JP6861336B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator equipped with a humidity sensor in a vegetable compartment.

In recent years, in order to improve the freshness of the vegetable room, a refrigerator equipped with a humidity sensor in the vegetable room and supplying air to the vegetable room from the outside based on the humidity detected by the humidity sensor to increase the humidity in the vegetable room has been proposed. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-92986

However, in the above-mentioned conventional refrigerator, since the humidity sensor is arranged on the back wall of the vegetable compartment, the humidity of the upper container of the vegetable compartment may not be maintained properly, and the vegetable compartment is above the upper container. There is a return duct, and there is a problem that it is not maintained at an appropriate humidity.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a refrigerator having a simple structure and capable of preventing dew condensation in the vegetable chamber while keeping the vegetable chamber with an open upper surface high humidity. The purpose.

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the refrigerator of the present invention has a cold air discharge port for discharging cold air to the rear part of the vegetable compartment, a cold air suction port for sucking cold air in the upper part of the vegetable compartment, and an upper storage case in the vegetable compartment. In a refrigerator provided with a lower storage case and a lower storage case, a humidity sensor for detecting the humidity in the vegetable chamber is arranged on the top surface of the refrigerator above the upper storage case and behind the cold air suction port.

As a result, it is possible to prevent dew condensation in the vegetable chamber while keeping the vegetable chamber highly humid with a simple structure.

The refrigerator of the present invention can provide a refrigerator capable of preventing dew condensation in the vegetable chamber while keeping the vegetable chamber highly humid.

Front view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention Front view showing the inside of the refrigerator Cross section of the refrigerator Explanatory drawing explaining the cold air flow of the refrigerator Front view showing the freezing room of the refrigerator Cross-sectional view showing the cooling chamber of the refrigerator Cross-sectional view showing the vegetable compartment duct and the refrigerator compartment return duct of the refrigerator Schematic cross-sectional view of the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator Schematic cross-sectional view seen from arrow A in FIG. Flow chart showing control of vegetable room heater by humidity sensor of vegetable room of refrigerator of this embodiment A graph showing the relationship between the outside air temperature and the energization rate of the vegetable room heater by the humidity sensor of the vegetable room of the refrigerator of the present embodiment.

The invention according to claim 1 comprises a cold air discharge port for discharging cold air to the rear part of the vegetable compartment, a cold air suction port for sucking cold air in the upper part of the vegetable compartment, and an upper storage case and a lower storage case in the vegetable chamber. In the provided refrigerator, a humidity sensor for detecting the humidity in the vegetable chamber is arranged on the top surface above the upper storage case and behind the cold air suction port, and the vegetable having an open top opening. Condensation in the vegetable room can be suppressed while keeping the upper storage case of the room high humidity.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the humidity sensor is arranged in a recessed portion of the top surface portion, the recessed portion is covered with a cover from below, and a support integrally formed with the cover. The humidity sensor is supported in the portion, and a storage space for the vegetable compartment can be secured.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the cover has an opening hole, and the portion facing the humidity sensor does not have the opening hole. It is provided, and the sensor detection accuracy can be improved to maintain high humidity.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a heating means is arranged above the humidity sensor, and the heating means is provided inside the top surface portion. To provide a refrigerator that can control the energization rate of the vegetable compartment heater according to the humidity in the vegetable compartment and can prevent dew condensation on the top surface of the vegetable compartment while keeping the vegetable compartment high humidity with a simple structure. Can be done.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a sterilizing means for sterilizing the vegetable chamber is arranged on the top surface, the sterilizing means is covered with the cover member, and the sterilizing means is used with the humidity sensor. A partition plate is arranged between them, and the cover can be integrally configured while being configured so that the sterilizing means does not interfere with the humidity sensor.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention of claim 1, wherein in the upper storage case, a front seal portion that seals a gap with the top surface portion at the front portion of the upper surface opening peripheral edge portion, and the top surface portion at the rear portion. A rear seal portion for sealing the gap and a filter on the front wall of the upper storage case are provided, and the cold air suction port is arranged in front of the front seal portion, and the top surface portion is the lid of the upper storage case. Can be maintained at high humidity.

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

(Embodiment 1)
1 to 4 are views for explaining the overall configuration of the refrigerator, and FIGS. 5 to 7 are diagrams for explaining the cold air supply configuration from the cooling chamber to the vegetable compartment.

First, the overall configuration of the refrigerator will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

In FIGS. 1 to 4, the refrigerator according to the present embodiment includes a refrigerator main body 1 having an open front, and the refrigerator main body 1 includes a metal outer box 2, a hard resin inner box 3, and the outer box. It is composed of a foamed heat insulating material 4 which is foam-filled between the box 2 and the inner box 3, and a plurality of storage chambers are formed by partitions such as partition plates 5 and 6. Further, each storage chamber of the refrigerator main body 1 is openable and closable by a rotary door 7 or a drawer type door 8, 9, 10 and 11 which adopts the same heat insulating structure as the refrigerator main body 1.

The storage chambers formed in the refrigerator main body 1 include a refrigerating chamber 14 at the top, a temperature zone switchable switching chamber 15 provided under the refrigerating chamber 14, and an ice making chamber 16 provided next to the switching chamber 15. It is composed of a switching chamber 15, an ice making chamber 16, and a freezing chamber 18 provided between the vegetable compartment 17 at the bottom. A plurality of shelves 20 are provided in the refrigerating chamber 14, and a partial chamber 21 and a chilled chamber 22 having different cooling temperature zones are provided in two upper and lower stages below the shelf plate 20.

The refrigerating chamber 14 is a storage chamber for refrigerating and storing, and is cooled by setting it to a temperature as low as not to freeze, specifically, usually 1 to 5 ° C. Further, the partial chamber 21 provided in the refrigerating chamber is set to -2 to -3 ° C, which is suitable for microfreezing storage, and the chilled chamber 22 has a temperature of about 1 ° C, which is lower than that of the refrigerating chamber 14 and higher than that of the partial chamber 21. Set and cooled.

The vegetable compartment 17 is a storage chamber whose temperature is set to be equal to or slightly higher than that of the refrigerator compartment 14, and specifically, the temperature is set to 2 to 7 ° C. for cooling. Since the vegetable compartment 17 becomes highly humid due to the moisture emitted from the stored food such as vegetables, dew condensation may occur if it is locally cooled too much. Therefore, by setting the temperature to a relatively high temperature, the amount of cooling is reduced and the occurrence of dew condensation due to local overcooling is suppressed.

The freezing chamber 18 is a storage chamber set in the freezing temperature zone, and specifically, it is usually set to 22 to -18 ° C and cooled, but in order to improve the frozen storage state, for example, -30 ° C or -25 ° C. It may be cooled by setting it to a low temperature such as ° C.

The switching chamber 15 is a storage chamber in which the temperature inside the refrigerator can be changed, and can be switched from the refrigerating temperature zone to the freezing temperature zone according to the application.

On the other hand, a cooling chamber 23 is provided on the back surface of the freezing chamber 18, and the cooling chamber 23 is provided with a cooler 24 for generating cold air and a cooling fan 25 for supplying cold air to each of the chambers. .. Further below the cooler 24, a defrosting means 26 (hereinafter, referred to as a glass tube heater) composed of a glass tube heater or the like is provided.

The cooler 24 constitutes a refrigeration cycle by connecting a compressor 27, a condenser (not shown), a heat radiating pipe for heat dissipation (not shown), and a capillary tube (not shown) in an annular shape. Cooling is performed by circulating the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 27.

Further, the cooling fan 25 is provided above the cooler 24, and the refrigerating chamber 14, the freezing chamber 18, the vegetable compartment 17, etc. are provided via the refrigerating chamber duct 28, the freezing chamber duct 29, and the vegetable compartment duct 30 connected to the downstream side thereof. It is designed to supply cold air to each of these chambers.

Hereinafter, each of the cooling chamber 23, the refrigerating chamber 14, the freezing chamber 18, the vegetable compartment 17, and the cooling configuration thereof will be described.

The cooling chamber and the cold air supply configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5 to 7.

The cooling chamber 23 is located on the back surface of the freezing chamber 18 and is formed by a cooling chamber forming plate 31 and an inner box 3 as shown in FIG. 6, and is cooled by mounting a cooling fan 25 on the upper part of the cooling chamber forming plate 31. The cooling fan 25 is located above the vessel 24. Further, a freezing chamber back plate 32 is mounted on the front side of the cooling chamber forming plate 31 to cover the downstream side of the cooling fan 25 and form a freezing chamber duct 29 communicating with the cooling fan downstream side between the cooling chamber 23 and the cooling chamber 23. ing.

On the downstream side of the cooling fan 25, the refrigerating chamber duct 28 of the refrigerating chamber 14 and the vegetable compartment duct 30 of the vegetable compartment 17 are connected to each other at different positions and independently. More specifically, the upper surface of the upper part on the downstream side of the cooling fan is connected to the refrigerating chamber duct 28 via the first cold air supply port 33 provided in the partition plate 5 that separates the refrigerating chamber 14 and the freezing chamber 18 as shown in FIG. It is connected, and a second cold air supply port 34 is provided on the upper side on the downstream side of the cooling fan, and the vegetable compartment duct 30 is connected.

That is, the refrigerating chamber duct 28 and the vegetable compartment duct 30 are connected to the cooling chamber 23 separately and independently at different positions. Then, the cold air generated by the cooler 24 is supplied separately to the first cold air supply port 33 and the second cold air supply port 34 by the cooling fan 25, and is supplied to the refrigerating room duct 28 and the vegetable room duct 30. To do.

As shown in FIG. 6, a heater cover 35 having an umbrella-shaped cross section covering the cooler 24 glass tube heater 26 is installed below the cooler 24, and defrost water is externally provided on the bottom surface of the cooling chamber 23. A drainage port 36 for discharging water is provided.

Next, the vegetable compartment and its cooling configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the vegetable compartment 17 is located at the bottom of the refrigerator body 1 below the freezing chamber 18, and like the freezing chamber 18, the lower storage case 17a and the upper storage case 17b are taken in and out by opening and closing the drawer of the door 10. It is provided so that it can be freely used.

As described above, the second cold air supply port 34 is formed separately from the first cold air supply port 33, which is the cold air supply port to the refrigerating chamber 14. That is, the second cold air supply port 34 is below the partition plate 5 that separates the refrigerating chamber 14 and the freezing chamber 18 located above the cooling chamber 23, that is, within the rear projection area of the freezing chamber 18, and the cooling fan 25. It is provided in the downstream part of the cooling fan at almost the same height as the above. The lower end of the vegetable compartment duct 30 connected to the second cold air supply port 34 is open to the upper part of the vegetable compartment 17 to supply cold air to the vegetable compartment 17.

The vegetable compartment duct 30 has an opening 74 at the upper end thereof and is butt-connected to the second cold air supply port 34, and is connected in the vicinity of the connection portion, specifically, in a position range substantially the same as the cooling fan 25. A vegetable compartment damper 75 is incorporated.

Further, the vegetable compartment damper 75 is fitted into a concave groove 58b formed in front of the refrigerating chamber return duct 58 to serve as a passage portion of the vegetable compartment duct 58, and the vegetable compartment duct 30 is provided in front of the concave groove 58b of the refrigerating chamber return duct 58 in this state. By fitting and mounting, it is sandwiched and fixed between the refrigerating room return duct 58 and the vegetable room duct 30.

The vegetable compartment duct 30 and the refrigerating chamber return duct 58 are made of a material having an elastic force such as foamed styrol, and the elastic force secures the airtightness between the two and at the same time secures the airtightness of the vegetable compartment damper 75. It is a configuration to do.

The vegetable compartment damper 75 is configured such that the damper piece 75a driven by the vegetable damper driving motor unit 76 opens in the direction opposite to the cold air flowing through the vegetable compartment duct 30, in this example, upward. This is the direction opposite to the damper opening direction of the refrigerating chamber duct 28 described above.

Further, in the vegetable compartment 17, the upper side surface of the lower storage case 17a is supported by a door frame fixed to the door 10 of the vegetable compartment and is pulled out forward so as to cover the upper surfaces of the lower storage case 17a and the lower storage case 17a. It is equipped with an upper storage case 17b supported by a flange, and has a structure with improved sealing between the upper and lower storage cases. A humidity control filter 105 is formed on the front wall of the lower storage case 17a and is stored inside. It is possible to suppress the evaporation of water generated from the vegetables, fruits, etc., and improve the freshness of the vegetables, fruits, etc. A similar humidity control filter 105 is also arranged on the front wall of the upper storage case 17b.

Further, in the rear part of the vegetable compartment 17, there is a cold air discharge port 100 that discharges cold air to the rear right side of the lower storage case 17a, and in the upper part of the vegetable compartment 17, a cold air suction port 101 that sucks cold air in front of the upper storage case 17b. The cold air is arranged, and the cold air returns to the cooler 24 from the cold air suction port 101 through the suction duct 113. The upper storage case 17b is arranged above the lower storage case 17a. A front seal portion 102 for sealing the space with the partition plate 6 which is a top surface portion is provided at the front portion of the peripheral edge portion of the upper surface opening of the upper storage case 17b, and a rear seal portion 103 is provided at the rear portion of the peripheral edge portion of the upper surface opening portion. The rear seal portion 103 is configured to seal the space between the cooling chamber 23 formed behind the partition plate 6 and the partition wall 104 that insulates the lower vegetable chamber.

Further, a vegetable room temperature sensor 114 for detecting the temperature of the vegetable room is installed in the suction duct 113, and the vegetable room damper 75 is controlled according to the detected temperature with respect to the set temperature of the vegetable room to adjust the amount of cold air.

Further, an electrostatic atomization generator which is a sterilizing means has a recess 106 on the vegetable chamber 17 side of the partition plate 6 on the top surface that insulates the vegetable chamber 17 and the freezing chamber 18. A 107 and a humidity sensor (vegetable room humidity sensor) 108 are provided, and the electrostatic atomization generator 107 has a high voltage generator and an electrode, and the electrode is supplied with the collected moisture by dew condensation inside the refrigerator. It is a thing. The electrostatic atomization generator 107 and the vegetable chamber humidity sensor 108 are fixed to the cover 109 formed inside the vegetable compartment 17 by a support portion, and attached to the recess 106 formed in the top surface portion from the vegetable chamber. The electrostatic atomization generator 107 and the vegetable room humidity sensor 108 are separated by a partition 110 that separates the left and right sides. Therefore, the mist generated by the electrostatic atomization generator 107 is discharged to the vegetable compartment 17 through a predetermined opening (not shown), but the mist flows to the vegetable compartment humidity sensor 108 side due to the partition portion 110. There is no such thing. Further, since the cover holding member 111 that forms the recess 106 and fixes the cover 109 is formed and the vegetable compartment heater 112 is arranged on the upper surface of the cover holding member 111 on the heat insulating material side of the partition plate 6, the upper storage case 17b. Upper space can be secured.

In particular, the vegetable chamber heater 112 is arranged so that the heater patterns are densely arranged above the vegetable chamber humidity sensor 108 rather than above the electrostatic atomization generator 107. The energization of the vegetable compartment heater 112 is controlled according to the detected humidity of the vegetable compartment humidity sensor 108 provided on the top surface. Details will be described later.

Further, an opening hole is formed in the cover 109 on which the vegetable room humidity sensor 108 is supported and fixed, and the opening hole is not in the portion facing the vegetable room humidity sensor 108, and the opening hole is provided at a position not facing the vegetable room humidity sensor 108 with a predetermined dimension. It is formed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the detection by the vegetable room humidity sensor 108 due to the influence of the vegetables stored directly under the vegetable room humidity sensor 108, and it is possible to detect stable humidity.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the control of the vegetable compartment heater by the humidity sensor of the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator of the present embodiment, and FIG. 11 is the outside air temperature and the energization rate of the vegetable compartment heater by the humidity sensor of the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator of the present embodiment. It is a graph which shows the relationship of.

In FIG. 10, the humidity in the vegetable compartment 17 is measured by the vegetable chamber humidity sensor 108 (S-51).
). It is determined whether the humidity in the vegetable chamber is H1 or less (S-52), and if it is H1 or less, the vegetable chamber heater 112 is energized and controlled by the energization rate K (S-53). Then, the energization is controlled at the energization rate K for a predetermined time (T4) (S-54). Further, if the humidity in the vegetable chamber is H1 or higher in S-52, it is further determined whether it is H2 or higher (S-55). If it is H2 or higher, the vegetable chamber heater 112 is energized and controlled at the energization rate L (S-56). Then, the energization is controlled at the energization rate L for a predetermined time (T4) (S-57). Further, if the humidity in the vegetable chamber is H2 or less (that is, the humidity in the vegetable chamber is between H1 and H2) in S-55, the energization control of the vegetable chamber heater 112 is performed by the energization rate M (S-58). Then, the energization is controlled at the energization rate M for a predetermined time (T4) (S-59).

Specifically, as shown in the figure, the energization rate of the vegetable room heater 112 by the vegetable room humidity sensor 108 is determined for each outside air temperature. For example, when the humidity is high (85% or more), the humidity is medium (20). The energization rate of the vegetable chamber heater 112 is higher than that of ~ 85%), and the energization rate of the vegetable chamber heater 112 is lower when the humidity is low (20% or less) than when the humidity is medium (20 to 85%).

This makes it possible to control the energization rate of the vegetable compartment heater 112 according to the humidity in the vegetable compartment 17, and with a simple structure, it is possible to prevent dew condensation in the vegetable compartment 17 while keeping the inside of the vegetable compartment 17 at high humidity. Can be done. In a conventional refrigerator without a vegetable room humidity sensor, the energization rate of the vegetable room heater is determined based on medium humidity conditions from the balance between reliability against dew condensation and energy saving. However, in the present embodiment, the vegetable room humidity sensor is used. Appropriate energization control of the vegetable compartment heater 112 becomes possible according to the detection result of 108, the reliability against dew condensation and the energy saving property can be balanced, and both the energy saving property and the freshness property of the vegetable chamber can be achieved.

As described above, the vegetable room heater 112 is energized and controlled based on the detected humidity of the vegetable room humidity sensor 108, and the energization rate of the vegetable room heater 112 can be controlled according to the humidity in the vegetable room. With a simple structure, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that can prevent dew condensation in the vegetable room while keeping the high humidity in the vegetable room.

Further, the vegetable room humidity sensor 108 is arranged on the top surface of the vegetable room 17, and can accurately detect the humidity in the vegetable room to reliably prevent dew condensation on the top surface of the vegetable room, which is particularly prone to dew condensation. it can.

As described above, the vegetable room humidity sensor 108 controls the heater 112, but when the humidity becomes higher than the predetermined humidity, the vegetable room humidity sensor 108 may open and close the vegetable room damper 75, and the vegetables The humidity inside the chamber 17 can be controlled to an appropriate level.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY In a refrigerator equipped with a humidity sensor in the vegetable room, the present invention includes a humidity sensor for detecting the humidity in the vegetable room and a vegetable room heater for heating the vegetable room, and the vegetable room is based on the detected temperature in the vegetable room. The damper is open / closed controlled, and the vegetable compartment heater is energized based on the humidity detected by the humidity sensor, and can be applied to various types and sizes of refrigerators, such as household and commercial use. ..

17 Vegetable room 17a Lower storage case 17b Upper storage case 100 Cold air discharge port 101 Cold air suction port 102 Front seal part 103 Rear seal part 104 Section wall 105 Humidity adjustment filter 106 Recessed 107 Electrostatic atomization generator 108 Vegetable room humidity sensor 109 cover 110 partition

Claims (4)

In a refrigerator provided with a cold air discharge port for discharging cold air to the rear part of the vegetable compartment, a cold air suction port for sucking cold air in the upper part of the vegetable compartment, and an upper storage case and a lower storage case in the vegetable compartment, the upper storage case A humidity sensor for detecting the humidity in the vegetable chamber is arranged on the top surface portion above the above and behind the cold air suction port, and the humidity sensor is arranged on the recessed portion of the top surface portion, and the recessed portion is arranged from below. The humidity sensor is supported by a support portion integrally formed with the cover and covered with the cover, and a sterilizing means for sterilizing the vegetable chamber is arranged on the top surface, and the sterilizing means is covered with the cover and the humidity sensor is covered. A refrigerator characterized by having a partition plate placed between and. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cover has an opening hole, the portion facing the humidity sensor does not have the opening hole, and the cover is provided with the opening hole with a predetermined size. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a heating means is arranged above the humidity sensor, and the heating means is provided inside the top surface portion. In the upper storage case, a front seal portion that seals a gap with the top surface portion at the front portion of the upper surface opening peripheral edge portion, a rear seal portion that seals a gap with the top surface portion at the rear portion, and a front wall of the upper storage case. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator is provided with a filter, and the cold air suction port is arranged in front of the front seal portion.

Images