JP2009225677A - Ethylene-removing device, and refrigerator equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ethylene-removing device prevented from suction of highly humid air to perform excellently efficient control of operation. <P>SOLUTION: The ethylene-removing device 1 is set in a refrigerator 100 having a door 20, and including: an ozone generating unit 9 provided in a flow path through which air to be treated is passed, and generating ozone; and an ozone treating unit 5 provided in the flow path, and treating the ozone generated by the ozone generating unit 9: wherein the amount of air blown to the ozone treating unit 5 is reduced based on the detection of open or close of the door 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is applied to a refrigerator for preserving vegetables, fruits, flower buds, etc., and relates to an ethylene removal apparatus for removing ethylene discharged from fruits and vegetables and a refrigerator equipped with the same.

Conventionally, as an apparatus for removing ethylene discharged from fruits and vegetables stored in a refrigerator, an ethylene removing apparatus installed in the refrigerator is known.
An example of such an apparatus is an ethylene removal apparatus described in Patent Document 1. This ethylene removal apparatus is provided with an ozone treatment device equipped with an ultraviolet lamp for generating ozone and an ozone treatment catalyst. And the air in a store | warehouse | chamber is suck | inhaled in an apparatus and the bacteria etc. which float in the air are killed by oxidizing ethylene with the produced | generated ozone. Excess ozone in the apparatus is decomposed into oxygen or the like by an ozone processor and blown out again into the cabinet.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-298926

  By the way, if the refrigerator door is opened by an operator, high humidity air may flow into the cabinet, especially in summer. If the ethylene removal device sucks in this high-humidity air, there is a concern that dew condensation occurs inside the device and moisture adheres to the ozone treatment catalyst, leading to a decrease in the ozone decomposition function.

For this reason, there was a possibility that the excess ozone in the ethylene removing device was released into the warehouse together with the air without being decomposed.
As a countermeasure, a dehumidifier or a means for dehumidification by heating with a heater can be considered, but this is not an effective measure because the cost of installing these devices is high and a large dehumidifying effect cannot be expected.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an ethylene removal device that can perform a good operation without deteriorating the function of the ethylene removal device even when high humidity air flows into the refrigerator. For the purpose.

In order to solve the above problems, the ethylene removal apparatus of the present invention and the refrigerator equipped with the same employ the following means.
That is, the ethylene removing apparatus according to the present invention is provided in a flow path through which air to be treated flows, ozone generating means for generating ozone, and provided in the flow path and generated by the ozone generating means. And an ozone treatment device that treats ozone, and is an ethylene removal device installed in a refrigerator having a door portion, and reduces the amount of air blown to the ozone treatment device based on the detection of opening and closing of the door portion. It is characterized by that.

According to the present invention, the amount of air blown to the ozone treatment means is reduced based on opening and closing of the door portion of the refrigerator in which the ethylene removing device is installed. Thereby, even if it is a case where a door part is open | released and high humidity air flows in in a refrigerator, it can suppress that high humidity air is introduce | transduced into an ozone treatment means. Therefore, dew condensation in the ozone treatment means is prevented, and degradation of the decomposition function due to dew condensation can be avoided.
In addition, it is preferable to reduce the air flow rate by stopping the air flow to the ozone treatment means.

  Furthermore, the ethylene removal apparatus of the present invention further includes a blowing unit that supplies air to the ozone treatment unit, and when the opening of the door is detected, the operation of the blowing unit and the ozone generation unit is stopped, When the closing of the door is detected, the air blowing means and the ozone generating means are activated.

According to the present invention, when the opening of the door is detected, the operation of the blowing means and the ozone generating means is stopped, and when the closing of the door is detected, the blowing means and the ozone generating means are activated. It was decided. As a result, even when the door is opened and high humidity air flows into the cabinet, the operation of the blowing means is stopped, so that high humidity air is introduced into the ozone treatment means. Can be suppressed. Therefore, dew condensation in the ozone treatment means is prevented.
Further, since the operation of the ozone generating means is also stopped, it is possible to prevent excessive ozone from being generated and ozone flowing out of the ethylene removing device.
As means for detecting the opening of the door, for example, a door switch or the like that is inexpensive and easy to install may be used.
As the ozone generating means, an ozone processor equipped with an ozone treatment catalyst made of a metal catalyst or a metal oxide material is preferably used. Since these ozone treatment catalysts have an ozonolysis function that is reduced by condensation, the catalyst function can be maintained by preventing condensation according to the present invention.

  Furthermore, in the ethylene removing apparatus of the present invention, the air blowing means and the ozone generating means are stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed since the opening of the door portion was detected.

Usually, the ethylene removing device is installed at a position away from the door in the refrigerator. For this reason, when the door of the refrigerator is opened and high humidity air flows into the cabinet, it takes some time for the air to reach the ethylene removal device, during which time the ethylene removal device can be operated. It is a state.
Therefore, in the present invention, considering the time until the air flowing in from the outside reaches the ethylene removing device, the air blowing means and the ozone generating means are stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed since the opening of the door portion is detected. . Thereby, the stop time of a ventilation means and an ozone generation means can be shortened, and the operation time which performs ethylene removal can be lengthened.
Further, even if the opening of the door is detected, if the door is closed within a predetermined time, the operation may not be stopped even after the predetermined time has elapsed since the door was opened. Good. This is because if the opening time is within a predetermined time, the inflow amount of high-humidity air is small, and even if it flows into the warehouse, there is little possibility of reaching the ethylene removal device. For this reason, frequent stoppages can be avoided by continuing the operation if the closing of the door is detected within a predetermined time.

  In the refrigerator of the present invention, the door part that opens and closes between the inside and the outside of the warehouse, the opening and closing detection means that detects opening and closing of the door part, and the ethylene according to any one of the above that is installed in the warehouse And a removing device.

  According to the present invention, the ethylene removal device according to any one of the above is installed in a refrigerator having an opening / closing detection means at the door. Thereby, since the ethylene removal device can receive the opening / closing signal from the opening / closing detection means, the ethylene removal operation can be performed based on the opening / closing signal.

  Further, the ethylene removing apparatus of the present invention is provided in a flow path through which air to be treated flows, ozone generating means for generating ozone, and the ozone generated by the ozone generating means provided in the flow path. And an ozone treatment device that is installed in a refrigerator having a door portion, and reduces the amount of air blown to the ozone treatment device based on a detected humidity value in the refrigerator. It is characterized by making it.

According to the present invention, the amount of air blown to the ozone treatment means is reduced based on the detected humidity value in the refrigerator. Thereby, even if it is a case where a door part is open | released and air with high humidity flows in in a store | warehouse | chamber, it can suppress that air with high humidity is introduce | transduced into an ozone treatment means. Therefore, dew condensation in the ozone treatment means is prevented, and degradation of the decomposition function due to dew condensation can be avoided.
In addition, it is preferable to reduce the air flow rate by stopping the air flow to the ozone treatment means.

  Furthermore, the ethylene removal apparatus of the present invention further includes a blowing unit that supplies air to the ozone treatment unit, and stops the operation of the blowing unit and the ozone generation unit when the humidity exceeds a predetermined set value. The air blowing means and the ozone generating means are activated when the humidity becomes less than a predetermined set value.

According to the present invention, when the humidity in the refrigerator becomes a predetermined set value or more, the operation of the blowing means and the ozone generating means is stopped, and when the humidity becomes less than the set value, the blowing means and the ozone generating means are turned off. It was decided to start. Thereby, even if it is a case where a door part is open | released and air with high humidity flows in in a store | warehouse | chamber, since a ventilation means is stopped, it can suppress that air with high humidity is introduced into an ozone treatment means. Therefore, dew condensation in the ozone treatment means can be prevented.
Further, since the operation of the ozone generating means is also stopped, it is possible to prevent excessive ozone from being generated and ozone flowing out of the ethylene removing device.
Furthermore, even when the door portion is opened, the operation of the blowing means and the ozone treatment means may not be stopped if the humidity in the cabinet is less than a predetermined set value. As a result, it is possible to keep the operation stop to the minimum necessary and to avoid frequent operation stop.
As a means for detecting the humidity, for example, a humidity switch that is inexpensive and easy to install may be used.
As the ozone treatment means, an ozone treatment device including an ozone treatment catalyst made of a metal catalyst or a metal oxide material is preferably used. Since these ozone treatment catalysts have an ozonolysis function that is reduced by condensation, the catalyst function can be maintained by preventing condensation according to the present invention.

  Furthermore, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the door part that opens and closes between the inside and the outside of the warehouse, the humidity detection means that detects the humidity inside the warehouse, and any one of the above installed in the warehouse And an ethylene removing device.

  According to the present invention, the ethylene removal device according to any one of the above is installed in a refrigerator provided with humidity detection means in the cabinet. Thereby, since the ethylene removal apparatus can receive the signal of the humidity value from a humidity detection means, it can perform ethylene removal operation based on this humidity signal.

According to the ethylene removing apparatus of the present invention, the amount of air blown to the ozone treatment means is reduced according to the open / close state of the door portion of the refrigerator, so that condensation in the ozone treatment means can be prevented.
As a result, good operation is possible without deteriorating the function of the ozone treatment means.

In addition, according to the ethylene removing apparatus of the present invention, the amount of air blown to the ozone treatment means is reduced in accordance with the humidity change in the refrigerator, so that the refrigerator door is opened and high humidity air is stored. Even when the humidity increases due to inflow, the introduction of high-humidity air into the ozone treatment means can be suppressed.
Furthermore, even when the door is opened, the operation of the air blowing means and the ozone treatment means may not be stopped unless the humidity in the cabinet reaches a predetermined set value. It is possible to avoid frequent outages.
As a result, dew condensation in the ozone treatment means is prevented, and an efficient operation is possible without degrading the function of the ethylene removal device.

According to the refrigerator of the present invention, since the above-described ethylene removal device is installed, the opening / closing detection means can reliably detect the opening / closing of the door portion, and based on this, the ethylene removal operation can be performed. It is possible to provide a refrigerator excellent in keeping performance without deteriorating the function of the apparatus.
Moreover, since the humidity in the refrigerator can be accurately detected by the humidity detection means and the ethylene removal operation can be performed based on the humidity, the refrigerator having excellent freshness performance can be provided without deteriorating the function of the ethylene removal device. Can do.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
The ethylene removing apparatus 1 is installed inside a refrigerator 100 (see FIG. 2) including a door portion 20 that opens and closes between the inside and the outside of the warehouse. The ethylene removing apparatus 1 removes ethylene having an aging / aging promoting action discharged from fruits and vegetables stored in the refrigerator 100 with ozone, and inactivates or removes bacteria and microorganisms contained in the air in the refrigerator 100. It is for killing and keeping the freshness of the store.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ethylene removing device 1 is installed in the vicinity of the wall portion at a position away from the door portion 20 (see FIG. 2) in the refrigerator 100.
The casing 2 of the ethylene removing apparatus 1 is erected with respect to the floor surface portion of the refrigerator 100 via a support member 14. The casing 2 is provided with an air outlet 13 at an upper portion thereof and a suction port 12 at a lower portion thereof.
The blower outlet 13 is an opening for sucking the air in the refrigerator 100 and blowing out the processed air into the refrigerator again. The blower outlet 13 is provided with a fan 3 (air blowing means) driven by the motor 4.
The suction port 12 is an opening for sucking air in the refrigerator 100. A detachable filter 10 for removing dust is attached so as to cover the entire inlet 12.
In the casing 2, an ozone treatment device (ozone treatment means) 5 including an ozone treatment catalyst 6 is installed on the side of the outlet 13 slightly from the center in the height direction of the casing 2. Around the ozone treatment device 5, the structure is partitioned up and down by a wind shielding plate 7 extending over the side wall of the casing 2, and a reaction chamber 11 is formed in the lower space.
An ultraviolet lamp (ozone generating means) 9 is installed near the center of the reaction chamber 11. A wind shield member 8 is provided in the air flow path between the ultraviolet lamp 9 and the ozone treatment device 5.
As the ozone treatment catalyst 6 of the present embodiment, a metal catalyst such as manganese, iron, cobalt or the like, or an ozone treatment catalyst made of a metal oxide material is suitably used.

2 is provided with a door switch (not shown, open / close detecting means) as means for detecting the open / closed state. The opening / closing signal of the door part 20 detected by this door switch is transmitted to the control part (not shown) of the ethylene removal apparatus 1.
The control unit of the ethylene removing device 1 controls operations of the fan 3, the ultraviolet lamp 9, and the like. Further, as will be described later, the control unit stops and starts the fan 3 and the ultraviolet lamp 9 based on an open / close signal of the door switch.

Next, the operation of the ethylene removing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described.
When the fan 3 is rotated by the motor 4, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, air containing ethylene in the refrigerator 100 enters the reaction chamber 11 through the filter 10 from the suction port 12. By irradiating this air with ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 184.9 nm emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 9 in the reaction chamber 11, ozone is generated from oxygen in the air. This ozone oxidizes ethylene to convert it into an ethylene compound and kills bacteria contained in the air.
The surplus ozone remaining in the reaction chamber 11 is decomposed by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 253.7 nm emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 9, and oxygen and nascent oxygen are generated. This nascent oxygen oxidizes the ethylene remaining in the air and converts it into an ethylene compound.
The air from which ethylene has been removed flows upward together with surplus ozone, and flows into the ozone processor 5 in a state where the ozone concentration is made uniform by colliding with the wind shielding member 8. The inflowing air comes into contact with the ozone treatment catalyst 6 and excess ozone is decomposed into oxygen or the like.
The air from which excess ozone has been removed is blown into the refrigerator 100 from the blower outlet 13.

Next, the effect of the ethylene removal apparatus 1 concerning this embodiment is demonstrated.
While the ethylene removal apparatus 1 is in operation, the door 20 (see FIG. 2) may be opened and closed by an operator in order to carry in or carry out stored items.
When the door part 20 is opened, an open state is detected by a door switch installed on the door part 20, and an opening signal is transmitted to the control part of the ethylene removal apparatus 1. The control unit of the ethylene removal device 1 that has received the opening signal performs control to stop the operation of the fan 3 and the ultraviolet lamp 9.
When the fan 3 is stopped, high-humidity air that has flowed into the cabinet from the outside is not drawn into the ethylene removal device 1 and reaches the ozone treatment catalyst 6, thus preventing condensation on the ozone treatment catalyst 6. can do. In this way, by preventing moisture from adhering to the surface of the ozone treatment catalyst 6, it is possible to decompose all excess ozone without deteriorating the ozone decomposition function.
Further, by stopping the operation of the ultraviolet lamp 9 simultaneously with the stop of the fan 3, the generation of ozone in the reaction chamber 11 is also stopped, and ozone is not generated excessively.

  When the door part 20 is closed, a closed state is detected by a door switch, and a closing signal is transmitted to the control part of the ethylene removal apparatus 1. The control unit of the ethylene removal apparatus 1 that has received the closing signal performs control to start the operation of the fan 3 and the ultraviolet lamp 9 that have been stopped.

By detecting the opening / closing of the door part 20, when the high-humidity air flows into the chamber, the fan 3 is surely stopped, thereby suppressing the introduction of high-humidity air into the ethylene removing device 1. It will be. For this reason, the ventilation volume to the ozone treatment device 5 is reduced, and the degradation of the decomposition function of the ozone treatment catalyst 6 due to condensation can be avoided. Therefore, decomposition of surplus ozone is surely performed, and good ethylene removal operation is possible.
Furthermore, since the operation of the ultraviolet lamp 9 is also stopped, it is possible to prevent ozone from flowing out of the apparatus without generating excessive ozone while the fan 3 is stopped.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
About the structure of the ethylene removal apparatus 1 and arrangement | positioning in the refrigerator 100, since it is the same as that of 1st embodiment, the description is abbreviate | omitted.
Usually, the ethylene removal apparatus 1 is installed at a position away from the door portion 20 in the refrigerator 100. For this reason, when the door part 20 of the refrigerator 100 is opened and high-humidity air enters the interior from the outside, a certain amount of time is required for the air to reach the ethylene removing device 1, and during that time, ethylene is consumed. This is a state where the removal device 1 can be operated.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, a timer (not shown) is further provided in the control unit of the ethylene removal device 1 of the first embodiment, so that the high-humidity air that has flowed into the cabinet from the outside is removed from the ethylene removal device 1. The fan 3 and the ultraviolet lamp 9 are stopped and started in consideration of the time until reaching.

With the configuration described above, the present embodiment provides the following operational effects.
A predetermined time is set in advance in the timer. When the open state of the door part 20 of the refrigerator 100 is detected by a door switch (not shown), the open signal is transmitted to the control part of the ethylene removing device 1, and the timer is activated at the same time. Control of stopping the operation of the fan 3 and the ultraviolet lamp 9 is performed after a predetermined time elapses from the opening time of the door portion 20 by the operation of the timer.
And if the closed state of the door part 20 is detected by a door switch, the control which starts the fan 3 and the ultraviolet lamp 9 which were a stop state will be performed similarly to 1st embodiment.
Thus, the operation stop time can be shortened by shifting the opening timing of the door 20 and the operation stop timing of the fan 3 and the ultraviolet lamp 9. That is, since the operation time for removing ethylene can be lengthened, removal of ethylene in the warehouse is promoted.

  Moreover, even if the opening of the door part 20 is detected, if the closing of the door part 20 is detected within a predetermined time (the opening time is relatively short), the amount of inflow of high-humidity air is small, Even if it flows into the refrigerator, there is little possibility of reaching the ethylene removal device 1. For this reason, if closing of the door part 20 is detected within a predetermined time, it may be controlled to continue the operation without stopping the operation of the fan 3 and the ultraviolet lamp 9. According to such control, frequent operation stop can be avoided and efficient operation can be performed.

[Third embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
About the structure of the ethylene removal apparatus 1 and arrangement | positioning in the refrigerator 100, since it is the same as that of 1st embodiment, the description is abbreviate | omitted.
In the present embodiment, a humidity switch (not shown) is installed in the vicinity of the periphery of the ethylene removing device 1 as a means for detecting the humidity in the refrigerator 100, and the fan 3 and the ultraviolet lamp 9 according to the humidity state in the refrigerator. Is stopped and started.
The output of the humidity switch is transmitted to the control unit of the ethylene removal device 1. In the control unit of the ethylene removing device 1, a predetermined humidity value serving as a threshold is set in advance.

When the door part 20 of the refrigerator 100 shown in FIG. 2 is opened, if the air from the outside enters the cabinet, the humidity in the cabinet also increases.
In the present embodiment, the humidity in the cabinet is detected by the humidity switch, and when the humidity value exceeds a preset humidity value, the signal is transmitted to the control unit of the ethylene removal apparatus 1. The control unit of the ethylene removal device 1 that has received the signal performs control to stop the operation of the fan 3 and the ultraviolet lamp 9.

When the fan 3 is stopped, high-humidity air that has flowed into the cabinet from the outside is not drawn into the ethylene removal device 1 and reaches the ozone treatment catalyst 6, thus preventing condensation on the ozone treatment catalyst 6. can do. In this way, by preventing moisture from adhering to the surface of the ozone treatment catalyst 6, it is possible to decompose all excess ozone without deteriorating the ozone decomposition function.
Further, since the operation of the ultraviolet lamp 9 is stopped simultaneously with the stop of the fan 3, the generation of ozone in the reaction chamber 11 is also stopped, and ozone is not generated excessively.
When a humidity lower than the preset humidity value is detected by the humidity switch, the signal is transmitted to the ethylene removing device 1. The ethylene removal apparatus 1 that has received this signal is controlled to start the fan 3 and the ultraviolet lamp 9 that have been stopped, as in the other embodiments.

By detecting the humidity in the cabinet, when the humidity in the cabinet is higher than the predetermined humidity, the fan 3 is surely stopped, so that introduction of high-humidity air into the ethylene removing device 1 is suppressed. It becomes. For this reason, the ventilation volume to the ozone treatment device 5 is reduced, and the degradation of the decomposition function of the ozone treatment catalyst 6 due to condensation can be avoided. Therefore, the decomposition of surplus ozone is surely performed, and a good ethylene removal operation is possible.
Furthermore, since the operation of the ultraviolet lamp 9 is also stopped, it is possible to prevent ozone from flowing out of the apparatus without generating excessive ozone while the fan 3 is stopped.
Further, if the humidity in the cabinet does not reach a predetermined set value, the operation of the air blowing means and the ozone treatment means may not be stopped even when the door is opened, and the operation stop is the minimum necessary. It is possible to avoid frequent outages. Thereby, a more efficient driving | operation becomes possible.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the ethylene removal apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows a part of refrigerator with which the door part concerning one Embodiment of this invention was provided.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ethylene removal apparatus 2 Casing 3 Fan (blower means)
4 Motor 5 Ozone processor (ozone treatment means)
6 Ozone treatment catalyst 7 Wind shield plate 8 Wind shield member 9 UV lamp 10 Filter 11 Reaction chamber 12 Suction port 13 Outlet port 14 Support member 20 Door portion 100 Refrigerator

Claims (7)

Ozone generating means for generating ozone, provided in a flow path through which air to be treated flows;
Ozone treatment means provided in the flow path for treating the ozone generated by the ozone generation means,
An ethylene removal device installed in a refrigerator having a door,
An ethylene removing apparatus that reduces the amount of air blown to the ozone treatment means based on detection of opening and closing of the door portion. Air blowing means for supplying air to the ozone treatment means,
When the opening of the door is detected, the operation of the blowing means and the ozone generating means is stopped, and when the closing of the door is detected, the blowing means and the ozone generating means are activated. The ethylene removing apparatus according to claim 1.   3. The ethylene removing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the blowing unit and the ozone generating unit are stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed since the opening of the door portion was detected. A door that opens and closes between the inside and outside of the storage;
Open / close detection means for detecting opening / closing of the door portion;
The ethylene removal apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is installed in the warehouse;
A refrigerator, comprising: Ozone generating means for generating ozone, provided in a flow path through which air to be treated flows;
Ozone treatment means provided in the flow path for treating the ozone generated by the ozone generation means,
An ethylene removal device installed in a refrigerator having a door,
An ethylene removing apparatus that reduces the amount of air blown to the ozone treatment means based on a detected humidity value in the refrigerator. Air blowing means for supplying air to the ozone treatment means,
When the humidity exceeds a predetermined set value, the operation of the blowing means and the ozone generating means is stopped, and when the humidity becomes less than the predetermined set value, the blowing means and the ozone generating means are activated. The ethylene removing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein A door that opens and closes between the inside and outside of the storage;
Humidity detecting means for detecting the humidity in the cabinet;
The ethylene removal apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, installed in the warehouse.
A refrigerator, comprising:

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