JPH0618152A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To preserve vegetables with a high degree of freshness for a long period of time by forming a long-period preservation chamber for vegetables in a body of a refrigerator so that the air in said chamber is sent to an oxygen removal means by a blower means to maintain the air in the chamber at a low oxygen concentration. CONSTITUTION:A refrigeration chamber 2 and a vegetable chamber 3 are formed in a body 1 of a refrigerator and a storage container 10 is fitted detachably in the chamber 3. In this case, the interior of the container 10 is partitioned by a partition plate into a general preservation chamber and a long-period preservation chamber 12 and the upper opening of the chamber 12 is closed with a lid which can be opened and closed. And at the rear of the container 10, an oxygen removal means 16 is disposed. Further, a blower means 30 is provided in a machine chamber 26. And by actuating the means 30, the air in the chamber 12 is passed through the means 16 to maintain the air in the chamber 12 at a low oxygen concentration. As a result, vegetables in the chamber 12 can be preserved with a high degree of freshness for a long period of time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with a room for storing vegetables, and more particularly to a refrigerator capable of storing vegetables for a long period of time by changing the air in the room to low oxygen air.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a refrigerator, a vegetable compartment is formed in a main body and a container for storing vegetables is arranged in the vegetable compartment so that it can be taken in and out. In this case, if cold air is allowed to freely enter the storage container through the top opening, vegetables will lose moisture and lose freshness.Therefore, cover the top surface of the storage container with free air. I try to prevent such intrusion.

[0003]

By the way, generally, as conditions for keeping vegetables fresh, it is possible to store them in a low temperature atmosphere, in a high humidity atmosphere, or in a low oxygen atmosphere.

In the conventional refrigerator, as described above, the vegetable storage container is stored in the vegetable compartment to which cold air is supplied, and the storage container is covered with a cover to prevent cold air from entering. . Therefore, the vegetables are stored in an atmosphere of low temperature and high humidity, and two of the above three conditions are satisfied, so that the vegetables can be stored in a fresh state for a considerable period of time. However, the period was at most about one week, which was insufficient to preserve vegetables for a longer period.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the invention is not only to store vegetables in an atmosphere of low temperature and high humidity but also to make the storage atmosphere of the vegetables have a low oxygen concentration. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which vegetables can be preserved and the vegetables can be kept fresh for a long period of time.

[0006]

The refrigerator according to the present invention is provided with a long-term storage chamber for vegetables, the door of which is closed by a closing member, in the refrigerator body, and oxygen removal for removing oxygen from the air in the long-term storage chamber. Means is provided, and an air supply means is provided to pass the air in the long-term storage chamber through the oxygen removing means to reduce the air in the long-term storage chamber to a low oxygen concentration.

Further, a long-term storage chamber for vegetables whose entrance is closed by a closing member is provided in a storage container arranged in the vegetable chamber of the refrigerator body, and an oxygen permeable member for passing oxygen is provided, so that oxygen is removed from the air in the long-term storage chamber. Is provided for removing oxygen, and the air in the long-term storage chamber is sucked through the oxygen permeable member of the oxygen removal unit and the air having a high oxygen concentration is discharged to remove the air in the long-term storage chamber from the low oxygen concentration. It is also possible to provide an air supply means for controlling the air and to return the air with high oxygen concentration discharged from the air supply means to the vegetable compartment.

[0008]

[Function] Since vegetables are in a so-called nap state in an atmosphere with a low oxygen concentration, it is difficult for the vegetables to lose their freshness. According to the invention of the above-mentioned means, since the long-term storage chamber is closed by the closing member, the atmosphere in the long-term storage chamber is maintained at low temperature and high humidity, and in addition, the oxygen concentration is reduced by the oxygen removing means. Because of the atmosphere, the vegetables can be kept fresh for a long period of time.

Further, by returning the air discharged from the pump to the vegetable compartment, the cold air circulation in the vegetable compartment can be promoted,
The storage container can be cooled efficiently.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
It will be described based on. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the refrigerator body 1, a freezer compartment, an ice making compartment (not shown above),
A refrigerator compartment 2 and a vegetable compartment 3 are formed. The cool air cooled by the cooler is supplied to each room except the vegetable room 3 by a fan device through a duct (not shown). The vegetable compartment 3 is connected to the refrigerating compartment 2 by a supply duct 4 formed on the heat insulating wall 1a of the refrigerator body 1 and an exhaust duct 6 formed on a partition wall 5 between the refrigerating compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 2. The cool air supplied to the chamber 2 is supplied from the discharge port 4a of the supply duct 4 opening to the rear upper part and returned from the discharge duct 6 into the refrigerating chamber 2.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, fixed rails 7 are attached to the left and right inner side surfaces of the vegetable compartment 3, and a movable rail 8 is supported on the fixed rail 7 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. Has been done. Then, as shown in FIG.
A door 9 for opening and closing the vegetable compartment 3 is attached to the front ends of the left and right movable rails 8 and a vegetable storage container 10 is detachably attached between the left and right movable rails 8. Therefore, when the door 9 is moved forward or backward to open or close the front surface of the vegetable compartment 3, the storage container 10 is pulled out from the vegetable compartment 3 or stored in the vegetable compartment 3 as the door 9 moves. It is like this.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the storage container 1
The inside of 0 is a normal storage room 11 used for storing vegetables for about one week by a partition plate 10a standing in the center,
It is divided into a long-term storage room 12 used when storing for a longer period than that. The storage container 1
The inside of 0 may be divided into three or more rooms. Of the two storage chambers 11 and 12, the top opening which is the entrance of the long-term storage chamber 12 is opened and closed by a transparent lid 13 as an opening / closing member. As shown in FIG. 1, a rear end portion of the lid 13 is rotatably supported by the storage container 10 by a hinge 10b, and the vertical rotation thereof opens and closes the long-term storage chamber 12. The long-term storage room 12 is provided around the lid 13.
A packing 14 is attached to abut on the upper end of the peripheral wall to hermetically close the long-term storage chamber 12.

On the other hand, the upper surface opening which is the entrance of the ordinary storage chamber 11 is closed by a cover 15 which covers the entire upper surface of the storage container 10. The cover 15 is attached so as to straddle both the left and right fixed rails 7. When the storage container 10 is stored in the vegetable compartment 3, the cover 15 covers the upper surface of the storage container 10 for normal storage. The open upper surface of the chamber 11 is adapted to be closed.

An oxygen permeation module 16 as oxygen removing means is arranged at the rear of the storage container 10.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an intake port 18 and an exhaust port 19 communicating with the long-term storage chamber 12 are formed on the front surface of the case 17 of the oxygen permeation module 16, of which the exhaust port 19 is driven by a motor 20. A fan 21 is provided to send the air in the case 17 into the long-term storage chamber 12. A substrate 22 made of an aluminum plate is fixed in the case 17, and an oxygen enriched film 23 as an oxygen permeable member formed in a rectangular box shape is attached to the substrate 22. The space inside the box-shaped oxygen-enriched film 23 serves as an exhaust chamber 24, and one of the open ends of the case 17 has an inside of the exhaust chamber 24 for sucking the air in the exhaust chamber 24 from the outside. The intake pipe 25 inserted in the is attached.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, in the refrigerator body 1, a machine room 26 is formed outside the rear part of the vegetable room 3. On the mounting base 27 provided in the machine room 26, a pump 30 as an air supply unit, which uses a motor 29 (see FIG. 5) as a drive source, in addition to the compressor 28, is provided as a vibration isolator 3.
It is attached through 1. A suction pipe 32 is connected to the suction port 30a of the pump 30, and the suction pipe 32 is introduced into the vegetable compartment 3 through the heat insulating wall 1a of the refrigerator body 1. A hose 33 is connected between the tip of the intake pipe 32 and the other open end of the intake pipe 25 of the oxygen permeation module 16. Therefore, when the pump 30 is started, the air in the exhaust chamber 24 inside the oxygen enriched film 23 is sucked, and the sucked air is discharged from the discharge port 3 of the pump 30.
It is discharged from 0b to the outside. The length of the hose 33 is set to be long so as not to be pulled when the storage container 10 is pulled out from the vegetable compartment 3.

Here, the operation of the oxygen-enriched film 23 will be described. When a pressure difference occurs on both sides of the oxygen-enriched film 23, oxygen in the high-pressure side air is dissolved on the surface of the oxygen-enriched film 23. Then, it diffuses and moves in the oxygen-enriched film 23 and is separated from the surface on the low pressure side. In this case, nitrogen in the air also passes through the oxygen-enriched film 23 in the same manner as oxygen, but the dissolution and diffusion speed of nitrogen is 2.5 times slower than that of oxygen. The air passing through the air and leaving the low pressure side has a high oxygen concentration, and the air remaining on the high pressure side has a low oxygen concentration.

Incidentally, the oxygen-enriched film 2 having such an action.
3 is, for example, Pana manufactured by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
O2 (trade name), SOE-0 manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.
There are 5LM (trade name) and so on. By the way, according to the oxygen-rich film 23, the oxygen concentration of the air left on the high-pressure side is 1
It can be lowered to about 5%. It is understood that the oxygen permeation module 16 provides low oxygen concentration air, considering that the oxygen concentration in the air is usually about 21%.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. Vegetable room 3
Of the storage container 10 is pulled out, the lid 13 is opened, and raw vegetables to be stored for a long time are put in the long-term storage chamber 12. Then, after closing the lid 13, the door 9 is moved backward to store the storage container 10 in the vegetable compartment 3. Storage container 10
In the state where the vegetables are stored in the vegetable compartment 3, the cold air supplied from the discharge port 4a into the vegetable compartment 3 flows around the storage container 10 as shown by an arrow A in FIG.
The cold airflow cools the vegetable storage chamber 11 and the long-term storage chamber 12 of the storage container 10. Here, since the normal storage room 11 and the long-term storage room 12 are closed by the cover 15 and the lid 13, the insides of both storage rooms 11 and 12 are kept in a high humidity state. In particular, the long-term storage chamber 12 is hermetically closed by the lid 13 with the packing 14, so that the high humidity state is more completely maintained.

On the other hand, when the motor 29 of the pump 30 and the motor 20 of the fan 21 are energized, the pump 30 sucks the air in the exhaust chamber 24 inside the oxygen enriched film 23 via the hose 33. Then, the exhaust chamber 24, which is the inside of the oxygen-enriched film 23, becomes the low-pressure side, and the inside of the case 17, which is the outside, becomes the high-pressure side, so that the air in the case 17 is dissolved on the outer surface of the oxygen-enriched film 23. As a result, the oxygen-diffusion film 23 diffuses and moves, and is separated from the inner surface of the oxygen-rich film 23 into the exhaust chamber 24. At this time, oxygen dissolves into the oxygen-enriched film 23 and diffuses faster than nitrogen, so that the air flowing into the exhaust chamber 24 has a high oxygen concentration and the air remaining in the case 17 is low. It becomes air with oxygen concentration. Then, the high oxygen concentration air in the exhaust chamber 24 flows to the pump 30 through the hose 33 and is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 30b.

The air having a low oxygen concentration left in the case 17 is returned from the air outlet 19 into the long-term storage chamber 12 by the fan 21, and the air in the long-term storage chamber 12 is discharged from the intake port 18 accordingly. It will be sucked into the case 17. As a result, the air having a low oxygen concentration in the case 17 and the air in the long-term storage chamber 12 are forcibly replaced by the fan 21, so that the air in the long-term storage chamber 12 by the oxygen permeation module 16 is replaced. Oxygen is removed efficiently. Since the upper surface of the long-term storage chamber 12 is hermetically closed by the lid 13 and there is no invasion of air from the outside, the oxygen concentration of the air in the long-term storage chamber 12 gradually decreases, and the low oxygen concentration state is maintained. To be done.

As described above, in this embodiment, the long-term storage room 12
The inside is made a low temperature atmosphere by the cold air supplied to the vegetable compartment 3, and the upper surface is airtightly closed by a lid 13 to make it a high humidity atmosphere, and the atmosphere of a low oxygen concentration by the action of the oxygen permeation module 16. To be Therefore, all the three conditions for keeping vegetables fresh are satisfied, and vegetables can be kept for a long period of time without losing their freshness.

Further, since the storage container 10 is formed with the ordinary storage chamber 11 in addition to the long-term storage chamber 12, one storage container 10 is used for ordinary short-term storage and long-term storage of vegetables. Of course, unlike the case of only the long-term storage room 12, it is not necessary to frequently open and close the lid 13 of the long-term storage room 12 in order to take in and out vegetables to be stored for a short period of time. Therefore, the air having a low oxygen concentration in the long-term storage room 12 is rarely replaced with the outside air, and the long-term storage room 1
It is effective in maintaining the low temperature, high humidity, and low oxygen concentration within 2.

In the above embodiment, the oxygen permeation module was used as the oxygen removing means, but this uses an oxygen adsorption tank filled with an adsorbent of oxygen molecules, and the air in the long-term storage chamber is pumped through the oxygen adsorption tank. The air that has been depleted of oxygen by the adsorbent and has a low oxygen concentration may be returned to the long-term storage chamber. In this case, two oxygen adsorption tanks are prepared and long-term storage is performed by switching the solenoid valve. The air in the chamber is passed through two oxygen adsorbing tanks alternately, and while removing oxygen from the air in the long-term storage chamber in one oxygen adsorbing tank, oxygen is removed from the adsorbent in the other oxygen adsorbing tank. It may be configured to.

In the above embodiment, the pump having the motor as the driving source is used, but a pump having the piezoelectric element as the driving source may be used. Further, in the above embodiment, the cold air in the refrigerating compartment 2 is introduced into the vegetable compartment 3,
Air cooled by a cooler may be directly supplied to the vegetable compartment 3 by partitioning the refrigerating compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 3 with a glass plate, and the cold air in the refrigerating compartment 2 causes the glass compartment 3 to have a glass plate. You may make it cool through. In addition, a vegetable compartment may be formed in the refrigerator body in contact with the refrigerating compartment through a partition wall, and the vegetable compartment itself may be a long-term storage compartment, and the storage compartment may be cooled by the cool air in the refrigerating compartment through a partition plate. .

6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.
In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a door switch 34 that is turned on / off in response to opening / closing of the door 9 of the vegetable compartment 3 is provided on the refrigerator body 1 side. And this door switch 3
As shown in FIG. 7, 4 is connected to the power source 35 in series with the motor 29 of the pump 30.

In the second embodiment thus constructed, the door 9
With the switch closed, the door switch 34 is on, so the pump 30 (motor 29) is in the operating state. Then, when the door 9 is moved forward (opened) to pull out the storage container 10 and put vegetables in and out, the door switch 34 is turned off, so that the pump 30 is stopped, and then the door 9 is moved backward (closed). Then, the door switch 34 is turned on and the operation of the pump 30 is restarted. Therefore, the pump 30 stops at a predetermined time, that is, when the storage container 10 is pulled out from the vegetable compartment 3 in order to take in and out vegetables, so that the pump 30 is wastefully operated when the lid 13 of the long-term storage chamber 12 is likely to be opened. This can be prevented, and power can be saved.

8 to 11 show a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 8, the same parts as those in FIG. 6 of the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted. First,
As shown in FIG. 8, the intake pipe 2 of the oxygen permeation module 16
5 is provided with a check valve 36 for preventing backflow of air from the pump 30 side. The check valve 36 has a well-known configuration shown in FIG. 9, and when the pump 30 is driven, air from the exhaust chamber 24 flows in the direction of arrow B, so that the valve body 37 opens the valve port 38 and the pump When 30 is stopped, external air flows in from the discharge port 30b of the pump 30 and tries to flow back toward the low pressure side oxygen permeation module 16 in the direction opposite to the arrow B, but the valve element 37 This is to prevent the backflow by closing the valve opening 38 by being pushed by the air that tries to backflow.

On the other hand, in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the motor 29 of the pump 30 is controlled by the microcomputer 39 via the drive circuit 40, and the microcomputer 39 has a door. An on / off signal of the switch 34 is input. The control of the motor 29 by the microcomputer 39 is as follows. That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, the door 9 is moved (opened) forward to pull out the storage container 10 from the vegetable compartment 3 (“YES” in step S7), and then the vegetables are put into and taken out of the storage container 10. After that, when the door 9 is moved backward (closed) and the storage container 10 is stored in the vegetable compartment 3 (“YES” in step S8), the microcomputer 39 clears the timer counter to zero and starts the timer operation ( Step S1, 2), motor 2
9 is energized to operate the pump 30 (step S3).

By the way, the oxygen concentration of the air in the long-term storage chamber 12 of the storage container 10 gradually decreases due to the operation of the pump 30, but when the oxygen concentration decreases to a certain level, the oxygen concentration is further increased even if the pump 30 is operated. Does not decrease (this state is called the equilibrium state hereinafter). The time to reach this equilibrium state is determined by the suction capacity of the pump 30 and the characteristics of the oxygen-rich film 23, but in the case of this embodiment, the equilibrium state is reached in about 15 minutes of operation.

Therefore, the microcomputer 39 operates the pump 30 for 15 minutes after the door 9 is closed (repeat steps S4 and S5), and when the time has elapsed ("YES" in step S5), the timer is activated. The operation is stopped and the pump 30 is stopped (step S6). Here, when the pump 30 stops, the outside air is pumped by the pump 3
Although a reverse flow is attempted from the discharge port 30b of 0 toward the oxygen permeation module 16 and further toward the long-term storage chamber 12 side, this backflow is blocked by the check valve 36. The outside air does not enter the inside, and the state of low oxygen concentration is maintained. Thereafter, the door 9 is opened (“YES” in step S7), and when the door 9 is closed again (“YES” in step S8), the pump 30 is operated again for 15 minutes as described above. In this way, the pump 30 is operated when the door 9 is opened and closed, and is stopped when the oxygen concentration in the long-term storage chamber 12 does not decrease any more, so that the pump 30 is not wastefully operated. Even if the pump 30 is operating for 15 minutes, if the door 9 is opened (“YES” in step S4), the pump 30 is stopped (step S).
6).

FIGS. 12 and 13 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 8 to 1 in the third embodiment are shown in FIGS.
The same parts as 0 are designated by the same reference numerals and different parts will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 12, the storage container 10 is provided with a pressure sensor 41 for detecting the air pressure in the long-term storage chamber 12, and the detection signal of this pressure sensor 41 is as shown in FIG.
3 is input to the microcomputer 39. In this embodiment, the door switch 34 of the third embodiment is not provided.

By the way, when the oxygen concentration in the long-term storage chamber 12 decreases due to the operation of the pump 30, the atmospheric pressure in the storage chamber 12 also decreases accordingly. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, even if the pump 30 is further operated, the long-term storage chamber 12
The atmospheric pressure of the storage chamber 12 when the equilibrium state in which the oxygen concentration of the
Reference numeral 9 is configured to stop the pump 30 when the pressure sensor 41 detects the reference atmospheric pressure or less. Even with such a configuration, the pump 30 can be stopped when the long-term storage chamber 12 reaches an equilibrium state, so that the pump 30 is not wastefully operated and power consumption is saved.

14 to 16 show a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8 to 10 show the third embodiment.
The same parts as those in FIG. ◎ First, as shown in FIG. 14, the storage container 10 has an oxygen sensor 4 for detecting the oxygen concentration of the air in the long-term storage chamber 12.
Two are provided. The detection signal of the oxygen sensor 42 is input to the microcomputer 39 together with the on / off signal of the door switch 34 as shown in FIG.

In the fifth embodiment constructed as described above, FIG.
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, the door 9 is moved (opened) forward to pull out the storage container 10 from the vegetable compartment 3 (“YES” in step S5), and after the vegetables are put into and taken out from the storage container 10, the door is opened. 9 is moved backward (closed) to store the storage container 10 in the vegetable compartment 3 (step S6).
"YES"), the microcomputer 39 sets the pump 3
0 is operated (step S1).

By the way, by operating the pump 30, the oxygen concentration of the air in the long-term storage chamber 12 of the storage container 10 gradually decreases, but when it reaches a certain oxygen concentration, an equilibrium state is reached. In this embodiment, the oxygen concentration when reaching this equilibrium state is about 18%. Therefore, the microcomputer 39 determines that the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen sensor 44 is 1
The operation of the pump 30 is continued until it becomes 8% or less (“NO” in step S2 and “NO” is repeated in step S3), and when the oxygen concentration becomes 18% or less (“YES” in step S3), the pump 30 Stop (step S
4). Here, when the pump 30 is stopped, external air is supplied from the discharge port 30b of the pump 30 to the oxygen permeation module 16
As a result, a backflow is attempted toward the long-term storage chamber 12 side, but this backflow is blocked by the check valve 36.

Thereafter, the door 9 is opened ("YES" in step S5), and the door 9 is closed again (step S6).
"YES"), and the long-term storage room 12 in the same manner as described above.
The pump 30 is operated until the oxygen concentration therein becomes 18% or less. Even if the pump 30 is operating for 15 minutes, the door 9 is opened (“YE” in step S4).
S "), the motor 29 is stopped (step S6). Therefore, useless operation of the pump 30 is prevented and power consumption is saved.

17 to 20 show a sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 14 and 1 showing the fifth embodiment.
The same parts as those in No. 5 are designated by the same reference numerals and different parts will be described. That is, as shown in FIG. 17, a valve device 43 is provided on the lid 13 of the long-term storage chamber 12. This valve device 4
3 is for opening and closing the vent hole 44 formed in the lid 13, and includes a solenoid type electromagnet 45 shown in FIG. 18, an iron core 46 attracted by the electromagnet 45 and moving upward, and an arm 47 on the iron core 46. And a valve body 48 attached via The valve device 43 includes an electromagnet 45.
In the power-off state, the valve body 48 moves downward due to its own weight and the weight of the iron core 46 and closes the vent hole 44.
Then, as shown in FIG.
Controls the electromagnet 45 via the drive circuit 40. When the electromagnet 45 is energized and the iron core 46 moves upward, the valve body 48 opens the vent hole 44.

The operation of the sixth embodiment thus constructed will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The door 9 is moved forward (opened) to pull out the storage container 10 from the vegetable compartment 3 (“YES” in step S5), and after the vegetables are taken in and out of the storage container 10, the door 9 is moved backward (closed). Then, when the storage container 10 is stored in the vegetable compartment 3 (“YES” in step S6), the microcomputer 39 continues the operation of the pump 30 until the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen sensor 42 becomes 18% or less (step S2). "NO" at step S3 and "NO" at step S3). When the door 9 is opened during the operation of the pump 30 (step S3
"YES"), the pump 30 is stopped (step S
4) Then, when the door 9 is opened and closed, the pump 30 is operated again until the oxygen concentration in the long-term storage chamber 12 becomes 18% or less.

When the oxygen concentration becomes 18% or less ("YES" in step S2), the microcomputer 39
Stops the pump 30 (step S), and if the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen sensor 42 at this time exceeds 5% (“NO” in step S8), the door 9 is opened and closed. Until the pump 30 is stopped.
On the other hand, when the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen sensor 44 is 5% or less (“YES” in step S8), the microcomputer 39 energizes the electromagnet 45 of the valve device 43 for a short time.

When the electromagnet 45 is energized for a short time, the valve body 48 opens the vent hole 44 for a short time. Then, outside air enters the long-term storage chamber 12 through the ventilation holes 44. Therefore, the oxygen concentration in the storage chamber 12 slightly rises, and the short-time opening of the ventilation hole 44 by the short-time energization of the electromagnet 45 causes the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen sensor 42 to exceed 5%. Is intermittently performed (“YES” in step S8, repetition of step S9). When the oxygen concentration in the long-term storage chamber 12 exceeds 5%, the intermittent short-time energization of the electromagnet 45 is stopped, and thereafter the door 9 is closed.
Pump 30 remains stopped until is opened and closed.

By the way, the user can use the lid 1 of the long-term storage chamber 12
If you open 3 and look into it, the long-term storage room 1
The air in 2 may be inhaled. Therefore, if the oxygen concentration in the long-term storage chamber 12 is excessively reduced, it may adversely affect the human body. However, according to the sixth embodiment, as is apparent from the above description, the oxygen concentration in the long-term storage chamber 12 is controlled so as not to be less than 5%, so that the oxygen concentration does not drop excessively. , There is no possibility that the human body will be adversely affected.

21 to 23 show a seventh embodiment of the present invention. Hereafter, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted and different. The parts will be explained. In this embodiment, the storage container 1
It is assumed that the inside of 0 is not divided into two chambers, and the entire inside of the container 10 is a long-term storage chamber 12. Therefore, in this embodiment, the cover 15 that covers the upper surface of the storage container 10 is not provided.

First, as shown in FIG. 21, the lid 13 is provided with a valve device 49. As shown in FIG. 22, this valve device 49 supports a rotating arm 50 on a support piece 13 a provided upright on the upper surface of the lid 13, and one end of the rotating arm 50 has a passage formed on the lid 13. A valve body 52 that opens and closes the pores 51 is provided. The valve body 52 of such a valve device 49
Insulating partition wall 5 between refrigerating compartment 2 and vegetable compartment 3 in order to open and close automatically as storage container 10 is taken in and out.
An elastically deformable operation piece 53 is provided on the lower surface of the front part of the projection.

In the state where the storage container 10 is stored in the vegetable compartment 3, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22,
The operation piece 53 contacts the front end of the rotating arm 50 and holds it in a state of being rotated in the direction of arrow C. And
In this state, the valve body 52 closes the vent hole 51. Therefore, even if the pump 30 is driven and the pressure in the long-term storage chamber 12 is reduced, the outside air does not enter through the vent hole 53 and the storage is performed. Chamber 12 is maintained at a low oxygen concentration.

When the door 9 is moved forward from this state and the storage container 10 is pulled out, the abutting position of the operating piece 53 with respect to the rotating arm 50 is relatively moved from the front end side to the rear end side by the pulling out. Then, the rotating arm 50 moves to the arrow C.
23, the valve body 52 opens the vent hole 51 as shown in FIG. This allows the outside air to pass through the vent holes 51.
Through to the long-term storage chamber 12, and the pressure therein becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, unlike the case where the pressure in the storage chamber 12 remains lower than the atmospheric pressure, the lid 13
Can be opened easily.

FIG. 24 shows an eighth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 24, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different parts will be described. In this embodiment as well, the storage container 10 has only the long-term storage chamber 12, and the cover 15 is not provided.

That is, a discharge pipe 54 is connected to the discharge port 30b of the pump 30. The discharge pipe 54 is passed through the heat insulating wall 1 a of the refrigerator main body 1 and introduced to the upper rear part of the vegetable compartment 3. Then, the tip portion of the discharge pipe 54 is branched into two, and one branch end 54a is bent forward,
The other branch end 54b is bent downward.

In the above structure, the discharge port 3 of the pump 30
The air with a high oxygen concentration discharged from 0b is blown into the vegetable compartment 3 from both branch ends 54a and 54b of the discharge pipe 54. Then, the air blown from one branch end 54a flows forward along the lid 13 on the upper surface of the storage container 10,
The air blown out from the other branch end 54b is the storage container 1
0 from the rear part to the front part along the bottom part, and then from the exhaust duct 6 to the cooler (not shown).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the pump 30
Since the air sucked by is returned to the vegetable compartment 3, there is no problem that a part of the cool air supplied into the vegetable compartment 3 from the discharge port 4a is discharged to the outside. Moreover,
Since the air discharged from both branch ends 54a and 54b of the discharge pipe 54 flows forward and downward, the cool air discharged from the discharge port 4a into the vegetable compartment 3 is covered by the air flow from both branch ends 54a and 54b. 13 and the storage container 10 are promoted to flow, and as a result, the cooling effect in the long-term storage chamber 12 is improved.

FIG. 25 shows a ninth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 25, the same parts as those in FIG. 24 showing the eighth embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different parts will be described. . That is, the exhaust duct 6 of the heat insulating partition wall 5 is provided with the fan 56 driven by the motor 55, and the air in the vegetable compartment 3 is cooled by the fan 56.
It circulates through. The motor 55 of the fan 56 is always energized. Therefore, even if the fan device for forcibly circulating the cool air cooled by the cooler is also stopped when the compressor (not shown) is stopped, the air in the vegetable compartment 3 is circulated by the fan 56 as described above. Since it will flow around the storage container 10, the temperature in the long-term storage chamber 12 can be maintained at a low temperature.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained. According to the refrigerator of claim 1, the air in the long-term storage chamber is passed through the oxygen removing means so that the air in the long-term storage chamber has a low oxygen concentration. The storage atmosphere of the vegetables can be kept low, and the vegetables can be kept fresh for a long period of time.

In the refrigerator according to the second aspect of the present invention, the storage container arranged in the refrigerator main body is divided into two chambers, and one of the chambers is used as a long-term storage chamber so that one storage container can be used as a normal storage container. It can be used for preservation of vegetables and long-term preservation of vegetables.
Unlike the case of only the long-term storage room, it is not necessary to frequently open and close the opening and closing members of the long-term storage room in order to take in and out vegetables to be stored for a short period of time, and the air of low oxygen concentration in the long-term storage room is replaced with the outside air. This is effective in maintaining low temperature, high humidity and low oxygen concentration in the long-term storage chamber.

In the refrigerator according to the third aspect of the present invention, the air supply means is stopped at a predetermined time corresponding to the amount of oxygen in the long-term storage chamber, so that the air supply means is not wastefully operated and power is saved. Become.

In the refrigerator according to the fourth aspect, since the high oxygen concentration air discharged from the air supply means is returned to the vegetable compartment, heat loss can be suppressed and the flow of air returned to the vegetable compartment can be suppressed. Cold air can be promoted to flow around the storage container, and the effect of maintaining a low temperature inside the storage container is high.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view of a main part showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view of a main part.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a storage container pulled out.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an oxygen permeation module.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional plan view for explaining the operation of the oxygen permeation module.

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an electric circuit diagram.

FIG. 8 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the check valve.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

FIG. 12 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration.

FIG. 14 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

FIG. 17 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the valve device.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

FIG. 21 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 and showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a partially enlarged vertical sectional view showing the valve device in a closed state.

FIG. 23 is a view corresponding to FIG. 22 showing the valve device in an open state.

FIG. 24 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a refrigerator main body, 2 is a refrigerating room, 3 is a vegetable room, 9 is a door, 1
0 is a storage container, 11 is a normal storage room for vegetables, 12 is a long-term storage room for vegetables, 13 is a lid (opening / closing member), 14 is packing, 16 is an oxygen permeation module (oxygen removing means), 23
Is an oxygen enrichment membrane (oxygen permeation member), 25 is an intake pipe, 30 is a pump (air supply means), 34 is a door switch, 36 is a check valve, 41 is a pressure sensor, 42 is an oxygen sensor, and 43, 49.
Is a valve device, 53 is an operation piece, 54 is a discharge pipe, and 56 is a fan.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A long-term storage chamber for vegetables, which is provided in a refrigerator main body and whose entrance is closed by a closing member, oxygen removing means for removing oxygen from air in the long-term storage chamber, and air in the long-term storage chamber. And an air supply means for adjusting the air in the long-term storage chamber to a low oxygen concentration by passing the oxygen through the oxygen removal means. 2. A storage container arranged in the refrigerator body, wherein the storage container is divided into a plurality of chambers, one of which is a long-term storage chamber for vegetables.
Refrigerator described. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the air supply means is stopped at a predetermined time corresponding to the amount of oxygen in the long-term storage chamber. 4. A long-term storage chamber for vegetables, which is formed in a storage container arranged in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator body and whose opening and closing is closed by a closing member, and an oxygen-permeable member for allowing oxygen to pass therethrough. Oxygen removing means for removing oxygen, and the air in the long-term storage chamber is sucked through the oxygen permeable member of the oxygen removing means and the air having a high oxygen concentration is discharged to reduce the oxygen in the long-term storage chamber. And a high-oxygen-concentration air discharged from the air supply means is returned to the vegetable compartment.