KR20150120309A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigerator which reduces oxygen in a storage container by a polymer electrolyte film method and improves the convenience of use without limitation on the arrangement of the storage container. The refrigerator includes an oxygen reduction room (100) which is installed in a cabinet (11), an oxygen reducing device (106) which has a polymer electrolyte film (116) fitted into a pair of electrodes (118, 120) and is separated from the oxygen reduction room (100), and a duct (101, 103) which connects the oxygen reduction room (100) to the oxygen reducing device (106). The oxygen reducing device (106) reduces oxygen in the oxygen reduction room (100) by generating water from the oxygen of the oxygen reduction room (100) supplied through the duct (101,103) and hydrogen ions generated by the electrolysis of water.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a refrigerator.

As a deterioration factor of stored products such as foods stored in a refrigerator, there is oxidation due to oxygen present in the air. Thus, there is known a refrigerator that can preserve the lead of a stored product by inhibiting oxidation of the stored product by reducing oxygen in the space for storing the food.

As a method for reducing oxygen, a vacuum method for reducing the pressure inside the storage vessel, an oxygen adsorption method for adsorbing oxygen in the storage vessel by an oxygen adsorbent, and a polymer electrolyte membrane method for reducing oxygen in the storage vessel using a polymer electrolyte membrane The method is known.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-210171 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-243072 Japanese Patent Publication No. 3056578

In such various methods, the vacuum method is a method of decreasing oxygen as a method of reducing oxygen in order to prevent oxidation of foods, and since the performance of this method correlates with the degree of vacuum, the strength of the storage container or the ability of the vacuum pump is required, It becomes a relatively large apparatus.

The method using an oxygen adsorbent is widely used in circulation processes such as confectionery, similar to a gas replacement method, but when the adsorbent is adsorbed (ruptured), the effect is lost and the service life is short.

The polymer electrolyte membrane method is a method in which oxygen is consumed by electrolyzing water into an anode to make hydrogen ions, moving the hydrogen ions in the polymer electrolyte membrane to reach the cathode, and reacting with oxygen in the storage vessel to generate water. Therefore, there is an advantage in that the pressure change is small and the strength of the storage container is not needed much (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

However, in the polymer electrolyte membrane method, it is necessary to supply water to be electrolyzed to the anode, so that it is necessary to arrange the water in the refrigerator in a position where it can be easily supplied, and the arrangement of the storage container is restricted.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator which reduces the oxygen content in the storage container by the polymer electrolyte membrane process, without disrupting the arrangement of the storage container and being convenient to use.

The refrigerator of this embodiment includes an oxygen abatement chamber provided inside a cabinet, an oxygen abatement device having a polymer electrolyte membrane interposed between a pair of electrodes and spaced apart from the oxygen abatement chamber, and a duct connecting the oxygen abatement chamber and the oxygen abatement device The oxygen reduction device reduces water in the oxygen reduction chamber by generating water from hydrogen ions generated by electrolyzing water and oxygen in the oxygen reduction chamber supplied through the duct.

The refrigerator of another embodiment includes a plurality of storage chambers which are installed inside the cabinet and are closed by other doors, a plurality of oxygen abatement chambers provided in the plurality of reservoirs, and an oxygen abatement device having a polymer electrolyte membrane sandwiched by a pair of electrodes, The oxygen reduction device generates water from hydrogen ions generated by electrolysis of water and oxygen in the plurality of oxygen reduction chambers, thereby reducing oxygen in the plurality of oxygen reduction chambers.

In another embodiment, the refrigerator includes a plurality of storage rooms installed in the cabinet and closed by other doors, a plurality of containers provided in the plurality of storage rooms, a communication path communicating the plurality of containers, And a photocatalyst unit for decomposing the substance to be decomposed by a photocatalytic action.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the arrangement of the storage container is not restricted in the refrigerator which reduces oxygen in the storage container by the polymer electrolyte membrane process, and which is excellent in convenience of use.

1 is a sectional view of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator shown in Fig. 1, in which a door and a storage container are omitted.
3 is a cross-sectional view of the oxygen abatement apparatus installed in the refrigerator shown in Fig.
4 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to a modification of the present invention.
5 is a cross-sectional view of an oxygen abatement apparatus provided in a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a main enlarged view of Fig.
8 is a front view showing a main part of a refrigerating chamber according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a main enlarged cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a vegetable compartment door is opened.
10 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a main enlarged sectional view of Fig.
12 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a refrigerator according to a first modification of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
13 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a refrigerator according to a second modification of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
14 is a sectional view of a refrigerator according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
15 is a main enlarged view of Fig.
16 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in Fig.

(First Embodiment)

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2, the refrigerator 10 according to the present embodiment includes a cabinet (not shown) having a front surface provided with a heat insulating material between an outer box forming an outer frame and an inner box forming a storage space 11, and the storage space is partitioned by the heat insulating partition wall 12 into a refrigerating space 20 above and a freezing space 40 below.

The refrigerating space 20 is a space to be cooled by a refrigeration temperature (for example, 2 to 3 ° C), the inside of which is further divided into upper and lower portions by a partition plate 21, and a plurality of stages of storage shelves are installed in the upper space There is provided a refrigerator compartment 22 and a vegetable compartment 24 in which a draw-out storage container 25 is disposed in a lower space.

The opening of the refrigerating compartment 22 is closed by a refrigerating compartment door 22a pivotally pivoted by hinges provided on the upper and lower sides of one side of the cabinet 11. [

The opening of the vegetable compartment 24 is closed by the drawn-out vegetable compartment door 24a. A pair of right and left support frames for holding the storage container 25 are fixedly attached to the backside of the greenhouse door 24a so that the storage container 25 is pulled out to the outside with the door opening operation.

The ice making chamber 42 and the first freezing chamber 44 provided with the automatic ice maker are provided side by side in the freezing space 40 disposed below the vegetable compartment 24 with the heat insulating partition wall 12 interposed therebetween. And a second freezing chamber 46 is provided below.

The openings of the ice making chamber 42, the first freezing chamber 44 and the second freezing chamber 46 are closed by the pull-out doors 44a and 46a. The door 46a for closing the opening of the second freezing chamber 46 has a storage container 47 held by a pair of left and right support frames fixedly attached to the backside thereof, Outwardly. In the first freezing chamber (44), an oxygen abatement chamber (100) made of a closed container is provided. The oxygen reduction chamber 100 is not connected to the door 44a and remains in the first freezing chamber 44 even if the door 44a is opened.

A machine room 30 is provided at the bottom of the rear surface of the cabinet 11, and a compressor 51 or the like constituting a refrigeration cycle is disposed.

An evaporator chamber 26 is defined between the evaporator cover 14 and the rear surface of the cabinet 11 at the back of the refrigerating space 20. The refrigerating evaporator 52 and the refrigerating fan 53 are installed. The refrigerating evaporator 52 exchanges heat with the air in the evaporator chamber 26 to cool the refrigerating evaporator 52. The cooling air generated in the evaporator 52 for refrigeration by the rotation driving of the refrigerating fan 53 is supplied to the refrigerating compartment 22 and / And introduced into the vegetable compartment 24 to cool the refrigerated space 20 to a predetermined temperature. The cool air that has been cooled in the cold storage space 20 is returned from the suction port to the evaporator chamber 26 and is again heat-exchanged by the refrigerating evaporator 52 to be cooled.

1 and 2, in the evaporator chamber 26, a drain pan 27 is provided below the evaporator 52 for refrigeration. The drain pan 27 is inclined so as to become lower toward one side in the width direction when viewed from the front of the refrigerator (right side in Fig. 2). The drain pan 27 receives dew condensation water (defrost water) generated from the refrigerating evaporator 52 at the time of defrosting operation and flows to one side in the width direction and is discharged to the machine room 30 through a drain path 29 connected to the one- (See Fig. 1).

An evaporator chamber 34 is defined between the evaporator cover 33 and the rear surface of the cabinet 11 on the rear surface of the freezing space 40. The freezing evaporator 54 and the blowing fan 55 . The freezing evaporator 54 is cooled by heat exchange with the air in the evaporator chamber 34. The cooling air generated by the evaporator for freezing by the rotation drive of the blowing fan 55 is supplied to the ice making chamber 42, 1 freezing chamber 44 and the second freezing chamber 46 to cool the freezing space 40 to a predetermined temperature. The cooled cold air in the freezing space (40) is returned from the inlet to the evaporator chamber (34) and is heat-exchanged by the freezing evaporator (54) to be cooled.

The refrigerating evaporator 52 and the freezing evaporator 54 constitute a refrigeration cycle together with the compressor 51, the condenser (not shown) and the switching valve (not shown) provided in the machine room 30. [

In the refrigerator 10 configured as described above, the oxygen freezing chamber 100 provided with the container storage portion 102 and the storage container 104 is provided in the first freezing chamber 44. An oxygen abatement device 106 for reducing oxygen in the oxygen abatement chamber 100 is provided on the back surface of the vegetable compartment 24. [

Specifically, the container storage portion 102 is constructed by fixing a container 45 having a shape of a box shape having an opening on the front surface thereof in a state of being suspended from the lower surface of the heat insulating partition wall 12. Inside the container storage portion 102, a storage container 104 is stored so as to be drawn out from the front opening portion.

The storage container 104 is configured such that a storing portion such as a foodstuff is housed in the storage container 104 by the upper opening portion in the drawn-out state. The front surface of the storage container 104 constitutes a lid body 105 for closing the opening of the container storage section 102. When the storage container 104 is housed in the container storage section 102, Is brought into contact with the peripheral edge portion of the front opening portion, and the container storage portion 102 is closed in a hermetic state.

The suction duct 101 and the spray duct 103 are connected to the back surface of the container storage portion 102 and the container storage portion 102 is connected to the oxygen reduction device 106 through the suction duct 101 and the spray duct 103. [ (See FIG. 3).

3, the oxygen abatement device 106 includes an oxygen abatement unit 107 for reducing oxygen in the container storage portion 102 and a cathode side space 126 communicating with the container storage portion 102 And the water accumulated in the reservoir 111 constituting the water supply mechanism is supplied. In the present embodiment, the oxygen reduction device 106 is disposed on the side of the evaporator chamber 26 below the refrigerating evaporator 52.

The oxygen abatement unit 107 includes a polymer electrolyte membrane 116, an anode catalyst layer 112 stacked on one side of the polymer electrolyte membrane 116, a cathode catalyst layer 114 stacked on the other side of the polymer electrolyte membrane 116, A cathode electrode 120 stacked on the outside of the cathode catalyst layer 114, a vaporization layer 122 stacked on the outside of the anode electrode 118, and a vaporization layer (not shown) And a water supply unit 130 stacked on the outside of the water supply unit 122. Each of the layers constituting the oxygen abatement unit 107 is thin, but the thickness is enlarged in FIG. 3 for easy understanding.

In the illustrated embodiment, a porous layer 117 made of a water repellent agent and carbon particles is formed between the cathode catalyst layer 114 and the cathode electrode 120 on the side not in contact with the polymer electrolyte membrane 116, And a gas diffusion layer (GDL) 119 made of a conductive sheet material having moisture permeability and water repellency obtained by performing water repellent treatment on a carbon porous body such as carbon paper.

In the illustrated embodiment, a mesh-like substrate made of a metal such as titanium is provided between the anode catalyst layer 112 and the anode electrode 118 on the side not in contact with the polyelectrolyte membrane 116, that is, between the anode catalyst layer 112 and the anode electrode 118 And a dimensionally stable anode (DSA) 113 on which an anode catalyst is supported. The amount of the anode catalyst supported on the dimension-stable electrode 113 is preferably smaller than the amount of the anode catalyst supported on the anode catalyst layer 112.

The polymer electrolyte membrane 116 is a thin film made of a polymer in which only positive ions move inside and anions and electrons do not move in the inside, and for example, a thin film made of an organic polymer material having a sulfonic acid group, Thin films composed of a high perfluorocarbon sulfonic acid polymer are preferred. Concretely, as a polymer constituting the polymer electrolyte membrane 116, a polymer such as Nafion (registered trademark: manufactured by Du Pont), Fresion (registered trademark: Asahi Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha), Aziflex (registered trademark: And a fluorinated resin having a sulfonic acid group. It is preferable that the film thickness of the polymer electrolyte membrane 116 of the polymer is 10 占 퐉 to 150 占 퐉 in consideration of the film resistance. A more preferable film thickness is 30 탆 to 100 탆.

The anode catalyst layer 112 has a capability of oxidizing water and includes a catalyst (an anode catalyst) for lowering the electrolytic voltage of water, and electrolyzes the water supplied from the water supply unit 130 to generate hydrogen ions. The anode catalyst is preferably supported on a substrate. For example, the anode catalyst may be supported on the polymer constituting the polymer electrolyte membrane 116 as a base.

Adhesion between the anode catalyst layer 112 and the polymer electrolyte membrane 116 can be improved by employing the polymer constituting the polymer electrolyte membrane 116 as a base material carrying the anode catalyst in the anode catalyst layer 112 .

As the anode catalyst, for example, a composite oxide of a conductive metal oxide and a matrix oxide may be used. Examples of the conductive metal oxide include ruthenium oxide (RuO ₂ ), iridium oxide (IrO ₂ ), and the like. Examples of the composite oxide with a matrix oxide include titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), tin oxide (SnO ₂ ), tantalum oxide (Ta ₂ O), and the like. The anode catalyst may be selected in consideration of its activity, durability, cost, and the like. In addition to the above as the composite oxide forming the catalyst, for _{example, RuO 2 -TiO 2, RuO 2} -IrO 2, RuO 2 -IrO 2 -TiO 2, RuO 2 -SnO 2, RuO 2 -Ta 2 O, IrO 2 -Ta ₂ O and the like.

The anode catalyst layer 112 may contain fine particles of a metal (e.g., gold (Au)) having a lower electrical resistivity than that of the anode catalyst, in addition to the above-described anode catalyst. By adding such fine metal particles, the electrical resistance of the anode catalyst layer 112 can be lowered and the efficiency of the oxygen reduction unit 107 can be increased.

The cathode catalyst layer 114 contains a catalyst (cathode catalyst) having the ability to reduce oxygen. The cathode catalyst layer 114 is preferably a porous layer formed of a cathode catalyst and a proton conductive binder. As the cathode catalyst, it is preferable that at least one of noble metal particles and noble metal alloy particles be supported on the conductive carrier.

The noble metal particles are preferably composed of at least one noble metal selected from the group consisting of platinum (Pt), ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd) and iridium (Ir).

When noble metal alloy particles are used as the cathode catalyst, it is possible to improve the solubility and activity of the cathode catalyst. Examples of such noble metal alloy particles include, but are not limited to, alloys composed of only two or more kinds of noble metal elements, alloys containing noble metal elements and other metal atoms, and the like.

The noble metal alloy particles can obtain a high catalytic activity effect. Therefore, noble metal alloy particles based on platinum (Pt) may be used. Specifically, an alloy of at least one kind of noble metal element and platinum (Pt) is preferable. The at least one noble metal element may be at least one selected from the group consisting of noble metals other than platinum (Pt) such as ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd), iridium (Ir) And is selected from the group consisting of Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni.

The conductive carrier of the cathode catalyst layer 114 carries noble metal particles and / or noble metal alloy particles (that is, at least one of these particles). This conductive carrier is selected in consideration of electron conductivity, gas diffusibility, adhesion with a cathode catalyst, and the like. For example, carbon black, activated carbon, graphite and the like can be used, and nano-carbon materials can also be used. Examples of carbon black include furnace black, channel black, acetylene black, Balkan (registered trademark: Cabot), and Ketjen black. The nano carbon material may be, for example, a fiber shape, a tube shape, a coil shape, or a sheet shape.

The anode electrode 118 is composed of a mesh-shaped substrate 118a and a covering layer 118b covering the surface of the substrate 118a. The substrate 118a constituting the anode electrode 118 is preferably formed of a material that does not dissolve during the electrolysis of water. For example, the substrate 118a may be formed of an oxide such as titanium (Ti), aluminum (Al) It may be formed of a metal forming the coating film, or an insulating material such as ceramics, resin, or glass.

The coating layer 118b is made of a metal having a lower electric resistivity than the anode catalyst of the anode catalyst layer 112 such as gold (Au). The coating layer 118b may be provided on both surfaces of the substrate 118a opposite to the vaporization layer 122 and the surface opposite to the anode catalyst layer 112. The coating layer 118b may be provided on the surface opposite to the vaporization layer 122, May be provided only on the surface opposite to the anode catalyst layer 112.

Similar to the anode electrode 118, the cathode electrode 120 includes a mesh-shaped substrate 120a formed of an insulating material such as a metal or an oxide forming an oxide film such as titanium (Ti) And a coating layer 120b made of a metal such as platinum (Pt) or gold (Au) that covers the surface of the substrate.

The anode electrode 118 and the cathode electrode 120 are connected to an external power supply apparatus and the anode electrode 118 is energized to the anode catalyst layer 112 and the cathode electrode 120 is connected to the cathode catalyst layer 114 A negative electric current is applied to apply a voltage between the anode catalyst layer 112 and the cathode catalyst layer 114.

An insulator 125 is provided between the electrodes 118 and 120 to prevent a short circuit due to contact between the anode electrode 118 and the cathode electrode 120. [ The insulator 125 is provided in a frame shape to surround the anode catalyst layer 112 and the cathode catalyst layer 114 sandwiching the polymer electrolyte membrane 116.

The vaporization layer 122 is made of a sheet-like material having moisture-permeable and water-repellent property, which has been subjected to a water-repellent treatment on a porous material made of carbon such as carbon paper, carbon cloth, carbon felt or the like, And supplies only vaporized water vapor in the water supplied from the water supply unit 130 to the anode electrode 118 side.

The water supply part 130 is made of fabric such as a woven fabric or a nonwoven fabric having absorbency. The water supply part 130 is immersed in water accumulated in the water storage part 111 at one end (lower end in the present embodiment) The water is sucked by the capillary phenomenon to hold the water sucked to the outside of the vaporization layer 122 on the anode catalyst layer 112 side.

The pair of fixing members 132 and 134 are connected to the water supply unit 130, the vaporization layer 122, the anode electrode 118, the anode catalyst layer 112, the polymer electrolyte membrane 116, the cathode catalyst layer 114, 120 sandwich the oxygen abatement unit 107 stacked in order. As shown in Fig. 3, the fixing member 134 provided on the cathode electrode 120 side is provided with a through hole (not shown) that opens into the cathode side space 126 at a position facing the cathode electrode 120 of the oxygen abatement unit 107 A hole 128 is provided.

The water storage portion 111 has a concave shape by accumulating defrost water generated inside the cabinet 11 below the oxygen abatement unit 107. The water storage portion 111 is provided with a water supply path 35 for supplying defrost water generated in the evaporator 52 for refrigeration during defrosting operation and an evaporation dish 32 are connected to a discharge path 36 for discharging the gas. The water supply path 35 extends from the drain path 27 to one side in the width direction from the drain path 29 and is drawn to the side of the evaporator chamber 26. The water path 35 passes through the side of the evaporator chamber 26, 111). The defrost water generated by the evaporator 52 for refrigeration is supplied to the water supply path 35 by its own weight because the water storage portion 111 is disposed below the refrigeration evaporator 52 and the drain pan 27. Therefore, And flows into the reservoir portion 111 through the through-hole.

In the oxygen reducing apparatus 106 having such a constitution, when the defrost water generated in the evaporator for refrigeration 52 is stored in the reservoir 111 through the water supply path 35, the water supply unit 130 is stored in the reservoir 111, And holds it at the outside of the vaporization layer 122.

When a voltage is applied between the anode electrode 118 and the cathode electrode 120 while water is held outside the vaporization layer 122, water vapor that has passed through the vaporization layer 122 flows into the anode catalyst layer 112, And hydrogen ions are generated. The hydrogen ions generated in the anode catalyst layer 112 pass through the polymer electrolyte membrane 116 and move to the cathode catalyst layer 114 and react with oxygen contained in the air in the oxygen reduction chamber 100 to produce water. The oxygen concentration in the cathode side space 126 is reduced and the oxygen concentration in the oxygen reduction chamber 100 communicating with the cathode side space 126 through the intake duct 101 and the injection duct 103 is also reduced . A blowing pump for forcibly circulating the air in the container side space 126 of the oxygen storage tank 102 and the cathode side space 126 of the oxygen abatement device 106 may be installed in the middle of the suction duct 101 or the spray duct 103.

According to the refrigerator of the present embodiment having the above configuration, the cathode side space 126 of the oxygen reduction device 106 and the oxygen reduction device 106 disposed apart from the oxygen reduction chamber 100 are connected to the suction duct 101 The oxygen reduction device 106 can be disposed in the refrigerator without taking the position of the oxygen reduction chamber 100 into account so that the oxygen reduction device 100 can be placed in a position where the user's convenience of use is good, The oxygen abatement apparatus 106 can be disposed at an arbitrary position while the chamber 100 is disposed, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in design.

In the present embodiment, since the dehydrated water of the evaporator for refrigeration 52 generated in the cabinet 11 is supplied to the oxygen reduction device 106, the user can drive the oxygen reduction device 106 without supplying water . Since the defrost water generated in the evaporator for refrigeration 52 is stored in the reservoir 111, it can be supplied to the oxygen reduction device 106 at any timing without depending on the timing of the defrosting operation of the evaporator 52 for refrigeration The oxygen concentration in the oxygen reduction chamber 100 can be reduced by supplying water.

(Modification Example 1)

In the first embodiment described above, the water stored in the reservoir 111 by the water supply unit 130 is supplied to the outside of the vaporization layer 122 on the anode catalyst layer 112 side of the oxygen reduction apparatus 106 by the capillary phenomenon As shown in Fig. 4, the pump 140A discharges the defrost water generated in the evaporator 141, which is accumulated in the reservoir portion 142, to the oxygen reduction device 106 ). Thereby, the reservoir portion 142 can be disposed at a position where water is easily supplied in the refrigerator without considering the position of the oxygen abatement device 106.

In this modification, a heater 145 may be provided for heating the path 144 through which the pump 140A sends the dehydrated water from the reservoir 142 to the oxygen abatement device 106, It is possible to prevent the freezing of the distillation water flowing in the freezing chamber.

Other configurations and effects are similar to those of the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Variation Example 2)

The defrost water generated in the evaporator for refrigeration 52 is supplied to the oxygen reduction device 106. The defrost water generated in the evaporation device for freezing 54 and the defrost water generated in the ice- The water for ice-making may be supplied to the oxygen reduction apparatus 106. Other configurations and operation effects are similar to those of the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Modification 3)

In the above-described first embodiment, the oxygen abatement chamber 100 is disposed in the first freezing chamber 44 for storing food at a freezing temperature (for example, -18 ° C). However, the first freezing chamber 44 May be a switched room in which the set temperature can be switched, not the storage room fixed at the freezing temperature. That is, the user can arbitrarily set the temperature of the conversion room to a set temperature such as a refrigeration temperature (for example, -18 ° C), a cold temperature (for example, 0 ° C to 1 ° C) Changeable.

Further, the user may select whether or not the oxygen reduction apparatus 106 is operated. That is, when the set temperature is the cold temperature, the oxygen reducing device 106 is normally operated. If the temperature is the freezing temperature, the oxygen reducing device 106 is stopped to stop the operation. The operation of the oxygen reduction apparatus 106 can be changed in accordance with the operation of the oxygen reduction apparatus 106. Other configurations and effects are similar to those of the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Second Embodiment)

Next, the second embodiment will be described. In the above-described first embodiment, the case has been described in which the defrost water generated by the evaporator for refrigeration 52 is supplied to the oxygen reduction apparatus 106. In the present embodiment, however, the water contained in the air inside the cabinet 11 And a water supply mechanism for recovering and supplying the water to the oxygen abatement apparatus 106.

More specifically, as shown in Fig. 5, an anode side space 136 is provided outside the fixing member 132 provided on the anode electrode 118 side. The anode side space 136 is communicated with the anode electrode 118 of the oxygen abatement unit 107 via the through hole 138 and the vaporization layer 122 provided in the fixing member 132, The air in the refrigeration space 20 is introduced from a ventilation opening (not shown).

A water absorbent 140 made of a deliquescent material that constitutes a water supply mechanism is accommodated in the anode side space 136 and is connected to the anode side space 136 of the refrigerating space 20 introduced into the anode side space 136 The absorbent 140 absorbs water from the air. Here, disturbance refers to the property of absorbing moisture in the atmosphere as hygroscopicity, and when the substance reacts with moisture absorbed by water as a result of hygroscopicity, it is called disturbance. As the harmful substance, for example, citric acid (C ₆ H ₈ O ₇ ), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), potassium carbonate (K ₂ CO ₃ ), magnesium chloride (MgCl ₂ ), calcium chloride (CaCl ₂ ) and the like can be used. The water absorbed by the absorbent 140 is vaporized by heat generated by applying a voltage between the anode electrode 118 and the cathode electrode 120 of the oxygen abatement unit 107 to become water vapor and the through holes 138 and vaporization Layer 122 and is supplied to the anode electrode 118 side.

According to the present embodiment as described above, the absorbent 140 constituting the water supply mechanism recovers water contained in the air inside the cabinet 11 and supplies the recovered water to the oxygen abatement apparatus 106 as water vapor, The user can drive the oxygen abatement apparatus 106 without supplying water. In this embodiment, since the absorbent 140 recovers water contained in the air inside the cabinet 11, the absorber 140 is installed at an arbitrary position in the cabinet 11 together with the oxygen abatement apparatus 106 The degree of freedom of design is increased.

In the present embodiment, the absorbent 140 can be disposed at any position as long as the air inside the cabinet 11 flows. However, the absorbent 140 may be arranged in a direction of air flow It is preferable that the refrigerant is installed in the flow path from the evaporator chamber 26 to the refrigerating evaporator 52 after circulating in the refrigerating space 20 on the upstream side of the evaporator chamber 26. By providing the absorbent 140 at such a position, high-humidity air circulated in the refrigeration space 20 can be supplied to the absorbent 140, and water can be efficiently recovered from the air inside the cabinet 11 .

(Third Embodiment)

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 6 to 9. Fig. In the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, the case where the oxygen reducing apparatus 106 reduces oxygen in one oxygen reduction chamber 100 has been described. However, in the present embodiment, the oxygen reduction apparatus 106 A first oxygen reduction chamber 100A provided in a plurality of oxygen reduction chambers, for example, a vegetable chamber 24 provided in a plurality of storage chambers provided inside the cabinet 11 and closed by another door, So that oxygen in the oxygen reduction chamber 100B is reduced. The same or corresponding components as those of the above-described first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

6 and 7, the evaporator cover 14 provided on the back surface of the refrigerating space 20 is formed so that the boundary portion between the refrigerating chamber 22 and the vegetable chamber 24 is expanded forward, 26 are formed in the housing part 150. [0051] An oxygen abatement unit 107 (refer to Fig. 7) constituting the oxygen abatement apparatus 106 is accommodated in the storage unit 150. Fig.

The storage unit 150 has a suction port 152 opened at the bottom of the refrigerating compartment 22 to suck air from the refrigerating compartment 22 through the suction port 152 and supply the air to the evaporator compartment 26, 152 to the oxygen abatement unit 107. The air- That is, the storage section 150 functions as the anode side space 136 for supplying the air in the refrigerating chamber 22 to the oxygen abatement unit 107.

The oxygen abatement unit 107 is provided with an absorbing member 140 for absorbing the absorbent 140 made of a deliquescent material constituting a water supply mechanism on the outside (on the accommodating portion 150) side of the fixing member 132 provided on the anode electrode 118 side The opening portion of the accommodating concave portion 154 is covered with the moisture permeable film 156 and the absorbent 140 is held between the accommodating concave portion 154 and the moisture permeable film 156.

The accommodating portion 150 is open to the rear of the upper surface of the vegetable compartment 24 and its opening is covered with a fixing member 134 disposed on the cathode electrode 120 side of the oxygen abatement unit 107. A lower portion of the fixing member 134 is provided with a first oxygen reduction chamber 100A and the lower surface of the fixing member 134 and the upper surface of the first oxygen reduction chamber 100A are connected through the cathode side space 126 have.

As shown in Fig. 8, the storage container 25 provided inside the vegetable compartment 24 includes a lower storage container 25A provided substantially over the entire width of the vegetable compartment and a lower storage container 25A disposed above the lower storage container 25A. 1 oxygen reduction chamber 100A and has a structure of overlapping two upper and lower stages.

The lower storage container 25A is in the shape of a bottomed box surrounded by the front wall, the rear wall, and the right and left side walls and opened upward. The lower storage container 25A has the bottom of the lower storage container 25A The receiving depth is set sufficiently deep.

The lower storage container 25A is held by a pair of left and right support frames fixedly attached to the back side of the vegetable room door 24a and configured to be pulled out to the outside together with the opening operation of the vegetable room door 24a.

The first oxygen reduction chamber 100A provided above the lower storage container 25A is provided with a bottomed box-shaped first storage container 104A which is opened upwardly and is surrounded by a front wall, a rear wall and right and left side walls do. The upper surface opening of the first storage container 104A is an opening for entering and exiting the stored product in the first oxygen reduction chamber 100A and is configured to be closed by the fixed lid 105A1 and the sliding lid 105A2.

The first storage container 104A is disposed near the lower part of the partition plate 21 for partitioning the refrigerating compartment 22 and the vegetable compartment 24 and is disposed on the rail 24b formed on the left and right side wall surfaces of the vegetable compartment 24 Rear direction so that it is installed in the vegetable compartment 24 so as to be pulled out to the outside independently of the lower storage container 25A.

The rear end portion of the upper surface opening of the first storage container 104A forms the oxygen reduction opposing portion 104A1. The oxygen reduction opposing portion 104A1 is connected to the oxygen reduction unit 107 in a state where the vegetable room door 24a as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is closed and the first storage container 104A is housed in the vegetable room 24, Side space 126 and the fixing member 134 on the side of the cathode electrode 120 on the side of the cathode side.

The stationary lid 105A1 is disposed in the region from the substantially central portion to the rear portion of the first storage container 104A in the front and rear direction of the first storage container 104A while leaving the oxygen reduction opposing portion 104A1 provided at the rear end of the first storage container 104A, And covers the upper surface opening of the heat sink 104A. The fixed lid 105A1 is fixed to the partition plate 21 so that the first storage container 104A does not move even though it moves on the rail 24b and moves in the forward and backward directions.

The sliding cover 105A2 covers the upper surface opening of the first storage container 104A in the area from the front wall to the rear portion of the first storage container 104A and the rear portion of the sliding cover 105A2 covers the fixed cover 105A1, . The sliding lid 105A2 is slidably supported on the upper end of the first storage container 104A in the front-rear direction.

The first oxygen reduction chamber 100A is provided in the vegetable chamber 24 in the closed state of the vegetable chamber door 24a as shown in Fig. 6, and the first oxygen reduction chamber 100A is provided with the fixed lids 105A1 and 105A2, leaving the oxygen reduction opposing portion 104A1, And the upper surface opening is covered with the sliding cover 105A2. In the closed state of the vegetable chamber door 24a, the bottom of the first storage container 104A constituting the first oxygen reduction chamber 100A is provided with the convex portion 162 9).

The first storage container 104A which draws out the lower compartment container 25A to the outside and engages with the convex portion 162 of the lower storage container 25A when the vegetable compartment door 24a is drawn out and opened, The sliding lid 105A2 supported by the first storage container 104A is pulled forward.

The first storage container 104A and the sliding lid 105A2 drawn out together with the lower storage container 25A are moved in the direction of the sliding door 105A2 when the front wall of the first storage container 104A is drawn to the vicinity of the front end of the cabinet 11, Is engaged with the projection provided on the cabinet 11 to prevent the sliding cover 105A2 from moving forward. Since the sliding lid 105A2 is engaged with the projections provided on the left and right side walls of the first storage container 104A, the forward movement of the first storage container 104A together with the sliding lid 105A2 is blocked. As a result, the convex portion 162 of the lower storage container 25A is disengaged from the first storage container 104A, and only the lower storage container 25A is pulled forward, as shown in Fig. 9, The sliding lid 105A2 and the first storage container 104A are stopped near the front end of the cabinet 11. [ In this state, the portion other than the rear end of the first storage container 104A is closed by the sliding lid 105A2.

When the first storage container 104A is pulled forward from the state in which the vegetable chamber door 24a as shown in Fig. 9 is opened, the sliding lid 105A2 is engaged with the projection provided in the cabinet, The first storage container 104A and the sliding lid 105A2 are disengaged from each other. The first storage container 104A is provided with a rear wall lower than the right and left side walls and a gap is formed between the rear wall and the fixed lid 105A1 so that the sliding lid 105A2 escapes, Only the upper opening of the first storage container 104A is opened.

The second oxygen abatement chamber 100B is provided in the space defined by the lowermost storage shelf 23 and the partition plate 21 provided in the refrigerating compartment 22 and is fixed to the upper surface of the partition plate 21. [ 2 container storage portion 102B and a second storage container 104B accommodated in the second container storage portion 102B.

The second container storage portion 102B is formed of a rectangular box-like box body whose front surface is opened. The front opening of the second container storage portion 102B is an opening for allowing the stored product to enter and exit the second oxygen reduction chamber 100B and is closed by the cover 105B serving also as the front plate of the second storage container 104B have.

The second storage container 104B is configured such that the rollers 168 provided on the rear sides of the left and right sides slide on the rails 170 provided inside the oxygen abatement chamber 100B, .

The suction duct 101B and the spray duct 103B are connected to the back surface of the second container storage portion 102B and are connected to the cathode side space of the oxygen abatement device 106 through the suction duct 101B and the spray duct 103B 126).

In this example, the suction duct 101B and the spray duct 103B are connected to the cathode side space 126 and the second container storage portion 102B is connected to the cathode side space 126, the suction duct 101B, The suction duct 101B and the injection duct 103b are connected to the first oxygen reduction chamber 100A and the second oxygen reduction chamber 100A is connected to the oxygen reduction unit 107 via the injection duct 103B. The storage portion 102B is connected to the oxygen abatement unit 107 and the second container storage portion 102B through the cathode side space 126, the first oxygen reduction chamber 100A, the suction duct 101, and the injection duct 103, .

In the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment, the cool air generated in the refrigeration evaporator 52 is injected from the ejection opening into the refrigerating compartment 22 to cool the inside of the refrigerating compartment 22, And is sucked into the storage portion 150 from the storage portion 152. The absorbent 140 contained in the accommodating recess 154 of the oxygen abatement unit 107 absorbs water from the cool air sucked into the accommodating portion 150.

When a voltage is applied between the anode electrode 118 and the cathode electrode 120 of the oxygen abatement unit 107, the water absorbed by the absorbent 140 is vaporized by the heat generated when the voltage is applied, Passes through the through hole 138 provided in the fixing member 132 and the vaporization layer 122 and is supplied to the anode electrode 118 side. At this time, the water vapor is electrolyzed in the anode catalyst layer 112 to generate hydrogen ions. The hydrogen ions generated in the anode catalyst layer 112 pass through the polymer electrolyte membrane 116 and move to the cathode catalyst layer 114 and react with oxygen contained in the air in the cathode side space 126 to produce water. The oxygen concentration in the cathode side space 126 is reduced so that the first oxygen reduction chamber 100A connected to the cathode side space 126 and the first oxygen reduction chamber 100B connected to the cathode side via the suction duct 101B or the injection duct 103B The oxygen concentration of the second oxygen reduction chamber 100B connected to the space 126 is also reduced.

According to the refrigerator of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the common oxygen reduction device 106 can supply the oxygen in the first oxygen reduction chamber 100A provided in the vegetable compartment 24 and the oxygen in the second oxygen reduction chamber 100A installed in the refrigerating compartment 22, The oxygen reduction device 106 can be easily laid out in the cabinet 11 and the number of parts can be reduced, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

In the present embodiment, the first oxygen reduction chamber 100A is connected to the oxygen reduction unit 107 via the cathode side space 126, and the second oxygen reduction chamber 100B is connected to the cathode side space 126, Is connected to the oxygen abatement unit 107 through the intake duct 101 and the injection duct 103 and is connected to the oxygen reducing unit 107 in the second oxygen abatement room 100B, The first path to the oxygen abatement unit 107 of the abatement chamber 100A is short. In this way, when the lengths of the paths to the oxygen abatement unit 107 are different from each other in the plurality of oxygen abatement chambers 100A and 100B, the oxygen abatement chamber (In this embodiment, the first oxygen reduction chamber 100A) is set so that the area of the opening for allowing the stored product to enter and exit the oxygen reduction chamber 107 It is preferable to make the size of the opening of the storage part installed in the chamber 100B smaller than the area of the opening for inserting and removing the stored product, thereby increasing the sealing performance of the opening part.

As described above, by increasing the sealing performance of the opening provided in the oxygen reduction chamber with a short path to the oxygen reduction unit 107, the amount of oxygen flowing into the oxygen reduction chamber from the opening is reduced, .

That is, the oxygen reduction chamber having a short path to the oxygen reduction unit 107 consumes a large amount of oxygen inside the oxygen reduction unit 107 as compared with the oxygen reduction chamber having a long path to the oxygen reduction unit 107, The oxygen concentration fluctuation occurring between the outside of the reduction chamber and the outside increases. Therefore, when the sealing performance is low, a large amount of oxygen flows into the oxygen reduction chamber. However, since the oxygen concentration reduction caused by the path to the oxygen reduction unit 107 is small between the oxygen reduction chamber and the outside of the oxygen reduction chamber, Even if the performance is low, it is difficult for oxygen to flow into the oxygen reduction chamber. Therefore, the amount of oxygen flowing into the oxygen reduction chamber can be suppressed in the entirety of the plurality of oxygen reduction chambers, and the oxygen concentration in the plurality of oxygen reduction chambers can be effectively lowered.

(Modification Example 1)

In the third embodiment described above, when the absorbent 140 constituting the water supply mechanism recovers water contained in the air inside the cabinet 11 and supplies the recovered water to the oxygen abatement apparatus 106 as water vapor The defrosting water generated in the evaporator 52 for refrigeration or the ice-making water stored in the ice-making tank may be supplied to the oxygen reduction apparatus 100 using the capillary phenomenon of the water stored in the reservoir unit 111, The pump 140A may supply water to the oxygen reduction device 106 or the purified water generated in the evaporator 141 accumulated in the reservoir 142 as shown in Fig. 4 may be sent to the oxygen reduction device 106 . Other configurations and effects are similar to those of the third embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Variation Example 2)

In the third embodiment described above, the case has been described in which the oxygen reduction chambers 100A and 100B are provided in the vegetables room 24 and the refrigerating chamber 22 at the refrigeration temperature (for example, 2 to 3 ° C) The first freezing room 44 for storing food at -18 ° C, for example, or an oxygen reduction chamber may be provided in the conversion room, which can be arbitrarily set by the user, or the vegetable room 24, the refrigerating room 22, An oxygen abatement chamber may be provided in each of the three freezing chambers 44 or the like.

In the third embodiment, the refrigerating compartment 22 and the vegetable compartment 24 are partly partitioned into oxygen reducing chambers. However, the entire storage compartment such as the vegetable compartment 24 and the first freezing compartment 44 can be made into one oxygen reducing compartment , And the oxygen reduction device 106 may reduce oxygen in the entire storage compartment.

(Fourth Embodiment)

The fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 10 and 11. Fig. The same or corresponding components as those of the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0003] In order to maintain the leading of stored products such as food stored in a refrigerator, a refrigerator is known in which ultraviolet rays or visible light are irradiated to a photocatalyst provided in a refrigerator to decompose substances to be decomposed such as floating germs and degrading hormones such as ethylene gas and odorous components However, when a photocatalyst as described above is used in a plurality of containers provided in a plurality of storage rooms in the related art, a photocatalyst and a light source are provided in correspondence with each container.

The refrigerator 200 according to the present embodiment includes a first processing chamber 201 provided in a plurality of containers provided in the plurality of storage chambers, for example, a vegetable chamber 24, a second processing chamber 202 provided in the refrigerating chamber 22, And the substances to be decomposed, such as airborne bacteria, ethylene gas, and odor components contained in the air in the first processing chamber 201 and the second processing chamber 202, are connected to the communication path 203 by a photocatalytic action, Unit 204 as shown in FIG.

More specifically, the storage container 25 provided inside the vegetable compartment 24 of the refrigerator 200 includes a lower storage container 25A provided over substantially the entire width of the vegetable compartment 24, a lower storage container 25A disposed above the lower storage container 25A, And a first processing chamber 201 provided in the upper portion of the substrate 201. The first processing chamber 201 and the second processing chamber 201 are overlapped by two upper and lower stages.

The lower storage container 25A is in the form of a bottomed box surrounded by the front wall, the rear wall, and the right and left side walls and opened upward. The lower storage container 25A is accommodated in the lower storage container 25A We are deepening the depth.

The lower storage container 25A is held by a pair of left and right support frames fixedly attached to the back side of the vegetable room door 24a and configured to be pulled out to the outside together with the opening operation of the vegetable room door 24a.

As shown in Fig. 11, the first treatment chamber 201 provided above the lower storage container 25A is formed of a rectangular parallelepiped box body having a front surface opened and fixed to the lower surface of the partition plate 21 have. The drawing chamber 205 is accommodated in the first processing chamber 201 and the opening of the front surface of the first processing chamber 201 is closed by a door 206 serving also as a front plate of the drawer vessel 205.

The light transmitting portion 207, the photocatalytic layer 208, and the light source 209 are provided on the ceiling wall 201a for partitioning the first processing chamber 201, in this example, the upper portion of the first processing chamber 201, A photocatalytic reaction unit 204 is provided.

The light transmitting portion 207 is made of a transparent flat plate-like member and is provided so as to close the opening 201b provided in the ceiling wall 201a. The photocatalyst layer 208 is provided so as to cover the inside (in this example, the bottom surface) of the light transmitting portion 207 and is provided in the first treatment chamber 201.

The photocatalytic layer 208 in the present embodiment is made of a visible light responsive photocatalyst. For example, the photocatalytic layer 208 may be formed by coating a surface of rutile titanium oxide fine particles having a primary particle diameter of 20 to 30 占 퐉 with platinum of 5 nm in particle diameter, Based photocatalyst fine particles having a thickness of about 0.5 to 5.0 mu m.

The outer side of the opening 201b provided in the ceiling wall 201a of the first processing chamber 201 is covered with the concave depression 217 which is depressed upward. A light source 209 composed of a plurality of LEDs is provided in the concave depression 217. The light source 209 is composed of a plurality of LEDs emitting light in a wavelength range of 400 to 420 nm and is molded and integrated with a transparent resin in a state of being arranged on the control substrate 210 . The light source 209 emits light toward the light transmitting portion 207 and irradiates the light to the photocatalyst layer 208 provided in the first processing chamber 201 through the light transmitting portion 207.

The drawer vessel 205 slides on the rails 212 provided on the inner side of the first processing chamber 201 so that the drawers 205 can be pulled out in the forward and backward directions with respect to the first processing chamber 201 .

On the other hand, the second treatment chamber 202 is provided in the upper and lower spaces partitioned by the lowermost storage shelf 23 and the partition plate 21 provided in the refrigerating compartment 22, and is fixed to the upper surface of the partition plate 21. The drawing chamber 213 is accommodated in the second processing chamber 202 similarly to the first processing chamber 201 and the opening of the front face of the second processing chamber 202 is connected to the door (Not shown). The drawer vessel 213 slides on the rails 216 provided on the inner side of the second processing chamber 202 so that the drawers 213 can be drawn out in the front and rear directions with respect to the second processing chamber 202 .

The communication path 203 is connected to the back surface of the first processing chamber 201 and the second processing chamber 202 and communicates with the first processing chamber 201 and the second processing chamber 202. In this example, A duct 203a through which air flows in the processing chamber 202 and a duct 203b through which air flows from the second processing chamber 202 to the first processing chamber 201. [

In the refrigerator 200 of the present embodiment, the light source 209 irradiates light to the photocatalyst layer 208 provided in the first processing chamber 201 through the light transmitting portion 207, (Active species) such as a lipoxygenase, a lipoxygenase, a lipoxygenase, a lipoxygenase, a lipoxygenase, a lipoxygenase, a lipoxygenase, Decomposes the substance to be decomposed contained in the internal air through the communication path 203.

In the refrigerator 200 of the present embodiment having the above configuration, the first processing chamber 201 and the second processing chamber 202 are communicated with each other through the communication path 203, so that the photocatalyst unit 204 installed in the first processing chamber 201 Can decompose the substance to be degraded contained in the air inside the second processing chamber 202 together with the first processing chamber 201. [ Therefore, since the substance to be decomposed is decomposed in the plurality of treatment chambers 201 and 202, it is not necessary to provide a plurality of photocatalytic units 204 corresponding to the plurality of treatment chambers 201 and 202, and the manufacturing cost can be suppressed .

Since the photocatalytic unit 204 is provided in the first treatment chamber 201 provided in the vegetable compartment 24 which is the storage room having the highest interior temperature in the refrigerator 200, The decomposition substances are easily decomposed and the bacteria in the first treatment chamber 201 and the second treatment chamber 202 can be efficiently removed and deodorization can be performed.

In the present embodiment, the case where the photocatalytic unit 204 is provided on the ceiling wall 201a of the first treatment chamber 201 has been described. However, the photocatalytic unit 204 Or the photocatalytic unit 204 may be provided in the second processing chamber 202 or the communication path 203. [

(Modification Example 1)

Modification 1 of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig.

In the fourth embodiment described above, the light transmitting portion 207, the photocatalyst layer 208, and the light source 209 constituting the photocatalytic unit 204 are provided in the first processing chamber 201. In this modification, the light transmitting portion 207 And the photocatalyst layer 208 are provided in the first processing chamber 201 and the light source 209 is provided on the wall surface defining the vegetable chamber 24 in which the first processing chamber 201 is installed.

Specifically, as shown in Fig. 12, the light transmitting portion 207 is made of a transparent flat plate-shaped member and is provided so as to close the opening 201b provided in the ceiling wall 201a. The photocatalyst layer 208 is provided so as to cover the inside of the light transmitting portion 207 and is provided in the first processing chamber 201.

A wall facing the light transmitting portion 207 provided in the first processing chamber 201 among the wall faces partitioning the greenhouse 24 in which the first processing chamber 201 is installed, A light source 209 is provided on the plate 21.

The partition plate 21 is provided with a concave depression 218 which is depressed upward at a position opposite to the light transmitting portion 207 provided in the first processing chamber 201, A light source 209 is provided. The light source 209 emits light toward the light transmitting portion 207 and irradiates the light to the photocatalyst layer 208 provided in the first processing chamber 201 through the light transmitting portion 207, Decomposing substances such as airborne bacteria, ethylene gas, and malodorous components contained in the air in the first treatment chamber 201 are decomposed, and the active species such as hydroxy radicals are decomposed in the second treatment chamber 202 Decomposes the substance to be decomposed contained in the inner air through the communication path 203.

In this modification, the light source 209 can be arranged so as to oppose the light transmitting portion 207 provided in the first processing chamber 201 without providing a concave depression protruding outward from the first processing chamber 201, An unnecessary space is not formed between the photocatalytic reaction unit 24 and the first treatment chamber 201 and the reduction in storage capacity can be suppressed even when the photocatalytic unit 204 is provided.

In this modification example, the light transmitting portion 207 and the photocatalyst layer 208 are provided on the ceiling wall 201a of the first processing chamber 201 and the partition plate 21 for partitioning the upper portion of the vegetable chamber 24 is provided with a light source The light transmitting portion 207 and the photocatalyst layer 208 are provided on the right and left side walls and the front and rear walls of the first processing chamber 201 and the light transmitting portion 207 and the photocatalyst layer 208 The light source 209 may be provided on the wall surface defining the vegetable compartment 24. [

(Variation Example 2)

Modification 2 of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig.

In the fourth embodiment described above, the first processing chamber 201 provided in the vegetable chamber 24 and the second processing chamber 202 provided in the refrigerating chamber 22 are connected to each other through the communication path 203, In the refrigerator 200 of the present modification example, the decomposed matter contained in the air inside the second processing chamber 202 is decomposed by the installed photocatalyst unit 204 together with the first processing chamber 201. However, And a decompression device 230 such as a vacuum pump for decompressing the inside of the first process chamber 201 and the second process chamber 202 in addition to the decompression device 204.

Specifically, as shown in Fig. 13, the decompression device 230 is installed behind the second process chamber 202 and exhausts the air in the second process chamber 202 to decompress the inside thereof. In this example, it is disposed on the back surface of the second processing chamber 202 and connected by piping. The decompression device 230 decompresses the interior of the second processing chamber 202 by evacuating air in the second processing chamber 202 and also decompresses the interior of the first container 201 through the communication path 203.

In this modification example, in addition to the decomposition of the substance to be decomposed contained in the air in the first processing chamber 201 and the second processing chamber 202 by the photocatalytic unit 204, 201 and the second treatment chamber 202 and can suppress the oxidation of the stored products stored in the first treatment chamber 201 and the second treatment chamber 202 to maintain the lineament of the stored product.

The decompression device 230 provided in the second process chamber 202 can also reduce the pressure in the first process chamber 201 together with the second process chamber 202 to reduce the number of parts and thereby reduce the manufacturing cost .

In this modification example, the decompression device 230 is operated and the interior of the second process chamber 202 is decompressed, and the first process chamber 201 Is moved to the second processing chamber 202, so that the material to be decomposed contained in the air in the second processing chamber 202 can be decomposed in a short time.

Although the decompression apparatus 230 is connected to the second processing chamber 202 to reduce the pressure in the second processing chamber 202 in the present modification example, the decompression apparatus 230 may be provided in the first processing chamber 201, .

(Modification 3)

In the fourth embodiment, a damper for opening and closing the ducts 203a and 203b constituting the communication passage 203 may be provided. In this case, there is no movement of the inside air between the first processing chamber 201 and the second processing chamber 202, so that even when the door of one processing chamber is opened, outside air does not flow into the other processing chamber. Other constitutions and operation effects are similar to those of the fourth embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Modification 4)

In the fourth embodiment described above, a fan may be installed in any one of the first processing chamber 201, the second processing chamber 202, and the communication passage 203 to blow air to the communication passage 203. In this case, by driving the fan, the air in the first processing chamber 201 and the second processing chamber 202 is forcibly circulated through the communication path 203, and the first processing chamber 201 and the second processing chamber 202 Can be decomposed in a short time.

(Modification Example 5)

The inside of the first processing chamber 201 and the inside of the second processing chamber 202 are provided in the first processing chamber 201, the second processing chamber 202 and the communication path 203 at high humidity A humidity adjusting agent such as silica gel which absorbs moisture in the inside air and emits moisture absorbed in the low humidity city may be provided. In this case, since the internal humidity of the first processing chamber 201 and the second processing chamber 202 can be suppressed from being lowered, water required for generating the active species in the photocatalyst layer 208 is not short, Decomposition of the substance to be decomposed by the unit 204 can be efficiently performed.

(Fifth Embodiment)

The fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 14 to 16. Fig.

The refrigerator 300 of the present embodiment includes a first processing chamber 301 installed in a plurality of containers, for example, a vegetable room 24, provided in a plurality of storage rooms installed inside the cabinet 11 and closed by other doors, Decomposition substances such as airborne bacteria, ethylene gas, and odorous components contained in the air in the second treatment chamber 302 provided in the second treatment chamber 22 are decomposed into photocatalytic unit 304 by a photocatalytic action, The oxygen in the first processing chamber 301 and the second processing chamber 302 is reduced. The same or corresponding components as those of the first to fourth embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

Specifically, as shown in Figs. 14 to 16, the evaporator cover 14 provided on the rear surface of the refrigerating space 20 expands the boundary portion between the refrigerating chamber 22 and the vegetable chamber 24 forward, 26 are formed. An oxygen abatement unit 107 and a photocatalytic unit 204 constituting the oxygen abatement apparatus 106 are accommodated in the storage unit 150.

The storage unit 150 has a suction port 152 opened at the bottom of the refrigerating compartment 22 to suck air from the refrigerating compartment 22 through the suction port 152 and supply the air to the evaporator compartment 26, To the oxygen abatement unit 107, as shown in FIG. That is, the storage section 150 functions as the anode side space 136 for supplying the air in the refrigerating chamber 22 to the oxygen abatement unit 107.

The oxygen abatement unit 107 is provided with an absorbing member 140 for absorbing the absorbent 140 made of a deliquescent material constituting a water supply mechanism on the outside (on the accommodating portion 150) side of the fixing member 132 provided on the anode electrode 118 side The opening portion of the accommodating concave portion 154 is covered with the moisture permeable film 156 and the absorbent 140 is held between the accommodating concave portion 154 and the moisture permeable film 156.

The storage portion 150 is open at the rear of the upper surface of the vegetable compartment 24 and its opening is covered with a fixing member 134 disposed on the cathode electrode 120 side of the oxygen abatement unit 107. The lower surface of the fixing member 134 and the upper surface of the first processing chamber 301 are connected to each other through the cathode side space 126. The first processing chamber 301 is provided below the fixing member 134. [

16, a light transmitting portion 207, a photocatalyst layer 208, and a light source 208 are provided together with the oxygen abatement unit 107 on the storage portion 150 side (upper side in this example) And a photocatalyst unit 204 having a photocatalyst unit 209 are provided.

The light transmitting portion 207 is formed of a transparent flat plate member and is provided so as to close the opening 201b provided in the fixing member 134. [ The photocatalyst layer 208 is provided so as to cover the side of the cathode side space 126 (in this example, the lower surface) of the light transmitting portion 207 and is provided in the cathode side space 126 communicating with the first processing chamber 201 have.

And is covered with a concave portion 217 depressed upwardly on the outside of the opening 201b provided in the fixing member 134. [ A light source 209 composed of a plurality of LEDs is provided in the concave depression 217. The light source 209 is composed of a plurality of LEDs emitting light in a wavelength range of 400 to 420 nm, for example, and is molded and integrated with a transparent resin in a state of being disposed on the control substrate 210. The light source 209 emits light toward the light transmitting portion 207 and irradiates light to the photocatalyst layer 208 provided in the cathode side space 126 via the light transmitting portion 207.

The storage container 25 provided inside the vegetable compartment 24 includes a lower storage container 25A provided substantially over the entire width of the vegetable compartment 24 and a first processing chamber 301 provided above the lower storage container 53, And has a structure of overlapping two upper and lower stages.

The lower storage container 25A is in the form of a box with a bottom which is surrounded by the front wall, the rear wall and the right and left side walls and opens upward, and the receiving depth of the lower storage container 25A is deeper than that of the first processing chamber 301 Is installed.

The lower storage container 25A is held by a pair of left and right support frames fixedly attached to the back side of the vegetable room door 24a and configured to be pulled out to the outside together with the opening operation of the vegetable room door 24a.

The first treatment chamber 301 provided above the lower storage container 25A is in the form of a box with a bottom which is opened upward by the front wall, the rear wall, and the right and left side walls. The upper surface opening of the first processing chamber 301 is an opening for allowing the stored product to enter and exit the first processing chamber 301 and is closed by the fixed lid 305 and the sliding lid 306.

The first treatment chamber 301 is disposed close to the lower portion of the partition plate 21 for partitioning the refrigerating compartment 22 and the vegetable compartment 24 and is disposed on the rail 24b formed on the right and left side wall surfaces of the vegetable compartment 24, So that it is installed in the vegetable compartment 24 so that it can be drawn out to the outside independently of the lower storage container 25A.

An oxygen abatement portion 301A is formed at the rear end of the upper surface opening portion of the first treatment chamber 301. The vegetable chamber door 24a as shown in Figs. 14 and 15 is closed, The oxygen reduction opposing portion 301A is vertically opposed to the fixing member 134 on the cathode electrode 120 side of the oxygen abatement unit 107 in a state of accommodating the oxygen reduction opposing portion 301 in the cathode side space 126, And is connected to the fixing member 134.

The fixed lid 305 is disposed in the first processing chamber 301 in the area from the substantially central portion to the rear portion of the first processing chamber 301 in the front-rear direction, leaving behind the oxygen abatement portion 301A provided at the rear end of the first processing chamber 301. [ As shown in Fig. The fixed lid 305 is fixed to the partition plate 21 so that the first processing chamber 301 does not move even though it moves on the rail 24b and moves in the forward and backward directions.

The sliding cover 306 covers the upper surface opening of the first processing chamber 301 in the area from the front wall to the rear portion of the first processing chamber 301 and the rear portion of the sliding lid 306 overlaps the fixed lid 305 up and down have. The sliding cover 306 is slidably supported at the upper end of the first processing chamber 301 in the forward and backward directions.

Such a first treatment chamber 301 is provided in the vegetable compartment 24 in the closed state of the vegetable chamber door 24a as shown in Figs. 14 and 15, and is fixed to the fixed lid 305, leaving the oxygen abatement opposing portion 301A. And the sliding cover (306).

The second processing chamber 302 is installed in a space defined by the lowermost storage shelf 23 and the partitioning plate 21 installed in the refrigerating compartment 22 and fixed to the upper surface of the partitioning plate 21. [ The drawing chamber 313 is stored in the second processing chamber 302 similarly to the first processing chamber 301 and the opening of the front surface of the second processing chamber 302 is connected to the door 314, respectively. The drawer 313 is capable of being pulled out in the back and forth direction with respect to the second processing chamber 302 by sliding the rollers 315 provided on the rear side of both right and left side surfaces on the rails 316 provided inside the second processing chamber 302 have.

The suction duct 101B and the spray duct 103B connected to the cathode side space 126 of the oxygen abatement apparatus 106 are connected to the back surface of the second process chamber 302. [ Thus, the suction duct 101B, the spray duct 103B and the cathode side space 126 constitute a communication path for communicating the first process chamber 301 and the second process chamber 302, and the first process chamber 301, And the second processing chamber 302. [0051]

In this example, the second processing chamber 302 and the cathode side space 126 are connected by the suction duct 101B and the spray duct 103B, and the second processing chamber 302 is connected to the cathode side space 126, The suction duct 101B and the injection duct 103B are connected to the first process chamber 301 while the first process chamber 301 and the second process chamber 302 are connected to each other through the duct 101B and the spray duct 103B. (103B).

In the refrigerator 300 of the present embodiment, the cool air generated in the refrigeration evaporator 52 is injected from the ejection opening into the refrigerator compartment 22 to cool the inside of the refrigerator compartment 22, And is sucked into the storage portion 150 from the storage portion 152. The absorbent 140 contained in the accommodating recess 154 of the oxygen abatement unit 107 absorbs water from the cool air sucked into the accommodating portion 150.

When a voltage is applied between the anode electrode 118 and the cathode electrode 120 of the oxygen abatement unit 107, the water absorbed by the absorbent 140 is vaporized by the heat generated when the voltage is applied, Passes through the through hole 138 provided in the member 132 and the vaporization layer 122 and is supplied to the anode electrode 118 side. At this time, the water vapor is electrolyzed in the anode catalyst layer 112 to generate hydrogen ions. The hydrogen ions generated in the anode catalyst layer 112 pass through the polymer electrolyte membrane 116 and move to the cathode catalyst layer 114 and react with oxygen contained in the air in the cathode side space 126 to produce water. As a result, the oxygen concentration in the cathode-side space 126 is reduced, so that the first processing chamber 301 connected to the cathode-side space 126 and the first processing chamber 301 connected to the cathode-side space 126 via the suction duct 101B or the injection duct 103B The oxygen concentration in the second process chamber 302 connected to the second process chamber 126 is also reduced.

The light source 209 of the photocatalytic unit 204 provided in the housing part 150 irradiates light to the photocatalyst layer 208 provided in the cathode side space 126 through the light transmitting part 207, (Such as hydroxy radicals) from the water in the reaction zone 126. The first treatment chamber 301 connected to the cathode-side space 126 and the first treatment chamber 301 connected to the cathode-side space 126 can be separated from each other, Decomposing material contained in the air inside the second processing chamber 302 connected to the cathode-side space 126 through the injection ducts 101A and 101B or the injection duct 103B.

As described above, in the refrigerator 300 of the present embodiment, in addition to the decomposition of the substances to be decomposed contained in the air in the first processing chamber 301 and the second processing chamber 302 by the photocatalytic unit 204, The oxygen in the first processing chamber 301 and the second processing chamber 302 can be reduced by the first processing chamber 106 and the oxidation of the stored materials stored in the first processing chamber 301 and the second processing chamber 302 can be suppressed, You can keep your lead.

In the refrigerator 300 of the present embodiment as described above, in order to reduce the oxygen concentration or decompose the substance to be decomposed into the plurality of treatment chambers 301 and 302, the photocatalytic unit 204 ) And the oxygen reducing apparatus 106 need not be provided, and the number of parts can be reduced, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

In the refrigerator 300 of the present embodiment, oxygen and hydrogen ions contained in air in the cathode side space 126 react with each other when the oxygen reduction device 106 is driven to generate water in the cathode side space 126, The oxygen abatement device 106 and the photocatalytic unit 204 are provided in the housing part 150 and are disposed in proximity to each other so that the oxygen abatement device 106 generates water in the vicinity of the photocatalytic layer 208. Therefore, the water necessary for producing the active species can be reliably supplied to the photocatalyst layer 208, and the decomposition of the substance to be degraded by the photocatalytic unit 204 can be performed efficiently.

(Other Embodiments)

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but these embodiments are presented as examples, and the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications are included in the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims and their equivalents as are included in the scope and spirit of the invention.

10: Refrigerator 11: Cabinet
20: refrigerator space 22: refrigerator room
26: Evaporator chamber 27: Drain pan
29: Drain path 33: Evaporator cover
34: evaporator chamber 40: freezing space
42: ice making room 44: first freezing room
46: second freezing room 52: refrigerator evaporator
54: Evaporator for freezing 100: Oxygen abatement room
101: Suction duct 102: Vessel compartment
103: injection duct 104: storage container
105: lid 106: oxygen reduction device
107: oxygen reduction unit 110: ventilation hole
111: low water part 116: polymer electrolyte membrane
118: anode electrode 120: cathode electrode
122: vaporization layer 125: insulator
126: cathode side space 128: through hole
130: water supply part 132: fixing member
134: fixing member 136: anode side space
138: through hole 140: absorbent
201: first treatment chamber 202: second treatment chamber
204: photocatalyst unit 207: light transmitting portion
208: photocatalyst layer 209: light source

Claims (20)

An oxygen abatement device provided in the cabinet and an oxygen abatement device having a polymer electrolyte membrane sandwiched between a pair of electrodes and spaced apart from the oxygen abatement chamber; and a duct connecting the oxygen abatement chamber and the oxygen abatement device,
Wherein the oxygen reducing apparatus generates water from hydrogen ions generated by electrolyzing water and oxygen in the oxygen reducing chamber supplied through the duct to reduce oxygen in the oxygen reducing chamber. The method according to claim 1,
And a water supply mechanism for supplying the defrost water of the evaporator installed in the cabinet to the oxygen reduction device. 3. The method of claim 2,
And the water supply mechanism includes a reservoir portion for reserving the distilled water. The method according to claim 2 or 3,
Wherein the water supply mechanism is provided below the evaporator. The method of claim 3,
And the water supply mechanism includes a pump for sending defrost water stored in the reservoir to the oxygen reduction device. 6. The method of claim 5,
And a heater for heating a path through which the pump sends deionized water from the reservoir to the oxygen abatement device. The method according to claim 1,
And a water supply mechanism that recovers water contained in the air inside the cabinet and supplies the water to the oxygen reduction apparatus. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the water supply mechanism is provided on an upstream side of an air flow direction than an evaporator provided inside the cabinet. A plurality of oxygen storage chambers provided in the plurality of storage chambers and a polymer electrolyte membrane sandwiched between the pair of electrodes;
Wherein the oxygen reduction device generates water from hydrogen ions produced by electrolyzing water and oxygen in the oxygen reduction chambers and reduces oxygen in the oxygen reduction chambers. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the plurality of oxygen reduction chambers comprises a first oxygen reduction chamber facing the cathode side of the oxygen reduction device and a cathode side space and a second oxygen reduction chamber connected to the first oxygen reduction chamber or the cathode side space through a duct, And,
Wherein the oxygen reduction device generates water from hydrogen ions generated by electrolyzing water and water from the cathode side space and oxygen in the first oxygen reduction chamber and the second oxygen reduction chamber supplied through the duct, An oxygen reduction chamber and a refrigerator for reducing oxygen in the second oxygen reduction chamber. 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
Wherein the oxygen reduction chamber is installed in at least two storage rooms of a refrigerator compartment, a vegetable compartment, and a temperature conversion room that can be cooled by a freezing temperature. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the first oxygen reduction chamber and the second oxygen reduction chamber each have an opening for entering and exiting the stored product and a lid for closing the opening so that the first oxygen reduction chamber is closer to the second oxygen reduction chamber than the second oxygen reduction chamber, Refrigerator with high sealing performance. A plurality of processing chambers provided in the plurality of storage chambers, a communication path communicating the plurality of processing chambers, and a plurality of processing chambers provided in the plurality of processing chambers, A photocatalytic unit comprising a photocatalytic unit decomposed by a photocatalytic action. 14. The method of claim 13,
And a decompression device for decompressing at least one of the processing rooms. The method according to claim 13 or 14,
Wherein the photocatalytic unit is provided with a light transmitting portion provided on a wall surface defining the one processing chamber, a photocatalyst provided inside the light transmitting portion, and a light source provided outside the light transmitting portion and irradiating light to the photocatalyst through the light transmitting portion . The method according to claim 13 or 14,
Wherein the photocatalytic unit comprises a light transmitting portion provided on a wall surface for partitioning the one of the processing chambers, a photocatalyst provided on the inside of the light transmitting portion, and a photocatalytic member provided on a wall surface of the wall for partitioning the storage chamber, And a light source for irradiating the photocatalyst with light. 16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein the light transmitting portion and the photocatalyst are installed in the treatment chamber arranged in a storage chamber having the highest temperature. 17. The method of claim 16,
Wherein the light transmitting portion and the photocatalyst are installed in the treatment chamber arranged in a storage chamber having the highest temperature. The method according to claim 13 or 14,
An oxygen abatement apparatus having a polymer electrolyte membrane sandwiched between a pair of electrodes and generating water from hydrogen ions produced by electrolysis of water and oxygen from the plurality of treatment chambers and reducing oxygen in the plurality of treatment chambers; A reduction device, and a storage section for storing the photocatalytic unit. The method according to claim 13 or 14,
Wherein the processing chamber is installed in a vegetable compartment.

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