REFRIGERATION UNIT

Abstract

For effective and energy-saving cooling of articles using straightforward designs, a refrigeration unit, in particular a refrigerated cabinet, freezer cabinet, refrigerated island or refrigerated counter, for storing and/or displaying articles, having a refrigeration chamber for the articles, and having a channel, which is assigned to the refrigeration chamber and is intended for supplying air, wherein two air flows can flow out of an outlet of the channel at different flow speeds and form a double protective air curtain in front of an access to the refrigeration chamber, is configured so that the channel has an element which acts on the supplied air so that the supplied air is divided up into the two air flows with different flow speeds by the element.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a refrigeration unit, in particular a refrigerated cabinet, deep freezer, refrigerated island, or refrigerated counter, for storing and/or displaying chilled goods, having a refrigeration chamber for the chilled goods and having a duct, which is allocated to the refrigeration chamber and is intended for supplying air, wherein two air flows can flow out of an outlet of the duct at different flow speeds and form a double protective air curtain in front of an entry to the refrigeration chamber.

Discussion of Related Art

A refrigeration unit having a refrigeration chamber for the chilled goods and having a duct, which is allocated to the refrigeration chamber and is intended for supplying air is known, for example, from German Patent Reference DE 34 14 033 A1. The refrigeration unit shown here is specifically a refrigerated cabinet in which refrigerated air in a duct at the back wall of the refrigeration unit is conveyed upward into a front region of the refrigerated cabinet and flows out of an outlet in front of the refrigeration chamber to form a protective air curtain. A protective air curtain of this kind reduces a heat exchange between the refrigeration chamber and the warmer surroundings so much that in enables a safe storage and/or presentation of chilled goods in the refrigeration chamber.

It is known to produce a protective air curtain of this kind out of two suitable air flows with different flow speeds. This achieves a particularly effective isolation of the refrigeration chamber from the usually warmer surroundings. To produce such a double protective air curtain, the duct is embodied with or has two separate air ducts for the air supply, which supply respective air flows with different flow speeds. In refrigeration units of this kind, it is problematic that the air flows emerging from the outlet of the duct usually only flow for a short distance and they definitely do not flow in laminar fashion along the whole refrigeration chamber as required. This results in the fact that the desired protective air curtain cannot be reliably embodied along the entire refrigeration chamber.

Specifically, the air flows emerging from the duct mostly tend to flow into the refrigeration chamber instead of forming a protective air curtain in front of the refrigeration chamber. This tendency is counteracted by producing additional supporting air curtains, which are formed by air flows coming out of the back wall of the refrigeration chamber into the refrigeration chamber, which are intended to keep the air flows that form the protective air curtain from migrating into the refrigeration chamber. In this case, care is taken to ensure that these supporting air curtains are produced out of laminar flows as much as possible in order to keep the air flows of the protective air curtain out of the refrigeration chamber as reliably as possible. One disadvantage of these laminar flows, however, is that their desired cooling action on the chilled goods is not very good since these laminar supporting air flows exhibit only interact with the chilled goods for a short time. In other words, the supporting air curtain flows past the chilled goods too quickly and too rectilinearly to exert an effective cooling action on the chilled goods.

The known refrigeration unit is therefore disadvantageous from an energy standpoint because specifically in order to produce a steady protective air curtain that reliably flows along the entire refrigeration chamber, additional supporting air curtains must be produced, which flow in as laminar as possible a manner through the refrigeration chamber and out from the refrigeration chamber, but which, due to their desirable laminar nature, do not achieve a particularly effective cooling of the chilled goods. As a result, a great deal of energy must be expended to achieve reliable cooling of the chilled goods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of this invention, therefore, is to embody and modify a refrigeration unit of the type mentioned above so as to enable an effective and energy-saving cooling of the chilled goods through simple designs.

The above object and others are attained by a refrigeration unit having the features described in this specification and in the claims, wherein the refrigeration unit is embodied and modified so that the duct has an element that acts on the supplied air in a way that the element divides the supplied air into the two air flows with different flow speeds.

According to this invention, by aptly producing and guiding two cooling air flows with different flow speeds, the above object and others are attained in a surprisingly simple way. Thus, according to this invention, the duct has an element that acts on the supplied cooling air in such a way that this element not only produces a division of the supplied air into two air flows, it also produces the different flow speeds of the two air flows. In this connection, in a simply designed way, it is on the one hand no longer necessary to produce one duct with two separate air ducts in order to convey the two air flows that are required for a double protective air curtain. In a simply designed way, it is sufficient to have one duct with a single air duct and an element placed in a suitable position. This embodiment of the duct with only one air duct also has advantages from a hygienic standpoint since it facilitates a cleaning of the duct with only one air duct. It has also tuned out that this embodiment of the duct with a division into the two air flows first occurring at the element results in a more reliable, quieter air flow. Finally, it has turned out that one embodiment of the duct according to this invention with the element acting on the supplied air results in a laminar flow of the protective air curtain over a relatively long distance so that supporting air curtains that were required in prior refrigeration units are largely no longer necessary or even entirely unnecessary in order to maintain the protective air curtain in the required way. In other words, it is no longer necessary for supporting air curtains to be conveyed in as strictly laminar a fashion as is required in conventional refrigeration units. This makes it possible to use a more turbulent supporting air flow than before so that an improved cooling action can be exerted on the chilled goods. This achieves significant energy savings in the required refrigeration.

Consequently, the refrigeration unit according to this invention achieves a refrigeration unit that enables an effective and energy-saving cooling of the chilled goods through simple designs.

In a reliable and simply designed way for reliably producing air flows with different flow speeds, the element can be placed inside the duct or in the vicinity of or near the outlet of the duct. The placement inside the duct offers an effective positioning of the element that is protected from external influences. Depending on the requirements, this placement can be provided in the vicinity of or near the outlet. It is also possible to position the element essentially in front of the outlet of the duct in order to ensure easy access to the element for cleaning and/or maintenance purposes.

In a particularly effective and elegant way, the element can be embodied in wing-like fashion to make use of the Bernoulli Effect. Such a wing-like embodiment of the element on the one hand ensures a reliable division of the supplied air flowing past the element into two air flows and on the other hand, ensures a reliable production of different flow speeds of the air flows on the two sides of the wing-like element. Because of the air pressure differences that the wing-like element produces on the different sides of the wing-like element, this produces differences in the flow speeds of the two air flows that are dictated by the individual embodiment of the element. Depending on the embodiment of the wing-like element, it is thus possible to achieve different flow speeds of the two air flows, depending on the desired use. In this regard, the wing-like element can be embodied and can function, so to speak, like an airfoil, for example of an airplane.

With regard to a particularly versatile use and with regard to individual possibilities for adapting the produced air flows to individual existing requirements, the element can be adjusted relative to the duct and/or can be pivoted around an axis relative to the duct and/or can be shifted relative to the duct. Depending on the adjusting, pivoting, or shifting position, different flow speeds and a different flow behavior of the two air flows can be achieved. The axis around which the element can be pivoted can be oriented essentially perpendicular to the flow directions of the air flows.

With regard to an alternative or additional individual production of air flows and the respective flow speeds, the element can have a plurality of sections that can be adjusted and/or pivoted relative to one another. In this embodiment, the element can advantageously be individually embodied or shaped with regard to the extent of the adjustability of the sections. This makes it possible to adapt to a wide variety of applications.

To produce a protective air curtain that has a laminar flow over the greatest possible distance, a guide device for parallel guidance of the supplied air can be positioned inside the duct, before the element in the flow direction. This prior parallel guidance of the supplied air produces a laminar flow with the greatest possible range in the vicinity of or near the protective air curtain. This produces a pre-alignment, so to speak, of the supplied air so that after the supplied air is divided into the two air flows, a particularly far-reaching laminar flow is produced.

Alternatively or in addition to this a guide device, for parallel guidance of the two air flows, after the element, viewed in a flow direction, a guide device can be positioned inside the duct, at the outlet of the duct, or after the outlet. By this, the air that has already been divided into two air flows is guided in parallel fashion after being divided, so that this also achieves a prolonging of the laminar flow in the protective air curtain.

At least one of the guide devices positioned before and/or after the element can have a plurality of flat guide elements arranged parallel to one another. Flat guide elements of this kind offer a particularly simple and reliable parallel guidance of the air flowing past them.

At least one of the two guide devices positioned before and/or after the element can be composed of a plurality of individual sections. This makes it possible to achieve a modular design of the guide devices in order to take into account a wide variety of requirements and application situations.

In another advantageous way, the duct can have at least one additional outlet for the supplied air that opens into the refrigeration chamber. The at least one additional outlet is embodied in such a way that air flowing into the refrigeration chamber is essentially turbulent and preferably forms a supporting air curtain for the protective air curtain. In this case, this invention has one advantage of a particularly far-reaching laminar flow in the protective air curtain due to the use of the element, and the turbulent flow in the supporting air curtain can achieve a particularly effective cooling of the chilled goods. The turbulent flow achieves a longer-lasting and thus more reliable interaction between the air and the chilled goods for the cooling of the chilled goods. It is thus possible to save significant amounts of energy for the cooling of the chilled goods.

With the refrigeration unit according to this invention, it is possible to achieve a combination of turbulent flow in the refrigeration chamber and laminar flow in the protective air curtain in a way that is particularly advantageous from an energy standpoint. In addition to a very effective heat exchange in the refrigeration chamber, this combination produces a protective air curtain with different flow speeds, which in an extraordinarily stable way, counteracts external interferences such as heat flows to the refrigeration unit. This achieves a particularly high energy efficiency of the refrigeration unit according to this invention.

The refrigeration unit according to this invention can be both a refrigeration unit with its own condensing unit, a so-called plug-in refrigeration unit, and a refrigeration unit with a connection to a central refrigeration unit, for example with a network of connected pipes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There are now various possibilities for advantageously embodying and modifying the teaching of this invention. In this regard, reference is made on the one hand to the subsequent claims and on the other to the following description of exemplary embodiments of the teaching according to this invention based on the drawings. In connection with explaining the preferred exemplary embodiments of the teaching according to this invention based on the drawings, explanations are also provided for generally preferred embodiments and modifications of the teaching, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a conventional′ refrigeration unit in a form of a refrigerated cabinet;

FIG. 2 is a schematic partial side view of a duct of a first exemplary embodiment of a refrigeration unit according to this invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic partial side view of a duct of a second exemplary embodiment of a refrigeration unit according to this invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic partial side view of a duct of a third exemplary embodiment of a refrigeration unit according to this invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial side view of a duct of a fourth exemplary embodiment of a refrigeration unit according to this invention;

FIGS. 6-9 are schematic depictions of advantageous embodiment options of outlets for producing turbulent flows in the refrigeration chamber of exemplary embodiments of refrigeration units according to this invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of a refrigeration unit in the form of a refrigerated counter;

FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of a refrigeration unit in the form of a deep freezer; and

FIG. 12 is a schematic side view of a refrigeration unit in the form of a combination set having a refrigerated cabinet and a deep freezer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a conventional refrigeration unit in the form of a refrigerated cabinet. Refrigeration units of this kind are used for storage and/or presentation of chilled goods. The refrigeration unit has a refrigeration chamber 1 for the chilled goods, with a plurality of shelves 7 for chilled goods provided in the refrigeration chamber 1. The refrigeration chamber 1 has a duct 2 allocated to it for supplying air. The air flows into the duct 2 essentially from below and can flow out from an outlet 3 of the duct 2 in the form of two air flows with different flow speeds. The air flows form a double protective air curtain in a region 4 in front of the refrigeration chamber 1. The flow direction is indicated by an arrow 5. The protective air curtain extends in front of an entry 6 to the refrigeration chamber 1 in order to prevent a heat exchange with the warmer surroundings of the refrigeration unit.

During operation of the refrigeration unit, the air flows constantly travel from the top of the refrigerated cabinet to the lower region of the refrigerated cabinet and are collected there in order to be conveyed into a circuit in the ducts 2. After collection, a cooling of the air flows takes place so that the air flows travel out of the duct 2 at a lower temperature than when they are collected in the lower region.

With regard to a particularly effective and energy-saving cooling of the chilled goods through simple designs, according to a first exemplary embodiment of this invention, the duct 2 shown in the enlarged depiction in FIG. 2 is equipped with an element 8 that acts on the supplied air in such a way that the division of the supplied air into the two air flows with different flow speeds is achieved by the element 8 itself. At the element 8, the air supplied through the duct 2 is first divided into the two air flows that have different flow speeds due to the special design of the element 8. The element 8 has an essentially convexly curved top and an essentially concavely curved bottom. The flow speed at the top is higher than at the bottom. The element 8 extends transversely to the duct 2 along its entire width. The duct 2 is embodied with an essentially rectangular cross-section so that a protective air curtain can be produced along the entire width of the duct 2. These two air flows emerge from the outlet 3 and then form the double protective air curtain in front of the entry 6 to the refrigeration chamber 1.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the element 8 is positioned inside the duct 2. In addition, the element 8 is embodied in a wing-like fashion to make use of the Bernoulli Effect. The element 8 is arranged so that it is able to pivot around an axis 9. It is thus possible to easily change the position of the air flows produced. The axis 9 is oriented perpendicular to the flow direction of the supplied air. In addition, the axis 9 in the exemplary embodiment shown here extends in a horizontal direction and perpendicular to the plane of the drawing of FIG. 2, which shows a side view of the upper region of the duct 2.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, in the flow direction before the element 8 in the duct 2, a guide device 10 is provided to guide the supplied air in a parallel fashion. By the parallel guidance of the supplied air, it is possible to produce from the two air flows a laminar flow that reaches a particularly long distance after the outlet 3. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, the guide device 10 has three individual sections 10. In addition to the guide device 10, a guide device 11, which is for guiding the two produced air flows in parallel fashion, is positioned inside the duct 2 in the vicinity of or near the outlet 3, after the element 8 in the flow direction. This achieves an additional prolonging of the laminar flow region after the outlet 3.

The guide devices 10 and 11 have a plurality of flat guide elements 12 oriented parallel to one another. This achieves a particularly reliable guidance of the air.

FIGS. 3 to 5 respectively show a schematic, enlarged side view of a duct 2 of a second, third, and fourth exemplary embodiment of a refrigeration unit according to this invention with an element 8 positioned inside the duct 2. In these exemplary embodiments, the element 8 is arranged in stationary fashion inside the duct 2 and is not able to pivot around an axis. In addition, the exemplary embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 differ from the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2 due to the different embodiment of the guide device 10, which guides the supplied air in parallel fashion before the element 8 in the flow direction. In this case, the second exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 3 has a guide device 10 composed of or of one individual section 10. The guide devices 10 according to the third and fourth exemplary embodiments in FIGS. 4 and 5 have three and five individual sections 10, respectively. When selecting the number of individual sections 10, it is necessary to take into account the respective intended use. Basically, the presence of more individual sections 10 results in a more reliable parallel guidance of the supplied air, with the flow resistance increasing as the number of individual sections 10 in the duct 2 rises.

In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the duct 2, in addition to the outlet 3, can have at least one other outlet 13 for the supplied air, opening into the refrigeration chamber 1. This outlet 13 is embodied so that air flowing into the refrigeration chamber 1 is essentially turbulent and preferably forms a supporting air curtain for the protective air curtain. According to FIGS. 6 to 9, different embodiments of these outlets 13 are shown, which result in turbulent flows into the refrigeration chamber 1. In this case, FIG. 6 shows an arrangement of crescent-shaped outlets 13, FIG. 7 shows an arrangement of circular outlets 13 with different diameters, FIG. 8 shows an arrangement of rod-shaped outlets 13, and FIG. 9 shows an arrangement of star-shaped outlets 13. Such outlets 13 can, for example, be embodied in the back wall of a refrigeration chamber 1.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of a conventional refrigerated counter, which could have a duct 2 with an element 8 according to this invention in order to achieve an effective and energy-saving cooling of the chilled goods through simple designs.

In the same way, FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of a conventional refrigeration unit 11 in the form of a deep freezer. Here, too, an element 8 can be provided inside the duct 2. Finally, in the same way, FIG. 12 is a schematic side view of a conventional refrigeration unit in the form of a combination set having a refrigerated cabinet and a deep freezer. Here, too, an element 8 can be positioned inside the duct 2.

Basically, it should be stated that the idea according to this invention of embodying the duct 2 with a suitable element 8 can be advantageously implemented in all conventional types of refrigeration units.

In order to avoid repetition, with regard to other advantageous embodiments of the refrigeration unit according to this invention, reference is made to the general part of the description and to the attached claims.

Finally, it should be expressly stated that the above-described exemplary embodiments of the refrigeration unit according to this invention are provided only for the sake of discussing the claimed teaching, but do not limit this teaching to the exemplary embodiments.

Claims

1. A refrigeration unit, in particular a refrigerated cabinet, deep freezer, refrigerated island, or refrigerated counter, for storing and/or displaying chilled goods, having a refrigeration chamber (1) for the chilled goods and having a duct (2), which is allocated to the refrigeration chamber (1) and is intended for supplying air, wherein two air flows can flow out of an outlet (3) of the duct (2) at different flow speeds and form a double protective air curtain in front of an entry (6) to the refrigeration chamber (1), the refrigeration unit comprising the duct (2) having an element (8) acting on the supplied air so that the element (8) divides the supplied air into the two air flows with different flow speeds.

2. The refrigeration unit according to claim 1, wherein the element (8) is positioned inside the duct (2) or near the outlet (3) of the duct (2).

3. The refrigeration unit according to claim 2, wherein the element (8) is embodied in a wing-like fashion to make use of a Bernoulli Effect.

4. The refrigeration unit according to claim 3, wherein the element (8) is embodied so that in relation to the duct (2), it is adjustable and/or pivotable around an axis (9), and/or able to shift.

5. The refrigeration unit according to claim 4, wherein the element (8) has a plurality of sections that can be adjusted and/or pivoted relative to one another.

6. The refrigeration unit according to claim 5, wherein a guide device (10) for parallel guidance of the supplied air is provided inside the duct (2), before the element (8) in a flow direction.

7. The refrigeration unit according to claim 6, wherein in order to guide the two air flows in parallel fashion after the element (8) in the flow direction, a guide device (11) can be positioned inside the duct (2), at the outlet (3) of the duct (2), or after the outlet (3).

8. The refrigeration unit according to claim 7, wherein the guide device (10, 11) has a plurality of flat guide elements arranged parallel to one another.

9. The refrigeration unit according to claim 8, wherein the guide device (10, 11) is of a plurality of individual sections (10).

10. The refrigeration unit according to claim 9, wherein the duct (2) has at least one other outlet (13) for the supplied air opening into the refrigeration chamber (1) and the at least one other outlet (13) is embodied so that air flowing into the refrigeration chamber (1) is essentially turbulent and preferably forms a supporting air curtain for the protective air curtain.

11. The refrigeration unit according to claim 1, wherein the element (8) is embodied in a wing-like fashion to make use of a Bernoulli Effect.

12. The refrigeration unit according to claim 1, wherein the element (8) is embodied so that in relation to the duct (2), it is adjustable and/or pivotable around an axis (9), and/or able to shift.

13. The refrigeration unit according to claim 1, wherein the element (8) has a plurality of sections that can be adjusted and/or pivoted relative to one another.

14. The refrigeration unit according to claim 1, wherein a guide device (10) for parallel guidance of the supplied air is provided inside the duct (2), before the element (8) in a flow direction.

15. The refrigeration unit according to claim 1, wherein in order to guide the two air flows in parallel fashion after the element (8) in the flow direction, a guide device (11) can be positioned inside the duct (2), at the outlet (3) of the duct (2), or after the outlet (3).

16. The refrigeration unit according to claim 6, wherein the guide device (10, 11) has a plurality of flat guide elements arranged parallel to one another.

17. The refrigeration unit according to claim 6, wherein the guide device (10, 11) is of a plurality of individual sections (10).

18. The refrigeration unit according to claim wherein the duct (2) has at least one other outlet (13) for the supplied air opening into the refrigeration chamber (1) and the at least one other outlet (13) is embodied so that air flowing into the refrigeration chamber (1) is essentially turbulent and preferably forms a supporting air curtain for the protective air curtain.