KR100873133B1 - Refrigerator and Control Method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a control method thereof for maintaining food freshness for a long time and improving durability and energy efficiency. The present invention, the refrigerator body; A storage room provided in the refrigerator body and storing various foods; An irradiation device for irradiating light in a visible light region to the storage room; And it provides a refrigerator comprising a control device for repeatedly turning on and off the irradiation apparatus and a control method thereof.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the freshness of the food stored in the refrigerator can be maintained for a long time, and the durability and energy efficiency of the refrigerator can be improved.

Refrigerator, Irradiation Device, Light Emitting Diode (LED)

Description

Refrigerator and Control Method {Refrigerator and Control Method for the same}

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional refrigerator;

2 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

3 is a perspective view showing the vegetable chamber of FIG. 2;

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 3;

5 is a front view schematically showing a rear side of the vegetable chamber of FIG. 2;

6 is a graph showing a change in power input to the irradiation apparatus with time;

7 is a plan view showing the selection device of FIG. 3;

8 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the refrigerator of FIG. 8;

10 is a plan view of the irradiation apparatus of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the selection device of FIG. 8; FIG.

<Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings>

100: refrigerator body 200: vegetable room

210a, 210b, 210c: Storage compartments 230a, 230b, 230c: Irradiation device

231a, 231b, and 231c: light emitting element 231G: green light emitting diode

231W: White light emitting diode 231R: Red light emitting diode

231B: blue light emitting diodes 233a, 233b, and 233c: substrate

237a, 237b, 237c: Protective cover 250: Selector

270a, 270b, 270c: upper panel 300: kimchi refrigerator

310: Kimchi Storage Room 311,313,315,317: Kimchi Storage Container

330: front irradiator 331: light emitting element

333: substrate 335: protective cover

350: rear irradiator 370: upper door

410: Lower Kimchi Storage Room 411: Kimchi Storage Container

470: lower door 500: control panel

510: selector 600: compressor

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator and a control method thereof, in which the structure is improved to maintain food freshness for a long time, and durability and energy efficiency are improved.

Generally, a refrigerator includes a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment, and either side of the refrigerating compartment is separately provided with a vegetable compartment for adjusting humidity to store fresher vegetables and fruits (hereinafter collectively referred to as "vegetables"). .

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 1, a refrigerator equipped with a conventional vegetable room will be described.

FIG. 1 illustrates a top mount type refrigerator in which a freezer compartment is located at an upper portion and a refrigerator compartment is located at a lower portion of the freezer compartment among various types of refrigerators.

Factors affecting the freshness of vegetables are known as temperature, humidity, environmental gases, microorganisms, light, and the like. Since vegetables continue to breathe and transpire, it is essential to suppress breathing and transpiration in order to maintain the freshness of vegetables. Specifically, most vegetables except for some of the vegetables that cause the disturbance at low temperatures can be suppressed breathing at low temperatures, can be prevented from evaporating at high humidity.

For this reason, in order to keep vegetables fresh for a long time, a general household refrigerator is provided with a vegetable room which is a space for storing vegetables as an independent space from the refrigerator's refrigeration room. The vegetable chamber controls the vegetables to maintain an appropriate low temperature state and to maintain humidity by moisture that is evaporated from the vegetables. Therefore, such a vegetable room makes it possible to maintain freshness of vegetables for a long time.

On the other hand, while maintaining the freshness of vegetables for a long time by properly maintaining the temperature and humidity as described above, in recent years, methods for maintaining the freshness of vegetables by using light, which is another influence factor of freshness, have been proposed.

While strong light has a negative effect on promoting food color change and transpiration, relatively weak light is known to improve the freshness of vegetables. In addition, such weak light is known to inhibit the decomposition of chlorophyll (chlorophyll), especially in green leafy vegetables, and is known to be effective in the maintenance of vitamin C.

The refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 is as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-28363, and includes an irradiation device 23 for irradiating weak light to the vegetable chamber 20 provided below the refrigerator 10, in particular, green leafy vegetables. It is configured to prevent the concentration of chlorophyll of the lowering, and consequently to prevent the degradation of the leaf vegetable.

In particular, the refrigerator 10 operates the lighting lamp 29 for allowing a user to visually recognize an object inside the storage compartment 21 when the drawer type vegetable chamber is open, and the irradiation device when the drawer type vegetable chamber is closed. Operation (23) was configured to prevent the deterioration of the quality of green leafy vegetables by light as described above.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-159953 configures the irradiation apparatus 23 as a light emitting diode (LED) in the visible light region, thereby minimizing the heat generated by the irradiation apparatus 23, thereby reducing the temperature in the storage chamber 21. Is prevented from rising and can be driven with higher efficiency than other irradiation devices.

In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-49093 discloses a form in which a red light emitting diode having a wavelength of about 660 nm is applied to green leafy vegetables.

In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-65622 proposes an irradiation apparatus for dividing a vegetable compartment into a plurality of storage compartments and irradiating light of an appropriate wavelength according to the kind of vegetables. More specifically, the light emitting diode device was configured to be selected by combining the light emitting color according to the type of vegetables using the red, blue, green three-color light emitting diode device.

However, the vegetable room according to the prior art had the following problems.

First, if the light emitting diode is continuously operated while the vegetables are stored, there is a problem that the lifespan of the light emitting diode is shortened and durability is lowered. In addition, there is a problem in that the overall energy efficiency is lowered due to power consumption due to the light emitting diode.

Second, the conventional irradiation apparatus can be selected by combining the light emitting color of the three color light emitting diodes, but it is not clear which foods are effective specifically for the red, blue, and green light emitting diodes, thereby preventing the freshness of the stored food or preventing chlorophyll reduction. The effectiveness of the irradiation device was negligible in.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having improved durability and energy efficiency while maintaining the freshness and nutritional content of food for a long time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator with improved user convenience.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, the refrigerator body; A storage room provided in the refrigerator body and storing various foods; An irradiation device for irradiating light in a visible light region to the storage room; And it provides a refrigerator comprising a control device for repeatedly turning on and off the irradiation device.

The irradiation apparatus preferably comprises a light emitting diode (LED). Further, it is more preferable that the control device turns the irradiation device on and off periodically.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the said irradiation apparatus irradiates a combination of several light to the said storage chamber. And it is more preferable that the said irradiation apparatus irradiates the said storage chamber with the light by a different combination corresponding to the kind of food stored in the said storage chamber.

And the kimchi is stored in the storage room, it is preferable to adjust the degree of fermentation of kimchi by irradiating light in the visible light region to the storage room by the irradiation apparatus.

On the other hand, the control method of the refrigerator according to the present invention, the storage step of storing a variety of food; And irradiating the storage room repeatedly with light in the visible light region.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of this embodiment, the same name and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration and additional description thereof will be omitted.

2 to 4, the basic configuration of a first embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention will be described.

This embodiment illustrates a side-by-side type refrigerator in which a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment are divided into right and left sides among various types of refrigerators. Accordingly, the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment are provided on the right and left sides of the refrigerator body, respectively, and the vegetable compartment 200 is provided below the refrigerator compartment.

The vegetable chamber 200 includes a plurality of storage chambers 210a, b, and c, irradiation devices 230a, b, and c, a selection device 250, and a control device (not shown).

The plurality of storage chambers 210a, b, and c are storage spaces for storing food, and are formed by a bottom surface and left and right side walls. In the present embodiment, the storage compartments 210a, b, and c are configured to be opened and closed in a sliding manner so that the user can easily put or take out food.

However, the opening and closing method of the storage compartments 210a, b, and c are not limited to the present exemplary embodiment, and the doors having a hinge structure may be opened and closed at the top of the storage compartments 210a, b, and c. It can be configured to be, and can be modified in various other forms.

The storage chambers 210a, b, and c are preferably designed to be sealed to prevent humidity from leaking out. By configuring the storage compartments 210a, b, and c in a sealed structure, humidity in the storage compartments 210a, b, and c may be maintained for a long time due to moisture evaporated from food.

On the other hand, the storage chamber (210a, b, c) is composed of a plurality of compartments. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the vegetable chamber 200 is a form consisting of a total of three storage compartments (210a, b, c) partitioned in the vertical direction.

The irradiation apparatuses 230a, b, and c serve to irradiate light in a visible light region to each of the plurality of compartments 210a, b, and c which are divided into a plurality of compartments.

For reference, the visible light refers to light having a wavelength in the visible range of the human eye, and varies slightly depending on the human, but the wavelength range is generally 380 to 770 nm. In visible light, the change of properties according to the wavelength appears in each color, and the wavelength becomes shorter from red to purple. For example, in the case of monochromatic light, 700 to 610 nm is red, 610 to 590 nm is orange, 590 to 570 nm is yellow, 570 to 500 nm is green, 500 to 450 nm is blue, and 450 to 400 nm is purple. .

When irradiating light in the infrared region with a wavelength longer than 770 nm, the temperature in the storage chambers 210a, b, and c is raised, and the surface temperature of the food being stored is increased and the food surface is discolored to maintain the freshness of the food. Adversely affects. Therefore, it is preferable that the irradiation apparatus 230a, b, c irradiate light in the visible light region.

However, since the visible light region and the infrared region of the red series and the visible region and the ultraviolet region of the purple series are not precisely distinguished, the visible light region according to the present invention is a part of the infrared region and the ultraviolet region in the wavelength range adjacent to the visible region. Also includes.

There is no limitation on the kind of the light emitting elements 231a, b, and c, but it is preferable to include a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs). Since the light emitting diodes generate less heat and have relatively higher efficiency than other light emitting devices 231a, b, and c, the light emitting diodes are suitable for application to the vegetable chamber 200.

In this embodiment, the light emitting devices 231a, b, and c are formed of light emitting diodes, thereby minimizing heat generated by the light emitting devices 230a, b, and c. It is possible to minimize the increase and to drive at a lower power than other irradiation apparatuses 230a, b, and c.

On the other hand, the irradiation apparatus 230c for irradiating light to the storage chamber 210c positioned at the bottom of the storage chambers 210a, b, and c may be formed of monochromatic light having a predetermined color. Corresponding to the type of food to be stored, it is preferable that the storage chamber 210c is configured to irradiate light in the visible light region by different combinations.

According to the experiments of the present inventors, the color effective for maintaining freshness and nutritional ingredients is determined according to the food. Specifically, the irradiation of a combination of green and white light for vegetables is effective for maintaining freshness and nutritional ingredients. The combination of indigo light was effective in maintaining freshness and nutrition.

With this in mind, in this embodiment, the first storage chamber 210a located at the top of the storage chambers 210a, b, and c, and the second storage chamber 210b located in the middle are generally spaces in which vegetables are stored. As a uniformly set to irradiate a combination of green and white light, the lowermost third storage room (210c) was set to irradiate different combinations of light in the storage room according to the type of food stored.

Specifically, the third storage chamber (210c) is selectively stored meat or vegetables, and when the vegetables are stored in combination of light of green and white, when the meat is stored in combination of red and indigo light It was configured to. 4 illustrates a state in which vegetables are stored in the first storage room and the second storage room, and meat is stored in the third storage room.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the third storage chamber 210c in which the vegetables and the meat are selectively stored controls the internal temperature corresponding to the type of food, with the operation of switching the combination of light irradiated by the irradiation device 230c. Do. For example, when storing vegetables, the temperature inside the third storage room 210c is set to about 3 ° C., and when the meat is stored, the temperature inside the third storage room 210c is set to about −2 ° C. When set to relatively low temperature storage.

On the other hand, the position of the irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c) is not limited. That is, it may be provided above or below the storage chambers 210a, b, and c. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c) is located on the outer rear upper portion of the storage compartment (210a, b, c), the shape provided in the refrigerator main body 100 It is illustrated.

In addition, the irradiation apparatuses 230a, b, and c are light emitting devices 231a, b, and c installed on the substrates 233a, b, and c, and the substrates 233a, b, and c, as shown in FIG. And a protective cover 237a, b, c for preventing moisture from penetrating the light emitting elements 231a, b, and c to prevent damage to the light emitting elements 231a, b, and c. The protective cover (237a, b, c) is preferably made of a material that transmits light, it is preferable to corrode the surface so that the irradiation angle of the light to be transmitted by scattering the light is widened.

The selection device 250 selects the type of food stored in the third storage chamber 210c and switches the light irradiated by the irradiation device 230c in response to the color of the selected food. A detailed configuration of the selection device 250 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

The control device (not shown) serves to repeatedly turn on / off the irradiation devices 230a, b, and c. Detailed description thereof will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

On the other hand, although not shown, the vegetable chamber 200 preferably includes an opening and closing detection sensor for detecting whether the storage chamber (210a, b, c) opening and closing. In addition, it is preferable to configure whether the storage chambers 210a, b, c are opened or closed through the open / close detection sensor, and when the storage chamber is closed, the light is irradiated by the irradiation devices 230a, b, c.

Referring to Figure 5, the arrangement of the light emitting device in the irradiation apparatus will be described.

The location and arrangement of the light emitting devices 231a, b, and c may be implemented in various forms, but it is preferable to arrange the light emitting devices 231a, b, and c so that light is evenly applied to the food.

FIG. 5 is an example of the position and arrangement of the light emitting devices 231a, b, and c. The light emitting devices are disposed in the horizontal direction and positioned above the outer rear of the storage chambers 210a, b, and c.

The first storage room 210a and the second storage room 210b are spaces in which irradiation devices are stored, and irradiation devices 230a and b for irradiating light include green light emitting diodes 231G and white light emission suitable for vegetables. Diodes 231W are alternately arranged at regular intervals.

Meanwhile, in the third storage room 210c, vegetables and meat are selectively stored, together with the green light emitting diode 231G and the white light emitting diode 231W suitable for vegetables, the red light emitting diode 231R and indigo light emitting diode suitable for meat. 231B are sequentially arranged at regular intervals. As shown in FIG. 5, the green and white light emitting diodes 231G and 231W and the red and indigo light emitting diodes 231R and 231B are irradiated together according to the type of food, and thus are preferably disposed adjacent to each other.

And as shown in Figure 5 for the even irradiation of light, the light emitting element is formed in the shape of an oval, the long axis of the ellipse is preferably installed in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the light emitting elements.

Referring to Figure 6, the function of the control device according to the present invention will be described.

The control device (not shown) serves to control the irradiation devices 230a, b, and c to be repeatedly turned on and off without continuously radiating light.

The inventors of the present invention, when the irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c) is repeatedly turned on and off while irradiating light to the storage chamber (210a, b, c), the irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c) is a storage chamber (210a, b, Experimental results show that the freshness retention effect is better compared to the case of continuous light irradiation in c). In particular, periodically changing the power input to the irradiation device (230a, b, c) showed a more advantageous effect on maintaining freshness.

6 is a graph showing a change in power input to the irradiation apparatus with time, one-third of the periods supply power P _set to the irradiation apparatus, and two-thirds of the periods are the irradiation apparatuses 230a, b, The embodiment which cuts off the power P _set supplied to c) is shown.

In particular, the period of the on-off is preferably in nanoseconds (10 ^-6 second: micro-second) units. FIG. 6 shows that the irradiation apparatuses 230a, b and c have an on-off period of 3 µs, and the power P _set is supplied to the irradiation apparatus for 1 µs so that the irradiation apparatuses 230a, b and c are turned on. On, and 2 μs is cut off the power (P _set ) to supply the irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c) is an example that the irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c) is off (off). As described above, when the irradiation apparatuses 230a, b, and c are turned on and off in units of nanoseconds, the light emitting diode continues to be viewed as on.

In addition, the effect of improving the freshness according to the on-off of the irradiation apparatuses 230a, b, and c is high when the respective lights are turned on and off in the case of combining a plurality of lights. When the white light was turned on and off at the same cycle, the freshness improvement effect was the highest.

However, this effect is not limited to the case of irradiating a combination of a plurality of lights. That is, it is also applicable when irradiating monochromatic light having a predetermined color to food by the irradiation apparatuses 230a, b, and c.

On the other hand, when the irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c) is turned on and off as described above, there is an advantage that the lifespan of the light emitting diode is extended compared to the case of continuously lighting the irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c), Since the power consumed for the lighting of the light emitting diode can be reduced, as a result, there is also an advantage of improving the energy efficiency of the refrigerator.

Referring to Fig. 7, the configuration of the selection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is as follows.

In this embodiment, the selection device 250 is provided in front of the upper panel 270c of the third storage chamber 210c. 7 shows the configuration of the selection device 250.

The selection device 250 includes a first selection unit 251, a second selection unit 253, and a third selection unit 255, which the irradiation apparatus irradiates in response to the selected food type. It serves to switch the light. 7 illustrates a form in which the selectors are buttons.

The first selector 251 performs a function of selecting an operation of turning off the irradiating device, and is selected when the operation of the irradiating device is stopped.

The second selection unit 253 selects when the food stored in the storage room is vegetables. When the second selection unit 253 is selected, the combination of green and white light emitting diodes suitable for vegetables is irradiated to the third storage chamber 210c.

The third selector 255 selects when the food stored in the storage room is meat. When the third selector 255 is selected, the combination of red and indigo light emitting diodes suitable for meat is irradiated to the third storage chamber 210c.

In addition, the second selector 253 and the third selector 255 have a pattern of vegetables or meat inscribed on the button-shaped selectors 253 and 255, as shown in FIG. It is preferable.

On the other hand, the above-described selection device 250 can be modified in various forms, such as the form made by the rotation of the selection lever 351.

The present invention is provided with the selection device (250, 350) as described above, the user selects whether the food is stored vegetables or meat through a button or a lever, and the light irradiated by the irradiation apparatus corresponding to the color of the selected food You can switch.

8 and 9, a second embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described.

In the present embodiment, the refrigerator is a kimchi refrigerator 300 for storing kimchi, and basically, kimchi storage rooms 310 and 410 for storing kimchi and irradiation devices 330 and 350 for irradiating light in the visible region to the kimchi storage rooms 310 and 410. ), A selection device 510 for selecting an operation of the irradiation devices 330 and 350, and a control device for repeatedly turning on and off the irradiation devices 330 and 350.

The kimchi storage room (310, 410) is a storage space for storing kimchi, is formed by the body wall and the bottom surface. And in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 8, the kimchi storage room (310,410) is provided in the upper kimchi storage room 310 and the lower kimchi storage room 410, respectively, the kimchi storage room (310,410) provided in the upper and lower again It is divided into the right and the right side, and the form consists of a total of four. However, if necessary, the kimchi storage compartment may be partitioned only to the left and right side without the lower kimchi storage compartment.

In the present embodiment, the upper kimchi storage room 310 is configured to be opened and closed by an upper door 370 installed in the main body by a hinge on the upper side, and the lower kimchi storage room 410 is configured to be opened and closed in a sliding manner. .

Although not shown, gaskets (not shown) are installed at edges of the upper door 370 and the lower door 470 to prevent inflow and outflow of air generated between the kimchi storage chambers 310 and 410 and the outside air. It is preferable to configure the kimchi storage room (310,410) to be sealed by zooming.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, kimchi is generally stored in the kimchi storage rooms 310 and 410 in a form stored in the kimchi storage containers 311, 313, 315, 317, and 411.

On the other hand, the kimchi storage container (311, 313, 315, 317, 411) is preferably made of a transparent material so that the light of the irradiation device (330, 350) to be described later, or at least a predetermined amount of light is preferably made of a translucent material that can transmit.

The kimchi storage containers 311, 313, 315, 317, and 411 are made of an opaque material as a whole, and may be made of a transparent material only partially to transmit light by the irradiation devices 330 and 350.

The irradiation apparatuses 330 and 350 serve to irradiate light in the visible light region to the kimchi storage rooms 310 and 410.

The irradiation apparatuses 330 and 350 are provided at the upper and lower portions, respectively, so that the upper and lower kimchi storage chambers 310 and 410 can irradiate light. However, in the present embodiment, the irradiation apparatuses 330 and 350 are shown in FIG. 3. ) Is provided only in the upper portion of the kimchi storage room (310,410) exemplifies a form of irradiating light only to the upper kimchi storage room (310).

Meanwhile, the irradiation apparatuses 330 and 350 prevent moisture from penetrating into the substrates 333 and 353, the light emitting devices 331 and 351 installed on the substrates 333 and 353, and the light emitting devices 331 and 351 to damage the light emitting devices 331 and 351. It comprises a protective cover (335,355) to prevent.

The type of the light emitting devices 331 and 351 is not limited, but it is preferable that the light emitting devices include a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) as in the first embodiment.

On the other hand, the irradiation apparatus (330, 350) according to the present invention serves to control the fermentation degree of kimchi. The principle of controlling the fermentation degree of kimchi by the irradiation device (330, 350) is as follows.

Kimchi is a fermented lactic acid food that undergoes the aging process. As lactic acid bacteria increase, sterilize pathogenic microorganisms, and replace sugars in vegetables with lactic acid to refresh the taste of kimchi.

Initially, a bacterium called Leuconostoc Mesenteroides (abbreviated as "Luconostok") acts to ripen kimchi, followed by Lactobacillus Plantarum (hereinafter referred to as "Lactobacillus"). Bacterial, which acts to kill harmful bacteria, but makes too much acid to cause kimchi to sour. Leukonostok is known to be effective in digestion and constipation by making dietary fiber called dextran to promote metabolism.

On the other hand, leukonostock gives the tok-to taste of kimchi that the user feels delicious, and the amount is sharply reduced as the acid increases during fermentation. And lactobacillus is present from the moment it tastes that it is not immediately after soaking kimchi.

Therefore, the fermentation of kimchi, it is preferable to initially increase the leukonostok in order to ripen the kimchi in the early stage, and to suppress the lactobacillus as much as possible to maintain the taste for a long time after the kimchi is flavored.

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Up to now, it has been described assuming that kimchi is stored in the upper kimchi storage room, it is also possible to utilize a portion of the kimchi storage room 310 as a space for storing vegetables as needed.

On the other hand, the position of the irradiation device (330, 350) is not limited. That is, it may be provided above or below the kimchi storage room (310).

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the irradiation devices 330 and 350 are provided at left and right sides, and are configured to irradiate light to each of the left and right kimchi storage rooms 310. And the irradiation device located on the left and right, is provided on the upper door 370 of the upper side of the kimchi storage chamber 310, the kimchi storage containers (311, 313) of the front and rear are stored in the kimchi storage room 310. In order to irradiate light, the front door 370 is provided at each of the front and rear.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, only the kimchi storage containers 311 and 313 positioned above the upper kimchi storage room 310 among the kimchi storage containers 311, 313, 315 and 317 are irradiated with visible light. However, the lower kimchi storage containers (315,317) may be further provided with a separate irradiation device to irradiate light in various ways.

The selection device 510 selects the operations of the irradiation devices 330 and 350 and changes the emission color of the light to be irradiated in response to the selected operation. A detailed configuration of the selection device 510 will be described later with reference to FIG. 11.

The control device (not shown) serves to control the irradiation device to be repeatedly turned on and off without continuously irradiating light as in the first embodiment described above.

When the irradiation apparatus (330, 350) is applied to the kimchi refrigerator 300, the irradiation apparatus (330, 350) is repeatedly turned on and off even when adjusting the fermentation degree of kimchi, the irradiation apparatus when irradiating light to the kimchi storage room 310, Compared to the case where (330, 350) continuously irradiates light to the storage room 310, the kimchi showed a more favorable effect on premature ripening or long-term storage of kimchi.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as described above with reference to FIG. 6, the degree of fermentation of kimchi can be more efficiently controlled by turning on and off the irradiation devices 330 and 350, extending the life of the light emitting device, and The power consumption can be reduced.

Meanwhile, reference numeral 600, which is not described, denotes a compressor.

Referring to Figure 10, the arrangement on the upper door of the light emitting device is as follows.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the position of the light emitting device when the upper irradiation device 330 provided in the upper door 370 is viewed from the inside of the upper kimchi storage chamber 310. As shown in Figure 8, the irradiation apparatus is provided in the front and rear on the upper door 370 provided on the upper side of the upper kimchi storage chamber 310, respectively.

In addition, the irradiation apparatus 330 positioned in front of the light emitting apparatus 330 includes nine light emitting devices in which green, white, and yellow light emitting devices 331G, 331W, and 331Y are arranged in a line at equal intervals. In addition, the irradiation apparatus 350 positioned at the rear side of the light emitting devices 351G, 351W, and 351Y of green, white, and yellow are arranged in a line at equal intervals.

As described above, for long-term storage of kimchi, a combination of yellow and white or a combination of indigo and white is preferable. In this embodiment, the case of the combination of yellow and white is illustrated.

On the other hand, in the arrangement of the light emitting elements, the white light emitting elements 331W and 351W are preferably provided between the green and yellow light emitting elements 331G, 351G, 331Y and 351Y. This is because the white light emitting devices 331W.351W are commonly lit in the early ripening mode or long-term storage mode of kimchi, and are irradiated in combination with the green or yellow light emitting devices 331G, 351G, 331Y, and 351Y. This is because adjacent to each other is advantageous to irradiate the light combined with kimchi.

In addition, the light emitting device 331 preferably increases the irradiation angle of light so as to evenly irradiate the stored food with light. In addition, as shown in FIG. 10 for even irradiation of light, the light emitting device 331 is formed in an elliptical shape, and the long axis of the ellipse is preferably installed in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the light emitting devices.

Referring to Figure 11, the configuration of the selection device according to the present invention will be described.

In the present embodiment, the selection device 510 is located in the control panel 500 for inputting the operation of the overall kimchi refrigerator.

The selection device 510 includes a total of three selection units, and specifically includes an off selection unit 511, an early ripening selection unit 513, and a long term storage selection unit 515. Meanwhile, FIG. 11 illustrates a form in which the selection units 511, 513, and 515 are buttons.

The off selector 511 performs a function of selecting an operation of turning off the irradiation apparatuses 330 and 350 and is selected when the operation of the irradiation apparatuses 330 and 350 is stopped.

The early ripening selection unit 513 serves to select the operation of the irradiation device for the early ripening of kimchi, the irradiation device (330, 350) initially depending on the selection of the selection unit 513, Ryukonostock To increase the amount of light, the stored kimchi is irradiated with a combination of green and white light.

The long-term storage selection unit 515 serves to select the operation of the irradiation device (330, 350) for long-term storage of kimchi, the irradiation device according to the selection of the selection unit 515 Lactobacillus in the middle of the fermentation In order to suppress maximally, irradiate a combination of light containing yellow and white to the stored kimchi.

On the other hand, according to the experiment of the inventors, by irradiating the light by the combination of light containing yellow and white to suppress the Lactobacillus to the maximum, the light by the combination of green and white applied to the early ripening mode and yellow and Irradiation for about 1/7 of the irradiation time by the white combination was found to be effective in the protection of leukonostock.

Accordingly, in the long-term storage mode, it is preferable to protect the leuconosstock with the inhibition of Lactobacillus and to irradiate kimchi periodically by switching the light by the combination of yellow and white and the light by the combination of yellow and white.

11 illustrates a form in which the selection device 510 is formed of a button, it is also possible to be made by the rotation of the selection lever, and various other modifications are possible.

On the other hand, as described above, the adjustment of the fermentation degree of kimchi by the irradiation apparatus (210, 230) is preferably made in connection with the temperature control of the existing kimchi refrigerator.

The present invention includes the selection device 510 as described above, the user selects to irradiate the light of different emission colors according to the fermentation process, and in response to the selection to switch the emission color of the light irradiated by the irradiation device (330, 350) You can do it.

Referring to the operating principle of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

First, the user stores vegetables, meat or kimchi, and irradiates light in the visible region to the stored food. At this time, the irradiation device is irradiated light intermittently to the food is stored while repeatedly on-off.

In particular, in the case of storing vegetables and meat, it is possible to select whether the kind of food stored in the selection device as described above is vegetables or meat, so that light in the visible light region suitable for the type of food selected can be irradiated. . Specifically, when the stored food is vegetables, the combination of green and white light is irradiated, and when the stored food is meat, the combination of red and indigo blue is irradiated.

And in connection with the switching operation of the irradiation device, the temperature is controlled in accordance with the type of food stored in the storage room.

On the other hand, when storing kimchi, the degree of fermentation of kimchi is adjusted by irradiating light in the visible ray region by combining a plurality of lights including white light.

Specifically, depending on the process of fermentation at the beginning of the fermentation is irradiated with a combination of green and white light that can increase the leuconosstock as much as possible, and in the middle of the fermentation any of the yellow and indigo blue that can suppress the increase of Lactobacillus as much as possible By irradiating a combination of one color and white light, the degree of fermentation of kimchi is controlled. The switching of the emission color is performed by the user selecting either early ripening or long term storage.

Up to now, the case where the vegetables and meat or kimchi is mainly stored in the storage room as an example, but is not limited to the above-described types of food, various kinds of foods such as cereals, liquor can be applied.

Accordingly, those skilled in the art can make modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention.

The refrigerator according to the present invention having the above configuration has the following effects.

First, by repeatedly on-off the irradiation device, it is possible to maintain the freshness of the food for a longer time, there is an advantage that can smoothly control the degree of fermentation of kimchi.

Second, by repeatedly turning on and off without continuously turning on the irradiation device, the lifespan of the light emitting device can be extended, and the power consumed by the light emitting device can be reduced, resulting in improved energy efficiency of the refrigerator.

Third, by irradiating the light in the visible light region most suitable for the food according to the type of food, there is an advantage of maximizing the effect of maintaining the freshness of the food by the irradiation device and preventing the decrease in chlorophyll concentration.

Fourth, by irradiating a combination of a plurality of lights including white light to kimchi, by controlling the degree of fermentation of kimchi has the advantage of ripening delicious kimchi early and maintain the taste for a long time.

Claims (11)

Refrigerator body; A storage room provided in the refrigerator body and storing various foods; An irradiation device for irradiating light in a visible light region to the storage room; An opening / closing sensor for detecting whether the storage room is opened or closed; And And a control device to repeatedly turn on / off the irradiation apparatus when the sensor senses that the storage compartment is closed. The method of claim 1, The irradiation device, Refrigerator comprising a light emitting diode (LED). The method of claim 1, The control device, And periodically turning the irradiation device on and off. The method of claim 1, The irradiation device, And a plurality of lights irradiated to the storage compartment. The method of claim 4, wherein The irradiation device, The refrigerator according to the type of food stored in the storage compartment, characterized in that to irradiate the light to the storage compartment by a different combination. delete delete The method of claim 1, The irradiator is irradiated with a combination of green and white light when the vegetables are stored in the storage compartment, and irradiated with a combination of red and indigo light when the meat is stored in the storage compartment. The method of claim 8, The refrigerator characterized in that each of the plurality of light on-off at the same cycle. delete delete

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