JP2006095147A - Kitchen cabinet - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a kitchen cabinet, which is user-friendly as articles easily can be taken in/out and has substantially large capacity for a dry container. <P>SOLUTION: In this kitchen cabinet provided with a drawer which can be taken in/out in the front face and composing the drawer as a dry container, the dry container 1 contains the drawer 3 which can be taken in/out and is composed as a room of airtight structure when the drawer 3 is stored, and an upper partition board 5 which forms the room is provided with a dehumidifying function section 8 which is installed with a dehumidifier equipped with reversible moisture absorbing/releasing function and has a blower or a heating means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a kitchen cabinet provided with a storage dryer for storing food and articles used in the kitchen in a dry state.

  As a kitchen cabinet equipped with a storage and drying cabinet for storing food and other articles in a dry state, a dehumidifying function section equipped with an adsorbent is provided in the storage and drying cabinet, and the air in the cabinet is circulated to absorb the adsorbent. Some of them absorb moisture and make the interior dry. The storage / dryer equipped with a dehumidifying function part using natural zeolite or silica gel as the adsorbent can be regenerated by applying heat to the adsorbent that has once absorbed moisture and letting it dry. high. In addition, there exists what is disclosed by patent document 1 as this kind of prior art.

JP 2003-299531 A

  A kitchen cabinet equipped with a conventional storage / dryer is a drawer that allows the storage / dryer itself to be taken in and out, and the storage / dryer is uniquely provided with an open / close lid to maintain a dry atmosphere. Therefore, when putting in and out the articles in the storage dryer, it is necessary to pull out the storage dryer, open the open / close lid, close the open / close lid again, and push in the storage dryer after inserting and removing the articles. It is difficult to use and complicates kitchen work. In addition, the storage dryer is structurally a drawer and has a built-in dehumidifying function, so the power cord to the blower and heater can be expanded and contracted, such as a curl cord, so that the storage dryer does not communicate with the outside. In addition, troubles in the power cord that leads to the storage / dryer that frequently takes in and out are likely to occur. In addition, there is a problem that the storage capacity is reduced by the dehumidifying function unit.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a kitchen cabinet that is easy to use and removes articles and has a large storage capacity of a storage dryer. It is to obtain a kitchen cabinet with little deterioration and damage of the power cord related to the storage dryer.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is provided with a drawer that can be taken in and out on the front surface, and the kitchen cabinet in which the drawer is configured as a storage dryer. In this state, the room is configured as an airtight structure, and the dehumidifying function unit is mounted on the upper partition plate that defines the room. The dehumidifying function section has a large number of passages through which air passes, a dehumidifier having a reversible moisture absorption / release function, a blower for passing air through the passage of the dehumidifier, and heating for raising the temperature of the air passed through the dehumidifier A dehumidification path having a suction port and a blowout opening that can be opened and closed with the air passage as a route, and a suction passage and a blowout opening as a route through the air passage. A regenerative route with a suction port and an air outlet that communicates with the outside of the unit, and switching between the dehumidification route and the regeneration route by an open / close damper mechanism operated by a motor. Regeneration operation by the regeneration route and dehumidification operation by the dehumidification route A means for performing the above is adopted.

  According to the present invention, since the storage / dryer has a structure in which the drawer is contained in an airtight room, the article can be put in and out only by putting in and out the drawer, and it is easy to use and has good operability. Further, since the drawer and the dehumidifying function unit are configured separately, the power cord is not pulled or compressed every time the drawer is put in and taken out, and the trouble with the power cord is reduced. In the storage / dryer, the dehumidifying function part is mounted on the upper partition plate that defines the room, and does not occupy the effective storage space for the drawer, so that the substantial storage volume of the storage / dryer in the upper part is widened.

  The kitchen cabinet of the present invention is basically a hexahedral base structure, and has a multistage drawer that can be put in and out of the front surface. The middle one of the drawers is configured as a storage / dryer. The storage / dryer includes a drawer that can be taken in and out, and is configured as an airtight room when the drawer is stored. A dehumidifying function unit is attached to the upper partition plate that partitions the upper portion of the room. The dehumidifying function unit has a number of passages through which air passes, a dehumidifier having a reversible moisture absorption / release function, a blower for passing air through the passages of the dehumidifier, and heating means for raising the temperature of the air passing through the dehumidifier A dehumidification path having a suction port and a blowout opening that leads to the drawer through the opening of the upper partition plate, and a dehumidification path that is openable and closable with the air path as a path is configured in the outer shell. A suction path that communicates outside the storage and drying chamber, which is different from the suction port and the blower outlet, and a regeneration path that has a blower outlet, are switched between the dehumidification path and the regeneration path by an open / close damper mechanism that is operated by a motor. The regeneration operation by the route and the dehumidification operation by the dehumidification route are alternately performed.

  Pull out the drawer and put food and dry ingredients, etc., put the drawer and turn on the power, first the regeneration path is opened, the regeneration operation to regenerate the dehumidifier is performed, then the dehumidification path is opened, and the dehumidification operation is performed. This is repeated alternately to create a dry atmosphere in the cabinet. The inside of the refrigerator is maintained in a dry atmosphere, and the food, dried food, and the like stored in the drawer are stored in an optimal dry state without generating mold. Since this storage drying cabinet does not perform a drying process by heat, it is possible to avoid the adverse effects of the heat on the surroundings of the installation place and the influence of the heat on the materials constituting the kitchen cabinet due to deterioration of cooking utensils in the storage. Since the storage / dryer has a structure in which a drawer is included in an airtight room, it is only necessary to put in and out the drawer, and it is easy to use and has good operability. In addition, since the drawer and the dehumidifying function unit are configured separately, the power cord is not pulled or pushed by pulling in / out of the drawer, and there is no trouble of catching or entraining the power cord. The dehumidifying function unit is mounted on the upper partition plate that defines the storage dryer, and does not occupy an effective storage space for drawers. The substantial storage volume of the storage / dryer is increased.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
The present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 relates to a kitchen cabinet 2 that constitutes a system kitchen provided with a storage dryer 1 that stores food, dried food, and the like in a dry atmosphere. The kitchen cabinet 2 has a hexahedral base structure as shown in the cross-sectional configuration diagram of FIG. 1 and the front view of FIG. 2, and has three upper and lower drawers that can be inserted and removed from the front surface. The central one of the drawers is configured as a storage dryer 1. The storage / dryer 1 includes a drawer 3 that can be taken in and out, and is configured as an airtight room when the drawer 3 is stored. That is, the front panel 4 of the drawer 3, the upper partition plate 5, the lower partition plate 6, and the back plate 7 constitute a room as a sealed space. This room is made of non-breathable metal, plastic, or wood coated with, for example, an olefinic film. As shown in FIG. 5, when the kitchen cabinet 2 is wooden, the storage / drying cabinet 1 may be configured as a single box B made of metal or plastic as an outer shell.

  A dehumidifying function unit 8 is mounted on the upper part of the upper partition plate 5 that defines this room. The dehumidifying function part 8 is mainly composed of a dehumidifier 10 placed in a stationary state having a large number of linear passages 9 through which air passes, as shown in a sectional view in FIG. Has been. A dehumidifying function as shown in FIG. 3 is implemented by incorporating a blower 11 for ventilating the passage 9 of the dehumidifier 10 and a heating means 12 for raising the temperature of the air passed through the dehumidifier 10 into the air passage 14 in the outer shell 13 of the hexahedron. Part 8 is configured.

  The inlets 15 and 16 and the outlets 17 and 18 of the air passage 14 of the dehumidifying function unit 8 are opened in pairs on two surfaces of the adjacent outer shell 13. In the outer shell 13, a dehumidifying path from one suction port 15 through the air passage 14 to the one outlet 17 and a regeneration path from the other inlet 16 through the air passage 14 to the other outlet 18 are configured. Has been. The air outlet 17 and the air inlet 15 of the dehumidifying path are in communication with each other in the storage / drying chamber 1 through an opening formed in the upper partition plate 5, and dehumidified air is contained in the storage / drying chamber 1 including the drawer 3. It is designed to go around.

  The suction ports 15 and 16 and the air outlets 17 and 18 in the dehumidification path and the regeneration path are opened and closed by two opening / closing damper mechanisms 19. The opening / closing damper mechanism 19 has a suction port opening / closing blade and a blower opening / closing blade mounted on the rotating shaft of the stepping motor 20. The suction port 16 and the air outlet 18 of the regeneration path are connected to a communication port 22 provided in the front part outside the storage dryer 1 through a duct 21 using a space between the upper partition plate 5 and the work surface. Has been. As shown in a perspective view in FIG. 4, the communication ports 22 are provided separately on the left and right of the operation panel 23 provided on the upper front surface of the storage dryer 1, and a filter 24 is attached to each communication port 22. .

The dehumidifier 10 is formed by laminating a corrugated structure material or a honeycomb structure material in which a hygroscopic material such as silica gel is bonded to inorganic fibers such as ceramics using a polymerization reaction, and a plurality of linear passages through which air to be treated passes. 9 is distributed in the whole and is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a density of 230 to 270 kg / m ³ and has a reversible moisture absorption / release function. Each passage 9 is parallel, and all of the opening ends thereof are open on two opposing surfaces of the dehumidifier 10. Since the structure of the dehumidifier 10 is low pressure loss, the blower 11 may be small.

  The heating means 12 has a configuration in which heat dissipating fins thermally connected to a positive temperature coefficient thermistor are integrated, and is assembled in a state of traversing the air passage 14 at the front stage of the dehumidifier 10. Between the dehumidifier 10 and the outer shell 13, a heat insulating structure of a heat insulating air layer or a multi-bubble heat insulating resin is provided to efficiently heat the dehumidifier 10 during regeneration. The heating means 12, the blower 11, and the stepping motor 20 are each controlled by a control circuit equipped with a microcomputer built in the dehumidifying function unit 8.

  The kitchen cabinet 2 with the storage / dryer 1 is configured so that food, dry ingredients, cooking utensils, etc. are put in the drawer 3 of the storage / dryer 1 and the power is turned on, so that the opening / closing damper mechanism 19 causes the regeneration path and the dehumidification path to Are alternately opened and closed, and the dehumidifier 10 is made to alternate between a regeneration process and a dehumidification process, whereby the inside of the storage dryer 1 can be made a dry atmosphere. In the dehumidifying operation for dehumidifying the inside of the storage / dryer 1, the stepping motor 20 is rotated, and the suction port 16 and the air outlet 18 in the regeneration path are closed by the air inlet opening / closing blade and the air outlet opening / closing blade. This is done by driving. In other words, a circulating air flow is formed in the storage / drying cabinet 1 by the opened dehumidifying path, and moisture is adsorbed by the dehumidifying device 10 in a molecular state every time it passes through the dehumidifying device 10, and the inside of the storage quickly becomes a low-temperature drying atmosphere.

  As the water molecules are adsorbed, the adsorptive capacity of the dehumidifier 10 decreases, so that a regeneration operation for regenerating the dehumidifier 10 in the regeneration process is performed. To regenerate the dehumidifier 10, the stepping motor 20 is rotated, the suction port 15 and the blower outlet 17 of the dehumidification path are closed by the suction port opening / closing blade and the blower opening / closing blade, the blower 11 is operated, and the heating means 12 is operated. It is performed at a temperature of about 70 ° C. by energization. That is, outside air is sucked from the suction port 16 through the duct 21 through the opened regeneration path, heated by passing through the heat radiating plate of the heating means 12, and passed through the passage 9 of the dehumidifier 10. Water molecules are released. The air that has become highly humid due to the regeneration of the dehumidifier 10 is exhausted from the blowout port 18 to the outside through the duct 21. Thereafter, the energization of the heating means 12 is cut off, the cooling operation of the dehumidifier 10 is performed by the operation of only the blower 11, and then the dehumidifying operation is performed. Thereby, the food etc. put into the storage dryer 1 can be stored in the clean and sanitary environment where mold | fungi and bacteria do not propagate.

  According to this kitchen cabinet 2, since the storage / drying cabinet 1 has an airtight structure including the drawer 3, it is not necessary to open / close the opening / closing lid or the like by simply taking the drawer 3 in / out, and it is easy to use. Good sex. In addition, since the dehumidifying function unit 8 is provided separately from the drawer 3, the power cord is not pulled or pushed by the withdrawal of the drawer 3, and there is no trouble of catching or entraining the power cord. Withdrawal and withdrawal can be done with a minimum of drawer 3, so there is little damage to the atmosphere in the cabinet. The dehumidifying function unit 8 is mounted on the upper partition plate 5 defining the storage / drying cabinet 1 and does not occupy an effective storage space of the drawer 3, so that it can be used for storing articles having a long vertical dimension. In addition, the substantial storage volume of the storage / dryer 1 in the upper portion is widened.

  6 and 7, the dehumidifying function part 8 is provided in the front part of the lower surface of the upper partition plate 5, and a duct 25 is connected to the outlet 17 of the dehumidifying path of the dehumidifying function part 8, and this duct 25 is stored. You may make it arrange | position back from the upper part of the drying store | warehouse | chamber 1, and make the blower outlet 26 open in the rear part vicinity of the drawer 3. FIG. A filter 24 is attached to the air outlet 26. The air outlet 26 of the duct 25 is located in a place where it is difficult to touch when the drawer 3 is operated, and is located in the back of the storage dryer 1 which is not easily affected by outside air when the drawer 3 is inserted or removed. The drying atmosphere of the storage / drying cabinet 1 is rarely damaged by taking in and out the drawer 3. And since the blower outlet 26 of the duct 25 and the suction inlet 15 of the dehumidification function part 8 are arrange | positioned on the diagonal of the storage dryer 1, the dehumidification air can be circulated uniformly in the storage dryer 1, and the storage dryer 1 The humidity distribution inside improves.

  Furthermore, by providing the dehumidifying function part 8 at the foremost part of the upper partition plate 5 as shown in FIG. 6, the suction port 16 and the air outlet 18 of the regeneration path can be directly connected to the communication port 22 without using a duct, The influence of heat on the inside of the storage during the regeneration operation can also be avoided. Moreover, you may provide the dehumidification function part 8 in the upper partition plate 5 of the innermost part side of a room in the suspended form. In this case, although the length of the duct 21 connecting the regeneration path and the outside of the storage becomes longer, the installation of the dehumidifying function unit 8 is simplified and the substantial storage volume of the upper portion of the storage dryer 1 can be secured widely. .

Embodiment 2. FIG.
This embodiment shown by FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 takes the substantial expansion of the storage volume with respect to the storage drying store of a kitchen cabinet by the device of the provision of a dehumidification function part, and other basic composition Is the same as that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the kitchen cabinet 2 of the present embodiment. The kitchen cabinet 2 is supported in a suspended manner so that the dehumidifying function portion 8 is movable on a guide member along the pull-out direction of the drawer 3 provided on the lower surface of the upper partition plate 5. The guide member may be a guide rail 27 as shown in FIG. 9 or a pole-shaped member. The duct 21 that connects the regeneration path and the outside of the warehouse uses an expansion tube that can expand and contract the portion up to the upper partition plate 5. The dehumidifying function part 8 can move along the guide rail 27 from the front part to the back part in the cabinet. Thereby, the dehumidification function part 8 can be moved and used in the place which avoided the standing article, and the expansion of the substantial storage volume with respect to the storage dryer 1 can be aimed at. The power cord connected to the dehumidifying function unit 8 only needs to allow the movement of the dehumidifying function unit 8, and the movement of the dehumidifying function unit 8 is not performed as frequently as the drawer 3 is put in and out. There are few.

  The guide rail 27 may be provided on the lower surface of the upper partition plate 5 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the drawer 3 is pulled out, and the dehumidifying function portion 8 can be moved in the lateral direction by the guide rail 27. Also with this configuration, the dehumidifying function unit 8 can be used by moving it to a place avoiding highly standing articles, and the substantial storage volume with respect to the storage dryer 1 can be increased.

It is a section lineblock diagram of a kitchen cabinet. (Embodiment 1) It is a front view of a kitchen cabinet. (Embodiment 1) It is sectional drawing of a dehumidification function part. (Embodiment 1) It is a perspective view which expands and shows a connection port part. (Embodiment 1) It is sectional drawing of another kitchen cabinet. (Embodiment 1) It is sectional drawing of another kitchen cabinet. (Embodiment 1) It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the dehumidification function part of FIG. (Embodiment 1) It is sectional drawing which shows a kitchen cabinet. (Embodiment 2) It is sectional drawing of the principal part which shows the structure of a dehumidification function part and a guide rail. (Embodiment 2)

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage dryer, 2 Kitchen cabinet, 3 Drawer, 5 Upper partition plate, 8 Dehumidification function part, 9 Passage, 10 Dehumidifier, 11 Blower, 12 Heating means, 13 Outer shell, 14 Air path, 15,16 Suction port, 17, 18 outlet, 19 opening and closing damper mechanism, 27 guide rail, B box.

Claims (10)

  A kitchen cabinet provided with a drawer that can be taken in and out on the front and configured as a storage dryer. The storage dryer contains a drawer that can be inserted and removed, and in the state where the drawer is stored, it is an airtight room. Configure and mount the dehumidifying function part on the upper partition that defines this room. The dehumidifying function section has a number of passages through which air passes, a dehumidifier having a reversible moisture absorption / release function, a blower for passing air through the passage of the dehumidifier, and raising the temperature of air passing through the dehumidifier An air passage incorporating a heating means is configured in the outer shell, and a dehumidification route having a suction port and a blow-out port that can be opened and closed with the air passage as a route and the air passage as a route. The regeneration port having a suction port that communicates with the outside of the part, which is different from the suction port and the blower port, and a regeneration route, is switched between the dehumidification route and the regeneration route by an open / close damper mechanism operated by a motor. The regeneration operation by the route and the dehumidification operation by the dehumidification route are performed.   It is a kitchen cabinet of Claim 1, Comprising: The kitchen cabinet which provided the dehumidification function part on the upper side of the upper partition plate.   It is a kitchen cabinet of Claim 1, Comprising: The kitchen cabinet which provided the dehumidification function part under the upper partition plate.   It is a kitchen cabinet in any one of Claim 1 or Claim 3, Comprising: The kitchen cabinet which provided the dehumidification function part in the upper part partition plate of the backmost part side of a room.   It is a kitchen cabinet in any one of Claim 1 or Claim 3, Comprising: The kitchen cabinet which provided the dehumidification function part in the upper partition plate of the front side of a room.   It is a kitchen cabinet of Claim 3, Comprising: The kitchen cabinet which carried the dehumidification function part so that the movement along this guide member was carried out by the guide member which provided the upper partition plate along the drawer drawing-out direction.   It is a kitchen cabinet of Claim 3, Comprising: The kitchen which carry | moved along the guide member by the guide member which provided the dehumidification function part in the upper partition plate along the direction orthogonal to the drawer drawing-out direction cabinet.   The kitchen cabinet according to any one of claims 6 and 7, wherein an extendable duct is connected to an inlet and an outlet of the regeneration path of the dehumidifying function part, and each is connected outside the room. .   It is a kitchen cabinet in any one of Claim 1-8, Comprising: The kitchen cabinet which formed the outer shell of the room | chamber of the storage drying warehouse with the airtight material which does not have air permeability.   It is a kitchen cabinet in any one of Claim 1-8, Comprising: The outer periphery of the room | chamber of a storage dryer is comprised by insertion of the box formed with the airtight material which does not have air permeability, This box Kitchen cabinet with drawers inside.

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