KR20070044947A - Refrigerator and method for keeping food using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator that maintains the freshness of food for a long time and suppresses the reduction of nutrients contained in the food and a food storage method using the same. The present invention, the refrigerator body; A storage room provided in the refrigerator body to store food; An irradiation device for irradiating light in a visible light region to the storage room; In addition, provided in the storage room, and provides a refrigerator and a food storage method using the same comprising a purifying device for removing ethylene generated from the food stored in the storage room.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the freshness of the food stored in the refrigerator can be maintained for a long time, and the reduction of the nutrients contained in the food can be suppressed.

Refrigerator, Irradiator, Color, Purifier

Description

Refrigerator and Method for keeping food using the same

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator provided with a conventional food container;

2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a food container according to the present invention is applied to a side by side refrigerator;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the food container of Figure 2;

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

5 is a partial perspective view showing the irradiation apparatus of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the selection device of FIG.

<Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings>

20: refrigerator 200: food container

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

231a, 231b, and 231c: light emitting element 231aR: red light emitting diode

231aG: Green Light Emitting Diode 231aW: White Light Emitting Diode

233a, 233b, 233c: substrate 237a, 237b, 237c: protective cover

250a, 250b, 250c: selector 251a: off button

253a: red selector button 255a: green selector button

257a: toggle mode selection button 270a, 270b, 270c: top panel

280: thermostat 290a, 290b, 290c: purifier

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator that improves a structure to maintain freshness for a long time and suppresses a decrease in nutrients contained in food.

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 vegetables and fruits (hereinafter collectively referred to as "vegetables") more freshly. . Therefore, the vegetable compartment in the refrigerating compartment may be an example of a food storage container.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 1, a refrigerator equipped with a conventional food storage container will be described.

FIG. 1 illustrates a case in which the food storage container 20 is applied to a top-mounted refrigerator in which a freezing compartment is located at an upper portion of the refrigerators of various types and a refrigerating compartment is located at the lower portion of the freezing compartment.

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, the inhibition of breathing and transpiration is essential 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 typical home refrigerator is provided with a food storage container which is a space for storing vegetables as a space independent of the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator. The food storage container is controlled to maintain the humidity by the moisture that is evaporated from the vegetables, while maintaining the appropriate low temperature state of vegetables. Therefore, by the food container it is possible to maintain vegetables fresh 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 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 a food storage container 20 provided below the refrigerator 10, in particular, The concentration of chlorophyll in the green leafy vegetables is prevented from being lowered, and consequently, the quality of the leafy vegetables is prevented.

Particularly, when the drawer type food container is open, the refrigerator 10 operates an illumination lamp 29 for allowing a user to visually recognize an object inside the storage room 21, and the drawer type food container is closed. In this state, the irradiation apparatus 23 was operated to prevent the degradation of the quality of the green leafy vegetables caused by the 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 classifying food storage containers into a plurality of storage rooms and irradiating light of an appropriate wavelength according to the type of vegetables. More specifically, the light emitting diode device is 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 refrigerator according to the prior art has the following problems.

First, the conventional irradiating apparatus can be selected by combining the light emitting colors of the three kinds of light emitting diodes in the conventional irradiating apparatus, but the selected emitting color is irradiated uniformly. However, since the effective light emission color is different for each kind of food, all foods are not evenly fresh when various foods are stored in a storage room.

Second, the conventional food storage container has a problem in that ethylene is generated in the food being stored to rot the fruits or to wither vegetables quickly.

Third, although the conventional irradiation apparatus is provided with a selection means for selecting the emission color by the three-color light emitting diode element, as described above, the selection means for selecting the emission color because the emission color of light suitable for any food is not known. This had no high effectiveness.

Even though the experiment shows that the light emission color of light is effective according to the type of food, it is very cumbersome for the user to select the emission color by remembering this information one by one, or to select the emission color of the irradiated light by searching for related information. There was this.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can maintain the freshness and nutritional ingredients of the food evenly stored 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 to store food; An irradiation device for irradiating light in a visible light region to the storage room; In addition, the refrigerator is provided in the storage chamber, and includes a purifying apparatus for removing ethylene generated from the food stored in the storage chamber.

The purifier preferably comprises a palladium catalyst. In addition, the purifier is more preferably made of a spherical hollow core portion and a porous carbon shell portion, and more preferably comprises a plurality of nano carbon balls impregnated with an antimicrobial metal or metal salt.

On the other hand, the irradiation apparatus preferably comprises a light emitting diode (LED). And it is more preferable that the irradiation apparatus is set differently from the light emission color of light irradiated corresponding to the color of food stored in the storage room.

And it is preferable to include a selection device for selecting the color of the food stored in the storage room, and to switch the emission color of the light irradiated by the irradiation device corresponding to the color of the selected food. In addition, in the irradiation apparatus, it is preferable that the emission color of light to be irradiated is switched over time.

Food storage method using a refrigerator according to the invention the storage step of storing food; Irradiating light in a visible light region to the stored food; And, it comprises a purification step of removing ethylene generated from the stored food.

In the irradiation step, it is preferable that the emission color of light irradiated corresponding to the color of the food to be stored is set differently. In addition, in the irradiation step, it is more preferable to switch the emission color of the light to be irradiated with time.

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 refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are provided on the right and left sides of the refrigerator body, respectively, and the food storage container 200 is provided under the refrigerator compartment in the refrigerator body.

The food container 200 includes a plurality of storage chambers 210a, b, and c, irradiation devices 230a, b, and c, selection devices 250a, b, and c, and purification devices 290a, b, and c. It is configured to include.

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.

And the food container 200 is preferably designed in a sealed structure in order to prevent the humidity from leaking to the outside. 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 number of the storage chamber (210a, b, c) is not limited. It may be composed of one single storage compartment, it may be composed of a plurality of storage compartments partitioned from each other. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the food container 200 illustrates a form consisting of a total of three storage compartments (210a, b, c) partitioned in the vertical direction.

And one or more of the storage compartment (210a, b, c) may be further provided with a temperature control device 280 that can adjust the temperature in the storage compartment (210a, b, c) to serve as a storage function of meat or vegetables. .

The irradiation apparatuses 230a, b, and c serve to irradiate light in the visible light region to the storage chambers 210a, b, and c.

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.

On the other hand, the irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c) is a substrate (233a, b, c), the light emitting elements (231a, b, c) provided on the substrate (233a, b, c), the light emitting element (231a) and protective covers 237a, b, and c for preventing moisture from penetrating into b, c, and preventing damage to the light emitting devices 231a, b, and c.

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 the food container 200.

In this embodiment, since the light emitting devices 231a, b, and c are formed of light emitting diodes, the temperature generated by the light emitting devices 231a, b, and c is minimized by minimizing heat generated by the irradiation devices 230a, b, and c. Minimize, and can be driven at a lower power than the other irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c).

The present inventors determine the light emission color of the most effective light to the food stored by the experiment according to the color of the food stored, if the color of the food stored is red-based, irradiated with red-based light, Irradiating green light was found to be most effective in maintaining the freshness and impact of food.

For reference, the food stored in the food container 200 may be mainly classified into vegetables and fruits. In addition, the vegetables can be classified into leaf vegetables (이용하는 葉菜 類) using leaves or stems, root vegetables (roots) using roots or stems, and fruit vegetables (果菜類) using fruits, according to the use part. .

When the various types of vegetables and fruits are classified according to colors as described above, examples of red-based foods include strawberries, tomatoes, plums, and spinach, bok choy, cabbage, and the like. Can be mentioned.

The inventor divided the food into a red series and a green series as described above, irradiated with a red light emitting diode to the food classified as a red series, irradiated by combining a green and white light emitting diode to the food classified as a green series, The change in freshness of the stored food was measured after a certain period of time.

As a result, it was confirmed that discoloration of food is significantly reduced and drying phenomenon is remarkably reduced in foods of green type than those irradiated with visible white light emitting diodes uniformly. It was confirmed that the phenomenon hardly occurred.

Accordingly, when the food of a single color series is stored in the storage chamber, the freshness can be maintained by irradiating light of the corresponding emission color.

On the other hand, when the red-based and green-based food is stored together in the storage room there is a problem in maintaining the freshness of any one of the color-based food. For example, when strawberries of red color and blue color of green color are stored together in one storage room, when the light is irradiated with a red light emitting diode corresponding to color of red color, strawberry freshness is maintained. Although it is effective in maintaining the freshness, the effect of maintaining the freshness occurs.

In this embodiment, as a means to solve this problem, the irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c) so that the emission color of the light to be irradiated is switched over time so that the food stored as needed can be evenly maintained Configured. Specifically, by adjusting the on, off time of the red, white, green light emitting diodes, the light emission color of the irradiated light is configured to switch over time.

For example, the selection devices 250a, b, and c are switched to irradiate a combination of green and white light emitting diodes 231aG and 231aW in the red light emitting diode 231aR in the first storage chamber 211a, and then again to be fixed. After a time has elapsed, the red light emitting diode 231aR is switched to be irradiated in a combination of green and white light emitting diodes 231aG and 231aW.

On the other hand, the light irradiated by the irradiation device (230a, b, c) can be configured to be made by a combination of light including red, green, indigo blue, yellow and white.

Through experiments, the inventors combine red light when the color of the food is red, green light and white light when the food is green, and white color when the food is yellow. In the case where the color of light and food is white, the irradiation device combines yellow light and white light, and when the color of food is violet, the irradiation device combines yellow light and white light. It turned out that the effect is great.

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 compartments 210a, b, and c, or may be provided on the outer side of the storage compartments 210a, b, and c.

And, as shown in Figure 4, the irradiation apparatus is provided integrally with the main body at the outer rear of the storage chamber, the light irradiated from the irradiation apparatus (230a, b, c) to the storage chamber (210a, b, c) It is irradiated into the storage chamber 210a, b, c through the side wall which forms. Accordingly, the sidewalls forming the storage chambers 210a, b, and c are preferably made of a material that transmits light.

The purifiers 290a, b, and c are provided in a storage chamber, and serve to remove ethylene generated from food stored in the storage chambers 210a, b, and c.

In general, ethylene is one of the plant aging hormones that promotes fruit and leaf detachment and decay, promotes chlorophyll breakdown and carotenoid pigmentation, and promotes respiration to accelerate the post-harvest aging process. It is also known to cause fruit to decay quickly, even with a little passing, and to wither vegetables and flowers quickly.

The amount of ethylene released and its sensitivity to ethylene are shown in the following table.

Kinds Product Name Ethylene Release Rate (μl / kg · hr) Ethylene sensitivity vegetable Cucumber lettuce, cabbage, broccoli potatoes, asparagus 0.1 ~ 1.0 0.1 or less 0.1 or less High high medium fruit Apple Pear, Apricot, Peach, Tangerine, Orange Tomato, Banana Kiwi, Persimmon 10.0 ~ 100.0 10.0 ~ 100.0 1.0 ~ 10.0 0.1 ~ 1.0 High high high medium

The present invention has a purification device (290a, b, c) for purifying ethylene on the upper side of the storage chamber (210a, b, c) was configured to suppress the rot and aging of vegetables by ethylene.

The purifiers 290a, b, and c may be formed in various forms, but include a palladium (Pd) catalyst, and are preferably made of a plurality of nano carbon balls (NCB).

It is of course also possible to configure the purifiers 290a, b and c using activated carbon. The activated carbon is a porous black powder widely used for gas or liquid purification, and serves to purify the gas and liquid by adsorbing and removing a contaminant to pores on the surface of the activated carbon.

On the other hand, if the pore size, distribution, etc. of the surface of the adsorbent are optimized according to the type, amount, and concentration of contaminants, the performance of the adsorbent can be maximized. Due to the limitations of this control is virtually impossible, the performance and efficiency of activated carbon does not come as expected.

In the present embodiment, the nano carbon ball constituting the purification politics is composed of a spherical hollow core portion and a porous carbon shell portion, and is formed in a form in which an antimicrobial metal or metal salt is attached to the carbon shell portion. In addition, the nano-carbon ball is applied to the nano-technology that can adjust the size and distribution of the pores according to the desired purpose, the pore size and distribution can be produced in an optimal state according to the type of contaminant, ethylene purification It shows superior performance compared to existing activated carbon.

The present inventors have found that, when the above-described purification apparatuses 290a, b, and c are configured together with the above-described irradiation apparatuses 230a, b, and c, the effect of maintaining the freshness of food is significantly improved.

The selection devices 250a, b, and c select a color of food stored in the storage chambers 210a, b, and c, and the irradiation devices 230a, b, and c irradiate corresponding to the color of the selected food. It plays a role of converting light emission color. A detailed configuration of the selection devices 250a, b, and c will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

On the other hand, although not shown, the food storage container 200 preferably includes an opening and closing detection sensor for detecting whether the storage chamber (210a, b, c) opening and closing. And it is preferable to configure whether the light is irradiated by the irradiation device (230a, b, c) when it is determined whether the storage chamber (210a, b, c) opening and closing through the opening and closing sensor and the storage chamber is closed.

Referring to FIG. 5, the arrangement of the light emitting device will be described below.

In this embodiment, the circle formed by the central portion is divided at the same angle, and red, green, and white light emitting diodes 231aR, 231aG, and 231aW are disposed in each of the divided fan-shaped spaces.

Here, the green and white light emitting diodes 231aG and 231aW are configured to be irradiated together with the green food, and are arranged adjacent to each other in the partitioned fan-shaped space.

In addition, the light emitting device is preferably to increase the irradiation angle of the light so as to evenly irradiate the food stored in the light.

As described above, the present embodiment exemplifies the form of the red, green, and white light emitting devices, but it is of course possible to configure the light emitting device including other indigo blue or yellow light emitting devices.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the irradiation apparatuses 230a, b, and c exemplify a form in which the light emitting elements 231a, b, and c are concentrated on one side of the outer rear, but the irradiation apparatus is located above the storage chamber. It may be provided, or may be provided with a predetermined interval in the horizontal and vertical direction over a wide range from the outer rear.

Referring to Figure 6, the selection device according to the present invention will be described.

In the present embodiment, the selection devices 250a, b, and c are provided in front of each of the upper panels 270a, b, and c. 8 shows the configuration of the selection device 250a corresponding to the first storage chamber 210a among the selection devices 250a, b, and c.

In the present embodiment, the selection device 250a includes four buttons, and specifically, includes an off button 251a, a red selection button 253a, a green selection button 255a, and a switching mode selection button 257a. It is configured by.

The off button 251a performs a function of selecting an operation of turning off the irradiation device, and is selected when the operation of the irradiation device 230a, b, c is stopped.

The red selection button 253a performs a function of selecting a food having a red color, and it is preferable to exemplarily show foods corresponding to the red color in order to increase the user's identification. In addition, the color of the red selection button 253a is more preferably configured to be red.

The green selection button 255a performs a function of selecting a food having a green color, and similar to the red selection button 253a to exemplarily show foods corresponding to the green color in order to increase the user's identification. The color of the green selection button 255a is also preferably configured to be green.

The switching mode selection button 257a is a button for selecting a mode in which the emission color of light to be irradiated with time is switched as described above.

8 illustrates a form in which the selection device is composed of buttons, it is also possible to be made by the rotation of the selection lever, various other modifications are possible.

The present invention is provided with the selection device (250a, b, c) as described above, so that the user selects the color of the food directly, the emission color is switched, or select the conversion mode so that the emission color of the light to be irradiated over time to be switched Can be.

Until now, the form of applying the food storage container according to the present invention to the side-by-side type refrigerator has been described, but it is also possible to apply the refrigerator to the top-mounted refrigerator having a freezer compartment in the upper portion and a refrigerating chamber in the lower portion.

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

The user keeps the food, and the stored food is irradiated with light in the visible region, thereby maintaining the freshness of the stored food for a long time. In addition, ethylene generated from the stored food is absorbed by the purification device that absorbs it.

On the other hand, the user can select the color of the food stored by the selection device as described above, the color of the stored food can be selected by the selection device to switch the emission color corresponding to the color of the selected food. In addition, the emission color of the light irradiated onto the food is changed over time, so that the stored food can be kept evenly fresh.

Up to now, mainly for vegetables, but described an example in which the food storage container is applied to the refrigerator, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and targets various types of food, such as meat, grains, kimchi, liquor, In addition to the refrigerator, it can be applied to various products such as kimchi refrigerator, rice barrel, and wine cellar.

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 separating and storing according to the color of the food, and configured to irradiate the emission color of the light most suitable for the color of the 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.

Second, by effectively removing the ethylene generated from the stored food, there is an advantage to maintain the freshness of the food more effectively with the irradiation device.

Third, the emission color of the irradiated light is switched over time, there is an advantage that all the food is evenly maintained when various food is stored in the storage room.

Claims (10)

Refrigerator body; A storage room provided in the refrigerator body to store food; An irradiation device for irradiating light in a visible light region to the storage room; And, And a purifier provided in the storage compartment to remove ethylene generated from the food stored in the storage compartment. The method of claim 1, The purification device, A refrigerator comprising a palladium catalyst. The method of claim 1, The purification device, A refrigerator comprising a plurality of nano carbon balls made of a spherical hollow core part and a porous carbon shell part and having an antimicrobial metal or metal salt attached thereto. The method of claim 1, The irradiation apparatus comprises a light emitting diode (LED). The method of claim 1, The irradiating apparatus is a refrigerator, characterized in that the light emission color of the light irradiated corresponding to the color (色) of the food stored in the storage room is set differently. The method of claim 1, And a selection device for selecting a color of the food stored in the storage room and switching the emission color of light irradiated by the irradiation device in response to the color of the selected food. The method of claim 1, The irradiation device, A refrigerator, wherein the emission color of light to be irradiated is switched over time. A storage step of storing food; Irradiating light in a visible light region to the stored food; And, Food storage method using a refrigerator comprising a purification step of removing ethylene generated from the stored food. The method of claim 8, The investigation step, Food storage method using a refrigerator, characterized in that for setting the emission color of light irradiated corresponding to the color of the food stored. The method of claim 8, The investigation step, Food storage method using a refrigerator, characterized in that for switching over time the emission color of light to be irradiated.

Images