JP2008224121A - Sterilizer for cooling storage - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sterilize the inside of a storage regardless of existence or nonexistence of food in the storage. <P>SOLUTION: A case 33 receiving an ultraviolet ray emission lamp 40 is buried in a right wall 10R of a storage compartment 15, and a protective cover 35 provided with a window hole 36 is placed on an opening 33A at a storage compartment 15 side. A slide door 50 is openably and closably disposed on a front face of the opening 33A in a state that a space S is formed between a main body plate 51 and surfaces of the protective cover 35 and the right wall 10R through a contact portion 52 even in a door closing state. When the food does not exist in the storage compartment 15, the ultraviolet ray from the lamp 40 is applied toward a wall surface of the storage compartment 15 by opening the slide door 50, thus the wall surface is sterilized. When the food is cooled, the application of ultraviolet ray to the food is restricted by closing the slide door 50, on the other hand, the cold air circulated in the storage compartment 15 is moved into the case 33 from the space S, thus the cold air is sterilized. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sterilization apparatus provided in a refrigerator such as a rapid refrigerator.

In order to sterilize germs in the refrigerator, it is known that it is effective to equip the wall with a sterilization device consisting of an ultraviolet light emitting lamp. It has also been recognized that it affects quality and so on. For this reason, for example, a rapid cooling cabinet used for rapid cooling of cooked food is when food is stored in the cabinet for rapid cooling, and when the food is taken out after cooling and there is no food in the cabinet. Since the time is clearly separated, the sterilization apparatus can be used only when there is no food in the warehouse (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-337757 A

On the other hand, in the case of cooling by circulating cold air in the storage room, if germs are floating in the cold air, there is a risk that it will directly adhere to food and propagate, but the conventional one is in cooling operation Since the function of the sterilizer was stopped, the germs in the cold could not be sterilized.
The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and its purpose is to perform sterilization in the storage regardless of the presence or absence of food in the storage.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is provided with a storage chamber for storing food in the refrigerator main body, and cooling for cooling food by circulating and circulating cold air in the storage chamber. In the storage, the wall where the cold air flows in the storage chamber is provided with an ultraviolet light emitting lamp stored in a case opened inside the storage, and a door for opening and closing the opening is attached to the opening of the case. In addition, the present invention is characterized in that a cold air circulation portion is provided that allows the cold air to flow in the case even when the door is closed.

The invention according to claim 2 is the one according to claim 1, wherein the door is a sliding door that opens and closes by sliding on the front surface of the opening of the case, and the back surface of the sliding door and the opening edge of the case It is characterized in that a predetermined gap is provided between them.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the case is configured such that the opening is substantially flush with the wall surface in a recess provided in the wall surface of the storage chamber. An abutting portion that is mounted on the back surface of the sliding door and that slidably abuts the mouth of the recess to secure the gap between the main body of the sliding door and the opening edge of the case Is characterized in that is projected.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cooling unit according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein a cooling unit including a cooler and a cooling fan is installed on a side of the storage chamber in the frontage direction. The cooling unit and a wall surface of the storage chamber facing the cooling unit are provided with a pair of tray receivers capable of storing trays containing food in a plurality of stages, and the cold air generated by the cooling unit is After being blown out from the back side into the front side and the back side of the storage space of the tray, it wraps around the central portion in the depth direction along the wall surface provided with the tray receiver, and passes through the storage space of the tray. And circulates and circulates so as to be sucked in from the front of the cooling unit, and the case in which the ultraviolet light emitting lamp is housed on the wall surface of the housing room where the tray receiver is provided. It has a feature where the scan is disposed.

<Invention of Claim 1>
When the food is not in the storage room, if the door is opened, the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light emitting lamp is irradiated toward the wall surface of the storage room, and the wall surface is sterilized. While food is cooled, closing the door restricts food from being irradiated with ultraviolet rays, while the cold air circulating in the storage room circulates from the cold air circulation section into the case. Is done.
That is, when there is no food in the storage room, sterilization of the wall surface is performed, and when food is present and cooling is performed, sterilization in cold air is performed, and the sterilization in the storage can be effectively performed regardless of the presence or absence of food in the storage. .
<Invention of Claim 2>
When the sliding door is closed during cooling, the cold air flows through the gap between the back surface of the door and the opening edge of the case into the case containing the ultraviolet light emitting lamp.

<Invention of Claim 3>
When the sliding door is closed, the abutting portion protruding from the back surface of the sliding door hits the edge of the concave portion provided in the wall surface of the storage chamber, so that the opening edge of the case embedded in the concave portion and the sliding door A gap is secured between the main body and the main body. Therefore, the circulating cold air flows through the same gap and into the case containing the ultraviolet light emitting lamp. Since the case itself is embedded in the recess of the wall surface of the storage chamber, it is possible to prevent the storage space from being reduced.
<Invention of Claim 4>
Since the case or the like containing the ultraviolet light emitting lamp is arranged on the wall surface provided with the tray receiver in the storage room where the circulating cool air is reliably distributed, sterilization in the cool air can be reliably performed.

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the case where it applies to a quick refrigerator is illustrated.
As shown in FIG. 1, the rapid cooler according to the present embodiment includes a leg 12 disposed on the bottom surface of the machine room 11, on which a cooler body 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as a main body 10) is placed on the upper surface of the machine room 11. Is supported by.
The main body 10 is composed of a vertically long heat insulating box whose front surface is opened, and a heat insulating door 14 (FIG. 2) can be swingably opened and closed around the left edge when viewed from the front. It is installed.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in the inside of the main body 10, that is, in the warehouse, an area of about 60% on the right side when viewed from the front is a food storage chamber 15, and the remaining left side area is It is the installation room 17 of.
The cooling unit 20 is a unit obtained by assembling a cooler 21 and two cooling fans 22. The cooler 21 is formed in a vertically long block shape having a height dimension slightly lower than the inside height of the cabinet and a width slightly more than half the depth inside the cabinet, and the opposite side to the surface on the storage chamber 15 side. It is housed in a cooler cover 21A having openings on both sides. On the other hand, two cooling fans 22 are arranged in the fan case 22A in the vertical direction, and the fan case 22A is attached to the front side of the cooler cover 21A so as to be able to swing open and close. 20 is formed. In the cooling unit 20, the two cooling fans 22 are arranged in the vertical direction immediately before the cooler 21.

  Such a cooling unit 20 is installed in the installation chamber 17 on the left side in the cabinet, and more specifically, at the substantially central portion in the height direction and depth direction in the cabinet, Is installed in a form with a predetermined gap between the left side wall 10L in the cabinet. In addition, a refrigerant pipe 23 that is taken in and out of the cooler 21 is circulated and connected to a refrigeration apparatus (not shown) installed in the machine room 11 to constitute a refrigeration circuit.

In the storage room 15 on the right side of the cabinet, a plurality of trays T such as hotel pans can be put in and out from the front and stored. For this reason, a pair of tray receivers 25 are attached to the front plate of the fan case 22A in the cooling unit 20 on the left and right side surfaces of the storage chamber 15 and the right side wall 10R in the store.
The tray receiver 25 is made of a wire material such as a stainless steel wire, and roughly includes a frame body 26 having a vertically long rectangle, and mounting rods 27 are arranged in a plurality of stages (a certain pitch between the vertical frames). 12, and a mounting portion 28 having a vertically long ring shape is formed at the four corner positions of the frame body 26.

  On the other hand, fixtures 29 are attached to four corresponding locations on the front plate of the fan case 22A and the right side wall 10R in the cabinet, and each tray receiver 25 has a corresponding attachment portion 28 at the four corners. By being hooked on the tool 29, it can be detachably attached in a form facing the left and right side surfaces of the storage chamber 15. As shown in FIG. 2, the tray T is loaded and unloaded from the front while being placed on the mounting rod 27 facing the left and right flanges at the same stage.

  The cooling operation is performed by driving the refrigeration apparatus (compressor) and the cooling fan 22, and as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3, the air in the storage chamber 15 passes through the fan case 22 </ b> A and enters the cooling unit 20. The cool air that has been sucked in and passed through the cooler 21 is generated, and the cool air blown out to the back side of the cooling unit 20 hits the left side wall 10L in the cabinet and is divided into the front and back, and the front side of the cooling unit 20 So that a part of the food flows into the storage chamber 15 while being circulated to the right side wall 10R side, so that the food in the tray T is rapidly cooled. It has become.

Now, on the right side wall 10 </ b> R of the storage chamber 15, a sterilizer 30 having an ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40 is provided. The structure of the sterilizer 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.
A mounting recess 32 having a vertically long rectangular shape is formed at the right side wall 10R of the storage chamber 15, in detail, at a substantially central portion in the depth direction in the mounting region of the tray receiver 25, and at a position closer to the top. A lamp storage case 33 is embedded in the mounting recess 32. The case 33 has a box shape having an opening 33A on the inner side of the box, and the opening edge thereof is embedded so as to be located on the inner side of the interior plate 34 constituting the inner surface of the right side wall 10R by one sheet thickness. A protective cover 35 is stretched over the opening 33 </ b> A of the case 33 so as to be flush with the interior plate 34.

  This protective cover 35 is made of a metal plate having a rectangular shape that is larger than the opening 33A of the case 33 and slightly smaller in width, and excludes predetermined regions on both the upper and lower sides as shown in FIG. A large number of square-shaped window holes 36 are formed by being stamped and formed over almost the entire surface. The protective cover 35 has its lower end fixed to the lower edge of the mounting recess 32 with a screw 37 so as to cover the opening 33A of the case 33 in a state flush with the interior plate 34 as described above. It is stretched. However, as shown in FIG. 6, the left and right side edges of the protective cover 35 as viewed from the storage chamber 15 side are located slightly inside the left and right opening edges of the opening 33A of the case 33, and a slight gap s is formed. In addition, guide plates 38 are formed on the left and right side edges of the protective cover 35 so as to be inclined toward the inside of the case 33.

  The ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as the lamp 40) is a straight tube type in which a light emitting portion 42 is inserted into a glass tube 41, and two of the lamps 40 are laterally viewed from the storage chamber 15 side. Are arranged side by side. More specifically, the bracket 45 is stretched at the upper position in the case 33 with a screw 37 </ b> A, and each lamp 40 is supported in a suspended state by fitting the base 43 side to the bracket 45. A lead wire 44 of each lamp 40 is connected to a power supply wire 47 drawn out to the ceiling portion of the case 33 via a connector 48.

  On the other hand, a slide door 50 is provided to open and close the opening 33A in which the protective cover 35 is stretched in the case 33 described above. The slide door 50 is formed by bending a metal plate, and has a main body plate 51 that is slightly larger than the opening 33A of the case 33. The upper and lower ends of the main body plate 51 are provided with a back side and an outer side. A contact portion 52 bent at a right angle twice is formed over the entire width. The upper and lower contact portions 52 are slidably brought into contact with the upper and lower surface hole edges of the mounting recess 32 of the right side wall 10R described above. In the state of being in contact with the main body plate 51 of the slide door 50 and the protective cover 35 stretched over the opening 33A of the case 33, that is, the surface of the right side wall 10R, a predetermined gap S (cooling air of the present invention). Corresponding to the distribution department).

At both upper and lower end portions of the main body plate 51 of the slide door 50, guide grooves 54 facing in the horizontal direction are formed over almost the entire width. On the other hand, guide pins 55 made of screws with heads 55A are attached to the hole edge on the front side of the mounting recess 32 in the right side wall 10R at two locations, upper and lower. Each guide pin 55 is inserted into the corresponding guide groove 54 of the slide door 50 and then screwed into the hole edge of the mounting recess 32 to be fixed. A handle 57 that is bent at a right angle toward the front surface is formed on the side edge of the main body plate 51 of the slide door 50 on the back side.
Further, an opening preventing member 58 bent and formed in a crank shape is fixed to the upper and lower hole edges of the mounting recess 32 by screws 59 and covers the surface side of the upper and lower ends of the sliding door 50 to slide. The door 50 is restricted from opening to the front side, that is, the storage chamber 15 side.

The sliding door 50 slides between the front open position shown in FIG. 7 and the back closed position shown in FIG. 6 while relatively sliding the guide pins 55 along the guide grooves 54. It is possible. In the open position, the sliding door 50 is positioned on the near side of the opening 33A of the case 33, and the entire surface of the protective cover 35 stretched on the opening 33A of the case 33 faces the storage chamber 15 as shown in FIG. It is designed to be opened.
On the other hand, in the closed position, as shown in FIG. 8, the slide door 50 covers the entire surface of the protective cover 35 stretched on the opening 33 </ b> A of the case 33. However, a predetermined gap S is formed between the main body plate 51 of the slide door 50, the protective cover 35, and the right side wall 10R (interior plate 34).

As shown in FIG. 1, an operation panel 60 is provided at an upper position in front of the machine room 11, and an operation unit 61 provided with various operation buttons and a display unit 62 for displaying information and the like are provided. Yes. By operating the operation buttons, setting of the operation mode, setting of the internal temperature, and the like are performed, and these are displayed on the display unit 62. The operation unit 61 includes a lamp button 61A for switching on / off the ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40 described above.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a magnet 64 is provided on the upper edge of the heat insulating door 14, while a door switch 65 including a proximity switch sensitive to the magnet 64 is provided on the upper edge of the front opening 13 of the main body 10. Is provided to detect the open / closed state of the heat insulation door 14, and in addition to controlling the stop / drive of the cooling fan 22 and the lighting / extinguishing of the interior lamp according to the detection result, In particular, when the ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40 is in a lighting state, the light-off control is performed when the opening of the door is detected.

Then, the effect | action of this embodiment is demonstrated. The rapid cooling box is used for cooling food after cooking in a short time.
The cooked food is placed in the tray T, and the tray T is received in the storage chamber 15 over a maximum of 12 levels while being received by the mounting bars 27 at the same level of the left and right tray receivers 25. During a normal cooling operation, the slide door 50 of the sterilizer 30 is closed, and the ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40 is turned off.
When the storage of the tray T is completed, the rapid cooling operation is started by closing the heat insulating door 14 and turning on the start button 61B (FIG. 1), that is, when the refrigeration apparatus (compressor) and the cooling fan 22 are operated. 3, cold air is circulated and circulated in the storage chamber 15 so that the food put in the tray T is rapidly cooled. When the core temperature sensor 67 detects that the food has been cooled to the predetermined temperature, the rapid cooling operation is stopped, and the operation is switched to the cold insulation operation as necessary.

Thereafter, when appropriate, the heat insulating door 14 is opened and the tray T is taken out of the cabinet. If the tray T is taken out, it waits until the heat insulation door 14 is closed and the next rapid cooling operation is started. In the meantime, in the case of sterilizing the wall surface in the cabinet, the slide door 50 of the sterilizer 30 is slid to the front side by the handle 57 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 with the heat insulating door 14 opened. Move it to the open position.
From this state, the heat insulating door 14 is closed and the lamp button 61A is pressed to turn on the ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40. Then, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4, ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet ray generating lamp 40 are irradiated toward the wall surface of the storage chamber 15 through the window hole 36 of the protective cover 35, and germs attached to the wall surface, and further, the same storage. The germs floating in the chamber 15 are effectively sterilized. When the heat insulating door 14 is opened to perform rapid cooling again, this is detected by the door switch 65, whereby the ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40 is turned off.

  Also, sterilization during the cooling operation can be performed. For this purpose, the slide door 50 of the sterilizer 30 is closed as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the heat insulation door 14 is closed, the start button 61B is turned on, and the lamp button 61A is pressed to turn on the ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40. . Since the sliding door 50 is closed, the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40 is blocked from being irradiated toward the storage room 15, that is, the food is prevented from being irradiated with the ultraviolet light, affecting the quality and the like. Is prevented.

  However, even if the sliding door 50 is closed, as shown in FIG. 6, between the main body plate 51 and the surface of the protective cover 35 and the right side wall 10 </ b> R (interior plate 34) stretched on the opening 33 </ b> A of the case 33. On the other hand, a predetermined gap S is opened, and during the cooling operation, as described above, a part of the cold air flows along the right side wall 10R. For example, as shown by the arrow in FIG. Cold air flows in from the gap S between the front edge of the main body plate 51 and the interior board 34 and flows into the case 33 through the gap s in front of the guide plate 38 and the window hole 36 on the front side. The phenomenon of flowing out from the side window hole 36 and the gap s to the back side is exhibited. Further, depending on the momentum of the cold air, the case 33 may be circulated from the back side to the near side, contrary to the above. In any case, germs in the cold air are sterilized while the cold air flows through the case 33. When the cooling operation is completed and the heat insulating door 14 is opened to take the tray T out of the cabinet, the ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40 is turned off.

As described above, according to the sterilization apparatus 30 of the present embodiment, when there is no food in the storage chamber 15, the wall surface can be mainly sterilized by opening the slide door 50, and the food is stored and being cooled. By closing the slide door 50, sterilization in the circulating cold air can be performed, and the sterilization in the cabinet can be efficiently performed regardless of whether food is stored.
Since the case 33 or the like containing the ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40 is disposed on the right side wall 10R provided with the tray receiver 25 in the storage chamber 15 where the circulating cold air is reliably distributed, the sterilization in the cold air is efficiently performed. be able to. In addition, since the case 33 itself containing the ultraviolet light emitting lamp 40 is embedded in the mounting recess 32 of the right side wall 10R, it is possible to prevent a food storage space from being reduced.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) The disposition position of the sterilization apparatus may be a wall surface through which the cold air circulates, such as a ceiling wall or a back wall of the storage room, in accordance with the flow of cold air during the cooling operation.
(2) The lamp storage case may be provided so as to protrude from the wall surface. In that case, it is possible to form a cold air circulation part on the side surface of the case.
(3) As the opening / closing format of the door of the sterilizer, other formats such as swinging may be adopted.

(4) The protective cover attached to the opening of the lamp storage case may be removed, and such a cover is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(5) When the wall surface sterilization inside the warehouse is performed after the cleaning of the inside of the warehouse at the end of the day is completed, or using a relatively long waiting time until the next rapid cooling. For convenience, it is preferable to provide an automatic light-off function that turns off the lighted ultraviolet light-emitting lamp when a predetermined time has elapsed.
(6) The present invention is not limited to the quick cooling box exemplified in the above embodiment, and the cooling operation is performed by storing the food in the storage chamber, and alternately waiting for the cooled food to be taken out of the storage It can be widely applied to all types of refrigerators.

The perspective view of the state which removed the heat insulation door of the quick-cooling warehouse which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. Front view showing the internal structure Cross sectional view Plan sectional view showing the state of sterilization Longitudinal section of sterilizer Cross section of the sliding door in the closed state Flat section view of the door open Closed perspective view Perspective view of the door open

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Cooling-body main body 10R ... Right side wall 15 ... Storage chamber 20 ... Cooling unit 21 ... Cooler 22 ... Cooling fan 25 ... Tray receptacle 30 ... Sterilizer 32 ... Mounting recessed part (recessed part) 33 ... Lamp storage case 33A ... (Case 33) Opening 35 ... Protective cover 36 ... Window hole 40 ... Ultraviolet light emitting lamp 50 ... Slide door (door) 51 ... Main plate (main body) 52 ... Abutting portion 54 ... Guide groove 55 ... Guide pin S ... Gap (cool air flow) Part) T ... Tray

Claims (4)

In the refrigerator main body, a storage room for storing food is provided, and in the refrigerator that cools food by circulating cold air through the storage room,
On the wall surface through which the cold air flows in the storage chamber, an ultraviolet light emitting lamp is housed and provided in a case opened inside the cabinet, and a door that opens and closes the opening is attached to the opening of the case, A cooler sterilization apparatus comprising a cold air circulation section that allows the cold air to flow into the case even when the door is closed. The door is a sliding door that opens and closes by sliding in front of the opening of the case, and a predetermined gap is provided between the rear surface of the sliding door and the opening edge of the case. The refrigerator sterilizer according to claim 1. The case is mounted in a recess provided on the wall surface of the storage chamber so that the opening is substantially flush with the wall surface, and the back surface of the slide door is slid on the edge of the recess. The sterilization of a refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein a contact portion is provided which is movably contacted so as to secure the gap between a main body portion of the slide door and an opening edge of the case. apparatus. A cooling unit including a cooler and a cooling fan is installed on the side of the storage chamber in the frontage direction, and a tray containing food is placed on the cooling unit and a wall surface of the storage chamber facing the cooling unit. A pair of tray receivers that can be stored in a plurality of stages are provided, and the cold air generated by the cooling unit is blown out from the back side to the front side and the back side of the storage space of the tray, It circulates and circulates so as to be sucked from the front of the cooling unit through the storage space of the tray through the storage space of the tray along the wall surface provided with the tray receiver, and in the storage chamber 4. The case according to claim 1, wherein the case in which the ultraviolet light-emitting lamp is accommodated is disposed on the wall surface provided with the tray receiver. 5. Sterilization apparatus of the refrigerator.

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