JP7793489B2 - storage facility - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies. 1. July 15th to 16th, 2021: Exhibited and publicly exhibited at GALILEI EXPO 2021. 2. December 2nd to 3rd, 2021: Exhibited and publicly exhibited at Food Store Solutions Fair 2021. 3. February 16th to 18th, 2022: Exhibited and publicly exhibited at Supermarket Trade Show 2022. 4. September 30th, 2021 to July 7th, 2022: Delivered to stores, etc. listed in the attached list.

The present invention relates to storage units such as refrigerated showcases and refrigerators equipped with self-closing sliding doors.

This type of storage cabinet is publicly known, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. The storage cabinet (low-temperature showcase) in Patent Document 1 includes double sliding doors that open and close the front and rear openings of the storage compartment, and an automatic closing device that urges each sliding door in a closing direction. This automatic closing device is composed of an outer cylindrical member fixed to the sliding door, an inner cylindrical member fixed to the storage cabinet body, and a coil spring disposed between one end of the outer cylindrical member and the other end of the inner cylindrical member. When the sliding door is in the fully closed position, the inner cylindrical member is housed inside the outer cylindrical member. When the sliding door is moved in an opening direction from this state, the outer cylindrical member moves together with the sliding door, causing the inner cylindrical member to come out of the outer cylindrical member, and at the same time, the coil spring is stretched. The restoring force of this stretched coil spring urges the outer cylindrical member and sliding door in a closing direction.

The storage cabinet of Patent Document 1 also includes a stopper for holding the sliding door in the fully open position. The stopper is made of a leaf spring and is attached to the top surface of the opening frame of the storage cabinet body. Meanwhile, an upward-protruding screw operating head is located on the top surface of the sliding door, and this operating head engages with the stopper, holding the sliding door in the fully open position. The engagement between the stopper and operating head can be released by closing the sliding door with a force that exceeds the engagement force. After release, the sliding door automatically moves in the closing direction due to the restoring force exerted by the coil spring. By providing a stopper that holds the sliding door in the fully open position in this way, for example, when a user is refilling the storage cabinet with products, there is no need to hold the sliding door down with their hand, thereby improving the efficiency of the refilling process.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-242413

As described above, in the storage cabinet (low-temperature showcase) of Patent Document 1, the sliding door automatically moves in the closing direction due to the restoring force exerted by the coil spring of the self-closing device. This restoring force is usually set to a magnitude that sufficiently exceeds the frictional force between the sliding door and the rail member. This ensures that the sliding door can be reliably moved to the fully closed position, preventing cold air from leaking from the storage compartment, even if the frictional force increases due to dirt buildup or deterioration over time.

However, if the restoring force of the coil spring is increased, the force required to hold the sliding door in the fully open position also increases proportionally. This means that the engagement force of the stopper with the sliding door (the operating head of the screw) needs to be increased. If this engagement force is too large, a large force is required to release the engagement, making it difficult to close the sliding door smoothly.

The object of the present invention is to enable a sliding door to be closed with little force from the fully open position in a storage facility that has a function to hold the sliding door in the fully open position in addition to the self-closing function of the sliding door.

The present invention relates to a storage cabinet in which an opening 2 on the front of a storage chamber 9 is opened and closed by a sliding door 3. The sliding door 3 is guided to slide freely left and right between a fully closed position on one side, which closes the opening 2, and a fully open position on the other side, which opens the opening 2. The storage cabinet is equipped with a self-closing device 32 that always urges the sliding door 3 in the closing direction, and an assisting device 37 that urges the sliding door 3 in the opening direction at least in the fully open position. When the sliding door 3 is in the fully open position, the urging force acting on the sliding door 3 from the assisting device 37 in the opening direction is set to balance or be greater than the urging force acting on the sliding door 3 from the self-closing device 32 in the closing direction.

An opening assist start position is set between the fully closed position and the fully open position, and the assist device 37 biases the sliding door 3 in the opening direction from the opening assist start position to the fully open position. A configuration can be adopted in which the biasing force in the opening direction acting on the sliding door 3 from the assist device 37 until the sliding door 3 reaches the fully open position is set to be greater than the biasing force in the closing direction acting on the sliding door 3 from the self-closing device 32.

The assist device 37 can be configured to include a damper 45 that slows down the sliding door 3 from the opening assistance start position to the fully open position.

A closing assist start position is set between the fully closed position and the opening assist start position, and the assist device 37 urges the sliding door 3 in the closing direction from the closing assist start position to the fully closed position, while the damper 45 decelerates the sliding door 3.

The storage cabinet of the present invention is equipped with a self-closing device 32 that constantly biases the sliding door 3 in the closing direction, and an assist device 37 that biases the sliding door 3 in the opening direction at least in the fully open position. When the sliding door 3 is in the fully open position, the biasing force in the opening direction acting on the sliding door 3 from the assist device 37 is set to be equal to or greater than the biasing force in the closing direction acting on the sliding door 3 from the self-closing device 32. This allows the sliding door 3 to remain stationary in the fully open position by applying a relatively small biasing force in the opening direction (the biasing force of the assist device 37 minus the biasing force of the self-closing device 32) or by not applying any biasing force (balancing). Furthermore, by applying a relatively small biasing force in the opening direction or by not applying any biasing force (balancing) to the sliding door 3 that is stationary in the fully open position, as described above, the sliding door 3 can be easily closed with little force.

By setting the opening direction biasing force acting on the sliding door 3 from the assist device 37 to be greater than the closing direction biasing force acting on the sliding door 3 from the self-closing device 32 while the sliding door 3 is moving from the opening assist start position to the fully open position, the sliding door 3 can be automatically moved in the opening direction from the assist start position to the fully open position. In other words, when opening the sliding door 3 from the fully closed position to the fully open position, the user only needs to move it to the opening assist start position just before the fully open position, improving user convenience.

By providing a damper 45 that slows the sliding door 3 from the opening assistance start position to the fully open position, the sliding door 3 can be moved gently to the fully open position. This prevents unpleasant noise caused by the sliding door 3 hitting the edge of the opening 2 hard in the fully open position, as well as accidents such as the user getting their fingers caught between the sliding door 3 and the edge of the opening 2.

If the assist device 37 urges the sliding door 3 in the closing direction from the closing assistance start position to the fully closed position, the sliding door 3 at that position can be urged closed by both the self-closing device 32 and the assist device 37. This ensures that the sliding door 3 moves to the fully closed position and remains in the fully closed position after it moves, reliably preventing cold air from leaking from the storage compartment 9. Furthermore, by slowing the sliding door 3 as it moves toward the fully closed position with the damper 45, it can be moved gently to the fully closed position. This prevents unpleasant noises caused by the sliding door 3 violently hitting the edge of the opening 2 when in the fully closed position, as well as accidents such as the user getting their fingers caught between the sliding door 3 and the edge of the opening 2.

1 is a front view showing a mechanism for moving the upper part of a sliding door of a refrigerated showcase according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the assist device. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the sliding door movement mechanism. 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams illustrating the operation of the moving mechanism of the sliding door.

(Embodiment) An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a refrigerated showcase is shown in Figures 1 to 7. In this embodiment, front, back, left, right, and top and bottom refer to the crossed arrows shown in Figures 2 and 3 and the indications near each arrow. In both figures, the refrigerated showcase comprises a case body 1 formed in the shape of a vertically long rectangular parallelepiped and a sliding door 3 that opens and closes an opening 2 on the front of the case body 1. A handle 4 for opening and closing the sliding door 3 is provided on the outer surface, i.e., the closed end of the front, of the sliding door 3. The case body 1 is composed of an insulated box body 5 that occupies the majority of the case body 1 and an upper frame 6 that is continuous with the upper front end of the insulated box body 5. The upper frame 6 is formed long in the left-right direction and forms the upper edge of the opening 2 of the case body 1.

The storage compartment 9, surrounded by the case body 1 and the sliding door 3, is divided into a display section 11 and a circulation passage 12 by an inner case 10 that is U-shaped in side view. The display section 11, facing the opening 2, has multiple shelves 13 arranged vertically for placing products (refrigerated items). The circulation passage 12, which is U-shaped in side view and surrounds the display section 11 on three sides, is equipped with a circulation fan 14 for creating an airflow within the passage 12 and an evaporator 15 for cooling the air flowing through the passage 12. A downward-facing air outlet 16 is provided at the upper front end of the circulation passage 12, and an upward-facing air inlet 17 is provided at the lower front end.

When the refrigerated showcase is in cooling operation, low-temperature liquid refrigerant is supplied to the evaporator 15 from a freezing unit (not shown), and the circulation fan 14 is driven. This cools the air passing through the evaporator 15 and blows it downward from the air outlet 16 to the air inlet 17, forming an air curtain of cool air in front of the display section 11. This air curtain cools the air inside the display section 11 and blocks outside air from entering the display section 11 when the sliding door 3 is open.

A ventilation unit 20 is provided at the upper front end of the refrigerated showcase, sending room-temperature outside air toward the front of each sliding door 3. In Figures 3 and 4, the ventilation unit 20 includes a canopy 22 that defines an air passage 21 between itself and the top surface of the case body 1, a ventilation fan 23 disposed within the air passage 21, and a support frame 24 that supports the ventilation fan 23. The air passage 21 is formed in a horizontal L-shape in side view, and includes a rearward-facing air intake vent 25 facing the rear of the upper surface of the insulated box body 5 and a downward-facing exhaust vent 26 facing the front of the sliding door 3. The air passage 21 (canopy 22) is formed over substantially the entire length of the case body 1 in the left-right direction, and the ventilation fans 23 are disposed at four locations along the left-right direction of the air passage 21 (see Figure 2). By driving each blower fan 23 and blowing room-temperature outside air through the exhaust port 26 to the front of each sliding door 3, condensation on the front surface can be suppressed and outside air can be prevented from entering the storage compartment 9 when the sliding door 3 is open.

A pair of front and rear guide rails 29 that guide the sliding door 3 in the left-right direction are fixed to the underside of the front end of the upper frame 6. Each guide rail 29 is made of a strip extending left and right and has a C-shaped cross section that opens downward. As shown in Figure 1, a pair of left and right runners 30 and 31 that run along the guide rails 29 are attached to the upper end of each sliding door 3. Of these, the runner 30 on the closed end is connected to an automatic closing device 32 that biases the sliding door 3 in the closing direction. The automatic closing device 32 is a power spring unit and is composed of a unit case 33 fixed to the inner surface (rear surface) of the front wall of the upper frame 6, a wire 34 housed in a wound state within the unit case 33, and a power spring (not shown) that biases the wire 34 in the rewinding direction. The drawn-out end of the wire 34 is connected to the runner 30 on the closed end, and the sliding door 3 is biased in the closing direction via the runner 30. The automatic closing device 32 always biases the sliding door 3 in the closing direction, regardless of its position. The automatic closing device 32 may be connected to the runner 31 on the opening end side, or may be connected directly to the sliding door 3.

The sliding door 3 is biased by an assist device 37 in addition to the self-closing device 32. The assist device 37 biases the sliding door 3 in the closing direction at the fully closed position and its vicinity, and biases the door 3 in the opening direction at the fully open position and its vicinity. Specifically, the assist device 37 includes a device main body 38 that runs on the guide rail 29 together with runners 30 and 31, and a pair of left and right switching devices 39 and 40 that protrude downward from the upper wall of the guide rail 29. One end of the device main body 38 is connected to the runner 31 on the open end side, and a running roller 41 that rolls on the guide rail 29 is attached to the other end of the device main body 38. The device main body 38 may also be connected to the runner 30 on the closed end side.

Specifically, the device main body 38 is constructed by housing a cylindrical damper 45, a tension coil-type energy storage spring 46, and a pair of left and right sliders 47 and 48 inside a long casing 44. Each slider 47 and 48 can slide independently left and right relative to the casing 44, with the damper 45 and energy storage spring 46 positioned between the sliders 47 and 48. The damper 45 includes a cylinder connected to one slider 47 (the closed end) and a rod connected to the other slider 48 (the open end). One end of the energy storage spring 46 is connected to one slider 47, and the other end of the energy storage spring 46 is connected to the other slider 48. The closed end slider 47 and the open end slider 48 can each be engaged with and disengaged from the corresponding switching device 39 and 40. Stoppers (not shown) are provided at both ends of the casing 44 to hold the sliders 47 and 48 when they reach the ends of their slide strokes.

Figure 5(a) shows the assist device 37 when the sliding door 3 is in the fully closed position, with the slider 47 on the closed end engaged with the switch 39 on the same side. Meanwhile, the slider 48 on the open end is positioned at the end of its slide stroke and is held in place by a stopper provided on the casing 44. The force storage spring 46 exerts a biasing force in a direction that pulls the slider 48 on the open end, i.e., in the direction of closing the sliding door 3, relative to the slider 47 on the closed end, which is fixed to the guide rail 29. This biasing force acts on the sliding door 3 from the slider 48 on the open end via the casing 44 and runner 31. At this time, the force storage spring 46 is close to its natural length, and the biasing force exerted by the force storage spring 46 is relatively small. In the fully closed position, the sliding door 3 is supported by the side edge of the opening 2.

Figure 5(b) shows the assist device 37 in a state where both sliders 47, 48 are separated from the switching devices 39, 40 and are not exerting a biasing force on the sliding door 3. In this state, each slider 47, 48 is held by a stopper on the casing 44 at the end of its slide stroke. Between both sliders 47, 48, the force storage spring 46 is stretched and in a force storage state, and the rod of the damper 45 is extended relative to the cylinder.

Figure 5(c) shows the assist device 37 when the sliding door 3 is in the fully open position, with the slider 48 on the open end side engaged with the switching device 40 on the same side. Meanwhile, the slider 47 on the closed end side is positioned at the end of its slide stroke and is held by a stopper provided on the casing 44. The force storage spring 46 exerts a biasing force in a direction that pulls the slider 47 on the closed end side, i.e., in the opening direction of the sliding door 3, based on the slider 48 on the open end side, which is fixed to the guide rail 29. This biasing force acts on the sliding door 3 from the slider 47 on the closed end side via the casing 44 and the runner 31. At this time, the force storage spring 46 is close to its natural length, and the biasing force exerted by the force storage spring 46 is relatively small. When the sliding door 3 is in the fully open position, the runner 31 on the open end side is received by a bumper block 52 (see Figure 6) provided within the guide rail 29.

Figure 7 shows the operation of the automatic closing device 32 and the assist device 37 when the sliding door 3 moves from the fully closed position to the fully open position. In the fully closed position shown in (a), the sliding door 3 is biased in the closing direction by both the automatic closing device 32 and the assist device 37. When the sliding door 3 moves in the opening direction from this fully closed position, the runner 30 on the closing end side moves accordingly while pulling out the wire 34, and the runner 31 on the opening end side also moves accordingly, dragging the casing 44 along. The slider 47 on the closing end side does not move accordingly because it is engaged with the switching device 39; in other words, it moves relative to the casing 44 in the closing direction. When the slider 47 reaches the end of its sliding stroke, it is held by a stopper provided on the casing 44, as shown in (b).

When the sliding door 3 moves further in the opening direction from position (b), the slider 47 and the switching device 39 are disengaged as shown in (c). In this state, the assist device 37 does not exert any biasing force, but the self-closing device 32 still exerts a biasing force, so when the user releases the handle 4, the sliding door 3 automatically moves to the fully closed position. However, the biasing force acting on the sliding door 3 in the closing direction at position (c) is smaller than the same biasing force after passing position (b).

When the sliding door 3 moves further in the opening direction from position (c), the slider 48 on the opening end side engages with the switching device 40 as shown in (d). The position of the sliding door 3 at this time is defined as the opening assist start position. Simultaneously with this engagement, the slider 48 separates from the stopper of the casing 44, and the spring force stored in the force storage spring 46 is released. At this time, the force storage spring 46 exerts a biasing force in the direction of pulling the slider 47 on the closing end side, i.e., in the opening direction of the sliding door 3, based on the slider 48 on the opening end side fixed to the guide rail 29. This biasing force in the opening direction is greater than the biasing force in the closing direction acting on the sliding door 3 from the automatic closing device 32. Therefore, from the opening assist start position shown in (d) to the fully open position shown in (e), the sliding door 3 is biased to open by a force obtained by subtracting the biasing force in the closing direction of the automatic closing device 32 from the biasing force in the opening direction of the assist device 37. During this process, the spring force stored in the energy storage spring 46 is released relatively slowly due to the buffering effect exerted by the damper 45 (which is exerted when the rod retracts into the cylinder). In other words, the damper 45 decelerates the sliding door 3 from the opening assistance start position to the fully open position.

When the sliding door 3 reaches the fully open position (e), the force storage spring 46 has contracted to a length close to its natural length, and the closing force acting on the sliding door 3 from the force storage spring 46 at this time is significantly smaller than the same force immediately after the slider 48 separates from the stopper of the casing 44. However, compared to the closing force acting on the sliding door 3 from the self-closing device 32, this force is equal to or slightly greater than that, so the sliding door 3 stops in the fully open position. By having the sliding door 3 stop in the fully open position, the user does not need to hold the sliding door 3 with their hand when refilling the storage compartment 9 with products, thereby improving the efficiency of the refilling operation.

To close the sliding door 3 from the fully open position to the fully closed position, it is sufficient to move the sliding door 3 to the opening assist start position (d) and disengage the slider 48 on the opening end from the switching device 40; from then on, the sliding door 3 will automatically move to the fully closed position. As described above, when the sliding door 3 is in the fully open position (e), a relatively small opening force, calculated by subtracting the force of the self-closing device 32 from the force of the assist device 37, acts on the sliding door 3, or no force acts on it (they are balanced), and therefore the sliding door 3 can be moved easily with little force.

When the slider 48 on the opening end side separates from the switching device 40, only the closing-direction biasing force of the self-closing device 32 acts on the sliding door 3, as shown in (c). Therefore, the sliding door 3 automatically moves in the closing direction, and eventually the slider 47 on the closing end side engages with the switching device 39, as shown in (b). The position of the sliding door 3 at this time is defined as the closing assist start position. Simultaneously with this engagement, the slider 47 separates from the stopper of the casing 44, and the spring force stored in the force storage spring 46 is released. At this time, the force storage spring 46 exerts a biasing force in the direction of pulling the slider 48 on the opening end side, i.e., in the direction of closing the sliding door 3, based on the slider 47 on the closing end side, which is fixed to the guide rail 29. In other words, the sliding door 3 is biased to close by both the self-closing device 32 and the assist device 37, from the closing assist start position to the fully closed position. During this process, the spring force stored in the energy storage spring 46 is released relatively slowly due to the buffering effect of the damper 45. In other words, the damper 45 decelerates the sliding door 3 from the closing assistance start position to the fully closed position.

As described above, the refrigerated showcase according to this embodiment includes a self-closing device 32 that constantly biases the sliding door 3 in the closing direction, and an assist device 37 that biases the sliding door 3 in the opening direction at and near the fully open position. When the sliding door 3 is in the fully open position, the biasing force in the opening direction acting on the sliding door 3 from the assist device 37 is set to be equal to or greater than the biasing force in the closing direction acting on the sliding door 3 from the self-closing device 32. This allows the sliding door 3 to remain stationary in the fully open position by applying a relatively small biasing force in the opening direction (the biasing force of the assist device 37 minus the biasing force of the self-closing device 32) or by not applying any biasing force (balancing) to the sliding door 3 in the fully open position. Furthermore, by applying a relatively small biasing force in the opening direction or by not applying any biasing force (balancing) to the sliding door 3 that is stationary in the fully open position, as described above, the sliding door 3 can be easily closed with little force.

By setting the opening direction biasing force acting on the sliding door 3 from the assist device 37 to be greater than the closing direction biasing force acting on the sliding door 3 from the self-closing device 32 while the sliding door 3 is moving from the opening assist start position to the fully open position, the sliding door 3 can be automatically moved in the opening direction from the assist start position to the fully open position. In other words, when opening the sliding door 3 from the fully closed position to the fully open position, the user only needs to move it to the opening assist start position just before the fully open position, improving user convenience.

By providing a damper 45 that slows the sliding door 3 from the opening assistance start position to the fully open position, the sliding door 3 can be moved gently to the fully open position. This prevents unpleasant noise caused by the sliding door 3 hitting the edge of the opening 2 hard in the fully open position, as well as accidents such as the user getting their fingers caught between the sliding door 3 and the edge of the opening 2.

If the assist device 37 urges the sliding door 3 in the closing direction from the closing assistance start position to the fully closed position, the sliding door 3 at that position can be urged closed by both the self-closing device 32 and the assist device 37. This ensures that the sliding door 3 moves to the fully closed position and remains in the fully closed position after it moves, reliably preventing cold air from leaking from the storage compartment 9. Furthermore, by slowing the sliding door 3 as it moves toward the fully closed position with the damper 45, it can be moved gently to the fully closed position. This prevents unpleasant noises caused by the sliding door 3 violently hitting the side edge of the opening 2 when in the fully closed position, as well as accidents such as the user getting their fingers caught between the sliding door 3 and the side edge of the opening 2.

In addition to a spring unit, the self-closing device 32 may also be one that uses a coil spring, as in Patent Document 1, or a guide rail 29 that slopes gently downward in the closing direction. In particular, if the left-to-right dimension of the opening 2 is relatively large, it is desirable to use a self-closing device 32 that uses a constant force spring (constant spring), which prevents the sliding door 3 from being biased more strongly in the closing direction than necessary at or near the fully open position. In this invention, the form of the sliding door 3 is not limited to a double sliding door, and the invention can also be applied to a storage facility where the opening 2 is opened and closed by a single sliding door 3, for example.

2 Opening 3 Sliding door 9 Storage chamber 29 Guide rails 30, 31 Runner 32 Self-closing device 37 Assist device 38 Device body 39, 40 Switching device 45 Damper 46 Energy storage spring 47, 48 Slider

Claims (3)

A storage facility in which an opening (2) on the front of a storage chamber (9) is opened and closed by a sliding door (3),
The sliding door (3) is guided to slide freely in the left-right direction between a fully closed position on one side (left or right) that closes the opening (2) and a fully open position on the other side (left or right) that opens the opening (2).
The door is provided with a self-closing device (32) that always biases the sliding door (3) in the closing direction, and an assist device (37) that biases the sliding door (3) in the opening direction at least at the fully open position,
When the sliding door (3) is in a fully open position, the biasing force in the opening direction acting on the sliding door (3) from the assist device (37) is set to be equal to or greater than the biasing force in the closing direction acting on the sliding door (3) from the self-closing device (32),
The opening assist start position is set between the fully closed position and the fully open position.
The assist device (37) biases the sliding door (3) in the opening direction from the opening assist start position to the fully open position,
This storage facility is characterized in that the biasing force in the opening direction acting on the sliding door (3) from the assist device (37) during the time when the sliding door (3) reaches a fully open position from an opening assist start position is set to be larger than the biasing force in the closing direction acting on the sliding door (3) from the self-closing device (32) . 2. The storage facility according to claim 1, wherein the assist device (37) includes a damper (45) that decelerates the sliding door (3) from the opening assistance start position to the fully open position . The closing assist start position is set between the fully closed position and the opening assist start position,
3. The storage facility according to claim 2 , wherein the assist device (37) biases the sliding door (3) in the closing direction from the closing assistance start position to the fully closed position, and the damper (45) decelerates the sliding door (3) .