KR100878821B1 - Kimchi refrigerator and controlling method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for controlling a kimchi refrigerator, and a kimchi refrigerator are provided to control the temperature and time of storage and fermentation according to the salinity of kimchi, thereby preventing the over-cooling of kimchi and the generation of ice. A method for controlling a kimchi refrigerator comprises the steps of (S10) measuring the salinity of the kimchi stored in a plurality of storage containers; (S20) comparing the measured salinity of the each kimchi; (S30) selecting one among the compared salinity; and (S60, S62) controlling the temperature of kimchi according to the selected salinity.

Description

Kimchi refrigerator and controlling method using the same}

The present invention relates to a kimchi refrigerator and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a kimchi refrigerator for storing kimchi according to the salinity of kimchi and a control method thereof.

In general refrigerators, the internal temperature of the refrigerator changes significantly when the door is frequently opened and closed. In addition, during the take-out of the kimchi container out of the refrigerator to put the kimchi in the bowl, the contact with the outside air occurs to shorten the retention period of the kimchi, it is very difficult to maintain the proper state of kimchi as it is. In order to solve these problems, kimchi refrigerators have been developed that can ripen kimchi according to the change of seasons and users' preferences, and then maintain the proper temperature for a long time to preserve the taste of ripe kimchi.

In general, kimchi refrigerator is a device that ripens and ferments kimchi by heating it, or ferment it appropriately, or by cooling it to a low temperature and storing it for a long time in the same taste state as the first time. The inside is equipped with a cooling device and a heating device. Initially, the heating device is used to ripen the kimchi stored within the desired time, and then the cooling device is used to adjust the temperature of the inner case to an appropriate level. By holding it, it becomes possible to preserve the taste and freshness of kimchi for a long time.

In the conventional kimchi refrigerator, an appropriate storage temperature is already stored according to the type of kimchi. However, even the same kind of kimchi, the amount of seasoning is different according to the user, and the degree of salty taste also has a big difference, so the storage temperature should be different. Because the temperature of kimchi is different depending on the salinity of the ingredients and seasonings,

In the conventional kimchi refrigerator, some kimchi is often frozen due to overcooling by storing the kimchi at different storage salinities, and there is a problem that the taste of kimchi changes due to tissue destruction of kimchi.

On the other hand, if the kimchi stored is frozen, there is a problem that the user's claim for the kimchi refrigerator caused a repair cost in the short-term, and in the long run is damaged the image of the product.

In addition, when there are various types of kimchi stored in one storage room, there is a problem in selecting an algorithm to determine the storage temperature based on which kimchi.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, to provide a kimchi refrigerator and a control method for storing kimchi according to the salinity of kimchi.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a control method of the kimchi refrigerator for storing kimchi according to the salinity of kimchi when storing several kinds of kimchi in one storage room.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a measuring step of measuring the salinity of kimchi stored in the storage container; and a comparison step of comparing the measured salinity; And a temperature control step of adjusting the temperature of the kimchi according to the selected salinity.

Of course, in the selection step, it is preferable to select the minimum value among the plurality of salinities.

In addition, in the measuring step, it is possible to measure the salinity of each kimchi stored in a plurality of storage containers.

And, Kimchi is accommodated; and a plurality of salinity sensor for measuring the salinity of the kimchi stored in the storage room; and a cold air supply for lowering the temperature of kimchi; and Heating device to increase the temperature of kimchi; And it provides a kimchi refrigerator characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling the cold air supply device and the heating device in accordance with the minimum value of the salinity measured by the plurality of salinity sensors.

On the other hand, it is possible to further include a plurality of storage containers are stored kimchi is stored in the storage room and the salinity sensor is mounted respectively.

And, it is preferable to further include a temperature sensor for transmitting the temperature of the kimchi to the control unit.

The effect of the kimchi refrigerator and the control method according to the present invention described above is to prevent the formation of ice so that the stored kimchi is not supercooled when there are various types of kimchi stored in the kimchi refrigerator.

In addition, the taste of the stored kimchi can be maintained for a long time compared to the conventional kimchi refrigerator.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention that can specifically realize the above object will be described.

1 is a front sectional view of a kimchi refrigerator according to the present invention.

In general, kimchi refrigerator can be classified into lid type, drawer type, mixed type, etc. according to its form.

Lid-type Kimchi Refrigerator means that the lid is on the top, and it is characterized by good cold control.The drawer-type Kimchi Refrigerator is easy to use and neatly arranged by opening the drawer. It is convenient to use. In addition, the mixed type generally means a kimchi refrigerator with a lid at the top, a drawer at the bottom.

The present invention can be applied to both the drawer, lid type, mixed kimchi refrigerator.

Kimchi refrigerator is preferably provided with a main body 10 to form an appearance, the main body 10 preferably comprises a storage chamber 30 for receiving kimchi. A plurality of storage chambers 30 may be formed in the main body 10. In this case, different types of kimchi may be stored in one kimchi refrigerator by varying the temperature and temperature holding time of the storage compartment 30 for each storage compartment 30.

It is preferable to include a plurality of salinity sensors 42 for measuring the salinity of kimchi stored in the storage compartment 30 in the storage compartment 30. The salinity sensor 42 has a pair of electrodes (not shown) which are spaced apart from each other at predetermined intervals in the juice of kimchi stored in the storage chamber 30. Power is applied to the pair of electrodes to measure electrical conductivity between both electrodes, and the salinity of kimchi is measured based on the electrical conductivity. For example, if the electrical conductivity is relatively large, the saltiness of kimchi is also a large value. If the electrical conductivity is relatively small, the salt of kimchi will also be a small value.

In addition, the storage chamber 30 is preferably provided with a cold air supply device 32 for lowering the storage temperature of kimchi. Of course, a refrigerant cycle device (not shown) such as a compressor, an evaporator, and an expander is installed inside the main body 10. In the refrigerant cycle device, a refrigerant is circulated in accordance with a general refrigerant cycle. The refrigerant is converted into a liquid state of high temperature and high pressure while passing through a compressor and then phase-converted into a gas state of low temperature and low pressure while passing through an evaporator. At this time, the cold air generated around the evaporator is supplied into the storage compartment 30 and lowers the temperature of the kimchi. Of course, the cold air supply device 32 may be provided with a fan (not shown) to guide the cold air into the storage compartment (30).

Of course, one side of the cold air supply device 32 may be equipped with a flow path damper (not shown) to which cold air is supplied. When the flow channel damper is opened, cool air is supplied. When the flow channel damper is closed, the supply of cold air is stopped.

On the other hand, the storage chamber 30 is preferably provided with a heating device 34 to increase the storage temperature of kimchi. The heating device 34 may include a heater (not shown) capable of heating the inside of the storage compartment 30. The warmth generated in the vicinity of the heater is supplied into the storage compartment 30 to increase the temperature of the kimchi. Of course, it may be provided with a fan (not shown) to guide the warmth of the heater inside.

In addition, it is preferable to include a control unit 12 for controlling the cold air supply device 32 and the heating device 34. The controller 12 is accommodated in the main body 10. The control unit 12 drives the compressor, which is one of the refrigerant cycle devices, or stops driving to control whether the cold air supply device 32 is supplied with cold air and the temperature of the cold air. In addition, the control unit 12 controls the supply of warmth, the temperature of the warmth, etc. by operating or stopping the heater of the heating device 34.

In addition, the controller 12 controls the cold air supply device 32 and the heating device 34 according to the minimum value of the salinity measured by the plurality of salinity sensors 42.

The plurality of salinity sensors 42 respectively measure the salinity of kimchi. The controller 12 sets one of the salinity values measured by the salinity sensor 42 as a reference salinity value.

In general, the higher the salinity, the lower the freezing point. This is similar to why rivers freeze at the same temperature, but seawater with higher salinity than rivers does not freeze easily.

Even if the types of cabbage kimchi are the same, the salinity of kimchi varies depending on the type and amount of seasoning used. In other words, if the amount of the same seasoning is high, the salt of kimchi will also increase. In addition, even if the amount of seasonings are the same, the salt of the kimchi will also be higher if you use a high salt seasoning. Therefore, if you store two cabbage kimchi at the same low temperature, kimchi with lots of seasoning will not freeze while kimchi with less seasoning will freeze.

Therefore, in the present invention, the storage temperature of kimchi is determined based on the minimum value of the measured salinity as the reference salinity.

For example, referring to FIG. 4, the storage temperature is -2 ° C for kimchi having a salinity of 3%, while the storage temperature is -0.5 ° C for kimchi with a salinity of 1%. This is because the higher the salinity, the lower the freezing temperature of kimchi, so it can be stored at a lower temperature. On the other hand, kimchi with low salinity will freeze if stored at low temperature, so kimchi with low salinity should be stored at a relatively high temperature compared to kimchi with high salinity.

According to the present invention, kimchi with low salinity is stored at an appropriate temperature, kimchi with high salinity is stored at a higher temperature than the existing storage temperature. Of course, the high salinity of kimchi is high salinity so kimchi is less likely to deteriorate, so there will be no big problem in storing kimchi.

On the other hand, if the low-salt kimchi is stored according to the storage temperature of the high-salt kimchi, the low-salt kimchi is frozen due to supercooling, which will cause great inconvenience to the user due to tissue destruction and deformation of the kimchi.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the kimchi further comprises a plurality of storage containers 40 accommodated in the storage room (30). The storage container 40 is made of a material such as plastic and sealed so that the smell of kimchi and the juice of kimchi do not leak to the outside. In addition, the storage container 40 may be provided with a lid for opening and closing the opening and the hole in the upper portion can take out the kimchi stored in the storage container 40.

In addition, each of the storage containers 40 may be equipped with a plurality of salinity sensors 42. In this case, even though the kimchi stored in one storage container 40 can be selected by measuring the lower salinity when the salinity is different depending on each position it can prevent the kimchi freezing due to overcooling.

In general, a plurality of storage containers 40 are accommodated in one storage room 30. That is, the kimchi is stored by dividing one storage room 30 into several spaces. Therefore, each storage container 40 is stored in a variety of types of kimchi, even if the same type will be stored kimchi with a variety of salinity.

When there are a plurality of storage chambers 30 in the main body 10, it is common to store the kimchi at different temperatures in each storage chamber 30. This is possible because each storage compartment 30 has a closed space and is isolated from each other. However, since each storage chamber 30 has only one space, it is not possible to store the plurality of storage containers 40 stored in the storage chamber 30 at different temperatures and different conditions. Therefore, if the type of kimchi accommodated in the storage container 40 is different, kimchi may freeze due to subcooling. In order to prevent this, in the present embodiment, the kimchi is stored by setting a storage temperature based on kimchi having a low salinity which can be easily frozen among the kimchi stored in the plurality of storage containers 40.

In addition, it is preferable to further include a temperature sensor 36 for transmitting the temperature of the kimchi to the control unit 12. The temperature sensor 36 measures the temperature of the storage compartment 30 and transmits the temperature to the controller 12. The controller 12 determines whether the temperature in the storage compartment 30 is properly maintained, and determines the temperature of the storage compartment 30. To control the temperature inside. The temperature sensor 36 may be mounted on the inner surface of the storage chamber 30 or the storage container 40.

2 is a block diagram of a kimchi refrigerator according to the present invention.

The salinity sensor 42, the temperature sensor 36, the timer 38, and the operation panel 50 are connected to the input terminal of the control unit 12. In addition, a heating device 34, a cold air supply device 32, and a display unit 14 are connected to an output terminal of the control unit 12.

The control unit 12 receives information about the salinity of kimchi from the salinity sensor 42, and receives information about the temperature of the storage chamber 30, the kimchi is stored from the temperature sensor 36. At this time, the temperature sensor 36 may measure the temperature of the kimchi.

In addition, the control unit 12 receives the information on the elapsed time measured from the timer 38 that can measure the time, the information about the kimchi input by the user through the operation panel 50 and the desired mode, etc. Receive data about At this time, the information about kimchi means kimchi types such as cabbage kimchi, yeolmu kimchi, etc., the desired mode means whether the storage mode to keep the taste of kimchi or fermentation mode to ferment kimchi.

On the other hand, the control unit 12 controls the heating device 34 to increase the storage temperature of kimchi, and adjust the cold air supply device 32 to lower the storage temperature of kimchi.

In addition, the controller 12 may display at least one of information input from the salinity sensor 42, the temperature sensor 36, the timer 38, and the operation panel 50 on the display unit 14 to display a user. To provide. Of course, the display unit 14 may show information about whether the heating device 34 and the cold air supply device 32 are operated and the operating state.

Figure 3 is a flow chart of the control method of kimchi refrigerator according to the present invention.

First, power is supplied to the kimchi refrigerator, and the storage chamber 30 stores the storage container 40 in which the kimchi is stored.

Next, the salinity sensor 42 measures the salinity of kimchi stored in the storage container 40. (S10)

At this time, the salinity of the kimchi stored in the plurality of storage containers 40 are respectively measured. Of course, it is also possible to mount a plurality of salinity sensors 42 in each storage container 40. This is because the kimchi stored in the storage container 40 may have different salinities depending on the measurement position. In this case, a plurality of salinities can be measured in each of the plurality of storage containers 40.

Next, the measured salinities are compared (S20). The unit of salinity may have a 'percent (%)', and the salinity value measured by each salinity sensor 42 will be compared.

Subsequently, a minimum value of the measured salinities is selected. (S30) In this case, when the measured salinities are the same, the same salinities may be assumed to be one value, and sizes may be compared. For example, in the case of three storage containers 40, when the measured salinity values are 2%, 3%, and 2%, the same salinity, 2%, is assumed to be one salinity. By comparing only the size of%, the minimum value of 2% will be used as the reference salinity.

Next, the temperature of the kimchi is measured by the temperature sensor 36. (S40)

Then, the size of the measured temperature and the set temperature is compared (S50).

At this time, the set temperature means the temperature for storing kimchi according to the selected salinity. Referring to FIG. 4, kimchi having a salinity of 1% may be set at 0.5 ° C., kimchi having a salinity of 2% at −1.5 ° C., and kimchi having a salinity of 3% at −2 ° C. Of course, the temperature may vary depending on various factors such as the type of kimchi.

For example, if the reference salinity is 2%, the set temperature at which kimchi is stored will be set to -1.5 ° C.

If the measured temperature of the stored kimchi is higher than the set temperature is lowered the temperature of the storage compartment 30. (S60) At this time, the cold air supply device 32 is driven. That is, the temperature of the kimchi may be lowered by supplying cold air by driving the compressor, opening the channel damper, or operating the fan.

When the temperature of the kimchi reaches the set temperature, the compressor is stopped, the flow path damper is closed, or the fan is stopped to prevent cold air from being supplied to the kimchi.

On the contrary, if the measured temperature of the stored kimchi is lower than the set temperature, the temperature of the storage chamber 30 is increased. (S62) At this time, the heater is operated to drive the heating device 34 to warm the storage chamber 30. Will be supplied as

Of course, in addition to driving the heating device 34 to increase the temperature of the storage chamber 30, it is also possible to stop the driving of the cold air supply device 32 if the cold air supply device 32 is driven. .

Next, the timer 38 measures the time at which the kimchi is stored or the time at which the storage temperature is maintained.

It is determined whether the measured time has already passed the stored set time (S80). At this time, it is preferable to shorten the set time so that the storage temperature of kimchi can be maintained well.

When it is determined that the storage time has passed the set time, the temperature of the kimchi is measured again to compare the magnitude of the measured temperature and the set temperature. (S40) On the other hand, if it is determined that the storage time has not passed the set time. After elapse of time, measure elapsed time again.

After that, the temperature is adjusted while comparing the measured temperature with the set temperature again.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and as can be seen in the appended claims, modifications can be made by those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention.

1 is a front sectional view of a kimchi refrigerator according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of the kimchi refrigerator according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a flow chart of the control method of kimchi refrigerator according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a graph illustrating the storage temperature according to the salinity of kimchi.

<Description of Signs for Main Parts of Drawings>

10: main body 12: control unit

14: display unit 30: storage room

32: cold air supply device 34: heating device

36: Temperature sensor 40: Storage container

42: salinity sensor 50: operation panel

Claims (6)

A measuring step of measuring the salinity of kimchi stored in each of the plurality of storage containers; A comparison step of comparing the salinity of each measured kimchi; Selecting one of the compared salinities; And Kimchi refrigerator control method comprising a; temperature control step of adjusting the temperature of the kimchi according to the selected salinity. The method of claim 1, In the measuring step, the kimchi refrigerator control method characterized in that for measuring the salinity of each kimchi stored in a plurality of storage containers. The method of claim 1, Kimchi refrigerator control method, characterized in that for selecting the minimum value of the plurality of salinity in the selection step. A storage room where kimchi is accommodated; A plurality of salinity sensors for measuring the salinity of kimchi stored in the storage compartment; Cold air supply device for lowering the temperature of kimchi; Heating device to increase the temperature of kimchi; And Kimchi refrigerator characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling the cold air supply device and the heating device according to the minimum value of the salinity measured by the plurality of salinity sensors. The method of claim 4, wherein Kimchi is stored is accommodated in the storage chamber and the kimchi refrigerator further comprises a plurality of storage containers are each equipped with the salinity sensor. The method of claim 5, Kimchi refrigerator further comprises a temperature sensor for transmitting the temperature of the kimchi to the control unit.

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