Disinfection storage warehouse

Abstract

To provide a disinfection storage cabinet that can suppress the noise generated when opening and closing the shutter. [Solution] A circular outlet 38 is provided on the top plate 26 of the housing 10, and a cylindrical duct 40 is provided that communicates with the outlet 38 and opens to the outside of the housing. A disc-shaped shutter 42 is pivotally supported inside the duct 40 via a rotating shaft 44, and the ventilation passage 40a defined inside the duct 40 can be opened and closed by the shutter 42. One end of the rotating shaft 44 of the shutter 42 protrudes outward from the duct 40 in the axial direction, and this protruding end is connected to a motor 48 disposed outside the duct 40. The motor 48 rotates the shutter 42 together with the rotating shaft 44 between a closed position in which the shutter 42 is in a substantially horizontal position and an open position in which it is in an obliquely inclined position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a disinfection storage cabinet that disinfects and dries articles such as dishes after washing and stores them by hot air.

Background Art

[0002] A disinfection storage cabinet (for example, see Patent Document 1) that places wet articles such as dishes (hereinafter referred to as "dishes") washed by a dishwashing machine or the like on a ventilation shelf, circulates hot air in the cabinet, and disinfects and dries the dishes for storage is preferably used in hospitals, school feeding facilities, and other large-scale restaurants. This is extremely useful in large-scale kitchen facilities where there is no time to naturally dry the washed dishes or where it is desired to save the trouble of wiping, because it can actively disinfect miscellaneous bacteria that may remain even after the moisture of the wet dishes has evaporated, and can provide clean dishes by high-temperature drying.

[0003] The disinfection storage cabinet disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided with a shutter that is opened and closed by a solenoid inside a duct that connects the inside and outside of the cabinet. By operating the shutter to open the duct, the steam generated inside the cabinet is discharged to the outside of the cabinet to promote the drying of the dishes stored inside the cabinet.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the disinfection storage cabinet disclosed in Patent Document 1, a shutter is supported inside a duct so as to be able to tilt vertically. By energizing a solenoid, the shutter tilts from the closed position to the open position, and by demagnetizing the solenoid, the shutter moves to the open position by its own weight. The closed and open positions of the shutter are defined by restricting the movement of the shutter with a closing stopper and an opening stopper installed inside the duct. Since the shutter and stopper are made of metal because they are exposed to hot air circulating inside the cabinet, there was a problem in that noise such as metal-to-metal contact sounds were generated when the shutter and the opening or closing stopper came into contact when the solenoid was energized to move the shutter from the closed position to the open position, or when the shutter returned from the open position to the closed position by its own weight after the solenoid was demagnetized, causing discomfort to the user.

[0006] Furthermore, since the shutter in the closed position is only supported by contact with the closing stopper and is not fixed, there was a risk that the shutter would open or close unintentionally, generating the aforementioned noise, if the internal pressure increased due to volume expansion caused by the vaporization of steam inside the chamber or due to the opening and closing of the door provided in the disinfection storage chamber.

[0007] In view of the aforementioned problems inherent in the prior art, the present invention has been proposed to suitably solve these problems, and aims to provide a disinfection storage cabinet that can suppress the noise generated when opening and closing the shutter. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to overcome the aforementioned challenges and achieve the intended objectives, the first means is: In a disinfection storage cabinet in which hot air is circulated and supplied inside the enclosure where items are stored by a hot air circulation means to disinfect and dry the stored items, A duct that connects the inside and outside of the aforementioned enclosure, A shutter is rotatably supported inside the duct by a rotating shaft and opens and closes the air passage of the duct, The gist of the invention is that it includes a motor connected to the rotation axis of the shutter, which rotates the shutter between a closed position and an open position relative to the air passage of the duct. With this configuration, the shutter can be positioned in the closed and open positions by stopping the motor, and unintentional rotation of the shutter due to mechanical resistance inside the motor is suppressed. Furthermore, since the shutter is positioned in the closed and open positions by the motor, there is no need for a stopper to restrict the shutter's position in the closed or open position, and noise such as metal-to-metal contact sounds that occur when the shutter is opened and closed is not generated, preventing discomfort to the user. In addition, the number of parts can be reduced.

[0009] The second method essentially involves providing a gap between the inner surface of the duct and the facing surface of the shutter in the closed position. With this configuration, when the shutter is in the closed position, a gap is formed between the opposing surfaces of the shutter and the duct. Therefore, if the internal pressure rises above a predetermined value due to volume expansion caused by the vaporization of steam inside the chamber or due to the opening and closing of the door on the enclosure, the internal air can be released, preventing the internal pressure from exceeding the predetermined value required to operate the shutter. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the disinfection storage cabinet of the present invention, noise generated when opening and closing the shutter can be suppressed. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing the disinfection storage cabinet used in the example. [Figure 2] This is a schematic perspective view showing the placement of shutters in a duct. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the duct, the shutter, and the detection means, where (a) shows the closed position of the shutter and (b) shows the open position of the shutter. [Figure 4] This is a close-up view of the key area showing the gap between the duct and the shutter. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Next, a preferred embodiment of the disinfection storage cabinet according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. [Examples]

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a disinfection storage cabinet according to an embodiment. The disinfection storage cabinet has partition walls 12 housed inside a housing 10 at intervals, dividing the inside of the housing 10 into a hot air circulation passage 14 outside the partition walls and a storage chamber 16 inside the partition walls. In the storage chamber 16, ventilation shelves 18 are arranged horizontally in multiple stages at required intervals, and ventilation baskets 22 for storing tableware (items) 20 are placed on the ventilation shelves 18. In addition, the housing 10 is equipped with a hot air circulation means 24 for circulating heated air (hot air) in the hot air circulation passage 14 and the storage chamber 16. The hot air circulation means 24 includes a heater 28 disposed between the inside of the top plate 26 of the housing 10 and the outside of the horizontal portion 12a of the partition wall 12 to heat the air inside the chamber, and a sirocco fan (fan) 30 that blows the air (hot air) heated by the heater 28, and the sirocco fan 30 is rotated by a fan motor 32 provided on the outside of the top plate.

[0014] As shown in Figure 1, the lower part of the storage chamber 16 is completely open and serves as a hot air inlet 34 that introduces the hot air generated by the heater 28 and the sirocco fan 30 into the storage chamber 16 via the hot air circulation path 14. In addition, a circular hot air outlet 36 is provided in the horizontal section 12a of the partition wall 12, and is configured to allow the hot air introduced into the storage chamber 16 to flow out into the hot air circulation path 14 via the hot air outlet 36. The housing 10 is provided with an opening for loading and unloading dishes 20, and a door (neither shown) for opening and closing the opening.

[0015] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, an outlet 38 of a required shape (for example, circular) is provided on the top plate 26 of the housing 10, and a cylindrical duct 40 that communicates with the outlet 38 and opens to the outside of the housing is provided on the top plate 26, so that the hot air circulation path 14 (inside the housing (storage chamber 16)) can communicate with the outside of the housing via the outlet 38 and the duct 40. Inside the duct 40, a disc-shaped shutter 42 is pivotally supported via a rotating shaft 44, so that the ventilation passage 40a (outlet 38) defined within the duct 40 can be opened and closed by the shutter 42. As shown in Figure 2, the shutter 42 is formed in the shape of a disc with an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the duct 40, so that it does not come into contact with the inner surface of the duct when the shutter 42 rotates. Furthermore, the rotating shaft 44 is provided to extend radially through the center of the shutter 42 and rotates integrally with the shutter 42. One end of the rotating shaft 44 protrudes outward from the duct 40 in the axial direction, and this protruding end is connected to a motor 48, such as a gear motor, which is disposed outside the duct 40 via a bracket 46. The shutter 42 is configured to rotate together with the rotating shaft 44 between a closed position where it is in a nearly horizontal position (see Figure 3(a)) and an open position where it is in an obliquely inclined position (see Figure 3(b)) by the motor 48. In the closed position of the shutter 42, a small gap S is formed between the outer surface of the shutter 42 and the inner surface of the duct 40 (see Figure 4). This gap S is set to a size (the distance between the inner surface of the duct 40 and the outer surface of the shutter 42) that allows air to escape and prevents the internal pressure from rising when the internal pressure exceeds a predetermined value due to volume expansion caused by the vaporization of steam inside the chamber or due to the opening and closing of the door on the housing 10. The predetermined value is set to a value lower than the internal pressure that can move the shutter 42. In addition, the gap S is set to a size that, depending on the amount of hot air escaping from the gap S during the circulation of hot air by the hot air circulation means 24, does not cause the internal temperature to drop to a temperature that does not hinder the disinfection and drying of the dishes 20.

[0016] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a detection means SW such as a microswitch is provided on the bracket 46, and a detection portion 50a provided at the tip of the lever piece 50 of the detection means SW is elastically pressed against the outer peripheral surface of a disk-shaped cam member 52 arranged to rotate integrally with the rotating shaft 44. On the outer peripheral side of the cam member 52, a first recess 52a and a second recess 52b capable of receiving the detection portion 50a are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction. As shown in FIG. 3(a), when the detection portion 50a is received in the first recess 52a, the detection means SW detects the closed position of the shutter 42, and when the detection portion 50a is received in the second recess 52b, the detection means SW is set to detect the open position of the shutter 42. Then, at the closed position of the shutter 42 where the detection portion 50a is received in the first recess 52a, the motor 48 rotates in a required direction based on an opening control signal from a control means (not shown), and the shutter 42 rotates from the closed position toward the open position. When the detection portion 50a is separated from the first recess 52a and received in the second recess 52b, the motor 48 is stopped and the shutter 42 is configured to be held at the open position. Also, at the open position of the shutter 42 where the detection portion 50a is received in the second recess 52b, the motor 48 rotates in the reverse direction based on a closing control signal from the control means, and the shutter 42 rotates from the open position toward the closed position. When the detection portion 50a is separated from the second recess 52b and received in the first recess 52a, the motor 48 is stopped and the shutter 42 is configured to be held at the closed position.

[0017] 〔Operation of the Embodiment〕 Next, the operation of the disinfection storage cabinet according to the embodiment will be described.

[0018] In the disinfection storage according to the embodiment, since the rotation shaft 44 of the shutter 42 is linked to the motor 48, in the stopped state of the motor 48, the shutter 42 is prevented from rotating inadvertently due to the mechanical resistance inside the motor (such as the resistance of the speed reducer). Further, since the shutter 42 is positioned at the closing position and the opening position by the motor 48, a stopper for positioning the shutter 42 at the closing position or the opening position is not required, and no noise such as the contact sound of metals when contacting the stopper occurs when the shutter 42 is opened and closed, and it is possible to prevent giving discomfort to the user. Also, the number of parts can be reduced.

[0019] Also, as shown in FIG. 4, in the closing position of the shutter 42, a required gap S is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the shutter 42 and the inner peripheral surface of the duct 40. Therefore, when the internal pressure of the storage rises beyond a predetermined value due to the volume expansion caused by the vaporization of the vapor inside the storage or the opening and closing of the door provided on the housing 10, the air inside the storage can be released, and it is possible to prevent the internal pressure of the storage from becoming equal to or higher than a predetermined value at which the shutter 42 can be actuated. That is, it is possible to prevent the shutter 42 from opening at an unintended time due to the increase in the internal pressure of the storage and the hot air from escaping to the outside, and it is possible to effectively disinfect and dry the tableware 20.

[0020] 〔Modification Example〕 The present application is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and other configurations can be appropriately adopted. Also, not limited to the following modification examples, various embodiments can be adopted for the configuration described in the embodiment within the scope of the gist of the present invention. (1) In the embodiment, the duct is cylindrical and the shutter is disk-shaped, but the duct may be square tube-shaped or other shapes, and the shape of the shutter may be a shape adapted to the internal shape of the duct. (2) The motor for rotating the shutter is not limited to a gear motor, and various types of motors that can be held with a required force without making the rotation shaft free in the stopped state of the motor can be used. (3) In the embodiment, the motor is controlled by the detection means and the cam member to position the shutter in a closed position and an open position. However, a configuration can be adopted in which the shutter is stopped in the closed position and the open position using a servo motor capable of detecting the rotation angle. (4) In the embodiment, a gap is formed along the entire circumference between the inner surface of the duct and the outer surface of the shutter. However, a configuration can be adopted in which a gap is partially formed by providing a recess in a part of the shutter that is spaced apart from the inner surface of the duct. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0021] 10 Housing, 20 Dishes (items), 24 Hot air circulation means, 40 Duct, 40a Air passage 42 Shutter, 44 Rotating shaft, 48 Motor, S Gap

Claims

1. In a disinfection storage cabinet in which hot air is circulated and supplied inside a housing (10) containing articles (20) by a hot air circulation means (24) to disinfect and dry the stored articles (20), A duct (40) that connects the inside and outside of the housing (10), A shutter (42) is rotatably supported inside the duct (40) by a rotating shaft (44) and opens and closes the ventilation passage (40a) of the duct (40), The system includes a motor (48) connected to the rotation shaft (44) of the shutter (42), which rotates the shutter (42) between a closed position and an open position relative to the ventilation passage (40a) of the duct (40). A disinfection storage cabinet characterized by the following features.

2. The disinfection storage cabinet according to claim 1, wherein a gap (S) is provided between the face of the inner surface of the duct (40) and the shutter (42) in the closed position.

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