CN107763932B

CN107763932B - Refrigerator with a door

Info

Publication number: CN107763932B
Application number: CN201710685134.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 伊藤有希; 山村毅
Original assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Current assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority date: 2016-08-17
Filing date: 2017-08-11
Publication date: 2020-08-28
Anticipated expiration: 2037-08-11
Also published as: TW201812234A; JPWO2018033966A1; TWI650521B; MY193283A; CN107763932A; JP6628886B2; AU2016419453B2; HK1250529A1; WO2018033966A1; CN207487218U; AU2016419453A1; SG11201810498TA

Abstract

The refrigerator of the present invention comprises: a refrigerating chamber which is set in a refrigerating temperature range and accommodates an object to be cooled; a supercooling cold-keeping chamber which is provided in the refrigerating chamber and keeps the object to be cooled at a supercooling temperature equal to or lower than the freezing temperature; a vegetable chamber which is provided below the refrigerating chamber, is adjacent to the supercooling and cooling chamber, and has a set temperature higher than that of the refrigerating chamber; a boundary wall disposed between the vegetable compartment and the supercooling cold insulation compartment; and a heater provided on a boundary wall below the supercooling cooling chamber and configured to heat the object to be cooled in the supercooling cooling chamber.

Description

Refrigerator with a door

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator capable of supercooling preservation.

Background

Conventionally, since there is a high demand for storing at an optimum temperature for each food, a refrigerator having a plurality of temperature zones has been proposed (see patent documents 1 and 2). According to the refrigerators of

patent documents

1 and 2, the amount of cold air can be set independently for the upper low-temperature container and the lower low-temperature container in the refrigerating chamber, and different temperatures can be set for the air in the upper low-temperature container and the air in the lower low-temperature container. In order to perform supercooling preservation, a refrigerator in which a heater for controlling temperature is embedded in a boundary wall has been proposed (see patent document 3).

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2001-330361

Patent document 2: japanese patent No. 3571549

Patent document 3: japanese patent No. 5847235

In the refrigerators described in

patent documents

1 and 2, cooling is performed by flowing cold air into a two-layer low-temperature container in the refrigerating chamber, but in this case, the temperature of air between the containers fluctuates greatly and there is no temperature raising step, and therefore, supercooling preservation may not be performed.

In the refrigerator described in patent document 3, since the freezing chamber is located below the supercooling heat-retaining chamber, the heater embedded in the boundary wall is formed to have a size covering the entire casing so as not to supercool the supercooling heat-retaining chamber by heat conduction. Therefore, the power consumption may increase, the cost of the heater may increase, and the heat of the heater may not be efficiently used.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a refrigerator capable of suppressing the energization rate and size of a heater when supercooling-storing an object to be cooled, and efficiently performing supercooling-storing.

According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the vegetable compartment having a set temperature higher than the set temperature of the refrigerating compartment is disposed adjacent to the supercooling/cooling compartment, so that the supercooling/cooling compartment is not cooled by heat conducted from the vegetable compartment. Therefore, the supercooling heat-retaining chamber does not receive the temperature influence as in the conventional technique in which the supercooling heat-retaining chamber and the freezing chamber are adjacent to each other. As a result, the supercooling cold insulation chamber does not become supercooled, the energization rate and size of the heater used for supercooling preservation can be suppressed, and supercooling preservation can be efficiently performed.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view a-a in fig. 1 of the refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view B-B in fig. 1 of the refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion E in fig. 3 of the refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion F in fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion G in fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D in fig. 7.

Description of the reference numerals

1: a refrigerator; 1A: a refrigerator; 1B: a refrigerator; 1C: a refrigerator; 2: a refrigerating chamber; 2 c: a door; 3: a vegetable room; 3 c: a door; 4: a freezing chamber; 4 c: a door; 5 a: a freezing and fresh room; 5a 1: a cold-keeping chamber; 5a 2: a supercooling cold insulation chamber; 5 b: a first storage container; 5b 1: a front wall; 5b 2: a side wall; 5b 3: a rear wall; 5 c: a second storage container; 5c 1: a front wall; 5c 2: a side wall; 5c 3: a rear wall; 5 d: a space; 5 e: a space; 6: a partition plate; 7: a boundary wall; 8: a cooler; 9: an air supply fan; 10: a first air passage; 10 a: a first air passage; 10 b: a first air passage; 11 a: a damper; 11 b: a damper; 12: a second air passage; 13: a cover; 14: a suction inlet of the ice fresh room; 15: a heater; 16: a rib; 17: an inner wall panel; 17 a: an air outlet; 17 b: an air outlet; 17 c: an air outlet; 18: a top plate; 19: a water supply tank; 20: a thermistor; 21: a shelf; 24: a refrigerating chamber suction inlet; 30: a compressor; 50: a housing.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the size relationship of each component may be different from the actual one. In the drawings, the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the same shall apply throughout the specification. The forms of the constituent elements shown throughout the specification are merely examples, and are not limited to these descriptions.

Embodiment 1.

Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. In fig. 1, a door of the refrigerating compartment 2 is not shown to explain the internal structure of the refrigerating compartment 2. Fig. 2 is a sectional view a-a in fig. 1 of the refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a sectional view B-B in fig. 1 of the refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. A brief structure of the refrigerator 1 will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 3. In addition, the X-axis shown in fig. 1 to 3 shows the width direction of the refrigerator 1, the Y-axis shows the depth direction of the refrigerator 1, and the Z-axis shows the height direction of the refrigerator 1. More specifically, the refrigerator 1 will be described with the X1 side as the left side, the X2 side as the right side on the X axis, the Y1 side as the front side, the Y2 side as the rear side on the Y axis, the Z1 side as the upper side and the Z2 side as the lower side on the Z axis. The positional relationship (for example, the vertical relationship) between the respective components in the specification is, in principle, a positional relationship when the refrigerator 1 is set in a usable state.

[ Structure of refrigerator 1 ]

The refrigerator 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 50 having an opening on the front surface (front surface) and a plurality of storage chambers formed therein. The casing 50 is composed of an outer box made of steel, an inner box made of resin, and a heat insulating material filled in a space between the outer box and the inner box. The storage space formed inside the casing 50 is divided into a plurality of storage compartments for storing objects to be cooled, such as food, by a plurality of partition members. As shown in fig. 1, in refrigerator 1, refrigerating room 2 disposed at the uppermost layer, vegetable room 3 disposed below refrigerating room 2, and freezing room 4 disposed at the lowermost layer below vegetable room 3 are provided as a plurality of storage rooms. The type and number of storage compartments provided in refrigerator 1 are not limited to those described above in the structure in which the vegetable compartment is provided in the lower region of the refrigerating compartment. For example, the freezing chamber 4 may be provided in a plurality of chambers, such as up and down, left and right, and the like.

As shown in fig. 2, a compressor 30 that compresses and discharges a refrigerant, a cooler 8 that functions as an evaporator, and a blower fan 9 that moves cold air generated by the cooler 8 are provided on the back side of the refrigerator 1 as an example of cooling means that cools each storage compartment. The refrigerator 1 further includes a first duct 10 through which cool air flows, and the cooler 8, the blower fan 9, and the like are provided in the first duct 10. The refrigerant discharge side of the compressor 30 is connected to a condenser, not shown, and the refrigerant suction side is connected to the cooler 8. The cooler 8 functions as an evaporator, and generates cold air by exchanging heat between the refrigerant flowing through the cooler and the air in the first air passage 10. Air-sending fan 9 supplies cold air from first air duct 10 to refrigerating compartment 2, vegetable compartment 3, and freezing compartment 4. The first air passage 10 is provided in the inner wall panel 17 of the casing 50 in the vertical direction from the lower side to the upper side in the refrigerator 1. More specifically, first air duct 10 is provided on the rear side of refrigerating compartment 2, vegetable compartment 3, and freezing compartment 4. The first flow path 10 is divided into a first flow path 10a for sending the cold air to the second storage container 5c and a first flow path 10b for sending the cold air to the refrigerating compartment 2 and the first storage container 5 b. The damper 11a is provided in the first duct 10a, and the damper 11b is provided in the first duct 10 b. Dampers 11a and 11b are members for adjusting the amount of cold air supplied to second storage container 5c and refrigerating room 2 and first storage container 5 b. The damper 11a and the damper 11b may be replaced by a double damper. As shown in fig. 1, a cold air outlet 17a is formed in an inner wall panel 17 of refrigerating room 2. The compressor 30 and the cooler 8 constitute a refrigeration cycle together with a condenser and an expansion unit, not shown. The cold air generated by the cooler 8 by the operation of the refrigeration cycle is sent by the air sending fan 9, and is supplied to each storage room such as the refrigerating room 2 and the freezing room 4 through the first air passage 10 on the rear surface of the refrigerator 1. The cold air supplied to refrigerating room 2 is returned to cooler 8 through second air duct 12 shown in fig. 3.

The refrigerator 1 also has a control device, not shown, for controlling various devices. The temperature of each chamber is detected by a thermistor, not shown, provided in each chamber, and the opening degrees of the damper 11a provided in the first duct 10a and the damper 11b provided in the first duct 10b, the output of the compressor 30, the output of the heater 15, the air blowing amount of the air blowing fan 9, and the like are controlled by the control device so as to be at a predetermined temperature.

(refrigerating compartment 2)

The refrigerating chamber 2 is a storage chamber set in a refrigerating temperature range (for example, about 3 to 5 ℃), and stores a cooled object such as food. As shown in fig. 2, a shelf 21 or the like for storing foods or the like is provided in the refrigerating chamber 2. A rotary (e.g., half-open) door 2c that opens and closes an opening formed in the front surface of the refrigerating compartment 2 is provided in the opening. Of course, the door 2c of the refrigerating compartment 2 may be a one-piece swing door instead of a two-piece door. An inner wall panel 17 is provided in the refrigerating compartment 2. The inner wall panel 17 is disposed at a position facing the door 2c of the refrigerating compartment 2, and forms a rear wall in the refrigerating compartment 2. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, a fresh-ice compartment 5a, which is one of the storage compartments, is provided in the lower part of the inside of refrigerating compartment 2, and the inside of refrigerating compartment 2 is partitioned by a ceiling plate 18. The details of the fresh air compartment 5a will be described with reference to fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion E in fig. 3 of the refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the fresh ice compartment 5a, a first storage container 5b capable of maintaining a temperature lower than that of the refrigerating compartment 2 is disposed in an upper space, a second storage container 5c capable of performing super-cooling preservation is disposed in a lower space, and a partition plate 6 is provided between the upper and lower spaces, so that the upper and lower spaces are partitioned. In other words, the top plate 18 is provided above the second container 5c, and the first container 5b is provided between the top plate 18 and the second container 5 c.

The first storage container 5b and the second storage container 5c are pull-out type containers that can move in the front-rear direction along a guide rail, not shown, provided inside the side wall of the fresh food compartment 5 a. The guide rails may be provided on the bottom wall of the fresh food compartment 5a and the partition plate 6, or may not be provided. As shown in fig. 4, the first storage container 5b is a substantially box-shaped member having an upper surface opening of the front wall 5b1, the side wall 5b2, and the rear wall 5b3, and food is taken in and out through the upper surface opening when pulled out. The second storage container 5c is also a substantially box-shaped member having an upper surface opening of the front wall 5c1, the side wall 5c2, and the rear wall 5c3, and food is taken in and out through the upper surface opening when being pulled out. As the material of the first storage container 5b and the second storage container 5c, for example, polystyrene or the like is used as a storage container of a general refrigerator, but not limited thereto. In fig. 1 to 4, two containers, i.e., the first container 5b and the second container 5c, are arranged vertically, but may be arranged in the lateral width direction, or only one container may be provided.

As shown in fig. 4, the space in first storage container 5b provided in refrigerating compartment 2 is set to a temperature lower than the temperature of refrigerating compartment 2 and higher than the temperature of second storage container 5c, and is used as cooling compartment 5a1 whose temperature is set to about 0 ℃. Therefore, the first storage container 5b stores a product whose quality is guaranteed by keeping the temperature at about 0 ℃, for example, cheese or yogurt. The space in the second storage container 5c provided in the refrigerating compartment 2 is a supercooling/cooling compartment 5a2 in which the space is cooled at a temperature lower than the temperature of the space in the first storage container 5b (for example, a supercooling temperature equal to or lower than the freezing point (freezing temperature) of the object to be cooled). Therefore, the second storage container 5c stores therein items desired to be kept cold in a supercooled state, such as meat, fish, or processed products thereof. The temperature of the cooling compartment 5a1 is adjusted by adjusting the air flow rate of the damper 11b, and the temperature of the supercooling cooling compartment 5a2 is adjusted by adjusting the air flow rate of the damper 11a and adjusting the output of the heater 15.

A door is provided at an opening portion formed in the front surface of the upper space of the fresh air compartment 5a by using a cover 13 pivotally fixed to the ceiling plate 18. By pulling out the first storage container 5b, the lid 13 is rotated and the door is opened. The front wall 5c1 of the second container 5c provided with the handle is configured as a pull-out type door at an opening portion formed in the front surface of the lower space of the fresh air compartment 5 a. The door of the fresh air compartment 5a may have any structure, and for example, the lid 13 may be provided as a lower door, and the front wall 5b1 of the first storage container 5b may be configured as an upper door. On the other hand, as shown in fig. 2, a blowout port 17b is formed in the inner wall panel 17 at the rear of the first storage container 5b, and the upper space of the fresh ice compartment 5a communicates with the first air passage 10 b. Similarly, a blowout port 17c is formed in the inner wall panel 17 at the rear of the second storage container 5c, and the lower space of the fresh ice compartment 5a communicates with the first air passage 10 a.

As shown in fig. 4, a fresh air compartment suction port 14 through which the cold air of the first storage container 5b flows to the second storage container 5c side is formed in the partition plate 6 provided between the first storage container 5b and the second storage container 5 c. The fresh air chamber suction port 14 is formed between the rear wall 5b3 of the first storage container 5b and the inner wall panel 17 of the refrigerating chamber 2. The fresh air chamber suction port 14 is a through hole that communicates the upper space and the lower space in the fresh air chamber 5 a.

(vegetable room 3)

In fig. 2 and 3, vegetable compartment 3 is provided below refrigerating compartment 2, and is adjacent to second storage container 5c in refrigerating compartment 2 via boundary wall 7. In other words, the vegetable compartment 3 is adjacent to the supercooling cold- storage compartment 5a 2. The vegetable compartment 3 has a space for storing stored items, and is particularly suitable for refrigerating vegetables. Vegetable compartment 3 is a storage compartment having a refrigerating temperature zone (for example, about 3 to 7 ℃) in which the set temperature is higher than the set temperature of refrigerating compartment 2. A pull-out door 3c is provided in the vegetable compartment 3. The opening and closing of the door 3c opens and closes the vegetable compartment 3 and the outside of the refrigerator 1.

(boundary wall 7)

As shown in fig. 2, the boundary wall 7 is provided between the vegetable compartment 3 and the second storage container 5 c. In the structure in which the vegetable compartment 3 is located below the boundary wall 7, the second storage container 5c is not cooled by heat conduction. Therefore, the boundary wall 7 may not contain a heat insulating material. As shown in fig. 4, a cold storage room suction port 24 for sucking cold air in cold storage room 2 is formed in boundary wall 7. The refrigerating compartment suction port 24 is formed between the rear wall 5c3 of the second storage container 5c and the inner wall panel 17. Refrigerating chamber suction port 24 and fresh air chamber suction port 14 overlap at least partially in a plan view. As shown in fig. 3, refrigerating compartment suction port 24 is connected in communication with second duct 12.

(Heater 15)

As shown in fig. 4, a heater 15 is provided on the boundary wall 7 as a heating means (heating means) for heating and raising the temperature of the object to be cooled such as food in the second storage container 5c below the second storage container 5 c. The heater 15 is used for heating the object to be cooled, and is used in the temperature increasing step of supercooling preservation. In the supercooling preservation, it is necessary to prevent the object to be cooled from being excessively cooled and frozen. Therefore, the heater 15 is used to heat the object to be cooled which is excessively cooled. By providing the heater 15 below the second container 5c, the temperature of the object to be cooled in the second container 5c can be efficiently raised.

(freezing chamber 4)

As shown in fig. 2, freezing chamber 4 is provided below vegetable compartment 3, and has a space for storing stored items, and in particular, freezes the stored items. The freezing chamber 4 is a storage chamber set in a freezing temperature zone (for example, -18 ℃ or lower) lower than 0 ℃. A door 4c of a pull-out type is provided to the freezing chamber 4. Opening and closing of the door 4c opens and closes the freezing chamber 4 and the outside of the refrigerator 1.

[ maintenance of supercooled State ]

Here, a temperature environment in which the food in the second storage container 5c is maintained in the supercooled state will be described. In order to turn water into ice, a space for ice crystal growth is required, and ice nuclei are small in molecular level. In the supercooled liquid, it is considered that the aggregation and dispersion of molecules are repeated by the sloshing, and the aggregates (clusters) of molecules having various sizes are generated. When the cluster is very small, the molecules inside are in an ice-bound state, but the molecules on the surface are not bound and unstable, and sometimes detach from the cluster.

The clusters do not exist stably as long as they do not exceed a certain critical radius, and do not become ice crystals, and therefore, even if they reach a freezing point or less, they do not start to freeze. This state is the supercooled state. When clusters having a critical radius or more are generated, they become nuclei to generate ice crystals, and the supercooled state is eliminated. When the temperature is low, the probability of the supercooled state being eliminated becomes high, and the supercooled state is eliminated by generating clusters having a critical radius or more due to large fluctuations in the liquid caused by external disturbances such as physical impact.

In the case of food, since the food is a mixture of substances, it often forms ice crystals as nuclei. In the case where a food is stored at a temperature below freezing point (for example, below 0 ℃), the supercooled state may be eliminated by shock or some other factor, and ice crystals may be formed in the food. If the supercooled state is eliminated, the food is left to stand, whereby freezing of the food progresses, and the quality of the food is degraded due to cell damage caused by freezing. Therefore, by controlling the low temperature step in which the in-box set temperature is set to a temperature lower than the freezing point of the food and the temperature raising step in which the in-box set temperature is set to a temperature higher than the freezing point, the temperature environment of the stored space is adjusted, and the food can be cooled without giving a stimulus such as a rapid temperature decrease, and can be maintained in the supercooled state. Specifically, the "temperature range" of the second storage container 5c in which supercooling preservation is performed is preferably in the range of-3 to-1 [ deg.C ] when the supercooled state is maintained. When the supercooled state is maintained, it is preferable to make the "temperature distribution" of the second storage container 5c uniform.

[ flow of Cold air ]

Next, the flow of the cold air generated by the cooler 8 will be described with reference to fig. 2 and 3. Further, arrows in the figure show the flow of cold air. The cold air generated by the cooler 8 is divided into cold air flowing to the refrigerating chamber 2 and cold air flowing to the freezing chamber 4 by the air supply fan 9. The cold air flowing into refrigerating room 2 passes through first air passage 10, and is divided into cold air flowing into refrigerating room 2 and first storage container 5b and cold air flowing into second storage container 5c by damper 11a and damper 11 b. Cold air flowing into refrigerating room 2 is blown out to refrigerating room 2 from air outlet 17a shown in fig. 1. The cold air blown out to refrigerating room 2 from air outlet 17a passes above shelf 21, descends from above to below in front of refrigerating room 2, and flows into space 5d in the front side of fresh ice compartment 5a shown in fig. 4.

The cold air flowing into the first storage container 5b and the second storage container 5c is blown out from the air outlet 17b to the first storage container 5b, and is blown out from the air outlet 17c to the second storage container 5 c. As shown in fig. 4, a part of the cold air blown out from the air outlet 17b flows out to the space 5d on the front side of the fresh air compartment 5a from the gap between the first storage container 5b and the lid 13 or the gap between the lid 13 and the top plate 18. Part of the cold air blown out from the air outlet 17c flows out from the gap between the second storage container 5c and the partition plate 6 to the space 5d in the front side of the fresh air compartment 5 a. The cold air having flowed out of the first storage container 5b and the second storage container 5c into the space 5d near the fresh air compartment 5a joins the cold air flowing downward in the refrigerating compartment 2, and flows out of the refrigerating compartment suction port 24 into the second air passage 12 shown in fig. 3 through the space 5e below the second storage container 5 c.

As shown in fig. 4, the cold air blown out from the air outlet 17b and the air outlet 17c bounces off the lid 13 and the front wall 5c1 of the second storage container 5c, and flows rearward of the storage containers. Therefore, the cold air having bounced back toward the container rear side from the first storage container 5b flows through the fresh air compartment suction port 14, which is a through hole formed in the partition plate 6, merges with the cold air having bounced back toward the container rear side from the second storage container 5c, and flows out from the refrigerating compartment suction port 24 to the second air passage 12. As shown in fig. 3, the cold air flowing through second duct 12 flows behind vegetable compartment 3 and returns to cooler 8. At this time, the cold air may not flow into the vegetable compartment 3.

As described above, by providing vegetable compartment 3 having a set temperature higher than the set temperature of refrigerating compartment 2 adjacent to supercooling/cooling compartment 5a2, supercooling/cooling compartment 5a2 is not cooled by heat conduction from vegetable compartment 3 and is not subjected to the temperature influence of the related art in which a supercooling/cooling compartment and a freezing compartment are adjacent. As a result, the supercooling heat-retaining chamber 5a2 does not become supercooled, and the temperature raising capability of the heater 15 used for supercooling preservation of the object to be cooled in the supercooling heat-retaining chamber 5a2 can be reduced. As a result, the energization rate of the heater 15 can be reduced, and the size of the heater 15 can be reduced, so that supercooling preservation can be efficiently performed.

Most of the cold air in first storage container 5b flows through fresh air compartment suction port 14 and refrigerating compartment suction port 24 opened at the rear of partition plate 6, and flows out to second air passage 12. By providing the fresh air compartment suction port 14, the amount of cold air flowing through the space 5e between the second storage container 5c and the boundary wall 7 can be reduced. Further, by overlapping fresh air compartment suction port 14 and refrigerating compartment suction port 24 in plan view, the cool air flows more easily into second air duct 12, and the amount of cool air flowing through space 5e can be reduced. Since the amount of the cold air flowing through the space 5e is reduced, the heat of the heater 15 is less likely to be deprived of the cold air flowing through the space 5e, and therefore the temperature raising capability of the heater 15 can be reduced. As a result, the energization rate of the heater 15 can be reduced, and the size of the heater 15 can be reduced, so that supercooling preservation can be efficiently performed.

In the structure in which vegetable compartment 3 and supercooling/cooling compartment 5a2 are adjacent to each other, supercooling/cooling compartment 5a2 is not cooled by heat conduction. Therefore, the boundary wall 7 may not include a heat insulator for preventing heat transfer to the supercooling heat-retaining chamber 5a2, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, the temperature of the boundary wall 7 does not fall further than the temperature of the second storage container 5c, and therefore there is no fear that water freezes. Furthermore, since the boundary wall 7 having no heat insulator may be formed without considering the heat insulating performance of the boundary wall 7, the thickness of the boundary wall 7 can be locally reduced. According to the above-described structural features, the water supply tank 19 for ice making can be arranged in the boundary wall 7 as shown in fig. 4, for example. Accordingly, the water supply tank disposed in the lateral direction of the fresh food compartment 5a in the related art can be moved into the boundary wall 7, and the width (X axis) of the first storage container 5b and the second storage container 5c can be formed to the entire width (X axis) of the refrigerating compartment 2. As a result, the storage amount of the first storage container 5b and the second storage container 5c can be increased.

In the configuration in which the width of first storage container 5b and second storage container 5c is formed to be the entire width of refrigerating chamber 2 in the box, air outlet 17b and air outlet 17c can be relatively positioned at the center portions of first storage container 5b and second storage container 5c, as compared with the configuration in which the width is not formed to be the entire width of the box. Therefore, the cold air can be uniformly flowed into the first storage container 5b and the second storage container 5 c. As a result, variations in temperature distribution can be suppressed in the second storage container 5c, and therefore, the supercooled storage can be efficiently performed.

Embodiment 2.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of fig. 4. A refrigerator according to embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 5. Parts having the same structure as the refrigerator of fig. 1 to 4 are given the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In the refrigerator 1A according to embodiment 2 of the present invention, the boundary wall 7 is provided with a rib 16. The rib 16 is a sidewall surrounding the periphery of the heater 15 and is formed higher than the heater 15. In fig. 5, the heater 15 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, and therefore the rib 16 is also formed in a rectangular shape in plan view. However, the rib 16 may be formed in a shape surrounding the heater 15, and may be formed in various shapes according to the shape of the heater 15.

As described above, in the refrigerator 1A according to embodiment 2 of the present invention, the boundary wall 7 is provided with the rib 16 surrounding the periphery of the heater 15 and having a height higher than the height of the heater 15. Therefore, even if the cold air flows around the heater 15, the cold air is blocked by the ribs 16, and the cold air is not directly blown to the heater 15. As a result, the heat loss of the heater 15 can be reduced, and the heat of the heater 15 can be prevented from being used for other than necessary portions. Further, since the warm air flows upward compared to the cold air, by having the ribs 16, the heat of the heater 15 can be confined in the ribs 16 of the boundary wall 7, and the heat during heat generation can be effectively used, whereby the current carrying rate of the heater 15 can be reduced, and the size of the heater 15 can be reduced. Therefore, for example, the heater 15 does not need to be provided on the entire boundary wall 7, and the heater 15 may be disposed just below the second storage container 5c on the front side.

Embodiment 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion F in fig. 2. A refrigerator according to embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 6. Parts having the same structure as the refrigerator of fig. 1 to 5 are given the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In refrigerator 1B according to embodiment 3 of the present invention, the upper edge of air outlet 17c is in contact with the lower surface of partition plate 6. Accordingly, the cold air having flowed into the fresh air compartment 5a from the air outlet 17c flows along the partition plate 6 by the Coanda Effect (Coanda Effect), and therefore the cold air can be distributed in the second storage container 5c, and variation in temperature distribution can be suppressed. As a result, the supercooled storage can be performed over a wide range in the second storage container 5 c.

Embodiment 4.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion G in fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D in fig. 7. A refrigerator according to embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 7 and 8. Parts having the same structure as those of the refrigerator of fig. 1 to 6 are given the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. The refrigerator 1C according to embodiment 4 of the present invention further includes a thermistor 20 that detects the temperature of the second storage container 5C, and the thermistor 20 is provided between the rear wall 5C3 of the second storage container 5C and the inner wall panel 17. The temperature in the second container 5c is adjusted by adjusting the output of the heater 15 and the amount of cold air blown out from the damper 11a, and these are controlled based on the temperature detected by the thermistor 20, the thermistor 20 being provided at a position lower than the lower edge of the air outlet 17c and equal to or higher than the height of the rear wall 5c3 of the second container 5 c.

When the supercooling preservation is performed, it is preferable to measure the temperature as close to the food as possible. However, the temperature of the food does not fluctuate as rapidly as the room temperature, but fluctuates slowly with respect to changes in the room temperature. Therefore, if the thermistor 20 is disposed at a position where cold air is easily blown, the difference between the food temperature and the temperature measured by the thermistor 20 becomes large, and it is not suitable for supercooling preservation. Therefore, in order to make it difficult for cold air to be blown thereto, thermistor 20 is not disposed between air outlet 17c and refrigerating room suction port 24, but is configured as follows: that is, air outlet 17c is formed between the position where thermistor 20 is installed and refrigerating room intake port 24. Since the air outlet 17c is disposed between the thermistor 20 and the refrigerating room air inlet 24, the temperature of the cold air can be appropriately measured without directly blowing the cold air to the thermistor 20, and the supercooling preservation can be easily realized.

Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to embodiments 1 to 4 described above. For example, if there is a direction in which cold air is blown to the thermistor 20, a wall portion may be provided in a part of the periphery of the thermistor 20 so that cold air is less likely to be blown. The heating means is not limited to the heater 15, and may be a heat exchanger, a peltier element, or the like.

Claims

1. A refrigerator is characterized by comprising:

a refrigerating chamber which is set in a refrigerating temperature range and accommodates an object to be cooled;

a supercooling cold-storage chamber which is provided in the refrigerating chamber and stores the object to be cooled at a temperature equal to or lower than a freezing temperature;

a vegetable compartment provided below the refrigerating compartment, adjacent to the supercooling/cooling compartment, and having a set temperature higher than that of the refrigerating compartment;

a boundary wall provided between the vegetable compartment and the supercooling/cooling compartment; and

a heater provided on the boundary wall below the supercooling heat-retaining chamber,

the refrigerating chamber includes:

a top plate provided above the supercooling heat-insulating chamber; and

a cooling chamber provided between the top plate and the supercooling cooling chamber, the cooling chamber having a set temperature lower than a set temperature of the refrigerating chamber and a set temperature higher than the set temperature of the supercooling cooling chamber,

a partition plate is provided between the supercooling heat-preserving chamber and the heat-preserving chamber,

a refrigerating chamber suction port through which the cold air in the cooling chamber flows to the supercooling cooling chamber is formed in the partition plate,

a refrigerating chamber suction port for sucking cold air of the refrigerating chamber is formed in the boundary wall, and the refrigerating chamber suction port at least partially overlap with each other in a plan view.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1,

the cooling chamber is composed of a box-shaped first container with an open upper surface, the first container has a front wall, a side wall and a rear wall, and,

the supercooling/cooling compartment is constituted by a box-shaped second container having an open upper surface, the second container having a front wall, side walls, and a rear wall,

the fresh air chamber suction port is formed between the rear wall of the first storage container and an inner wall panel of the refrigerating chamber, the inner wall panel of the refrigerating chamber is arranged at a position opposite to the door of the refrigerating chamber,

the refrigerating chamber suction port is formed between the rear wall of the second receiving container and the inner wall panel.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2,

the boundary wall also accommodates a water supply tank for ice making.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2,

the boundary wall is provided with a side wall which surrounds the periphery of the heater and has a height higher than that of the heater.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 2,

an air passage for cold air is provided in the inner wall panel at a position facing the door of the refrigerating chamber in the longitudinal direction,

a cold air outlet leading from the air passage to the supercooling heat-retaining chamber is formed in the inner wall panel,

the lower surface of the partition plate is in contact with the upper edge of the outlet.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5,

further comprises a thermistor for detecting the temperature of the supercooling heat-preserving chamber,

the thermistor is provided between the rear wall of the second container and the inner wall panel, and is provided at a height lower than the lower edge of the air outlet and equal to or higher than the rear wall of the second container.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 6,

the air outlet is formed between the installation position of the thermistor and the refrigerating chamber air inlet.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2,

the heater is a member that heats the object to be cooled in the supercooling cooling chamber to prevent the object to be cooled from freezing.