JP3292685B2 - Insulated refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-vehicle cool box which is carried on a vehicle and transported, and in which the stored articles in a storage room are cooled by a regenerator during transport.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this kind of insulated refrigerator for a vehicle is provided with a storage room capable of storing articles and a regenerator as a cooling source, and is mounted on a vehicle such as a truck and transported to a destination. Occasionally, articles such as refrigerated goods stored in the storage room can be cooled and held using a regenerator. In addition, a cooler that can be operated by a commercial AC power supply is installed in the in-vehicle cool box, and the cool storage of the cool storage agent is performed before the vehicle is mounted (before being transported) using the cooler. You.

[0003]

By the way, the empty cool storage box which has become used after the goods are transported is returned to a delivery place for collecting and distributing the load. At this time, it is necessary to keep cool in the storage room. It is often practiced to store articles that are not to be stored (non-insulated articles) and transport them to a delivery place or the like, that is, to effectively use a used empty cold storage as a storage for non-insulated articles.

However, since a part of the cold storage agent immediately after the cold storage is still frozen in many cases, storing the non-cooled article in such a state unnecessarily cools the article or causes the cold storage agent to be stored. This causes a problem such as wetting due to the influence of dew attached to the surface.

[0005] Although it is actually practiced to open the door of the cool box to defrost the regenerator, there is a problem that it takes a long time to complete the thawing. If the article is transported with the door open, there is a risk that the stored articles may jump out during transportation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to appropriately defrost a cold storage agent immediately after cold storage and to appropriately carry goods which do not require cold storage. To provide a cool box.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a regenerator and a regenerator according to the present invention.
A cooling device that cools the coolant, and a cooling unit for in-vehicle use that cools and holds articles stored in the storage room using the coolant, a heating unit that heats the coolant, and a temperature of the coolant. Temperature detection means to detect and each operation of cold storage and thawing
Operation selection switch for selecting the
When the cool storage operation is selected by the switch,
The cooling of the regenerator starts, and the cooling is detected by the temperature detecting means.
Until the temperature of the cold storage agent reaches the predetermined cold storage temperature.
Defrosting operation by means of cold storage control means and operation selection switch
Decompression control means for starting heating of the regenerator by the heating means when is selected, and continuing the heating until the temperature of the regenerator detected by the temperature detection means reaches a predetermined defrost temperature. Is its feature.

[0008] According to this cold storage for vehicle, an operation selection switch is provided.
When the thawing operation is selected by the switch, the heating of the regenerator by the heating means is started, and the heating is continued until the temperature of the regenerator reaches a predetermined thawing temperature, so that the thawing of the regenerator immediately after the cooling is performed. It can be done in a short time.

Further, the present invention comprises a regenerator and a cooler for refrigerating the regenerator, according to a second aspect of the present invention ,
In an in-vehicle cool box that cools and holds articles stored in a storage room using a cold storage agent, a blowing unit that performs forced air blowing to the cold storage agent, and a temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the cold storage agent,
Operation selection for selecting each operation of regenerative storage and defrosting
Cold storage operation is selected by switch and operation selection switch
The cooling of the regenerator by the cooler is started when the
The temperature of the cold storage agent detected by the temperature detection means
Cold storage control means that continues until the cold temperature is reached, and operation selection
When the thawing operation is selected by the switch , forced air blowing to the regenerator by the air blowing means is started, and the forced air blowing is performed at a temperature.
Thawing control means for continuing until the temperature of the regenerator detected by the detecting means reaches a predetermined thawing temperature.

[0010] According to this cold storage for vehicle, an operation selection switch is provided.
When the thawing operation is selected by the switch, forced air blowing to the regenerator by the air blowing means is started, and the forced air is continued until the temperature of the regenerator reaches a predetermined thawing temperature, whereby the regenerator immediately after the cold storage is started. Can be thawed in a short time.

The present invention further comprises a regenerator and a cooler for refrigerating the regenerator, according to a third aspect of the present invention ,
A heating means for heating the regenerator, a blowing means for forcibly blowing air to the regenerator, and detecting the temperature of the regenerator in an in-vehicle cooler that cools and holds articles stored in the storage room using the regenerator. Temperature detection means to perform the cold storage
An operation selection switch for selecting operation and an operation selection switch
When the cool storage operation is selected by the switch,
Starts cooling of the regenerator, and the cooling is detected by the temperature detecting means.
Continue until the temperature of the stored regenerator reaches the predetermined regenerative temperature
Thawing operation by the cold storage control means and the operation selection switch.
When the rotation is selected, heating of the regenerator by the heating means and forced air blowing to the regenerator by the blowing means are started, and the temperature of the regenerator detected by the temperature detecting means is equal to the predetermined thawing temperature. And decompression control means that continues until the temperature reaches

According to the insulated refrigerator, the operation selection switch is provided.
When the defrosting operation is selected by the switch, the heating of the regenerator by the heating means and the forced air blowing to the regenerator by the blowing means are started until the temperature of the regenerator reaches the predetermined defrosting temperature. By continuing, it is possible to thaw the regenerator immediately after keeping the cold in a short time.

[0013]

1 to 5 relate to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an in-vehicle cool box, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of the in-vehicle cool box shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a cooler in the in-vehicle cool box shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a cool storage / thaw control system in the in-vehicle cool box shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a cool storage in the in-vehicle cool box shown in FIG. It is a flowchart of a decompression control program.

First, the configuration of a cold storage for a vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as a cold storage) will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a heat insulating cold storage main body having an open front surface, 1a a drain hole provided on the lower surface of the cold storage main body 1,
Reference numeral 2 denotes a heat insulating double door that covers the front opening of the cool box main body 1 so as to be openable and closable, and 3 denotes a caster provided on the lower surface of the cool box main body 1. The space in the cool box main body 1 is a storage room SR in which articles G such as refrigerated goods can be stored, and a machine room MR is provided above the cool box main body 1.

Reference numeral 4 denotes an electric compressor, 5 denotes a condenser, and 6 denotes a blower for cooling the condenser, which are arranged in the machine room MR. 7 (back than the illustrated embodiment, the side surface and upper surface) the inner wall surface of the refrigerator the body 1 to the embedded or attached by evaporation pipe, 8 is a refrigerant 13A in thermal contact with the evaporation pipe 7, to the inner wall surface A plurality are arranged in a predetermined arrangement. 9 is a blower for thawing and 10 is a wind direction plate.

The cool box shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a cooler having a circuit configuration as shown in FIG. 3, that is, the electric compressor 4, the condenser 5 and the evaporating pipe 7, and the electric four-way A valve 11, two check valves 12, 13 and two expansion means 14,
15 and a heat pump type cooler constituted by an accumulator 16.

In this cooler, the four-way valve 11 is switched to the solid line position to operate the electric compressor 4, and the refrigerant discharged from the electric compressor 4 is condensed into the condenser 5, as shown by the solid line arrow in the figure. The refrigerant can be sent to the evaporative pipe 7 through the check valve 12 and the expansion means 15, whereby the evaporative pipe 7 can be cooled and the regenerator 8 can be stored. On the other hand, by switching the four-way valve 11 to the position indicated by the broken line and operating the electric compressor 4, as shown by a broken line arrow in the figure, the refrigerant discharged from the electric compressor 4 is removed by the evaporation pipe 7,
The heat can be sent to the condenser 5 through the check valve 13 and the expansion means 14, whereby the evaporating pipe 7 can be heated to defrost the regenerator 8.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a temperature sensor such as a thermistor for detecting the temperature of the regenerator 8, reference numeral 18 denotes a display panel provided on the front face of the cool box main body 1, and reference numeral 19 denotes an operation selection switch provided below the display panel 18. is there. The operation selection switch 19 is used to select the operation of the cold storage agent 8 between “cold storage” and “thawing”, and the display panel 18 displays the cold storage agent 8 during operation.
, Temperature of cold storage, completion of thawing, etc. are displayed.

Next, the configuration of the cool storage / thawing control system in the cool box will be described with reference to FIG.

In the figure, 21 is a commercial AC power supply, 22 is a DC power supply circuit, 23 is a microcomputer, and 24 is a drive circuit. The DC power supply circuit 22 rectifies and steps down the input voltage from the commercial AC power supply 21 and supplies a predetermined DC voltage to the microcomputer 23. The microcomputer 23 is configured to output a signal based on a selection signal of the operation selection switch 19 and a detection signal (coolant temperature) of the temperature sensor 17.
A control signal is sent to the drive circuit 24 according to a program described later, and the temperature of the regenerator 8 is displayed on the display panel 18. The drive circuit 24 supplies a drive voltage to each of the electric compressor 4, the four-way valve 11, and the blower 9 for decompression based on a control signal from the microcomputer 23.

Next, the cold storage operation and the thawing operation performed in the cool box will be described with reference to FIG.

When performing cold storage of the cold storage agent 8, the operation selection switch 19 is switched to "cold storage" with the commercial AC power supply 21 connected (step ST1 in FIG. 5). Thereby, the cooler shown in FIG. 3 is operated, and the refrigerant flows in the solid line direction on the circuit, and the cold storage agent 8 is stored by the cooling action generated in the evaporation pipe 7 (step ST2 in FIG. 5). When the temperature T of the regenerator 8 drops to a predetermined regenerative temperature TS1 by the regenerative operation, the operation of the cooler stops and the regenerative operation is completed (steps ST3 and ST4 in FIG. 5).

After the refrigerating agent is stored, articles G such as refrigerated goods are stored in the storage room SR of the cool box, the door 2 is closed, and the cool box is mounted on a vehicle such as a truck and transported to the destination. At the time of this transportation, the article G stored in the storage room SR can be cooled and held using the cold storage agent 8.

When returning an empty cold storage box that has become used after transporting goods to a delivery place or the like that performs collection and distribution of goods, articles (non-refrigerated articles) G that do not need to be kept cold in the storage room SR.
When storing and transporting and effectively utilizing the empty cold storage,
It is necessary to completely defrost the cold storage agent 8 immediately after the cold insulation.
That is, if the non-insulated articles G are stored in a state in which a part of the cold storage agent 8 is frozen, the articles G are unnecessarily cooled or become wet due to the dew attached to the cold storage agent 8. This is because there is fear.

When thawing the cold storage agent 8, the door 2 of the cool box is opened and the commercial AC power supply 21 is connected.
The operation selection switch 19 is switched to "thaw" (step ST1 in FIG. 5). As a result, the cooler shown in FIG.
The cold storage agent 8 is thawed by the heating action generated in FIG.
Step ST5). At the same time, the thawing blower 9 is activated to forcibly blow air to the regenerator 8, and the cool heat deprived by the blowing is released to the outside of the refrigerator to promote the thawing (FIG. 5). Step ST6). When the temperature T of the regenerator 8 rises to a predetermined thawing temperature TS2 by this thawing operation, the operations of the cooling device and the thawing blower 9 are stopped, respectively, and thawing is completed (steps ST7 to ST9 in FIG. 5).

As described above, according to the cold storage described above, even if a part of the cold storage agent 8 immediately after the cold storage is frozen,
By switching the operation selection switch 19 to “thaw”, heating of the regenerator 8 by the cooler and forced air blowing to the regenerator 8 by the blower 9 are simultaneously performed, and the defrosting of the regenerator 8 can be performed in a very short time. It can be carried out.

That is, even if a part of the cold storage agent 8 immediately after the cold storage is frozen, it can be thawed easily and in a short time. It is possible to reliably eliminate the problem of getting wet due to the influence of the dew attached to 8, and effectively use the used empty cold storage as a storage for the non-refrigerated goods G to carry it properly. it can.

In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which heating by a cooler and forced blowing by a blower are simultaneously performed to defrost a regenerator, but only heating by a cooler or only forced blowing by a blower is performed. However, similar decompression can be performed. In particular, when thawing is performed only by forced air blowing by a blower, although the time until the thawing is completed slightly increases, the energy cost required for thawing can be suppressed lower than when thawing is performed by a cooler.

In the above-described embodiment, a heat pump type cooler is used as a heating source. However, a cooler exclusively used for cooling and an electric heater exclusively used for thawing are respectively provided, and the thawing of the regenerator is performed by heating by the electric heater. It may be performed.

[0031]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
Even if a part of the cold storage agent immediately after cold storage is frozen, it can be thawed easily and in a short time, so that non-refrigerated items are unnecessarily cooled as in the past, or due to the influence of dew attached to the cold storage agent. Problems such as getting wet can be surely eliminated, and the used cold storage box can be effectively used as a storage for non-cooled articles to carry the goods properly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an in-vehicle cool box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the in-vehicle cool box shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a cooler in the in-vehicle cool box shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a cool storage / thawing control system in the in-vehicle cool box shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a cold storage / thawing control program in the in-vehicle cool box shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cold storage main body, 2 ... Door, 3 ... Caster, 4 ... Electric compressor, 5 ... Condenser, 7 ... Evaporation pipe, 8 ... Cold storage agent, 9 ...
Thawing blower, 11 ... four-way valve, 14, 15 ... expansion means,
17 ... cool storage agent temperature sensor, 19 ... operation selection switch, S
R: storage room, G: goods.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F25D 16/00 F25D 23/12

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A regenerator and a cooler for refrigerating the regenerator.
Comprising a, in-vehicle refrigerator of the articles housed in the storage chamber by utilizing cooling holding the cold accumulating material, a heating means for heating the refrigerant 13A, a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant 13A, the refrigerant 13A Operation selection for selecting each operation of cold storage and thawing
Switch and the operation select switch select the cool storage operation.
Start cooling the regenerator by the cooler, and detect the temperature of the cooling
The temperature of the regenerator detected by the means reaches a predetermined regenerative temperature
The heating of the regenerator by the heating means is started when the thawing operation is selected by the operation selection switch, and the heating is detected by the temperature detection.
A defrosting control unit that continues until the temperature of the regenerator detected by the discharging unit reaches a predetermined defrosting temperature. 2. A regenerator and a cooler for refrigerating the regenerator.
A cooling means for in-vehicle cold storage which cools and holds articles stored in a storage room using a cold storage agent, a blowing means for forcibly blowing air to the cold storage agent, and a temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of the cold storage agent. Operation selection to select each operation of cold storage and thawing of cold storage agent
Switch and the operation select switch select the cool storage operation.
Start cooling the regenerator by the cooler, and detect the temperature of the cooling
The temperature of the regenerator detected by the means reaches a predetermined regenerative temperature
The cool storage control means that continues until the temperature of the cool storage agent detected by the temperature detection means starts forced air blowing to the cool storage agent by the blowing means when the thawing operation is selected by the operation selection switch. An in-vehicle cold storage, comprising: thawing control means that continues until a predetermined thawing temperature is reached. 3. A regenerator and a cooler for refrigerating the regenerator.
Comprising a, in-vehicle refrigerator of the articles housed in the storage chamber by utilizing cooling holding the cold accumulating material, a heating means for heating the refrigerant 13A, a blowing means for performing forced air to the refrigerant 13A, the refrigerant 13A Temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the fuel, and operation selection for selecting each operation of cold storage and defrosting of the cold storage agent
Switch and the operation select switch select the cool storage operation.
Start cooling the regenerator by the cooler, and detect the temperature of the cooling
The temperature of the regenerator detected by the means reaches a predetermined regenerative temperature
When the thawing operation is selected by the operation selection switch, the heating means starts heating the regenerator and forcibly blows air to the regenerator by the air blowing means, and detects the temperature of the heating and forced air blowing. hand
A defrosting control unit that continues until the temperature of the regenerator detected in the step reaches a predetermined defrosting temperature. 4. The in-vehicle cold storage according to claim 1, wherein the heating means is a heat pump type cooler that also performs cold storage of the cold storage agent. 5. The in-vehicle cool box according to claim 1, wherein the heating means is an electric heater.