JPH03117874A - Chilled gas circulation type open display case - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent mixture chilled gas from flowing out forward of an open display case and to defrost in short time by providing a suction collecting port outside a suction port, partitioning to form a chilled gas duct connected at its one end to the collecting port and opened at the other end out of a body case, and mounting a reversible rotary fan. CONSTITUTION:A chilled air curtain 18 is formed by a fan 8, an air curtain 19 is formed of noncooling air by a fan 10, and the interior 4 of a case is efficiently cooled and insulated. Mixture chilled gas 20 overflowed from suction ports 6b, 7b is sucked to a suction collecting port 21 by a fan 26, and discharged upward from an opening 23a along a deflector plate 25. A cooler 9 is stopped at the time of defrosting, a heater 31 is energized, the fans 8, 10 are normally rotated, and the fan 26 is reversely rotated. The atmospheric air is sucked from the opening 23a, discharged from the port 21, sucked to a vent passage 7, an air curtain is formed in an opening 1a, and fed to a passage 6. The atmospheric air is heated by a heater 31 to defrost the cooler 9. The atmospheric air sucked from the opening 23a is high at its temperature to shorten the defrosting time.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention has an opening on the front side, and an air curtain is formed in the opening by a flow of cold air blown out from an outlet facing the opening. The present invention also relates to a cold air circulation type open showcase in which the inside of the refrigerator is cooled and kept cold.

[Conventional technology]

As this type of open showcase, the one shown in FIG. 9 is known. In the figure, the main case 1 has a substantially trigonal cross section with an opening 1a on the front surface, and is composed of an outer box 2 made of a heat insulating wall and an inner box 3 forming a refrigerator interior 4 inside. A partition plate 5 is provided between the inner box 2 and the inner box 3 to form two layers of ventilation passages 6 and 7, inside and outside. The ventilation passage 6 has both upper and lower ends facing the opening 1a, and has an air outlet 6a and an air inlet 6.
b, and a fan 8 and a cooler 9 are disposed inside. Further, the upper and lower ends of the ventilation passage 7 are lined up with the air outlet 6a and the air inlet 6b, forming an air outlet lower a and a suction lower b on the outside thereof, and a fan 10 is disposed inside. 11
12 is an air regulating fluid installed at each of the air outlets 6a and 7a, and 12 is a shelf that partitions the interior 4 into upper and lower stages. 14 is a base; 15 is an outer plate provided behind the back wall of the outer box 2, which has an opening in front of the base, passes through the base 14, extends upward along the back wall, and has an opening at the upper end; A cold air duct 31 is provided with a fan 16 , and a defrosting heater 31 is provided within the ventilation path 6 and upstream of the cooler 9 .

In the open showcase, a large number of products are displayed and stored inside the warehouse 4. Then, the air inside the refrigerator is circulated through the ventilation path 6 as shown by the solid arrow by the fan 8, and is cooled by the cooler 9 to become cold air and sent to the outlet 6a. The cold air is blown out from the outlet 6a to form a cold air curtain 18 at the opening 1a, thereby thermally insulating the refrigerator interior 4 from outside air and cooling the refrigerator interior 4. Further, uncooled air sent through the ventilation path 7 as shown by the arrow by the fan 10 is blown out from the blowout lower a to form an air curtain 19 on the outside of the cold air curtain 18. Protect. Therefore, the products in the warehouse 4 are efficiently cooled and kept cold.

During the above-mentioned cooling operation, the cold air curtain 18 and the air curtain 19 draw in some outside air midway through the air inlet 6a.
and 7a. Therefore, the mixed cold air 20 of cold air and outside air corresponding to the increase in air is supplied to the suction ports 6b and 7b.
It overflows and accumulates on the floor in front of the main body case l. In this case, in order to cool the lower body of the customer and make him/her uncomfortable, the cold air 20 is sent to the opening 1 by the fan 16 as shown by the dashed arrow.
The cold air is sucked into the cold air duct 15 through the cold air duct 5a, and is discharged outside the machine through the upper end opening 23a.

On the other hand, as the cooling operation continues, frost forms on the surface of the cooler 9 and the cooling capacity decreases. For this purpose, the open showcase is subjected to a defrosting operation to remove the frost at appropriate intervals. During this defrosting operation, the operation of the cooler 9 is stopped,
While the heater 31 is energized, the fan 8 rotates in the forward direction.
Further, the fan 10 is operated in reverse rotation. As shown by the chain arrow, the fan 10 sucks outside air into the ventilation passage 7 from the blowout lower a. This outside air is sucked into the lower b
When the air is discharged from the air, it is sucked into the ventilation passage 6 from the suction port 6a by the fan 8 and flows as shown by the arrow.

Then, it is heated by the heater 31 to become warm air for defrosting, washing and heating the cooler 9 to melt and remove the frost.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, the conventional open showcase has a problem in that it requires a large installation space because it is equipped with a cold air duct 15.Also, although the mixed cold air is sucked into the cold air duct 15, the mixed cold air is once inside the main body case 1. Even if the cold air duct 15 is provided, there is a concern that customers may feel uncomfortable due to contact with the mixed cold air because the air flows toward the front of the lower part.

Furthermore, during the defrosting operation, approximately 20 minutes of defrosting time is required, and the temperature inside the refrigerator rises to around 10°C, and the temperature of the products in the refrigerator also rises to 6 to 8°C. Maintaining the freshness of fresh fish, etc., has been viewed as a problem, and there has been a desire to shorten the defrosting time.

This invention can be installed without requiring a large installation space, prevents the mixed cold air from flowing to the front of the open showcase, so customers do not feel uncomfortable, and can be used in a short time during defrosting operation. The purpose is to provide a cold air circulation type open showcase that can be defrosted.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a main body case having a substantially U-shaped cross section and having an opening on the front surface includes at least a ventilation passage whose upper and lower ends face the opening and form an air outlet and an air inlet. A fan and a cooler are disposed in this ventilation passage, or in the case of multiple ventilation passages, in the innermost ventilation passage, and the fan circulates the interior air through the cooler and the opening. A cold air circulation type open showcase in which a cold air curtain is blown out to form a cold air curtain on the outside of the cold air curtain, and a protective air curtain is blown out and formed outside the cold air curtain by a fan disposed in the outside ventilation path when the case has a plurality of ventilation paths. A suction collection port is provided outside the suction port, and a cold air duct is defined in the outermost ventilation passage, one end communicating with the suction collection port and the other end opening to the outside of the main body case. and a reversible rotary fan or a variable speed fan is installed in the cold air duct, and further, in the open showcase, the fan installed in the outermost ventilation path of the plurality of ventilation paths during defrosting operation. The operation of the fan is stopped, and the fan disposed in the cold air duct is operated with reverse rotation in the case of a reversible fan and with increased speed in the case of a variable speed fan.

[Effect]

The cold air duct is sectioned in a part of the outermost ventilation passage, so only a small installation space is required, and the mixed cold air is sucked into the suction collection port lined up with the suction port and does not flow off the floor surface, causing discomfort to customers. There will be nothing left to give. In addition, during defrosting operation, the fan in the cold air duct is rotated in reverse or at increased speed to suck in outside air that is not mixed with the cold air inside the refrigerator, and the fan in the outside ventilation path is stopped and the outside air is directly brought inside by the fan in the inside ventilation path. It is possible to draw warm air for defrosting into a ventilation passage, heat it with a heater, and send it to the cooler with a large amount of heat retained for defrosting. Therefore, the cooler is defrosted in a short time.

〔Example〕

1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention, and parts common or identical to those in FIG. 9 are designated by the same reference numerals.

1 to 7, reference numeral 21 denotes a suction collection port provided with a partition plate 22 between the partition plate 5 and the outer box 2, facing the opening 1a and formed on the outside of the suction lower b; 23 is provided with a partition plate 24 that runs approximately parallel to the ventilation passage 7 at the bottom and back of the main body case l, and is defined in the center of the ventilation passage 7, and is inserted through a notch in the center of the lower end of the partition plate 22. This is a cold air duct connected to the suction collection port 21. The upper end of this cold air duct 23 is connected to the main body case 1 by opening a part of the upper surface of the outer box 2.
The opening 23a is opened outwardly, and a wind direction plate 25 is provided in the opening 23a.
is provided. Reference numeral 26 denotes a fan installed in the cold air duct 23, which is operated in reverse rotation by a relay 41 activated by a defrosting signal as shown in FIG. Also, ventilation duct 7
are separated into right and left sides at the bottom and back of the main body case 1 by a cold air duct 23, and a fan 10 is disposed in each of the left and right ventilation passages. Note that the suction ports 6b and 7b are connected to the blowout ports 6a and 7a, respectively, as in the conventional case.
It is sized to have a suction capacity commensurate with the blowout capacity.

In the above-mentioned configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, a cold air curtain 18 is formed in the opening 1a of the main body case 1 by the cold air blown out from the blow-off port 6a by the fan 8, and a blow-out lower air curtain 18 is formed by the fan 10, as in the conventional case. An air curtain 19 is formed by uncooled air blown out from the
The inside of the refrigerator 4 is efficiently cooled and kept cold. As shown in FIG. 1, the mixed cold air 20 overflowing from the suction ports 6b and 7b does not flow forward of the main body case 1, but is sucked into the suction collection port 21 by the fan 26 and flows through the cold air duct 23 as shown by the arrow. The air is discharged upward from the opening 23a along the wind direction plate 25. Therefore, customers can select and take out products from the warehouse interior 4 without being made uncomfortable by the mixed cold air.

Further, since the cold air duct 23 is defined in the outside ventilation path 7, the open showcase has a smaller depth than the conventional one shown in FIG. 5, and can be installed in a small space.

In the above-mentioned nine embodiments, the opening 1 has ventilation passages 6 and 7 inside and outside.
A cold air curtain 18 and air curtain 1
9 is formed in two layers, this invention can also be applied to an open showcase etc. that has only the ventilation passage 6 and only the cold air curtain 18 is formed in the opening 1a, and has the same effect as the embodiment. is obtained.

On the other hand, during defrosting operation, the cooler 9 stops operating and the heater 31
is energized, fans 8 and 10 are rotating forward, and fan 26 is
is operated in reverse rotation. As shown in FIG. 6, warm outside air is sucked into the cold air duct 23 from the opening 23a, and when this outside air is discharged from the suction collection port 21, it is sucked into the ventilation passage 7 from the suction lower b by the fan 10, and is sucked into the air passage 7 from the blowout lower a. flows towards. The outside air blown out from the blowout lower a forms an air curtain in the opening 1a, is pushed by the outside air blown out from the suction collection port 21, and flows into the ventilation passage 6 from the suction port 6b by the fan 8. This outside air is heated by the heater 31 and becomes warm defrosting air to defrost the cooler 9. The defrosting hot air is 5° to 10°C higher in temperature than conventional defrosting warm air because the warm outside air sucked in through the opening 23a is heated by the heater 31, and the defrosting time is significantly longer. be shortened.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the defrosting effect, and after the start of defrosting, the heating time of the cooler 9 is 7 to 8 minutes in the case of the present invention shown by the broken line, compared to the conventional case shown by the solid line. This shows that the defrosting time is shortened accordingly.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, during defrosting operation, the cooler 9 is stopped, the heater 31 is energized, and the fan 26 is operated in reverse rotation. and the fan 10 (FIG. 3) is stopped.

The warm outside air for defrosting is sucked in from the opening 23 a by the fan 26 and discharged from the suction collection port 21 , and is also sucked into the ventilation passage 6 from the suction port 6 b by the fan 8 and heated by the heater 31 . The air becomes warm and defrosts the cooler 9. In this embodiment, the same effect as in the first embodiment is obtained, and in addition, during defrosting, warm outside air is sent directly from the cold air duct 23 to the ventilation passage 6, passes through the heater 31, and washes out the cooler 9. , - It is possible to finish defrosting in a short time.

A third embodiment of the invention will be described based on FIGS. 9 and 10. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a variable speed fan 28 is installed in the cold air duct 23 instead of the reversible rotary fan 26 (FIGS. 1 and 6). As shown in FIG. 9, the fan 28 is operated at a low speed during a cooling operation, and at a high speed during a defrosting operation by a relay 41 activated by a defrosting signal.

In the above-mentioned configuration, during the cooling operation, it is operated under the same conditions as in the first embodiment based on FIGS. 1 and 3, and the same effects can be obtained.

On the other hand, during defrosting operation, the cooler 9 is stopped, the heater 31 is energized, and the fans 8 and 10 are operated.

And the fan 28 is operated at high speed. As shown in FIG. 10, the air volume sucked through the suction collection port 21 is increased due to the high speed operation of the fan 28 compared to during the cooling operation. Therefore, the suction ports 6b, 7b and the suction collection port 21 include the air outlet 6a, ? The increased amount of outside air is added to the air blown out from a, forming a two-layered air curtain, inside and outside, and is sucked in as mixed air. Further, the mixed air sucked into the suction port 6b is added with the blown air mixed with outside air and sucked from the suction lower b to form the outer air curtain. The mixed air to which warm outside air has been added is heated by the heater 31 and becomes warm air for defrosting, which washes and heats the cooler 9. The temperature of the above-mentioned defrosting hot air is 5" to 10°C higher than the conventional one (
, a defrosting effect comparable to that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7 can be obtained.

FIG. 11 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, during defrosting operation in the configuration of the third embodiment, the cooler 9 is stopped and the heater 31 is energized. The fan 28 is operated at high speed and the fan 10 is stopped.

An air curtain is formed in the blow-off opening 1a from the blow-off port 6a, and part of the air flowing toward the suction port 6b is transferred to the fan 2.
Due to the increase in air volume due to the high-speed operation of step 8, the air is sucked into the suction collection port 21 and guided to the opening 23a, while the air enters the suction port 6b through the opening 1a to compensate for the amount sucked into the suction collection port 21. The warm outside air is sucked in. The mixed air, which has been mixed with outside air and has a high temperature, is heated by the heater 31 and becomes warm defrosting air to defrost the cooler 9. In this embodiment, the same effects as in the third embodiment can be obtained, and the amount of outside air directly mixed into the air sucked into the suction port 6b increases, and the temperature of the defrosting hot air becomes higher. - Defrosting can be completed in a short time.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to this invention, at least one ventilation passage is formed in the main body case having a substantially U-shaped cross section and having an opening on the front surface, the upper and lower ends thereof facing the opening and forming the air outlet and the suction opening,
A fan and a cooler are disposed within the ventilation duct, and in the case of multiple ventilation ducts, within the innermost ventilation duct, and the fan circulates interior air through the cooler to form a cold air curtain at the opening. In a cold air circulation type open showcase in which a protective air curtain is blown out to the outside of the cold air curtain by a fan disposed in the outside ventilation passage when the case has a plurality of ventilation passages, a protective air curtain is blown out to the outside of the cold air curtain. A suction collection port is provided on the outside of the main body case, and a cold air duct is defined in the outermost ventilation passage, one end communicating with the suction collection port and the other end open to the outside of the main body case. A reversible rotary fan or a variable speed fan is installed in the duct, and furthermore, during defrosting operation, the operation of the fan disposed in the outermost ventilation duct of the plurality of ventilation ducts is stopped, and the cooling air duct is Since the installed fan is operated in reverse rotation or at high speed, the mixed cold air overflowing from the suction port is sucked into the suction collection port and is discharged upward through the cold air duct into the main case, reducing the external size of the main case. As a result, the open showcase requires only a small installation space, and it also ensures that customers do not feel uncomfortable by exposing them to mixed cold air. Furthermore, during defrosting operation, the defrosting time can be significantly shortened by effectively utilizing warm outside air, thereby suppressing the rise in internal temperature and reliably maintaining the freshness of products such as fresh meat and fish.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken at the cold air duct of an open showcase showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line nm in FIG. 1, and FIG. m- in Figure 2
Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the cold air duct, Fig. 5 is an electric circuit diagram of the fan 26, and Fig. 6 shows the state during defrosting operation. 7 is a diagram showing the effect of shortening the defrosting time, FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the state during defrosting operation of the second embodiment, and FIGS. 9 and 10. The figures show the third embodiment, and FIG. 9 is an electric circuit diagram of the fan 28, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view for explaining the state of the open showcase during defrosting operation.
FIG. 11 is a sectional view for explaining the state during defrosting operation of the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional open showcase. 1... Main body case, 6.7... Ventilation path, 7a...
Air outlet, 7b... Suction port, 8... Fan, 9...
Cooler, 10... Fan, 18... Cold air curtain, 19... Air curtain, 20... Mixed cold air, 21... Suction collection port, 23... Cold air duct, 26
...Fan (reversible rotating fan), 28...Fan (
variable speed fan). Figure 1 Figure Figure Figure 3a

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) At least one layer of ventilation passages whose upper and lower ends face the opening and form an air outlet and a suction opening are formed in a main body case having a substantially U-shaped cross section and having an opening on the front surface. A fan and a cooler are arranged in the ventilation passage, and in the case of a plurality of ventilation passages, in the innermost ventilation passage, and the fan circulates room air through the cooler and blows a cool air curtain into the opening. In the cold air circulation type open showcase, in which a protective air curtain is blown out to the outside of the cold air curtain by a fan disposed in the outer ventilation passage when the case has a plurality of ventilation passages, A suction collection port is provided on the outside, and a cold air duct is defined in the outermost ventilation passage, one end of which communicates with the suction collection port, and the other end of which is open to the outside of the main body case;
A cold air circulation type open showcase characterized in that a reversible rotating fan is installed in the cold air duct. 2) In the open showcase according to claim 1),
Cold air characterized in that during defrosting operation, the operation of the fan disposed in the outermost ventilation passage of the plurality of ventilation passages is stopped, and the fan disposed in the cold air duct is operated in reverse rotation. Circulating open showcase. 3) In the open showcase according to claim 1),
This cold air circulation open showcase features a variable speed fan installed in the cold air duct instead of a reversible fan. 4) In the open showcase according to claim 3),
Cold air circulation characterized in that during defrosting operation, the operation of the fan disposed in the outermost ventilation passage of a plurality of ventilation passages is stopped, and the fan disposed in the cold air duct is operated at an increased speed. Open showcase.