Cooling box

Abstract

To provide a cooling box with a drain water evaporation structure including an evaporating fan, for promoting exhausting heat of hot air in a machine chamber while efficiently evaporating drain water.SOLUTION: An evaporating fan 25 is arranged above an evaporation pan 24 in an inclining attitude that a blowing direction is oriented obliquely downward so that, in hot air delivered from the evaporating fan 25, a rear blowing area heading to drain water 23 in the evaporation pan 24 and a front blowing area heading to an exhaust heat hole 21 in front of the evaporation pan 24 are formed. The hot air constituting the rear blowing area is blown to the drain water 23 in the evaporation pan 24 to allow efficient evaporation of the drain water 23. The hot air constituting the front blowing area can be smoothly exhausted from the exhaust heat hole 21 to the outside of a machine chamber 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an improvement in a drain water evaporation structure for evaporating drain water such as condensation water, defrosting water, or interior cleaning water generated in a cooling cabinet such as a refrigerated showcase or a commercial refrigerator. [Background technology]

[0002] In the drain water evaporation structure according to the present invention, the evaporation fan for blowing air to the evaporation tray is installed in an inclined position, and this configuration is known from Patent Document 1. The drain water evaporation structure of a cooling cabinet (cooling storage cabinet) of Patent Document 1 is composed of an evaporation tray provided on the lower surface of the bottom wall of a machine room that houses a condenser, etc., and an evaporation fan arranged inside the machine room and blowing air to the evaporation tray through an air hole formed in the bottom wall of the machine room. The evaporation fan of embodiment 8 (FIG. 25) of Patent Document 1 is in an inclined position with its rear end edge positioned lower than its front end side, and the air flow generated by the fan is sent diagonally forward and downward. The air blowing direction of the evaporation fan does not match the opening area of ​​the air hole, and most of the rear side of the air flow generated by the evaporation fan heads toward the evaporation tray and is used to evaporate the drain water, but a part of the front side of the air flow collides with the upper surface of the bottom wall and heads toward the front of the machine room along the bottom wall. The evaporating dish is attached to the underside of the bottom wall via a pair of left and right support rails, and a cutout portion is formed at the boundary between these support rails and the bottom wall for venting steam generated from the evaporating dish. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-185062 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As described above, in Patent Document 1, most of the airflow generated by the evaporation fan on the rear side is directed toward the evaporation tray, but a portion of the airflow on the front side is directed forward along the bottom wall. Therefore, the airflow that flows forward along the bottom wall flows into an area that does not contribute to the evaporation of drain water at all. On the other hand, the air inside the machine room is hot air heated by the condenser, so it is necessary to have a structure that reliably exhausts this hot air and dissipates heat outside the machine room, and building a more efficient heat dissipation structure is also an important issue for this type of cooling cabinet.

[0005] The present invention has been made with the aim of solving the problems associated with conventional cooling cabinets as described above, and aims to promote the dissipation of heat from hot air in the machine compartment while efficiently evaporating drain water in a cooling cabinet equipped with a drain water evaporation structure including an evaporation fan. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The cooling box of the present invention includes a storage chamber 1 in which stored items are stored, an evaporator 4 for cooling the storage chamber 1, and a machine chamber 2 provided adjacent to the storage chamber 1. Inside the machine chamber 2, a condenser 10, a compressor 12, a condenser fan 11 for drawing air from the outside of the machine chamber 2, and a drain water evaporation structure 13 for evaporating drain water 23 generated in the storage chamber 1. The drain water evaporation structure 13 includes an evaporation tray 24 arranged in front of the machine chamber 2 in which the drain water 23 is stored, and an evaporation fan 25 arranged above the evaporation tray 24 for blowing hot air exhausted from the condenser 10 onto the drain water 23 stored in the evaporation tray 24. A front panel 6 that partitions the machine chamber 2 is formed with a heat exhaust hole 21 for exhausting hot air in the machine chamber 2 to the outside of the machine chamber 2. The evaporation fan 25 is disposed above the evaporation dish 24 in an inclined position with the airflow direction directed diagonally downward and forward, and the hot air blown out from the evaporation fan 25 forms a rear airflow area directed toward the drain water 23 in the evaporation dish 24 and a front airflow area directed toward the heat exhaust hole 21 forward of the evaporation dish 24.

[0007] The evaporation fan 25 includes a housing 41 having an air passage 40 extending from the intake surface at the rear to the exhaust surface at the front, a rotor body 42 assembled within the air passage 40, and a motor 43 for rotating the rotor body 42. The evaporation fan 25 is an axial fan that draws in hot air from the intake surface and sends it out from the exhaust surface, and is disposed above the evaporation dish 24 so that the air blowing direction determined by the extension direction of the output shaft 44 of the motor 43 is directed diagonally downward. When the extension direction of the output shaft 44 of the motor 43 is defined as the axial direction (d1), a plane perpendicular to the axial direction (d1) is defined as a virtual plane (VP), the area formed by extending the opening edge of the ventilation passage 40 in the axial direction (d1) and projecting it onto the virtual plane (VP) is defined as the air blowing area (Va), the point formed by extending the corner portion (C1) of the front lower end of the evaporating dish 24 in the axial direction (d1) and projecting it onto the virtual plane (VP) is defined as a first projection point (P1), and the point formed by extending the opening edge (E1) of the heat exhaust hole 21 located away from the evaporating dish 24 in the axial direction (d1) and projecting it onto the virtual plane (VP) is defined as a second projection point (P2), these first and second projection points (P1, P2) are configured to exist within the air blowing area (Va).

[0008] The evaporation tray 24 includes a bottom wall 27, a peripheral side wall 28 rising from the outer periphery of the bottom wall 27, and a horizontal flange wall 29 formed by projecting outward from the upper end of the peripheral side wall 28a located in the front. The evaporation tray 24 is fixed in the machine chamber 2 with the flange wall 29 in contact with the front panel 6. Effect of the Invention

[0009] As in the present invention, the evaporation fan 25 is disposed above the evaporation tray 24 in an inclined position with the airflow direction directed obliquely downward, and the hot air blown out from the evaporation fan 25 is formed with a rear airflow area toward the drain water 23 in the evaporation tray 24 and a front airflow area toward the heat exhaust hole 21 in front of the evaporation tray 24. By blowing the hot air constituting the rear airflow area onto the drain water 23 in the evaporation tray 24, the drain water 23 can be efficiently evaporated, and the hot air constituting the front airflow area can be smoothly exhausted from the heat exhaust hole 21 to the outside of the machine room 2. As described above, according to the present invention, the evaporation fan 25 can be given not only the evaporation promotion effect of the drain water 23, but also the heat exhaust promotion effect of exhausting the hot air in the machine room 2 to the outside of the machine room 2, so that the drain water 23 in the evaporation tray 24 can be efficiently evaporated while the heat exhaust of the hot air in the machine room 2 can be promoted.

[0010] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 7, if a first projection point (P1) related to the corner portion (C1) at the lower front end of the evaporating dish 24 and a second projection point (P2) related to the opening edge (E1) of the heat exhaust hole 21 located at a position away from the evaporating dish 24 are configured to exist inside the air blowing area (Va) on a virtual plane (VP) defined by the opening edge of the ventilation passage 40 of the housing 41 constituting the evaporating fan 25, hot air can be more reliably blown onto the drain water 23 in the evaporating dish 24 and hot air can be more reliably exhausted from the machine room 2 through the heat exhaust hole 21. If the first projection point (P1) is off to the rear of the air blowing area (Va), hot air cannot be directly blown onto the drain water 23 remaining at the bottom of the evaporating dish 24, resulting in a decrease in evaporation efficiency. If the second projection point (P2) is located forwardly away from the airflow area (Va), more hot air will be directed outside the opening area of ​​the heat exhaust hole 21, resulting in a decrease in the heat exhaust efficiency.

[0011] When the evaporation tray 24 includes a bottom wall 27, a peripheral side wall 28 rising from the outer periphery of the bottom wall 27, and a horizontal flange wall 29 formed by projecting outward from the upper end of the peripheral side wall 28a located in the front, and the flange wall 29 is fixed in the machine room 2 with the flange wall 29 in contact with the front panel 6, the flange wall 29 can fill the gap between the peripheral side wall 28a of the evaporation tray 24 and the front panel 6 of the machine room 2, so that it is possible to prevent the hot air sent from the evaporation fan 25 from entering between the peripheral side wall 28a and the front panel 6. This can prevent the hot air from flowing into an area that does not contribute to the evaporation of the drain water, so that it is possible to prevent a decrease in the heat exhaust efficiency. In addition, the hot air containing the steam of the evaporated drain water 23 can be directed through the flange wall 29 to the heat exhaust hole 21 and discharged to the outside of the machine room 2. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of a drain water evaporation structure constituting a cooling box according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2, and is a horizontal plan view of the machine room. [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. [Figure 6] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. [Figure 7] 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining the positional relationship between the evaporation fan, the evaporation tray, and the heat exhaust hole, and (a) and (b) show the positional relationship between the first and second projection points in the air blowing area on an imaginary plane. [Figure 8] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining the positional relationship between the evaporation fan, evaporation tray, and heat exhaust hole in a cooling cabinet according to another embodiment, and (a) and (b) show the positional relationship between the first and second projection points in the air blowing area on a virtual plane. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] (Embodiment) Fig. 1 to Fig. 7 show an embodiment in which a cooling box according to the present invention is applied to a showcase. In this embodiment, front, back, left, right, and up and down refer to the crossed arrows shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 3 and the indications of front, back, left, right, and up and down written near each arrow. As shown in Fig. 2, the showcase comprises a storage chamber 1 in which stored items are stored, and a machine chamber 2 arranged below the storage chamber 1. The front opening of the storage chamber 1 can be opened and closed by a pair of left and right doors 3, 3. An evaporator 4 for cooling the interior of the cabinet is provided above the storage chamber 1.

[0014] As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3, the machine room 2 is partitioned by the bottom of the heat-insulating box 5 constituting the storage room 1, a front panel 6 on the front side, a back panel 7 on the rear side, side walls 8 and 8 on both the left and right sides, and a bottom wall 9. Inside the machine room 2, there are arranged a condenser 10 constituting a cooling mechanism, a condenser fan 11 that takes in outside air into the machine room 2, a pair of left and right compressors 12 and 12 that compress the refrigerant, a drain water evaporation structure 13 that evaporates drain water generated in the storage room 1, and an electrical box 14 that houses a control unit that controls the showcase. As shown in Fig. 3, a partition wall 16 that divides the inside of the machine room 2 into an intake side and an exhaust side is arranged in the center of the left and right direction of the machine room 2, and the condensing device consisting of the condenser 10 and the condenser fan 11 is arranged on the left side (intake side) of the machine room 2, and the drain water evaporation structure 13 is arranged on the right side (exhaust side) of the machine room 2.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 1, the front panel 6 is a horizontally long metal press-molded product including a main wall 17 that occupies the upper half, a louver wall 19 disposed below the main wall 17 and having a louver opening 18, and a horizontal connecting wall 20 that connects the main wall 17 and the louver wall 19. The louver wall 19 is located toward the rear of the main wall 17, and the front panel 6 is formed in a stepped shape as a whole. The louver opening 18 located to the left of the partition wall 16 acts as an intake hole, and the louver opening 18 located to the right of the partition wall 16 acts as an exhaust hole. A heat exhaust hole 21 is provided on the horizontal surface of the connecting wall 20.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 4, a condenser 10 is installed behind the left side of the front panel 6, and a condenser fan 11 is installed behind the condenser 10. When the condenser fan 11 is driven, outside air is sent to the condenser 10 through the left louver opening 18 which serves as an intake hole. The outside air exchanges heat with the refrigerant liquid while passing through the condenser 10 and becomes hot air, then flows to the rear of the machine room 2 in which the compressor 12 is disposed, and is then exhausted through the right louver opening 18 which serves as an exhaust hole and the heat exhaust hole 21.

[0017] As shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the drain water evaporation structure 13 is composed of an evaporation tray 24 arranged in front of the machine room 2 to store the drain water 23, and an evaporation fan 25 arranged above the evaporation tray 24 to blow hot air onto the drain water 23 stored in the evaporation tray 24. The evaporation fan 25 is fixed to a mounting frame 34 of a mounting member 32 that is inclined in a front-upward inclination posture described later, and the direction of air blown from the evaporation fan 25 is diagonally forward and downward. As shown in Figs. 1 and 6, the evaporation tray 24 is based on a bottomed container body that includes a rectangular bottom wall 27 and peripheral side walls 28 that rise from the four sides of the bottom wall 27. A flange wall 29 is formed at the upper end of the peripheral side wall 28 (front wall 28a) located in the front and protrudes horizontally outward. A regulating piece 30 is vertically provided at the front end of the flange wall 29 and contacts the louver wall 19 of the front panel 6. Reference numeral 31 denotes a drain hose that discharges the drain water 23 into the evaporation tray 24. This drain hose 31 is connected to a drain pan (not shown) that receives defrosted water (drain water) dripped from the evaporator 4, and passes through the inside of the storage chamber 1 to reach the machine chamber 2.

[0018] As shown in Figs. 1 and 6, a mounting member 32 for fixing the evaporation fan 25 is provided behind the evaporation dish 24. The mounting member 32 is formed in a hollow box shape including left and right rear plates 33, 33 extending upward along the peripheral side wall 28 (rear side wall 28b) located behind the evaporation dish 24, a mounting frame 34 supported in a front-upward inclined position from the upper ends of the rear plates 33, 33, and a pair of left and right side plates 35, 35 extending upward along the peripheral side walls 28 located on the left and right sides of the evaporation dish 24. The evaporation fan 25 is fixed to the upper surface of the mounting frame 34. A ventilation opening 36 is formed in the center of the mounting frame 34.

[0019] As shown in Figs. 1 and 7, the evaporation fan 25 is a fan unit consisting of a small axial fan, and includes a housing 41 having an air passage 40 extending from the rear intake surface to the front exhaust surface, a rotor 42 assembled in the air passage 40, and a motor 43 for rotating the rotor 42. The housing 41 is a thin, square-shaped resin molded product, and a circular air passage 40 is opened in the center. When the motor 43 rotates, the rotor 42 sends out the hot air sucked in from the intake surface from the exhaust surface. At this time, in this embodiment, it is noted that the hot air sent out from the exhaust surface of the evaporation fan 25 is not all directed toward the drain water 23 in the evaporation tray 24, but is partly directed toward the heat exhaust hole 21. In other words, the hot air blown out from the evaporation fan 25 is configured to form a rear air blowing zone directed toward the drain water 23 in the evaporation tray 24, and a front air blowing zone directed toward the heat exhaust hole 21 in front of the evaporation tray 24.As a result, by blowing the hot air constituting the rear air blowing zone onto the drain water 23 in the evaporation tray 24, the drain water 23 can be efficiently evaporated, and the hot air constituting the front air blowing zone can be smoothly exhausted from the heat exhaust hole 21 to the outside of the machine room 2.

[0020] The blowing direction of hot air from the evaporation fan 25 in this embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to Figures 7(a) and 7(b). First, in Figure 7(a), the symbol "VP" indicates a virtual plane perpendicular to the axial direction (d1) when the extension direction (diagonally downward and forward) of the output shaft 44 of the motor 43 is defined as the axial direction (d1). Also, Figure 7(b) shows the airflow area (Va) appearing on the virtual plane (VP). Here, the area projected onto the virtual plane (VP) by extending the opening edge of the ventilation passage 40 of the housing 41 constituting the evaporation fan 25 in the axial direction (d1) is defined as the airflow area (Va).

[0021] As described above, in this embodiment, the hot air sent out from the evaporation fan 25 is formed with a rear airflow area toward the drain water 23 in the evaporation dish 24 and a front airflow area toward the heat exhaust hole 21 forward of the evaporation dish 24. For this reason, it is preferable that the front end of the evaporation dish 24 on the imaginary plane (VP) is located within the airflow area (Va) on the imaginary plane (VP), and in this embodiment, the projection point (first projection point (P1)) obtained by extending the corner portion (C1) of the front lower end of the evaporation dish 24 in the axial direction (d1) and projecting it onto the imaginary plane (VP) is located within the airflow area (Va) on the imaginary plane (VP). In addition, it is preferable that the front end of the heat exhaust hole 21 is also located within the airflow area (Va), and in this embodiment, the point (second projection point (P2)) obtained by extending the front end (E1) of the opening edge of the heat exhaust hole 21 in the axial direction (d1) and projecting it onto the imaginary plane (VP) is also located within the airflow area (Va) on the imaginary plane (VP). As described above, by making both the first projection point (P1) and the second projection point (P2) exist within the airflow area (Va), the hot air sent out from the evaporation fan 25 can be directed toward the drain water 23 in the evaporation tray 24 and can also be directed into the heat exhaust hole 21. This allows the evaporation fan 25 to not only promote the evaporation of the drain water 23, but also promote the exhaust of heat by exhausting the hot air in the machine chamber 2 to the outside of the machine chamber 2. In addition, according to this embodiment, the drain water 23 in the evaporation tray 24 can be efficiently evaporated while promoting the exhaust of heat from the hot air in the machine chamber 2.

[0022] As described above, according to this embodiment, both the first projection point (P1) related to the corner portion (C1) at the lower front end of the evaporating tray 24 and the second projection point (P2) related to the front end (E1) of the opening edge of the heat exhaust hole 21 are located within the air blowing area (Va) related to the opening edge of the ventilation passage 40 of the evaporating fan 25 on the imaginary plane (VP), so that the evaporating fan 25 can be given not only the evaporation promotion effect of the drain water 23, but also the heat exhaust promotion effect of exhausting the hot air in the machine chamber 2 to the outside of the machine chamber 2. Therefore, the drain water 23 in the evaporating tray 24 can be efficiently evaporated while accelerating the heat exhaust of the hot air in the machine chamber 2.

[0023] In addition, since the evaporation tray 24 is fixed in the machine room 2 with the flange wall 29 in contact with the front panel 6, the flange wall 29 fills the gap between the peripheral side wall 28 of the evaporation tray 24 and the front panel 6, preventing the hot air sent out from the evaporation fan 25 from entering between the peripheral side wall 28 and the front panel 6. This makes it possible to prevent the hot air from flowing into an area that does not contribute to the evaporation of the drain water 23. In addition, the hot air containing the steam of the evaporated drain water 23 can be directed through the flange wall 29 toward the heat exhaust hole 21 and reliably discharged to the outside of the machine room 2.

[0024] FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention. This embodiment differs from the previous embodiment in that the front panel 6 is formed in a flat plate shape rather than a stepped shape. In this embodiment, a louver opening 18 and a heat exhaust hole 21 are provided in the main wall 17 of the front panel 6, and the upper edge of the heat exhaust hole 21 is defined as the "opening edge (E1) of the heat exhaust hole 21 located away from the evaporation dish 24." Other points are the same as in the previous embodiment. Also, both the first projection point (P1) related to the corner portion (C1) at the front lower end of the evaporation dish 24 and the second projection point (P2) related to the upper edge (E1) of the opening edge of the heat exhaust hole 21 are located within the air blowing area (Va) related to the opening edge of the ventilation passage 40 of the evaporation fan 25 on the virtual plane (VP), which is the same as in the previous embodiment.

[0025] The shape of the front panel 6 and the opening positions of the heat exhaust holes 21 in the front panel 6 are not limited to those shown in the previous embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 1. Storage Room 2 Machine room 4. Evaporator 6 Front Panel 10 Condenser 11 Condenser fan 12 Compressor 13 Drain water evaporation structure 21 Heat exhaust hole 23 Drain water 24 Evaporation dish 25 Evaporation fan 27 Bottom Wall 28 Peripheral wall 28a Front wall (peripheral wall) 29 Flange wall 40 Ventilation duct 41 Housing 42 Rotor body 43 Motor 44 Motor output shaft C1 Corner of the bottom front edge of the evaporating dish E1 The opening edge of the exhaust hole located away from the evaporating dish d1 Axial direction P1 First projection point P2 Second projection point Va ventilation area VP Virtual Plane

Claims

1. The storage system includes a storage chamber (1) for storing stored items, an evaporator (4) for cooling the storage chamber (1), and a machine chamber (2) provided adjacent to the storage chamber (1), A cooling cabinet including a condenser (10), a compressor (12), a condenser fan (11) for drawing air from outside the machine room (2), and a drain water evaporation structure (13) for evaporating drain water (23) generated in a storage room (1), inside the machine room (2), The drain water evaporation structure (13) includes an evaporation tray (24) arranged in front of the machine room (2) and storing the drain water (23), and an evaporation fan (25) arranged above the evaporation tray (24) and blowing hot air exhausted from the condenser (10) onto the drain water (23) stored in the evaporation tray (24). A front panel (6) that divides the machine room (2) is formed with a heat exhaust hole (21) for exhausting hot air from within the machine room (2) to the outside of the machine room (2), The evaporative fan (25) is disposed above an evaporative dish (24) in an inclined position with the airflow direction directed diagonally downward and forward, and the hot air blown out from the evaporative fan (25) is formed with a rear airflow area directed toward drain water (23) in the evaporative dish (24) and a front airflow area directed toward a heat exhaust hole (21) forward of the evaporative dish (24).

2. The evaporation fan (25) includes a housing (41) having an air passage (40) extending from the rear intake surface to the front exhaust surface, a rotor (42) assembled in the air passage (40), and a motor (43) for rotating the rotor (42), and is an axial flow fan that sends out hot air sucked in from the intake surface from the exhaust surface, and is disposed above the evaporation tray (24) so ​​that the air blowing direction, which is determined by the extension direction of the output shaft (44) of the motor (43), is directed obliquely downward; 2. The cooling cabinet according to claim 1, wherein the extension direction of an output shaft (44) of a motor (43) is defined as an axial direction (d1), a plane perpendicular to the axial direction (d1) is defined as a virtual plane (VP), an area obtained by extending an opening edge of an air passage (40) in the axial direction (d1) and projecting it onto the virtual plane (VP) is defined as an air blowing area (Va), a point obtained by extending a corner portion (C1) of a front lower end of an evaporating dish (24) in the axial direction (d1) and projecting it onto the virtual plane (VP) is defined as a first projected point (P1), and a point obtained by extending an opening edge (E1) of a heat exhaust hole (21) located away from the evaporating dish (24) in the axial direction (d1) and projecting it onto the virtual plane (VP) is defined as a second projected point (P2), and the first and second projected points (P1, P2) are configured to be present within the air blowing area (Va).

3. The evaporating dish (24) includes a bottom wall (27), a peripheral side wall (28) rising from the outer periphery of the bottom wall (27), and a horizontal flange wall (29) formed by projecting outward from the upper end of the peripheral side wall (28a) located in the front, 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the evaporating dish (24) is fixed in the machine chamber (2) with the flange wall (29) in contact with the front panel (6).

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