JPH1030867A - Washing method for inside of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To wash the inside of a refrigerator with sprinkled water from a sprinkler, and at the same time, prevent the sprinkler after the washing from freezing by selectively connecting the sprinkler for washing arranged on the ceiling in the refrigerator, to a tap water pipe or an air suction port with a 3-way valve. SOLUTION: A sprinkler 3 and a sprinkling tube 24 are connected to a tap water pipe 5 by switching a 3-way valve 4, and a water sprinkling is performed from the sprinkler 3, and a washing of the inside of a refrigerator is automatically performed. When the washing is terminated, the water supply is stopped by switching the 3-way valve 4, and the sprinkler 3 and the sprinkling tube 24 are connected to an air suction port 6. Then, the refrigerator is operated, and after a cooling period of time set in advance, has passed from the start of the operation of the refrigerator, a fan 7 in the refrigerator is operated. By doing so, air in the refrigerator is rapidly cooled, and the volume of the air contracts, and the inside of the refrigerator is placed under a pressure-reduced state. As a result, the outside air is forcibly drawn from the air suction port 6, and remaining tap water in the sprinkler 3 and the sprinkling tube 24, is surely discharged, and they are prevented from freezing when the refrigerator 1 is being used.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for cleaning a refrigerator, which is suitable for cleaning the inside of a refrigerator for cooling (freezing) foods and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A refrigerator for cooling (frozen) foods and the like (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-307756) prevents the propagation of various bacteria and keeps the inside of the refrigerator constantly clean.
After use or before use, the interior of the refrigerator is cleaned.

[0003] As a conventional cleaning method, a method in which an operator discharges water from a hose connected to a water pipe into a refrigerator and performs manual cleaning is common, but requires labor and insufficient cleaning. Or a problem associated with human work such as inability to wash uniformly.

[0004] For this reason, a cleaning method using a sprinkler is also known in other technical fields. In this method, water is supplied to the water sprinkler and water is sprinkled by the water sprinkler, and washing is performed by changing the water sprinkling direction while rotating the water sprinkler by the water flow. As a result, the washing is performed automatically without manual intervention.

[0005]

However, when a water sprinkler is attached to the cooling box, the tap water remaining in the water sprinkler and the water pipe in the box after washing is frozen during the freezing operation of the cooling box, and the cooling box is cooled. In spite of the fact that water sprinklers become unusable or water cannot be sprinkled sufficiently even after trying to wash after use, after all, the conventional method relied on manual cleaning work without attaching a water sprinkler to the refrigerator. That is the fact.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems existing in the prior art, and makes it possible to attach a water sprinkler to a cooling cabinet, thereby eliminating the labor for cleaning and maintaining the uniformity. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for cleaning the inside of a refrigerator that can perform sufficient cleaning.

[0007]

A method for cleaning the inside of a refrigerator according to the present invention is described below. In a method for cleaning a refrigerator inside a refrigerator, a water sprinkler 3 for cleaning disposed on a ceiling 2 inside the refrigerator 1 is connected via a three-way valve 4. Water pipe 5
Alternatively, the water can be selectively connected to the intake port 6, and by connecting the water sprinkler 3 to the water pipe 5 at the time of cleaning, the inside of the refrigerator is cleaned by water sprinkling from the water sprinkler 3, and after the cleaning, the water sprinkler 3 Is connected to the intake port 6. In this case, it is desirable that after the washing, the refrigerator 8 be operated with the in-compartment fan 7 stopped and the in-compartment fan 7 be operated for a prescribed time after a prescribed time has elapsed.

As a result, the inside of the cooling chamber 1 is automatically cleaned by watering from the water sprayer 3, and after the cleaning, the water sprayer 3 and the intake port 6 are connected via the three-way valve 4. Tap water from the sprinkler 3 to the three-way valve 4 is discharged from the sprinkler 3 without remaining. At this time, if the refrigerator 8 is operated with the internal fan 7 stopped, the cooler (evaporator) in the internal cooler is cooled, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the internal fan 7 is operated for a predetermined time. Since the air in the refrigerator is rapidly cooled, the volume of the air shrinks to a reduced pressure. As a result, the outside air is forcibly sucked from the intake port 6, and the tap water remaining in the sprinkler 3 is reliably discharged.

[0009]

Next, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of a cooling cabinet 1 that can carry out the inside cleaning method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

The refrigerator 1 has a device housing 10 in which the main part of the refrigerator is disposed, and a cooling unit 11 above the device housing 10. The cooling unit 11 has a cooling chamber 12 provided in the left half and a cooling unit 13 provided in the right half. The cooling unit 13 is composed of a pair of coolers (evaporators) 14f, 14r and a cooler 14f which are separated from each other. And an internal fan 7 disposed between the internal fan 14r. Also, the cooling unit 13
Has a heat-insulating shield portion 15, and the coolers 14f, 14r and the in-compartment fan 7 are attached to the heat-insulating shield portion 15. The in-compartment fan 7 comprises a pair of upper and lower fan units 7u and 7d. The fan units 7u and 7d are provided with motors 16u and 16d mounted on the back side of the heat-insulating shielding portion 15, and the motor 1
It consists of sirocco fans 17u and 17d attached to the rotating shafts of 6u and 16d and arranged on the front side of the heat insulating shielding part 15. By arranging the motors 16u and 16d on the back side of the heat-insulating shielding portion 15 in this manner, the waterproofness of the cleaning function portion 20 described later is improved, and the motor 16
The transmission of the heat generated by u, 16d to the cooling chamber 12 is avoided. In addition, the ventilation path in the refrigerator due to the rotation of the sirocco fans 17u and 17d is as indicated by a dotted arrow A in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 18 denotes sirocco fans 17u and 17d.
A hood 19 covers an openable door provided on the left front half of the cooling unit 11.

On the other hand, the cooling box 1 is provided with a cleaning function unit 20. First, a water sprinkler (sprinkler) 3 for washing having a sprinkling port (nozzle) for sprinkling water in all directions and rotating by a water flow is provided on a ceiling 2 inside the cooling cabinet 1. This sprinkler 3
Is a three-way valve 4 disposed outside the ceiling 2 via a water pipe 21.
Connect to the exit port of A water pipe 5 is connected to one inlet port of the three-way valve 4, and an intake port 6 is connected to the other inlet port of the three-way valve 4. This inlet 6
Is provided with a filter 6f for preventing intrusion of dust and the like.

Further, the water supply pipe 21 has a branched water supply pipe 2.
The water supply pipe 23 extends vertically below the ceiling 2. Further, a water sprinkling pipe 24 is attached to the hood 18.
The water sprinkling pipe 24 has a main pipe part 24m arranged vertically, a lower water sprinkling pipe part 24d and a main pipe part 24m which are bent from the lower end of the main pipe part 24m to reach the inside of the sirocco fan 17d.
From the middle of the sirocco fan 17u. Each sprinkling pipe section 2
4u and 24d close the tip, have a plurality of water spouts (nozzles) on the lower surface, and incline the tip downward so that tap water does not remain. On the other hand, a large-diameter hopper 24s is provided at the upper end of the main pipe section 24m. This hopper 24
s is disposed below the lower end of the water supply pipe 23 and receives tap water supplied from the water supply pipe 23. In this case, the water pipe 2
3 and a slight gap is provided between the lower end of the main pipe 24m and the upper end of the main pipe 24m. Thus, the hood 18 can be attached and detached without changing the water supply pipe 23 and the water sprinkling pipe 24.

On the other hand, a drain 31 is provided at the bottom of the cooling chamber 12. The drain unit 31 includes an odor trap unit 32 as shown in FIG. The odor trap portion 32 includes a water storage cup 34 for storing a fixed amount of water, a drainage cylinder 35 provided at the center of the water storage cup 34, and a drainage tube cover 36 that covers the upper side and the upper side of the drainage tube 35. The odor trap section 32 is detachable from the floor surface 33. As a result, a certain amount of wastewater always accumulates in the water storage cup 34, the inside and the outside of the cooling chamber 12 are shut off, and the wastewater overflowing from the water storage cup 34 is discharged through the drain cylinder 35 and the drain pipe 37. . A check valve 38 is provided at the lower end of the drainage cylinder 35, and the floor surface 33 of the cooling chamber 12 is
Incline towards 2.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a control system. A control unit 41 controls the sequence of the refrigerator 8, the internal fan 7, the three-way valve 4, and the ozone generator 42 by the control unit 41.

Next, a method for cleaning the inside of the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.

Now, while stopping the operation of the cooling cabinet 1,
It is assumed that the empty chamber is to be cleaned.

First, the three-way valve 4 is switched to connect the sprinkler 3 and the sprinkler pipe 24 to the water pipe 5 (step S1). Thereby, watering is performed from the water sprayer 3, and the inside of the refrigerator is automatically cleaned (step S2). In this case, water is sprinkled in all directions from the water spout of the water sprinkler 3, and the water sprinkler 3 is rotated by the water flow, and the water sprinkling direction changes sequentially. During spraying, the inside fan 7 is operated.

On the other hand, tap water is also supplied to the sprinkling pipe 24,
Water is sprinkled inside the sirocco fans 17u and 17d. Thus, the blades in the sirocco fans 17u and 17d are washed, and the tap water is cooled by the rotating sirocco fans 17u and 17d.
, And the coolers 14f and 14r are washed. The wastewater remaining in the coolers 14f and 14r is discharged from the coolers 14f and 14r by blowing air from the sirocco fans 17u and 17d. In FIG. 6, a solid line arrow W indicates a route of sprinkled tap water.

Then, when a preset cleaning time Ta has elapsed, the cleaning is terminated. That is, the water supply is stopped by switching the three-way valve 4, and the sprinkler 3 and the sprinkler pipe 24 are connected to the intake port 6.
(Steps S3 and S4). At this time, the operation of the in-compartment fan 7 stops.

Next, the refrigerator 8 is operated with the in-compartment fan 7 stopped to cool the coolers 14f and 14r (step S5). When a preset cooling time Tb has elapsed from the start of the operation of the refrigerator 8, the in-compartment fan 7 is operated (steps S6 and S7). Thereby, the air in the refrigerator is rapidly cooled, the volume of the air shrinks, and the interior of the refrigerator is reduced in pressure. As a result, the outside air is forcibly sucked from the intake port 6, and the remaining tap water in the water sprinkler 3 and the water sprinkling pipe 24 is reliably discharged, and freezing during use of the cooling cabinet 1 is prevented. At this time, since the check valve 38 closes the drainage cylinder 35 in the drainage part 31, the suction of outside air from the drainage part 31 is prevented.

On the other hand, if the preset decompression time Tc has elapsed after the operation of the in-compartment fan 7, the operation of the refrigerator 8 is stopped (steps S8 and S9). In addition, ozone is supplied from the ozone generator 42 into the storage, and sterilization and deodorization in the storage are performed (step S10). Then, when the preset sterilization time Td has elapsed, the supply of ozone is stopped and the operation of the internal fan 7 is stopped (step S11,
S12). Thus, a series of cleaning steps is completed.

The embodiment has been described in detail above.
The present invention is not limited to such an embodiment,
The configuration, shape, quantity, method, etc. of the details can be arbitrarily changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0024]

As described above, according to the method for cleaning the inside of the refrigerator according to the present invention, the cleaning sprinkler disposed on the ceiling inside the refrigerator is selectively connected to the water pipe or the inlet through the three-way valve. The sprinkler is connected to the water pipe at the time of washing, so that the inside of the refrigerator is washed by sprinkling water from the sprinkler, and after washing, the sprinkler is connected to the intake port. By ensuring the freezing of the vessel is ensured, it is possible to attach a sprinkler to the refrigerator,
The labor for cleaning can be eliminated, and uniform and sufficient cleaning can always be performed.

Further, after the washing, the refrigerator is operated with the internal fan stopped, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the internal fan is operated for the predetermined time.
Tap water remaining in the sprinkler can be reliably discharged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a method for cleaning the inside of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing the operation of each unit in the cooling box;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control system of a refrigerator that can perform the inside-room cleaning method;

FIG. 4 is a front view in which a part of the refrigerator is cut off,

FIG. 5 is a side view in which a part of the refrigerator is opened,

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the principle of the refrigerator,

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a drainage part of the refrigerator,

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view of the cooling box,

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cooler 2 Ceiling 3 Sprinkler 4 Three-way valve 5 Water pipe 6 Inlet 7 Fan in refrigerator 8 Refrigerator

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A watering device for washing disposed on a ceiling inside a cooling box can be selectively connected to a water pipe or an intake port via a three-way valve, and at the time of cleaning, the watering device is connected to the water pipe. A method of cleaning the inside of a refrigerator, wherein the inside of the refrigerator is washed by sprinkling water from the sprinkler, and the sprinkler is connected to the intake port after the washing. 2. After washing, the refrigerator is operated with the fan in the refrigerator stopped, and after a lapse of a predetermined time,
The method according to claim 1, wherein the internal fan is operated for a predetermined time.