JPH11101550A - Chilling unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the air from remaining in a brine tube by evacuating the brine tube and encapsulating brine in the brine tube. SOLUTION: At the time of encapsulating brine in a brine tube 10 during installation or repair work thereof, the brine tube 10 is coupled with a vacuum pump, or the like, and evacuated before brine is encapsulated therein. A large diameter part 10a is provided at a high position H of the brine tube 10. Current velocity decreases at the large diameter part 10a without increasing the flow resistance of brine to cause stagnation of the air (fine bubbles K) being mixed due to insufficient evacuation. The fine bubbles K standing at the large diameter part 10a can be discharged easily by opening an on/off valve 17. Since the air in the brine tube 10 can be purged at the time of encapsulating brine, stagnation of the air in the brine tube 10 can be eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling apparatus using a brine for cooling a cooling unit such as a plurality of showcases, storages, or a cooling work table in a supermarket or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of cooling a showcase which is a cooling unit in a supermarket or the like,
The direct expansion type, which directly cools the heat exchanger in the showcase using fluorocarbon refrigerant, was the mainstream, but recently the adverse effect of fluorocarbons on the environment has become a problem, and the market has been increasing the demand for reduction of fluorocarbons. . Also, in order to further prevent food poisoning and the like, HACCAP management (computer-assisted temperature management) has been introduced, and the demand for high freshness management has been increasing. One that meets such demands
As one, a cooling system using brine (antifreeze) has been proposed. Examples of the brine (antifreeze) include a mixture of propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, ethanol, salts, or the like, and water.

[0003]

In the conventional configuration, when the brine is sealed in the brine piping at the time of the construction of the pipeline or the repair of the pipeline, air remains in the brine piping and the flow of the brine is hindered. There is a problem that the pipe is rusted by oxygen contained in the bubbles.

[0004] When a plurality of showcases are connected to a brine chiller unit through a brine pipe composed of a row pipe and a return pipe, for example, a defrost operation or an intermittent cooling operation (hereinafter, referred to as a thermocycle operation) is performed. In order to perform this, a plurality of on-off valves must be installed in the brine pipe, and when these on-off valves are opened and closed, a large water hammer phenomenon occurs in the brine pipe. There is a problem of serious damage.

[0005] A heat insulating material is wound around the outer periphery of the brine pipe. In the conventional heat insulating material, it is general that a heat insulating layer is wound around the outer periphery of the pipe, and the outside thereof is fixed with a seal tape. In such a case, a gap is formed in the joint surface of the heat insulating material, so that the brine pipe and the outside air come into contact through this gap,
For example, there is a problem in that dew condensation occurs, causing energy loss, cooling failure, and the like.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling unit capable of solving the various problems described above occurring in a brine pipe.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a cooling device using brine as a cooling medium.
When the brine is sealed in a brine pipe, the inside of the brine pipe is evacuated and the brine is sealed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a cooling device using brine as a cooling medium, a large-diameter portion having a large pipe diameter is provided in a brine pipe for enclosing the brine, and the large-diameter portion is provided with an air outlet. An on-off valve is provided.

According to these inventions, when the brine is sealed in the brine pipe at the time of the construction of the pipeline or the repair of the pipe, the air in the brine pipe is discharged, so that the air remains in the brine pipe. It does not hinder the flow of brine and does not rust the piping due to oxygen contained in the bubbles.

[0010] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling apparatus in which a plurality of cooling units are connected to a brine chiller unit through a brine pipe composed of a row pipe and a return pipe, wherein the cooling unit closest to the brush chiller unit is provided. And a return pipe connected to the row pipe located closer to the boiler chiller unit than a connection position of the return pipe by a connecting pipe, and an on-off valve is provided in the connecting pipe.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the connecting pipe is provided on a store machine room side of a super showcase in which the brush chiller unit is installed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third or fourth aspect, at the start or end of the defrost operation or the thermocycle operation, all of the brine pipes connected to each of the cooling units are set. The on-off valve and the on-off valve of the connecting pipe are opened for a predetermined time.

According to these inventions, the connecting pipe is provided, and the on-off valve is provided on the connecting pipe. By controlling the opening and closing of this single on-off valve, for example, a defrost operation or a thermocycle operation can be easily performed. It can be carried out. In addition, by performing the predetermined opening / closing control of the opening / closing valve, the water hammer phenomenon occurring in the brine pipe can be almost certainly suppressed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling device using brine as a cooling medium, wherein the heat insulating material of the brine pipe for enclosing the brine is formed in a double structure of an inner heat insulating material and an outer heat insulating material. The joint surfaces of the inner heat insulating material and the outer heat insulating material are shifted from each other in the circumferential direction and / or the axial direction of the brine pipe.

According to the present invention, since the joint surfaces of the inner heat insulator and the outer heat insulator are displaced in the circumferential direction of the brine pipe, the joint surfaces of the heat insulators are shifted in the circumferential direction and / or in the axial direction. There is no gap between the joining surfaces.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a store counter side, and reference numeral 200 denotes a store machine room side. The store machine room side 200 is provided with a blincher unit 1. The brine chiller unit 1 includes a refrigerator 3. The refrigerator 3 includes an evaporator 5 and a compressor, a condenser, and a decompression device (each shown in the drawing) that are connected to the evaporator 5 to form a refrigeration cycle. Zu) etc.

The evaporator 5 of the refrigerator 3 is accommodated in a brine cooling tank 6, and the brine cooling tank 6 includes a plurality of cooling units via a brine pipe 10 including a row pipe 7 and a return pipe 9. A low-temperature showcase (hereinafter simply referred to as a showcase) 11 such as a refrigerated showcase or a frozen showcase is connected.

The row pipe 7 is provided with a pump 13, and the branch pipes 7A1 to 7A4 connected to the respective showcases 11 are provided with on-off valves A1 to A4.

Further, according to this embodiment, the portion P of the line pipe 7 located on the side of the blind chiller unit 1 from the connection position of the showcase 11 closest to the brine cooling tank 6.
And the return pipe 9 are connected to the connecting pipe 15
The connecting pipe 15 is provided with an on-off valve B.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a large-diameter portion (air trap) 10a having a large pipe diameter is provided at any high position H of the brine pipe 10.
a has an open / close valve 17 for discharging air (bubble K);
a.

In a case where the brine is sealed in the brine piping 10 at the time of piping installation or repair of the brine piping 10, in this embodiment, the inside of the brine piping 10 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) or the like to evacuate. Then fill with brine.

Air may be mixed into the brine pipe 10 due to incomplete vacuuming or a late cause (eg, loose hose band).

In this embodiment, a large diameter portion 10a is provided at any high position H of the brine pipe 10 as shown in FIG. 2, so that the large diameter portion 10a does not increase the brine passage resistance. The flow rate is reduced. Therefore,
Since air (fine bubbles K) accumulates there, the on-off valve 1
By opening 7, the fine bubbles K accumulated in the large diameter portion 10a can be easily discharged to the outside.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the row pipe 7 and the return pipe 9 are connected to each other on the store machine room side 200 by using a connecting pipe 15, and the connecting pipe 15 is provided with an on-off valve B. ing. When a plurality of showcases 11 are to be cooled, for example, the flow of brine must be temporarily stopped by a defrost operation or a thermocycle operation. However, frequent starting and stopping of the cooling tank 6 and the pump 13 for cooling the brine leads to an increase in the temperature and freezing of the brine and also causes a water hammer due to the inertia of the brine, which is not preferable.

In this embodiment, the brine cooling tank 6 and the pump 13 are continuously operated without starting and stopping. During the defrost operation or the thermocycle operation, the on-off valves A1 to A4 of each showcase 11 are closed and the on-off valve B of the communication pipe 15 is opened, so that the
Shut off the brine supply to 1. According to this configuration, a connecting pipe is provided for each showcase 11 and an opening / closing valve is not provided for each connecting pipe as in the related art. Therefore, the configuration of the piping is simplified, and only one opening / closing valve B is used. As a result, control is simplified and cost is reduced.

The defrost operation will be described.
As shown in (1), the on / off valves A1 to A4 of each showcase 11 are closed and the on / off valve B of the communication pipe 15 is opened. Then, the brine circulates in the closed circuit indicated by the bold line, and the supply to each showcase 11 is cut off, whereby the cooler (not shown) of each showcase 11 is defrosted. Since the on-off valves A1 to A4 are provided for each showcase 11, a large amount of brine whose temperature has increased during the defrost operation is used in the brine piping 10.
Does not flow into

In the thermocycle operation, the open / close valves A1 to A4 of each showcase 11 are opened and the open / close valve B of the communication pipe 15 is closed as shown in FIG. Then, the brine circulates in a closed circuit indicated by a thick line, and the brine is supplied to each showcase 11. Thereby, the cooling operation is performed in each showcase 11.

At the start or end of the defrost operation or the thermocycle operation, it is general that all the on-off valves A1 to A4 of the showcase 11 and the on-off valve B of the communication pipe 15 are simultaneously opened and closed. In this case, since the flow of the brine in the brine pipe 10 is suddenly cut off, a water hammer phenomenon occurs, and an excessive force is applied to the on-off valve and the pump 13 to cause a breakage in the worst case.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, at the start or end of the defrost operation or the thermocycle operation, all the on-off valves A1 to A of the showcase 11 are operated.
4 and the on-off valve B of the communication pipe 15 are opened for a certain period of time (for example, 5 seconds) to equalize the pressure in all the brine pipes 10, and then on-off control of the on-off valves A1 to A4, B is performed to perform defrost operation or Execute or stop the thermocycle operation. According to this embodiment, since the flow of the brine in the brine pipe 10 is not suddenly interrupted, the occurrence of the so-called water hammer phenomenon is suppressed.

In this apparatus, since the length of the brine pipe 10 is extremely long and the brine flowing inside is cooled by the brine cooling tank 6, in order to prevent the brine temperature from rising in the middle of the pipe, A double-layered heat insulating material 21 is wound around the outer periphery of the brine pipe 10 as shown in FIG.

The heat insulating material 21 has a double structure of an inner heat insulating material 21a and an outer heat insulating material 21b, and has respective end faces C1 to C1 of the inner heat insulating material 21a and the outer heat insulating material 21b.
C4 is shifted in the circumferential direction of the brine pipe 10. Therefore, when the inner heat insulating material 21a and the outer heat insulating material 21b are wound around the outer periphery of the brine pipe 10, the joining surfaces S1 and S2 of the inner heat insulating material 21a and the outer heat insulating material 21b as shown in FIG.
Are shifted in the circumferential direction of the brine pipe 10.
In the conventional one-layer heat insulating material wound around the outer periphery of the brine pipe 10, generally, a heat insulating layer is wound around the outer periphery of the pipe, and the outside thereof is fixed with a seal tape. In such a structure, there is a problem that a gap is easily formed in the joint surface because the heat insulating material is formed in one layer, and the brine pipe 10 comes into contact with the outside air through the gap to cause dew condensation on the outer circumference of the brine pipe 10.

According to this embodiment, the inner heat insulating material 21a
In addition, since the joint surfaces S1 and S2 of the outer heat insulating material 21b are arranged so as to be shifted in the circumferential direction of the brine pipe 10, the joint surfaces S1 and S2 of the heat insulating materials are shifted in the circumferential direction. Accordingly, since the gap between the joining surfaces S1 and S2 is shifted in the circumferential direction, there is no gap and the occurrence of dew condensation is prevented.

When the length of the brine pipe 10 is long, the length of the heat insulating material 21 may be insufficient because the fixed length heat insulating material 21 is not enough. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, at the ends of the heat insulating materials 21 on both sides, the inner heat insulating material 21a is formed longer than the outer heat insulating material 21b, and the heat insulating material 21 is connected between the two heat insulating materials 21 using the heat insulating material 23 for connection. Connecting. Insulation material for connection 23
Has a double structure of an inner heat insulating material 23a and an outer heat insulating material 23b as shown in FIG.
The respective end faces C1 to C4 of the outer heat insulating material 23b are shifted in the circumferential direction of the brine pipe 10. Accordingly, when the connecting heat insulating material 23 is wound around the outer periphery of the brine pipe 10, the joint surfaces of the inner heat insulating material 23a and the outer heat insulating material 23b are shifted in the circumferential direction of the brine pipe 10, and as shown in FIG. Since the axial end faces C5 to C8 of the inner heat insulator 23a and the outer heat insulator 23b are shifted in the axial direction of the brine pipe 10, the inner heat insulator 23a and the inner heat insulator 21a, and the outer heat insulator 23b and the outer heat insulator 21b are provided. Are displaced in the circumferential direction of the brine pipe 10.

According to this embodiment, since the joining surfaces of the heat insulating material are shifted in the circumferential direction and / or the axial direction of the brine pipe 10, the gap between the joining surfaces is shifted in the circumferential direction and / or the axial direction. And the occurrence of dew condensation is prevented.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the cooling unit may be a cooling storage such as a prefabricated storage in a supermarket, or a cooling work table installed in a backyard for preparing fresh food for sale. good.

[0037]

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, when the brine is sealed in the brine pipe at the time of the construction of the pipeline or at the time of repairing the pipe, the air in the brine pipe is discharged. Air does not remain in the brine pipe, and the flow of the brine is not hindered, and the pipe does not rust due to oxygen contained in bubbles.

According to the third to fifth aspects of the present invention,
Since the connecting pipe is provided and the on-off valve is provided on the connecting pipe, for example, by controlling the opening and closing of this single on-off valve, for example, a defrost operation or a thermocycle operation can be easily performed. In addition, by performing the predetermined opening / closing control of the opening / closing valve, the water hammer phenomenon occurring in the brine pipe can be almost certainly suppressed.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the joint surfaces of the inner heat insulating material and the outer heat insulating material are displaced in the circumferential direction and / or the axial direction of the brine pipe. There is no gap.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a cooling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a large diameter portion of the brine pipe.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a large-diameter portion of the brine pipe.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a circuit during a defrost operation.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a circuit during a thermocycle operation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a control operation of an on-off valve.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a heat insulating material.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a state in which a heat insulating material is wound.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a heat insulating material.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a heat insulating material.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Brine chiller unit 3 Refrigerator 5 Evaporator 6 Cooling tank 7 Row piping 9 Return piping 10 Brine piping 10a Large diameter part 11 Showcase 13 Pump 15 Communication pipe 17 Opening / closing valve for air discharge 21 Insulating material 21a Inner insulating material 21b Outer insulating material Material 23 Insulation material for connection 23a Inner layer insulation material 23b Outer layer insulation material 100 Store sales side 200 Store machine room side A1-A4 On-off valve B On-off valve

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cooling device using brine as a cooling medium, wherein when the brine is sealed in a brine pipe, the brine pipe is sealed by evacuating the brine pipe. 2. A cooling device using brine as a cooling medium, wherein a large-diameter portion having a large pipe diameter is provided in a brine pipe enclosing the brine, and an on-off valve for discharging air is provided in the large-diameter portion. Characterized cooling device. 3. A cooling system in which a plurality of cooling units are connected to a brine chiller unit via a brine pipe composed of a row pipe and a return pipe, wherein the brine is located at a position closer to the show case closest to the brine chiller unit. A cooling device, wherein the row pipe and the return pipe located on the chiller unit side are connected by a communication pipe, and an on-off valve is provided in the communication pipe. 4. The cooling device according to claim 3, wherein the connecting pipe is provided on a store machine room side of a supermarket in which the brush chiller unit is installed. 5. At the start or end of the defrost operation or the thermocycle operation, all the on-off valves of the brine pipe connected to each cooling unit and the on-off valves of the communication pipe are opened for a certain time. The cooling device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein 6. A cooling device using brine as a cooling medium, wherein a heat insulating material of a brine pipe for enclosing the brine is formed in a double structure of an inner heat insulating material and an outer heat insulating material, and the inner heat insulating material and the outer heat insulating material are formed. A cooling device, wherein the respective joining surfaces of the heat insulating material are shifted in the circumferential direction and / or the axial direction of the brine pipe.