JPH0420773A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To thaw without increasing offensive odor in a refrigerator by disposing a deodorizer in a refrigerating chamber and forcibly operating the deodorizer during thawing. CONSTITUTION:A deodorizer 25 is composed of an indoor air suction port 27, a deodorized air discharge port 28, a high voltage generator 29, an ozone generator 30 having a high voltage electrode 31 and a low voltage electrode 32, an ozone reaction chamber 33, a filterlike ozone decomposing catalyst 34, etc. The generator 29 and a deodorizing motor-driven blower 35 are connected in series with a relay contact 39 and then connected to a power source. The generator 29 and the blower 35 are always operated during thawing. When the generator 29 is operated, a high voltage is applied between the electrodes 31 and 32, and voiceless discharge is generated between the electrodes 31 and 32. Offensive odor in the chamber 33 is decomposed to another substance by strong oxidation of the ozone.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a refrigerator, particularly one in which a specific thawing chamber for thawing frozen foods is provided in the refrigerator compartment.

(Prior art) There have been many requests for a function for defrosting frozen foods in household refrigerators, and devices to satisfy this function have been devised in the past, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-23838.
It was common to have a configuration as shown in Publication No. 0. The configuration will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator main body, which is a forced draft type refrigerator in which air cooled by a main cooler 4 stored in a cooling chamber 3 configured in a partition wall 2 is circulated by a main electric blower 5 to a freezing chamber 6 and a refrigerating chamber 7. It's a refrigerator. A temperature detector 8 detects the temperature of the freezer compartment 6 of the refrigerator, and outputs an operation signal to operate the compressor 9 of the refrigerator. A damper thermostat 10 is provided at the entrance of the refrigerator compartment 7 to adjust the amount of cold air inflow. Reference numeral 11 denotes a thawing chamber provided in the refrigerator compartment 7. Cold air from the refrigerator compartment 7 is drawn from the suction port 14 by a thawing electric blower 12 installed at the back and thawing heaters 13 installed at the upper and lower parts of the thawing chamber 11. It is possible to thaw the frozen food by feeding it into the thawing chamber 11 and heating it with the thawing heater 13 while causing it to flow out from the discharge port 15.

Next, the defrosting control circuit will be explained.

1δ is a control circuit, microcomputer (CPU) 1
7, RAM1g, ROM19, etc.
The ROM 19 stores a program that determines the next operation based on the confirmation order of operations and the state at that time. Reference numeral 20 denotes a defrosting switch that commands the start of defrosting, and the output of the defrosting switch 20 is input to the control circuit 16.

The output of the control circuit 16 is connected to the base of a transistor 21, and the collector of the transistor 21 is connected to a suction relay coil 22 that opens and closes a relay contact 23. The defrosting electric blower 12 and the defrosting heater 13 are connected in series with the relay contact 23 and then connected to the power source. Further, 24 is a defrosting timer, which integrates the operation of the defrosting electric blower 12 and the defrosting heater 13 for a predetermined period of time (for example, 30 minutes) according to the input of the defrosting switch 20.6 In this configuration, the operation will be explained next. .

Normally, when the temperature sensor 8 is closed, the compressor 9 and the main electric blower 5 operate, and the freezer compartment 6. Each of the refrigerator compartments 7 is cooled. When the temperature of the freezer compartment 6 reaches a predetermined value, the temperature detector 8 opens and the compressor 9. The operation of the main electric blower 5 is stopped. During this time, the damper thermostat 10 controls the cold air in the refrigerator compartment to maintain a predetermined temperature.

Next, refrigeration control will be explained. R as step 1
Clear all data on AM18 and initialize it. Next, in step 2, the state of the defrosting switch 20 is stored in the RAM 18. and.

In step 3, it is determined from the RAM 1g whether the defrosting switch 20 is turned on. At this time, if it is OFF, in step 4, the state of the defrosting heater 13 in the RAM 18 is stored to be reset to ON and set to OFF.

Then, in step 5, the defrosting timer 24 is cleared.

Next, in step 6, the state of the defrosting heater 13 is output, but since it is set to OFF here, the transistor 2 is turned off, the conduction to the relay coil 22 is cut off, and the relay contact 23 is opened. defrosting heater 13.
The thawing electric blower 12 is stopped. Here, when the defrost switch 2° is turned ON, it is judged as ON in step 3, and in step 7, the state of the defrost heater 13 of the RAM 1g is turned on.
Remember to set N and reset OFF.

Next, in step 8, it is determined whether the defrosting timer 24 has expired for a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes), and if integration is in progress, in step 9, the defrosting timer 24 is turned on and integrated.

Next, in step 6, the state of the defrosting heater 13 is determined. Here, since the defrosting heater 13 is set to ON, the transistor 21 is turned ON, the relay coil 23 is made conductive, and the relay contact 23 is closed. Then, turn on the defrosting heater 13.
The defrosting electric blower 12 is operated and defrosting progresses.

As the thawing progresses in this way, the thawing timer 24 is activated in step 8.
When it is determined that the predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) has ended, in step 10, the state of the defrosting heater 13 of the RAM 18 is turned on.
N is reset, OFF is set, and the defrosting timer 24 is cleared in step II. Next, in step 6, the state of the defrosting heater 13 is output.
Since the defrosting heater 13 is set to OFF here, the transistor 21 is turned off, the conduction of the relay coil 23 is cut off, the relay contact 23 is opened, and the defrosting heater 1
3. The thawing electric blower 12 stops and thawing ends.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above configuration, during thawing, the thawing chamber 11 and the refrigerator compartment 7 are damaged due to the heat generated by the thawing heater 13.
As the temperature inside the refrigerator rises, the activity of odor particles from the food stored in the refrigerator becomes more active, resulting in an odor inside the refrigerator.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and to provide a refrigerator that can defrost food without increasing the odor inside the refrigerator.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The refrigerator of the present invention is configured such that a deodorizing device is disposed within the refrigerator compartment and the deodorizing device is forcibly operated during thawing.

(Function) With the above-described configuration, the present invention prevents an increase in odor in the refrigerator by the deodorizing device even when the temperature inside the refrigerator rises due to the thawing heater during thawing and the activity of odor particles in the refrigerator becomes active. It can be prevented.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 4. Figure 1 is a flowchart of a refrigerator showing an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a control circuit diagram of the refrigerator, Figure 3 is a sectional view of the refrigerator, and Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the deodorizing device of the refrigerator. It is. In addition, the same reference numerals are attached to the same configurations as in the prior art, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. A deodorizing device 25 is installed inside the refrigerator compartment 7.

Next, the configuration of the deodorizing device 25 will be explained. In the figure, 26 is a case, 27 is an intake port for internal air, and 28 is an exhaust port for deodorized air. 29 is a high pressure generator, 30 is an ozone generator consisting of a high voltage electrode 31 and a low voltage electrode 32, 33 is an ozone reaction chamber, and 34 is a filter-like ozone decomposition catalyst, which contains metals such as Mn and Ni, their oxides or It consists of its carriers. 35 is a deodorizing electric blower provided between the intake port 27 and the exhaust port 28.

Next, the electric circuit will be explained. 36 is a control circuit CP
U17, RAM18. It is formed by the ROM 19 and the like. 37 is a deodorizing switch and a deodorizing bag! 25 operation is ordered. The output of the deodorizing switch 37 is input to the control circuit 36. Further, the output of the control circuit 36 is connected to the base of the transistor 21, and the other output is connected to the base of the transistor 38, and the other output is connected to the base of the transistor 38.
A suction relay coil 40 for opening and closing the relay contact 39 is connected to the collector 8. The high voltage generator I29 and the deodorizing electric blower 35 are connected in series with the relay contact 39 and then connected to the power source.

The operation of this configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. As step 1, all data in the RAM 18 is cleared and initialized. Next, in step 2, the states of the defrosting switch 20 and deodorizing switch 37 are stored in RAM1.
Store in 8. Then, as step 3, RAM18
It is then determined whether the defrosting switch 20 is turned on. At this time, if it is OFF, the RAM 18 is
The states of the defrosting heater 13 and deodorizing device 25 are reset to ON and set to OFF. Then, in step 5, the defrosting timer 24 is cleared.

Next, in step 6, the deodorizing switch 37 is stored in the RAM 18.
is ON or not. If it is ON at this time, set the deodorizing device 25 to ON in step 7 and turn it OFF.
Remember to reset.

If the deodorizing switch 37 is OFF in step 6, or the status of the defrosting heater 13 and deodorizing device 25 is output in step 8 after the processing in step 7, here, if the deodorizing switch 37 is ON, the transistor 38 is ON. Then, the relay coil 40 becomes conductive, the relay contact 39 closes, and the high-pressure generator 29 and the deodorizing electric blower are operated.
If it is FF, it will not be operated.

Here, when the defrosting switch 20 is turned ON, it is determined to be ON in step 3, and in step 9, the defrosting heater 13 of the RAM 18 and the deodorizing bag [25] are set to ON, and the OF
Remember to reset F. Next, step 10
It is determined whether the defrosting timer 24 has completed a predetermined period of time (for example, 30 minutes), and if it is in the process of integration, the defrosting timer 24 is ONL integrated in step 11. Then step 6 or after step 6 and step 7 step 8
The states of the deodorizing device f25 and the defrosting heater 13 are output in step 9, but since the states of the deodorizing device 125 and the defrosting heater 13 were set to ON in step 9, the transistors 21 and 38 are turned on, and the relay coils 22 and The relay coil 40 is conductive, the relay contacts 23 and 39 are closed, and the defrosting heater 13, the defrosting electric blower 12, the high pressure generator 29, and the deodorizing electric blower 35 are operated.

When the defrosting timer 24 determines that the predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) has ended in step 10, the RAM
18 thawing heater 13 and deodorizing device 25 are turned ON.
Reset, memorize to set OFF, and
In step 13, the defrosting timer 24 is cleared.

and step 6 or swing 6 and step 7
After that, in step 8, the status of the deodorizer [25] and the defrosting heater 13 are output, but here, since the status of the defrosting heater 13 was set to OFF in step 12, the transistor 21 is set to 0FFL, and the defrosting heater 1.3 is set to OFF. And the defrosting electric blower 12 is not operated.

As described above, the high pressure generator 29 and the deodorizing electric blower 35 are always operated during thawing. When the high voltage generator 29 is operated, a high voltage is applied between the high voltage electrode 31 and the low voltage electrode 32, producing silent discharge between the circumferential electrodes 31 and 32. Then, by the action of the deodorizing electric blower 35, the oxygen contained in the air (including odor) in the warehouse flowing in from the intake port 27 is changed into ozone, producing ozonized air, and the odor components are removed in the ozone reaction chamber 33. Ozone's strong oxidizing action breaks down malodorous components into other substances. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the odor inside the refrigerator from becoming stronger even during thawing, when the odor inside the refrigerator becomes stronger.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, even when the temperature inside the refrigerator rises due to the thawing heater and the activity of odor particles in the refrigerator becomes active during thawing, the deodorizing device eliminates the odor inside the refrigerator. can be prevented from increasing, and its practical effect is great.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a refrigerator showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control circuit diagram of the refrigerator, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the refrigerator, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the deodorizing device of the refrigerator. Fifth
6 is a sectional view of a conventional refrigerator, FIG. 6 is a control circuit diagram of the refrigerator, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the refrigerator. 1...refrigerator body, 4...main cooler, 5...
・Main electric blower, 6... Freezer room, 7... Refrigerator room, 8... Temperature detector, 9... Compressor, 10.
...Damper thermostat, 11...Defrosting chamber, 12
... Thawing electric blower, 13... Thawing heater, 1
4... Suction port, 15... Discharge port, 17... Microcomputer (CPU), 18... RAM, 1
9... ROM, 20... Decompression switch. 21.38... Transistor, 22.40... Relay coil, 23.39... Relay contact, 25.
...Deodorizing device, 26...Case, 27...Intake port,
28...Exhaust port, 29...High pressure generator, 30...
- Ozone generator, 31... High voltage electrode, 32... Low voltage electrode, 33... Ozone reaction chamber, 34... Ozone decomposition catalyst, 35... Deodorizing electric blower, 36... Control circuit, 37 ...Deodorization switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A freezer compartment, a refrigerator compartment, a cooler, a main electric blower for forcing cold air cooled by the cooler into both compartments, and a thawing chamber having an intake port and an exhaust port in the refrigerator compartment, a thawing electric blower that forcibly introduces cold air into the refrigeration chamber into the thawing chamber; a thawing heater disposed in the upper and lower portions of the thawing chamber; a duct case having an intake port and an exhaust port installed in the refrigeration chamber; and an inside of the duct case. A deodorizing device consisting of an ozone generator installed near the intake port, a deodorizing electric blower and an ozone decomposition catalyst provided downstream of the intake port, a thawing switch that commands the start of defrosting, and a deodorizing switch that commands the operation of the deodorizing device. , when the deodorizing switch is turned on, the ozone generator and the deodorizing electric blower are operated, and immediately after the thawing switch is turned on, the thawing electric blower and the thawing heater are operated for a predetermined time;
The refrigerator further comprises means for forcibly operating the ozone generator and the defrosting electric blower during this predetermined time.