KR102111771B1 - Method for keeping fresh condition of the crops using a crops storage - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for keeping freshness of crops in a low temperature storage room where crops are stored. According to the present invention, the low temperature storage room comprises: an ozone gas detection means for detecting a concentration of an ozone gas within the low temperature storage room; an ethylene gas detection means for detecting a concentration of an ethylene gas generated from the crops; a plasma ozone generation means installed at an arbitrary place within the low temperature storage room; an OH radical generation means installed at an arbitrary place within the low temperature storage room; a diffusion fan diffusing ozone generated from the ozone generation means and OH-(hydroxyl radical) generated from the OH radical generation means into the low temperature storage room; and a control panel. The method for keeping freshness by using the low temperature storage room comprises the steps of: receiving, from the control panel, whether the low temperature storage room is operated in a manual mode or an automatic mode; if the manual mode is selected, operating the OH radical generation means; receiving, from the control panel, a turn-on time and a turn-off time during generation of the plasma ozone; and operating the plasma ozone generation means corresponding to the turn-on time and the turn-off time of the plasma ozone generation means.

Description

METHOD FOR KEEPING FRESH CONDITION OF THE CROPS USING A CROPS STORAGE}

The present invention relates to a cold storage of crops for maintaining freshness of crops, and more particularly, to a method of maintaining freshness using cold storage of crops capable of automatically measuring the concentration of ozone and ethylene and maintaining freshness of crops based thereon. .

For crops, including fruits, they are kept in storage until after sale. Maintaining the freshness of the crop until the sale of the crop is an important factor affecting the price of the crop.

In the related art, it is known to set the temperature and humidity in the storage according to the outside temperature, or to store the crop using a low-temperature refrigerator in order to maintain the freshness of the crop. In the case of the refrigerator, it is a device that stores crops at a low temperature to prolong the decay or deterioration of the crops, but it was not possible to prevent the crops from decaying after a long time.

The most problematic factors in the preservation of crops include ethylene gas generated from stored crops and pollutants (viruses, fungi) in the surrounding environment. On the other hand, recently, products for maintaining freshness have been released to treat such ethylene gas and harmful bacteria, and the number of farmers installing these products in a low temperature refrigerator is increasing.

However, most of these freshness maintenance devices simply employ ozone gas and insert it into a low-temperature refrigerator, which can lead to indiscriminate abuse of ozone gas and serious environmental pollution. In accordance with the conditions, a low-temperature storage of crops is required to generate an appropriate amount of ozone to maintain the freshness of the crops.

An object of the present invention is to provide a low-temperature crop of a crop that can maintain the freshness of the crop by generating an appropriate amount of ozone in accordance with the conditions of the environment in which the crop is stored, and a method of maintaining the freshness of the crop using the crop.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to one aspect of the present invention, a method of maintaining freshness of a crop in a cold storage in which the crop is stored is provided. In this way,

The low-temperature storage includes ozone gas detection means for detecting the concentration of ozone gas in the low-temperature storage; Ethylene gas detection means for detecting the concentration of ethylene gas generated from crops; Plasma ozone generating means installed at any place in the cold storage room; OH- radical generating means installed at any place in the cold storage; A diffusion fan for diffusing ozone generated from the ozone generating means and OH- (hydroxyl group) generated from the OH-radical generating means into a cold storage room; And a control panel provided, and receiving input from the control panel whether to operate the cold storage in a manual mode or an automatic mode; Operating the OH- radical generating means when the manual mode is selected; Receiving an on time and an off time when plasma ozone is generated from the control panel; And operating the plasma ozone generating means in response to the on and off times of the plasma ozone generating means.

In the above-described aspect, when the automatic mode is selected in the step of receiving input from the control panel whether to operate the cold storage in a manual mode or an automatic mode, the plasma ozone generating means is operated based on ozone gas or based on ethylene gas. Selecting whether or not to; And operating the plasma ozone generating means based on the selected gas.

In the above-described aspect, when the plasma ozone generating means is operated based on ozone gas in the step of selecting whether to operate the plasma ozone generating means based on ozone gas or ethylene gas, the ozone gas detecting means The current ozone gas concentration is read from, and the plasma ozone generating means is operated when the read ozone gas concentration is less than a predetermined ozone gas reference value, and the plasma ozone is generated when the read ozone gas concentration is greater than or equal to a predetermined ozone gas reference value. Sudan operation is stopped.

In the above-described aspect, when the plasma ozone generating means is operated based on ethylene gas in the step of selecting whether to operate the plasma ozone generating means based on ozone gas or based on ethylene gas, the ethylene gas detection means The ethylene gas concentration is read, and the plasma ozone generating means is operated when the read ethylene gas concentration is greater than or equal to the predetermined ethylene gas reference value. Stop the operation.

In the above-described aspect, the predetermined ozone gas reference value is pre-stored or configured to be input by the user, and the predetermined ethylene gas reference value is pre-stored or configured to be input by the user.

According to the present invention, by providing an appropriate amount of ozone in accordance with the conditions of the environment in which the crops are stored, it is possible to provide a low temperature storage of crops that can maintain the freshness of the crops while minimizing environmental pollution and a method of maintaining the freshness of the crops using the crops.

1 is a view schematically showing a cold storage of crops for maintaining freshness according to the present invention.
2 is a view showing a plasma ozone generator and an OH- radical generator and a diffusion fan used in a cold storage of crops according to the present invention.
3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operating principle of the plasma ozone generator used in the cold storage of crops according to the present invention.
Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operating principle of the OH- radical generator used in the cold storage of crops according to the present invention.
5 is a view showing a connection relationship through a control panel of various sensors and environmental control devices used in the cold storage of crops according to the present invention.
Figure 6 is a flow chart showing the processing flow of the manual operation mode in the control unit of the cold storage of crops according to the present invention.
7 is a flow chart showing the processing flow of the automatic operation mode in the control unit of the cold storage of crops according to the present invention.
Figure 8 is a flow chart showing the processing flow of the CA operation mode in the control unit of the cold storage of crops according to the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will be clarified with reference to embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various different forms.

In the present specification, this embodiment is provided to make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and to fully inform the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. And the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Thus, in some embodiments, well-known components, well-known operations, and well-known techniques are not specifically described to avoid obscuring the present invention.

The same reference numerals refer to the same components throughout the specification. In addition, the terms (mentioned) used in this specification are for describing the embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. In the present specification, the singular form also includes the plural form unless otherwise specified in the phrase. In addition, components and actions recited as 'include (or have)' do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components and actions.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present specification may be used as meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Also, terms that are defined in a commonly used dictionary are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless they are defined.

Hereinafter, technical features of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view showing one embodiment of the cold storage of crops 10 according to the present invention. As shown, the crop cold storage 10 may be formed in an independent container-type cold storage or any space in the interior of an existing building.

The cold storage of the crop 10 is surrounded by a space (S) in which the crop box 20 is loaded, and a wall surface (w) is formed, and at least one of the wall surfaces is formed with a door (G) for the administrator or operator.

A freshness maintenance system is installed in the space S of the cold storage of crops 10. The freshness maintenance system includes a plasma ozone generator 120 for generating ozone (O3), an OH radical generator for generating OH- radicals 130, and the generated ozone and OH radicals into the cold storage 10. Diffusion fan 140 for diffusion, ethylene detection sensor 110 for detecting the amount of ethylene (C ₂ H ₄ ) discharged from the crop, ozone detection sensor 170 for detecting the amount of ozone in the space S, And a nitrogen / carbon dioxide detection sensor 175 capable of detecting nitrogen (N) and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, and a nitrogen / carbon dioxide supplyer 185 for supplying nitrogen or carbon dioxide to the inside or outside of the cold storage 10 ) Is further provided.

2 is a view schematically showing an embodiment of a plasma ozone generator 120, an OH radical generator 130 and a diffusion fan 140 installed in a cold storage 10 of a crop according to the present invention, and FIG. It is an explanatory diagram for explaining ozone production using.

2 and 3, the plasma ozone generator 120 includes a high voltage supply unit 122 and an ozone emission unit 124. The ozone emitting unit 124 has a structure including a dielectric between two electrodes. In this structure, when a strong voltage is applied to the two electrodes by the high voltage supply unit 122, a strong electric field is formed on the surface of the dielectric.

The electric field formed on the dielectric surface causes discharge between the electric fields. Oxygen molecules (O2) are supplied between the discharged electrodes, and a part of the oxygen molecules (O2) is dissociated into two oxygen atoms (O + O) by discharge energy. The dissociated oxygen atom (O) may react with undissociated oxygen molecules (O2) to form ozone (O3).

4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operating principle of the OH radical generator 130 for generating OH radicals used in the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the OH radical generator 130 includes a photocatalyst substrate 134 for generating OH, and a UV light source 132 that supplies energy for activating the photocatalyst substrate 134.

Although various materials can be used as a photocatalyst material used in the photocatalytic oxidation method, titanium dioxide (TiO2), which is known to have a sterilizing power, is basically used in the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, as the photocatalyst substrate 134 of the present invention, an aluminum substrate is used as the base substrate, and a titanium dioxide layer coated on the aluminum substrate is used. According to this structure, OH radicals may be generated. Various materials such as wood, metal, and glass can be used as the base substrate, but the aluminum substrate is easy to process and handle, and has a high thermal conductivity when drying.

-OH generation route

OH radicals are involved in the production of H ₂ O in molecular high density aggregates. This means that in high density gases, OH is mainly formed by dissociation recombination of H ₃ O ⁺ H ₃ O ⁺ . Dissociative recombination is a reaction in which molecular ions recombine with electrons and dissociate into neutral fragments. The important production mechanism for OH is as follows.

-OH destruction path

Experimental data on the association reaction of H and OH can be regarded as an effective mechanism for the formation of small neutral molecules in low density aggregates, where radioactive associations involving atoms and dual neutral radicals. The formation of O ₂ occurs through a neutral exchange reaction between O and OH, which is also the main source of absorption of OH in the high density region.

It can be seen that atomic oxygen participates in the production and destruction of OH. Therefore, · OH is largely dependent on the abundance of plenty of H ₃ ^+. The important chemical pathway equations derived from the following OH radicals are:

Preferably, as the photocatalyst material according to the present invention, in addition to titanium dioxide, any one of Ag (silver), Cu (copper), nickel (Ni), and Rh (rhodium) or a combination thereof may be used, and accordingly OH-rady Curls can be created.

For example, the following table is a table showing the amount of hydrogen generated after hydrogen generation using gamma rays for catalysts of a kind that can be used in the present invention.

Therefore, according to such a structure, when the titanium dioxide coated aluminum surface is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, atoms such as OH-, e, and h are generated, and at this time, OH- radicals may be generated.

The OH radical generated in this way absorbs OH from various suspended bacteria and organic substances in the low-temperature storage, and thus bacteria (E. coli, cholera bacteria, equipment bryobacteria, dysentery bacteria, staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella, Lazionella, and Mutans bacteria ( Cavities causing bacteria), Candida, etc.) and the DNA of organic substances can be destroyed, that is, oxidized (sterilized), odor can be removed, and finally, it is reduced to O2, CO2, H2O, which is harmless to the human body.

In the present invention, as described above, ozone (O3) and OH- radicals can be generated together, and the generated ozone and OH- radicals are dispersed and diffused into the space in the cold storage by the diffusion fan 140.

A plurality of diffusion fans 140 may be installed so that ozone and OH-radicals are uniformly distributed in the space, and in addition to the diffusion fans 140, an air convection device or the like may be further disposed in the cold storage.

In the present invention, by using an atmospheric volatilization method rather than a method of inhaling and filtering air in a conventional cold storage tank, the effect of oxidizing and removing odors caused by ethylene gas present in the air in the cold storage tank, various bacteria, as well as the conventional suction method It is possible to remove various bacteria present in the walls, ceilings, etc. of the cold storage that could not be removed.

Next, the ethylene detection sensor 110 for detecting the amount of ethylene (C ₂ H ₄ ) discharged from the crop and the ozone detection sensor 170 for detecting the amount of ozone will be described.

Ethylene gas is a gas generated during the ripening process of fruits or crops. Ethylene gas from crops is used to determine the ripeness of fruits. The ethylene detection sensor 110 for measuring the amount of ethylene gas should be installed to more accurately measure the amount of ethylene gas generated by crops. In the present invention, by installing the auto-reel device 100 on the ceiling or wall for this purpose, by installing the ethylene detection sensor 110 at the end of the reel of the auto-reel device, the ethylene detection sensor 110 through the auto-reel crops It is configured to be disposed close to the box from the top of the loaded box.

When ethylene gas is combined with ozone gas, ethylene gas reacts with ozone to decompose into carbon dioxide and neutral aldehyde. In this case, it is difficult to detect the exact amount of ethylene gas generated when the ethylene detection sensor is installed away from the crop. do. Therefore, in the present invention, an ethylene detection sensor is directly placed near the crop for accurate detection of ethylene gas.

Since the installation height of the ethylene detection sensor 110 can be adjusted in correspondence to the height of the crop loading box by automatically moving the ethylene detection sensor vertically from the loading box of the crop using an auto reel, the ethylene gas of the crop The amount generated can be measured more accurately.

In addition, for the movement of the auto-reel device in the horizontal direction, a rail portion is installed on the ceiling to allow the auto-reel device to move in the horizontal direction (direction along the wall), and the auto-reel device is installed to be movable along the rail. According to this, the auto reel device can be moved along the wall surface, and the effect that the amount of ethylene gas generated in the crop loading box at the desired point can be detected can be obtained.

The ozone detection sensor 170 measures the amount of ozone gas in the cold storage. To this end, the ozone detection sensor 170 may be arranged in one or more places in the low temperature storage by hanging the auto reel device in the same manner as the ethylene detection sensor 110 described above, and arranged to take an average value by measuring four square corners inside the storage. Can be.

The above-described ethylene detection sensor 110 and ozone detection sensor 170 may be provided as separate devices, or may be provided as one integrated unit, which can be selectively applied by a person skilled in the art in practical use. , The present invention is not limited to this.

In addition to the above-described ethylene detection sensor 110 and ozone detection sensor 170, a nitrogen / carbon dioxide detection sensor 175 for detecting concentrations of nitrogen and carbon dioxide is further provided in the cold storage according to the present invention. The nitrogen / carbon dioxide detection sensor 175 may be configured to be disposed close to the box from the top of the box on which crops are loaded through an auto reel, similar to the ethylene detection sensor or ozone detection sensor described above. It can be attached to a wall or ceiling to measure the concentration of nitrogen / carbon dioxide.

The above-described nitrogen / carbon dioxide detection sensor may be used in another CA mode (Controlled Atmosphere mode) according to the present invention.

In addition, the cold storage of crops 10 according to the present invention further includes a temperature / humidity control device 150 for controlling the temperature and humidity of the indoor air. Temperature / humidity control device 150 is installed to control the temperature and humidity in the cold storage, for this purpose, the temperature and humidity detection sensor is included in the crop cold storage 10 or the temperature / humidity control device 150 .

The temperature and humidity controller 150 includes a case, a heater installed inside the case, a fan that circulates air, a temperature sensor that senses temperature, a humidity sensor that senses humidity, and a communication unit that communicates with an external control panel. It can be made including.

The outer wall of the cold storage of crops 10 is provided with a door G for access to the cold storage, and a control panel 30 is provided around the door. The control panel 30 includes an ozone generator, an OH radical generator (including an UV lamp), a diffusion fan, a temperature and humidity controller, a lamp showing the operating state of the sensors, a button for setting the operating time and a stop time, and a device of a cold storage device. It includes buttons for operating on / off, a mode setting button for setting an operation mode, and a window showing the current ozone concentration, ethylene gas concentration, temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and nitrogen concentration in the cold storage.

5 is a block diagram showing a connection relationship between the control panel as described above, environmental sensors connected to the control panel, and various devices operated by the control panel. As shown, the control panel 30 is connected to the ethylene detection sensor 110, ozone detection sensor 170, temperature / humidity detection sensor, and nitrogen / carbon dioxide detection sensor 175, and ethylene detected from these sensors Based on the values of ozone, temperature, humidity, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide, the ozone generator 120, OH radical generator 130, diffusion fan 140, temperature / humidity regulator 150, carbon dioxide and nitrogen supply 185 It is configured to control the operation of the connected solenoid valve.

The control panel 30 includes a power button 21 for supplying power to the control panel 30; An ozone generator 120, an OH radical generator 130, a diffusion fan 140, a temperature / humidity regulator 150, and an LED display 22 for displaying the operating states of the sensors 110, 170; An operation mode switch 23 for selecting whether to perform in an automatic mode or a manual mode for controlling the operation of the ozone generator, OH radical generator, diffusion fan, temperature / humidity regulator, or CA mode for controlling the concentration of nitrogen and carbon dioxide; A setting window 24 provided to set up and stop times, ethylene detection reference values, ozone detection reference values, temperature reference values, humidity reference values, etc. of each of the devices described above; And an environment display unit 25 for displaying the temperature, humidity, ozone amount, and ethylene amount of the current cold storage. The control unit or computing device in the control panel 30 controls operations of the devices as described above.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the control panel 30 is further provided with a network communication module 190, and the user can remotely monitor the state of the cold storage through an application installed in the network communication module 190 and a smartphone. It can be confirmed and is also configured to operate the control panel 30. In addition, the user is configured to check whether the door is opened or closed through the application, adjustment of various set values, and carbon dioxide and nitrogen concentrations in the CA processing state through the mobile phone app.

When crops are stored in the cold storage, data such as humidity, temperature, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, ozone concentration, and ethylene gas concentration are stored and databased, which can be used as big data and improve the function as a smart cold storage. have.

As the control panel 30 is disposed outside of the cold storage 10, an operator can grasp the current temperature and humidity of the cold storage, current ethylene content, ozone content, nitrogen and carbon dioxide concentration from outside without entering the cold storage inside. In addition, it is possible to change or modify the current operating state of the cold storage through the setting window 24 provided on the operation panel.

Next, with reference to Figures 6 to 8 will be described with respect to the operation method in the control unit of the freshness maintenance system according to the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating that the freshness maintaining system according to the present invention operates in a manual mode, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating that the freshness maintaining system according to the present invention operates in an automatic mode.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, first, the operation of the freshness maintenance system is started in S100. In the subsequent step S110, the control unit in the control panel 30 determines the operation mode from the operation mode switch 23 of the control panel 30. If it is determined that the operation mode switch 23 is in the manual mode, the step proceeds to step S120, and if it is determined to be the automatic mode, the step proceeds to S200, and if the operation mode is the CA mode, the step proceeds to S300.

When it is determined in step S110 that the manual mode, the controller enters the manual mode in step S120, and operates the OH radical generator in step S130. The OH radical generator generates OH radicals by turning on a UV lamp and irradiating left-side ultraviolet rays on the photocatalytic substrate 134.

In step S140, the control unit receives and sets the turn-on time (possibly in seconds) of the plasma ozone generator from the user through a setting window 24 provided as a touch panel on the control panel 30, and simultaneously sets the plasma ozone generator in step S150. The turn-off time (possible in seconds) is input and set, and then the plasma ozone generator is operated in response to the time input in step S160, and when the input turn-off time is reached, the plasma ozone generator and the OH radical generator are turned on. Turn off and exit.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart that proceeds when it is determined in step S110 of FIG. 6 that it is an automatic mode. If it is determined in step S110 that the automatic mode, the controller enters the automatic mode in step S200, and operates the OH radical generator in step S210.

After operating the OH radical generator in step S210, in step S220, an automatic mode is operated based on ozone gas or ethylene gas, and a subsequent step is performed by receiving a user input.

In step S220, when the user automatically operates the system based on ozone gas in the storage room, the process proceeds to step S230a, and when the system is automatically operated based on ethylene gas, the process proceeds to step S230b.

When the system is automatically operated based on ozone gas, in step S230a, the control unit causes the user to select data through the setting window 24. In this step, the user selects whether to use the existing stored data or to directly input the data through the setting window 24.

The existing storage data may be data in which a reference amount of ozone gas is previously stored for each item of crops. For example, the items of agricultural products may be data stored separately for fruits such as apples, pears, strawberries, vegetables such as radishes, cabbages, lettuce, or data separately stored according to shipping dates of agricultural products.

When the user selects a data call mode using the existing stored data in step S230a (step S240a), step S242a proceeds, and in step S242a, the control unit reads the detection value from the ozone sensor and determines whether the ozone gas detection value is higher than the reference value. If it is determined and the reference value is greater than or equal to the reference value, the process proceeds to step S290, whereby the ozone generator and the OH radical generator are turned off and stopped, and if it is determined that the case is below the reference value in step S242a, the plasma ozone generator is continuously operated until the reference value is reached.

On the other hand, when the user selects the data input mode in step S230a (step 250a), the control unit receives a reference ozone value from the user through the setting window 24 as in step S252a. Direct input from the user is useful for temporary storage measures such as short-term preservation, or handling of harmful bacteria before delivery, when input data such as early shipment of crops is not required.

In step S254a, the control unit determines the ozone reference value input from the user, and determines whether the value input from the user is within an appropriate range value or a threshold value. If the concentration of the input ozone reference value is high, it may damage the freshness of the crop, so the control unit compares the ozone reference value input from the user with the maximum ozone value input in the built-in data and, if it exceeds, the setting window (24) Warning or error display should be performed.

If the reference ozone value input in step S254a is within the normal range, step proceeds to S242a and repeats steps S242a to S244a using the input reference ozone value, and processes the process when it is determined that the reference value is exceeded in step S242a. Stopping and returning to step S242a, the ozone level in the storage chamber is continuously monitored. This process continues until the user ends the operation of the plasma ozone generator and the OH radical generator through the control panel.

Next, the case where ethylene gas is selected as the reference gas in step S220 will be described. If ethylene gas is selected as the reference gas in S220, the step is selected as S230b, and similarly to step S230a described previously, in step S230b, when the data call mode using the existing stored data is selected (step S240b), the step proceeds to S242b. In step S242b, the control unit reads the detection value from the ethylene detection sensor, determines whether the detected ethylene gas detection value is greater than or equal to the reference value, and if it is lower than the reference value, proceeds to step S290 to turn off and stop the ozone generator and the OH radical generator. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S242b that it is greater than or equal to the reference value, the plasma ozone generator is continuously operated until the reference value is reached (S244b).

On the other hand, if the user selects the data input mode in step S230b (step 250b), the control unit receives a reference ethylene value to the user through the setting window 24 as in step S252b. Direct input from the user is useful for temporary storage measures such as short-term preservation, or handling of harmful bacteria before delivery, when input data such as early shipment of crops is not required.

In step S254b, the control unit determines the ethylene reference value input from the user, and determines whether the value input from the user is within an appropriate range value or a threshold value. When the concentration of the input ethylene reference value is high, since the freshness of the crop cannot be maintained, the control unit compares the ethylene reference value input from the user with the maximum ethylene value input in the built-in data and sets it if it exceeds it. Warning or error display is performed on the window 24.

If the reference ethylene value input in step S254b is within the normal range, the process proceeds to S242b and repeats steps S242b to S244b using the input reference ethylene value, and processes it if it is determined that the reference value is exceeded in step S242b. Stop and return to step S242b to continue monitoring ethylene levels in the storage room. This process continues until the user ends the operation of the plasma ozone generator and the OH radical generator through the control panel.

8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation flow in CA mode according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the CA mode is performed in step S310, the controller first operates the OH radical generator and then enters step S320 to allow the user to select the CA sub-mode.

The CA sub-mode consists of a rapid mode, an ultra-low oxygen mode, and a low ethylene mode as shown, and when the user selects the rapid mode in step S320 (S331), the control unit increases the concentration of O2 in the low temperature storage to a preset concentration 24 The solenoid valve of the nitrogen / carbon dioxide feeder is controlled to gradually lower over time.

On the other hand, when the user selects the ultra-low oxygen mode in step S320 (S333), the control unit controls the solenoid valve of the nitrogen / carbon dioxide supply to gradually lower the concentration of O2 in the cold storage to a concentration of 1% or less.

In addition, when the user selects the ultra-low oxygen mode in step S320 (S335), the control unit operates to remove ethylene gas in the cold storage. This is useful for storing fruits in the early stages of maturity or removing ethylene at the beginning of storage of crops.

The following table is a table showing the temperature and humidity, gas concentration, and storage period of crops used in the CA mode.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cold storage of crops capable of maintaining freshness of crops while minimizing environmental pollution by generating an appropriate amount of ozone in accordance with the conditions of the environment in which the crops are stored.

As described above, the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in the present specification and drawings are merely presented as specific examples to help understanding, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It is apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention can be implemented in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims rather than limited by the above-described embodiments, and all technical spirits within the equivalent range should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

10: cold storage
20: crop box
30: Control panel
100: auto reel device
110: ethylene detection sensor
120: plasma ozone generator
130: OH- radical generator
140: diffusion fan
150: temperature / humidity control device
170: ozone detection sensor

Claims (8)

In the method of maintaining the freshness of the crop in a cold storage where the crop is stored,
The low-temperature storage includes ozone gas detection means for detecting the concentration of ozone gas in the low-temperature storage; Ethylene gas detection means for detecting the concentration of ethylene gas generated from crops; Plasma ozone generating means installed at any place in the cold storage room; OH- radical generating means installed at any place in the cold storage; A diffusion fan for diffusing ozone generated from the ozone generating means and OH- (hydroxyl group) generated from the OH-radical generating means into a cold storage room; And a control panel,
Including the step of receiving input from the control panel whether to operate the cold storage in a manual mode or an automatic mode;
When manual mode is selected,
Operating the OH-radical generating means;
Receiving an on-time and an off-time when plasma ozone is generated from the control panel;
Operating the plasma ozone generating means in response to the on and off times of the plasma ozone generating means,
When automatic mode is selected,
Selecting whether to operate the plasma ozone generating means based on ozone gas or based on ethylene gas;
And operating the plasma ozone generating means based on the selected gas.
How to keep crops fresh.
delete According to claim 1,
When the plasma ozone generating means is operated based on ozone gas in the step of selecting whether to operate based on ozone gas or based on ethylene gas,
The current ozone gas concentration is read from the ozone gas detection means,
When the read ozone gas concentration is smaller than a predetermined ozone gas reference value, the plasma ozone generating means is operated,
Characterized in that the operation of the plasma ozone generating means is stopped when the read ozone gas concentration is greater than or equal to a predetermined ozone gas reference value.
How to keep crops fresh.
According to claim 1,
When the plasma ozone generating means is operated based on ethylene gas in the step of selecting whether to operate based on ozone gas or based on ethylene gas,
The current ethylene gas concentration is read from the ethylene gas detection means,
If the read ethylene gas concentration is greater than or equal to a predetermined ethylene gas reference value, the plasma ozone generating means is operated,
Characterized in that the operation of the plasma ozone generating means is stopped when the read ethylene gas concentration is smaller than a predetermined ethylene gas reference value.
How to keep crops fresh.
According to claim 3,
The predetermined ozone gas reference value may be stored in advance or configured to be input by a user.
How to keep crops fresh.
The method of claim 4,
The predetermined ethylene gas reference value may be stored in advance or configured to be input by a user.
How to keep crops fresh.
According to claim 1,
The low temperature reservoir is a carbon dioxide detection means and a nitrogen gas detection means for measuring carbon dioxide and nitrogen concentration in the low temperature storage, and a carbon dioxide supply means and a nitrogen gas supply means for supplying carbon dioxide gas and nitrogen gas in the low temperature storage Further comprising,
The control panel further comprises the step of operating the cold storage in CA mode (Controlled Atmosphere mode),
When the CA mode is selected, after operating the OH-radical generating means, the next step;
An operation step of gradually lowering the O ₂ concentration in the cold storage to a predetermined concentration within 24 hours;
Lowering the O ₂ concentration in the cold storage step by step to 1% or less;
Operating to remove ethylene in the cold storage;
Characterized in that it is configured to perform any one of
How to keep crops fresh.
According to claim 1,
The cold storage further includes a wireless communication means for communicating with an application installed on an external smartphone or an external server,
Further comprising the steps of monitoring and adjusting the nitrogen concentration, carbon dioxide concentration, current temperature and humidity, ozone gas concentration, ethylene gas concentration in the cold storage through the application.
How to keep crops fresh.

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