Showcase

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10408505-B2
Application number	US-201514930094-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 2, 2015
Priority date	Nov 18, 2014
Publication date	Sep 10, 2019
Grant date	Sep 10, 2019

Abstract

A showcase includes: a box-shaped case main body sectioned into a storage room and a machine room by a heat insulating bottom plate; article mounting shelves arranged in a plurality of stages in an up-and-down direction in the storage room; a circulating fan configured to circulate air from inside the storage room between the storage room and the machine room; and a cooler arranged in the machine room and configured to cool the air circulated by the circulating fan. The heat insulating bottom plate includes a first air inlet formed in a face facing the storage room, a second air inlet formed at a position that is in a face facing the machine room and does not overlap with the first air inlet in the up-and-down direction, and an inlet flow channel formed so as to cause the first and the second air inlets to communicate with each other.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A showcase comprising:
a box-shaped case main body having an interior thereof sectioned into a storage room and a machine room;
article mounting shelves arranged in a plurality of stages in an up-and-down direction in the storage room and carrying thereon articles to be stored;
a circulating unit configured to circulate air from an inside of the storage room between the storage room and the machine room;
a cooler arranged in the machine room and configured to cool the air circulated through the circulating unit; and
a bottom plate disposed between the storage room and the machine room, and configured to allow circulation of the air through the circulating unit, the bottom plate comprising:
a board, which is a plate-shaped member;
a deck pan, which is a plate-shaped member arranged so as to cover an entire upper surface of the board and has an upper surface facing the storage room;
a first air inlet formed in the deck pan facing the storage room;
a second air inlet formed at a position that is in the board facing the machine room and does not overlap with the first air inlet in the up-and-down direction; and
an inlet flow channel formed so as to cause the first air inlet and the second air inlet to communicate with each other, wherein the deck pan includes a first air outlet, and the board includes a second air outlet formed at position overlapped with the first air outlet in the up-and-down direction to communicate with each other such that the air through the cooling unit is fed into the storage room from the machine room through the first air outlet and the second air outlet; and
the cooler is arranged under the second air inlet to cool the air from the storage room, and the circulating unit is a circulating fan arranged between the second air inlet and the second air outlet in the machine room to flow the air through the cooler toward the first air outlet and the second air outlet.

2. The showcase according to claim 1 , wherein the second air inlet is formed at a position horizontally spaced apart from the first air inlet, and the inlet flow channel is defined by and sandwiched between the board and the deck pan.

3. The showcase according to claim 1 , further comprising a radiator arranged in the machine room and configured to radiate high-temperature waste heat generated by cooling the air with the cooler to surroundings,
wherein the cooler is thermally connected to a low-temperature part of a Peltier element, whereas the radiator is thermally connected to a high-temperature part of the Peltier element.

4. The showcase according to claim 1 , wherein the first air inlet includes a first inlet portion formed at one side of the deck pan, and a second inlet portion formed at another side of the deck pan opposite to the one side, and the first air outlet is formed at a rear side of the case main body between the first inlet portion and the second inlet portion; and
the second air inlet is formed at a center portion of the board above the cooler, and the second air outlet is formed at the rear side of the case main body to overlap with the first air outlet.

5. The showcase according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a cooling unit arranged in the machine room to separate the machine room between the board and a bottom of the case main body, and having the cooler at one side of the machine room and a radiator at another side of the machine room;
a radiation fan disposed in the another side of the machine room, the radiation fan drawing outside air through a drawing port in the bottom of the case main body, passing the radiator and discharging the outside air to an outside of the case main body through a discharge port arranged in the bottom of the case main body; and
a guide member arranged in the bottom of the case main body, and configured to prevent the air discharged out of the discharge port from passing toward the drawing port, and guide the air to pass near a drain pan,
wherein the circulating unit includes a circulating fan disposed in the one side of the machine room, the circulating fan drawing the air in the storage room through the first air inlet and the second air inlet to pass through the cooler, and discharging the air passing through the cooler to return to the storage room through air outlets formed in the deck pan and the board.

6. The showcase according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a door configured to open and close an opening formed in a rear face of the case main body;
a duct arranged on a front face of the door, and configured to introduce the air fed from the machine room to the storage room through the circulating unit, cause the air to pass along the front face of the door, and inject the air frontward from injection holes formed in the duct.

7. The showcase according to claim 6 , wherein the duct is arranged on the front face of the door in a detachable manner.

8. The showcase according to claim 6 , wherein the duct is formed of a transparent material together with the door and makes the storage room visually recognizable through the door and the duct.

9. The showcase according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a radiator arranged in the machine room and configured to radiate high-temperature waste heat generated by cooling the air with the cooler to surroundings;
a drain pan configured to store therein drain water generated within the case main body;
an air blowing unit configured to be driven to cause outside air to pass near the radiator and thereafter discharge the outside air to an outside of the case main body through a discharge port arranged in the case main body, the outside air having been drawn through a drawing port arranged in the case main body; and
a guide member arranged in the case main body, and configured to prevent the air discharged out of the discharge port from passing toward the drawing port, and guide the air to pass near the drain pan.

10. The showcase according to claim 9 , wherein the drawing port and the discharge port are formed in a bottom face of the case main body, and
the guide member guides the air blown out of the discharge port to pass rearward.

11. The showcase according to claim 9 , wherein the cooler is thermally connected to a low-temperature part of a Peltier element, whereas the radiator is thermally connected to a high-temperature part of the Peltier element.

Assignees

• Fuji Electric Co Ltd

Inventors

• Goto Mikio
• Take Noriyuki
• Ishibashi Masanobu

Classifications

• F25D2317/0651

  through the bottom · CPC title

• A47F3/0404

  Cases or cabinets of the closed type (A47F3/0482 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A47F3/0443

  with forced air circulation · CPC title

• A47F3/0486

  for charging, displaying or discharging the articles · CPC title

• A47F3/145

  Closable display containers (jars B65D) · CPC title