JP2005337648A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem in conventional technology that as the nonion water prepared in a third vessel among a plurality of vessels respectively composed of a cation exchange film and an anion exchange film between electrodes, is supplied to an ice making machine, the nonion water including only a very small amount of chlorine ions and hypochlorous ions having the effect in disinfect treatment and stored in the ice making machine may get rotten, and further as the water produced in the first vessel and the fifth vessel are drained, resources are wasted. <P>SOLUTION: This refrigerator comprises a water supply tank and an ice tray, an electrolysis vessel for producing alkaline water is mounted in a water supply passage for supplying the water from the water supply tank to the ice making tray, and the alkaline water produced in the electrolysis vessel is supplied to the synthetic resin ice tray mounted in a freezing chamber or the like. The acid water produced in the electrolysis vessel is supplied to a humidity absorbing sheet placed on a water storage container detachably mounted in a refrigeration temperature chamber or an upper part of a vegetable chamber. Further the acidic water produced in the electrolysis vessel is returned to the water supply tank. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator equipped with an automatic ice maker.

  In the conventional system, a water storage tank having an electric water purification mechanism is installed between a water supply mechanism that supplies water from a water pipe or the like and an automatic ice maker, and a pair or a plurality of electrodes are disposed in the water storage tank. A cation exchange membrane and an anion exchange membrane that selectively permeate or restrain ions moving by the action of an applied direct current were installed to form five tanks having different ion amounts and different pH values (for example, Patent Documents) 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-206004 (FIG. 1)

  In Patent Document 1, non-ionized water produced in a third tank among a plurality of tanks formed by a cation exchange membrane and an anion exchange membrane between electrodes is supplied to an ice making machine. Therefore, non-ionized water with very few chlorine ions and hypochlorite ions effective in the disinfection treatment stays in the ice making machine, and the water may be rotted.

  The pH value of non-ionized water produced in the third tank is close to the pH value of tap water. Therefore, depending on the raw water used, the water tends to be acidic. The acidic component of the acidic water tendency gradually erodes the surface of the ice tray made of synthetic resin, and the surface roughness of the ice tray increases after long-term use. The coefficient of friction between such ice trays and ice will increase, and twisting the ice tray will increase the torsional torque when deicing, resulting in problems in ensuring the lifetime of the ice making machine. There was a possibility.

  Moreover, since the water produced | generated by the 1st tank and the 5th tank was drained, it was a wasteful use of resources.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can effectively use alkaline water and acidic water produced by electrolyzing tap water without waste.

  In order to achieve the above object, a refrigerator according to the present invention is provided in a refrigeration temperature chamber having a refrigeration room and a vegetable room, in which raw water is stored, and the raw water in the water supply tank is installed in a refrigeration temperature chamber. A water supply path leading to the ice tray, an electrolyzer that electrolyzes raw water with a positive electrode and a negative electrode to separately generate acidic water and alkaline water on the water supply path, and guiding the alkaline water to the ice tray An alkaline water path and an acidic water path for guiding the acidic water to a predetermined place in the storage are provided.

  The acidic water path is a path that guides the acidic water to a water storage container that is detachably installed in the refrigerated temperature chamber. The acidic water path is a path for guiding the acidic water to a moisture absorbent sheet installed in the vegetable compartment. Moreover, it provided with the air blower which ventilates the moisture absorption sheet impregnated with the said acidic water. Furthermore, the acidic water path is a path for returning to the water supply tank.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the refrigerator which can use effectively the alkaline water and acidic water which were obtained by electrolyzing tap water without waste can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, in FIG. 2, a refrigeration temperature chamber 2 and a freezing temperature chamber 3 are partitioned in a heat insulating box 1 of the refrigerator. The refrigerated temperature chamber 2 is normally controlled at a predetermined temperature at which ice is not generated, and is further divided into a refrigerated chamber 2a and a vegetable chamber 2b. The inside of the freezing temperature chamber 3 is divided into an ice making chamber 3a in which the ice making machine 5 and the ice storage container 7 are arranged, and a freezing chamber 3b in which food for freezing is stored. The ice detecting lever denoted by reference numeral 6 detects the amount of ice produced in the ice storage container 7. Moreover, the compressor 17 and the evaporator 10 which comprise the refrigerating cycle for cooling the inside of the refrigerator temperature chamber 2 and the freezing temperature chamber 3 to predetermined | prescribed temperature are provided. The interior air is cooled by the evaporator 10, and the cool air is supplied into the interior by the blower 9 through the fan guard 12. The operation of the refrigeration cycle and the blower 9 is controlled so that the refrigeration temperature chamber 2 and the refrigeration temperature chamber 3 are cooled to a predetermined temperature.

  The refrigerating temperature chamber 2 stores a water supply tank 31 for supplying water for ice making, an electrolysis tank 40 for electrolyzing water from the water supply tank 31, and acid water generated by the electrolysis tank 40. The water storage container 54 is disposed, and the operation unit 20 of the electrolytic cell 40 and the display unit 19 for displaying the operational state of the electrolytic cell 40 are provided on the front surface of the refrigerator. These will be described in detail later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vegetable storage container 4 provided in the vegetable compartment 2b prevents the drying inside the vegetable storage container 4, and when the vegetable compartment 2b is stored in the cabinet, the lid 4a covers the lid of the vegetable storage container 4. To do. The lid 4a is provided with a moisture absorbing sheet 4b described later. The blower 55 can send moisture into the vegetable storage container 4 from the moisture absorbent sheet 4b by sending air to the moisture absorbent sheet 4b. As described above, the humidity can be adjusted by forcibly humidifying the inside of the vegetable storage container 4. In other words, conventionally, the humidity in the vegetable storage container is adjusted with the moisture of the food stored in the vegetable storage container, so if the amount of food stored in the vegetable storage container is small, the humidity in the vegetable storage container is high. It was difficult to make. In this invention, the inside of the vegetable storage container 4 can be made into high humidity by using the acidic water which produced | generated the water | moisture content impregnated to the moisture absorption sheet | seat 4b with the electrolytic vessel 40. FIG. Moreover, sterilization in the vegetable storage container 4 can also be performed by using acidic water in this way.

  The ice making machine 5 installed in the ice making chamber 3a separates the ice making tray 5a in which ice is generated and the ice generated in the ice making tray 5a by reversing and twisting the ice making tray 5a itself. It has a driving device 5b for icing. The ice tray 5a is made of an olefin-based synthetic resin that is harmless to the human body, and is usually formed by injection molding or the like. Further, as described above, the roughness of the ice making surface side of the ice tray 5a is such that it can be repeatedly deiced when twisted by the driving device 5b.

  The roughness of the ice making surface of the ice tray 5a is not changed by repeated ice making and deicing at the chlorine concentration of water normally used. However, if water having a high pH is used, Surface roughness becomes rough by long-term repetition. For this reason, the generated ice is difficult to leave, and the torque for twisting the ice tray for ice removal increases, thereby shortening the life of the apparatus.

  Next, the ice making of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The water supply tank 31 in which the water supplied to the ice tray 5a is stored is provided with a water purification device 31a having a water purification function such as activated carbon and an electrolyte addition function such as sodium hydroxide. By operating the pump 33, the water stored in the water supply tank 31 is supplied to the electrolyzer 40 described later via the water supply pipe 32.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the electrolytic cell 40 has a positive electrode 41 and a negative electrode 42 facing each other through a diaphragm 43, and has an acidic water outlet 47 and an alkaline water outlet 48 in the lower part thereof. .

  Here, the flow of water in the refrigerator will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The water in the water supply tank drawn from tap water or the like is purified by the water purifier 31a, and a small amount of electrolyte is added to the pump 33. Is supplied into the electrolytic cell 40. As shown in FIG. 3, when electrolysis is performed while applying a DC voltage to each electrode and controlling the voltage and current in the electrolytic cell 40, acidic water having a pH value of 6 or less is generated from the positive electrode 41 side. Alkaline water having a pH value of 7 or more is generated from the electrode 42 side.

Here, the chemical reaction inside the electrolytic cell 40 is an acid that shows acidity when the hydroxide ion (OH ⁻ ) loses electrons at the positive electrode 41 and oxygen gas (O ₂ ) is generated to increase the hydrogen ion (H ⁺ ) concentration. Water is produced. One negative electrode 42 is alkaline because hydrogen ions (H ⁺ ) receive electrons and hydrogen gas (H ₂ ) is generated to raise the hydroxide ion (OH ⁻ ) concentration.

  Depending on the purpose of use, the amount of electrolyte added to tap water, etc., or by controlling the DC voltage or DC current applied to each electrode without adding electrolyte, acid water and alkaline water PH value can be controlled.

  Alkaline water generated from the negative electrode 42 side is taken out from an alkaline water outlet 48 at the lower part of the electrolytic cell, and is controlled by a valve 49 to be supplied to the ice tray 5 a via the supply pipe 50.

  The supply of alkaline water to the ice tray 5a is controlled by a control device to be described later, and is configured to be supplied to the ice tray only when necessary for ice making. In other words, the electrolyzed alkaline water is easily perished because the chlorine ions for disinfection added to the tap water, which is the raw water, are easily perished. The electrolysis is performed only when necessary for supplying to the ice tray 5a.

  The acidic water generated from the positive electrode 41 side is taken out from the acidic water outlet 47 at the bottom of the electrolytic cell, and is controlled by the pump 51 and sent to the valve 52. The acidic water sent to the valve 52 is supplied to the water storage container 54 and the moisture absorbing sheet 4b in accordance with an instruction from a control device described later.

  The water storage container 54 is installed in the refrigerated temperature room so that the user can arbitrarily attach and remove it, and the acid water in the taken out water storage container 54 is used for, for example, washing water for washing face and vegetables. it can.

  The acidic water supplied to the moisture absorbent sheet 4b can disinfect the vegetable storage container 4 at the same time as the inside of the vegetable storage container 4 is brought into a high-humidity atmosphere by the blowing of the blower 55.

  Here, the control of this embodiment will be described with reference to the control circuit block diagram shown in FIG. 6 and the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  On the electrolyzer operation panel 20, automatic operation switch 20a, forced operation switch 20b, and operation stop switch 20c are installed.

  First, when the automatic operation switch 20a is set to the ON state (step 101), the display unit 19 displays “electrolytic cell automatic operation in progress”, and the following automatic operation continues repeatedly.

  First, the temperature in the ice making chamber 5 is detected by the ice tray temperature detecting means 71, the position of the ice storage container 7 is detected by the ice storage container position detecting means 72, and the storage space of the ice storage container 7 is further detected by the ice detecting lever 6. Is detected (step 102). In response to an instruction from the control means 77 based on the detection results, the pump 33 is operated for a predetermined time via the driving means 81, and the valve 49 and the valve 52 are closed via the driving means 82, so that the water supply tank 31 performs electrolysis. A volume of water for one ice making is supplied into the tank 40 (step 103). In addition, in order to produce | generate alkaline water and acidic water simultaneously, the predetermined amount of water according to the concentration ratio of alkaline water and acidic water is supplied to the electrolytic cell 40.

  Next, a DC voltage is applied between the positive electrode 41 and the negative electrode 42 via the energizing means 80 according to an instruction from the control means 77, and electrolysis is performed for a predetermined time while controlling the DC voltage and current (step 104). ). When it is determined that the alkaline water has reached a predetermined concentration by the operation time counting means 74 or a predetermined time programmed in advance (step 105), the control means 77 turns off the DC voltage between the positive electrode 41 and the negative electrode 42 ( Step 106) and the valve 49 is opened via the driving means 82 to supply alkaline water to the ice tray 5a of the ice making machine (Step 107). When alkaline water is supplied to the ice tray 5a and a predetermined time elapses (step 108), the control means 77 operates the ice maker driving device 5b based on information from the ice tray temperature detecting means 71 and the like to twist the ice tray 5a. It reverses while twisting and is deiced (step 109).

  When the ice is released from the ice tray, the margin of the storage space of the ice storage container 7 is detected by the above-described ice detection lever 6 (step 110), and when it is confirmed that the storage space is full, the control means 77 detects the positive electrode 41. Further, the DC voltage between the negative electrode 42 and the negative electrode 42 is kept off, and the pump 33 is also stopped (step 111). In other words, when the storage space of the ice storage container 7 is full and it is not necessary to operate the ice making machine, the inside of the electrolytic cell 40 is emptied to prevent decay due to water retention.

  It is confirmed that the ice is released from the ice tray, and that the storage space of the ice storage container 7 by the ice detecting lever 6 is sufficient, and the ice tray temperature detecting means 71 and the ice storage container position detecting means 72 are used. When the predetermined temperature and the predetermined position are confirmed, the pump 33 is operated for a predetermined time, and water of a capacity corresponding to one ice making is supplied from the water supply tank 31 into the electrolytic cell 40, and the automatic operation described above is repeated thereafter. .

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the acidic water in the electrolytic cell 40 has reached a predetermined concentration based on the operation time counting means 74 or a predetermined time programmed in advance (step 112), the control means 77 determines the positive electrode 41, the negative electrode 42, and the like. (Step 113), the pump 51 is operated via the drive means 81, and acidic water is supplied to the water storage container 54 and the moisture absorbent sheet 4b (step 114). As described above, the acidic water in the water storage container 54 is arbitrarily used as a lotion or sterilizing water, and the acidic water impregnated in the moisture absorbent sheet 4b is used for humidity adjustment in the vegetable compartment and sterilization in the vegetable compartment.

  Here, an example of the ice making capacity and the electrolytic cell capacity will be described. The typical ice tray capacity in a home refrigerator is generally 80 cc to 120 cc, and the time required to turn normal temperature water, for example, water at 15 ° C. to 20 ° C. into ice, is the refrigeration capacity of the home refrigerator. It usually takes about 1 to 2 hours. Since the electrolytic cell 40 of the present embodiment generates alkaline water and acidic water at the same time, the amount of water corresponding to the concentration ratio of alkaline water and acidic water, for example, when the ratio of alkaline water to acidic water is 4 to 1, 96 cc It is desirable to supply about 144 cc of water. A predetermined pH can be secured by controlling the voltage and current of the direct current or expanding the electrode area. In addition, when the amount of water supply is about 96 cc to 144 cc, the time required for electrolysis to obtain a predetermined alkaline water concentration or acidic water concentration is within about one hour, which is shorter than the time required for ice making, and thus a loss time is generated. It can be configured so that there is nothing to do. If a small amount of electrolyte is added at the time of electrolysis, the time required for electrolysis to obtain a predetermined alkaline water concentration or acidic water concentration can be made shorter than 1 hour.

  When the forced operation switch 20b of the electrolytic cell operation control panel 20 is set to the ON state (step 201), the display unit 19 displays “electrolytic cell forced operation”, and the following forced operation starts.

  First, the alkaline water ice making operation is controlled in the same manner as the automatic operation described above (step 202 to step 209, step 216 to step 218). However, when the storage space of the ice storage container 7 is detected by the ice detecting lever 6 (step 210) and the storage space of the ice storage container 7 is full by the above-described automatic operation, it is not necessary to operate the ice making machine. In addition, the valve 49 is confirmed to be closed, and the pump 33 is operated for a predetermined time to supply a predetermined volume of water from the water supply tank 31 into the electrolytic cell 40 (step 211).

  When the water supply to the electrolytic cell 40 is confirmed, the control means 77 applies a predetermined DC voltage between the positive electrode 41 and the negative electrode 42 and performs electrolysis for a predetermined time while controlling the DC voltage and current. (Step 212). When it is determined that the acidic water has a predetermined concentration by the operation time counting means 74 or a predetermined time programmed in advance (step 213), the pump 51 is operated to supply the acidic water to the water storage container 54 and the moisture absorbing sheet 4b. (Step 214). When the pump 51 is operated for a predetermined time and the amount of water in the electrolytic cell 40 falls below a predetermined water level (step 215), the pump 33 is operated for a predetermined time to supply a predetermined volume of water from the water supply tank 31 into the electrolytic cell 40. Then, the forced operation described above is continued.

  In addition, when the operation stop switch 20c of the electrolytic cell operation unit 20 is set to the ON state (step 301), “electrolytic cell operation is stopped” is displayed on the display unit 19.

  First, the temperature in the ice making chamber 5 is detected by the ice tray temperature detecting means 71, the position of the ice storage container 7 is detected by the ice storage container position detecting means 72, and the storage space of the ice storage container 7 is further detected by the ice detecting lever 6. Is detected (step 302). With the DC voltage between the positive electrode 41 and the negative electrode 42 turned off, the pump 33 is operated for a predetermined time to supply a predetermined volume of water from the water supply tank 31 into the electrolytic cell 40, and through the valve 49. The raw water is supplied to the ice tray 5a of the ice making machine 5 (step 303). When alkaline water is supplied to the ice tray 5a and a predetermined time has elapsed (step 304), the control means 77 operates the drive unit 5b of the ice making machine according to information from the ice tray temperature detection means 71 and the like, and the ice tray 5a is twisted. It reverses while twisting and is deiced (step 305). In other words, when you want ice as it is in the raw water supplied to the water supply tank, you can set the operation stop switch 20c to the ON state to start an automatic ice making control operation that creates ice as it is in the raw water.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of piping. 4 and 5 indicate members having the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above with the same reference numerals as those of the above-described embodiment. The feature of this embodiment is that the acidic water generated in the electrolytic cell 40 is returned to the water supply tank 31 by the pump 66. In other words, when the pH value of acidic water is increased to produce strongly acidic water with stronger acidity, or when electrolysis is performed, it is necessary to produce predetermined acidic water without adding an electrolyte. This method is adopted for

  As shown in the first embodiment described above, the path through which the electrolyzed acidic water is guided can be branched into a plurality of parts via the valve 52. For example, a route for returning to the water supply tank 31 and a route for supplying to the water storage container 54 may be branched via the valve 52.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, a water supply tank that is provided in a refrigeration temperature chamber having a refrigeration room and a vegetable room and stores raw water, and an ice tray in which the raw water in the water supply tank is installed in the freezing temperature chamber. A water supply path for guiding, an electrolytic cell for electrolyzing raw water with a positive electrode and a negative electrode to separately generate acidic water and alkaline water on the water supply path, and an alkaline water path for guiding the alkaline water to the ice tray In addition, since the acidic water path for guiding the acidic water to a predetermined place in the warehouse is provided, the synthetic resin ice tray is not easily affected by the chlorine contained in the tap water, etc. Thus, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the surface roughness of the ice tray is little changed even after repeated ice-breaking, and thus no excessive force is applied to the drive device for ice-breaking.

  Further, the acidic water path is a path that guides the acidic water to a water storage container that is detachably installed in the refrigerated temperature chamber. As easy to use. Moreover, it can be easily used as cleaning water in the refrigerator or cleaning water in the vicinity by utilizing its bactericidal property that when the acidic water and bacteria come into contact, the charge balance of the bacteria collapses and the bacteria die.

  In addition, since the acidic water path is configured to guide the acidic water to the moisture absorbent sheet installed in the vegetable room, the vegetable room can be sterilized and blown to the moisture absorbent sheet impregnated with acidic water. Since it was set as the structure provided with the air blower, the refrigerator which can hold | maintain predetermined humidity, even when there are few stored foods in a vegetable compartment can be provided. Moreover, the original purpose of the moisture-absorbing sheet of adjusting the humidity in the vegetable compartment is achieved by these configurations.

  Furthermore, since the acidic water path is configured to return to the water supply tank, the synthetic resin ice tray can be provided with a refrigerator that is not easily affected by the acidic components contained in tap water, etc., and is generated in the electrolytic cell. It is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of sterilizing and deodorizing the inside of a water supply tank with acid water.

The piping explanatory view showing one example of the present invention. The refrigerator longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows one Example of this invention. The electrolytic cell cross section explanatory drawing of one Example of this invention. The refrigerator longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other Example of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the other Example of this invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a control circuit block showing an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart figure which shows a control method. The flowchart figure which shows a control method. The flowchart figure which shows a control method.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Heat insulation box, 2 ... Refrigeration temperature room, 2a ... Refrigeration room, 2b ... Vegetable room, 3 ... Freezing temperature room, 3a ... Ice making room, 3b ... Freezing room, 4 ... Vegetable storage container, 4a ... Cover, 4b DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Hygroscopic sheet, 5 ... Ice machine, 5a ... Ice tray, 5b ... Drive device, 6 ... Ice detection lever, 7 ... Ice storage container, 9 ... Blower, 10 ... Cooler, 12 ... Fan guard, 17 ... Compressor, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 19 ... Display board, 20 ... Electrolytic layer operation control board, 20a ... Automatic operation switch, 20b ... Forced operation switch, 20c ... Operation stop switch, 31 ... Water supply tank, 31a ... Water purifier, 33 ... Pump, 40 ... Electrolyzer, 41 ... Positive electrode, 42 ... Negative electrode, 43 ... Diaphragm, 44 ... Inlet, 47 ... Acidic water outlet, 48 ... Alkaline water outlet, 49 ... Valve, 50 ... Supply pipe, 51 ... Pump, 52 ... Valve, 54 ... Water storage container, 55 ... Blower, 56 ... Ice machine drive, 62 ... Pump, 64 ... Slurry, 66 ... pump, 68 ... acid water return pipe, 71 ... ice making chamber temperature detection means, 72 ... ice storage container position detection means, 73 ... electrolytic cell operation detection means, 74 ... operating time count time, 75 ... vegetable room humidity detection Means 76 ... Initial setting program 77 ... Control means 78 ... Drive means 79 ... Drive means 80 ... Current supply means 81 ... Drive means 82 ... Drive means 83 ... Display means

Claims (5)

  A water supply tank that is provided in a refrigeration temperature chamber having a refrigeration room and a vegetable room, in which raw water is stored, a water supply path that guides the raw water in the water supply tank to an ice tray installed in the freezing temperature chamber, and on the water supply path An electrolytic cell for electrolyzing the raw water with a positive electrode and a negative electrode to separately produce acidic water and alkaline water, an alkaline water path for guiding the alkaline water to the ice tray, and the acidic water for a predetermined amount in the storage A refrigerator equipped with an acidic water path leading to the place.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the acidic water path is a path that guides the acidic water to a water storage container that is detachably installed in the refrigerated temperature chamber.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the acidic water path is a path for guiding the acidic water to a moisture absorbing sheet installed in the vegetable compartment.   The refrigerator of Claim 3 provided with the air blower which ventilates the moisture absorption sheet impregnated with the said acidic water. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the acidic water path is a path that is returned to the water supply tank.

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