JP2017075722A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a novel refrigerator capable of preventing meats during refrigeration storage from being deteriorated due to temperature fluctuation in a refrigeration chamber.SOLUTION: In a refrigeration chamber, provided is ice crystal inhibition component release means 80 of supplying an ice crystal enlargement inhibition component derived from a food product, which inhibits enlargement of ice crystals of meats, and the ice crystal enlargement inhibition component, AFP, is configured to be supplied onto at least surfaces of the meats stored in the refrigeration chamber. Consequently, since enlargement of ice crystals of the meats during refrigeration can be inhibited, increase of drip loss of meats due to temperature fluctuation in the refrigeration chamber, and deterioration of texture of meats can be suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator that refrigerates and stores food, drinking water, and the like, and particularly relates to a refrigerator that includes a freezer compartment.

  In the refrigerator, a refrigerator compartment is arranged in the upper part of the box constituting the refrigerator, a freezer compartment in the middle, and a vegetable compartment in the lower part, and each storage compartment is partitioned by a heat insulating partition wall so that heat transfer is small. ing. And in a cold-cooled refrigerator (a refrigerator in which cold air cooled by a cooler is blown out to a freezer room, a refrigerator room, or a vegetable room by a blower fan) that is generally mainstream as a refrigerator, cold air is generated inside the refrigerator. A refrigeration cycle is provided, and cool air generated by a cooler of the refrigeration cycle is circulated to each storage chamber by a blower to cool the stored items.

  By the way, recently, due to changes in the home environment such as the nuclear family and the increase in the number of working couples, freezing storage methods in freezer rooms tend to diversify. In addition to the conventional usage of purchasing and storing foods sold at freezing temperatures in stores, raw beef (beef, pork, etc.) and fish meat (tuna, etc.) ) Are bought in bulk and stored frozen.

  When freezing food such as raw beef and fish (hereinafter referred to as meat), the volume expands when the water contained in the raw meat becomes ice, and large ice crystals are formed in the cells of the meat. . The larger the ice crystals, the more the cells are destroyed.

  And if you thaw the frozen meat in the state of this large ice crystal, the moisture from the destroyed cells will flow out as a drip, and the taste and nutritional components will be lost along with the moisture, It is known that the texture also deteriorates. Therefore, it is said that making ice crystals small is freezing that minimizes the deterioration of meat quality.

  The temperature range of −1 to −5 ° C. where ice crystals are formed is called the “maximum ice crystal formation zone”, and the shorter the time passing through this temperature zone, the smaller the ice crystals. It is said that in the “maximum ice crystal formation zone” at −1 to −5 ° C., 70 to 80% of the moisture contained in meat is frozen. When the freezing end temperature is high, there is a large amount of unfrozen water in the tissue, and water adheres to the ice crystals due to the water vapor pressure difference, and the ice crystals tend to be enlarged and cell damage tends to occur.

  For this reason, in order to preserve meat in a frozen state, it is of course important to quickly pass through the “maximum ice crystal formation zone”, but at the same time, to reduce the growth of ice crystals during storage, the freezing end temperature is lowered. Is needed. In order to lower the final freezing temperature, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-3021 (Patent Document 1), the quality of meat is degraded by adjusting the operation time of the quick freezing operation according to the initial temperature of the freezing room. It has been proposed to reduce.

  In patent document 1, while operating a compressor and an air blower by quick freezing operation, the operation time of a compressor and an air blower is adjusted based on the initial temperature in a freezer compartment. When food is put in the freezer compartment and the quick freezing operation is started, the compressor and the blower start continuous operation, and cold air is continuously introduced into the freezer compartment, and meat is cooled from the outer surface. And since the time of quick freezing operation of the compressor and the blower is adjusted based on the initial temperature in the freezer compartment and the final freezing temperature is lowered, the growth of ice crystals can be suppressed. .

JP-A-6-3021

  As described above, in the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, the time of quick freezing operation is adjusted in accordance with the initial temperature of the freezer, etc. to lower the final freezing temperature of meat, and the frozen storage is performed with little quality deterioration. is there. However, in Patent Document 1, since the quick freezing operation time is determined based on the initial temperature in the freezer compartment and the like so that the final freezing temperature is lowered, the door of the freezer compartment is opened and closed during this frozen storage. In some cases, or when unfrozen food is additionally stored, a phenomenon occurs in which the temperature in the freezer compartment fluctuates.

  Due to such temperature fluctuations in the freezer compartment, frozen ice crystals of meat are melted, and recrystallization causes the ice crystals to enlarge. When the ice crystals become enlarged, the ice crystals that have grown greatly cause the tissue destruction of the meat, resulting in quality deterioration.

  As described above, in the conventional refrigerator including the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, a device for generating as small ice crystals as possible using a method such as quick freezing operation has been devised. When the temperature fluctuations occur, the ice crystals grow greatly due to recrystallization of the ice crystals, and the cell tissue of the meat is damaged. Thereby, the problem of quality deterioration that the loss of drip from meat increases and the texture of meat deteriorates arises.

  The objective of this invention is providing the novel refrigerator which can prevent the quality deterioration of meat during frozen storage by the temperature fluctuation of a freezer.

  The feature of the present invention is that at least a surface of meat stored in the freezer is provided with ice crystal inhibitory component releasing means for supplying an ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component derived from food that inhibits the ice crystal enlargement of meat. The ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component is supplied to the plant.

  According to the present invention, the ice crystal inhibiting component can inhibit the ice crystal of the meat being frozen from being enlarged, so that the drip loss of the meat due to the temperature fluctuation in the freezer and the texture of the meat are deteriorated. It becomes possible to suppress.

It is a front external view of the refrigerator to which the present invention is applied. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the longitudinal cross-section of the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is a front view which shows the structure inside the back surface in the store | warehouse | chamber of the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the ice crystal enlargement inhibitory component discharge | release means used for the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the arrangement | positioning relationship between an ice crystal enlargement inhibitory component discharge | release part and an upper freezer compartment. It is a block diagram explaining the 1st arrangement configuration of an ice crystal enlargement inhibitory component discharge | release means. It is a block diagram explaining the 2nd arrangement configuration of an ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component discharge | release means. It is a flowchart figure explaining the control flow of an ice crystal enlargement inhibition component discharge | release means. It is the microscope picture which observed the ice crystal of the ice crystal expansion inhibitor component aqueous solution. It is the microscope picture which observed the ice crystal of the sucrose aqueous solution. It is the microscope picture which observed the structure | tissue of the tuna after spraying the ice crystal expansion inhibiting component on the tuna surface and storing it frozen. It is the microscope picture which observed the structure | tissue of the tuna after spraying a Ringer's solution on the tuna surface and cryopreserving.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications and application examples are included in the technical concept of the present invention. Is also included in the range.

  Before describing specific embodiments of the present invention, the configuration of a refrigerator to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a front external view of the refrigerator, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a longitudinal cross section of FIG. In FIG. 2, the cross section of the ice making chamber is not shown.

  1 and 2, the refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerator room 2, an ice making room 3, an upper freezer room 4, a lower freezer room 5, and a vegetable room 6 from above. Here, the ice making chamber 3 and the upper freezer compartment 4 are provided side by side between the refrigerator compartment 2 and the lower freezer compartment 5. As an example, the refrigerating room 2 is a storage room having a refrigeration temperature range of about + 3 ° C. and the vegetable room 6 is a refrigerating temperature zone of about + 3 ° C. to + 7 ° C. Further, the ice making room 3, the upper freezing room 4, and the lower freezing room 5 are storage rooms in a freezing temperature zone of approximately −18 ° C. The upper freezer compartment 4 has a smaller volume than the lower freezer compartment 5, and a small amount of food is frozen and stored.

  The refrigerating room 2 is provided with a folding door (so-called French type) refrigerating room doors 2a and 2b divided into left and right sides on the front side. The ice making room 3, the upper freezing room 4, the lower freezing room 5, and the vegetable room 6 are each provided with a drawer type ice making room door 3a, an upper freezing room door 4a, a lower freezing room door 5a, and a vegetable room door 6a. In addition, a packing (not shown) with magnets built in along the outer edge of each door is provided on the surface of each door on the storage room side. When each door is closed, the outside of the refrigerator formed of an iron plate is provided. It is set as the structure which closely_contact | adheres to the flange of a box and each partition iron plate mentioned later, and the penetration | invasion of the external air into a storage chamber, and the leak of the cold air from a storage chamber.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the machine room 11 is formed in the lower part of the refrigerator main body 10, and the compressor 12 is incorporated in this. The cooler storage chamber 13 and the machine chamber 11 are communicated with each other by a drain passage 14 so that condensed water can be discharged.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the outside and inside of the refrigerator body 10 are separated by a heat insulating box 15 formed by filling a foaming heat insulating material (foamed polyurethane) between the inner box and the outer box. Yes. Further, the heat insulating box 15 of the refrigerator body 10 has a plurality of vacuum heat insulating materials 16 mounted thereon. The refrigerator main body 10 is divided into a refrigerator compartment 2, an upper freezer compartment 4 and an ice making chamber 3 (see FIG. 1, the ice making chamber 3 is not shown in FIG. 2) by an upper partition wall 17, and a lower heat insulating partition wall. The lower freezer compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are partitioned by 18.

  In addition, a horizontal partition is provided in the upper part of the lower freezer compartment 5. The horizontal partitioning part partitions the ice making room 3 and the upper freezing room 4 and the lower freezing room 5 in the vertical direction. Moreover, the vertical partition part which partitions off between the ice-making room 3 and the upper freezer compartment 4 in the left-right direction is provided in the upper part of the horizontal partition part.

  A horizontal partition part contacts the packing (not shown) provided in the surface at the side of the storage room of the lower freezer compartment door 5a with the front surface of the lower heat insulation partition wall 18, and the front surface of the left and right side walls. Packings (not shown) provided on the storage room side surfaces of the ice making room door 3a and the upper freezing room door 4a are in contact with the horizontal partition, the vertical partition, the upper heat insulating partition wall 51, and the front surfaces of the left and right side walls of the refrigerator body 1. Thus, the movement of cold air between each storage room and each door is suppressed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the upper freezer compartment 4, the lower freezer compartment 5, and the vegetable compartment 6 are attached with doors 4a, 5a, 6a provided in front of the respective storage compartments. The upper freezer compartment 4 houses and arranges an upper frozen storage container 41, and the lower freezer compartment 5 houses and arranges an upper frozen storage container 61 and a lower frozen storage container 62. Further, an upper vegetable storage container 71 and a lower vegetable storage container 72 are stored and arranged in the vegetable compartment 6.

  Then, the ice making room door 3a, the upper freezing room door 4a, the lower 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 making an ice making storage container 3b (not shown). ), The upper frozen storage container 41, the lower frozen storage container 62, and the lower vegetable storage container 72 can be pulled out.

  More specifically, the lower refrigerated storage container 62 has a support arm 5d attached to the box inside the freezer compartment door, and a flange portion on the upper side of the lower refrigerated storage container 62 is suspended. Only the container 62 is withdrawn. The upper frozen storage container 61 is placed on an uneven portion (not shown) formed on the side wall of the freezer compartment 5 and is slidable in the front-rear direction.

  Similarly, the lower vegetable storage container 72 has a flange portion suspended on a support arm 6d attached to the inner box of the vegetable compartment door 6a, and the upper vegetable storage container 71 is placed on the uneven portion of the side wall of the vegetable compartment. In addition, the vegetable room 6 is provided with an electric heater 6C fixed to the heat insulating box 15, and a temperature suitable for storing vegetables so that the temperature of the vegetable room 6 is not overcooled by the electric heater 6C. It is trying to become. The electric heater 6C may be provided if necessary, but in the present embodiment, the electric heater 6C is provided so that vegetables can be stored better.

  Next, the cooling method of the refrigerator of this embodiment is demonstrated. A refrigerator housing chamber 13 is formed in the refrigerator main body 1, and a cooler 19 is provided therein as a cooling means. The cooler 19 (for example, a fin tube heat exchanger) is provided in a cooler storage chamber 13 provided at the back of the lower freezer compartment 5. Further, a blower 20 (a propeller fan as an example) is provided as a blowing means in the cooler storage chamber 13 and above the cooler 19.

  Air cooled by heat exchange in the cooler 19 (hereinafter, low-temperature air heat-exchanged by the cooler 19 is referred to as “cold air”) is sent by the blower 20 to the refrigerator compartment air duct 21, the freezer compartment air duct 22, and It is sent to each storage room of the refrigeration room 2, the ice making room 3, the upper freezing room 4, the lower freezing room 5, and the vegetable room 6 through an ice making room air duct (not shown).

  The blast to each storage room is sent to the first blast control means (hereinafter referred to as the refrigeration room damper 23) for controlling the amount of air sent to the refrigeration room 2 in the refrigeration temperature zone, and to the freezer compartments 4 and 5 in the freezing temperature zone. It is controlled by second air flow control means (hereinafter referred to as freezer compartment damper 24) that controls the air flow. Incidentally, the air ducts to the refrigerator compartment 2, the ice making room 3, the upper freezer room 4, the lower freezer room 5, and the vegetable room 6 are arranged on the back side of each storage room of the refrigerator body 1 as shown by broken lines in FIG. Is provided. Specifically, when the refrigerator compartment damper 23 is in the open state and the freezer compartment damper 24 is in the closed state, the cold air is sent to the refrigerator compartment 2 from the outlets 25 provided in multiple stages via the refrigerator compartment air duct 21.

  The cold air that has cooled the refrigerator compartment 2 is provided on the lower right rear side of the lower heat insulating partition wall 18 from the refrigerator compartment return port 26 provided in the lower part of the refrigerator compartment 2 through the refrigerator compartment-vegetable compartment communication duct 27. The air is blown from the vegetable room outlet 28 to the vegetable room 6. The return cold air from the vegetable compartment 6 passes from the vegetable compartment return duct inlet 29 provided in front of the lower part of the lower heat insulating partition wall 18 through the vegetable compartment return duct 30 and from the vegetable compartment return duct outlet to the lower part of the cooler storage compartment 13. Return to. In addition, it is good also as a structure which returns to the lower right part seeing from the upper surface of the cooler storage chamber 12 in FIG. 3, without connecting the refrigerator compartment-vegetable compartment communication duct 27 to the vegetable compartment 6 as another structure. As an example in this case, a vegetable room air duct is arranged at the front projection position of the refrigerator compartment-vegetable room communication duct 27, and the cold air heat-exchanged by the cooler 19 is directly blown from the vegetable room outlet 28 to the vegetable room 6. Will come to do.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a partition member 31 is provided in front of the cooler storage chamber 13 to partition each storage chamber from the cooler storage chamber 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the partition member 31 has a pair of upper and lower outlets 32 a, 32 b, 33 a, and 33 b formed therein. When the freezer damper 24 is in an open state, Are blown by the blower 20 to the ice making chamber 3 and the upper freezing chamber 4 from the blowout ports 32a and 32b through the ice making chamber blowing duct and the upper freezing chamber blowing duct 34 (not shown). Further, the air is blown from the outlets 33 a and 33 b to the lower freezer compartment 5 through the lower freezer compartment air duct 35. It should be noted that the lower freezer compartment 5 may be provided with additional outlets as necessary.

  In addition, a control device in which a CPU, a memory such as a ROM or a RAM, an interface circuit, and the like are mounted on the top surface of the refrigerator main body 10 is provided.

  The controller includes an outside temperature sensor (not shown), a cooler temperature sensor (not shown), a refrigerator temperature sensor (not shown), a vegetable room temperature sensor (not shown), and a freezer temperature sensor (not shown). 1), a door sensor (not shown) for detecting the open / closed state of each door of the doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a, a temperature setter (not shown) provided on the inner wall of the refrigerator compartment 2, etc. ing.

  The CPU controls the ON / OFF of the compressor 12 according to a program pre-installed in the ROM, controls the actuators that individually drive the refrigerator compartment damper 23 and the freezer compartment damper 24, and controls the ON / OFF of the blower 20. Controls such as rotational speed control and ON / OFF of an alarm for notifying the door open state are performed.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the refrigerator compartment door 2a is provided with an input control unit 40, and this input control unit 40 is connected to the control device described above. Therefore, the temperature of each storage room of the refrigerator 1 can be set by an input from the input control unit 40. For example, the temperature of each storage chamber is controlled by controlling the rotation speed of the compressor 12, the rotation speed of the blower 20, the opening / closing amount of the refrigerator compartment damper 23 and the freezer compartment damper 24, and the like.

  Further, in this embodiment, the input control unit 40 is newly provided with an ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component release button (hereinafter referred to as antifreeze protein release button) 42. The antifreeze protein release button 42 controls antifreeze protein releasing means for releasing the antifreeze protein component, which is an ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component, into the upper freezer 4 in a mist form. In the following description, the ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component is replaced with the antifreeze protein component.

  Here, the antifreeze protein component is a substance that has the ability to bind to ice crystals and hinder their growth in the sub-freezing temperature range where water freezes, and is known to be derived from fish, insects, and plants. ing. Since the antifreeze protein component used in the present example touches food such as meat, it is necessary that the food-derived component is used in consideration of safety. For example, those derived from fish are known from the genus Ivana of the Salmonidae salmonid family, and radish, carrot, cabbage, potato and the like are known as plants. Furthermore, antifreeze protein components of mushrooms are also known. In this way, when the antifreeze protein component derived from food is brought into contact with meat, it becomes possible to suppress the enlargement of ice crystals and to be safe for the human body.

  FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the antifreeze protein releasing means. The antifreeze protein releasing means 80 includes an antifreeze protein storage tank 81 for storing an antifreeze protein component aqueous solution, a supply unit 83 for supplying the antifreeze protein aqueous solution to the antifreeze protein release unit 82, and a fog of the antifreeze protein aqueous solution. Of the atomizing device 84, the antifreeze protein supply pipe 85 that connects the atomizing device 84 and the antifreeze protein release portion 82, and the upper case 86 that covers and covers the upper portion of the antifreeze protein storage tank 81. ing.

  The upper case 86 is provided with an aqueous solution supply pipe 87 for supplying an antifreeze protein aqueous solution to the atomizer 84. The antifreeze protein aqueous solution atomized by the atomization device 84 passes through the antifreeze protein supply pipe 85, and the antifreeze protein component AFP is released from the antifreeze protein release portion 82 in a mist form. The atomization device 84 for atomizing the antifreeze protein component includes an ultrasonic atomization method, an electrostatic atomization method, etc., and an appropriate method is selected according to the molecular size of the antifreeze protein component AFP. ing. In this example, as the antifreeze protein component, an antifreeze protein component derived from radish radish, which is a food, is used. Here, the antifreeze protein component AFP is released in the form of a mist in order to efficiently attach and contact the antifreeze protein component AFP to the surface of meat.

  FIG. 5 shows an arrangement state of the antifreeze protein releasing portion 82 and the upper freezer compartment 4. A ceiling plate 88 made of synthetic resin is provided on the ceiling surface of the upper freezer compartment 4, and an introduction opening 89 for the antifreeze protein component AFP is formed in a part of the ceiling plate 88. Since the antifreeze protein release portion 82 and the introduction opening 89 are provided at the same position, the mist-like antifreeze protein component AFP released from the antifreeze protein release portion 82 passes through the introduction opening 89 and moves upward. It is sprayed and discharged into the freezer compartment 4. The sprayed antifreeze protein component AFP adheres to and contacts the surface of the meat M placed in the upper freezer compartment 4, and in some cases, penetrates into the interior.

  Here, when spraying and releasing the antifreeze protein component AFP, a large amount of antifreeze protein component AFP is attached to and brought into contact with the surface of the meat M, thereby increasing the ice crystal enlargement inhibitory action by the antifreeze protein component. Therefore, it is desirable to place the meat in the upper freezer compartment 4 with the surface exposed without wrapping the meat with wrap.

  It is also effective to provide a dedicated tray 90 as shown in FIG. 5 in order to reduce psychological resistance to placing meat in the upper freezer compartment 4 without wrapping with wrapping. The special tray 90 is kneaded with an antibacterial agent and the like in consideration of hygiene. On the bottom of the upper freezer compartment 4 is formed a storage area 91 made of protrusions having a “U” shape on the surface, and the dedicated tray 90 can be positioned and stored in this storage area 91.

  As a result, the placement position of the meat to which the antifreeze protein component AFP is to be released is specified, and the antifreeze protein component AFP can be efficiently sprayed and released from the antifreeze protein release portion 82 onto the surface of the meat M. . That is, the storage area portion 91 and the antifreeze protein release portion 82 are disposed at positions facing each other, and the projection surface of the antifreeze protein component AFP sprayed from the antifreeze protein release portion 82 overlaps with the dedicated tray 90. It is.

  Further, when the spraying and release of the antifreeze protein component AFP is completed, a notification sound is sent to the user, and then the user moves the meat into a food storage bag or wraps it with a wrap and again on the top. It returns to the freezer compartment 4 for quick freezing.

  Next, an example of a first arrangement configuration of the upper freezer compartment 4 and the antifreeze protein releasing means 80 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Antifreeze protein releasing means 80 is disposed on one of the left and right sides of the upper freezer compartment 4. And the antifreeze protein storage tank 81 is arrange | positioned in the front side, and the atomization apparatus 84 is arrange | positioned in the back | inner side. Here, the antifreeze protein releasing means 80 is insulated from the upper freezer compartment 4 so that the cold air supplied to the upper freezer compartment 4 does not freeze the antifreeze protein aqueous solution stored in the antifreeze protein storage tank 81. ing. Various heat insulation methods are conceivable, but a method of surrounding the antifreeze protein releasing means 80 with a vacuum heat insulating material or urethane foam or flowing cold air in a refrigerating room controlled at a temperature that does not freeze can be employed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the antifreeze protein supply pipe 85 connected to the atomization device 84 passes through the back surface of the upper frozen storage container 41 from the antifreeze protein discharge part 82 to the upper side of the upper freezer compartment 4. Is open. Here, the upper frozen storage container 41 can be pulled out by placing a hand on a handle (not shown) provided on the door 4a provided in front of the upper freezer compartment 4 and pulling it out to the front side. .

  Then, by driving the atomizing device 84, the antifreeze protein aqueous solution from the antifreeze protein storage tank 81 is atomized, and the atomized antifreeze protein aqueous solution passes through the antifreeze protein supply pipe 85 to antifreeze protein. The mist is discharged from the discharge portion 82 to the upper frozen storage container 41.

  Although not shown here, the door 4a extends to the front side of the antifreeze protein storage tank 81, and the antifreeze protein storage tank 81 can be seen by pulling out the door 4a. As a result, the user can easily check the remaining amount of the antifreeze protein aqueous solution in the antifreeze protein storage tank 81 and clean it when clogging occurs by simply opening the door 4a.

  Next, an example of the second arrangement configuration of the upper freezer compartment 4 and the antifreeze protein releasing means 80 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 7, in the lowermost space of the refrigerator compartment 2, in order from the left, an ice making water tank 92 for supplying ice making water to the ice making tray of the ice making room 3, and a storage for storing chilled foods such as desserts. The case 93 is provided with a decompression storage chamber 94 for maintaining the freshness of food and storing it for a long time by decompressing the interior of the room.

  Moreover, the decompression storage chamber 94 is arrange | positioned at the back of the right refrigerator compartment door 2b. Thereby, the door 95 of the decompression storage chamber 94 can be pulled out only by opening the right refrigerator compartment door 2b. In addition, a reduced pressure storage chamber container for placing food is provided inside the reduced pressure storage chamber 94. An ice making water pump 96 is installed behind the ice making water tank 92. A negative pressure pump 97 for depressurizing the decompression storage chamber 94 is disposed behind the storage case 93 and in a space behind the decompression storage chamber 94. The negative pressure pump 97 is connected to a pump connection portion (not shown) provided on the side surface of the decompression storage chamber 94 via a conduit.

  Antifreeze protein releasing means 80 is provided on the front side of the upper partition wall 98 between the decompression storage chamber 94 and the upper freezing chamber 4. The structure of the antifreeze protein releasing means 80 is the same as that shown in FIG. In this case, the antifreeze protein supply pipe 85 can be shortened by providing the antifreeze protein releasing means 80 on the front side of the upper partition wall 98, that is, on the upper part of the upper freezer compartment 4, and the configuration can be simplified. it can. Further, since the antifreeze protein releasing means 80 is installed using the upper heat insulating partition wall 98, the space utilization rate can be improved.

Next, a control flow for controlling the operation of the antifreeze protein releasing means 80 will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, the control flowchart is started when the antifreeze protein release button 42 shown in FIG. 1 is first pressed, and then the control flowchart is continuously started at a predetermined time period. Here, this control flowchart is executed by a control device provided with a memory such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, an interface circuit, and the like provided on the ceiling wall of the refrigerator. The release button operation of the protein component is performed. Here, the user places the meat in the upper freezer compartment 4 with the surface exposed without wrapping the meat with wrap. In this case, the meat is wrapped by clearly notifying that it is placed in the upper freezer compartment 4 with the meat exposed in the operation manual of the refrigerator, or by notifying by means such as sound. Can be left unwrapped.

  When the user operates the release button for the antifreeze protein component in step S10, the process proceeds to step S11, and it is determined whether or not the door 4a of the upper freezer compartment 4 is closed. In step S11, the open / closed state of the door 4a of the upper freezer compartment 4 is determined because the user may store food such as meat in the upper freezer compartment 4 when the door 4a is open. This is because it is assumed. Therefore, if it is determined in step S11 that the door 4a of the upper freezer compartment 4 is opened, the process proceeds to return and waits for the next activation timing. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S11 that the door 4a of the upper freezer compartment 4 is closed, the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, the antifreeze protein releasing means 80 shown in FIG. 4 is operated. When the antifreeze protein releasing means 80 is operated, the antifreeze protein aqueous solution is supplied from the antifreeze protein storage tank 81 to the atomizer 84 via the aqueous solution supply pipe 87. The antifreeze protein component atomized by 84 in the atomizer is sprayed and discharged from the antifreeze protein discharge portion 82 through the antifreeze protein supply pipe 85. In a state where the antifreeze protein component is sprayed and released from the antifreeze protein release portion 82, the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, it is determined whether or not a predetermined release time has elapsed since the start of spraying and releasing the antifreeze protein component in step S12. This determination can be performed by measuring the spraying and releasing time of the antifreeze protein component by the timer function of the control device. If it is determined that the predetermined release time has not elapsed, the routine proceeds to return and waits for the next activation timing. On the other hand, if it is determined that the predetermined release time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S14. Here, although the release time varies depending on the volume and weight of meat to be stored frozen, a time corresponding to the volume and weight of meat is determined in advance, and the user can set it with the input control unit 40. Is possible. In this case, the discharge time compared in step S13 is changed by the CPU.

  If it is determined in step S13 that the predetermined release time has elapsed, the operation of the antifreeze protein releasing means 80 is stopped in step S14, and the spraying and release of the antifreeze protein component into the upper freezer compartment 4 is stopped. . When spraying and releasing the antifreeze protein component are stopped in step S14, the process proceeds to the next step S15.

  In step S15, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the spraying and releasing of the antifreeze protein component was stopped in step S14. Judgment of the passage of this predetermined time is that sprayed and released antifreeze protein component adheres, contacts, and penetrates more antifreeze protein component on the surface of meat, and ice by antifreeze protein component This is to increase the effect of inhibiting crystal enlargement.

  This determination can be performed by measuring the time after the spraying and releasing time of the antifreeze protein component is stopped by the timer function of the control device as in step S13. If it is determined that the predetermined release time has not elapsed, the routine proceeds to return and waits for the next activation timing.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S16. Although this predetermined time also varies depending on the volume and weight of meat to be stored frozen, it is also possible to determine a time corresponding to the volume and weight of meat in advance and allow the user to set it with the input control unit 40. is there. Also in this case, the predetermined time compared in step S15 is changed by the CPU. The determination in step S15 can be omitted, and when the spraying and releasing of the antifreeze protein component into the upper freezer compartment 4 is stopped in step S14, the process can proceed to the next step S16.

  In step S16, the user is notified that the antifreeze protein component has been sprayed and released, and that the antifreeze protein component has adhered, contacted, and penetrated into the meat. By this notification, the user takes out the meat from the upper freezer compartment 4 and transfers the meat to a food storage bag or wraps it with a wrap and returns it to the upper freezer compartment 4 for quick freezing.

  Thus, in this embodiment, ice freezing protein releasing means for supplying food-derived antifreeze protein components that inhibit the growth of ice crystals in meat is provided in the freezing room, and the meat stored in the freezing room is provided. At least the antifreeze protein component was attached and brought into contact with the surface. According to this, since the enlargement of ice crystals of meat during freezing can be inhibited, it is possible to suppress an increase in drip loss of meat due to temperature fluctuations in the freezer compartment and deterioration of meat texture. become.

  Next, the effect of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are micrographs when the ice crystals of the antifreeze protein aqueous solution and the sucrose aqueous solution are confirmed using a cold stage. FIG. 9A shows ice crystals in the case of an antifreeze protein aqueous solution, and FIG. 9B shows ice crystals in the case of an aqueous sucrose solution.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, it can be seen that the ice crystals are small and pointed in the antifreeze protein aqueous solution. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9B, in the sucrose solution, the ice crystals are rounded and large, and the ice crystals are enlarged. By repeating freezing and thawing, the ice crystal grows in shape and becomes rounder, so that the growth of ice crystals is observed in the sucrose solution, and the growth of ice crystals is suppressed in the antifreeze protein aqueous solution. I understand that.

  10A and 10B show the structure of tuna after spraying the antifreeze protein component and Ringer's solution on the surface of the tuna fish, and storing it frozen for 5 days. Here, Ringer's solution is a kind of physiological salt solution, which is adjusted at a salt concentration that matches fishes so as not to be affected by osmotic pressure. The storage temperature is varied from -2.5 to 2.5 ° C. every hour, and the ice crystals produced in the tuna tissue are repeatedly frozen and thawed.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, the tuna tissue sprayed with the antifreeze protein component has a narrow muscle fiber interval, whereas the sprayed Ringer's solution spreads the muscle fiber interval as shown in FIG. 10B. I understand. This is because in the sprayed Ringer's solution, freezing and thawing were repeated, and the ice crystals were enlarged and the cell tissue was damaged. Thus, by spraying an antifreeze protein component on meat, the damage of the cell structure | tissue by the growth of an ice crystal can be suppressed, and the quality deterioration of meat can be suppressed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, ice crystal inhibition component releasing means for supplying a food-derived ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component that inhibits the growth of ice crystals in meat is provided in the freezer and stored in the freezer. The composition for supplying ice crystal enlargement inhibiting components to at least the surface of the meat.

  According to this, since the enlargement of ice crystals of meat during freezing can be inhibited, it is possible to suppress an increase in drip loss of meat due to temperature fluctuations in the freezer compartment and deterioration of meat texture. become.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to an above-described Example, Various modifications are included. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Further, a part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, it is possible to add, delete, and replace other configurations for a part of the configuration of each embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Refrigerator main body, 2 ... Cold storage room, 3 ... Ice making room, 4 ... Upper freezing room, 5 ... Lower freezing room, 6 ... Vegetable room, 19 ... Cooler, 12 ... Compressor, 42 ... Temperature setting button, 80 ... Antifreeze protein release means, 81 ... Antifreeze protein storage tank, 82 ... Antifreeze protein release part, 83 ... Supply part, 84 ... Atomizer, 85 ... Antifreeze protein supply pipe, 86 ... Upper case, 87 ... Aqueous solution supply Pipe, 88 ... ceiling plate, 89 ... introduction opening.

Claims (5)

Heat insulation box that forms at least a refrigerator compartment, a freezer compartment, and a vegetable compartment, a refrigeration cycle that generates cold air, and a cold air supply that supplies the cold air from the refrigeration cycle to the refrigerator compartment, freezer compartment, and vegetable compartment by a blower In a refrigerator with a road,
A refrigerator comprising an ice crystal inhibition component releasing means for supplying a food-derived ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component that inhibits the growth of meat ice crystals in the freezer. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
The ice crystal inhibition component release means includes an ice crystal enlargement inhibition component storage tank for storing an aqueous solution containing the ice crystal enlargement inhibition component, and the ice crystal enlargement inhibition component from the ice crystal enlargement inhibition component storage tank. An atomizing device for atomizing the aqueous solution of the ice crystal, and an ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component discharge unit for discharging the ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component atomized by the atomizing device to the freezer. Refrigerator. The refrigerator according to claim 2,
The ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component discharge unit sprays the ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component in a mist form from above the freezer. The refrigerator according to claim 3,
A storage area for positioning a tray for placing food such as meat is formed at the bottom of the freezer compartment, and the storage area and the ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component discharge section are at positions facing each other. A refrigerator characterized by being arranged. The refrigerator according to claim 3,
The ice crystal enlargement inhibiting component is a food-derived component, and is obtained from at least one of fish, plants, and mushrooms.

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