JP2008101817A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably humidify fresh food by solving the problem of a means for humidifying the inside of a vegetable chamber of a refrigerator by spraying mist, which has no directivity, for example, an ultrasonic system, in which the means must be set on the top surface of the vegetable chamber so that the mist is diffused by gravity falling, and when a lower container of a general vegetable chamber composed of two upper and lower two storage containers is used as a fresh food storage space, it is difficult to sufficiently diffuse the mist to the inner space of the lower container. <P>SOLUTION: The refrigerator comprises a directive electrostatic atomizer 35 as the humidifying means. The top end of the atomizer 35 is formed between a vegetable chamber upper container 31 and a vegetable chamber lower container 32 from one side, and set toward an inflow part 36. The mist can be diffused with directivity without its way being blocked, and stably supplied into the vegetable chamber lower container 32 to humidify the fresh food, whereby the freshness thereof can be maintained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with a storage room maintained at high humidity.

  In recent years, particularly refrigerators have been proposed in which the inside of a vegetable container in a refrigerator is humidified to maintain the freshness of vegetables.

  As a conventional humidification method, there is a method using an ultrasonic humidifier as an atomizer (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  4 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional refrigerator, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of an ultrasonic humidifier of the conventional refrigerator.

  In the figure, 1 is a refrigerator. Reference numeral 2 denotes a refrigerator compartment (one of the refrigerator compartments). 3 is a revolving door of this refrigerator compartment. Reference numeral 4 denotes a vegetable room (one of refrigerated temperature zones). 5 is a drawer door. 6 is a freezer compartment. Reference numeral 7 denotes a drawer door. 8 is a partition plate, and this partition plate 8 partitions the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 4. Reference numeral 9 denotes a hole for allowing cold air from the refrigerator compartment 2 to flow into the vegetable compartment 4. 10 is a vegetable container. The vegetable container 10 is pulled out together with the drawer door 7. Reference numeral 11 denotes a vegetable container lid, which is fixed to the refrigerator body side. The vegetable container lid 11 covers the vegetable container 10 when the drawer door 7 is closed. Reference numeral 12 denotes ultrasonic humidification means. The ultrasonic humidifying means 12 evaporates moisture inside the vegetable container 10. Reference numeral 13 denotes a cooler. This cooler is a cooler for the refrigerated temperature zone, and cools the refrigerated chamber 2 and the vegetable chamber 4.

  Moreover, although illustration was abbreviate | omitted, this refrigerator is also equipped with the cooler for freezing temperature zone rooms, and is cooling the freezer compartment 6. FIG. Reference numeral 14 denotes a cold air circulation fan for a refrigerated temperature zone chamber. By the operation of the fan 14, cold air from the cooler 13 circulates through the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 4. The humidifying means 12 is provided in the hole 15 of the vegetable container lid 11 and includes a water absorbing material 16 and an ultrasonic oscillator 17.

  About the refrigerator comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement is demonstrated below.

  When the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 4 rises, the refrigerant flows through the cooler 13 and the cold air circulation fan 14 is driven. Thereby, the surrounding cold air of the cooler 13 returns to the cooler 13 through the refrigerator compartment 2, the hole 9, and the vegetable compartment 4, as shown by the arrow in FIG. Thereby, the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 14 are cooled (cooling mode).

  Next, when the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 4 are substantially cooled, the supply of the refrigerant to the cooler 13 is stopped. However, the fan 14 continues to operate. Thereby, the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 4 are humidified by the melting | fusing of the frost adhering to the cooler 13 (humidification mode).

  After the humidification mode is continued for a predetermined time (several minutes), the fan 14 is stopped and the operation stop mode is set. Then, when the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 4 becomes high, it will be in cooling mode again.

  Next, the ultrasonic humidifying means 12 will be described.

  The water absorbing material 16 is made of a water absorbing material such as silica gel, zeolite, or activated carbon. Therefore, moisture in the flowing air is adsorbed in the humidification mode described above. Then, in the latter half of the cooling mode, the ultrasonic oscillator 17 is driven. Thereby, the water | moisture content in the water absorbing material 16 is discharged | emitted outside. Thereby, the inside of a vegetable container is humidified. In the latter half of the cooling mode, the purpose of driving the ultrasonic oscillator 17 is to prevent drying of the vegetable compartment 4 due to a decrease in humidity.

As described above, the ultrasonic humidifying means 12 includes the water absorbing material 16 and the ultrasonic oscillator 17 that vibrates the water absorbing material 16. The water absorbing material 16 absorbs moisture from the air above the vegetable container lid 11, and The sonic oscillator 17 vibrates the water absorbing material 16 in order to release the moisture contained in the water absorbing material 16 into the vegetable container 11. Therefore, the inside of the vegetable container 10 can be humidified.
JP 2004-125179 A

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, the spraying means is an ultrasonic method, and in this case, the ultrasonic oscillator 17 is vibrated and the water in the water absorbing material 16 is struck to be atomized and discharged to the outside. Since the mist particles are only dropped and do not easily have directivity, and the mist particles cannot be scattered on the side of the vegetable room 4 and are not preferable from the viewpoint of diffusibility into the space. It is installed so that it sprays vertically downward, and when the inside of the vegetable compartment 4 which is general is comprised of the upper and lower storage containers is used as a fresh food storage space, the ultrasonic humidifying means 12 is vertical. There is a problem that the lower part is shielded by the upper container, making it difficult to sufficiently diffuse into the lower container space where mist spraying is necessary, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of vegetable preservation.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and maintains the freshness of food over a long period of time by efficiently diffusing mist into a vegetable room composed of a general two-stage storage container. An object is to provide a refrigerator to obtain.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a space in a storage container accommodated in a storage chamber is provided with a spraying means by an electrostatic atomization method for spraying a liquid in a heat insulating box having a storage chamber partitioned by heat insulation. On the other hand, a portion where no shielding from the side exists is an inflow portion, and the spraying means is installed outside the storage container with the spray direction directed to the inflow portion.

  Thereby, the sprayed mist is supplied to the storage container space with directivity from the side without being shielded, and humidification necessary for maintaining the freshness can be stably performed, and the freshness of the food is maintained over a long period of time. It becomes possible.

  The refrigerator of the present invention can stably humidify the fresh food in the container, particularly in the lower container in the case of being configured in two upper and lower stages, and can maintain the freshness of the food over a long period of time.

  The invention according to claim 1 is provided with a spraying means by an electrostatic atomization method for spraying a liquid in a heat insulating box having a storage chamber partitioned by heat insulation, and in a space in a storage container accommodated in the storage chamber. On the other hand, the sprayed mist is shielded by setting the spraying means outside the previous storage container with the portion where no shielding from the side is present as the inflow portion and the spray direction directed to the previous inflow portion. Even from the side, it is supplied from the inflow part into the storage room with directivity, so that the fresh food can be stably humidified and the freshness of the vegetables can be maintained.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the storage container is divided into two upper and lower stages, the inflow portion is formed between the upper and lower storage containers, and the lower storage container is formed. By configuring so that the mist by the spraying means is supplied, even when the storage container has a lower container composed of two upper and lower storage containers as a fresh food storage space, the structure of the upper and lower containers can be superposed well. By combining, the inflow part can be easily configured without difficulty, and the sprayed mist is supplied from the inflow part to the lower container space without being shielded, so that the fresh food can be stably humidified and the freshness of the vegetables can be maintained. It can be carried out.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first or second aspect, the spraying means by the electrostatic atomization system that applies a high voltage by installing the spraying means at a rear portion of the storage chamber. It is possible to prevent the hand from touching the high-pressure part of the battery and to improve safety.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are given to the same configurations as those of the conventional example or the embodiments described above, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the vicinity of the humidifier of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the refrigerator 21 is partitioned from the top into a refrigerator 23, a switching room 24, a vegetable room 25, and a freezing room 26 by a partition 22, and the front openings are doors 27, 28, 29, and 30 that can be opened and closed, respectively. It is blocked so that there is no inflow of outside air.

  The vegetable room 25 is provided with a vegetable room upper container 31 and a vegetable room lower container 32, and food is stored in a space cooled to 4 to 6 ° C. with a humidity of about 80% RH or more (when food is stored). Yes. On the back of the vegetable compartment 25, an internal partition 34 for dividing the air passage 33 and the vegetable compartment 25 is provided. The internal partition 34 is provided with an electrostatic atomizer 35. The tip of the electrostatic atomizer 35 is formed between the vegetable compartment upper container 31 and the vegetable compartment lower container 32 from the side and is directed toward the inflow portion 36.

  In FIG. 2 for explaining the configuration of the electrostatic atomizer 35, a cylindrical holder 37 exists therein. An application electrode 38 is installed in the cylindrical holder 37, the periphery of the application electrode 38 is covered with a water retention material 39, and the water is in a wet state up to the spherical tip of the application electrode 38 with condensed water collected by the water collection plate 42. It has become. Further, a donut disk-shaped counter electrode 40 is attached to the opening inside the storage of the holder 37 so as to maintain a constant distance from the tip of the application electrode 38. Furthermore, the negative electrode side of the voltage application unit 41 that generates a high voltage is electrically connected to the application electrode 38, and the positive electrode side is electrically connected to the counter electrode 40.

  About the refrigerator comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  In the case of a refrigerator, cold air is operated to distribute the cold air to the refrigerator 23, the switching room 24, the vegetable room 25, the freezing room 26, and the like with a stirring fan (not shown), and to maintain a predetermined temperature.

  In general, the vegetable compartment 25 is composed of two upper and lower storage containers so that food can be selected and stored, and the vegetable room upper container 31 stores fruits and the like that do not require so much preservation. The lower container 32 stores vegetables that need to be kept fresh.

  When the door 29 is pulled out horizontally and the vegetable 29 is put into the lower container 32 of the vegetable compartment and then the door 29 is closed, the door opening detection means (not shown) detects the closed state, and the electrostatic atomizer 35 mists. Start spraying.

  In the electrostatic atomizer 35, since the application electrode 38 is covered with the water retaining material 39, the application electrode 38 is in a certain amount of water-containing state. In this state, the application electrode 38 is set to a negative voltage and the counter electrode 40 is set to the positive voltage side, and a high voltage (for example, 4.6 kV) is applied between the electrodes by the voltage application unit 41. At this time, corona discharge occurs between the distances between the electrodes (for example, 3 mm), the water of the application electrode 38 is atomized from the electrode surface, and a mist having a charge of nano-size particle diameter is generated and jumps out with directivity. At this time, by spraying from the inflow part 36 between the vegetable compartment upper container 31 and the vegetable compartment lower container 32, the mist having directivity can be stably stabilized without any path being blocked. It is supplied and diffused in 32, and the inside of the vegetable compartment lower container 32 is made highly humid. At the same time, it adheres to the surface of the vegetable and suppresses the transpiration from the vegetable, thereby improving the freshness.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the thermal insulation box having the storage compartment partitioned by heat insulation is provided with the electrostatic atomization device 35 that is a spraying means by an electrostatic atomization method for spraying liquid, and the storage compartment The electrostatic atomizer 35 is installed outside the storage container with the portion where there is no shielding from the side as the inflow portion with respect to the space in the storage container stored in In particular, the storage container is divided into two upper and lower stages, the inflow portion 36 is formed between the upper and lower vegetable storage containers 31 and 32, and the mist from the electrostatic atomizer 35 is supplied into the lower storage container 32. By being configured, the sprayed mist is supplied from the inflow portion 36 to the space in the lower container 32 with directivity even from the side without being shielded, and the fresh food can be stably humidified. Can maintain the freshness.

  In addition, the structure of the inflow part 36 can be easily comprised by combining the overlapping structure of the upper and lower vegetable compartment upper containers 31 and the vegetable compartment lower containers 32 well. For example, although an opening may be provided in the rear wall surface of the vegetable compartment lower container 32, the upper end surface of the rear wall surface of the vegetable compartment lower container 32 is partially cut away to form the bottom wall surface of the vegetable compartment upper container 31 and If the notched portion is configured as the inflow portion 36 with the rear wall surface of the vegetable compartment lower container 32, it is convenient because it can be easily realized without difficulty.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, by providing an electrostatic atomizer in the rear part of a vegetable room, it can prevent that a hand touches a high voltage | pressure part and can improve safety | security.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 3, a vegetable compartment container 43 is installed in the vegetable compartment 25, and an electrostatic atomizer 35 is provided above the vegetable compartment container 43. The tip of the electrostatic atomizer 35 is directed from the side toward the inflow portion 44. In this case, the inflow portion 44 is preferably formed by cutting out a part of the upper end of the rear wall of the vegetable compartment container 43, but the vegetable chamber container 43 is covered with a lid 43a so that the upper opening portion of the vegetable compartment container 43 is covered. In what maintains the inside of 43 at especially high humidity, what is necessary is just to provide a notch part between the cover body 43a and the upper end part of the rear wall of the vegetable compartment container 43. FIG. In addition, the lid 43a is not necessarily required, and in the case where the lid 43a is not provided, the upper end of the rear wall of the vegetable compartment container 43 is appropriately cut out as necessary or an opening is provided. That's fine.

  About the refrigerator comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  In the vegetable room 25 for storing foods that need to be preserved, an electrostatic atomizer 35 having directivity is provided above the vegetable room container 43 so that it is located above the foods to be kept fresh, and electrostatic fog The mist sprayed from the soaking device 35 is diffused to the entire space in the vegetable compartment container 43 without being shielded through the inflow portion 44, and the fresh food can be stably humidified.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the thermal insulation box having the storage compartment partitioned by heat insulation is provided with the electrostatic atomization device 35 that is a spraying means by an electrostatic atomization method for spraying liquid, and the storage compartment A portion where there is no shielding from the side is defined as an inflow portion 44 with respect to the space in the storage container 43 accommodated in the storage container 43, and the spraying means is disposed outside the storage container with the spray direction directed toward the inflow portion 44. The sprayed mist is supplied from the inflow portion 44 to the space in the container 43 without being shielded, and the fresh food can be stably humidified to maintain the freshness of the vegetables. it can.

  As described above, since the refrigerator according to the present invention can uniformly spray mist into the storage chamber, it can be applied not only to household refrigerators but also to commercial refrigerators, food storage, and cold cars.

Side surface sectional drawing of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention Side surface sectional drawing of the humidifier | moistener vicinity of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention Side surface sectional drawing of the refrigerator in Embodiment 2 of this invention Cross-sectional view of a conventional refrigerator Cross section of the main part of a conventional atomizer for refrigerators

Explanation of symbols

21 Refrigerator 25 Vegetable room (storage room)
31 Vegetable room upper container (upper storage container)
32 Vegetable room lower container (lower storage container)
35 Electrostatic atomizer (spraying means)
36 Inflow part 43 Vegetable room container (storage container)
44 Inflow part

Claims (3)

  A heat insulating box having a storage chamber partitioned by heat insulation, provided with spray means by an electrostatic atomization method for spraying a liquid, and shielded from the side with respect to the space in the storage container accommodated in the storage chamber The refrigerator which installed the said spraying means as the inflow part in the site | part which does not exist, and turned the spraying direction to the said inflow part from the said storage container.   2. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein the storage container has two upper and lower stages, the inflow portion is formed between the upper and lower storage containers, and the mist from the spraying means is supplied into the lower storage container. refrigerator.   The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spraying means is installed at a rear portion of the storage chamber.