JP2016205684A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator comprising a storage room capable of keeping freshness by increasing acidity of a surface of meat or fish and suppressing enzymes and microbes.SOLUTION: A refrigerator comprising an enclosure member 14, a lid member opening and closing the enclosure member 14, and pressure reducing means of reducing a pressure in a storage room encircled with the enclosure member 14 and the lid member is provided with a transmission metal catalyst 60 decomposing ethylene and trimetyl amine in the storage room.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 17

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

  Patent Document 1 states that “in a refrigerator including a storage room for storing food, the storage room has a sealed structure, and a carbon dioxide increasing device is provided for increasing carbon dioxide in the storage room”. is there.

JP 2014-16108 A

  In Patent Document 1, by utilizing the energy of a light source and light rays incident from the light source, ethylene gas generated from food is decomposed to generate carbon dioxide. When the carbon dioxide generated in this way dissolves in water present on the surface of meat or fish present in the storage chamber, the surface becomes acidic. However, trimethylamine which shows alkalinity when dissolved in water is also generated from meat and fish, and it has been found that the surface acidified by dissolving carbon dioxide is neutralized by dissolving trimethylamine.

  Then, the objective of this invention is providing the refrigerator provided with the storage room which can maintain the freshness by raising the acidity of the surface of meat and fish, suppressing an enzyme and microorganisms.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes an outer member, a lid member that opens and closes the outer member, and a decompression unit that depressurizes a storage chamber surrounded by the outer member and the lid member. In the refrigerator, a transition metal catalyst for decomposing ethylene and trimethylamine in the storage chamber was provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the refrigerator provided with the storage room which can maintain the freshness by raising the acidity of the surface of meat and fish, suppressing an enzyme and microorganisms can be provided.

It is the figure which looked at the refrigerator main body in embodiment of this invention from the front. FIG. 2 is a conceptual cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the structure of the decompression chamber from diagonally forward upper direction. It is the JJ sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a front view of a decompression chamber. It is the DD sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the EE sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the A direction of FIG. 4 which shows the structure of a cover member and a food tray. It is the perspective view which looked at the structure of the decompression chamber from diagonally front upper, and is a figure which shows the fully open state of a cover member. It is a disassembled perspective view of the decompression chamber provided with the illumination means. It is sectional drawing explaining the state which integrated the illumination means of the decompression chamber. It is a figure of a transition metal catalyst, a packing material, and a case. It is a figure of a transition metal catalyst, a packing material, a case, and a lid | cover. It is a perspective view from G direction of FIG. 12, and is a figure of the attachment method to the outline member of a food freshness maintenance improvement means. It is the perspective view seen from the H direction of FIG. It is a front view of a decompression chamber, and is a schematic diagram in which a catalyst moves during decompression and release to the atmosphere. It is a figure which shows the residual rate with the time passage of trimethylamine gas. It is a figure which shows the freshness measured by storing the chicken meat in the decompression chamber 3 days later.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Drawing 1 is a figure which looked at the refrigerator main part in the embodiment of the present invention from the front. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional conceptual diagram taken along line AA in FIG.

<Overall configuration of refrigerator body 1>
As shown in FIG. 1, a refrigerator body 1 to which the present invention is applied includes a refrigerator room 2 which is a storage room having a refrigeration temperature zone of about 6 ° C. as an example at the top, and a refrigeration temperature zone around 6 ° C. as an example at the bottom. A vegetable room 6 which is a storage room is arranged respectively. Between the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6, an ice making room which is a freezing temperature zone of 0 ° C. or less (for example, a temperature zone of about −20 ° C. to −18 ° C.) which is adiabatically separated from both the chambers. 3. A quick freezer room 4 and a freezer room 5 are arranged. As shown in FIG. 2, each storage chamber is partitioned and arranged by an upper heat insulating partition wall 31a and a lower heat insulating partition wall 31b.

  In the refrigerator compartment 2, a decompression chamber 13 capable of maintaining the interior in a decompressed state is provided. The decompression chamber 13 of the present embodiment is a storage chamber capable of switching automatically or manually between a chilled temperature zone around 1 ° C. and an ice temperature zone below 0 ° C. The refrigerating room 2 includes, on the front side, refrigerating room doors 2a and 2b with double doors (so-called French type) divided into left and right. The refrigerator compartment door may be configured with a single door instead of double doors. The ice making room 3, the quick freezing room 4, the freezing room 5, and the vegetable room 6 are provided with a drawer type ice making room door 3a, a quick freezing room door 4a, a freezing room door 5a, and a vegetable room door 6a, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the outside of the refrigerator body 1 and the inside of the refrigerator are separated by a heat insulating box 10 formed by filling a foam heat insulating material (foamed polyurethane) between the inner box 10a and the outer box 10b. It has been. The inside of the refrigerator is separated from the refrigerator compartment 2, the quick freezing compartment 4 and the ice making room 3 (see FIG. 1, the ice making room 3 is not shown in FIG. 2) by the upper heat insulating partition wall 31a. The freezer compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are separated by 31b.

  A plurality of door pockets 32 are provided in the vertical direction inside the refrigerator compartment doors 2a and 2b (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The refrigerator compartment 2 is provided with a plurality of shelves 37. The refrigerator compartment 2 is partitioned into a plurality of storage spaces in the vertical direction by the shelves 37, and a chilled chamber as the decompression chamber 13 is provided in the lowermost storage space.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ice making room 3, the quick freezing room 4, the freezing room 5 and the vegetable room 6 are provided with storage containers 3b, 4b, 5b and 6b, respectively. The ice making room door 3a, the quick freezing room door 4a, the freezing room door 5a and the vegetable room door 6a are each put on a handle portion (not shown) and pulled out to the front side, thereby storing containers 3b, 4b, 5b, 6b. Can be pulled out together.

  The decompression chamber 13 is provided with a decompression chamber lid 16 that opens and closes the front opening. When the refrigerator doors 2a and 2b are opened, the storage container of the decompression chamber 13 can be pulled out by placing the hand on the handle portion 27 of the decompression chamber lid 16 and pulling the lid member 16 forward. Yes. Details thereof will be described later.

  The refrigeration cycle for refrigeration and refrigeration is connected to the refrigerator body 1 in the order of a compressor, a condenser, a capillary tube, an evaporator serving as a cooling source that takes away the heat of vaporization of the refrigerant, and a compressor again. (Not shown).

  The evaporator serving as a cooling source is installed behind the ice making chamber 3, the quick freezing chamber 4 and the freezing chamber 5, and the cold air exchanged with the evaporator by a blower fan (not shown) is converted into the ice making chamber 3, It is sent to the quick freezer 4 and the freezer 5. In addition, after the cool air is blown into each storage chamber, it has a circulation structure in which it is cooled again by the evaporator and blown. Each storage chamber is maintained at a predetermined temperature by temperature control by a control device using a temperature sensor.

  Next, FIG. 3 shows a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. The refrigerator compartment door 2a is supported so as to be rotatable about the support shaft S1. The refrigerator compartment door 2a is provided with a translucent resin-molded door pocket 32 for injecting drinks and the like on the inner side. On the storage chamber side of the refrigerator door 2a, there is provided a rotary partition 2a2 configured to be swingable by a biasing force of a torsion coil spring and a guide.

  The rotary partition 2a2 prevents cold air from leaking between the refrigerator compartment doors 2a and 2b at a position along the refrigerator compartment door 2a on the left side when the refrigerator compartment doors 2a and 2b are closed (see FIG. 1). On the other hand, when the refrigerating room door 2a is opened, the refrigerating room door 2a is configured to swing in the thickness direction of the refrigerating room door 2a so as not to disturb the user.

  Further, the right refrigerator compartment door 2b is supported so as to be swingable about the support shaft S2, and a translucent resin-molded door pocket 32 into which a drink or the like is placed protrudes on the inner side.

<Configuration of decompression chamber 13 which is a gas control chamber>
The decompression chamber 13 shown in FIG. 3 is a gas control chamber in which internal air is sucked by a vacuum pump 12 as decompression means, and the pressure is reduced to an atmospheric pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, for example, 0.8 atmospheric pressure (80 kPa). is there. That is, the decompression chamber 13 creates a special air atmosphere for preventing oxidation of food, maintaining the freshness of vegetables, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the decompression chamber 13 is provided with ribs 14s as protrusions on the upper surface. Thereby, it is the structure supported in the state which provided the moderate clearance gap between the decompression chamber 13 and the shelf 37 immediately above it. At the rear of the decompression chamber 13, a cold air return port 19 of the refrigerating chamber 2 is provided, and proceeds forward through the upper surface of the decompression chamber 13 as indicated by the arrow, and then passes through the side surface or bottom surface of the decompression chamber 13. , Go to the return port 19. Thereby, the decompression chamber 13 is indirectly cooled from the surroundings.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the refrigerator compartment door 2b is closed, a predetermined space is formed between the door pocket 32 of the refrigerator compartment door 2b and the lid member 16 of the decompression chamber 13 so as not to contact each other. ing.

  Next, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the configuration of the decompression chamber 13 as seen obliquely from above. The decompression chamber 13 has an opening 14r on the front surface (see FIG. 10). The outer member 14 is divided into two parts in the upper and lower parts of a flat, long rectangular parallelepiped shape, and moves forward and backward to open and close the opening 14r. An outer peripheral wall is formed by the lid member 16 that performs the above operation.

  That is, a lid member 16 that opens and closes is provided in order to put a stored product into and out of the decompression chamber 13. Further, reinforcing ribs are provided on the outer surface of the outer member 14 in a straight line shape or a lattice shape to increase the section modulus and improve the strength. The shape of the reinforcing rib is not limited thereto, and any shape may be used as long as the section modulus of the outer member 14 is increased to improve the strength.

  Note that the decompression chamber 13 is placed on the upper heat insulating partition wall 31a as in the present embodiment, placed on one of the shelves 37, or the upper wall portion (the heat insulating box body of the shelf 37 or the storage chamber). It may be hung on the upper part of 10 by a hanging means. Moreover, the structure which mounts the decompression chamber 13 not only in the refrigerator compartment 2 but in any storage chamber may be sufficient.

<Configuration of vacuum pump 12 and decompression chamber 13>
As shown in FIG. 3, the vacuum pump 12 is installed on the back side of the decompression chamber 13 in order to widen the decompression chamber 13 and to make extensive use of the storage space. That is, it arrange | positions so that a part of vacuum pump 12 and a part of decompression chamber 13 may wrap in the front-back direction. Thereby, the decompression chamber 13 can be expanded in the left direction in the figure.

  At this time, in order to depressurize the inside of the decompression chamber 13, the decompression chamber 13 and the vacuum pump 12 are configured by connecting with a bent shape (L-shaped) tube 12a.

  The tube 12a has a shape having a straight portion of 10 mm or more as a connection dimension for preventing air leakage when connecting the connecting portion 13a which is a suction port of the decompression chamber 13. Moreover, when connecting with the vacuum pump 12, it is set as the shape which has a linear part of 10 mm or more as a connection length.

<Schematic shape of outer member 14>
Next, the configuration of the outer member 14 will be described. FIG. 4 is a simplified perspective view of the outer member as viewed from the front upper side. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line JJ in FIG. The outer member 14 has a configuration in which a lower case 140 (first outer member) and an upper case 141 (second outer member) are joined to each other at a joint 142 while keeping airtightness.

  The lower case 140 of the outer member 14 is resin-molded using ABS (resin containing acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene), AS (resin containing acrylonitrile, styrene) or the like. Both side walls 140a and 140b, a bottom wall 14c, and a rear wall 140d are integrally formed. Further, the lower case 140 forms a front opening 14r and an upper opening 140e. That is, it has a shape in which two surfaces are opened. The connecting portion 140f constituting the upper side of the front opening 14r and the front side of the upper surface opening 140e is connected to the left and right side walls 140a and 140b, respectively. Furthermore, it has the junction part 142 provided seamlessly over the perimeter of the upper surface opening 140e.

  The upper case 141 of the outer member 14 is resin-molded using ABS (resin containing acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene), AS (resin containing acrylonitrile, styrene), or the like. The upper case 141 is integrally formed in a shape having an upper surface wall 141e, both side surface walls 141a and 141b, a rear surface wall 141d, and a joint 142 on the entire periphery. The upper case 141 is formed so as to cover the entire upper surface opening of the lower case 140 with no gap.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the side wall 14 a of the decompression chamber 13 is divided into a side wall 140 a of the lower case 140 and a side wall 141 a of the upper case 141. Similarly, the side wall 14b is divided into a side wall 140b of the lower case 140 and a side wall 141b of the upper case 141. Further, the rear wall 14d is divided into a rear wall 140d of the lower case 140 and a rear wall 141d of the upper case 141, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a pump connection portion 13 a having an insertion hole, which is a connection portion with the vacuum pump 12, is provided behind the outer surface of the left side wall 14 a of the outer member 14.

  When the inside of the decompression chamber 13 is decompressed by the vacuum pump 12, a load from the atmosphere is uniformly applied to the entire surface of the outer member 14 due to the differential pressure between the external atmospheric pressure and the internal low pressure. Since the inside of the decompression chamber 13 is at a low pressure, this load is applied in a direction in which the entire outer member 14 is crushed from the outside to the inside. For example, the planar dimensions of the outer member 14 are a width of 450 mm and a depth of 300 mm. If the pressure is 0.2 atm, a large load of about 270 kgf (about 2700 N) is obtained.

  For this reason, it is necessary to increase the sectional modulus of each outer surface of the side wall 14a, 14b, the bottom wall 14c, the rear wall 14d, and the top wall 14e of the outer member 14 to improve the strength. Therefore, each surface of the outer member 14 is not a flat surface, but has a substantially dome-shaped curved surface that is curved outwardly. Furthermore, it is preferable that the outer surface wall of the outer member 14 has a shape curved outward in both the depth direction and the left-right direction.

  The outer member 14 has a shape in which the opening 14r is longer in the width direction than in the height direction. Moreover, it is substantially circular arc shape which has height toward both sides from a center part. That is, the outer member 14 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having a flat horizontally long opening 14r. Thereby, the bottom wall 14c and the top wall 14e have a larger area than the other side walls 14a, 14b and the rear wall 14d. Since the load generated by the pressure difference from the atmospheric pressure when the inside is depressurized is proportional to the area, it is particularly necessary to ensure the strength of the bottom wall 14c and the top wall 14e. Since the load at this time is a load in a direction in which the outer member 14 is compressed and crushed from the outside, the strength is increased as a dome-shaped spherical shell that forms a part of a sphere, for example, a surface that receives the load. It is increasing.

  Each wall surface of the outer member 14 has an arc shape that protrudes outward, and has a shape in which corners of the walls are connected by a smooth arc. Further, the vicinity of the center of the upper and lower sides of the opening 14r is an upper surface opening support portion 14f and a lower surface opening support portion 14g that are convex toward the inside of the opening 14r.

  When a lid member 16, which will be described later, is closed, the packing 16p provided on the lid member 16 comes into pressure contact with the packing contact surface 14k, which is a convex portion provided along the edge of the opening 14r, and performs a hermetic seal. That is, the packing 16p is provided as a seal member that suppresses the movement of gas between the lid member 16 and the opening 14r of the outer member 14.

<Partition surface shape>
Next, the shape of the joint 142 between the upper case 141 and the lower case 140 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 6 which is a front view of the decompression chamber. The upper case 141 and the lower case 140 are planes inclined rearwardly downward from the connecting portion 140f near the upper end of the opening 14r toward the center in the height direction of the rear wall 14d, and the joint 142 is formed along the dividing surface. Provided. The upper case 141 constitutes a part of the outer member 14 composed of a dome-shaped upper surface 141e, side surfaces 141a and 141b, and a rear surface 141d, and supports a load during decompression in cooperation with a rib disposed around the upper case 141. Get the strength you want.

  In the present embodiment, the dividing surface is inclined so as to gradually descend from the vicinity of the upper surface of the opening 14r toward the rear so as to be a plane connecting the substantially central portion of the rear wall 140d. In this configuration, the upper case 141 does not have a thin plate shape, and a moderate thickness can be secured. Since the joining portion 142 is an inclined plane, even if a positional deviation occurs between the upper case 141 and the lower case 140, the close contact state does not change. That is, since the surfaces of the joint portion 142 are flat with each other, the accuracy is easily obtained, and the airtightness is easily maintained even when the positional relationship between the upper case 141 and the lower case 140 is low.

  If it is set as said structure, since both the upper case 141 and the lower case 140 can be shape | molded with resin, there exists an effect that the outer shell member 14 can be comprised cheaply. For joining of the joint portion 142 of the upper case 141 and the lower case 140, known joining means such as heat welding, bonding with an adhesive, and fastening with a screw or the like through a sealing material can be employed. In order to further improve the sealing performance, it is preferable to integrate the upper case 141 and the lower case 140 by heat welding.

  Note that the outer member 14 may have an inclined surface shape in which the relationship between the lower case 140 and the upper case 141 is reversed and the joint portion 142 gradually increases from the opening 14r toward the back. In addition, the configuration is not limited to the lower case 140 and the upper case 141, and may be a configuration formed integrally with, for example, resin. Moreover, the structure of the pressure reduction container made of metal and having rigidity may be used. That is, a known container shape / material can be adopted as long as the pressure resistance during decompression can be secured.

<Material>
As the material of the outer member 14, the strength is high enough to withstand the load caused by the differential pressure when the inside is depressurized, and the amount of deflection at the time of depressurization is reduced so as not to compress the food stored inside. Material is desirable. As an example, as a fibrous reinforcing filler, an ABS material reinforced by mixing glass fibers or carbon fibers can be used. As a result, the bending strength is increased and the Young's modulus (elastic coefficient) is increased, so that the outer member 14 can be suitably used.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, on the inner side of the opening 14r of the outer member 14, an upper surface opening support portion 14f that protrudes inward from the upper surface wall 14e and a lower surface opening support portion 14g that protrudes inward from the bottom surface wall 14c. Is provided on the rear surface side of the front opening 14r. At the edge of the opening 14r, there is a packing contact surface 14k, the upper surface opening support portion 14f is connected to the inclined surface 14m, and the lower surface opening support portion 14g is connected to the inclined surface 14n.

<Relationship between lid member 16 and opening 14r>
Next, the relationship between the lid member 16 and the opening 14r will be described. 5 and 7, the distance between the upper surface opening support portion 14f and the lower surface opening support portion 14g, that is, the height direction dimension of the opening 14r, is higher than the height dimension of the reinforcing support portion H provided on the back surface of the lid member 16. Somewhat big. Thereby, the reinforcement support part H is inserted smoothly.

  Here, when the inside of the decompression chamber 13 is decompressed and a load due to the differential pressure of the atmospheric pressure is applied to the outer surface of the outer member 14, the outer member 14 is compressed and the gap is eliminated. Then, the upper surface opening support portion 14f and the lower surface opening support portion 14g are in contact with the upper and lower sides of the reinforcement support portion H, respectively. Thereby, since it is not compressed any more, the deformation of the opening 14r can be prevented.

  On the other hand, in the contact portion, the outer member 14 is compressed by the atmospheric pressure from the outside and is in contact with the reinforcing support portion H while being bent inward. That is, it does not contact uniformly, but comes into contact with the outer member 14 at the left and right ends of the reinforcing support H, and a reaction force F1 is generated between the outer member 14 and the outer member 14. Here, the width of the upper surface opening support portion 14f is approximately L2, and the width of the opening 14r outside the opening support portion is approximately L1. Then, it is desirable that L1 and L2 are configured to be substantially equal. By doing in this way, the load by the differential pressure added to the range of the upper surface reinforcement part 14f and the range of the upper surface wall 14e becomes respectively substantially equal and equal. Therefore, a load is not intensively applied to a specific portion, and the stress generated in the upper surface opening support portion 14f and the range of the opening outside thereof is almost equal to prevent damage due to repeated loads and increase the life. High reliability can be achieved.

  The widths of the bottom wall 14c and the lower surface opening support portion 14g are preferably similar in size and shape.

  As described above, in addition to the shape of the outer member 14, each of the side walls 14a and 14b, the bottom wall 14c, the rear wall 14d, the top wall 141e, the top opening support 14f, and the bottom opening support 14g, respectively. On the outer surface, reinforcing ribs that increase the section modulus and improve the strength are erected in a straight line shape, a lattice shape, and the like, and further strength against deformation due to differential pressure is secured.

  Guide rails 14s and 14s, which are protrusions along the depth direction, are provided on the inner surfaces of the side walls 140a and 140b of the lower case 140, and a pair of protrusions 17g and 17g provided on the food tray 17 described later are provided. The rear end side of the food tray 17 is supported.

  Since the outer member 14 is shaped as described above, and the upper case 141 and the lower case 140 molded by resin are joined by the joint 142, the outer member 14 is molded by resin and simplified. And can be constructed at low cost, and both expansion of the internal volume and increase in rigidity can be achieved.

<Food tray (drawer container)>
Next, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the lid member and the food tray as viewed from the direction A in FIG. 4. The food tray 17 (drawer container) disposed in the outer member 14 is a transparent resin molded product such as AS. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, it has both side walls 17a and 17b, a bottom wall 17c, a rear wall 17d and a front wall 17e.

  The front wall 17e of the food tray 17 is formed with a concave portion 17f for arranging a reinforcing support portion H described later, and a central side wall portion 17h connecting the front wall 17e and the concave portion 17f along the reinforcing support portion H. Yes. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 9, two pairs of attachment claws 17t1 for attaching the food tray 17 to the lid member 16 and interlocking with the opening / closing operation of the lid member 16 are provided on the central side wall portion 17h and the side walls 17a, 17b. 17t2 is formed, and a pair of left and right projections 17g and 17g are formed in the vicinity of the rear wall 17d of the side walls 17a and 17b. On the lid member side of the concave portion 17f, a stopper 17n is formed that is a convex portion that engages with the convex portion 16j provided in the center of the back surface of the lid member 16.

  The two pairs of attachment claws 17t1 and 17t2 are formed in a semi-cylindrical shape with the lower part opened and one side extended downward, and engage with columnar protrusions 16g1 and 16g2 provided on the lid member 16. . Thus, the food tray 17 is fixed to the lid member 16 and interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the lid member 16. Therefore, the user can easily take out the food in the food tray 17 by visually recognizing the inside of the food tray 17 that is pulled out as the lid member 16 opens and closes.

  The food tray 17 is provided with a guide claw 17t3 opening upward, and the food tray 17 is provided with a columnar protrusion 16g3 provided corresponding to the guide claw 17t3. By cooperating with each other, the food tray 17 can be detached from the lid member 16 and attached.

<Guide rail>
As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the food tray 17 and the lid member 16 are configured to be opened and closed integrally with each other.

  The bottom wall 17c of the food tray 17 is provided with guide ribs 17j and 17j that are elongated in the opening and closing direction. The guide ribs 17j and 17j are placed in the vicinity of the opening 14r of the bottom wall 14c of the outer member 14. Guide protrusions 14t, 14t are provided. A stopper 17m, which is a step, is provided on the rear side of the bottom surface of the food tray 17. The stopper 17m is slidably mounted on a lower guide rail 14y provided on the bottom surface of the outer member 14.

  On the side close to the opening 14r of the food tray 17, that is, on the side of the lid member 16, the guide rib 17j is placed on the guide protrusion 14t, and the upper surfaces of the protrusions 17g and 17g provided near the rear surface of the food tray 17 are the guide rails 14s. , 14s is supported by the lower side. The lower guide rail 14y is provided with a stopper 14v that is a step. When the lid member 16 and the food tray 17 are opened as a unit, the stopper 17m hits the stopper 14v at the fully opened position, and is restricted from opening further. With the above-described configuration, the food tray 17 is integrated with the lid member 16 and guided in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 7 and the vertical direction in FIG. 6).

<Bottom rack and pinion>
Next, on the lower surface of the bottom wall 17c of the food tray 17, that is, the side facing the bottom wall 14c of the outer shell member 14, racks 17k, which are linear gears in the front-rear direction, are provided in two rows symmetrically at a distance from each other. It has been.

  A pinion gear 15 is rotatably supported in a bottom surface recess 14w provided on the bottom wall 14c of the outer member 14 in parallel with the opening 14r. The pinion gear 15 includes a pair of left and right pinion gears 15a that are coupled to each other by a connecting shaft 15b and rotate as a unit, and a support shaft 15c that further protrudes outside the pinion gear 15a.

  The bottom surface recess 14w of the outer member 14 has a substantially semi-cylindrical shape larger than the diameter of the pinion gear 15a. The left and right ends of the bottom surface recess 14w and the support recess 14x to which the support shaft 15c of the pinion gear 15 is rotatably fitted. It has become. Since the pinion gear 15 is simply dropped into the bottom recess 14w from above, the pinion gear 15 can be removed simply by removing the food tray 17 and picking it with a finger and lifting it upward. For example, even when the bottom recess 14w and the pinion gear 15 are dirty, they can be easily removed and cleaned or washed.

  When the food tray 17 is disposed in the outer shell member 14, the rack 17 k provided in the food tray 17 and the pinion gear 15 a provided in the bottom surface recess 14 w of the outer shell member 14 are disposed in meshing positions. However, the rack 17k does not mesh with the pinion gear 15a over the entire range in which the lid member 16 and the food tray 17 are opened and closed, but is at a distance L3 from the fully closed position of the lid member 16 and the food tray 17 (see FIG. 7). A rack 17k is not provided in the range.

  According to the above configuration, it is not necessary to provide a rail member or the like in order to open and close the lid member 16 and the food tray 17 back and forth, and it is also necessary to provide a component such as a support shaft for supporting the pinion gear. The lid member 16 and the food tray 17 can be opened and closed stably with a simple configuration.

  Note that the pinion gear 15a and the rack 17k are not necessarily required, and the operability can be sufficiently satisfied even if the food tray 17 is slidable due to the relationship between the lower guide rail 14y and the stopper 17m described above.

<Configuration of lid member 16>
As shown in FIG. 4, the lid member 16 has an opening / closing handle 26 rotatably supported around a support shaft 16s provided on both sides thereof. Further, the lid member 16 includes a differential pressure relief valve V shown in FIG. The user holds the opening / closing handle 26, and the lid member 16 is opened / closed and locked when the lid member 16 is closed, and the differential pressure relief valve V is opened / closed.

  When the decompression chamber 13 is decompressed by the vacuum pump 12, the load applied to the lid member 16 increases due to the differential pressure between the atmospheric pressure outside the decompression chamber 13 and the decompressed pressure inside the decompression chamber 13. Thus, in order to directly open the lid member 16, the user needs a considerable force. Therefore, by opening the differential pressure relief valve V, the inside and outside space of the lid member 16 is inserted, the inside / outside pressure difference is eliminated, the load due to the differential pressure is eliminated, and the lid member 16 can be easily opened.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the lid member 16 is provided with an elastic packing 16 p at the inner peripheral edge that abuts the outer member 14 when closed. The packing 16p provides a seal between the outer member 14 and the lid member 16.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the packing 16 p is formed in an annular shape having a recess 16 p 1 whose outer peripheral center in the cross section is recessed inward. Even when the cover member 16 is closed with a slight inclination with respect to the outer shell member 14, the packing 16 p is elastically deformed in the recess 16 p 1 to absorb the deviation, and the gap between the outer member 14 and the outer cover member 16. Can be reliably sealed. The packing 16p can be provided on the outer member 14 side without being provided on the lid member 16.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lid member 16 is formed of a resin such as ABS whose left and right end portions 16 h are opaque, and a translucent AS so that the central portion 16 c 2 can visually recognize food stored in the decompression chamber 13. It is molded with resin such as.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the side portions 16 c 1 and 16 c 1 of the center portion 16 c 2 of the lid member 16 have a space between the opening and closing handle 26 and the lid member 16 when the opening and closing handle 26 is rotated with respect to the lid member 16. The distance between the side portions 16c1 and 16c1 of the lid member 16 and the rotation locus of the rod 27 of the opening / closing handle 26 is set to a predetermined value or less, for example, 7 mm or less. That is, the both side portions 16c1 and 16c1 of the lid member 16 are formed in a shape projecting outward substantially along an arcuate locus along which the rod body 27 of the opening / closing handle 26 moves.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the central portion 16 c 2 of the lid member 16 has a space occupied by the handle operating portion 36 of the opening / closing handle 26 so that the user's hand can enter from the outer surface side. It is formed in a concave shape. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a reinforcing support portion H that is an upper and lower support portion of a front opening having a shape protruding inward is formed on the inner side of the center portion 16 c 2 of the lid member 16.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the reinforcing support portion H of the lid member 16 is provided near the center of the back surface of the lid member 16. The reinforcing support portion H is formed by continuously forming an outer peripheral upper wall surface H1, an outer peripheral lower wall surface H2, and both side wall surfaces H3 standing on the inner side, and a plurality of reinforcements are provided between the outer peripheral upper wall surface H1 and the outer peripheral lower wall surface H2. Ribs hr are formed extending in the vertical direction.

  As described above, when the outer shell member 14 is depressurized by the vacuum pump 12, a large load is applied due to a differential pressure between the external atmospheric pressure and the internal low pressure. As shown in FIG. 7, when the lid member 16 is closed, the reinforcing support portion H inside the lid member 16 contacts the upper surface opening support portion 14f and the lower surface opening support portion 14g of the outer member 14 in the decompression chamber 13. In contact therewith, due to the differential pressure between the atmospheric pressure outside the decompression chamber 13 and the low pressure inside the decompression chamber 13, the load applied from above to the upper surface wall 141e of the outer member 14 and the upper surface opening support portion 14f, and the bottom wall 14c of the outer member 14 And the load due to the differential pressure applied to the lower surface opening support 14g from below, and the deformation of the decompression chamber 13 is suppressed by these loads.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a differential pressure relief hole 16 a that is inserted into the decompression chamber 13 of the differential pressure relief valve V is provided in the central portion 16 c 2 of the lid member 16. The lid member 16 is provided with a valve opening / closing member 35 having a valve body 35t made of rubber having an elastic property and flexibility for opening / closing the differential pressure release valve V so as to be rotatable around a support shaft 35s. ing.

  Here, the support shaft 35 s on which the valve opening / closing member 35 rotates and the support shaft 16 s on which the opening / closing handle 26 rotates are concentric, and the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing handle 26 is performed via the valve opening / closing member 35. It is configured to be interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the valve body 35t.

  The opening / closing handle 26 is rotatably supported around the support shafts 16s, 16s on the left and right side portions of the lid member 16, and the rod body 27 is positioned at the lowermost part of the rotation trajectory about the left and right support shafts 16s, 16s. In this case, the lid member 16 is closed and locked by the opening / closing handle 26. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the rod body 27 is positioned above the rotation locus around the left and right support shafts 16s, 16s. In this case, the lid member 16 is unlocked by the opening / closing handle 26.

  The handle operating portion 36 (see FIGS. 7 and 10) of the opening / closing handle 26 has a function of a grip portion when the user operates the opening / closing handle 26 and a function of guiding opening / closing of the differential pressure relief valve V. ing. That is, the opening / closing operation by the rotation of the opening / closing handle 26 is linked to the opening / closing valve operation of the valve body 35t via the valve opening / closing member 35. When the opening / closing handle 26 is closed as shown in FIG. 7, the valve body 35t is closed, and when the opening / closing handle 26 is turned upward and opened as shown in FIG. 10, the valve body 35t is opened.

  When the valve is opened, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 10, the difference between the pressure applied to the lid member 16 when the lid member 16 is opened as the outside air enters the decompression chamber 13 where the pressure is reduced and the pressure difference is eliminated. The load due to pressure is eliminated, and the lid member 16 can be opened smoothly.

After the lid member 16 is closed, for example, the user presses an operation switch (not shown) or the refrigerator doors 2a and 2b are closed and the door switch (not shown) is turned on. The air in the decompression chamber 13 is sucked and decompression is started.
When the pressure reduction is started, the lid member 16 is pressed from the outside by the differential pressure between the atmospheric pressure and the internal low pressure, and the packing 16p is pressed against the outer member 14 by a pressure greater than the force locked by the handle. The concave portion 16p1 of the packing 16p is brought into close contact with the state shown in FIG. Thus, the internal negative pressure can be maintained.

  With the above configuration, by driving the vacuum pump 12 to reduce the pressure, the inside of the decompression chamber 13 can be set to a negative pressure and the negative pressure can be maintained. Here, the outer member 14 of the decompression chamber 13 can be formed at low cost by being formed of a plastic material. Furthermore, by making the outer shell member 14 into an upper and lower divided configuration in which the outer members 14 are joined in an airtight manner, the internal volume can be expanded and the strength can be secured. Further, since the portions other than the front opening 14r are sealed, only the gap between the lid member 16 and the opening 14r is sealed with the packing 16p, so that the entire decompression chamber 13 can be kept hermetically sealed.

<Lighting means>
Next, a structure for attaching illumination means such as an LED (Light-Emitting Diode) to the decompression chamber will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a decompression chamber provided with illumination means. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the illumination means for the decompression chamber is incorporated.

  First, in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the decompression chamber 13 is provided with a lid member 16 that opens and closes in order to put a stored product in and out. Further, reinforcing ribs 40 are provided on the outer surface of the outer member 14 so as to increase the section modulus and improve the strength in a straight line shape or a lattice shape. In the case of this configuration, it is difficult for light to reach the inside of the outer shell member 14, so that it is difficult to visually recognize the inside.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the illumination means 46 dedicated to the decompression chamber 13 is provided on the outer wall surface of the outer member 14. Reference numeral 41 denotes an opening formed in the upper case 141 of the outer member 14. Illumination means such as an LED described later is provided above the opening 41 to illuminate the inside of the decompression chamber 13. Here, the opening 41 is located in an upper part in front of the center of the outer member 14 and irradiates the inside of the decompression chamber 13 from the rear to the front.

  Reference numeral 47 denotes a protrusion provided on the wall surface of the outer member 14, that is, the edge of the opening 41 formed in the upper case 141 so as to protrude outward. The protrusion 47 is formed in an annular shape on the outer peripheral edge of the opening 41.

  Reference numeral 42 denotes a seal member provided in an annular shape on the outer periphery of the protruding portion 47, and is formed in an annular shape from a flexible material such as resin that is elastically deformed.

  Reference numeral 43 denotes a translucent member disposed so as to be in contact with the seal member 42. The translucent member 43 is a plate formed of a material having a property of transmitting light, such as glass, and is transparent or translucent. The translucent member 43 is placed on the seal member 42 and closes the opening 41. Reference numeral 44 denotes a substrate on which illumination means such as an LED is mounted. A cover member 45 covers the substrate 44.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the opening 41 is covered with a translucent member 43 disposed so as to contact the seal member 42, a substrate 44 is disposed above the translucent member 43, and the seal member 42, the translucent member 43 and the substrate 44 are covered with a cover member 45.

  The illumination means 46 is provided on the near side of the upper case 141 and is turned on when the lid member 16 is opened, thereby improving the visibility in the decompression chamber 13.

  In addition, the cover member 45 includes a pressing portion 50 on a surface facing the translucent member 43. A plurality of pressing portions 50 are provided, and are in contact with each other at the front and rear of the translucent member 43. In a state where the locking portions 51 and 52 are engaged with the holding portions 48 and 49, the pressing portion 50 provided on the cover member 45 abuts on the translucent member 43, and the translucent member 43 becomes the seal member 42. Press. Thereby, the sealing performance of the opening 41 is improved.

  The wiring of the substrate 44 is arranged along the outer surface of the outer member 14 from the cover member 45. That is, no electrical component wiring is provided in the decompression chamber 13. For this reason, there is no possibility of leakage from the wiring inlet or the like during decompression.

<Transition metal catalyst and case>
Next, the case where the transition metal catalyst and the transition metal catalyst are put in will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As an example of the transition metal catalyst, there is a granular platinum catalyst 60 that decomposes ethylene gas in the air into water and oxygen by contacting with air, and decomposes trimethylamine gas in the air. The platinum catalyst 60 decomposes the gas by touching ethylene gas and the like, and the catalyst itself does not change. Further, unlike a photocatalyst, ethylene gas can be decomposed into water and carbon dioxide even without light from an LED or the like.

  As an example of the installation method of the platinum catalyst 60, a form as shown in FIG. The granular platinum catalyst 60 is packed with an air-permeable packing material 61 (for example, a nonwoven fabric). The platinum catalyst 60 packed in this way is placed in a case 62 formed of a resin such as polypropylene and installed in the decompression chamber of the opening 41 as shown in FIG.

  In order to increase the contact between the platinum catalyst 60 and air, as an example, a structure in which a vent 62a is provided in the case 62 is also conceivable. It is also conceivable that the platinum catalyst 60 is directly packed in the case 62 without being packed with the packing material 61. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the platinum catalyst 60 is packed directly or in a packing material 61, placed in a case 62, and closed using a lid structure 63 as shown in FIG. As the platinum catalyst 60, silica having pores (mesoporous silica) is used, and platinum fine particles are carried inside the pores.

  As an example of the installation method, claw shapes 62b and 62c as shown in FIG. 15 are provided on the case 62 and the outer member 14, and the case 62 is fixed by fitting. As long as the platinum catalyst 60 has a structure that does not touch the stored food or the like, the presence or absence of the lid 63 that fixes the platinum catalyst 60 to the case 62 itself does not matter. As shown in FIG. 16, the claw shape 62b on the case 62 side is a claw toward the center of the decompression chamber, so that the case 62 does not easily come off even if the decompression chamber is deformed during decompression.

  Since the platinum catalyst 60 exerts its effect when it comes into contact with air, it is desirable that the air in the vacuum storage chamber containing the food circulates. However, since the decompression storage chamber is a sealed space, there is little convection of the internal air. Therefore, the outer shell member 14 is deformed by the pressure difference between the atmospheric pressure and the internal pressure at the time of decompression and release to the atmosphere, and the platinum catalyst 60 and the case 62 are installed around the opening 41 where the deformation amount is particularly large. Then, the case 62 itself is also deformed at the time of depressurization and open to the atmosphere, and the platinum catalyst 60 moves in the packing material 61 due to the deformation, thereby changing the portion of the catalyst that comes into contact with the air and obtaining the same effect as air convection. (FIG. 17, packing material 61 is not shown). Further, by installing the case 62 in the opening 41 having a large deformation amount at the time of decompression or the like, the case 62 has a role of a reinforcing member and the strength of the outer member 14 is improved.

  In the present embodiment having the configuration described above, the following effects can be obtained.

  In this embodiment, since the platinum catalyst is provided in the decompression storage chamber, ethylene contained in the air in the decompression storage chamber is decomposed and carbon dioxide and water vapor are generated without irradiating light with an LED or the like. The generated carbon dioxide is dissolved in water existing on the surface of meat or fish in the vacuum storage chamber, the surface is acidified, and the growth of microorganisms is suppressed. The illumination means 46 in this embodiment is installed mainly for the purpose of illuminating the decompression storage room brightly. However, the heat generated in the illumination means 46 increases the temperature of the air near the ceiling of the decompression storage room. The effect of promoting the decomposition reaction by the platinum catalyst can also be expected.

  On the other hand, trimethylamine which shows alkalinity when dissolved in water is also generated from meat and fish. FIG. 18 shows the residual ratio of the predetermined trimethylamine gas introduced into the vacuum storage chamber over time when the platinum catalyst is used as in the present embodiment and when the photocatalyst is used as in the prior art. It is. According to this figure, when a platinum catalyst is used, the trimethylamine gas, which is an alkaline gas, decreases in a short time. Specifically, the decomposition rate is about 4 times that of the conventional photocatalyst. It has become. Moreover, since carbon dioxide is also generated when trimethylamine is decomposed, it can be said that the effect of increasing carbon dioxide is higher than when photocatalyst is used.

  Thus, in this embodiment, since trimethylamine generated from meat and fish is decomposed by the platinum catalyst, neutralization of the surface of meat and fish acidified by the dissolution of carbon dioxide is suppressed, and the acidity of the surface is increased. Is possible. That is, when meat or fish is stored in a reduced-pressure storage chamber, the pH of the surface thereof increases conventionally, whereas the pH of the surface decreases in this embodiment. As a result, enzymes and microorganisms generated on the surface of meat and fish are suppressed and freshness is maintained.

  FIG. 19 shows a comparison between this embodiment and the conventional one regarding freshness measured three days after actually storing chicken in a vacuum storage room. Here, the K value is used as an index of freshness, and the lower this value, the better the freshness. According to this FIG. 19, it turns out that the freshness deterioration of chicken can be suppressed compared with the past.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the platinum catalyst 60 is arranged in a pellet shape at a location where the amount of deformation is large when the decompression storage chamber is decompressed and opened to the atmosphere, that is, the region including the center in the width direction of the ceiling portion. Therefore, the platinum catalyst 60 can easily move in the packing material 61. As a result, even in a reduced-pressure storage chamber with little air convection, the platinum catalyst 60 and the air are in good contact, and the trimethylamine decomposition effect is enhanced. Furthermore, the platinum catalyst 60 of the present embodiment is installed in a region on the opening side of the decompression storage chamber and in front of the center in the front-rear direction that is easily deformed.

  Furthermore, by installing the case 62 around the opening 41, it can serve as a reinforcing member, improve the strength of the outer member 14, and provide a more reliable refrigerator. Moreover, since the platinum catalyst 60 is arrange | positioned at the ceiling part of the pressure-reduction storage chamber, it can prevent touching water and food. In this embodiment, an example in which a platinum catalyst is used as the transition metal has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and ruthenium or the like may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator body 2 Refrigeration room 3 Ice making room 4 Quick freezing room 5 Freezing room 6 Vegetable room 12 Vacuum pump (pressure reduction means)
13 Decompression chamber (storage chamber, gas control chamber)
14 Outer member 16 Decompression chamber lid (lid member)
17 Food tray (withdrawal container)
41 Opening 42 Sealing member 42a Groove 42b Projection piece 42c Inscribed surface 42d Upper surface 42e Lower surface 43 Translucent member 44 Substrate 44a Electronic component 45 Cover member 46 Illumination means (LED)
47 Protruding portion 48 Holding portion 49 Holding portion 50 Pressing portion 51 Locking portion 52 Locking portion 53 Mounting piece 60 Transition metal catalyst 61 Packing material 62 Case 62a Vent 62b, c Mounting tab 63 Case lid

Claims (5)

  In a refrigerator comprising an outer member, a lid member that opens and closes the outer member, and a decompression unit that decompresses the storage chamber surrounded by the outer member and the lid member, the ethylene and trimethylamine in the storage chamber are decomposed Refrigerator provided with a transition metal catalyst.   2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the transition metal catalyst is arranged in a pellet form in a region including a center in a width direction of a ceiling portion of the storage chamber.   The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the transition metal catalyst is disposed in a region in front of the center in the front-rear direction of the ceiling portion of the storage chamber.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transition metal catalyst is formed by carrying transition metal particles inside the pores of silica.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the transition metal is platinum.

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