EP3756511B1 - Refrigerated cabinet with ventilation device - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a refrigeration unit for reducing an accumulation of cooled air flowing out of the refrigeration unit in an area close to the floor in front of the refrigeration unit, as well as to an associated refrigeration unit.

Refrigeration cabinets are used in supermarkets, for example, to offer chilled or frozen products. Chilled products in particular are preferably presented and taken by customers via an open side, i.e. one that cannot be covered by a door or the like. A constant flow of liquid enters the open side, which is directed towards the customer. Part of the cooled air escapes from the refrigerated cabinet and collects in the area near the floor in front of the refrigerated cabinet. In this regard, it is negative that customers stand in exactly this area while they select the products to be taken. The accumulation of cold air on the feet and legs is perceived as unpleasant and shortens the time spent at the refrigerated cabinet, which limits the achievable sales of the refrigerated cabinet operator.

To reduce the accumulation of cooled air in the area close to the floor in front of the removal side, baffles are sometimes used to influence the air flow, for example on the shelves of the refrigerated cabinets, but these only have a small positive effect. Closing the removal side with doors is an alternative option, but this is not considered practical by the refrigerated cabinet operators and also by many customers.

Printed prior art in the present technical field is available, for example, from the documents DE 20 2018 102 902 U , US 2017/150829 A1 and FR 2 160 771 A1 known.

The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a device with which an accumulation of cooled air in the area close to the floor in front of refrigerated cabinets with an open removal side facing the customer can be significantly reduced.

This object is achieved by the combination of features according to patent claim 1.

According to the invention, a refrigeration unit is proposed, comprising a housing, a cooling chamber for receiving items to be cooled with an open removal side, a circulation channel running continuously between the housing and the cooling chamber, in which the fan is arranged, which is designed to generate the circulation flow around the cooling chamber and across the open removal side. The circulation channel has an inlet and an outlet on the removal side, which are aligned facing each other, wherein a ventilation device for the cooling chamber, which is open at least on one removal side or can be opened via a door, is provided on the refrigeration unit. Refrigeration cabinet for reducing the accumulation of cooled air flowing out of the refrigeration cabinet in an area close to the floor in front of the refrigeration cabinet on its open removal side. The ventilation device comprises at least one fan, which is preferably arranged in a refrigeration cabinet top area opposite the area close to the floor. The at least one fan is designed and aligned to suck in air from the refrigeration cabinet top area or the area close to the floor and to blow it out in a central blow-out direction at a horizontal angle ϕ with respect to a front plane parallel to the removal side along the refrigeration cabinet and at a vertical angle β with respect to a top plane parallel to the top of the refrigeration cabinet and perpendicular to the front plane. The angle range for the horizontal angle is between 20° and 70° or between -20 and -70°, depending on the direction in which the air is blown out relative to the refrigeration cabinet. The angle range for the vertical angle is between 20° and 70°, with the blow-out direction always being upwards in a direction away from the area close to the floor.

The at least one fan in the upper area of the refrigerated cabinet creates a flow vortex around the refrigerated cabinet, particularly in the area close to the floor in front of the removal side of the refrigerated cabinet, which reduces the accumulation of cold air escaping from the refrigerated cabinet. The effect is particularly advantageous if the following applies to the angles ϕ and β: 35°≤ϕ,β≤50° or alternatively -35°≥ϕ≥-50° and 35°≤β≤50°. Freezers or refrigerators loaded on top of the open refrigerated cabinets are often positioned so that the flow generated by the at least one fan creates a vortex or a circulating flow around the freezer or refrigerator, which simultaneously removes the cold air in front of the refrigerated cabinet.

The horizontal angle ϕ is given with positive and negative angle ranges because the alignment depends on the main direction in which customers move along the refrigerated cabinet, e.g. clockwise or anti-clockwise. The alignment is such that the blowing direction is in the direction of movement, so that the customer does not feel any flow from the front or diagonally in front.

In order to increase the throw distance and to achieve the blow-out direction at the correct angle, a variant of the ventilation device provides that the at least one fan has a blow-out duct which is integrated into the fan or connected to it.

In an advantageous embodiment, the ventilation device further comprises a separating element which separates a suction area and a blow-out area of the fan in terms of flow. The at least one fan sucks in air from the suction area and blows it out on the removal side of the refrigerated cabinet. The separating element serves on the one hand as a separation for the flow of the at least one fan, and on the other hand as a visual barrier, since the at least one fan is positioned behind the separating element in the rear area of the refrigerated cabinet.

Advantageously, it is provided that the dividing element is designed to extend over an entire length of an opening width of the removal side of the refrigerated cabinet. In other words, the dividing element extends over the entire length of the refrigerated cabinet if its dimensions are defined as length, depth from the removal side to the back and vertical height.

In a further development, the ventilation device provides that the at least one fan is held fastened to the separating element. The separating element then takes on the further task of serving as a fastening device for the at least one fan and can be pre-assembled as a structural unit and attached to the refrigerated cabinet.

Furthermore, in a favorable embodiment, the separating element has several sections that run at an angle to one another. The at least one fan is preferably attached to one of the sections, with this section determining the vertical angle β. The alignment of the blow-out direction at the vertical angle β is thus determined in a simple manner via the section of the separating element.

As far as at least one fan was mentioned above, the ventilation device is preferably provided with several fans in arranged in a row and aligned identically to blow at the same horizontal and vertical angle. The effectiveness of this in solving the problem is further improved. In addition, the speed of each individual fan can be reduced to limit the noise generated.

In a preferred embodiment of the ventilation device, the fans are designed as radial fans.

In addition to the ventilation device described above, a suction device is also provided according to the invention. For this purpose, a suction device is proposed for the refrigerated cabinet that is open at least on the removal side to reduce the accumulation of cooled air flowing out of the refrigerated cabinet in an area close to the floor in front of the refrigerated cabinet on its open removal side, with a continuous suction channel and at least one fan of the ventilation device arranged on the suction channel to generate a suction flow.

According to the invention, the suction channel has a suction opening and a blow-out opening. Several suction channels can also be provided. The suction opening is directed towards the area near the floor in front of the refrigerated cabinet, the blow-out opening is directed towards an area on the top of the refrigerated cabinet opposite the area near the floor, so that the cooled air flowing out of the refrigerated cabinet can be sucked out from the area near the floor and blown out onto the area on the top of the refrigerated cabinet.

The extraction device generates the extraction flow via the fan(s) of the ventilation device and sucks the air escaping from the refrigerated cabinet before it collects in the area near the floor in front of the refrigerated cabinet as a kind of "lake of cold air" in which the customers would have to stand. The extraction flow is blown out in the area of the top of the refrigerated cabinet by the ventilation device as described above.

In an advantageous further development, the suction device can be integrated into the refrigeration unit or arranged on the refrigeration unit, in particular a design is preferred in which the suction channel is partially formed through the refrigeration unit The refrigerated cabinets comprise a housing that encloses the cooling chamber except for the open removal side. The extraction channel is preferably installed along this housing so that the extraction flow is guided around the refrigerated cabinet on the outside along the bottom and rear wall of the housing. The suction opening of the extraction channel preferably points towards the open removal side and in the direction of the area near the floor in front of the refrigerated cabinet.

In the case of self-sufficient refrigeration units, the waste heat-generating components of the thermal cycle are arranged on the rear side of the refrigeration unit. It is advantageous to design the extraction device in which the extraction channel is guided along the waste heat-generating components, so that the extraction flow characterized by cooled air can be guided past the waste heat-generating components and the efficiency of the refrigeration unit can therefore be improved.

The suction via the suction opening of the extraction duct is positively influenced if its central alignment is at an angle of 20-60°, especially 25-45°, to a vertical height direction of the refrigerated cabinet. This means that the cold air flow coming out of the open extraction side can be extracted immediately before it collects in the area near the floor in front of the refrigerated cabinet. The special alignment promotes the supply of the cold air flow into the suction duct and at the same time ensures that air from the area near the floor is also constantly sucked in, so that any accumulations of cold air in front of the refrigerated cabinet caused by external influences, for example when filling the refrigerated cabinet, can also be dissolved.

In a further development, the extraction device further comprises a control and a temperature sensor. The temperature sensor is preferably placed on or in the extraction duct in order to measure the temperature of the extraction flow. The extraction flow conveyed by the fan can be adjusted via the control depending on a measured temperature value of the extraction flow and thus the air in the area near the floor in front of the refrigerated cabinet.

The invention also includes the method for reducing the accumulation of cooled air flowing out of a refrigerated cabinet in the area near the floor in front of the refrigerated cabinet on its open removal side, wherein the suction flow is generated by means of the suction device, via which cooled air flowing out of the refrigerated cabinet is sucked out of the area near the floor and blown out by the ventilation device on the upper side of the refrigerated cabinet.

In the case of refrigerated cabinets with an open removal side, a fan is used to generate a circulation flow along the removal side facing the customer and around the housing of the refrigerated cabinet that defines the cooling chamber. The circulation flow can be guided through a heat exchanger and serve as cooling air for the cooling chambers. However, since the fan can only ever convey a certain volume flow and there is also air exchange with ambient air in the area of the open removal side, a certain amount of cooled air always escapes from the refrigerated cabinet and would collect in front of the refrigerated cabinet without the method. The method also preferably provides that the extraction flow runs at least in sections parallel to the circulation flow of the refrigerated cabinet generated by the fan.

In one embodiment of the method, it is provided that the extraction channel is guided along waste heat-generating components of the thermal cycle of the refrigeration appliance and the extraction flow flows along the waste heat-generating components or flows over the waste heat-generating components.

Furthermore, the method is characterized in that the suction flow is regulated with respect to its volume flow via the control and a temperature value which is provided by the temperature sensor arranged in or on the suction channel.

In a favorable embodiment of the method, the volume flow of the extraction flow conveyed by the fan is less than or equal to the volume flow of the circulation flow conveyed by the blower. The extraction flow thus acts mainly on the area close to the floor in front of the refrigeration unit without negatively affecting the circulation flow.

In one embodiment of the refrigerated cabinet, the intake opening of the extraction channel and the inlet of the circulation channel are directly adjacent to one another, with the intake opening of the extraction channel being directed towards the area close to the floor in front of the refrigerated cabinet and the inlet of the circulation channel being directed towards the open removal side of the refrigerated cabinet.

Fig. 1

eine schematische Darstellung einer Seitenansicht einer Absaugvorrichtung an einem Kühlmöbel;

Fig. 2

eine perspektivische Rückansicht eines Kühlmöbels mit Ventilationsvorrichtung;

Fig. 3

eine schematische Darstellung einer Seitenansicht des Kühlmöbels mit Ventilationsvorrichtung aus Figur 2;

Fig. 4

eine schematische Darstellung einer Draufsicht einer Anordnung von Kühlmöbeln.

Other advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the subclaims or are described in more detail below together with the description of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the figure. It shows:

Fig.1

a schematic representation of a side view of an extraction device on a refrigeration cabinet;

Fig. 2

a perspective rear view of a refrigerated cabinet with ventilation device;

Fig.3

a schematic representation of a side view of the refrigeration unit with ventilation device from Figure 2 ;

Fig.4

a schematic representation of a top view of an arrangement of refrigerated cabinets.

The Figure 1 is schematically shown as an example. Shown in a side view is a refrigerated cabinet 20 in the form of a cabinet standing on feet 41 on the floor with an open removal side 21 facing the customer. The refrigerated cabinet 20 comprises a housing 24 with an internal cooling chamber 23, which is divided into several shelf units 28 for the presentation of products to be cooled. Between the housing 24 and the cooling chamber 23, the circulation channel 25 runs over three of the four sides, in which the fan 12 for generating the circulation flow ZS and the heat exchanger 29 are arranged.

The circulation flow ZS flows from the outlet 27 directed vertically downwards to the inlet 26 directed vertically upwards over the removal side 21 and thus the entire cooling chamber 23. The arrow P shows that cold is transferred to the surrounding air by the circulation flow ZS, but also from the cooling chamber 23 as a result of a temperature gradient. is discharged on the removal side and flows outwards towards the area 10 close to the floor in front of the refrigerated cabinet 20.

The suction device 1 is arranged integrally on the refrigerated cabinet 20 with the suction channel 2 extending continuously from the suction opening 3 on the removal side 21 to the blow-out opening 4 provided in the upper area 5 of the refrigerated cabinet, the inner wall of the suction channel 2 being formed by the housing 24. The suction opening 3 of the suction channel 2 is directly adjacent to the inlet 26 in the circulation channel 25 and has a central orientation which runs at an angle α of 45° to a vertical. The inlet 26 and the suction opening 3 are spaced or separated by the separating device 26'. The suction opening 3 is formed by the separating device 26' and the inlet lip 26" which runs at an angle to the removal side 21. The inlet lip 26" has an inlet slope directed into the suction channel 2. The opening width of the intake opening is approximately 80°. The fan 7 for generating the extraction flow AS is arranged on the extraction channel 2 in the rear, i.e. opposite the removal side 21, top area 5 of the refrigerated cabinet and forms the blow-out opening 4 of the extraction channel 2. The extraction flow AS is generated by the fan 7, which sucks in both cooled air (arrow P) emerging from the cooling chamber 23 and air located in the area 10 near the floor and blows it out via the blow-out opening 4. The extraction channel 2 runs on the floor and rear parallel to the circulation channel 25 and past the waste heat-generating components of the refrigerated cabinet 20, shown here only by the heat exchanger 29. In addition, cooling grids can also be flowed over or around, for example. Alternatively, the construction can also be designed as an attachment to existing refrigerated cabinets.

Also not explicitly shown, but nevertheless included, is the embodiment that a temperature sensor and a control for volume flow control of the fan 7 are used depending on a temperature value, in particular the temperature value of the extraction flow AS. The control can be integrated into the control of the volume flow of the fan 12 of the refrigeration unit 20, so that the two volume flows of the extraction flow AS and the circulation flow ZS are controlled dependently on each other. In the shown As standard, the volume flow of the extraction flow AS conveyed by the fan 7 is smaller than the volume flow of the circulation flow ZS conveyed by the blower 12, so that the extraction flow AS does not negatively influence the circulation flow ZS. However, the volume flow of the extraction flow AS can also be temporarily larger than that of the circulation flow ZS, for example if a significant cooling of the extraction flow AS is detected and it can therefore be concluded that there is an accumulation of cooled air in the area 10 near the floor in front of the refrigerated cabinet 10.

The Figures 2 - 4 show a schematic representation of a ventilation device 100 on a refrigeration unit 20, which can be designed in the form of the refrigeration unit 20 from Figure 1. The ventilation device 100 for the embodiment according to Figure 1 The features described are applicable to the refrigerated cabinet in accordance with Figures 2 to 4 transferable, even if the details are not presented again.

The ventilation device 100 is arranged on the top of the refrigerated cabinet 20 and, in the embodiment shown, comprises three fans 7 designed as radial fans, which are arranged along the length of the refrigerated cabinet 20 at the same distance from each other. A separating element designed in the form of a separating strip 59 extends over the entire length of the refrigerated cabinet 20 and forms three sections 59', 59", 59‴ that are angled towards each other, with the fans 7 being attached to their blowers in the middle section 59". The separating strip can alternatively be divided into segments, each with a fan. The fans 7 suck air from the refrigerated cabinet top area 5 from the zone behind the separating strip 59 and blow it diagonally upwards through openings in the separating strip 59 into a zone in front of the refrigerated cabinet 20 on the removal side 21. The middle blowing direction is as in Figure 3 at a vertical angle β=50° with respect to a top plane 96 parallel to the top of the refrigerator and perpendicular to the front plane and, as shown in Figure 4 at a horizontal angle ϕ=45° with respect to a front plane 97 parallel to the removal side 21 along the refrigeration unit 20. The flow 99 generated by the fans 7 is in Figure 2 shown spatially. The middle section 59" of the separating strip 59 is extended at the same angle to the vertical angle, so that the blowing direction over the separating strip 59. The double-angled outflow in the direction of the ceiling and along the length of the refrigerated cabinet promotes the exchange of air in front of the refrigerated cabinet 20 and reduces the formation of cold air accumulations in front of the refrigerated cabinet 20.

Exhaust ducts 73 are arranged on each of the fans 7, which increase the throw distance and determine the throw direction. In the embodiment shown, the exhaust ducts 73 are inserted through openings or into openings in the separating strip 59.

The Figures 2-4 The ventilation device 100 shown is in one embodiment mounted on the top area 5 of the refrigerated cabinet 20 made of Figure 1 positioned so that the fans 7 suck in air from the extraction duct 2.

Figure 5 shows a schematic arrangement of the refrigeration units 20 to freezers or refrigerators 81, for example in a supermarket, wherein the outflow direction S of the fans 7 of the ventilation device 100 is directed anti-clockwise, since the main direction of movement of the customers along the refrigeration units 20 is set or expected in this way. The fans 7 generate a vortex W around the freezers or refrigerators 81, which prevents or reduces the accumulation of cold air in front of the refrigeration units 20. If the main direction of movement of the people using the refrigeration unit 20 is opposite, the horizontal angle is aligned accordingly in the other direction and is in a range of preferably -35°≥ϕ≥-50°.

Claims (13)

1. A refrigeration cabinet (20), comprising a housing, a cooling chamber (23) for receiving items to be cooled with an open removal side (21), a circulation duct (25) which extends continuously between the housing (24) and the cooling chamber (23) and in which a fan (12) is arranged that is designed to generate a circulation flow (ZS) around the cooling chamber (23) and across the open removal side (21), wherein the circulation duct (25) has an inlet (26) and an outlet (27) on the removal side (21) which are aligned so as to face one another, wherein a ventilation device for the refrigeration cabinet (20) which is open at least on the removal side (21) or can be opened via a door is provided on the refrigeration cabinet (20) in order to reduce an accumulation of cooled air flowing out of the refrigeration cabinet (20) in a region (10) near the floor in front of the refrigeration cabinet (20) on the removal side (21) thereof, with at least one fan (7) being arranged particularly in a refrigeration cabinet top region (5) opposite the region (10) near the floor, wherein the at least one fan (7) is designed and oriented so to blow air in a central discharge direction at a horizontal angle ϕ relative to a front plane parallel to the removal side (21) along the refrigerated cabinet (20) and at a vertical angle β relative to a top plane parallel to the removal side (21) and perpendicular to the front plane, wherein 20° ≤ ϕ,β ≤ 70° applies for ϕ and β or, alternatively, -20 ≥ ϕ ≥ -70° and 20° ≤ β ≤ 70° apply, wherein the at least one fan (7) is in fluid communication with at least one extraction duct (2) for generating an extraction flow (AS), wherein the at least one extraction duct (2) has an intake opening (3) and a discharge opening (4), wherein the intake opening (3) is or can be oriented in the direction of the region near the floor in front of the refrigeration cabinet (20) and the discharge opening (4) is or can be oriented toward the refrigeration cabinet top region (5), so that the cooled air flowing out of the refrigeration cabinet (20) can be sucked off from the region (10) near the floor and blown out by means of the at least one fan (7).
2. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that, for ϕ and β, 35 ≤ ϕ,β ≤ 50° applies or, alternatively, -35° ≥ ϕ ≥ -50° and 35 ≤ β ≤ 50° apply.
3. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the at least one fan (7) has at least one discharge duct which is integrated into the fan (7) or connected thereto and determines a throw distance and throw direction of the fan.
4. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a separating element which is embodied in particular as a separating strip (59) and fluidically delimits an intake region and an exhaust region of the fan (7), wherein the at least one fan (7) sucks air from the intake region and blows it out on the removal side (21) of the refrigeration cabinet (20).
5. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the separating element is designed to extend over an entire length of an opening width of the removal side (21) of the refrigeration cabinet (20).
6. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to any one of preceding claims 4 to 5, characterized in that the at least one fan (7) is held fastened to the separating element.
7. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to any one of preceding claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the separating element has a plurality of sections extending at an angle to one another and the vertical angle β is determined via one of the sections.
8. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a plurality of fans (7) are arranged in a row, each of which is identically oriented so as to discharge at the same horizontal angle and vertical angle.
9. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the fans are embodied as radial fans.
10. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one extraction duct (2) can be formed in part by the refrigeration cabinet (20).
11. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the intake opening (3) of the extraction duct (2) has a central orientation which extends at an angle (α) of 20-120°, in particular 25-75°, relative to a vertical direction of the refrigeration cabinet (20).
12. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a separating device (26') and an inlet lip (26") which is inclined toward the removal side (21) with an inlet slope are formed on the intake opening (3) of the extraction duct (2), wherein the separating device (26') spaces the intake opening (3) apart from the removal side (21).
13. The refrigeration cabinet (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the extraction duct (2) can be guided along waste heat-generating components of the thermal cycle of the refrigeration cabinet (20).

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