JP4236610B2 - Cold storage - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cool box that cools bottles of champagne, wine, and the like.

  Conventionally, wine cellars that store a large amount of wine under a certain temperature control are known. This type of wine cellar is a large and expensive device, many of which are only used for business purposes.

  Recently, however, the habit of drinking wine has become widespread at home, and a small and inexpensive wine cellar has been proposed. For example, there is known a wine cellar that can control energization to a Peltier element to maintain a constant internal temperature and store wine bottles even in units of several bottles (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  This wine cellar is a compact one that can adjust the occupation space according to the number of wine bottles and can set the optimum temperature in units of one. Therefore, it is possible to store wine bottles easily without taking up space even at homes that generally consume a large amount of wine. In particular, such a wine cellar performs temperature control using a Peltier element, and therefore has an advantage of less noise and vibration unlike a refrigerator equipped with a compressor.

JP 2001-330357 (Problems to be solved by the invention, abstract)

  However, the cool box represented by the above-described conventional wine cellar has the following problems. Usually, since the temperature adjustment part is attached to the back surface of the cool box, the cool box must be installed so that a certain amount of gap is formed between the back surface of the cool box and the wall. For this reason, even if it wants to install a cold storage near the wall of a narrow space like a corridor, the width | variety of a corridor will become narrow and will obstruct traffic.

  Moreover, in the case of a small cool box, it is often stacked up and down or arranged side by side. However, since the intake port and the exhaust port are blocked, it is necessary to stack or arrange the cold storages with a slight gap.

  Thus, when arrange | positioning the conventional cold storage, since the clearance gap between a wall or the clearance gap between cold storages must be ensured, a cold storage cannot be arrange | positioned compactly.

  An object of this invention is to provide the cool box which can mount a several cool box compactly in view of the said subject.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is a substantially box-shaped cool box for keeping bottles filled with beverages or the like, and it covers the top surface from the bottom to the side of the main body when the door is the front. A temperature control unit having a substantially L-shape or a substantially inverted L-shape that extends to a length that does not reach is provided, and either the intake port for sucking outside air or the exhaust port is disposed in front of the bottom surface side of the temperature control unit. Or it is set as the cool box which has the structure which has arrange | positioned the other side of an exhaust port in the upper part by the side of the temperature control part. Since neither the intake port nor the exhaust port is provided on the back surface of the cool box, the cool box can be placed without providing a gap with the wall. In addition, since a gap is formed between the intake port or the exhaust port and the upper cool box, the cooling effect is not hindered even if the cool boxes are stacked one above the other.

  Moreover, another invention makes the temperature control part in the said invention the cold storage which has arrange | positioned so that the front of the side surface side may become behind from the contact surface of a door and a main body. For this reason, even if it is a case where a cool box is put side by side, the door can be opened and closed by placing a hand on the end of the door without the adjacent cool box being in the way.

  Moreover, another invention makes the door open and close with the axis | shaft fixed to the side by which the temperature control part is arrange | positioned as the center. When the cold storage is placed side by side, the temperature control unit is interposed between the main body of the cold storage, so when opening the door, in the normal use state where the door is not opened more than necessary, the next cold storage Does not get in the way. For this reason, it becomes possible to arrange | position a cold storage left and right without a clearance gap.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of cold storages can be placed compactly.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a cold storage according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a cool box 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cool box 1 of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view seen from above the cool box 1 of FIG. Hereinafter, the front surface direction of FIG. 1 is “front”, the opposite side of the front surface is “rear surface”, the left and right direction of FIG. 1 is “side surface” or “side”, and the upper and lower directions of FIG. Are referred to as “upper” or “planar” and “lower” or “bottom”, respectively.

  The cool box 1 according to the present embodiment includes a Peltier as a temperature control unit in which a door 3, which is a form of a door, is arranged on the front of a main body 2 from a bottom surface of the main body 2 to one side surface in a substantially L shape. Each engine 4 is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the door 3 is provided with a rubber packing 3 a on the inner surface of the main body 2. The door 3 can be opened about a shaft (not shown) fixed to the Peltier engine 4 side, as indicated by a one-dot chain line.

  The Peltier engine 4 includes a Peltier engine bottom 4 a disposed on the bottom side of the main body 2 and a Peltier engine side 4 b disposed on the side of the main body 2. An exhaust port 5 and an intake port 6 are provided on the upper surface of the Peltier engine side 4b and the front surface of the Peltier engine bottom 4a, respectively. Further, the exhaust port 5 and the intake port 6 are respectively provided with a filter 5a and a filter 6a. As will be described in detail later, a mechanism is adopted in which the heat generated from the Peltier element inside the Peltier engine 4 is quickly released to the outside by sucking outside air from the filter 6a and exhausting it from the filter 5a.

  Five button switches 7 are provided in front of the Peltier engine side 4b. These button switches 7 are buttons that enable four-stage temperature setting in addition to a power switch button. For example, a button switch for the power switch from above the button switch 7, a button switch for setting 12 ° C., a button switch for setting 14 ° C., a button switch for setting 16 ° C., and a button switch for setting 18 ° C. A button switch that can be set in increments of 2 ° C. can be provided. However, the set temperature is not limited to the example, and can be arbitrarily determined according to the object to be cooled. Further, the number and arrangement of the button switches 7 are not limited to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the Peltier engine 4 is arranged such that the upper surface of the side portion 4 b is lower than the upper surface of the main body 2 by a length “s”. For this reason, even if the cool box 1 is stacked up and down, the exhaust from the upper surface of the Peltier engine side 4b is not hindered.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the Peltier engine 4 is arranged such that the front surface of the side portion 4 b is retracted to the back surface by a length “t” from the front surface of the main body 2. For this reason, even if the cool box 1 is placed side by side, the door 3 can be opened without any obstacles.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1 with the internal mechanism omitted.

  A cold insulation space 10 is provided inside the main body 2. The cold insulation space 10 is divided into three stages of shelves 11, and is a space in which bottles 12 (shown by alternate long and short dash lines in FIG. 4) filled with beverages such as champagne or wine are placed on the respective shelves 11. Yes. On the back side of the door 3, a long groove 13 is provided in the front and back direction in FIG. 4 so as to face the space partitioned by each shelf 11. The depth of each groove 13 is set to such a depth that the bottle mouth does not hit the door 3 even when a general-purpose bottle is placed in the cold insulation space 10 and the door 3 is closed. As described above, since the depth of the cool box 1 is designed to be as short as possible, even if the cool box 1 is placed in a narrow space such as a corridor, the cool box 1 is an obstacle to traffic. do not become.

  A space 14 is provided on the back side of the filter 6a of the Peltier engine bottom 4a. Since this space 14 is connected to the inside of the Peltier engine side 4b, the outside air that has passed through the filter 6a goes to the Peltier engine side 4b.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cool box 1 with the side surface of the Peltier engine side 4b removed.

  The internal space of the Peltier engine side portion 4b is divided into a space 16 on the side surface side of the Peltier engine side portion 4b and a space 17 on the main body 2 side with two fans 15 therebetween. The space 16 is below the Peltier engine side 4b and is connected to the space 14 of the Peltier engine bottom 4a. The space 17 is above the Peltier engine side 4b and is connected to the outside through the filter 5a.

  The fan 15 is arranged in the middle of the Peltier engine side portion 4b in the depth direction of the Peltier engine side portion 4b. The fan 15 is disposed so as to be inclined downward so that the upper side portion thereof is in contact with the side surface of the Peltier engine side portion 4b. For this reason, the space 16 is not connected to the space above the fan 15 in the state where the side surface of the Peltier engine side 4b is set.

  Further, a Peltier element described later is disposed on the back side of the fan 15 and in the vicinity of the main body 2. The Peltier element is arranged so that the cooling plate constituting the Peltier element is on the main body 2 side, and the heat radiating plate constituting the Peltier element is in the direction of the side surface of the Peltier engine side 4b. The fan 15 is provided to promote heat dissipation from the heat dissipation plate of the Peltier element.

  Since the Peltier engine 4 has the above-described structure, when the fan 15 is rotated, the following air flow is generated. As the fan 15 rotates, the outside air X is sucked from the filter 6a. The sucked outside air X passes through the space 14, reaches the space 16 of the Peltier engine side 4 b, and enters the space 17 through the fan 15. The outside air X that has passed through the fan 15 contacts the heat dissipation plate of the Peltier element in the space 17, carries the heat, and is exhausted to the outside through the filter 5 a. Due to such air flow, the heat of the heat dissipation plate of the Peltier element is quickly removed, and the cooling efficiency by the Peltier element is enhanced.

  Here, the configuration of the Peltier element will be briefly described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of the Peltier element 20.

  The Peltier element 20 has a P-type semiconductor 21, an N-type semiconductor 22, a P-type semiconductor 21, and an N-type semiconductor 22 between the two ceramic plates 20a and 20b from the left side to the right side in the figure. It has a structure in which P-type semiconductors 21 and N-type semiconductors 22 are alternately arranged. A metal plate 23 is interposed between the P-type semiconductor 21 and the N-type semiconductor 22 and the ceramic plates 20a and 20b. In the P-type semiconductor 21, holes are holes for carrying electricity. On the other hand, in the N-type semiconductor 22, the electrons are responsible for carrying electricity.

  When a relatively low voltage is applied to the P-type semiconductor 21 and the N-type semiconductor 22 at both ends of the Peltier element 20 having such a configuration so that the P-type semiconductor 21 on the left side in the figure becomes positive, the left side in the figure Direct current flows in the order of P-type semiconductor 21, N-type semiconductor 22, P-type semiconductor 21, and N-type semiconductor 22 from right to left. Since the holes of the P-type semiconductor 21 and the electrons of the N-type semiconductor 22 become carriers that carry the thermal energy in these thermoelectric materials, the ceramic plate 20a side is cooled and the ceramic plate 20b side is heated. Therefore, what is on the ceramic plate 20a side is cooled, and what is on the ceramic plate 20b side is heated by heat radiation from the ceramic plate 20b.

  On the other hand, as shown in parentheses in FIG. 6, when a relatively low voltage is applied so that the P-type semiconductor 21 on the left side in the figure becomes negative, the N-type semiconductor 22, P A direct current flows in the order of the type semiconductor 21, the N-type semiconductor 22, and the P-type semiconductor 21. As a result, the ceramic plate 20a side becomes hot and the ceramic plate 20b side cools. Therefore, as shown in parentheses in FIG. 6, what is on the ceramic plate 20 a side is heated by heat radiation from the ceramic plate 20 a, and what is on the ceramic plate 20 b side is cooled.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a plurality of cold storages 1 are arranged vertically and horizontally. FIG. 7 (7 </ b> A) is a view seen from the front of the cool box 1, and FIG. 7 (7 </ b> B) is a view seen from the top face of the cool box 1. In addition, in this figure, although only the four cold storages 1 are shown, even if it is the state which has arrange | positioned five or more cold storages 1, the same effect demonstrated below arises.

  As shown in FIG. 7 (7A), the Peltier engine 4 is arranged such that the upper surface of the side portion 4b is lower than the upper surface of the main body 2 by the length “s”, so that the cool box 1 is moved up and down. In the loaded state, there is a gap of width “s”. Therefore, exhaust is smoothly performed from the upper surface of the Peltier engine side portion 4b, and the cooling effect can be enhanced.

  In the state in which the cool box 1 is arranged on the left and right, the Peltier engine side 4b having a width “u” exists between the main bodies 2. As shown in FIG. 7 (7B), the Peltier engine 4 is arranged such that the front surface of the side portion 4b is retracted to the back surface by a length “t” from the front surface of the main body 2. For this reason, when the door 3 is opened and closed as indicated by the arrow M, the end of the door 3 can be grasped by placing a hand in the space of the width “u”.

  In addition, the door 3 is a cool box 1 that opens and closes around a shaft fixed to the side where the Peltier engine 4 is disposed. As shown in FIG. 7, when the cool box 1 is arranged side by side, the Peltier engine 4 is interposed between the main bodies 2 of the cool box 1. For this reason, when the door 3 is opened, the adjacent cool box 1 does not get in the way in a normal use state where the door 3 is not opened more than necessary. For this reason, it becomes possible to arrange the cool box 1 on the left and right without a gap.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

  For example, the fan 15 may be rotated so that air is sucked from the filter 5a disposed on the upper surface of the Peltier engine side 4b and exhausted from the filter 6a disposed on the front surface of the Peltier engine bottom 4a.

  Further, the Peltier engine 4 may be disposed in a substantially inverted L shape when the cool box 1 is viewed from the front. Further, in this configuration, the door 3 is opened and closed in the direction opposite to the opening and closing direction in the above-described embodiment (that is, the door 3 is opened and closed around the axis fixed in the direction of the Peltier engine side portion 4b on the left side of the main body 2). ). However, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the door 3 can be opened and closed around a shaft fixed on the side opposite to the Peltier engine side 4b. Further, a temperature control unit equipped with a cooling means other than the Peltier element 20 can be employed.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as a cool box that cools bottles filled with beverages such as wine and champagne.

It is a front view of the cool box concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a perspective view of the cool box of FIG. It is the top view seen from the upper direction of the cool box of FIG. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. 1 which abbreviate | omitted the internal mechanism. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cool box shown in FIG. 2 with a side surface of a Peltier engine side portion removed. It is a figure which shows the outline of a structure of the Peltier device incorporated in the cool box of FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which has arrange | positioned multiple cold storage shown in FIG. 1 up and down, right and left, (7A) is the figure seen from the front of a cold storage, (7B) is the figure seen from the upper surface of the cold storage. is there.

Explanation of symbols

1 Cold storage 2 Main body 3 Door (door)
4 Peltier engine (temperature control unit)
5 Exhaust port 6 Inlet port 12 Bottle

Claims (3)

It is a substantially box-shaped cool box for cooling bottles filled with beverages,
A temperature control unit having a substantially L-shape or a substantially inverted L-shape that extends to the length that does not reach the top surface from the bottom surface to the side surface of the main body when the door is the front,
Either the intake port or the exhaust port for sucking outside air is arranged in front of the bottom surface side of the temperature adjustment unit, and the other of the intake port or the exhaust port is arranged at the upper part on the side surface side of the temperature adjustment unit A cool box characterized by having a configuration as described above.   The cold storage box according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control unit is arranged such that a front surface on a side surface side is behind a contact surface between the door and the main body.   The cold insulator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the door opens and closes about a shaft fixed on a side where the temperature adjusting unit is disposed.

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