JPH10132434A - Commercial-use freezing showcase and power supply control method of the commercial-use freezing showcase - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a commercial-use freezing showcase capable of holding a stabilized refrigeration power and inhibiting an increase in power consumption as much as possible without being accompanied by temperature rise in the interior of the showcase for defrosting service. SOLUTION: A dehumidification machine 14 provided with a humidity sensor 15 is interposed on the way to an air outlet of a ventilation mechanism 9 and a plurality of heat pipes 3a and 3b are connected to a cooling mechanism 6 respectively, where a change over control unit, which opens and closed solenoid valves 5a and 5b in time series, is attached thereto so as to supply and stop a refrigerant independently for each of the heat pipes 5a and 5b. A plurality of commercial-use freezing showcases 2 are set up as a unit block. The power to each block is switched on and off with a predetermined time lag.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a commercial refrigeration showcase and a power supply control method therefor.
The present invention relates to a commercial refrigeration showcase that can maintain a stable refrigeration capacity while suppressing an increase in the amount of electric power as much as possible without an increase in the internal temperature for defrosting, and a power supply control method therefor. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a commercial refrigeration showcase which is installed in a food store or a supermarket of a department store and displays various frozen foods, a heat pipe installed in a refrigerator is heated by a heater to heat the heat. The operation of removing frost adhering to the pipe is repeatedly performed at a predetermined time during the store opening time.

[0003] However, as described above, defrosting by heating the heater requires that the cooling operation of the heat pipe be temporarily stopped before the defrosting is performed. In addition, the frozen food displayed near the heat pipe is also defrosted. The heating effect of the heater is exerted, the freezing temperature of the frozen food rises, partial thawing progresses, and the value of the food decreases, making it impossible to sell as a commercial product.

[0004] On the other hand, when the commercial refrigeration showcase described above is operated, a large amount of power is inevitably consumed for a plurality of the showcase groups installed, and moreover, frost adheres to the refrigeration showcase which lowers its cooling efficiency. On the other hand, there is a wasteful power consumption of heating the heater inside the refrigerator that has been lowered to the required cooling temperature, which requires enormous power as a whole, and a heavy burden on power consumers. The fact is that it is.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances to solve the conventional drawbacks, and has as its object to heat a heat pipe without using a heater. By operating the heat pipes alternately and intermittently, the adhesion of frost is suppressed as much as possible, and the frozen food can be stably kept frozen and the commercial refrigeration showcase operated directly by the supplied electric power. Automatically turn on and off automatically with a time delay in startup control
By reducing the total amount of electric power necessary for the full operation of a plurality of commercial refrigeration showcases, it is possible to reduce power consumption and greatly reduce the burden on electric power consumers. And a power supply control method therefor.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, a first technical means adopted by the present invention is a display storage case portion for displaying various frozen foods, and a heat storage device extending around the outside rear surface thereof. A cooling mechanism that circulates refrigerant through the opening and closing control of an electromagnetic valve on the pipe, and blows air sucked from outside the machine onto the heat pipe to generate cooling air, and supplies the cooling air into the display storage case from the outlet. In a commercial refrigeration showcase comprising a blowing mechanism, a humidity sensor is attached to an air intake of the blowing mechanism, and a dehumidifier for increasing or decreasing a humidity removal amount in accordance with a humidity detection signal sent from the humidity sensor. And a plurality of heat pipes connected to the cooling mechanism, respectively, to independently supply and stop the refrigerant for each of the heat pipes. To this end, a switching control unit for opening and closing the solenoid valve in time series is provided along with the cooling mechanism. As a second technical means, the commercial refrigeration showcase is installed in a plurality of blocks as blocks for a plurality of units. ,
The main control panel that supplies power to each block,
A timer unit that opens and closes a relay contact with a timer is provided, and the input and stop of power to each of the blocks is performed with a preset time delay.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a display case for frozen foods, which is installed in a supermarket, a department store food section, or the like. The display case 1 has a plurality of commercial frozen display cases 2, 2,. Have been.

On the back side of each of the commercial refrigeration showcases 2, ventilation passages 4a, 4b having heat pipes 3a, 3b extended therethrough, and opening and closing control of solenoid valves 5a, 5b in the heat pipes 3a, 3b. Cooling mechanisms 6 for circulating the refrigerant from the refrigerator 6a via the
Air X sucked from an air intake 8 provided in the display storage case 7 is provided on the front and lower surfaces of the display storage case 7 forming the commercial frozen showcase 2 with heat pipes in the ventilation passage 4. An air blower mechanism 9 for blowing cooling air X 'is provided to blow cooling air X' downward from an air outlet 10 opened at the upper end of the air blowing passage 4. . Reference numeral 4c denotes a partition wall for partitioning the ventilation passages 4a and 4b, and reference numeral 11 denotes a display shelf provided at an upper portion of the display storage case 7.

The blower mechanism 9 has an air filter 8 having a deodorizing and antibacterial function removably attached to its air intake port 8 and dehumidification while reaching an air blower fan 13 provided at the inlets of the air blow passages 4a and 4b. The dehumidifier 14 is controlled by a humidity detection signal from a humidity sensor 15 provided in the vicinity of the air inlet 8. The second humidity sensor 16 is connected to the vicinity of the outlet 10. Provided in
In cooperation with the humidity sensor 15 on the side of the air intake 8 and the second humidity sensor 16, the amount of humidity removed from the air X taken in can be calculated as follows.
The configuration is such that automatic control is performed so as to increase or decrease in view of the amount of humidity of the cooling air X ′ blown out in advance.

In the upper part of the air passages 4a and 4b, branch supply ducts 17 are located on the left and right of the partition wall 4c.
a, 17b are arranged in an intersecting manner.
a and 4b, the cooling air X 'generated respectively is distributed and supplied to each other, and during the defrosting driving period of each of the heat pipes 3a and 3b by the switching control unit 18 described later, the cooling air X'
The cooling air X 'is supplied from the other air passage to the one air passage in which the generation of the refrigeration is stopped, so as to suppress the rise in the refrigeration load temperature.

Here, the display case 1 composed of a plurality of commercial frozen showcases 2, 2,...
As shown in (a) and (b), the switching control unit 18 provided in front of the single refrigerator 6a reaching the solenoid valves 5a and 5b provides
The main control means for driving the heat pipes 3a, 3b for a predetermined continuous driving period T1 (initial continuous driving period T1 ') for each showcase 2 and the sub-control means for intermittently driving the heat pipes 3a, 3b during the defrost driving period T2, respectively. Drive controlled.

That is, in the cooling mechanism 6 installed for one set of display cases 1, the switching control unit 18 is provided for each of the commercial freezing showcases 2, 2.
Is controlled to open and close, and the refrigerating capacity of the refrigerator 6a is controlled to increase or decrease. In the continuous driving period T1 (initial continuous driving period T1 '), the solenoid valves 5a and 5b are simultaneously opened to open the heat pipes 3a and 3b. In the defrosting drive period T2, the solenoid valves 5a and 5b alternately drive and stop the cooling operation at an intermittent cycle t2, and adhere to the heat pipes 3a and 3b during the cooling stop period. Naturally thaws the frost.

The continuous driving period T1 (initial continuous driving period T1 '), the defrosting driving period T2 and the intermittent period t2 are as follows:
In the commercial refrigeration showcase 2 for each unit, the time setting of T1 (T1 ') ≒ 30 to 45 minutes T2 ≒ 30 to 45 minutes t2 ≒ 5 to 10 minutes is set by the main control means and the sub control means according to the cooling capacity of the refrigerator. It is found that the best cooling state and defrosting operation state can be obtained by performing.

As shown in FIG. 7 (b), the switching control unit 18 controls the increase / decrease of the refrigeration capacity so as to maintain the refrigeration load temperature (-18 ° C.) during the steady continuous driving period T1 (T1 ′). The constant temperature control means and the continuous driving period T1 (T1
′), The cooling capacity of the refrigerator 6a is temporarily increased during a predetermined period t1 immediately before switching to the defrost driving period T2, and the refrigeration load temperature by the heat pipes 3a, 3b is reduced to −24 degrees (actual measurement value). The temperature rise during the subsequent defrosting drive period T2 is suppressed to a minimum, as compared with the conventional temperature rise (shown by a dotted line) during the defrosting drive period T2 that is performed by the temperature lowering control unit that does not perform the temperature decrease control unit. It has a control configuration.

Since the present invention is configured as described above,
When the operation of the display case 1 is started, first, the refrigerator 6a of the cooling mechanism 6 is driven, and at the same time, the switching control unit 18
Solenoid valve 5 of each commercial refrigeration showcase 2, 2,...
a and 5b are respectively opened. In the initial refrigeration drive, one of the heat pipes 3a performs a continuous drive period T1,
In the other heat pipe 3b, a continuous driving period T1 'is performed, and in the subsequent defrosting driving period T2, the solenoid valves 5a, 5b
Are controlled to be opened and closed at intervals of the intermittent cycle t2, so that the heat pipes 3a and 3b alternately perform the cooling drive and the stop thereof during the defrosting drive period T2, and the frost adhering to the heat pipe on the side where the cooling is stopped is natural. Will be unpacked.

During the continuous driving period T1 (T1 '), the cooling air X generated by the heat pipes 3a and 3b is
′ Are the outlets 10 and 1 through the respective air passages 4a and 4b.
0 to the display storage case section 7 and the display shelf section 11, and if any one of the heat pipes 3a, 3b stops the cooling drive during the defrosting drive period T2, the cooling drive is continued. The cooling air X 'is distributed from the air supply passage on the side where the cooling operation is stopped to the air supply passage on the side where the cooling drive is stopped via the branch supply duct 17a or 17b. Accordingly, in combination with the temperature lowering control means of the switching control unit 18, the rise of the refrigeration load temperature on the side where the cooling drive is stopped is suppressed as much as possible, and the frost adhering to the heat pipe without heating control of the heater is required. Can be efficiently removed.

Next, a detailed description will be given of a power supply control method when a plurality of blocks are installed with the display case 1 composed of a plurality of commercial freezer showcases 2, 2,... As a unit block as described above. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 19 denotes a supermarket store, in which a counter cash register 20, a normal food shelf 21, a food case 22, and a plurality of commercial frozen showcases 2, 2,... Display case 1 is disposed for each of the blocks A to E.

The display cases 1, 1,..., Which constitute the above-mentioned blocks A to E, are, as shown in FIG.
3 via the power line 24 to the respective cooling mechanisms 6, 6,.
Is distributed to the display cases 1 for each of the blocks A to E
Is performed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.

The control panel 23 forms a timer unit 28 by connecting an on-delay timer 25 and an off-delay timer 26 to a relay contact 27, respectively, as shown in FIG. Each of the timer units 28, 28,... Is individually and independently set in advance within a range of 1 second to 500 hours to cool each of the blocks A to E. The supply and stop of the power supply to the mechanisms 6, 6,... Are controlled with a predetermined time-series delay.

Each of the timer units 28, 28...
By operating a power ON button (not shown), the on-delay timers 25, 25... Of each unit set to different delay times are operated, and when the time is up, the relay contact 27 is closed, and the corresponding cooling mechanism 6
Automatically turns on a start switch (not shown) of the camera, and similarly to the on-delay timers 25, 25,.
Activate the off-delay timers 26, 26, and when the time is up, close the relay contact 27 and automatically turn off the start switch (not shown) of the corresponding cooling mechanism 6.
It is configured to be.

Here, the timer units 28, 2
8, the on-delay timers 25, 25,... Are set so as to sequentially turn on the power supply at time intervals of a delay time Tu (8 min in the embodiment) as shown in FIG. Similarly, the delay timers 26 are set so as to sequentially stop the power supply at intervals of a delay time (not shown), and the cooling control of each of the cooling mechanisms 6, 6,. Are set in the same manner as in the previous embodiment. Therefore, the display cases 1, 1,... Of each of the blocks A to E installed in the store 19 are sequentially operated with a time delay, so that all the display cases 1, 1,. The generated inrush electric power in the early stage of operation can be avoided, and the inadvertent shut-off operation of the current breaker specified by the total amount of current consumed in the display cases 1, 1,. .. Can be maintained.

[0022]

In summary, the present invention relates to a display storage case for displaying various frozen foods, and a cooling mechanism for circulating a refrigerant through a heat pipe extending around the outside and back of the display via opening and closing control of a solenoid valve. In a commercial refrigeration showcase comprising: a blower that blows air sucked from outside the heat pipe to the heat pipe to generate cooling air and supplies the cooling air from the outlet into the display storage case; A humidity sensor is attached to the air inlet, and a dehumidifier that increases or decreases the amount of humidity removed in response to the humidity detection signal sent from the humidity sensor is interposed between the air outlet and the air blowing mechanism, A plurality of heat pipes are respectively connected to the cooling mechanism, and a switching control unit that opens and closes a solenoid valve in a time series is provided to supply and stop the refrigerant independently for each heat pipe. The freezing temperature of the frozen food has risen and partial thawing has progressed without wasteful power consumption of heating the heater inside the refrigerator that has dropped to the required cooling temperature because it was attached to the cooling mechanism. It is possible to reliably remove frost adhering to the heat pipe while eliminating problems such as a decline in value and the product cannot be sold as a product, and to minimize the rise in refrigeration load temperature during the defrosting period. Thus, stable refrigeration capacity can be maintained while reducing power consumption.
In addition, the switching control unit includes a main control unit that supplies a refrigerant to a plurality of heat pipes simultaneously, and a stop of the supply of the refrigerant to a single heat pipe. Since it has the sub-control means for performing the operation, the continuous operation and the defrosting operation of the refrigeration mechanism can be automatically switched, and the troublesome preparation work for the operating commercial refrigeration showcase can be eliminated. In addition, when switching from the main control unit to the sub-control unit, since the cooling unit has a temperature lowering control unit that temporarily increases the cooling capacity, when the refrigeration unit switches from the continuous driving period to the defrosting driving period, Since the refrigeration load temperature can be automatically lowered in the immediately preceding period, the temperature rise in the case during the subsequent defrosting drive period can be minimized, and the frozen food is kept in an appropriate frozen state. be able to. Furthermore,
At the air intake of the air blower equipped with the humidity sensor,
An air filter with deodorizing and antibacterial functions is detachably equipped, so that microorganisms, dust, etc. in the intake air are removed, so that the cooling air supplied into the freezer showcase is kept clean. It is possible to ensure the hygiene management of the frozen food. In addition, a second humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the cooling air is mounted on the outlet for supplying the cooling air into the storage case, and in cooperation with the humidity sensor mounted on the air suction port of the blowing mechanism. , Because the dehumidifier is configured to increase or decrease the amount of humidity removed, it is possible to accurately control the humidity of the cooling air that is blown out, without causing dew or frost to adhere to the outer surface of the frozen food,
A clean frozen state can be maintained. On the other hand, a plurality of the commercial refrigeration showcases are installed as a plurality of blocks, and a main control panel that supplies power to each block is provided with a timer unit that opens and closes relay contacts with a timer. Since the power supply to each block is turned on and off with a preset time delay, the inrush power at the beginning of operation caused by the simultaneous operation of multiple commercial refrigeration showcases is avoided. Can,
By eliminating the careless shut-off operation of the current breaker specified by the total amount of current consumed in each case, it is possible to maintain a stable cooling operation state, thereby suppressing the total amount of power required for full operation The burden on power consumers can be greatly reduced. And so on, which are extremely useful and novel effects.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a display case employing a commercial frozen showcase of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a rear sectional view of a commercial frozen showcase. (B) is a side sectional view.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view of an upper part of the commercial frozen showcase.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a supermarket in which a commercial frozen showcase of the present invention is arranged for each block.

FIG. 5A is an explanatory view showing a connection between a cooling mechanism and a commercial refrigeration showcase. (B) is an explanatory view showing a continuous driving period, a defrosting driving period, and an intermittent cycle.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing connection between a control panel, a plurality of cooling mechanisms, and a commercial refrigeration showcase.

FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram of a control panel. (B) is an explanatory view showing a control state of the refrigeration load temperature when switching from the continuous driving period to the defrosting driving period.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a delay state of activation of each commercial refrigeration showcase.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Commercial refrigeration showcase 3a Heat pipe 3b Heat pipe 5a Solenoid valve 5b Solenoid valve 6 Cooling mechanism 7 Display storage case section 8 Air suction port 9 Blowing mechanism 10 Blow out port 12 Air filter 14 Dehumidifier 15 Humidity sensor 16 Second humidity Sensor 18 Switching control unit 23 Control panel 25 On-delay timer 26 Off-delay timer 27 Relay contact 28 Timer unit A block B block C block D block E block X air X 'cooling air

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A display and storage case section for displaying various frozen foods, a cooling mechanism for circulating a refrigerant through a heat pipe extending around the outside and back of the display via an open / close control of a solenoid valve, A commercial refrigeration showcase comprising a blowing mechanism that generates cooling air by blowing air sucked in from the air and supplies the cooling air into the display storage case from the outlet, and a humidity sensor is provided at the air suction port of the blowing mechanism. A dehumidifier that is mounted and that increases or decreases the amount of humidity removed in response to the humidity detection signal sent from the humidity sensor is interposed between the air discharge port of the blower mechanism and a plurality of heat sources in the cooling mechanism. In order to connect the pipes and supply and stop the refrigerant independently for each heat pipe,
A commercial refrigeration showcase, wherein a switching control unit for opening and closing a solenoid valve in a time series is provided in addition to the cooling mechanism. 2. The switching control unit includes: a main control unit that supplies a refrigerant to a plurality of heat pipes simultaneously; and a supply control unit that stops supplying a refrigerant to a single heat pipe at predetermined time intervals for all the heat pipes. 2. A commercial refrigeration showcase according to claim 1, further comprising a sub-control means for performing the operation sequentially. 3. The switching control unit according to claim 1, wherein the switching control unit includes a temperature decreasing control unit for temporarily increasing a cooling capacity of the cooling mechanism when switching from the main control unit to the sub control unit. The commercial frozen showcase described. 4. The commercial refrigeration show according to claim 1, wherein an air filter having a deodorizing and antibacterial function is detachably provided at an air suction port of the air blowing mechanism equipped with the humidity sensor. Case. 5. A second humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the cooling air is mounted on an outlet for supplying the cooling air into the storage case, and a second humidity sensor is mounted on an air suction port of the blowing mechanism. The commercial refrigeration showcase according to claim 1, wherein the amount of humidity removed by the dehumidifier is controlled to increase or decrease in cooperation. 6. A timer unit in which a plurality of the commercial refrigeration showcases are installed as blocks for a plurality of units, and a main control panel for supplying electric power to each of the blocks is provided with a timer unit for opening and closing a relay contact with a timer. Provided,
A power supply control method for a commercial refrigeration showcase, characterized in that the supply and stop of power to each block are performed with a preset time delay.