JPH10246552A - Cooling and storing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a high speed cooling to be carried out without applying any load to a cooling device. SOLUTION: The ceiling surface of a main body 1 is provided with a discharging port 14 having a damper 15 and the outer wall of a cooling chamber 10 is provided with a suction port 18 having a damper 19. As food material X of high temperature just after its heating and cooking is put into a storing chamber 3, an inter-device fan 12 is driven and concurrently the discharging port 14 and the suction port 18 are opened together to start an initial cooling operation. Surrounding atmosphere having a relative low temperature is sucked into the device through the suction port 18 and the surrounding atmosphere is circulated within the storing chamber 3 while the inter-device air of which temperature is increased is being discharged from the discharging port 14 and then the food material X is cooled. As cooling of the food material X is promoted to cause the inter-device temperature to be decreased and a difference between it and a room temperature reaches a set temperature difference, the initial cooling operation is finished. Then, both the discharging port 14 and the suction port 18 are closed, and the cooling device 11 is energized to start the cooling operation of the cooling device 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling storage in which the load on a cooler during cooling is reduced.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a system for rapidly cooling and preserving ingredients once cooked and then reheating the ingredients at the time of providing the ingredients has become widespread. For this reason, rapid cooling boxes have been developed.
Here, in cooling the food material to the storage temperature, it is necessary to pass the temperature zone (55 ° C. to 10 ° C.) where bacteria can easily propagate in a short time, and the rapid cooling as described above is required. . Conventionally, an example of this type of rapid cooling storage is shown in FIG. In this apparatus, a storage room b is formed on one side in a heat insulating box a, an entrance d with a heat insulating door c is formed on the front surface thereof, and the foodstuff X is placed on a tray stacked on a cart e, for example. And the cooling chamber f defined on the other side of the heat insulating box a
Is equipped with a cooler g and an internal fan h. Then, the foodstuff X immediately after the heating and cooking is put into the storage room b, and the heat insulating door c
Is closed, first, the internal fan h is driven to circulate the internal air as indicated by the arrow in the figure to remove the coarse heat of the foodstuff X, and the cooler g is also added after a relatively short time. By driving and circulating cool air, the foodstuff X is rapidly cooled to a desired storage temperature.

[0003]

By the way, in the conventional apparatus, it is only possible to take the rough heat of the food material X before driving the cooler g. That is, since only the air is circulated in the closed storage room b, the cooling of the food X does not proceed much, and the temperature of the food X and the inside of the refrigerator remain high. For this reason, a large load is imposed, for example, the heat load on the cooler g increases and it is necessary to perform a full operation.
In view of the service life and the like, it was not always a suitable method of use. However, if the foodstuff X is naturally cooled to some extent outside the refrigerator and then cooled by the cooler g, the cooler g
Although the burden of the process is light, the use of such a method cannot be adopted because it is out of the meaning of the original rapid cooling of allowing the bacteria to pass through a temperature zone in which bacteria can easily propagate in a short time. The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling storage that can perform rapid cooling without imposing a load on a cooler.

[0004]

As a means for achieving the above object, a cooling storage according to the present invention comprises:
A cooler for generating cool air, a fan for circulating air inside the refrigerator, an openable and closable outlet for discharging the air inside the refrigerator, and an openable and closable intake for introducing outside air into the refrigerator. This is characterized by having a configuration including:

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooler for generating cool air, a fan for circulating air in the refrigerator, a discharge port which can be opened and closed for discharging the air in the refrigerator to the outside, An openable and closable suction port for introducing into the inside, an inside temperature detection means for detecting the inside temperature, and a drive of the cooler and the fan and the discharge port based on a detection signal of the inside temperature detection means. And control means for controlling the opening and closing of the suction port.

[0006]

Actions and effects of the present invention

<Invention of Claim 1> For example, when a high-temperature food is stored in a refrigerator, only the fan is driven in a state where the discharge port and the suction port are opened. Is discharged to the outside and the air in the refrigerator is circulated to cool the food. When the temperature of the food material has dropped to some extent, when the discharge port and the suction port are closed and the cooler is driven together, cool air is circulated and supplied into the closed storage to cool the food material. The temperature of the food material can be reduced to some extent in a short time by using the outside air. Therefore, it is sufficient to operate the cooler with the heat load reduced, and the load on the cooler can be reduced.

<Invention of Claim 2> When foodstuffs to be cooled are stored in the refrigerator, while the temperature in the refrigerator is higher than a predetermined temperature, only the fan is opened while the discharge port and the suction port are open. Driven. Thus, the low-temperature outside air is sucked in and the high-temperature air inside the refrigerator is discharged to the outside, and the air in the refrigerator is circulated to cool the foodstuff. When the internal temperature drops to a predetermined temperature, the discharge port and the suction port are closed and the cooler is driven. Thereby, cold air is circulated and supplied into the closed storage, and the food is cooled. In addition to performing rapid cooling while reducing the load on the cooler, a series of operations can be automatically controlled.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body of a rapid cooling box, which is formed of a heat insulating box having a rectangular box shape, and is supported by legs 2. The storage room 3 is located on the right side of the main body 1 when viewed from the front.
A door 4 is opened at the front surface thereof, and a heat insulating door 5 that can swing and open is provided. Ingredient X
Is placed in the storage room 3 through the doorway 4 in a state of being placed on the tray 8 stacked on the cart 7, for example.

A cooling chamber 10 is defined on the left side of the main body 1, and a cooler 11 is installed at a position on the near side of the cooling chamber 10. The cooler 11 is connected to a refrigerator (not shown) such as a compressor and a condenser provided outside the refrigerator to constitute a well-known refrigeration cycle. At the position facing the storage room 3 on the back side of the cooling room 10, three in-compartment fans 12 shown in the figure are provided side by side in the vertical direction.
As shown by arrow A in (A), the air in the cooling chamber 10 is blown out toward the storage chamber 3, and after passing through the storage portion of the foodstuff X, returns to the cooling chamber 10 while passing through the cooler 11. It is supposed to do. When the cooler 11 is operated,
The cool air generated by the cooler 11 is circulated and supplied through the above-described path.

In this embodiment, the food X is stored in the storage room 3.
After being put in the inside, before the cooler 11 is started, initial cooling for lowering the food material X to a predetermined temperature in a short time can be performed. Therefore, a discharge port 14 for discharging the air in the refrigerator to the outside is opened in the ceiling surface of the main body 1. In detail, the discharge port 14 is opened on the ceiling surface at a position between the storage position of the cart 7 on which the foodstuff X is placed and the cooler 11, and the upper surface thereof is insulated as shown in FIG. A first damper 15 is swingably opened and closed via a hinge 16. The first damper 15 is driven to open and close by a drive device (not shown).

On the other hand, on the side wall of the main body 1 on the side where the cooling chamber 10 is provided, a suction port 18 for introducing outside air into the refrigerator is provided.
Is open. More specifically, an opening is provided at a position substantially at the center of the side of the installation position of the internal fan 12, and an outer surface of the suction port 18 is provided with a second heat-insulating damper as shown in FIG. 19 is provided so as to be able to swing open and close via a hinge 20. The second damper 19 can also be opened and closed by a driving device (not shown). Further, a filter 21 for sterilization and dust prevention is stretched over the suction port 18.

As shown in FIG. 2B, a room temperature sensor 2 for detecting the room temperature of the room in which the rapid cooling cabinet is installed is located above the outer wall of the main body 1 on the side where the above-mentioned suction port 18 is provided.
3 is attached. On the other hand, on the back wall inside the main body 1,
First and second inside temperature sensors 25 and 26 for detecting the inside temperature are provided. Both sensors 25 and 26 are
It is mounted side by side on a portion near the ceiling of the back wall corresponding to the position between the carriage 7 and the cooler 11. The first internal temperature sensor 25 is used as a means for detecting the internal temperature for controlling the initial cooling. One second internal temperature sensor 26
Is used as a means for detecting the temperature in the refrigerator when the food X is cooled and stored.

Although not shown, a control device for controlling initial cooling is provided. A room temperature sensor 23 and a first in-compartment temperature sensor 25 are connected to an input side of the control device, and a drive unit for the dampers 15 and 19 of the discharge port 14 and the suction port 18 and a cooler 11 are connected to the output side. And a motor drive device of the in-compartment fan 12 are connected. The basic functions of the control device are as shown in FIG.
Difference ΔT (T2 between room temperature T1 obtained from room temperature sensor 23 and internal temperature T2 obtained from first internal temperature sensor 25).
-T1), and performs initial cooling while the temperature difference ΔT is larger than a predetermined set temperature difference TS, and controls the cooler 11 to perform rapid cooling when the temperature difference ΔT falls below the set temperature difference TS. . The set temperature difference TS is set to, for example, 10 ° C.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. At first, the dampers 15 and 19 of the discharge port 14 and the suction port 18 are closed. When the cart 7 on which the food X is placed is stored in the storage room 3 and the heat insulating door 5 is closed, the operation of the in-compartment fan 12 is started. When the foodstuff X immediately after cooking is put into the storage room 3,
The internal temperature rises. If the internal temperature T2 is higher than the room temperature T1 and the temperature difference ΔT is larger than the set temperature difference TS, the refrigerator or the cooler 11 is stopped, and the damper 15 of the discharge port 14 and the suction port 18 is simultaneously stopped. , 19
Is opened, thereby starting the initial cooling. Then, as shown by the arrow B in FIG. 2B, the outside air having a relatively low temperature is sucked through the suction port 18 and the outside air is indicated by the arrow A in FIG. And the hot food X is cooled. Ingredient X
The air in the refrigerator whose temperature has risen due to heat exchange with the air becomes lighter and rises to the upper side of the refrigerator, and as shown by an arrow C in FIG.
It is discharged outside through a discharge port 14 provided on the ceiling surface. By repeating this operation, the food X is rapidly cooled.

As the cooling of the foodstuff X proceeds, FIG.
As shown in (2), when the inside temperature T2 also drops rapidly and the difference ΔT from the room temperature T1 reaches the set temperature difference TS, the initial cooling is finished, and both the dampers 15, 19 of the discharge port 14 and the suction port 18 are closed. At the same time, the refrigerator, that is, the cooler 11 is started, and the cooling operation by the cooler 11 is started. Here, the cold air generated by the cooler 11 is circulated in the closed storage room 3, whereby the foodstuff X is rapidly cooled to the storage temperature, and thereafter, detected by the second internal temperature sensor 26. The cooler 11 is controlled and operated based on the temperature in the refrigerator, and the food X is cooled and stored at the storage temperature. At the time when the cooling by the cooler 11 is started, the food X and the temperature in the refrigerator have decreased to some extent through the initial cooling.
The cooler 11 can be operated with a margin and does not impose a burden. In addition, when the temperature of the foodstuff X put in the storage room 3 is low in advance, the inside temperature T2 is lower than the room temperature T1, or the temperature difference ΔT is lower than the set temperature difference TS, the initial cooling is not performed. Immediately, the cooling operation by the cooler 11 is performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the food X
Since the temperature of the foodstuff X can be reduced to some extent in a short time by performing the initial cooling using the outside air immediately after the storage, the cooler 11 only needs to be operated with the heat load reduced, Thus, the load on the cooler 11 can be reduced. As a result, the useful life of the cooler 11 can be greatly extended, and the time for using the cooler 11 can be reduced, so that the running cost can also be reduced. In addition, the start and end of the initial cooling can be automatically controlled.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) It is preferable that the set temperature difference TS for controlling the end timing of the initial cooling can be set arbitrarily.
As the set temperature difference TS is set larger, the initial cooling ends earlier.

(2) If the internal fan is of a variable type capable of controlling the number of revolutions to change the amount of air to be blown, an initial cooling period and a desired storage temperature after shifting to the cooling operation by the cooler. During rapid cooling, the internal fan is operated at full speed, while the controlled operation of the cooler while the food is cooled and stored at a predetermined storage temperature can be achieved by operating the internal fan at low speed. Good cooling can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a rapid cooling box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a plan sectional view showing the inside, and FIG. 2B is a longitudinal sectional view.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a discharge port portion.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a suction port portion.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a temperature change.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a cooling control operation.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

X: foodstuff 1 ... body 3 ... storage room 10 ... cooling room 11
... Cooler 12 ... Indoor fan 14 ... Discharge port 15 ... Damper 18 ... Suction port 19 ... Damper 23 ... Room temperature sensor 25 ... First internal temperature sensor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cooler for generating cool air, a fan for circulating air in the refrigerator, an openable / closable discharge port for discharging the air in the refrigerator to the outside, and a discharge port for introducing outside air into the refrigerator. A cooling storage, comprising: a suction port that can be opened and closed. 2. A cooler for generating cool air, a fan for circulating air in the refrigerator, an openable and closable outlet for discharging the air in the refrigerator to the outside, and a discharge port for introducing outside air into the refrigerator. An openable and closable suction port, an inside temperature detection means for detecting the inside temperature, and a drive of the cooler and the fan and opening and closing of the discharge port and the suction port based on a detection signal of the inside temperature detection means. Control means for controlling the cooling storage.