HK1158300A - Remote refrigeration display case system - Google Patents

Description

Remote refrigeration display cabinet system

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a remote refrigerated display case system for use in the field of commercial cooling systems for displaying and preserving refrigerated food items and the like.

Background

Typically, refrigerated display case systems are provided in supermarkets and convenience stores to present fresh food or beverages to customers. All refrigerated display case systems include at least the following components: a compressor, a condenser, at least one evaporator associated with the display case, an expansion/throttling device (such as an expansion valve), and suitable refrigeration piping connecting these devices. An expansion valve is disposed in the conduit upstream of the refrigerant flow at the evaporator inlet to expand the liquid refrigerant. The function of the expansion valve is to expand the liquid refrigerant to a desired low pressure selected for the particular refrigerant before the refrigerant enters the evaporator. As a result of this expansion, the temperature of the liquid refrigerant also drops significantly. As heat is absorbed from the air passing over the evaporator surface as it passes through the evaporator tubes, the low pressure cryogenic liquid evaporates. Typically, supermarket and convenience store refrigeration systems include a plurality of evaporators arranged in a plurality of display cases, a collection of a plurality of compressors called compressor racks and one or more condensers.

In prior display case systems, the condenser and compressor were operated at an evaporating temperature of about-15 deg.C, and the evaporator typically used was operated at an evaporating temperature of about-10 deg.C to-8 deg.C. As is known, the performance of condensers and compressors varies with the evaporation temperature and the condensation temperature, wherein, in particular, the refrigeration efficiency decreases as the evaporation temperature decreases. In order to achieve a higher cooling efficiency, the evaporation temperature should be kept as high as possible.

Therefore, increasing the evaporating temperature of the evaporator in the refrigeration showcase system to reduce the compression ratio can not only reduce power consumption and reduce noise level, but also reduce cost while achieving high reliability. The evaporator described in us patent 6460372Bl was incorporated in a preferred embodiment of the present invention to achieve the object of the present invention. Also, the disclosure of U.S. patent 6460372Bl is incorporated herein by reference.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present application is to provide a remote refrigeration display case system, including: a display case including a product display region and at least one compartment separate from the product display region; an air flow passage for connecting air between the display area and the compartment; and a refrigeration system including a compressor for an air conditioner, a condenser, an expansion/throttling device, an evaporator, and a pipe connecting these components, wherein the compressor for an air conditioner and the condenser are installed remotely, and a saturated evaporation temperature of the evaporator is-4 ℃ to 2 ℃.

Drawings

The various aspects of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the specific embodiments of the invention with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a refrigerated display case having a condensing unit (CDU) according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure; and

fig. 2 illustrates a front view of a representative layout of the remotely refrigerated display case schematically illustrated in fig. 1.

Wherein the meanings of the reference symbols in the described figures are listed below:

010 condensation unit (CDU)

011 compressor

012 condenser

020 expansion/throttling device

030 evaporator

040 pressure balance equipment

041 capillary tube

042 electromagnetic valve

100 refrigeration showcase

110 cabinet body

111 front opening door

112 air flow channel

114 air flow passage

116 air flow passage

118 air flow path

120 compartment

130 fan

140 product display area

150 shelf.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Wherein the refrigeration system shown in fig. 1 and 2 is depicted as having a single evaporator, a single condenser, and a single compressor associated with a refrigerated display case. It is to be understood that the refrigerated display case can be used in various embodiments of a commercial refrigeration system having single or multiple display cases (with one or more evaporators in each case), single or multiple condensers, and/or single or multiple compressor arrangements.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a refrigerated display case having a condensing unit (CDU) according to one or more aspects of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1, the preferred refrigerated display case is comprised of 5 basic components: the condensation unit 010 comprises, among other things, a compressor 011 and a condenser 012, an expansion/throttling device 020, an evaporator 030 associated with the refrigerated display case 100, a pressure equalization device 040 with a capillary tube 041 and a solenoid valve 042, and a conduit 050 for connecting these components. However, it is understood that the refrigeration system may include additional components, controls, and accessories. The evaporation temperature of the compressor 011 can be higher than-5 ℃. Although any particular form of conventional expansion device may be used, the expansion device 020 most preferably comprises an expansion valve having a thermal sensing element, such as an induction lamp mounted in thermal contact with the suction line downstream of the outlet of the evaporator 030. The induction lamp is connected back to the thermostatic expansion valve 020 through a conventional capillary tube 041 and a solenoid valve 042, wherein the capillary tube 041 and the solenoid valve 042 constitute a pressure balancing device 040, and the pressure balancing device 040 is added between the high pressure conduit and the low pressure conduit to balance the pressure during the compressor off time. As the evaporator of the present embodiment, a high-efficiency evaporator mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 6460372B1 was used, and the evaporation temperature thereof was-4 ℃ to 2 ℃. The refrigerant from the compressor 011 is sent to the condenser 012 and then cooled therein. In this embodiment, the compressor 011 and the condenser 012 construct a condensation unit (CDU) that is remotely installed. After being processed in the CDU, the refrigerant is attenuated by the expansion/throttling device 020 and then flows into the evaporator. The function of the evaporator is to evaporate the refrigerant and to reduce the temperature to a desired level.

The saturated evaporation temperature is increased above-5 ℃ and the compression ratio is reduced compared to conventional display case systems, as a result of which cost-effective a.c. compressors can be employed.

Referring to fig. 2, the refrigerated display case 100 includes an upright, front opening, insulated cabinet 110 having a product display zone 140 and a compartment 120 therein. In the depicted embodiment, evaporator 030, which is a sheet and tube heat exchange coil, is disposed within compartment 120, which is below and separate from product display zone 140. However, the compartments 120 may be disposed above or behind the product display area, as desired. As is conventional practice, air circulation devices, such as one or more fans 130, disposed within the compartment 120 circulate air through the air flow channels 112, 114, and 116 formed in the walls of the cabinet 110 and into the product display zone 140 to maintain the products stored on the shelves in the product display zone 140 at a desired temperature. The partially refrigerated air exits the air flow path generally downwardly across the front of the display area 104 to form an air curtain between the refrigerated product display area 140 and the ambient temperature in the store area adjacent the display case 100. An expansion/throttling device 020, which is typically located within display case 100 near evaporator 030 but may be mounted anywhere in the duct, is used to measure the correct amount of liquid refrigerant flowing into evaporator 030.

The evaporator pressure equalization device 040, which may include a capillary tube 041 and a solenoid valve 042, operates to maintain the pressure in the evaporator at a preselected desired operating pressure by regulating the flow of refrigerant exiting the evaporator. By maintaining the operating pressure in the evaporator at the desired pressure, the temperature at which the refrigerant expands from a liquid to a vapor within evaporator 030 will be maintained at a particular temperature associated with the particular refrigerant passing through the evaporator.

Compared with the traditional system, the display cabinet system adopting the technical scheme can reduce the power consumption by 20 percent, and can be manufactured at low cost. In addition, the display case system according to the above-described embodiment operates with a lower noise level and higher reliability.

It is to be understood that gamma correction, inverse gamma correction, and matrix calculation and transformation therein are well known to those skilled in the art when one or more aspects of the present invention are described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and thus the description thereof will be omitted herein.

In the above, specific embodiments of the present invention have been described by referring to the drawings. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and substitutions can be made to the specific embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Such changes and substitutions are intended to fall within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (4)

1. A remotely refrigerated display case system comprising:

a display case including a product display region and at least one compartment separated from the product display region,

an air flow passage for connecting air between the display area and the compartment, an

A refrigeration system including a compressor for an air conditioner, a condenser, an expansion/throttle device, an evaporator and a pipe connecting these components,

wherein the compressor for air conditioner and the condenser are installed remotely, and the saturated evaporation temperature of the evaporator is-4 ℃ to 2 ℃.

2. The remotely refrigerated display case system of claim 1, wherein the refrigeration system further comprises: a pressure balancing device consisting of at least one capillary and at least one solenoid valve.

3. A remote refrigerated display case system according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the saturated evaporation temperature of the air conditioning compressor is above-5 ℃.

4. The remotely refrigerated display case system of claim 1 or 2, wherein an evaporator is mounted in the compartment.