JPH09280719A - Refrigerator with freezer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator with a freezer provided with a high humidity storage chamber, wherein the temperature and humidity in the chamber are controlled to a condition which is suitable for the preservation of food by making use of a radiation-cooling effect of a favorable heat conductive member and a humidity control effect of a humidity absorbing and dissipating member. SOLUTION: In a high humidity storage chamber which adopts an indirect refrigerating system by arranging a vessel cover 13 on a storage vessel D, an opening is formed in a portion thereof. A humidity control member C is replaceably mounted in the opening and such a humidity control member C is made of a hydrophobic film which includes a humidity absorbing and dissipating fiber being compression-molded in a plate-like shape and having minute pores and a plate-like hydrophilic resin. The storage vessel D is made of a member having a favorable thermal conductivity such as a metal plate or a synthetic resin mold which is produced by kneading and molding powdery metal or master batched powdery metal and accordingly is given a favorable thermal conductivity. It may be possible to replaceably mount a vessel which is made of a material having a favorable thermal conductivity within a conventional storage vessel.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a refrigerator,
In particular, the present invention relates to a refrigerator / freezer having a storage room having a function of adjusting temperature and humidity suitable for storing food.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Storage temperature and humidity are the most important factors for maintaining the freshness of foods, and if the storage environment is adjusted to the temperature and humidity according to each food, the freshness can be maintained for a long time. Becomes However, in home-use refrigerator-freezers that store foods of unspecified and other varieties, it is not possible to finely adjust the temperature and humidity according to each food, and the market situation where lower prices are desired Therefore, a product having a complicated and expensive device is not suitable. Therefore, even in the conventional refrigerators and freezers for home use, in addition to the freezing room and the refrigerating room, a storage room capable of storing at a suitable temperature for each rough food type such as a chilled room and a vegetable room is provided. Became. However, the temperature inside the storage room rises due to the opening and closing of the doors, defrosting of the refrigerator, etc., and local cooling by several cold air outlets causes uneven temperature distribution. It was difficult to adjust to a proper temperature. The temperature fluctuation caused by these causes great stress for fresh foods, in particular, fruits and vegetables that are still carrying out vital activities during storage, and promotes respiratory action and promotes water evaporation, which causes a decrease in freshness. In a direct-cooled storage room, dry cold air hits the food surface, which accelerates drying and deteriorates freshness such as discoloration.
By placing a cover or the like on the storage container and indirectly cooling the storage container, it has become possible to see many storage chambers in which the internal humidity is higher than in the past. Hereinafter, these typical food storage functions will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a storage having a plurality of compartments which can be cooled and controlled to an ice temperature storage temperature according to the type of food by an indirect cooling system. The inside of the inner box 24 of the storage is divided into upper and lower three chambers, and cases 25, 26 with front openings each made of a good heat conducting member such as aluminum are provided.
27 is built in, and each compartment 25, 26, 27 has a compartment inside
28, 29, 30 are formed. Each case is provided with cold air passages 31, 32, and 33 that do not communicate with each other, and these are duct members 34 provided on the back of the heat insulating box body in the vertical direction.
And the cool air flows from the duct member 34 into the cool air passages 31, 32, 33 through the discharge ports 35, 36, 37. In addition, electromagnetic dampers 38, 39, 40 are provided as cold air control means for opening and closing the discharge port in the cold air passage,
Temperature detectors 41, 42 and 43 are installed in 28, 29 and 30 to control the internal temperature. The temperature is controlled to the ice temperature storage temperature corresponding to each type of food, and the indirect cooling system keeps high humidity to improve the storability of food.

On the other hand, FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a high-humidity chilled chamber having a function of adjusting the humidity in the storage chamber. Reference numeral 44 is a storage container, 45 is a container cover installed to suppress water evaporation of food, and 46 is a humidity control sheet provided to treat condensed water adhering to the inside of the container cover. Again 47
Is a deodorizing filter provided for treating odor transfer generated between foods, and these mechanisms allow foods to be stored without wrapping.

A technical example related to this type of refrigerator-freezer is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-198242 in FIG.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-213556 can be cited for the publication and FIG.

[0006]

The above-mentioned conventional adjusting mechanism has the following problems. That is, conventional problems will be described with reference to FIG. The inner box 24 of the storage compartment is divided into three upper and lower parts, and cases 25, 26, 27 having front openings made of a good heat conductive material such as aluminum are incorporated into each compartment, and compartments 28 formed inside each case. Independent cooling air passages are installed around the cases 29 and 30 for indirect cooling, which reduces the range of temperature change and maintains a high humidity condition. Since the humidity is increased by using the moisture evaporation of the, the moisture in the case is insufficient and the humidity decreases when the load is small,
When the load is large, the humidity becomes excessive, and excess water may condense on the ceiling surface and drop on the surface of the load, causing spoilage. Also, by arranging a case made of a good heat conductive material such as aluminum outside the storage chamber, the temperature fluctuation range can be reduced, but the temperature near the cool air discharge port decreases and the internal temperature distribution becomes Not necessarily uniform. If the temperature distribution is not uniform, internal convection will occur even if the storage chamber is highly airtight and the humidity is high, and this movement of air accelerates the evaporation of water from the food load, which is a factor that reduces the freshness of the food. It also becomes. Also, by providing a cool air passage for each case and providing a cool air control means for opening and closing the cool air discharge port and a temperature detecting device, more precise temperature control according to each food is possible, but unspecified and of other types In a home-use refrigerator / freezer in which food is stored, it is difficult to control the temperature corresponding to each food, and a complicated and high-cost control mechanism leads to high prices of products, so a simpler and cheaper configuration is required. desired.

On the other hand, FIG. 13 employs an indirect cooling system in which a storage container 44 is provided with a container cover 45 for preventing the food from being dried and deteriorated due to evaporation of water to keep indoor humidity. Particularly, cold air having a low temperature passes through the upper surface of the container cover 45 and is locally cooled.
Condensate as dew condensation water on the bottom surface of the container and attach to it, but in order to treat this, an opening is provided in a part of the cold air passage surface of the container cover 45, and the resin that has been subjected to the hydrophilic treatment is formed into a porous plate shape. A moisture conditioning sheet 46 having water absorption property is installed. The humidity control sheet 46 absorbs the condensed moisture, and when saturated, the retained moisture is evaporated into the storage chamber to control the humidity. However, when the load is small, the water evaporates to the outside of the storage chamber through which the dry cold air passes, rather than to the inside of the storage chamber, and it is difficult to maintain an appropriate humidity inside the storage chamber.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the temperature fluctuation and the non-uniformity of the temperature distribution, suppress the humidity fluctuation associated with the load amount, and have a function of adjusting the temperature and humidity in the storage chamber to a temperature and humidity suitable for storing food. , It is to provide a freezer-refrigerator with improved freshness retention.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the whole or a part of the storage chamber is formed of a good heat conducting member, and particularly in a high humidity storage chamber of an indirect cooling type comprising a storage container and a container cover,
By installing a humidity control member inside, the temperature and humidity inside the storage room were adjusted to be suitable for food preservation, and the freshness retention was enhanced.
That is, by forming the storage container or the container cover with a good heat conducting member such as a metal material or a plastic material in which metal powder is kneaded to impart good heat conducting property, the radiation cooling effect of the good heat conducting member allows the door to be closed. Eliminates temperature fluctuations due to opening and closing and defrosting and non-uniformity of temperature distribution in the storage room, stabilizes the product temperature of the load and reduces temperature stress on food,
In addition, by installing moisture absorbing / releasing fibers that have been compressed into a plate shape and added rigidity to the inside of the storage room, the indoor humidity such as when the load is large or the outside warm air flows into the low temperature storage room due to the opening and closing of the door, etc. If the temperature rises more than necessary, the condensation of moisture is prevented by absorbing excess water vapor, and when the storage room has a certain humidity or higher, it retains moisture inside,
When the indoor humidity drops, such as when the load is small or when food with a low water content is stored as a load, the retained water is evaporated to adjust the room to a humidity suitable for storing food. Is. Also, a hydrophobic film having fine pores is attached to one surface of the moisture absorptive and desorptive fiber,
Moisture-absorbing and desorbing fibers prevent water from being excessively evaporated to the outside of the storage chamber, and by installing a plate-like hydrophilic resin with a certain space above it, excess water can be removed. A mechanism was adopted for discharging to the outside of the storage room. The details of this mechanism will be described. The plate-shaped hydrophilic resin is placed at a position where it expands and contacts due to moisture absorption and water absorption when the amount of water that the moisture-absorbing and desorbing fiber can hold exceeds, and when the moisture-absorbing and desorbing fiber contacts the plate-shaped hydrophilic resin. The water content inside is absorbed by the hydrophilic resin through the pores of the hydrophobic film, and this water is evaporated to cool air passing through the upper surface of the hydrophilic resin, whereby excess water is discharged to the outside of the room. The hydrophilic resin is a resin formed by coating the surface of a resin such as polyethylene with a hydrophilic material to form a porous material. When a water droplet comes into contact with the surface, it causes a capillary phenomenon to penetrate into the interior and absorb water. When it exceeds the capacity, it has the property of evaporating water to the low humidity side. Therefore, by providing an opening in a part of the storage chamber, the moisture-absorbing and desorbing fiber is installed so that the film side faces the outside of the room, and by arranging a plate-shaped hydrophilic resin with a certain space provided above it, When the water absorption of the moisture absorptive and desorptive fiber is less than the capacity that can be retained,
When moisture is evaporated to the indoor side and the internal humidity is adjusted, if the water absorption capacity of the moisture absorptive and desorptive fibers exceeds the capacity that can be maintained, the expanded moisture absorptive and desorptive fibers come into contact with the hydrophilic resin and the internal moisture Makes the hydrophilic resin absorb water through the pores of the hydrophobic film,
Since the cool air that passes through the upper surface is evaporated, moisture that cannot be absorbed by the humidity control member does not drip into the load, and an environment suitable for storing food can be created. Furthermore, by treating the surface of the hydrophilic resin with an antibacterial agent and surface-treating the moisture absorbing / releasing fiber with the antibacterial agent, or by kneading the antibacterial agent into the moisture absorbing / releasing fiber,
Safety and hygiene can be further improved. As described above, by arranging the above-mentioned mechanism in the storage room, it is possible to create a temperature and humidity environment most suitable for the preservation of food with a simple and inexpensive structure.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a freezer-refrigerator provided with a high-humidity storage chamber in which a container cover is arranged in a storage container to enhance the airtightness and an internal cooling system is used to increase the internal humidity. is there. In the figure, 1 is a refrigerator / freezer, 2 is a freezer compartment, 4 is a refrigerator compartment, 3 is a refrigerator compartment door, and 5 is a refrigerator compartment door. 6 is a fan for circulating cold air, 7 is a motor for driving the fan,
8 is an evaporator. A is a high humidity chilled room, B is a high humidity vegetable room, 9 is a door of the chilled room A, 10 is a door of the vegetable room B, and 11 is a compressor.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the high humidity chilled chamber A of FIG. Reference numeral 12 is a container cover arranged to enhance the airtightness of the storage chamber and indirectly cool the storage chamber, and C is a humidity control member installed in the high humidity chilled chamber A. The humidity control member C is detachably installed by providing a rib in an opening provided in a part of the container cover 12, but it may be installed in any portion in the storage chamber with a similar configuration. Further, D is a storage container made of a good heat conducting member.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the high humidity vegetable compartment B of FIG. Reference numeral 13 is a container cover arranged to enhance the airtightness of the storage compartment and indirectly cool it, and C is a humidity control member installed in the high humidity vegetable compartment B. Similar to FIG. 2, the portion C may be installed by providing an opening and a rib at any portion in the storage chamber. Further, D is a storage container made of a good heat conducting member.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the humidity control member C shown in FIGS. Reference numeral 14 denotes a moisture absorbing / releasing fiber which is a base material of the humidity control member C, and the rigidity is imparted by compression-molding the fiber into a plate shape in consideration of the assembling property and the handling property in mass production. As the material used for the moisture absorptive and desorptive fiber 14,
Examples include fibers of a hygroscopic resin made of a crosslinked sodium polyacrylate or a saponified vinyl acetate copolymer. By installing the moisture absorbing / releasing fiber 14 inside the storage chamber, when a large amount of load is applied or when outside warm air flows into the low temperature storage chamber due to opening and closing of the door, dew condensation occurs by absorbing excess moisture in the room. It keeps moisture inside the storage room when the humidity is above a certain level, and keeps it when the room humidity drops, such as when the load is small or food with a low water content is stored as a load. It is possible to evaporate water to adjust the humidity in the room to a level suitable for storing food. Furthermore, in order to prevent the moisture retained inside the moisture absorptive and desorptive fiber 14 from being evaporated to the outside of the storage chamber, a film 15 made of a hydrophobic resin such as polyethylene or polyvinyl alcohol having fine pores is attached, and A certain space is provided above it, and a hydrophilic resin plate 16 made of a resin such as polyethylene whose surface is hydrophilically treated is installed,
The humidity control member C is configured. The details of the humidity control function will be described. FIG. 4A shows the initial state of the humidity control member C. When the moisture absorptive and desorptive fiber 14 absorbs water and expands, it comes into contact with the hydrophilic resin 16 as shown in FIG. The hydrophilic resin 16 absorbs water through the pores of the hydrophilic film 15 and evaporates cold air passing through the surface of the hydrophilic resin 16. Since the moisture inside the humidity control member C is adjusted by the mechanism as described above, it is possible to prevent the moisture that cannot be absorbed completely from dripping on the load or the like. Further, the surface of the hydrophilic resin 16 is treated with an antibacterial agent, the moisture absorbing / releasing fiber 14 is surface treated with an antibacterial agent, or the antibacterial agent is kneaded into the fiber, whereby safety and hygiene is further improved.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the moisture absorptive and desorptive fiber 14 which constitutes the humidity control member C and has a hydrophobic film 15 attached to one surface thereof. Microscopic holes 17 are arranged in the hydrophobic film 15,
It is appropriate that the diameter of the fine holes 17 is set to about 10 to 100 μm so that the moisture retained inside the moisture absorptive and desorptive fiber 14 is not excessively discharged to the outside of the room.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the storage container D shown in FIGS. 18 is a storage container made of a good heat conducting material such as alumite, stainless steel, etc., which suppresses temperature fluctuations in the storage chamber by the radiation cooling effect of the good heat conducting material, makes the temperature distribution uniform, and keeps the temperature of the food product loaded constant. In addition, it is possible to eliminate the factors that promote moisture evaporation of the load, such as convection of indoor air caused by the nonuniformity of the internal temperature. In addition, the effect of the humidity adjustment by the humidity control member C is also combined, and the storability of food is significantly improved.

In FIG. 7, instead of installing the storage container 18 formed of a good heat conductive material such as alumite or stainless steel as shown in FIG. 6, metal powder 19 or a masterbatch of this powder is polypropylene or ABS. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a storage container having good heat conductivity by being kneaded into a synthetic resin 20 such as a resin. Compared with the case where a metal material such as alumite or stainless steel is used as shown in FIG. 6, the container can be formed at low cost and light weight, and the handleability and the like can be improved.

FIG. 8 shows polypropylene instead of the storage container formed of the heat conducting member shown in FIGS.
A good heat conductive container 21 formed of a good heat conductive member such as alumite or stainless steel is detachably installed inside a storage container body made of a synthetic resin 20 such as ABS resin.
The good heat conductive container 21 does not necessarily have to be a pentahedron as shown in FIG. 8, and a container having five or less faces may be used. Further, the good thermal conductive container 21 has a tray shape that can be easily taken in and out from the storage chamber, so that the user's handleability such as cleanability and storability can be improved.

FIG. 9 shows the container cover 1 shown in FIGS.
Container cover 2 made of good heat conductive material instead of 2 and 13
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a storage room in which 2 is installed. The container cover 22 made of a good heat conductive material is also used for the container cover 22 shown in FIGS.
Similar to 12 and 13, some openings and ribs are provided, and the humidity control member C
The same freshness-retaining effect can be obtained by detachably installing.

FIG. 10 shows the results of a preservation test conducted by storing fruits and vegetables whose freshness is likely to decrease due to moisture evaporation in a high humidity vegetable compartment B shown in FIG. 3 and a conventional vegetable compartment as a comparative example. Is. As a typical example of the sample, asparagus and broccoli are shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b), respectively, which are graphs showing changes in water reduction rate when stored for 14 days. In both figures, Experiment 1 shows the present Example and Experiment 2 shows the Comparative Example.

As shown in FIG. 10, the water loss rate of both asparagus and broccoli was suppressed to 1/5 or less,
You can keep it fresh.

<Embodiment 2> FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a freezer-refrigerator in which the inner wall of the storage chamber of the direct cooling system is formed of a good heat conducting member. Although there is no mechanism for increasing the humidity inside the storage chamber, by configuring the storage chamber inner wall 23 with a good heat conducting member, the internal temperature fluctuation is suppressed and the temperature distribution is made uniform.
It is possible to prevent the food from deteriorating due to temperature stress and to improve the shelf life.

[0023]

According to the present invention, good heat conduction is achieved by forming a storage chamber, particularly a storage container of a high humidity storage chamber which is composed of a storage container and a container cover, and which has an improved airtightness, with a good heat conduction member. By suppressing the temperature fluctuations due to door opening and closing and defrosting by the radiation cooling effect of the members, and by making the temperature distribution in the storage room uniform,
Not only can the temperature stress on the food be reduced to improve the storability of the food, but it is also possible to prevent the phenomenon of promoting moisture evaporation of the load due to the movement of air caused by the nonuniformity of the internal temperature. Furthermore, by installing a material formed by absorbing and desorbing fibers into a plate shape in the storage room, it is possible to prevent excess space in the room when a large amount of load is applied or when outside warm air flows into the low temperature storage room due to opening and closing of the door. It prevents the occurrence of dew condensation by absorbing moisture, retains moisture inside the storage chamber when the humidity is above a certain level, and evaporates the retained moisture when the indoor humidity decreases, such as when the load is small. The humidity inside the room can be adjusted to be suitable for food storage. In addition, a hydrophobic film having fine pores is attached to one surface of the moisture absorptive and desorptive fiber, and a plate-like hydrophilic resin is provided with a certain space above it to allow the moisture absorptive and desorptive fiber to be held. When it exceeds the water absorption amount, it swells due to moisture absorption and water absorption and comes into contact with the hydrophilic resin, causing excess water to be absorbed by the hydrophilic resin through the pores of the hydrophobic film and dissipating cool air passing through the upper surface of the hydrophilic resin. As a result, it is possible to prevent water that cannot be absorbed completely from dripping on the load or the like. Further, by applying an antibacterial treatment to these constituent members, safety and hygiene are further improved.
With the above-mentioned simple and inexpensive structure, it is possible to create a temperature and humidity environment suitable for food storage, and as a result, the moisture reduction rate of loaded foods can be suppressed to about 1/5 or less of the conventional one, and health and safety are further improved. With consideration given to the aspect, it can be stored for a long period of time, and the freshness-keeping property is remarkably improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator having a high-humidity storage chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a high-humidity chilled chamber including a storage container and a humidity control member, which are also made of a good heat conductive member.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a high-humidity vegetable compartment equipped with a storage container and a humidity control member which are also made of a good heat conducting member.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a humidity control member which is also composed of a moisture absorbing / releasing fiber compression-molded into a plate shape, a hydrophobic film having fine pores, and a plate-like hydrophilic resin.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a moisture absorptive and desorptive fiber having a hydrophobic film having fine pores attached to one side thereof which also constitutes the humidity control member.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a storage container which is also formed of a good heat conducting member such as metal.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a storage container formed of a metal powder or a member such as a synthetic resin to which good heat conductivity is imparted by kneading the metal powder into a master batch and kneading the same into a synthetic resin.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a storage container in which a container formed of a good heat conductive member such as metal is detachably installed in the storage container also formed of synthetic resin.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a high-humidity storage chamber in which a storage container cover also formed of a good heat conductive member is installed.

FIG. 10 is a characteristic diagram showing a moisture reduction rate of food in a storage test carried out to confirm the freshness-retaining effect of the high-humidity storage chamber of this example.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a freezer-refrigerator according to another embodiment including a storage chamber of a direct cooling system in which a good heat conducting member is arranged on the inner wall.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a conventional cooling control storage.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional high humidity chilled chamber.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Vegetable compartment door, 11 ... Compressor, 12 ... Chilled container cover, 13 ... Vegetable container cover.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shoichi Kitahata 800 Tomita, Ohira-machi, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture Hitachi Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cover is placed on a storage container to improve the airtightness,
In a storage room whose internal humidity is increased by an indirect cooling method, a good heat conducting member is used for the entire or part of the storage container and cover to suppress temperature fluctuations in the room and to make the temperature distribution uniform. A refrigerator / freezer characterized in that a humidity control member having a moisture absorbing / releasing property is installed inside to adjust the indoor humidity. 2. The material of the storage container and the cover,
A synthetic resin having good thermal conductivity, which is obtained by using a metal material, or by powdering these metal materials, or masterbatching the powdery material into a kneaded mixture and kneading the metal material into a powder. The refrigerator-freezer described. 3. Instead of using a good heat conducting member for the whole or a part of the storage container and the cover, a container having one to five faces made of a good heat conducting member can be detachably attached to the inside of the storage container. The freezer-refrigerator according to claim 1, which is provided. 4. A material having rigidity obtained by compression-molding a fiber having a property of absorbing and releasing moisture according to ambient humidity into a plate shape as the humidity control member. The refrigerator-freezer described in. 5. A hygroscopic fiber having a plate-like hydrophilic resin can be held on a hydrophobic film having pores of 10 to 100 μm attached on the upper surface of the hygroscopic fiber. It is installed with a certain space so that it expands and contacts due to moisture absorption and water absorption when the amount of water exceeds, and the moisture in the moisture absorptive and desorptive fiber is transferred to the plate-like hydrophilic resin through the pores of the hydrophobic film. The refrigerator-freezer according to claim 4, further comprising a mechanism for absorbing excess water and evaporating the cold air passing through the upper surface of the plate-like hydrophilic resin to discharge excess water to the outside of the room. 6. In addition to a storage chamber formed by indirect cooling, by using the good heat conducting member on the whole or a part of the inner wall of the direct cooling type storage chamber, temperature fluctuation suppression and uniform temperature distribution can be achieved. A freezer-refrigerator characterized by being made into a product.