JPH059299B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a regenerator refrigerator installed in a vehicle, and particularly to a regenerator refrigerator equipped with an electric fan that circulates cold air in a refrigerator compartment. This electric fan is driven by the vehicle's battery.

[Conventional technology]

A cold storage refrigerator installed in a vehicle utilizes the heat absorption ability caused by the phase change of a cold storage agent. As a cooling device for cooling the cold storage agent, refrigerant piping of an air conditioner of a vehicle is generally used. Since a cold storage refrigerator uses a cold storage agent, it has the ability to cool the refrigerator compartment even after the air conditioner is stopped. While the refrigerator is functioning effectively, it is preferable to drive an electric fan for circulating cold air within the refrigerator compartment.

An example of the conventional technology of a simple cold storage type refrigerator equipped with a cold storage unit and an electric fan in the cold storage room is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1983-
It is disclosed in Publication No. 117069. As is clear from FIG. 2 of the above-mentioned publication, this prior art shows a refrigerating room unit 21 equipped with cold storage plates 37, 39 and a cold air circulation fan 38.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Vehicle refrigerators and regenerator refrigerators exhibit their cooling ability even after the vehicle engine has stopped, and therefore, as described above, it is preferable that the electric fan is driven even after the vehicle engine has stopped. However, since the electric fan is driven by the battery of the vehicle, the use of the electric fan must be kept to the minimum necessary. Unrestricted use of the electric fan after the vehicle engine has stopped causes unnecessary over-discharge of the battery. Therefore, in the case of vehicle regenerator refrigerators, especially after the engine has stopped,
It is desirable to set the driving conditions of the electric fan appropriately.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to avoid unnecessary driving of the electric fan as described above, it is important to drive the electric fan only under conditions in which the cold storage refrigerator functions effectively. Therefore, in the refrigerator of the present invention, two points are considered as conditions for the refrigerator to function effectively: the state of the cold storage agent in the cold storage device and the outside temperature around the refrigerator.
We adopted a configuration that can measure these conditions and the outside temperature, and control the drive of the electric fan based on the measurement results. That is, in the refrigerator of the present invention, a condition detector for detecting the state of the cool storage agent in the cool storage unit is attached to the cool storage unit in the heat insulating box of the refrigerator, and an outside temperature detector for detecting the outside temperature is attached to the outside of the heat insulating box. , the condition detector and the outside temperature detector are connected to a control circuit, and the control circuit is further coupled to an electric fan drive circuit.

[Effect]

The refrigerator of the present invention having the above configuration operates as follows. That is, when the regenerator in the regenerator reaches a predetermined low cooling capacity state, the electric fan stops. This is because at this time, the cooling effect of the cold storage agent cannot be expected. Furthermore, the electric fan also stops when the outside temperature drops below a predetermined temperature. At this time, since the outside temperature is low, there is no need to cool the inside of the refrigerator compartment. In other words, only when the cold storage agent maintains a predetermined cooling capacity and the outside temperature is above the predetermined temperature,
Driven by an electric fan.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention. In this figure, the insulation box 10 is
A refrigerated box 14 that mainly forms a refrigerated compartment 12, and a regenerator 1
6, and a refrigerating lid 20 constituting an opening/closing lid for the refrigerating compartment 12. Referring to FIG. 4, the refrigerator box 14 has three side walls 2.
2, 24, 26 and one fixed wall 28, and is open at the top and one side. Refrigerated box 14
The cold storage box 18 is connected by metal fittings (not shown).
removably engages with. When the refrigerator is not needed, the refrigerator box 14 can be removed from the cold storage box 18. Opposing side walls 22 and 26 of refrigerator box 14
A handle 30 is drivably coupled to the handle 3.
0 is useful for removing and transporting the refrigerator box 14.

The refrigerator lid 20 is connected to the cold storage box 1 by hinges 32.
8 so that it can be opened and closed. A refrigerator compartment 12 is formed by the refrigerator box 14, the refrigerator lid 20, and the cold storage box 18. By opening and closing the refrigerator lid 20, it becomes possible to take out and take out the stored items in the refrigerator compartment 12. When the refrigerator box 14 is removed, the refrigerator lid 20 is
It is folded until its inner surface 34 contacts the cooling plate 36 of the cold storage box 18. Therefore, when the refrigerator is not needed, the space occupied by the refrigerator can be reduced.

The refrigerator box 14, the refrigerator lid 20, and the cold storage box 18 are
It is formed by filling hard urethane foam 40 between hard ABS resin 38. Note that other suitable cold-resistant materials with comparable strength can be used in place of ABS resin, and other suitable insulation materials similar to this can be used in place of rigid urethane foam. You can also do it.

The regenerator 16 housed in the regenerator box 18 consists of a regenerator container 42 and a cooling plate 36 welded thereto. One side of the cooling plate 36 is exposed to the refrigerator compartment 12.
The cooling plate 36 is fixed to the cold storage box 18 with screws. Inside the cold storage container 42, a cooling device, that is, a refrigerant pipe 44 is arranged, and a cold storage agent 46 is filled. The refrigerant pipe 44 is a branch of the refrigerant pipe of the vehicle's air conditioner. Therefore, the third
As shown, an outlet 48 and an inlet 50 of the refrigerant pipe 44 exit from the cold storage container 42 and connect to a refrigerant pipe (not shown) of an air conditioner. Cold storage container 42
The upper part is sealed using a rubber adhesive with a lid 45 made of ABS resin or the like. Cold storage container 4
2. The refrigerant pipe 44 and the cooling plate 36 are made of aluminum with high thermal conductivity. Note that other metals with good thermal conductivity can also be used.

The cool storage agent 46 is preferably a material that has a phase change transformation point near the optimum cooling temperature of the refrigerator compartment 12 and has a large latent heat of phase change. In this embodiment, water is used as the cool storage agent 46. Water undergoes a phase change between solid and liquid phases at 0°C, so the refrigerator compartment 12 is maintained at a temperature slightly above 0°C. Note that a gap 51 is provided between the top surface of the water 46 and the lid 45, and a hole 43 with a diameter of about 1.5 mm is provided in the lid 45. This is to prevent the cold storage container 42 from being destroyed due to expansion when the water freezes.

Although the cold storage agent, ie, water 46, is cooled and solidified by the cooling pipe 44, the cooling pipe 44 is not necessarily required in the present invention. That is, when the vehicle is not equipped with an air conditioner, the cold storage agent may be solidified in advance in a household refrigerator or the like, and then placed in the cold storage container 42.

There is a recess 5 near the center of the inner surface 34 of the refrigerator lid 20.
2, and an electric fan 54 is installed there. By providing the electric fan 54 in the recess 52,
The effective space inside the refrigerator compartment 12 can be expanded, and the refrigerator lid 20 can be removed by removing the refrigerator box 14.
When the electric fan 54 is folded down toward the cooling plate 36, the electric fan 54 can be avoided from becoming an obstacle to the folding. The electric fan 54 circulates cold air within the refrigerator compartment 12, increases the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator compartment 12, and serves to uniformly cool the interior of the refrigerator compartment 12.

In FIGS. 1 and 3, a thermistor 56 is attached to the outer surface of the cool storage container 42 with an adhesive. The temperature of the cool storage agent 46 can be measured indirectly by the thermistor 56. Therefore, the thermistor 56 serves as a state detector that detects the state of the cool storage agent 46. A thermistor 58 is attached to the outer surface of the cold storage box 18 with adhesive. The temperature of the ABS resin 38 outside the cold storage box 18 can be measured by the thermistor 58,
This temperature is considered the outside temperature. Outer ABS resin 3
8 is insulated from the regenerator 16 by the hard urethane foam 40, so its temperature exhibits a value close to the outside air temperature. Therefore, the thermistor 58 serves as an outside temperature detector. The thermistor 58 is fixed to the ABS resin 38 with adhesive from the viewpoint of mechanical fixation, but by using an appropriate support method, the tip of the thermistor 58 is exposed in the air so that the outside temperature can be directly detected. You could also leave it there.

FIG. 2 shows the electric circuit configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. This electric circuit is roughly divided into control circuit 6
0, drive circuit 62 and power supply, i.e. battery 64
Consists of. Control circuit 60 includes two temperature switch units 66 and 68. The temperature switch unit 66 is connected to the thermistor 56, and the thermistor 56
An ON-OFF signal is given to the switch 70 according to the resistance indicated by . Switch 70 is opened and closed by an excitation coil. The temperature switch unit 66 is provided with hysteresis characteristics. That is, when the temperature detected by the thermistor 56 is rising, the switch 70 is turned off at 5°C, and when it is falling, the switch 70 is closed at 4°C. In this embodiment, since water is used as the cold storage agent 46, the switching set point is set at a temperature 4 to 5 degrees Celsius higher than the freezing point of 0 degrees Celsius. When using other materials as the regenerator 46, the switching set point may be located several degrees Celsius above the phase change temperature of the material. A relay A is provided in series with the switch 70, and this relay A opens and closes the drive circuit 62 of the electric fan 54.

The construction of temperature switch unit 68 is similar to temperature switch unit 66. However, the switching setting characteristics are different. That is, thermistor 5
15 when the temperature detected at 8 rises.
The switch 72 closes when the temperature reaches 14°C, and when the temperature reaches 14°C, the switch 72 closes. Outside temperature is 14-15
This is because the electric fan 54 is also stopped because there is no need to use the refrigerator when the temperature is below .degree. A relay B is provided in series with the switch 72, and this relay B opens and closes the drive circuit 62 of the electric fan 54. Temperature switch unit 6
6 and 68 are constructed using transistor circuits, but this type of circuit construction is a well-known technique, and its details will be omitted.

The drive circuit 62 includes a drive switch 74,
It has a relay A, a relay B, and an electric fan 54. The drive switch 74 is a manually operated switch for driving the electric fan 54. The opening and closing of relays A and B are controlled by control circuit 60 as described above. The electric fan 54 is
It is activated when drive switch 74 and relays A and B are all closed.

The battery 64 is a battery mounted on the vehicle, and in the present invention plays a role of supplying electric power to the electric fan 54 even after the engine is stopped.

Next, the operation of the embodiment having the above configuration will be explained. In the initial state, the vehicle is running, the outside temperature is 15℃ or higher, the temperature of the cold storage agent or water is 10℃,
Consider a state in which the drive switch 74 of the electric fan 54 is in a closed state and cooled refrigerant is flowing in the refrigerant pipe 44 branched from the vehicle's air conditioner. At this time, switch 70 is open, switch 72 is closed, relay A is open, and relay B is closed. Therefore, the electric fan 54 is not driven. This is because the refrigerator compartment 12 has not yet been sufficiently cooled.
The refrigerator compartment 12 is gradually cooled by the regenerator 16, while the water in the regenerator 42 begins to freeze. At this time, the temperature of the thermistor 56 has already fallen below 4° C., so the switch 70 and the relay A are closed, and the electric fan 54 is driven. After that, it is assumed that the vehicle stops, the engine also stops, and the flow of refrigerant in the refrigerant pipe 44 also stops. At this time, the water is frozen and still has the ability to cool the refrigerator compartment 12. Therefore, the electric fan 54 remains in the driven state. The ice in the cold storage container 42 gradually melts, but due to the heat of melting the ice, the ice in the cold storage container 12
continues to cool, and the two-phase mixture of water and ice maintains a temperature of 0°C. At this time, the temperature of the thermistor 56 is 2 to 3° C. due to the thermal gradient within the wall of the cool storage container 42 . When the ice completely melts and the water temperature begins to rise, the cooling capacity of the refrigerator begins to decrease, and thermistor 5
The temperature of No. 6 will soon exceed 5°C. At this time, switch 70 and relay A are open, and electric fan 5
4 stops.

Further, in the above example of operation, when the outside temperature drops to 14° C. or lower, switch 72 and relay B are opened and electric fan 54 is stopped. This is because the outside temperature has reached a point where a refrigerator is no longer necessary.

As is clear from the above example of operation, the regenerator refrigerator exhibits its effects even after the engine of the vehicle is stopped, and if desired, the electric fan 54 can also be used by turning on the drive switch 74. However, if the electric fan 54 is driven more than necessary after the engine is stopped, the discharge of the battery will increase more than necessary, increasing the risk of adversely affecting the battery. The present invention aims to minimize this risk. Of course, the driver can also judge the state of charge of the battery and turn off the drive switch 74 in advance after the engine is stopped.

A first modification is to remove the hysteresis characteristic from the temperature switch 66 of FIG. This hysteresis characteristic is provided to prevent hunting. For example, depending on the temperature or flow rate of the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant pipe 44, the thermistor 5
This does not mean that the temperature of the drive circuit 62 does not fluctuate around 4 to 5 degrees Celsius, and the hysteresis characteristic prevents the drive circuit 62 from frequently opening and closing. However, in a refrigerator in which such a state is not expected, the switch 70 is opened and closed at a single set temperature of 5° C., for example. On the other hand, it is preferable that the temperature switch unit 68 for the outside temperature retains a hysteresis characteristic.

A second modification uses a thermostat in place of thermistor 56 of FIG. At this time, the second
Temperature switch unit 66 and switch 70 in the figure
is removed. Instead, thermostat contacts are placed in series directly at the stitch 70. The contacts of the thermostat are set to open and close at 5° C., and this second modification can be used, especially if hysteresis characteristics are not required as in the first modification described above.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The refrigerator of the present invention considers two conditions for the refrigerator to function effectively: the condition of the cold storage agent in the cold storage device and the outside temperature, measures these conditions and the outside temperature, and then operates the electric fan based on the measurement results. Since the configuration is such that the drive of the electric fan can be controlled, the electric fan is prevented from being driven more than necessary, and the risk of over-discharge of the battery is reduced, especially when the engine is stopped.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a vehicle refrigerator according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an electric circuit configuration diagram of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the cold storage box and the cold storage device, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1. 10...Insulation box, 12...Refrigerator, 16...Regenerator, 46...Cold storage agent, 54...Electric fan, 5
6, 58...Thermistor, 60...Control circuit, 6
2...Drive circuit, 66, 68...Temperature switch unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle refrigerator having the following components. (a) An insulated box that forms a refrigerator compartment. (b) A regenerator containing a regenerator and installed inside the insulation box. (c) An electric fan installed inside the insulation box. (d) A state detector that detects the state of the regenerator in the regenerator attached to the regenerator. (E) An outside temperature detector that detects the outside temperature outside the insulation box. (F) When signals from the condition detector and outside temperature detector are input, and when the condition detector detects the temperature of the cold storage agent higher than a predetermined temperature, and when the outside temperature detector detects the outside temperature being lower than the predetermined temperature, A control means for controlling the electric fan to stop when temperature is detected. 2. In the vehicle refrigerator according to claim 1, (a) the control means includes a control circuit connecting the state detector and the outside temperature detector, and an electric fan drive circuit coupled to the control circuit; (b) the condition detector is a thermistor attached to the outer surface of the regenerator; (c) the outside temperature detector is a thermistor attached to the outer surface of the insulation box; (d) The control circuit includes temperature switch units connected to the thermistors, (e) each temperature switch unit is configured to generate an ON-OFF signal depending on the temperature of each thermistor, ( f) The vehicle refrigerator, wherein the drive circuit includes each relay that operates in response to an ON-OFF signal from each temperature switch unit and the electric fan arranged in series.