JP7489797B2 - Refrigeration and heating equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigeration and heating device.

A conventional refrigeration/warming device is described in Patent Document 1. Specifically, the device discloses a refrigeration/warming device (warming cabinet) that has multiple refrigeration compartments and multiple warming compartments, and that is configured so that cold foods and hot foods placed on a single tray can be refrigerated or warmed by storing the cold foods in the refrigeration compartments and the hot foods in the warming compartments. Patent Document 1 also discloses that in two adjacent warming compartments, air is drawn in through an intake port located above one of the warming compartments, heated by passing through a warm air duct, and blown out from an outlet located below both warming compartments.

JP 2006-198095 A

However, with the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, the heated air may be blown out unevenly between the two adjacent warming chambers, or even if it is blown out evenly, there is a possibility that temperature unevenness may occur due to differences in the air flow between the two adjacent warming chambers. In such cases, there is a risk that the hot food may be colder or hotter than the desired temperature, causing discomfort to the eater.

The present invention was developed based on the above circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide a refrigeration/heating device that allows gas to circulate appropriately. Another objective is to provide a refrigeration/heating device that is less likely to cause temperature unevenness.

The present invention is a refrigeration/warming device having a storage chamber capable of storing stored items inside, the storage chamber comprising a refrigeration chamber capable of cooling the stored items and a warming chamber capable of heating the stored items, the warming chamber comprising a first warming chamber, a second warming chamber adjacent to the first warming chamber, a wall portion separating the first warming chamber and the second warming chamber, and a circulation portion provided on the wall portion or on the side of the wall portion and allowing the flow of gas between the first warming chamber and the second warming chamber, the refrigeration/warming device comprising a suction portion that sucks gas from the first warming chamber and sends it to the inside of the wall portion, and the wall portion comprising an opening portion that opens toward the second warming chamber.

In this type of refrigeration/warming device, the gas in the first warming chamber is sucked in by the suction section, circulates inside the wall section, and is then sent from the opening toward the second warming chamber. Then, as the gas travels between the first and second warming chambers through the circulation section, the gas that has flowed from the second warming chamber into the first warming chamber can be sucked in again by the suction section. This allows warm air to circulate optimally between the two warming chambers (the first warming chamber and the second warming chamber) inside the storage chamber.

In the above configuration, a pair of the circulation parts may be provided on the sides of the wall, and the opening may be provided between the pair of circulation parts. With such a refrigeration/warming device, gas sent from the opening toward the second warming chamber can flow into the first warming chamber through the pair of circulation parts provided on the sides. This makes it possible to provide a refrigeration/warming device in which temperature unevenness is less likely to occur inside the warming chamber.

In the above configuration, the second warming chamber may be provided with a protruding portion that faces the opening. With such a refrigeration/warming device, gas sent from the opening toward the second warming chamber collides with the protruding portion and can be suitably diffused inside the second warming chamber. Gas can then travel between the first warming chamber and the second warming chamber, allowing the gas to circulate suitably within the warming chamber.

In the above configuration, the suction section is provided above the warming chamber, the opening is provided below the wall, and the second warming chamber is provided with a protruding ridge portion that protrudes upward and faces the opening. With this type of cooling/warming device, gas that is heated and rises in the first warming chamber is sucked into the suction section provided above the warming chamber, circulates inside the wall, and flows toward the opening provided below the wall. The gas sent from the opening toward the second warming chamber can be diffused upward by the protruding ridge portion that protrudes upward. By gas moving between the first warming chamber and the second warming chamber, gas can be effectively circulated within the warming chamber.

In the above configuration, the protrusions can be higher than the opening. With this type of refrigeration/warming device, the gas sent from the opening toward the second warming chamber collides with the protrusions that are higher than the opening, allowing the gas to be more effectively diffused into the second warming chamber.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a cooling/heating device that allows gas to circulate appropriately. It also makes it possible to provide a cooling/heating device that is less susceptible to temperature unevenness.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hot and cold food distribution cart according to an embodiment, viewed from above and in front; Cross-sectional view of the hot and cold food delivery cart (cross-sectional view of line II-II in Figure 1) Cross-sectional view of the hot and cold food delivery cart (cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2) A cross-sectional view of a portion of a hot and cold food distribution cart (cross-section taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3) A perspective view of the opening of the hot and cold food delivery cart from above and in front FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the opening portion in FIG. Enlarged cross-sectional view of the suction area

<Embodiment>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 7. In this embodiment, a hot and cold food delivery cart 10 that can move on a floor surface is illustrated as a hot and cold storage device. In the following description, the arrow direction F is the forward direction, the arrow direction B is the backward direction, the arrow direction L is the leftward direction, the arrow direction R is the rightward direction, the arrow direction U is the upward direction, and the arrow direction D is the downward direction.

1 and 2, the hot and cold food delivery cart 10 includes a machine room 11, casters 12 and 13, a handle 14, and an insulating box 20. The insulating box 20 is rectangular and has walls filled with insulating material such as urethane foam. The casters 12 and 13 are made up of free wheels 12 and drive wheels 13, and are attached to the underside of the insulating box 20. The machine room 11 is located on the upper side of the insulating box 20, and contains a cooling device 30 (described later) and other components. The handle 14 is attached to the front and rear sides of the insulating box 20 so that it can rotate up and down. The user can move the hot and cold food delivery cart 10 in any direction by pulling or pushing the handle 14 with their hands. The drive wheels 13 are driven by the rotation of the handle 14, assisting the movement of the hot and cold food delivery cart 10.

1 to 3, the heat-insulating box 20 includes a plurality of doors 21 attached to a plurality of mounting portions 22 arranged on the left and right sides in a double-door style, and a storage chamber 26 provided inside the heat-insulating box 20. A user can store food and beverages and other stored items in the storage chamber 26 from the left or right side by opening and closing the door 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the storage chamber 26 includes three refrigerator chambers 26C1, 26C2, and 26C3 that can cool the stored items, and three warming chambers 26W1, 26W2, and 26W3 that can heat the stored items. In the storage chamber 26, the warming chamber 26W1, the refrigerator chamber 26C1, the refrigerator chamber 26C2, the warming chamber 26W2, the warming chamber 26W3, and the refrigerator chamber 26C3 are arranged in this order from the rear. The refrigerator chamber 26C2 is provided adjacent to the front of the refrigerator chamber 26C1. In front of warming chamber 26W2, warming chamber 26W3 is provided adjacent to it. In the following description, warming chamber 26W2 may be referred to as the first warming chamber, and warming chamber 26W3 may be referred to as the second warming chamber.

2 and 3, the storage chamber 26 includes a plurality of walls 31, 33, 34 separating the chambers, and a rectangular columnar portion 32 arranged on the interior side of the mounting portion 22 and extending vertically. The walls 31, 33, 34 are made up of a hot/cold wall portion 31, a cold/cold wall portion 33, and a hot/cold wall portion 34. The hot/cold wall portion 31 is provided between the hot storage chamber 26W1 and the refrigerator chamber 26C1, between the refrigerator chamber 26C2 and the hot storage chamber 26W2, and between the hot storage chamber 26W3 and the refrigerator chamber 26C3, separating adjacent chambers with different temperatures. The cold/cold wall portion 33 is provided between the refrigerator chamber 26C1 and the refrigerator chamber 26C2, separating adjacent chambers for cooling stored items. The warm wall 34 is provided between warming chamber 26W2 and warming chamber 26W3, separating the adjacent chambers in which the stored items are heated.

The hot/cold wall section 31 is provided with a plurality of unit wall sections 31A arranged vertically, and a plate-shaped tray holder 31B extending in the front-rear direction from the unit wall sections 31A. The user can insert a tray carrying stored items such as hot and cold foods between the vertically adjacent unit wall sections 31A in the hot/cold wall section 31 provided between the hot storage compartment 26W1 and the refrigerator compartment 26C1, for example, and place it on the tray holder 31B to heat the hot food in the hot storage compartment 26W1 and cool the cold food in the refrigerator compartment 26C1.

The machine room 11 is provided with a refrigeration device 40 composed of a compressor 41, a condenser 42, a cooler 43, etc., and a suction section 50 arranged above the first warming room 26W2. The refrigeration device 40 is arranged above the refrigerator room 26C1 and the refrigerator room 26C2, and above the refrigerator room 26C3, and cools the gas using the cooler 43, and sends the obtained cold air to the refrigerator rooms 26C1, 26C2, and 26C3 by a fan (not shown) to circulate it. The refrigeration device 40 arranged above the refrigerator room 26C1 and the refrigerator room 26C2 flows the cold air down into the hollow cooling wall section 33, and circulates it inside the refrigerator room 26C1 and the refrigerator room 26C2.

2 and 7, the suction unit 50 is configured to suck gas from the warming chamber 26W2 through a suction port 51 provided on the upper side of the warming chamber 26W2 and send the sucked gas into the inside of the warming wall portion 34. The insulating box 20 is shaped to straddle the front upper side of the warming chamber 26W2 and the rear upper side of the warming wall portion 34, and has a through-hole 23 formed to penetrate in the vertical direction. The suction unit 50 is attached by being inserted into the through-hole 23 from above. As shown in FIG. 7, the suction unit 50 has a suction port 51, an exhaust port 52, a fan 53, and a curved portion 54. The suction port 51 is connected to the front upper side of the warming chamber 26W2, and the gas from the warming chamber 26W2 can flow inside the suction unit 50. The exhaust port 52 is connected to the inlet portion 38 formed in the upper rear side of the warm wall portion 34 in the vertical direction, so that the gas inside the suction portion 50 can flow inside the warm wall portion 34. The curved surface portion 54 forms a curved surface that curves from the top to the front inside the suction portion 50. By rotating the fan 53, the suction portion 50 sucks gas from the warming chamber 26W2 into the inside of the suction portion 50 from the suction port 51, and changes the flow of the sucked gas to the inlet portion 38 side of the warm wall portion 34 by the curved surface portion 54, and the gas flows from the exhaust port 52 through the inlet portion 38 into the inside of the warming chamber 26W2.

As shown in Figures 2 to 6, the warming wall portion 34 is rectangular and hollow, and is configured to allow gas to flow inside. The warming wall portion 34 has, for example, a cord heater (not shown) attached to its inner surface, which heats the gas flowing inside the warming wall portion 34 to generate warm air. A pair of columnar portions 32, 32 having the same thickness as the thickness of the warming wall portion 34 in the front-rear direction are provided on the left-right direction (sides) of the warming wall portion 34. A predetermined distance is provided between the warming wall portion 34 and the pair of columnar portions 32, 32, and a pair of flow portions 35, 35 are provided to allow gas to flow between the first warming chamber 26W2 and the second warming chamber 26W3.

Below the warming wall 34, an opening 36 is provided that opens toward the second warming chamber 26W3. The opening 36 is between the bottom surface 20D that forms the bottom of the storage chamber 26 and the pair of circulation parts 35, 35, forming a rectangular opening with the left-right direction as viewed from the front (when viewed from the front). The second warming chamber 26W3 is provided with a protrusion 37 that extends left-right at a position facing the opening 36 and rises upward from the bottom surface 20D to form a protrusion. The protrusion 37 is a part that supports the tray inserted on the unit wall part 31A (see FIG. 2) located at the lowest position from below. As shown in FIG. 4, the left-right length L3 of the protrusion 37 is longer than the left-right length L1 of the opening 36 and the left-right distance L2 between the pair of circulation parts 35, 35. As shown in FIG. 6, the height H2 of the protrusion 37 (the distance from the bottom surface 20D to the top surface 37U) is greater than the height H1 of the opening 36 (the distance in the vertical direction of the opening).

Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the hot and cold food delivery cart 10 has a storage chamber 26 capable of storing stored items inside. The storage chamber 26 is equipped with refrigeration chambers 26C1, 26C2, and 26C3 capable of cooling the stored items, and hot storage chambers 26W1, 26W2, and 26W3 capable of heating the stored items. The hot storage chambers 26W1, 26W2, and 26W3 are configured to allow gas to flow through the first hot storage chamber 26W2 and the second hot storage chamber 26W3 adjacent to the first hot storage chamber 26W2. The hot and cold food delivery cart 10 shown has a hot and cold wall section 34 that separates the first warming chamber 26W2 from the second warming chamber 26W3, and a flow section 35 that is provided on the side of the hot and cold wall section 34 and allows the flow of gas between the first warming chamber 26W2 and the second warming chamber 26W3. The hot and cold food delivery cart 10 has a suction section 50 that sucks gas from the first warming chamber 26W2 and sends it to the inside of the hot and cold wall section 34, and the hot and cold wall section 34 has an opening section 36 that opens toward the second warming chamber 26W3.

With this hot and cold food delivery cart 10, the gas in the first warming chamber 26W2 is sucked in by the suction section 50, circulates inside the warming wall section 34, and is then sent from the opening 36 toward the second warming chamber 26W3. Then, as the gas travels between the first warming chamber 26W2 and the second warming chamber 26W3 through the circulation section 35, the gas that has flowed from the second warming chamber 26W3 into the first warming chamber 26W2 can be sucked in again by the suction section 50. This allows warm air to circulate appropriately between the two warming chambers (the first warming chamber 26W2 and the second warming chamber 26W3) inside the storage chamber 26.

In addition, a pair of circulation sections 35 are provided on the sides of the hot wall section 34, and the opening 36 is provided between the pair of circulation sections 35. With this type of hot and cold food delivery cart 10, gas sent from the opening 36 toward the second hot storage chamber 26W3 can flow into the first hot storage chamber 26W2 through the pair of circulation sections 35 provided on the sides. This makes it possible to provide a hot and cold food delivery cart 10 that is less likely to have temperature unevenness inside the hot storage chambers 26W2 and 26W3.

The second warming chamber 26W3 is provided with a ridge 37 that faces the opening 36. With this hot and cold food delivery cart 10, the gas sent from the opening 36 toward the second warming chamber 26W3 hits the ridge 37 and can be diffused appropriately inside the second warming chamber 26W3. The gas can then travel between the first warming chamber 26W2 and the second warming chamber 26W3, allowing the gas to circulate appropriately within the warming chambers 26W2 and 26W3.

The suction section 50 is provided above the first warming chamber 26W2, the opening 36 is provided below the warming wall section 34, and the second warming chamber 26W3 is provided with a protruding section 37 that protrudes upward and faces the opening 36. With this hot and cold food delivery cart 10, the gas that is heated and rises in the first warming chamber 26W2 is sucked into the suction section 50 provided above it, flows through the inside of the warming wall section 34, and can flow toward the opening 36 provided below the warming wall section 34. The gas sent from the opening 36 toward the second warming chamber 26W3 can be diffused upward by the protruding section 37 that protrudes upward. And, by the gas moving between the first warming chamber 26W2 and the second warming chamber 26W3, the gas can be effectively circulated within the warming chambers 26W2 and 26W3.

In addition, the protrusion 37 is higher than the opening 36. With this type of hot and cold food delivery cart 10, the gas sent from the opening 36 toward the second warming chamber 26W3 collides with the protrusion 37, which is higher than the opening 36, and can be more effectively diffused into the second warming chamber 26W3.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included within the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, in addition to the embodiments described below, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

(1) In addition to the above embodiment, the position of the machine room including the compressor and the condenser can be changed as appropriate. In the above embodiment, the machine room is arranged above the storage room, but this is not limited to this. For example, the machine room may be arranged below or to the side of the storage room.

(2) The arrangement of the refrigerator compartment and the warming compartment is not limited to that exemplified in the above embodiment. For example, the refrigerator compartment and the warming compartment may be arranged vertically. Furthermore, the number of refrigerator compartments and warming compartments is not limited to the number exemplified in the above embodiment. It is sufficient that the refrigeration/warming device has at least two adjacent warming compartments.

(3) In the above embodiment, a hot and cold food delivery cart is used as an example of a hot and cold storage device, but this is not limited to this. For example, the hot and cold storage device may be a stationary storage unit.

(4) In the above embodiment, the circulating portion is provided on the side of the warm wall portion, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the circulating portion may be formed in the warm wall portion so as to penetrate the warm wall portion in the front-rear direction.

10...hot/cold food distribution cart (cold/warming device), 26...storage room, 26W2...warming room (first warming room), 26W3...warming room (second warming room), 34...warming wall (wall), 35...circulation section, 36...opening, 37...ridge section, 50...suction section

Claims (4)

A refrigeration/heating device having a storage chamber capable of storing items therein,
The storage chamber includes:
A refrigeration chamber capable of cooling the stored items;
A warming chamber capable of heating the stored items,
The warming chamber comprises:
A first warming room;
A second warming chamber adjacent to the first warming chamber;
A wall portion that is configured to allow gas to flow therethrough and separates the first warming chamber from the second warming chamber;
a circulating portion provided on the wall portion or a side of the wall portion, which allows gas to flow between the first warming chamber and the second warming chamber;
The refrigerating/heating device includes a suction unit that suctions gas from the first heating chamber and sends the gas to an inside of the wall portion,
The wall portion has an opening portion that opens toward the second warming chamber,
A pair of the flow sections are provided on the sides of the wall section,
The refrigeration/heating device according to claim 1, wherein the opening is provided between the pair of circulation parts. A refrigeration/heating device having a storage chamber capable of storing items therein,
The storage chamber includes:
A refrigeration chamber capable of cooling the stored items;
A warming chamber capable of heating the stored items,
The warming chamber comprises:
A first warming room;
A second warming chamber adjacent to the first warming chamber;
A wall portion that is configured to allow gas to flow therethrough and separates the first warming chamber from the second warming chamber;
a circulating portion provided on the wall portion or a side of the wall portion, which allows gas to flow between the first warming chamber and the second warming chamber;
The refrigerating/heating device includes a suction unit that suctions gas from the first heating chamber and sends the gas to an inside of the wall portion,
The wall portion has an opening portion that opens toward the second warming chamber,
The second heating chamber is provided with a protruding portion facing the opening. A refrigeration/heating device having a storage chamber capable of storing items therein,
The storage chamber includes:
A refrigeration chamber capable of cooling the stored items;
A warming chamber capable of heating the stored items,
The warming chamber comprises:
A first warming room;
A second warming chamber adjacent to the first warming chamber;
A wall portion that is configured to allow gas to flow therethrough and separates the first warming chamber from the second warming chamber;
a circulating portion provided on the wall portion or a side of the wall portion, which allows gas to flow between the first warming chamber and the second warming chamber;
The refrigerating/heating device includes a suction unit that suctions gas from the first heating chamber and sends the gas to an inside of the wall portion,
The wall portion has an opening portion that opens toward the second warming chamber,
The suction unit is provided above the warming chamber,
The opening is provided below the wall portion,
The second heating chamber is provided with a protruding portion extending upward and facing the opening. The cooling/heating device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the protrusion is higher than the opening.

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