JP2013113465A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of satisfactorily relieving temperature variation and temperature unevenness and quickly eliminating dew condensation, and having a storage space of high cooling efficiency.SOLUTION: The refrigerator includes: a storage space for storing food; a flow passage for allowing cold air to flow on the storage space from the front side toward the inner side; a plate-like body formed with long-sized recesses and projections in a depth direction and arranged to incline toward the inner side from the front side which is the top part, to partition the flow passage from the storage space; a cooling section for supplying the flow passage with cold air; and a drain for recovering and discharging dew condensate flowing on a surface, facing the storage space, of the plate-like body from the front side toward the inner side.

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

  In order to preserve fresh foods such as vegetables, fruits, meat and fish in an optimal state with good freshness, it is necessary to preserve them in an ice temperature range (0 to -3 ° C). For this reason, conventionally, a refrigerator equipped with an ice greenhouse for storing fresh food at an ice temperature temperature range (0 to -3 ° C.) is known.

  However, since the ice temperature temperature zone is also the maximum ice crystal formation zone where ice crystals in food are supposed to grow, if the temperature fluctuation is large in this ice temperature temperature zone, the food will repeatedly freeze and thaw, In food, cells are damaged by the effect of ice crystals recrystallizing during storage. Therefore, problems such as a decrease in moisture from the food, or a drip outflow and a decrease in umami components occur.

  Therefore, an ice greenhouse requires more precise temperature control than a normal refrigeration room and freezer room, and the fluctuation range of the temperature distribution is preferably within ± 0.5 ° C.

  However, in the conventional refrigerator, since cold air is supplied from the back side (opposite side of the door) of the refrigerator, the temperature inside the cabinet rises due to opening and closing of the door, and uneven temperature tends to occur in the cabinet. In such a conventional refrigerator, since the fluctuation range of the temperature distribution in the cabinet is about ± 3 ° C., it is difficult to store the food with good freshness for a long time.

  Moreover, when many vegetables and fruits are stored in a low humidity environment, moisture evaporates and deterioration is promoted. On the other hand, in the preservation of meat and fish, drying may cause problems such as discoloration on the food surface, an increase in contact area between food components and oxygen, deterioration of lipids, and promotion of oxidation. For this reason, it is important to maintain high humidity when storing fresh food with good freshness over a long period of time. For this reason, an indirect cooling system in which the humidity is not easily lowered is adopted for the ice greenhouse.

  However, since the inside of the ice greenhouse where the indirect cooling system is adopted is in a high humidity environment, condensation is likely to occur, and if the condensation is not discharged, various germs will grow. On the other hand, if the temperature is increased like defrosting, the fluctuation range of the temperature distribution, which is the ice temperature condition, exceeds ± 0.5 ° C., which is inappropriate.

  Patent Document 1 describes a refrigerator having a drawer-type vegetable compartment, and discloses a structure in which the metal top plate of the vegetable compartment is inclined from the front to the back to induce condensation to the back. However, in the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, the cold air flows so as to climb from the back to the front on the inclined top plate, so that the front side of the vegetable room where the temperature is likely to rise by opening and closing is difficult to cool. It has become.

JP 2008-89201 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and can provide a refrigerator having a storage space that can satisfactorily relieve temperature fluctuations and temperature unevenness, can quickly remove condensation, and has high cooling efficiency. This is the main intended issue.

  That is, the refrigerator according to the present invention has a storage space for storing food, a flow path for flowing cold air from the front to the back on the storage space, and the storage space and the flow path are partitioned, the front is the topmost part. The plate-like body having long concaves and convexes formed in the depth direction and arranged so as to incline toward the back, the cooling section for supplying cold air to the flow path, and the storage space of the plate-like body And a drain that collects and discharges the condensation that has flowed from the front toward the back on the surface.

  In such a case, the cold air in the flow channel flows over the storage space from the front to the back, and the cold air first exchanges heat with the air on the front side of the storage space. It is configured to be easy to cool. Therefore, according to the present invention, temperature fluctuation and temperature unevenness in the storage space due to opening and closing can be mitigated well.

  In addition, the plate-like body that partitions the storage space and the flow path has long unevenness in the depth direction, and the front is the top and is inclined toward the back, so that it adheres to the plate-like body. Condensation flows from the front to the back through the uneven valleys formed in the plate-like body, and is quickly discharged through the drain.

  Furthermore, due to the unevenness formed in the plate-like body that partitions the storage space and the flow path, the surface area of the plate-like body that mediates heat exchange by contacting the air in the storage space and the cold air in the flow path is reduced. Can be bigger. For this reason, the cooling efficiency in the storage space can be improved.

  As the plate-like body, for example, a metal plate bent into a wave shape is preferably used.

  If the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a fan that adjusts the flow rate of the cool air in the flow path and a damper that adjusts the flow rate of the cool air in the flow path, the flow rate and flow rate of the cool air in the flow path are controlled. By doing so, it becomes possible to control the fluctuation range of the temperature in the storage space to ± 0.5 ° C.

  If the pitch of the unevenness is 3 mm or less, the condensed water droplets adhering to the plate-like body do not grow to a diameter of 3 mm or more, so that it is difficult to drop due to its own weight.

  When the inclination angle of the plate-like body is 5 ° or more, the volume of the storage space can be ensured to the maximum while allowing the condensation attached to the plate-like body to flow down naturally.

  The storage space is formed, for example, in a drawer-type container.

  The storage space is preferably an ice greenhouse that can be set to a temperature of 0 to -3 ° C.

  According to the present invention having such a configuration, it is easy to cool the front side of the storage space by flowing cold air from the front to the back over the storage space for storing food, and the temperature in the storage space by opening and closing Variations and temperature irregularities can be mitigated well. In addition, by a simple means of providing a plate-like body formed with long unevenness in the depth direction between the storage space and the flow path through which the cold air is inclined so that the front is the top and the back is inclined, Condensation adhering to the plate-like body can be quickly discharged along the unevenness, and at the same time increasing the surface area of the plate-like body that mediates heat exchange between the air in the storage space and the cold air in the flow path , Cooling efficiency can be improved. According to such a refrigerator according to the present invention, it is possible to store the food for a long period of one year or more depending on the food, for a period twice as long as that of the conventional refrigerator.

The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the ice greenhouse of the refrigerator which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view of the ice greenhouse in the embodiment. The typical cross-sectional view of the top plate of the ice greenhouse in the same embodiment. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the ice greenhouse in the same embodiment. The fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view of the refrigerator which concerns on the same embodiment.

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

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment includes an ice greenhouse 2 for storing fresh foods such as vegetables, fruits, meat and fish in an ice temperature range (0 to −3 ° C.). A duct 3 for flowing cool air from the front toward the back on the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2, a cooling unit (not shown) for supplying cool air to the duct 3, and a lower surface of the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 And a drain 4 that collects and discharges dew that flows from the front toward the back.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the refrigerator 1 further includes a refrigerator compartment 5 and a freezer compartment 6 in addition to the ice greenhouse 2. The doors of these storage chambers 2, 5, and 6 are provided independently, and cooling control is also independent. For this reason, the ice greenhouse 2 is not affected by temperature fluctuation and temperature control due to defrosting of the other storage rooms 5 and 6 and opening and closing of the door.

Each part is described in detail below.
The ice greenhouse 2 is formed in a drawer-type container in which the room temperature can be set to an ice temperature temperature range (0 to -3 ° C). A temperature sensor (not shown) is installed in the ice greenhouse 2.

  The top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 is made of a metal plate bent in a wave shape, and the metal plate is formed so that long irregularities are arranged in the depth direction. The metal plate is made of aluminum having high thermal conductivity, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the unevenness of the top plate 21 has a pitch L of 3 mm or less and an angle α of 70 ° or less. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, the top plate 21 is inclined at an angle β of 5 ° or more toward the back with the front as the top.

  The duct 3 is formed with a flow path through which cool air flows, and the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 also serves as the bottom plate 31 of the duct 3. The cold air in the duct 3 flows on the ice greenhouse 2 from the front toward the back. The cold air flowing in the duct 3 and the air in the ice greenhouse 2 exchange heat through the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 (the bottom plate 31 of the duct 3). To be cooled.

  A fan 32 and a damper 33 are provided in the duct 3. When it is desired to cool the front side of the ice greenhouse 2, the rotation speed of the fan 32 is slowed so that the cold air slowly flows through the duct 3 so that the heat on the front side of the ice greenhouse 2 is easily absorbed. If you want to cool the back side of the ice greenhouse 2, increase the rotation speed of the fan 32 so that the cool air flows quickly in the duct 3 so that the front side of the ice greenhouse 2 does not absorb heat easily. Good.

  The drain 4 receives the dew that flows from the front to the back through the concave and convex valleys B of the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 with a gutter provided below the rear end of the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2. , To drain.

Next, operation | movement of the refrigerator 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated.
First, the rotational speed of the fan 32 provided on the upstream side of the duct 3 and the degree of opening / closing of the damper 33 are adjusted by an instruction from a temperature sensor installed in the ice greenhouse 2.

  The cool air from the cooling section is adjusted in flow rate by the fan 32 and flow rate by the damper 33 and flows into the duct 3 in an optimum state to indirectly cool the inside of the ice greenhouse 2. The rotational speed of the fan 32 varies between 1000 and 3000 rpm depending on the cross-sectional area and width of the duct 3.

  The damper 33 is capable of freely varying the opening degree between the fully closed and fully opened state when the state where the flow path is most closed is fully closed and the state where the flow path is most open is fully opened. Squeezing up to the speed of the cold air flowing through the duct 3 is accelerated, the back side of the ice greenhouse 2 is cooled, while the damper 33 is opened to near full open, the flow speed of the cold air flowing through the duct 3 is reduced, The front side of the ice greenhouse 2 gets cold.

The inside of the ice greenhouse 2 can be cooled in the following four ways by adjusting the flow rate of the cold air with the fan 32 and the flow rate of the cold air with the damper 33.
(1) In the case of (flow velocity: large, flow rate: large), the entire ice greenhouse 2 is cooled, but the back side is particularly cooled.
(2) In the case of (flow velocity: large, flow rate: small), the back side in the ice greenhouse 2 is easy to cool, and the near side is hard to cool.
(3) In the case of (flow velocity: small, flow rate: large), the near side in the ice greenhouse 2 is cooled.
(4) In the case of (flow velocity: small, flow rate: small), the entire ice greenhouse 2 cools uniformly.

  According to the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the following operations and effects can be obtained.

  The front side of the ice greenhouse 2 easily rises in temperature by opening and closing the drawer-type container, causing temperature fluctuations in the ice greenhouse 2 and greatly affecting the quality and storage period of the stored food. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the cold air supplied from the cooling unit into the duct 3 first reaches the upper part on the near side of the ice greenhouse 2 and flows from the near side to the back according to the inclination of the bottom plate 31 of the duct 3. Therefore, the front side of the ice greenhouse 2 is configured to be easily cooled. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the temperature fluctuation and temperature unevenness in the ice greenhouse 2 can be mitigated satisfactorily.

  In addition, the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 is inclined toward the back with the front at the top, and since long unevenness is formed in the depth direction, the dew condensation adhering to the top plate 21 is It flows from the front to the back through the uneven valley B formed on the top plate 21 and is quickly discharged through the drain 4.

  Furthermore, it is generally assumed that a water drop falls due to its own weight when the diameter becomes 3 mm or more. However, in this embodiment, since the pitch of the unevenness formed on the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 is 3 mm or less, the water droplets of condensation do not grow to a diameter of 3 mm or more and do not fall due to their own weight. For this reason, in the impact of opening and closing of the ice greenhouse 2, the condensed water droplets adhering to the top plate 21 are difficult to drop, and the condensed water droplets remain in the uneven valley B formed on the top plate 21 by the surface tension. . If the condensed water drops fall due to their own weight, water accumulates in the ice greenhouse 2 and not only affects the food stored therein, but also causes microorganisms to propagate in the ice greenhouse 2. Thus, such a situation can be prevented well.

  Further, in this embodiment, since the angle α of the unevenness of the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 is 70 ° or less, when the amount of condensed water drops reaches a certain amount, it naturally travels from the front to the back through the unevenness of the top plate 21. It becomes easy to flow down.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the inclination angle β of the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 is set to 5 ° or more, which is the minimum angle at which water flows in an ordinary aluminum molding or plastic molding process, or an angle in the vicinity thereof. By doing so, the dew condensation adhering to the top plate 21 can flow down naturally, and the internal volume of the ice greenhouse 2 can be ensured to the maximum.

  In addition, since the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 (bottom plate 31 of the duct 3) is uneven, the top plate 21 (bottom plate) that mediates heat exchange between the air in the ice greenhouse 2 and the cold air in the duct 3. The surface area of 31) can be increased, and as a result, the cooling efficiency of the ice greenhouse 2 can be improved. For this reason, according to this embodiment, it becomes possible to control the fluctuation range of the temperature in the ice greenhouse 2 to ± 0.5 ° C. only by controlling the flow rate / flow rate of the cold air in the duct 3.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  For example, although the unevenness | corrugation of the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 is a V shape as shown in FIG. 3 in the said embodiment, a U shape may be sufficient. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the pitch of the unevenness | corrugation of the ice greenhouse 2 may be equal, but may be uneven.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the pitch of the unevenness | corrugation of the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 is set to 3 mm or less, the magnitude | size of the water droplet of condensation is the surface roughness and surface of the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 Since it differs depending on conditions such as treatment and coating, the pitch of the unevenness of the top plate 21 of the ice greenhouse 2 is not limited to 3 mm or less, and may be determined appropriately according to the various conditions described above.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be configured by appropriately combining some or all of the various configurations described above without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Refrigerator 2 ... Ice greenhouse 21 ... Top plate 3 ... Duct 31 ... Bottom plate 4 ... Drain

Claims (8)

A storage space for food,
A flow path for flowing cold air from the front to the back over the storage space;
A plate-like body having long concaves and convexes formed in the depth direction, which is arranged so that the front is the top and is inclined toward the back, partitioning the storage space and the flow path,
A cooling section for supplying cold air to the flow path;
A refrigerator, comprising: a drain that collects and discharges condensation that has flowed from the front toward the back on a surface of the plate-like body that faces the storage space.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the plate-like body is a metal plate bent in a wave shape.   The refrigerator of Claim 1 or 2 provided with the fan which adjusts the flow velocity of the cold air in the said flow path.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising a damper for adjusting a flow rate of the cold air in the flow path.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the pitch of the unevenness is 3 mm or less.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, wherein an inclination angle of the plate-like body is 5 ° or more.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, wherein the storage space is formed in a drawer-type container.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, wherein the storage space is an ice greenhouse that can be set to a temperature of 0 to -3 ° C.