JPH1026463A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To air-sterilize the interior or sterilize the surface of a foodstuff stored on the wall surface and in the interior by diffusing a sublimable or volatile anti-bacteria/anti-mold agent into the interior with a fan. SOLUTION: A supply opening 31, which supplies a part of air cooled with a cooler 25, to a freezer compartment 17 and a freezer compartment return opening 32, which returns the air from the freezer compartment 17 to a cooler compartment 24, are provided on the rear surface wall 30 of the freezer compartment 17. An air supply duct 21, which sends cooled air to a storage compartment 16 is provided on the upper part of the cooler compartment 24. An anti- bacteria and deodorizing circulating air supply duct 24 is provided vertically at the center of the rear surface wall of the storage compartment 16, thereby forming a cooled air suction opening 35 in the lower part and a cooled air discharge opening 36 in the upper part. A sublimable or volatile anti-bacteria and anti-mold agent 37 is provided in such a bactericidal deodorizing circulating air supply duct 34 as described above. The anti-bacteria/anti-mold agent 37 is diffused into the interior, centering on the cold storage compartment 16 by driving a deodorizing and anti-bacteria fan 39. It is, therefore, possible to sterilize the surface of foodstuff stored with higher efficiency.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator capable of safely disinfecting a wall surface in a refrigerator, circulating air and the surface of food, and storing the food in a hygienic and fresh manner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for keeping the inside of a refrigerator sanitary, silver or a silver compound inorganic antibacterial agent is contained in a plastic molded product of a food storage container as disclosed in JP-A-6-73196. Has been proposed.

FIG. 9 shows the refrigerator. As shown in FIG. 9, a freezing room 2, a refrigerator room 3, an ice temperature chilled room 4, a refrigerated chilled room 5, and a vegetable room 6 are provided inside a main body 1 of the refrigerator. Have. The ice temperature chilled chamber 4 has an ice temperature chilled case 7 for storing food, and the chilled chilled chamber 5 has a chilled chilled case 8 in the same manner.

[0004] A cooler 9 and a fan 10 for circulating cool air are provided behind the rear surface of the freezer compartment 2. Numeral 11 denotes a temperature control damper for distributing cool air, 12 denotes an air passage provided on the back of the refrigerator, and 13 denotes an inner box.

[0005] The plastic moldings such as the ice temperature chilled case 7, the chilled chilled case 8, and the inner box 13 contain 0.5% to 5% of silver or a silver compound inorganic antibacterial agent.

[0006]

However, the refrigerators proposed so far have problems such as the fact that they have a fungicidal action on the surface of the container but no fungicide action, and that the inside of the refrigerator cannot be sterilized with air. . In this refrigerator, it is required that the mold and bacteria brought into the food adhere to the food, sterilize the mold and bacteria in the air that enters when the door is opened and closed, and store the food safely, or to enhance the effect of maintaining the freshness of the stored food. I have.

According to the present invention, in such a refrigerator, not only the antibacterial effect of the surface of the food storage container or the inner box but also the antifungal effect is imparted, and sterilization of air entering when the door is opened and closed and surface sterilization of food such as stored vegetables are performed. To clean the inside of the warehouse,
An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that stores stored food safely.

[0008]

In order to solve this problem, a refrigerator according to the present invention is designed to sublimate or volatilize a sublimable or volatile antifungal agent only at a high temperature. .

As a result, a refrigerator for safely storing the stored food is obtained.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is such that a sublimable or volatile antifungal agent is diffused into a refrigerator by a fan. And the surface of the food stored in the wall and in the storage can be sterilized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the sublimable or volatile antifungal agent is sublimated or volatilized only when the temperature is high, and wasteful excess of the antifungal agent is prevented. Generation can be suppressed and sterilization power can be maintained for a long time.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sublimable or volatile germicidal and fungicide, wherein a thermosensitive material whose gas permeability can be controlled by temperature is enclosed in a container provided on at least a part of its surface. The catalyst, the low-temperature heater, and the fan are mounted in the storage in close proximity to each other, and can efficiently deodorize and sterilize the storage.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the low-temperature heater and the fan are energized only for a certain period of time after the door is opened and closed. it can.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the temperature-sensitive material is a gas permeable membrane made of a shape memory resin, so that a sealed container of a germicidal and fungicide can be produced at low cost. .

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a refrigerator according to the present invention.
Is a heat insulating box, and 16, 17 and 18 are a refrigerator room, a freezer room and a vegetable room formed therein in order from the top. 19
, 20 and 21 are respective doors, 22 is a partition between the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment, and 23 is a partition between the freezer compartment and the vegetable compartment.

A cooler 25 is provided in a cooler room 24 at the back of the freezing room 17. A blower fan 26 for circulating cool air inside the refrigerator is provided above the cooler 25, and a glass tube type filter is provided below the cooler 25. A frost heater 27 is provided.

The partition plate 22 has a return duct 28 for returning air from the refrigerator compartment 16 to the cooler room 24, and the partition plate 23 has a return duct 29 for returning air from the vegetable compartment 18 to the cooler room 24. It is arranged.

A supply port 3 through which a part of the air cooled by the cooler 25 is supplied to the freezer compartment 17 is provided on the back wall 30 of the freezer compartment 17.
1 and a freezer compartment return port 32 for returning air from the freezer compartment 17 to the cooler compartment 24. An air duct 33 for sending cool air to the refrigerator compartment 16 is provided above the cooler compartment 24.

A circulating air duct 34 for sterilization and deodorization is provided above and below the center of the back wall of the refrigerator compartment 16, and has a cool air inlet 35 below and a cool air outlet 36 above.

In this duct 34, a sublimable or volatile fungicide / antifungal agent 37, a deodorizing catalyst 38, and a deodorizing / sterilizing fan 3 for mainly circulating the air in the refrigerator compartment 16 are arranged in order from the top.
9 are provided.

The circulating ventilation duct 34 for sterilization and deodorization is provided independently of the ventilation duct 33 for sending cool air to the refrigeration room 16, and the refrigeration room 1 cooled by the cooler 25 is provided.
6 is supplied to the cool air discharge port 4 provided in the air duct 33.
It is configured to be blown separately from zero. The deodorizing / sterilizing fan 39 is controlled independently of the blower fan 26, and is periodically operated by a CPU (not shown) for a certain period of time.

The deodorizing catalyst 38 is, for example, a ceramic catalyst "Manganese Chid" manufactured by Kobe Steel, using manganese oxide as a base material and mixed with various oxides.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sublimable or volatile antifungal agent 37 is a sublimable or volatile antifungal agent 37 as shown in FIG.
A part of the surface of the capsule 41 is formed of a gas-permeable thin film 42 such as a nonwoven fabric made of gas-permeable polypropylene used for a bag of a desiccant or the like.

Further, a cap 43 is provided at a sealing opening for replacing the antibacterial and antifungal agent 37. The antibacterial and antifungal agent 37
Is isothiocyanate extracted from mustard, hinokitiol extracted from Aomori Hiba and the like, and its sodium salt or cyclodextrin clathrate of hinokitiol.

With respect to the refrigerator configured as described above,
The operation will be described below. When the refrigerator 14 is operated for cooling, air in the refrigerator is circulated from the cooler room 24 to the freezing room 17 by the blowing action of the fan 26, and from the cooler room 24 to the refrigerator room 16 and the return duct 28. Circulation and
Circulation is performed from the cooler room 24 through the vegetable room 18 and the return duct 29.

The deodorizing / sterilizing fan 39 is operated at regular intervals, and cool air including bacteria, mold, and odor floating in the refrigerator compartment 16 is provided at a cool air inlet 35 provided below.
Then, after passing through the deodorizing catalyst 38, the antibacterial and fungicide agent 37 is passed through, and returned to the refrigerating chamber 16 from the cool air discharge port 36 provided above, whereby sublimation or volatile germicidal protection is achieved. Cold air containing the mold agent 37 is circulated around the refrigerator compartment 16 into the refrigerator.

As described above, according to this embodiment, a sublimable or volatile isothiocyanate ester or hinokitiol and its sodium salt or a cyclodextrin inclusion complex of hinokitiol are used as the antibacterial and antifungal agent 37. Since the capsule 41 having a part of the surface formed by the air-permeable thin film 42 is sealed and the antibacterial and fungicide agent 37 is diffused into the refrigerator at regular intervals by the deodorizing / sterilizing fan 39, Unlike conventional silver-based antibacterial agents, it has excellent antibacterial and antifungal properties, which are more often detected in refrigerators, and not only on the inner wall of the refrigerator but also on the surface of bacteria and food floating in the refrigerator. Even the attached bacteria are positively sterilized, so that the food can be stored more safely. Further, it is possible to provide a refrigerator suitable for installation in a hospital or the like having a problem of hospital infection.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. Is omitted. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present embodiment.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 44 denotes a maximum surface temperature of 4
A low-temperature heater composed of a planar heating element such as an aluminum foil heater designed to be about 0 to 50 ° C. or a silicon heater or a ceramic heater whose surface is covered with a silicone resin, wherein the sublimation or volatile germicidal protection is used. It is provided between the antifungal agent 37 and the deodorizing catalyst 38.

In this embodiment, in place of the gas permeable thin film 42 in FIG. 2, a polyurethane shape memory resin ("Diary" manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), whose gas permeability can be largely changed by the glass transition temperature Tg, is used. A temperature-sensitive gas permeable membrane 42a is provided.

Further, the limit switch 45 which is in contact with the door 19 is moved to the refrigerating chamber 16 so that the deodorizing / sterilizing fan 39 and the low temperature heater 44 can be energized only after the door 19 of the refrigerating chamber 16 is opened and closed. It is arranged in the upper front part of.

Reference numeral 46 denotes a door opening / closing determining means, which responds to a signal from the limit switch 45 to open or close the door 19 of the refrigerator compartment 16.
The open / closed state of is determined. 47 is C as time control means
PU, which is operated by a program stored in a storage circuit (not shown) as is well known,
6, the deodorizing / sterilizing fan 39
And the power supply to the low-temperature heater 44 is controlled.

With respect to the refrigerator configured as described above,
The operation will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the refrigeration room 1 is brought in and out of food.
When the door 19 of No. 6 is opened / closed, a signal from the limit switch 45 is read to determine the open / closed state of the door 19 (step S1). If the door 19 is closed without any opening or closing operation, or if the door 19 is open, the CPU 47 maintains the relay (not shown) in the open state and the fan 39 for deodorization and sterilization. The power supply circuit of the low-temperature heater 44 is kept OFF (step S2).

When the door 19 is opened and closed, the door 1
After closing the CPU 9, the CPU 47 as a time control means keeps the energizing circuits of the deodorizing and sterilizing fan 39 and the low temperature heater 44 ON for a certain time (several minutes) (step S).
3).

That is, each time the door 19 is opened and closed, the sublimable or volatile antifungal agent 37 and the deodorizing catalyst 38 are heated to about 30 to 40 ° C. for a certain period of time.
Sublimation or volatilization of the antibacterial and antifungal agent 37 is promoted and diffused into the refrigerator compartment 16 by the deodorizing and sterilizing fan 39.
In addition, the surface of the deodorizing catalyst 38 that has absorbed the moisture of the outside air is dried by opening and closing the door 19.

The operation of the temperature-sensitive gas permeable film 42a formed on a part of the surface of the capsule 41 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, a curve A shows the relationship between the amount of the antibacterial and fungicide generated and the temperature when the temperature-sensitive gas permeable membrane 42a made of the polyurethane-based shape memory resin film of the present embodiment is used, and a curve B shows a general curve. 1 shows the relationship between the amount of generated antibacterial and antifungal agent and temperature when a gas permeable thin film such as a polypropylene nonwoven fabric is used.

That is, in the case of a general air-permeable thin film, the vapor pressure of the antibacterial and fungicide agent 37 increases as the temperature rises, and the amount of generation gradually increases. On the other hand, when the temperature-sensitive gas permeable membrane 42a made of a polyurethane-based shape memory resin film is used, there is a temperature region where the size of the intermolecular voids changes rapidly with the glass transition. As described above, the first bending point T ₁ and the second bending point T ₂ appear.

[0039] That than ordinary breathable membrane, the amount of generated Bokinbo mold agents 37 can be rapidly increased at a given temperature T _1. This temperature T ₁ can be designed to a desired temperature by arbitrarily changing the glass transition temperature Tg of the polyurethane-based shape memory resin film. This is because when the temperature is lower than the glass transition temperature Tg, the gap between the resin molecules shrinks to suppress the gas permeability, and when the temperature is higher than the glass transition temperature Tg, the molecular motion of the amorphous phase of the resin becomes active. This has the function of increasing the gap between the resin molecules and increasing the gas permeability.

Accordingly, only when the door 19 is opened and closed, the antibacterial and antifungal agent 37 is heated by the low-temperature heater 44 for a few minutes to sublimate or volatilize. When there is no intrusion of outside air containing various bacteria or storage operation of food in the state as it is, sublimation or volatilization of the antibacterial and antifungal agent 37 can be suppressed as little as possible.

That is, wasteful consumption of the fungicide / fungicide 37 is suppressed as compared with the case of using a general gas-permeable thin film, and the fungicide / fungicide 37 is diffused into the storage only when necessary. Deodorization and sterilization in the refrigerator can be performed well, and the effect of the antibacterial and antifungal agent 37 can be maintained for a long time.

When the surface of the deodorizing catalyst 38 adsorbs moisture due to the opening and closing operation of the door 19, the deodorizing power is reduced. However, each time the door 19 is opened and closed, the deodorizing catalyst 38 is heated and dried by the low temperature heater 44 to be activated. So it can be deodorized efficiently.

Although the capsule 41 for enclosing the antibacterial and antifungal agent 37 has been described in the case of a container as shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 6, the entire container is made of a polyurethane-based shape memory resin film. The same effect can be obtained by forming the bag 48 made of a temperature-sensitive gas permeable membrane made of, and it can be more easily manufactured at low cost.

As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 7, the temperature-sensitive gas permeable film 42a is formed by laminating fibers 51 such as a nonwoven fabric or a woven fabric with an adhesive 50 formed on the surface of a shape memory resin film 49 by dot processing. By forming the body 42b, the temperature-sensitive gas permeable membrane 42a can be hardly broken.

As shown in FIG. 8, the capsule 41 has a thin shape memory resin or a shape memory alloy so as to cover the surface of a gas permeable thin film 52 such as a polypropylene nonwoven fabric provided on a part of the surface of the container. It is good also as what provided the temperature sensitive material 53 which consists of.

That is, when the low-temperature heater 44 is energized and the temperature rises, the temperature-sensitive material 53 deforms in the direction of arrow x in FIG. 8 to open the surface of the gas permeable thin film 52,
Conversely, when the temperature decreases, the surface is deformed in the direction of arrow y to close the surface of the gas permeable thin film 52, so that the same effect can be obtained.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, a sublimable or volatile antifungal agent is diffused into a refrigerator by a fan. Bacteria and molds floating on the food and bacteria and molds adhering to the surface of the food can be sterilized and stored safely, and the effect of maintaining the freshness of the stored food can be enhanced.

Further, since the gas of the antibacterial and fungicide is diffused into the storage only at the time of high temperature, wasteful consumption of the antibacterial and fungicide is suppressed and the antibacterial and antifungal ability is maintained for a long time. Is obtained.

Further, since the antibacterial and fungicide is sealed in a container using a temperature-sensitive material, it has a function of adjusting the diffusion amount of the antibacterial and fungicide with a simple structure using temperature change. Can be made.

Further, the antibacterial and antifungal agent and the deodorizing catalyst are heated only for a certain period of time only after the door is opened and closed.
Since the gas of the antibacterial and fungicide is diffused only when necessary, and the surface of the deodorizing catalyst is dried, an effect of efficiently sterilizing and preventing a reduction in deodorizing power can be obtained.

Further, since the temperature-sensitive material is a gas permeable film made of a shape memory resin, an advantageous effect that a function of adjusting the amount of gas diffusion of the antifungal agent at low cost can be provided. Can be

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the bactericidal / antifungal agent container according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the amount of the antibacterial and antifungal agent produced in the second embodiment and the majority thereof.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a bactericidal / antifungal agent container according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a temperature-sensitive gas permeable membrane according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a bactericidal / antifungal agent container according to another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a conventional refrigerator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 16 Refrigerator room 17 Freezer room 18 Vegetable room 37 Antibacterial and antifungal agent 38 Deodorizing catalyst 39 Deodorizing and sterilizing fan 41 Capsule 42 Air permeable thin film 42a Temperature sensitive gas permeable film 44 Low temperature heater 45 Limit switch 46 Door open / close determining means 47 hours Control means (CPU) 48 Bag made of thermosensitive gas permeable membrane 49 Shape memory resin film 52 Air permeable thin film 53 Thermosensitive material

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator in which a sublimable or volatile antifungal agent is diffused into a refrigerator by a fan. 2. A refrigerator in which a sublimable or volatile fungicide is sublimated or volatilized only in a high temperature state. 3. A sublimable or volatile germicidal and fungicide, which is enclosed in a container provided on at least a part of its surface with a temperature-sensitive material whose gas permeability can be controlled by temperature, a deodorizing catalyst, a low-temperature heater and a fan. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the refrigerators are mounted in close proximity to each other. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the low-temperature heater and the fan are energized only for a certain period of time after the door is opened and closed. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the temperature-sensitive material is a gas permeable membrane made of a shape memory resin.