storage

Abstract

This disclosure provides a storage facility that can improve visibility inside the storage facility and suppress the occurrence of condensation. [Solution] The storage facility in this disclosure comprises an upper storage facility with an upper display room, a lower storage facility with a lower display room, and a gap between the upper storage facility and the lower storage facility, wherein a transparent member is provided inside the lower storage facility, and a lighting member is arranged inside the gap to irradiate light into the lower display room through the transparent member.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a storage cabinet.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preventing dew condensation generated on a glass door by blowing heated outside air onto the glass door of a refrigerated and frozen display cabinet including an upper case and a lower case.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] This disclosure provides a storage cabinet capable of improving the visibility inside the storage cabinet and suppressing the generation of dew condensation.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The storage cabinet in this disclosure includes an upper storage cabinet provided with an upper display chamber inside a housing, a lower storage cabinet provided with a lower display chamber, and a gap portion located between the upper storage cabinet and the lower storage cabinet. In the lower storage cabinet, a transparent member is provided, and inside the gap portion, a lighting member for irradiating light into the lower display chamber through the transparent member is arranged.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] In this disclosure, the storage compartment has lighting components located outside the lower storage compartment, illuminating the interior of the lower display compartment from outside the lower storage compartment. Therefore, condensation inside the lower storage compartment due to heat generated by the lighting components can be prevented. In addition, since the lighting components are located outside the lower storage compartment, a decrease in cooling efficiency due to heat generated by the lighting components can be prevented. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Perspective view of the storage facility in Embodiment 1 [Figure 2] Cross-sectional view of the storage facility in Embodiment 1 [Figure 3] Perspective view showing the surrounding structure of the lighting component in Embodiment 1 [Figure 4] Enlarged view of the main part showing a cross-section of the lighting component in Embodiment 1. [Figure 5] Enlarged view of the main part of the storage facility in Embodiment 1 [Figure 6] Side view of the storage room in Embodiment 1 [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] (Knowledge and other information that formed the basis of this disclosure) At the time the inventors conceived of this disclosure, a refrigerated storage unit equipped with an upper storage compartment and a lower storage compartment was known. In conventional refrigerated storage units, a technique is known in which a lighting component is placed inside the lower storage compartment to illuminate it. However, when a lighting component is placed inside the lower storage compartment, there is a concern that condensation may occur due to the heat generated by the lighting component. Alternatively, a technique is known in which a lighting component is placed outside the lower storage compartment to illuminate it from the top surface of the glass door. However, when a lighting component is placed outside the lower storage compartment, there is a concern that the glass door will reflect the light from the lighting component, reducing visibility inside the lower storage compartment. The inventors discovered these problems and, in order to solve them, came to constitute the subject matter of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure provides a storage facility equipped with an upper storage compartment and a lower storage compartment that can improve visibility inside the lower storage compartment and suppress the occurrence of condensation.

[0009] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, some unnecessarily detailed explanations may be omitted. For example, detailed explanations of already well-known matters or redundant explanations of substantially identical configurations may be omitted. The attached drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand this disclosure and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims. Furthermore, each figure shows the direction of Storage Unit 1 in its installed state with an arrow. The symbol UP indicates upward, the symbol FR indicates forward, and the symbol R indicates right. In the explanation, directions such as front, back, left, right, up, and down are based on Storage Unit 1 in Figure 1 unless otherwise specified.

[0010] (Embodiment 1) Embodiment 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings. [1-1. Structure] [1-1-1. Storage Room Configuration] Figure 1 is a perspective view of storage room 1. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of storage room 1. The storage facility (storage facility) 1 comprises an upper storage facility 10, a lower storage facility 20, a machine room 30, and a housing 5 that houses them. The storage unit 1 in this embodiment is a so-called dual-type showcase that can display and sell goods while cooling the contents of the upper storage unit 10 and the lower storage unit 20.

[0011] As shown in Figure 2, the upper storage compartment 10 is a so-called reach-in type showcase comprising an upper main body case 11 having an opening at the front, a partition wall 12 provided along the inside of the upper main body case 11, and an upper glass door 13 that can be opened and closed at the front opening. The interior of the upper main body case 11 is an upper display chamber 14 where products are displayed. Inside the upper display chamber 14, a plurality of shelves 16 are arranged in multiple tiers.

[0012] The lower storage 20 is a flat showcase including a lower main body case 21 having an opening on its upper surface, a partition wall 22 provided along the inner circumference of the lower main body case 21, and a lower glass door 23 provided on the upper surface of the lower main body case 21 so as to be openable and closable. The interior of the lower main body case 21 is a lower display chamber 24 where products are displayed.

[0013] The lower glass door 23 of the lower storage 20 is arranged to be inclined so that the front is lower. That is, by sliding in the front - rear direction along the inclination, the lower glass door 23 can be opened and closed, and the opening of the lower main body case 21 can be opened and closed.

[0014] Inside the lower main body case 21, a partition wall 22 is provided to partition the periphery of the lower display chamber 24 and insulate the lower display chamber 24.

[0015] Behind the partition wall 12 of the housing, a duct portion 15 is formed. The duct portion 15 communicates with the lower part of the upper display chamber 14. Inside the machine room 30, a compressor 31, a condenser 33, and an expansion mechanism (not shown) etc. are accommodated. Inside the duct portion 15, a cooling device 32 and a blower device 34 are accommodated.

[0016] In this embodiment, the compressor 31, the cooling device 32, the condenser 33, and the expansion mechanism are connected by refrigerant pipes (not shown) to constitute a cooling cycle. There are two compressors 31, two cooling devices 32, and two condensers 33 respectively. Thus, a cooling cycle is constituted for each of the upper storage 10 and the lower storage 20.

[0017] In the cooling cycle for the upper storage compartment 10, the compressor 31 and blower 34 are driven to send the refrigerant that has passed through the condenser 33 and expansion mechanism to the cooling device 32. The refrigerant and the air flowing inside the duct section 15 from the lower part of the upper display compartment 14 exchange heat, thereby cooling the air in the duct section 15 and sending it to the upper part of the upper display compartment 14. In the cooling cycle for the lower storage compartment 20, the lower display compartment 24 is cooled by passing a refrigerant through refrigerant piping (not shown) that is arranged around the lower display compartment 24.

[0018] A transparent member 26 is positioned between the upper surface of the lower main body case 21 and the upper surface of the partition wall 22. The transparent member 26 also functions as a sealing member that prevents the cold air inside the lower storage compartment 20 from being discharged outside the lower storage compartment 20.

[0019] A gap 35 is formed between the lower part of the upper main body case 11 and the upper part of the lower main body case 21 of the housing 5.

[0020] Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the structure around the lighting component 41. Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the main part showing a cross-section around the lighting component 41. Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the main part of the storage unit 1. The gap 35 is provided with a roughly V-shaped shade member 40 that covers the front end of the gap 35. More specifically, the shade member 40 extends inclined from the front lower end of the upper storage compartment 10 to the rear of the storage compartment 1, and is formed to bend and extend towards the rear upper side of the storage compartment 1 near the lower storage compartment 20. In other words, the shade member 40 does not completely close the front end of the gap 35 between the upper storage compartment 10 and the lower storage compartment 20, leaving a gap d between the shade member 40 and the lower glass door 23. This prevents the shade member 40 and the lower glass door 23 from coming into contact when the lower glass door 23 of the lower storage compartment 20 is opened. In this embodiment, the shade member 40 is made of SUS (stainless steel), and the front surface of the storage compartment 1 is a mirror surface 40a.

[0021] A lighting member 41 is positioned behind the shade member 40 via a fixing member 42. In other words, in this embodiment, the lighting member 41 is an external light source located outside the upper storage compartment 10 and the lower storage compartment 20. Light from the lighting component 41 passes through the transparent component 26 and illuminates the inside of the lower display compartment 24.

[0022] [1-2. Effects, etc.] In this embodiment, as shown by arrow A1 in Figure 4, an external lighting member 41 located outside the lower storage compartment 20 illuminates the lower display compartment 24 inside the lower storage compartment 20 through a transparent member 26. That is, unlike the conventional technology in which the lighting member 41 is installed inside the compartment, there is no heat generation from the lighting member 41 inside the lower storage compartment 20. Therefore, the occurrence of condensation inside the lower storage compartment 20 can be suppressed. In addition, because the lower display compartment 24 can be illuminated by the transparent member 26 while maintaining the sealed state inside the lower storage compartment 20, the cooling efficiency and insulation performance inside the lower storage compartment 20 do not deteriorate.

[0023] Furthermore, in conventional storage facilities, when lighting was installed outside the facility, the shade member 40 was made of a translucent resin material. In addition, in conventional storage facilities, the lighting member was positioned so that its front and bottom were covered by the shade member 40, as shown by the dashed line L in Figure 4. As a result, the lighting member 41 illuminated the lower display room 24 through the shade member 40 and the lower glass door 23. Consequently, light reflection and reflections onto the lower glass door 23 occurred, reducing the visibility of products inside the lower display room 24.

[0024] As shown in Figure 4, in this embodiment, the lighting element 41 is positioned away from the lower glass door 23, and is therefore located further back in the storage compartment 1 than in conventional lighting elements. Furthermore, since the shade element 40 is made of SUS (stainless steel), the shade element 40 blocks the light from the lighting element 41 shining from above the lower glass door 23, as shown by arrow A2 in Figure 4. In other words, the amount of light leaking from the gap d between the upper storage compartment 10 and the lower storage compartment 20 is suppressed compared to conventional designs. Therefore, reflection of light on the lower glass door 23 and reflections on the lower glass door 23 are less likely to occur, and the visibility of products inside the lower storage compartment 20 is suppressed.

[0025] Figure 6 is a side view of storage room 1, and the arrows indicate the line of sight of a person trying to view the products displayed in the lower display room 24. In this embodiment, the front surface of the shade member 40 facing the storage compartment 1 is an inclined mirror surface 40a. This makes it less susceptible to the influence of a person's height when viewing products displayed in the lower display compartment 24, allowing products in the lower display compartment 24 to be viewed through the mirror surface 40a of the shade member 40 at various viewing heights. Furthermore, even at a distance from the storage compartment 1, products in the lower display compartment 24 can be viewed through the mirror surface 40a of the shade member 40. Thus, the visibility of products inside the lower display compartment 24 of the storage compartment 1 can be improved.

[0026] Furthermore, since the products displayed in the lower display room 24 are reflected in the mirror surface 40a, the displayed products attract the attention of people intending to purchase them, thereby increasing the effect of attracting customers and making it easier for them to pick up the products, thus lowering the barrier to purchase. In other words, by providing the mirror surface 40a, the effect of so-called volume display can be achieved.

[0027] [1-3. Effects, etc.] Storage unit 1 comprises an upper storage unit 10 with an upper display room 14, a lower storage unit 20 with a lower display room 24, and a gap 35 located between the upper storage unit 10 and the lower storage unit 20, with a transparent member 26 provided inside the lower storage unit 20, and a lighting member 41 arranged inside the gap 35 that shines light into the lower display room 24 through the transparent member 26. According to this, the lighting component 41 is located outside the lower storage compartment 20 and illuminates the inside of the lower display room 24 from outside the lower storage compartment 20. Therefore, it is possible to prevent condensation from occurring inside the lower storage compartment 20 due to the heat generated by the lighting component 41. In addition, since the lighting component 31 is located outside the lower storage compartment 20, it is possible to prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency due to the heat generated by the lighting component 41.

[0028] The lower storage compartment 20 is equipped with a lower glass door 23 that opens and closes an opening on the top surface. Above the lower glass door 23 and at the front end of the gap 35, a shade member 40 with a mirrored surface is provided, and the mirrored surface 40a of the shade member 40 is positioned at an angle toward the lower glass door 23. According to this, even when there is a distance from storage room 1, the inside of the lower storage room 20 can be seen, thus improving the visibility of the inside of the lower storage room 20. In addition, even if the viewpoint height of the person looking into the lower storage room 20 is different, the inside of the lower storage room 20 can be seen through the shade member 40, thus improving the visibility of the inside of the lower storage room 20.

[0029] The shade member 40 functions as a light-blocking plate that blocks the light that the lighting member 41 illuminates on the upper surface of the lower glass door 23. According to this, the shade member 40 blocks the light illuminating the lower glass door 23, thereby preventing light reflection and glare on the lower glass door 23, and improving visibility inside the lower storage compartment 20.

[0030] (Other embodiments) As described above, Embodiment 1 has been presented as an example disclosed in this application. However, the technology in this disclosure is not limited to this and can be applied to embodiments that have been modified, replaced, added, or omitted. Furthermore, it is possible to create new embodiments by combining the components described in Embodiment 1. Therefore, other embodiments are illustrated below.

[0031] In the embodiment described above, an example was explained in which the lower glass door 23 of the lower storage compartment 20 is opened and closed by sliding in the front-to-back direction. However, the opening and closing direction is not particularly limited. For example, the lower glass door 23 may be configured to open and close the lower storage compartment 20 by sliding in the left-to-right direction.

[0032] In the embodiment described above, an example was explained in which a reach-in type showcase is placed at the top and a flat-type showcase is placed at the bottom. However, the type of showcase is not particularly limited, as long as the interior of the showcase located at the bottom of the storage room 1 can be illuminated by the external lighting member 41.

[0033] In the embodiment described above, an example was explained in which a shade member 40 made of SUS was used. However, the material is not limited to this, and is not limited as long as the product inside the lower display room 24 can be seen from the front of the storage room 1 through the shade member 40, provided that the material is mirror-finished or mirror-finished.

[0034] In the embodiment described above, the transparent member 26 was made of a material that transmits light. However, the transparent member 26 may also be made of a material that disperses, diffuses, or refracts light. In other words, it is not particularly limited as long as the interior of the lower display room 24 can be illuminated through the transparent member 26.

[0035] The above-described embodiment illustrates an example of a storage unit 1 configured with a cooling cycle that can cool the inside of the upper storage unit 10 and the inside of the lower storage unit 20. However, the storage unit 1 does not necessarily need to have a cooling cycle. In other words, it may be a storage unit that does not control the temperature inside the upper storage unit and the lower storage unit, and displays goods at room temperature.

[0036] Since the embodiments described above are for illustrative purposes of the technology described herein, various modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc., can be made within the claims or their equivalents.

[0037] (Note) Based on the above description of embodiments, the following technologies are disclosed.

[0038] (Technical 1) A storage facility comprising an upper storage facility having an upper display room, a lower storage facility having a lower display room, and a gap between the upper storage facility and the lower storage facility, wherein a transparent member is provided inside the lower storage facility, and a lighting member is arranged inside the gap to irradiate light into the lower display room through the transparent member. According to this design, the lighting components are located outside the lower storage compartment and illuminate the interior of the lower display compartment from outside the lower storage compartment. Therefore, condensation inside the lower storage compartment due to heat generated by the lighting components can be prevented. In addition, because the lighting components are located outside the lower storage compartment, a decrease in cooling efficiency due to heat generated by the lighting components can be prevented.

[0039] (Technology 2) The storage compartment according to Technology 1, wherein the lower storage compartment is provided with a lower glass door that opens and closes an opening on the upper surface, and a shade member with a mirrored surface is provided above the lower glass door and at the front end of the gap, and the mirrored surface of the shade member is positioned at an angle toward the lower glass door. According to this design, even when there is a distance from the storage area, the interior of the lower storage area can be seen, thus improving visibility of the interior of the lower storage area. Furthermore, even if the viewpoint height of the person viewing the interior of the lower storage area is different, the interior of the lower storage area can be seen through the shade component, further improving visibility of the interior of the lower storage area.

[0040] (Technical 3) The storage facility according to Technical 2, wherein the shade member functions as a light-shielding plate that blocks the light that the lighting member illuminates the upper surface of the lower glass door. According to this, the shade component blocks the light illuminating the lower glass door, preventing light reflection and glare on the lower glass door, thereby improving visibility inside the lower storage compartment. [Industrial applicability]

[0041] As described above, the storage facility according to the present invention can be used to improve the visibility of storage facilities and to prevent condensation. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0042] 1 Storage room 5 cabinets 10 Upper storage 11. Upper main body case 12 Partition walls 13 Upper glass door 14 Upper display room 15 Duct section 16 Display shelf 20 Lower storage 21 Lower main body case 21a Top front edge 22 Partition walls 22a Top front edge 23 Lower glass door 24 Lower display room 25 Cooling section 26 Transparent component 30 Machine room 31 Compressor 32 Cooling device 33 Condenser 34 Blower 35 Gap 40 Shade components 40a mirror surface 41 Lighting components 42 Fixing member

Claims

1. A storage facility comprising, inside the enclosure, an upper storage compartment with an upper display chamber, a lower storage compartment with a lower display chamber, and a gap located between the upper storage compartment and the lower storage compartment, A transparent member is provided inside the lower storage compartment. An illumination member is positioned inside the gap to illuminate the interior of the lower display room through the transparent member. Storage room.

2. The lower storage compartment is equipped with a lower glass door that opens and closes the opening on the top surface. A shade member with a mirrored surface is provided above the lower glass door and at the front end of the gap. The mirror surface of the shade member is positioned at an angle toward the lower glass door. The storage facility according to claim 1.

3. The shade member functions as a light-blocking plate that blocks the light that the lighting member illuminates the upper surface of the lower glass door. The storage facility according to claim 2.

Images