JP2008000535A - Showcase - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a showcase which is disposed with a middle duct for cold air intake or cold air blowing at an intermediate level position within a compartment and goods to be kept refrigerated, non-refrigerated goods, heated goods, etc. displayed in an upper zone and a lower zone with this middle duct as a border to sell jointly, and which is improved so that the installation position of the middle duct can be finely adjusted according to the volume ratio alteration of the upper zone and a lower part. <P>SOLUTION: In the cold circulation-type showcase disposed with the middle duct 8 for cold air intake or cold air blowing, which is used for partitioning a compartment space into the upper zone and the lower part zone, at the intermediate level position with juxtaposing with a merchandise display shelf vertically arranged, an air opening 2a-2 is formed through a height range h corresponding to the volume ratio alteration of the upper part zone/the lower part zone within the compartment in a back panel 2a within the compartment, a slide cover 11 which can move up and down, is arranged on the inside of the compartment with covering the front of the opening, a baffle port 11a which leads to the middle duct 8, is opened in a plate face of the slide cover, and the slide cover 11 is movably adjusted vertically according to the installation height position of the middle duct 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cold-air circulation type display case that is installed in a convenience store or the like and displays various products such as refrigerated products, non-refrigerated products, and refrigerated products separately in the upper and lower parts of the cabinet and sold together. .

Nowadays, showcases that are installed and used in stores such as convenience stores are diversified, and refrigerated and non-refrigerated products are displayed and sold in the store, or refrigerated products and refrigerated products are displayed. A showcase of the type sold together is already on the market.
In this type of showcase (cold air circulation type showcase), in either type, the product is placed in parallel with the product display shelves arranged in the upper and lower stages, and an intermediate duct is provided at the middle position in the warehouse to store the interior space. Is divided into an upper zone and a lower zone, and the pattern of the cool air circulation path that blows air into the cabinet via the intermediate duct is changed according to the type of product to be displayed.
Here, in a showcase that sells refrigerated products (for example, dairy products (cold temperature 3 to 8 ° C.)) and non-refrigerated products (for example, products such as bento and side dishes (cold temperature 15 to 20 ° C.)) The intermediate air duct is used as a cold air intake duct, and an upward cold air inlet is opened at the tip of the duct, and cool air blown out from the cold air circulation air passage to the upper zone in the cabinet during the cold insulation operation is defined from the intermediate duct behind the rear panel. Thus, the product is returned to the cooler via the bypass path so that the refrigerated products and the non-refrigerated products displayed in the upper zone and the lower zone are kept at a product temperature suitable for storage (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

On the other hand, in a showcase that sells both refrigerated products and warm products, on the contrary, an intermediate duct is used as a cold air blowing duct, and a downward cold air outlet is opened at the tip of the intermediate duct. The cold air taken from the middle of the road is blown out to the refrigeration zone at the bottom of the cabinet and circulated, and the refrigerated products arranged on the product display shelf in the upper zone are heated by a heater installed on the shelf plate of the display shelf. It is made to heat (for example, refer patent document 2, patent document 3).
In the showcase, the volume ratio of the upper zone and the lower zone can be changed by moving the installation position (height) of the intermediate duct arranged in the middle of the warehouse up and down according to the type and quantity of the displayed products. In order to do so, the rear panel in the warehouse was changed to a height position, and air guide holes leading to the intermediate duct were opened at a plurality of locations above and below, and one of these air guide holes was selected and arranged in communication therewith. The circulation path of the cold air passing through the intermediate duct is adjusted.

  Next, FIGS. 4 and 5 show a conventional configuration of a showcase based on the structure disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG. In each figure, 1 is an outer box of an open front body case that becomes a heat insulating housing, 2 is an inner box, 3 is a cold air circulation ventilation path that surrounds the inner box 2 and is defined between the outer box 1 and 3a, Reference numeral 3b denotes a cold air outlet and a cold air inlet of the cold air circulation passage 3 formed at the upper and lower ends thereof toward the front opening of the main body case, and 4 denotes a cooler (of the refrigerator) arranged on the bottom side of the cold air circulation passage 3. (Evaporator) 5 is an internal fan for cool air blowing arranged upstream of the cooler 4, and 6 is a product laid on a shelf column 9 laid up and down on the back panel 2 a inside the cabinet via a shelf bracket 7. The display shelf 8 is an intermediate duct for cold air suction arranged in parallel with the product display shelf 7 in the middle position in the warehouse, and the interior space is divided into the upper zone and the lower zone with the intermediate duct 8 as a boundary. is doing. As shown in FIG. 4, the intermediate duct 8 spans the shelf bracket 7 and is installed on the back side of the product display shelf 6 (the product display shelf in the second stage from the top in the illustrated example). The intermediate duct 8 has a front end protruding forward from the product display shelf 6 and a cold air inlet 8a opened on the upper surface.

Further, behind the back panel 2a, there is a bypass passage 3c for returning the cool air sucked from the upper zone in the store through the intermediate duct 8 to the cooler 4 through the store fan 5 as described later. 3 and the rear panel 2a has a wind guide hole 2a-1 (a square hole corresponding to the rear end of the intermediate duct 8) for communicating the rear end surface of the intermediate duct 8 and the bypass passage 3c. It is open.
The operation of the showcase with the above configuration is also described in detail in Patent Document 1, and during the cold insulation operation, the cold air flow blown out through the cold air outlet 3a of the cold air circulation passage 3 as shown in the arrow in the drawing is the opening surface on the front surface of the inside of the cabinet. A cool air curtain is formed in the area, and a part of the cool air flow blown into the cabinet is sucked into the intermediate duct 8 when passing through the upper zone, and is returned to the cooler 4 through the bypass 3c.

As a result, refrigerated products 10A such as dairy products arranged on the product display shelf 6 in the upper zone in the warehouse are strongly cooled to 3 to 8 ° C., whereas lunch boxes arranged on the product display shelf in the lower zone, The non-refrigerated product 10B such as side dish is slightly cooled to about 15 to 20 ° C. because a part of the cold airflow is bypassed through the intermediate duct 8. Further, when the volume ratio of the upper zone and the lower zone is changed in response to a demand request for reducing the quantity of the refrigerated products 10A to be displayed in the warehouse and conversely increasing the non-refrigerated products 10B, the intermediate duct 8 is illustrated. The product is transferred to the product display shelf 6 one level above the position, and at this position, the rear end of the duct is set so as to communicate with the different air guide hole 2a-1 opened in the back panel 2a. In this case, the second uppermost air guide hole to which the intermediate duct 8 has been connected is closed with a cover attached to the rear panel.
Next, FIG. 6 shows a conventional configuration of a showcase (see Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3) in which a refrigerated product and a warmed product are displayed in the cabinet and sold together. In FIG. 6, 1 is an outer box of the main body case, 2 is an inner box, 3 is a cold air circulation ventilation path, 3 a and 3 b are cold air outlets, cold air inlets, and 4 is a cold air circulation ventilation path 3. Cooler arranged on the bottom side, 5 is a fan in the cool air blower arranged in front of the cooler 4, 6 is a product display shelf arranged in the upper and lower stages, 7 is a shelf bracket, 8 is in the warehouse This is an intermediate duct for blowing out cold air arranged at the middle position, and the product display shelf 6 at each stage is provided with a product heating heater 6a for heating the displayed products.

Here, the cold air blowing intermediate duct 8 is different in function and structure from the cold air suction intermediate duct equipped in the showcase of FIG. 4, and includes a downward air direction guide 8b at the opening of the front end of the duct. At the end, a wind guide damper 8c that protrudes into the cold air circulation passage 3 and closes the ventilation passage is provided. The intermediate duct 8 is installed on the back side of the product display shelf 6 in the same manner as the mounting structure of FIG. 5, and is communicated with the cool air circulation passage 3 through the air guide hole 2a-1 opened in the back panel 2a at this position. ing.
Then, with the intermediate duct 8 as a partition, the interior space is divided into an upper zone (a refrigerated / refrigerated switching zone) and a lower zone (a refrigerated zone), and the product display shelf 6 in the upper zone has a refrigerated product 10H. The refrigerated product 10C is displayed on the product display shelf in the lower zone.
In the above-described configuration, in the operation mode in which the refrigerated product 10H displayed in the upper zone is heated and the refrigerated product 10C displayed in the lower zone is kept cool, the air guide damper 8c of the intermediate duct 8 is placed behind the duct as shown in the figure. The cold air circulation passage 3 that is drawn out and leads to the cold air outlet 3a is shielded, and the heater 6a of the product display shelf 6 that displays the warm product 10H is energized. As a result, the cold air exchanged with the cooler 4 during the cold insulation operation is blown out from the middle of the cold air circulation passage 3 to the refrigeration dedicated zone at the lower part of the refrigerator through the intermediate duct 8 as shown by the dotted arrow in the figure. Keep 10C cool. On the other hand, the upper zone is blocked by the air guide damper 8c of the intermediate duct 8 so that the cool air is not ventilated, and the warmed product 10H displayed here is heated by the heater 6a of the product display shelf 6.

Here, the upper zone (warm zone) and the lower zone so that the refrigerated products 10H are displayed only on the product display shelves 6 arranged at the highest level in the cabinet and the refrigerated products 10C are displayed on the other product display shelves. When changing the volume ratio with the (refrigeration zone), the mounting position of the intermediate duct 8 is changed from the second stage to the first square hole 2a-1 in the same manner as the showcase described in FIG. Drive as before.
When all the products displayed on the product display shelf 6 in the warehouse are kept as refrigerated products 10C as in the summer, the wind guide damper 8c protruding from the rear end of the intermediate duct 8 is retracted into the duct. Thus, the rectangular hole 2a-1 opened in the back panel 2a is closed with a cover (see Patent Document 3), and the heater 6a of the commodity display shelf 6 is not energized. As a result, the cold airflow flowing through the cold air circulation ventilation path 3 is circulated and blown into the cabinet through the upper cold air outlet 3a without passing through the intermediate duct 8, so that all the displayed products are kept cold. In addition, when all the products displayed in the warehouse are sold as the warm storage products 10H as in the winter season, after the cooling operation of the refrigerator is stopped, the heaters 6a of the respective product display shelves 6 are energized. Warm up.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-320175 JP-A-6-14827 (FIGS. 2 and 3) JP 2004-286433 A

Incidentally, the conventional showcase shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 has the following problems.
That is, the rear panel 2a has an opening in the rear panel 2a so that the rear end of the intermediate duct 8 arranged in the middle position in the cabinet communicates with the cold air bypass passage 3c (see FIG. 4) or the cold air circulation passage 3 (see FIG. 6). Since the opening position of the air guide square holes 2a-1 is opened at a position designated in advance in accordance with the standard arrangement pitch of the product display shelves 6 arranged in the upper and lower stages, the intermediate duct 8 is adjusted accordingly. The installation position of this is inevitably limited.
For this purpose, increase or decrease the quantity of products displayed in the upper zone in the warehouse, or change the mounting height position of the product display shelf 6 in order to change the products displayed here to a large size product, etc. The merchandise display shelf 6 can be moved to a desired height position by selecting a plurality of engagement holes 9a perforated in the shelf column 9 in response to a demand request for changing the volume ratio between the upper zone and the lower zone. It is. On the other hand, the height position of the intermediate duct 8 is regulated by the air guide hole 2a-1 that is opened in advance to the predetermined height position of the back panel 2a as described above. Accordingly, the product display shelves 6 arranged in the upper and lower tiers cannot be shifted to the desired position by slightly shifting up and down from the standard position.

Also, in the structure, as shown in the example of the drawing, in the structure in which the air guide holes 2a-1 communicating with the intermediate duct 8 are divided into a plurality of upper and lower portions on the back panel 2a, a cover needs to be provided for each of the air guide holes 2a-1. There is a complicated structure.
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an intermediate duct for cold air suction or cold blowout is arranged at the middle position in the warehouse, and the interior space is divided into upper and lower zones with this intermediate duct as a boundary. In response to demand demands to change the volume ratio between the upper zone and the lower part in the store, for showcases that divide into two and display and sell refrigerated products, non-refrigerated products, and warmed products. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved showcase so that the installation position of the intermediate duct can be finely adjusted up and down.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention,
(1) Placed in parallel with the product display shelves arranged side by side in the upper and lower stages in the case body with the cooler and the internal fan placed in the cool air circulation passage defined between the outer box and the inner box An intermediate duct for cold air suction that divides the interior space into an upper zone and a lower zone is arranged in the middle position, and the cold air sucked from the interior through the intermediate duct is placed behind the rear panel via the internal fan. A cold air circulation show in which a bypass path is formed to return to the cooler, and the cold air blown to the upper zone in the refrigerator during the cold insulation operation is returned to the cooler from the intermediate duct via the bypass path. In case
A ventilation opening is formed in the plate surface of the back panel over the range corresponding to the volume ratio change of the upper zone and the lower zone in the cabinet, and the front surface of the opening is covered and moved up and down on the inner side of the back panel. A slide cover that is movable in the direction is disposed, and an air guide opening that leads to the intermediate duct is opened in a part of the plate surface of the slide cover.
(2) Placed in parallel with the product display shelves arranged side by side in the upper and lower stages in the case body with the cooler and the internal fan arranged in the cold air circulation passage defined between the outer box and the inner box An intermediate duct for blowing out cold air that divides the interior space into an upper zone and a lower zone is arranged in the middle position, and the cold air taken from the middle of the path of the cold air circulation passage through the intermediate duct during cold insulation operation is placed in the lower zone in the warehouse In the cool air circulation showcase that blows out towards the
A ventilation opening is formed in the plate surface of the back panel over the range corresponding to the volume ratio change of the upper zone and the lower zone in the cabinet, and the front surface of the opening is covered and moved up and down on the inner side of the back panel. A slide cover that is movable in the direction is disposed, and an air guide port that leads to the intermediate duct is opened in a part of the plate surface of the slide cover.

Further, in the showcase of the preceding paragraph (1) or (2), guide rails are laid on both the left and right sides of the ventilation opening formed on the plate surface of the rear panel, and the cover side edges are fitted into the rails to attach the slide cover. The guide is supported so as to be movable up and down (Claim 3).
Further, the ventilation opening formed in the plate surface of the back panel is preferably formed by a number of punching holes punched out in the panel plate surface.

According to the above configuration, the installation position of the intermediate duct is adjusted together with the product display shelf by adjusting the slide cover arranged on the inner side of the back panel according to the range of the opening formed on the back panel. It is possible to finely adjust to a desired position within the range. As a result, it is possible to easily respond to demand requests to increase or decrease the volume ratio of the upper / lower zones according to changes in the quantity and product size of products to be displayed separately in the upper and lower zones in the warehouse. Serviceability can be improved.
The ventilation opening formed in the back panel can also be formed by a square hole opened in accordance with its outer shape, but if a large square hole is opened in the panel surface, the strength of the back panel may be reduced. . On the other hand, the strength reduction of the back panel can be prevented by punching a large number of punching holes in the panel plate surface to form the ventilation openings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the examples shown in FIGS. In addition, in the figure of an Example, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member corresponding to FIGS. 4-6, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.
That is, in the illustrated embodiment, the space in the warehouse is defined by the intermediate duct 8 (the cold air suction duct shown in FIG. 3 or the cold air outlet duct shown in FIG. 4) arranged at the middle position of the showcase. In contrast to the configuration divided into an upper zone and a lower zone, the rear panel 2a is formed with a ventilation opening 2a-2 having a height h in an adjustment range corresponding to a change in the volume ratio between the upper zone and the lower zone. In the illustrated example, the plate surface of the back panel 2a is cut into a square hole shape to form the ventilation opening 2a-2.
In addition, a slide cover 11 that covers the front surface of the vent opening 2a-2 and that is movable in the vertical direction is disposed on the inner side of the rear panel 2a. A communicating air guide opening (square hole) 11a is opened.

Furthermore, guide rails 12 are laid on both the left and right sides of the vent opening 2a-2, and cover side edges are fitted into the guide rails 12 so as to guide and support the slide cover 11 so that the slide cover 11 can be moved up and down. Yes. In addition, a latching hole 13 arranged in the upper and lower stages is formed in the center of the plate surface of the rear panel 2a so as to be arranged above the ventilation opening 2a-2, and this latching hole 13 is selected to hang the upper end of the slide cover 11. Thus, it is fixed at a desired height position. In addition, the support structure of the merchandise display shelf 6, the shelf bracket 7, and the intermediate duct 8 arranged on the inner side of the case body is the same as that of the showcase of FIGS.
In the above configuration, the user can change the upper zone in the warehouse according to the quantity increase / decrease, the product size, etc. of the products (the refrigerated products 10A in FIG. 3 or the warm products 10H in FIG. 5) displayed in the upper zones in the warehouse. When the volume ratio of the lower zone is changed, the slide cover 11 is moved up and down along the guide rail 12 within the range of the height h of the ventilation opening 2a-2 opened in the back panel 2a. The air guide port 11a is adjusted to coincide with the height of the rear end opening surface of the intermediate duct 8 set at a desired position, and the slide cover 11 is fixed to the back panel 2a at this position. Next, the mounting position of the shelf bracket 7 on the shelf column 9 is adjusted in accordance with the air guide hole 11a opened in the slide cover 11, and the rear end opening of the intermediate duct 8 attached to the back surface of the product display shelf 6 at a predetermined stage Is set to face the air guide port 11a.

Here, when the installation position of the intermediate duct 8 is set to the height h1 in FIG. 2A, the slide cover 11 is moved upward, and conversely, is set to the lower position h2 shown in FIG. 2B. To do so, the slide cover 11 is moved downward so that the rear end of the intermediate duct 8 faces and communicates with the air guide port 11a opened at the center of the plate surface of the slide cover 11 at each position. Note that, for example, a seal (gasket) is attached to the periphery of the rear end opening of the intermediate duct 8 so that the air tightly contacts the slide cover 11 in a set state so as not to cause cold air leakage.
Next, with respect to the ventilation opening 2a-2 formed in the back panel 2a, an embodiment different from FIG. 1 is shown in FIGS. That is, in this embodiment, a punching process is performed on a specified range of the back panel 2a, and a number of punching holes 2b are punched out on the panel plate surface to form a ventilation opening 2a-2. Thereby, compared with the structure which cut out the big square hole like FIG. 1, the strength reduction of the back panel 2a can be prevented.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the intermediate duct 8 is assembled as an independent part on the back side of the product display shelf 6. However, the intermediate duct 8 is integrally coupled to the back surface of the shelf plate of the product display shelf 6 specified in advance. It can also be configured.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a main part structure including a back panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory views of an operation for adjusting the attachment position of the intermediate duct in FIG. 1, and FIGS. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment different from FIG. 1 regarding the ventilation opening of the rear panel, (a) is an external perspective view of the rear panel, and (b) is a partially enlarged view of the ventilation opening in (a). Cross-sectional side view showing the conventional configuration of a cold air circulation type showcase in which an intermediate duct for suctioning cold air is installed in the middle position of the cabinet and refrigerated products are displayed in the upper zone and non-refrigerated products are displayed in the lower zone The front view which shows the attachment structure of the air guide hole opened to the back panel in FIG. 4, and an intermediate | middle duct Cross-sectional side view showing the conventional configuration of a cold-air circulation type showcase in which an intermediate duct for blowing out cold air is provided in the middle position of the cabinet, and hot products are displayed in the upper zone and refrigerated products are displayed in the lower zone

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outer box of main body case 2 Inner box of main body case 2a Rear panel 2a-2 Venting opening 2b Punching hole 3 Cooling air circulation passage 4 Cooler 5 Fan in store 6 Merchandise display shelf 6a Heating heater 7 Shelf bracket 8 Intermediate duct 9 Shelf column 10A Refrigerated product 10B Non-refrigerated product 10H Warm product 10C Refrigerated product 11 Slide cover 11a Air guide 12 Guide rail

Claims (4)

Place the cooler and the internal fan in the cool air circulation ventilation path defined between the outer box and the inner box, and place it in the middle position alongside the product display shelves that are laid in the upper and lower stages. An intermediate duct for cold air suction that divides the interior space into an upper zone and a lower zone is provided, and a cooler that cools air drawn from the interior through the intermediate duct behind the rear panel via an internal fan. In a cold air circulation showcase in which a bypass passage for recirculation is defined, and the cold air blown to the upper zone in the refrigerator during the cooling operation is recirculated from the intermediate duct to the cooler via the bypass passage,
A ventilation opening is formed in the plate surface of the back panel over the range corresponding to the volume ratio change of the upper zone and the lower zone in the cabinet, and the front surface of the opening is covered and moved up and down on the inner side of the back panel. A showcase characterized in that a slide cover movable in a direction is arranged and an air guide opening leading to the intermediate duct is opened in a part of a plate surface of the slide cover. Place the cooler and the internal fan in the cool air circulation ventilation path defined between the outer box and the inner box, and place it in the middle position alongside the product display shelves that are laid in the upper and lower stages. An intermediate duct for cold air blowing that divides the internal space into an upper zone and a lower zone is provided, and the cold air taken from the middle of the path of the cold air circulation passage through the intermediate duct during the cold insulation operation is directed toward the lower zone in the warehouse In a cold-circulation showcase designed to blow out,
A ventilation opening is formed in the plate surface of the back panel over the range corresponding to the volume ratio change of the upper zone and the lower zone in the cabinet, and the front surface of the opening is covered and moved up and down on the inner side of the back panel. A showcase characterized in that a slide cover movable in a direction is arranged and an air guide opening leading to the intermediate duct is opened in a part of a plate surface of the slide cover. 3. The showcase according to claim 1 or 2, wherein guide rails are laid on both the left and right sides of the ventilation opening formed on the plate surface of the rear panel, and the slide side is moved up and down by inserting the cover side edges into the rails. A showcase that features adjustable guide support. The showcase according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ventilation opening of the back panel is formed by a punching hole punched out on the panel plate surface.

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