JP2020008254A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator that enables quick cooling of, e.g., a pot after cooking and food materials in a refrigeration temperature zone and subsequent storage at a refrigeration temperature.SOLUTION: A refrigerating room 14 is provided with a cold storage unit 60 including a cold storage material 65 freezing in the refrigerating room, thereby enabling quick cooling of an object 70 such as a pot or kettle having a high temperature, by way of the action of the cold storage material 65. The object can be stored in a refrigerating room temperature zone after reaching a refrigerating room 14 temperature upon completion of the quick cooling, and the usability is significantly enhanced.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator room configuration.

  In general, a refrigerator has a plurality of temperature zone storage rooms, and some of the refrigerators have a rapid cooling function using a cold storage material that freezes at a freezing temperature in the freezing temperature zone storage room. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2012-017968 A

  The refrigerator described in Patent Literature 1 has a quick cooling function using a cold storage material in a freezing temperature zone storage room. Even if it is desired to keep the temperature of the target food at the refrigerated temperature by the rapid cooling, the refrigerator reaches a predetermined temperature. If not removed after cooling, there is a possibility of freezing. In addition, it is difficult to secure a sufficient space for storing a large-sized one such as a pot in the freezing temperature zone storage room.

  According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the refrigerator of the present invention is provided with a function of rapid cooling using a regenerative material which solidifies at a refrigeration temperature in a refrigeration temperature zone storage room.

  As a result, the target food is kept in the refrigerated temperature range even if it is left after the rapid cooling is performed, so that the food can be stored without fear of freezing. In addition, since a relatively large space can be secured in the refrigerated temperature zone storage room, a large-sized one such as a pot can be placed.

  The present invention reduces the time in the temperature region where bacteria are likely to occur, shortens the time in the temperature range in which bacteria are likely to occur, and allows the food to be stored in an optimal state or in a more optimal state by cooling, thereby providing a convenient refrigerator corresponding to diversification of lifestyles. be able to.

Front view of refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention Front view showing the inside of the refrigerator Cross section of the refrigerator Front view showing the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator Sectional view showing the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator Sectional perspective view showing the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator Perspective view of the cold storage unit of the refrigerator Sectional view of the cool storage unit of the refrigerator Diagram showing changes over time in cool storage material temperature and pot temperature of the same refrigerator

  A first aspect of the present invention is a refrigerator including a storage shelf for storing items in a refrigeration temperature storage room, a cold storage unit including a cold storage material that solidifies in a refrigeration temperature zone and an outer member that forms an outer shell of the cold storage material. Is installed on the storage shelf.

  Thus, when a hot pot or the like containing the ingredients after cooking is placed on a storage shelf equipped with a cool storage unit in a refrigerated temperature storage room, the pot and the like together with the ingredients in the pot and the like are short-lived due to the cool storage material effect. In this way, rapid growth of foodstuffs in a pot or the like can be suppressed, and the influence of temperature on the foodstuffs in the surroundings can be suppressed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, at least a part of the outer shell member is made of a high heat conductive material such as a metal material.

  This makes it possible to improve the heat exchange efficiency between the cold storage material and the outer member in the cold storage unit, and between the outer member and the pot, etc., and the high temperature pot or the like containing the cooked ingredients is stored in the cold storage unit of the cold storage room. Improves the rapid cooling effect when placed on storage shelves equipped with, and can reduce the temperature in a shorter time, suppressing the growth of bacteria in ingredients such as pots and preventing the decrease in freshness by suppressing the influence of temperature on surrounding ingredients. The effect can be further improved.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the cool storage material is arranged in the outer shell member in a state of being sealed in the bag member.

  As a result, in the production of the cold storage unit, it is possible to incorporate the liquid cold storage material into the outer member in a state of being packed in a bag. It is possible to provide a refrigerator with high reliability without putting it out. In addition, the volume change due to the phase change of the cold storage material can be absorbed between the bag and the outer part, and the shape change of the cold storage unit itself can be suppressed. The heat exchange efficiency between the cold storage unit and the pot or the like can be improved by increasing the contact area.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a heat conduction promoting member is inserted into the bag member, and the heat conduction promoting member is arranged so as to be in contact with the bag member inside.

  Thereby, while increasing the heat conductivity to the cooling plate above the bag member through the heat conduction promoting member immersed in the cold storage material, the heat exchange between the object and the cold storage material can be increased, and particularly, the high temperature The target in the state can be quickly brought to 20 ° C. or less.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the cool storage unit is embedded in a storage shelf.

  Thereby, it is possible to secure a sense of stability when a pot or the like is placed on the storage shelf on which the cool storage unit is mounted.

  In a sixth aspect of the present invention, the cool storage unit is embedded so as to be substantially flush with the surface of the storage shelf.

  Thereby, a high-temperature pot or the like containing the ingredients after cooking can be placed on the storage shelf of the refrigerated storage room where the regenerative unit is mounted, even if it is a large one protruding from the regenerative unit without limitation in size. Becomes In addition, even when the storage shelf is used in normal storage that does not require rapid cooling, food can be placed freely without any restriction on the place where it is used.

  In a seventh aspect of the present invention, the cool storage unit is buried in an upper storage room space of the storage shelf, and a space temperature of a lower storage room space of the storage shelf is set lower than that of the upper storage room space.

  Thus, when a high-temperature pot or the like containing the ingredients after cooking is placed on a storage shelf equipped with a regenerative unit in a refrigerated temperature storage room, the temperature of the regenerative unit rises due to the heat of the pan or the like, thereby causing the regenerative unit to cool. Although the temperature of the lower storage room lower than the storage shelf on which storage is mounted is also affected, the lower the space temperature is set, the smaller the effect can be suppressed and the lower the freshness of stored food can be prevented. it can.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIGS. 1 to 6 are diagrams illustrating the entire refrigerator and the configuration of each part, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrams illustrating a regenerative storage unit attached to a refrigerator compartment.

(1. Overall configuration of refrigerator)
First, the overall configuration of the refrigerator will be described with reference to FIGS.

  1 to 3, the refrigerator according to the present embodiment includes a refrigerator body 1 having an open front, and the refrigerator body 1 includes a metal outer box 2, a hard resin inner box 3, A plurality of storage compartments are formed by partitioning plates 5, 6 and the like.

  Each storage room of the refrigerator main body 1 can be opened and closed by a pivotable door 7 or drawer-type doors 8, 9, 10 and 11 employing the same heat insulation structure as the refrigerator main body 1.

  The storage room formed in the refrigerator main body 1 includes a refrigerating room 14 at the uppermost part, a switching room 15 provided under the refrigerating room 14 and capable of switching a temperature zone, and an ice making room 16 provided beside the refrigerating room 14, a switching room 15 and It comprises a freezing compartment 18 provided between the ice making compartment 16 and the lowest vegetable compartment 17.

  The temperature of the refrigerating compartment 14 is usually about 3 ° C., which is not frozen for refrigeration and kept at 1 ° C. to 10 ° C. for suppressing the generation of bacteria in food. The vegetable room 17 has a normal setting of about 7 ° C., which is slightly higher than the temperature of the refrigerator room 14. The freezing compartment 18 is usually set at about -20C, but may be set at about -30C in order to improve the frozen storage state. The ice making room 16 has a temperature setting close to that of the freezing room 18, and the switching room 15 can change the temperature setting from the same temperature as the refrigerator room 14 to the same temperature as the freezing room 18.

  Further, a cooling chamber 23 is provided on the back of the freezing chamber 18 of the refrigerator body 1, and a cooler 24 for generating cool air and a cooling fan 25 for supplying the cool air to each chamber are installed in the cooling chamber 23. It is.

  The cooler 24 constitutes a refrigeration cycle by connecting the compressor 27, a condenser (not shown), a heat radiation pipe (not shown) for heat radiation, and a capillary tube (not shown) in a ring shape. The cooling is performed by circulation of the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 27.

  The cooling fan 25 is provided above the cooler 24, and supplies cool air to the refrigerator compartment 14, the refrigerator compartment 18, the vegetable compartment 17 and the like via the refrigerator compartment duct 28 and the refrigerator compartment duct 29 connected to the downstream side. Then, each of these chambers is cooled.

(2. Refrigerator configuration)
Next, the configuration of the refrigerator compartment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The refrigerator compartment 14 is located at the uppermost part of the refrigerator main body 1, and a plurality of shelves 20 formed of a translucent material are detachably provided to partition the refrigerator compartment space into a plurality of upper and lower spaces. A low-temperature storage room 21 is provided.

  The refrigerator compartment duct 28 described above is provided on the back of the refrigerator compartment 14. The refrigerating compartment duct 28 is formed by covering with a heat insulating member made of styrene foam and a resin cover member on the refrigerating compartment side surface, and covers a cold air supply port of the partition plate 5 for partitioning between the refrigerating compartment 14 and the freezing compartment 18. As described above, it is mounted on the back of the refrigerator compartment and communicates with the cooling compartment 23.

  A refrigerating compartment damper is incorporated in the cold air supply port, and the opening and closing of the refrigerating compartment damper 37 controls the amount of cold air supplied from the cooling compartment 23 to the refrigerating compartment 14.

  The low temperature storage room 21 has a cooling temperature range of a partial temperature which is a low temperature of −5 to 3 ° C. suitable for micro-freezing storage, or a higher temperature of about 1 ° C. which is lower than the refrigerator room 14 but higher than the partial room. It can be cooled to the chilled temperature.

  A storage shelf 50 of the refrigerator compartment 14 that insulates the refrigerator compartment 14 from the low-temperature storage compartment 21 below a plurality of shelves 20 that partition the interior of the refrigerator compartment 14 into upper and lower spaces. A heat insulating material 53 made of styrene foam or the like is incorporated in the top plate member (hereinafter, the top plate member 50). A concave portion 54 is provided in the upper surface portion 50a of the top plate member 50 which is also a storage shelf in the temperature zone of the refrigerator compartment 14. The shape of the heat insulating material 53 corresponding to the concave portion 54 has a similar concave shape.

  The cool storage unit 60 is removably housed in a recess 54 provided in the top plate member 50. The upper surface of the stored cold storage unit 60 is arranged so as to be flush with the upper surface 50 a of the top plate member 50.

(3. Cool storage unit configuration)
Next, the configuration of the cold storage unit will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The cool storage unit 60 is configured by an outer member vertically divided. A frame-shaped upper outer member 61 molded of a resin material, a cooling plate 62 formed of a high heat conductive member such as a metal material incorporated from the back side of the upper outer member 61, and fitting with the upper outer member 61 A cool storage material 65 is sealed in a bag member 64 such as a metal film inside a shell formed by a lower shell member 63 molded of a resin material system to be assembled. Specifically, it is formed of a film bag member obtained by laminating aluminum foil.

  That is, the front surface of the cold storage unit 60 on which the storage object is placed is formed of a high heat conductive member such as a metal material, and the back surface is formed of a material having a lower heat conductivity than a metal such as glass or resin instead of a metal material. Therefore, the thermal conductivity to the storage can be increased, and the cooling loss can be reduced.

  By providing an air layer on the bottom surface side of the cold storage material 65, heat conduction to the bottom surface side via the cold storage material 65 can be suppressed. Furthermore, by forming a space between the lower outer member 83 and the installation surface, heat conduction to the bottom surface side of the cool storage unit can be suppressed.

  The cooling plate 62 is formed so as to be flush with the upper surface of the upper outer member 61 by performing drawing at the center and lower at the periphery, thereby forming the upper surface of the cold storage unit 60.

  Specifically, a step portion 62a is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the cooling plate 62, and the upper outer member 61 is arranged so as to overlap the upper surface of the step portion 62a, and the upper surface portion of the cooling plate 62 and the upper outer member 61 are substantially the same. It is configured to be a surface. The provision of the step portion 62a increases the rigidity of the cooling plate 62, and can suppress the deformation of the cooling plate 62 when the volume of the cold storage material 65 changes due to the phase change.

  Further, since the cooling plate 62 forming the upper surface of the cold storage unit 60 and the upper surface of the upper outer member 61 are substantially flush with each other by forming the stepped portion 62a, the cold storage unit 60 is housed in the top plate member 50. Sometimes, it can be stored flat on the same plane as the upper surface of the top plate member 50, so that even if a container such as a pot is placed out of the cooling plate 62, it can be stably placed.

  In addition, by providing a concave portion (not shown) into which a finger of a hand can be inserted in a part of the top plate member 50, the cold storage unit 60 can be easily removed from the top plate member 50.

  The bag member 64 enclosing the cool storage material 65 is bonded to only the cooling plate 62 inside the cool storage unit 60 with an adhesive such as an adhesive or a double-sided tape. Further, a space 71 is formed between the cold storage material 65 in the liquid state and the upper outer member 61 and the lower outer member 63. Even when the cold storage material 65 changes phase and solidifies, heat conduction to the cooling plate 62 is maintained in the cold storage unit 60, while deformation due to contact with the upper outer member 61 and the lower outer member 63 is suppressed, and the cooling plate Since the bag member 64 is not adhered to the lower outer member 63 which is the opposite surface of the bag member 62, the damage of the bag member 64 can be prevented.

The regenerator material 65 is made of a material that solidifies at the refrigerating temperature of the refrigerating compartment. For example, a material disclosed in JP-A-2017-003182 is used. Specifically, materials that form clathrate hydrate by cooling such as clathrate hydrate of a quaternary ammonium salt have a melting point higher than 0 ° C. (the temperature at which decomposition of clathrate hydrate starts). There are materials to have. For example, there is a clathrate hydrate of tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) having a melting point of about 5 to 12 ° C. Inside the cold storage material 65 sealed in the bag member 64, heat conduction such as metal wool is promoted. The member 66 is immersed, and the heat conduction promoting member 66 is spirally housed so as to have at least one contact portion with the bag member 64.

  Further, the cool storage unit 60 is provided with an installation position indicating section 67 indicating an optimum installation place of the food. Further, since the cooling plate 62 serving as the upper surface portion of the cold storage unit 60 is formed in a color different from that of the top plate member 50, it is possible to indicate at which position on the top plate member 50 the food to be rapidly cooled should be placed. it can.

  The operation and effect of the refrigerator configured as described above will be described below.

  When the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 14 becomes higher than the set temperature, the refrigerator drives the compressor 27 and the cooling fan 25, and supplies the cool air generated by the cooler 24 to the downstream side of the cooling fan 25.

  The cool air supplied to the downstream side of the cooling fan 25 is supplied to the refrigerator compartment 14, the vegetable compartment 17, the freezer compartment 18, and the low-temperature storage compartment 21 via the refrigerator compartment duct 28 and the like, and cools each compartment. The supply of cold air to each of the chambers is controlled by opening and closing a damper (not shown) to cool the refrigerator compartment 14, the vegetable compartment 17, the freezing compartment 18, and the low-temperature storage compartment 21 to their respective set temperatures.

  The cool air supplied from the cooling room 23 to the refrigerator room duct 28 circulates in the refrigerator room 14 and returns to the cooling room 23. During this time, the temperature inside the refrigerator is controlled by controlling the supply amount of cool air by opening and closing a damper based on an output from a refrigerator temperature sensor (not shown).

  Next, the rapid cooling by the cool storage unit will be described with reference to FIG.

  The cold storage unit 60 housed and arranged in the top plate member 50 is normally maintained at the same temperature as the temperature in the refrigerator compartment 14. Since the upper surface of the cold storage unit 60 is flush with the surface of the top plate member 50, the cold storage unit 60 can freely use food having a size exceeding the size of the cold storage unit 60 without imposing a use restriction. be able to.

  Further, by forming the drawn portion 62a on the cooling plate 62, the strength of the cooling plate 62 is increased, and the upper surface of the cold storage unit 60 is deformed when the volume of the cold storage material 65 changes with the phase change. Can be suppressed. Thereby, the contact area with the pot or the like can be increased, the heat exchange efficiency between the cold storage unit and the pot or the like can be improved, and the rapid cooling effect can be further improved.

  The situation where rapid cooling is desired is described. There are many needs to preserve the remaining ingredients after cooking while maintaining the taste and safety until the next meal. For example, in a situation where hot food such as a pot is cooked in the summer morning, and then immediately go out, if left as it is, bacteria will develop in the food, and when returning home at night, the food will be damaged and cannot be eaten. There is. At this time, if rapid cooling can be performed after cooking in the morning, such a situation can be prevented.

  Generally, when the temperature of the food material is in a temperature range of about 20 ° C. to 50 ° C., it is said that the food poisoning bacteria are easily grown. By passing this temperature zone early, the generation of bacteria can be suppressed and safety can be ensured.

  An object 70 (about 40 ° C to 90 ° C) in a high temperature state, such as a pot in which food is cooked and a dish is left, a kettle containing uncooled boiled tea, a freshly packed lunch, and the like, a cold storage unit The cooling plate 62 is placed on the upper surface of the cooling plate 62. The object can be rapidly cooled by performing heat exchange with the cold storage material 65 via the cooling plate 62, the bag member 64, and the heat conduction promoting member 66. The regenerator material solidifies at 0 ° C. or higher, taking into account the latent heat of 100 J / g or more and the depth of supercooling, and uses a material having a melting point of 10 ° C. or lower to ensure the effect of rapid cooling.

  FIG. 9 shows a temperature change from the time when the cold storage material 65 at normal temperature is stored at a predetermined position in the refrigerator compartment 14. The regenerative material 65 is a material having a solidification point of, for example, 5 ° C. and a melting point of, for example, 7 ° C. When the refrigerating compartment temperature is about 3 ° C., the regenerator material 65 reaches a supercooling depth near the refrigerating compartment temperature, supercools, starts to solidify after the supercooling is released, and rises to a freezing point of 5 ° C. It is maintained in a solid state at the refrigerator room temperature.

  After installing the pot of the object 70 in the solidified regenerative unit, the temperature of the regenerator 65 rises, but since the temperature of the object 70 passes through the temperature zone of about 20 ° C to 50 ° C, the latent heat of the regenerator is used. The temperature can quickly pass through this temperature zone, and the temperature temporarily stabilizes near the melting temperature (7 ° C.) due to the latent heat effect of the cold storage material. Then, after using latent heat, the temperature rises again and melts. Through the process up to the melting, the temperature of the object can be rapidly cooled to the refrigerator compartment temperature.

  The cooling speed can be increased by effectively utilizing the latent heat of the cold storage material 65. For that purpose, it is necessary to quickly transfer the heat of the object 70 to the entire inside of the cold storage material 65 so that the entire cold storage material 65 can exchange heat. The heat conduction promoting member 66 is formed of a copper or aluminum material in a wool shape, and is provided in such a manner that it spreads over the entire inside of the bag member 64 and is in contact with the bag member 64. Thus, the cold storage material 65 located at a position away from the cooling plate 62 can be effectively used.

  When an object 70 having a high temperature is introduced into the refrigerator compartment 14, a refrigerator compartment temperature sensor (not shown) senses that the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment 14 has risen, controls opening and closing of a damper, and discharges from the refrigerator compartment duct 28. By increasing the supply of the cool air to be supplied, a synergistic effect with the cool storage unit 60 can be obtained, and the cooling speed can be further increased.

  The cold storage material 65 after the heat exchange with the object 70 is in a molten state and higher than the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 14. In order to suppress the influence of the temperature on the surrounding foodstuffs, in particular, the low-temperature storage room 21 on the lower side where the cool storage unit 60 is installed, the lower side of the concave portion 54 provided in the top plate member 50 in which the cool storage unit 60 is embedded is used. By setting the temperature range lower than usual and incorporating a heat insulating material 53 made of styrene foam or the like, the temperature effect can be suppressed.

  In addition, since the freezing point of the cold storage material 65 is 5 ° C., it solidifies in a state of being placed in the cold room 14 higher than the temperature of the cold room (about 3 ° C.). Can be used.

  In addition, by setting the melting point of the cold storage material 65 to 10 ° C. or less, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of the peripheral food material to 10 ° C. or less. This makes it possible to realize an ideal storage temperature of 10 ° C. or less, which suppresses the growth of bacteria, not only in the food to be rapidly cooled but also in peripheral foods.

  Further, the object 70 having a high temperature must be placed on the upper surface of the cooling plate 62 of the refrigerator compartment 14 in order to obtain a rapid cooling effect. 67 are provided. For example, the cooling plate 62 is provided with a small concave circular mark, a character stamp, a logo, or the like, and the upper outer member 61 is provided with a mark, a seal, or the like to explain the function. By imprinting a small recess on the cooling plate 62, not only the reduction of the contact area with the pot or the like can be minimized, but also the strength of the cooling plate 62 is further increased, the flatness is improved, and the heat exchange efficiency is improved. The effect is also obtained.

  In addition, by providing an air layer at the bottom of the lower outer member 63, it is possible to suppress the heat conduction downward, and to more effectively conduct the heat of the cooling plate 62 on the upper surface side. The temperature influence on the low-temperature storage room 21 on the side can be suppressed.

  As described above, the refrigerator according to the present invention has been described using the above embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, the embodiments disclosed this time are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. That is, the scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION This invention can cool and preserve | save various foodstuffs which want to store at low temperature in a refrigeration temperature zone in an optimal state or a more optimal state, and can provide a convenient refrigerator corresponding to diversification of foodstuffs. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to various types and sizes of refrigerators for home use and business use.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator main body 2 Outer box 3 Inner box 4 Foam insulation material 5, 6 Partition plate 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 Door 14 Refrigerator room 20 Shelf board 21 Low-temperature storage room 23 Cooling room 24 Cooler 25 Cooling fan 28 Refrigerator room Duct 50 Top plate member 53 Insulation material 54 Concave portion 60 Cold storage unit 61 Upper outer member 62 Cooling plate 62a Stepped portion 63 Lower outer member 64 Bag member 65 Cold storage material 66 Heat conduction promoting member 70 Object

Claims (7)

In a refrigerator provided with a storage shelf for storing items in a refrigeration temperature storage room, a regenerative storage unit configured by a regenerative material that solidifies in a refrigerating temperature zone and an outer member constituting an outer shell of the regenerative material is provided on the storage shelf. Refrigerator characterized by being installed. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the outer member is made of a high heat conductive material such as a metal material. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cold storage material is disposed in the outer member while being sealed in a bag member. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein a heat conduction promoting member is inserted into the bag member, and the heat conduction promoting member is disposed so as to be in contact with the bag member inside. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cool storage unit is embedded in the storage shelf. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the cool storage unit is buried so as to be substantially flush with the surface of the storage shelf.
Refrigerator. The said cool storage unit is embedded in the upper storage room space of the said storage shelf, The space temperature of the lower storage room space of the said storage shelf was set lower than the said upper storage room space, The Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. A refrigerator according to any one of the preceding claims.

Images