JPH10197142A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent condensation and keep an inner side of a sealed food container at a high humidity suitable for preserving daily dishes by a method wherein an air- permeable section arranged through an integral molding of a shape memory resin and a moisture permeable film is connected to the sealed food container only when the sealed food container is stored in the refrigerator and then communicated with the container while being kept at an airtight state. SOLUTION: An opening 10 at a lower surface of an aeration section 9 arranged with an integral molding of a moisture permeable film 12 formed by a shape memory resin and moisture permeable type fibers is communicated with an opening 17 arranged at an upper lid 16 of a sealed food container 15 when the sealed food container 15 is stored. At this time, a packing section 18 at an air permeable section 9 is closely contacted with a periphery of the opening 17 of the sealed food container 15 and then an airtight state is attained in such a way that humidity in the sealed food container 15 may not be leaked out of the part other than the moisture permeable film 12. With such an arrangement as above, it is possible to perform an automatic control over humidity in the sealed food container 15, prevent condensation, keep an inner side of the sealed food container 15 at a high humidity suitable for reserving the daily dishes and further store the daily dishes for a long period of time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an easy-to-use refrigerator having a condition that allows food to be stored for a longer period of time than ever before.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when storing foods such as prepared foods in a refrigerator, the foods are stored in a sealed food container made of resin, or the foods are wrapped together with a dish and stored in a refrigerator. Was.

[0003]

In the former method, the prepared food stored in the sealed food container has a high temperature immediately after storage in the refrigerator, and the sealed food container has high humidity due to moisture discharged from the prepared food. become. In the over-humidified sealed food container, dew was formed, and the side dish was damaged at an early stage due to condensation. In the latter method, the inside of the wrap became high humidity by wrapping the side dish in the wrap. There was a disadvantage that the delicatessen was damaged at an early stage due to condensation on the inner surface.

[0004] Further, when the state of wrapping the prepared food in a wrap is incomplete, moisture is deprived from the surface of the prepared food due to the dry cool air, and the dried food is in a dry state, so that long-term storage is impossible. Also, once the wrap is exposed to moisture, it loses its adhesion effect, making it difficult to reuse it, and consuming a large amount of wrap in the home. Therefore, improvement has been desired from the viewpoint of economical and resource saving.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and automatically controls the humidity in a sealed food container without fail irrespective of the storage amount of prepared foods. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can keep food prepared for a long time by keeping the sealed food container in a high humidity suitable for preserving the prepared food.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the refrigerator of the present invention comprises: (1) a ventilation section in which a moisture permeable membrane composed of a shape memory resin and water vapor permeable fibers is disposed by integral molding or the like; Is connected to the hermetically sealed food container only when the hermetically sealed food container is stored in the refrigerator, and is connected in an airtight state. 2. The refrigerator has a structure in which the moisture permeable membrane is arranged on the back of the shelf in parallel with and close to the shelf. 3. The opening formed in a part of the upper lid of the sealed food container has a structure that can be opened and closed by a lid that can be opened and closed.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the following effects are obtained: (1) The water vapor transmission effect of the moisture permeable membrane, the so-called water vapor permeability, increases at the glass transition point of the shape memory resin, that is, at 10 ° C or higher, and increases at 10 ° C or lower. Immediately after putting the prepared food in the sealed food container, the temperature rises inside the sealed food container due to the action that automatically and quickly changes so that the moisture permeability becomes small, and when the water vapor divergence is large, the moisture permeability is large. Therefore, when the prepared food in the sealed food container is moderately cooled, or when there are few prepared foods and little water vapor is emitted, the moisture permeability is reduced to prevent condensation inside the sealed food container. However, long-term storage is possible by automatically adjusting the humidity to always be suitable for the prepared food.

[0008] 2. Since the ventilation section provided with the moisture permeable membrane and the sealed food container are separated from each other, heat sterilization by washing or boiling is possible only with the sealed food container. It can also be used to heat food with a microwave oven.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, in FIG. 1, 1 is an outer box, 2 is an inner box, 3 is a partition wall, 4 is a door inner plate, and 5 is a latch provided on the inner box to support the shelf plate 6. Reference numeral 7 denotes a decorative cover (fan guard) attached to the interior of the refrigerator, and reference numeral 8 denotes a cool air outlet provided in the decorative cover. Numeral 9 is a lid-shaped ventilation portion provided on the back surface of the shelf plate 6 in parallel with and close to the shelf plate 6 and having an opening 10 at a part of the lower surface. On the upper part of the ventilation part 9, a plurality of openings 11 are integrally molded with a moisture permeable membrane 12. The moisture permeable membrane 12
Is a water vapor permeable fiber such as nylon or polyester 1
3 is formed by coating a polyurethane resin based shape memory resin 14. (The principle of shape memory resin is introduced in the April 1993 issue of Trigger)

The shape memory resin 14 has such a characteristic that the permeation of water vapor greatly changes from the glass transition temperature Tg. If the temperature of the shape memory resin 14 is higher than the glass transition temperature Tg, the partial pressure of water vapor P
If i is larger than the water vapor partial pressure Po on the fiber 13 side, the moisture on the shape memory resin 14 permeates through the moisture permeable membrane and moves to the space on the fiber 13 side. FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the moisture permeability and the temperature of the moisture permeable film 12 having the shape memory characteristic.
The temperature rises and the glass transition temperature Tg (10 to 15 degrees Celsius)
It shows that the moisture permeability suddenly increases when the temperature exceeds (degree).

The opening 10 on the lower surface of the ventilation portion 9 is provided when the sealed food container 15 is stored in the refrigerator.
Communicates with the opening 17 provided in the upper lid 16. In this case as well, the packing portion 18 of the ventilation portion 9 is in close contact with the periphery of the opening 17 of the sealed food container 15 so as to prevent moisture in the container from leaking out of the portion other than the moisture permeable membrane 12. Vent section 9
Is disposed on the back surface of the shelf plate 6 in parallel with the shelf plate 6 and as close as possible, so that the moisture permeable membrane 12 is not exposed to cold air.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. Immediately after storing the prepared food in the sealed food container 15, since the temperature of the prepared food itself is high, the water vapor discharged from the prepared food causes the inside of the sealed food container 15 to become over-humidified, and dew condensation occurs in the sealed food container 15. Easier to do. In such a case, since the temperature in the refrigerator rises, the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerator increases, and the convection of the cold air becomes active. The moisture permeable membrane 12 is a shelf board 6
The moisture permeable membrane 12 is not exposed to cold air because it is disposed on the back side in parallel with and close to the shelf plate 6.
Is not cooled unnecessarily, and the temperature of the stored side dish changes in the same way.

Thus, the moisture permeable membrane 12 provided in the ventilation section 9
As shown in FIG. 8, excess moisture permeates from inside the sealed food container 15 having a high steam partial pressure Pi to a compartment having a low steam partial pressure Po, as shown in FIG. Prevents condensation.

Further, the prepared food is cooled and the sealed food container 1 is cooled.
5 is the glass transition temperature Tg of the shape memory resin 14.
When the temperature becomes below, the water vapor transmission effect of the moisture permeable membrane 12 is reduced, and the inside of the sealed food container 15 is kept at a high humidity (80 to 95%) suitable for storing prepared foods. At this time, since the amount of water vapor diverging is small, dew condensation can be prevented even if the water vapor transmission effect is low. In addition, even when the amount of prepared foods stored is small, the amount of water vapor emanating from the prepared foods is small and it becomes easy to dry. In this case, the moisture permeability of the moisture permeable membrane 12 is reduced to prevent drying of the prepared foods. .

As described above, the refrigerator of the present embodiment has the moisture permeable membrane 12.
Is provided on the back of the refrigerator shelf 6 in parallel with and close to the shelf 6, so that the moisture permeable membrane 12 is not affected by the convection of the supplied cool air. In addition, by providing a sealed food container 15 having an opening and storing it in a refrigerator, the containers are connected and communicated with each other, and the moisture permeable membrane 12 is arranged as close as possible to the back surface of the shelf plate 6 so that the moisture permeable The membrane 12 is not cooled unnecessarily, and changes similarly to the temperature of the stored prepared food. Therefore, regardless of the storage amount of the prepared food, the moisture permeable membrane 12 changes in the same manner as the temperature of the prepared food stored in the sealed food container 15, the moisture permeability automatically changes, and the sealed food is prevented while preventing dew condensation. The inside of the container 15 can be maintained at a high humidity suitable for side dishes.

Further, since it is arranged on the back surface of the shelf plate 6 in parallel with and close to the shelf plate 6, it can be provided without taking up much space in the refrigerator. This makes it possible to widely use the space inside the refrigerator. The upper lid 16 of the sealed food container 15 is provided with an opening portion 17 and an openable and closable lid portion 19. The lid portion 19 is opened when inserted into the refrigerator, and when used outside the refrigerator, or when the electronic device is used. When using in the range, this lid 1
By closing 9, it is possible to prevent the hot air in the container from escaping.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, an opening is provided in a part of the upper lid of a sealed food container comprising a container and an upper lid, and the opening is provided on the back of the shelf in parallel with and close to the shelf, and the sealing is performed. A lid-shaped ventilation portion that covers the top surface of the food container in an airtight state, and a moisture-permeable membrane made of a shape-memory resin and water vapor-permeable fibers and disposed in a part of the ventilation portion. Since the membrane is arranged on the back of the shelf in parallel with and close to the shelf, the moisture-permeable membrane is not exposed to cold air, so it is not unnecessarily cooled and is the same as the temperature of the stored prepared food. Changes to.

As a result, the moisture permeability of the moisture permeable membrane, that is, the moisture permeability is large when the moisture permeability is 10 ° C. or more around the glass transition point of the shape memory resin and around 10 ° C.
At 0 degrees or less, the moisture permeability automatically changes so as to decrease so that when the temperature in the sealed food container rises immediately after storing the prepared food, the moisture permeability increases, and the stored prepared food becomes When it is cooled properly or the amount of stored food is small, the water vapor transmission from the prepared food is small, and the moisture permeability is reduced. It can be kept fresh for a long time.

Further, since a moisture permeable membrane is provided in the refrigerator so that only the sealed food container can be taken in and out, it is easy to clean the sealed food container alone, and it is possible to take out the container from the refrigerator. After that, it is possible to heat using a microwave oven. In that case, efficient cooking can be achieved by closing the opening with the lid provided on the top of the sealed food container. Furthermore, even when the sealed food container is not used, the ventilation section for arranging the moisture permeable membrane is located close to the back of the shelf, so that it does not obstruct the storage in the refrigerator and saves space inside the refrigerator. It can be used well. Furthermore, if a plurality of ventilation sections with moisture permeable membranes are installed in the storage, it is possible to use multiple sealed food containers according to the type of food at the same time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a refrigerator provided with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a refrigerator provided with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a sealed food container is stored in a refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator provided with a plurality of vents according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 1;

6 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing a relationship between moisture permeability and temperature of the moisture permeable film.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a moisture permeable membrane.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a ventilation section provided with a moisture permeable membrane.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a sealed food container having an openable / closable lid attached to a top surface.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outer box 2 Inner box 3 Middle partition plate 4 Door inner plate 5 Engagement part 6 Shelf board 7 Decorative cover (fan guard) 8 Decorative cover cool air outlet 9 Ventilation part 10 Opening 11 Opening part 12 Moisture permeable membrane 13 Fiber 14 Shape Memory resin 15 Sealed food container 16 Upper lid 17 Upper lid opening 18 Packing part 19 Lid

Claims (3)

[Claims] An opening is provided in a part of an upper lid of a resin-sealed food container made of a container and an upper lid, the lid is disposed on a back surface of a shelf board, and covers a top surface of the sealed food container in an airtight state. A ventilation section, and a moisture permeable membrane made of a shape memory resin and water vapor permeable fibers and disposed on a part of the ventilation section, wherein the moisture permeable membrane is disposed in parallel with and close to the back surface of the shelf board. Refrigerator. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a lid is provided on the top surface of the sealed food container so that an opening can be opened and closed. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of ventilation portions are provided on a back surface of said shelf plate.