JP7749355B2 - Thawing warehouse - Google Patents

Description

This technology relates to thawing cabinets.

Thawing chambers have been known for some time that thaw pre-frozen and stored foodstuffs to a temperature suitable for cooking while maintaining quality. To prevent loss of thawing quality, it is essential to maintain a uniform temperature within the chamber in addition to controlling the temperature within the chamber. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which air within the thawing chamber is sucked up to the top, where it is temperature-adjusted, and then returned to the chamber by a fan on the side through ducts connected to the back and side. Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which air within the thawing chamber is sucked up by a processing unit installed on the back, where it is temperature-adjusted, and then blown out toward the front of the chamber through a side duct connecting the processing unit and the side shelf.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-130011 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-148388

However, with the above configuration, insufficient or uneven thawing could occur depending on the size of the frozen items to be thawed and the layout inside the compartment, leaving room for improvement in the uniformity of the temperature inside the thawing compartment.

This technology was developed in light of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a thawing cabinet that can maintain a more uniform temperature inside the cabinet during thawing.

The thawing chamber disclosed herein thaws frozen food by sending air into a thawing chamber in which the frozen food is stored. It comprises a thawing chamber for storing the frozen food, an air supply device for taking in air from the thawing chamber and returning it to the thawing chamber, and a hollow, columnar duct arranged vertically along the inside of the side wall of the thawing chamber. The columnar duct has a plurality of outlet holes arranged vertically that open toward the inside of the thawing chamber. The air supply device is configured to send the air taken in from the thawing chamber into the columnar duct, and blow the air into the thawing chamber through the plurality of outlet holes.

With the above configuration, the multiple outlet holes of the columnar duct are arranged at different positions in the vertical direction, allowing the air in the thawing chamber to be distributed vertically and sent into the freezer. Furthermore, the air blown out from the outlet holes can be directional. As a result, even if the flow of air sent into the freezer is partially blocked by frozen items, air flows are formed above and below the frozen items, preventing significant disruption of the air flow in the thawing chamber due to the frozen items being blocked. As a result, air can be circulated more evenly within the thawing chamber during thawing, achieving a high level of temperature uniformity within the thawing chamber.

In a preferred embodiment, the thawing chamber is provided with a plurality of the columnar ducts, one for each of the pair of opposing side walls, and the columnar ducts are arranged in positions that do not overlap one another in the arrangement direction of the columnar ducts along the side walls. With this configuration, the air blown out from the outlet holes of each columnar duct does not collide with one another and circulates horizontally within the thawing chamber. This allows the air within the thawing chamber to circulate horizontally as well as vertically, achieving an even higher level of temperature uniformity within the thawing chamber.

In one preferred embodiment, the thawing chamber is box-shaped and opens forward, the columnar ducts are provided on the left and right side walls, and the air supply device is configured to take in air from the thawing chamber above the thawing chamber and has flow paths that send the air taken in from the thawing chamber along the back wall and bottom wall to the lower ends of the pair of columnar ducts. With this configuration, air is sent to the columnar ducts from the side opposite to the air intake direction, allowing for extensive air circulation within the thawing chamber.

In a preferred embodiment, the rear wall of the thawing chamber is provided with a rear duct for sending the air sucked out of the thawing chamber downward. The rear duct forms a flow path extending in the vertical direction, and a heating means is provided inside the rear duct for heating the air taken in from the thawing chamber. This is preferable in that the thawing time can be shortened by appropriately warming the air to be sent into the thawing chamber using the heating means. Here, air heated by the heating means tends to rise relatively easily compared to cold air. Therefore, when heating the air taken in from the thawing chamber and sending it to the thawing chamber, it is desirable to distribute it vertically through the outlet holes of the columnar duct 30 and send it there, as this prevents the heated air from being biased upward.

In one preferred embodiment, the thawing chamber is provided with a shelf support structure capable of supporting multiple shelf nets spaced apart in the vertical direction, and the multiple air outlets are located below the shelf nets supported by the shelf support structure. With this configuration, multiple frozen items can be arranged side by side on the shelf nets, and even when there are multiple frozen items, they can be stored in the thawing chamber without temperature variations. Furthermore, because the air outlets are located below the shelf nets, even when frozen items are placed on the shelf nets, it is possible to reduce the risk of the air being blocked by the frozen items from the air blown into the thawing chamber from the air outlets or the air flow being disrupted, which could result in stagnation of air circulation within the thawing chamber.

In a preferred embodiment, one end of the cylindrical duct is provided with a second air supply device that supplies air sucked out of the thawing chamber toward the interior of the cylindrical duct. In the above configuration, a second air supply device that supplies air to the cylindrical duct is provided in addition to the air supply device that takes in air. This allows air to be forcefully blown out from the outlet holes into the thawing chamber, even if the position where air is taken in from the thawing chamber and the position where air is sent to the cylindrical duct are separated, making it possible to make the temperature inside the thawing chamber more uniform. It also promotes heat exchange between the frozen food and the air, shortening the thawing time.

In one preferred embodiment, the thawing chamber is configured inside a box-shaped insulated housing that opens forward, and has a box shape that opens forward. A first space is provided above the thawing chamber for taking in air from inside the thawing chamber, and a second space is provided below the thawing chamber in which the lower end of the columnar duct and the second air supply device connected to said lower end are disposed. The first space and the second space are connected by a rear duct that extends vertically along the rear wall of the thawing chamber. With this configuration, an air flow path that sucks air from inside the thawing chamber and returns it to the refrigerator can be efficiently constructed around the thawing chamber.

In one preferred embodiment, the second air supply device is a generally disk-shaped blower fan equipped with an air intake port that takes in air axially and an air outlet port that sends air out circumferentially. The blower fan is disposed to the side of the cylindrical duct, and the air outlet port is connected to the side of the cylindrical duct via a connector that extends laterally from the lower end of the cylindrical duct, and a drain hole is provided on the bottom surface of the connector. With this configuration, even if water seeps into the interior of the cylindrical duct, the water is prevented from reaching the blower fan. This reduces the burden of using a blower fan with excellent waterproof properties, for example.

In one preferred embodiment, a cooler is provided to cool the air taken in from the thawing chamber, and the cooler is used to cool the air taken in from the thawing chamber. This configuration can prevent deterioration in the quality of the thawed food. It is also desirable in that the evaporator fan of the cooling unit that constitutes the refrigeration cycle can be suitably used as the air supply device.

In one preferred embodiment, the system is equipped with a defrosting heater for heating the cooler when frost forms on the cooler, and is configured to heat the air taken in from the thawing chamber using the defrosting heater. This configuration is desirable in that it allows the defrosting heater of the cooling unit that constitutes the refrigeration cycle to be suitably used to heat the air in the thawing chamber.

The technology disclosed here makes it possible to achieve a more uniform temperature inside the refrigerator during thawing.

1 is a perspective view of a defrosting chamber according to an embodiment; Front cross-sectional view of the thawing chamber of Figure 1 (cross-sectional view along line A-A) Right side cross-sectional view of the defrosting chamber in Figure 1 (cross-sectional view along line B-B) Left side cross-sectional view of the defrosting chamber in Figure 1 (cross-sectional view along line CC) Cross-sectional view of the back of the defroster in Figure 1 (cross-sectional view along line D-D) Upper cross-sectional view of the thawing chamber in Figure 1 (cross-sectional view along line E-E) A perspective view of a main part of the first columnar duct 8 is a bottom view of the first columnar duct of FIG. Cross-sectional view of the second columnar duct Perspective view of the main parts of the defrosting cabinet excluding the door

A thawing cabinet according to one embodiment of the present technology will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 10 as appropriate. Note that the symbols F, Rr, L, R, U, and D shown in each figure respectively indicate the front and rear in the longitudinal direction of the thawing cabinet 1, the left and right in the width direction when viewed from the front, and the top and bottom in the vertical direction. However, these directions are merely defined for convenience and should not be interpreted as limiting. Furthermore, in some cases, when multiple identical components are used, a symbol will be assigned to one component and the symbols for the other components will be omitted.

The thawing chamber 1 is a storage chamber that can thaw frozen items, such as frozen food ingredients, while maintaining their quality, for example, to a temperature suitable for cooking, and then store them after thawing while maintaining their quality. In one example, it is equipped with a temperature control mechanism that thaws frozen items frozen at -15°C or below (e.g., -20°C to -25°C) to, for example, a partial freezing temperature of around -3°C or a chilled temperature of around 0°C, and keeps them cold at this temperature. As shown in Figure 1 and elsewhere, the thawing chamber 1 is primarily composed of a roughly rectangular shaped thawing chamber main body 10. A machine chamber 5 is located above the thawing chamber main body 10, and these are supported from below by legs 9. Each component is described below.

The thawing chamber main body 10 comprises an insulated housing 11 with an opening on one front side and a door 15 for opening and closing the opening of the insulated housing 11. The insulated housing 11 is constructed by fitting an inner box 13, also made of stainless steel, inside an outer box 12 made of stainless steel plate, and filling the space between the outer box 12 and inner box 13 with insulating material 14 made of foamed resin such as urethane foam. The insulated housing 11 has a top wall 11A, a left side wall 11B, a right side wall 11C, a back wall 11D, and a bottom wall 11E. The top wall 11A has an opening 11F that communicates with the machine chamber 5.

A cooling chamber duct 7A is attached to the upper part of the insulated housing 11 to form the cooling chamber 7, and a drain pan 41 and other components are attached to the lower part of the insulated housing 11 to form the bottom duct 40. The cooling chamber 7 is an example of a first space in the present technology, and the bottom duct 40 is an example of a second space in the present technology. The remaining area inside the insulated housing 11, surrounded by the insulated housing 11, the cooling chamber duct 7A, and the drain pan 41, forms the thawing chamber 3 for storing frozen items to be thawed. The thawing chamber main body 10 is configured to blow air taken in from the thawing chamber 3 back into the thawing chamber through a columnar duct 30, which will be described later.

The door 15 is constructed by filling the interior of an outer casing 16 made of stainless steel plate with insulating material 17 made of foamed resin such as urethane foam. The door 15 is the element that opens and closes the opening of the thawing chamber 3. By covering the opening of the thawing chamber 3 with the door 15, a thawing space is created and the thawing space (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as the interior) is insulated from the outside. The door 15 has a handle 18 on the right side when viewed from the front, and is attached so that it can swing open and closed using its right end as a swing axis. A gasket 19 is attached to the peripheral edge of the back surface 15A, which faces the inside of the door 15 when closed. The gasket 19 is an elastic sealing member that is interposed between the door 15 and the edge of the opening of the insulated housing 11 when the door 15 is closed, airtightly sealing the door 15 and the edge of the opening.

As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the machine compartment 5 is located above the insulated housing 11 and houses part of a cooling unit 20 (an example of a cooling device) for cooling the air inside the thawing chamber 3 (interior), and a control device 100 that controls each part of the thawing chamber 1. The machine compartment 5 and the cooling chamber 7 are connected to each other via an opening 11F provided in the top wall 11A of the insulated housing 11, but this opening 11F is insulated and sealed by an insulating partition plate 29 fitted from the machine compartment 5 side. The control device 100 is electrically connectable to an external power source (not shown), and power is supplied to each part of the thawing chamber 1 via the control device 100, for example.

The cooling unit 20 primarily cools the air in the defrosting chamber 3 to a temperature lower than the outside air, and heats the air in the defrosting chamber 3 if the temperature is too low. The cooling unit 20 generally includes a compressor 21, a condenser 22, a condenser fan 22A, an expansion valve (not shown), an evaporator 24 (an example of a cooler), an evaporator fan 24A (an example of a first air supply device), a refrigerant pipe 25 through which the refrigerant flows, an interior temperature sensor 26 (an example of an interior temperature sensor), and a defrost heater 27 (an example of a heating means). The cooling unit 20 circulates the refrigerant through the refrigerant pipe 25, connecting the compressor 21, condenser 22, expansion valve, and evaporator 24 in this order, forming a known refrigeration cycle. The compressor 21, condenser 22, and condenser fan 22A of the cooling unit 20 are mounted on an insulating partition plate 29 and disposed in the machine room 5 (i.e., exposed to the outside air). Of the cooling unit 20, the evaporator 24, evaporator fan 24A, internal temperature sensor 26, defrost heater 27, and expansion valve are installed below an insulating partition plate 29 and disposed in the cooling chamber 7. The evaporator 24 is disposed behind the evaporator fan 24A. The compressor 21, condenser fan 22A, evaporator fan 24A, internal temperature sensor 26, and defrost heater 27 are electrically connected to the control device 100.

More specifically, as shown in Figure 3, the cooling chamber duct 7A is inclined downward toward the rear, with an intake port 7B at the front and an outlet port 7C at the rear. An evaporator fan 24A is provided above the intake port 7B, and an internal temperature sensor 26 is provided above the evaporator fan 24A. In this example, the evaporator fan 24A is equipped with two air supply devices, and the cooling chamber duct 7A is equipped with two intake ports 7B. The internal temperature sensor 26 is composed of, for example, a thermistor.

As shown in Figures 2 to 6, a rear duct 50 is provided in the vertical direction on the back wall 11D of the thawing chamber 3. The rear duct 50 communicates with the cooling chamber 7 and the bottom duct 40, and is configured, for example, to send air cooled in the cooling chamber 7 to the bottom duct 40. The rear duct 50 generally includes a duct body 51, a rear heater 52 (an example of a heating means), and a temperature sensor 53. The rear heater 52 and temperature sensor 53 are electrically connected to the control device 100. The rear duct 50 in this example is also provided with a shelf support structure 54.

The duct body 51 is formed by bending a flat plate made of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy into a generally convex cross-section. It includes a main body portion 51A located in the widthwise center, a pair of wall portions 51B continuous with both ends of the main body portion 51A, and a pair of fixing portions 51C continuous with both ends of the wall portions 51B. The main body portion 51A is located away from the rear wall 11D toward the interior of the room so that its plate surface extends in the front-to-rear direction. The pair of wall portions 51B are recessed from both widthwise ends of the main body portion 51A toward the rear wall 11D and are located so that their plate surfaces extend in the front-to-rear direction. The pair of fixing portions 51C extend outward in the widthwise direction from both ends of the wall portions 51B, and the duct body 51 is fixed to the rear wall 11D at the fixing portions 51C. The upper end of the duct body 51 is connected to the rear end of the cooling chamber duct 7A, and the lower end of the duct body 51 is connected to the rear end of the drain pan 41. This forms an air flow path from top to bottom inside the rear duct 50. A temperature sensor 53 is provided in the center of the width of the lower end of the main body portion 51A of the duct body 51 to measure the temperature of the air flowing through this flow path. The temperature sensor 53 is, for example, a thermistor.

As shown in Figure 5, a rear heater 52 is provided on the back surface (the surface facing the back wall 11D) of the main body portion 51A of the duct main body 51. In this example, the rear heater 52 is a so-called silicone cord heater in which the lead wire (copper wire) is coated with silicone rubber, and is arranged separately, one in the upper portion and one in the lower portion of the duct main body 51. The rear heaters 52 are arranged in multiple rows, serpentine in the vertical direction, in both the upper and lower portions of the duct main body 51, and are fixed to the back surface of the duct main body 51 with aluminum foil tape.

As shown in FIG. 2, the surface (front-facing surface) of the main body portion 51A of the duct body 51 is provided with a shelf support structure 54 on which shelf nets 55 for placing frozen foods can be placed in a vertically aligned arrangement. The shelf support structure 54 includes a shelf column 56 and a shelf support member 57. Long shelf columns 56 are arranged along each of the left and right ends of the duct body 51. The shelf columns 56 are provided with a plurality of locking holes 56A at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, and the shelf support member 57 can be secured to the shelf column 56 by engaging the locking claws 57A of the shelf support member 57 with these locking holes 56A. This shelf support structure 54 is provided on the front end of the left side wall 11B and the second column-shaped duct 30B, described below. The shelf support structure 54 at the front end of the left side wall 11B is attached to the interior-facing surface of a rectangular column member 58 for alignment. These four shelf support structures 54 allow the shelf nets 55 to be detachably supported in a substantially horizontal position at the desired height in the thawing chamber 3. The shelf support structure 54 in this example shows how nine shelf nets 55 are supported in their basic mounting positions.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the defrosting chamber 3 is provided with hollow columnar ducts 30 in the vertical direction on each of the left and right side walls 11B, 11C. More specifically, the left side wall 11B has one columnar duct 30 slightly rearward from the front end and one columnar duct 30 rearward, while the right side wall 11C has one columnar duct 30 at the front end and one columnar duct 30 slightly rearward from the center in the fore-and-aft direction. As shown in Figure 6, the columnar ducts 30 are staggered so that they do not overlap in the fore-and-aft direction. Furthermore, by locating one columnar duct 30 at the front end of the defrosting chamber 3, the air blown out from this columnar duct 30 functions as an air curtain, preventing the temperature inside the defrosting chamber 3 from becoming unstable due to air entering or leaving the chamber, for example, when the door 15 is opened to place frozen food into the defrosting chamber 3 after a delay. Of the four pillar-shaped ducts 30, the two pillar-shaped ducts 30 provided on the left side wall 11B and the one pillar-shaped duct 30 provided slightly rearward of the center of the right side wall 11C (hereinafter referred to as the first pillar-shaped duct 30A when necessary) have the same structure. On the other hand, the one pillar-shaped duct 30 provided in front of the right side wall 11C (hereinafter referred to as the second pillar-shaped duct 30B when necessary) has a shelf support structure 54 attached, and is slightly different in structure from the first pillar-shaped duct 30A. Below, the pillar-shaped ducts 30 will be described based on the first pillar-shaped duct 30A provided on the left side wall 11B, and descriptions of the other pillar-shaped ducts 30 will be omitted as appropriate, with only differences being described.

The first columnar duct 30A is generally long and columnar, and is made of a metal material such as stainless steel or aluminum alloy. As shown in FIG. 7, the first columnar duct 30A includes a base material 31, a convex member 32, a cover member 34, a bottom member 35, an air deflector 36, and a blower fan 38 (an example of an air supply device). While the upper end of the first columnar duct 30A is located in the thawing chamber 3, the lower end of the first columnar duct 30A is located in the bottom duct 40.

First, the convex member 32 is an element that forms an air flow path extending vertically and is configured to bulge toward the interior of the thawing chamber 3 relative to the side walls 11B and 11C. More specifically, the convex member 32 is formed by bending a long, flat plate. It has a convex portion 32A located in the center of the width direction, which intersects with the longitudinal direction, a pair of wall portions 32B connected to both ends of the convex portion 32A, and a pair of base portions 32C connected to both ends of the wall portion 32B. The convex portion 32A is the portion that protrudes furthest toward the interior of the room, and its plate surface is arranged along the front-to-rear direction. The pair of wall portions 32B are portions that are recessed from both ends of the convex portion 32A toward the side walls 11B and 11C in the front-to-rear direction, and their plate surfaces are arranged along the width direction of the thawing chamber 3. The pair of base portions 32C support the convex portion 32A while keeping it spaced apart from the side walls 11B and 11C.

The base material 31 is an additional element that enhances the rigidity of the convex member 32. The base material 31 is flat and is disposed on the sidewalls 11B and 11C side of the convex member 32, and is joined to the convex member 32. More specifically, the base material 31 is wider than the width of the convex member 32 by a bending margin. The base material 31 is folded 180 degrees toward the center at both ends of the width, enveloping the convex member 32 at both ends (the pair of base portions 32C). This structure ensures that the surfaces of the base material 31 and the convex member 32 that face the sidewalls 11B and 11C have approximately the same outer shape. In this example, the base material 31 is joined to the pair of base portions 32C of the convex member 32 by spot welding after the bending margins are folded back and pressure-welded to enhance airtightness. However, the base material 31 does not necessarily need to include the above-mentioned bending allowance, and may be formed so that the outlines of the base material 31 and the convex member 32 match when they are superimposed.

Multiple air outlet holes 33 are formed through the convex surface portion 32A at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. The air outlet holes 33 are outlets for air circulating through the columnar duct 30 to be blown into the thawing chamber 3. Each air outlet hole 33 is formed as an oblong hole extending horizontally (front-to-back). The vertical position of each air outlet hole 33 is adjusted so that it is located immediately below the shelf net 55 attached to the shelf support structure 54 in its basic mounting position.

The air deflector 36 is an additional element that controls the direction of air blown out from the outlet holes 33. In this example, the air deflector 36 is formed by bending a single plate into a generally L-shaped cross section. One plate portion of the bent portion is fixed to the upper edge of the outlet hole 33, while the other plate portion extends from above the outlet hole 33 toward the interior of the room. In this example, the air deflector 36 is installed so that its plate surface extends horizontally for all outlet holes 33. This allows air to be blown out horizontally from the outlet holes 33, preventing the air flow in the thawing chamber 3 from being blocked by frozen food. However, the air deflector 36 may be installed at any outlet hole 33, and the extension direction of the air deflector 36 is not limited to the horizontal direction. For example, the extension direction of each air deflector 36 may be independently within a range of approximately ±30 degrees horizontally.

The cover member 34 is a member for closing the upper end of the first columnar duct 30A, and the upper end of the first columnar duct 30A is closed by the cover member 34. By closing the upper end of the first columnar duct 30A, a larger volume of air can be forcefully sent toward the inside of the defrosting chamber 3. The bottom member 35 is a member for closing the lower end of the first columnar duct 30A, and the lower end of the first columnar duct 30A is closed by the bottom member 35. More specifically, a blower fan 38 is connected to the lower end of the first columnar duct 30A, which is disposed within the bottom duct 40. The first columnar duct 30A has a connection portion 37 whose flow path is bent forward or backward at its lower end to connect to the blower fan 38. For example, for the first columnar duct 30A attached to the left side wall 11B, the flow path of the connection portion 37 is bent forward by 90 degrees. Accordingly, at the lower end of the first columnar duct 30A, the base material 31 and convex surface portion 32A extend forward, and the rear corners are chamfered (C-chamfered). The front wall portion 32B also extends forward, and the rear wall portion 32B has a portion removed below the chamfered portion. The bottom member 35 has an inclined surface portion 35A that slopes forward as it extends downward, and a bottom surface portion 35B that extends forward from this inclined surface portion. The chamfered portions of the base material 31 and convex surface portion 32A are closed by the inclined surface portion 35A, and the extended portions are closed by the bottom surface portion 35B. A drainage through-hole 35C is provided in the bottom surface portion 35B of the bottom member 35, slightly closer to the blower fan 38. A first columnar duct 30A with the same configuration as above is attached behind the right side wall 11C, with the flow path at the connection portion 37 bent 90 degrees rearward.

The second columnar duct 30B, located relatively forward of the right side wall 11C, has roughly the same configuration as the first columnar duct 30A, and is attached to the right side wall 11C with the flow path at the connection portion 37 bent 90 degrees rearward. As shown in FIG. 4, the positions of the multiple outlet holes 33 provided in the convex portion 32A of the second columnar duct 30B are shifted to the opposite side (forward in this case) from the connection direction of the blower fan 38 (rear in this case). The shelf column 56 and shelf support member 57 of the shelf support structure 54 of the second columnar duct 30B are attached in the space thus formed in the convex portion 32A.

The blower fan 38 is disposed within the bottom duct 40 and connected to the side surface (wall portion 32B) of the lower end of the cylindrical duct 30. The blower fan 38 is an air supply device that sends air drawn from the thawing chamber 3 into the cylindrical duct 30. It has an air intake port 38A for drawing in air and an air outlet 38B for sending out air. In this example, the blower fan 38 is approximately disk-shaped. The air intake port 38A is located in the center of the disk, drawing in air axially, and the air outlet 38B is located on the circumference, sending out air tangentially. This blower fan 38 can deliver highly directional air in a direction different from the intake direction, thereby efficiently delivering air from the bottom duct 40 into the cylindrical duct 30. The blower fan 38 is electrically connected to the control device 100, which controls its operation. The blower fan 38 can be, but is not limited to, a brushless DC motor. With a brushless DC motor, the amount of current and rotation speed can be electrically changed by the control device 100, making it easy to adjust the amount of air sent. This makes it possible, for example, to drive the motor so that the amount of air sent is increased during the defrosting operation described below, and to drive the motor so that the amount of air sent is decreased during the cooling operation to keep the cool.

As shown in FIG. 10 , the bottom duct 40 is constructed by covering the lower part of the insulated housing 11 with a drain pan 41, cover member 42, and front cover 43. The drain pan 41, cover member 42, and front cover 43 are watertightly connected to the insulated housing 11, rear duct 50, column-shaped duct 30, and column member 58, respectively. A drain outlet 44 is provided in the center of the front width of the drain pan 41, and the top surface of the drain pan 41 tapers downward toward the drain outlet 44. A drain hole 45, which is slightly larger than the drain outlet 44, is provided in the bottom wall 11E of the insulated housing 11 at a position corresponding to the drain outlet 44. A drain hose 46 (see FIG. 3 ) is connected to the drain outlet 44 of the drain pan 41 on the bottom duct 40 side, and the lower end of the drain hose 46 is inserted into the drain hole 45, allowing moisture generated in the thawing chamber 3 to be drained to the outside of the thawing chamber 1.

The operation of the thawing chamber 1 configured as described above will now be explained. When thawing frozen items stored in the thawing chamber 3, the thawing chamber 1 performs thawing operation using the cooling unit 20 and, if necessary, the rear heater 52, controlled by the control device 100. During thawing operation, for example, the compressor 21 and condenser fan 22A are stopped, and the evaporator fan 24A and defrost heater 27 are driven. When the evaporator fan 24A is driven, air from the thawing chamber 3 is drawn into the cooling chamber 7 through the intake port 7B. The internal temperature sensor 26 can detect the temperature of this drawn air from the thawing chamber 3. The air drawn into the cooling chamber 7 is heated by heat exchange with the defrost heater 27. The heated air is then sent through the air outlet 7C to the rear duct 50, the bottom duct 40, and the columnar duct 30, in that order. The air sent to the columnar duct 30 passes through vertically arranged outlet holes 33 and is blown evenly vertically into the inside of the thawing chamber 3. By returning the heated air in this way to the thawing chamber 3, the air inside the refrigerator is heated evenly and the frozen items are thawed.

The control device 100 can detect the temperature of the air in the thawing chamber 3 that is sucked up into the cooling chamber 7 using the internal temperature sensor 26. The control device 100 can also detect the temperature of the air flowing down the rear duct 50 using the temperature sensor 53. The control device 100 then controls the operation of the evaporator fan 24A, blower fan 38, and defrost heater 27 so that the air in the thawing chamber 3 measured by the internal temperature sensor 26 reaches a preset thawing temperature or so that the air in the thawing chamber 3 maintains the preset thawing temperature. The control device 100 also drives the rear heater 52 as needed to heat the air flowing down the rear duct 50 and control the internal temperature to reach the preset thawing temperature in a shorter time. This allows frozen items to be thawed while maintaining a more uniform temperature inside the refrigerator.

For example, after thawing frozen items, the thawing chamber 1 maintains the thawing chamber 3 at a predetermined cooling temperature. The control device 100 controls the cooling unit 20 to perform cooling operation. During cooling operation, the compressor 21 compresses gaseous refrigerant to produce a high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant. The condenser 22 then cools the refrigerant to a medium-temperature, high-pressure liquefied refrigerant using the condenser fan 22A. This liquefied refrigerant is then rapidly expanded using an expansion valve to produce a low-temperature, low-pressure liquefied refrigerant. The evaporator 24 absorbs heat from the surrounding air and evaporates it to produce a low-temperature, low-pressure gaseous refrigerant. As shown in FIG. 3 and other figures, the evaporator fan 24A draws air from the thawing chamber 3 into the cooling chamber 7 and sends it to the evaporator 24. The air is then cooled by heat exchange with the evaporator 24 as it passes through. The cooled air is returned to the thawing chamber 3, thereby cooling the air inside the chamber. The control device 100 measures the temperature of the air in the thawing chamber 3 that is sucked into the cooling chamber 7 using the internal temperature sensor 26, and controls the operation of the compressor 21, condenser fan 22A, and evaporator fan 24A so that the air in the thawing chamber 3 reaches or maintains the preset cooling temperature.

Furthermore, when the cooling unit 20 performs cooling operation, the water vapor contained in the air in the thawing chamber 3 is cooled by the evaporator 24, forming frost on the surface of the evaporator 24. Therefore, when removing frost from the evaporator 24, the thawing chamber 1 controls the cooling unit 20 to perform defrosting operation under the control of the control device 100. In defrosting operation, for example, the compressor 21, condenser fan 22A, and evaporator fan 24A are stopped, and the defrost heater 27 is energized to heat and melt the frost (heater heating method). Alternatively, the evaporator fan 24A alone is driven without energizing the defrost heater 27, and the frost is melted using the air inside the chamber as a heat source (off-cycle method). The frost melted during defrosting operation is received by the cooling chamber duct 7A and sent to the exhaust pipe 7D located inside the back wall 11D, where it is discharged to the outside of the thawing chamber main body 10.

The cooling chamber duct 7A is equipped with an infrared temperature sensor 60 between the two intake ports 7B. The infrared temperature sensor 60 is configured to focus infrared rays emitted from an object onto a detection element consisting of a thermopile using a lens, and obtain temperature information for the object based on a voltage output from the detection element that is proportional to the local temperature difference. The infrared temperature sensor 60 is advantageous in that it can measure the temperature of the frozen items stored in the thawing chamber 3 directly, non-contact, and quickly. During the above-mentioned thawing, cooling, and defrosting operations, the control device 100 may independently control each component based on the temperature of the frozen items measured by the infrared temperature sensor 60, instead of the air temperature in the thawing chamber 3 measured by the internal temperature sensor 26.

The thawing chamber 1 configured as described above includes a thawing chamber 3 for storing frozen food, an evaporator fan 24A (an example of an air supply device) for drawing in air from the thawing chamber 3 and then sending it to the thawing chamber 3, and a hollow, columnar duct 30 arranged vertically along the inside of the left side wall 11B and right side wall 11C of the thawing chamber 3. The columnar duct 30 has multiple outlet holes 33 extending vertically and opening toward the inside of the thawing chamber 3. The evaporator fan 24A is configured to blow air drawn in from the thawing chamber 3 into the columnar duct 30, where it is blown into the thawing chamber 3 through the multiple outlet holes 33. In this configuration, the multiple outlet holes 33 of the columnar duct 30 are positioned at different positions vertically, allowing the air in the thawing chamber 3 to be distributed vertically and sent into the chamber. Furthermore, the air blown out from the outlet holes 33 can be directional. As a result, even if the flow of air sent into the freezer is partially blocked by frozen items, air flows are formed above and below the frozen items, preventing significant disruption of the air flow within the thawing chamber due to the frozen items being blocked. As a result, air can be circulated more evenly within the thawing chamber 3 during thawing operation, achieving a higher level of temperature uniformity within the thawing chamber 3. This in turn prevents quality degradation due to insufficient thawing, uneven thawing, or over-thawing of thawed items.

In the thawing cabinet 1 configured as described above, the thawing chamber 3 is provided with multiple columnar ducts 30 on each of the pair of opposing left and right side walls 11B and 11C. The multiple columnar ducts 30 are also arranged in positions where they do not overlap each other in the front-to-rear direction, which is the direction in which the multiple columnar ducts 30 are arranged along the left and right side walls 11B and 11C. With this configuration, the air blown out from the outlet holes 33 of each columnar duct 30 does not collide with each other in the horizontal direction, and circulates appropriately within the thawing chamber 3, as shown in Figure 6, for example. This allows the air within the thawing chamber to circulate horizontally as well as vertically, achieving an even higher level of temperature uniformity within the thawing chamber.

In the thawing cabinet 1 configured as described above, the thawing chamber 3 is box-shaped and opens forward, and the columnar ducts 30 are provided on the left and right walls 11B and 11C, respectively. The evaporator fan 24A, cooling chamber 7, rear duct 50, and bottom duct 40 (an example of an air supply device) are configured to take in air from the thawing chamber 3 above the thawing chamber 3, and are provided with flow paths that send the air taken in from the thawing chamber 3 along the rear and bottom walls 11D and 11E to the lower ends of the pair of columnar ducts 30. With this configuration, air is sent to the columnar ducts 30 from below, opposite the above from which the air was taken in, allowing for extensive air circulation within the thawing chamber 3.

In the thawing cabinet 1 configured as described above, the rear wall 11D of the thawing chamber 3 is provided with a rear duct 50 for sending air sucked out of the thawing chamber 3 downward. The rear duct 50 forms a flow path extending in the vertical direction, and a rear heater 52 (an example of a heating means) for heating the air taken in from the thawing chamber 3 is provided inside the rear duct 50. This is advantageous in that the thawing time can be shortened by appropriately heating the air sent into the thawing chamber using the heating means. Here, heated air tends to rise relatively easily compared to cold air. Therefore, when the air taken in from the thawing chamber 3 is heated and then returned to the thawing chamber 3, it is desirable to distribute the air vertically through the outlet holes 33 of the columnar duct 30 and send it thereafter, as this prevents the heated air from being biased upward.

In the thawing chamber 1 configured as described above, the thawing chamber 3 is provided with a shelf support structure 54 that can support multiple shelf nets 55 at a distance in the vertical direction. The multiple air outlets 33 are also provided with openings that are located below the shelf nets 55 supported by the shelf support structure 54. This configuration allows multiple frozen items to be arranged side by side on the shelf nets 55, and even when there are multiple frozen items, they can be stored in the thawing chamber 3 without temperature variations. Furthermore, because the air outlets 33 are located below the shelf net 55, even when frozen items are placed on the shelf net 55, it is possible to reduce the risk of the air being blocked by the frozen items when it is blown into the thawing chamber 3 from the air outlets 33, or the air flow being disrupted, thereby reducing the chance of air circulation within the thawing chamber 3 being impeded.

In the thawing chamber 1 configured as described above, one end of the cylindrical duct 30 is provided with a blower fan 38 (an example of a second air supply device) that sends air sucked out of the thawing chamber 3 toward the interior of the cylindrical duct 30. In this configuration, a second air supply device (blower fan 38) that sends air to the cylindrical duct 30 is provided in addition to the air supply device (evaporator fan 24A) that takes in air. This allows air to be forcefully blown out from the outlet holes 33 into the thawing chamber 3, even if the position where air is taken in from the thawing chamber 3 and the position where air is sent to the cylindrical duct are separated, making the temperature inside the thawing chamber 3 more uniform. It also promotes heat exchange between the frozen food and the air, shortening the thawing time.

In the thawing cabinet 1 configured as described above, the thawing chamber 3 is configured inside a box-shaped insulated housing 11 that opens forward, and also has a box-like shape that opens forward. A cooling chamber 7 (an example of a first space) is provided above the thawing chamber 3 to draw in air from inside the thawing chamber 3, and a bottom duct 40 (an example of a second space) is provided below the thawing chamber 3, in which the lower end of a columnar duct 30 and a blower fan 38 (an example of a second air supply device) connected to the lower end are disposed. The cooling chamber 7 and the bottom duct 40 are connected by a rear duct 50 that extends vertically along the rear wall 11D of the thawing chamber 3. This configuration allows for an efficient air flow path to be created around the thawing chamber 3, sucking air from inside the thawing chamber 3 and returning it to the interior of the cabinet.

In the thawing chamber 1 configured as described above, the second air supply device is a blower fan 38 that is generally disk-shaped and includes an air intake port 38A that takes in air axially and an air supply port 38B that sends air out circumferentially. The blower fan 38 is disposed to the side of the cylindrical duct 30, and the air supply port 38B is connected to the side of the cylindrical duct 30 via a connection portion 37 that extends laterally from the lower end of the cylindrical duct 30. A through-hole 35C (an example of a drain hole) is provided in the bottom portion 35B (bottom surface) of the connection portion 37. With this configuration, even if water seeps into the interior of the cylindrical duct 30, the water is discharged through the through-hole 35C, preventing it from reaching the blower fan 38. This reduces the need to use a highly waterproof blower fan, for example.

The thawing cabinet 1 configured as described above is equipped with an evaporator 24 (an example of a cooler) that cools the air taken in from the thawing chamber 3. The evaporator 24 is configured to cool the air taken in from the thawing chamber 3. If the thawing temperature exceeds the predetermined thawing temperature or if the storage temperature after thawing exceeds the predetermined cold storage temperature, bacteria may grow in the thawed food, significantly deteriorating the quality of the thawed food. With the above configuration, for example, if the temperature in the thawing chamber 3 rises too high due to the operating heat of the evaporator fan 24A, or after the frozen food has been thawed, the temperature in the thawing chamber 3 can be maintained at a predetermined thawing temperature or cold storage temperature. This prevents deterioration in the quality of the thawed food. It is also desirable in that the evaporator fan 24A of the cooling unit 20, which constitutes the refrigeration cycle, can be used as an air supply device.

The thawing chamber 1 configured as described above is equipped with a defrosting heater 27 for heating the evaporator 24 (an example of a cooler) when frost forms on the evaporator 24, and is configured to heat the air taken in from the thawing chamber 3 using this defrosting heater 27. This configuration is desirable in that it allows the defrosting heater 27 of the cooling unit 20, which constitutes the refrigeration cycle, to be suitably used to heat the air in the thawing chamber 3.

<Other Embodiments>
The present technology is not limited to the examples disclosed in the above embodiments, and the following aspects are also included in the scope of the present technology. Furthermore, the present technology can be implemented in various modified aspects without departing from its essence.

(1) In the above embodiment, the insulated housing 11 has an opening on one front surface, and is provided with a rear duct 50 on the back wall 11D and columnar ducts 30 on the left and right side walls 11B and 11C. However, the rear duct 50 does not necessarily have to be installed, and the location where the columnar duct 30 is installed is not limited to the left and right side walls 11B and 11C. For example, the columnar duct 30 may be configured so that its upper end is connected to the cooling chamber 7, and air cooled in the cooling chamber 7 is directly introduced into the columnar duct 30. Also, for example, the columnar duct 30 may be installed on any of the back surface 15A of the door 15, the left side wall 11B, the right side wall 11C, and the rear wall 11D.

(2) In the above embodiment, an air supply device was provided at the lower end of all of the multiple columnar ducts 30. However, it is not necessary to attach an air supply device to the lower end of the columnar duct 30, and it is possible to omit the installation of an air supply device on the columnar duct 30 as long as air can be sent from the columnar duct 30 to the thawing chamber 3.

(3) In the above embodiment, four columnar ducts 30 are provided in one thawing chamber 3. However, the number of columnar ducts 30 is not limited to this example and can be adjusted as appropriate depending on, for example, the size of the thawing chamber 3 and the thickness of the columnar ducts 30.

(4) Although a blower fan (also called a sirocco fan) is used as the air supply device connected to the columnar duct 30, the air supply device is not limited to this. The air supply device may be, for example, a centrifugal air supply device such as a turbofan other than a blower fan, an axial flow air supply device such as a propeller fan, a cross flow air supply device such as a cross flow fan, or a diagonal flow air supply device such as a cross flow fan.

(5) In the above embodiment, nine shelf nets 55 are supported at basic mounting positions directly above the air outlets 33. However, the configuration of the shelf support structure 54 is not limited to this. For example, any number of locking holes 56A can be provided at predetermined intervals in the shelf column 56, and the mounting positions of the shelf support members 57 and the support positions of the shelf nets 55 can be changed.

(6) In the above embodiment, the defrosting operation, cooling operation, and defrosting operation of the defrosting chamber are merely examples, and various other operating methods can be adopted.

1...Thawing cabinet, 3...Thawing compartment, 7...Cooling compartment, 10...Thawing cabinet body, 11...Insulated housing, 11A...Top wall, 11B...Left side wall, 11C...Right side wall, 11D...Rear wall, 11E...Bottom wall, 20...Cooling unit, 24...Evaporator (cooler), 24A...Evaporator fan (air supply device), 26...Internal temperature sensor, 27...Defrosting heater, 30...Columnar duct, 30A...First columnar duct, 30B...Second columnar duct, 33...Blowout hole, 35C...Through-hole, 36...Air deflector, 37...Connection, 38...Blower fan, 38A...Air intake, 38B...Air supply, 40...Bottom duct, 50...Rear duct, 52...Rear heater, 53...Temperature sensor, 54...Shelf support structure, 55...Shelf net, 56...Shelf column, 57...Shelf support member

Claims (8)

A thawing chamber that thaws frozen items by sending air into a thawing chamber in which the frozen items are stored,
a thawing chamber for accommodating the frozen food;
an air supply device for taking in air from the thawing chamber and returning it to the thawing chamber;
a hollow columnar duct provided along the inside of the side wall of the thawing chamber in the vertical direction;
Equipped with
The columnar duct has a plurality of outlet holes that open toward the inside of the thawing chamber along the vertical direction,
the air supply device is configured to send the air taken in from the thawing chamber into the columnar duct, and then blow the air into the thawing chamber through the plurality of blowing holes,
The thawing chamber is provided with a plurality of the columnar ducts, one for each of the pair of opposing side walls,
a plurality of the columnar ducts provided on one of the pair of side walls are arranged in a front-rear direction along the one side wall,
a plurality of the columnar ducts provided on the other side wall of the pair of side walls are arranged in a front-rear direction along the other side wall,
the plurality of columnar ducts are arranged such that the columnar duct provided on one side wall and the columnar duct provided on the other side wall are arranged at staggered positions so as not to overlap with each other in an arrangement direction of the plurality of columnar ducts along the side walls,
The thawing chamber has a box shape that opens forward, and the columnar ducts are provided on the left and right side walls,
the air supply device is configured to take in air from the thawing chamber above the thawing chamber, and includes a flow path that sends the air taken in from the thawing chamber along a back wall and a bottom wall to lower ends of the pair of columnar ducts,
One of the plurality of columnar ducts is disposed at a front end of the one side wall of the thawing chamber ,
a rear duct provided on the rear wall of the thawing chamber for sending the air sucked out of the thawing chamber downward;
The rear duct forms a flow path extending in the vertical direction, and a heating means is provided inside the rear duct for heating the air taken in from the thawing chamber . The thawing chamber according to claim 1, wherein the columnar duct located at the front end of one of the side walls of the thawing chamber functions as an air curtain for the opening of the thawing chamber. The thawing chamber is provided with a shelf support structure capable of supporting a plurality of shelf nets at intervals in the vertical direction,
The plurality of blowing holes are arranged under the shelf net supported by the shelf support structure,
the columnar duct disposed at the front end of the one side wall of the thawing chamber is provided with the shelf support structure,
The columnar duct comprises a plate member having the outlet holes formed therethrough;
A wind direction plate provided on the outer surface of the plate material,
The blowout hole is an elongated hole extending along the horizontal direction,
The thawing chamber according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the air direction plate is provided on the hole edge of the blow-out hole in the plate material at a portion that is arranged above the blow-out hole and has a plate-like shape that extends along the longitudinal direction of the blow-out hole . The thawing chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one end of the columnar duct is provided with a second air supply device that supplies air sucked out from the thawing chamber toward the inside of the columnar duct. The thawing chamber is configured inside a box-shaped insulated housing that opens forward, and has a box shape that opens forward,
a first space for taking in air from inside the thawing chamber is provided above the thawing chamber;
a second space is provided below the thawing chamber, in which a lower end of the columnar duct and the second air supply device connected to the lower end are disposed;
The thawing container according to claim 4 , wherein the first space and the second space are communicated with each other by a rear duct extending in the vertical direction along a rear wall of the thawing chamber. The second air supply device is a blower fan having a substantially disk shape and including an air intake port for taking in air in an axial direction and an air supply port for sending out air in a circumferential direction,
the blower fan is disposed to a side of the columnar duct, and the air supply port is connected to a side surface of the columnar duct via a connection portion that extends toward the side at the lower end of the columnar duct,
The thawing chamber according to claim 5 , wherein the connecting portion includes a bottom member that closes a lower end of the columnar duct, and the bottom member is provided with a drain hole. The bottom member includes an inclined surface portion that slopes forward as it extends downward, and a bottom surface portion that extends forward from the inclined surface portion,
The thawing chamber according to claim 6 , wherein the drain hole is provided in the bottom surface portion. a cooler that cools the air taken in from the thawing chamber;
a cooling device configured to cool the air taken in from the thawing chamber;
a defrosting heater for heating the cooler when frost forms on the cooler;
The thawing cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , further comprising a configuration in which air taken in from the thawing chamber is heated by the defrosting heater.