JPH07218087A - Deep freezing refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize a deep freezing refrigerator having a vegetable storage chamber in which preservability of green fruit to suffer from low-temperature defect can be enhanced. CONSTITUTION:A vegetable storage chamber B in which a vessel wall in direct contact with cold gas for cooling is formed of a heat insulator 19 is so provided partly in a conventional vegetable chamber as to be always set to a higher temperature than that of the chamber. A moisture regulating sheet 17 for holding humidity in the chamber B constant and a catalytic filter 18 for regulating atmospheric gas are further arranged partly on the vessel wall. The chamber B is not limited to the existing chamber, but can be provided independently at a predetermined position in a refrigerant. Thus, the chamber is held at 8-10 deg.C adapted to preserve green fruit to suffer from low-temperature defect, and its shelf stability life can be prolonged twice-three times as large as the case of the conventional chamber at a low temperature.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator / freezer, and more particularly to a refrigerator / freezer provided with a storage chamber suitable for keeping the freshness of fruits and vegetables for a long time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A freezer-type refrigerator is usually provided with a vegetable compartment for storing vegetables, but the temperature of the vegetable compartment is 3 ° C. because it is suitable for storage at a low temperature such that more than half of fruits and vegetables are not frozen. It is set before and after. That is, since the fruits and vegetables placed in the vegetable compartment are living organisms, they carry out various physiological activities even while being stored in the vegetable compartment in the refrigerator. The most problematic of these is the respiratory action such as inhalation of oxygen and emission of carbon dioxide, which causes a decrease in freshness such as exhaustion of components such as vitamins that are easily altered by respiration. Therefore, in the conventional vegetable room, in order to suppress the respiratory action of fruits and vegetables, a low temperature that does not freeze is suitable,
As described above, the storage temperature is set to around 3 ° C.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a conventional vegetable compartment, in which partitions 25, 26 and 27 are provided in the vegetable compartment 24 for foliage.
There is an example in which storage spaces 28, 29, 30 are provided in the vegetable compartment so that 21 and root vegetables 22 can be divided so that they can be stored vertically. In this example, the storage space is partitioned so that fruits and vegetables can be stored separately, but the temperature of each storage space is the same. In addition, as an example of a technology related to this type of refrigerator-freezer, for example, the actual Kaihei 4-531
No. 92 publication is cited.

[0004]

However, the optimum storage temperature of fruits and vegetables varies considerably depending on the type, and among fruits and vegetables, for example, unripe fruit vegetables such as cucumber, peppers, eggplants, pumpkins, bananas, lemons, etc. Some tropical and subtropical fruits and vegetables produce a metabolic abnormality due to respiratory disorders at a storage temperature of 7 ° C or lower, and are rotted or contaminated by psychrophilic bacteria such as Alternaria and mold. Therefore, in the conventional freezer-refrigerator, since only the vegetable compartment with the set temperature of about 3 ° C is provided in the refrigerator, the fruits and vegetables suffering from storage problems at the storage temperature of 7 ° C or less are damaged by the low temperature, and There is a storage problem that the temperature of the vegetable compartment is too low to maintain freshness.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and to provide a freezer-refrigerator suitable for storing fruits and vegetables susceptible to damage due to low temperature, and also to maintain high humidity and ethylene. An object of the present invention is to provide a freezer-refrigerator capable of suppressing aging and acceleration of aging due to harmful gases such as gas.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, in a freezer-refrigerator provided with a freezer compartment, a refrigerator compartment and a vegetable compartment, a second refrigerator set to a temperature higher than the temperature of the refrigerator compartment or the vegetable compartment. A storage room is provided in at least one of the refrigerating room and the vegetable room, or independently provided outside these rooms, and as means for setting the storage room to a temperature higher than the temperature of the refrigerating room or the vegetable room, The structure in which the cold air hits the storage chamber has been improved so that the cold air is not directly taken into the storage chamber. As a specific configuration, a heat insulating material, a heater, or the like is arranged in at least a portion of the storage chamber exposed to cold air. Further, it is desirable that the inside of the storage chamber is hermetically closed or semi-hermetically closed, and in order to keep the inside of the room at an appropriate humidity, a humidity control sheet having enhanced water absorption is detachably disposed in a part of the container. Further, it is preferable that the gas decomposing means composed of a catalyst containing a transition metal element is detachably mounted in the container so as to be replaceable.

The heat insulating material is preferably a material made of a foamable organic polymer molding such as polyurethane, or a vacuum heat insulating material obtained by vacuum-sealing an inorganic material in a hollow metal molding, for example. It is installed locally on the part through which is passed, or in some cases it is provided on the entire outer circumference of the container. The humidity control sheet allows the passage of cold air but absorbs moisture, and absorbs the moisture condensed due to the passage of cold air,
When saturated, it evaporates to the low humidity side, so the humidity in the storage room is controlled. The material of the humidity control sheet is, for example, a material that is formed into a porous shape by using polyethylene as a base material, and has its surface treated with highly hydrophilic sodium sulfonate to further improve water absorption. It is preferable that it is detachably attached to a part and that it can be cleaned when it becomes dirty. As the gas decomposing means comprising the above catalyst, for example, a catalytic filter containing an oxidation catalyst of a transition metal element such as platinum or palladium in activated carbon may be used and covered with a nonwoven fabric such as polyester in consideration of food hygiene. The catalyst filter has only to be installed in a place where it does not interfere with the preservation of fruits and vegetables in the storage chamber, and is preferably in a detachable and replaceable form.

[0008]

Since the storage chamber has a closed or semi-closed structure, it is indirectly cooled from the outside. As a measure to prevent supercooling due to external cold air, a temperature drop due to supercooling of external cold air can be achieved by applying heat insulating material locally or on the entire wall surface where cold air passes on the wall surface of the storage room. It can prevent the temperature in the storage room from 8 ~
It can be kept in the temperature zone of 10 ℃ (hereinafter referred to as the new temperature zone), and can always keep the temperature suitable for storage of fruits and vegetables that are apt to cause low temperature damage.

As described above, since the temperature in the storage room is maintained in a new temperature range (8 to 10 ° C) suitable for preservation of fruits and vegetables suffering from low temperature injury, the respiration and metabolism of fruits and vegetables susceptible to low temperature injury is normal. The storage period can be extended to 2 to 3 times that in the conventional vegetable room. This storage room is provided in a conventional vegetable room or separately from it, and by separately storing fruits and vegetables that are not affected by low temperature disorders and fruits and vegetables that are not affected by low temperature disorders, High freshness can be maintained under optimal storage conditions.

Table 1 shows fruits and vegetables causing low temperature damage, the temperature at which the damage occurs (° C.), and the optimum storage temperature (° C.) and the shelf life at the optimum storage temperature (° C.). As is clear from Table 1, fruits and vegetables suffering from cold injury are 8 to
Storage in the temperature range of 10 ° C enables storage for 7 to 10 days or more. In Table 1, there is a range of temperature values, and there are some cases where the temperature at which a low temperature disorder occurs and the optimum storage temperature overlap, but this is because the values vary depending on the variety and cultivation conditions.

[0011]

[Table 1]

Further, a humidity control sheet for keeping the humidity in the storage chamber constant is provided in this structure in which cold air is not directly taken into the storage chamber, and further, a catalyst filter containing a transition metal element is provided as a gas decomposition means. By doing so, it is possible to keep the storage chamber in a closed or semi-closed state and maintain high humidity, prevent wilting and discoloration due to water evaporation of fruits and vegetables, and prevent harmful gas such as ethylene gas discharged from fruits and vegetables. By oxidizing and decomposing with a catalyst filter, it is possible to prevent aging and aging of fruits and vegetables due to ethylene gas, etc.
It also suppresses the decrease of nutrients such as, and significantly improves the preservability.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a freezer-refrigerator in which a storage compartment set in a new temperature zone is arranged in a vegetable compartment. Reference numeral 1 is a freezer-refrigerator, 2 is a freezer compartment, 4 is a refrigerating compartment, 3 is a freezer compartment door, and 5 is a refrigerating compartment door. 6 is a fan for circulating cold air, 7 is a motor for moving the fan for circulating cold air, and 8 is an evaporator. 9 is a chilled room,
Part A is a vegetable room, 10 is a chilled room door, and 11 is a vegetable room door. And 12 is a compressor.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vegetable compartment A shown in FIG. 13 is a vegetable compartment container, 14 is a vegetable compartment lid installed to suppress water evaporation of fruits and vegetables, and part B is a vegetable storage compartment provided in the vegetable compartment set in the new temperature zone. In this vegetable storage room B, ribs for mounting are provided on the rear wall surface and side surface of the vegetable room container 13, but ribs are provided on the rear wall surface of the vegetable storage container B and on the upper ends of the side surfaces. The vegetable compartment container 13 may be placed so as to cover it.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vegetable storage room B shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a top view of the vegetable storage room B shown in FIG. Reference numeral 15 denotes a container that constitutes the main part of the vegetable storage room B set in the new temperature zone, and is composed of a polystyrene molded body. 16 is a sliding lid, 16a, 16
This slide lid 16 is provided by the slidable groove of b.
By pulling to the left and right to open and close, vegetables and fruits susceptible to low temperature disorders can be taken in and out of the vegetable storage room B. 17
Is a humidity control sheet installed to adjust the humidity in the vegetable storage room B to a level suitable for storing fruits and vegetables, and is detachably attached to a part of the slide lid 16 in this embodiment. Numeral 19 is a heat insulating material installed to prevent a rapid temperature drop due to supercooling of the storage room.

Polyurethane was used as the heat insulating material 19. Insulation material 19 causes the temperature inside the storage room to rise too high,
Although it is installed locally in a portion through which cold air passes so as not to drop too much, the main part of the container may be formed of this heat insulating material. In this embodiment, a heat insulating material 19 is provided on the rear surface of the vegetable storage chamber B, which is directly exposed to the flow of cold air. As a result, it is possible to prevent the vegetable storage room B from being overly cold and maintain a temperature range of 8 to 10 ° C, which is suitable for storing fruits and vegetables susceptible to low temperature disorders, and to extend the storage period of these fruits and vegetables by 2-3 times. Become.

As the material of the humidity control sheet 17, a material which is formed into a porous state by using polyethylene as a base material and whose surface is treated with highly hydrophilic sodium sulfonate in order to enhance water absorption is used. As a result, moisture that has condensed due to the passage of cold air is absorbed, and when saturated, the moisture is evaporated to the low humidity side, so that the humidity in the vegetable storage room B is controlled.
By the humidity control sheet 17, the inside of the vegetable storage room B can be maintained at an appropriate humidity, and it is possible to prevent wilting and discoloration associated with water evaporation of fruits and vegetables. Since the humidity control sheet 17 is detachably attached, it can be washed if it becomes dirty and can be used repeatedly.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a catalyst filter which is a gas decomposing means, which is a catalyst filter containing activated carbon and an oxidation catalyst of a transition metal element such as platinum and palladium, and is covered with a nonwoven fabric such as polyester in consideration of food hygiene. I am doing it.
As a result, by oxidizing and decomposing harmful gases such as ethylene gas discharged from fruits and vegetables and accumulating in the container with a catalyst of transition metal element, an atmosphere suitable for preservation of fruits and vegetables is created, and aging and aging of fruits and vegetables is achieved. Can prevent vitamin C
It is possible to suppress the decrease of nutrients such as, and the storability of fruits and vegetables is significantly improved. This catalytic filter 18 is
It is desirable that a lattice-shaped plastic box or the like be provided on the rear wall surface in the vegetable storage room B so as to be detachably held, and thereby it can be easily replaced.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the results of a preservation test conducted by storing vegetables and fruits susceptible to low temperature disorders in the vegetable storage room B shown in FIG. 3 and the conventional vegetable room A as a comparative example. . As a representative example of the test sample, a graph showing changes in water transpiration rate when cucumber and peppers are stored for 10 days is shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 shows a graph showing changes in the weight of vitamin C. In all figures, the solid line 1 shows the present embodiment and the broken line 2 shows the comparative example. As shown in FIG. 5, both the cucumber and the green pepper can halve the water transpiration rate and maintain freshness. As shown in FIG. 6, the decrease in the vitamin C content can be largely prevented.

<Embodiment 2> FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a freezer-refrigerator in which a vegetable storage compartment B set in a new temperature zone is provided in the refrigerating compartment 4 instead of providing the vegetable compartment A in FIG. Is.
The vegetable storage room B is provided in the lower part of the refrigerator room 4. Figure 9
[Fig. 3] is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a vegetable storage room B. It is installed in the lower part of the refrigerator room 4 where the temperature is relatively high.
In the present embodiment, the heat insulating material is provided on the upper surface, the rear rear surface and the lower surface of the vegetable storage room B where the cold air flows, but the heat insulating material can be provided on one surface and the entire surface of the container as required. Vegetables and fruits can be taken in and out by pulling out the drawer tray 32 installed in the vegetable storage room B and opening the flip-up door 31 upward. In this embodiment, the humidity control sheet 17
Is detachably attached to the splash door 31. As described above, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, but this embodiment is an example in which the catalyst filter is not installed. In addition to the above embodiment, the vegetable storage room B
Can be independently provided at a predetermined position in the refrigerator, such as the chilled chamber 9 shown in FIG.

[0021]

According to the present invention, the intended purpose can be achieved as described above. That is, in the vegetable compartment,
Or, as another vegetable room, by installing a vegetable storage room whose internal temperature is adjusted to 8-10 ° C, the conventional vegetable room temperature causes a low temperature disorder and extends the shelf life of fruits and vegetables that had low shelf life. Can be realized. In addition, by controlling the humidity and atmospheric gas in the vegetable storage room, an optimal storage environment can be created, and storage can be performed for 2 to 3 times the conventional storage period.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a freezer-refrigerator having a vegetable storage compartment set in a new temperature zone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a vegetable compartment that also includes a vegetable storage compartment.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the vegetable storage room also set in the new temperature zone.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the vegetable storage compartment also set in the new temperature zone.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a change in water evaporation rate in a storage test similarly conducted for confirming the freshness preservation effect of the vegetable storage room.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the transition of the vitamin C content in a storage test also conducted to confirm the freshness-retaining effect of the vegetable storage room.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional vegetable compartment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a freezer-refrigerator having a vegetable storage compartment set in a new temperature zone according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a vegetable storage room set in a new temperature zone which is also another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Freezer-refrigerator, 2 ... Freezer, 3 ... Freezer door,
4 ... Refrigerator, 5 ... Refrigerator door, 6 ... Fan,
7 ... Fan motor, 8 ... Evaporator, 9 ... Chilled chamber, 10 ... Chilled chamber door, 11 ... Vegetable chamber door, 12 ... Compressor, 13 ... Vegetable chamber container, 14 ... Vegetable chamber lid, 15
… Vegetable storage container, 16… Slide lid, 16a… Groove,
16b ... groove, 17 ... humidity control sheet, 18 ... catalyst filter, 19 ... heat insulating material, 31 ... splash door, 32 ... drawer tray.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location // A23B 7/04 9162-4B

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A freezer-refrigerator provided with a freezer compartment, a refrigerator compartment, and a vegetable compartment, comprising a second storage compartment set to a temperature higher than the temperature of the refrigerator compartment or the vegetable compartment, and refrigerating the storage compartment. A freezer-refrigerator which is installed in at least one of the room and the vegetable room, or is installed outside these rooms. 2. The refrigerator / freezer according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the storage compartment exposed to cold air has a heat insulating structure. 3. The refrigerator-freezer according to claim 2, wherein a heat insulating material or a heater is provided as the heat insulating structure. 4. The storage chamber is hermetically closed or semi-hermetically closed to increase the humidity inside the storage chamber, and a humidity control sheet for controlling the inside of the storage chamber to a proper humidity is provided in a part of the container.
The refrigerator-freezer described. 5. The refrigerator / freezer according to claim 2, wherein a gas decomposing means comprising a catalyst supporting a transition metal element is arranged in the storage chamber.