KR101652517B1 - A refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

The present invention relates to an ozone sensor which is provided at one side of a storage space and detects an ozone concentration in a storage space, Wherein the ozone adjusting apparatus includes an ozone adjusting device for selectively irradiating ultraviolet rays. The ozone adjusting device may emit ultraviolet rays of a first wavelength when the ozone concentration of the storage space detected by the ozone detecting sensor is less than an environmental standard value, When the concentration of ozone in the storage space detected by the detection sensor is equal to or higher than the environmental standard value, ultraviolet rays of the second wavelength are emitted. According to this, the storage of the food stored in the storage space is advantageously improved.

Refrigerator, greenhouse case, vegetable drawer, ozone control device, ozone sensor

Description

A refrigerator

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a refrigerator is a household appliance that allows a food to be stored at a low temperature in an internal storage space that is shielded by a door. The refrigerator is stored by cooling the inside of the storage space using cool air generated by heat exchange with a refrigerant circulating in a refrigeration cycle And is configured to store foods in optimal conditions.

Such a refrigerator is in a trend of becoming larger and multifunctional as the dietary change and user 's taste are diversified, and the shape of the refrigerator is also becoming various according to the configuration of the storage space.

The drawer, the shelf, and the basket are divided into a shelf, a drawer, a basket, and the like, and various foods for various sizes and storage conditions are stored in a low temperature storage .

On the other hand, in the refrigerator having various storage spaces as described above, if stored food is stored for a long period of time, there is a problem that the microorganisms are spoiled and the odor is generated due to the spoilage.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a technique of sterilizing and disinfecting a storage space using ozone (O3) is disclosed in the prior art.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-0015336 discloses a vegetable refrigerator with a kitchen worktable in which ozonated water is sprayed by various water purification means and an ozonated water generator to sterilize and disinfect while preventing drying of vegetables.

However, since ozone (O 3) has a strong sterilizing power, it may adversely affect the human body depending on its concentration. Therefore, when sterilization and disinfection using ozone are performed in the refrigerator, the concentration of ozone Technology is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator equipped with an ozone control device for controlling the concentration of ozone in a storage space using a UV LED.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which ozone (O 3) concentration in a storage space is controlled by selectively irradiating a wavelength of UV for generating ozone and UV of wavelength for ozone removal in the ozone adjusting apparatus .

The present invention relates to an ozone sensor which is provided at one side of a storage space and detects an ozone concentration in a storage space, The ozone adjusting apparatus includes a polarizing plate for blocking a part of ultraviolet rays emitted into the storage space, and the polarizing plate is detected by the ozone detecting sensor And when the ozone concentration detected by the ozone detection sensor is equal to or higher than the environmental reference value, So that all the ultraviolet rays can be emitted to the inside.

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The refrigerator according to the present invention has an advantage of sterilizing food and storage space by generating ozone in the storage space by an ozone generating device that emits ultraviolet rays having a wavelength for generating ozone.

The ozone generator may emit ultraviolet rays having a wavelength for removing ozone generated in the storage space when the concentration of ozone detected by the ozone sensor provided in the storage space is equal to or higher than the environmental standard value, By reducing the ozone concentration, it is possible to prevent the user from being damaged by ozone.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the spirit of the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown and that those skilled in the art, upon reading and understanding the spirit of the invention, may easily suggest other embodiments within the scope of the same concept.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an appearance of a refrigerator according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a door of a refrigerator according to the present invention in an open state.

Referring to these drawings, a refrigerator 1 according to the present invention is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes a main body 10 having a storage space therein, a door 40 for selectively shielding the opened front of the main body 10, The outer shape is formed.

The interior of the main body 10 is divided into right and left by the barriers 11 to form the freezing compartment 20 and the refrigerating compartment 30, respectively. The door 40 includes a refrigerator compartment door 50 for blocking the refrigerating compartment 30 and a freezer compartment door 60 for blocking the freezing compartment 20. The door (40) is configured to be opened and closed by pivoting on both right and left sides.

The refrigerator compartment door 50 may be provided with a home bar 52 that can be taken out or inserted into the refrigerator compartment door 50 without opening or closing the door of the refrigerator compartment door 50 from the outside. A dispenser 62 capable of taking out the ice or purified water from the device 22 can be provided.

The dispenser 62 is provided with a display 64 indicating the operation state of the refrigerator 1 and an operation button 66 for controlling the operation of the refrigerator 1, The ozone concentration inside the storage space detected by the ozone detection sensor (see FIG. 3) to be described below is displayed, and the ozone concentration in the storage space can be adjusted through the operation button 66. [

In the refrigerator compartment 30 and the freezer compartment 20 are provided a plurality of shelves 14 and a drawer 16 for storing foods as well as an ice maker 22, The inner space of the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are divided by the refrigerating compartment 16 so that food of various sizes and types can be separately stored. In addition, a plurality of baskets 18 are mounted on the rear surface of the door 40, so that food can be stored.

In particular, a vegetable compartment 200 is provided at one side of the refrigerating compartment 30 to form a separate space suitable for storage of vegetables or fruits. The vegetable compartment 200 is formed of a drawer type to provide a storage space and forms a storage space independent of other storage spaces in the refrigerating compartment 30.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing a detailed configuration of a vegetable compartment of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the vegetable compartment 200 includes a vegetable compartment case 210 providing a space opened frontward, a vegetable compartment drawer 220 provided in the interior of the compartment 210, An ozone detection sensor 600 for detecting the concentration of ozone in the vegetable compartment 200 and an ozone control device 400 for controlling the concentration of ozone in the vegetable compartment 200.

In detail, the vegetable room case 210 is mounted on the inner side of the refrigerating room 30 to form the outer shape of the vegetable room 200, and is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a substantially open front. The vegetable room case 210 is in contact with the drawer 16 below the vegetable room 200 and the shelf 14 above the vegetable room and is in contact with the left and right wall surfaces of the refrigerating room 30.

A draw-in / out guide 212 for guiding the draw-out of the vegetable compartment drawer 220 is formed on the left and right sides of the inside of the vegetable compartment case 210. On the upper surface of the vegetable compartment case 210, A light hole 214 is formed so as to be perforated so that ultraviolet rays emitted can be irradiated to the inside. In addition, an ozone detecting sensor 600 to be described below is further provided at one side of the inside of the vegetable room case 210.

The vegetable compartment drawer 220 is formed in the same shape as a general drawer. At least the rear surface and left and right side surfaces of the vegetable compartment drawer 220 are formed of transparent or translucent material so that the light irradiated from the visible light irradiation device 230 is irradiated into the storage space Respectively. If the whole vegetable compartment drawer 220 is formed of an opaque material, it may be formed in a shape corresponding to the transmissive portion 214 so that visible light may be irradiated into the compartment.

In addition, guide rails 222 corresponding to the draw-in / out guides 212 are provided on the left and right sides of the vegetable room drawer 220. The guide rails 222 protrude outward and can be moved in the forward and backward direction from the inside of the draw-in / out guide 212. The one side of the draw-in / out guide 212 and / A roller 224 for smooth sliding of the drawer 220 may be further provided.

The vegetable compartment drawer 220 is further provided with a vegetable compartment display 226 for displaying the ozone concentration inside the vegetable compartment case 210 in the same manner as the display 64 provided in the main body 10 described above And an operation button 228 for inputting a control command to the ozone control device 400, which will be described in detail below, may be further provided to the vegetable room display 226, like the operation button 66.

The ozone adjusting device 400 includes a UV LED 420 for emitting ultraviolet rays toward the optical hole 214, an LED chip 410 for controlling the UV lamp 420, And an LED housing 440 accommodating the UD LED 420 is provided. The polarizing plate 460 may further include a polarizer 460 that selectively shields the ultraviolet light emitted from the UV LED 420 from passing through the optical hole 214 while being selectively drawn into the LED housing 440, And a scattering plate 480 for irradiating ultraviolet rays emitted from the UV LED 420 to the lower side of the light guide plate 214

In detail, the UV LED (420) generates UV-C having a wavelength ranging from 100 nm to 280 nm to emit UV-C into the inside of the vegetable room case (210) To adjust the ozone concentration.

The LCD panel 410 receives a control signal for on / off operation of the UV LED 420 and processes the received control signal.

The LED housing 440 is formed to have an inner space for receiving the polarizing plate 460 therein and is configured to be able to slide in and out through one side of the polarizing plate 460 through which the polarizing plate 460 is opened.

In addition, the upper surface of the LED housing 440 is opened to provide a space for accommodating the UV LED 420 mounted on the LED chip 410.

Meanwhile, the UV LED 420 housed in the LED housing 440 is configured to simultaneously emit two ultraviolet rays having different lengths.

That is, when the power is supplied to the UV LED 420, the first ultraviolet ray of 100 nm to 200 nm and the second ultraviolet ray of 200 nm to less than 280 nm are simultaneously emitted.

The first ultraviolet ray emitted from the UV LED 420 is irradiated to the inside of the vegetable chamber case 210 to generate ozone to generate a germ removal effect and preferably emits ultraviolet rays of 185 nm.

The second ultraviolet ray emitted from the UV LED 420 absorbs ozone generated while being irradiated into the cabinet case 210 to reduce the concentration of ozone in the cabinet case 210.

In detail, when the second ultraviolet ray is emitted, ozone and photon, which are ultraviolet rays energy, react with each other in the inside of the vegetable room case 210 to generate hydrogen peroxide. The generated hydrogen peroxide is converted into an initiator ).

Therefore, ozone is decomposed into water and oxygen by the hydrogen peroxide, so that the concentration of ozone in the case 210 can be reduced.

In addition, since the second ultraviolet ray having the above-mentioned function exhibits the highest absorption rate at 254 nm, the UVLID 420 is irradiated with the first ultraviolet ray at 185 nm and the second ultraviolet ray at 254 nm In the UV LED 420, the irradiation rate of the first ultraviolet ray and the second ultraviolet ray can be adjusted in consideration of the ozone absorption rate of the second ultraviolet ray.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the irradiation ratio of the first ultraviolet ray of 185 nm and the second ultraviolet ray of 254 nm is formed to be 9 to 1.

Meanwhile, the ultraviolet rays having different lengths of wavelengths may be selectively blocked while the polarizing plate 460 is drawn into / out of the LED housing 440.

In detail, the polarizing plate 460 is configured to shield all of the light holes 214 to block the second ultraviolet ray having a relatively long length.

A rack gear portion 462 is formed on one side of the polarizing plate 460 for sliding movement and a pinion gear 470 having a tooth shape corresponding to the rack gear portion 462 is provided in the LED housing 440, And a driving motor 490 for rotating the motor.

Accordingly, the pinion gear 470 rotates to move the rack gear portion 462 in accordance with the rotation direction of the driving motor 490, so that the polarizing plate 460 can be slid in / out.

The driving motor 490 rotates in accordance with an operation signal through an operation button 66 provided on the main body 10 or an operation button 228 provided on the vegetable room drawer 220, 460 may be drawn or drawn.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an operation of regulating the concentration of ozone through the ozone regulating apparatus shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of the ozone regulating apparatus shown in FIG.

Referring to these drawings, in the refrigerator 1 according to the present invention, the ozone concentration inside the vegetable room 200 can be confirmed through the display 64 even when the door 40 is shielded. That is, the detection result of the ozone detection sensor 600 provided in the case 210 of the vegetable room is displayed through the display 64, so that the user can easily confirm the detection result.

On the other hand, when the concentration of ozone detected through the display 64 is less than the environmental standard value (home environment reference value is 0.05 ppm), the user turns on the ozone control device 400 using the operation button 66 On.

When the ozone adjusting device 400 is turned on as described above, the first ultraviolet light and the second ultraviolet light are generated in the UVLID 420 and the polarizing plate 480 is disposed at a position Thereby shielding the second ultraviolet ray.

Accordingly, in the above-described state, ozone is generated by the first ultraviolet rays, and the inside of the case 210 is sterilized, thereby increasing the ozone concentration.

When the concentration of ozone continuously increases as described above, the user confirms this and moves the polarizing plate 460 to a position where the polarizing plate 460 does not shield the hole 214 by using the operation button 66.

In such a state, the second ultraviolet ray is irradiated into the hole 214 together with the first ultraviolet ray, and the concentration is reduced while the ozone is photodecomposed by the second ultraviolet ray.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view showing a detailed configuration of a vegetable compartment of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an operation of adjusting the concentration of ozone through the ozone adjusting apparatus shown in FIG. And FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the control process of the ozone control device shown in FIG.

Prior to the description, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment are not described in detail, and the same reference numerals and names are used.

Referring to these drawings, in another embodiment according to the present invention, the first ultraviolet ray and the second ultraviolet ray described in the above-mentioned embodiments can be separately irradiated.

In detail, in another embodiment of the present invention, a first hole 215 and a second hole 216 are formed on the upper surface of the greenhouse case 210 so as to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance.

The ozone generating means 430 for emitting the first ultraviolet rays described above in the above embodiment is provided on the upper side of the first light hole 215 and the upper side of the second light hole 216 is provided in the above- The ozone removing means 450 for emitting the second ultraviolet ray described above is provided to constitute the temperature adjusting device 400.

A scattering plate 480 may be further provided on the lower side of the first and second light holes 215 and 216 as in the above embodiment.

The ozone generating means 430 includes a first LED 422 for generating a first ultraviolet ray, a first LED chip 412 for controlling the first LED 422 and a first LED housing 422 for receiving the first LED 422, (442).

On the upper surface of the first LED housing 442, a first LED receiving portion 441 for receiving the first LED 422 is formed.

The ozone removing means 450 includes a second LED 424 for generating the second ultraviolet ray, a second LED chip 414 for controlling the second LED 424, and a second LED housing 424 for receiving the second LED 424 444).

A second LED receiving portion 443 for receiving the second LED 424 is formed on the upper surface of the second LED housing 442.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the ozone concentration inside the vegetable compartment 200 can be confirmed through the display 64 even when the door 40 is shielded. That is, the detection result of the ozone detection sensor 600 provided in the case 210 of the vegetable room is displayed through the display 64, so that the user can easily confirm the detection result.

When the concentration of ozone detected through the display 64 is less than the environmental standard value (home environment reference value is 0.05 ppm), the user turns on the ozone control device 400 using the operation button 66, .

When the ozone control device 400 is turned on as described above, the first LED 422 or the second LED 424 is controlled to be kept in an operation standby state or to be turned on.

On the other hand, when the concentration of ozone detected through the display 64 is less than the environmental standard value, the ozone generating means 430 may be operated to generate ozone through the operation button 66.

When the ozone generating means 430 is operated, ozone is generated by irradiating a first ultraviolet ray of 100 nm or more and less than 200 nm through the first LED 422 in the greenhouse 210. Accordingly, the vegetable compartment 200 is sterilized by ozone, and the storage state of the food stored in the vegetable compartment 200 can be maintained freshly.

On the other hand, when the operation of the ozone generating means 430 continues and the ozone concentration detected by the ozone detecting sensor 600 exceeds the environmental reference value, the ozone removing means 450 may be operated.

The operation of the ozone removal means 450 may be performed automatically by the second LED's 414 receiving the detection concentration of the ozone detection sensor 600 or may be performed by the operation button 66 or the greenhouse drawer 220, (Not shown).

When the ozone removing means 450 is operated, the second ultraviolet ray of 200 nm or more and less than 280 nm is irradiated through the second LEDs 424 and the ozone generated in the greenhouse case 210 is irradiated by the second ultraviolet rays The photolysis produces water and oxygen, which reduces the concentration of ozone.

Through the above process, the user can adjust the ozone concentration in the case 210 by checking the concentration of ozone in the case 210 or automatically operating the temperature control device 400 .

1 is a view showing an appearance of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

2 is a view showing a door of a refrigerator according to the present invention in an opened state;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing a detailed configuration of a vegetable compartment of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

4 is a view showing an operation of adjusting the concentration of ozone through the ozone adjusting apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the control process of the ozone control device shown in FIG. 3. FIG.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view showing a detailed configuration of a vegetable compartment of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

7 is a view showing an operation of adjusting the concentration of ozone through the ozone adjusting apparatus shown in Fig.

8 is a flowchart showing the control process of the ozone control device shown in FIG.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

200 ..... Vegetable room 210 ..... Vegetable room case

220 ..... Vegetable room drawer 400 ..... Ozone regulator

600 ..... ozone detection sensor

Claims (12)

delete delete delete delete delete A freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment; An ozone sensor disposed at one side of the storage space for sensing the concentration of ozone in the storage space; And And an ozone adjusting device provided on one side of the storage space for selectively irradiating ultraviolet rays having different wavelengths, In the ozone adjusting device, And a polarizing plate for blocking a part of ultraviolet rays emitted into the storage space, wherein the polarizer is configured to emit ultraviolet rays (UV) emitted into the storage space when the ozone concentration of the storage space sensed by the ozone detection sensor is less than an environment reference value, , And moves all the ultraviolet rays into the storage space when the ozone concentration detected by the ozone detection sensor is equal to or higher than the environmental standard value. The method according to claim 6, The ozone adjusting device is provided with a UV LED for emitting ultraviolet rays and two ultraviolet rays having different wavelengths and emission ratios are emitted from the UV LED. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the polarizer blocks ultraviolet rays having a relatively long wavelength. 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, And a display for displaying the concentration of ozone in the storage space detected by the ozone detection sensor. 10. The method of claim 9, Wherein the display further comprises an operation button or an operation button for inputting a control command to the ozone control device. The method according to claim 6, In the vegetable compartment provided in the refrigerating compartment, And a display of the ozone in the storage space detected by the ozone detection sensor is displayed. 12. The method of claim 11, Wherein the vegetable room display further comprises an operation button for inputting a control command to the ozone control device.

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