JP4691474B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional technique for improving the speed of cooling food, that is, rapid cooling performance. According to Patent Document 1, a cooling plate is provided in the lower part of a cooling cooking chamber that performs rapid cooling, and during rapid cooling operation, the coolant is concentrated on the cooling plate to concentrate the cooling capacity, thereby improving the rapid cooling performance. It is supposed to be possible.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a food cooling device capable of rapid cooling. In this food cooling device, the cooling time of the food is shortened by radiating a cold airflow bundle as a jet into the cooling chamber.

JP 2004-144365 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-77088

  When rapid cooling is performed using the conventional technique described in Patent Document 1, the main heat absorption depends on a cooling plate provided at the lower part of the cooling cooking chamber. Therefore, in order to obtain a sufficient cooling rate, the main part of the surface area of the food to be cooled (or the container covering the food) is closely attached to the cooling plate, and the contact thermal resistance between the cooling plate and the food is sufficiently reduced. Is essential. However, in general, when considering foods that are rapidly cooled in a refrigerator of a household refrigerator, there are few foods that can be sufficiently adhered to the cooling plate. With respect to this problem, in Patent Document 1, when cooling a can beverage, a metal block having a semi-cylindrical depression is placed on the cooling plate, and the can drink is placed in the depression portion of the metal block to thereby contact the area. A means for ensuring the above and increasing the cooling rate is described.

  However, since the shape of canned beverages is not uniform with large or small diameters, high or low heights, it is necessary to prepare metal blocks for all canned beverages. Increase in cost. In addition, when taking into consideration the cooling of PET bottle beverages, which have been increasing in recent years, since the shapes of PET bottle containers are various, it becomes more difficult to cope with them. Furthermore, it is not realistic to prepare a metal block in consideration of the shape of general foods other than beverages.

  As described above, the conventional technique described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that a sufficient cooling rate cannot be obtained in the case of food with poor adhesion to the cooling plate.

  The prior art described in Patent Document 2 is to cool the food by directing the cold air beam ejected from the through hole into the freezing chamber to the food, and includes the flow of the cold air after colliding with the food, and the like. The structure of the cold air circulation was not considered. Moreover, it was not what was considered about the mounting position and shape of the foodstuff to accommodate.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said subject, and it aims at providing the refrigerator which can obtain sufficient cooling rate with respect to the foodstuff of various shapes in the store | warehouse | chamber of a refrigerator.

In order to achieve the above object, the present onset Ming, the heat-insulating main body, and a cooler, and the cooler housing chamber that houses the cooler, and the internal blower fan for circulating the cold air in the refrigerator, the food In a refrigerator comprising a rapid cooling chamber capable of rapid cooling, a ventilation path for sending cold air to the rapid cooling chamber, and a return path for returning cold air to the cooler storage chamber, the rapid cooling chamber is A jet outlet for discharging cooling air to be cooled is provided on a side surface of the rapid cooling chamber, the rapid cooling chamber is provided with a separate rapid cooling chamber cooling fan from the internal blower fan, and the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan The air flow path branches downstream, and the cooling air discharged from one jet discharge port and the cooling air discharged from the other jet discharge port are discharged in a horizontal direction, and the one jet discharge The sum of the opening area of the outlet and the other jet outlet is the air flow Smaller than the minimum cross-sectional area before branching, and smaller than the sum of the minimum cross-sectional areas of the air flow paths after branching, the opening area of the one jet discharge port is after the branch leading to the one jet discharge port The opening area of the other jet discharge port is smaller than the minimum cross-sectional area of the blower passage and smaller than the minimum cross-sectional area of the blower passage after branching to the other jet discharge port, and is accommodated in the quick cooling chamber. The gist is to rapidly cool as a high heat transfer region by ejecting jets with different velocities facing from both sides to the food and colliding with the food, and colliding with the low heat transfer region generated by the high speed jet. .

Further , the gist of the invention is that the jet outlets are provided on the surfaces of the rapid cooling chamber facing each other.

The quick cooling chamber is provided with jet discharge position changing means for changing a relative position between the jet discharge port and the indoor space of the quick cooling chamber.

Further, the gist of the use of rotating mechanism to the means for changing the relative position between the indoor space of the rapid cooling chamber and the jet discharge ports.

The quick cooling chamber cooling fan is a centrifugal fan.

The gist of the invention is that the inlet of the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan communicates with the terminal end of the rapid cooling chamber air passage.

The gist of the invention is that a rotating means is provided on the bottom surface of the rapid cooling chamber.

Further , the gist is to change the speed of the rotational movement by the rotating means during the rapid cooling.

Further , the refrigerator according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the rotational direction of the rotational motion by the rotating means is changed during rapid cooling.

The quick cooling chamber is provided with a storage container that is integrally opened and closed with a pull-out door body of the quick cooling chamber, and is provided with a rotatable part on the bottom surface of the storage container. The gist is that the rotating shaft of the rotating portion is connected to the rotating shaft of the rotating means on the bottom surface of the rapid cooling chamber when the is closed.

Further , the cooler storage chamber in which the cooler is stored, the rapid cooling chamber blowing path, the rapid cooling chamber, and a part of the wall surface constituting the rapid cooling chamber return cooling air path are configured by a heat storage material. Is the gist.

Further , the gist of the present invention is that input means for instructing the start of the rapid cooling operation is provided.

The gist of the invention is that it further comprises anti-freezing means for preventing the food in the rapid cooling chamber from freezing.

The gist of the invention is that a plurality of modes are provided in the rapid cooling operation.

Further , the gist of the present invention is that it has means for inputting the end criterion value for the rapid cooling operation.

Further , the gist is that the end determination reference value is given by time or temperature.

The gist of the invention is that the freeze prevention means is automatically operable when a specific mode is selected from the plurality of modes.

Further , the gist is that the jet discharge port has a substantially rectangular shape, and the long side of the jet discharge port is a majority dimension of the height dimension of the rapid cooling chamber.

In addition , a plurality of the substantially rectangular jet discharge ports are arranged in the same surface of the rapid cooling chamber, and the total size of the long side dimensions of the jet discharge ports in the same surface is the depth dimension of the rapid cooling chamber. The gist is that the dimensions are the majority.

  According to the present invention as described above, a refrigerator capable of obtaining a sufficient cooling rate for foods of various shapes can be provided.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the same functional parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerator compartment 2, an ice making compartment 3, a quick cooling compartment 4, a freezer compartment 5, and a vegetable compartment 6 from above. The door 2a of the refrigerator compartment 2 is provided with an operation panel 26 for setting the internal temperature of the refrigerator 1, setting the operation mode, displaying the internal temperature, etc. FIG. 2 is shown in FIG. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which looked at the AA cross section from the arrow direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the outside of the refrigerator 1 and the inside of the refrigerator are separated by a heat insulating box 10. The interior of the refrigerator is partitioned into a refrigerator compartment 2, a quick cooling compartment 4, a freezer compartment 5, and a vegetable compartment 6 from above the interior by heat insulating partition walls 28, 29 and 30. The rapid cooling chamber 4 and the ice making chamber 3 shown in FIG. 1 are separated by a heat insulating wall (not shown). The refrigerator compartment 2 is opened and closed by a rotary door 2a, and the quick cooling compartment 4, the freezer compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are opened and closed by drawer type doors 4a, 5a and 6a provided in front of the respective compartments. The drawer type doors 4a, 5a, and 6a are provided with storage containers 4b, 5b, and 6b, respectively. The storage container 4b can contain, for example, canned beverages for quick cooling, and the storage container 5b can contain frozen foods. For example, vegetables can be stored in 6b. The ice making chamber 3 shown in FIG. 1 includes a drawer-type door (not shown) and a storage container (not shown), and ice is stored in the storage container of the ice making chamber 3.

  The cooler 7 is provided in a cooler storage chamber 8 provided substantially at the back of the freezer compartment 5, and air (in which heat is exchanged by the cooler 7 by an internal blower fan 9 provided above the cooler 7). In this specification, the heat-exchanged low-temperature air is sometimes referred to as cold air or cooling air). Air blowing is controlled by opening and closing the damper 20.

  A machine room 19 is provided on the lower back side of the heat insulating box 10. The machine room 19 stores a compressor 24 and a radiator (condenser) (not shown) and is ventilated by an outside cooling fan (not shown). The compressor 24, a radiator (not shown), a throttle mechanism (not shown), and the cooler 7 are connected by a refrigerant pipe (not shown) to constitute a refrigeration cycle. The refrigerant is isobutane.

  The frost adhering to the cooler 7 is periodically defrosted by the defrost heater 22. The defrosted water generated by the defrosting flows into the eaves 23 provided at the lower part of the cooler storage chamber 8, then reaches the evaporating dish 21 through the drain pipe 27 and evaporates.

  The refrigerator 1 has a plurality of vacuum heat insulating materials 25 mounted thereon.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a ventilation path of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment. Below, the circulation path | route of the cooling air of the refrigerator of a present Example is demonstrated, referring FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, after the cooling air cooled in the cooler storage chamber 8 is boosted by the internal blower fan 9 and the damper 20 is in an open state, the refrigerating chamber blow duct 11 and the vegetable compartment blow are provided. It is sent to the refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment 6, the ice making compartment 3, the freezer compartment 5, and the quick cooling compartment 4 through the duct 15, the ice making compartment air duct 12, the freezer compartment air duct 14, and the quick cooling compartment air duct 13. After each room is cooled, the refrigerator storage chamber is connected to the refrigerator compartment return duct 16 from the refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment return duct 19 from the vegetable compartment 6, and the rapid cooling compartment return duct 18 from the quick cooling compartment 4. Return to 8. The cooling air that has cooled the ice making chamber 3 merges with the cooling air that has cooled the freezing chamber 5 and returns to the cooler storage chamber 8 via the ice making chamber / freezing chamber return duct 17. On the other hand, when the damper 20 is in the closed state, the ventilation to the refrigerator compartment air duct 11 and the vegetable compartment air duct 15 is blocked, and the cooling air is sent only to the ice making chamber 3, the quick cooling chamber 4, and the freezer compartment 5. .

  The refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment 6, the freezer compartment 5, and the quick cooling compartment 4 are provided with temperature sensors (not shown). The vegetable compartment 6 and the quick cooling compartment 4 are provided with a heating heater (not shown). In the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, the opening / closing of the damper 20 and the energization amount to the heating heater change according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor provided in each chamber, and the temperature of each chamber is maintained at a predetermined temperature. It is like that. Further, a heat storage material (not shown) is provided on the wall surface constituting the rapid cooling chamber air duct 13.

  Below, the structure of the quick cooling chamber of the refrigerator of a present Example is demonstrated, referring FIG. 4, FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the quick cooling chamber of the refrigerator of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the rapid cooling chamber 4, the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31 and a member for allowing all the cooling air from the rapid cooling chamber air duct 13 to flow into the suction port of the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31 upward. 35, a duct 32 through which the cooling air discharged from the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31 passes, and an exhaust port 44 communicating with the rapid cooling chamber return duct 18 are provided. Further, the quick cooling chamber side surface 37 is provided with a rotating portion 37 ′ driven by a motor (not shown), and the rotating portion 37 ′ is provided with a jet discharge port 33. Cooling air that has passed through the duct 32 is discharged from the jet discharge port 33. A rotating part 34 driven by a motor (not shown) is provided on the bottom of the rapid cooling chamber. A window (opening) 36 is provided on the side surface of the storage container 4b so that the storage container 4b does not block the flow of the jet discharged from the jet discharge port 33. Further, a rotatable rotating part 4b 'is provided on the bottom surface of the storage container 4b. When the door 4a is closed, the rotating part 4b' on the bottom surface of the storage container 4b and the rapid cooling chamber bottom surface rotating part 34 are provided. Are connected to each other. Therefore, the rotating part 4b ′ is rotated by the driving force that rotates the rotating part 34 on the bottom surface of the rapid cooling chamber. The rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31 is a centrifugal fan, and the reason will be described later. Further, the long side of the jet discharge port 33 is a majority dimension of the height dimension of the rapid cooling chamber 4. Further, the quick cooling chamber side surface 37 is provided with two jet outlets 33 at the front and rear, and the combined value of the long side dimensions is a majority dimension of the depth dimension of the rapid cooling chamber 4.

  5 is a cross-sectional view of the BB cross section shown in FIG. 4 as viewed in the direction of the arrow.

  The cooling air boosted by the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31 is sent to both the surface 37a side located on the outer side of the rapid cooling chamber 4 and the surface 37 side located on the ice making chamber side via the duct 32. It is discharged from the jet outlets 33 and 33 'provided at the position of the substantially mirror surface of the surface. Here, the cooling air sent by the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31 is guided to the outside of the warehouse and the ice making chamber side by the branching of the duct 32, but each duct 32 has a different cross-sectional area. In the present embodiment, the outside of the box is narrower than the ice making chamber side, and has a shape with a large ventilation resistance. According to this configuration, the jetting speed can be reduced on the outer side compared to the ice making chamber side. The rapid cooling chamber 4 is provided with a heater and a temperature detector (not shown).

  Next, the usage method of the quick cooling function of the refrigerator of a present Example is demonstrated.

  When using the rapid cooling function, the user first installs food at a predetermined position in the rapid cooling chamber storage container 4b. Next, “rapid cooling operation” is selected from the operation panel 26 provided in the refrigerator compartment door 2a, and then the rapid cooling operation mode is selected. The rapid cooling operation mode is divided into a plurality of modes. In the refrigerator of this embodiment, “speed cooling” and “speed freezing” can be selected. “Speed cooling” is selected when cooling food that does not require freezing, and “speed freezing” is selected when cooling food that desires freezing.

  If “speed cooling” is selected, next, whether or not the rapid cooling chamber bottom surface is rotated (ON / OFF) is set. This is turned on when food is placed in the rotating part 4b 'provided on the bottom surface of the storage container 4b in the quick cooling chamber 4, and it is determined that the food does not fit in the rotating part 4b' or that rotation is unnecessary. If it does, turn it off. The turning on / off can be set independently for the two rotating portions 4b 'on the bottom surface of the storage container 4b.

Next, the shape of the food to be cooled is selected from “Tatenagara”, “Usumono” and “Large”. For example, the user selects “Tatenaga” when placing something vertically such as 350 ml canned beer, or “Usumono” when cooling food with a low height, both height and width. Select “large” to cool large foods.

  Subsequently, either “cooling time” or “attainment temperature” is selected as the rapid cooling termination condition, and the termination condition is set. When “Speed cooling” is selected and the rapid cooling end condition is given by “Cooling time”, the “Freezing prevention function” to prevent the food from freezing is automatically turned on. If the user determines that the “freezing prevention function” is unnecessary, it can be canceled from the operation panel.

  However, if you perform the “Release Freeze Function” operation, the confirmation message “Do you want to release the Freeze Prevention function?” Is displayed on the operation panel, and the freeze prevention function is released only if you agree to this. The This completes the setting when “Speed Cooling” is selected, so the user selects “Cooling Start”. This operation activates the rapid cooling function.

The quick freezing operation after the above settings are completed will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the quick freezing operation according to the present embodiment. In response to the input of “cooling start”, the damper 20 that controls the air flow to the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6 is closed, and the rotation speed of the compressor 24, the internal fan 9 and the quick cooling chamber cooling fan 31 is The high-speed rotation is started, and the rapid cooling operation is started (step S110). At this time, the outside cooling fan (not shown) is also rotated at a high speed in accordance with the high speed rotation of the compressor 24 to increase the efficiency of the entire refrigeration cycle.

At this time, if the user has set the rotation to be on, the rotation unit 34 on the bottom surface of the rapid cooling chamber is driven, and accordingly, the rotation unit 4b ′ of the storage container 4b starts to rotate (step S).
120-S130). The rotational motion of the rotating part 34 is started by forward rotation, and is rotated at an increased speed, decreased at a rotational speed, stopped, started at a reverse rotation, improved at a rotational speed, decreased at a rotational speed, stopped, and restarted at a normal rotation again. It is. When the rotating portion 34 on the bottom surface of the rapid cooling chamber 4 performs the above-described rotational motion, the rotating portion 4b ′ on the bottom surface of the storage container 4b connected to the rotational shaft of the rotating portion 34 on the bottom surface of the rapid cooling chamber also performs the same rotational motion. Do. Therefore, the food placed on the rotating part 4b ′ on the bottom surface of the storage container 4b also performs the same rotating motion.

  Next, the jet outlet is controlled based on the food shape selected in the above settings (steps S140 to S150). For example, in step S140, when the user sets the shape of the food item to “Tanagara”, the jet discharge outlets 33 and 33 ′ during the rapid cooling operation are the same as the rotating part 37 ′ provided with the jet discharge outlet. Is controlled so that the long side of the rectangular opening is in a substantially vertical direction (step S150). At this time, the opening is controlled so as to be positioned closer to the rapid cooling chamber door 4a than the rotation center of the rotating portion 37 ′ (see FIG. 4). In addition, when the user sets the shape of the food as “light”, the rotation part 37 ′ rotates in the same manner, so that the long side of the rectangular opening is substantially horizontal and the rotation part 37 ′ has the long side. Control is performed so as to be positioned closer to the bottom of the rapid cooling chamber than the center of rotation (step S150). Further, when the user sets the shape of the food item to “Oh”, the cooling is performed while the position of the rotating portion 37 ′ fluctuates (step S150).

  The rapid cooling operation is terminated when the rapid cooling end condition set by the user is satisfied, and returns to the normal operation (from step S160 to the end of cooling).

  However, as shown in FIG. 7, when the user selects “speed cooling” and gives the quick cooling end condition by “cooling time” (steps S161 to S162), and does not release the “freezing prevention function” In (step S163), when the temperature detected by the temperature detector provided in the rapid cooling chamber 4 is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature (step S166), it is determined that there is a risk of the food freezing, and forcibly. The rapid cooling operation is terminated, and the heating heater is appropriately operated so that the temperature does not fall below the predetermined temperature even after the rapid cooling operation is terminated (step S167), and the temperature of the rapid cooling chamber 4 is maintained.

  When the user selects “speed freezing” in the rapid cooling operation mode, the same as when “speed cooling” is selected, the presence or absence of rotation of the bottom of the rapid cooling chamber, the shape of the food to be cooled, and the rapid cooling end condition are set. By selecting “Cooling Start”, the “Speed Freezing” function can be used. However, when “speed freezing” is selected, the “freezing prevention function” is unconditionally turned off (see steps S162 and S164).

If the “freezing prevention function” has been canceled, the elapse of the cooling time is determined in step S164. When the time has elapsed, it is determined that the cooling end condition is satisfied (step S).
160). Further, when “attainment temperature” has been selected as the rapid cooling termination condition, it is determined whether or not the selected attainment temperature has been reached (step S165). When the temperature detected by the temperature detector reaches the ultimate temperature, it is determined that the cooling end condition is satisfied (step S160). The end of the rapid cooling is notified to the user by sounding the buzzer (step S170).

  Although the refrigerator of the Example of this invention was demonstrated above, the effect which the refrigerator of the Example of this invention has below is demonstrated.

  The quick cooling chamber 4 of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is provided with jet discharge ports 33 and 33 ′ that discharge jets serving as main cooling means of the quick cooling chamber 4 on the side. Thereby, it becomes possible to rapidly cool various foods having different shapes. The reason will be described below.

  For example, in the prior art described in Patent Document 1, the main cooling means relies on solid heat conduction from a cooling plate at the bottom of a chamber that performs rapid cooling. Therefore, in the case of food with poor adhesion to the cooling plate, there is a problem that a sufficient cooling rate cannot be obtained. Therefore, the conventional technology described in Patent Document 1 cannot obtain a sufficient cooling rate for foods having various shapes.

  When the main cooling means is based on heat absorption using solid heat conduction such as a cooling plate, the same problem as described above occurs regardless of the installation position, so for various types of food, A sufficient cooling rate cannot be obtained.

  Next, consider a case where the main cooling means is air cooling from above the rapid cooling chamber. In general, when the area of the cooling air discharge starting point is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the cooling air discharging region, the cooling air diffuses and the wind speed decreases as the distance from the cooling air discharge starting point to the object to be cooled increases. The heat transfer performance on the surface of the object to be cooled is reduced. Therefore, when cooling food with low height by air cooling from above, there is a situation in which a sufficient cooling rate cannot be obtained for the above reasons unless the user prepares a table or the like and changes the installation height of the food.

  Next, consider a case where the main cooling means is air cooling from below the rapid cooling chamber. In this case, since the distance from the cooling air discharge starting point to the object to be cooled is fixed, there does not occur a situation in which the distance from the cooling air discharge starting point varies depending on the shape of the food, which occurs in the case of air cooling from above. However, since the structure has an upward discharge port, water drops, waste, etc. enter the air path from the discharge port and freeze, and a part or the whole of the air path is blocked. In this case, the amount of cool air in the rapid cooling chamber decreases, and a sufficient cooling rate cannot be obtained.

  In the quick cooling chamber 4 of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment, a jet from the side is the main cooling means. Since this is a cooling means that does not depend on solid heat conduction, it has a variety of shapes compared to the case where solid heat conduction is used in which the cooling rate depends on the degree of contact between the food and the bottom surface of the rapid cooling chamber 4. The food can be cooled rapidly. In addition, since the cooling air is supplied from the side, the distance from the outlet to the food can be easily adjusted by changing the horizontal installation position of the food, so that various shapes of food can be rapidly cooled. Is possible. Therefore, a refrigerator that is very convenient to use can be provided.

  The refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention is provided with a plurality of jet discharge ports 33 and 33 ′ on the side of the rapid cooling chamber 4. Thereby, rapid cooling of a plurality of foods and rapid cooling while suppressing temperature unevenness of large foods are possible.

  When cooling with a single jet, the heat transfer performance is significantly inferior in the portion where the jet does not hit as compared with the portion where the jet hits. Therefore, for example, when rapidly cooling multiple foods, the food installed in a place where the jet hits has a high cooling rate, and the food installed in a part where the jet does not hit has a significantly slow cooling rate and cannot be rapidly cooled. There was a case that happened. Similarly, when cooling a large food, the portion where the jet is hit has a high cooling rate, and the portion where the jet is not hit is greatly reduced in cooling rate, resulting in increased temperature unevenness. Even if quick freezing was performed, there was a case where a high quality frozen food could not be obtained. Therefore, the quick cooling chamber 4 of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment is provided with a plurality of jet discharge ports 33 and 33 'on the side, thereby rapidly cooling a plurality of foods and suppressing a temperature unevenness of large foods. Is possible.

The refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention has a jet discharge port 33 on the opposite wall surface of the quick cooling chamber 4.
33 'is provided and discharges a jet that faces the food sideways. As described above, the food can be cooled more rapidly by providing the jet outlets 33 and 33 ′ that discharge the jets opposed from both sides for the food to be cooled. Hereinafter, the reason will be described with reference to FIGS.

  8 and 9 show an example of cooling a cylindrical food 38 (for example, canned beverage), and shows a flow field when a single jet collides with food and when two opposing jets collide with food. It is a figure showing typically.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when a single jet collides with a cylindrical food 38, it flows along the surface of the food due to the Coanda effect, and then peels off on the back side. Therefore, a region indicated by a region a in FIG. 4 where the flow is separated is a region having a low heat transfer performance.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, when two opposing jets collide with the food 38, the low heat transfer region generated in the case of a single jet becomes a high heat transfer region when another jet collides. Thus, the heat transfer performance is greatly improved. Therefore, it becomes possible to cool food more rapidly.

  In the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, jets having different speeds are discharged from the jet discharge ports 33 and 33 ′ provided on the surfaces of the rapid cooling chamber 4 facing each other. Thereby, it becomes possible to cool food more rapidly. Hereinafter, the reason will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a flow field when two jets (a high speed jet 42 and a low speed jet 43) having different speeds facing the food collide with the food, taking the case of cooling the cylindrical food 38 as an example. is there.

  In general, in a rapid cooling chamber provided in a household refrigerator, there is almost no case where a sufficient space is not secured around an object to be cooled. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, a narrow space (region represented by region b in FIG. 10) is generated due to the influence of the side wall and other adjacent cooling objects. In such a narrow space, if the two jets facing each other have the same speed, the same force works on both sides of the narrow space, making it difficult for the cooling air to pass smoothly from one side to the other. The heat transfer performance in the vicinity deteriorates. Therefore, in the rapid cooling chamber of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment, jets having different speeds are ejected from the discharge ports on the opposing surfaces. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 10, the cooling air can smoothly pass through the narrow space from the high-speed jet side (upper side in the figure) to the low-speed jet side (lower side in the figure). Moreover, since the low-speed jet improves the heat transfer performance in the region where the heat transfer performance is low in the high-speed jet (region a shown in FIG. 8), high heat transfer performance can be obtained as a whole. Therefore, it becomes possible to cool food more rapidly.

  In addition, although the example shown in FIG. 5 has shown the structure by which the cooling air from the jet discharge outlets 33 and 33 'is discharged in a horizontal direction, a present Example is not restricted to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the cooling air may be discharged from obliquely above. At this time, if the horizontal components of the jet velocity discharged oppositely from the jet outlets 33 and 33 'on both sides are different, the same effect can be obtained with respect to rapid cooling of food. That is, as in the example of FIG. 11, if the food to be cooled is provided with jet outlets 33 and 33 ′ that discharge jets that are horizontally opposed from both sides, the rapid cooling effect is obtained. can get.

  Further, in FIG. 5, the cooling air having a different absolute value of the velocity is jetted oppositely, but the cooling air discharged from both sides can be made horizontal by changing the discharge direction of the cooling air discharged from both sides. It is also possible to make the direction components different from each other. At that time, it is not necessary to change the horizontal component of the jet velocity by changing the jet direction of the jet jetted from both sides, and to change the absolute value of the velocity itself. It can be adopted and adjusted as appropriate.

The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention includes means for changing the relative positions of the jet discharge ports 33 and 33 ′ of the rapid cooling chamber 4 and the indoor space. Thereby, rapid cooling corresponding to the shape and installation position of the food to be cooled can be performed. Specifically, the quick cooling chamber 4 is provided with a mechanism 37 'for rotating the jet discharge ports 33, 33', and the relative position between the jet discharge ports 33, 33 'and the indoor space is changed by rotating the rotation mechanism. ing. This makes it possible to change the relative position of the jet discharge outlet to the indoor space without using a complicated mechanism, thereby suppressing the increase in cost and performing rapid cooling corresponding to the shape and installation position of the food to be cooled. It becomes possible.

  The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a quick cooling chamber separate from the internal blower fan 9 for circulating the cool air of the cooler 7 in the quick cooling chamber 4 into the refrigerator compartment 2, the freezer compartment 5 and the like. A cooling fan 31 is provided. Thereby, since a higher-speed jet can be discharge | released to the rapid cooling chamber 4, a foodstuff can be cooled more rapidly. In particular, in this embodiment, a centrifugal fan is used as the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31. Thereby, the decrease in the internal volume of the rapid cooling chamber 4 can be minimized, and the rapid cooling chamber 4 having a large effective internal volume can be provided. The reason will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the centrifugal fan and the air paths before and after the centrifugal fan. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between the axial fan and the air path before and after the axial fan.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the centrifugal fan 40 has a characteristic that the flow that flows in is turned 90 degrees and discharged. On the other hand, in the case of the axial fan 41 shown in FIG. 13 (a propeller fan generally used as an internal fan of a refrigerator is also a kind of axial fan), the air is basically sucked from the rotating shaft direction and discharged in the rotating shaft direction. Therefore, when the axial fan 41 is used, it is necessary to provide a space having a width (a width indicated by L3 in FIG. 13) of the outer diameter of the axial fan 41 at least on the suction side and the discharge side.

  On the other hand, in the centrifugal fan 40, the space on the suction side requires a space having a width approximately equal to the outer diameter of the blade of the centrifugal fan (width indicated by L1 in FIG. 12), but the discharge side has a thickness of the centrifugal fan (blade). Space) having a width (width indicated by L2 in FIG. 12). Therefore, by using a dedicated fan for the rapid cooling chamber 4 as a centrifugal fan, space-saving installation is possible compared to an axial fan. Furthermore, it is generally necessary to use a high static pressure fan in order to generate a high-speed jet. From this point of view, the centrifugal fan is a fan that can easily generate a high static pressure by centrifugal force, and therefore can be said to be a fan suitable for the rapid cooling chamber 4.

  The rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31 is used, and the rapid cooling chamber 4 has an air passage member that communicates the suction port of the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31 with the terminal portion of the rapid cooling chamber air passage. Thereby, the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31 can prevent the phenomenon of sucking the cooling air once discharged, that is, the so-called short circuit phenomenon, and can cool the food more rapidly.

In addition, the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention includes means 4b ′ for rotating food in the quick cooling chamber 4.
34 is provided. Thereby, a foodstuff can be cooled more rapidly, suppressing temperature nonuniformity. The reason will be described below.

  First, a case where the food is in a liquid state (such as a beverage) like a beverage will be described. Liquid food is usually cooled in a state of being stored in a container. When a liquid food is rotated, the liquid also starts rotating. As a result, the velocity gradient between the inner wall of the container and the liquid in the vicinity of the inner wall becomes steeper than when stationary, and the thermal resistance is reduced.

  Next, the food is solid. In the case of a solid food, the inside of the food is cooled by heat conduction. In general, since the thermal conductivity inside the food is not sufficiently high, temperature unevenness can occur inside the food in a place where the cooling air hits and a place where it does not hit. Due to this temperature unevenness, foods that are not desired to freeze may cause local freezing. Therefore, by rotating the food, since the cooling air uniformly hits in the circumferential direction, the temperature unevenness can be suppressed and the food can be cooled in a good state.

  Furthermore, the refrigerator of the Example of this invention is equipped with the means to rotate a foodstuff in a quick-cooling chamber, and changes the rotational speed. Thereby, a liquid foodstuff can be cooled more rapidly. The reason will be described below.

  As described above, the liquid food stored in the container can be cooled more rapidly by making the speed gradient near the inner wall of the beverage steep, but when rotating at a constant speed, the fluid is stationary at the start of rotation. In the state, since the container wall surface moves, the velocity gradient becomes very large. Therefore, the thermal resistance is small. Further, if the rotation continues at a constant speed, the rotational motion is gradually transmitted to the inside, and the speed gradient in the vicinity of the container wall surface becomes gentler than at the start. Therefore, the thermal resistance gradually increases.

  Therefore, in the quick cooling chamber 4 of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment, the rotation speed of the food is changed. Thereby, since the state where the relative speed between the internal fluid and the container wall surface is large is maintained, the thermal resistance inside the container is reduced, and the liquid food can be cooled more rapidly.

  The refrigerator of the Example of this invention is equipped with the means to rotate a foodstuff in a quick-cooling chamber, and has changed the rotation direction. Thereby, since the state where the relative speed between an internal fluid and a container wall surface is large is maintained, a liquid foodstuff can be cooled more rapidly.

  In the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, a heat storage material is arranged in a part of the cold air circulation path of the rapid cooling chamber 4. Thereby, since sufficient cooling capacity can be obtained at the time of rapid cooling, a foodstuff can be cooled more rapidly.

  The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention includes input means (for example, the operation panel 26) for instructing the start of the rapid cooling operation. Thereby, since a rapid driving | operation can be implemented when a user intends, it becomes a convenient refrigerator.

  The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the quick cooling chamber 4 provided with antifreezing means. Thereby, it becomes an easy-to-use refrigerator that can safely cool foods that are not desired to be frozen.

  The refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention has a plurality of modes for rapid cooling operation. As a result, the user can easily select an operation suitable for the food to be cooled, so that the refrigerator becomes easy to use.

  The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention includes means for inputting an end determination reference value for the rapid cooling operation. As a result, the user can end the rapid cooling operation at the intended stage, so that the refrigerator becomes easy to use.

  In the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, the end determination reference place of the rapid cooling operation can be given by time or temperature. Accordingly, since the user can input the end determination reference value without specialized knowledge, the refrigerator becomes easy to use.

  In the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the user selects a specific mode from a plurality of modes of the rapid cooling operation, the freeze prevention means is automatically activated. Thereby, since the freezing of the foodstuff by a user's operation mistake can be prevented, it becomes a reliable refrigerator.

  In the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, the long side length of the jet outlets 33 and 33 ′ provided on the side surface of the rapid cooling chamber 4 is set to the height dimension of the rapid cooling chamber 4 (at least the height dimension of the storage container 4 b). ) The majority dimension. Thereby, even when food with a high height is cooled, it is possible to apply a jet to the majority of the food, and the food can be cooled more rapidly.

  In the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, the total dimension of the long side lengths of the two jet discharge ports 33 and 33 ′ provided on the side surface of the rapid cooling chamber 4 is set to the depth dimension of the rapid cooling chamber 4 (at least the storage container 4 b. The depth dimension) is a majority dimension. As a result, even when food with a large depth dimension is to be cooled, it is possible to apply a jet to the majority of the food by disposing the discharge port in the horizontal direction, thereby cooling the food more rapidly. Can do.

  In the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention, the minimum air passage cross-sectional area in the rapid cooling chamber air duct 13 and the rapid cooling chamber return duct 18 is larger than the total opening area of the jet outlet 33 provided in the rapid cooling chamber 4. Further, in the air passage through which the cooling air for cooling the rapid cooling chamber 4 branches, the sum of the minimum air passage cross-sectional areas of the respective air passages is the total opening of the jet discharge port 33 provided in the rapid cooling chamber 4. Greater than area. Further, the air passage is branched in the duct 32 from the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31 to the jet outlet 33, and the minimum air passage cross-sectional area of each air passage after the branch is provided in the corresponding air passage. It is larger than the total opening area of the jet outlet 33.

  In particular, the entire path of cool air sent from the cooler storage chamber 8 in which the cooler 7 is disposed to the rapid cooling chamber 4 via the damper 20, the rapid cooling chamber air duct 13 and the duct 32 by the internal blower fan 9. (Hereinafter referred to as the air supply passage), and all the paths (hereinafter referred to as return passages) in which the cool air that has cooled the rapid cooling chamber 4 returns to the cooler storage chamber 8 via the exhaust port 44 and the rapid cooling chamber return duct 18. And the jet outlet 33 are as follows.

  First, in the air passage, the cross-sectional area of the portion where the cross-sectional area of the air passage is the smallest is larger than the sum of the opening areas of the jet discharge ports 33. Secondly, in the return passage, the cross-sectional area of the portion where the cross-sectional area of the air passage becomes the smallest is larger than the sum of the opening areas of the jet discharge ports 33. That is, the minimum cross-sectional area portion in the cooling air circulation path composed of the blower passage and the return passage is configured to be larger than the total opening area of the jet discharge port 33.

  As a result, a good jet can be obtained, the food can be cooled more rapidly, and frost is formed in the duct that forms the cooling air circulation path (that is, the path consisting of the air passage and the return path). It becomes difficult to prevent the cooling performance from being deteriorated due to the blockage of the air passage. Hereinafter, the reason will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a change in the cross-sectional area of the air passage. Moreover, FIG. 15 is a figure showing the location which the frost formation tends to produce in the air path of a refrigerator.

  A1 and A2 shown in FIG. 14 represent the opening area of the jet outlet 33, and A3 represents the air passage cross-sectional area at the location where the air passage cross section is minimum in the rapid cooling chamber air duct 13 and the rapid cooling chamber return duct 18. To express. In general, the draft resistance is related to the wind speed, and the draft resistance increases as the wind speed increases. The wind speed is related to the cross section of the wind path, and the wind speed increases as the cross section of the wind path decreases. That is, a large ventilation resistance occurs at a location where the air passage cross section is small, and a ventilation resistance is small at a location where the air path cross section is large. When an air path of (A1 + A2)> A3 is formed, a large ventilation resistance is generated at a place other than the jet outlet 33, and the amount of cooling air to circulate is roughly determined by the resistance of A3.

  Therefore, since the air volume of the circulating cooling air is suppressed to be small due to the large resistance of A3, the wind speed of the cooling air passing through the jet outlet 33 having a large total area with respect to A3 is small. Therefore, since the desired high-speed jet (high-speed jet based on the jet outlet opening area) cannot be obtained, the food cooling performance is deteriorated. On the other hand, the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention forms an air path of (A1 + A2) <A3. Accordingly, since the airflow configuration is such that dominant airflow resistance is generated in the jet discharge port 33 having a small airflow cross-sectional area, the amount of the circulating cooling air is roughly determined by the opening area of the jet discharge port 33. Therefore, a high-speed jet based on the opening area is obtained from the jet outlet 33, and the food can be cooled more rapidly.

In the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, the air path is branched into two in the duct 32 downstream of the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan 31. The locations A4 and A5 at which the cross sections of the air passages after branching are minimized and the opening areas A1 and A2 of the jet outlet 33 are (A1 + A2) <(A4 + A5) and A4> A1, A5> A2. Satisfied relationship. Thereby, even after the air passage is branched, the air passage configuration in which dominant airflow resistance is generated in the jet outlet 33 is obtained, so that a high-speed jet based on the opening area is obtained from the jet outlet, It can be cooled more rapidly.

  Moreover, generally in the duct in a refrigerator, the tendency for frost to advance to the area | region where the flow stagnated is seen. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, in the duct 45, if there is a region with a small airway cross section, a fast flow through the region with a small airway cross section is separated when flowing into a region with a large airway cross section, A stagnation region (region c in FIG. 15) is generated, and frost easily grows in the region.

  Therefore, in the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, air paths are formed so as to satisfy the relationships of A1 + A2 <A3, (A1 + A2) <(A4 + A5), and A4> A1, A5> A2. By adopting such a configuration, a portion corresponding to the region c is mainly formed in the rapid cooling chamber 4, not in the downstream of the jet discharge port 33, that is, in the blowing passage leading to the rapid cooling chamber 4. . Since the rapid cooling chamber 4 has a sufficient space, even if frosting occurs, the air path is not blocked by the frost, and the rapid cooling performance does not deteriorate.

  Further, in the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention, the jet outlet 33 is provided on the side surface of the rapid cooling chamber 4, and the cooler 7 (cooler storage chamber 8) installed in the lower back of the rapid cooling chamber 4. The distance from) is sufficiently secured. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the wall surface provided with the jet outlet 33 from being cooled due to the influence of heat conduction from the cooler 7 (cooler storage chamber 8). As a result, even if a stagnation region corresponding to the region c shown in FIG. 15 is generated on the downstream side of the jet discharge port 33, frosting is difficult to proceed because the surrounding wall surface is not excessively cooled.

  In the above-described embodiment, the jet outlet of the rapid cooling chamber is limited to the side. For example, the main cooling air is discharged from the lateral jet outlet, and the subordinate cooling air is supplied to the rapid cooling chamber. It is good also as a structure discharged | emitted from above.

The front view of the refrigerator which concerns on the Example of this invention. The figure showing the AA cross section of FIG. The figure showing the cooling air circulation path concerning the example of the present invention. Sectional drawing showing the structure of the rapid cooling chamber which concerns on the Example of this invention. The figure showing the BB cross section of FIG. The flowchart of the rapid cooling operation which concerns on a present Example. The flowchart of the rapid cooling operation which concerns on a present Example. The figure showing the flow of the cooling target and the cooling air around it. The figure showing the flow of the cooling target and the cooling air around it. The figure showing the flow of the cooling target concerning the Example of this invention, and the cooling air around it. The figure which shows the cross-sectional structure different from FIG. The figure showing the relationship between a centrifugal fan and the wind path before and behind that. The figure showing the relationship between an axial fan and the air path before and behind that. The conceptual diagram showing the change of the cross-sectional area of an air path. The figure showing the location where the frost formation in the air path of a refrigerator tends to arise.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Refrigerator, 2 ... Refrigeration room, 3 ... Ice making room, 4 ... Rapid cooling room, 4a ... Rapid cooling room door, 4b ... Rapid cooling room storage container, 5 ... Freezing room, 6 ... Vegetable room, 7 ... Cooler, 8 ... cooler storage room, 9 ... internal fan, 10 ... heat insulation box, 11 ... refrigerator compartment air duct, 12 ... ice making room air duct,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Rapid cooling room ventilation duct, 14 ... Freezer room ventilation duct, 15 ... Vegetable room ventilation duct, 16 ... Refrigeration room return duct, 17 ... Ice making room / freezing room return duct, 18 ... Rapid cooling room return duct, 19 ... Vegetable Chamber return duct, 20 ... damper, 21 ... evaporating dish, 22 ... defrost heater, 23 ... soot, 24 ... compressor, 25 ... vacuum heat insulating material, 26 ... operation panel, 27 ... drain pipe, 28, 29, 30 ... Insulating partition wall, 31 ... Rapid cooling chamber cooling fan, 32 ... Duct, 33 ... Jet outlet, 34 ... Rapid cooling chamber bottom surface rotating portion, 35 ... Member, 36 ... Window portion, 37 ... Rapid cooling chamber side surface, 37 '... Rapid cooling chamber side surface rotating part, 38 ... cooling object, 39 ... wall, 40 ... centrifugal fan, 41 ... axial fan, 42 ... high speed jet, 43 ... low speed jet, 44 ... exhaust port.

Claims (19)

In the heat insulation box, a cooler, a cooler storage chamber for storing the cooler, an in-compartment fan for circulating cold air in the store, a quick cooling chamber capable of rapidly cooling food, In a refrigerator having a ventilation path for sending cold air to the rapid cooling chamber and a return path for returning cold air to the cooler storage chamber,
A jet outlet for discharging cooling air for cooling the rapid cooling chamber is provided on a side surface of the rapid cooling chamber, and the rapid cooling chamber is provided with a separate rapid cooling chamber cooling fan from the internal blower fan,
The air flow path branches downstream of the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan, and cooling air discharged from one jet discharge port and cooling air discharged from another jet discharge port face each other in the horizontal direction and are discharged. And
The sum of the opening areas of the one jet outlet and the other jet outlet is smaller than the minimum cross-sectional area before branching of the blower path and smaller than the sum of the minimum cross-sectional areas of the blower path after branching. ,
The opening area of the one jet discharge port is smaller than the minimum cross-sectional area of the blower path after branching to the one jet discharge port,
The opening area of the other jet discharge port is smaller than the minimum cross-sectional area of the blower path after branching to the other jet discharge port,
As a high heat transfer region, a low speed jet collides with a low heat transfer region generated by a high speed jet by ejecting jets having different speeds facing from both sides to the food stored in the rapid cooling chamber and colliding with the food. A refrigerator characterized by rapid cooling . The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the jet outlet is provided on surfaces of the rapid cooling chamber facing each other . The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a jet discharge position changing means for changing a relative position between the jet discharge port and the indoor space of the quick cooling chamber in the quick cooling chamber . The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a rotation mechanism is used as means for changing a relative position between the jet outlet and the indoor space of the quick cooling chamber . The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan is a centrifugal fan . The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein a suction port of the rapid cooling chamber cooling fan and an end portion of the rapid cooling chamber air passage are communicated with each other . The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a rotating means is provided on a bottom surface of the rapid cooling chamber . Refrigerator of the speed of the rotary motion by the rotating means, according to claim 7 Symbol mounting, characterized in that changing during rapid cooling. The rotation direction of the rotary motion by the rotating means, a refrigerator according to claim 7 or 8, wherein Rukoto be changed during rapid cooling. The rapid cooling chamber is provided with a storage container that is opened and closed integrally with the pull-out door body of the rapid cooling chamber, and a rotating part that is rotatable on the bottom surface of the storage container, and the pull-out door body is closed. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 7 to 9 , wherein, when in a state, the rotating shaft of the rotating portion and the rotating shaft of the rotating means on the bottom surface of the quick cooling chamber are connected . A part of a wall surface constituting the cooler storage chamber in which the cooler is stored, the rapid cooling chamber blowing path, the rapid cooling chamber, and the rapid cooling chamber return cool air path is configured by a heat storage material. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 10. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized by comprising input means for instructing the start of rapid cooling operation. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the food in the quick cooling chamber is provided with a freezing preventing means for preventing freezing. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 13 , wherein the rapid cooling operation includes a plurality of modes . The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 2 to 14, characterized in that it comprises means for inputting the end criterion value of the rapid cooling operation. The refrigerator according to claim 1 5, wherein the end criterion value, characterized Rukoto provided by time or temperature. Wherein from among a plurality of modes, the refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 4 to 16, characterized in that the freezing preventing means when a particular mode is selected automatically become operable state. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the jet discharge port has a substantially rectangular shape, and a long side of the jet discharge port is a majority of the height of the quick cooling chamber. . A plurality of the substantially rectangular jet outlets are arranged in the same plane of the rapid cooling chamber, and the total dimension of the long side dimensions of the jet outlets in the same plane is a majority dimension of the depth dimension of the rapid cooling chamber. the refrigerator according to claim 18, characterized in that the the.

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