JPH0328292Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a refrigerated case that can maintain a humidified storage or display space for products.

(Prior Art) As an example of a refrigerated case, as shown in FIG. 1, the inside of the case body 1 is partitioned from the outside air by a transparent glass plate 2, a heat insulating plate, etc., and a product display room 3 is cooled. There is a closed type refrigerated case that is separated into an air passage and a blower is used to circulate air between the two. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of this refrigerator case. Below the product display room 3 is a cooling air passage 4 for sending out and returning cold air.
is formed. That is, in the cooling air passage 4, a refrigerant evaporator 6 of a refrigeration circuit (not shown) is provided so as to extend along the length of the case, and a blower 5 for ventilation circulation is provided. Suction from 7, cooled and then air outlet 8
It is now possible to send it from Product display room 3
A shelf 9 is installed inside so that products can be cooled and displayed.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, since such a refrigeration case uses only the refrigerant evaporator 6 of the refrigeration circuit,
The dehumidification effect of the refrigerant evaporator 6, that is, the moisture inside the case forms ice on the refrigerant evaporator 6, and the relative humidity inside the case decreases, causing the product to dry out and lose weight despite being maintained at a low temperature. There is a problem of deterioration.

In general, the most effective temperature and humidity for preventing problems such as loss of weight and deterioration of meat, delicatessen dishes, or high-end confectionery (cakes, etc.) is 0°C to 2°C, 85°C.
It is said to be ~90%, but the reality is that humidifying refrigerated cases that satisfy this condition are too expensive to mass produce.

This invention creates a low-temperature, high-humidity state by installing a small piece ice-making mechanism in a part of the case, collecting the ice obtained by this ice-making mechanism in a cooling air passage, and circulating ventilation through the gaps between the ice cubes. The aim is to solve problems such as wear and tear and deterioration of products.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The refrigerated case according to the present invention includes a product display chamber formed on the upper side of the case, a cooling chamber configured on the lower side of the case so as to be partitioned from the outside air by an insulating wall, and the cooling chamber. a water tank provided at the bottom of the cooling chamber; an ice piece conveying means provided at the top of the cooling chamber so as to extend in the longitudinal direction; An ice making system that uses water from the water tank to make ice cubes of a certain shape by combining a cooling air path that circulates cold air between the product display room and the product display room by blowing air in a direction that intersects with the product display room, and a refrigeration circuit. a mechanism for supplying ice pieces made by the ice-making mechanism to a starting end side of the conveying means; and means for guiding unmelted ice pieces falling from a terminal end side of the conveying means to the water tank; It is characterized in that cooling air is circulated through the gaps between the ice pieces on the means.

(Example) Examples of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the main structure of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A--A.

A closed type case body 1 includes a product display room 3 surrounded by a transparent glass plate 2, a cooling room 12 configured in a box-shaped outer panel 11 made of a heat insulator provided below the bottom plate 10, Outer panel 1
1 and a machine room 13 configured below.

A shelf 9 is installed in the product display room 3 so that products can be cooled and displayed. Further, the rear surface of the product display room 3 can be opened and closed by a sliding door 14 made of a transparent glass plate.

A cooling air passage 16 is formed in the cooling chamber 12 between the bottom plate 10 and an air passage plate 15 provided apart from the bottom plate 10 and inclined in the longitudinal direction of the case.
A conveyor belt 17 is provided within the cooling air passage 16 along the air passage plate 15 . The outer panel 11 is formed by filling a space between an inner box 11a and an outer box 11b with a heat insulating material 11c, and by utilizing the fact that the inner box 11a is made of, for example, a resin plate and has watertight properties, the inner bottom of the outer panel 11 is filled with a heat insulating material 11c. A water tank 18 is configured. That is, a water pipe 19 is introduced into the inner bottom of the outer panel 11, and a float valve 20 is used to maintain a constant level of water in the water tank 18 at all times.

Above the water tank 18 is a heat exchanger 2 which is connected to a refrigeration circuit to be described later and condenses or evaporates the refrigerant.
An ice maker 22 according to No. 1 is provided with an ice tray 23 facing downward. The ice tray 23 has a nozzle 25 connected to a pump 24 that sucks water from the water tank 18.
Water is sprayed from. The ice maker 22 has a heat exchanger 2
When water is sprayed onto the ice tray 23 while the ice cube 1 is functioning as a refrigerant evaporator, ice is formed on the ice tray 23 over time due to endothermic action. When a predetermined amount of ice is formed in the ice tray 23, the heat exchanger 21 is operated as a refrigerant condenser, and ice pieces corresponding to the shape of the ice tray 23 peel off and fall from the ice tray 23 due to the heat dissipation action. do. 26
A movable guide plate guides fallen ice pieces to each receiving portion of the conveyor 27, and is configured to rotate between a solid line position and a dashed-dotted line position in the figure. 28 is a water scattering prevention plate. The conveyor 27 is made up of a conveyor belt with a large number of comb-shaped receiving parts,
The movable guide plate 26 and the lower end of the conveyor belt 17 are connected to convey the ice pieces on the movable guide plate 26 upward, and the ice pieces on the conveyor 27 are conveyed in cooperation with the horse-toothed discharge guide 29. The conveyor belt 17 transports ice chips from each receiving section.
Carry it out to the top.

As is clear from FIG. 4, the conveyor belt 17 is
Wire guards 30, 30' are provided on both longitudinal edges of the cooling air passage 16 with a width located at the center thereof to prevent ice chips from falling. As a result, a space necessary for suction through the suction port 7 is secured between the suction port 7 and the wire guard 30, and a space necessary for installing the blower 5 is provided between the air outlet 8 and the wire guard 30'. is ensured. Also, the conveyor belt 1
7 is driven by a motor to transport the ice pieces that have been transported to the lower end to the higher end. The conveyance speed is set to such an extent that the ice pieces are completely melted by the time they reach the higher end. Ventilation circulation is done through outlet 8 and wire guard 30'
The air blowing is carried out in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 4 by several blowers 5 installed at intervals in the length direction between the two. 31 is an overflow pipe, 32 is a drain pipe, and 33 is a drain discharge pipe.

The refrigeration circuit in the machine room 13 includes a refrigerant compressor 34,
Like the heat exchanger 21, it includes a heat exchanger 35 that evaporates or condenses refrigerant, and an electromagnetic four-way valve 36 that switches the flow of refrigerant from a refrigerant compressor 34.

This refrigeration circuit is a circulation circuit consisting of refrigerant compressor 34 - electromagnetic four-way valve 36 - heat exchanger 35 - capillary 37 - heat exchanger 21 - electromagnetic four-way valve 36 - refrigerant compressor 34, and heat exchanger 35 radiates heat. The condenser and heat exchanger 21 act as an evaporator that absorbs heat, and the ice maker 22 makes ice. On the other hand, the refrigerant compressor 34
- Solenoid four-way valve 36 - Heat exchanger 21 - Capillary 3
In the circulating circuit of 7-heat exchanger 35-magnetic four-way valve 36-refrigerant compressor 34, the heat exchanger 35 acts as an evaporator and the heat exchanger 21 acts as a condenser, heating the ice formed in the ice tray 23. Peel it off.

Note that the refrigerant compressor 34 and the drive motor for the conveyor belt 17 operate almost continuously. On the other hand, the electromagnetic four-way valve 36, the pump 24, the movable guide plate 26, the conveyor 2
The drive control of 7 is performed by sequence control using a timer, for example.

The operation will be described below in the case of sequence control using a timer.

The refrigerant compressor 34 is activated and the heat exchanger 21 is operated as a refrigerant evaporator. With the movable guide plate 26 tilted to the solid line position, the pump 24 is activated and ice making is started by spraying water from the nozzle 25 onto the ice making tray 23. After a certain period of time, the solenoid four-way valve 36
is switched so that the heat exchanger 21 acts as a refrigerant condenser. At the same time, the pump 24 is stopped and the movable guide plate 26 is raised (indicated by a chain line in the figure).
Start the conveyor 27. The ice pieces that have fallen from the ice tray 23 onto the movable guide plate 26 are placed on the receiving portion of the conveyor 27, and are scraped onto the conveyor belt 17 by the carry-out guide 29 at the upper part of the conveyor 27. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the electromagnetic four-way valve 36 is switched and the heat exchanger 21 again functions as a refrigerant evaporator. The movable guide plate 26 and the conveyor 27 are switched to their original positions or stopped after a certain period of time set based on the approximate time required to carry out all the ice pieces measured in advance. At the same time pump 24
will restart and start making ice again. By repeating the above operations, ice pieces are piled up on the conveyor belt 17 to a height that makes contact with the bottom plate 10. Since the conveyor belt 17 is driven at a low speed, the ice pieces on the conveyor belt 17 melt as they approach the higher end, and as a result, the pieces of ice on the conveyor belt 17 melt as they approach the higher end. A layer of ice chips is formed that becomes thinner as time passes.

Air circulation by the blower 5 is carried out through the gaps formed between the ice pieces on the conveyor belt 17, and the air passing through these gaps is cooled and humidified as the surface of the ice pieces becomes wet due to melting. be done. Note that, as described above, the distance between the conveyor belt 17 and the bottom plate 10 becomes narrower as the moving distance of the ice pieces increases, so that there is no large space between the conveyor belt 17 and the bottom plate 10 when the ice pieces melt. That's what I do. Also, in order to increase the contact area with the passing air, it is better to create as much space as possible between the ice pieces on the conveyor belt 17, and this is achieved by making the shape of the ice pieces made by the ice maker 22 complex. be done. For example, the ice tray 23 may be shaped so that it can produce tetrapod-shaped pieces of ice.
Such a shape can be easily realized. The ice pieces that have not completely melted on the conveyor belt 17 fall at the higher end, and the falling ice melts on the sloping inner wall of the inner box 11a or slides into the water tank 18 and melts. . As a result, the water in the water tank 18 is cooled to nearly 0° C., making it easier to make ice in the ice maker 22, but since the water is constantly replaced, there is no danger of freezing. Water generated in the product display room 3, such as moisture due to condensation or drainage during cleaning, flows down on the air path plate 15, reaches the inner bottom of the outer panel 11 outside the water tank 18, and is discharged from the drain discharge pipe 33. be done.

As described above, in the present invention, the ice pieces made by the ice making mechanism installed in the case are collected in the cooling air passage, and while these ice pieces are melted, ventilation is circulated through the gaps between the ice pieces. Each ice cube has a large surface area, so the inside of the product display room 3 is cooled and humidified enough to satisfy the most effective temperature and humidity conditions mentioned above.
Humidification is performed.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the ice maker 22 in the ice making mechanism, the heat insulating material 38
An electric heater may be buried together with the heat exchanger 21 between the ice tray 23 and the ice tray 23, and the ice may be peeled off from the ice tray 23 by heating with the electric heater. In this case, since the heat exchanger 21 only needs to function as a refrigerant evaporator, the electromagnetic four-way valve 36 can be omitted. The ice maker 22 may also be of another type that does not rely on water spray. Moreover, the control of the refrigeration circuit, conveyor, etc. can also be performed using various detectors instead of sequence control using a timer. For example, to control the refrigeration circuit, in the case of the embodiment, an ice detector is installed in the ice tray 23, and when ice of a certain thickness is formed, an electromagnetic four-way valve is switched, and in the case of an electric heater as described above, electricity is supplied to the electric heater. I'll do what I do. Furthermore, the present invention is applicable not only to the refrigerated case shown in FIG. 1, but also to all other closed type refrigerated cases and open type cases having a partition structure using an air curtain.

(Effects of the invention) As explained above, according to the invention, the ice maker makes ice by spraying water from the bottom to the top (the water may also flow over the ice tray).
Since there are no impurities in the ice and the temperature is 0°C, clean ice can be obtained by sterilizing bacteria other than psychrophilic bacteria. In addition, since the gaps between the ice pieces allow ventilation, the contact area is large, and cooling and humidification are sufficiently performed. Furthermore, compared to the conventional method of cooling air through a refrigerant evaporator, the refrigerant evaporation temperature in the heat exchanger may be higher, resulting in a higher coefficient of performance and energy savings.

Furthermore, the unmelted ice pieces used for cooling and humidification are dropped by the conveying means into a water tank that stores water for the ice making mechanism, thereby cooling the water in the water tank, thereby allowing efficient ice making. Further, since new pieces of ice can be constantly conveyed into the cooling air passage by the conveying means, the spaces between the ice pieces are not filled with water droplets and the ventilation between the pieces of ice is not obstructed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an external view of an example of a closed type refrigerated case, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the refrigerated case shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the refrigerated case shown in Fig. 3. A sectional view taken along line A-A. In the figure, 2 is a transparent glass plate, 3 is a product display room, and 4
is a cooling air passage, 12 is a cooling room, 13 is a machine room, 17
is a conveyor belt, 22 is an ice maker, 27 is a conveyor,
34 is a refrigerant compressor, and 36 is an electromagnetic four-way valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A product display room formed on the upper side of the case, a cooling chamber formed on the lower side of the case so as to be separated from the outside air by a heat insulating wall, a water tank provided at the bottom of the cooling chamber, and a longitudinal wall at the top of the cooling chamber. and the product display room by blowing air in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance of the ice pieces by the conveyance means, which is formed in the upper part of the cooling chamber and is provided to extend in the direction of the ice piece conveyance means. an ice making mechanism that uses water from the water tank to make ice pieces of a certain shape by combining a cooling air passage that circulates cold air and a refrigeration circuit; A mechanism for supplying the ice chips to the starting end side and a means for guiding the unmelted ice pieces that have fallen from the terminal end side of the conveying means to the water tank, and circulating cooling air through gaps between the ice pieces on the conveying means. A refrigerated case characterized by: