Patent Description:
When a refrigeration compartment is cooled in a cooling storage for storing an object under a low temperature environment, the inner surface of the door for opening and closing the refrigeration compartment is also cooled. The outer surface of the door is also cooled depending on the case. In this case, the moisture in the outside air, i.e., the air surrounding the outer surface of the door may condense, and cause condensation on the outer surface of the door.

PTL <NUM> discloses a cooling storage that supplies, to the outer surface of the glass door, the relatively warm air in a machine compartment located on the lower side of the storage compartment for the purpose of preventing the condensation at the outer surface of the glass door.

PTL <NUM>: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. <CIT>
Document <CIT> relates to a low-temperature showcase comprising sliding glass doors for opening/closing a front opening of a storage room, a machine room located below the storage room and provided with a fan for a condenser, and a machine room cover located in the front of the machine room. A blow-out part for blowing upward is formed at the upper part of the machine room cover on the side of one glass door, and blow-out parts for blowing upward and backward are each formed at the upper part of the machine room cover on the side of the other glass door. Air blown out from the fan for a condenser is blown out from the blow-out parts toward the front surfaces of the glass doors. Document <CIT> relates to a exhaust guide cover including a tabular front plate part, side plate parts arranged on both right and left side edges of this front plate part, and a lower plate part arranged on the lower edge of the front plate part. The exhaust guide cover is detachably installed on a front panel of the machine room, and is constituted so that a guide passage for upwardly guiding air exhausted from an exhaust part, is defined between the front panel part extending to the front side of the exhaust part and a front face of the front panel by separating from the front face of the front panel.

However, in a refrigerator including a plurality of sliding doors, only supplying the air of the cooling storage compartment to the sliding door cannot sufficiently suppress the generation of condensation at the sliding door.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator in which the generation of condensation at a sliding door is suppressed.

The above object is solved by a refrigerator according to claim <NUM>.

The present disclosure can provide a refrigerator in which the generation of condensation at a sliding door is suppressed.

An embodiment of the present disclosure is elaborated below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is merely an example, and the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment.

First, a configuration of refrigerator <NUM> is described with reference to <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>. <FIG> is a perspective view of refrigerator <NUM> according to the present disclosure. <FIG> illustrates a state where outer sliding door <NUM> and inner sliding door <NUM> described later are at a fully closed position. <FIG> is a cross-sectional view taken along II-II of <FIG>. Note that in <FIG>, the illustration of condenser CD is omitted. <FIG> is a schematic plan view illustrating an arrangement of apparatuses in machine compartment MR provided in refrigerator <NUM> of the present disclosure. Note that refrigerator <NUM> of the present embodiment is, for example, a medicine refrigerator for storing pharmaceutical drugs. In addition, in the present specification, the front side of refrigerator <NUM> is the side facing the user using it (the side on which outer sliding door <NUM> and inner sliding door <NUM> are provided), and the side opposite to the front side is the rear side of refrigerator <NUM>. In addition, the left side and the right side as viewed from the front side are the left side and the right side of refrigerator <NUM>.

Refrigerator <NUM> includes housing <NUM>, frame body <NUM>, outer sliding door (first sliding door) <NUM>, and inner sliding door (second sliding door) <NUM>.

Opening H is formed in the front surface of housing <NUM>. Although not illustrated in the drawing, a heat insulation material is provided between the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of housing <NUM>. The space surrounded by the inner peripheral surface of housing <NUM> is refrigeration compartment R, which is a space for housing an object (see <FIG>). In addition, the internal space on the lower side of refrigeration compartment R is machine compartment MR. Refrigeration compartment R and machine compartment MR are parted, and ventilation between refrigeration compartment R and machine compartment MR is not allowed. Note that housing <NUM> and machine compartment MR are elaborated later.

Frame body <NUM> is provided in housing <NUM> to surround opening H. In frame body <NUM>, outer lane <NUM> and inner lane <NUM> are formed (see <FIG>). In frame body <NUM>, outer lane <NUM> is located on the front side than inner lane <NUM>.

In frame body <NUM>, guiding hole 3a for guiding condensation water generated at outer sliding door <NUM>, inner sliding door <NUM> or frame body <NUM> to machine compartment MR is formed (see <FIG>). Guiding hole 3a is provided at a center portion of the lower frame part of frame body <NUM> as viewed from the front. Condensation water past guiding hole 3a flows into machine compartment MR through pipe TB described later.

As illustrated in <FIG>, outer sliding door <NUM> is disposed on outer lane <NUM>, and inner sliding door <NUM> is disposed on inner lane <NUM>. Outer sliding door <NUM> opens and closes refrigeration compartment R by moving in the horizontal direction on outer lane <NUM>. Inner sliding door <NUM> opens and closes refrigeration compartment R by moving in the horizontal direction on inner lane <NUM>. Inner sliding door <NUM> is located between refrigeration compartment R and outer sliding door <NUM> when refrigeration compartment R is in the fully opened state. Note that the opening direction and the closing direction of outer sliding door <NUM> correspond to the left direction and the right direction, respectively, and the opening direction and the closing direction of inner sliding door <NUM> correspond to the right direction and the left direction, respectively.

Outer sliding door <NUM> and inner sliding door <NUM> are doors including a glass layer. <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG> are the closing end of outer sliding door <NUM> and the closing end of inner sliding door <NUM>, respectively. Closing end <NUM> and closing end <NUM> are end parts on the closing direction side of the sash of outer sliding door <NUM> and inner sliding door <NUM>, respectively.

<NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG> are the outer surface and the inner surface of outer sliding door <NUM>, respectively. Outer surface <NUM> is the surface on the outer side (forward side) of refrigeration compartment R, and inner surface <NUM> is the surface on the refrigeration compartment R side (rear side). Likewise, <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG> are the outer surface and the inner surface of inner sliding door <NUM>. Outer surface <NUM> is the surface on the outer side (forward side) of refrigeration compartment R, and inner surface <NUM> is the surface on the refrigeration compartment R side (rear side).

Note that <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG> are handles provided at outer sliding door <NUM> and inner sliding door <NUM>, respectively. When opening or closing outer sliding door <NUM> and inner sliding door <NUM>, the user grabs handle <NUM> and handle <NUM>, respectively.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, housing <NUM> includes front surface panel <NUM>, recorder attaching part <NUM>, and eaves <NUM>.

Front surface panel <NUM> covers the front side of machine compartment MR (see <FIG>). Recorder RC described later is attached to recorder attaching part <NUM>. Recorder attaching part <NUM> is located on the right side of the surface of front surface panel <NUM> on machine compartment MR side.

Note that <NUM> in <FIG> is an orthogonal projection of outer sliding door <NUM> to the bottom surface of housing <NUM>, and <NUM> is an orthogonal projection of inner sliding door <NUM> to the bottom surface of housing <NUM>. In addition, the range indicated by the chain double-dashed line in <FIG> represents the range of an orthogonal projection of air blow port 2a to the bottom surface. As can be seen from <FIG>, recorder attaching part <NUM> is disposed inside housing <NUM> at a position closer to closing end <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state than closing end <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state.

Eaves <NUM> is a component that covers recorder RC attached to recorder attaching part <NUM>, from above. Eaves <NUM> is attached to the surface of front surface panel <NUM> on machine compartment MR side, and is located on the upper side of recorder attaching part <NUM>.

In housing <NUM>, air blow port 2a facing upward is formed in front of frame body <NUM>. Air blow port 2a is a hole that blows out the airflow inside machine compartment MR toward outer sliding door <NUM> and inner sliding door <NUM>. <FIG> illustrates a state where air blow port 2a as a single hole is formed from closing end <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state to closing end <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state. Note that a plurality of holes may be formed as air blow port 2a.

Housing <NUM> houses in its inside compressor CP, condenser CD, fan F, recorder RC, and pipe TB. In other words, compressor CP, condenser CD, fan F, recorder RC, and pipe TB are disposed inside machine compartment MR.

Compressor CP and condenser CD make up a refrigeration circuit for cooling the inside of refrigeration compartment R. Compressor CP and condenser CD emit heat during operation, and therefore the air surrounding compressor CP and condenser CD is heated.

Compressor CP is disposed on the left side in machine compartment MR. Specifically, compressor CP is disposed at a position closer to closing end <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state than closing end <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state. Condenser CD is disposed at a center portion in the horizontal direction inside housing <NUM>. Condenser CD, as with compressor CP, is disposed at a position closer to closing end <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state than closing end <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state.

For example, fan F takes in the air outside refrigerator <NUM> from the intake port (not illustrated in the drawing) formed on the rear side of housing <NUM>, and sends the taken air toward condenser CD to cool condenser CD. Fan F generates not only the airflow that passes through the periphery of condenser CD, but also the airflow that passes through the periphery of compressor CP. <FIG> illustrates an airflow generated by fan F.

The airflow generated by fan F is output from air blow port 2a toward outer surface <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> and outer surface <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM>.

Recorder RC is an apparatus that records the temperature of refrigeration compartment R. When a measurement result of the temperature sensor (not illustrated in the drawing) that measures the temperature inside refrigeration compartment R is input to recorder RC, recorder RC prints the measurement result on a recording sheet and outputs it to the outside of refrigerator <NUM>. Recorder RC is housed in housing <NUM>, and is attached to recorder attaching part <NUM>. Note that recorder RC is manufactured separately from refrigerator <NUM>, and is housed into housing <NUM> from the door of front surface panel <NUM> after refrigerator <NUM> is manufactured. In addition, recorder RC may be attached in place of the door of front surface panel <NUM>, and the upper side of recorder RC is covered with eaves <NUM>. While eaves <NUM> is provided on machine compartment MR side of front surface panel <NUM>, it may be provided, on the upper side of recorder RC, integrally with recorder RC to be replaced. Note that eaves <NUM> has a shape that guides, toward air blow port 2a, the airflow generated by fan F. For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, eaves <NUM> may have a shape with a first flat plate part, a second flat plate part, and a wall part. The first flat plate part extends in a direction away from front surface panel <NUM> from the inner surface of front surface panel <NUM>. The second flat plate part extends downward in the direction away from front surface panel <NUM> from the end part of the first flat plate part on the side opposite to front surface panel <NUM>, and extends from the left end to the right end of the first flat plate part. The wall part protrudes upward from the end part and extends from the left end to the right end of the first flat plate part. In addition, while eaves <NUM> covers the portion on front surface panel <NUM> side of recorder RC and recorder attaching part <NUM> in <FIG>, it may cover the entire range on the upper side of recorder attaching part <NUM> and recorder RC.

Pipe TB is located from the lower portion of the frame body <NUM> to the front of condenser CD. Pipe TB guides condensation water coming through guiding hole 3a of frame body <NUM>, to the vicinity of condenser CD. The condensation water guided to the vicinity of condenser CD flows to a receiving pan not illustrated in the drawing. The condensation water that flows into the receiving pan is evaporated by the heat generated by condenser CD.

Next, operational effects of the present embodiment are described.

According to the present embodiment, relatively warm air inside machine compartment MR is supplied to outer surface <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> and outer surface <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM> through air blow port 2a, and thus the generation of condensation at outer surface <NUM> and outer surface <NUM> can be suppressed. In addition, in the present embodiment, compressor CP as a heat source is disposed inside machine compartment MR of housing <NUM> at a position closer to closing end <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state than closing end <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state. In this manner, air warmer than the air supplied to outer sliding door <NUM> is easily supplied to inner sliding door <NUM>. Thus, the effect of preventing the condensation at inner sliding door <NUM> provided at a position farther from air blow port 2a than outer sliding door <NUM> can be increased.

In addition, recorder RC, which is not a heat source, is disposed inside machine compartment MR of housing <NUM> at a position closer to closing end <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state than closing end <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state. In this manner, the air passing through the periphery of compressor CP toward inner sliding door <NUM> is less blocked. Specifically, the air warmed at the compressor CP is smoothly supplied toward outer surface <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM> through air blow port 2a. Thus, the generation of condensation at outer surface <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM> can be suppressed.

In addition, in the present embodiment, eaves <NUM> that covers the upper side of recorder attaching part <NUM> is provided on the upper side of recorder attaching part <NUM>. Thus, even if foreign matters such as condensation water fall into machine compartment MR through air blow port 2a facing upward, recording sheets and recorder RC attached to recorder attaching part <NUM> can be protected. Note that eaves <NUM>, with the configuration of covering the portion on front surface panel <NUM> side of recorder RC and recorder attaching part <NUM>, can prevent the foreign matters such as condensation water falling through air blow port 2a from flowing into recorder RC along the first flat plate part by the wall part that protrudes upward from the end part of the first flat plate part on the side opposite to front surface panel <NUM> and extends from the left end to the right end of the first flat plate part, in addition to the above-described first flat plate part.

Eaves <NUM> has a shape that guides the airflow generated by fan F, toward air blow port 2a. Thus, the advancement of the air supplied toward outer surface <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> from the region on the side closer to closing end <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> in the fully closed state through air blow port 2a inside machine compartment MR of housing <NUM> is not prevented. Thus, the effect of preventing the generation of condensation at outer surface <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> can be further increased.

Since guiding hole 3a is formed in frame body <NUM>, the condensation water of frame body <NUM>, outer surface <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> and outer surface <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM> can be guided into machine compartment MR of housing <NUM>, and can be evaporated.

Next, a modification of the present disclosure is described.

Fan F may be provided at any location inside housing <NUM> as long as it can generate the airflow that passes through the periphery of compressor CP, and supply the air inside housing <NUM> to outer surface <NUM> of outer sliding door <NUM> and outer surface <NUM> of inner sliding door <NUM> through air blow port 2a. In addition, fan F need not necessarily be provided inside machine compartment MR of housing <NUM>, and may be provided in the rear surface of outside housing <NUM>, i.e., the intake port, for example.

Machine compartment MR need not necessarily be located on the lower side of refrigeration compartment R, and may be located on the upper side of refrigeration compartment R, for example. In this case, air blow port 2a is formed to face downward, and the airflow inside machine compartment MR of housing <NUM> goes out downward from air blow port 2a toward outer sliding door <NUM> and outer sliding door <NUM>.

In addition, refrigerator <NUM> may include three or more sliding doors. In this case, compressor CP is disposed such that it is closer to the closing end of the innermost sliding door in the fully closed state than the closing end of the outermost sliding door in the fully closed state, assuming that the sliding door that is located on the most refrigeration compartment R side in the fully opened state is the innermost sliding door and that the sliding door that is remotest from refrigeration compartment R in the fully opened state is the outermost sliding door.

Claim 1:
A refrigerator (<NUM>) comprising:
a first sliding door (<NUM>) configured to open and close a refrigeration compartment (R);
a second sliding door (<NUM>) configured to open and close the refrigeration compartment (R), the second sliding door (<NUM>) being located between the refrigeration compartment (R) and the first sliding door (<NUM>) when the refrigeration compartment (R) is in a fully opened state;
a compressor (CP) disposed at a position closer to a closing end (<NUM>) of the second sliding door (<NUM>) than a closing end (<NUM>) of the first sliding door (<NUM>) when the refrigeration compartment (R) is in the fully closed state;
a fan (F) configured to generate an airflow that passes through a periphery of the compressor (CP);
a housing (<NUM>) in which an air blow port (2a) is formed, the housing (<NUM>) being configured to house the compressor (CP), the air blow port (2a) being configured to blow out the airflow toward the first sliding door (<NUM>) and the second sliding door (<NUM>);
a recorder attaching part (<NUM>) disposed inside the housing (<NUM>) at a position closer to the closing end (<NUM>) of the first sliding door (<NUM>) than the closing end (<NUM>) of the second sliding door (<NUM>),
a recorder (RC) attachable to the recorder attaching part (<NUM>) and configured to record a temperature of the refrigeration compartment (R),
eaves (<NUM>) located on a lower side of the refrigeration compartment (R), and configured to cover the recorder (RC) attached to the recorder attaching part (<NUM>) from an upper side, and
a temperature sensor that measures the temperature inside refrigeration compartment (R), wherein
the first sliding door (<NUM>) and the second sliding door (<NUM>) are located on a front side of the housing (<NUM>), wherein the housing (<NUM>) includes a front surface panel (<NUM>) configured to cover the inside from the front side,
the recorder attaching part (<NUM>) is located at a surface of the front surface panel (<NUM>) on the inside, and on a lower side of the air blow port (2a), and
the recorder (RC) being configured to print the temperature inside the refrigeration compartment (R) on a recording sheet and output the recording sheet to outside of the refrigerator (<NUM>).