JP2001263903A - Peltier cooling system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To prevent heat from the heat exchanger outside the refrigerator or the outside air from entering the refrigerator at the start or restart of "cooling", and sufficient power and cooling time are sufficient. Provided is a Peltier cooling system having high cooling efficiency that can secure a cooling capacity. SOLUTION: A refrigerant pipe 6 connects a heat exchanger 4 including a Peltier element 8 arranged outside a warehouse 3 and a heat absorber 5 arranged inside the warehouse 2, and a refrigerant 7 flowing through the refrigerant pipe 6. Is circulated by the refrigerant circulator 11. The reserve tank 21 is inserted into a portion of the refrigerant pipe 6 that sends the refrigerant 7 cooled by the heat exchanger 4 outside the refrigerator 3 to the interior 2 of the refrigerator.
A portion that passes through the heat exchanger 4 and connects to the inside of the reserve tank 21 is defined as a plurality of branch passages 22 and 23, and a height difference is provided between the connection ports 24 and 25 of the branch passages 22 and 23 to the reserve tank 21. .

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a Peltier cooling system for cooling the inside of a refrigerator using a Peltier device, and more particularly to a Peltier cooling system having an improved refrigerant circulation system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a cooling system for cooling an insulated compartment, a system of circulating a refrigerant cooled by a cooler is generally employed. Among such refrigerant circulation systems, a Peltier cooling system that cools a refrigerant using a Peltier element has an advantage that cooling efficiency is excellent and temperature control is easy. Widely used in commercial cold storage.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a conventional Peltier cooling system. As shown in FIG. 3, the cool box body is formed by a case 31 made of a heat insulating material, and the inside 32 of the cool box is thermally separated from the outside 33. A heat exchanger 34 is arranged near the side surface of the case 31 in the outside 33, and a heat absorber 35 is arranged in the inside 32. The heat exchanger 34 and the heat absorber 35 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 36, and heat is exchanged between the heat exchanger 34 and the heat absorber 35 via a refrigerant 37 flowing in the refrigerant pipe 36. It has become.

The heat exchanger 34 comprises a Peltier element 38 thermally coupled to the refrigerant pipe 36 on the surface thereof, and a radiation fin 39 disposed on the back of the Peltier element 38. The heat absorber 35 includes a heat absorbing fin 40 and the like thermally connected to the refrigerant pipe 36. In addition, a refrigerant circulator 41 is disposed below the heat exchanger 34 in the outside 33. The refrigerant circulator 41 includes a pump motor 42 and a pump 43 driven by the pump motor 42, and forcibly supplies the refrigerant 37 cooled by the heat exchanger 34 by the refrigerant circulator 41 to the interior 32. Thereby, the refrigerant 37 is circulated.

Further, the heat exchanger 3 in the outside 33
A heat exhaust fan 45 driven by a fan motor 44 is disposed on the back of the heat radiating fins 39 to discharge heat from the heat exchanger 34. Further, a control device 46 is provided outside the refrigerator 33 and a temperature sensor 47 is provided inside the refrigerator 32. A temperature detection signal of the temperature sensor 47 is received by the control device 46, and the Peltier element 38 and the pump motor 4 are received.
2, and the power supplied to the fan motor 44 is controlled.

Next, the operation principle of the Peltier cooling system of FIG. 3 having the above configuration is as follows. That is, when the temperature of the interior 32 is higher than the target temperature, the Peltier element 38 is energized to “cool” the interior 32, and when the temperature of the interior 32 reaches the target temperature by this cooling, The power supply to the Peltier element 38 is stopped, and the inside 32 of the refrigerator is kept warm, and the temperature is kept at the set value. Then, such “cooling” and “heating” are repeated.

At the time of "cooling", the temperature sensor 4
7, the controller 46 supplies electric power to the Peltier element 38, the pump motor 42, and the fan motor 44 by controlling the supplied electric power, thereby controlling the Peltier element 38, the pump 43, and the pump 43. By operating the heat fan 45 and circulating the refrigerant 37 while controlling the respective abilities, the inside 32 of the refrigerator is cooled. Details of the "cooling" are as follows.

First, by energizing the Peltier element 38, the temperature on the surface side of the Peltier element 38 is lowered,
The refrigerant 37 flowing in the refrigerant pipe 36 is cooled. And
The refrigerant 37 cooled by the Peltier element 38 is supplied to the pump 4
3, the refrigerant 37 is forcibly fed into the refrigerator 32, so that the cooled refrigerant 37 absorbs the heat in the refrigerator 32 when passing through the heat absorber 34 and is heated. Therefore, the heated refrigerant 37 is sent from the inside 32 to the outside 33, and the heat in the inside 32 is released to the outside 33.

Further, by cooling the refrigerant 37 sent from the inside 32 to the outside 33 again by the surface of the Peltier element 38, the heat absorbed by the refrigerant 37 in the inside 32 is removed by the Peltier element 38. Peltier element 38
The heat deprived of the Peltier device 38 is transmitted from the back surface of the Peltier element 38 to the gas around the radiation fins 39 and becomes hot air. The hot air is removed by the exhaust heat fan 45 and exhausted (exhausted heat).

On the other hand, at the time of "warming", the controller 46 stops the power supply to the Peltier element 38, the pump motor 42 and the fan motor 44 in response to the temperature detection signal of the temperature sensor 47 in the refrigerator 32. By stopping the operations of the Peltier element 38, the pump 43, and the exhaust heat fan 45, the temperature of the inside of the refrigerator 32 is maintained at a set value without excessive cooling.

[0011]

By the way, the conventional Peltier cooling system as shown in FIG. 3 has the following problems: when "cooling" is started, when "cooling" is restarted after "cooling" for one cycle or more, and "heating". However, there is a disadvantage that the temperature of the heat exchanger 34 or the outside air enters the cooling chamber via the refrigerant 37, and a sufficient cooling capacity cannot be secured.

That is, in the Peltier cooling system shown in FIG. 3, the radiating surface of the Peltier element 38 at the time of "cooling" has a high temperature from the relation of heat conversion efficiency and heat radiation. When the power supply to the Peltier element 38 is stopped at the time of “maintaining heat” from this state, heat flows backward from the high-temperature radiating side of the Peltier element 38 toward the refrigerant 37. Therefore, the refrigerant 37 in the Peltier element 38 is heated, and when the next “cooling” is restarted, the refrigerant 37 must be excessively cooled by an amount corresponding to the temperature rise. A large amount of power and extra cooling time are required, and the cooling efficiency is reduced.

In addition, even when the heat radiation side of the Peltier element 38 is not at a high temperature, for example, when the temperature is maintained for a long time or when the operation is stopped, if the outside air temperature is high,
The temperature of the refrigerant 37 in the portion arranged in the outside 33 is heated by the heat of the outside air. In this case, the following "cooling"
At the time of starting or resuming, the warmed refrigerant 37 is sent into the inside of the refrigerator 32, so that the refrigerant 37 must be additionally cooled by the temperature rise. Therefore, also in this case, extra power and extra cooling time are required to secure sufficient cooling capacity, and the cooling efficiency is reduced.

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and its object is to provide a heat exchanger or outside air outside the refrigerator at the time of starting or resuming "cooling". An object of the present invention is to provide a Peltier cooling system having high cooling efficiency that can prevent heat from entering a refrigerator and secure sufficient cooling capacity with a minimum amount of power and cooling time.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, a cooling system for cooling an insulated compartment of a cold storage compartment, first, a Peltier element arranged outside the compartment is provided. And a heat absorber disposed in the refrigerator, a refrigerant pipe provided to connect between the heat exchanger and the heat absorber, and a refrigerant pipe for circulating the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant pipe. And a refrigerant circulator. And, with these components, in the Peltier cooling system configured to circulate the refrigerant by forcibly supplying the refrigerant cooled by the heat exchanger into the refrigerator by the refrigerant circulator, The refrigerant circulation system has the following features.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned Peltier cooling system, a point that a reserve tank and a plurality of branch passages are provided in a refrigerant pipe, a heat exchanger, a refrigerant pipe,
And the arrangement conditions of the reserve tank. That is, first, the reserve tank is configured to be inserted into a portion of the refrigerant pipe that sends the refrigerant cooled by the heat exchanger into the refrigerator, and to store the refrigerant. The plurality of branch passages are provided at portions of the refrigerant pipe that pass through the heat exchanger and connect to the inside of the reserve tank, and are configured to be individually connected to the reserve tank. And, between the connection ports to the reserve tank in the plurality of branch passages,
A height difference is provided. In addition, the heat exchanger, refrigerant piping, and reserve tank will
The refrigerant in the heat exchanger portion is collected in the reserve tank through at least the lowest connection port of the plurality of branch passages, and the air in the reserve tank is introduced into the refrigerant pipe through the at least highest connection port of the plurality of branch passages. It is arranged to flow in.

According to this configuration, at the time of “cooling”, the inside of the refrigerator is cooled by circulating the refrigerant while cooling by driving the Peltier element of the heat exchanger and driving the refrigerant circulator. In other words, the refrigerant in the reserve tank, after depriving the interior of the refrigerator by the heat sink, is cooled by passing through the heat exchanger, and returns to the reserve tank again. Cooling takes place. Since the portion of the refrigerant pipe that passes through the heat exchanger is branched into a plurality of branch passages, the refrigerant is cooled when passing through the plurality of branch passages and returns to the reserve tank.

At the time of "warming", the discharge pressure of the refrigerant circulator disappears by stopping the energization of the Peltier element of the heat exchanger and stopping the refrigerant circulator. Since there is a height difference between the connection ports to the reserve tank, a pressure difference occurs between these connection ports. Due to this pressure difference, the refrigerant is returned from the lower connection port into the reserve tank, and the air in the reserve tank flows into the branch passage from the higher connection port. As a result, the refrigerant in the heat exchanger returns to the reserve tank.

As described above, after the refrigerant circulator is stopped, the heat exchanger is thermally shut off from the inside of the refrigerator. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant from being heated by the heat of the heat exchanger and to prevent heat from the outside air. Can be prevented depending on the degree of recovery of the refrigerant from the refrigerant pipe. Therefore, even when “cooling” is started or restarted, heat from the heat exchanger and the outside air can be sufficiently prevented from being sent into the refrigerator,
It is not necessary to cool the refrigerant excessively, a sufficient cooling capacity can be secured with minimum power and cooling time, and the cooling efficiency can be sufficiently improved.

It should be noted that, unlike the present invention, when an air pipe connecting the air inlet and the reserve tank is provided, it is necessary to secure a fluid pressure balance, so that it overcomes the fluid resistance of the refrigerant passage of the heat exchanger. Of the fluid pressure (required pressure) is limited, and the fluid resistance of the refrigerant passage in the heat exchanger is limited, so that there is a limit in improving the cooling efficiency. On the other hand, in the present invention in which a plurality of branch passages passing through the heat exchanger are provided, it is not necessary to secure the balance of the fluid pressure, so that the fluid resistance of the refrigerant passage in the heat exchanger portion is sufficiently increased. And cooling efficiency can be sufficiently improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the heat exchanger, the refrigerant pipe, and the reserve tank are completely emptied when the refrigerant circulator is stopped. It is characterized by being arranged so that it becomes. According to this configuration, when the refrigerant circulator is stopped, all of the refrigerant in the heat exchanger returns to the reserve tank, so that the heat exchanger is completely completely disconnected from the interior of the refrigerator. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the refrigerant from being heated by the heat of the heat exchanger after the refrigerant circulator is stopped, and to minimize the influence of heat from the outside air, thereby further improving the cooling efficiency.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the heat exchanger and the refrigerant circulator are controlled in accordance with the temperature in the cool box. In this system, the refrigerant circulator includes a motor-driven pump. This system also includes a motor-driven exhaust heat fan disposed on the heat radiation side of the heat exchanger for exhausting heat, and a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature in the refrigerator. Further, a control device is provided that receives a temperature detection signal of the temperature sensor and controls each electric power supplied to the Peltier element, the motor of the refrigerant circulator, and the motor of the exhaust heat fan in accordance with the signal. According to this configuration, the cooling capacity of the Peltier element, the heat dissipation capacity of the exhaust heat fan,
Further, since the discharge capacity of the pump can be appropriately adjusted, the inside of the refrigerator can be efficiently cooled, and the temperature in the refrigerator can always be kept constant.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment to which a Peltier cooling system according to the present invention is applied will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG.
It is a schematic diagram which shows the system configuration of a Peltier cooling system, and especially shows the state at the time of "cooling". FIG. 2 shows FIG.
It is a schematic diagram explaining operation | movement of the refrigerant | coolant accompanying the stop of a refrigerant circulator in the system of (a), (A) is the state of the movement of the refrigerant at the time of a stop of a refrigerant circulator, (B) is the refrigerant | coolant of the refrigerant | coolant after a stop of a refrigerant circulator. Each of the moving completion states is shown.

(1) Configuration As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the cool box body is formed by a case 1 made of a heat insulating material.
The interior 2 of the cool box is thermally separated from the exterior 3. A heat exchanger 4 for cooling is disposed near the side surface of the case 1 outside the refrigerator 3, and a heat absorber 5 for absorbing heat is disposed inside the refrigerator 2. The heat exchanger 4 and the heat absorber 5 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 6, and heat exchange is performed in each of the heat exchanger 4 and the heat absorber 5 via a refrigerant 7 flowing through the refrigerant pipe 6. It has become.

The heat exchanger 4 includes a Peltier element 8 whose surface is thermally coupled to the refrigerant pipe 6, a radiation fin 9 disposed on the back of the Peltier element 8, and the like. The heat absorber 5 includes a heat absorbing fin 10 and the like thermally coupled to the refrigerant pipe 6. Further, a refrigerant circulator 11 is disposed below the heat exchanger 4 in the outside 3. The refrigerant circulator 11 includes a pump motor 12 and a pump 13 driven by the pump motor 12. The refrigerant circulator 11 forcibly supplies the refrigerant 7 cooled by the heat exchanger 4 to the inside 2 of the refrigerator. Thereby, the refrigerant 7 is circulated.

Further, on the back of the heat radiating fins 9 of the heat exchanger 4 outside the refrigerator 3, a heat exhaust fan 15 driven by a fan motor 14 is disposed to discharge the heat radiated from the heat exchanger 4. . Further, a control device 16 is provided outside the refrigerator 3.
A temperature sensor 17 is provided in the refrigerator 2, respectively.
The controller 16 receives a temperature detection signal from the temperature sensor 17 and controls electric power supplied to the Peltier element 8, the pump motor 12, and the fan motor 14.

The system of FIG. 1 has, in addition to the above configuration,
According to the present invention, a reserve tank 21 and first and second branch passages 22 and 23 are further provided in the refrigerant pipe 6, and the arrangement condition of the heat exchanger 4, the refrigerant pipe 6 and the reserve tank 21 is characterized. Have. That is, the reserve tank 21 is disposed in the interior 2 of the refrigerator, and is inserted into a portion of the refrigerant pipe 6 which sends the refrigerant 7 cooled by the heat exchanger 4 outside the refrigerator 3 to the refrigerant circulator 11, and the refrigerant 7 It is configured to accommodate

The first and second branch passages 22, 2
Numeral 3 is provided in a portion of the refrigerant pipe 6 that passes through the heat exchanger 4 and connects to the reserve tank 21, and is configured to be individually connected to the reserve tank 21. Here, a height difference H is provided between a connection port 24 to the reserve tank 21 in the first branch passage 22 and a connection port 25 to the reserve tank 21 in the second branch passage 23. , Below, respectively,
4, referred to as the low position connection port 25.

Further, when the refrigerant circulator 11 is stopped, the heat exchanger 4, the refrigerant pipe 6, and the reserve tank 21 pass through the low position connection port 25 of the second branch passage 23, and the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 4 portion. 7 is collected in the reserve tank 21, and the air in the reserve tank 21 is arranged to flow into the refrigerant pipe 6 through the high position connection port 24 of the first branch passage 22. In particular, in the present embodiment, the heat exchanger 4, the refrigerant pipe 6, and the reserve tank 2
1 is arranged such that when the refrigerant circulator 11 is stopped, the heat exchanger 4 portion of the refrigerant pipe 6, that is, the entire first and second branch passages 22 and 23 are empty.

(2) Operation Principle The operation principle of the Peltier cooling system according to the present embodiment as described above is as follows. That is, when the temperature of the interior 2 is higher than the connection port, the Peltier element 8 of the heat exchanger 4 is energized to "cool" the interior 2 and the temperature of the interior 2 reaches the target temperature by this cooling. , The Peltier element 8
Is stopped to keep the inside of the refrigerator 2 warm, and the temperature is kept at the set value. Then, such “cooling” and “heating” are repeated.

At the time of "cooling", as shown in FIG. 1, the Peltier device 8, the pump motor 12 of the refrigerant circulator 11, and the fan are controlled by the controller 16 in accordance with the temperature detection signal of the temperature sensor 17 in the refrigerator 2. Supply power to the motor 14,
By controlling each supply power, the Peltier device 8, the pump 13 of the refrigerant circulator 11, and the exhaust heat fan 1
5 is operated to circulate the refrigerant 7 while controlling the respective capacities, thereby cooling the inside 2 of the refrigerator. That is,
The refrigerant 7 in the reserve tank 21 is discharged by the refrigerant circulator 11, deprives the heat of the interior 2 by the heat absorber 5, is cooled by passing through the heat exchanger 4, and is again cooled by the reserve tank 2.
1 is repeated, and the heat taken by the heat exchanger 4 is exhausted by the exhaust heat fan 15 to cool the interior 2 of the refrigerator. Details of the "cooling" are as follows.

First, by energizing the Peltier element 8 of the heat exchanger 4, the temperature on the surface side of the Peltier element 8 is reduced, and the refrigerant 7 flowing in the first and second branch passages 22 and 23 is cooled. Then, it is stored in the reserve tank 21 through the high position connection port 24 and the low position connection port 25. And
The refrigerant contained in the reserve tank 21 in this manner is
When the refrigerant 7 is discharged by the refrigerant circulator 11, the cooled refrigerant 7 absorbs heat in the refrigerator 2 when passing through the heat absorber 5 and is heated. Therefore, when the warmed refrigerant 7 is sent from the inside 2 to the outside 3, the heat in the inside 2 is released to the outside 3.

Further, the refrigerant 7 sent out of the refrigerator 2 is cooled again by the Peltier device 8 of the heat exchanger 4, so that the heat absorbed by the refrigerant 7 in the refrigerator 2 is removed by the Peltier device 8. In the heat exchanger 4, the heat deprived by the Peltier element 8 is transmitted from the back surface of the Peltier element 8 to the gas around the radiation fins 9 and becomes hot air. The hot air is removed by the exhaust heat fan 15 and exhausted. (Exhaust heat).

At the time of "warming", the power supply to the Peltier element 8 of the heat exchanger 4 is stopped, and the refrigerant circulator 11 is stopped, so that the temperature of the inside of the refrigerator 2 can be set without excessive cooling. To keep. In this case, when the pump 13 is stopped by stopping the pump motor 12 of the refrigerant circulator 11, the discharge pressure of the pump 13 disappears, but at this time, the reserve in the first and second branch passages 22 and 23 is reduced. Since the height difference H is provided between the connection ports 24 and 25 to the tank 21, a pressure difference is generated between these connection ports 24 and 25.

Due to this pressure difference, as shown in FIG. 2A, the refrigerant 7 flows from the low position connection port 25 of the second branch passage 23.
Is returned into the reserve tank 21, and the air in the reserve tank 21 flows into the first branch passage 22 from the high connection port 24 of the first branch passage 22. for that reason,
In the refrigerant pipe 6, the first and second branch passages 22, 2
A series of flows from the first branch passage 22 through the second branch passage 23 to the inside of the reserve tank 21 occur in the refrigerant 7 in 3. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2B, all the refrigerant 7 in the heat exchanger 4 returns to the reserve tank 21.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2A, the refrigerant 7 in the refrigerant pipe 6 in the refrigerant pipe 6 at a portion upstream of the branch point D of the branch passages 22 and 23 flows into the branch passages 22 and 23. While the refrigerant 7 passes through the branch point D, there is no inflow of air, so the operation is stopped. Thereafter, the movement of the refrigerant 7 in the branch passages 22 and 23 proceeds, and when the air reaches the branch point D, the air flows into the refrigerant pipe 6 in the upstream portion, as shown in FIG. , Backflow and stop.

(3) Function / Effect As described above, in the present embodiment, at the time of “warming” after the “cooling”, the outside of the refrigerator 3
All the refrigerant 7 in the heat exchanger 4 is returned to the reserve tank 21, and the refrigerant 7 does not exist at all in the heat exchanger 4 portion and in the vicinity thereof. Completely shut off. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the refrigerant 7 from being heated by the heat of the heat exchanger 4 and to minimize the influence of heat from the outside air. Therefore, even at the time of starting or resuming the “cooling”, heat from the heat exchanger 4 and the outside air can be sufficiently prevented from being sent to the inside of the refrigerator 2. With sufficient power and cooling time, sufficient cooling capacity can be secured, and cooling efficiency can be sufficiently improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the control device 16 receives a temperature detection signal from the temperature sensor 17 in the refrigerator 2, and in accordance with this signal, the Peltier element 8, the pump motor 12 of the refrigerant circulator 11, And fan motor 14
, The cooling capacity of the Peltier element 8, the discharge capacity of the pump 13, and the heat discharge capacity of the heat discharge fan 15 are appropriately adjusted according to the temperature of the inside of the refrigerator 2. Can be adjusted. Therefore, the inside of the refrigerator 2 can be efficiently cooled according to the connection port, and the temperature of the refrigerator 2 can be constantly maintained.

As in the present embodiment, an air inlet is provided upstream of the heat exchanger 4 of the refrigerant pipe 6 without providing a plurality of branch passages 22 and 23, and the air inlet and the reserve tank are provided. A configuration in which the upper part of the heat exchanger 21 is directly connected to the upper part by an air pipe is also conceivable, but in this case, the fluid resistance of the refrigerant passage 6 in the heat exchanger 4 is limited, so that there is a limit in improving the cooling efficiency. Hereinafter, this point will be described.

First, in the case where an air pipe for directly connecting the air inlet and the reserve tank 21 is provided, in order to fill the refrigerant passage with the refrigerant and realize an effective refrigerant circulation, the heat exchanger 4 is required.
The balance between the fluid pressure (required pressure) to overcome the fluid resistance of the refrigerant passage and the fluid pressure at the air inlet must be ensured. That is, if the required pressure is too low, the refrigerant 7 cannot be sufficiently cooled by the heat exchanger 4 and the cooling efficiency is reduced, so that the required pressure is increased and the refrigerant flowing back to the air inlet is increased. By increasing the height, it is necessary to secure the pressurization and improve the cooling efficiency. However, if the required pressure is too high, the refrigerant 7 returns directly from the air inlet to the reserve tank through the air pipe, and does not pass through the heat exchanger 4.

As described above, unlike the present embodiment, when an air pipe connecting the air inlet at the upper part of the refrigerant pipe 6 and the reserve tank 21 is provided, it is necessary to secure a fluid pressure balance. Since the height of the fluid pressure (required pressure) for overcoming the fluid resistance of the refrigerant passage of the heat exchanger 4 is limited, and the fluid resistance of the refrigerant passage of the heat exchanger 4 is limited, the cooling efficiency is improved. There is a limit. In contrast, the first and second branch passages 22, 23 passing through the heat exchanger 4
In the present embodiment provided with, since it is not necessary to secure a fluid pressure balance, the fluid resistance of the first and second branch passages 22, 23, which are the refrigerant passages of the heat exchanger 4, is sufficiently large. And cooling efficiency can be sufficiently improved.

(4) Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various other modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.

First, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the Peltier element, the refrigerant circulator, and the exhaust heat fan are stopped simultaneously at the time of "heat retention" has been described.
The stop timing of the Peltier element, the refrigerant circulator, and the exhaust heat fan can be appropriately selected. For example, after stopping the refrigerant circulator first and returning the refrigerant into the reserve tank,
It is also possible to stop the Peltier element and the exhaust heat fan, and in this case, it is possible to further reduce the possibility that the refrigerant is heated when the power supply to the Peltier element is stopped.

After the refrigerant circulator and the Peltier element are stopped, it is also possible to drive the exhaust heat fan for a certain period of time. In this case, the heat remaining in the Peltier element is reliably radiated. be able to. Further, the exhaust heat fan can be operated continuously without interlocking with the Peltier element or the refrigerant circulator. That is, in the present invention, as long as the Peltier element and the refrigerant circulator are stopped during “heat keeping”, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

Further, specific configurations and arrangements of the heat exchanger including the Peltier element, the heat absorber, the refrigerant pipe and its branch passage, the refrigerant circulator, the exhaust fan, the reserve tank, and the like can be appropriately selected. For example, in the embodiment, two branch passages are provided as the plurality of branch passages, but a configuration in which three or more branch passages are provided is also possible. When three or more branch passages are provided, all the connection ports of the branch passages can be arranged at different heights from each other, but there are at least two types of connection ports. limit,
A plurality of connection ports may be arranged at the same height. That is,
When the refrigerant circulator is stopped, the refrigerant in the heat exchanger portion is recovered into the reserve tank through at least the lowest connection port of the plurality of branch passages, and is reserved through the at least highest connection port of the plurality of branch passages. The arrangement of the plurality of connection ports can be freely selected as long as the configuration is such that the air in the tank flows into the refrigerant pipe.

Further, in the above embodiment, the reserve tank is arranged in the main space in the refrigerator, but it is also possible to arrange the reserve tank in another space separated from the main space in the refrigerator. Furthermore, it is also possible to arrange the reserve tank outside the refrigerator, and in this case, if the reserve tank is insulated, the same effect as when the reserve tank is disposed inside the refrigerator can be obtained. If the reserve tank placed outside the refrigerator is not insulated, a slight reduction in efficiency may occur due to the influence of the outside air temperature, etc., but at least there is no backflow of heat from the Peltier element. can get.

In the above embodiment,
The refrigerant circulation path was configured in the order of a refrigerant circulator, a heat absorber, a heat exchanger, and a reserve tank, but the upstream and downstream relationships between the refrigerant circulator and the heat absorber were exchanged to form a heat absorber, a refrigerant circulator, and heat. It is also possible to configure the circulation path of the refrigerant in the order of the exchanger and the reserve tank, and in this case, the same effect can be obtained. That is, in the present invention, as long as the upstream / downstream relationship between the heat exchanger and the reserve tank can be ensured, the configuration of other parts in the refrigerant circulation path can be freely selected.

On the other hand, as for the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe, various fluids can be appropriately selected according to the conditions such as the connection port. Further, specific configurations such as a temperature sensor and a control device can be appropriately selected. In addition, the Peltier cooling system of the present invention is not limited to a vending machine having a cool function, but also a variety of other commercial coolers or home coolers, etc. It can be used for all refrigerators.

[0049]

As described above, in the present invention, the reserve tank is inserted into the refrigerant pipe portion for sending the refrigerant cooled by the heat exchanger outside the refrigerator into the refrigerator, and the heat exchange of the refrigerant piping is performed. By providing a plurality of branch passages that pass through the device and connecting to the inside of the reserve tank, and by providing a height difference between the connection ports to the reserve tanks in these branch passages, the refrigerant is cooled at the time of `` warming '' after `` cooling '' With the stop of the circulator, the refrigerant in the heat exchanger outside the refrigerator is returned to the reserve tank, and the heat exchanger is thermally isolated from the refrigerator. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the heat from the heat exchanger outside the refrigerator or the outside air from entering the refrigerator at the time of starting or resuming the “cooling”, so that sufficient cooling can be performed with minimum power and cooling time. It is possible to provide a Peltier cooling system having a high cooling efficiency and capable of securing a capacity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system configuration of a Peltier cooling system according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of the refrigerant accompanying the stop of the refrigerant circulator in the system of FIG. 1; FIG. 2A is a state in which the refrigerant is moving when the refrigerant circulator is stopped; The state of the completion of the movement of the refrigerant after the vessel is stopped is shown.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a conventional Peltier cooling system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Case 2 ... Inside of a warehouse 3 ... Outside of a warehouse 4 ... Heat exchanger 5 ... Heat sink 6 ... Refrigerant piping 7 ... Refrigerant 8 ... Peltier element 9 ... Radiation fin 10 ... Heat absorption fin 11 ... Refrigerant circulator 12 ... Pump motor 13 ... Pump 14 fan motor 15 exhaust heat fan 16 control device 17 temperature sensor 21 reserve tank 22 first branch passage 23 second branch passage 24 (high position) connection port 25 (low position) Connection

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) F25D 11/00 101 F25D 11/00 101W

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cooling system for cooling an insulated compartment of a cool storage compartment, comprising: a heat exchanger including a Peltier element disposed outside the compartment; a heat absorber disposed inside the compartment; A refrigerant pipe provided so as to connect between a heat exchanger and the heat absorber, and a refrigerant circulator for forcibly circulating a refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant pipe are provided, and the refrigerant is cooled by the heat exchanger. In the Peltier cooling system configured to circulate the refrigerant by forcibly supplying the refrigerant to the inside of the refrigerator by the refrigerant circulator, of the refrigerant pipes, the refrigerant cooled by the heat exchanger A reserve tank that is inserted into a portion to be sent into the refrigerator and stores the refrigerant, and is provided at a portion of the refrigerant pipe that passes through the heat exchanger and is connected to the reserve tank, and is individually connected to the reserve tank. plural A branch passage, a height difference is provided between the connection ports to the reserve tank in the plurality of branch passages, and the refrigerant circulator is stopped in the heat exchanger, the refrigerant pipe, and the reserve tank In this case, the refrigerant in the heat exchanger portion is recovered into the reserve tank through at least the lowest connection port of the plurality of branch passages, and the air in the reserve tank is passed through at least the highest connection port of the plurality of branch passages. A Peltier cooling system, wherein the Peltier cooling system is disposed so as to flow into the refrigerant pipe. 2. The heat exchanger, the refrigerant pipe, and the reserve tank are arranged such that when the refrigerant circulator is stopped, the entire heat exchanger portion of the refrigerant pipe becomes empty. The Peltier cooling system according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The refrigerant circulator includes a motor-driven pump, a motor-driven exhaust fan disposed on a heat radiation side of the heat exchanger for discharging heat, and detecting a temperature in the refrigerator. A temperature sensor; and a control device that receives a temperature detection signal of the temperature sensor, and controls each electric power supplied to the Peltier element, the motor of the pump, and the motor of the exhaust heat fan according to the signal. The Peltier cooling system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: