JP2001311575A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of performing both indirect cooling and direct cooling for a stored item. SOLUTION: There is provided a refrigerator in which an inner box 4 having a high thermal conductivity is installed while being spaced apart inside an outer box 1 having a high thermal insulating characteristic, cold air is circulated by a cooling device 7 in a cold air circulation passage B formed in a clearance between the outer box and the inner box so as to enable an indirect cooling to be carried out. A cold air suction port 21 is opened at the inner box 4 and a cold air suction port 21 for supplying cold air of the cooling device 7 into the inner box 4 is opened, the cold air suction port 21 is opened or closed by the opening or closing means such as a shutter 22 and the like, thereby a storing under a direct cooling operation can be carried out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a low-temperature storage for storing brown rice and vegetables for a long time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a low-temperature storage of this type is provided with a cooling device at the top of a heat insulating box, and cools the inside of the storage by circulating cool air generated by the cooling device into the storage.
In such a storage, the humidity in the storage room can be adjusted by operating / stopping the compressor and the circulation fan, and an environment corresponding to an article to be stored from beer to brown rice can be provided. However, the storage of such a direct cooling system is limited to a humidity of 70 to 80% even in a high-humidity state, and it is difficult to obtain a humidity of 90% or more. It was not suitable for preservation of vegetables because it was easy to dry and deteriorated quickly.

On the other hand, as a storage for storing vegetables, a storage room is formed at an interval inside an insulation box, and cool air is circulated through a gap between the insulation box and the storage room to indirectly cool the storage room. It has been known. In such a storage, high humidity is obtained as compared with the direct cooling method described above, and the transpiration of the vegetables is suppressed, so that the vegetables can be stored for a long time.

[0004]

However, in such an indirect cooling type storage, it is difficult to control the humidity in the storage room, and it can be used only in a limited mode of storing vegetables. However, it is not suitable for storage of articles such as brown rice, which may cause mold if the humidity is too high. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a low-temperature storage in which a humidity environment having a wide range from low humidity to high humidity can be obtained and the range of use of the user can be expanded.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides an inner box having a high heat conductivity with a space inside an outer box having a high heat insulating property, and an outer box provided with a cooling device. A storage chamber that can perform indirect cooling by circulating cool air in a cool air circulation path formed in the gap between the box and the inner box.The cool air intake that opens to the inner box and supplies cool air from the cooling device to the inner box. By opening the inlet and opening and closing the cool air inlet by opening and closing means such as a shutter, storage by direct cooling is also enabled. The opening / closing means for opening / closing the cool air intake is automatically opened / closed by the control means in accordance with the setting of the articles stored in the inner box and / or the humidity environment in the storage room.

[0006]

According to the present invention, when the opening / closing means is closed to shut off the cool air intake of the inner box, the cool air circulates through the gap between the outer box and the inner box. Is cooled,
An environment suitable for storing vegetables can be obtained. On the other hand, if the opening / closing means is opened and the cold air intake of the inner box is opened, the cool air circulates in the inner box, and as a result, the inner box is directly cooled and is suitable for storing brown rice and the like. Environment can be obtained. Thus, in the storage of the present invention, both indirect cooling and direct cooling can be performed, and a storage form utilizing the advantages of both can be obtained, and the range of choice for the user can be widened.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a low-temperature storage according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the storage, FIG. 3 (a) is a state of use of the storage in indirect cooling, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a front cross-sectional view showing a use state of the device. Reference numeral 1 denotes an outer box formed by connecting heat insulating panels in a box shape. The outer box has an entrance 2 for putting articles in and out of the front wall, and a door 3 is attached to the entrance 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes an inner box disposed inside the outer box 1, which is made of a material having excellent thermal conductivity, such as metal, and is formed in a box shape with a space between each of the six walls of the outer box 1 at the top, bottom, left, right, front, and back. The bottom wall is provided with a leg portion 6 for forming a gap with the bottom surface of the outer box 1, and the front wall is provided with an opening 5 facing the opening 2 of the outer box 1. Thus, a closed storage room A which is opened and closed by the door 3 is formed inside the inner box 4.

[0008] Reference numeral 7 denotes a cooling device provided at the top of the outer box 1 for indirectly or directly cooling the storage room A by generated cold air. As shown in FIG. 3, the cooling device 7 includes a compressor 8, a condenser 9 connected to an outlet side of the compressor 8, a dryer 10 having one end connected to the other end of the condenser 9, It comprises a capillary tube 11 having one end connected to the other end of the dryer 10, and a cooler 12 having one end connected to the other end of the tube 11 and the other end connected to the suction side of the compressor 8. Reference numeral 13 denotes a radiating fan which exhausts heat generated in the condenser 9 to the outside of the outer box 1. A circulation fan 14 blows cool air into a gap between the outer case 1 and the inner case 4 in the state shown in FIG. 3 (a). The circulation fan 14 draws in air from a suction opening 15 opened in the top wall of the outer case 1 and passes through the cooler 12. The cold air is blown out from the outlet 16 into the gap. A duct 17 having an L-shaped cross section is attached to the outlet 16 to provide directivity in the direction of circulation of cool air. Thus, a cool air circulation path B is formed in the gap between the outer box 1 and the inner box 4.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a temperature sensor attached to the suction port 15 side of the cooler 12, and detects a temperature when the cool air having directivity in the duct 17 returns to the cooling device 7 after circulating through the cool air circulation path B. By doing so, the temperature of the circulation path B is detected. Reference numeral 19 denotes a drain pan attached to a lower part of the cooler 12, which receives frost adhered to the cooler 12 and melted, and discharges it to a lower part via a connected drain hose 20.

According to such a configuration, the liquefied refrigerant is supplied by the operation of the compressor 8, and the cooler 12 is cooled. By operating the circulation fan 14 in this state, the air in the cool air circulation path B sucked from the suction port 15 passes through the cooler 12 to exchange heat and is cooled to be cooled.
It is supplied to the cooler air circulation path B. The inner box 4 is cooled by the cool air circulating through the cool air circulation path B, and the inside of the storage room A is indirectly cooled.

Now, as a characteristic configuration of the present invention, the inner box 4
A cool air intake 21 for taking in the cool air in the cool air circulation path B into the storage room A is provided on the top wall. The cool air intake 21 is provided with a shutter 22 that can be opened and closed, and a first switch 43 that switches when the shutter 22 is completely closed and a second switch that switches when the shutter 22 is completely open. The open / closed state of the shutter 22 can be identified by the switch 44. Therefore, when the shutter 22 is closed, that is, when the first switch 43 is ON, as shown in FIG. 3A, indirect cooling in the storage room A due to the circulation of cool air only in the cool air circulation path B is performed. When the shutter 22 is opened, that is, when the second switch 44 is in the ON state, the direct cooling for taking in the cool air into the storage room A to cool the articles as shown in FIG. Done. The cool air intake 21 has a diameter as large as possible so that most of the cool air generated in the cooling device 7 is supplied into the storage room A and the cool air is smoothly circulated in the storage room A. It opens in the top wall of the inner box 4 near the outlet 16 and the inlet 15 of the vessel 12.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the vicinity of the shutter 22 in an enlarged manner. The shutter 22 is formed in a rectangular shape with the same material as the inner box 4 having high heat conductivity, and seal packing 23 is attached to four edges thereof. The cool air intake 21 has an inner diameter smaller than that of the shutter 22, and a seal packing 24 is attached to an inner opening edge. Further, an L-shaped guide rail 25 that supports the shutter 22 is provided, and the opening and closing of the shutter 22 is guided. Therefore, the contact portion between the cold air intake 21 and the shutter 22 where dew condensation easily occurs is sealed, and the shutter 22
The airtightness in the storage room A when the door is closed can be improved.

The usability is further improved by electrically opening and closing the shutter 22. FIG.
1 illustrates a configuration for opening and closing a shutter. This is to drive the wheels 50 traveling on the guide rails 25 by the motor 26, and the first and second switches 43 and 44 detect the front and rear ends of the traveling. According to selection of a storage course described later, the motor 26 is rotated in a direction to close the shutter 22 (forward) when performing indirect cooling, and the motor 26 is rotated in a direction to open the shutter 22 (reverse) when performing direct cooling. It is. In addition, as the opening / closing means, various methods such as a method using an electromagnetic valve, a method using a wire or a chain and a pulley, and the like, are included in the scope of the present invention.

A shutter 22 as an opening / closing member is
The lid is not limited to the slide type described above, and may be a rotary lid. FIG. 6 illustrates a configuration for opening and closing the lid 27. In this case, the lid 2 is inserted into the opening of the cool air intake 21.
A step 28 on which the stage 7 is placed is provided, and a seal packing 29 is provided on an inner edge of the step 28 and the lid 27 to ensure airtightness. Further, when the rotating lid 27 is adopted,
If it opens upward, it functions as a guide member for guiding the cool air from the cooler into the storage room A. Needless to say, the lid may be electrically opened and closed.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control system of the present invention. Reference numeral 30 denotes a control unit which includes a microcomputer having a CPU 31, a memory 32, and an input / output port 33, executes a program stored in the memory 32 in response to an input from an operation panel 34 provided on the front of the outer box, and performs various cooling operations In operation, the compressor 8 is operated / stopped mainly in accordance with the temperature in the storage room A detected by the temperature sensor 18, and the operation of the radiator fan 13 and the circulation fan 14 is controlled accordingly. Further, first / second switches 43 and 44 for detecting the open / closed state of the shutter 22 are connected, and the ON / OFF state of the switches 43 and 44 determines whether the cooling device 7 can be operated.

The operation panel 34 has, as input functions, a power switch 35, a temperature control switch 36 for raising and lowering a set temperature, a vegetable switch 37 for selecting a vegetable course, a brown rice switch 38 for selecting a brown rice course, and a high humidity switch. A high-humidity switch 39 for selecting a course and a low-humidity switch 40 for selecting a low-humidity course are provided. As display functions, lamps provided corresponding to each switch, a warning lamp that blinks according to the state of the shutter 22, and a storage lamp A temperature display section 42 for displaying the temperature in the room A is provided.

Next, the operation of the storage of the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing the operation timing of the cooling device 7, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation for each course. When the power switch 35 is turned on, the power lamp is turned on, and "00" blinks on the temperature display section 42 (1). From this state, the switches 37 to 40 corresponding to the vegetables, brown rice, high humidity, and low humidity courses are in an input standby state (2), and the flow shifts to the flow corresponding to the course selected here, and the temperature is controlled. In the vegetable course, indirect cooling in which the cooling device 7 is driven with the shutter 22 closed and cool air is circulated through the cool air circulation path B indirectly to cool the storage A without supplying cool air into the storage A. In the other brown rice, high humidity, and low humidity courses, the cooling device 7 is driven with the shutter 22 opened, and cool air is directly supplied into the storage room A to cool the storage room A directly. Cooling to the cooling method is performed.

Therefore, when the switch selected in the process (2) is the vegetable course (3), it is determined whether or not the shutter 22 is closed, that is, the first switch 43 is turned on.
It is confirmed whether the second switch 44 is in the OFF state (4), and if another brown rice / high humidity / low humidity course is selected, it is determined whether the shutter 22 is open, that is, the first switch. 43 is OFF-second switch 44
Is turned on (5). In any case, if the condition is not satisfied, the cooling device 7 does not operate, and the warning lamp flashes together with the alarm (6).

If the shutter 22 is electrically opened and closed as described above, the shutter 22 is closed when the vegetable course is selected in the process (2), and when the vegetable course is not selected. Is to automatically shift to open the shutter 22.

The basic operation of the cooling device 7 is as follows. The operation of the compressor 8 causes the refrigerant to circulate in the cooling unit,
Is cooled, and cool air is blown by driving the circulation fan 14. Then, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 18 provided upstream of the cooler 12 becomes lower than the target set temperature set by the temperature control switch 36, the compressor 8 is stopped to stop the circulation of the refrigerant. When the compressor 8 stops, the cooler 12 does not cool down and the attached frost tends to evaporate. However, if the circulating fan 14 continues to operate at this time, the vaporized moisture is supplied again to the storage room A, and the storage room A 2 will keep the humidity inside. Conversely, when the circulation fan 14 is stopped, it is melted into the drain pan 19 and discharged to the outside from the drain hose 20 to lower the humidity in the storage room A.

In this temperature control, the set temperature T is set as a target temperature, and the compressor 8 is operated / stopped so as not to deviate from the set temperature within a range of ± t ° C. The operation of operating the compressor 8 from the state until the temperature reaches the lower limit temperature (T−t) and thereafter stopping the compressor 8 until the temperature reaches the upper limit temperature (T + t) is repeated.

Hereinafter, the temperature control of each storage course will be individually described. Vegetable course: In process (4), if it is confirmed that the shutter 22 is in the closed state, the cooling device 7 is operated, and the temperature is controlled so as to keep the temperature at 5 ° C. which is given as the initial set value of the vegetable course (7). The temperature control in the process (7)
This is performed by detecting the temperature of the cool air circulating in the cool air circulation path B with the temperature sensor 18 and controlling the operation / stop of the compressor 8 based on this temperature. As shown in FIG. 8, the circulation fan 14 is always operated regardless of the operation of the compressor, so that the humidity of the cool air circulation path B is maintained at about 75 to 85%.
Therefore, the inside of the storage room A is indirectly cooled,
When the temperature of the cold air circulation path B is kept at 5 ° C., it is kept cool at a temperature of 10 ° C. or less, and because there is no air flow, there is no drying, and the storage room A is kept confidential. , A high humidity condition close to 100%, and an environment suitable for storing vegetables can be obtained.

Brown rice course: The brown rice course is selected in the process (2) (8), and if the shutter 22 is confirmed to be in the open state in the process (4), the cooling device 7 is activated and given as the initial setting value of the brown rice course. The temperature is controlled so as to keep the temperature at 13 ° C. (9). The temperature control in the process (9) is performed by detecting the temperature of the cool air circulating in the storage room A with the temperature sensor 18 and controlling the operation / stop of the compressor 8 based on this temperature. The circulation fan 14 is operated in synchronization with the compressor 8 and is controlled at a timing of stopping the compressor 8 with a delay of a predetermined time after the compressor 8 stops, so that the humidity in the storage room A is maintained at about 60 to 70%. Is done. That is,
By keeping the circulation fan 14 operating for a predetermined time even after the compressor 8 is stopped, the inside of the storage room A can be maintained at an intermediate humidity between high humidity and low humidity.

High humidity course: The high humidity course is selected in the process (2) (10), and if the shutter 22 is confirmed to be in the open state in the process (4), the cooling device 7 is operated to initialize the high humidity course. The temperature is controlled to keep the temperature at 20 ° C. given as a value (11). The temperature control in the process (11) is performed by detecting the temperature of the cool air circulating in the storage room A with the temperature sensor 18 and controlling the operation / stop of the compressor 8 based on this temperature. The circulation fan 14 is always operated irrespective of the operation of the compressor 8 so that the storage room A can be operated.
The humidity inside is maintained at about 75 to 85%. By continuously operating the circulation fan 14, frost is less likely to adhere to the cooler 12, and the humidity in the storage room can be kept high. Therefore, although a specific description is omitted, the operation span of the defrosting operation performed at regular intervals is set to be the longest.

Low humidity mode: When the low humidity course is selected in the process (2) and the shutter 22 is confirmed to be in the open state in the process (4), the cooling device 7 is operated, and 3 ° C. is given as an initial setting value of the low humidity course. (12). The temperature control in the process (12) is performed by detecting the temperature of the cool air circulating in the storage room A with the temperature sensor 18 and controlling the operation / stop of the compressor 8 based on this temperature. The circulation fan 14 operates / activates the compressor 8.
By operating / stopping in synchronization with the stoppage, the humidity in the storage room A is maintained at about 50 to 60%. Since the circulation fan 14 is stopped when the compressor 8 is stopped, the moisture in the storage room A is collected in the drain pan 19 while adhering to the cooler 12 as frost, and the storage room A is stopped. A
The humidity inside can be kept low. Therefore, the operation span of the defrosting operation is set to be the shortest.

The temperature given as an initial set value for each course can be changed as appropriate with the temperature setting switch 36. When changing the course during the cooling operation, the course can be switched by pressing the switch of the course being executed and the switch of the course to be changed. At this time, when changing from indirect cooling to direct cooling, the cooling device 7 stops unless the open / close state of the shutter 22 is switched. In the case of the electric shutter 22, it can be switched automatically.

In the course of the vegetable course, the temperature of the cold air circulation path B detected by the temperature sensor 18 is about 3 to 5 ° C. lower than the temperature in the storage room A where the vegetables are actually stored. The temperature displayed on the display unit 42 may be corrected and displayed.

[0028]

As described above, the present invention is constituted and storage of vegetables by indirect cooling and storage of brown rice and the like by direct cooling can be easily realized only by opening and closing a shutter. And the commercial value can be greatly improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of a low-temperature storage according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the storage.

FIG. 3 is a front sectional view of the storage.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram in which the vicinity of a shutter 22 as an opening / closing member is enlarged.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing another driving mode of the shutter 22.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the opening / closing member.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control system of the storage.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing the operation of the storage.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the storage.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outer case 4 Inner case 7 Cooling device 12 Cooler 13 Radiation fan 14 Circulation fan 18 Temperature sensor 21 Cold air intake 22 Shutter (opening / closing member) 30 Control part 34 Operation panel A Storage room B Cold air circulation path

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An outer box having a high heat insulation property, an inner box having a high thermal conductivity formed inside the outer box with a space therebetween, and a cool air circulation formed in a gap between the outer box and the inner box. A cooling device that circulates cool air through the cool air circulation path, a cool air intake opening to the inner box and supplying cool air of the cooling device to the inner box, and an opening / closing member that opens and closes the cool air inlet. A cold storage characterized by comprising: 2. An outer box having a high heat insulating property, an inner box having a high thermal conductivity formed inside the outer box with a space therebetween, and a cool air circulation formed in a gap between the outer box and the inner box. Path, a cooling device that circulates cool air through the cool air circulation path, a cool air inlet that opens to the inner box and supplies cool air of the cooler to the inner box, and an opening / closing unit that opens and closes the cool air inlet. , Articles stored in the inner box /
Alternatively, a low-temperature storage, comprising: a selection unit that selects a humidity environment in the storage room; and a control unit that opens and closes the opening / closing member based on a matter selected by the selection unit.