Refrigerating machine for food products and related operating method

Abstract

A refrigerating machine for food products comprising: an outer casing internally provided with a large thermal-insulated compartment adapted to contain the food product(s) to be preserved; an electrically-operated cooling assembly, which in turn comprises: a plurality of heat-pump refrigeration circuits separate and independent of one another, each of which is provided with a low-pressure heat exchanger which is capable of cooling the inside of the thermal-insulated compartment; and an oblong-shaped forced-air heat exchange unit, which extends inside the thermal-insulated compartment parallel to a given first direction, and is structured so as to accommodate said low-pressure heat exchangers arranged so as to form at least two rows of low-pressure heat exchangers, which extend along said first direction side by side and superimposed on one another; and a ventilation apparatus is structured so as to generate a transversal airflow that flows substantially perpendicular to said at least two rows of low-pressure heat exchangers passing through said rows of low-pressure heat exchangers.

1 . A refrigerating machine for food products comprising:
 an outer casing internally provided with a large thermal-insulated compartment adapted to contain the food product or products to be preserved; an electrically-operated cooling assembly adapted to cool the content of the thermal-insulated compartment; and an electronic control unit that controls the cooling assembly;   said cooling assembly comprising: a plurality of heat-pump refrigeration circuits separate and independent of one another, each of which is provided with a low-pressure heat exchanger which is capable of cooling the inside of the thermal-insulated compartment; and an oblong-shaped forced-air heat exchange unit, which extends inside the thermal-insulated compartment parallel to a given first direction, and is structured so as to accommodate said low-pressure heat exchangers and a ventilation apparatus adapted to generate a transversal airflow that passes through said low-pressure heat exchangers;   said refrigerating machine being characterized in that the low-pressure heat exchangers are arranged in the forced-air heat-exchange unit so as to form at least two rows of low-pressure heat exchangers, which extend in said first direction side by side and superimposed on one another; and in that said ventilation apparatus is structured so as to generate a transversal airflow that flows substantially perpendicular to said at least two rows of low-pressure heat exchangers passing through said rows of low-pressure heat exchangers.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerating machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit is programmed/configured so as to selectively activate a subgroup of low-pressure heat exchangers distributed substantially seamlessly along the length of the forced-air heat-exchange unit. 
     
     
         3 . The refrigerating machine according to  claim 1  wherein the ventilation apparatus is located beside one of said at least two rows of low-pressure heat exchangers. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerating machine according to  claim 1 , wherein said rows of low-pressure heat exchangers are adjoined/contiguous to one another. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerating machine according to  claim 1 , wherein said forced-air heat-exchange unit is longitudinally divided into a number of consecutive longitudinal segments, each of which comprises at least two low-pressure heat exchangers that are arranged one in front of the other aligned along a second direction substantially perpendicular to said first direction; said ventilation apparatus being adapted to generate a transversal airflow that flows through the longitudinal segment in said second direction. 
     
     
         6 . The refrigerating machine according to  claim 5 , wherein said ventilation apparatus comprises, for each longitudinal segment of said forced-air heat-exchange unit, a respective electrically-operated ventilation device, which is located in front of one of the low-pressure heat exchangers of the same longitudinal segment and is adapted to generate an airflow that passes in succession through all the low-pressure heat exchangers of the same longitudinal segment. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerating machine according to  claim 5 , wherein the electronic control unit is programmed/configured so as to selectively activate a single low-pressure heat exchanger for each longitudinal segment of said forced-air heat-exchange unit. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerating machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the low-pressure heat exchangers are finned pack heat exchangers. 
     
     
         9 . The refrigerating machine according to  claim 8 , wherein the low-pressure heat exchangers belonging to a same longitudinal segment of the forced-air heat-exchange unit share the same finned body. 
     
     
         10 . The refrigerating machine according to  claim 1  wherein said forced-air heat-exchange unit is arranged inside the thermal-insulated compartment in a substantially vertical position, nearly skimming the rear wall of the thermal-insulated compartment. 
     
     
         11 . Operating method of a refrigerating machine for food products comprising: an outer casing internally provided with a large thermal-insulated compartment adapted to contain the food product or products; and an electrically-operated cooling assembly adapted to cool what's contained inside the thermal-insulated compartment;
 said cooling assembly including an oblong-shaped forced-air heat-exchange unit, which extends inside the thermal-insulated compartment parallel to a given first direction, and accommodates: a plurality of independent low-pressure heat exchangers that are arranged so as to form at least two rows of low-pressure heat exchangers, which extend along said first direction side by side and superimposed on one another; and a ventilation apparatus adapted to generate a transversal airflow that flows substantially perpendicular to said at least two rows of low-pressure heat exchangers passing through said rows of low-pressure heat exchangers;   said operating method being characterized by comprising a reduced-power operating mode, in which a subgroup of low-pressure heat exchangers distributed substantially seamlessly along the length of the forced-air heat-exchange unit is activated.   
     
     
         12 . The operating method of a refrigerating machine for food products according to  claim 11 , wherein the composition of said subgroup of low-pressure heat exchangers is periodically changed. 
     
     
         13 . The operating method of a refrigerating machine for food products according to  claim 11 , wherein said subgroup of low-pressure heat exchangers comprises all of the low-pressure heat exchangers that form a single row of low-pressure heat exchangers of the forced-air heat-exchange unit.