Cold Storage For In-Vehicle Use

Abstract

Cold air storage for in-vehicle use having a body duct 22 communicating with a back portion of a cold accumulating chamber 18 and extending to a ceiling portion of a cold storage chamber 3, an outlet 23 formed in the body duct and opening at the ceiling portion of the cold storage chamber, a fan 7 blowing cold air which has heat-exchanged with a cold accumulating agent 6 from the outlet through the body duct, a metal door duct member 24 attached to the inside of the door 8 with an interval, and a door duct 26 configured between the door duct member and the door. When the door closes a front opening portion of the cold storage chamber, an upper portion of the door duct communicates with the outlet and a lower portion of the door duct communicates with a front portion of the cold air accumulating chamber.

Claims

1. A cold storage for in-vehicle use, which is obtained by configuring a cold storage chamber in a heat insulating body and openably/closably closing a front opening portion of the cold storage chamber with a heat insulating door, the cold storage for in-vehicle use comprising: a cold accumulating chamber configured in a bottom portion in the body; a cold accumulating agent provided in the cold accumulating chamber; a metal partition plate attached to inside of a back surface and a top surface of the body with an interval; a body duct configured between the partition plate and the body and extending to a ceiling portion of the cold storage chamber while communicating with a back portion of the cold accumulating chamber; an outlet formed in the body duct and opening at the ceiling portion of the cold storage chamber; a fan blowing cold air which has heat-exchanged with the cold accumulating agent from the outlet through the body duct; a metal door duct member attached to inside of the door with an interval; and a door duct configured between the door duct member and the door, wherein an upper portion of the door duct communicates with the outlet and a lower portion of the door duct communicates with a front portion of the cold accumulating chamber in a state where the door closes the front opening portion of the cold storage chamber.

2. The cold storage for in-vehicle use according to claim 1, wherein the upper portion of the door duct member abuts on the partition plate around the outlet with a seal material in between in the state where the door closes the front opening portion of the cold storage chamber.

3. The cold storage for in-vehicle use according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of small holes is formed in the door duct member.

4. The cold storage for in-vehicle use according to claim 3, wherein a larger number of small holes are formed in an upper portion than in a lower portion of the door duct member.

5. The cold storage for in-vehicle use according to claim 3, wherein inside of the cold storage chamber communicates with a front portion of the cold accumulating chamber.

6. The cold storage for in-vehicle use according to claim 1, comprising: a bottom plate provided in the cold storage chamber and partitioning and forming the cold accumulating chamber below, wherein the door duct member is located on a front side with respect to a front end of the bottom plate in the state where the door closes the front opening portion of the cold storage chamber.

7. The cold storage for in-vehicle use according to claim 1, wherein the outlet is located in a central portion in a horizontal direction of the front opening portion of the cold storage chamber and wind direction plates guiding cold air to right and left are provided in the door duct.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] FIG. 1 is a front view of a cold storage for in-vehicle use to which the present invention is applied

[0023] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the cold storage for in-vehicle use of FIG. 1.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a figure in which a door of the cold storage for in-vehicle use of FIG. 1 is viewed from the inside (blown from 1).

[0025] FIG. 4 is a figure in which a door of another Example of the cold storage for in-vehicle use of FIG. 1 is viewed from the inside (Example 2).

[0026] FIG. 5 is a figure in which a door of still another Example of the cold storage for in-vehicle use of FIG. 1 is viewed from the inside (Example 3).

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0027] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to the drawings.

EXAMPLE 1

[0028] FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 illustrate one embodiment of a cold storage for in-vehicle use to which the present invention is applied. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a cold storage for in-vehicle use 1 of an Example is provided with a body 2 containing a heat insulating casing having an opened front surface, a cold storage chamber 3 configured in the body 2 and having an opened front surface (front opening portion 3A), a cooling device 4 for cooling the inside of the cold storage chamber 3, a cold accumulating agent 6, and a fan 7 for circulating cold air.

[0029] To the body 2, a heat insulating door 8, one side of which is pivotally supported on the body 2, is attached. By the door 8, the front opening portion 3A of the cold storage chamber 3 is openably/closably closed. Casters (wheels) 9 for movement are attached to the undersurface of the body 2. The casters 9 are used for bringing the cold storage for in-vehicle use 1 into/out of a transportation vehicle or the movement in a distribution center. On the upper surface of the body 2, a machine room 11 is configured. In the machine room 11, a compressor 12, a condenser 13, a condenser fan 14, a battery 16, and the like of the cooling device 4 are placed.

[0030] Meanwhile, a heat insulating bottom plate 17 is detachably attached to the body 2 with an interval from the bottom surface in a bottom portion in the cold storage chamber 3. Below the bottom plate 17, a cold accumulating chamber 18 is partitioned and formed. In the cold accumulating chamber 18, a cooler 19 configuring a well-known refrigerant circuit of the cooling device 4 with the compressor 12 and the condenser 13 is disposed. The cold accumulating agent 6 described above is provided in the cold accumulating chamber 18 in a heat exchange relationship with the cooler 19.

[0031] The cooling device 4 is operated in an environment where commercial power is supplied, such as a delivery center. By cooling the cold accumulating agent 6 by the cooler 19, the cold accumulating agent 6 is frozen to store cold. In this case, the battery 16 is charged and the fan 7 is also operated so that the cold air cooled with the cooler 19 is circulated by the fan 7 as in the case of conveying as described later.

[0032] Next, the duct structure in the cold storage chamber 3 is described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. To the inside (front side) of the back surface and the inside of the top surface (lower side) of the body 2, a metal (materials having high thermal conductivity, such as stainless steel) partition plate 21 is attached with an interval. Between the partition plate 21 and the body 2, a body duct 22 extending from a back portion to a ceiling portion of the cold storage chamber 3 is configured. In this case, the lower end of the partition plate 21 located in the back portion of the cold storage chamber 3 is located on the rear side of the rear end of the bottom plate 17 and the lower end of the body duct 22 of the back portion communicates with a back portion of the cold accumulating chamber 18.

[0033] The front end (indicated by 21A) of the partition plate 21 located in the ceiling portion of the cold storage chamber 3 is located slightly on the inner side of the front opening portion 3A. In the front end 21A, an outlet 23 is formed. In this case, the outlet 23 is located in a central portion (central portion in the horizontal direction of the front end 21A of the partition plate 21) in the horizontal direction of the front opening portion 3A of the cold storage chamber 3 in this Example. The fan 7 is disposed in the body duct 22 corresponding to the inside of the outlet 23 and is configured to be operated to blow cold air from the outlet 23 forward and downward (direction toward the front opening portion 3A and downward direction).

[0034] Meanwhile, a metal (similarly stainless steel or the like) door duct member 24 is attached to the inside of the door 8 with an interval extending over the upper side and the lower side. Between the door duct member 24 and the door 8, a door duct 26 extending over the upper side and the lower side is configured. Right, left, and upper portions of the door duct 26 are closed. In a central portion of an upper portion of the door duct member 24, an inflow port 27 for causing cold air to flow into the door duct 26 is formed to communicate with the door duct 24 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Furthermore, it is configured so that a seal material 28 is attached to the circumference of the inflow port 27, the upper portion of the door duct member 24 abuts on the front end 21A of the partition plate 21 through the seal material 28 in a state where the door 8 closes the front opening portion 3A, and, in the state, the inflow port 27 corresponds to the outlet 23 and the upper portion of the door duct 26 communicates with the outlet 23 (body duct 22).

[0035] Furthermore, it is configured so that the door duct member 24 is located above and on the front side with respect to the bottom plate 17 in the state where the door 8 closes the front opening portion 3A. It is configured so that a lower portion of the door duct 26 is opened and the lower portion of the door duct 26 communicates with the front portion of the cold accumulating chamber 17 in the state where the door 8 closes the front opening portion 3A of the cold storage chamber 3. In the door duct member 24, a plurality of small holes 29 is formed over the upper and lower portions as illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0036] Under the configuration described above, the cold air circulation by the fan 7 is described below. When the fan 7 is driven by the battery 16, the cold air in the cold accumulating chamber 18 which has been cooled by heat-exchanging with the cold accumulating agent 6 (the cooler 19 when commercial power is supplied as described above or the cooler 19 and the cold accumulating agent 6) is sucked from the back portion of the cold accumulating chamber 18 as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2, goes up in the body duct 22 in the back portion, reaches the fan 7 through the body duct 22 of the ceiling portion, and then blown into the door duct 26 from the outlet 23.

[0037] Then, the cold air blown into the door duct 26 flows down in the door duct 26, flows out of the lower end, flows into the front portion of the cold accumulating chamber 18 through the clearance between the door 8 and the front end of the bottom plate 17, and then heat-exchanges with the cold accumulating agent 6 again. The cold air blown into the door duct 26 partially leaks (blown out) into the cold storage chamber 3 from the small holes 29 as indicated by the arrows illustrated in FIG. 2. Then, the cold air leaking into the cold storage chamber 3 also repeats the circulation of flowing into the front portion of the cold accumulating chamber 18 through the clearance between the door 8 and the front end of the bottom plate 17, and then heat-exchanging with the cold accumulating agent 6 again.

[0038] As described above, in the cold storage for in-vehicle use 1 of the present invention, the cold air which has heat-exchanged with the cold accumulating agent 6 in the cold accumulating chamber 18 repeats the circulation of being blown into the door duct 26 from the outlet 23 through the body duct 22 by the fan 7, and then returning to the cold accumulating chamber 18 through the door duct 26.

[0039] Thus, articles stored in the cold storage chamber 3 are indirectly cooled from the circumference (back portion, ceiling portion, and front portion) through the partition plate 21 and the door duct member 24 which are formed of metal by the cold air circulated through the inside of the body duct 22 and the door duct 26. Thus, the drying of the articles is significantly suppressed. Therefore, also when articles vulnerable to dryness, such as fresh vegetables, are stored and conveyed, the deterioration in the quality can be effectively prevented or reduced.

[0040] In this case, the inside of the cold storage chamber 3 is indirectly cooled from the back portion, the ceiling portion, and the front portion. The door duct member 24 located in the front portion is removed from the front opening portion 3A of the cold storage chamber 3 with the opening of the door 8. Therefore, the door duct member 24 for configuring the door duct 26 does not hinder the taking-out of the articles from the front opening portion 3A.

[0041] It is also configured in this Example so that the upper portion of the door duct member 24 abuts on the partition plate 21 (front end 21A) around the outlet 23 through the seal material 28 in the state where the door 8 closes the front opening portion 3A of the cold storage chamber 3. Therefore, the cold air is prevented from directly leaking into the cold storage chamber 3 from the outlet 23 in the state where the door 8 closes the front opening portion 3A of the cold storage chamber 3, so that the entire cold air blown from the outlet 23 smoothly flows into the door duct 26. Thus, indirect cooling from the door duct member 24 can be achieved without problems.

[0042] Herein, in the case of only the indirect cooling from the partition plate 21 and the door duct member 24, there is a risk that the cooling effect is insufficient when a large number of articles are stored in the cold storage chamber 3. Then, the plurality of small holes 29 is formed in the door duct member 24 in this Example, and therefore the cold air flowing into the door duct 26 partially directly leaks into the cold storage chamber 3. Thus, the cooling effect can be compensated, so that the quality deterioration due to a temperature rise can also be prevented or reduced while suppressing the drying of the articles in the cold storage chamber 3 to the minimum.

[0043] Also when the small holes 29 are formed in the door duct member 24 as described above, the inside of the cold storage chamber 3 is communicated with the front portion of the cold accumulating chamber 18 in this Example. Therefore, the cold air leaking into the cold storage chamber 3 from the small holes 29 can also be smoothly returned to the cold accumulating chamber 18.

[0044] Moreover, it is also configured in this Example so that the door duct member 24 is located on the front side with respect to the front end of the bottom plate 17 in the state where the door 8 closes the front opening portion 3A of the cold storage chamber 3, and therefore the door duct member 24 is located on the front side with respect to the front end of articles to be placed on the bottom plate 17. Thus, the trouble that the stored articles and the door duct member 24 interfere with each other when closing the door 8, so that the door 8 does not close, for example, is eliminated.

[0045] Moreover, the clearance inside the door 8 which has been conventionally required to be secured as a cold air suction space is filled with the door duct member 24. Therefore, even when articles in the cold storage chamber 3 tend to move forward and backward by a shock generated during conveyance, the movement is suppressed by the door duct member 24. Thus, the quality deterioration by crushing or the like of the articles can be prevented or reduced.

EXAMPLE 2

[0046] Next, FIG. 4 illustrates a figure in which a door 8 of another Example of the present invention is viewed from the inner surface. In this Example, wind direction plates 31 and 32 are attached to an upper portion in the door duct 26. The wind direction plates 31 and 32 are disposed side by side on the right and left with an interval and are inclined so that the right end of the wind direction plate 31 on the right side when viewed from the inner surface of the door 8 is lowered and the left end of the wind direction plate 32 on the left side is lowered.

[0047] Herein, the outlet 23 is formed in a central portion in the horizontal direction of the front opening portion 3A of the cold storage chamber 3 in the cold storage for in-vehicle use 1 of this Example. Therefore, cold air blown from the outlet 23 flows into a central portion of the upper portion of the door duct 26. Hence, the cold air will increase in the door duct 26 located in the central portion in the horizontal direction and decrease in the right and left ends in the door duct 26. Thus, the cooling capacity from the door duct member 24 or the leakage amount from the small holes 29 increases in the central portion and decreases in the right and left ends.

[0048] Thus, when the wind direction plates 31 and 32 are attached in the door duct 26 as with this Example, most of the cold air flowing from the inflow port 27 in the central portion flows down while being guided to the right and left sides by the wind direction plates 31 and 32. Thus, the amount of the cold air flowing down in the door duct 26 is uniformized in the horizontal direction, so that the cooling effect from the door duct member 24 or the leakage amount of the cold air from the small holes 29 is uniformized in the horizontal direction of the cold storage chamber 3.

EXAMPLE 3

[0049] Next, FIG. 5 illustrates a figure in which a door 8 of still another Example of the present invention is viewed from the inner surface. In this Example, a larger number of small holes 29 are formed in an upper portion than in a lower portion of the door duct member 24 (in this Example, the number of the small holes 29 formed in the upper portion is twice the number of the small holes 29 formed in the lower portion). Herein, most of cold air leaking into the cold storage chamber 3 will stay in the lower portion. Therefore, when the small holes 29 are substantially equally formed over the upper and lower portions as illustrated in FIG. 3 described above, the lower portion in the cold storage chamber 3 will be more strongly cooled than the upper portion.

[0050] Thus, by forming a larger number of small holes 29 in the upper portion than in the lower portion of the door duct member 24 as with this Example, the cooling effect in the cold storage chamber 3 by the cold air leaking from the small holes 29 can be uniformized in the vertical direction.

[0051] In each Example described above, the present invention is applied to the cold storage for in-vehicle use 1 provided with the cooling device 4 and freezing the cold accumulating agent 6 by the cooler 19. However, the present invention is effective also in a cold storage for in-vehicle use in which the cold accumulating agent 6 is frozen in the outside beforehand and mounted, i.e., a cold storage for in-vehicle use not having a cooling device.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0052] 1 cold storage for in-vehicle Use

[0053] 2 body

[0054] 3 cold storage chamber

[0055] 6 cold accumulating agent

[0056] 7 fan

[0057] 8 door

[0058] 9 caster

[0059] 17 bottom plate

[0060] 18 cold accumulating chamber

[0061] 21 partition plate

[0062] 22 body duct

[0063] 23 outlet

[0064] 24 door duct member

[0065] 26 door duct

[0066] 28 seal material

[0067] 31, 32 wind direction plate