JPH08136113A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent freshness of foods from being deteriorated owing to local drying and breathing by disposing a moisture absorbing/releasing member having antifungal properties in a storage chamber, and keeping the inside of the storage chamber at a high temperature by making use of water dispersed from stored foods and warm air including moisture flowing in when the storage chamber is opened. CONSTITUTION: A resilient barrier member 18 having antifungal properties is mounted over the entire region of a laminate part of a vegetable container 7 and a vegetable container cover 9 for preventing atmosphere from flowing in and out. Atmospheric gas in the vegetable chamber 6 is isolated from cooling air using the barrier member 18, and a moisture absorbing/releasing member 19 having antifungal properties is disposed in the vegetable chamber 6 composed of the vegetable container 7 and the vegetable container cover 9. Warm air including moisture flowing in when the vegetable container cover 9 over the vegetable chamber 6 is opened with use of the moisture absorbing/releasing member 19 forces moisture in the atmosphere in the vegetable chamber 6 by making use of water dispersed from vegetables. Hereby, foods are prevented from being locally dried and freshness of foods is prevented from being deteriorated owing to breathing to keep the freshness unchanged over a long period of time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[Industrial application] By increasing the humidity inside the storage chamber, it suppresses the evaporation of water from the stored food without wrapping it in wraps or bags, and also removes the ethylene gas emitted as the stored food ages. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator that suppresses re-ripening, keeps a low oxygen concentration in the storage chamber, suppresses respiration of stored food, and maintains initial freshness for a long period of time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional example will be described with reference to FIG. 1 is a refrigerator main body, 2 is a freezer compartment, 3 is a freezer compartment door, 4 is a refrigerator compartment, 5 is a refrigerator compartment door, 6 is a vegetable compartment, 7 is a vegetable container, 8 is a vegetable compartment door, 9 is a vegetable container lid, 10 Is a humidity control plate,
Reference numeral 11 is a cooler, 12 is a compressor, 13 is a cool air circulation fan, 14 is a fan drive motor for cold air circulation, and 15 and 16 are cold air ducts. With the above configuration, the compressor 12,
Due to the refrigeration cycle by the cooler 11 and the rotation of the cool air circulation fan 13, the freezer compartment 2, the refrigerator compartment 4, and the vegetable compartment 6 are
It is cooled to a predetermined temperature. Here, focusing on the vegetable compartment 6, in the conventional vegetable compartment 6, the humidity control plate 10 is provided on the vegetable container lid 9 on the upper surface of the vegetable container 7 to make the humidity inside the vegetable compartment 6 high. This vegetable compartment 6 is targeted at 3 ° C. or higher in terms of temperature. In addition, the vegetable container 7 has a structure in which cold air is taken into the container from a slight gap 17 locally provided by the air passage of the arrow shown in FIG. Temperature 3-5 ℃, Humidity 80-9
Controlled to 0% RH. 18 and 19 are examples in which the functional member is adopted in the vegetable compartment 6. 18 is the same as FIG.
The inside of the vegetable container lid 9 of the vegetable compartment 6 having the same performance as that of the refrigerator is equipped with a catalyst member 23 that adsorbs / decomposes ethylene gas generated as the stored food is aged, and the initial stage is the method of suppressing additional ripening. The aim is to keep the freshness for a long time. FIG. 19 shows that the vegetable container lid 9 of the vegetable compartment 6 having the same performance as the refrigerator of FIG. It is intended to be kept for a long time.

In this type of conventional example, for example, an actual Kaihei 6-148 is used.
There is publication 84.

[0004]

To explain with reference to the sectional view of the refrigerator main body of FIG. 16, the conventional vegetable compartment 6 with a humidity control plate has the following problems. The temperature in the vegetable container 7 is controlled as low as possible to suppress breathing, and in order to avoid freezing of the stored food, it is controlled to a temperature at which it does not freeze. At the same time, in order to avoid drying deterioration due to water evaporation from stored food, a method of providing a vegetable container lid 9 on the vegetable container 7 and performing indirect cooling is adopted. However, if the vegetable container lid 9 is used to increase the airtightness of the vegetable container 7 too much, when the amount of stored food is large, the amount of water vaporizes and the freshness deterioration from condensation to freezing occurs. Container lid 9
A small gap 17 through which cold air flows in is provided locally in the portion where the cold air flows in. Therefore, it is difficult to set the humidity in the vegetable compartment 6 to 95% RH or higher, and the upper limit of humidity is about 90% RH. On the contrary, when the amount of the stored food is small with respect to the volume of the vegetable container 7, the evaporation of water is severe, which causes deterioration of freshness due to drying. The functional member shown in FIG. 18 and FIG.
Also in the example adopted for, similarly when there is a large amount of stored food,
There was a problem of deterioration of freshness due to drying at a small amount. FIG.
Even if the catalyst member 23 having antibacterial properties for adsorbing and decomposing ethylene gas shown in FIG.
Since ethylene gas released from the stored food gradually escapes from the vegetable compartment 6 by comparison, no significant effect is observed in maintaining the initial freshness of the stored food for a long period of time as compared with the vegetable compartment 6 in FIG. It was Similarly, even in the vegetable compartment 6 provided with the oxygen permeable membrane 24 shown in FIG. 19, the oxygen concentration in the vegetable compartment 6 cannot be controlled to a low concentration due to the slight gap 17, and FIG.
No significant effect was observed in maintaining the initial freshness of the stored food for a long period of time, even when compared with the vegetable compartment 6 of the above. Basically, when the atmospheric gas in the vegetable compartment 6 is controlled, measures are taken to prevent the gas from flowing in and out by increasing the degree of tightness of the vegetable container 7 and the vegetable container lid 9 that make up the vegetable chamber 6. The assumption is that

[0005]

The following description will be given with reference to the sectional view of the refrigerator main body of FIG. 1 on the assumption that the vegetable compartment 6 has the same indirect cooling system as the conventional one and the cooling temperature is managed in the same manner as the conventional one. A barrier member 18 having elasticity and antibacterial property that prevents the inflow and outflow of air is attached to the mating portion of the vegetable container 7 and the vegetable container lid 9 in the vegetable compartment 6 to improve the airtightness and to evaporate moisture from stored food. Is used to increase the humidity in the vegetable container 9. At the same time, by installing the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 having antibacterial property having both high moisture absorbing ability and high moisture releasing ability on the inner surface of the vegetable container lid 9 constituting the vegetable compartment 6, it absorbs moisture when there is excessive humidity and lacks moisture. Sometimes, the function of releasing moisture can suppress the fluctuation of humidity and can always form a high humidity atmosphere of 95% RH or more. In addition, since the vegetable container 7 and the vegetable container lid 9 forming the vegetable compartment 6 are cooled,
When the vegetable compartment 6 is opened, warm air containing moisture in the refrigerator installation room flows into the vegetable compartment 6 so that the humidity in the vegetable container 9 can be increased when the vegetable compartment 6 is closed. Since excessive moisture is absorbed by the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 having antibacterial property, the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 having high antibacterial property can be prevented while preventing deterioration of freshness due to dew condensation. It is also possible to suppress the reproduction of various bacteria. The sealed structure of the vegetable compartment 6 must solve the following two problems. First
Is the ethylene gas generated inside the stored food due to aging of the stored food during the storage period, and the ethylene gas emitted from the stored food and filling the atmospheric gas in the vegetable compartment 6 with the stored food. It is a factor that accelerates the ripening speed of the soybeans and accelerates the deterioration of freshness. In the present invention, a method is used in which ethylene gas emitted into the atmospheric gas is adsorbed and decomposed by the antibacterial catalyst member 23 installed in the vegetable compartment 6 to suppress deterioration of freshness due to additional ripening. The second problem is breathing of stored food. When the vegetable compartment 6 is sealed,
The oxygen concentration in the vegetable compartment 6 gradually decreases due to the breathing of the stored food, and conversely the carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide) concentration increases. Due to the decrease in oxygen concentration due to this respiration action, the respiration of fruits and vegetables can be suppressed and the deterioration of freshness can be suppressed.
In order to maintain the freshness of stored foods, gas damage due to lack of oxygen must be prevented, and the minimum amount of oxygen supply necessary for maintaining breathing is required. This minimum required oxygen concentration differs depending on the stored food, and in the case of mixed storage such as in the vegetable compartment 6 of the refrigerator, it has a freshness-retaining effect on any stored food and does not cause gas damage. It is required to maintain a low oxygen concentration. Many literatures have been introduced by experiments, etc. regarding the optimum stored oxygen concentration of each stored food. However, the setting condition of the stored oxygen concentration in the refrigerator assumes various foods stored in the vegetable compartment 6 of the refrigerator. The oxygen concentration range will be set. As a means for satisfying this condition, in the present invention, the oxygen permeable membrane 24 is arranged in a part of the hermetically sealed structure of the vegetable compartment 6, and the oxygen consumption amount in the vegetable compartment 6 is hermetically sealed by the partial pressure of oxygen by respiration of fruits and vegetables. The amount of oxygen according to the above is supplied through the oxygen permeable film 24 to maintain a predetermined low oxygen concentration and maintain the initial freshness. The oxygen concentration in the vegetable compartment 6 is controlled by the oxygen permeability that functions as the oxygen permeable film 24. The change in respiration rate of stored food, that is, the oxygen consumption rate in the sealed vegetable compartment 6 is
Since it is processed as a difference in the oxygen permeation rate of the oxygen permeable film 24, the predetermined oxygen concentration can be controlled. Furthermore, since various fruits and vegetables are stored in a variety of conditions under a sealed low temperature and high humidity environment, uneven temperature and humidity can be eliminated, oxygen concentration can be reduced, and ethylene gas can be removed easily and efficiently. Will be required. Therefore, a slight temperature difference is provided between the upper and lower cooling surfaces of the vegetable compartment 6 to cause a slow convection in the vegetable compartment 6 so that the above-mentioned unevenness can be eliminated and the function and effect of each functional member can be exhibited. It was done.

[0006]

From the viewpoint of maintaining food freshness at the initial stage of storage, it is ideal to increase the humidity in the vegetable container 9 as much as possible within a range that does not cause adverse effects such as freezing and dew condensation, and suppress moisture evaporation of food. In the refrigerator, as shown in FIG. 17, a small gap 17 through which cold air flows is locally provided at the joint between the vegetable container 7 and the vegetable container lid 9 to cause dew condensation due to excessive humidity in the vegetable container 9 to freeze. It prevented the harmful effect of freshness deterioration. Explaining with the sectional view of the refrigerator body according to the present invention in FIG. 1, the vegetable compartment 6 is indirect cooled as in the conventional case, and the cooling temperature is controlled in the same manner as in the conventional case. A barrier member 18 having elasticity and antibacterial property that prevents the inflow and outflow of the atmosphere is provided at the joining portion to increase the airtightness and to increase the humidity by utilizing the water evaporation from the food in the vegetable container 7. At the same time, if a moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 having both high moisture absorbing and high moisture releasing properties is installed in the vegetable compartment 6 at the same time, the amount of stored food is large and excessive humidity due to water evaporation is likely to occur. Is a material that absorbs excess water due to its high hygroscopicity and contains water in the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19, and conversely, when the amount of stored food is small and water evaporation is vigorous and drying of stored food is likely to occur, Water contained in the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 due to its high moisture releasing property Transpiration to increase the humidity in the vegetable container 7, a method of preventing freshness deterioration due to drying. Thus, the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 having both high moisture absorbing ability and high moisture releasing ability
By installing the inside of the vegetable compartment 6, it is possible to suppress the humidity fluctuation and keep the atmosphere of high humidity of 95% RH or more. In addition, the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 having both high moisture absorption and high moisture releasing property is used to cool the warm air containing moisture which flows into the vegetable container 7 when the vegetable container lid 9 of the vegetable container 7 is opened / closed and is cooled. By utilizing the increase in the humidity inside, the moisture absorption / desorption member 19 absorbs and stores the water due to the inflow of warm air to prevent dew condensation, and suppresses the growth of various bacteria in the moisture absorption / desorption member 19 in a high humidity state. It is possible to keep the humidity in the vegetable compartment 6 at 95% RH or more while keeping it hygienic. When fruits and vegetables are stored in such a sealed environment, it is necessary to remove ethylene gas generated during storage and to avoid gas damage due to respiratory depression. Although the ripening of fruits and vegetables progresses, ethylene gas is generated inside the fruits and vegetables, and ethylene gas is also released into the storage atmosphere gas.
Since this ethylene gas also accelerates the ripening rate of other fruits and vegetables in the vegetable compartment 6 and accelerates the decomposition of chlorophyll of fruits and vegetables and the detachment of flowers and fruits, it needs to be removed as much as possible. The antibacterial catalyst member 23 installed in the vegetable compartment 6 adsorbs and decomposes ethylene gas to suppress deterioration of freshness due to additional ripening. Further, the reason why the antibacterial property is added is that the inside of the vegetable compartment 6 is made to have a high humidity, and even when the electricity is stopped and the cooling is stopped during traveling,
This is because it is desired to prevent the propagation of various bacteria due to the temperature rise.
Next, a method and an action for avoiding gas damage due to a decrease in oxygen concentration in the vegetable compartment 6 associated with the breathing action of fruits and vegetables will be described. The respiration rate changes variously depending on the type of fruits and vegetables and the conditions of the storage environment.
What they have in common is that aging, that is, deterioration of freshness, progresses by breathing. Therefore, if breathing is suppressed, the deterioration of freshness can be delayed. As a method, the oxygen permeable membrane 2 is provided on a part of the sealed structure of the vegetable compartment 6.
A method of replenishing a predetermined amount of oxygen through the oxygen permeable membrane 24 according to the oxygen consumption amount in the vegetable compartment 6 that is sealed by using the oxygen partial pressure action by the breathing action of fruits and vegetables by arranging 4 Is. The oxygen concentration in the vegetable compartment 6 decreases with the passage of time due to breathing of fruits and vegetables, and on the contrary, the carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide) concentration rises. Therefore, the respiration rate is gradually reduced, and the deterioration of freshness is prevented. However, when the lower limit of the oxygen concentration that allows breathing is exceeded, breathing becomes impossible, causing gas damage and deteriorating freshness. In other words, it is ideal to keep the oxygen concentration within the breathable lower limit and store it. Since the oxygen permeability of the oxygen permeable membrane 24 can be set arbitrarily in the manufacturing process, the oxygen permeable membrane 24 can be freely set according to various conditions such as the types and amounts of various fruits and vegetables having different respiration rates stored in the vegetable compartment 6. It will be selected and used.
Furthermore, since various fruits and vegetables are stored variously under a sealed environment of low temperature and high humidity, unevenness in temperature and humidity can be eliminated, oxygen concentration can be reduced, and ethylene gas can be removed easily and efficiently. Will be required. Therefore, vegetable room 6
A slight temperature difference is provided on the upper and lower cooling surfaces to generate a slow convection in the vegetable compartment 6, so that the above-mentioned unevenness can be eliminated and the functions of various functional members can be fully exhibited. The above-described configuration and the action of each functional member enable long-term storage of stored food.

[0007]

In the method according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1, the flow of cooling / cooling air and the control temperature zone are the same as those of the conventional example, but further, the inside of the vegetable compartment 6 is stabilized by increasing the humidity. The freshness retention performance is improved by devising the control of the atmosphere gas. A barrier member 18 having elasticity and antibacterial property that blocks inflow and outflow of air is attached to the entire area of the joint between the vegetable container 7 and the vegetable container lid 9 to isolate the atmospheric gas in the vegetable compartment 6 from the cold air. Vegetable container 7
By installing the anti-bacterial moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 inside the vegetable compartment 6 including the vegetable container lid 9, the humidity inside the vegetable compartment 6 can always be kept high regardless of the amount of stored food. It is in. In addition, when the vegetable container lid 9 of the vegetable compartment 6 is opened, warm air in the compartment in which the refrigerator is installed flows into the vegetable container 7, but the atmosphere inside the vegetable compartment 6 is separated from the cooling and cooling air. As the vegetable compartment 6 is closed and indirectly cooled again, the humidity of the atmosphere in the vegetable compartment 6 can be increased. Furthermore, a barrier member 1 having antibacterial properties
Due to shutting off the atmospheric gas in the vegetable compartment 6 at 8, the antibacterial property that adsorbs and decomposes ethylene gas that is actively released as the food stored in the vegetable compartment 6 is aged and further accelerates the aging. In addition to providing the catalyst member 23 having the above, the oxygen partial pressure action utilizing the breathing action of the stored food is applied to reduce the oxygen concentration of the atmospheric gas in the vegetable compartment 6 and suppress the breathing to delay the freshness deterioration. By providing the oxygen permeable membrane 24, a storage environment for maintaining the initial freshness of the stored food for a long time is constructed. The structure and effects will be described below. As shown in Fig. 2, fruits and vegetables have the optimum temperature and humidity range for storage in order to maintain freshness, and generally breathe enough to keep the temperature near the freezing point, which does not cause freezing, except root vegetables such as potatoes and fruits in the south. The storage method that keeps the high humidity atmosphere within the range where the condensation is suppressed and does not cause dew condensation is the most suitable.
Freezing causes low temperature damage, which leads to spoilage due to condensation and deterioration of freshness. On the other hand, as for the components of the storage atmosphere gas, there are oxygen concentration and carbon dioxide concentration regions suitable for maintaining the initial freshness for a long time as shown in FIG.
This also has various areas depending on the difference in fruits and vegetables. However, in any region, the concentration of oxygen is considerably lower than the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere, and carbon dioxide is generated secondarily by the respiratory action. Therefore, in simple control, the oxygen concentration should be set as the reference. It is always. In order to construct such a storage environment, the vegetable compartment 6 shown in FIG. 1 was used as the vegetable compartment 6 having the storage structure shown in FIG. The vegetable compartment 6 is composed of a vegetable container 7 and a vegetable container lid 9. The vegetable container lid 9 is attached to the vegetable container lid 9 with the flange portions on both upper surfaces of the vegetable container 7 as rails 20.
The vegetable container 7 is covered and supported by the roller 21. A handle 22 is provided on the front side of the vegetable container lid 9, and the vegetable compartment 6 is opened and closed by moving the upper surface of the rail 20 back and forth through the roller 21. Also,
As shown in FIG. 5, the rails 20 are provided on both sides of the vegetable container 7 with a barrier member 18 having elasticity and antibacterial property for preventing inflow and outflow of air into the vegetable container 7 when the vegetable container lid 9 is closed. A step is provided for the roller 21 to come into close contact with the upper flange portion. FIG. 5 is a side view when the vegetable container lid 9 is closed and the roller 21 is dropped into the rail 20, and the barrier member 18 having elasticity and antibacterial property at that time.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the close contact state of FIG. The condition required for the barrier member 18 is that the weight of the vegetable container lid 9 allows the barrier member 18 to be brought into close contact with the flange portion on the upper surface of the vegetable container 7 in order to prevent the inflow and outflow of the atmosphere, and the inside of the vegetable chamber 6 is highly humidified. Therefore, the antibacterial property can be provided. Examples of materials that can maintain such performance conditions for a long period of time are acrylic-based and silicon-based synthetic rubbers that are rich in elasticity and capable of adding an antibacterial agent, and are generally used as gas sealing materials. . Further, as a measure for further increasing elasticity, it is possible to satisfy the condition easily obtained by forming the barrier member 18 into a hollow structure or thinning it. FIG. 6 is a side view when the vegetable container lid 9 is opened and the roller 21 is disengaged from the dropping step of the rail 20, and the flanges on both upper surfaces of the vegetable container 7 of the barrier member 18 having elasticity and antibacterial property at that time. It is sectional drawing of the state apart from the part. Explaining the method of increasing the humidity and controlling the atmosphere gas for storage with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the vegetable container lid 9 is provided with a moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 having antibacterial properties and the vegetable container 7 A barrier member 18 having elasticity and antibacterial property that blocks the inflow / outflow of the cooled cold air into the vegetable container 7 is mounted on the entire area of the joint portion. In such a structure, when the vegetable container lid 9 is closed as shown in FIG. 7, the vegetable container 7 can be hermetically sealed by the barrier member 18 and the moisture evaporated from the stored food can be diffused to the outside of the vegetable chamber 6. In addition to the prevention, the humidity inside the vegetable compartment 6 is increased. When the amount of stored food is large and the inside of the vegetable compartment 6 becomes excessively humid to cause dew condensation, the high moisture absorption of the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 may absorb excess moisture to prevent dew condensation. it can. On the other hand, when the amount of stored food is small and the amount of evaporated water is insufficient and the inside of the vegetable compartment 6 is in a condition of insufficient humidity, the moisture stored in the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 is released to serve as a humidification source. It prevents the food from drying out. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view when the vegetable container lid 9 of FIG. 7 is opened. On the upper surface side of the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19, there is an oxygen permeable membrane 24 in a part of the vegetable container lid 9 forming the outer shell of the sealed structure of the vegetable compartment 6, and on the reverse lower surface side is a catalyst having antibacterial properties. The member 23 is arranged, an appropriate gap is provided between the layers, and the convection air passage 25 in the vegetable compartment 6 is secured.
The main requirements for the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 are to absorb moisture when the humidity is excessive, to release moisture when the humidity is insufficient, and to absorb moisture when warm air containing moisture flows in, and the humidity inside the vegetable compartment 6 becomes high. Therefore, it is possible to have antibacterial properties. Examples of materials that can maintain such performance conditions for a long time include:
It is a moisture absorbing / releasing resin typified by a crosslinked sodium polyacrylate and a saponified product of vinyl acetate copolymer. It is generally used as a freshness-keeping sheet, sanitary ware, and disposable diaper, and is sold for its high water absorption. As an example of using the material, the amount of moisture absorption and desorption necessary for constantly increasing the humidity in the vegetable compartment 6 can be calculated from the moisture content of the moisture absorption and desorption member 19 and the moisture absorption and desorption performance. A minute amount is sandwiched between two layers of antibacterial nylon or polyester non-woven fabric,
A sheet-shaped product is suitable for the structure used. Further, the condition required for the catalyst member 23 is a structure that prevents the inflow and outflow of the atmosphere in the vegetable compartment 6, so that the catalyst member 23 is generated as the vegetables and fruits stored in the vegetable compartment 6 are matured, and the additional ripening is performed. By having a sufficient catalytic ability to decompose and remove the accelerating ethylene gas, the humidity in the vegetable compartment 6 is also increased, so that the antibacterial property can be provided. As a specific example that can maintain such performance conditions for a long period of time, a material in which activated carbon having high gas adsorbability and a palladium catalyst that effectively decomposes and removes ethylene gas is supported is suitable, and antibacterial effect by metal ions is also expected. it can. Furthermore, in order to improve the ethylene gas decomposition performance of this material, it is formed into a sheet shape and covered with a highly breathable nylon-based or polyester-based non-woven fabric so that it has a structure suitable for use structure. The condition required for the oxygen permeable membrane 24 is to maintain the minimum oxygen concentration necessary for breathing the stored food in the sealed vegetable compartment 6, the opening / closing frequency of the vegetable container lid 9 and the breathing amount of the stored food. In consideration of the above, the oxygen concentration in the vegetable compartment 6 can be kept at 5 to 10%, and the oxygen permeability is 100 to 20,000 cm ³ / m ² · day ·
It is set as atm. A material suitable for use is a polyolefin film represented by low density polyethylene.
In addition, the role of the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 is that the warm air containing moisture that flows in when the vegetable compartment 6 is opened is taken into the cooled vegetable compartment 6 as shown in FIG. Is a member capable of constantly absorbing and replenishing moisture in the atmosphere and also serving as a cushioning material for stabilizing the interior of the vegetable compartment 6 in a high humidity environment.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, since various fruits and vegetables are stored variously in a sealed environment of low temperature and high humidity,
The cooling temperature on the upper surface side of the vegetable compartment 6 is 0.5 to 1.
By lowering the temperature by about 0 ° C. to generate convection in the vegetable compartment 6, an appropriate gap is provided between the oxygen permeable membrane 24, the moisture absorbing / releasing member 19 and the catalyst member 23 to secure the convection air passage 25. In addition to eliminating environmental irregularities such as temperature / humidity and gas components, it has a structure that allows the various functional members to perform their functions. FIG. 11 is a moisture absorption / desorption characteristic of the moisture absorption / desorption member 19 attached to the vegetable container lid 9 of the vegetable compartment 6 of the present invention.
Is the removal characteristic of ethylene gas. FIG. 13 corresponds to FIG.
It is the result of comparing the humidity environment in the vegetable compartment 6 of the conventional example with the vegetable compartment 6 according to the present invention by using broccoli, which proves that a storage environment of high humidity and low oxygen concentration is constituted. Also in FIG. 14, the reduction of food weight due to water evaporation is suppressed, and in FIG. 15, a change in the amount of residual vitamin C, which is an index of freshness, was confirmed. Is shown in.

[0008]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention makes it possible to prolong the storage of foods such as fruits and vegetables that prefer a storage atmosphere having a humidity of 95% RH or more in a temperature range from 5 ° C. to near the freezing point, and to cool and cool cold air and a storage container. By shutting off the atmospheric gas inside and controlling the gas composition easily and efficiently, it is possible to prevent local dryness of food and deterioration of freshness due to respiration, and to maintain the freshness at the beginning of storage for a long period of time. is there.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a refrigerator main body according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a zone diagram of the optimum storage temperature / humidity range of food.

FIG. 3 is a zone diagram of an optimal storage oxygen concentration / carbon dioxide concentration range of fruits and vegetables.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the appearance of a vegetable compartment according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a vegetable compartment as an example and an explanatory view of a barrier member.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a vegetable compartment as an example and an explanatory view of a barrier member.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a sealed structure of a vegetable compartment according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of a sealed structure of a vegetable compartment according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a moisture absorbing / releasing member of a vegetable compartment according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of convection in the vegetable compartment according to the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a characteristic of the moisture absorbing / releasing member of the vegetable compartment according to the example.

FIG. 12 is a characteristic of the catalyst member of the vegetable compartment as an example.

FIG. 13 is a change in oxygen concentration in a vegetable room environment as an example.

FIG. 14 is a change in food weight in a vegetable compartment as an example.

FIG. 15 shows changes in the amount of food vitamin C in the vegetable compartment as an example.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator main body as a conventional example.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view of a joint portion between a vegetable container and a lid of a refrigerator as a conventional example.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory view of a vegetable compartment of a refrigerator adopting a functional member as a conventional example.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory view of a vegetable compartment of a refrigerator adopting a functional member as a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Refrigerator body, 2 ... Freezer compartment, 3 ... Freezer compartment door, 4 ... Refrigerator compartment, 5 ... Refrigerator compartment door, 6 ... Vegetable compartment, 7 ... Vegetable container, 8 ... Vegetable compartment door, 9 ... Vegetable container lid, 10 ... humidity control plate, 11 ... cooler, 12 ... compressor, 13 ... cold air circulation fan, 14 ... fan driving motor, 15 ... cold air passage, 16 ... cold air passage, 17 ... slight gap, 18 ... barrier Members, 19 ... Moisture absorbing / releasing member, 20 ... Rail, 21 ... Roller, 22 ... Handle, 23 ... Catalyst member, 24 ... Oxygen permeable membrane, 25 ... Convection air passage.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI Technical display location B01D 53/72 53/86 F25D 17/08 307 (72) Inventor Akiko Enokizu Ohira Town, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture Oita Tomita 800 stock company Hitachi Ltd. Living Equipment Division (72) Inventor Susumu Yamazaki Ohira-machi, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture Odaira-cho, 800, Tomita, Ltd. Living Company, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Takashi Ikeda, Takashi, Ohira, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi 800, Toyota, Ltd., Living Equipment, Ltd.

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A moisture absorbing / releasing member having antibacterial properties is arranged in the storage chamber, and warm air containing moisture that evaporates from the stored food and moisture that flows in when the storage chamber is opened is used to store the inside of the storage chamber. Refrigerator characterized by maintaining high humidity. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the moisture absorbing / releasing member is a powder or granular material of a moisture absorbing / releasing resin composed of a crosslinked sodium polyacrylate or a saponified vinyl acetate copolymer. . 3. A material formed into a sheet according to claim 1, which is used as a moisture absorbing / releasing member by sandwiching the powder or granular material of claim 2 between two layers of a nylon or polyester non-woven fabric. A refrigerator characterized by using. 4. The storage chamber according to claim 1, wherein the storage chamber is composed of a container and a lid, and a barrier member having elasticity and antibacterial property for preventing the inflow and outflow of the atmosphere is provided in the entire joint portion of the container and the lid. Refrigerator characterized by. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein a gas seal material having elasticity such as acrylic or silicon synthetic rubber is used as the barrier member. 6. A catalyst member having antibacterial properties for adsorbing and decomposing ethylene gas is arranged on the inner surface of a container or a lid constituting a storage chamber to suppress aging of stored food due to ethylene gas. A refrigerator characterized by that. 7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein a sheet-shaped molding material in which palladium is supported on activated carbon is used as a catalyst member after being wrapped with a nylon-based or polyester-based nonwoven fabric. 8. The food in the storage chamber according to claim 4 or 6, wherein an oxygen permeable membrane is arranged in a part of a container or a lid constituting the storage chamber to separate atmospheric gas in the storage chamber from the atmosphere outside the storage chamber. A refrigerator characterized in that the atmosphere in the storage chamber is kept at a low oxygen concentration of 5 to 10% by the oxygen partial pressure effect caused by the respiration of the food, and the respiration of the stored food is suppressed to prevent deterioration of freshness. 9. The oxygen permeable membrane according to claim 8, which has an oxygen permeability of 100 to 20,000 cm ³ / m ² · day · at.
A refrigerator characterized by using a polyolefin film typified by m low density polyethylene. 10. The cooling temperature on the upper side of the lid of the container constituting the storage chamber is in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 ° C. as compared with the lower side in claim 1, claim 4, claim 6 and claim 8. It is characterized by suppressing the freshness deterioration by generating convection in the container to homogenize the storage environment condition and promote the action of the oxygen permeable membrane, the moisture absorbing / releasing member, and the catalyst member by setting it to a low level. Fridge. 11. The oxygen permeable film and moisture absorbing / releasing member according to claim 1, claim 4, claim 6, claim 8 and claim 10, wherein a part of a container or a lid constituting a storage chamber is provided from the outer side. A refrigerator characterized in that the catalyst member is formed in three layers in order, and an appropriate gap serving as a convection air passage is provided between the layers to promote action and suppress deterioration of freshness.