Electrical box and cooling storage unit

Abstract

This effectively prevents water from adhering to wiring components that are routed out from the bottom of the electrical box. [Solution] The electrical box 36 comprises an electrical box body 60 having a front opening 60S1 and an insertion opening 61A on its lower surface 61 for pulling out wiring members 39 drawn out from electronic components 37 to the outside, a cover portion 70 that covers the front opening 60S1, and a covering portion 80 that covers the lower surface 61 of the electrical box body 60 and the space below it from the front and sides. The upper part 81 of the covering portion 80 is attached sandwiched between the opening edge 62 of the front opening 60S1 of the electrical box body 60 and the cover portion 70.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present technology relates to an electric box in which electronic components are housed, and a cooling storage refrigerator including the same.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a cooling storage refrigerator in which a metal top plate disposed above a storage room can be used as a cooking table is known, and an example thereof is described in Patent Document 1. The cooling storage refrigerator described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a storage room (accommodation room) and a machine room adjacent to the side of the storage room with a wall therebetween in a horizontally long box-shaped main body. The top plate that also serves as a cooking table is disposed over the entire upper part of the storage room and the machine room. In such a cooling storage refrigerator, water flowing down from the top plate during cooking or cleaning easily enters the machine room.

[0003] Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses an electric box structure provided in a machine room to prevent water from entering an electric box in which electronic components are housed. The electric box described in Patent Document 1 has a covering portion bent and formed on a cover body that covers the front surface and the upper surface of the electric box body. Further, the upper surface of the cover body is inclined. With such a configuration, it is said that water intrusion into the electric box from above can be suppressed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Incidentally, the underside of an electrical box is sometimes provided with an opening for routing cables from electronic components to the outside of the box. Furthermore, a connector may be provided at the end of the routed-out cable. According to the electrical box structure described in Patent Document 1, there is a concern that it may not be possible to reliably prevent situations such as water adhering to the wiring components routed to the outside from the underside of the electrical box and causing a short circuit, or the terminals of the wiring components corroding.

[0006] This technology was developed in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to reliably prevent water from adhering to wiring components that are pulled out from the bottom of the electrical box. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, the electrical box disclosed in this application has the following configuration.

[0008] (1) An electrical box body having a front opening and housing electronic components, the electrical box body having an insertion opening on its lower surface for pulling out wiring members drawn out from the electronic components to the outside of the electrical box body, A cover portion that covers the front opening, The electrical box body is provided with a covering portion that covers the lower surface and the space below the lower surface from the front and the side, The covering portion is an electrical box in which the upper part is sandwiched between the opening edge of the front opening of the main body of the electrical box and the cover portion.

[0009] Furthermore, the electrical box with the above configuration can be made into various forms as shown below.

[0010] (2) The covering portion is made of a sheet-like member, The cover portion comprises a cover body portion that covers the front opening, and a flange portion that extends from the lower end of the cover body portion to cover the front end of the lower surface of the electrical box body portion. The covering portion is sandwiched between the front end of the lower surface of the electrical box body and the flange portion of the cover portion. The electrical component box according to claim (1), wherein the flange portion has a planar shape that does not overlap with the left and right end portions of the front end portion of the lower surface.

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the cooling storage refrigerator disclosed in the present application has the following configuration.

[0012] (3) The electrical component box according to claim (1) or (2), a storage chamber arranged on the side of the electrical component box, and a top plate arranged above the electrical component box and the storage chamber, and includes a cooling storage refrigerator.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] According to this technology, it is possible to surely suppress a situation where water adheres to a wiring member drawn out from the lower surface of the electrical component box to the outside.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014] [Figure 1] Perspective view of the cooling storage refrigerator according to the embodiment [Figure 2] Front cross-sectional view of the cooling storage refrigerator [Figure 3] Exploded perspective view of the cooling storage refrigerator showing a state where the front panel and the electrical component box are removed [Figure 4] Perspective view of the electrical component box [Figure 5] Exploded perspective view of the electrical component box <{ [Figure 6] Exploded perspective view of the electrical component box showing a state where the cover portion is removed [Figure 7] Cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 4 [Figure 8] Perspective view of the electrical component box according to the comparative example [[ID=5{ [Figure 9] Cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 8

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] The cooling refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment of the present technology will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 7. In some parts of the drawings, directions are indicated using the symbols F, B, L, R, U, D, which represent the front side (front), rear side (back), left side, right side, upper side, and lower side, respectively, when the cooling refrigerator 10 is viewed from the front.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the cooling refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment is a two-door horizontal refrigerator (under-counter refrigerator), and includes a horizontally long refrigerator body 12, a pair of double-opening type opening and closing doors 14, and a top plate 16 disposed above the refrigerator body 12. The refrigerator body 12 includes a heat-insulating box body 20 that opens forward, and a center pillar 22 that is attached in a state of extending vertically in the center of the front opening of the heat-insulating box body 20. The pair of opening and closing doors 14 are heat-insulating doors filled with a heat-insulating material inside, and open and close the openings on the left and right sides of the center pillar 22 in the heat-insulating box body 20.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, most of the inside of the heat-insulating box body 20 is a storage chamber R1 for storing items. However, a partition panel 24 is disposed on the left side inside the heat-insulating box body 20, and a cooler chamber R2 is partitioned and formed on the left side of the storage chamber R1. More specifically, the cooler chamber R2 is surrounded by the partition panel 24, a cooler box 26 that is a box body with openings on the right and bottom surfaces, and a mortar-shaped drain pan 28 attached to the lower part of the cooler box 26, and is roughly partitioned and formed by these. The partition panel 24 is provided with a suction port 24A for sucking the air in the storage chamber R1 into the cooler chamber R2 on the lower end side, and a blowout port 24B for blowing the air in the cooler chamber R2 into the storage chamber R1 on the upper end side.

[0018] The refrigerator body 12 also includes a plurality of panels assembled to the left side of the heat-insulating box body 20. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the plurality of panels are side panels 30, a floor panel 31, a front panel 32, etc., and the refrigerator body 12 has a machine room R3 formed by the panels 30, 31, 32, the side wall portion 20D on the left side of the heat-insulating box body 20, the top plate 16, and the like.

[0019] The machine room R3 houses a cooling system 34 for cooling the storage room R1, as well as an electrical box (control box) 36, etc. The cooling system 34 consists of a compressor 38, a condenser 40, an expansion valve, and a cooler 42 housed in the cooler room R2. The compressor 38, condenser 40, and cooler 42 are connected to each other via refrigerant pipes 44, forming a refrigeration cycle that circulates the refrigerant.

[0020] The front of the machine room R3 is covered by a front panel 32. The front panel 32 has multiple vents 32A for taking in outside air and dissipating heat.

[0021] The cooler room R2 houses a cooler 42 and a motor-driven circulation fan 46. This circulation fan 46 is positioned between the cooler 42 and the outlet 24B. During cooling operation, the circulation fan 46 draws air from the storage room R1 into the cooler room R2 through the intake port 24A. The cool air generated by heat exchange as it passes through the cooler 42 is then blown back into the storage room R1 through the outlet 24B. This circulates air between the storage room R1 and the cooler room R2, cooling the storage room R1.

[0022] As shown in Figure 3, the electrical box 36 is located at the front upper part of the machine room R3, behind the front panel 32. The electrical box 36 can be accessed by removing the front panel 32. The electrical box 36 in this embodiment has a vertically elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape, with the upper front part 36A recessed towards the rear. This recessed upper front part 36A is where, for example, an operating section for changing the set temperature of the cooling storage unit 10 is located. The overall shape of the electrical box 36 can be appropriately changed depending on the purpose.

[0023] As shown in Figures 4 to 6, the electrical box 36 broadly comprises an electrical box body 60, a cover 70, and a covering sheet 80 (an example of the covering). The electrical box body 60 and cover 70 are housings made of a waterproof material (e.g., stainless steel). The covering sheet 80 is a waterproof sheet-like member (e.g., a flexible polyvinyl chloride sheet) and is flexible.

[0024] The electrical box body 60 houses electronic components 37, such as a control board that controls the operation of the cooling storage unit 10. The electrical box body 60 is a vertically elongated box shape and has a front opening 60S1 and a top opening 60S2 connected to the front opening 60S1. The electronic components 37 are inspected, replaced, and otherwise maintained through these openings 60S1 and S2. The electrical box body 60 only needs to have at least the front opening 60S1, and the top opening 60S2 is not required.

[0025] An insertion opening 61A is formed on the lower surface 61 of the main body 60 of the electrical box for inserting wiring members 39 (cables, connectors, etc.) that are drawn out from the electronic components 37. The wiring members 39 are shown in Figure 4, and are omitted in other figures to show other components. Wiring members from other devices connected to the electronic components 37 are connected to the wiring members 39. In this embodiment, multiple (three) insertion openings 61A are formed by cutting out the front end 61B of the lower surface 61. Protective members 69 such as grommets are attached to the insertion openings 61A. The wiring members 39 are drawn out from the protective members 69 to the outside of the main body 60 of the electrical box through the insertion openings 61A. The number and shape of the insertion openings 61A can be changed as appropriate, and the protective members 69 do not necessarily have to be provided.

[0026] Of the opening edges that surround the front opening 60S1 of the electrical box body 60, the opening edge 62 on the lower surface 61 side is formed to be wider. The opening edge 62 protrudes upward from the front end 61B of the lower surface 61 and is formed partially at the front end 61B (more specifically, at a position corresponding to the portion not cut out to form the insertion opening 61A). However, the opening edge 62 may be formed over the entire front end 61B of the lower surface 61. The front surface of the opening edge 62 is formed to be flush with the tip surfaces of the front ends 63B of the left and right side surfaces 63 of the electrical box body 60 without any step difference (see Figure 7).

[0027] The cover portion 70 is detachably attached to the opening edge portion 62 of the electrical box body portion 60 by screws. By removing the cover portion 70, maintenance of the electronic components 37 becomes possible. The cover portion 70 has a cover body portion 71 that covers the front opening 60S1 and the top opening 60S2, and a flange portion 72. The cover body portion 71 is plate-shaped and covers the front opening 60S1 and the top opening 60S2.

[0028] The flange portion 72 is formed over almost the entire outer edge of the plate-shaped cover body portion 71. The flange portion 72 extends from the outer edge of the cover body portion 71 so as to overlap with the electrical box body portion 60, reinforcing the cover body portion 71. The lower part 72A of the flange portion 72 extends from the lower end portion 71A of the cover body portion 71 so as to cover the front end portion 61B of the lower surface 61 of the electrical box body portion 60. The lower part 72A of the flange portion 72 has a planar shape that does not overlap with the left and right ends 61B1 and 61B2 of the front end portion 61B. More specifically, the lower part 72A of the flange portion 72 has a cutout in the portion that overlaps with the left and right ends 61B1 and 61B2 of the front end portion 61B, forming an elongated trapezoidal planar shape.

[0029] The covering sheet 80 is provided to cover the lower surface 61 and the space below the lower surface 61 of the electrical box body 60 from the front and the side. As a result, the wiring member 39 that is pulled out through the insertion opening 61A of the lower surface 61 of the electrical box body 60 and extends into the lower surface 61 and the space below the lower surface 61 of the electrical box body 60 is covered from the front and the side by the covering sheet 80. As a result, it is possible to prevent water from adhering to the wiring member 39. The vertical length of the covering sheet 80 is not long enough to cover the entire length of the wiring member from other equipment connected to the wiring member 39, but it is long enough to cover the wiring member 39 from the front and the side.

[0030] The top plate 16 of the cooling storage unit 10 can be used as a cooking surface. Therefore, water can easily seep into the machine room R3 through the vents 32A and gaps of the front panel 32 when cooking or cleaning the top plate 16. In addition, water used to clean dirt adhering to the surface of the front panel 32 may seep into the machine room R3 through the vents 32A and gaps. By providing the covering sheet 80, it is possible to prevent water that has entered the machine room R3 from adhering to the wiring members 39 that are pulled out downward from the lower surface 61 of the electrical box body 60.

[0031] The covering sheet 80 is attached with its upper part 81 sandwiched between the opening edge 62 of the front opening 60S1 of the electrical box body 60 and the cover part 70. First, as shown in Figure 6, the upper part 81 of the covering sheet 80 is attached so as to be wrapped around the lower part of the electrical box body 60. More specifically, the upper part 81 of the covering sheet 80 is attached to the opening edge 62, the lower part of the left and right sides 63, and the lower part of the rear surface 64 near the left and right sides 63. After the covering sheet 80 is attached to the electrical box body 60 in this way, the cover part 70 is attached to the electrical box body 60 by screwing it in place. As a result, the upper part 81 of the covering sheet 80 is attached sandwiched between the opening edge 62 of the electrical box body 60 and the cover part 70.

[0032] By attaching the covering sheet 80 in this manner, as shown in Figure 7, the upper part 81 of the covering sheet 80 can be attached without gaps to the main body 60 and cover 70 of the electrical box that constitute the housing. If, for example, the electrical box 936 in the comparative example shown in Figure 8 were configured such that the cover 70 is attached to the main body 60 of the electrical box before the covering sheet 80 is attached, a gap G1 would be created between the stepped portion between the left and right sides 63 of the main body 60 of the electrical box and the flange portion 72, and the upper part 81 of the covering sheet 80, as shown in Figure 9. As a result, there is a concern that water may seep into the inside of the covering sheet 80 through this gap G1 and adhere to the wiring member 39. In this respect, since the covering sheet 80 can be attached without gaps according to this embodiment, the situation in which water adheres to the wiring member 39 can be suppressed more reliably.

[0033] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the cover portion 70 can be attached and detached without removing the covering sheet 80, thereby improving maintainability when inspecting or replacing the electronic components 37.

[0034] Furthermore, when the cover portion 70 is attached to the electrical box body portion 60, a portion of the covering sheet 80 is sandwiched between the front end portion 61B of the lower surface 61 of the electrical box body portion 60 and the lower part 72A of the flange portion 72 of the cover portion 70. At that time, as described above, the lower part 72A of the flange portion 72 has a planar shape that does not overlap with the left and right ends 61B1 and 61B2 of the front end portion 61B, so that interference of the covering sheet 80 near the left and right ends 61B1 and 61B2 of the front end portion 61B can be suppressed. As a result, even if the lower part 72A of the flange portion 72 is provided to reinforce the cover body portion 71, the covering sheet 80 can be suitably sandwiched and attached between the electrical box body portion 60 and the cover portion 70.

[0035] <Other Embodiments> This technology is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of this technology.

[0036] (1) As an example of a covering part, a covering sheet 80 has been provided, but any material other than a sheet (for example, a thin plate) is acceptable as long as it is waterproof and can be sandwiched and installed between the electrical box body 60 and the cover part 70.

[0037] (2) An example has been shown in which the opening edge 62 on the lower surface 61 side of the front opening 60S1 of the electrical box body 60 is formed to be wide, but it is also acceptable for wide opening edges to be formed on the left and right side surfaces 63 of the front opening 60S1. In that case, the covering sheet 80 may be attached sandwiched between the wide opening side edges and the cover portion 70.

[0038] (3) This technology can be widely applied to electrical boxes installed in places other than refrigerated storage facilities (for example, ice makers) where water may adhere to them. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0039] 10...Cooling storage unit, 16...Top panel, 36...Electrical box, 37...Electronic components, 39...Wiring materials, 60...Electrical box main body, 60S1...Front opening, 61...Bottom surface, 61A...Insertion port, 61B...Front end, 61B1...Left end, 61B2...Right end, 62...Opening edge, 70...Cover part, 71...Cover main body, 71A...Lower end, 72...Flange part, 80...Covering sheet (covering part), 81...Upper part, R1...Storage chamber

Claims

1. An electrical box body having a front opening and housing electronic components, the electrical box body having an insertion opening on its lower surface for pulling out wiring members drawn out from the electronic components to the outside of the electrical box body, A cover portion that covers the front opening, The electrical box body is provided with a covering portion that covers the lower surface and the space below the lower surface from the front and the side, The covering portion is an electrical box in which the upper part is sandwiched between the opening edge of the front opening of the main body of the electrical box and the cover portion.

2. The covering portion is made of a sheet-like member, The cover portion comprises a cover body portion that covers the front opening, and a flange portion that extends from the lower end of the cover body portion to cover the front end of the lower surface of the electrical box body portion. The covering portion is sandwiched between the front end of the lower surface of the electrical box body and the flange portion of the cover portion. The electrical box according to claim 1, wherein the flange portion has a planar shape that does not overlap with the left and right ends of the front end of the lower surface.

3. An electrical box according to claim 1 or 2, A storage compartment is located to the side of the aforementioned electrical box, A cooling storage unit comprising the aforementioned electrical box and a top plate positioned above the storage chamber.

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