WO1991015723A1

WO1991015723A1 - Wine cellar composed of modular elements

Info

Publication number: WO1991015723A1
Application number: PCT/FR1991/000247
Authority: WO
Inventors: Patrick Girard
Original assignee: Patrick Girard
Priority date: 1990-04-02
Filing date: 1991-03-28
Publication date: 1991-10-17
Also published as: CA2056626A1; FR2660419B1; EP0479985A1; AU7662991A; FR2660419A1

Abstract

A wine cellar is composed of modular elements (1 to 4, 20 to 22) which can be associated with each other geometrically as in a construction set. Each element (1 to 4, 20 to 22) comprises a thermally insulating enclosure, the inner space of which is accessible through an insulating door (5), and refrigerating means (7, 10, 11, 27) controlled by a control device (13) on the basis of the difference between the internal temperature of the enclosure and a reference temperature. Said device (13) is designed so that in continuous operation this temperature difference is at most a few hundredths of a degree centigrade.

Description

WINE CELLAR FORMED OF MODULAR ELEMENTS.

The present invention relates to a wine cellar formed of modular elements which can be associated with each other according to the configuration desired by the user.

In general, we know that few people have the privilege of owning premises that can actually be used as a wine cellar, in particular because of the temperature and humidity conditions required for this type of application.

This is the reason why wines are only very rarely consumed when their degree of aging gives them their optimal taste qualities.

In an attempt to cope with this situation, apartment wine cellars have been offered on the market having a structure similar to that of a refrigerator and the interior volume of which, intended to receive bottles, is maintained at a determined temperature, for example of the order of 8 to 12 ° C.

However, the results obtained using these apartment cellars have been disappointing, the wine instead of ripening tending to denature according to a process analogous to that of a wine stored in a conventional refrigerator.

Furthermore, because of their structure, these cellars are difficult to integrate into standard apartments and, in particular, it is difficult to imagine accommodating several wine cellars the size of conventional refrigerators.

To these drawbacks is added that resulting from the fact that, like a conventional refrigerator, access is effected by a front door extending over the entire section of the interior volume of the cellar.

Therefore, each opening of the cellar causes a temporary warming of all the bottles harmful to the desired effect.

The invention therefore more particularly proposes a combination of means and provisions making it possible to solve both the problem of denaturing wine, the problem of integrating the cellar into a dwelling, as well as other problems such as the packaging and temperature maintenance of bottles during transport.

Regarding the problem of denaturing wine, it is based on multiple experiments which have shown that the denaturation of a wine stored in a refrigerator (or in a wine cellar using a similar principle) is essentially due variations in temperature suffered by the bottles mainly due to the type of temperature regulation used.

In fact, due to hysteresis phenomena in these regulatory systems, the temperature, instead of being stabilized at the desired level, oscillates continuously at- turn of this level with an amplitude of oscillations of the order of several degrees centigrade with a period of the order of an hour. It is clear that it is these perpetual variations in temperature which cause the degradation of the wine.

Given these observations, the wine cellar according to the invention is characterized in that it is produced from modular elements geometrically associable with each other in the manner of a construction set, each element comprising an enclosure thermally insulating which delimits a volume arranged so as to receive a limited number of bottles, and accessible via a thermally insulating door, this enclosure being equipped with refrigeration means controlled by means of a device of servo control intervening a device for detecting the temperature inside the enclosure, this servo device being designed so as to allow, in steady state, only a temperature difference detec tee / set temperature preferably at most equal to a few hundredths of a centigrade.

Advantageously, the above-mentioned refrigeration means will consist of Peltier effect cells associated with electronic regulation means ensuring regulation of the linear and continuous type.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the interior volume of the modular elements is connected to a cold air distribution circuit from a cold air generation module. In this case, each modular element comprises a register regulating the flow of air injected as a function of the temperature prevailing inside said element. Embodiments of the invention will be described below, by way of nonlimiting examples, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view, in perspective, of a wine cellar produced by the assembly of four modular elements using cells with Peltier effect;

Figure 2 is a partial vertical section of an element used in the wine cellar;

Figure 3 is a section along AA 'of Figure 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view, in perspective, of a wine cellar produced by the assembly of modular elements whose internal temperature is regulated by means of a circulation of cooled air in a module cooling;

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of a thermostatic register usable in the modular elements shown in Figure 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a refrigeration module that can be used in a wine cellar of the type shown in FIG. 4.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the modular elements 1 to 4 consist of boxes of parallelepiped shape, the front face of which is constituted by a door 5 mounted on elastic hinges. These boxes 1 to 4 are made of a rigid thermally insulating and mechanically resistant material, such as polyurethane foam. The interior volume of these boxes can include arrangements such as crosspieces, so as to receive a series of bottles 6 which it is desired to keep.

It is clear from FIG. 1 that, thanks to their parallelepiped shape, it is possible to stack the boxes 1 to 4 or to arrange them side by side, as if they were cubes.

Refrigeration of the interior volume of each of cais¬ sounds 1 to 4 is carried out by a Peltier effect cell 7, disposed in a through orifice 8 formed in the bottom 9 of the box, this cell 7 being thermally connected:

- On the one hand, to a profiled tube 10 made of thermally good conductive material, which extends vertically on the internal face of the bottom 9, and - on the other hand, to a radiator 11 partially covering the external face of the bottom .

The profiled tube 10, which acts as a collector of calories, constitutes in a way a chimney generating a current of air between the upper part and the lower part of the internal volume of the box. Of course, in contact with this tube 10, the air stream gives up calories as it cools.

These calories are then transmitted by the cell 7 to the radiator 11 which dissipates them into the ambient air.

The tube 10 / cell 7 / radiator 11 assembly therefore behaves like a heat pump capable of extracting heat from the elements contained in the box.

In view of the fact that the aim sought here is to maintain the temperature prevailing inside the box at a precise value, this heat extraction process is regulated using a regulation device according to the difference between the set value and the value of this temperature measured by a detector 12 preferably located in the anterior part of the upper internal face of the box.

This regulation must be carried out by an electronic regulation circuit, for example of the PID type (proportional, integral, derivative), sufficiently precise to avoid any temperature oscillation likely to cause the drawbacks mentioned above (deviation in speed 1/100 degree centigrade).

Of course, to be able to reach this level of precision, the detector must be particularly sensitive. It must have a low thermal capacity and will be associated with a heat exchanger having a large contact surface with air and a low thermal capacity, this in order to reduce as much as possible the response time of the sensor.

It should also be emphasized that one of the essential conditions for avoiding denaturation of the wine is the absence of a thermal gradient recorded over time.

However, it turns out that, each time one or more bottles are introduced into a box, it occurs at the same time:

- instant warming of the air in the cellar, - slow heating of the entire contents of the cellar, due to the calories released by the newly introduced bottle which, at the start, was at a higher ambient temperature than that of the cellar. _ _η _

The solution that seems the most logical is then to use a high power refrigerant generator to bring the temperature, as quickly as possible, to the set temperature.

However, in this case, it is necessary to subject the newly introduced bottle to a strong thermal gradient, which is contrary to the desired effect.

At the same time, due to the thermal heterogeneity inside the cellar, this intensive cooling inevitably causes cooling of bottles already present far below the set temperature, which is also contrary to the desired effect.

To eliminate this drawback, the invention proposes to use a refrigerant generator (for example a Peltier effect cell) with low power (between 1 and 2 thermal Watts), installed in a box having a very high coefficient of thermal insulation ( cooling of at least 10 ° C per thermal Watt extracted from the box).

Thus, when we introduce a new bottle inside the box, we first notice a very slow heating of the entire contents of the cellar, mainly due to the calories released by conversion by the new bottle, but very strongly attenuated by the generator, then cooling, also very slow, until the interior temperature of the module returns to its set value. The wine, whether that of the newly introduced bottle or that of the bottles originally present, will therefore not have undergone sudden changes in temperature. Advantageously, each cell may include its own electrical current supply circuit 13 which can be connected to the network, to a storage battery, or even to the electrical circuit of a transport vehicle (so as to avoid variations in temperature of the wine during transport).

The invention is not limited to the embodiment previously described. In fact, the air conditioning of the interior volume of the boxes could be ensured by any other means and, in particular, by means of a stream of air cooled by a refrigerant module, as in the example illustrated in FIG. 4.

In this example, each box 20 to 22 which has a structure similar to those previously described further comprises, in its internal part, two air circulation ducts 23, 24 forming two coaxial loops which extend over or in the side walls of the box 21 in two parallel vertical planes.

The duct 23 which is located near the front face of the box (door) constitutes an air intake duct, while the duct 24, which is located near the bottom, constitutes a duct for exhaust.

Each of these conduits 23, 24 can be connected to corresponding conduits of another module, either placed side by side, or superimposed by means of preformed connection means 25.

Of course, one of the intake circuits 23 should be connected to the output 26 of the refrigerant module 27 while one of the intake circuits 24 should be connected to the input 28 of said refrigerant module 27.

The air circulation inside the box is ensured by at least one intake port 29 reads in the intake circuit 23 and at least one exhaust port 30 made in the exhaust circuit 24.

The air flow circulating inside the box, and consequently the inside temperature of this box will be regulated by means of at least one ventilation register 31 fitted to one of said orifices 29, 30 and whose passage section is variable depending on the temperature inside the box.

Such a register 31 can, for example, include, as shown in FIG. 5, a flap 32 mounted to rotate so as to be able to close an orifice 30 provided in the exhaust duct 25, this flap 32 being actuated by a bimetallic strip 33 adjusted so as to close the orifice 30 when the set temperature is reached.

The refrigerant module 27 may comprise a refrigeration unit 34 of the conventional type, for example compression type, the evaporator 35 of which is placed in an enclosure 36 possibly filled with a thermally conductive fluid and having good thermal inertia.

Inside this enclosure 36 is arranged an air / fluid exchanger 37, the air circuit of which is connected, on the one hand, to the exhaust circuit 24 of the modules and, on the other hand, to a turbine 38 used to inject into the intake circuit 23 the air cooled when passing through the exchanger 37. Of course, the refrigeration unit 34 is controlled by a thermostat 39 housed in the enclosure 36.

We thus obtain a regulation at two levels, namely: - a first level provided by the thermostat 39 of the refrigeration unit 34, and

- a second level which is provided by register 30, 32, 33.

This solution is more advantageous in the case where it is desired to produce a wine cellar having a large capacity.

Advantageously, in order to obtain the thermal insulation required to solve the problems described above, the boxes can be made by molding a structured polyurethane foam which also has the advantage of being able to obtain conforma¬ tions on the surface or reliefs imitating traditional materials and possibly reproducing elements of furniture in different styles.

Furthermore, the wine cellars described above could involve a box of a first type intended to bring the bottles to the storage temperature, this box, possibly of smaller dimensions, being equipped with means of relatively powerful refrigeration, and at least one box of a second type (storage) intended only to keep the bottles at the storage temperature, this box being provided with less powerful means of refrigeration than the previous one.

Such an arrangement makes it possible in particular to reduce the cost of the boxes used for storage.

In addition, the doors of the boxes can advantageously be doubled by an internal door at least partially made of transparent material, so that the user can see the contents of the box without causing significant thermal disturbances in the latter. Display means, for example with an optical guide, may be provided for reading the labels of the bottles, without having to extract the latter from the box.

Claims

claims

1. Composable wine cellar at the option of the user, characterized in that it is produced using modular elements (1 to 4) geometrically associable with each other in the manner of a game of construction, each element (1 to 4) comprising a thermally insulating enclosure which delimits a volume arranged so as to be able to receive a limited number of bottles (6) and accessible via a thermally insulating door (5), this enclosure being equipped with refrigeration means (7, 10, 11) controlled by a control device (13) as a function of the difference between the interior temperature of the enclosure and a set temperature, this control device (13) being designed so as to ensure that in steady state said deviation is preferably at most equal to a few hundredths of a centigrade.

2. Wine cellar according to claim 1, characterized in that the refrigeration means (7, 10, 11) are at low power and in that the said enclosure has a very high coefficient of thermal insulation, cooling the volume inside the box being at least 10 ° C per thermal Watt extracted from the enclosure.

3. Wine cellar according to claim 1, characterized in that the above cooling means consist of Peltier effect cells (7) associated with electronic regulation means (13).

4. Wine cellar according to claim 3, characterized in that the above regulation means (13) are of the linear and continuous type or the like.

5. Wine cellar according to claim 4, characterized in that the above-mentioned regulation means (13) are of the PID type (proportional, integral and derivative).

6. Wine cellar according to claim 3, characterized in that the Peltier effect cell (7) is housed in a cavity formed in a wall (9) of the enclosure, this cell (7) being thermally connected to a heat collector (10) extending against the internal wall of the enclosure and a heat sink (11) disposed against the external wall of the enclosure.

7. Wine cellar according to claim 6, characterized in that the aforesaid heat collector consists of a vertical profiled tube (10) intended to generate a current of air between the upper part and the lower part of the internal volume of the pregnant.

8. Wine cellar according to claim 6, characterized in that the Peltier effect cell (7) is housed in the bottom wall (9) of the enclosure.

9. Wine cellar according to claim 1, characterized in that the enclosure has a parallelepiped shape.

10. Wine cellar according to claim 3, characterized in that the above electronic control means use for the measurement of the temperature prevailing inside the enclosure, a temperature sensor (12) mounted on the upper wall of the enclosure, near the door (5).

11. Wine cellar according to claim 1, characterized in that the above-mentioned means of refrigeration include a cold air distribution circuit (23) opening into the interior volume of the enclosure and regulating means (31) of the cold air flow ejected according to the interior temperature of the enclosure.

12. Wine cellar according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a module for generating cold air (27) which can be connected to the above-mentioned cold air distribution circuit (23).

13. Wine cellar according to claim 11, characterized in that each modular element comprises in its internal part two air circulation conduits 23, 24 forming two coaxial loops which extend along the side walls of the enclosure, in two parallel vertical planes, one of these ducts (23) constituting a cold air intake circuit inside the enclosure while the other (24) constitutes an exhaust duct, and in that these two conduits communicate with the interior volume of the enclosure by virtue of at least one intake orifice (29) and one exhaust orifice (30), and comprise means (25) permitting their connection to the above cold air generation module (27) and, optionally to corresponding conduits of another module, arranged side by side or superimposed.

14. Wine cellar according to claim 13, characterized in that one of the two aforesaid orifices (29, 30) is equipped with a ventilation register (31) whose passage section is variable depending on the interior temperature of the enclosure.

15. Wine cellar according to claim 1, characterized in that the said enclosure is produced by molding a structured polyurethane foam and comprises on the surface conformations or reliefs imitating traditional materials and possibly reproducing furniture elements. different styles.

16. Wine cellar according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a box of a first type intended to bring the bottles to the storage temperature and at least one storage box designed to ensure only a keeping the bottles at the storage temperature after they have passed through the box of the first type.

17. Wine cellar according to claim 1, characterized in that the door of the above boxes is doubled by an internal door at least partially made of transparent material.

18. Wine cellar according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises display means making it possible to read the labels of the bottles without having to extract the latter.

19. Wine cellar according to claim 1, characterized in that the temperature sensor has a low thermal capacity and is associated with a heat exchanger, also of low thermal capacity, but having a large contact surface with the air contained in the box.