KR20070082188A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided to prevent foods stored in the refrigerator from be decayed by a microbe, and to store the foods for longer time by generating an electric field in a storage room and sterilizing the microbe. A refrigerator comprises a storage room(350) and an electric field generation device(300). The storage room for storing foods is located in at least one of a refrigeration room, a freezing room and a functional storage room. The electric field generation device generates an electric field in the storage room, and includes a pair of electrodes and a control unit for controlling voltage applied to the electrodes.

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

1 is a perspective view of a typical refrigerator

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a typical kimchi refrigerator

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the principle of the present invention to explain the concept of the refrigerator according to the present invention

Figure 4 is a graph comparing the effects of the present invention and the prior art

<Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings>

100: refrigerator 110: freezer

120: refrigerator compartment 114: rapid refrigerator compartment

118: vegetable room 200: kimchi refrigerator

300: electric field generator 350: storage room

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator that can improve the performance and ease of use of the refrigerator.

In general, a refrigerator in a traditional sense includes a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment, and the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment are controlled to maintain a predetermined temperature. Typically, the temperature of the freezer compartment is maintained at about -20 ℃, the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is controlled to maintain about -1 ~ 5 ℃ by the choice of the consumer.

On the other hand, in recent years, a refrigerator other than the refrigerator of the traditional meaning, ie, various functional refrigerators, has been proposed. Functional refrigerators include kimchi refrigerators, wine ripening and cosmetics storage. Such a functional refrigerator requires control conditions different from those of the conventional meaning described above. For example, in the kimchi refrigerator, temperature control for ripening kimchi and temperature control for long-term storage of aged kimchi are required. In general, the temperature of the kimchi is controlled to be maintained at about 18 ℃ for fermentation, that is, fermentation, and the temperature is controlled to be maintained at about -1.5 ℃ for storage of aged kimchi.

As used herein, the term "freezer" is used to mean both traditional refrigerators and various functional refrigerators.

Referring to Figure 1, first described an example of a conventional conventional meaning of the refrigerator as follows.

Refrigerators may be classified according to positions of the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment. For example, a top mount method in which a freezer compartment is located at the top and a refrigerator compartment is located at the bottom, a French style method in which the refrigerator compartment is located at the top and the freezer compartment is located at the bottom, and the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment are arranged side to side There may be a side-by-side type refrigerator. Hereinafter, for convenience, a side by side refrigerator is described as an example of a refrigerator in a traditional sense.

The refrigerator 100 includes a freezing compartment 110 and a refrigerating compartment 120, and the freezing compartment 110 and the refrigerating compartment 120 are located at left and right sides, respectively. The freezing chamber 110 and the refrigerating chamber 120 are partitioned by a heat insulating wall commonly referred to as a barrier. A predetermined position of the refrigerating compartment 120 may be provided with a separate vegetable compartment 118 for storing vegetables and fruits more freshly, the vegetable compartment 118 is usually located at the bottom of the refrigerating compartment 120. In addition, the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment 110 may be provided with a rapid refrigerating compartment 114 and / or a quick freezing compartment 112 that can rapidly cool or freeze stored food and the like.

On the other hand, the evaporator (not shown) forming a part of the refrigeration cycle is usually located in the rear of the freezer compartment 110, the air cooled by heat exchange in the evaporator (hereinafter referred to as "chill") is the freezer compartment 110 and the refrigerating compartment 120 Are respectively supplied to the refrigerator compartment 110 to control the freezing compartment 110 and the refrigerating compartment 120 to a predetermined temperature.

Referring to Figure 2, when describing the kimchi refrigerator as an example of a general functional refrigerator as follows.

Kimchi refrigerator 200 also has a plurality of storage rooms (210, 220). However, the storage rooms 210 and 220 of the kimchi refrigerator 200 may be generally divided into a aging room for ripening kimchi and a storage room for long-term storage of aged kimchi. In addition, the storage rooms 210 and 220 may be an upper open storage room 210 and a drawer storage room 220.

Usually, the temperature control conditions of the aging chamber and the storage chamber are different. As mentioned above, the aging chamber is typically controlled to maintain a temperature at about 18 ° C., and the storage compartment is controlled to maintain a temperature at about −1.5 ° C. Of course, in the kimchi refrigerator, only kimchi is not matured or stored, and various vegetables, fruits, vegetables, and the like may be stored, and each storage room is generally configured to be maintained at a predetermined temperature.

The control method of the Kimchi refrigerator is similar to the refrigerator in the traditional sense, but there may be differences in the target temperature and the precision of the temperature control.

The conventional refrigerator described above has the following problems.

First, in a conventional refrigerator, when a food product stored for a long time grows bacteria, there is a concern that the food product may rot. In particular, such concerns have been raised in foods such as leftover soup and stew, and food products such as meat and fish that are susceptible to its characteristics. Because no matter how refrigerated, the stored food, especially the food is eaten, bacteria can thrive because the stored food can rot.

Secondly, in the conventional refrigerator, it is required to extend the storage period while keeping the food stored in the fresh state.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can improve various performances and ease of use of the refrigerator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can effectively suppress bacterial propagation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of extending the storage period of foodstuffs.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention and the storage room for storing food; It provides a refrigerator including an electric field generating device for generating an electric field in the storage room. The food product may include at least one of natural foods, processed foods, and cooked foods. In addition, the storage compartment is preferably located in at least one of the refrigerating compartment, freezer compartment and functional storage compartment.

On the other hand, the electric field generating device preferably comprises a pair of electrodes and control means for controlling the voltage applied to the electrodes.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the present invention includes a temperature control step of controlling the temperature so that food products maintain a predetermined temperature; It provides a control method of a refrigerator comprising an electric field generating step of generating an electric field in the food.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve various performances and ease of use of the refrigerator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to avoid confusion in the description, detailed description of the same parts as in the prior art will be omitted.

First, referring to Figure 3, when explaining the principle and preferred embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

Similar to the prior art, the refrigerator according to the present invention also includes various storage rooms 350 capable of storing various food items, and is controlled to maintain the various temperatures by using a refrigeration cycle. Here, the storage room 350 may be a freezer and a refrigerating room of a refrigerator in a traditional sense, and may also be a functional storage room of a functional refrigerator, for example, a ripening room and a storage room of a kimchi refrigerator. Of course, the functional storage room does not necessarily mean only the storage room existing in the functional refrigerator, it is possible to make a functional storage room in the refrigerator of the traditional sense, which also includes these.

The present invention, unlike the prior art, is further provided with an electric field generating device 300 for generating an electric field in the storage room 350 for storing food. Various food items may be stored in the storage room 350. For example, foods such as kimchi made by properly cooking natural foods such as vegetables, fruits, and vegetables (hereinafter referred to as "natural food" for convenience), foods such as sausage and ham (hereinafter referred to as "processed food for convenience" "Is stored." In addition, cooked foods such as soup and stew (hereinafter referred to as "cooked food" for convenience) are also stored. Therefore, hereinafter, food and the like that can be stored in the refrigerator are collectively referred to as "foodstuff".

The electric field generator 300 will be described in detail.

The electric field generating apparatus 300 can be used as long as it can generate an electric field in the storage room 350, and various modifications and applications are possible. An example of the electric field generating device 300 will be described as follows. A pair of electrodes 310 are installed in the storage room 350, and the electrodes 310 are controlled to control the voltage applied to the electrodes 310. The means are connected. The control means may include a voltage transformer 320 connected to the electrode 310 and a voltage controller 330 connected to the voltage transformer 320.

On the other hand, the electrode 310 forms the appearance of the refrigerator, it is preferable to be installed on a heat insulating wall (not shown) forming a part of the storage room, the voltage converter 320 and the voltage controller 330 is installed in the electrical components of the refrigerator It is preferable to be located in the part to become.

On the other hand, a power source can be used for both alternating current and direct current. However, for sterilization purposes described later, it is preferable to use a DC power supply, and in the case of extending the storage period, it is preferable to use an AC power supply.

Referring to the operation and effect of the refrigerator according to the present invention described above are as follows.

First, the storage chamber 350 is controlled to maintain the target temperature according to the control requirements of the storage chamber 350, particularly the temperature requirements. As described in the related art, for example, the storage compartment 350 is about 5 ° C. in the refrigerating chamber, -20 degrees in the freezing compartment, about 18 ° C. in the ripening chamber of the Kimchi refrigerator, and about -1.5 ° C. in the storage compartment. To control. Of course, in the case of functional refrigerators, higher precision temperature control is desirable. Since the temperature control is the same as a conventional refrigerator, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, in the present invention generates an electric field in the storage room for storing food or food products. The generation time point, generation period, and the like of the electric field can be appropriately adjusted. For example, while the refrigerator is turned on, the electric field may be continuously generated, but the electric field may be generated intermittently. In addition, when various doors of the refrigerator are opened, it is possible to stop the generation of the electric field.

According to the experiment of the present inventors, the following sterilization effect was obtained when using an electric field.

The present inventors investigated the survival rate before and after electric field treatment of Giardia, a flagellar that causes diarrhea when infected with human body. Giardia survival rates with and without nutrients for the first 408 Giardia and without nutrients were investigated. Without the electric field treatment, 396 Giardia survived and survived 96.6%. That is, almost Giardia did not die naturally. On the other hand, no Giardia survived when the electric field was treated. That is, almost all Giardia died. Although the above experimental results are experimental results in a state of no nutrients, it is thought that similar results will be obtained even in a state of nutrients, that is, foodstuffs usually stored in a refrigerator. As described above, the use of an electric field has the effect of effectively killing microorganisms that cause corruption such as Giardia.

On the other hand, according to another experiment of the present inventors, there was another effect of using the electric field to extend the storage period of the food in addition to the above sterilization effect.

Referring to Figure 4, the principle of extending the storage period will be described.

4 shows temperature changes when cooling water without applying an electric field and cooling with an electric field. As can be seen from FIG. 4, when no electric field is applied, the temperature is maintained at 0 ° C. at a certain point after a predetermined time elapses. On the other hand, when the water is cooled while the electric field is applied, the temperature is maintained lower than the freezing point of water, 0 ° C. In other words, it can be considered that the application of an electric field can lower the freezing point of water than that of ordinary water. However, the degree of decreasing temperature may vary depending on the size of the electric field.

If the kimchi refrigerator is described as an example of extending the storage period while maintaining the fresh condition of the food stored by applying the above-described principle as follows.

Kimchi fermented sour taste is most affected by temperature. In other words, the higher the temperature, the more the microorganisms affecting the sour taste of kimchi, Lactobacillus (Lactobacillus) grows, so that the sour taste increases. Therefore, kimchi is especially important for storage temperature. In addition, in order to keep kimchi for a long time, it is important to maintain the state just before freezing. Because, when kimchi freezes, the tissue is damaged and the kimchi becomes muggy. In view of this, the present kimchi refrigerator can be stored for about six months at a storage temperature of -1.5 ℃. At this time, the storage temperature is -1.5 ℃ (hereinafter referred to as "freezing point of kimchi" for convenience), at least the storage temperature (storage temperature) higher than this temperature Kimchi does not freeze, that is, kimchi soup and kimchi tissue does not freeze damaged kimchi Because it is not. Here, the storage temperature at which the kimchi does not freeze is not 0 ° C. but -1.5 ° C. The reason is that pure water is not stored, but kimchi, which can be regarded as a state in which water and other ingredients, mainly salts and subsidiary materials (spices), are stored. This is because the freezing point of this kimchi is lower than 0 ℃.

 On the other hand, if the kimchi can be stored in a frozen state at a temperature lower than -1.5 ℃, kimchi can be stored in a fresh state, that is, not sour and kimchi is not soft. Therefore, as in the present invention, when an electric field is applied during storage of kimchi, the freezing point of kimchi can be set to a temperature of -1.5 ° C or lower, and as a result, it is possible to further extend the storage period of kimchi. However, it is desirable to determine the optimal storage temperature appropriately through experiments and to determine the size of the electric field accordingly.

On the other hand, even in the case of kimchi, it is possible to extend the storage period while maintaining freshness, for example, vegetables and the like.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, It is possible to use suitably modifying using the principle of this invention.

The effect of the refrigerator according to the present invention described above is as follows.

First, according to the present invention, since the microorganisms can be sterilized, there is an advantage that the foodstuff stored in the refrigerator can be effectively prevented from being corrupted by the microorganisms.

Second, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that the food can be stored for a longer time while preventing tissue damage of the food by freezing.

Claims (5)

A storage room for storing groceries; Refrigerator comprising an electric field generating device for generating an electric field in the storage room. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the food product comprises at least one of natural food, processed food, and cooked food. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the storage compartment comprises at least one of a refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment, and a functional storage compartment. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electric field generating device includes a pair of electrodes and control means for controlling a voltage applied to the electrodes. A temperature control step of maintaining a temperature at which food products are stored; The control method of the refrigerator comprising the electric field generating step of generating an electric field in the food.

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