multiple rows in both side walls 31 and 32 and the top wall 35 of the cover body 28, respectively. The front and rear wheels 20 face the direct radiation area of the ultraviolet lamp 26 emitted from the light radiation hole 36. A fastening seat 37 is laterally projected from the lower edges of both side walls 31 and 32 of the cover body 28, and is fixed to the bottom wall 13a of the inner box 13 with screws 38 at three locations on the front and back thereof. A photocatalyst layer 39 is formed on the outer surface of the cover body 28 including the fastening seat 37, which receives reflected light from the inner surface of the inner box 13 and decomposes organic matter.

In the refrigerator configured as described above, the cart 19 is housed inside the refrigerator main body 1 with a group of trays 24 containing cooked foods placed on the tray rack 22, and the cooling unit 5 to cool the food. The air inside the refrigerator is pressurized by the circulation fan 10 and then passes through the evaporator 9, where it becomes cold air and is blown out into the refrigerator. At the same time, by lighting the ultraviolet lamp 26, ultraviolet light is emitted from the group of light emitting holes 36 to sterilize germs and organic matter adhering to the surfaces of the wheels 20 and the truck 21. At the same time, the ultraviolet light that reaches the bottom wall 13a and the surrounding wall of the inner box 13 is reflected by the mirrored wall surface and sterilizes the surfaces of the wheels 20 and the truck 21 facing the surrounding wall.

As described above, according to the refrigerator of Embodiment 1, the wheels 20 of the cart 19, the trolley 21, the tray rack 22, etc. can be sterilized at the same time as food is cooled, so that the refrigerator is always kept in a sanitary state. Food can be cooled. In addition, since the sterilization unit 25 is placed in a position where it does not interfere with the movement locus of the left and right wheels 20, the wheels 20 will contact and interfere with the sterilization unit 25 when the cart 19 is stored in the refrigerator or pulled out from the refrigerator. This allows the cart 19 to be taken in and out easily. Furthermore, since the sterilizing lamp is formed of a straight tube-shaped ultraviolet lamp 26 that is long from front to back, all the wheels 20 can face the direct radiation area of the ultraviolet lamp 26. Therefore, the left and right inner surfaces of the front and rear wheels 20 and the entire lower surface of the truck 21 can be effectively sterilized by the direct radiation emitted from the light radiation holes 36. Since the photocatalytic layer 39 is formed on the outer surface of the cover body 28 to decompose organic substances by receiving the light reflected from the inner surface of the inner box 13, the photocatalytic layer 39 is decomposed by the ultraviolet light reflected from the peripheral wall of the inner box 13. By being excited, germs and organic matter adhering to the outer surface of the cover body 28 can be sterilized. If necessary, the inner surface of the inner box 13 can be sterilized with ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 26 by operating the sterilization unit 25 with the cart 19 taken out of the refrigerator.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 5 shows a refrigerator according to Embodiment 2. In this cooling warehouse, the left-right distance between the wheels 20 at the rear of the truck 21 is smaller than the left-right distance between the wheels 20 at the front of the truck 21, and there is a dead space between the rear half of the truck 21 and the left and right side walls of the inner box 13. Focusing on a certain point, sterilization units 25 are arranged at three locations in total: the front half of the left and right center of the bottom wall 13a of the inner box 13, and the rear half on both left and right sides of the bottom wall 13a. Since the points other than the above are the same as in the first embodiment, the same members are given the same reference numerals and their explanations will be omitted. As can be understood from the second embodiment, the sterilization units 25 can be arranged at a plurality of locations on the bottom wall 13a of the inner box 13 so as not to interfere with the locus of movement of the wheels 20 inside the refrigerator. According to such a refrigerator, the inner and outer surfaces of the front and rear wheels 20 and the lower surface of the trolley 21 can be evenly irradiated with ultraviolet light from a plurality of directions, so that the sterilization effect can be further enhanced.

In the above embodiment, the refrigerator is provided with the entrance/exit 3 on the front of the main body case 2. However, the refrigerator has the entrance/exit 3 provided on the front and rear surfaces of the main body case 2, and the cart 19 can be moved between the front and back. It may be a refrigerator that can be put in and taken out from the entrance 3. The cover body 28 can be formed of a porous material such as a punched metal material or an expanded metal material, and its cross-sectional shape may be an inverted U-shape or a tunnel cross-sectional shape. When the underframe 29 is formed to have a chevron-shaped cross section and its upper surface is mirror-finished, the ultraviolet light emitted from the lower half side of the ultraviolet lamp 26 is reflected to the outside of the cover body 28, and the ultraviolet light inside the refrigerator is reflected. The amount of light emitted can be increased.

1 Refrigerator body 2 Main case 3 Entrance/exit 4 Door 5 Cooling unit 13 Inner box 13a Bottom wall 19 Cart 20 Wheels 21 Dolly 22 Tray rack 24 Tray 25 Sterilization unit 26 Ultraviolet lamp (sterilization lamp)
28 Cover body 39 Photocatalyst layer

Claims (4)

A refrigerator main body (1) that accommodates a cart (19) loaded with trays (24) in multiple stages along with a cart (21), and a cooling unit (5) that supplies and circulates cold air inside the refrigerator main body (1). ), a cart-in type refrigerator comprising:
The refrigerator main body (1) includes an entrance (3) that allows a cart (19) to be inserted into and taken out of the refrigerator main body (1) in the front and back direction, and a door (4) that opens and closes the entrance (3). It is provided,
The inner surface of the inner box (13) constituting the refrigerator body (1) is mirror-finished.
The cart (19) is provided with a trolley (21) equipped with wheels (20) and a tray rack (22) that accommodates trays (24) in multiple stages.
A sterilization unit (25) that emits ultraviolet light is arranged on the bottom wall (13a) of the inner box (13).
A cart-in type refrigerator characterized in that a cart (19) is accommodated in the refrigerator main body (1) and a sterilization unit (25) is operated when cooling food on a tray (24) is performed. The sterilizing unit (25) includes a sterilizing lamp (26) that is shorter than the longitudinal length of the bottom wall (13a) of the inner box (13), and a cover body that covers the periphery of the sterilizing lamp (26). (28) and
According to claim 1, the sterilizing unit (25) is in a posture in which the extending direction of the sterilizing lamp (26) is oriented in the front-rear direction, and is installed in a position that does not interfere with the movement trajectory of the wheels (20) in the warehouse. Cart-in type refrigerator as described. The cart-in type refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein sterilization units (25) are arranged at multiple locations on the bottom wall (13a). 3. The cart-in type refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein a photocatalyst layer (39) for decomposing organic matter when excited by ultraviolet light is formed on the outer surface of the cover body (28).

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