JP2538413B2 - Cold storage - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a low-temperature warehouse that cools a storage chamber by indirect cooling.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, a refrigerator box has a double structure consisting of a heat-insulating outer box and a heat-conducting inner box, and a cooling device is arranged between the inner and outer boxes to provide the inner box and the inside thereof. As an indirect cooling type low temperature chamber for cooling, the applicant previously filed Japanese Patent Application No. 2-6040.
No. 2 (JP-A-3-263579).

In the configuration shown therein, the cooling device 12 is arranged above the inner box 3 in the cool air circulation space 11 between the heat-insulating outer box 2 and the inner box 3, and the first and second blowers 13 and 19 are provided. By cooler 12
The cold air cooled in step 2 is forcibly circulated in the space 11 to indirectly cool the inside of the storage chamber 10 from the wall surfaces 3A, 3B, 3C ... Of the inner box 3.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention According to the configuration, the flowers and vegetables stored in the storage room 10,
Moisture that evaporates from fruits, wine, etc. is retained without escaping to the outside, but it cannot be humidified beyond the moisture originally possessed by these.

Therefore, the present invention provides a low-temperature warehouse for indirect cooling of the storage room, which smoothly humidifies the storage room by drainage from a cooler provided in a cool air circulation space that does not contact the storage room. Is.

(D) Means for Solving the Problem The present invention includes an outer box formed of a heat insulating wall, an inner box for heat exchange, which is arranged inside the outer box with a space therebetween to form a storage chamber, A cold air circulation space formed between an outer box and an inner box and provided with a cooling device including a cooler, and the inner box is cooled in a low-temperature warehouse for indirectly cooling the storage chamber. A zeolite-based porous material is arranged on the wall surface that faces the storage chamber, and the drainage from the cooler is supplied to the porous material.

(E) Action According to the present invention, the water contained in the cool air circulating in the cool air circulation space adheres to the cooler as dew or frost.
These wastewaters are supplied to the zeolite-based porous material and held therein, and are evaporated and humidified in the storage chamber.

(F) Embodiments Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 is a low-temperature refrigerator such as a prefabricated refrigerator, which has an outer box 2 composed of a heat insulating wall which is formed by combining heat insulating panels, and a space is provided inside the outer box 2. It is composed of a good heat conductor such as metal and has a storage room 10 inside.
An inner box 3 for heat exchange forming a cold air circulation space 11 formed between the outer box 2 and the inner box 3, and this cold air circulation space
A cooler 12 represented by an evaporator which is arranged in 11 and constitutes a part of a refrigeration cycle, and a cooling device 14 having a first blower 13 composed of a blower fan and a blower fan motor. The inner box 3 is cooled by the cooling device 14 to indirectly cool the storage chamber 11.

The inner box 3 includes a top wall 3A, a bottom wall 3B, and front, rear, left and right side walls 3C to 3F.
A storage room 10 that is arranged in a box shape and is sealed inside
To form. It should be noted that the front wall of the outer box 2 has an opening 7 for loading and unloading stored food (in this example, fruits and vegetables such as fruits and vegetables, and wine) and an opening 7 for opening and closing the opening 7 and the storage chamber 10 A heat-insulating door 8 that closes the room is provided.

The cold air circulation space 11 includes an upper space 11A as a first space above the ceiling wall 3A and a bottom space 1 as a second space below the bottom wall 3B.
1B and front side space 11C as a third space outside the front side wall 3C
From the rear space 11D as the fourth space outside the rear wall 3D, the left space 11E as the fifth space outside the left wall 3E, and the right space 11F as the sixth space outside the right wall 3F. In this example, the cooling device 14 is arranged in the upper space 11A. The air cooled through the cooling device 14 (hereinafter referred to as cold air) passes from the upper space 11A through the front and rear right spaces 11C, 11D, and 11F to the bottom space 11B, and returns to the cooling device 14 through the left space 11E. Take a circulation path. At this time, the cold air cools each of the upper, lower, front, rear, left and right walls 3A to 3F, and indirectly cools the inside of the storage chamber 10 by heat transfer from each wall surface (hereinafter, this is referred to as indirect cooling).

The bottom of the cooling device 14 is provided with a dew tray 32 for receiving drainage formed of dew or frost-melting water generated during defrosting of the cooler 12, and the drain pipe 15 is provided in the dew tray 32. It is connected and connected. In the present embodiment, as the cooling device 14, the temperature control range is usually centered at 0 ° C. and the temperature control range is small, and the temperature control is performed with an extremely high control accuracy (for example, control accuracy of set temperature ± 0.5 ° C.). The thing is adopted. However, the ice temperature refers to the temperature zone between 0 ° C at which water freezes and the temperature immediately before freezing of food, which is the temperature for long-term storage while avoiding changes in physical properties such as cell destruction due to freezing of food. Can be said.

Reference numerals 16 and 17 denote front and rear partition plates that partition the inside of the upper space 11A into a high pressure area H and a low pressure area L in cooperation with the cooling device 14. The front partition plate 16 is disposed closer to the heat insulation door 8 than the cooling device 14,
A second blower 18 that is continuously operated is attached.

Side walls forming a part of the inner box 3, for example, rear left and right side walls 3D ~
A plate-shaped porous material 20 is arranged on the 3rd floor. As the porous material 20, a green zeolite tuff processed into a plate shape is used. Green tuff is a porous material that has specific gas adsorption and permeation and water absorption properties, and this green tuff has the function of quickly adsorbing and removing metabolic gases such as ethylene gas generated during storage. At the same time, it exhibits an excellent water-retaining action due to the capillary phenomenon because it is a porous material.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a porous material fixing device that forms a panel so as to form a part of the inner box 3 while holding the porous material 20, and its perspective views are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The fixing device 22 is made of a metallic material such as stainless steel, and has a base portion 24 having a large number of holes 23 and an outer casing 2 at the time of fixing.
It is composed of a space holding portion 25 that secures a space between the inner surface and the base portion 24, and a plurality of fixing portions 26 that fix the porous materials 20.
The porous material 20 is provided such that one side surface thereof faces the surface of the base portion 24 on the cold air circulation space 11 side, and in the embodiment, four porous materials are arranged vertically.

Further, a film 30 made of a polyethylene film is attached to the surface of the porous material 20 on the cold air circulation space 11 side. The film 30 has fine ventilation holes to allow the metabolic gas to pass therethrough, but restricts the passage of water, and the porous material 20 is attached to the respective porous materials 20 by a fixing part 26 to fix the porous material 20 to the base 24. Press to attach. by this,
A composite panel is constructed that quickly removes ethylene gas and limits moisture permeation. This porous material 20 and the base
It is desirable to dispose a cushioning material 27 between 24 and 24 for maintaining airtightness and absorbing shock. Thus, this fixing device 22
Adsorbent panelized according to the size of the low temperature cabinet 1
The film 20 and the film 30 are attached at desired positions to form a part of the inner box 3.

The base portion 24 is disposed so as to cover one surface side of the porous material 20, that is, the surface on the storage chamber 10 side, and even when an article or the like collides with the inner box 3 when the article is stored in or taken out from the storage chamber 10. , This base
In addition to making it difficult to hit the porous material 20 by hitting 24, the shock absorbing force of the cushioning material 27 can be absorbed to suppress the generation of cracks or scratches due to the impact on the porous material 2. it can.

Further, a saucer portion 33 projecting toward the cool air circulation space 11 side and extending obliquely upward is provided at an upper edge of a portion of each fixing portion 26 facing the base portion 24.
Is formed over substantially the entire width, and the drain pipe 15 has descended to the uppermost tray portion 33, and has an opening there.
Further, the lower end of the film 30 ends slightly above the bottom of the pan 33. As a result, the drainage from the cooler 12 received by the dew receiving tray 32 is supplied to the receiving tray 33 through the water pipe 15 as shown in FIG. 5, and then sucked into the porous material 20,
It will penetrate into it.

40 and 41 are intake holes and exhaust holes for air exchange, which are formed in appropriate places of the outer box 2 and communicate the cold air circulation space with the outside. In the present embodiment, the intake holes 40 are the circulation cold airflows of the cold air circulation space. The exhaust hole 41 formed on the downstream side of the is formed in the outer box located on the upstream side of the circulating cold air flow and in the upper space, and it is desirable to dispose a heater for preventing dew condensation on the portion facing the outside. . In addition, the cooler 12 is formed by these holes 40 and 41.
Dew and frost are constantly attached to the.

The operation of the cold storage 1 having the above configuration will be described.

First, if foods such as vegetables and fruits are filled in the uncooled storage room 10 and the set temperature is set to 0 ° C. and the cooling device 14 is operated, (i) the inside of the storage room 10 is set. Since it is higher than the temperature, the cold air that has passed through the cooling device 14 is guided to the bottom space 11B through the cold air circulation space 11, that is, the upper space 11A, the front and rear right spaces 11C, 11D, 11F, and the left space. Return to the cooling device 14 by a route passing through 11E. At this time, the cold air cools the upper, lower, front, rear, left and right walls 3A to 3F, and the heat is transferred from each wall to the storage room.
The inside of 10 is cooled indirectly.

(Ii) Due to this indirect cooling, when the temperature in the storage chamber 10 gradually decreases to a set temperature or less (specifically, a temperature lower than the set temperature by a certain temperature or less), the cooling device 14 performs the thermocycle off operation. Alternatively, the operation is switched to the minimum capacity operation (the former is adopted in this example) or the like to maintain the temperature of the storage chamber at 0 ° C.

It should be noted that the cooling device 14 stops its cooling operation, the temperature inside the storage chamber rises due to an increase in the cooling load due to external air inflow and disturbance accompanying the opening / closing operation of the heat insulating door 8, and a predetermined temperature higher than the set temperature. When it exceeds, the cooling operation is repeated to maintain the temperature in the storage chamber at the set temperature.

(Iii) On the other hand, the fruits and vegetables stored in the storage room 10 breathe, and since the storage room 10 is closed, the air in the storage room 10 naturally convects, and the ethylene produced by the breathing of the vegetables and fruits is ethylene. The gas changes the gas composition (specifically, the component ratio of various gases contained in the air) in the storage chamber 10 (in particular, the ethylene gas concentration increases). However, the generated ethylene gas passes through the holes 23 and is gradually adsorbed by the porous material 20,
Since a part of it contacts the circulating cold airflow through the film 30 and is released into the cold air circulation space 11, it suppresses the ethylene gas concentration from rapidly increasing and slows the rate at which the gas composition changes. can do. Therefore, the porous material 20
Acts to suppress the aging of fruits and vegetables, and can extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables as compared with the conventional low-temperature storage.

(Iv) Further, the drainage from the cooler 12 is supplied to the uppermost porous material 20, permeates by the capillary phenomenon and is efficiently held, and also descends and permeates into the lower porous material 20. (A water distribution pipe may be provided for each porous material 20 ...). When the humidity in the storage chamber 10 decreases, this moisture is diffused into the storage chamber 10, and the diffusion of this moisture into the space 11 is limited by the film 30, and since indirect cooling is performed, the storage chamber 10 To maintain constant temperature and high humidity (humidity 90 to 95%) to suppress deterioration of stored quality.

(V) The drainage from the cooler 12 is cold water and the porous material 20
Has a mass, the cold storage effect is exerted by keeping cold water, and the temperature inside the storage chamber 10 is stabilized.

(Vi) Furthermore, since this cold water is water in the cold air circulation space 11 that is not in contact with the article, it is clean and the porous material 20
Since it is a zeolite type, it has an antibacterial effect, and these can keep the inside of the storage room 10 clean.

(Vii) If the heating device 31 is provided and the heating device 31 is operated, the ethylene gas adsorbed by the adsorbent 30 creates an environment in which it is easily released into the cold air circulation space 11 and is forced. The porous material 20 can be activated by this release and the deterioration of the adsorption capacity can be suppressed, and saturation of the adsorption performance of the porous material 20 can be suppressed, and the low temperature chamber 1 can be prevented. This is particularly effective when the cooling operation control is performed for a long period of time, and the storage period of fruits and vegetables can be further extended.

(Viii) By providing the exhaust hole 41, the air in the cold air circulation space 11 in which the ethylene gas concentration is increasing is continuously discharged to the outside, while fresh external air is continuously taken in to cool the air. The internal air and the external air are continuously replaced in the circulation space 11 to reduce the ethylene gas concentration in the cold air circulation space so that the ethylene gas is allowed to flow from the porous material 20 into the cold air circulation space 11
Thus, the porous material 20 can be prevented from being easily released, and the deterioration of the adsorption ability of the porous material 20 can be suppressed.

(Ix) Further, if the heating device 31 is caused to generate heat, the operating rate of the cooling device 14 is increased, and by introducing the outside air from the intake hole 40, a large amount of dew or defrost water is obtained from the cooler 12 and used for humidification. Is something that can be done.

(G) Effect of the Invention According to the present invention, the metabolite gas of the article in the storage chamber can be adsorbed by the zeolite-based porous material, and thus the aging of the article can be suppressed.

In addition, since it is indirect cooling and the drainage from the cooler is supplied to the porous material to maintain it permeate, the storage chamber can be humidified by evaporation of water from the porous material, and long-term storage of the stored goods is achieved in general. it can.

Further, since the drainage water from the cooler is cold water, the porous material absorbs the cold water, has a cold storage effect, and can stabilize the temperature in the storage chamber.

Furthermore, this waste water is clean water contained in cool air that is not in contact with the article, and since the porous material is also zeolite-based and has an antibacterial action, it is possible to suppress the growth of various bacteria in the storage chamber.

[Brief description of drawings]

Each drawing shows an embodiment of a low temperature chamber of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fixing device holding a porous material and a film and a drain pipe,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fixing device with a part of the porous material removed, FIG. 3 is a front view of a low-temperature chamber in a partially cutaway state showing a cold air circulation path during cooling, and FIG. 4 is a cold air circulation space. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the low-temperature chamber in which the ceiling wall has been removed by cutting with cutting, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the low-temperature chamber of the porous material portion. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Low temperature warehouse, 2 ... Outer box, 3 ... Heat exchange inner box, 10 ... Storage room, 11 ... Cold air circulation space, 12 ... Cooler, 14 ... Cooling device, 20
... Porous material, 22 ... Fixing device, 23 ... Hole, 24 ... Base part, 26 ... Fixing part, 30 ... Film, 32 ... Dew pan, 33 ... Sauce part.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An outer box formed of a heat insulating wall, an inner box for heat exchange which is disposed inside the outer box with a space therebetween to form a storage chamber, and between the outer box and the inner box. And a cold air circulation space for arranging a cooling device including a cooler, and in a low temperature chamber for indirectly cooling the storage chamber by cooling the inner box, the wall surface forming the inner box is A low-temperature warehouse characterized in that a zeolite-based porous material is arranged facing a storage chamber, and the waste water from the cooler is supplied to the porous material.