JP2739656B2 - Open showcase and its operation method - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an open showcase and a driving method thereof.

[Conventional technology]

In an open showcase that displays refrigerated and frozen products while keeping them cool, the cool air obtained by the cooler is led from the back of the showcase to the top front outlet, and the cool air blown out of the outlet is directed to the lower front of the showcase. It has already been practiced to collect one or more layers of air curtain at the front of the showcase by collecting from the provided suction port.
In this case, the products are arranged on a plurality of shelves, but the cool air blown out from the outlet is obstructed by the products and the shelves. Products are not kept cool enough. On the other hand, when viewed from the user side, the lower shelf is more noticeable and easier to take out, and therefore there is a general tendency that the purchase rate of products of the same type increases as the product is placed on the lower shelf. Therefore, it is a rule that so-called hot-selling products are displayed at the bottom, but there is a problem that this place is the lowest in terms of cooling performance.

Since the cooler is frosted as it is used, it is necessary to remove the frost periodically to keep the cooling performance constant. However, the operation of the cooler itself is stopped at the time of defrosting, so the internal temperature of the refrigerator rises. Therefore, installing two coolers and stopping the operation of one cooler at the time of defrosting, but also trying to continue the operation of the other cooler and alternately perform defrosting. However, the temperature rise in the lowermost stage is still large, which is not preferable for hot-selling products.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

An object of the present invention is to provide an open showcase capable of improving the cool performance of the entire interior of a showcase and suppressing a rise in the temperature of the entire interior during defrosting, and an operation method thereof.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, in the open showcase of the present invention, a first cooler and a first cooler extending from the first cooler to a first air outlet provided at a top front surface through a back of the showcase. A second cooler passage, a second cooler, a second cooler passage extending from the second cooler through the back of the showcase to a second outlet opening into the lowermost part of the showcase, and a lower front surface of the showcase. It has a suction port provided and a common cold air recovery passage from the suction port to the first and second coolers.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, in the above-mentioned open showcase, the lowermost stage of the showcase is removed by the cool air blown from the first cooler through the first cool air passage to the inlet from the first outlet. Cooling the area, the second
The lowermost area of the showcase is cooled by cool air blown from the second cooler through the second cool air passage toward the suction port from the second outlet, and when one of the coolers is defrosted, the cooler is used. Is stopped, and the other cooler is operated for cooling.

[Action]

In the open showcase of the present invention, the first cooler passes from the first cooler to the first cooler through the first cool air passage at the back of the showcase, the first outlet, the front face of the showcase, the suction port, and the cool air recovery passage. By forming the returning first cool air circulation circuit, an area other than the lowermost stage inside the showcase is cooled while forming an air curtain on the front surface of the showcase. A second cooler passage from the second cooler to the back of the showcase, a second outlet, a lower front surface of the showcase,
A second cool air circulation circuit that returns to the second cooler through the suction port and the cool air recovery passage is formed, thereby forming an air curtain free of external air infiltration heat on the lower front of the show case. Cool the area.

In the open showcase operating method of the present invention, as described above, the first cooler cools the upper region except the lowermost stage, and the second cooler cools only the lowermost region. When defrosting the first cooler, the operation of the first cooler is stopped and the operation of the second cooler is continued. As a result, the bottom area is the second area.
The cooler is formed by the air curtain formed by the cooler and the shielding of the lowermost shelf.
The air for defrost flows by replacing the cool air circulation circuit with cold air,
Since this air is mixed with the cool air from the second cooler at the inlet and the common recovery passage, the temperature rise of the air curtain in the upper region is minimized. In the case of defrosting the second cooler, the operation of the second cooler is stopped and the first cooler is defrosted.
The operation of the cooler continues. As a result, the upper region is the first
The air curtain formed by the cooler and the lowermost shelf are shielded to keep the refrigerator cool.
The air for defrost flows by replacing the cool air circulation circuit with cold air,
Since this air is mixed with the cool air from the first cooler in the suction port and the common recovery passage, the temperature rise of the air curtain in the lowermost region is minimized.

〔Example〕

 Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes an open showcase main body, which is formed of a container which is surrounded on three sides by a sectional wall and has an open front. 2, 3,
Reference numerals 4, 5, and 6 denote shelves sequentially arranged from above in the inside of the showcase, and upper regions A are formed by shelves 2 to 5, and shelves 5,
6, a lowermost region B is formed. 7 is a first cooler, 8 is a first cool air passage extending from the first cooler 7 through the back of the upper region A to the upper front surface, 9 is a first cool air passage 8
, That is, a first outlet located on the upper front surface of the main body 1, 10 is a second cooler, 11 is the uppermost end of the lowermost region B behind the second cooler 10, ie, the upper region A A second cold air passage extending below the lowermost shelf 5 of the second air passage; a second air outlet 12 disposed at an end of the second cold air passage 10 and opening to the lowermost region B; A suction port, 14 is a common cold air recovery passage leading from the suction port 13 to the first cooler 7 and the second cooler 10, 15 is a blower placed in the cold air recovery passage 14, and 16 is a first air cooler. A defrost heater of the cooler 7; 17 a defrost heater of the second cooler 10; 18 a cold air vent for the air curtain provided further behind the first cool air passage 8; The upper front surface communicates with a third air outlet 19 located adjacent to the first air outlet 9, and the other end communicates with an air inlet 20 located adjacent to the air inlet 13. Wind machine 21 is provided.

 Next, the operation of the present invention will be described.

(1) Cooling operation In the cooling operation, the first cooler 7 and the second cooler 9
Put in operation together. The cool air generated by the first cooler 7 is blown out by the blower 15, blows out from the first outlet 9 through the first cool air passage 8, flows as indicated by the arrow, and is collected from the suction port 13 and collected by the recovery passage. After returning to the first cooler 7 through 14, the product placed on the shelves 2 to 5 is cooled while forming an air curtain on the front surface of the main body 1. At this time, by driving the blower 21, a part of the cool air is collected from the inlet 20 and is blown out from the third outlet 19 through the cool air passage 18 for the air curtain to form an air curtain and form the inlet.
It is collected from 20, 13 and thus a two-layer air curtain is formed on the front surface of the main body 1.

The cool air generated by the second cooler 10 is sent out by the blower 15 and is blown through the second cool air passage 11 into the lowermost region B from the second outlet 12 to form an air curtain as shown by an arrow. While flowing toward the suction port 13, the merchandise in the lowermost area B is kept cool and mixed with the cool air from the first outlet 9 at the suction port 13 and collected.

As described above, the first cooler is assigned to the upper region A, and the second cooler is assigned to the lowermost region B, so that the quality of the product in the upper region A, which has a relatively long product residence time, is generally improved. While maintaining the quality, the quality of the product can be maintained by directly cooling the lowermost region where the best-selling products are placed and in which the products are put in and out sharply by an air curtain separate from the upper region.

(2) Defrosting operation During the defrosting operation in the upper region A, the operation of the first cooler 7 is stopped, the operation of the second cooler 10 is continued, and the defrost heater 16 of the first cooler is turned on. throw into. As a result, the cool air generated by the second cooler 10 is supplied to the lowermost region B
Since an air curtain is formed inside, and the upper area A is shielded by the lowermost shelf 5, the lowermost area B is kept cool. On the other hand, the temperature of the air curtain formed between the first outlet 9 and the inlet 13 rises because the first cooler is stopped, but is generated in the lowermost region B. Air from the air curtain and suction port 13 and collection passage
The temperature is lowered by mixing at 14 and the upper region A
The effect of the temperature increase on the lowermost region B can be practically not affected by this mixing.

During the defrosting operation in the lowermost region B, the second cooler 10 is stopped, the operation of the first cooler 7 is continued, and the defrost heater 17 of the second cooler is turned on. As a result, the first cooler 7
The cold air generated by the above forms an air curtain on the front surface of the upper region A in the same manner as described above, and the lower region B is shielded by the lowermost shelf 5, so that the upper region A is kept cool. On the other hand, the temperature of the air curtain formed between the second outlet 12 and the inlet 13 rises because the second cooler is stopped, but the first outlet 9 and the inlet 13
The temperature is lowered by mixing the air curtain between the air curtain and the suction port 13 and the recovery passage 14, and the influence on the cooling function of the lowermost region B can be minimized. The effect of the rise in temperature has no practical problem.

As described above, the defrosting of the upper area A and the lowermost area B is separated, and the cooling function of the area being cooled is completely reduced by mixing the cooling air and the defrosted air at the suction port with respect to the area being cooled. Without doing so, it is possible to minimize the temperature rise in the area during defrosting.

In the above example, a method of performing defrosting using a heater has been described. However, the defrosting method is not limited to this, and various conventional methods can be used. Also, the air curtain is not limited to the two-layer type, and various layer types can be applied.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, the inside of the showcase compartment is divided into an upper region and a lowermost region, each of which is kept cool by a separate cool air circulation circuit, and when defrosting, only one of them is in a defrosting state, and the other is in a cooling state. By mixing cold air and defrosted air at the inlet position, the temperature rise in the defrosting area can be minimized without any drop in the cooling function of the area being cooled. In addition, the product at any position in the entire refrigerator can be efficiently kept cool.

[Brief description of the drawings]

 FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ... Shelf 7 ... 1st cooler 8 ... 1st cool air passage 9 ... 1st inlet 10 ... 2nd cooler 11 ... … Second cold air passage 12… Second air outlet 13… Suction port 14… Recovery passage 15… Blower A …… Upper area B …… Lower tier area

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A first cooler, a first cool air passage extending from the first cooler through a back of the showcase to a first air outlet provided at a top front surface, and a second cooler; A second cool air passage extending from the second cooler through the back of the showcase to a second air outlet opening into the lowermost part of the showcase, a suction port provided in a lower front surface of the showcase, An open showcase comprising a common cold air recovery passage leading to a second cooler. 2. A second cooler which cools an area excluding a lowermost stage of a showcase by cool air blown from a first cooler through a first cool air passage to an air inlet from a first air outlet. The lowermost area of the showcase is cooled by the cool air blown from the second outlet to the suction port through the second cool air passage, and when one of the coolers is defrosted, the operation of the cooler is performed. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operation is stopped and the other cooler is operated for cooling.