TW201730492A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator capable of stimulating photosynthesis of vegetables and fruits stored therein, using a plant circadian rhythm and considering a status of plant pores is provided. For that purpose, a refrigerator (1) includes: a light-emitting section (14) capable of applying visible light to an inside of a storage chamber (50) that stores food; and a control section (8) that controls operation of the light-emitting section so as to alternately repeat a visible light irradiation step of applying light containing visible light from the light-emitting section and a non-irradiation step of preventing application of light containing visible light from the light-emitting section. The light-emitting section includes a first light source (16a) that applies light including a first wavelength in a visible light region as a center wavelength, and a second light source (16b) that applies light including a second wavelength in the visible light region as a center wavelength, the second wavelength being different from the first wavelength. In the visible light irradiation step, the control section controls the light-emitting section so as to perform a first irradiation step of applying light from both the first and second light sources and a second irradiation step of applying light from the first source only.

Description

refrigerator

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

In the past, there has been known a refrigerator in which a storage container mainly for storing leafy vegetables is provided at a corner of the vegetable compartment, and a weak light irradiation device is disposed above the storage container, and the low-light device is a semiconductor light-emitting element that emits light of a wavelength in the visible light range, and the semiconductor The light-emitting element is a red LED that emits light having a wavelength of about 660 nm (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Advanced technical literature Patent literature

Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-267348

However, in the conventional refrigerator shown in Patent Document 1, the fruits and vegetables such as leafy vegetables (vegetables) are continuously irradiated with red light for 24 hours a day. On the other hand, plants such as vegetables carry out activities such as photosynthesis in accordance with a cycle of about 24 hours. The activity of this cycle is called the abbreviation. In photosynthesis using solar energy, the light and darkness of light has a significant impact on the rhythm of the day. In addition, in natural light, the wavelength of the prevailing light changes with the passage of time in one day. Therefore, in continuous In the state where red light of the same wavelength is irradiated, fruits and vegetables such as leafy vegetables (vegetables) cannot efficiently utilize the energy of the irradiated light. Specifically, when photosynthesis is carried out, the pores of the fruits and vegetables are not sufficiently opened, and the carbon dioxide necessary for photosynthesis cannot be sufficiently absorbed, so that the efficiency of photosynthesis is lowered.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a refrigerator that utilizes the plant's general rhythm and allows for the photosynthesis of fruits and vegetables such as vegetables and vegetables (especially leafy vegetables) during storage in consideration of the state of plant stomata.

A refrigerator according to the present invention includes: a storage chamber that stores food; a light-emitting portion that can illuminate visible light inside the storage chamber; and a control unit that controls the operation of the light-emitting portion to alternately repeatedly perform the light-emitting portion A visible light irradiation program that irradiates light including visible light, and a non-irradiation program that causes the light emitting portion to not emit light including visible light. The light-emitting unit includes a first light source that emits light having a first wavelength in the visible light range as a center wavelength, and a second light source that emits light having a second wavelength that is different from the first wavelength in the visible light range as a center wavelength. . The control unit controls the light-emitting unit to perform a first irradiation program for causing both the first light source and the second light source to emit light, and a second irradiation unit to irradiate only the first light source in the visible light irradiation program. Irradiation procedure.

In the refrigerator of the present invention, the effect of photosynthesis of fruits and vegetables such as vegetables and vegetables (especially leafy vegetables) during storage is exhibited in consideration of the state of the plant stomata.

1‧‧‧ refrigerator

2‧‧‧Compressor

3‧‧‧ cooler

4‧‧‧Air supply fan

5‧‧‧ Wind Road

6‧‧‧Operator panel

7‧‧‧Refrigerator door

7a‧‧‧right door

7b‧‧‧ left door

8‧‧‧Control device

8a‧‧‧Processor (CPU)

8b‧‧‧ memory

9‧‧‧ vegetable room door

10‧‧‧Lower storage box

11‧‧‧Upper storage box

12‧‧‧ Door opening and closing detection switch

13‧‧‧Thermistor

14‧‧‧Lighting Department

15‧‧‧ openings

16a‧‧‧1st light source

16b‧‧‧2nd light source

90‧‧‧Insulation box

100‧‧‧Refrigerator

200‧‧‧Switching room

300‧‧‧ ice making room

400‧‧‧Freezer

500‧‧ ‧ vegetable room

201‧‧‧Switching room storage box

401‧‧‧Freezer storage box

Fig. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a view showing, in an enlarged manner, a portion of the vegetable compartment of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view showing the configuration of a light-emitting unit included in the refrigerator in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the refrigerator in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a timing chart showing light irradiation control of each light source provided in the light-emitting portion of the refrigerator in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a flow chart showing a light irradiation control process of the refrigerator in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a view showing an example of comparison of the amount of vitamin C in the case where the cabbage was stored for 3 days under a plurality of light irradiation conditions.

Fig. 9 is a timing chart showing the light irradiation control of each light source provided in the light-emitting portion of the refrigerator in the first embodiment of the present invention and the opening and closing state of the vegetable compartment door piece.

The form for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the respective drawings, the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the repeated description is omitted or omitted as appropriate. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Embodiment 1.

1 to 9 are views showing a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged view showing a vegetable compartment portion of Fig. 2 FIG. 4 is a view showing the configuration of a light-emitting unit included in the refrigerator. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of a refrigerator, FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing light irradiation control of each light source included in a light-emitting portion of the refrigerator, and FIG. 7 is a view showing light irradiation control of the refrigerator. FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of comparison of the amount of vitamin C when the cabbage is stored for three days under a plurality of light irradiation conditions, and FIG. 9 is a light of each light source provided in the light-emitting portion of the refrigerator. The timing chart of the irradiation control and the opening and closing state of the vegetable compartment door piece.

Further, in each of the drawings, the dimensional relationship or shape of each constituent member may be different from the actual article. Furthermore, in principle, the positional relationship between the constituent members (for example, the vertical relationship) is a positional relationship in which the refrigerator is placed in a usable state.

(constitution of the refrigerator)

The refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a heat insulating box 90 as shown in Fig. 2 . The heat insulating box 90 has a front (front) opening and a storage space inside. The heat insulating box 90 has an outer box, an inner box, and a heat insulating material. The outer box is made of steel. The inner box is made of resin. The inner box is disposed on the inner side of the outer box. The heat insulating material is, for example, a foamed polyurethane or the like, which is filled in a space between the outer box and the inner box. The storage space formed inside the heat insulating box 90 is divided into a plurality of storage compartments for storing food by one or a plurality of partition members.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the refrigerator 1 includes, for example, a refrigerating compartment 100, a switching compartment 200, an ice making compartment 300, a freezing compartment 400, and a vegetable compartment 500 as a plurality of storage compartments. These storage compartments are arranged in four stages in the vertical direction in the heat insulating box 90.

The refrigerating compartment 100 is disposed at the uppermost stage of the heat insulating box 90. The switching chamber 200 is disposed on one of the left and right sides below the refrigerating compartment 100. Switch room 200 protection The cold temperature zone can be selected and switched to any of a plurality of temperature zones. For example, a plurality of temperatures that can be selected as the cooling temperature zone of the switching chamber 200 are: a freezing temperature zone (for example, about -18 ° C), a refrigerating temperature zone (for example, about 3 ° C), a cooling temperature zone (for example, a degree of 0 ° C), and Weak freezing temperature zone (for example, about -7 ° C). The ice making chamber 300 is adjacent to the side of the switching chamber 200 and is juxtaposed with the switching chamber 200, that is, disposed on the other side of the left and right sides below the refrigerating chamber 100.

The freezing compartment 400 is disposed below the switching chamber 200 and the ice making compartment 300. The freezer compartment 400 is mainly used for cryopreservation of stored objects for a relatively long period of time. The vegetable compartment 500 is disposed at the lowermost portion below the freezing compartment 400. The vegetable compartment 500 is mainly a large PET bottle for storing vegetables or having a large capacity (for example, 2L or the like).

A rotary refrigerator door panel 7 that opens and closes the opening is provided in an opening formed in the front surface of the refrigerator compartment 100. Here, the refrigerating compartment door piece 7 is of a double-open type (folio type), and is composed of a right door piece 7a and a left door piece 7b. An operation panel 6 is provided on the outer side surface of the refrigerating compartment door panel 7 (for example, the left door panel 7b) on the front side of the refrigerator 1. The operation panel 6 includes an operation unit 6a and a display unit 6b. The operation unit 6a is an operation switch for setting the cold storage temperature of each storage compartment and the operation mode (defrosion mode, etc.) of the refrigerator 1. The display unit 6b is a liquid crystal display that displays various information such as the temperature of each storage room. Further, the operation panel 6 may be provided with a touch panel that also serves as the operation unit 6a and the display unit 6b.

Each of the storage compartments (the switching compartment 200, the ice making compartment 300, the freezing compartment 400, and the vegetable compartment 500) other than the refrigerating compartment 100 is opened and closed by a drawer type door panel. These drawer type door pieces can be opened and closed in the depth direction (front-rear direction) of the refrigerator 1 by sliding the frame fixedly provided on the door piece with respect to the rail formed horizontally on the left and right inner wall surfaces of the respective storage compartments.

Furthermore, inside the switching chamber 200 and inside the freezing chamber 400, Each of the switching chamber storage case 201 and the freezer compartment storage case 401 that can store the food or the like inside is accommodated in a freely pullable manner. Similarly, in the inside of the vegetable compartment 500, the upper storage case 11 and the lower storage case 10 which can store foods and the like inside are accommodated in a freely pullable manner.

(cooling mechanism)

The refrigerator 1 has a refrigeration cycle circuit that cools air to be supplied to each storage compartment. The refrigeration cycle circuit is composed of a compressor 2, a condenser (not shown), a pressure reducing device (not shown), a cooler 3, and the like. The compressor 2 compresses and discharges the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle circuit. The condenser causes the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2 to condense. The pressure reducing device expands the refrigerant flowing out of the condenser. The cooler 3 cools the air to be supplied to each storage chamber by the refrigerant that has been expanded in the decompression device. The compressor 2 is disposed, for example, at a lower portion on the back side of the refrigerator 1.

In the refrigerator 1, an air passage 5 for supplying air cooled by the refrigeration cycle circuit to each storage compartment is formed. This air passage 5 is mainly disposed on the back side of the inside of the refrigerator 1. The cooler 3 of the refrigeration cycle circuit is disposed in the air passage 5. Further, a blower fan 4 for blowing air cooled by the cooler 3 to each storage room is provided in the air passage 5.

When the blower fan 4 is operated, the air (cold air) cooled by the cooler 3 is blown to the freezing compartment 400, the switching compartment 200, the ice making compartment 300, and the refrigerating compartment 100 through the air passage 5, and these storage compartments are cooled. The vegetable compartment 500 is cooled by introducing the cold air returned from the refrigerating compartment 100 into the vegetable compartment 500 through the return air passage through the refrigerating compartment. The cold air cooled by the vegetable compartment 500 is returned to the air passage 5 having the cooler 3 through the return air passage of the vegetable compartment (the return air passage is not shown). Then, it is cooled again by the cooler 3, and the cold air is circulated in the refrigerator 1.

An air lock (not shown) is provided in the middle of the air passage 5 leading to each storage room. Each air lock opens and closes the wind path 5 to each storage room. By changing the opening and closing state of the air lock, the amount of air blown by the cold air supplied to each storage compartment can be adjusted. Furthermore, the temperature of the cold air can be adjusted by controlling the operation of the compressor 2.

The refrigeration cycle circuit, the blower fan 4, the air passage 5, and the air lock constituted by the compressor 2 and the cooler 3 described above constitute a cooling device that cools the inside of the storage chamber.

The control device 8 is accommodated in the upper part of the back side of the refrigerator 1, for example. The control device 8 is provided with a control circuit or the like for executing various controls necessary for the operation of the refrigerator 1. The control circuit included in the control device 8 is, for example, a circuit that controls the operation of the compressor 2 and the blower fan 4 and the opening degree of the air brake based on the temperature in each storage chamber and the information input to the operation panel 6. That is, the control device 8 controls the above-described cooling device or the like and controls the operation of the refrigerator 1. Further, the temperature in each storage chamber can be detected by a thermistor (not shown) or the like provided in each storage room.

(composition of vegetable room)

Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the vegetable compartment 500 of the refrigerator 1. The vegetable compartment 500 is a storage compartment for preserving foods, especially vegetables. The lower storage case 10 is supported by a casing (not shown) of the vegetable compartment door piece 9. The upper storage case 11 is placed on the upper side of the lower storage case 10. When the vegetable compartment door piece 9 is pulled forward in front of the front, the lower storage case 10 and the upper storage case 11 and the vegetable compartment door piece 9 are pulled out together. In a state where the vegetable compartment door piece 9 is pulled out, when only the upper stage storage case 11 is slid rearward, only the lower stage storage case 10 is pulled out. In a state in which only the lower stage storage case 10 is pulled out, the food can be put into the lower stage storage case 10 or the food can be taken out therefrom.

Inside the vegetable compartment 500, a door opening and closing detection switch 12, a thermistor 13 and a light-emitting portion 14 are provided. The door opening/closing detecting switch 12 is a device for detecting the opening and closing state of the vegetable compartment door piece 9. The door opening/closing detecting switch 12 is provided at a position facing the vegetable compartment door piece 9 in the edge portion of the front opening of the vegetable compartment 500.

The thermistor 13 and the light-emitting portion 14 are attached to the back surface portion of the vegetable compartment 500. The thermistor 13 detects the temperature inside the vegetable compartment 500. The light-emitting portion 14 can illuminate visible light inside the vegetable compartment 500 as a storage compartment. Here, in the back surface of the lower stage storage case 10, the opening portion 15 is formed in a portion facing the light emitting portion 14. Further, the light-emitting portion 14 can pass through the opening 15 to illuminate the inside of the lower-stage storage case 10 with visible light. In addition, at least the portion corresponding to the opening 15 in the lower stage storage case 10 may be made of a material having a property of allowing visible light to be transmitted by the light-emitting portion 14.

(light-emitting unit configuration)

Next, the configuration of the light-emitting portion 14 will be further described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the light-emitting unit 14 includes two types of light sources: a first light source 16a and a second light source 16b. As described above, the light-emitting portion 14 can illuminate visible light. Therefore, the light-emitting portion 14 is provided with a visible light source that illuminates visible light. The first light source 16a and the second light source 16b are visible light sources.

The first light source 16a illuminates light having a wavelength centered on the first wavelength. The second light source 16b illuminates light having a center wavelength of the second wavelength. Both the first wavelength and the second wavelength belong to the visible light range. However, the second wavelength is different from the first wavelength.

Specifically, the first wavelength of the center wavelength of the first light source 16a is preferably 500 nm or more and 700 nm or less, and more preferably 600 nm or more and 700 nm or less. That is, the light irradiated from the first light source 16a is red light. Specifically, for example, The red LED is used as the first light source 16a.

In addition, the second wavelength of the center wavelength of the second light source 16b is 400 nm or more and 500 nm or less. That is, the light irradiated from the second light source 16b is blue light. Specifically, for example, a blue LED can be used as the second light source 16b.

The first light source 16a and the second light source 16b are configured to be individually lighted and turned off.

(Control system of the refrigerator)

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control system of the refrigerator 1. In the fifth drawing, a portion related to the control of the vegetable compartment 500 is particularly shown. The control device 8 has, for example, a microcomputer having a processor (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 8a and a memory 8b. The control device 8 executes a program stored in the memory 8b by the processor (CPU) 8a, thereby executing a process set in advance to control the refrigerator 1.

The detection signal of the temperature inside the vegetable compartment 500 is input from the thermistor 13 to the control device 8. Further, an operation signal from the operation unit 6a of the operation panel 6 is also input to the control device 8. Further, a detection signal from the door opening/closing detection switch 12 is also input to the control device 8.

The control device 8 performs processing based on the input signal to control the operations of the compressor 2, the blower fan 4, and the like, so that the inside of the vegetable compartment 500 is maintained at the set temperature. Furthermore, the control device 8 outputs the display signal to the display portion 6b of the operation panel 6.

Further, the control device 8 also outputs a control signal to the light-emitting unit 14, and controls the light-emitting operation of the light-emitting unit 14. As described above, the light-emitting unit 14 includes the first light source 16a and the second light source 16b. These two kinds of light sources can be individually turned on and off. Further, the control device 8 can connect the first light source 16a and the second light source included in the light-emitting unit 14. The respective lights up and off states of 16b are controlled independently of each other.

(Control of the light-emitting section)

Next, the light-emitting operation control of the light-emitting unit 14 by the control device 8 will be described with reference to Fig. 6 . The control device 8 controls the operation of the light-emitting portion 14 to alternately repeat the non-irradiation program for causing the light-emitting portion 14 to illuminate the visible light irradiation program including the visible light and the light-emitting portion 14 not to illuminate the light including the visible light. In the visible light irradiation program, at least one of the first light source 16a and the second light source 16b is turned on. In the non-irradiation process, neither the first light source 16a nor the second light source 16b is turned on.

The visible light irradiation program is further divided into two programs. In the visible light irradiation program, the first irradiation program is first performed, and then the second irradiation program is performed. That is, the control device 8 controls the light-emitting unit 14 in the visible light irradiation program to execute the first irradiation program and the second irradiation program. In the first irradiation program, the control device 8 causes both the first light source 16a and the second light source 16b to emit light. That is, both red light and blue light are illuminated. In the second irradiation program, the control device 8 causes the first light source 16a to emit light only, and causes the second light source 16b to be turned off. That is, only red light is irradiated, and blue light is not irradiated.

The duration of each program is set in advance. The duration of the first irradiation program is set to ΔT1, the duration of the second irradiation program is set to ΔT2, and the duration of the non-irradiation program is set to ΔT3.

In this manner, the control device 8 controls the light-emitting unit 14 to sequentially execute the first irradiation program, the second irradiation program, and the non-irradiation program. Then, after the end of the non-irradiation process, the program is repeatedly executed in the order described above, starting from the visible light irradiation program (that is, the first irradiation program). Therefore, the time ΔT taken by each program to execute one cycle of each time is the total time of ΔT1, ΔT2, and ΔT3. again The duration of the visible light irradiation program is the total time of ΔT1 and ΔT2.

The control device 8 controls the light-emitting portion 14 so that the visible light irradiation program and the non-irradiation program are repeatedly executed alternately for a period of 24 hours or less. That is, it is set to ΔT of 24 hours or less. Furthermore, the duration ΔT3 of the non-irradiation program is set to be less than the duration of the visible light irradiation program. In other words, the duration ΔT3 of the non-irradiation program is set to be equal to or less than the total time ΔT1 of the first irradiation program and the total time ΔT2 of the second irradiation program. Further, the duration ΔT1 of the first irradiation program is set to be equal to or shorter than the duration ΔT2 of the second irradiation program. Specifically, one example of the duration of each of the programs satisfying the above conditions is that ΔT1 is set to 2 hours, ΔT2 is set to 10 hours, and ΔT3 is set to 8 hours. The ΔT in this case was 20 hours.

A series of processes for controlling the light-emitting unit 14 of the vegetable compartment 500 provided in the refrigerator 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to a flowchart of Fig. 7 . When the refrigerator 1 is powered on, first, in step S101, the control device 8 turns on the first light source 16a and the second light source 16b of the light-emitting unit 14. Next, in step S102, the control device 8 resets the value of the timer t for measuring the elapsed time to 0, and starts counting with the timer.

Then, then in step S103, the control device 8 confirms whether or not the elapsed time t of the timer has reached ΔT1. If the elapsed time t of the timer has not reached ΔT1, the confirmation step of step S103 is repeated until the elapsed time t of the timer reaches ΔT1. Then, when the elapsed time t of the timer reaches ΔT1, step S104 is performed. The above steps S101 to S103 are the first irradiation programs.

In step S104, the control device 8 turns off the second light source 16b of the light-emitting unit 14. Therefore, only the first light source 16a is in a state of being lit. Next, in step S105, the control device 8 resets the value of the timer t for measuring the elapsed time to 0, start timing with a timer.

Then, then in step S106, the control device 8 confirms whether or not the elapsed time t of the timer has reached ΔT2. If the elapsed time t of the timer has not reached ΔT2, the confirmation step of step S106 is repeated until the elapsed time t of the timer reaches ΔT2. Then, if the elapsed time t of the timer reaches ΔT2, the process proceeds to step S107. The above steps S104 to S106 are the second irradiation programs.

In step S107, the control device 8 turns off the first light source 16a of the light-emitting unit 14. Therefore, both the first light source 16a and the second light source 16b are in a state of being turned off. Then, in step S108, the control device 8 resets the value of the timer t for measuring the elapsed time to 0, and starts counting with the timer.

Next, in step S109, the control device 8 confirms whether or not the elapsed time t of the timer has reached ΔT3. If the elapsed time t of the timer has not reached ΔT3, the confirmation step of step S109 is repeated until the elapsed time t of the timer reaches ΔT3. Then, when the elapsed time t of the timer reaches ΔT3, the process returns to step S101, and the above steps are repeatedly executed. The above steps S107 to S109 are non-irradiation programs.

(The role of light irradiation control)

Next, the action that can be exerted by the light irradiation control of the light-emitting portion 14 as described above will be described. First, the plant's daily rhythm will automatically maintain a period of about 24 hours without giving time information such as light and dark periods of light. However, when fruits and vegetables such as vegetables (especially fruits and vegetables) are stored in a dark environment where no light is irradiated, since photosynthesis is not performed, the effect of improving the storage property and the increase in nutrients cannot be obtained. On the other hand, when the fruits and vegetables are stored in a bright environment in which the light is continuously irradiated, although photosynthesis is carried out, an obstacle as described later is induced: insufficient production of nutrients, or photosynthesis speed or photosynthesis ability reduce.

Therefore, in the refrigerator 1 of the present invention, as described above, the light-emitting portion 14 of the vegetable compartment 500 alternately repeatedly performs a visible light irradiation program for irradiating light containing visible light and non-irradiation in the lower storage case 10 of the vegetable compartment 500. A non-irradiation procedure for visible light.

Therefore, in the lower storage case 10, as time passes, it is in a bright period of a bright environment that illuminates visible light and a dark period that becomes a dark environment that does not illuminate visible light. That is, in the lower storage case 10, an environment simulating a change in the amount of light in the natural environment caused by the rising sun is realized. Therefore, it is possible to promote plants such as fruits and vegetables that have been placed in the lower storage case 10, and perform activities such as photosynthesis in accordance with the daily rhythm.

Here, the photosynthesis reaction of plants will be described. The photosynthesis reaction can be represented by the following formula (1).

6CO ₂ +12H ₂ O+688kcal→C ₆ H ₁₂ O ₆ +6H ₂ O+6O ₂ . . . (1)

In the formula (1), CO ₂ carbon dioxide and H ₂ O are water, 688 kcal is light energy, and C ₆ H ₁₂ O ₆ is glucose.

According to the photosynthesis reaction of the formula (1), plants use light energy to generate oxygen and sugar from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and water contained in plants. This reaction is divided into two stages. In the first stage, light energy absorbed by a pigment such as chlorophyll contained in leaves or the like is used to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen, and chemical energy is stored by the enzyme protein. The second stage is the synthesis of glucose using electrons, hydrogen ions, and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Vegetables with increased glucose have better storage properties and produce vitamin C from glucose.

In order for the photosynthesis to proceed actively, it is necessary to make the light irradiated in the vegetable compartment 500 light effective for photosynthesis. It is known that the absorption spectrum of chlorophyll has two light absorption peaks in red light (near 660 nm) and blue light (near 450 nm), and this wavelength is particularly effective for photosynthesis. Furthermore, although the absorption rate of green light (500-600 nm) absorbed by chlorophyll is low, light is scattered inside the leaves, and the frequency of chlorophyll is high, so that the absorption rate of the whole leaf is improved.

Furthermore, blue light has the effect of opening the pores of the plant. Therefore, by irradiating light containing blue light in an early stage of the bright period of the illumination light, the pores of the fruits and vegetables can be opened. Moreover, after the pores of the fruits and vegetables are opened, the period of time is continued, whereby the fruits and vegetables can sufficiently absorb carbon dioxide in the air, and the photosynthesis can be efficiently performed. On the other hand, blue light also has the effect of promoting germination and flowering. Therefore, in the case of long-term preservation of fruits and vegetables, it is preferable to shorten the time for irradiating blue light as much as possible.

Therefore, in the visible light irradiation program for promoting photosynthesis, first, the second light source 16b is turned on to emit light containing blue light in the first irradiation program, and then the second light source 16b is turned off to be illuminated in the second irradiation program. The light that does not contain blue light can thereby cause photosynthesis of the opening of the pores of the fruits and vegetables in the lower storage case 10, and further promote the photosynthesis of the fruits and vegetables in the lower storage case 10. Further, at this time, the first irradiation program for irradiating the light containing blue light is shorter than the second irradiation program for irradiating the light containing no blue light, whereby the germination and flowering can be promoted as much as possible, and a sufficient pore opening action can be achieved.

The plant's general rhythm is about 24 hours from the morning through the night to the morning. However, the plant's arrhythmia has the characteristics described later, and the phase of the rhythm is changed by the influence of ambient light. For example, in the dark ring When the light is illuminated in the environment and becomes a clear environment, the rhythm phase shifts toward the morning side. With this feature, the time of the non-irradiation process is made shorter than the visible light irradiation process (that is, the dark period of the non-irradiation light is shorter than the bright period of the illumination light), so that the period of the light irradiation is 24 hours or less, thereby being able to increase The proportion of time during which the fruits and vegetables in the lower storage box 10 are photosynthesized during storage. Therefore, by increasing the proportion of time for photosynthesis during storage, it is possible to increase the production efficiency of nutrients such as sugar and vitamin C in fruits and vegetables.

Here, referring to Fig. 8, a specific comparative example will be described. When the fruits and vegetables are stored under a plurality of different light irradiation conditions as described above, the amount of nutrients (vitamin C) contained in the fruits and vegetables is generated. Kind of difference. Fig. 8 is a view showing an example of comparison of the amount of vitamin C in the case where the cabbage was stored for 3 days under a plurality of light irradiation conditions. The ratio of the change in the amount of vitamin C is expressed by the amount of the initial vitamin C before storage. The conditions of light irradiation are such that the light intensity is the same, and the color light included in the irradiated light and the irradiation time per day are changed.

In the non-irradiation in which there is no light at all in one day, the amount of vitamin C after storage is less than the initial stage (the leftmost figure in Fig. 8). On the other hand, under any of the conditions of irradiated light, the amount of vitamin C after storage increased from the initial stage. The conditions for continuously irradiating light for one day are compared with each other, compared with the case where only red light (second item from the left of Fig. 8) is combined, and red light and blue light are combined (third item from the left of Fig. 8) The amount of vitamin C added after storage is large.

In addition, the time when the light is not irradiated (that is, the dark period) is provided, and the light irradiation corresponding to the approximate rhythm is performed, and the increase amount of the vitamin C after the storage is made higher (the rightmost figure in Fig. 8). . In this way, the day-to-day rhythm corresponding to the fruits and vegetables illuminates the light of the appropriate wavelength, enabling efficient photosynthesis and nutrition. The production of the substance can achieve the effect of improving the storage of the preserved vegetables and increasing the nutrient. In other words, the refrigerator 1 according to the present invention can control the photosynthesis of fruits and vegetables and the like, and promote the production of nutrients caused by photosynthesis by performing light irradiation simulating natural light changes and utilizing the daily rhythm of fruits and vegetables. It also suppresses unnecessary evapotranspiration and preserves vegetables with high quality.

(Other examples of control of the light-emitting portion)

In the control of the light-emitting unit 14 described above, it is not particularly described in which of the days, the visible light irradiation program, the non-irradiation program, and the like are performed. Here, the control of the light-emitting unit 14 such as the time zone in which the non-irradiation program is executed in response to the detection result of the open/close state of the vegetable compartment door piece 9 is described as a further example of the control of the light-emitting unit 14.

As described above, the vegetable compartment door piece 9 is a door piece that can open and close the vegetable compartment 500 as a storage compartment. Further, the door opening/closing detecting switch 12 is a detecting device that detects opening and closing of the vegetable compartment door piece 9. The control device 8 counts the number of opening and closing of the vegetable compartment door piece 9 that is detected by the door opening/closing detection switch 12 in each predetermined time (that is, each reference time set in advance). The reference time at this time is, for example, the duration ΔT3 of the non-irradiation program. Then, the control device 8 controls the light-emitting unit 14 to perform a non-irradiation process in a time zone in which the number of times the vegetable compartment door piece 9 is opened and closed for a predetermined period of time is equal to or less than a predetermined number of times.

The door piece of the refrigerator 1 is often opened and closed before and after preparing food or shopping, and the user is not opened or closed during the period of sleep or when going out. Therefore, in daily life, the change in the number of opening and closing of the door during the day can be modeled and predicted. Therefore, the control device 8 calculates the number of opening and closing of the vegetable compartment door piece 9, and memorizes the time zone in which the number of opening and closing of the door piece is small for a certain period of time. Show the memory department and so on. Then, in the memorized time zone after the second day, or after 24 hours of the memory time zone, the non-irradiation process is started, whereby the non-irradiation process can be performed in the time zone with a small number of opening and closing times.

When the vegetable compartment door piece 9 is opened and closed during the non-irradiation process, there is a possibility that the phase of the daily rhythm of the preserved fruits and vegetables changes due to the influence of the light outside the refrigerator 1. Therefore, the non-irradiation process is performed in the time zone in which the opening and closing times of the vegetable compartment door piece 9 are small, whereby it is possible to ensure that the dark period of the fruits and vegetables in the lower storage case 10 is not irradiated with light, and it is possible to efficiently perform the integration. The light illumination control of the rhythm.

Further, the user can switch the execution and the stop of the light irradiation control of the light-emitting portion 14 by operating the operation portion 6a of the operation panel 6 provided in the refrigerator door panel 7 (the light-emitting portion 14 is always turned off). The user can select whether or not to perform the control for lighting the light-emitting portion 14 by the operation panel 6, whereby when the fruits and vegetables or the like are not required to be stored or are not required to be used for a long period of time, the light-emitting portion 14 can be selectively stopped. Lights to reduce energy consumption and provide a way to use the same as the ordinary refrigerator 1.

Further, in the implementation of the light irradiation control, "light irradiation" or the like can be displayed on the display portion 6b of the operation panel 6. Further, on the display unit 6b, "lighting up" is displayed in the visible light irradiation program (bright period), and "lighting down" is displayed in the non-irradiation program (dark period). Further, the state of the light in the refrigerator (in the vegetable compartment 500) may be changed to the one-day display of the natural light, and displayed on the display unit 6b. Specifically, for example, in the display unit 6b, "Morning" is displayed in the first irradiation program, "Day" is displayed in the second irradiation program, and in the non-irradiation program, in the program to be executed in the light irradiation control. Show "night" and so on. Thereby, can It is sufficient to notify the user of the state of light in the refrigerator, and it is possible to improve convenience and satisfaction. In addition, the user can be reminded not to perform unnecessary opening and closing of the door during the non-irradiation procedure.

Further, the operation panel 6 is not limited to be disposed outside the refrigerator 1, and may be provided in the refrigerator (storage room). Furthermore, it is also possible to provide a communication device in the refrigerator 1, and transmit the command to the control device 8 of the refrigerator 1 by the mobile information terminal (a mobile phone including a smart phone, a tablet terminal, etc.) through an electric communication line or the like, or receive and display Information on the refrigerator 1. That is, the mobile information terminal may have one or both of the functions of the operation unit 6a and the display unit 6b of the operation panel 6.

[Industrial use possibilities]

The present invention can be utilized in a refrigerator including a light-emitting portion in a storage room in which a food is stored, and irradiating visible light to the inside of the storage chamber from the light-emitting portion.

Claims (7)

A refrigerator comprising: a storage compartment for storing food; a light-emitting portion capable of illuminating visible light inside the storage compartment; and a control unit that controls an operation of the light-emitting portion to be repeatedly performed alternately to cause the light-emitting portion to be irradiated a visible light irradiation program for visible light and a non-irradiation program for causing the light-emitting portion not to emit light containing visible light; wherein the light-emitting portion includes a first light source that emits light having a first wavelength in a visible light range as a central wavelength; a light source that emits light having a center wavelength different from a second wavelength different from the first wavelength in the visible light range; and the control unit controls the light emitting unit to perform the first light source and the first light source in the visible light irradiation program The first irradiation program in which both of the second light sources are irradiated with light, and the second irradiation program in which only the first light source is irradiated with light. In the refrigerator according to the first aspect of the invention, the first wavelength is 500 nm or more and 700 nm or less. In the refrigerator according to the first aspect of the invention, the second wavelength is 400 nm or more and 500 nm or less. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit controls the light-emitting unit such that the visible light irradiation program and the non-irradiation program are alternately repeated in a cycle of 24 hours or less. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the duration of the non-irradiation program is equal to or less than a total time of the duration of the first irradiation program and the duration of the second irradiation program. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the duration of the first irradiation program is equal to or less than a duration of the second irradiation program. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a door piece capable of opening and closing the storage compartment; and a detecting device for detecting opening and closing of the door piece; wherein the control unit controls the The light-emitting unit executes the non-irradiation program in a time zone in which the number of times the opening and closing of the door piece detected by the detecting device in the predetermined reference time is equal to or less than a predetermined number of times.