JP2010112635A - Oxidation inhibiting cassette and refrigerator equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of suppressing, over a long period of time, the oxidation degradation of nutrition ingredients in food stored in a pressure-reduced storage chamber in the refrigerator. <P>SOLUTION: The refrigerator 1 includes the pressure-reduced storage chamber 24 provided in the refrigerator 1, with the inside reduced to a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, and a deoxidizer 81 provided in the pressure-reduced storage chamber 24. The deoxidizer 81 is an oxidation inhibitor containing an inorganic component or an organic component, and is provided in an oxidation inhibiting cassette 80 inhibiting lead-in of air in the case of the atmospheric pressure, and leading in more air in the case of the pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure than the case of the atmospheric pressure to reduce the amount of oxygen in the pressure-reduced storage chamber 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator using an oxidation suppression cassette that suppresses oxidative deterioration of nutritional components in foods stored in a refrigerator storage room.

  A conventional refrigerator is described in Japanese Patent No. 4015687 (Patent Document 1). This refrigerator is equipped with a decompression storage chamber that is hermetically sealed when food is stored and has a low pressure of 0.7 atm. Thus, the oxygen concentration in the reduced pressure storage chamber can be lowered by reducing the pressure in the reduced pressure storage chamber to 0.7 atm. Accordingly, the nutritional component in the food stored in the decompression storage chamber is prevented from being combined with oxygen in the air, and the oxidative deterioration of the nutritional component is prevented.

Japanese Patent No. 4015687

  In the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, oxidative degradation of nutrient components is prevented only by lowering the pressure in the vacuum storage chamber. For this reason, in order to effectively prevent the oxidative deterioration of the nutrient components, it is necessary to reduce the pressure in the vacuum storage chamber to a very low pressure. Further, it is necessary to increase the size of the decompression device and increase the pressure resistance of the casing constituting the decompression storage chamber, leading to a decrease in food storage space and an increase in cost.

  In addition, since there is a large difference between the internal pressure of the storage container and the external pressure of the storage container when decompression is released, there is a detrimental effect such as the desiccating of aluminum-sealed desserts, and the food stored in the decompression storage room is limited. There was a problem.

  The objective of this invention is obtaining the refrigerator which can suppress the oxidative degradation of the nutrient component in the foodstuff accommodated in the decompression storage chamber over a long period of time.

  In order to achieve the above object, a refrigerator of the present invention is provided in a refrigerator, a decompression storage chamber in which the inside is decompressed to a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, an oxygen scavenger provided in the decompression storage chamber, The oxygen scavenger is an antioxidant containing an inorganic component or an organic component, and the introduction of air is suppressed when the decompression storage chamber is at atmospheric pressure, and the pressure is lower than atmospheric pressure. In this case, it is characterized in that it is provided in an oxidation suppression cassette that introduces more air than in the case of atmospheric pressure to reduce the amount of oxygen in the decompression storage chamber.

  The oxygen scavenger is an inorganic oxygen scavenger mixed with a metal halide, activated carbon, and a water donating compound based on reduced iron powder, or an organic oxygen scavenger based on a low molecular phenol compound. Features.

  The decompression storage chamber may be provided in a refrigerating chamber, and the decompression storage chamber may be decompressed to 0.80 atm to 0.95 atm.

  In addition, at least 100 mL of air per 1 L of the reduced pressure storage chamber is introduced into the oxidation suppression cassette to reduce oxygen in the reduced pressure storage chamber.

  The oxidation suppression cassette includes the oxygen scavenger, a resin container containing the oxygen scavenger, and a sheet into which air can be freely introduced into the resin container.

  The resin container includes a resin container main body having a first aluminum film adhered inside and containing the oxygen scavenger, and a resin container lid having a second aluminum film adhered inside. The peripheral portion of the resin container body and the peripheral portion of the resin container lid are partially overlapped with the sheet interposed therebetween, and the first aluminum film and the second aluminum film respectively positioned on the peripheral portion A space is formed by bonding, and the space is formed of a wall surface of the first aluminum film and the second aluminum film, and is sandwiched between the first aluminum film and the second aluminum film. The air in the vacuum storage chamber is introduced through the portion.

  The resin container lid has a recess formed in the width direction of the resin container body, the sheet is provided in the recess, and both end portions of the sheet are exposed to the outside of the resin container. And

  The oxidation suppression cassette of the present invention is an oxidation suppression cassette having an oxygen scavenger, wherein the oxygen scavenger is an antioxidant containing an inorganic component or an organic component, and the oxidation suppression cassette is at atmospheric pressure. The introduction of oxygen is suppressed, and when the pressure is lower than the atmospheric pressure, more air is introduced than when the pressure is atmospheric pressure.

  Further, the deoxidizing agent, a resin container containing the deoxidizing agent, and a sheet for introducing outside air into the resin container, the resin container being arranged inside the first aluminum film And a resin container lid containing the oxygen scavenger and a resin container lid having a second aluminum film adhered inside, a peripheral edge of the resin container main body and a peripheral edge of the resin container lid Is partially overlapped with the sheet interposed therebetween, and a space is formed by joining the first aluminum film and the second aluminum film respectively positioned on the peripheral edge, and the space is the first aluminum A wall surface is formed of the film and the second aluminum film, and through the portion of the sheet sandwiched between the first aluminum film and the second aluminum film. And introducing a gas.

  According to the refrigerator of this invention which concerns, the refrigerator which can suppress the oxidative degradation of the nutrient component in the foodstuff accommodated in the decompression storage chamber over a long period of time can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, the refrigerator of one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using figures. First, the overall configuration of the refrigerator will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator of the present embodiment. 2 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the lowermost space portion of the refrigerator compartment of FIG. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the vacuum storage chamber with the lid closed. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the lid is opened except for the top wall of the vacuum storage chamber body.

  The refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body 1 having an opening at the front, and doors 6 to 10 provided so that the front opening of the refrigerator main body 1 can be opened and closed. The refrigerator body 1 includes a urethane foam heat insulating material 13 and a vacuum heat insulating material (not shown) between a steel plate outer box 11 and a resin inner box 12. Moreover, it has several storage rooms in order of the refrigerator compartment 2, the upper freezer compartment 3b and the ice making room 3a (not shown), the lower freezer compartment 4, and the vegetable compartment 5 from the top. In other words, the refrigerator compartment 2 is arranged at the uppermost stage and the vegetable compartment 5 is divided and arranged at the lowermost stage, and the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 5 are partitioned from both the chambers in an adiabatic manner. An upper freezer compartment 3a and a lower freezer compartment 4 are provided. The refrigerated room 2 and the vegetable room 5 are storage rooms in a refrigerated temperature zone (a temperature range of 0 ° C. or higher, and about 2 ° C. to 10 ° C. as an example). The upper freezer compartment 3a and the lower freezer compartment 4 are storage rooms in a freezing temperature zone (below 0 ° C., for example, a temperature zone of about −20 ° C. to −18 ° C.). These storage chambers 2 to 5 are partitioned by partition walls 33, 34, and 35.

  On the front surface of the refrigerator body 1, doors 6 to 10 that can open and close the front openings of the storage chambers 2 to 5 are provided. The refrigerator compartment door 6 is a so-called French door type revolving door provided with two pieces of a left door and a right door. Specifically, the left door is rotatably provided by left and upper hinges 6a, 6a of the refrigerator body 1, and the right door is rotatably provided by left and upper hinges (not shown) of the refrigerator body 1. Open and close the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 2.

  The ice making room door 7 (not shown) is a door that opens and closes the front opening of the ice making room 3a. The upper freezer compartment door 8 is a door that opens and closes the front opening of the upper freezer compartment 3b. The lower freezer compartment door 9 is a door that opens and closes the front opening of the lower freezer compartment 4. The vegetable compartment door 9 is a door that opens and closes the front opening of the vegetable compartment 5. Note that the ice making room door 7, the upper freezing room door 8, the freezing room door 9, and the vegetable room door 10 are constituted by a drawer-type door, and a container in the storage room is pulled out together with the drawer door.

  Next, the refrigerator main body 1 is provided with a refrigeration cycle. This refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting a compressor 14, a condenser (not shown), a capillary tube (not shown), a cooler 15, and a compressor 14 in this order. The compressor 14 and the condenser are installed in a machine room 100 provided at the lower back of the refrigerator body 1. The cooler 15 is installed in a cooler chamber 110 provided behind the ice making chamber 3 a, the upper freezer chamber 3 b, and the lower freezer chamber 4. A blower fan 16 is installed above the cooler 15 in the cooler chamber 110. Has been.

  The cold air cooled by the cooler 15 is sent by the blower fan 16 to the storage rooms of the refrigerator compartment 2, the upper freezer compartment 3 b, the ice making chamber 3 a, the lower freezer compartment 4, and the vegetable compartment 5. Specifically, a part of the cool air sent by the blower fan 16 is sent to a refrigerating temperature zone storage room of the refrigerating room 2 and the vegetable room 5 through a damper device (not shown) that can be opened and closed. The other part is sent to the storage room of the freezing temperature zone of the freezing rooms 3 and 4.

  The cold air sent to the storage rooms of the refrigerator compartment 2, the upper freezer compartment 3b, the ice making room 3a, the lower freezer compartment 4, and the vegetable compartment 5 by the blower fan 16 is returned to the respective cold air after each storage compartment is cooled. It is returned to the cooler chamber 110 through a passage (not shown). Thus, the refrigerator of this embodiment has a cold air circulation structure, and maintains each storage room 2-5 at a suitable temperature.

  In the refrigerator compartment 2, a plurality of storage shelves 17 to 20 made of transparent resin plates are detachably installed in the vertical direction. The lowermost storage shelf 20 is installed so as to be in contact with the back surface and both side surfaces of the inner box 12, and the lowermost space 21 is partitioned from the upper space between the partition wall 34 and the storage shelf 20. . Further, a plurality of door pockets 25 to 27 are installed inside each refrigerator compartment door 6, and these door pockets 25 to 27 protrude into the refrigerator compartment 2 when the refrigerator compartment door 6 is closed. It is provided as follows. A back panel 30 that forms a passage through which the cool air supplied from the blower fan 16 passes is provided on the back of the refrigerator compartment 2. The back panel 30 is made of a material having high thermal conductivity, and is made of a metal such as aluminum as an example. Thereby, the temperature change of the refrigerator compartment 2 can be suppressed and the load by the temperature change given to the stored foodstuff can be reduced. Moreover, when there is little supply of cold air, such as during a defrost operation, it can suppress that the temperature in the refrigerator compartment 2 raises by the radiant heat from the back panel 30. FIG.

  In the lowermost space 21, in order from the left, an ice making water tank 22 for supplying ice making water to an ice tray in the freezing room 3, a storage case 23 for storing foods such as desserts, and the inside of the room are decompressed to store food. A reduced-pressure storage chamber 24 is provided for maintaining freshness and for long-term storage. The decompression storage chamber 24 has a width that is narrower than the width of the refrigerator compartment 2, and is disposed adjacent to the side surface of the refrigerator compartment 2.

The ice making water tank 22 and the storage case 23 are disposed behind the left refrigerator compartment door 6.
Thereby, the ice making water tank 22 and the storage case 23 can be pulled out only by opening the left refrigerator compartment door 6. The decompression storage chamber 24 is disposed behind the right refrigeration chamber door 6. Thereby, the lid 60 of the decompression storage chamber 24 can be pulled out only by opening the right refrigerator compartment door 6. In addition, a reduced pressure storage chamber container 60 a for placing food is provided inside the reduced pressure storage chamber 24. The decompression storage chamber container 60a is engaged with the lid 60, and is pulled out forward as the lid 60 is pulled out. That is, by simply opening the left refrigeration chamber door 6 or the right refrigeration chamber door 6, a desired food can be taken out or the water in the ice making water tank 22 can be replenished or replaced. Can prevent the cold air from leaking outside.

  The ice making water tank 22 and the storage case 23 are located behind the lowermost door pocket 27 of the left refrigerator compartment door 6, and the decompression storage chamber 24 is the lowermost door pocket of the right refrigerator compartment door 6. 27 is located behind. Here, the cool air cooled by the cooler 15 and sent to the refrigerator compartment 2 passes through the periphery of the decompression storage chamber 24 to indirectly cool the inside of the decompression storage chamber 24.

  An ice making water pump 28 is installed behind the ice making water tank 22. A negative pressure pump 29, which is an example of a decompression device for decompressing the decompression storage chamber 24, is disposed behind the storage case 23 and in a space behind the decompression storage chamber 24. The negative pressure pump 29 is connected to a pump connection provided on the side surface of the decompression storage chamber 24 via a conduit.

  The decompression storage chamber 24 is a box-shaped decompression storage chamber main body 40 having a front opening for taking in and out foods, a lid 60 for opening and closing the front opening of the decompression storage chamber main body 40, and storing food and engaging with the lid 60. And a decompression storage chamber container 60a to be taken in and out. By closing the front opening of the decompression storage chamber body 40 with the lid 60, the space surrounded by the decompression storage chamber body 40 and the lid 60 is decompressed to form a low pressure space. The decompression storage chamber container 60 a is attached to the back side of the lid 60 and can be moved back and forth as the lid 60 moves.

  The decompression storage chamber 24 is a gas regulation chamber in which internal air is sucked by the negative pressure pump 29 and decompressed to an atmospheric pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure, for example, 0.8 atmospheric pressure (80 kPa). That is, the reduced pressure storage chamber 24 creates a special air atmosphere for suppressing oxidation of food, maintaining freshness of vegetables, and the like.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the decompression storage chamber 24 is provided with ribs 40s as protrusions on the upper surface. Thereby, between the decompression storage chamber 24 and the storage shelf 20 just above it is supported in the state which provided the moderate clearance gap. In the rear part of the decompression storage chamber 24, a cold air inlet (not shown) of the refrigerator compartment 2 is provided, and the air around the decompression storage chamber 24 is sucked to flow the cool air, so that the decompression storage chamber 24 is indirectly connected. Cool down.

  The decompression storage chamber 24 has a front opening, and is a flat, substantially rectangular parallelepiped decompression storage chamber main body 40 and a lid 60 that moves forward and backward to open and close the front opening. Is formed. In other words, the decompression storage chamber main body 40 is integrally formed in a box shape. Specifically, resin molding is performed using ABS (resin containing acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene), AS (resin containing acrylonitrile, styrene), etc., and both side walls 40a, 40b, bottom wall 40c, rear wall 40d, and top wall 40e is formed in a shape having an open front surface.

  That is, a lid 60 that opens and closes is provided in order to put a stored product into and out of the decompression storage chamber 24. Furthermore, reinforcing ribs that increase the section modulus and improve the strength are provided on the outer surface of the decompression storage chamber body 40 in a straight line shape or a lattice shape. The shape of the reinforcing rib is not limited thereto, and any shape may be used as long as the section modulus of the decompression storage chamber body 40 is increased to improve the strength.

  Support shafts 60 s are provided on both sides of the decompression storage chamber body 40. An opening / closing handle 70 is rotatably supported around the support shaft 60s. Further, a differential pressure relief valve V is configured on the lid 60.

  The user holds the opening / closing handle 70 to perform opening / closing operation of the lid 60 and locking when the lid 60 is closed, and opening / closing of the differential pressure release valve V is performed.

  When the decompression storage chamber 24 is decompressed by the negative pressure pump 29, the load applied to the lid 60 by the differential pressure between the atmospheric pressure outside the decompression storage chamber 24 and the decompressed pressure inside the decompression storage chamber 24. Becomes larger. Thereby, in order to open the lid | cover 60 directly, a user will require considerable force.

  Therefore, by opening the differential pressure relief valve V, the inside and outside space of the lid 60 is inserted, the inside / outside pressure difference is eliminated, the load due to the differential pressure is eliminated, and the lid 60 can be easily opened.

  Next, the oxidation suppression cassette 80 will be described. An oxidation suppression cassette 80 having an oxygen scavenger 81 (see FIG. 6) is installed inside the decompression storage chamber 24. In other words, an oxidation suppression cassette 80 that encloses an oxygen scavenger 81 that can prevent oxidation loss due to oxygen in the air is installed in the decompression storage chamber 24 that stores fresh food such as vegetables and meat fish. As shown in FIG. 2, the oxidation suppression cassette 80 is detachably provided on the back wall portion of the decompression storage chamber container 60a.

  The oxygen absorber 81 enclosed in the oxidation suppression cassette 80 introduces air due to the pressure difference between the pressure inside the oxidation suppression cassette 80 and the pressure outside the oxidation suppression cassette 80 by reducing the pressure in the vacuum storage chamber 24. Is done. As will be described in detail later, the oxidation suppression cassette 80 is controlled so as not to introduce air under atmospheric pressure conditions, and to introduce more air than atmospheric pressure under reduced pressure conditions to reduce oxygen. Composed.

  By placing food on the decompression storage chamber container 60a and closing the lid 60, the inside of the decompression storage chamber 24 becomes nearly sealed, the door switch is turned on, the negative pressure pump 29 is driven, and the decompression storage chamber 24 is The pressure is reduced to a state lower than atmospheric pressure. Thereby, the oxygen concentration in the store room 13 can fall, and deterioration of the nutrient component in a foodstuff can be suppressed. Moreover, after the reduced pressure storage chamber 24 is in a state where the gas movement is suppressed and the pressure is reduced, the oxygen scavenger 81 consumes oxygen in the reduced pressure storage chamber 24 with a limited volume, and further suppresses oxidation. it can. As a result, the oxidation suppression cassette 80 can be downsized, the negative pressure pump 29 can be downsized, the strength of the housing of the decompression storage chamber 24 can be reduced, and the food storage space can be increased and the cost can be reduced. It is possible to prevent oxidative deterioration of nutritional components in the processed food over a long period of time.

  Then, by pulling the lid 60 forward, the pressure release valve provided in a part of the lid 60 is first operated to release the decompression state of the decompression storage chamber 24 to the atmospheric pressure state, and the lid 60 is opened. Can do. Thus, the lid 60 can be easily opened and food can be taken in and out.

  Next, the oxidation suppression cassette 80 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing an oxidation suppression cassette. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG.

  The oxidation suppression cassette 80 includes an oxygen scavenger 81 that reduces oxygen, a resin container 82 that contains the oxygen scavenger 81, and a sheet 85 that introduces external air into the resin container 82. ing. The sheet 85 is formed of a Japanese sheet or nonwoven fabric and has air permeability.

  The oxygen scavenger 81 suppresses the oxidation of the nutritional component in the food by being oxidized before the nutritional component in the food is oxidized by oxygen in the air. Therefore, the oxygen scavenger is made of a substance that is very easily oxidized. As an example, an antioxidant containing any component of an inorganic oxygen absorber or an organic oxygen absorber is used. Specifically, as an inorganic oxygen absorber, a mixture of a metal halide such as sodium chloride, activated carbon and a water-donating compound such as water with reduced iron powder as a main component, an organic oxygen absorber includes hydroquinone, Those using a low molecular weight phenolic compound such as catechol, resorcin, cresol and pyrogallol as the main agent are preferred.

  The resin container 82 includes a resin container main body 83 having an aluminum film 83a attached inside and containing an oxygen scavenger 81, and a resin container lid 84 having an aluminum film 84a attached inside. The peripheral portion of the resin container body 83 and the peripheral portion of the resin container lid 84 are overlapped, and the aluminum films 83a and 84a on both peripheral portions are joined over the entire periphery except for the portion where the sheet 85 is interposed, and the internal space A wall surface is formed by the aluminum films 83a and 84a to form a sealed space. Therefore, the introduction of air from the oxygen scavenger 81 disposed in this space through the aluminum films 83a and 84a is suppressed.

  The resin container lid 84 is formed with a concave portion 84c over the entire width direction on the surface of the resin container main body side by forming a protrusion 84b protruding to the front side. The sheet 85 is disposed over the entire width direction in the recess 84 c of the resin container lid 84, and both end portions face the outside of the resin container 82. As a result, air that consumes oxygen by the oxygen scavenger 81 disposed in the resin container 82 is introduced into the resin container 82 only through the portion of the sheet 85 sandwiched between the aluminum films 83a and 84a. Therefore, the air introduction rate into the resin container 82 can be easily adjusted by adjusting the cross-sectional area of the sandwiching portion of the sheet 85 (in other words, the thickness or width of the sheet 85) and the length of the sandwiching portion. Can do.

  Here, the sheet 85 refers to a paper mainly made of pulp, a synthetic paper manufactured using a synthetic resin as a main raw material, or a nonwoven fabric excellent in absorbability.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, a description will be given of the effect of suppressing loss in nutritional components and the like in food when the food is stored in the decompression storage chamber 24 using the oxygen absorber 81. 8 to 10 show the results of the effect test of the oxygen scavenger. Specifically, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the amount of vitamin C remaining in spinach. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the color tone of beef. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the color tone of tuna.

  First, the test method will be described. The effectiveness test of the oxygen scavenger was conducted by reducing the pressure in the 14 L (liter) sealed container and consuming oxygen in the sealed container using the oxygen scavenger. In the case of storing in a refrigerator, the content of spinach vitamin C, the color of beef, and the color of tuna are measured and compared immediately after purchase and after storage for 3 days.

  The color tone was measured by quantitatively evaluating the color of the food surface using a colorimeter (CR-13 manufactured by Konica Minolta). As the color system, the lightness (L *) and chroma (C *) were evaluated using the L * a * b * color system widely used for expressing the color of an object. The code | symbol 91 shown in the figure shows the case where oxygen is consumed using an oxygen absorber. Reference numeral 92 represents a case where the oxygen scavenger is not used.

  In FIG. 8, the vertical axis indicates the residual rate of vitamin C [%] (percent), and the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time. As a result of the test of the effect of the oxygen scavenger, the vitamin C content is higher when oxygen is consumed using the oxygen scavenger (code 91) than when the oxygen scavenger is not used (code 92). It was found that the loss can be suppressed.

  FIG. 9 is a color tone diagram in which the vertical axis represents lightness and the horizontal axis represents saturation. The measurement result of the color change of beef after storage for 3 days is shown with the center of the figure as the state immediately after the purchase of beef. Specifically, the closer to the center, the closer to the color immediately after purchase, indicating that discoloration due to freshness deterioration or the like could be suppressed. As a result of the test of the effect of the oxygen scavenger, it was found that the oxygen consumption using the oxygen scavenger was closer to the center (code 91) than the oxygen scavenger not used (code 92), and discoloration could be suppressed.

  FIG. 10 is a color tone diagram in which the vertical axis represents lightness and the horizontal axis represents saturation, as in FIG. 9. The tuna color measurement results after storage for 3 days are shown with the center being the state of tuna immediately after purchase. The closer to the center, the closer to the color immediately after purchase, indicating that the freshness is maintained. As a result of the test of the effect of the oxygen scavenger, it was found that the oxygen consumption using the oxygen scavenger was closer to the center (code 91) than the oxygen scavenger not used (code 92), and discoloration could be suppressed.

  Therefore, from FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 10, it was found that storing food under reduced pressure using the oxidation-suppressing cassette 80 having the oxygen scavenger 81 improves the storability of food compared to the conventional art.

  Next, the oxygen concentration in the sealed container with and without the oxygen scavenger 81 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the results of measurement of the oxygen concentration in the sealed container with and without the oxygen scavenger 81.

  The test method includes the case where the oxidation suppression cassette 80 having the oxygen scavenger 81 is put in the sealed container and the case where the oxidation suppression cassette 80 is not put, and the air in the sealed container is sucked out by the negative pressure pump to The pressure was reduced and kept constant, and the oxygen concentration in the sealed container was measured.

  FIG. 11 shows the elapsed time when the vertical axis represents the oxygen concentration and the horizontal axis represents a constant pressure reduction of 0 minutes. Reference numeral 94 denotes a case where the inside of the sealed container is maintained at 0.8 atm and the oxidation suppression cassette 80 is provided in the sealed container. Reference numeral 95 indicates a case where the inside of the sealed container is maintained at 0.8 atm and the oxidation suppression cassette 80 is not provided in the sealed container. Reference numeral 96 indicates a case where the inside of the sealed container is in an atmospheric pressure state without reducing the pressure and the oxidation suppression cassette 80 is not provided.

  From FIG. 11, when the oxidation suppression cassette is used in the sealed container at atmospheric pressure (reference numeral 96), since no air is introduced into the oxidation suppression cassette 80, oxygen is not consumed and the oxygen concentration in the sealed container does not decrease. It was. On the other hand, when the inside of the oxidation suppression cassette 80 was depressurized to 0.8 atm (reference numerals 94 and 95), the oxygen concentration decreased with time.

  Further, when the pressure is maintained at 0.8 atm and the oxidation suppression cassette 80 is provided (reference numeral 94), the oxygen concentration is higher than when the inside of the sealed container is maintained at 0.8 atm and the oxidation suppression cassette 80 is not provided (reference numeral 95). Was found to be reduced. That is, by providing the oxidation suppression cassette 80 and depressurizing the inside of the sealed container, the oxygen concentration in the sealed container can be reduced.

  Considering the case where the oxidation suppression cassette 80 is actually applied to the decompression storage chamber 24, the volume of the decompression storage chamber 24 is approximately 7L to 15L. That is, the volume is almost the same as that of the sealed container used in the above test. Therefore, the amount of air introduced into the oxidation suppression cassette 80 can be controlled by controlling the amount of decompression in the decompression storage chamber 24.

  However, when the inside of the decompression storage chamber 24 is decompressed by the negative pressure pump 29, the decompression storage chamber main body 40 is uniformly subjected to a load from the atmosphere due to the differential pressure between the external atmospheric pressure and the internal low pressure. . Since the inside of the decompression storage chamber 24 is at a low pressure, this load is applied in such a direction that the entire surface of the decompression storage chamber main body 40 is crushed from the outside to the inside. For example, the upper wall 40e of the decompression storage chamber main body 40 is 300 mm square. If the differential pressure is 0.2 atm, a large load of about 180 kgf (about 1800 N) is obtained. Therefore, when the internal pressure of the decompression storage chamber 24 is lowered, it is necessary to strengthen the pressure-resistant structure of the lid 60 and the decompression storage chamber main body 40. Therefore, the pressure inside the decompression storage chamber 24 is preferably in the range of 0.80 to 0.95 atmosphere.

  Further, when the internal pressure of the vacuum storage chamber 24 is controlled to 0.80 to 0.95 atmospheric pressure, at least 100 mL (milliliter) of air per 1 L (liter) of the vacuum storage chamber 24 enters the oxidation suppression cassette 80. The cross-sectional area (in other words, the thickness or width of the sheet 85) of the sandwiching portion of the sheet 85 and the length of the sandwiching portion are adjusted so that the oxygen in the decompression storage chamber 24 can be reduced.

  As a result, consumption of the oxygen scavenger can be suppressed and the oxidation suppression cassette 80 can be downsized, and the effective internal volume of the decompression storage chamber 24 can be increased.

  In addition, by molding the decompression storage chamber body 40 integrally with resin, the decompression storage chamber 24 can be simplified and reduced in weight, and can be configured at low cost.

  According to the refrigerator described above, it is possible to obtain a refrigerator capable of suppressing oxidative deterioration of nutritional components in food stored in a decompression storage chamber over a long period of time while increasing the food storage space. Specifically, by suppressing wasteful oxygen scavenger consumption, it is possible to reduce the size of the oxidation control cassette, reduce the size of the decompression device, and reduce the strength of the housing of the decompression storage chamber, thereby increasing the food storage space and reducing costs. , It is possible to suppress the oxidative deterioration of the nutritional components in the food stored in the decompression storage chamber for a long time while expanding the stored food.

It is a center longitudinal cross-sectional view of the refrigerator of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a cross-sectional perspective view of the lowest space part of the refrigerator compartment of FIG. It is an external appearance perspective view of the state where the lid of the decompression storage room was closed. It is a perspective view of the state where a lid was opened except for an upper surface wall of a decompression storage room body. It is a perspective view which shows an oxidation suppression cassette typically. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is a figure which shows the vitamin C residual amount of spinach in the effect test of an oxygen absorber. It is a figure which shows the color tone of the tuna in the effect test of an oxygen scavenger. It is a figure which shows the color tone of the beef in the effect test of an oxygen scavenger. It is a figure which shows the measurement result about the oxygen concentration in an airtight container by the presence or absence of an oxygen scavenger.

Explanation of symbols

2 Refrigerating chamber 24 Depressurized storage chamber 29 Negative pressure pump 40 Depressurized storage chamber main body 60 Lid 60a Depressurized storage chamber container 80 Oxidation suppression cassette 81 Deoxygenating agent 82 Resin container 83 Resin container body 83a, 84a Aluminum film 84 Resin container lid 85 Sheet

Claims (9)

In a refrigerator provided with a decompression storage chamber provided in the refrigerator and decompressed to a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, and an oxygen scavenger provided in the decompression storage chamber,
The oxygen scavenger is an antioxidant containing an inorganic component or an organic component, the introduction of air is suppressed when the decompression storage chamber is at atmospheric pressure, and the atmospheric pressure is reduced when the pressure is lower than atmospheric pressure. A refrigerator characterized by being provided in an oxidation suppression cassette that introduces more air than in the case to reduce the amount of oxygen in the decompression storage chamber.   2. The oxygen scavenger according to claim 1, wherein the oxygen scavenger is an inorganic oxygen scavenger mixed with a metal halide, activated carbon and a water donating compound based on reduced iron powder, or an organic oxygen scavenger based on a low molecular weight phenol compound. A refrigerator characterized by being.   2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the decompression storage chamber is provided inside a refrigeration chamber, and the decompression storage chamber is decompressed to 0.80 atm to 0.95 atm.   4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein at least 100 mL of air per 1 L of the volume of the reduced pressure storage chamber is introduced into the oxidation suppression cassette to reduce oxygen in the reduced pressure storage chamber.   2. The oxidation suppression cassette according to claim 1, comprising the oxygen scavenger, a resin container containing the oxygen scavenger, and a sheet in which air can be freely introduced into the resin container. refrigerator.   6. The resin container according to claim 5, wherein the resin container has a first aluminum film adhered to the inside thereof and a resin container body containing the oxygen scavenger, and a resin container lid having a second aluminum film adhered to the inside. And the peripheral edge of the resin container body and the peripheral edge of the resin container lid are partially overlapped with the sheet interposed therebetween, and the first aluminum film and the second aluminum film respectively positioned on the peripheral edge An aluminum film is joined to form a space, and the wall is formed by the first aluminum film and the second aluminum film, and is sandwiched between the first aluminum film and the second aluminum film. A refrigerator, wherein air in the decompression storage chamber is introduced through a portion of the sheet.   7. The resin container lid according to claim 6, wherein a recess is formed in the width direction of the resin container body, the sheet is provided in the recess, and both ends of the sheet are exposed to the outside of the resin container. A refrigerator characterized by that. In an oxidation inhibition cassette having an oxygen scavenger,
The oxygen scavenger is an antioxidant containing an inorganic component or an organic component, and the oxidation suppression cassette suppresses introduction of oxygen at atmospheric pressure, and at atmospheric pressure when the pressure is lower than atmospheric pressure. An oxidation suppression cassette characterized by introducing more air than the above.   9. The apparatus according to claim 8, comprising: the oxygen scavenger, a resin container that contains the oxygen scavenger, and a sheet that introduces external air into the resin container, the resin container having a first inside. A resin container body in which the aluminum film is adhered and the oxygen scavenger is housed, and a resin container lid in which a second aluminum film is adhered on the inside, and a peripheral edge of the resin container body and the resin container lid The peripheral edge portion of the first and second aluminum films is overlapped with the sheet interposed therebetween to form a space by joining the first aluminum film and the second aluminum film respectively positioned on the peripheral edge portion. A wall surface is formed of one aluminum film and the second aluminum film, and the sheet is sandwiched between the first aluminum film and the second aluminum film. Oxidation inhibition cassettes and introducing air through minute.

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