JPH0571861A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prolong food preservable period by holding both storage chambers for meat.fish and vegetable high humidity and suppressing the propagation of putrefaction bacteria (low temperature bacteria) due to sterilization of mixture gas of carbon dioxide gas and ozone in a refrigerator having the storage chambers for the meat.fish and vegetable. CONSTITUTION:Storage chambers 21 for meat and fish and a vegetable chamber 22 are adjacently disposed, and both the chambers 21 and 22 are partitioned by a partition plate 29 having a humidity permeable and gas permeable film 29b. An ozone generator 34 is provided in any of the chambers 21 and 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator that can store fruits and vegetables and meat and fish with good freshness.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, refrigerators have been set so that the storage room for meat and fish can be adjusted to about -3 ° C to 1 ° C, which is called a new temperature zone, but it has a very low humidity (about 30 to 40% RH). ), It is necessary to completely seal meat and seafood so that they do not dry, and incomplete packaging has the problem that the surface will dry and discolor and the freshness will decrease. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-306083, there is provided a method for maintaining the freshness of a meat / fish storage room with high humidity by steam discharged from fruits and vegetables without sealing the meat / fish. Proposed.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned method, bacteria (cold bacteria) are propagated because of high humidity even at low temperature, which is a problem of hygiene and the shelf life of food is not so long. There were challenges.

In view of the above problems, the present invention adds ozone to carbon dioxide gas discharged by the respiration action of fruits and vegetables, thereby suppressing the growth of bacteria by the mixed gas of carbon dioxide gas and ozone, and the shelf life of foods. The purpose is to provide a refrigerator that can extend the.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, the refrigerator of the present invention is provided with a vegetable compartment and a meat / fish storage compartment adjacent to each other, and both of them are provided with appropriate moisture permeability and gas permeability. It is divided by a partition plate having a wet film, and an ozone generator is provided in the vegetable room or the meat / fish storage room.

[0006]

With this configuration, the mixed gas in which ozone is added to the carbon dioxide gas exhausted by the breathing action of the fruits and vegetables stored in the vegetable compartment drifts in the vegetable compartment and the meat / fish storage compartment. By the bactericidal action of the above, it is possible to prevent the propagation of bacteria of fruits and vegetables and meat and fish to suppress the decay, and further extend the shelf life of foods.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a refrigerator according to the present invention, in which a refrigerator body 1 is composed of an outer box 2, an inner box 3 and a urethane foam heat insulating material 4 formed in a space between the two. Three doors 5, 6, and 7 are arranged at the front opening of the refrigerator body 1. The three doors are arranged corresponding to the openings of the freezer compartment 8, the refrigerating compartment 9, and the first vegetable compartment 10 of the refrigerator body 1, respectively.

Inside the partition wall surrounded by the bottom plate 11 of the freezer compartment 8 and the top plate 12 of the refrigerating compartment 9, there is an evaporator 13 and an internal fan 14 behind it. Further, ventilation paths 15 and 16 for introducing cooling air from the evaporator 13 into the respective compartments are formed in the back portion of the freezing compartment 8 and the upper rear portion of the refrigerating compartment 9. Reference numeral 17 is a compressor, 18 is a net rack of the freezer compartment 8, 19 and 20 are net racks of the refrigerating compartment 9, and 21 is about -3 ° C.
A meat / fish storage room set to 0 ° C., and a second vegetable room 22.

The first vegetable compartment 10 is a conventional high-humidity vegetable compartment, which is located below the refrigerating compartment 9 and has a partition plate 23.
It is divided from the refrigerator compartment 9 by. In the first vegetable compartment 10, a vegetable storage container 24 that can be opened and closed integrally with the vegetable compartment door 7 and can be opened and closed, and when the container is housed in the first vegetable compartment 10, it is in close contact with the upper opening of the container 24. It has a lid 25 that is closed. The lid 25 is a plastic molded product having several through holes 25a, and a moisture permeable film 26 is integrally molded so as to cover the through holes 25a.

In the first vegetable compartment 10, the cool air in the refrigerating compartment 9 adjusted by the temperature adjusting damper 27 of the refrigerating compartment 9 is passed through the vent holes 23a provided in front of and behind the partition plate 23. The fruits and vegetables 28 are circulated around the container 24 and indirectly cooled to maintain a proper temperature. With the above configuration, high humidity is maintained at an appropriate temperature (about 5 to 7 ° C). On the other hand, the second vegetable compartment 22 is provided below the meat / fish storage compartment 21 and is set to a temperature (about 0 to 1 ° C.) slightly higher than the freezing point of fruits and vegetables. It is separated from the storage room 21.

This partition plate 29 has the same structure as the lid 25 of the first vegetable compartment 10 which has been conventionally used, and has several through holes 29.
In the plastic molded product having a, a moisture permeable film 29b having moisture permeability and gas permeability is integrally molded so as to cover the through hole 29a. 30 is the door of the meat / fish storage room 21,
Reference numeral 31 is a door of the second vegetable compartment 22. Further, 32 is a cold air discharge port provided on the back surface of the meat / fish storage chamber 21, 3
Reference numeral 3 is a cold air suction port provided in the upper front portion of the storage compartment 21, and 34 is an ozone generator provided in the rear surface of the second vegetable compartment 22.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the ozone generator 34, in which 35 is a casing made of stainless steel or the like.
5a is a cold air suction port, 35b is a discharge port, 36 is an ozone generating electrode, 37 is a support frame for fixing the electrode, 38 is the electrode 3
A high voltage generator for applying a high voltage to 6, 39 is a blower fan for feeding the generated ozonized air into the second vegetable compartment, 40 is a fan driving motor, and 41 is for the purpose of smoothing the blown air. The partition wall in the casing 35 provided by the reference numeral 42 is a power source for a battery, a storage battery or the like.

In the second vegetable compartment 22, fruits and vegetables (spinach, salad vegetables, etc.) that do not cause low temperature disorders up to the freezing point are stored, and cucumber, eggplant, peppers that have low temperature resistance and risk of low temperature disorders are stored. , Lemon, etc. are stored in the first vegetable compartment 10.

Regarding the refrigerator configured as described above,
The operation will be described with reference to FIGS. When fruits and vegetables 35 such as spinach that does not cause low temperature disorders are stored in the second vegetable compartment 22, a part of the water vapor discharged from the stored fruits and vegetables 35 by the respiratory action and the transpiration action has the moisture permeable membrane 29b. By passing through the partition plate 29 and moving to the upper meat / fish storage room 21, the same storage room 2
1 is naturally high humidity.

When an ozone generator 34 provided on the back surface of the second vegetable compartment 22 is driven by turning on a switch (not shown), the air in the vicinity of the ozone generating electrode 36 is ozonized and a blower fan is provided. Second vegetable compartment 2 by 39
It is circulated to 2. On the other hand, since the fruits and vegetables 35 discharge carbon dioxide gas by a breathing action, a mixed gas in which ozone is added to carbon dioxide gas circulates in the second vegetable compartment 22. Next, since the meat / fish storage room 21 and the second vegetable room 22 are partitioned by a partition plate 29 having a gas permeable moisture permeable membrane 29b, the second vegetable room is separated by a concentration gradient. The mixed gas of carbon dioxide gas and ozone in 22 gradually flows into the meat / fish storage chamber 21.

Therefore, the meat / fish storage room 21 adjacent to the second vegetable room 22 has a high humidity and an atmosphere containing a mixed gas of carbon dioxide gas and ozone, so that the meat / fish 43 is prevented from drying. The mixture of carbon dioxide and ozone suppresses the propagation of spoilage bacteria by the bactericidal action. Of course, the vegetable room 22
The fruits and vegetables 35 stored in the store are sterilized in the same manner.

Here, the sterilizing action of the mixed gas of carbon dioxide and ozone will be described. Carbon dioxide has good permeability to food tissues but weak bactericidal power, whereas ozone has much better bactericidal power than carbon dioxide, but has poor permeability to food tissues and can only be surface sterilized. However, the mixed gas in which ozone is added to carbon dioxide acts to compensate for each other's drawbacks, and the sterilizing action reaches the inside of the food.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the second vegetable compartment 22 and the meat / fish storage compartment 2 adjacent to the second vegetable compartment 22.
1 and the second vegetable compartment 22 and the meat / fish storage compartment 21 are partitioned by a partition plate 29 having a moisture-permeable membrane 29b having appropriate moisture permeability and gas permeability. By providing the ozone generator 34 in the above, it is possible to prevent the meat / fish 43 from being dried, and to suppress the propagation of putrefactive bacteria in the meat / fish 43 and fruits and vegetables 35 by the mixed gas of carbon dioxide and ozone.

Therefore, the freshness keeping period of the meat / fish 43 and the fruits and vegetables 35 can be extended. Also, meat and fish 4
It is not necessary to carry out perfect packaging when storing 3 and the labor of storage can be saved. Furthermore, since no humidifier or carbon dioxide gas cylinder is used, the above effect can be realized at low cost.

The ozone generator 34 may be provided in the meat / fish storage chamber 21. In addition, the meat / fish storage room 21
The same effect can be expected by arranging the vegetable compartments 22 upside down or arranging them adjacent to each other.

[0022]

As described above, the present invention has a vegetable compartment and a meat / fish storage compartment adjacent to the vegetable compartment, and the vegetable compartment and the meat / fish storage compartment have appropriate moisture permeability and gas. Partitioned with a partition plate having a permeable moisture permeable membrane, the vegetable compartment or meat
By installing an ozone generator in the fish storage room, the humidity of the meat / fish storage room is kept high, and the mixture gas of carbon dioxide and ozone has a bactericidal action that permeates the inside of the food to propagate spoilage bacteria. Can be suppressed. Therefore, the freshness retention period of meat / fish and fruits can be extended further than before. Moreover, when storing meat and fish, it is not necessary to perform perfect packaging, and the labor of storage can be saved. Furthermore, since no humidifier or carbon dioxide gas is used, the above effect can be realized at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the ozone generator in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 Meat / fish storage room 22 Second vegetable room 29 Partition plate 29b Moisture permeable membrane 34 Ozone generator

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A moisture permeable membrane having a vegetable compartment and a meat / fish storage compartment adjacent to the vegetable compartment, wherein the vegetable compartment and the meat / fish storage compartment have appropriate moisture permeability and gas permeability. A refrigerator having an ozone generator provided in the vegetable compartment or the meat / fish storage compartment, which is partitioned by a partition plate.