Non-freezing storage unit and refrigerator including the same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a non-freezing storage unit which can store food at a temperature below 0° C. without freezing the food, and a refrigerator including the same. The non-freezing storage unit includes an outer casing with one open surface, a drawer which can be pulled out and detached through the open surface of the outer casing, a sensor located on one surface of the outer casing and sensing a temperature of food located in the drawer, a thermal conductive member installed on one surface of the drawer facing the sensor and transferring the temperature of the food in the drawer to the sensor, and a heater installed in the outer casing. The non-freezing storage unit is located in a cooling space to store food in a non-frozen state at a temperature below 0° C.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a non-freezing storage unit which can store food at a temperature below 0° C. without freezing the food, and a refrigerator including the same.BACKGROUND ART[0002]Supercooling means the phenomenon that a molten object or a solid is not changed although it is cooled to a temperature below a phase transition temperature in an equilibrium state. A material has a stable state at every temperature. If the temperature is slowly changed, the constituent elements of the material can follow the temperature changes, maintaining the stable state at each temperature. However, if the temperature is suddenly changed, since the constituent elements cannot be changed into the stable state at each temperature, the constituent elements maintain a stable state at an initial temperature, or some of the constituent elements fail to be changed into a state at a final temperature.[0003]For example, when water is slowly cooled, it is not temporarily fro...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0038]According to the temperature change room of the refrigerator of the present invention, the temperature change room is implemented using the thermoelectric element. Therefore, when it is intended to store the food at a temperature lower than a temperature in a refrigerating chamber, it is not necessary to introduce the cool air of a freezing chamber into the temperature change room. A damper or the like is not necessary, which simplifies the structure of the refrigerator.

[0039]In addition, according to the temperature change room of the refrigerator of the present invention, the heating can be performed in the temperature change room using the thermoelectric element. It is thus not necessary to install two or more evaporators to utilize a heating function.

[0040]Moreover, according to the temperature change room of the refrigerator of the present invention, the temperature in the temperature change room can be adjusted regardless of the operation conditions of the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber.

[0041]Further, according to the non-freezing storage unit provided by the present invention, the drawer can be completely detached from the outer casing, which improves the convenience of the use.

[0042]Furthermore, according to the non-freezing storage unit provided by the present invention, the sensor is installed in the outer casing and more sensitively senses the temperature of the food. This improves the non-freezing stability and enables easy determination on the release of the non-frozen state.

[0043]Still furthermore, according to the non-freezing storage unit provided by the present invention, the operation panel and the control panel irrelevant to the refrigerator are installed at one side of the non-freezing storage unit to thereby easily control the functions of the non-freezing storage unit.

Problems solved by technology

However, if the temperature is suddenly changed, since the constituent elements cannot be changed into the stable state at each temperature, the constituent elements maintain a stable state at an initial temperature, or some of the constituent elements fail to be changed into a state at a final temperature.

Accordingly, a complicated apparatus for producing the electric field or magnetic field should be provided to keep the received object in the supercooled state, and the power consumption is increased during the production of the electric field or magnetic field.

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