JP2006226614A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of maintaining a sanitary environment by adjusting humidity in a storeroom in accordance with presence or absence of food stored in a refrigerating space to keep low humidity when there is no food load while keeping freshness of food by enhancing refrigerating cycle efficiency by cooling the refrigerating space and a freezing space by using an exclusive cooler and fans to raise humidity in the refrigerating space. <P>SOLUTION: In this refrigerator provided with the cooler 7 for the refrigerating space and the cooler 9 for the freezing space, the fans 8, 10 to discharge cold air generated in each cooler, and a plurality of cold storerooms such as a refrigerating room 2, a vegetable room 5, and a freezing room 6, the inside of which is cooled to a prescribed temperature by introducing cold air from each fan for every cooling space, a part of circulated cold air is introduced to the refrigerating space such as the refrigerating room and the vegetable room from the cooler for the freezing space. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a plurality of cooling storage chambers for cooling a refrigerated space and a frozen space with a dedicated cooler and a fan.

  In recent years, due to diversification of lifestyle patterns and family forms, user needs for refrigerator products are not limited to environmental measures such as reduced power consumption and chlorofluorocarbons, but various storage atmosphere chambers and storage capacity at each storage temperature have been increased. It has been widely used to improve usability.

In such a product environment, as a refrigeration cycle, a storage room in a refrigeration space temperature zone such as a refrigeration room or a vegetable room is cooled by a refrigeration cooler having a relatively high refrigerant evaporation temperature, and the freezing room and ice making unit are cooled. The ice-making room for storing ice and the switching room that can switch the set cooling temperature to multiple temperatures are cooled by a freezing cooler with the evaporating temperature set to around minus 30 ° C. Refrigerators that are provided with dedicated coolers and fans in the freezing space and the refrigerating space to improve cycle efficiency, and have been commercialized refrigerators that maintain the freshness of food for a long time by increasing the humidity in the refrigerating chamber. And as for the installation location of each storage room, the type that installed the refrigeration room with the highest usage frequency and the largest storage volume at the top, the vegetable room below it, and the freezer room at the bottom became mainstream, In addition, a mode has been proposed in which a relatively small-capacity ice making storage room, a multi-temperature switching room, and the like are disposed between the refrigeration room and the vegetable room to improve usability (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). .
JP 2003-314945 A JP 2004-286334 A JP 2004-286335 A

  According to the above refrigerator, although the humidity in the refrigerator in the previous refrigerator is very easy to dry such as 30% or less, the humidity can be kept high and the food storage performance can be improved. On the other hand, since the inside of the refrigerated space is constantly in a high humidity state of about 80% humidity, there is a possibility of dew condensation in the storage room. In addition, there is a problem that the dew condensation part becomes an environment in which mold and the like grow due to germs that can grow even at low temperatures. To maintain the hygienic environment in the storage room, it is necessary to perform maintenance such as cleaning. There was a drawback that was complicated.

  In addition, since the water activity (Aw) of many fresh foods and fruits and vegetables to be stored in a refrigerated space such as a refrigerated room or a vegetable room is close to 1.0, 100% is necessary to preserve the food without drying. A near-high humidity environment is ideal, but in general household refrigerators with such a humidity environment, condensation inside the cabinet due to frequent intrusion of outside humidity due to frequent door opening and closing and temperature fluctuations, and cleaning etc. Becomes extremely difficult.

  On the other hand, the environment of 80% humidity in the above-mentioned recent refrigerators can substantially suppress the growth of bacteria having a lower Aw of 0.90 and yeasts having 0.88. For fungi, which are lower fungi with a lower Aw of 0.80, it is a humidity environment that can grow. Therefore, frequent maintenance is not necessary, but even if you are away for a relatively long time such as traveling and food is not stored in the refrigerated room, the room maintains high humidity, If spilled or otherwise adhered to the refrigerated space, mold may grow.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and the refrigeration space and the refrigeration space are cooled by a dedicated cooler and a fan to improve the refrigeration cycle efficiency, and the humidity in the refrigeration space is increased to increase food freshness. To provide a refrigerator that can maintain the humidity in the storage room according to the presence or absence of stored food in the refrigerated space and can maintain a hygienic environment by maintaining low humidity when there is no food load. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a cooler for refrigeration space, a cooler for refrigeration space, a fan for discharging cool air generated by each cooler, and cool air from each fan for each cooling space. In a refrigerator provided with a plurality of cooling storage rooms such as a refrigeration room, a vegetable room, a freezing room, etc., which is cooled to a predetermined temperature after being introduced into the refrigerator, the cooling for the refrigeration space in the cold air path to the refrigerating space such as the refrigeration room or vegetable room A part of the circulating cold air from the vessel is introduced.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the evaporating temperature of the refrigeration or refrigeration cooler can be set according to the temperature of each storage room, so that the refrigeration cycle efficiency can be maintained high and food is stored in the refrigeration space. The inside of the space can be kept at high humidity to prevent the food from drying, and when the food is not stored, the humidity in the space can be lowered to suppress the growth of germs and keep the room hygienic.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a refrigerator according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator with the door omitted, and the top of the storage space inside the refrigerator main body (1) made of a heat insulating box has a storage capacity. A large refrigerating room (2) is arranged, and an ice-making room (3) having a relatively small-capacity automatic ice making device and an ice storage box and a freezing temperature of −18 ° C. or lower are arranged below that through a heat insulating partition wall. To -8 ° C weak freezing temperature, -3 ° C partial freezing temperature, about 0 ° C chilled temperature, 2 ° C refrigeration temperature, 3 ° C vegetable storage temperature, and about 8 ° C wine storage temperature The temperature switching chamber (4), which can be switched to and cooled, is placed side by side with heat insulation.

  Below the ice making chamber (3) and the temperature switching chamber (4), there is provided a vegetable room (5) partitioned by a heat insulating wall in the same manner as described above, and the freezing room (6) is similarly heat-insulated at the bottom. Each of the storage rooms (2) to (6) is closed in its front opening with a dedicated opening / closing door, and is located in the refrigerator compartment (2) with the largest storage volume arranged at the top. A shelf is arranged in a plurality of stages, and its opening is opened and closed by a single door or a double door with a hinge on one side or both sides.

  The temperature switching chamber (4), the vegetable chamber (5), and the freezing chamber (6) below the refrigerator compartment are storage containers (3a) (4a) (5a) (6a) placed on a support frame (not shown) fixed to the door. ) Is slid by a rail provided in the storage chamber, and a well-known configuration is adopted that can be pulled out in the front-rear direction from the refrigerator body (1).

  By arranging each storage room in this way, the room of the most frequently used refrigerator compartment (2) is located at the height of the user's line of sight, making it easy to use and remove stored items. Since 3) and the temperature switching chamber (4) are located at almost the center height of the main body, this also has an advantage that the stored ice and food can be easily taken out without bending. In addition, since the vegetable room (5), which is frequently used next to the refrigerator room (2), is set at the lower part of the ice making room (3) and the temperature switching room (4), the user is in a relatively high position corresponding to the waist. Then, the container (5a) can be pulled out together with the door, and the stored item can be taken in and out from above the upper surface opening of the container (5a), which also improves usability.

  Furthermore, in the freezer compartment (6) located at the bottom, it is easy to see by storing the frozen food stored for a long time and the stored food to be edible in a relatively short time, for example, divided into upper and lower parts, It can be handled at a height that is easy to put in and out, and the layout of each storage room can be easily set.

  And as shown in FIG. 3 which looked at the cooler room from the back side, the refrigerator for a refrigerating machine (7) and a fan which cool a refrigerating room and a vegetable room (5) are installed in the back part of the refrigerating room (2) arrange | positioned at the upper part. (8) is installed, and the ice making room (3), the temperature switching room (4) and the freezing room (6) over the back of the vegetable room (5) and the freezing room (6) below. ) Is a refrigeration cooler (9) for cooling the rear wall. Refrigerant cooler (7) and refrigerating cooler (9) are alternately supplied with refrigerant by driving a compressor (11) installed in the lower part of the main body, and each of them is evaporated at a predetermined temperature by a decompression device. Thus, the refrigerator compartment (2) and the storage compartments (3) to (6) are controlled to be cooled to the set temperature.

  (10) is a fan that blows out the cold air generated by the refrigeration cooler (9) to each of the storage rooms (3), (4), and (6), and the ice making unit located at the center of the refrigerator main body (1). It is placed over the back of the room (3) and the vegetable room (4). The cold air discharged from the fan (10) is blown into the ice making chamber (3), the temperature switching chamber (4), and the freezing chamber (6) through respective dedicated ducts. In (12), a damper such as a motor damper (not shown) that closes the opening and shuts off the cold air is installed, and the operation of the refrigeration cycle and each damper are opened and closed by the detection value of the sensor that detects the indoor air temperature. The amount of cool air introduced is adjusted based on the set temperature of the storage room to control to a predetermined set room temperature.

  Further, the cold air generated by the refrigeration cooler (7) is divided into left and right from the upper fan (8) as shown in FIG. As shown by the arrows through the R ducts (13) provided up and down on both sides, each cold air outlet (15) discharges into the refrigerator compartment (2) to cool the stored food.

  And the cold air circulated in the refrigerator compartment (2) flows into the V duct (16) extending downward and is discharged into the vegetable compartment from the outlet (17) provided at the upper back of the vegetable compartment (5). , Which cools the vegetables stored in the container (5a), the cold air that has cooled the inside of the container is sucked into the suction port (18) provided adjacent to the cold air outlet (17), In order not to increase the depth of the duct, the V return duct (19) arranged in the width direction of the V duct (16) is returned again into the refrigerating room (2) and mixed with the cold air in the refrigerating room to cool the refrigerating machine. Return to (7) and circulate in the refrigerated space.

  With the above configuration, the cold air generated at a relatively high evaporation temperature of about −13 ° C. of the refrigeration cooler (7) is cooled by suppressing the humidity drop in the refrigeration chamber (2) by heat exchange with a small temperature difference. At the same time, the high humidity atmosphere is maintained, frost formation on the refrigeration cooler (7) is significantly reduced, and the fan (8) is rotated during non-cooling to enable defrosting. Time and cost for defrosting can be eliminated.

  In addition, the vegetable room (5) has a large storage load by introducing high-humidity cold air from the refrigerator room (2) by the fan (8), and can be cooled at a high speed even after the start of cooling. The room can be kept in a high humidity atmosphere. At the same time, the high-humidity chilled air after circulating through the vegetable compartment (5) is returned to the refrigerator compartment (2) through the V return duct (19), so that the temperature difference between the vegetable compartment and the refrigerator compartment is 1 Because it is as small as ~ 2 ° C, it has little effect on the temperature of the refrigerator compartment and can be adjusted easily. Both the refrigerator compartment (2) and the vegetable compartment (5) are kept in a high humidity atmosphere. Therefore, the stored food can be effectively preserved for a long time.

  As shown in FIG. 5 which shows the flow of the cold air and FIG. 6 which is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the cooler, a part of the cold air generated by the refrigeration cooler (9) is left and right. The air outlet is introduced into the ice making chamber (3) and the temperature switching chamber (4) from the air outlet (12), and the air outlet is provided through F ducts (21) provided on both sides of the refrigeration cooler (9). (12) cools the stored food discharged into the freezer (6) and circulates in the freezer (6) from the suction port (22) formed in the center of the back of the freezer F return duct ( 23) Return to the lower suction position of the refrigeration cooler (9).

  At this time, since the cold air into the freezer compartment (6) is blown straight forward from the F duct (21) portion located relatively far away, it goes straight through the upper part of the freezer compartment (6). Therefore, it is possible to prevent direct contact with the stored food, and it is possible to eliminate drying due to freezing of moisture in the food by direct contact with cold air.

  The cold air that has cooled the ice making chamber (3) and the temperature switching chamber (4) is supplied from the suction port (24) (25) provided at the lower back of each chamber to the back of the vegetable chamber (5) and the freezing cooler (9 ) And the S return duct (28) from the ice making chamber and the S return duct (28) from the temperature switching chamber formed in the partition heat insulating material (26) disposed between the refrigeration cooler ( Returning to 9), at this time, on the I return duct (27) side surface of the refrigeration cooler (9) standing along the back of the vegetable compartment (5), a partition is provided over the entire surface. Only the cover partition (29) made of a synthetic resin plate is used without interposing the heat insulating material (26), and the cool air flows from the lower end to the lowermost part of the cooler (9).

  As for the S return duct (28) from the temperature switching chamber (4), as shown in FIG. 7, the cooler (9) from below the cover partition (29) whose upper part is shielded by the heat insulating material (30). The cold air is allowed to flow into the side lower surface of the.

  The upper part of the refrigeration cooler (9) on the S return duct (28) side is shielded by the heat insulating material (30) when the temperature switching chamber (4) is set to a refrigerator room or vegetable room temperature specification. This is because high-humidity cold air circulates in the interior and prevents frost formation in the S return duct (28) due to heat conduction from the refrigeration cooler (9). The I return duct (27) On the side, since the cool air from the ice making room is blown out, the cool air temperature is low, and the return air is also kept at a low temperature, and the temperature difference from the refrigeration cooler (9) is small. This is because frosting can be prevented at least.

  A lower inclined surface (31) directed toward the cooler (9) is formed at the lower end of the I and S return ducts (27) and (28) disposed on the front surface of the refrigeration cooler (9). Yes. The downward inclined surface (31) is formed even if, for example, ice blocks separated from the cover partition (29) during defrosting of the refrigeration cooler (9) fall into the return duct (27) (28). It acts to move to the cooler (9) side along the inclined surface (31), and effectively melts ice blocks by heat conduction of the defrosting tube heater fixed to the cooler (9). Can do.

  Thus, part of the cold air flowing down the I and S return ducts (27) and (28) passes through the I branch duct (32) and the S branch duct (33) penetrating the partition heat insulating material (26). The cooling capacity of the vegetable room (5), which is introduced into the vegetable room (5) and tends to be insufficient only with the cold air circulated through the refrigerated room (2), can be supplemented by this blown cold air and contribute to cooling. .

In this case, the return cold air from the ice making chamber (3) and the temperature switching chamber (4) is circulating cold air in the refrigerated storage space, so it has low temperature and low humidity, and the amount introduced into the vegetable compartment (5). Since the opening cross-sectional area of the branch ducts (32) and (33) may be sufficiently small compared to the normal duct opening, for example, 1 cm ² or less each so as not to hinder the flow of cold air. The opening cross-sectional area is formed. Furthermore, the cold air inflow openings (34) and (35) into the vegetable compartment (5) are formed by forming a plurality of small pores having a diameter of about 2 to 4 mm, for example, six pores having a diameter of 2 mm. The amount of cool air flowing in is reduced by arranging them separately on the left and right.

  With the above configuration, the dry cold air inflow opening area to the vegetable room (5) is restricted so as not to be dehumidified excessively, and the movement of room air due to the blowing of dry cold air is suppressed. When food such as vegetables is not stored in the container, that is, when cooling in a high-humidity atmosphere is not necessary, the drying which flows from the branch ducts (32) and (33) with respect to the cold air flowing from the refrigerator compartment (2) With cold air, the indoor humidity can be lowered to a humidity atmosphere of about 30% where no germs grow.

  And when vegetables and fruits are stored in the vegetable room (5), the moisture generated from the stored food, together with the external humidity flowing in by opening and closing the door and the high-humidity cold air sent from the refrigerator compartment (2) As a result, moisture exceeding the dehumidifying ability of the cold air flowing in from the openings (34) and (35), which are small-diameter pores, can be obtained, so that the humidity environment exceeding 80% is maintained.

  In addition, since the vegetable compartment (5) has a moisturizing structure with the container (5a) and the lid, there is little direct effect on the stored food by the cold air blown from the openings (34) and (35).

  According to the experiment results of the inventors, the vegetable room (5) and the refrigeration when the food load is placed in the refrigeration space in the conventional constitution in which the alternate cooling operation is performed by the dedicated cooler for refrigeration. The chamber (2) has a measured humidity of 78 to 86%, and the humidity according to the present invention is 79 to 87%, which is not significantly different. However, when the food load is not stored, the conventional configuration has a humidity of 67. Whereas the humidity according to the present invention was 32 to 36%, a large difference in performance was observed.

  That is, if the structure of the present invention is adopted, when food is stored, both the refrigerated room (2) and the vegetable room (5) can obtain a high humidity atmosphere as in the conventional case, and the food can be stored for a long time. In addition, when no food is stored, it is possible to realize an atmosphere in which the indoor humidity is greatly reduced as compared with the conventional configuration, and it is possible to suppress the growth of germs such as mold.

  In the above embodiment, part of the cold air flowing down the I and S return ducts (27) and (28) is introduced into the vegetable compartment (5) through the I branch duct (32) and the S branch duct (33). Although the structure to be described has been described, the refrigerating room (2) is not particularly shown, but one of the cold air introduced from the refrigerating cooler (9) to the ice making room (3) via the fan (10), for example. The same effect can be obtained by allowing the portion to flow into the refrigerator compartment (2) with the same configuration as described above.

  Moreover, according to the said Example, the F duct (21) mentioned above is arrange | positioned in the side of the refrigerating cooler (9), and I and S return ducts (27) and (28) are made into the refrigerating cooler. (9) Since it is disposed in the front partition heat insulating material (26), the heat insulation thickness required for the F duct (21) can be sufficiently obtained, and the I and S ducts (27) (28) ) Has a relatively high temperature and does not require a large insulation thickness, it can reduce the insulation thickness in front of the refrigeration cooler (9). As a result, it is installed in front of the cooler such as the vegetable compartment (5). By increasing the depth dimension of the storage chamber, the storage capacity can be increased.

  In the present invention, the cooling atmosphere in the vegetable compartment (5) is adjusted by opening and closing each cold air damper provided at the cold air outlet (12) to the ice making chamber (3) and the temperature switching chamber (4). be able to. For example, when the cold air outlet (12) on the ice making chamber side is opened and the outlet (12) on the temperature switching chamber (4) side is closed, low-temperature cold air is discharged from one outlet (12). However, since the other outlet (12) is closed and the inside of the S return duct (28) becomes negative due to suction to the refrigeration cooler (9), the humid air in the vegetable compartment (5) Will be sucked into the duct (28). Therefore, by adjusting and controlling the discharge of cold air, it can be used for humidity adjustment such as when the humidity in the vegetable room (5) is too high, and accurate cooling and humidity adjustment can be performed.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a refrigerator that cools a refrigerated space and a frozen space with a dedicated cooler and a fan.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the refrigerator which shows one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the state which abbreviate | omitted the door of the refrigerator in FIG. It is a perspective view of the cooler arrangement | positioning part seen from the store room back side of FIG. It is a schematic front view which shows the cold air circulation state of the refrigerated storage space of FIG. It is a schematic front view which shows the cold-air circulation state of the frozen storage space of FIG. It is a cross-sectional view of the refrigeration cooler part in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the temperature switching chamber part in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator body 2 Refrigerating room 3 Ice making room 4 Temperature switching room 5 Vegetable room 6 Freezing room 4a, 5a, 6a Storage container 7 Refrigerating cooler 8 Refrigerating fan 9 Refrigerating cooler 10 Freezing fan 11 Compressor
12 Refrigeration space cold air outlet 13 R duct 15 Cold room cold air outlet
16 V duct 17 Vegetable room cold air outlet 18 Air inlet
19 V return duct 21 F duct 22 F suction port
23 F return duct 24, 25 Suction port 26 Partition insulation
27 I return duct 28 S return duct 29 Cover partition
30 Insulation 31 Inclined surface 32 I-branch duct
33 S branch duct 34 35 Cold air inflow opening

Claims (5)

  A cooler for refrigeration space, a cooler for refrigeration space, a fan that discharges the cool air generated by each cooler, and cool air from each fan is introduced into each of the cooling spaces to cool the inside to a predetermined temperature. In a refrigerator having a plurality of cooling storage rooms such as a refrigerator room, a vegetable room, and a freezer room, a part of the circulating cold air from the refrigerator for the freezing space is introduced into the refrigerator space such as the refrigerator room and the vegetable room. A refrigerator characterized by.   2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the circulating cold air passage from the refrigerator for refrigerating space to the refrigerating space has an opening cross-sectional area having a sufficiently small diameter that does not impede the cold air flow compared to other cold air duct openings. .   3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein a flow amount of the cold air is reduced by providing an aggregate of a plurality of small diameter pores in at least a part of the freezing side cold air passage to the refrigerated space.   A cooler for refrigeration space, a cooler for refrigeration space, a fan that discharges the cool air generated by each cooler, and cool air from each fan is introduced into each of the cooling spaces to cool the inside to a predetermined temperature. In a refrigerator having a plurality of cooling storage rooms such as a refrigerator room, a vegetable room, and a freezer room, a freezing temperature such as an ice making room or a temperature switching room is provided between the refrigerator room and the vegetable room arranged at the top of the refrigerator body. A storage room is provided, and each return duct from the ice making room, the temperature switching room, etc. to the refrigeration space cooler erected along the back of the vegetable room is provided on the front surface of the refrigeration space cooler. A refrigerator characterized in that a part of the cold air passing through a return duct from the ice making room and the temperature switching room to the refrigeration cooler is blown out together with the cold air circulating in the refrigerator compartment. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the cold air circulated through the vegetable compartment is returned to the refrigerator compartment side through a duct.

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