KR20070045484A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, wherein a storage compartment is provided, an insertion unit is formed, a body mounted on an insertion unit of the body, an irradiation apparatus for irradiating light toward the storage compartment, and an insertion unit of the body to seal the irradiation apparatus. It is provided with a light transmitting member for transmitting the irradiated light.

Refrigerator, Irradiator, Reflector, Light Emitting Diode

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a lighting device in a refrigerator according to the prior art.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the side by side of the storage container according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention applied to the refrigerator.

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

4 is a perspective view schematically showing the body of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A showing the storage container of FIG.

5 is a bottom perspective view schematically illustrating the top panel of FIG. 3;

7 is a side cross-sectional view showing the irradiation apparatus of FIG.

8 is a perspective view showing a reflector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the reflector of FIG. 8;

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10 ... body 11 ... storage room

13 ... insertion 15 ... storage case

17 Thermostat 20 Irradiator

21 ... substrate 23 ... light emitting element

24 ... Reflector 25 ... Input

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator for preventing damage to a lighting device such as a light emitting diode for maintaining the freshness of the refrigerator and for improving the freshness of the stored food.

In general, either side of the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator is provided with a separate vegetable compartment to adjust the humidity to keep the vegetables and fruits (hereinafter referred to as "vegetables") more fresh. Such a yakjang chamber is provided with an irradiation device for irradiating the illumination to prevent the degradation of the green leafy vegetables.

1 is a view showing an irradiation apparatus provided in a vegetable chamber in a conventional refrigerator.

As shown in Fig. 1, the conventional in-fridge irradiation apparatus 1 comprises the light emitting diodes (LED) in the visible light region in the refrigerator, as disclosed in JP1115993A, so that the green leafy vegetables have weak light ( Irradiate the light to prevent quality deterioration.

In more detail, it is known that when the weak light is irradiated to vegetables through the irradiation device 1 in the refrigerator, the decomposition of chlorophyll in green leafy vegetables is suppressed, and it is also effective in the maintenance of vitamin C. That is, strong light has a negative effect of promoting the color change and transpiration of food, while relatively weak light has the effect of improving the freshness of vegetables and the like. Therefore, the irradiation device 1 for irradiating weak light prevents the concentration of the chlorophyll of the green leafy vegetables from being lowered, and as a result, the quality of the leafy vegetables is prevented.

However, the lighting device disclosed in JP1115993A has the following problems.

First, the above-mentioned irradiation apparatus has a problem that can be damaged by the movement of the food container or the vegetable box as it is protruded and attached to the vegetable compartment.

Secondly, the irradiation apparatus has a problem of short circuit generation due to damage to the electronic substrate due to moisture in the refrigerator.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems as described above,

It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage container and a refrigerator using the same, which prevent damage caused by an external impact of an irradiation device and prevent short circuits caused by damage of an electronic substrate due to penetration of moisture.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator to achieve an improvement in the maintenance period of the freshness and nutritional components of the food stored in the refrigerator.

Refrigerator of the present invention for achieving the above object, the refrigerator main body provided with a refrigerator; A body installed in the refrigerating compartment, provided with a storage compartment, and having an insertion portion; An irradiation apparatus mounted to an insertion part of the body to irradiate light toward the storage compartment; And a light transmitting member which seals the insertion part of the body and transmits the irradiated light of the irradiation device.

In the present invention, the irradiation device is characterized in that it is provided with a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED).

In the present invention, the irradiation apparatus is characterized in that the light emission color of the light to be irradiated corresponding to the color of the food, characterized in that the storage object stored in the storage chamber of the body is set to be different.

In the present invention, the irradiation apparatus is characterized in that the red light is irradiated when the color of the food is a red series.

In the present invention, the irradiating apparatus is characterized in that the green light is irradiated when the color of the food is green.

In the present invention, the irradiation device is characterized in that the irradiation including the white light.

In the present invention, the insertion portion is characterized in that it further comprises a; reflecting plate for reflecting the emitted light of the irradiation apparatus in the inner direction of the body.

In the present invention, the reflecting plate is characterized in that a plurality of irregularities are formed.

In the present invention, the reflector is characterized in that it is provided in a semi-circular shape opening in the storage chamber direction.

In the present invention, the light transmitting member is characterized in that the diffuse reflection filter.

In the present invention, the light transmitting member is characterized in that the concave lens.

In the present invention, the sealing member is provided on the side of the light transmitting member.

Hereinafter, a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various forms, and only the present embodiments are intended to complete the disclosure of the present invention and to those skilled in the art to fully understand the scope of the invention. It is provided to inform you.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a storage container according to the present invention is applied to a refrigerator by a side by side method, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the storage container of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a storage of FIG. 3. AA sectional drawing which shows 1st Example of a container.

With reference to Figures 2 to 4 will be described a refrigerator having a storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator according to the present embodiment exemplifies a form of side by side in which the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are divided into right and left sides.

The refrigerator 200 is provided with a refrigerator main body 14 having a refrigerating chamber and a storage container 100 mounted in a refrigerating chamber of the refrigerator main body 14 to store food. The hypothetical container 100 is installed in the refrigerating compartment, the storage compartment 11 is provided and the insertion portion 13 is formed in the body 10 and the insertion portion 13 of the body 10 is installed in the storage compartment 11 Irradiation device 20 for irradiating light in the direction, and a light-transmitting member 30 for sealing the insertion portion 13 of the body 10 to transmit the irradiated light of the irradiation device 20.

That is, the storage container 100 of the present application exemplifies a form in which the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are applied as food means to the lower part of the refrigerating compartment of the side-by-side type refrigerator having a right side and a left side. However, the storage container 100 of the present application is not limited to a side-by-side refrigerator, it is of course applicable to a predetermined storage device for food storage.

The body 10 is applied as a food storage container provided in the lower part of the refrigerator for storing food. The body 10 is provided with a storage compartment 11 formed with a bottom surface and left and right side walls to enable storage of foods by type. The storage chamber 11 is preferably provided in plurality for the storage of each type of food.

A storage case 15 of a sliding type is mounted in the storage compartment 11 of the body 10 to facilitate storage of food. However, it is not limited to the storage case 15 of the present embodiment as a means for storing food, it is possible to be modified as a hinged door on the upper portion of the body 10, it is possible to be modified in various other forms Of course.

The body 10 and the storage case 15 are preferably designed in a structure in which airtightness is maintained to prevent leakage of humidity to the outside. The application of the airtight holding structure of the body 10 and the storage case 15 allows to maintain a proper humidity for a long time due to the moisture evaporated from the food.

The storage compartment 11 of the body 10 may be provided in a plurality of compartments. In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the storage container 100 is a form consisting of the storage compartment 11 partitioned in the vertical direction. At least one of the storage compartments 11 may be provided with a temperature control device 17 to serve as a storage function such as meat or vegetables.

An insertion part 13 opened in the storage compartment 11 direction is formed inside the body 10. The irradiation unit 20 is inserted into the insertion unit 13.

The irradiation device 20 is inserted into the insertion part 13 of the body 10 to prevent damage due to a collision caused by food during the sliding operation of the storage case 15.

The irradiation device 20 includes a substrate 21 and a light emitting element 23 provided on the substrate 21. The light emitting device 23 is preferably provided with a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) with low heat generation and relatively high efficiency. By configuring the light emitting device 23 of the present embodiment as a light emitting diode, it is possible to minimize the heat generated by the irradiation device 20 to enable high efficiency driving.

The irradiation device 20 allows the visible light region to irradiate light to each of the plurality of compartments 11. The mounting position of the irradiation device 20 is not limited, and can be selectively provided on the upper side, the lower side of the storage chamber 11 or the outer side of the storage chamber 11.

For reference, visible light refers to light having a wavelength in the visible range of the human eye. Although it varies slightly depending on the person, 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, the irradiation device 20 preferably irradiates light in the visible region. However, since the visible light region and the infrared region of the red series are not accurately distinguished, the visible light region according to the present invention also includes some infrared regions in a wavelength range adjacent to the red visible region.

The irradiation apparatus 20 of the present invention is set so that the emission color of the light irradiated corresponding to the color of the food stored in the storage chamber 11 is different.

Applicant determined that the light emission color of the most effective light for the food stored by the experiment is determined according to the color of the food being stored, and if the color of the food being stored is red-based, the red-based light is irradiated. Irradiating green light was found to be the most effective in maintaining food freshness and impact ingredients.

With this in mind, the present embodiment is configured to classify various types of food according to the color of the food, and to set the emission color of light to be irradiated accordingly. More specifically, when the color of the food is a red-based, the irradiation apparatus 20 is set to irradiate the food to be stored in red, and when the food is a green-based food, the irradiation device 20 is stored food Was set to irradiate with a combination of green and white.

Food stored in the storage container 100 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. .

According to the present invention, the various types of vegetables and fruits are classified into a red series and a green series according to colors, and the emission colors of light irradiated to each other are set differently.

Examples of red foods include strawberries, tomatoes, plums, etc. Examples of green foods include spinach, bok choy, cabbage, and the like.

Applicant divides food into red and green based foods as described above, and irradiates food classified as red based with red light emitting diodes, and combines green and white light emitting diodes into food classified as green based, respectively. After that, the change in freshness of the stored food was measured.

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.

5 is categorized according to the color of the food stored as described above, in the first storage chamber (11a) located at the top of the storage chamber 11 to store the bok chokchae and green corresponding to the green series, located in the middle The second storage chamber (11b) stores the tomatoes and strawberries corresponding to the red series, and the third storage chamber (11c) located at the bottom illustrates the use state of storing the cabbage corresponding to the green series.

Referring to Figure 6, when describing the light emitting device arrangement of the storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The position and arrangement of the light emitting device 23 may be implemented in various forms, but it is preferable to arrange the light emitting device 23 so that light is evenly applied to the food. FIG. 6 shows an example of the position and arrangement of the light emitting device 23. The configuration of the irradiation apparatus for the first storage chamber 11a among the three storage chambers 11a, b, and c is shown. As shown in FIG. 6, a red light emitting diode 23R, a green light emitting diode 23G, and a white light emitting diode 23W are disposed at the center of the upper panel 12 provided above the storage chamber 11. .

More specifically, the circle formed by the central portion is partitioned at the same angle, and red, green, and white light emitting diodes 23R, G, and W are disposed in each of the partitioned fan-shaped spaces.

Here, since the green and white light emitting diodes 23G and 23W are configured to be irradiated together with the green foods, the green and white light emitting diodes 23G and 23W are disposed adjacent to each other in the partitioned fan-shaped space.

The selection device 25 is a device for switching the emission color of the irradiation device 20, and serves to switch the emission color when there are many foods of a specific color system in the storage compartments 11a, b, and c divided into three compartments. Perform. For example, the selection device 25 converts the red light emitting diode 23R in the first storage chamber 11a to irradiate a combination of the green and white light emitting diodes 23G and 23W, or vice versa. In the combination of the light emitting diodes 23G and 23W, the red light emitting diodes 23R are converted to be irradiated.

In this embodiment, the selector 25 is provided in front of each of the upper panels 12. And, the selection device 25 is composed of a total of three buttons are provided with a button corresponding to the case where the food is stored in the red series and the green series, respectively, the operation of the irradiation device 20 (off) The form provided with a button is illustrated.

By providing the selection device 25 as described above, the user inputs through the button whether the color of the food is stored in the red series or green series, and the red light emitting diode by the switching device corresponding to the input color of the food The green and white light emitting diodes may be converted to be irradiated in combination or the red light emitting diode may be converted to be irradiated in a combination of green and white light emitting diodes.

The storage container 100 preferably includes an opening / closing sensor (not shown) for determining whether the storage chamber 11 is opened or closed. It is preferable to configure whether the light is irradiated by the irradiation device 20 when it is determined whether the storage chamber 11 is opened or closed through the open / close sensor and the storage chamber is closed.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, a reflector 24 is mounted on the insertion part 13 of the body 10 to reflect the emitted light of the irradiation apparatus 20 toward the storage chamber 13. do.

The reflective plate 24 is preferably formed in a semicircle having one side open so that the light emitted from the light emitting element 23 is easily irradiated in the direction of the storage chamber. The reflective plate 24 is preferably used in the electropolished aluminum material to prevent the change of the color of the light irradiated from the light emitting element 23 and to facilitate the reflection of light. The reflector 24 is not limited to an aluminum material, and of course, the reflective plate 24 may be applied to a glass or a chrome plated product which is easy to reflect light.

Another embodiment of the reflector of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9.

As shown in the figure, a plurality of irregularities are formed radially around the bottom of the reflecting plate 24a of the present embodiment. That is, the light emitting element 23 is mounted at the center of the bottom surface of the reflecting plate 24a, and the light emitted from the light emitting element 23 is diffusely reflected through the irregularities 26 formed radially, so that the corresponding area of the storage chamber 11 is provided. To facilitate the irradiation of light in a larger area. Formation of such unevenness 26 is not limited to radial unevenness is possible that various forms of modified application is possible.

The light transmitting member 30 is mounted on the opened side of the insertion part 13 to seal the insertion part 13. A rubber sealing member 31 is mounted between the light transmitting member 30 and the insertion part 13 to prevent moisture from penetrating into the light emitting device 23.

The light transmitting member 30 is preferably provided as a diffused light filter (PL filter) in order to evenly spread the light emitted from the light emitting device 23 to the storage chamber (11). That is, the light irradiated to the light emitting element 23 is irradiated to the storage room by changing the refractive index of the light through the diffuse reflection filter, so that the light can be easily irradiated to the corresponding area of the storage room. The light transmitting member 30 is not limited to the diffuse reflection filter, and can be applied as a concave lens capable of changing the refractive index of light corresponding to the corresponding area of the storage chamber.

The operation of the refrigerator according to the present invention having the above configuration will be described.

First, the user stores food by separating it according to the color of the food.

Subsequently, each of the storage compartments classified according to color is irradiated with light in the visible region, and the emission color of the irradiated light is set corresponding to the color of the food stored in the storage compartment as described above.

On the other hand, the user can input the color of the food stored by the input device as described above, the stored food inputs the color, it is possible to switch the emission color by the switching device corresponding to the color of the input food have.

In addition, the light emitting device is inserted into the insertion portion of the body, thereby preventing damage from occurring due to collision with the food stored in the storage compartment.

The light emitting device is sealed by a light transmitting member made of a diffuse reflection filter or a concave lens, so that moisture does not penetrate into the light emitting device, thereby preventing damage to the substrate due to a short circuit. The light emitting device is controlled by a diffuse reflection filter or a concave lens. By changing the refractive index of the light, it is possible to evenly irradiate light to the corresponding area of the storage compartment.

The refrigerator according to the present invention as described above has the following effects.

First, it is separated and stored according to the color of the food, and by irradiating the light emitting color of the most suitable for the color of the food, to maximize the effect of maintaining the freshness of the food by the irradiation device and preventing chlorophyll concentration.

Second, it allows the user to input the color of the food stored, it is possible to set the light emission color suitable for the food stored as needed.

Third, the light emitting device is inserted into the refrigerator body to prevent breakage of the light emitting device due to a collision with the stored food.

Fourth, the light emitted from the light emitting device is irradiated through the diffuse reflection filter or the concave lens, so that the even light is irradiated to the storage chamber where the food is stored.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications or other embodiments belonging to the equivalent scope of the present invention, such as various kimchi refrigerators, rice dongs, and various lighting apparatuses of a wine cellar, in addition to the refrigerators, are possible. Therefore, the true scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the following claims.

Claims (12)

A refrigerator body having a refrigerator compartment; A body installed in the refrigerating compartment, provided with a storage compartment, and having an insertion portion; An irradiation apparatus mounted to an insertion part of the body to irradiate light toward the storage compartment; And And a light transmitting member sealing the insertion part of the body and allowing the irradiated light of the irradiation device to pass therethrough. The method of claim 1, The irradiation apparatus is a refrigerator, characterized in that provided with a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs). The method of claim 1, The irradiation device, When the object to be stored in the storage compartment of the body is food, the refrigerator characterized in that the light emission color of the light irradiated corresponding to the color of the food is set to be different. The method of claim 3, The irradiation device, The refrigerator characterized in that the red light is irradiated when the color of the food is a red series. The method of claim 3, The irradiation device, The refrigerator characterized in that the green light is irradiated when the color of the food is green. The method of claim 5, The irradiation device is a refrigerator, characterized in that irradiating including a white light. The method of claim 1, The insertion unit further comprises a reflection plate for reflecting the emitted light of the irradiation apparatus in the inner direction of the body. The method of claim 7, wherein The refrigerator, characterized in that a plurality of irregularities are formed in the reflecting plate. The method of claim 7, wherein The reflector is a refrigerator, characterized in that provided in a semi-circular shape opening in the storage compartment direction. The method of claim 1, The light transmitting member is a refrigerator characterized in that the diffuse reflection filter. The method of claim 1, And the light transmitting member is a concave lens. The method of claim 1, Refrigerator, characterized in that the sealing member is provided on the side of the light transmitting member.

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