WO2011152047A1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a refrigerator and a method for operating the refrigerator, wherein a high-quality freezing operation which prevents the cell tissue of a food from being destroyed, can be performed by freezing the food while suppressing the temperature variation occurring in the food using microwaves and a food plate, to form small and uniform ice crystals in the entirety of the food. The refrigerator is provided with a cooling device (17) for cooling an object (12) to be cooled, a storage chamber (11) for storing the object (12) to be cooled, a microwave generation device (25) for applying microwaves, and a control device (31) for controlling the microwave generation device (25) and the cooling device (17). A food plate (20) having openings through which microwaves pass and cold air can be introduced, is provided in the storage chamber (11).

Description

refrigerator

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to the structure of a refrigerator.

It is important to suppress the formation of ice crystals during freezing in order to maintain the food quality without losing quality. This is because if the ice crystals generated in the food become large, the food tissue is destroyed by the ice crystals and the quality deteriorates.

Therefore, to maintain the quality of food, it is important to reduce the ice crystals produced during freezing. The growth of ice crystals is promoted in a temperature range of 0 to -5 ° C., which is called the maximum ice crystal formation zone. Therefore, in order to reduce the ice crystal, it is effective to pass through the maximum ice crystal formation zone in as short a time as possible. As a means for shortening the passage time of the maximum ice crystal generation zone, a refrigerator has been proposed in which cold air is directly introduced into a quick freezing room having a metal plate on the bottom to perform quick freezing (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-83687 A

However, in the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1, the surface of the food in contact with the metal plate is rapidly frozen and the formation of ice crystals is suppressed, but as the distance from the surface increases, the freezing rate decreases and the food is reduced. It is thought that the central part is slower to pass through the maximum ice crystal formation zone than the surface part, and large ice crystals are generated. For this reason, unevenness occurs in the size of ice crystals generated inside and on the surface of the food, and there is a concern about the deterioration of frozen quality.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above problems, and by using a microwave and a food plate to freeze while suppressing temperature unevenness generated in the object to be frozen, the ice crystals of the whole food are made small and homogeneous, An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of performing high-quality freezing while suppressing destruction of food cell tissues and a method for operating the refrigerator.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a cooling device that cools an object, a storage chamber that stores the object, a microwave generator that applies microwaves, and the storage chamber. Provides a food plate that transmits microwaves and has an opening hole through which cold air can flow, and the object to be frozen is placed on a plate having an opening hole through which cold air can flow, so that cold air hits the entire surface of the object, The surface portion can be cooled without temperature unevenness.

Furthermore, it is possible to prevent only the food surface from freezing by the application of microwaves. Therefore, since the surface and the inside of the food can be frozen while soaking, small and uniform ice crystals can be obtained, and a high-quality frozen product can be realized.

The refrigerator of the present invention achieves both miniaturization and homogenization of ice crystals generated during freezing by suppressing temperature unevenness on the surface of the object to be frozen and temperature unevenness on the surface and inside, and soaking it. It is possible to realize high-quality freezing with less cell destruction and deformation of the object to be frozen.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a storage room in the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the storage chamber according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the refrigerator in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the microwave generator provided in the storage chamber illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the operation (control) of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment and the temperature course of the object to be cooled and the storage chamber. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a storage room in the refrigerator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a storage chamber according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a storage room in the refrigerator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the storage chamber according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a storage room in the refrigerator according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a front view of the refrigerator in the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a side cross-sectional view showing the AA cross section in FIG. FIG. 13 is a front view of the refrigerator in the sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a side sectional view showing a BB section in FIG. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the refrigerator according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the operation (control) of the refrigerator according to the seventh embodiment and the temperature course of the object to be cooled and the storage chamber. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation (control) of the cooling device of the first modification and the temperature course of the object to be cooled and the storage chamber. FIG. 18 is a flowchart schematically showing a cooling operation of the refrigerator according to the eighth embodiment. FIG. 19 is a flowchart schematically showing a cooling operation of the refrigerator according to the first modification in the eighth embodiment.

A first refrigerator according to the present invention includes a cooling device that cools an object, a storage chamber that houses the object, a microwave generator that applies a microwave, the microwave generator, and the cooling device. A control device for controlling, and the storage chamber is provided with a food plate having an opening through which microwaves can pass and into which cold air can flow, and by placing a frozen object on the food plate, The surface can also contact cold air, and the surface can be temperature-uniform. Furthermore, by applying microwaves, it is possible to freeze the surface of the object to be frozen while suppressing temperature unevenness inside. In particular, freezing is likely to occur from the protrusions, corners, and ends of the frozen object, but due to the property that microwaves tend to concentrate on those parts, it is possible to prevent a situation where a part of the object freezes. Fine ice crystals are produced and high-quality freezing can be realized.

In the second refrigerator according to the present invention, the food plate includes a plurality of openings, so that the cold air circulating in the storage chamber can be brought into contact with the entire surface of the frozen object, and the surface temperature of the object is equalized. Is possible. Further, the absorption of microwaves into the food plate can be reduced and the absorption into the object can be promoted.

The third refrigerator according to the present invention forms a cold air flow path through which cold air flows on the lower side of the food plate, thereby preventing the cold air from being transferred to the entire surface of the object to be frozen without disturbing the cold air circulation in the storage room. Can be accelerated.

The fourth refrigerator according to the present invention can form a cold air passage by providing a support on the food plate, and can irradiate microwaves from the entire food surface. In particular, if the object to be frozen is placed in contact with the housing of the storage room, microwaves from the contact surface are not easily incident, but the entire surface of the object is lifted by floating the object to be frozen from the housing surface. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the irradiation unevenness of the radio wave. Therefore, it is possible to achieve further temperature equalization when the object is frozen.

In the fifth refrigerator according to the present invention, the food plate is detachable from the storage room space, and moves vertically in the storage room space. The radio wave distribution suitable for the type can be selected, and the radio wave irradiation distribution on the food surface can be made uniform.

In the sixth refrigerator according to the present invention, the object to be frozen also rotates as the food plate rotates, so that the portion irradiated with the microwave also changes, and the radio wave unevenness on the food surface can be eliminated. .

In the seventh refrigerator according to the present invention, by providing a saucer at the bottom of the food plate, even if moisture or excess drip generated when thawing the object to be frozen falls from the opening of the food plate, the inside of the storage chamber becomes dirty. It is possible to maintain a clean space by washing the dirty tray.

The eighth refrigerator according to the present invention further includes a door that closes the opening of the storage room, the storage room has a refrigeration room that can be set to at least a refrigeration temperature zone, and the refrigeration room has a refrigeration temperature zone. And a second storage section having a temperature range equal to or lower than the refrigeration temperature zone, and the refrigerating chamber is configured to store electromagnetic waves oscillated from the microwave generator in the second storage section. By being configured to introduce, high-quality refrigeration and thawing can be realized in which cooling is performed while suppressing the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the object to be cooled in the second storage section. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated storage room for performing cold thawing, and it is possible to realize high-quality refrigeration and thawing while minimizing the decline in storage.

According to a ninth refrigerator of the present invention, the microwave generator is composed of an electromagnetic wave oscillator using a semiconductor element and an electromagnetic wave amplifier, and the installation space of the microwave generator can be reduced compared to a magnetron or the like. Therefore, the storage property of the refrigerator can be further improved.

In addition, since the electromagnetic wave oscillator using the semiconductor element can change the frequency of the generated electromagnetic wave (microwave), it is more uniform by changing the reflection characteristics of the electromagnetic wave introduced into the second storage compartment. Food can be irradiated with electromagnetic waves. Therefore, since it is not necessary to attach an electromagnetic stirrer such as a stirrer fan, the installation space of the second storage section is reduced, and the storage capacity of the refrigerator can be further improved.

Furthermore, reducing the space for the stirrer fan leads to a reduction in the internal volume of the second storage compartment, so that the efficiency of cooling and electromagnetic waves is improved, and energy saving can be improved. In addition, since the frequency can be varied, it is possible to select the optimum frequency for the food, so that the irradiation can be performed more efficiently, and the energy saving can be further improved.

In a tenth refrigerator according to the present invention, the second storage section includes a vent hole communicating with the first storage section, and the vent hole is provided with an opening / closing mechanism. Opening the compartment quickly raises the temperature in the second storage compartment, so that the thawing time can be shortened and user convenience can be improved. In addition, shortening the thawing time contributes to improving energy saving.

In an eleventh refrigerator according to the present invention, the refrigerator has a plurality of storage rooms, the refrigeration room is constituted by a storage room located at the top of the plurality of storage rooms, and the second storage compartment is the uppermost part of the refrigeration room. Since the second storage compartment is located at the center of the refrigerator, the storage container of the second storage compartment is easy to operate, the stored food is easy to put in and out, and the visibility is high. Therefore, user convenience can be improved.

In a twelfth refrigerator according to the present invention, the refrigerator has a plurality of storage rooms, the refrigeration room is configured by a storage room located at the top of the plurality of storage rooms, and the second storage compartment is the uppermost part of the refrigeration room. The installation of the second storage compartment, which is installed at the top and cannot store a large amount of preserved food, is difficult to reach due to the installation of the second storage compartment. Can be minimized in practical use.

The thirteenth refrigerator according to the present invention is a refrigeration cycle in which the cooling device has at least a compressor, and the compressor is provided in the upper part on the back side of the refrigerator, so that the lower machine room space of the refrigerator is reduced. Since the refrigerator lower storage room can be made larger in the depth direction, the uppermost refrigerator compartment entrance can be made larger than the refrigerator having an equivalent storage room, so that the storage capacity of the refrigerator compartment can be further increased. Can be improved.

In the fourteenth refrigerator according to the present invention, the second storage section is provided with a lid made of a metal having a plurality of holes, and electromagnetic waves leak from the second storage section. In addition, the user-friendliness can be improved by improving the visibility in the second storage section.

In a fifteenth refrigerator according to the present invention, the second storage compartment is provided with a lid provided with a conductive film that is transparent at least in the visible light region. As well as preventing leakage, it is possible to improve the usability of the user by further improving the visibility in the second storage compartment.

A sixteenth refrigerator according to the present invention is configured such that at least one LED is provided in the second storage section, and the LED emits light during at least one operation during freezing or thawing. As a result, the user can recognize the operation status of the second storage compartment at a glance, so that the usability can be improved.

In the seventeenth refrigerator according to the present invention, the control device controls the temperature of the object to be cooled so as to rapidly decrease the temperature in the cold room in a state where the temperature of the object to be cooled is held for a certain period of time in a temperature zone below the freezing point. It is a feature, and it is possible to minimize the growth of ice crystal nuclei after the release of supercooling.

The eighteenth refrigerator according to the present invention applies a microwave having an energy amount so as to be held for a certain period of time in a temperature zone where the temperature of the object to be cooled has fallen below the freezing point or a temperature zone where the maximum ice crystal formation zone has passed. The supercooled state can be maintained for a long time below the freezing temperature.

In a nineteenth refrigerator according to the present invention, after holding for a certain period of time at a temperature zone where the temperature of the object to be cooled has fallen below the freezing point or passed through the maximum ice crystal formation zone, the microwave application is stopped and stored. Control is performed so as to lower the temperature of the chamber, and it is possible to promote a decrease in temperature of supercooling.

In the twentieth refrigerator according to the present invention, when an object to be cooled is in a supercooled state, the object to be cooled is rapidly frozen before the supercooling is released, that is, from undercooling while maintaining the supercooled state in the deep state. As a result, freezing is performed while suppressing aggregation of water molecules, so that high-quality freezing can be realized in which freezing is performed while suppressing generation and growth of ice crystal nuclei that are the basis of ice crystal formation.

In addition, a first refrigerator operation method according to the present invention is a refrigerator operation method including a cooling device that cools an object to be cooled and a storage chamber that houses the object to be cooled. A microwave generator configured to irradiate an object; and a food plate provided in the storage chamber and having an opening through which microwaves can flow and into which cool air can flow. When housed in the chamber, the step (A) of stopping the cooling device, the step (B) of irradiating the object to be cooled with microwaves by the microwave generator, and the step (C) of stopping the microwave generator And a step (D) of operating the cooling device.

In the second refrigerator operating method according to the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a temperature detector that detects the temperature of the object to be cooled, and in step (A), the temperature detector detects the temperature of the object to be cooled. Step (A1) and a step (A2) of stopping the cooling device when the temperature of the object to be cooled reaches a first temperature at which water molecules in the object to be cooled aggregate.

In the third refrigerator operating method according to the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a temperature detector that detects the temperature of the object to be cooled, and in step (C), the temperature detector detects the temperature of the object to be cooled. It has a step (C1) and a step (C2) of stopping the microwave generator when the temperature of the object to be cooled reaches a second temperature that is lower than the first temperature.

In the fourth refrigerator operating method of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a temperature detector that detects the temperature of the object to be cooled, and step (C) is a step in which the temperature detector detects the temperature of the object to be cooled. (C1) and after the set time which is the time until the temperature of the object to be cooled becomes the second temperature which is lower than the first temperature and then the temperature of the object to be cooled rises, the microwave generator And (C3) for stopping the operation.

The operation method of the fifth refrigerator of the present invention is characterized in that the second temperature is lower than the maximum ice crystal formation zone.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
[Configuration of storage room and refrigerator including the same]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a storage room in the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the storage chamber according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the refrigerator in the first embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the storage chamber 11 includes a storage case 13 for storing food (an object to be cooled) 12 in an open state and an outer frame case 14 for storing the storage case 13. A door portion 15 is installed on the front surface of the storage case 13 accommodated in the outer frame case 14, and the door portion 15 is integrated with the storage case 13. The storage case 13 can be pulled out from the outer case 14 through the door 15. The door portion 15 is provided with a packing at a contact portion with the outer frame case 14. Thereby, when the door part 15 is closed, the outer frame case 14 and the door part 15 are brought into close contact with each other, and the storage case 13 becomes a sealed space. The outer frame case 14 is provided with a hole-like or slit-like vent 16 having a diameter of less than 6 mm, and the cool air sent from the vent 16 to the entire storage compartment partitioned in the refrigerator flows into the storage case 13. .

FIG. 3 shows a view of the refrigerator in which the storage case 13 is stored. The refrigerator includes a cooler 17 including a cooler and a compressor, a blower path 18 connected to each room, and a fan 19 that blows cool air. The cool air sent into each compartment is generated in the refrigeration cycle of the cooling device 17 including a cooler and a compressor, and is blown into the respective rooms by the fan 19.

The food plate 20 is installed in the storage case 13, and the food plate 20 is used for placing the food 12. The food plate 20 is configured to be detachable in the storage case 13, and a plurality of openings 21 are provided on the contact surface with the food 12. The shape of the opening 21 may be a shape that minimizes the contact area with the food 12 such as a net shape, a slit shape, a round hole, or a fence shape, and it is sufficient that the cool air in the storage chamber 11 can flow in. The material of the food plate 20 is preferably plastics having high microwave (electromagnetic wave) permeability, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, and the like. Further, a support portion 22 is provided at the lower portion of the food plate 20 so as to float from the bottom surface of the storage case 13, and the support portion 22 forms a cold air ventilation path 23 through which cool air flows to the lower side of the food plate 20. The

The antenna case 24 for applying microwaves is provided on the wall surface (here, the ceiling surface) of the storage case 13, and the food plate installation position is marked on the bottom surface of the storage case 13. When the food plate 20 is disposed at the installation position, the food plate is positioned directly below the antenna 24. The microwave applied from the antenna 24 is transmitted from a microwave generator (electromagnetic wave generator) 25. An example of the microwave generator 25 is schematically shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the microwave generator provided in the storage chamber 11 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the microwave generation device 25 includes a transmission device 26, an amplifier 27, a distributor 28, and a transmission control unit 29. The transmitting device 26 is a device capable of transmitting a microwave, and in this embodiment, the microwave is transmitted using a semiconductor element. The semiconductor element is made of Si, GaAs, SiC, GaN, or the like. The low-power microwave of 100 W or less transmitted from the transmitter 26 using these semiconductor elements is amplified by the amplifier 27 and applied to the food 12 from the antenna 24 provided in the storage chamber 11 via the distributor 28. .

The energy of the microwave applied to the food 12 may be smaller than the energy for cooling the food, and is an output that does not hinder the temperature drop of the food 12 in a frozen or refrigerated atmosphere (for example, 100 W or less). Moreover, both cooling and thawing | decompression can also be implement | achieved by the one transmitter 26 by making the energy of a microwave into 30 W or less. In consideration of the reflection characteristics of radio waves, the storage case 13 and the outer frame case 14 are preferably made of metal. Thereby, the incident loss to the foodstuff of an electromagnetic wave can be reduced.

A temperature detector 30 is provided in the storage chamber 11 and directly detects the temperature of the stored food 12. In the case of the present embodiment, the temperature detector 30 is a device (for example, an infrared sensor) that can detect the temperature of the food 12 in a non-contact manner. The temperature detector 30 is configured to output the detected temperature of the food 12 to the control device 31. The control device 31 operates the microwave generator 25 when the temperature of the food 12 reaches a threshold value selected within the range of the freezing point and 10 ° C. or less based on the signal information of the temperature detector 30. A wave is configured to be applied to the food item 12.

[Operation of storage room and refrigerator equipped with the same]
A specific operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the operation (control) of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment and the temperature course of the object to be cooled and the storage chamber.

First, the food plate 20 is installed at a predetermined position in the storage case 13. The food 12 to be frozen is placed on the food plate 20 and the door portion 15 is closed. The food 12 placed on the food plate 20 is disposed directly below the antenna 24. Although the food 12 is cooled from the surface by cold air, the heat transfer is different between the surface of the food 12 in contact with the cold and the surface in contact with the storage case 13 when placed directly in the storage case 13. Only the surface with much contact with cold air is cooled down to a low temperature, and temperature unevenness starts to occur. Because the heat transfer is stagnant between the storage case 13 and the contact surface, the temperature unevenness occurring on the food surface further affects the heat conduction to the inside, and also causes unevenness in the formation of ice crystals during freezing. Become.

Even if the contact surface between the food 12 and the storage case 13 is provided with a material having a high thermal conductivity such as a metal plate, only the contact surface with the metal plate is cooled quickly, and temperature unevenness similarly occurs.

On the other hand, in the food 12 placed on the food plate 20, cold air comes into contact with the opening 21 of the food plate 20, and temperature unevenness on the entire food surface can be suppressed. Then, when the surface temperature of the food 12 monitored by the temperature detector 30 reaches 5 ° C., the microwave generator 25 is activated to apply the microwave into the storage chamber 11 (see FIG. 5). The timing of application of the microwave is preferably from 10 ° C. at which water molecules of an object such as food start to gather to around 5 ° C. at which aggregation between water molecules becomes strong. The application of microwaves in these temperature ranges effectively suppresses the aggregation of water molecules on the surface of food and other objects, and also suppresses the formation of ice crystal nuclei, allowing internal cooling to proceed without freezing. Go. As a result, the temperature inside the food can be equalized without freezing the food surface.

Further, since the food plate 20 includes the support portion 22, a cold air passage 23 through which cold air flows is formed on the lower side, and heat transfer of the cold air to the entire surface of the food 12 is prevented without disturbing the cold air circulation in the storage chamber 11. Can be accelerated. Further, when the food 12 is placed in contact with the housing surface of the storage chamber 11, microwaves are difficult to enter from the contact surface between the food 12 and the housing, but the food plate 20 floats the food from the housing surface. In addition, it is possible to suppress the irradiation unevenness of the radio wave by the microwave incident from the entire food surface, and to prevent the food surface from freezing. By reducing the temperature of the food and the interior to the freezing temperature while keeping the temperature constant, fine ice crystals are generated uniformly and high-quality freezing can be realized. In particular, freezing is likely to occur from protrusions, corners, and ends of foods that are desired to be frozen, but it is possible to prevent a situation in which a part of an object is frozen due to the property that microwaves tend to concentrate on those portions.

The amount of microwave power applied to the food 12 is set smaller than the energy for cooling the food 12. Experimentally, in the case of 150 g of tofu, it has been confirmed that if 1 W is applied, the temperature decreases without freezing. As shown in FIG. 5, while the microwave is applied, the storage chamber is maintained at a constant temperature between -10 ° C. and the temperature range from the freezing point of the object. Here, as an example, the temperature is maintained at −10 ° C. In a state where microwaves are applied in a −10 ° C. atmosphere, the temperature decreases without freezing even when the freezing point of the food has passed. When the temperature of the food 12 passes through the freezing point and the temperature difference from the storage chamber 11 becomes small, the cooling energy of the storage chamber 11 becomes difficult to be transmitted to the food 12, and the temperature drop is moderated and held at a constant temperature. Is done.

For example, with 150 g of tofu with a 1 W microwave applied at −10 ° C. in the storage chamber 11, the temperature change is reduced from −4 ° C. to −5 ° C. and the temperature is kept constant. Thereafter, when the temperature detector 30 detects that the food surface temperature has rapidly increased to the freezing point, for example, 0 to −2 ° C., the temperature in the storage chamber 11 is rapidly decreased to −20 ° C.

When the temperature of the food 12 rises within a few seconds to the freezing point, uniform and small ice crystals are formed in the food. Such a phenomenon does not occur when temperature unevenness occurs when the food is cooled. In general, ice crystals are generated from the part that has reached the freezing point, and the ice crystals grow through the ice crystal formation zone of 0 to -5 ° C., resulting in deterioration of the frozen quality. However, if the temperature unevenness on the surface and inside of the food is kept within about 3 ° C, the temperature will drop without freezing even after the freezing point, and small ice crystals will be formed within a few seconds after the freezing point. Is possible. Then, it can be frozen with minimal growth of ice crystals by rapid freezing so that the ice crystals do not grow.

As described above, by providing the food plate 20 between the food 12 and the storage chamber 11, a space through which cool air can be ventilated is created, and the cold air contacts the entire object through the opening 21 provided in the food plate 20. Therefore, the temperature of the food surface can be equalized. Moreover, since the food is in a state of floating in the storage chamber 11, the microwaves are incident from the entire surface of the food and the electromagnetic wave unevenness of the microwave is suppressed, so that the food surface can be prevented from freezing. As a result, the food surface and the interior can be soaked and cooled, so it does not freeze even below the freezing point, and when it begins to freeze, small ice crystals are uniformly generated within a few seconds, enabling high-quality freezing. It becomes.

In this embodiment, microwaves are irradiated during freezing. For example, the microwave can be applied to a storage room having a thawing function in the storage room 11 that realizes simultaneous cooling and heating. Even in that case, similarly, since the food is in a state of floating in the storage chamber 11, microwaves are incident from the entire surface of the food, and the electromagnetic wave unevenness of the microwave is suppressed. It is possible to defrost without.

Therefore, it is possible to achieve both high-quality freezing during freezing and non-uniform heating during thawing, and to realize a storage room 11 with a high-quality thawing function that maintains freshness. It becomes possible.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a storage room in the refrigerator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the storage room according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

The refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention is different from the refrigerator according to the first embodiment in that the food plate 20 can be installed at an arbitrary height in the vertical direction of the storage case 13, and the other configurations. Since this is the same as the refrigerator according to the first embodiment, the differences will be described.

6 and 7, two or more pairs of support bodies 32 are provided on both side walls of the storage case 13. The support 32 is formed so as to protrude from the side wall surface from the front side to the back side of the side wall surface so that the food plate 20 is placed thereon. By placing a flat food plate on the support 32, it can be installed at any height depending on the shape and type of food. Which support 32 the food plate 20 is placed on is selected in consideration of the radio wave distribution of the microwave in the storage chamber 11.

When microwaves are applied to the storage chamber 11, the distribution of the strength of radio waves is generated in the storage chamber 11. Since the radio wave unevenness exists three-dimensionally in the storage chamber 11, for example, the radio wave unevenness is different between the cross section of the bottom surface and the central portion. Note that the radio wave distribution continuously changes in the height direction.

For example, there is a case where a strong radio wave distribution is generated in the center near the bottom surface in the storage room 11 and a strong radio wave distribution is present in several places other than the central part at the intermediate height of the storage room 11. For such radio wave distribution, food with a small shape is placed near the bottom. In this case, since radio waves are concentrated in the center, radio waves can be efficiently irradiated. On the other hand, food with a large surface area can be irradiated with radio waves on the entire food by installing it at an intermediate height where the distribution of strong radio wave intensity is widely distributed.

As described above, since the microwave heating distribution suitable for the shape of the food can be selected simply by changing the height of the food plate, the radio wave irradiation distribution on the food surface can be made uniform. Furthermore, even when food is stacked and stored, if a heating plate is used, a gap is maintained between the food and the food is cooled without blocking the flow of cold air, and quality during storage can be improved.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a storage chamber in the refrigerator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the storage chamber according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Embodiment 3 is different from Embodiments 1 and 2 in that a saucer is provided at the lower part of the food plate, and the other configurations are the same as those in Embodiment 1, so the differences will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a tray 33 is arranged in the storage room 11 of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The food plate 20 is installed above the tray 33. The tray 33 is preferably made of a material that transmits microwaves or has a low dielectric constant. For example, plastic materials, glass, ceramics, etc. that do not deform even in an environment of −20 ° C. to 100 ° C. are preferable. It is even better if the heat and cold resistance is between -30 ° C and 120 ° C.

The saucer 33 is installed under the food plate 20, the frozen food is placed on the food plate, the door is closed, and the microwave is applied. Frozen foods begin to melt ice crystals and are thawed. As the thawing progresses, the food covered with a thick film of ice such as shrimp becomes soaked in the melted water that it becomes watery, but only water droplets drop from the opening 21 of the food plate 20 onto the tray 33. The food does not become watery, and the inside of the storage case 13 can be kept clean.

Also, since microwaves are applied at a freezing or refrigeration temperature, thawing is not excessive. The application and stop of the microwave is controlled by the detection signal of the temperature detector 30. After the microwave application, the detection information of the temperature detector 30 is, for example, -2 ° C, and the surface temperature of the food reaches the freezing temperature (melting temperature). And the control device 31 controls to stop the application of the microwave.

After the microwave application is stopped, by keeping the temperature in the storage chamber 11 at the refrigeration temperature (1 ° C. or higher), it is possible to preserve the thawed food as it is. If the used tray 33 is taken out, the water dripped at the time of thawing is discarded and washed, and then returned to the storage case 13, the storage case 13 can be kept clean.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a storage room in the refrigerator according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. The fourth embodiment is different from the first to third embodiments in that the food plate 20 rotates in the storage case 13, and the other configuration is the same as the first or second embodiment. explain.

10, the food plate 20 is connected to the motor 35 via the support shaft 34. The food plate 20 can be freely attached and detached from the support shaft 34. The food plate 20 is formed in a circular shape, and a plurality of openings 21 are provided on concentric circles. The food plate 20 rotates so as to be reversed when rotated by 180 ° C. by the motor 35. As the food plate 20 rotates in this way, the heating distribution of the microwave applied to the food on the food plate 20 changes periodically, and the microwave is irradiated more uniformly than in the stopped food.

In both freezing and thawing, the entire food surface is irradiated with microwaves, and uneven heating on the food is also improved, preventing surface freezing and thawing unevenness during freezing. Therefore, both freezing and thawing can achieve uniform temperature, and high-quality freezing and thawing can be realized.

(Embodiment 5)
[Composition of refrigerator]
FIG. 11 is a front view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a side cross-sectional view showing an AA cross section in FIG.

11 and 12, a heat insulating box body 101 which is a refrigerator main body of the refrigerator 100 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention includes an outer box 102 mainly using a steel plate and an inner box 103 formed of a resin such as ABS. And a foamed heat insulating material such as hard foamed urethane filled in the space between the outer box 102 and the inner box 103. Moreover, the heat insulation box 101 is thermally insulated from the circumference | surroundings, and is thermally insulated and divided by the partition wall into the some storage chamber. Specifically, the heat insulation box 101 has a refrigerating room 104 as a first storage room at the top, a second freezing room 105 as a fourth storage room at the lower part of the refrigerating room 104, and a fifth storage room. An ice making chamber 106 as a storage chamber is provided side by side, a first freezing chamber 107 as a second storage chamber is provided at the lower part of the second freezing chamber 105 and the ice making chamber 106, and a third at the bottom. A vegetable room 108 is provided as a storage room.

In general, the refrigerator compartment 104 has a rotary refrigerator compartment door 104a, and the second freezer compartment 105, the ice making compartment 106, the first freezer compartment 107, and the vegetable compartment 108 are each composed of a rail (not shown). It has drawer doors 105a, 106a, 107a, 108a.

Each storage room having a drawer door has a case placed on a rail (not shown) or the like, the second freezing room 105 has a freezing room case 105b, and the ice making room 106 has an ice storage case 106b. (Not shown) In the freezer compartment, a freezer compartment upper case 107b and a freezer compartment lower case 107c are arranged, and in the vegetable compartment 108, a vegetable compartment upper case 108b and a vegetable compartment lower case 108c are arranged.

The refrigerated room 104 is a refrigerated temperature zone, which is a temperature at which the object (food) to be cooled does not freeze, and a temperature lower than the refrigerated temperature zone, usually set to 1 ° C. to 5 ° C. As the belt, for example, a second storage section 104c that can be set to a freezing temperature of about −10 ° C. lower than the freezing temperature of food is provided.

The vegetable room 108 is set to a refrigeration temperature range equivalent to the refrigeration room 104 or a temperature range of 2 ° C. to 7 ° C., which is a slightly higher temperature setting than the refrigeration temperature range. The first freezer compartment 107 is set in a freezing temperature zone, and is usually set at −22 ° C. to −15 ° C. for frozen storage. For example, to improve the frozen storage state, It may be set at a low temperature of -25 ° C. The second freezer compartment 105 is maintained at a refrigeration temperature zone equivalent to the first freezer compartment 107 or a temperature setting of −20 ° C. to −12 ° C. slightly higher than the freezing temperature zone. The second freezing room 105 is a storage room having an independent door arranged in parallel with the ice making room 106. The ice making chamber 106 makes ice with an automatic ice maker (not shown) provided in the upper part of the room with water sent from a water storage tank (not shown) in the refrigerated room 104, and stores ice in the lower part of the room. Store in case 106b.

The top surface portion of the heat insulating box 101 has a stepped recess shape toward the back of the refrigerator, and a machine room 101a is formed in the stepped recess. The machine room 101a accommodates high-pressure components of the refrigeration cycle such as the compressor 109 and a dryer (not shown) for removing moisture. That is, the machine room 101 a in which the compressor 109 is disposed is formed by biting into the uppermost rear region in the refrigerator compartment 104.

Thus, by providing the machine room 101a in the rear region of the uppermost storage room of the heat insulation box 101 that has become a dead space that is difficult to reach, the compressor 109 is disposed in the conventional refrigerator. The space in the machine room at the bottom of the easy-to-use heat insulation box 101 can be effectively converted as the storage room capacity, and the storage performance and usability can be greatly improved.

The refrigeration cycle is formed of a series of refrigerant flow paths in which a compressor 109, a condenser, a capillary as a decompressor, and a cooler 112 are provided in order, and a hydrocarbon-based refrigerant such as isobutane is enclosed as a refrigerant. ing.

Compressor 109 is a reciprocating compressor that compresses refrigerant by reciprocating a piston in a cylinder. In addition, in the case of the refrigerating cycle which uses a three-way valve or a switching valve for the heat insulation box 101, those functional parts may be arranged in the machine room 101a.

In the present embodiment, the decompressor constituting the refrigeration cycle is a capillary, but an electronic expansion valve that can freely control the flow rate of the refrigerant driven by the pulse motor may be used.

A cooling chamber 110 for generating cold air is provided on the back surface of the first freezing chamber 107, and a rear partition configured to be insulated from the second freezing chamber 105, the ice making chamber 106, and the first freezing chamber 107. A wall 111 is formed. In the cooling chamber 110, a cooler 112 is disposed, and in the upper space of the cooler 112, the cold air cooled by the cooler 112 by a forced convection method is stored in the refrigerating chamber 104, the second freezing chamber 105, and the ice making chamber. 106, the cooling fan 113 which ventilates to the 1st freezer compartment 107 and the vegetable compartment 108 is arrange | positioned.

Further, in the lower space of the cooler 112, a radiant heating means 114 made of a glass tube is provided for defrosting the frost and ice adhering to the cooler 112 and its periphery during cooling. A drain pan 115 for receiving defrost water generated at the time of defrosting is provided below the radiant heating means 114, and a drain tube 116 is provided so as to extend downward from the deepest portion of the drain pan 115. An evaporating dish 117 is disposed below the drain tube 116.

The second storage section 104c is composed of an insulative heat insulation box 118 provided at the lowest stage in the refrigerator compartment 104, and is provided as a space for freezing, thawing and storing the food 120. A front opening is formed in the interior heat insulation box 118. Further, the heat insulating box body 118 is provided with a heat insulating door 121 that closes the front opening. The packing 122 air-blocks the space between the heat insulating door 121 and the heat insulating box body 118, and The storage compartment 104c is kept sealed.

The bottom surface of the internal heat insulation box 118 may be formed integrally with the first partition wall 123 that insulates the refrigerator compartment 104 from the first freezer compartment 107 and the ice making compartment 106. The back surface of 118 may be integrated with the refrigerator compartment back member 124, and the left surface of the in-compartment heat insulating box 118 may be integrated with the left surface of the heat insulating box 101.

Between the refrigerator compartment back member 124 and the heat insulation box 101, a conveyance air passage 125 that conveys the cold air sent out by the cooling fan 113 to the refrigerator compartment 104 is disposed. A second storage compartment discharge port 118a for introducing the cool air of the conveyance air passage 125 into the second storage compartment 104c is provided on the upper rear surface of the interior heat insulation box 118, and the top surface of the interior heat insulation box 118 is provided. A vent hole 118b through which cool air is introduced from the first storage section 104b is provided in the inner part. The discharge port 118a and the vent port 118b are configured to be freely opened and closed by a damper 119. A suction port 118c through which cool air that has cooled the second storage section 104c is sucked is provided at the lower back of the interior heat insulation box 118. The sucked cool air is heat-exchanged again by the cooler 112 to become cool cool air, and the second storage section 104c is cooled by repeating the circulation.

In this embodiment, the damper 119 is a single damper capable of selecting an opening, but is not limited to this. For example, the damper 119 may be a twin damper. In this case, the temperature of the second storage section 104c can be controlled more delicately by enabling the opening / closing of the discharge port 118a and the vent port 118b to be controlled separately.

Various methods can be considered for the refrigeration cycle. For example, a vapor compression refrigeration system using a compressor, an absorption refrigeration system, a Peltier refrigeration system, or the like can be used.

A box 126 is arranged inside the second storage section 104c. The box 126 is formed such that the wall facing the heat insulating door 121 is opened and the other surface is substantially closed. An open part of the box 126 constitutes an open part 126a. On the other hand, a lid 127 is attached to the heat insulating door 121. When the heat insulating door 121 is in a closed state, a part of the lid 127 enters the open portion 126a of the box 126, and substantially seals the box 126 to form an independent storage section 128. In the present embodiment, the box body 126 and the lid body 127 are made of metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, or a steel plate. Therefore, the inner wall surface of the independent storage section 128 is covered with metal. Note that the box body 126 and the lid body 127 are not necessarily all made of metal, and may be only the inner wall surface of the independent storage section 128, for example. As a specific method, a metal plate may be attached to the inner wall, or a metal film may be formed by a vapor deposition method or the like.

Furthermore, the heat insulating door 121 is formed of a transparent or highly light-transmitting resin or glass, and the lid 127 is formed of a metal provided with a plurality of holes having a diameter that does not leak electromagnetic waves. And the visibility inside the second storage section 104c can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the lid 127 is made of a metal plate that has been punched (diameter 6 mm). Examples of the transparent and heat resistant resin include, but are not limited to, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyether ether ketone, polyether sulfone, polyacrylonitrile, polycycloolefin, and the like.

By adopting this configuration, the second storage section 104c, that is, the inside of the independent storage section 128 can be confirmed through a punching hole, so that the user's convenience can be improved.

The same effect can be obtained even if the lid 127 is made of a metal mesh instead of punched metal. In that case as well, the mesh must be open so that electromagnetic waves do not leak.

Further, the heat insulating door 121 is made of transparent resin or glass, and the lid 127 made of transparent resin or glass is provided with a conductive film that is transparent in the visible light range, so that electromagnetic waves can be generated from the second storage compartment. Can be prevented, and the visibility in the second storage compartment can be further enhanced. The transparent conductive film is composed of at least one of tin oxide or indium oxide added with tin oxide, tin oxide compound added with antimony or fluorine, or zinc oxide added with aluminum. However, it is not limited to this.

By providing the lid 127 with a transparent conductive film, the inside of the second storage section 104c is not blocked by metal compared to the lid 127 made of punched metal or metal mesh. Therefore, it becomes possible to improve visibility more and to improve the usability of the user.

In the present embodiment, the heat insulating door 121 and the lid 127 are configured separately, but the same effect can be obtained even when the lid 127 also serves as the heat insulating door 121, and the visibility is further improved. It becomes possible.

In the box 126 in the second storage section 104c, a case 129 for storing food (an object to be cooled) 120 is provided and stored, and the user opens the heat insulating door 121 to open the case 129. The food 120 can be put in and taken out. Various opening operations of the heat insulating door 121 are conceivable, and the heat insulating door 121 may be rotated about any one of the upper and lower sides of the heat insulating door 121, and may be rotated about the left and right sides of the heat insulating door 121. May be. Furthermore, you may horizontally move the heat insulation door 121 to a near direction using a slide rail. Further, the case 129 may or may not be interlocked with the operation of the heat insulating door 121, and the effect in the present embodiment is not changed.

An antenna 130 is provided on the top surface of the box 126 and is electrically connected to the electromagnetic wave generator 131 by a coaxial cable or the like. Similarly, a temperature detector 132 is provided on the top surface of the box 126 and is electrically connected to the control device 133. Further, the control device 133 is also electrically connected to the electromagnetic wave generator 131. The electromagnetic wave generator 131 includes an electromagnetic wave oscillator (not shown) configured using a semiconductor element, and an electromagnetic wave amplifier (not shown) configured using a semiconductor element that amplifies an output signal of the electromagnetic wave oscillator. Composed. A field effect transistor using a GaN material is used for a semiconductor element of an electromagnetic wave amplifier.

The electromagnetic wave amplifier may use other semiconductor elements such as Si, GaAs and SiC in addition to the GaN material. Further, the antenna 130 and the temperature detector 132 do not necessarily need to be on the top surface of the box body 126, and may be on the back surface, the side surface, or the bottom surface. Various methods are conceivable for the temperature detector 132. For example, an infrared sensor capable of detecting infrared rays, a thermistor using a change in resistance value due to temperature, or the like may be used.

In addition, the compressor 109, the cooling fan 113, the radiant heating means 114, and the damper 119 described above are electrically connected to the control device 133.

[Operation and action of refrigerator]
About the refrigerator 100 of this Embodiment comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

First, the operation of the refrigeration cycle will be described. The refrigeration cycle is operated by a signal from the control device 133 according to the temperature set in the refrigerator, and the cooling operation is performed. The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged by the operation of the compressor 109 is condensed to some extent by a condenser (not shown), and further, the side surface and the rear surface of the heat insulating box body 101 which is the refrigerator main body, and the front opening of the heat insulating box body 101. The heat insulating box 101 is condensed and liquefied while preventing the condensation of the heat insulating box 101 via a refrigerant pipe (not shown) disposed in the tube, and reaches a capillary tube (not shown). After that, the capillary tube is depressurized while exchanging heat with a suction pipe (not shown) to the compressor 109 to become a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant and reaches the cooler 112.

Here, the low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant exchanges heat with the air in each storage chamber by the operation of the cooling fan 113, and the refrigerant in the cooler 112 evaporates. At this time, cool air for cooling each storage chamber in the cooling chamber 110 is generated. The cold cold air is diverted to the refrigerator compartment 104, the second freezer compartment 105, the ice making compartment 106, the first freezer compartment 107, and the vegetable compartment 108 by an air passage or a damper. And each room | chamber is cooled to each target temperature range by the divided cold air.

Next, cooling when performing freezing and storage in the second storage section 104c will be described. The cooler 112 disposed in the cooling chamber 110 is cooled to about −40 ° C. to −20 ° C. by the refrigeration cycle. As a result, the air in the cooling chamber 110 is cooled, and the cooled air is sent by the cooling fan 113 through the discharge port 118a and into the second storage section 104c. At this time, the damper 119 opens and closes the discharge port 118a so as to keep the inside of the second storage section 104c at the set temperature, and adjusts the amount of cool air sent to the second storage section 104c.

A box body 126 is disposed on the downstream side of the discharge port 118a, and the cool air sent from the discharge port 118a into the second storage section 104c contacts the box body 126 to cool the box body 126 itself. As described above, since the metal is used for at least part of the box 126, the entire box 126 can be cooled quickly and uniformly due to its good thermal conductivity. At this time, since the lid 127 attached to the heat insulating door 121 is also made of the same metal as the box 126, it has good thermal conductivity and is quickly and uniformly cooled. Therefore, the inside of the independent storage section 128 surrounded by the box body 126 and the lid body 127 is uniformly cooled while minimizing variation in temperature distribution. In addition, it is possible to rapidly cool the box body 126 by positively bringing cold air into contact with the metal box body 126, thereby rapidly freezing the food 120 stored in the independent storage section 128. It becomes.

The cold air that circulates in the second storage section 104c and cools the box 126 returns to the cooling chamber 110 from the suction port 118c and is cooled again by the cooler 112.

The temperature detector 132 attached to the top surface of the box 126 can detect the air temperature inside the independent storage section 128, the case 129, or the temperature of the food 120. This temperature information is sent as an electrical signal to the electrically connected control device 133, and the control device 133 appropriately controls the cooling fan 113 and the refrigeration cycle so that the temperature is set in advance. Specifically, the control device 133 varies the operation interval of the cooling fan 113 and the refrigeration cycle.

In the case where a vapor compression refrigeration system is used in the refrigeration cycle, the control device 133 can control the rotation speed of the compressor 109 to vary the temperature of the cooler 112 itself.

Further, in the present embodiment, the set temperature of the second storage section 104c is set to about −10 ° C., and it is possible to achieve both reduction in the time and labor for thawing and long-term storage. In addition, since the set temperature of the second storage section 104c is about −20 ° C., which is a normal freezing temperature, it can be stored for a longer period of time, and the convenience varies depending on the temperature range. It is not limited to the temperature range.

As described above, in the fifth embodiment, the temperature in the independent storage section 128 is adjusted to about −10 ° C. by the temperature detector 132, the control device 133, the refrigeration cycle, and other cooling means. Assume that the food 120 having a relatively high temperature of about 15 ° C. is stored in the case 129 in the independent storage section 128. Since the temperature in the independent storage section 128 is adjusted to about −10 ° C., the stored food 120 is deprived of heat from the surroundings, and the temperature gradually decreases. The temperature of the food 120 is detected by a temperature detector 132 provided on the top surface of the box 126, and when the temperature decreases to 5 ° C., a signal is sent from the control device 133 to the electromagnetic wave generator 131, and the electromagnetic wave generator 131. To generate electromagnetic waves. The frequency of this electromagnetic wave is 2.54 GHz. This electromagnetic wave is sent to the antenna 130 by an electrically connected coaxial cable or the like, and is irradiated to the food 120 from the antenna 130. At this time, the electric power applied to the food 120 is about 0.1 to 3 W, which is sufficiently smaller than the energy for cooling the food 120, and the temperature of the food 120 does not rise by irradiating electromagnetic waves. In addition, although the frequency of electromagnetic waves was 2.54 GHz, the effect in this Embodiment is not limited to this frequency, For example, what is necessary is just 300 MHz or more and 3 THz or less.

Here, it is assumed that the food 120 is a food containing moisture inside meat or the like. When the electromagnetic wave is not irradiated, the food 120 is gradually frozen from the surface toward the center. On the other hand, since the food 120 irradiated with electromagnetic waves can suppress a decrease in surface temperature, the food 120 can be prevented from freezing first from the surface, and after the decrease in the surface temperature is suppressed, Since the internal temperature gradually decreases, it is possible to cool the food 120 while suppressing the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the food 120, and freezing with an extremely fast traveling speed occurs inside the food 120.

In addition, in order to cool the food 120 while suppressing the temperature difference between the inside and outside, it is necessary to maintain the inside of the independent storage section 128 in a stable state with relatively little temperature change in addition to the irradiation of electromagnetic waves. The fact that the body 127 is made of metal contributes to suppressing variation in temperature distribution and reducing the temperature change width during operation.

Furthermore, for the safety of the user, it is necessary to prevent electromagnetic waves from leaking outside the independent storage compartment 128, and the fact that the box body 126 and the lid body 127 are made of metal meets this purpose. is there. The fitting portion between the box body 126 and the lid body 127 is configured such that electromagnetic waves do not leak. Also, from the viewpoint of preventing electromagnetic wave leakage, the box body 126 and the lid body 127 need not be all made of metal, and only the inner wall surface of the independent storage section 128 may be used.

Next, cooling when performing thawing in the second storage section 104c will be described. During thawing, the discharge port 118a is closed by the damper 119. The cooler 112 disposed in the cooling chamber 110 is cooled to about −40 ° C. to −20 ° C. by the refrigeration cycle. As a result, the air in the cooling chamber 110 is cooled, and the cold air forcedly sent out by the cooling fan 113 is sent to the first storage section 104b through the conveyance air passage. The first storage compartment 104b is cooled, and the cool air whose temperature has risen is sent into the second storage compartment 104c through the vent 118b.

As described above, since the first storage section 104b is set to 1 ° C. to 5 ° C., cold air of about 1 ° C. to 5 ° C. is sent to the second storage section 104c. Therefore, the second storage section 104c can be set to the refrigeration temperature.

The box body 126 is disposed on the downstream side of the vent hole 118b, and the cold air sent from the vent hole 118b into the second storage section 104c contacts the box body 126. As described above, since the metal is used for at least part of the box 126, the entire box 126 can be quickly and uniformly heated due to its good thermal conductivity. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time for raising the temperature of the second storage compartment 104c from about −10 ° C., which is a temperature setting for freezing and storage, to a refrigeration temperature suitable for thawing. Since shortening the temperature raising time leads to shortening of the thawing time, it is possible to improve the user-friendliness and to improve the energy consumption.

The cold air that circulates in the second storage section 104c and cools the box 126 returns to the cooling chamber 110 from the suction port 118c and is cooled again by the cooler 112.

Here, the result of the thawing experiment in the refrigerator of the fifth embodiment is shown below. As an example, the output of the electromagnetic wave generator 131 was 20 W, and the temperature of the second storage section 104c was 5 ° C. As a result of thawing, the thawing time required 50 minutes, but the temperature after thawing was measured at 23 locations. As a result, the temperature unevenness was only about 3 ° C. On the other hand, as a comparative example, when the output of electromagnetic waves was increased to about 300 W assuming a microwave oven or the like, the temperature unevenness after thawing was about 20 ° C. In a general thawing method (when thawing in a refrigerator), the thawing unevenness was about 3 ° C., but thawing took about 20 hours.

As a result, it was shown that the refrigeration apparatus of the present embodiment can reduce temperature unevenness after thawing and further shorten the thawing time.

In this embodiment, the power of the electromagnetic wave used for thawing, that is, the output of the electromagnetic wave generator 131 is 20 W. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the power used for thawing is 100 W or less, preferably 50 W or less. This is desirable because it can be reduced.

Further, in this embodiment, since the temperature unevenness can be reduced, the frozen food can be thawed to, for example, −5 ° C. to −10 ° C., cut as much as necessary with a knife, and the rest can be re-frozen.

Further, when the temperature detector 132 detects the end of thawing, a signal indicating the end of thawing can be automatically transmitted from the control device 133 and the output of the electromagnetic wave generator 131 can be stopped, so that the user is concerned about overheating. There is no need. It should be noted that a notification device such as a buzzer or light is provided in the refrigerator 100 to notify the user of the end of thawing, thereby preventing forgetting to take out after thawing. Even if you forget to take out the food after thawing, the second storage compartment 104c can be set to about −10 ° C., so that it can be stored safely with reduced damage to the food.

Although the case 129 is arranged in the independent storage section 128, the user can open the heat insulating door 121 and pull the case 129 to the near side. In this state, after the food 120 such as food is placed in the case 129, the case 129 is returned to its original position and the heat insulating door 121 is closed. Considering the case without the case 129, it is difficult to reach the back side of the independent storage section 128, and when many foods 120 are stored on the front side, it is difficult to access the space on the back side. Storability will fall. By using the case 129 so that it can be pulled out to the front, the storage property of the food 120 in the space on the back side of the case 129 can be improved, and convenience can be improved. Further, as described above, at least the inner wall of the independent storage section 128 is made of metal, and the inside of the case 129 can be quickly cooled while minimizing variations in temperature distribution to the minimum. Therefore, by arranging the case 129 in the independent storage compartment 128 surrounded by metal, it is possible to improve the convenience of storing the user's food 120 and to maintain a uniform temperature environment with reduced temperature distribution variation. Both.

Further, in the present embodiment, when a general adult user is assumed, the second storage section 104c is positioned at a waistline height, so that the posture for pulling out the case 129 and taking in and out the food 120 is set. It can be natural and the visibility in the case 129 is also good. Since the second storage section 104c is also used as a thawing chamber, cooking is performed instead of storage, which is a function of a general refrigerator, so that the time during which the food 120 is put in the storage is shortened. Therefore, since the frequency of opening and closing may increase, it can be said that it is very effective to improve usability that it can be used in an easy posture and has good visibility.

When the heat insulating door 121 is opened, the warm air outside the refrigerator 100 flows into the independent storage compartment 128, but the inner wall of the independent storage compartment 128 is made of metal, so even if the temperature rises once It can return to the set temperature.

In the present embodiment, an electromagnetic wave oscillator and an electromagnetic wave amplifier using a semiconductor element are used for the electromagnetic wave generator 131. Therefore, the installation space can be reduced as compared with a magnetron, which is an electromagnetic wave generator that has been conventionally used for heating foods. In addition, since the magnetron can generate only a single frequency, it causes resonance in the cooking compartment, and only the portion of the resonance point is heated, resulting in temperature unevenness. It was necessary to provide an electromagnetic stirrer. However, since the frequency of an electromagnetic wave oscillator using a semiconductor element can be changed during operation, the resonance point can be changed by changing the frequency, and an electromagnetic wave stirrer is not required. Therefore, since the internal volume of the independent storage section 128 can be reduced, the installation space for the box body 126 can also be reduced. Thereby, the improvement of the storage property of the 1st storage division 104b and the improvement of energy saving by the reduction of the energy required in order to maintain the 2nd storage division 104c at low temperature are realizable. Furthermore, since it becomes possible to irradiate the frequency matched with the electromagnetic wave absorption characteristic of the foodstuff 120, irradiation efficiency can be improved and energy saving property can be improved further.

Although the electromagnetic wave generator 131 generates heat when generating the electromagnetic wave, in this embodiment, since the electromagnetic wave generator 131 is installed on the back surface of the refrigerator compartment 104, it is possible to minimize the adjacent interior temperature. It does not significantly reduce energy savings.

In the present embodiment, the electromagnetic wave generator 131 is installed on the back surface of the heat insulating box body 101. However, the same thing can be said if it is installed outside the heat insulating box body 101, for example, in the machine room 101a or on the top surface of the heat insulating box body 101. An effect is obtained. In addition, when the electromagnetic wave generator 131 has a low output and the surface temperature rise is small, even if it is installed in the storage room, the energy saving performance is not significantly reduced.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the first storage section 104b maintained in the refrigeration temperature zone in the refrigeration chamber 104, and a temperature zone lower than the refrigeration temperature zone, for example, about −10 ° C. lower than the freezing temperature. The second storage section 104c is maintained at the same position, and electromagnetic waves oscillated from the electromagnetic wave generator 131 are introduced into the second storage section 104c. As a result, high-quality freezing and thawing can be realized in the second storage compartment while cooling the food 120 while suppressing a difference in temperature between the inside and outside of the food 120, so there is no need to provide a dedicated storage room, and the storage capacity of the refrigerator 100 is reduced. Can be achieved with high quality freezing and high quality thawing.

Further, since the electromagnetic wave generator 131 is composed of an electromagnetic wave oscillator and an electromagnetic wave amplifier using a semiconductor element, the installation space of the electromagnetic wave generator 131 can be reduced as compared with a magnetron or the like. Can be improved.

In addition, since an electromagnetic wave oscillator using a semiconductor element can change the frequency of the generated electromagnetic wave, the electromagnetic wave of a stirrer fan or the like can be changed by changing the reflection characteristics of the electromagnetic wave introduced into the second storage section 104c. Since it is not necessary to attach a stirrer, the installation space for the second storage section 104c can also be reduced. Thereby, while improving the storage property of a refrigerator, the energy-saving improvement by making 2nd storage division 104c maintained at low temperature small can be implement | achieved.

Further, by providing the interior heat insulation box 118 with the vent 118b that allows the first storage section 104b and the second storage section 104c to communicate with each other, the temperature of the second storage section 104c can be quickly raised during thawing. Therefore, the thawing time can be shortened, and the usability for the user can be further improved. In addition, shortening the thawing time contributes to improving energy saving.

Further, the refrigerator compartment 104 is arranged at the top of the refrigerator 100 and the second storage compartment 104c is provided at the bottom of the refrigerator compartment 104, so that the second storage compartment can be kept at the height of a general adult's waist. Since the position 104c is positioned, it is possible to make the posture of the case 129 to be pulled out and the food 120 to be taken in and out naturally, the visibility in the case 129 is good, and the usability can be improved.

In addition, by providing at least one color LED in the second storage section 104c and emitting the LED during freezing or thawing, the operation status in the independent storage section 128 can be understood, Usability can be improved.

Also, the color of the LED is changed during freezing and thawing, for example, a cold blue LED (wavelength around 450 nm) is emitted during freezing, and a warm red (wavelength 660 nm) LED is emitted during thawing. Thus, the user can visually grasp the operation status of the second storage section 104c, and further improve the usability and improve the design by appealing to the color sense.

(Embodiment 6)
FIG. 13 is a front view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a side sectional view showing a BB section in FIG.

In addition, although description is abbreviate | omitted about the part which can apply the structure similar to Embodiment 5, and the same technical idea, unless there is a malfunction by combining this Embodiment with the structure of Embodiment 5, and implementing it. It is possible to apply in combination.

In the present embodiment, the refrigeration room 204 includes a refrigeration temperature zone that is a temperature that does not freeze for refrigerated storage, a first storage compartment 204b that is normally set to 1 ° C. to 5 ° C., and a temperature zone that is lower than the refrigeration temperature zone. For example, a second storage section 204c that can be set to a freezing temperature of about −10 ° C. lower than the freezing temperature is provided.

The second storage section 204c is composed of an insulative heat insulating box 218 provided at the uppermost stage in the refrigerator compartment 204, and is provided as a space for freezing, thawing and storing the food 120. The inside heat insulating box 218 is provided with a front opening and a heat insulating door 221 that closes the front opening. The packing 122 air-blocks between the heat insulating door 221 and the inside heat insulating box 218, The storage compartment 204c is kept sealed.

The top surface of the inside heat insulation box 218 may be integrated with the top surface of the heat insulation box 101, and the back surface of the inside heat insulation box 218 is formed integrally with the refrigerator compartment back member 124. Alternatively, the left surface of the internal heat insulation box 218 may be configured integrally with the left surface of the heat insulation box 101.

Between the refrigerator compartment back member 124 and the heat insulation box 101, a conveyance air passage 125 for conveying the cold air sent out by the cooling fan 113 to the refrigerator compartment 104 is provided. A second storage compartment discharge port 218 for introducing the cool air of the conveyance air passage 125 into the second storage compartment 204c is provided at the upper rear surface of the interior heat insulation box 218, and the right side of the interior heat insulation box 118 is located on the right rear side. The part is provided with a vent 218b for introducing cool air from the first storage section 204b. The discharge port 218 a and the vent port 218 b are configured to be opened and closed by a damper 119. A suction port 218c through which the cold air that has cooled the second storage section 204c is sucked is provided at the lower back of the interior heat insulation box 218. The cold air sucked into the suction port 218c is again heat-exchanged by the cooler 112, becomes cold cold air, and the second storage section 204c is cooled by repeating the circulation.

In this embodiment, the damper 119 is a single damper capable of selecting an opening, but is not limited to this. For example, the damper 119 may be a twin damper. In this case, the temperature of the second storage section 204c can be more delicately controlled by allowing the discharge port 218a and the vent port 218b to be controlled separately.

Various methods can be considered for the refrigeration cycle. For example, a vapor compression refrigeration system using a compressor, an absorption refrigeration system, a Peltier refrigeration system, a combination thereof, or the like can be used.

Inside the second storage section 204c, a box body 126 having an opening portion 126a and a lid body 127 that substantially closes the opening portion 126a are arranged.

In the box 126 in the second storage section 204c, a placing tray 229 for placing the food 120 is provided. By opening the heat insulating door 221, the placing tray 229 is pulled out toward the front, and the food 120 It is possible to take in and out. Further, the mounting tray 229 may or may not be interlocked with the operation of the heat insulating door 221, and the effect in the present embodiment is not changed.

[Operation and action of refrigerator]
Next, the operation | movement and effect | action are demonstrated below about the refrigerator 100 of this Embodiment comprised as mentioned above.

As in the fifth embodiment of the present invention, high-quality freezing and thawing can be realized in the second storage section 204c provided in the refrigerator compartment 204 also in the present embodiment. At this time, since the food 120 is irradiated with electromagnetic waves, no other cooling material can be put therein. Therefore, since the second storage section 204c performs high-quality freezing / thawing, it is difficult to store a large amount of food on a daily basis. In the present embodiment, the second storage section 204 c is provided on the uppermost stage of the refrigerator compartment 204. The uppermost stage of the refrigerator compartment 204 is an area that is not easy to use because it is hard for the user to visually recognize and difficult to reach. Therefore, it can be said that providing the second storage section 204c in the uppermost stage of the refrigerator compartment 204 is a structure that minimizes the deterioration of the storage capacity of the first storage section 204b in actual use.

Further, in the present embodiment, a machine room 101a having a compressor 109 or the like is provided at the back of the top surface of the heat insulation box 101, and the machine room 101a is formed by biting into the uppermost rear region in the refrigerator compartment 104. Therefore, the depth of the uppermost stage of the refrigerator compartment 204 is smaller than that of other areas. Therefore, by providing the second storage section 204c at the uppermost stage, it becomes easy to overlook the back of the second storage section 204c.

The uppermost stage of the refrigerator compartment 204 is a place where it is difficult to reach as described above. However, by providing the loading tray 229 in the second storage section 204c, it is easy to clean and the convenience of the user can be increased. it can. In addition, it is not necessary to install the mounting tray 229. In that case, it is easier to use the heat insulating door 221 as a rotary door or a detachable door.

It should be noted that a rotary door that rotates around the upper side of the heat insulating door 221 can be used with peace of mind because the user does not have to worry about forgetting to close it.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the refrigerator compartment 204 is arranged at the top of the refrigerator 100, and the second storage compartment 204c is provided at the top of the refrigerator compartment 204, which is usually difficult to reach, so that a large amount of stored food can be obtained. It is possible to minimize the effect of lowering the storage capacity of the refrigerator compartment 204 due to the installation of the second storage section 204c that cannot be stored.

Moreover, since the machine room 101a having the compressor 109 and the like is provided at the back of the top surface of the heat insulation box 101, the uppermost stage of the refrigerator compartment 204 is provided at the uppermost stage because the depth is smaller than other areas. The second storage section 204c can be easily viewed from the back.

(Embodiment 7)
In the refrigerator according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, the control device controls the temperature of the object to be cooled to be rapidly lowered in a state where the temperature of the object to be cooled is held for a certain period of time in a temperature zone below the freezing point. It illustrates an embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the refrigerator in the seventh embodiment. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the operation (control) of the refrigerator according to the seventh embodiment and the temperature course of the object to be cooled and the storage chamber.

[Composition of refrigerator]
As shown in FIG. 15, the refrigerator 100 according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention has the same basic configuration as the refrigerator 100 according to the first embodiment, but is provided with a reflected power detection means 37. Different.

The reflected power detection means 37 is a device that detects the microwave power reflected in the storage chamber 11 without being absorbed by the food 12. When the frequency of the microwave applied to the food 12 is constant, the energy of the reflected power also changes when the temperature of the food 12 changes. Therefore, the reflected power detection means 37 detects the temperature of the food 12 using this characteristic. Is also possible. Further, the reflected power detection means 37 can detect the frequency at which the microwave absorption efficiency is highest depending on the shape and amount of the object to be cooled. The transmission control unit 29 is a processing unit that selects the frequency of the microwave detected by the reflected power detection unit 37 and generates the frequency from the transmission device 26. Since a microwave having an optimum frequency is applied to the food 12, it is possible to minimize the amount of microwave power.

The temperature detector 30 directly detects the temperature of the food 12 stored in the storage chamber 11. In the case of the present embodiment, the temperature detector 30 is a device that can detect the temperature of the food 12 in a non-contact manner. In addition, it is also possible to improve the temperature detection accuracy by measuring the temperature of the food 12 with a plurality of devices including the reflected power detection means 37 and the temperature detector 30.

The control device 31 is a device that controls the operation of the microwave generator 25. When the temperature of the food 12 reaches a threshold selected within the range of the freezing point and 10 ° C. or less based on the information from the temperature detector 30 and the reflected power detection means 37 (or any one means). The microwave generator 25 is operated, and control is performed so that the microwave is applied to the food 12.

[Operation (control) and action of refrigerator]
First, the food 12 is stored in the storage chamber 11, and when the temperature of the food 12 reaches 5 ° C. as shown in FIG. 16, the microwave generator 25 is activated to apply the microwave into the storage chamber 11. The timing of application of the microwave is preferably from 10 ° C. at which water molecules of the object to be cooled start to gather, and around 5 ° C. at which aggregation between the water molecules becomes strong. When microwaves are applied in these temperature ranges, aggregation of water molecules is efficiently suppressed, and generation of ice crystal nuclei is also suppressed, so that a stable supercooled state can be achieved.

Also, the amount of microwave power to be applied is set smaller than the energy for cooling the food 12. Experimentally, it has been confirmed that when 1 W is applied to 150 g of tofu, the temperature is lowered and supercooling is stably exhibited.

While the microwave is applied, the inside of the cool room is maintained at a constant temperature between -10 ° C. and the freezing point of the object to be cooled. Here, as an example, the temperature is maintained at −10 ° C. In a state where microwaves are applied in an atmosphere of −10 ° C., the temperature decreases without being frozen even when the freezing point of the object to be cooled passes, and the internal and external temperatures of the object to be cooled become uniform. When the temperature of the food 12 passes through the freezing point and the temperature difference from the storage chamber 11 becomes small, the cooling energy in the cooling chamber becomes difficult to be transmitted to the food 12, and the temperature decrease is moderated and held at a constant temperature. The For example, with 150 g of tofu with a 1 W microwave applied at −10 ° C. in the cold room, the temperature change decreases from −4 ° C. to −5 ° C. and is maintained at a constant temperature. The control device 31 operates the cooling device 17 so as to quickly decrease the temperature in the cooling chamber after detecting that the time that has been counted has elapsed when the temperature decrease rate at this time becomes a certain value or less. Let

As an example, when the internal and external temperatures of the object to be cooled are made uniform in this way, there is a case where a supercooled state occurs. In such a case, for example, the temperature is rapidly lowered so that the temperature in the storage chamber 11 becomes −20 ° C. after 5 minutes at a temperature decrease rate of 0.05 ° C./min or less, and the storage chamber 11 is brought to −20 ° C. While reaching or after reaching −20 ° C., the supercooling of the object to be cooled is naturally released.

When the supercooling is released, uniform and small ice crystals are formed within a few seconds, and the temperature rises to the freezing point due to the latent heat. In this state, it is not completely frozen, and there is an unfrozen portion between the formed ice crystals. In order to prevent the moisture in this unfrozen part from growing into large ice crystals, it is necessary to freeze it rapidly.

Therefore, in the case where supercooling occurs while the temperature is kept constant as described above and maintained at a constant temperature, the temperature is kept before the supercooled state of the object to be cooled is released. By rapidly keeping the room at a low temperature, it is already in a state of being capable of rapid freezing when the supercooling is released, and freezing can be performed with minimal growth of ice crystals in the unfrozen part.

Also, the control device stops applying the microwave after detecting that the supercooling of the object to be cooled has been canceled and the temperature has risen to the freezing point. The rapid freezing after supercooling of the object to be cooled can be further accelerated by reducing the power of the microwave.

As described above, by lowering the temperature of the cold room while the object to be cooled is kept at a constant temperature, the object to be cooled is quickly frozen while the internal and external temperatures are almost uniform. The structure destruction by freezing in order from the outside is suppressed, large ice crystals are not generated, and uniform and small ice crystals can be realized with suppressed ice crystal growth, resulting in destruction of the structure of the object to be cooled. High quality freezing can be realized.

Furthermore, if the object to be cooled becomes supercooled, the temperature of the cold insulation chamber is lowered before the supercooling is released, so that the object to be cooled is quickly frozen after the supercooling is released. Moisture that is insufficiently frozen after being released from supercooling is also quickly frozen, suppressing the growth of uniform and small ice crystals generated by supercooling, and realizing high-quality freezing that does not destroy the structure of the object to be cooled. it can.

The predetermined time is not necessarily a predetermined time, and is preferably a time after a predetermined time has elapsed since the product temperature of the object to be cooled becomes a constant temperature. For example, after a certain period of time, the product temperature can be set based on the case where the product temperature does not decrease further within a certain range such as -3 ° C to -5 ° C.

In some cases, it may be set as a fixed time from the start of cooling.

Even if the freezing temperature is maintained for a certain period of time without reaching below the freezing point near 0 ° C, the application of microwaves is stopped and quick freezing is performed, so that the object to be cooled is prevented from slow freezing. it can.

[Modification 1]
The first modification in the seventh embodiment shows an example of the operation (control) of the refrigeration apparatus. In addition, since the structure of the freezing apparatus of this modification 1 is the same as the freezing apparatus of Embodiment 7, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation (control) of the cooling device of the first modification and the temperature course of the object to be cooled and the storage chamber.

[Operation (control) and action of cooling device]
First, the food 12 is stored in the storage chamber 11. As an example, when the surface temperature of the food 12 reaches 2 ° C., the microwave generator 25 is activated, and the microwave is applied to the storage chamber 11. In the food 12, aggregation of water molecules occurs at around 5 ° C., but when microwaves are applied, aggregation of water is suppressed and generation of ice crystal nuclei is also suppressed. Further, even when the surface portion of the object to be cooled reaches 2 ° C. and water molecules start to aggregate, the aggregated state disappears due to the applied microwave. And generation | occurrence | production of an ice crystal nucleus is suppressed, and even if it exceeds a freezing point, it will be in a supercooled state without freezing. The application of microwaves is stopped when the supercooled state advances and the temperature of the food 12 reaches −4 ° C. to −5 ° C. is detected. At this time, by reducing the energy of the microwave power, the ratio of the cooling energy in the object to be cooled increases and the temperature further decreases from -4 ° C to -5 ° C, realizing a deep supercooled state. be able to. The deeper the supercooling (the lower the temperature), the higher the freezing rate after canceling the supercooling, and a high-quality freezing can be achieved.

Furthermore, the food 12 releases the supercooling at any time by detecting that the change Δt (° C.) in the temperature drop after the microwave application is stopped is lower than the threshold and lowering the temperature of the cooling chamber. It can be an environment that can be quickly frozen before. If Δt (° C.) does not change (no temperature drop) after the microwave application is stopped, it is desirable to immediately start the temperature drop of the cooling chamber.

As described above, by stopping the application of the microwave when it reaches the stage where the supercooling becomes stable after passing through the freezing point of the object to be cooled, an even lower temperature supercooling state can be realized, Further, it is possible to save power by reducing surplus microwave power.

(Embodiment 8)
The refrigerator according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention includes a cooling device that cools an object to be cooled, a storage chamber that houses the object to be cooled, and a microwave generator configured to irradiate the object to be cooled with microwaves. An apparatus, a food plate that is provided in the storage chamber and has an opening through which microwaves can flow and into which cold air can flow, and a control device. The cooling device is stopped, and the microwave generator irradiates the object to be cooled with microwaves, stops the microwave generator, and operates the cooling device.

[Refrigerator operation]
Next, the operation of the refrigerator according to the eighth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, since the refrigerator 100 which concerns on this Embodiment 8 is comprised similarly to the refrigerator 100 which concerns on Embodiment 1, detailed description of a structure is abbreviate | omitted.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart schematically showing the cooling operation of the refrigerator according to the eighth embodiment.

First, it is assumed that the temperature in the storage chamber 11 is adjusted to about −7 ° C. by the cooling device 17. At this time, it is assumed that the user of the refrigerator 100 according to the eighth embodiment places the food 12 having a temperature of about 15 ° C. on the food plate 20 in the storage chamber 11.

As shown in FIG. 18, the control device 31 acquires the temperature T of the food 12 detected by the temperature detector 30 (step S101). The food 12 stored in the case 3 has a temperature of about −7 ° C. in the storage chamber 11, and therefore the temperature is gradually lowered due to heat being taken away from the surroundings.

And the control apparatus 31 will progress to step S103, if the temperature T of the foodstuff 12 acquired by step S101 becomes 1st temperature (it is Yes at step S101). Here, the first temperature is a temperature at which water molecules in the food 12 aggregate. In general, water molecules in the food start to aggregate around 10 ° C., and aggregation occurs actively at 5 ° C. For this reason, 1st temperature can be arbitrarily set between 10 degreeC or less and 5 degreeC or more.

In step S103, the control device 31 stops the cooling device 17, specifically, the fan 19 is stopped. And the control apparatus 31 operates the microwave generator 25, and irradiates the foodstuff 12 with a microwave from the antenna 24 (step S104). In addition, the electric energy of the microwave irradiated to the foodstuff 12 can be calculated | required beforehand by experiment etc. so that it may become smaller than the energy which cools the foodstuff 12. FIG.

Thereby, aggregation of water molecules in the food 12 is suppressed, and temperature unevenness in the food 12 is suppressed. In addition, since the formation of ice crystal nuclei is suppressed in the food 12, the food 12 can be stably brought into a supercooled state.

Next, the control device 31 acquires again the temperature T of the food 12 detected by the temperature detector 30 (step S105). Then, when the temperature T acquired in step S105 becomes the second temperature (Yes in step S106), the control device 31 proceeds to step S107. Here, the second temperature is lower than the first temperature and lower than the maximum ice crystal formation zone. Generally, since the maximum ice crystal formation zone is 0 to −5 ° C., the second temperature can be arbitrarily set at a temperature lower than −5 ° C. Note that the second temperature may be substantially −5 ° C.

In step S107, the microwave generator 25 is stopped, and the microwave irradiation to the food 12 is stopped. After the microwave irradiation is stopped, the supercooled state of the food 12 is naturally released.

Next, the control device 31 operates the cooling device 17 (step S108). Specifically, the fan 19 is operated to actively send out cool air into the storage chamber 11. At this time, since the food plate 20 is made of metal, the temperature lowers faster than the food 12.

Further, since the cold air ventilation path 23 is formed below the food plate 20, the cold air can contact the food 12 through the opening 21 provided in the food plate 20. Furthermore, the whole surface of the food 12 can be irradiated with microwaves by the cold air passage 23. For this reason, the temperature of the whole surface of the foodstuff 12 can be cooled uniformly.

Thus, in the refrigerator 100 according to the eighth embodiment, freezing unevenness in the food 12 can be suppressed, and the quality of the food 12 can be maintained.

[Modification 1]
Next, a modification of the refrigerator according to the eighth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In the refrigerator of the first modification in the eighth embodiment, the temperature of the object to be cooled detected by the temperature detector becomes the second temperature that is lower than the first temperature by the control device. The mode which stops a microwave generator after the set time which is time until temperature rises is illustrated.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart schematically showing the cooling operation of the refrigerator according to the first modification in the eighth embodiment. In addition, since the refrigerator of this modification 1 is the same structure as the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1, description of the structure is abbreviate | omitted.

As shown in FIG. 19, the cooling operation of the refrigerator according to the first modification is the same as the cooling operation of the refrigerator according to the eighth embodiment, but between step S106 and step S107, step S106a And step S106b is different.

Specifically, when the temperature T of the food 12 detected by the temperature detector 30 reaches the second temperature (Yes in step S106), the control device 31 causes the temperature T (not shown) of the control device 31 to change the temperature T. The time t after reaching the second temperature is measured (step S106a).

The control device 31 stops the microwave generator 25 when the time t counted in step S106 reaches the set time (Yes in step S106b) (step S107). Here, the set time is the time until the temperature of the food 12 rises after the food 12 reaches the second temperature, and the time can be set in advance by experiments or the like.

Even with the refrigerator 100 of the first modification configured as described above, the same operational effects as those of the refrigerator 100 according to the eighth embodiment can be obtained. Moreover, in the refrigerator 100 of this modification 1, the supercooling state of the foodstuff 12 can be maintained longer by delaying the stop of the microwave generator 25, and the foodstuff 12 of the foodstuff 12 until a supercooling state is cancelled | released. The temperature can be lowered. For this reason, the quality of the foodstuff 12 can be kept higher.

From the above description, many modifications and other embodiments of the present invention are apparent to persons skilled in the art. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. The details of the structure and / or function may be substantially changed without departing from the scope of the invention. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment.

The refrigerator according to the present invention is useful because it can achieve temperature uniformity in both freezing and thawing, and can realize high-quality freezing and thawing.

11 Storage room 12 Object (food)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Storage case 14 Outer frame case 15 Door part 16 Ventilation hole 17 Cooling device 18 Blower path 19 Fan 20 Food plate 21 Opening part 22 Support part 23 Cold air ventilation path 24 Application means (antenna)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 25 Microwave generator 26 Transmitter 27 Amplifier 28 Distributor 29 Transmission control part 30 Temperature detector 31 Control apparatus 32 Support body 33 Sauce plate 34 Support shaft 35 Motor

Claims (20)

1. In the refrigerator that cools the object to be cooled,
   A cooling device for cooling the object to be cooled;
   A storage chamber for storing the object to be cooled;
   A microwave generator for applying a microwave;
   A control device for controlling the microwave generator and the cooling device,
   The refrigerator is characterized in that a food plate having an opening through which microwaves can pass and into which cool air can flow is provided in the storage chamber.
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the food plate has a plurality of openings.
3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a cold air ventilation path through which cold air flows is formed below the food plate.
4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the cold air passage is formed by a support provided on a food plate.
5. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the food plate is detachable with respect to the storage room, and can move in the vertical direction in the internal space of the storage room.
6. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the food plate is configured to rotate.
7. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a saucer is provided below the food plate.
8. A door for closing the opening of the storage chamber;
   The storage room has a refrigeration room that can be set to at least a refrigeration temperature zone,
   A first storage section maintained in a refrigeration temperature zone and a second storage section having a temperature region equal to or lower than the refrigeration temperature zone are provided in the refrigeration chamber,
   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the refrigerator compartment is configured to introduce an electromagnetic wave oscillated from the microwave generator into a second storage compartment. .
9. The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the microwave generation device includes an electromagnetic wave oscillator and an electromagnetic wave amplifier using a semiconductor element.
10. The second storage compartment has a vent in communication with the first storage compartment;
    The refrigerator according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the vent is provided with an opening / closing mechanism.
11. The refrigerator has a plurality of storage rooms,
    The refrigerator compartment is composed of a storage room located at the top of the plurality of storage rooms,
    The refrigerator according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the second storage section is provided at a lowermost part of the refrigerator compartment.
12. The refrigerator has a plurality of storage rooms,
    The refrigerator compartment is composed of a storage room located at the top of the plurality of storage rooms,
    The refrigerator according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the second storage section is provided at an uppermost part of the refrigerator compartment.
13. The cooling device is a refrigeration cycle having at least a compressor;
    The refrigerator according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the compressor is provided at an upper part on the back side of the refrigerator.
14. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the second storage section is provided with a lid made of a metal having a plurality of holes.
15. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the second storage compartment is provided with a lid provided with a transparent conductive film at least in a visible light region. .
16. The second storage compartment is provided with at least one LED,
    The refrigerator according to any one of claims 8 to 15, wherein the LED is configured to emit light during operation of at least one of freezing and thawing.
17. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the object to be cooled is controlled to rapidly decrease the temperature in the storage chamber in a state where the temperature of the object to be cooled is maintained for a certain period of time in a temperature zone below the freezing point. The refrigerator of any one of 1-16.
18. The control device applies the microwave having an energy amount so as to be held for a certain period of time in a temperature zone in which the temperature of the object to be cooled is lower than the freezing point or a temperature zone in which the maximum ice crystal formation zone has passed. The refrigerator according to claim 17.
19. The control device holds the temperature of the object to be cooled below a freezing point or a temperature passing through the maximum ice crystal formation zone for a certain period of time, and then stops applying the microwave to The refrigerator according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the refrigerator is controlled so as to lower the temperature.
20. When the object to be cooled is in a supercooled state while the temperature of the object to be cooled is maintained for a certain period of time in a temperature zone below the freezing point, the control device performs overcooling of the object to be cooled. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the refrigerator is controlled so as to lower the temperature of the box before being released.
    
    
    
    
    

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