JP6928504B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to refrigerators.

In recent years, it has been known to impart a freshness-preserving effect to agricultural products such as vegetables and fruits by irradiating them with near-infrared rays (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this near-infrared irradiation process, the harvested vegetables are placed on an installation table such as a conveyor belt, and the vegetables are irradiated with near-infrared rays for a short time with a large amount of light from a light source arranged above the installation table. Is. By this near-infrared irradiation, for example, the stomata of the leaves of a plant can be closed, transpiration from the stomata can be suppressed, and freshness can be maintained.

Japanese Patent No. 5889310

By the way, for example, in a refrigerator for home use, an independent vegetable compartment may be provided as a storage unit for storing vegetables and fruits, or a drawer-type vegetable case may be provided in an area partitioned in the refrigerator compartment so that a drawer-type vegetable case can be taken in and out. It is done. These vegetable storage units have been devised to maintain high humidity by sealing the storage parts as much as possible to improve the storage stability of vegetables, but the reality is that sufficient effects cannot always be obtained. be. Therefore, it is desired to apply the freshness-maintaining effect of the above-mentioned near-infrared irradiation to the vegetable storage portion of the refrigerator to store vegetables, fruits and the like with good freshness.

Therefore, there is provided a refrigerator having a storage chamber having a vegetable storage portion in the main body of the refrigerator, and a refrigerator capable of storing the stored matter stored in the vegetable storage portion with good freshness is provided.

The refrigerator of the embodiment includes a storage chamber provided in the refrigerator body and having a vegetable storage portion, and a near-infrared irradiation device that irradiates the vegetable storage portion with near-infrared rays.

A longitudinal side view showing the first embodiment and schematically showing the overall configuration of the refrigerator. Enlarged vertical side view of the vegetable compartment Bottom view of the near-infrared irradiation device Block diagram showing electrical configuration The figure which shows the relationship between the lapse of days and the water residual rate in the case of irradiation of a storage with near infrared rays and no irradiation. A schematic perspective view of a refrigerator showing a second embodiment in which the refrigerator door is removed and a part of the side wall is cut off. Front view of the vegetable storage area Diagram showing the relationship between humidity and irradiation time The figure which shows the relationship between humidity and irradiation intensity The figure which shows the relationship between temperature and irradiation time The figure which shows the relationship between temperature and irradiation intensity The figure which shows the relationship between the irradiation timing and the temperature

(1) First Embodiment Hereinafter, the first embodiment applied to a household refrigerator will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 1 schematically shows the overall configuration of the refrigerator 1 in the present embodiment. The refrigerator 1 is configured by providing a plurality of storage chambers in a refrigerator main body 2 formed of a vertically long rectangular box-shaped heat insulating box body having an open front surface. The refrigerator body 2 is configured by accommodating a heat insulating material between an outer box made of steel plate and an inner box made of plastic.

Specifically, as the storage chamber, a refrigerating chamber 3, a vegetable compartment 4, a second freezing chamber 5, and a freezing chamber 6 are provided in the refrigerator main body 2 in this order from the top. The second freezer compartment also functions as a switching chamber. At this time, the vegetable compartment 4 is regarded as the storage chamber having the highest humidity among the plurality of storage chambers, and the humidity, more specifically, the relative humidity RH is maintained at 60% or more. The vegetable compartment 4 stores crops such as vegetables and fruits as a storage, and functions as a vegetable storage unit. Although not shown, the portion of the refrigerator body 2 where the second freezing chamber 5 is provided is divided into two left and right chambers, the second freezing chamber 5 is provided on the right side, and the ice making chamber is provided on the left side. ing.

The refrigerating room 3 and the vegetable room 4 are both storage rooms in a refrigerating temperature range of, for example, 1 to 4 ° C., and are partitioned above and below by a plastic partition wall 7. Therefore, the inside of the vegetable compartment 4 is maintained in a low temperature environment of 0 ° C. or higher and 10 ° C. or lower. A hinge-opening / closing type heat insulating door 8 is provided on the front surface of the refrigerator compartment 3. As shown in FIG. 2, a drawer-type heat insulating door 9 for accommodating stored items is provided on the front surface of the vegetable compartment 4. A storage container 10 is connected to the back surface of the heat insulating door 9. As shown in FIG. 1, the inside of the refrigerating chamber 3 is divided into a plurality of upper and lower stages by a shelf plate 11, and a chilled chamber 12 is provided at the lowermost portion thereof (upper part of the partition wall 7).

Further, the second freezing chamber 5, the freezing chamber 6, and the ice making chamber are all storage chambers in a freezing temperature range of, for example, −10 to −20 ° C., and the vegetable chamber 4, the second freezing chamber 5, and the ice making chamber. The space is partitioned vertically by a heat insulating partition wall 13. A drawer-type heat insulating door 14 is provided on the front surface of the second freezing chamber 5, and a storage container 15 is connected to the back surface of the heat insulating door 14. A drawer-type heat insulating door 16 is also provided on the front surface of the freezing chamber 6, and storage containers 17 are connected to the back surface of the freezing chamber 6 in two upper and lower stages.

Although detailed illustration is omitted, the refrigerator main body 2 has a well-known door opening / closing detection switch 18 (see FIG. 4) as a door opening / closing detecting means for detecting the opening / closing of the heat insulating doors 8, 9, 14 and 16. ) Is provided. Further, each storage chamber of the refrigerator main body 2 is provided with an internal temperature sensor 19 (see FIG. 4) that detects the temperature in each storage chamber. The detection signals of the door open / close detection switch 18 and the internal temperature sensor 19 are input to the control device 25 described later.

Although not shown in detail as a whole, the refrigerator body 2 incorporates a refrigeration cycle. Here, a refrigerator 20 for a refrigerating room for cooling the refrigerating room 3 and the vegetable room 4, and a freezer room cooler 21 for cooling the second freezing room 5, the freezing room 6, and the ice making room. It is equipped with two coolers. These coolers function as evaporators. A machine room 22 is provided on the back side of the lower end portion of the refrigerator main body 2, and although not shown in detail, a compressor 23 constituting a refrigerating cycle, a condenser and the like (not shown) are arranged in the machine room 22. At the same time, a cooling fan, a defrosting water evaporating dish 24, and the like for cooling them are arranged. A control device 25 for controlling the entire refrigerator body 2 is provided in a portion near the lower part of the back surface.

As is well known, the refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting the compressor 23, a condenser, an expansion valve serving as a pressure reducing means, and the coolers 20 and 21 in a closed loop shape by a refrigerant pipe. A required amount of refrigerant is sealed inside the refrigeration cycle and circulates in the refrigerant pipe. The coolers 20 and 21 are provided in parallel, for example, so that the flow of the refrigerant can be switched by a switching valve (not shown). Further, a refrigerant temperature sensor 26 (see FIG. 4) for detecting the refrigerant temperature is provided at each part of the refrigeration cycle such as the inlet, outlet, condenser, coolers 20 and 21 of the compressor 23. The detection signals of each of these refrigerant temperature sensors 26 are input to the control device 25.

A cooler chamber 27 for the freezing chamber is provided on the lower side of the back wall portion in the refrigerator main body 2 which is the rear part of the freezing chamber 6. In the cooler chamber 27, the cooler 21 is arranged at the lower part, and the freezing blower fan 28 is arranged at the upper part. A heater 29 for defrosting is provided below the cooler 21. Further, a cold air outlet 30 is provided in the upper part of the front surface of the cooler chamber 27, and a return port 31 is provided in the lower end portion.

With this, when the freezing blower fan 28 is driven, the cold air generated by the cooler 21 is supplied from the cold air outlet 30 into the second freezing chamber 5, the ice making chamber, and the freezing chamber 6, and then. The circulation is such that the return port 31 is returned to the cooler chamber 27 for the freezing chamber.

The back wall portion of the refrigerator main body 2 is provided with a cooler chamber 32 for the refrigerating chamber, which is located on the upper side which is the rear part of the chilled chamber 12 and in which the cooler 20 for the refrigerating chamber is arranged. At the same time, a blowout duct 33 is continuously provided above the blowout duct 33 so as to extend upward. Further, a blower duct 34 whose upper end is connected to the cooler room 32 is provided at the lower part of the cooler room 32 which is the rear part of the vegetable room 4, and a refrigerating blower fan 35 is provided in the blower duct 34. ing. In the cooler chamber 32, a heater 36 for defrosting is provided below the cooler 20.

With this, when the refrigerating blower fan 35 is driven, the cold air generated by the cooler 20 is supplied to the refrigerating chamber 3 from the plurality of outlets 33a through the outlet ducts 33, and further to the vegetable chamber 4. Be supplied. Then, the air in the vegetable compartment 4 is sucked into the air duct 34 from the suction port 34a provided in the air duct 34 and returned to the cooler chamber 32 for the refrigerating chamber. ..

As shown in FIG. 2, the vegetable compartment 4 is provided with a near-infrared irradiation device 37 that irradiates the vegetable compartment 4, that is, the storage container 10 and the stored matter, with near-infrared rays. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the near-infrared irradiation device 37 uses a bullet-shaped LED 38 that emits near-infrared light having a wavelength of 800 to 2500 nm as a light source, and the lower surface of the rectangular plate-shaped support substrate 37a. In addition, a plurality of, for example, 12 LEDs 38 are arranged side by side in 3 rows in the front-rear direction and 4 rows in the left-right direction.

The near-infrared irradiation device 37 is attached downward to the ceiling of the vegetable compartment 4 and is configured to irradiate the inside of the vegetable compartment 4, that is, the entire storage container 10 with near-infrared rays. At this time, the near-infrared irradiation intensity of the near-infrared irradiation device 37 is set to be relatively small, for example, about 0.01 W · m2. Further, the operation of the near-infrared irradiation device 37, that is, the lighting and extinguishing of the LED 38, is controlled by the control device 25.

FIG. 4 schematically shows the electrical configuration of the refrigerator 1 in the present embodiment centering on the control device 25. Here, the control device 25 is mainly composed of a computer, and controls the entire refrigerator 1 to execute the cooling operation. For example, a setting signal of an operation panel 39 provided on the front surface of the heat insulating door 8 is input to the control device 25, and the above-mentioned internal temperature sensor 19, each refrigerant temperature sensor 26, and each door open / close detection are detected. The signal from the switch 18 is input. The control device 25 controls the compressor 23, the freezing blower fans 28, 35, the defrosting heaters 29, 36, etc. based on these input signals, and cools each storage chamber so as to maintain a predetermined low temperature. Control driving.

At the same time, the control device 25 controls the near-infrared irradiation device 37. At this time, in the present embodiment, the control device 25 irradiates the near-infrared ray of the near-infrared irradiation device 37, in this case, on, based on the detection of the opening / closing of the heat insulating door 9 of the vegetable compartment 4 by the door opening / closing detection switch 18. Control off. Specifically, the control device 25 irradiates the near-infrared ray irradiation device 37 with the near-infrared ray when the door open / close detection switch 18 detects the blockage of the heat insulating door 9. Therefore, the control device 25 functions as an irradiation control device.

As a result, the near-infrared irradiation device 37 is used in the vegetable chamber 4 in a state where the independent vegetable chamber 4 is closed by the heat insulating door 9, that is, visible light from the outside other than the near-infrared rays is blocked. Irradiation of near infrared rays is performed. Further, in the present embodiment, when the near-infrared irradiation by the near-infrared irradiation device 37 continues for a certain period of time set to, for example, 2 hours or more, the control device 25 uses the door open / close detection switch 18 to display the heat-insulating door 9. Even if the blockage is detected, the irradiation of the near-infrared irradiation device 37 is forcibly turned off.

Next, the operation and effect of the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the above configuration, the near-infrared irradiation device 37 is operated in a state where the storage container 10 of the vegetable compartment 4 as the vegetable storage unit contains the storage such as vegetables and fruits, so that the storage such as vegetables and fruits is stored. On the other hand, near infrared rays can be irradiated. By this near-infrared irradiation, for example, the stomata of the leaves of a plant can be closed, transpiration from the stomata can be suppressed, and the freshness of the stored product can be maintained.

In this case, unlike the case of transporting by a belt conveyor, the crops such as vegetables and fruits stored in the vegetable compartment 4 are irradiated with near-infrared rays, so that the crops are large at once. It is not necessary to irradiate the amount of light, and even a small amount of light can be irradiated for a long time. As a result, the effect of preventing transpiration due to the blockage of the pores of vegetables and fruits can be maintained in the vegetable compartment 4 for a long period of time. In the present embodiment, even with a small irradiation intensity of about 0.01 W · m2, a good freshness-maintaining effect could be obtained by performing continuous irradiation for 2 hours or more. More preferably, it is 7 hours or more.

Therefore, the refrigerator main body 2 is provided with a vegetable compartment 4 as a storage chamber having a vegetable storage portion, and stores such as vegetables and fruits stored in the storage container 10 of the vegetable compartment 4 are stored with good freshness. It has the excellent effect of being able to do it. By the way, FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the passage of days and the residual rate of water, assuming that the water content at the start of storage is 100% between the case where the stored foods such as vegetables and fruits are irradiated with near infrared rays and the case where the stored products are not irradiated. The result is shown. As can be understood from FIG. 5, in the case of no irradiation, the water residual rate decreased to about 92% after 1 week, but in the case of near infrared irradiation, even after 1 week. , A high water residual rate of about 97% could be obtained.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the refrigerator main body 2 is provided with an independent vegetable chamber 4 as a storage chamber having a vegetable storage portion, and the near-infrared irradiation device 37 is in a state where the vegetable compartment 4 is closed by the heat insulating door 9. Since the near-infrared ray is irradiated by the vegetable chamber 4, the near-infrared ray can be irradiated while the humidity and temperature in the vegetable compartment 4 are maintained and the light such as visible light from the outside is blocked. Therefore, it is more effective for preserving vegetables and fruits in the vegetable compartment 4.

In this case, since the vegetable compartment 4 is the storage chamber having the highest humidity among the plurality, the effect of suppressing the transpiration of crops such as vegetables and fruits by setting the inside of the vegetable compartment 4 to high humidity can also be obtained and stored. It becomes effective by keeping the freshness of things. In particular, by maintaining the humidity in the vegetable compartment 4 at 60% or more, a sufficient transpiration suppressing effect can be obtained.

Further, since the near-infrared irradiation by the near-infrared irradiation device 37 is performed in a low temperature environment of 0 ° C. or higher and 10 ° C. or lower, the effect of suppressing transpiration of crops in the low temperature environment is also obtained, and the effect of maintaining the freshness of the stored product is obtained. Become a target. Since it is not preferable for the crops to freeze in order to preserve the freshness, it is desirable that the temperature inside the vegetable compartment 4 is 0 ° C. or higher. Further, the near-infrared irradiation by the near-infrared irradiation device 37 is performed in a state where light other than the near-infrared rays is blocked. It is effective because it is possible to irradiate near infrared rays by blocking noise such as ambient light that tries to open the pores of crops such as visible light.

Then, in the present embodiment, the control device 25 is configured to control the near-infrared irradiation of the near-infrared irradiation device 37 based on the detection of the door open / close detection switch 18 that detects the opening / closing of the heat insulating door 9. Here, when the heat insulating door 9 is open, the storage in the vegetable compartment 4 may be exposed to the high temperature outside air, which may cause fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and external visible light or the like may be the storage. It will be in a state of hitting. Irradiation of near-infrared rays in such a state is not useful for preserving the freshness of the stored material, and may result in wasteful irradiation. On the other hand, as in the present embodiment, by controlling the irradiation of near infrared rays based on the open / closed state of the heat insulating door 9, such useless irradiation can be suppressed, and irradiation is performed only when necessary. , Optimal control can be performed.

More specifically, when the door open / close detection switch 18 detects the blockage of the heat insulating door 9, the control device 25 controls the near infrared irradiation device 37 to irradiate the near infrared rays. The fact that the heat insulating door 9 is closed means that the inside of the vegetable compartment 4 is almost sealed, the temperature and humidity do not fluctuate, and light such as visible light from the outside is blocked. be. Therefore, near-infrared rays can be irradiated in a state where the effect of preserving the freshness of the stored product can be sufficiently obtained, and unnecessary irradiation can be suppressed.

Moreover, the control device 25 controls to stop the irradiation when the near-infrared irradiation device 37 continuously irradiates the near-infrared rays for a certain period of time or longer. As a result, it is possible to prevent the stored matter from being excessively irradiated with near infrared rays, and it is possible to prevent over-specification, which is advantageous in terms of cost. The fixed time can be set according to the irradiation intensity of near infrared rays, and the larger the irradiation intensity, the shorter the irradiation time can be to obtain the effect of preserving freshness.

(2) Second Embodiment, Other Embodiments FIGS. 6 and 7 show the second embodiment, and describe the differences from the first embodiment. FIG. 6 shows the appearance configuration of the refrigerator 41 according to the second embodiment, except for a part. The refrigerator 41 is different from the one provided with the vegetable compartment 4 having an independent form like the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment, and is provided with a so-called reach-in type vegetable storage portion in the refrigerator compartment.

That is, the refrigerator 41 includes a refrigerating chamber 43, an ice making chamber 44, a second freezing chamber 45, and a freezing chamber 46 as storage chambers in the refrigerator main body 42 formed of a heat insulating box. The refrigerating chamber 43 is configured to occupy more than half the volume of the refrigerator main body 42, and a double-door insulation door (not shown) is provided on the front surface thereof. Further, drawer-type heat insulating doors 47, 48, and 49 are provided on the front surfaces of the ice making chamber 44, the second freezing chamber 45, and the freezing chamber 46, respectively.
A cooling mechanism including a refrigerating cycle (not shown) is incorporated in the refrigerator main body 2, and the inside of the refrigerating chamber 43 is maintained in a refrigerating temperature range of, for example, 1 to 4 ° C., and the ice making chamber 44, the second freezing chamber 45, The inside of the freezer chamber 46 is maintained in a freezing temperature range of, for example, −10 to −20 ° C.

The inside of the refrigerating chamber 43 is divided into a plurality of stages in the vertical direction, and the lowermost stage partitioned by the plastic lower partition plate 50 is located on the left and right, and is a water storage tank 51 for an automatic ice maker and a chilled chamber. 52 is provided. Further, in the refrigerating chamber 43, a region defined by a plastic middle-stage partition plate 53 in the upper part of the lower-stage partition plate 50 is a vegetable storage portion 54. In the refrigerator compartment 43, the space above the middle partition plate 53 is further divided into upper and lower parts by a plurality of plastic shelf plates 55.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 7, a vegetable case in which crops such as vegetables and fruits are stored as a storage in the vegetable storage portion 54 partitioned in the refrigerating chamber 43 on the upper surface of the lower partition plate 50. 56 is provided so that it can be pulled out forward. The vegetable case 56 is made of transparent plastic, for example, and has a substantially rectangular container shape with an open upper surface. Among them, the front wall portion is in a short state so that the internal storage can be seen, that is, the upper half portion is opened. It is said to be in a state.

As shown in FIG. 7, an interior light 57 for illuminating the inside of the vegetable case 56 of the vegetable storage unit 54 is provided on the back surface of the vegetable storage unit 54 in the refrigerator compartment 43, and the interior light 57 is provided. A near-infrared irradiation device 58 is provided next to the device. The near-infrared irradiation device 58 includes, for example, a halogen lamp, a fluorescent lamp, a discharge lamp, a semiconductor light emitting element, and the like, and a filter that transmits only the near infrared rays of the light. The near-infrared irradiation device 58 irradiates the stored items such as vegetables and fruits inside the vegetable case 56 with near-infrared rays from the upper surface of the vegetable case 56 or through the back wall of the vegetable case 56. It is provided in.

At this time, the control device (not shown) functions as an irradiation control device, and based on the detection signal of the open / close detection switch that detects the opening / closing of the heat insulating door on the front surface of the refrigerator compartment 43, the interior light 57 and the near infrared irradiation device 58 are used. Control. In the present embodiment, the control device turns on the interior light 57 and turns off the near-infrared irradiation device 58 when the heat insulating door is open, and turns off the internal light 57 when the heat insulating door is closed. At the same time, the near-infrared irradiation device 58 is turned on.

With this, the near-infrared irradiation device 58 is operated in a state where the storage such as vegetables and fruits is stored in the vegetable case 56 of the vegetable storage unit 54, so that the storage such as vegetables and fruits is subjected to near-infrared rays. Can be irradiated. By this near-infrared irradiation, the stomata of the plant can be closed, and transpiration from the stomata can be suppressed. Therefore, also in this second embodiment, the refrigerator main body 42 includes a refrigerating room 43 as a storage room having a vegetable storage unit 54, and stores vegetables, fruits, etc. stored in the vegetable storage unit 54. It has an excellent effect of being able to store things with good freshness.

In the above-described embodiment, the near-infrared irradiation device is provided on the ceiling surface and the back surface of the vegetable storage portion, but it can also be provided on the side surface, the bottom surface, and the front side (door side). .. Further, in the above embodiment, the near-infrared irradiation device is controlled based on the opening and closing of the door of the storage room, but near-infrared irradiation is performed regardless of the opening and closing of the door, for example, for a certain period of time at night. It may be configured to operate the infrared irradiation device.

The near-infrared irradiation device is not limited to bullet-shaped LEDs and lamps, and various devices such as those in which LEDs are arranged vertically and horizontally in a plane can be adopted. A humidity control device (humidifier) such as a mist generator may be provided in the refrigerator body to maintain a high humidity in the vegetable storage section. In addition, the values of near-infrared irradiation intensity, irradiation time, humidity, etc. are just examples and can be set as appropriate, and there are various configurations such as the arrangement of each storage room of the refrigerator. Can be changed.

Specifically, the irradiation time and irradiation intensity of near-infrared rays emitted from the near-infrared irradiation device 37 can be changed based on the humidity and temperature in the vegetable storage portion. The vegetable storage section referred to here includes the vegetable compartment 4 and the vegetable storage section 54 described above.
By the way, in the past, in order to improve the freshness of vegetables, there was a case where the storage chamber for storing vegetables had a closed structure, but if it has a closed structure, dew condensation occurs in the storage chamber, and the condensed water damages the vegetables. There was a problem. Therefore, as described in the above-described embodiment, it has become possible to store vegetables with good freshness by irradiating them with near-infrared rays without making the storage chamber a closed structure.

By the way, when the vegetable storage part is in a relatively high humidity state, the moisture evaporation from the vegetables is suppressed to some extent because the humidity is high, so even if the irradiation time for irradiating near infrared rays is relatively short, or near infrared rays are emitted. It is considered that vegetables can be kept fresh even if the irradiation intensity to be irradiated is relatively weak. Further, if the humidity is relatively high, it is considered that the proportion of open pores is high, so that the effect of maintaining freshness is considered to be large even with a short irradiation time or a weak irradiation intensity.

That is, by changing at least one of the near-infrared irradiation time or the irradiation intensity of the near-infrared irradiation device 37 based on the humidity and temperature of the vegetable storage portion, the evaporation of water from the vegetables can be achieved while saving energy. It is thought that it can be suppressed and preserved with good freshness.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, as the humidity of the vegetable accommodating portion becomes relatively high, the irradiation time of near infrared rays by the near infrared irradiation device 37 can be relatively shortened. Humidity% RH in FIG. 8 and the like indicates relative humidity. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, the higher the humidity (humidity% RH) of the vegetable storage portion, the weaker the near-infrared irradiation intensity by the near-infrared irradiation device 37 can be. As the humidity (humidity% RH) of the vegetable storage portion becomes relatively high, the irradiation time of near infrared rays can be relatively shortened and the irradiation intensity can be relatively weakened. As a result, the power consumption of the near-infrared irradiation device 37 can be suppressed, and while energy saving is achieved, the evaporation of water from vegetables can be suppressed and the vegetables can be stored with good freshness.

In addition, in low temperature conditions, water evaporation from vegetables can be suppressed to some extent without irradiating near infrared rays, so vegetables and the like can be freshened without problems even with a relatively short irradiation time or a relatively weak irradiation intensity. It is thought that it can be held well.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, as the temperature of the vegetable storage portion becomes relatively low, the irradiation time of near infrared rays by the near infrared irradiation device 37 can be relatively shortened. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 11, as the temperature of the vegetable storage portion becomes relatively low, the intensity of near-infrared irradiation by the near-infrared irradiation device 37 can be relatively weakened. It should be noted that as the temperature of the vegetable storage portion becomes relatively low, the irradiation time of near infrared rays can be shortened and the irradiation intensity can be relatively weakened. As a result, the power consumption of the near-infrared irradiation device 37 can be suppressed, and while energy saving is achieved, the evaporation of water from vegetables can be suppressed and the vegetables can be stored with good freshness.

Up to this point, an example of controlling the near-infrared irradiation device 37 based on the temperature and humidity has been shown, but the temperature of the vegetable storage portion can also be controlled based on the operation of the near-infrared irradiation device 37.
When the near-infrared irradiation device 37 irradiates the near-infrared rays, the effect of maintaining the freshness is large, so even if the temperature of the vegetable storage portion becomes relatively high, the freshness of the vegetables and the like can be kept without any problem. It is thought that it can be held well.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, when the near-infrared irradiation device 37 irradiates the near-infrared ray at time T1, the temperature of the vegetable accommodating portion can be relatively increased after time T1.

In this case, the operation time of the compressor 23 is relatively shortened, the rotation frequency is relatively low, and the operation of the refrigeration cycle is suppressed as compared with the case where the near-infrared irradiation is not performed. The temperature of the housing can be relatively high. Alternatively, the temperature of the vegetable storage portion can be relatively raised by resetting the reference temperature, which is the reference for starting the operation of the refrigeration cycle, to a relatively high temperature.

Even with such a configuration, since the pores of vegetables and the like are closed by irradiating the near infrared rays, the evaporation of water from the vegetables is suppressed as compared with the case where the near infrared rays are not irradiated. Even at high temperatures, the same freshness can be maintained. As a result, the electric power required for the operation of the refrigeration cycle can be reduced, energy saving can be achieved, evaporation of water from vegetables can be suppressed, and the vegetables can be stored with good freshness.

The above embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. The present embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

In the drawing, 1, 41 is the refrigerator, 2, 42 is the refrigerator body, 4 is the vegetable compartment (storage room), 9 is the heat insulating door (door), 10 is the storage container, and 18 is the door open / close detection switch (door open / close detection means). , 25 is a control device (irradiation control device), 37 and 58 are near infrared irradiation devices, 38 is an LED, 43 is a refrigerator compartment (storage room), 54 is a vegetable storage unit, and 56 is a vegetable case.

Claims (9)

A storage room provided inside the refrigerator and having a vegetable storage area,
A near-infrared irradiation device that irradiates the vegetable storage part with near-infrared rays ,
An irradiation control device for changing at least one of the near-infrared irradiation time and the irradiation intensity by the near-infrared irradiation device based on the humidity or temperature of the vegetable storage portion is provided .
In the irradiation control device, the higher the humidity, the shorter the irradiation time of the near infrared rays by the near infrared irradiation device, the weaker the irradiation intensity, and the lower the temperature, the more the above. A refrigerator that relatively shortens the irradiation time of near-infrared rays by the near-infrared irradiation device and relatively weakens the irradiation intensity. The refrigerator body is provided with an independent vegetable chamber as a storage chamber having the vegetable storage portion.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the vegetable chamber is irradiated with near infrared rays by the near infrared irradiation device while the vegetable compartment is closed by a door. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of storage chambers are provided in the refrigerator body, and the vegetable compartment is the storage chamber having the highest humidity. The refrigerator according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the vegetable compartment is maintained at a humidity of 60% or more. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the vegetable storage portion is irradiated with near infrared rays by the near infrared irradiation device in a low temperature environment of 10 ° C. or lower. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the near-infrared irradiation of the vegetable storage portion by the near-infrared irradiation device is performed in a state where light other than the near-infrared rays is blocked. A door opening / closing detecting means for detecting the opening / closing of the door of the storage room having the vegetable storage portion is provided.
The irradiation control unit, a refrigerator according to any one of the door opening detection請Motomeko 1 to 6 that controls the irradiation of near infrared rays of the near-infrared irradiation apparatus on the basis of the detection means. The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the irradiation control device irradiates near-infrared rays with the near-infrared irradiation device when the door opening / closing detecting means detects that the door is closed. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the irradiation control device stops irradiation when near-infrared irradiation by the near-infrared irradiation device is continuous for a certain period of time or longer.

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