JPS608627Y2 - humid refrigeration equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] This invention is related to a refrigeration device, and the temperature inside the refrigerator is 0°C or more.
The present invention relates to a high-humidity refrigeration device that maintains the humidity of foods that belong to a relatively high temperature range of about 10°C and do not belong to the freezing range of 0°C or lower, and that do not like to dry out during refrigeration, such as fresh fish and vegetables.

Hitherto, as such a humid refrigerator, a humid refrigerator has been proposed in which ice produced by an ice maker is stored in the refrigerator and the ice is humidified and refrigerated using the cold air.

However, fountain-type ice cube machines were mainly used for the ice machines of the above-mentioned humid refrigerators, but since the produced ice cubes fall into the ice storage compartment at the bottom, a heavy ice machine is inevitable. It ended up being placed on top of the refrigerator, making the whole thing unstable and dangerous.

In addition, water circulation type ice makers, including fountain types, all use a cycle ice making method, so they produce less ice.
Therefore, in order to obtain the required amount of ice, the ice maker has to be large in size, and has many mechanically complex moving parts, resulting in high costs.

As an alternative to the above-mentioned ice maker, a continuous ice-making type auger ice maker has attracted attention.

This auger ice maker has no restrictions on where it can be installed in the refrigerator.
It can also be placed on the bottom to stabilize the center of gravity.

In addition, by adding a compressor head to the upper end of the ice maker, it is possible to produce so-called chip ice, in which flake ice that has been screwed from the machine body passes through the narrow passage of the compressor head to form columnar pieces.

However, since this humid refrigerator circulates cold air by natural convection, its cooling efficiency and humidifying effect are extremely low, making it impractical.

That is, (a) in the case of natural convection, the cooling rate is slow, and when the amount of water stored increases, convection stops.

(b) If convection is stopped, cooling will depend only on cold air falling from the bottom of the ice layer, and the recovery function after the temperature rises due to opening and closing of the door is also slow.

(C) When flake ice is produced and stored using an auger ice maker, although there is no shortage of humidity, the air permeability of the ice flake accumulation layer is extremely poor, and there is a risk that ventilation may become impossible.

(d) If a compressor is added to the auger ice maker and the flake ice is divided into columnar pieces and stored as chip ice, the air permeability will be improved, but since the water quality is low in water, there will still be problems with the humidification effect.

The above-mentioned drawbacks are acceptable for commercial refrigerators where the purpose is to store a large amount of ice and take it out for use, and humidification and refrigeration are considered secondary, but humidification and refrigeration are the main purpose. Not suitable for refrigerator.

That is, the idea of forced circulation of air inside the refrigerator does not arise from the above-mentioned commercial refrigerator, in which the ice must not have a bad odor.

This idea was made in view of the above problems, and is a high-humidity refrigeration system that takes advantage of the advantages of the auger ice maker mentioned above, and can significantly improve cooling efficiency and humidification effect, as well as deodorizing effect. The main purpose is to provide

Hereinafter, this invention will be explained in detail with reference to drawings showing embodiments thereof.

In Figures 1 and 2, 1 is a box-shaped storage body of a humid refrigerator, and the inside of the storage compartment is divided into four chambers 2.3° and 4.5° on the upper, lower, left and right sides, and these chambers are designed to allow circulation and flow of cold air. are in communication with each other.

6 and 7 are the front doors of the upper and lower chambers.

Among the upper chambers 2 and 3, one chamber 2 is used as an ice storage chamber, and at the back thereof there is a chamber 2a partitioned by a partition wall 8 made of heat insulating material, and an auger-type ice maker body 9 is housed in this chamber 2a. The ice delivery pipe 10 is positioned above the water storage chamber 2 through the partition wall 8.

On the top surface of the box-shaped storage body 1, equipment such as a compressor 11, a condenser 12, a fan 13, etc. necessary for operation of the ice maker's refrigeration cycle are mounted.

The bottom part of the water storage chamber 2 is made up of (1) or a cage in which a plurality of gutter-shaped receiving plates 14 with a U-shaped cross section are arranged at predetermined intervals over the entire stack of the ice storage chamber, and the front slopes downward toward the door side. The ice discharged from the ice delivery pipe 10 is deposited and stored on the aeration bed.

The spacing between the receiving plates 14 forming the ventilation floor is set within a range where ice pieces produced by an auger-type ice maker do not fall off, and at the same time, a sufficient ventilation path is formed.

In the illustrated example, as shown in FIG. 6, a distance between the receiving plates is maintained by a protrusion 14a that is formed by punching out a part of the receiving plate.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the upper end of the receiving plate 14 is connected between the partition wall 8 and a restraining plate 15 that protrudes like an eave from the partition wall 8. It is inserted and held in an elastic manner through an elastic filler 16 such as a tube, and the lower end of the receiving plate is fixed to the door-side insulating wall 17 of the ice storage compartment 2 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. It is fitted and held in a notch 19 of a receiving gutter 18 having a U-shaped cross section.

Therefore, the receiving plate is removable. Moreover, this notch 19 and U
A gap is left between the bottom of the receiving plate 14 and the melted water from the ice chips that have dripped into the - or U-shaped groove of the receiving plate 14 and the water droplets formed on the bottom surface of the receiving plate 14. The water is introduced into the gutter 18, from there through a drain pipe 20 shown in FIG. 2, and then drained out of the storage body through a drain pipe section 21 provided at the bottom of the storage body.

Again in FIGS. 1 and 2, a blower 23 is attached to the ceiling wall 22 of the water storage chamber 2 for sucking in cold air from the ice storage chamber and blowing it out to the adjacent refrigerator chamber 3. The exposed part of the motor is covered with a heat insulating coating, and the part of the motor that generates heat is exposed to the outside.

Further, on the ceiling wall 22 of the water storage chamber 2, a water sprinkling pipe 24 with one end sealed is installed at a location where water can be evenly sprinkled on the ice flake accumulation layer, and on the other hand, a water faucet is installed at the back of the storage chamber. A water supply port 25 connected to a water supply source such as the like is provided, and the water introduced from there is branched, one side is supplied to the float tank (not shown) of the ice maker, and the other side is connected to a solenoid valve (not shown). The water is supplied to the other end of the water sprinkler pipe 24 through the sprinkler pipe 24.

The circuit of this solenoid valve is cut off when the blower is stopped, but when the blower is in operation, it is opened at regular intervals for a predetermined short period of time, and water is periodically sprinkled to add moisture to the ice. .

In the humid refrigerator configured as described above, the ice pieces produced by the ice maker 9 are passed through the delivery pipe 10 to the water storage chamber 2.
, and is dropped onto a screen-shaped ventilation bed made of a receiving plate 14, where it is stored.

Then, the blower 23 on the ceiling wall 22 of the water storage chamber 2 is driven, and the air in the storage chamber flows through the ice flake accumulation layer through the ventilation floor, thereby exchanging heat between the ice chips and the air. A humidifying effect is also carried out, and a forced circulation flow of cooled and humidified air is formed in the storage chambers 3, 4.5.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, heat exchange and humidification between ice chips and air are actively performed by the aforementioned forced circulation airflow, so cooling efficiency can be increased compared to conventional natural convection type humid refrigerators. At the same time, the humidification effect can be increased.

In addition, in conventional natural convection high-humidity refrigerators, the bad odor generated from stored seafood remains in the refrigerator, but in the case of forced circulation airflow as described above, the bad odor adheres to the ice pieces. Since it is absorbed and expelled from the storage body by the melted water, it can also have a deodorizing effect at the same time.

Furthermore, when water is sprinkled onto the ice flake accumulation layer using the water sprinkler pipe 24, the above-mentioned humidifying effect and deodorizing effect are further enhanced.

In particular, the humid refrigerator having the above configuration has the following advantages in addition to the effect of increasing the cooling and humidifying function.

(a) Since the main body of the auger-type ice maker can be placed at any position in the storage unit, it can also be placed at the bottom, and the center of gravity of the storage unit can be stabilized.

(b) Auger ice makers are cheaper than other ice makers and produce a large amount of ice.

(C) Cooling and deodorization can be accomplished with ice alone.

(d) There is no defrosting cycle and continuous operation is possible.

(e) Complex humidifiers, deodorizers, etc. are not required.

(f) There is no need for precise equipment or complicated structures, making it easy to clean the inside of the storage compartment, and the parts are simple.

(g) It is particularly useful as a vibration-resistant refrigerator that can be loaded onto ships, vehicles, etc.

(h) There are few failure points, and maintenance management and repair are easy.

(i) It can withstand a power outage for a long time (until a large amount of full water is consumed).

In addition, the ventilation floor of the water storage chamber 2 is formed of the above-mentioned receiving plate 14 having a cross-section of a ■ or U shape, which is detachably assembled, and the lower end of the receiving plate is connected to the V- or U-shaped receiving gutter 18. In addition to the ventilation effect, the product has the advantage of being able to smoothly dispose of melted ice water, as well as being easy to remove and clean, and is simple in structure and easy to manufacture. It is easy and inexpensive to obtain.

The arrangement of the equipment used for the ice maker's refrigeration cycle operation and the arrangement of the ice storage compartment, etc. are not limited to the above configuration, and can be changed arbitrarily based on the design, and the forced circulation blower is Either an inhalation type or a suction type may be used.

The shower device using a sprinkler pipe does not need to be of the sprinkler type, but may be one that drips water and penetrates into the ice deposit layer.

In the humid refrigeration system using the forced circulation method described above,
Depending on the amount of water deposited in the water storage chamber 2, it is desirable to automate the operation of the ice maker, the water supply to the sprinkler pipes, and the blower.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the water storage chamber 2
At the tip of the ice chip delivery pipe 10 placed in the upper part, a tenter 26 is provided that swings according to the height fluctuation of the ice chip accumulation layer,
A microswitch 27 cooperates with this to form a water storage detection section, and when the ice flake accumulation layer reaches a certain height, that is, the probe 26 moves from the downward position in FIG. 9 to the horizontal position in FIG. 8. When the compressor is lifted up, the microswitch 27 is turned off to stop the compressor, and a delay relay (not shown) turns off the ice maker's drive motor 28 after a certain period of time (approximately 3 mm).
[See Fig. 2] is stopped, and then when the ice is consumed and the contact 26 returns to the downward position and the switch 27 is turned on, the ice maker and the condenser are operated again, and on the other hand, An electromagnetic valve (not shown) is provided in the waterway of the sprinkler pipe 24, and the valve is kept closed while the blower is stopped, and is opened for a predetermined period of time at regular intervals while the blower is rotating; A control method that adds moisture to the ice by periodically sprinkling water is suitable.

In the case of the above control method, the water sprinkling amount and period are determined because the fluctuation range between full water stop and low water restart is small, and a constant amount of ice is stored at all times. There is no need to make subtle changes in accordance with fluctuations in the amount; it is sufficient to set only the expected load as a standard, and then adjust the rest according to the degree of the load.

An easy way to control the amount of water is to install a manual valve in front of the water pipe so that you can adjust the amount as you like.
By this means, watering can be repeated before the water is full, for example after a long power outage and all the ice has been consumed, or when a refrigerator is first put into operation after installation.
Accidents such as water flowing down under the ventilation floor can be prevented.

Even if there is water flowing down from watering, there will be no actual harm because humid refrigerators are originally used for humidification and are used to store foods that do not dislike water, such as fresh fish and vegetables.

As described above, according to this invention, an ice storage chamber for storing ice pieces sent from an auger ice maker is formed in a compartment in a storage body forming a storage chamber, and this ice storage chamber has a A ventilation section through which the air in the storage room can flow through a layer of ice chips stored in the storage chamber, and a section that receives melted water from the ice chips and guides it out of the storage body are formed. A blower that forcibly circulates the air in the storage room between the ice storage compartment and the storage compartment.
Since a water sprinkling member is installed on the ice layer in the ice storage compartment, the cooling efficiency and humidifying effect of this type of humidifying refrigerator can be significantly improved, and an excellent deodorizing effect can be obtained, making its practicality can be significantly increased.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view of a humidifying refrigerator showing an embodiment of this invention with the door removed, Fig. 2 is a vertical side view, Fig. 3 is a side sectional view of the upper end support portion of the receiving plate, and Fig. 4 is a receiving plate. 5 is a cutaway front view thereof, 6 is a perspective view of the receiving plate, 7 is a perspective view of the water level detection mechanism, and 8 and 9 are sectional views of the lower end support portion of the plate. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the operating state. In the drawing, 1 is a storage body, 2 is an ice storage room, 3, 4.5 is a storage room,
6 and 7 are doors, 9 is the ice maker body, 10 is an ice delivery pipe, 11 is a compressor, 12 is a condenser, 13 is a fan, 14 is a receiving plate for the ventilation floor, 15 is a holding plate, 16 is a member, 18 is a receiving gutter, 19 is a notch, 20 is a drain pipe, 21 is a drain pipe, 22 is a ceiling wall, 23 is a blower, 124 is a water pipe, 25 is a water supply port, 2
6 is a touch, 27 is a microswitch, and 28 is an ice maker drive motor.

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] (1) An ice storage chamber for storing chip ice sent from an auger-type ice maker is divided into a storage body that forms a storage room, and at the bottom of this ice storage chamber there is a layer of chip ice stored there. There is a ventilation section through which the air in the storage room can flow through, and a section that receives melted water from the chip ice and guides it out of the ice storage room. A blower that forcibly circulates the air in the room.
A humid refrigeration device characterized by being provided with. (2) The bottom of the water storage chamber is composed of a plurality of grooved receiving plates arranged with appropriate spaces, and the space between the receiving plates becomes the ventilation section, and the receiving plates open upward. The high-humidity refrigeration device according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion is a groove.