KR20190135783A - Apparatus for keeping food - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a food storage device which can be stored safely from bacteria or fungi by performing a sterilization function when storing foods. The food storage device according to an embodiment comprises: a main body in which one side is opened and closed by a door and which has a storage space for storing the foods; a tray which accommodates the foods and enters the storage space; an LED ultraviolet module disposed on one side of the inside of the main body and irradiating the ultraviolet light to sterilize the foods of the tray.

Description

Food storage device {APPARATUS FOR KEEPING FOOD}

The present disclosure relates to a food storage device that can be safely stored from bacteria or mold by performing a sterilization function when storing food.

Food has become a human concern as an essential element for survival for all generations, from infants to the elderly. Eating right foods can make your body healthy, but it can also lead to illness or serious illness.

For this reason, food storage methods have been very important, and many refrigerators and related products have emerged.

Conventionally, most food storage devices have been generally equipped with a refrigeration device due to bacterial propagation at room temperature, but in this case, there is a problem that the original taste of food disappears, so a method of keeping fresh at room temperature has been required.

Related arts related to this include a food freshness storage device using nitrogen gas of Korea Patent No. 10-0878558.

KR 10-0878558 B1

In order to solve the above problems, it is to provide a food storage device that can be stored fresh at room temperature for a long time.

In addition, to provide a food storage device that can be stored for a long time while minimizing the power consumption.

In addition, the food storage device by providing a cooling device and a humidity control device to provide a food storage device that can maintain the optimal state of the stored food.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present embodiment is not limited to the above-mentioned problems and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

Food storage device according to an embodiment, the one side is opened and closed by the door and the main body is provided with a storage space for storing food therein, a tray that is accommodated food is introduced into the storage space, and one side surface inside the body It may include an LED ultraviolet module disposed on and sterilizing the food of the tray by irradiating ultraviolet rays.

Here, the main body is made of a hexahedral shape, the LED UV module is formed in a pair of rectangular base panel spaced apart on the left and right with respect to the center of the main body rear portion, and a plurality of LED light emitting arranged on the base panel It may include a diode.

The tray may include a plurality of trays to form a layer, and a plurality of thermal image sensors may be provided at positions corresponding to the trays, respectively, between the pair of base panels.

On the other hand, the food storage device, the control unit for controlling the LED UV module, a memory unit for recording the thermal image information values, which are status values for each type of food according to the temperature range of room temperature, and a status display indicating the state of the food to the outside It may further include a bar.

The controller may compare the thermal image information captured by the thermal image sensor in real time with the thermal image information set in the memory unit, and then derive a real-time state value of food according to whether or not it matches. .

In addition, the real-time status value is represented by the first to fifth stages through the status bar, and in the second to fifth stages, the thermal image information is continuously detected. In the first stage, the food is corrupted through an alarm unit. It is characterized by informing.

On the other hand, the control unit, when the power saving mode is set at the initial value, characterized in that to cut off the power supplied to the LED ultraviolet module, to operate the LED ultraviolet module according to the real-time state value.

Here, the real-time state value is represented in the first to fifth stages through the status display bar, in the case of the first stage to notify the outside that the food is corrupted through the alarm unit, in the case of the second to fourth stages to operate the LED UV module In the case of step 5, the thermal image information is continuously detected, but the operation of the LED ultraviolet module is blocked.

In addition, the output value according to the operation of the LED UV module is represented as a real-time state value of steps 1 to 5 again, the control unit is characterized in that to perform the same process repeatedly for each step.

According to the disclosed contents, there is an effect that can be stored fresh at room temperature for a long time.

In addition, there is an effect that can be stored for a long time while minimizing power consumption.

In addition, by providing a cooling device and a humidity control device in the food storage device there is an effect that the stored food can maintain an optimal state.

The effects of the present embodiments are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

1 is a perspective view of a food storage device according to one embodiment.
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the food storage device according to an embodiment.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the front of the food storage device according to an embodiment.
4 is a block diagram of a food storage device according to one embodiment.
Figure 5 is a flow chart showing when in the normal mode as an operation of the food storage device according to an embodiment.
6 is a flow chart illustrating an operation process of a food storage device according to an embodiment in a power saving mode;

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail with respect to the food storage device according to a preferred embodiment. For reference, in describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a perspective view of a food storage device according to an embodiment, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the food storage device according to an embodiment, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a front of the food storage device according to an embodiment. .

1 to 3, the food storage device 10 according to the embodiment is opened and closed on one side by the door 140 and the main body 100 is provided with a storage space for storing food therein, and the food is It may include a tray 200 that is accommodated and introduced into the storage space, the LED ultraviolet module 500 disposed on one side of the inside of the main body 100 to sterilize the food of the tray 200 by irradiating ultraviolet rays.

The main body 100 may have various shapes such as a cylindrical structure, but may preferably have a hexahedral shape in order to facilitate the insertion of the tray 200.

A plurality of guide rails 130 are installed on both inner side parts 110 of the main body 100, and one or a plurality of trays 200 are slidably coupled to the guide rails 130.

The front of the main body 100 is provided with a door 140 and the storage space is provided so that food can be stored therein. At this time, the door 140 may be provided with a transparent window 142 so as to check the state of the food stored inside.

On the upper front of the door 140, the power button 320 for turning on / off the power of the food storage device 10, the power saving mode button 340 for setting the power saving mode, and the food setting for setting the type of food to be stored. The button unit 360, the display unit 400 for displaying the state of the food, and the alarm unit 480 for allowing the user to know immediately through the blinking of the alarm sound or lamp when the internal food is corrupted may be provided. have. In the present exemplary embodiment, the display unit 400 is illustrated as being provided on an upper portion of the front surface, but this is merely an example and may be provided at any one of the left side, the right side, or the lower surface of the front surface.

The above-described power button 320 is a button for turning on / off the operation of the main components of the LED ultraviolet module 500, etc., the food setting button unit 360, when the tray 200 is formed of a plurality of trays ( A plurality of setting buttons may be configured to correspond to 200. At this time, the type of food stored in the tray 200 is input by each setting button, and the control unit 800 (see FIG. 4) is based on the input value. The state is analyzed and the result is shown on the display.

The power saving mode button 340 is configured to reduce the power consumption of the food storage device 10 will be described later.

A plurality of vent holes 150 may be formed in the side portion of the door 140 so that the inside of the main body may match the room temperature of the outside.

Tray 200 may be formed in a variety of shapes, but preferably made of a flat plate to maximize the UV exposure area of the food placed on the upper surface. However, the inside of the tray 200 may be formed with a rectangular recessed receiving groove 220 so that food can be placed stably.

The tray 200 may be configured to be slidably coupled to a plurality of guide rails 130 formed inside the main body 100 so as to be height-adjustable, or may be slidably coupled to form a plurality of layers.

Both sides of the tray 200 may be formed by extending the wing portion 240 in the longitudinal direction to be inserted into the rail 130 of the main body to slide.

LED ultraviolet module 500 is installed on one side, preferably the rear portion 120 inside the main body 100, a rectangular base panel 520 is installed on the left and right sides relative to the center of the rear portion 120 and the base, It may include a plurality of light emitting diodes 540 arranged in the panel 520.

The LED ultraviolet module 500 is connected to the control unit 800 and the operation time is controlled by the control unit 800 and is supplied with power by the power supply unit 840 to emit light in the ultraviolet region. At this time, the ultraviolet wavelength band is preferably formed in 200nm to 400nm in order to maximize the effect of sterilization.

According to the present embodiment, the ultraviolet LED light emitting diode 540 is used to increase sterilization power while significantly lowering power consumption and extending the life semipermanently. In the conventional case, an ultraviolet lamp was used for ultraviolet sterilization of food, but there was a disadvantage in that the power consumption was too high and the maintenance cost was increased.

Meanwhile, a plurality of thermal image sensors 600 may be provided between the pair of base panels of the rear part 120 of the main body 100.

The thermal image sensor 600 is a sensor that detects heat of food and is composed of a photographing apparatus that detects thermal images in a non-contact manner. When the tray 200 is formed of a plurality of layers, the thermal image sensor 600 corresponds to the trays 200. It may be spaced apart in the vertical direction at the position.

In the present embodiment, for example, to be installed on the back of the main body 100 in order to prevent interference caused by the LED ultraviolet module 540, but is not limited to this, the interior of the main body 100 according to the number of trays 200, etc. Of course, it can be arranged in various positions, such as the side or top of the.

One side of the food storage device 10 may be provided with a cooling device and a humidity control device.

The cooling device is composed of a condenser, a compressor, an evaporator, and a circulation fan in a conventional general configuration. By cooling the air using a circulation cycle of the refrigerant and allowing the cooled air to circulate inside the food storage device, the stored foods are stored in an optimal state. It serves to be stored. For reference, reference numeral 112 of FIG. 2 represents a cold air inlet slit into which cold air of the cooling apparatus is introduced.

The humidity control device is conventionally composed of an evaporating plate, a spray device, and a blowing fan blowing toward the evaporating plate in a general configuration. In general, the relative humidity in the low temperature state without operating the humidity control device is an average of 60%, in this case there is a problem that can not be kept fresh fruits. Therefore, by maintaining the relative humidity of 80% of the optimum state of the fruit through the humidity control device it is possible to maintain the freshness of the food along with preventing food corruption. Reference numeral 114 in FIG. 2 denotes an air supply slit of the humidity control device.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of a food storage device according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the food storage device according to the embodiment includes a temperature sensor 700, a humidity sensor 720, a thermal image sensor 600, an LED ultraviolet module 500, a memory unit 820, and a controller ( 800, a power supply unit 840, other input unit 300, and a display unit 400. Hereinafter, redundant description of the above-described components such as the thermal image sensor 600 will be omitted.

Temperature sensor 700 is installed on one side inside the food storage device 10 to measure the internal temperature. In this case, the measured temperature values are applied to the controller 800 and displayed on the display unit 400 by the controller 800.

Humidity sensor 720 is installed on one side of the temperature sensor and measures the humidity inside the food storage device. In this case, the measured humidity values are displayed on the display unit 400 by the controller 800 together with the temperature values.

In the memory unit 820, thermal image information values, which are state values for each type of food, are recorded according to a temperature range and a humidity range at room temperature. Here, the thermal image values are exposed to foods such as vegetables, meat, fish, etc. at specific temperatures of 10 ° C. to 30 ° C. of each room temperature, and at each specific humidity within approximately 10% to 90%. The image may be acquired by the photographed and output image through 600.

The controller 800 is a configuration for controlling the internal main components of the LED ultraviolet module 500 and the like, and thermal image information preset by the thermal image sensor 600 in real time to the thermal image information set in the memory unit 820. Compared with, it derives real-time status value according to the match. In this case, the real-time status value is represented through the status bar 420 to be described later.

The input unit 300 is configured to be provided at one side of the display unit 400 and may include a food setting button 360 for setting the types of foods placed in the trays 200 described above.

The power supply unit 840 serves to supply power to the main components of the storage device including the control unit 800.

The display unit 400 is a status display bar 420 displaying a real-time state value indicating the state of the food for each tray 200, so that the input value, the current temperature value, humidity value, etc. of the setting button unit 360 can be viewed It may include a display window 440 to display, and an alarm unit 480 (see Fig. 3) to inform the outside that the food is corrupted.

Status bar 420 is composed of a number of bar-shaped bars corresponding to the number of trays 200, each bar may be divided into the first to fifth stages so that the state of food appears step by step over time. have. In the present embodiment, the status bar 420 is taken as an example to display the food, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the food storage device according to an embodiment in the normal mode, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the food storage device according to an embodiment in the power saving mode.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, an operation process in a normal mode and a power saving mode of a food storage device according to an embodiment will be described.

In the normal mode, the food to be stored in the initial value setting step (S21) is placed in a plurality of trays 200 for each type, then press the power button 320 and each layer of the tray 200 through the food setting button 360 Enter the type of food.

When the power button 320 is turned on, the LED ultraviolet module 500 is operated to sterilize the food in the food storage device 10, and the temperature and humidity values measured by the temperature sensor 700 and the humidity sensor 720. Is automatically applied to the controller 800, and the controller 800 extracts the thermal image information values stored in the memory unit 820 to be described later according to the applied temperature and humidity values.

At this time, the food stored inside is subjected to a slow biochemical change by the operation of the LED ultraviolet module 500, but when a considerable time passes, the biochemical change occurs in the food and as a result the thermal image sensor 600 The detected thermography values will also change.

In this regard, in S22 to S24, the controller 800 compares and analyzes the thermal image information captured by the thermal image sensor 600 with the thermal image information preset in the memory unit 820. In this case, the preset thermal image information is divided into five stages in the same manner as that of the status bar 420 of the display unit 400. Here, the first stage is a step that can not be ingested because the degree of corruption of the food is severe, the second to fourth stages represent the biochemical change of the food in stages, the ingestible stage, and the fifth stage is the initial state, the biochemical change is almost This step does not happen.

The real-time thermal image information values are consistently matched with preset information values, and when matched based on a predetermined error range, are displayed through the status bar 420. Accordingly, the user can display the state of food for each tray 200. I can figure it out.

In S24, when the status bar 420 indicates the first step (S24), the food in the tray 200 may not be ingested, so the controller 800 immediately informs the outside through the alarm unit 480. When the status bar 420 has two to five stages, the thermal image sensor 600 continuously detects thermal image information and repeats the same process.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the power saving mode, the foods to be stored in the initial value setting step S31 are placed in a plurality of trays 200 for each type, and then the power button 320 and the power saving mode button 340 are pressed and the food is set. The button 360 inputs the type of food corresponding to each layer of the tray 200. In the power saving mode, unlike the general mode of FIG. 5, the LED UV module 500 does not operate and operates according to a state of food, that is, a real time state value by the thermal image sensor 600.

In S32, the thermal image sensor 600 detects thermal image information by photographing foods placed in each tray 200 in real time.

In S33 to S34, the controller 800 compares the thermal image information captured by the thermal image sensor 600 with the thermal image information preset in the memory unit 820. In this case, the preset thermal image information is divided into five stages, in the same manner as the status display bar 420 of the display unit 400. Here, the state of each step is the same as the general mode of FIG.

As a result of the comparison operation of the controller 800, when the real-time thermal image information values match the preset information values based on a predetermined error range, the control unit 800 is displayed in steps 1 through 5 through the status display bar 420.

At this time, if the output value indicates step 1 (S35-1), the alarm unit 480 immediately informs the outside that the food is decay, and if the 2-4 step (S35-2) indicates the biochemical change to the food to some extent Since it means that the LED ultraviolet module is operated to eradicate the germs of the food (S36).

And, in the case of step 5 (S35-3), since it means a fresh state in which germs are not propagated in food, the LED UV module 500 is blocked, and thermal image information is continuously maintained by the thermal image sensor 600. To be detected.

Meanwhile, when the LED ultraviolet module 500 is operated in steps 2 to 4 (S35-2), the output value is represented as a real time value of steps 1 to 5 again, and the controller 800 is the same according to each step. Repeat the process. In other words, if the output value is 1st step (S37-1), the alarm unit notifies the outside that food is decayed, and if 2 to 4th step (S37-2) is indicated, the LED UV module continues to operate. The operation of 500 is stopped and only thermal image information by the thermal image sensor 600 is detected.

According to the present embodiment, in the power saving mode, the biochemical change of the food proceeds faster than the normal mode, but the LED UV module 500 operates under a certain condition, thereby keeping the food fresh while minimizing power consumption. .

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the embodiments described in the specification and the configuration shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and represent all of the technical idea of the present invention. It is to be understood that there may be various equivalents and variations in place of them at the time of the present application.

10: food storage device 100: main body
110: side portion 120: back portion
130: guide rail 140: door
150: air vent 200: tray
320: power button 340: power saving button
400: display unit 420: status display bar
440: display window 500: LED ultraviolet module
520: base panel 540: LED light emitting diode
600: thermal image sensor 700: temperature sensor
720: humidity sensor 800: control unit
820: memory unit 840: power unit

Claims (8)

A main body having one side opened and closed by a door and having a storage space for storing food;
A tray that accommodates food and is introduced into the storage space; And
And an LED ultraviolet module disposed on one side of the main body to sterilize the food of the tray by irradiating ultraviolet rays.
The method of claim 1,
The main body is made of a hexahedron shape,
The LED ultraviolet module comprises a rectangular base panel which is formed in a pair and spaced apart from the left and right sides with respect to the center of the main body rear part, and a plurality of LED light emitting diodes arranged on the base panel. Device.
The method of claim 2,
The tray consists of a plurality of layers to form a layer,
Food storage device, characterized in that a plurality of thermal image sensor is provided between the pair of the base panel in a position corresponding to the tray, respectively.
The method of claim 1,
The food storage device,
And a control unit for controlling the LED ultraviolet module, a memory unit in which thermal image information values, which are state values for each type of food, are recorded according to a temperature range and a humidity range of room temperature, and a status display bar indicating the state of the food to the outside.
The control unit,
And comparing the thermal image information captured by the thermal image sensor with the thermal image information set in the memory unit, and deriving a real-time state value of food according to whether or not the image is matched.
The method of claim 4, wherein
The real-time state value is represented in steps 1 to 5 through the status bar,
In step 2 to step 5, the thermal image information is continuously detected, and in the case of step 1, the food storage device, characterized in that to inform the outside that the food is corrupted through the alarm unit.
The method of claim 4, wherein
The control unit,
When the power saving mode is set at the initial value setting, the power supply to the LED ultraviolet module is cut off, characterized in that for operating the LED ultraviolet module according to the real-time state value, food storage device.
The method of claim 6,
The real-time state value is represented in steps 1 to 5 through the status bar,
In the first step, the alarm unit notifies the outside that food is corrupted. In the second to fourth step, the LED UV module is operated. In the fifth step, thermal image information is continuously detected, but the operation of the LED UV module is performed. Characterized in that blocking the food storage device.
The method of claim 7, wherein
The output value according to the operation of the LED UV module is represented by the real-time state value of step 1 to step 5 again, the control unit, characterized in that to perform the same process repeatedly for each step, food storage device.

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