JP7070053B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

It has a main body with a storage room, a rice storage container that is placed in the storage room to store and store rice, and a drawer-type door that allows the rice storage container to be pulled out from the storage room. The rice storage container is a vegetable. A refrigerator arranged in a vegetable chamber as a storage chamber capable of storing rice is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-223654

However, in a refrigerator as shown in Patent Document 1, a rice storage container is arranged in a vegetable chamber located in a central portion of the refrigerator. For this reason, the storage capacity of other foodstuffs in the central part of the refrigerator, which is easy to put in and take out, is squeezed.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem. The purpose is to easily take out the stored granular food in a refrigerator that can store granular food such as rice, and to put pressure on the storage capacity of other foodstuffs in the central part of the refrigerator, which is easy to put in and take out. Is to get a refrigerator that can suppress.

The refrigerator according to the present disclosure is provided at a main body having a plurality of storage chambers having openable / closable doors and inside the storage chamber, and is arranged at the top of the area where the storage chamber is arranged in the main body. The granular food storage unit for storing granular food and the granular food storage unit located below the granular food storage unit and provided with the granular food storage unit with the door closed. A food take-out section from which food in the storage section can be taken out, a food transport means for transporting the food in the granular food storage section to the food take-out section, and a granular food storage section when the food is stored in the granular food storage section. A suction means for sucking food into the food is provided , and the suction means operates in a state where a damper for opening and closing an air passage between the inside of the storage chamber provided with the granular food storage and a cooler is closed. To do .
Alternatively, the refrigerator according to the present disclosure has a main body in which a plurality of storage chambers having openable / closable doors are formed, and the bottom of the region of the main body in which the storage chambers are arranged, which is provided inside the storage chambers. The granulated food storage unit for storing granular food and the storage chamber arranged above the granular food storage unit and provided with the granular food storage unit are closed. The food transport unit includes a food take-out unit capable of taking out the food in the granular food storage unit and a food transport means for transporting the food in the granular food storage unit to the food take-out unit, and the food transport means is in the granular food storage unit. It is provided with a suction means for transport that sucks food and sends it to the food taking-out unit.

According to the refrigerator according to the present invention, in a refrigerator capable of storing granular foods such as rice, the stored granular foods can be easily taken out, and other foodstuffs can be stored in the central portion of the refrigerator, which is easy to put in and take out. It has the effect of suppressing pressure on the capacity.

It is a front view of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a vertical sectional view of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an enlarged sectional view of the refrigerating chamber part of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an enlarged sectional view of the refrigerating chamber part of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flow chart which shows the operation example at the time of rice pouring of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flow chart which shows the operation example at the time of putting rice in the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an enlarged sectional view of the refrigerating chamber part of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a front view of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a vertical sectional view of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention.

A mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each figure, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be appropriately simplified or omitted. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Embodiment 1.
1 to 7 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator. FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the refrigerator. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a refrigerator compartment portion. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a refrigerator compartment portion. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the refrigerator. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the refrigerator when pouring rice. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the refrigerator when rice is added.

The refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a refrigerator main body 1. The refrigerator body 1 has a heat insulating box body 90 as shown in FIG. The heat insulating box body 90 has a front surface (front surface) opened to form a storage space inside. The heat insulating box body 90 has an outer box, an inner box, and a heat insulating material. The outer box is made of steel. The inner box is made of resin. The inner box is placed inside the outer box. The heat insulating material is, for example, urethane foam or the like, and is filled in the space between the outer box and the inner box. The storage space formed inside the heat insulating box 90 is divided into a plurality of storage chambers for storing and storing food by one or a plurality of partition members.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, here, the refrigerator main body 1 includes, for example, a refrigerating room 100, a switching room 200, an ice making room 300, a freezing room 400, and a vegetable room 500 as a plurality of storage rooms. These storage chambers are arranged in a heat insulating box 90 in a four-tiered structure in the vertical direction.

The refrigerating chamber 100 is arranged at the uppermost stage of the heat insulating box body 90. The switching chamber 200 is arranged on one side below the refrigerating chamber 100 on the left and right sides. The cold insulation temperature zone of the switching chamber 200 can be switched by selecting any one of a plurality of temperature zones. The plurality of temperature zones that can be selected as the cold insulation temperature zone of the switching chamber 200 include, for example, a freezing temperature zone (for example, about -18 ° C.), a refrigerating temperature zone (for example, about 3 ° C.), a chilled temperature zone (for example, about 0 ° C.), and the like. It is in a soft refrigeration temperature range (for example, about -7 ° C). The ice making chamber 300 is arranged adjacent to the side of the switching chamber 200 and in parallel with the switching chamber 200, that is, on the left and right other sides below the refrigerating chamber 100.

The freezing chamber 400 is arranged below the switching chamber 200 and the ice making chamber 300. The freezing chamber 400 is mainly for use when the storage object is stored frozen for a relatively long period of time. The vegetable compartment 500 is arranged at the lowermost stage below the freezing chamber 400. The vegetable compartment 500 is mainly for storing vegetables and large PET bottles having a large capacity (for example, 2 L or the like).

A rotary refrigerating room door 7 for opening and closing the opening is provided in the opening formed on the front surface of the refrigerating room 100. Here, the refrigerating room door 7 is a double door type (double door type), and is composed of a right door 7a and a left door 7b.

An operation panel 6 is provided on the outer surface of the refrigerator compartment door 7 (for example, the left door 7b) on the front surface of the refrigerator body 1. As shown in FIG. 5, the operation panel 6 includes an operation unit 6a and a display unit 6b. The operation unit 6a is an operation switch for setting the cold storage temperature of each storage room and the operation mode (thawing mode, etc.) of the refrigerator main body 1 and for using the dispenser unit 9 described later. The display unit 6b is a liquid crystal display that displays various information such as the temperature of each storage chamber. Further, the operation panel 6 may include a touch panel that also serves as an operation unit 6a and a display unit 6b.

Each storage room (switching room 200, ice making room 300, freezing room 400, and vegetable room 500) other than the refrigerating room 100 is opened and closed by a drawer-type door. These pull-out doors have a frame fixed to the door and slid against rails horizontally formed on the left and right inner wall surfaces of each storage room to slide the frame in the depth direction (front-back direction) of the refrigerator body 1. ) Can be opened and closed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the switching chamber storage case 201 is retractably stored inside the switching chamber 200. Inside the freezing chamber 400, the freezing chamber storage case 401 is retractably stored. Similarly, the vegetable compartment storage case 501 is retractably stored in the vegetable compartment 500. Food and the like can be stored inside each of the switching room storage case 201, the freezing room storage case 401, and the vegetable room storage case 501.

The refrigerator body 1 includes a refrigeration cycle circuit that cools the air supplied to each storage chamber. The refrigeration cycle circuit is composed of a compressor 2, a condenser (not shown), a throttle device (not shown), a cooler 3, and the like. The compressor 2 compresses and discharges the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle circuit. The condenser condenses the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2. The squeezing device expands the refrigerant flowing out of the condenser. The cooler 3 cools the air supplied to each storage chamber by the refrigerant expanded by the throttle device. The compressor 2 is arranged, for example, in the lower part on the back side of the refrigerator body 1.

The refrigerator body 1 is formed with an air passage 5 for supplying air cooled by the refrigeration cycle circuit to each storage chamber. The air passage 5 is mainly arranged on the back side in the refrigerator main body 1. The cooler 3 of the refrigeration cycle circuit is installed in the air passage 5. Further, in the air passage 5, a blower fan 4 for sending the air cooled by the cooler 3 to each storage chamber is also installed.

When the blower fan 4 operates, the air (cold air) cooled by the cooler 3 is sent to the freezing chamber 400, the switching chamber 200, the ice making chamber 300, and the refrigerating chamber 100 through the air passage 5, and these storage chambers are moved. Cooling. The vegetable compartment 500 is cooled by introducing the return cold air from the refrigerator compartment 100 into the vegetable compartment 500 via the return air passage for the refrigerator compartment. The cold air that has cooled the vegetable compartment 500 is returned to the air passage 5 where the cooler 3 is located through the return air passage for the vegetable chamber (these return air passages are not shown). Then, it is cooled again by the cooler 3, and cold air circulates in the refrigerator main body 1.

A damper (not shown in FIG. 2) is provided in the middle of the passage from the air passage 5 to each storage chamber. Each damper opens and closes a portion leading to each storage chamber of the air passage 5. By changing the open / closed state of the damper, the amount of cold air supplied to each storage chamber can be adjusted. Further, the temperature of the cold air can be adjusted by controlling the operation of the compressor 2.

The refrigerating cycle circuit including the compressor 2 and the cooler 3 provided as described above, the blower fan 4, the air passage 5, and the damper constitute a cooling means for cooling the inside of each storage chamber including the refrigerating chamber 100. ing.

A control device 8 is housed in, for example, the upper part of the refrigerator body 1 on the back side. The control device 8 is provided with a control circuit and the like for performing various controls necessary for the operation of the refrigerator main body 1. As a control circuit included in the control device 8, for example, a circuit for controlling the operation of the compressor 2 and the blower fan 4 and the opening degree of the damper based on the temperature in each storage room and the information input to the operation panel 6 is provided. Can be mentioned. That is, the control device 8 controls the cooling means and the like described above to control the operation of the refrigerator body 1. The temperature in each storage chamber can be detected by a thermistor or the like installed in each storage chamber.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a door pocket 10 is provided on the inner surface of the refrigerator compartment door 7. Food can also be placed and stored in the door pocket 10. Further, a plurality of shelves are provided inside the refrigerating chamber 100. The inside of the refrigerating chamber 100 is divided into a plurality of spaces (shelves) in the vertical direction by these shelf boards. A rice storage room 11 is provided at the uppermost stage in the refrigerating room 100, which is partitioned by shelves.

That is, the rice storage chamber 11 is provided inside the refrigerating chamber 100, which is a storage chamber. Further, as described above, the refrigerating chamber 100 is arranged at the uppermost stage of the refrigerator main body 1. The rice storage chamber 11 is arranged at the top of the refrigerating chamber 100. Therefore, the rice storage chamber 11 in this embodiment is arranged at the top of the region where the storage chamber is arranged in the refrigerator main body 1.

The rice storage chamber 11 in this embodiment is an example of a granular food storage unit for storing granular food. The storage target of the granular food storage section is not limited to rice (raw rice) as long as it is a granular food. Other examples of the storage target of the granular food storage section include grains such as brown rice and wheat, beans and the like.

As in the third embodiment described later, the rice storage chamber 11 may be arranged at the bottom of the area where the storage chamber is arranged in the refrigerator body 1, or may be arranged at both the top and the bottom. You may.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the refrigerator compartment door 7 (for example, the left door 7b) on the front surface of the refrigerator body 1 is provided with a dispenser portion 9. The dispenser unit 9 is a dispenser that discharges the rice stored in the rice storage chamber 11 to the outside of the refrigerator. The dispenser unit 9 in this embodiment is an example of a food take-out unit capable of taking out food in the rice storage chamber 11 which is a granular food storage unit. The dispenser portion 9 is formed with a spout 16 for pouring rice.

As shown in FIG. 3, a connecting portion 14 is provided at the lower front end portion of the rice storage chamber 11. The connecting portion 14 is a stretchable hollow cylindrical member. The connection portion 14 is, for example, bellows-shaped. One end of the connection portion 14 leads to the inside of the rice storage chamber 11. Further, a communication duct 15 is formed in the refrigerating room door 7. The communication duct 15 is provided on the side of the left door 7b and the right door 7a where the dispenser portion 9 is provided, that is, on the left door 7b here. The lower end of the communication duct 15 leads to the spout 16 of the dispenser portion 9. Then, with the left door 7b closed, the upper end of the communication duct 15 leads to the other end of the connection portion 14.

A rice transport mechanism 12 is provided in the rice storage chamber 11. The rice transfer mechanism 12 is, for example, a screw type conveyor. That is, the rice transport mechanism 12 includes a screw. The rotation shaft of the screw is connected to the drive device 13. The drive device 13 is provided, for example, on the back surface of the rice storage chamber 11. By rotating the screw of the rice transport mechanism 12 by the drive device 13, the rice in the rice storage chamber 11 is sent out to the connection portion 14.

The rice storage chamber 11 is arranged above the dispenser portion 9. Therefore, the rice sent to the connection portion 14 is poured out of the refrigerator from the spout 16 of the dispenser portion 9 through the communication duct 15. The rice transport mechanism 12, the drive device 13, the connection portion 14, and the communication duct 15 in this embodiment configured as described above are the food transport means for transporting the rice in the rice storage chamber 11 to the dispenser portion 9. This is just an example.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the dispenser portion 9 is formed with a rectangular parallelepiped recessed space having an open front surface. A spout 16 is formed on the upper surface of the space. The spout is an opening through which rice passes. The spout 16 is opened and closed by a lid (not shown). When the rice transfer mechanism 12 operates by opening the lid of the spout 16 with the container having an open upper surface placed in the above-mentioned space, that is, with the container below the spout 16, the inside of the container is inserted from the spout 16. Rice is poured into.

In this way, the dispenser unit 9 can take out the food in the rice storage chamber 11 with the refrigerating chamber door 7 of the refrigerating chamber 100 provided with the rice storage chamber 11 closed. Further, as described above, the rice storage chamber 11 is arranged at the top of the region where the storage chamber is arranged in the refrigerator main body 1. The dispenser portion 9 is arranged above the center of the refrigerator body 1 in the vertical direction.

Here, especially in the uppermost stage of the refrigerating room 100, since it is difficult for the user to reach, foods and the like that are frequently used are rarely put in, and depending on the user, it becomes a dead space. According to the refrigerator according to this embodiment, by arranging the rice storage chamber 11 at the uppermost stage of the refrigerating chamber 100 and then providing the dispenser portion 9, the stored granular food such as rice can be easily prepared. In addition to being able to take out, it is possible to suppress pressure on the storage capacity of other foodstuffs in the central part of the refrigerator, which is easy to put in and take out.

For example, a suction device 17 is provided on the back surface of the rice storage chamber 11. As described above, the connecting portion 14 has a hollow cylindrical shape and can be expanded and contracted. When putting rice into the rice storage chamber 11, first, as shown in FIG. 4, the refrigerating chamber door 7 is opened, the connection portion 14 is extended, and the rice is put into the rice bag containing the rice. Then, the suction device 17 is operated. When the suction device 17 operates, the pressure inside the rice storage chamber 11 becomes negative. Therefore, the rice in the rice bag is sucked from the lower end of the connecting portion 14 and put into the rice storage chamber 11.

The suction device 17 of this embodiment configured as described above constitutes a suction means for sucking rice into the rice storage chamber 11 when the rice is stored in the rice storage chamber 11. By providing such a suction means, it is not necessary to lift a container or the like containing heavy rice to the uppermost rice storage chamber 11, and the rice can be easily put into the rice storage chamber 11.

When the suction device 17 operates with the refrigerating chamber door 7 closed, the entire inside of the refrigerating chamber 100 becomes a negative pressure, and the cold air in the air passage 5 cooled by the cooler 3 and the other storage chambers. There is a possibility that cold air will be sucked into the refrigerator compartment 100. Further, if the inside of the refrigerating chamber 100 becomes negative pressure with the refrigerating chamber door 7 closed, it becomes difficult to open the refrigerating chamber door 7. Therefore, the suction device 17 may be operated in a state where the refrigerating room door 7 of the refrigerating room 100 provided with the rice storage room 11 is open.

Further, as described above, a damper is provided at a position in the middle of the passage from the air passage 5 to each storage chamber. 3 and 4 show, as one such damper, a damper 18 that opens and closes the air passage 5 between the inside of the refrigerating chamber 100 and the cooler 3. Then, the suction device 17 may operate in a state where the damper 18 that opens and closes the air passage 5 is closed between the inside of the refrigerating chamber 100 provided with the rice storage chamber 11 and the cooler 3. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the cold air in the air passage 5 cooled by the cooler 3 from being sucked into the refrigerating chamber 100 due to the operation of the suction device 17.

Further, when the suction device 17 operates with the refrigerator compartment door 7 and the damper 18 open, the outside air sucked together with the rice by the suction device 17 flows into the air passage 5, and the freezer compartment 400, the switching chamber 200, and the like. There is a possibility that the temperature of the storage chambers other than the refrigerating chamber 100 such as the ice making chamber 300 will rise. By operating the suction device 17 with the damper 18 closed, it is possible to prevent such inflow of outside air into other storage chambers.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the control system of the refrigerator main body 1. FIG. 5 shows a portion particularly related to the control of the refrigerating chamber 100 including the rice storage chamber 11 and the dispenser unit 9. The control device 8 includes, for example, a microcomputer, and includes a processor 8a and a memory 8b. The control device 8 controls the refrigerator main body 1 by executing a preset process by executing the program stored in the memory 8b by the processor 8a.

A temperature detection signal in each storage chamber output from the thermistor 41 installed in each storage chamber is input to the control device 8. Further, an operation signal from the operation unit 6a of the operation panel 6 is also input to the control device 8. Based on the input signal, the control device 8 operates the compressor 2 and the blower fan 4 and of each damper including the damper 18 so that each storage chamber including the refrigerating chamber 100 is maintained at a set temperature. The process of controlling the opening degree and the like is executed. Further, the control device 8 outputs a display signal to the display unit 6b of the operation panel 6.

Further, the control device 8 also controls the operation of the drive device 13, the lid of the spout 16 and the suction device 17. For example, the operation unit 6a of the operation panel 6 is provided with a “rice pouring” button. When the user operates the "rice pouring" button, the rice pouring operation signal is output from the operation unit 6a. When the operation signal for rice ejection is input to the control device 8, the control device 8 drives the drive device 13 to operate the rice transfer mechanism 12 and transfers the rice in the rice storage chamber 11 to the dispenser unit 9. .. Then, the control device 8 opens the lid of the spout 16 to discharge the rice and supply it to the outside of the refrigerator.

Further, when the rice input switch 42 is operated and the operation signal for rice input is input to the control device 8, the control device 8 closes the damper 18 and drives the suction device 17 to suck the rice and store the rice. Rice is put into the room 11. The rice input switch 42 may be provided inside the refrigerating chamber 100 instead of the operation panel 6. By doing so, the rice input switch 42 cannot be operated unless the refrigerating room door 7 is opened. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the suction device 17 from operating by operating the rice charging switch 42 with the refrigerating chamber door 7 closed.

Next, with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 6, an example of the processing at the time of rice pouring in the refrigerator main body 1 configured as described above will be described. When the "rice pouring" button of the operation unit 6a is turned on, first, in step S101, the control device 8 drives the drive device 13 to operate the rice transfer mechanism 12. In the following step S102, the control device 8 opens the lid of the spout 16. After step S102, the process proceeds to step S103.

In step S103, the control device 8 initializes the timer variable t to 0. Then, the control device 8 integrates the elapsed time using the timer variable t. After step S103, the process proceeds to step S104.

In step S104, the control device 8 confirms whether or not the value of the timer variable t has reached the drive time tr. The drive time tr is set in advance. The drive time tr is specifically, for example, 10 seconds. When the value of the timer variable t does not reach the drive time tr, the process of step S104 is repeated and waits until the value of the timer variable t reaches the drive time tr. Then, when the value of the timer variable t reaches the drive time tr, the process proceeds to step S105.

The drive time tr may be set to, for example, a time for discharging one rice go, and the rice pouring operation may be performed for the number of go that the user wants to take out. Further, even if the operation panel 6 is provided with a switch or the like so that the number to be taken out can be selected, the control device 8 can set the drive time tr according to the selected number by the input signal of the operation panel 6. good.

In step S105, the control device 8 stops the operation of the drive device 13. Then, in the following step S106, the control device 8 closes the lid of the spout 16. When the process of step S106 is completed, the series of rice pouring operations is completed.

Next, with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 7, an example of the processing at the time of adding rice in the refrigerator main body 1 configured as described above will be described. When the refrigerating room door 7 is opened and the rice charging switch 42 in the refrigerating room 100 is turned on, first, in step S1101, the control device 8 closes the damper 18 leading to the refrigerating room 100. In the following step S1102, the control device 8 operates the suction device 17. After step S1102, the process proceeds to step S1103.

In step S1103, the control device 8 confirms whether or not the rice input switch 42 has been turned off. If the rice charging switch 42 is not turned off, the process of step S1103 is repeated until the rice charging switch 42 is turned off. Then, when the rice input switch 42 is turned off, the process proceeds to step S1104.

In step S1104, the control device 8 stops the operation of the suction device 17. Then, in the subsequent step S1105, the control device 8 releases the closure of the damper 18 leading to the refrigerating chamber 100. Therefore, the control device 8 performs normal control for adjusting the opening degree of the damper 18 based on the set temperature of the refrigerating chamber 100 and the detection result of the thermistor 41. When the process of step S1105 is completed, the series of rice feeding operations is completed.

The rice storage chamber 11 may be detachable from the refrigerating chamber 100. Rice is directly stored in the rice storage chamber 11. By making the rice storage chamber 11 removable, the user can remove the rice storage chamber 11 from the refrigerating chamber 100 and wash it, and the inside of the rice storage chamber 11 can be kept clean. Further, instead of making the rice storage chamber 11 removable, a detachable case may be provided in the rice storage chamber 11 and rice may be stored in this case.

Embodiment 2.
8 and 9 relate to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a refrigerator compartment portion. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the refrigerator.

In the second embodiment described here, in the configuration of the first embodiment described above, water can be poured out together with the rice in the dispenser section 9. Further, in the second embodiment, the rice and water can be instructed to be poured from the outside of the refrigerator main body 1. Hereinafter, the refrigerator according to the second embodiment will be described focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. The configuration in which the description is omitted is basically the same as that in the first embodiment.

In the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8, the refrigerator main body 1 includes a water supply tank 19. In the configuration example shown here, the water supply tank 19 is provided at the lowest stage in the refrigerating chamber 100. The water supply tank 19 stores water for pouring out from the dispenser unit 9. A water supply pipe 21 is provided between the water supply tank 19 and the dispenser portion 9. The water supply pipe 21 is for sending the water in the water supply tank 19 to the dispenser unit 9. The water supply pipe 21 is provided along the back surface and the upper surface outside the refrigerator body 1 up to the dispenser portion 9 of the refrigerator compartment door 7.

A water supply pump 20 is provided on the back side of the water supply tank 19. When the water supply pump 20 operates, the water in the water supply tank 19 is sent to the dispenser section 9 through the water supply pipe 21. In addition to the rice spout 16 that communicates with the communication duct 15, a water spout that communicates with the water supply pipe 21 is also formed on the upper surface of the dispenser portion 9. Therefore, both rice and water required for cooking rice can be supplied from the refrigerator main body 1, and the time and effort of the user can be saved.

Further, in the configuration example of this embodiment, the support base 23 is provided on the lower surface portion of the dispenser portion 9. The support 23 allows a larger container to be placed below the spout 16 of the dispenser 9. Therefore, for example, even if the container is larger than the cup such as a bowl or a rice cooker, the user does not need to support it by hand, and rice and water can be poured from the dispenser portion 9.

In this embodiment, the refrigerator body 1 is provided with a communication device 22. The communication device 22 is installed at a position near the back surface of the refrigerator body 1, for example, on the upper surface. As shown in FIG. 9, the communication device 22 is communicably connected to the telecommunication line 24. The communication device 22 can communicate with the outside of the refrigerator main body 1 via the telecommunication line 24. The communication device 22 is connected to the control device 8. Therefore, the communication device 22 allows the control device 8 to communicate bidirectionally with the outside of the refrigerator body 1 via the telecommunication line 24.

The telecommunication line 24 refers to a communication line of digital or analog signals such as a lamp line, infrared rays, non-infrared rays, wireless, public telephone lines, subscriber-only communication lines, optical cables, the Internet, and satellite lines. The communication format between the communication device 22 and the telecommunication line 24 may be wired or wireless.

FIG. 9 shows a mobile information terminal 43 such as a mobile phone including a smartphone and a tablet terminal as an example of a communication target outside the refrigerator body 1. Other examples of communication targets outside the refrigerator body 1 include a personal computer, a HEMS controller, and the like.

The mobile information terminal 43 includes one or both of the functions of the operation unit 6a and the display unit 6b of the operation panel 6. That is, by operating the portable information terminal 43, a command can be transmitted to the control device 8 of the refrigerator main body 1. Further, the mobile information terminal 43 can receive the information of the refrigerator main body 1, and the information of the refrigerator main body 1 can be displayed on the display of the mobile information terminal 43.

In particular, with respect to the dispenser portion 9, the control device 8 controls the operation of the water supply pump 20 in addition to the drive device 13 of the rice transport mechanism 12 and the lid of the spout 16. The mobile information terminal 43 can at least perform an operation of instructing rice to be dispensed. When the mobile information terminal 43 performs an operation for instructing the rice to be dispensed, a signal instructing the rice to be dispensed is input from the mobile information terminal 43 to the control device 8 via the telecommunication line 24 and the communication device 22. The control device 8 dispenses rice from the dispenser unit 9 by, for example, the process shown in FIG. 6 described in the first embodiment, in the same manner as when a signal instructing rice ejection is input from the operation panel 6. That is, in this embodiment, the rice transport mechanism 12 of the food transport means can operate in response to a signal received from the outside by the communication device 22.

Further, the mobile information terminal 43 may be capable of performing an operation for instructing water ejection. That is, the control device 8 operates the water supply pump 20 in response to a signal received from the outside by the communication device 22.

With such a configuration, the refrigerator main body 1 can be operated from outside. For example, a bowl or the like is placed on the support base 23 in advance, the mobile information terminal 43 is operated from a place where the person is away from home, and the rice and water are instructed to be poured out via the telecommunication line 24. When the communication device 22 receives the instruction signal, the control device 8 drives the drive device 13 to pour out rice, and drives the water supply pump 20 to pour out water. Therefore, before the user returns home, the rice can be immersed in water to allow sufficient time for the rice to absorb water. In addition to shortening the rice cooking preparation time, the rice can be made to absorb water firmly to cook delicious rice.

The amount of water to be poured out by the dispenser unit 9 may be, for example, 200 ml or the like and the amount of water may be input to the mobile terminal, or the amount of water may be automatically calculated according to the amount of selected rice. The control device 8 drives the water supply pump 20 for a preset time according to the requested amount of water to supply water.

Embodiment 3.
10 and 11 relate to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a front view of the refrigerator. FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view of the refrigerator.

In the third embodiment described here, the rice storage chamber 11 is arranged at the lowermost part of the refrigerator main body 1 in the configuration of the first embodiment or the second embodiment described above. Hereinafter, the refrigerator according to the third embodiment will be described by taking as an example a case based on the configuration of the first embodiment and focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. The configuration omitted from the description is basically the same as that of the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

In the refrigerator according to the third embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, the rice storage chamber 11 may be inside the refrigerating chamber 100 as in the first and second embodiments described above. It is provided as a single storage room. The plurality of storage rooms of the refrigerator body 1, that is, the refrigerating room 100, the switching room 200, the ice making room 300, the freezing room 400, the vegetable room 500, and the rice storage room 11 are arranged in a five-stage structure in the vertical direction. ing. The rice storage chamber 11 is arranged at the bottom of these storage chambers. In this embodiment, the inside of the rice storage chamber 11 is a granular food storage unit for storing granular food. The granular food storage unit is arranged at the bottom of the region where the storage chamber is arranged in the refrigerator main body 1.

The front surface (front surface) of the rice storage chamber 11 is open, and a rice storage chamber door 30 for opening and closing this opening is provided. A rice storage case 25 is provided inside the rice storage chamber 11. The rice storage case 25 is a drawer type and is removable from the rice storage chamber 11.

The rice storage case 25 can store rice together with the rice bag. That is, the rice storage chamber 11 can store rice in a state of being packaged in a packaging material. Rice purchased at home is often sold in a single bag of 1 to 2 kg for a small amount and 10 kg for a large amount. Therefore, it is desirable that the rice storage case 25 has a size that can accommodate a 10 kg rice bag. Specifically, the rice storage case 25 may have dimensions of 275 mm or more in width, 400 mm or more in depth, and 120 mm or more in height.

An extrusion mechanism 26 is provided in the rice storage case 25. The extrusion mechanism 26 is arranged on the back side (back side) in the rice storage case 25. The extrusion mechanism 26 is urged to push the rice bag in the rice storage case 25 from the back side to the front side.

The inside of the rice storage chamber 11 and the spout 16 of the dispenser portion 9 are communicated with each other by a transport duct 28. An intrusive portion 27 is provided on the rice storage chamber 11 side of the transport duct 28. The intrusive portion 27 is inserted into the rice bag inside the rice storage case 25. At this time, the intrusive portion 27 is inserted into the rice bag from the front side of the rice bag in the rice storage case 25. When the rice storage chamber door 30 is closed, the inside of the rice bag leads to the spout 16 via the intrusive portion 27 and the transport duct 28.

The transport duct 28 is provided with a transport suction pump 29. When the transport suction pump 29 operates, the rice inside the rice bag is sucked into the transport duct 28 via the intrusive portion 27. Then, the rice in the transport duct 28 is sucked up in the transport duct 28 and discharged to the outside of the refrigerator from the spout 16 of the dispenser unit 9.

The intrusive portion 27, the transport duct 28, and the transport suction pump 29 of this embodiment configured as described above are examples of food transport means for transporting the rice in the rice storage chamber 11 to the dispenser section 9. .. The food transport means of this embodiment includes a transport suction pump 29 which is a transport suction means for sucking the rice in the rice storage chamber 11 and sending it to the dispenser unit 9.

When the rice is sucked up by the dispenser portion 9, the amount of rice inside the rice bag, particularly on the front side where the intrusive portion 27 is provided, is reduced. In the configuration example of this embodiment, the extrusion mechanism 26 pushes the rice from the outside to the front side of the rice bag. Therefore, even if the amount of rice on the front side is reduced, the rice moves from the back side to the front side, so that the rice in the rice bag can be continuously sucked up from the intrusive portion 27 until the end.

Here, since the bottom of the refrigerator body 1 is difficult to reach unless the user crouches down, it is inconvenient to put in and take out foods that are frequently used. In the refrigerator configured as described above, the rice storage chamber 11 is provided in which the frequency of directly opening and closing the rice storage chamber door 30 is low in order to store the rice together with the bag, and the dispenser unit 9 is provided in the refrigerating chamber door 7. By providing the rice so that the rice can be taken out, the same effect as that of the first embodiment or the second embodiment can be obtained. Further, since the rice can be stored together with the bag in the rice storage case 25, it is possible to save the trouble of taking out the rice from the bag and improve the convenience.

1 Refrigerator body 2 Compressor 3 Cooler 4 Blower fan 5 Air passage 6 Operation panel 6a Operation unit 6b Display unit 7 Refrigerator room door 7a Right door 7b Left door 8 Controller 8a Processor 8b Memory 9 Dispenser unit 10 Door pocket 11 Rice storage Room 12 Rice transport mechanism 13 Drive device 14 Connection part 15 Communication duct 16 Outlet 17 Suction device 18 Damper 19 Water supply tank 20 Water supply pump 21 Water supply pipe 22 Communication device 23 Support stand 24 Telecommunications line 25 Rice storage case 26 Extrusion mechanism 27 Penetration Part 28 Conveyance duct 29 Conveyance suction pump 30 Rice storage room door 41 Thermista 42 Rice input switch 43 Mobile information terminal 90 Insulation box body 100 Refrigerator room 200 Switching room 201 Switching room storage case 300 Ice making room 400 Freezer room 401 Freezer room storage case 500 Vegetable room 501 Vegetable room storage case

Claims (7)

A main body with multiple storage chambers with openable doors,
A granular food storage unit provided inside the storage chamber, located at the top of the area in the main body where the storage chamber is arranged, and for storing granular food products,
A food take-out unit that is arranged below the granular food storage unit and can take out food in the granular food storage unit with the door of the storage chamber provided with the granular food storage unit closed.
A food transport means for transporting food in the granular food storage section to the food take-out section,
A suction means for sucking the food into the granular food storage when the food is stored in the granular food storage is provided .
The suction means is a refrigerator that operates with a damper that opens and closes an air passage between the inside of the storage chamber provided with the granular food storage unit and the cooler . The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the suction means operates with the door of the storage chamber provided with the granular food storage unit opened. A main body with multiple storage chambers with openable doors,
A granular food storage unit provided inside the storage chamber, located at the bottom of the area in the main body where the storage chamber is arranged, for storing granular food, and a granular food storage unit.
A food take-out unit that is arranged above the granular food storage unit and can take out food in the granular food storage unit with the door of the storage chamber provided with the granular food storage unit closed.
A food transport means for transporting the food in the granular food storage unit to the food take-out unit is provided.
The food transport means is a refrigerator provided with a transport suction means that sucks the food in the granular food storage section and sends it to the food take-out section. The granular food storage unit can store rice in a state of being packaged in a packaging material.
The refrigerator according to claim 3 , wherein the food transport means is provided with an insertion portion to be inserted inside the packaging material. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the food taking-out unit is arranged above the vertical center of the main body. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the granular food storage unit is provided with a removable case. Further equipped with a communication device that can be connected to the outside via a telecommunication line,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the food transport means can operate in response to a signal received from the outside by the communication device.

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