Refrigerator

Abstract

A refrigerator according to the present invention comprises: a storage chamber capable of freezing and thawing stored objects; a compressor constituting a refrigeration cycle; a damper for adjusting the amount of cold air introduced into the storage chamber; and an oscillation circuit, a matching circuit, an oscillation electrode, a counter electrode, and a control unit that constitute the dielectric heating means, in which a cooling operation is performed by controlling the opening and closing of the damper during freezing of the stored object, and in unfreezing of the stored object, a cooling operation is performed by controlling the opening and closing of the damper. And the dielectric heating mechanism performs dielectric heating action and introduces cold air into the storage chamber through the opening and closing action of the air door.

Description

[0001] (This application is a divisional application of application No. 202080065616.0 filed on September 24, 2020.) Technical Field

[0002] The invention relates to a refrigerator with a freezing function and a storage chamber capable of thawing frozen articles. Background Art

[0003] Patent document 1 discloses a conventional refrigerator having a storage room capable of thawing frozen goods. The refrigerator has a refrigerator body including a refrigeration device and a magnetron for high frequency generation. Inside the refrigerator body, a freezing room and a high frequency heating room (storage room) capable of thawing frozen goods are provided. The refrigerator body is configured so that cold air from the refrigeration device can be supplied to the high frequency heating room via a cold air circulation pipe, and high frequency can be radiated from the magnetron to thaw the frozen goods.

[0004] Prior art literature

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-147919 Summary of the invention

[0007] The present invention provides a refrigerator, in which a storage room for thawing frozen goods can freeze, store and thaw the stored goods in the storage room in a desired state, and improves the reliability of cooling and thawing and improves the safety.

[0008] The refrigerator of the present invention comprises:

[0009] A storage room having a space capable of storing preserved items;

[0010] Power supply department;

[0011] An oscillating unit that generates high-frequency electric power by supplying electric power from a power supply unit;

[0012] an oscillating electrode and a counter electrode, which are arranged opposite to each other and are respectively connected to the oscillating part, and the oscillating electrode and the counter electrode receive high-frequency electric power from the oscillating part to generate a high-frequency electric field in the storage chamber;

[0013] a matching section that matches the output impedance of the oscillating section with the load impedance of a device including the oscillating electrode and the counter electrode;

[0014] a control unit that controls application of a high-frequency electric field between the oscillating electrode and the counter electrode; and

[0015] a shielding portion that prevents leakage of electromagnetic waves caused by the formation of high-frequency electric power,

[0016] The power supply unit includes:

[0017] A first power supply unit for rectifying the commercial AC power to convert it into DC;

[0018] a first ground portion serving as a reference potential of the first power supply portion;

[0019] A second power supply unit and a third power supply unit that step down the output voltage of each first power supply unit and output the resultant voltage;

[0020] A second ground portion serving as a reference potential for the second power supply portion; and

[0021] a third ground portion serving as a reference potential of the third power supply portion,

[0022] The oscillating unit is supplied with electric power from the second power supply unit,

[0023] The control section is supplied with electric power from the third power supply section. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1.

[0025] Figure 2 It is a front cross-sectional view showing the freezing / thawing chamber in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

[0026] Figure 3 It is a side cross-sectional view showing the freezing / thawing chamber in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

[0027] Figure 4 This is a longitudinal sectional view when the freezer / thaw chamber in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment is installed.

[0028] Figure 5 It is a front cross-sectional view showing a modification of the freezing / thawing compartment in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

[0029] Figure 6 It is a side cross-sectional view showing a modification of the freezing / thawing compartment in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

[0030] Figure 7 This is a longitudinal sectional view when the freezer / thaw chamber in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment is installed.

[0031] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing an electrode holding area on the back side of the freezing / thawing chamber in the first embodiment.

[0032] Fig. 9 This is a block diagram showing the configuration of a dielectric heating mechanism provided in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

[0033] Fig.10This is a schematic circuit diagram of an AC / DC converter that drives various circuits.

[0034] Fig.11 This is a plan view of the oscillating electrode and the counter electrode on the top surface side of the freezing / thawing chamber in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment as seen from above.

[0035] Fig.12 This is a diagram showing the relationship between the electrode distance between the oscillation electrode and the counter electrode and the electric field strength between the two electrodes.

[0036] Fig.13A It is a diagram showing the results of electric field simulation on the dielectric heating structure in the comparative example.

[0037] Fig. 13B This is a diagram showing the results of an electric field simulation of the dielectric heating structure of the freezer / thaw chamber in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

[0038] Fig.14 The diagram shows the waveforms of the load signals of the oscillation circuit and the damper during the thawing process in the configuration of the first embodiment, as well as the food temperature, the room temperature of the freezing / thawing chamber, and the humidity of the freezing / thawing chamber at that time.

[0039] Fig.15 This is a flow chart showing the load after the thawing process in the freezing / thawing chamber is completed in the configuration of the first embodiment.

[0040] Fig.16A This is a waveform diagram showing the cooling action during freezing storage in a conventional refrigerator.

[0041] Fig. 16B This is a waveform diagram showing a cooling operation performed in the freezing / thawing compartment of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

[0042] Fig.17 This is a waveform diagram showing the state of each element in the rapid cooling operation in the structure of the first embodiment.

[0043] Fig.18A This is a diagram showing an example of a high-frequency cutoff circuit when the refrigerator according to the first embodiment is opened.

[0044] Fig.18B This is a diagram showing another example of the high-frequency cutoff circuit when the refrigerator according to the first embodiment is opened.

[0045] Fig. 18C This is a diagram showing still another example of the high-frequency cutoff circuit when the refrigerator according to the first embodiment is opened. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] (Discoveries etc. that are the basis of the present invention)

[0047] Until the inventors thought of the present invention, the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1 was already known. The refrigerator is a structure in which high-frequency heating is performed by irradiating high frequency from a magnetron to the frozen items in the high-frequency heating chamber via an antenna or the like. Therefore, it is difficult to uniformly heat the frozen items to thaw them to a desired state. In addition, since the structure is to irradiate high frequency from a magnetron to perform high-frequency heating on the frozen items, a relatively large magnetron and its cooling mechanism need to be provided as parts, which makes it difficult to achieve miniaturization. In addition, in the structure in which a high-frequency heating device is provided in the refrigerator for thawing treatment, it is necessary to prevent the high frequency from the high-frequency heating device from causing adverse effects on the stored foods in other storage chambers and the users using it. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt a structure that reliably ensures the functions (cooling function, storage function) as a refrigerator and is highly safe, which also becomes a technical problem.

[0048] In view of such technical problems, the inventors have formed the subject matter of the present invention in order to solve these technical problems.

[0049] The present invention provides a refrigerator having a cooling function and a storage function with high reliability, that is, a refrigerator that can freeze, store, and thaw the stored objects stored in a storage chamber in a desired state. In addition, the miniaturization and high safety of the machine are achieved at the same time.

[0050] Hereinafter, as an embodiment of the refrigerator of the present invention, a refrigerator with a freezing function will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In addition, the refrigerator of the present invention is not limited to the structure of the refrigerator described in the following embodiments, and can also be applied to a refrigerator with only a freezing function, and is applicable to various refrigerators and devices including refrigerators having the technical features described in the following embodiments. Therefore, in the present invention, the refrigerator is a structure including a refrigerating chamber and / or a freezing chamber.

[0051] In addition, the numerical values, shapes, structures, steps, and the order of the steps given in the following embodiments represent an example and do not limit the present invention. Among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements not recorded in the independent claims representing the highest concept are described as arbitrary constituent elements. In addition, there is a case where the same elements in the variants are marked with the same figure numerals in the embodiments, and repeated descriptions are omitted. In addition, in the drawings, for easy understanding, each constituent element is schematically represented as a main body.

[0052] (Implementation Method 1)

[0053] Hereinafter, a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the present invention, each item will be described separately for easy understanding.

[0054] [1-1. Overall structure of refrigerator]

[0055] Figure 1 It is a figure which shows the longitudinal cross-section of the refrigerator 1 which concerns on this embodiment.

[0056] exist Figure 1 In the figure, the left side is the front side of the refrigerator 1, and the right side is the back side of the refrigerator 1. The refrigerator 1 mainly includes: an outer box 3 formed of a steel plate; an inner box 4 formed of a resin such as ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) resin; and an insulating box body 2 formed of a heat insulating material 40 (for example, hard polyurethane foam) foamed in a space between the outer box 3 and the inner box 4.

[0057] The heat-insulating box body 2 of the refrigerator 1 has a plurality of storage rooms, and an openable and closable door is provided at the front opening of each storage room. Each storage room is sealed in a manner that cold air does not leak by closing the door. In the refrigerator 1 of Embodiment 1, the uppermost storage room is the refrigerating room 5. On both sides directly below the refrigerating room 5, two storage rooms, an ice-making room 7 and a freezing / thawing room 6, are arranged side by side. A freezing room 8 is provided directly below the ice-making room 7 and the freezing / thawing room 6, and a vegetable room 9 is provided directly below the freezing room 8, i.e., at the bottom. Each storage room in the refrigerator 1 of Embodiment 1 has the above-mentioned structure, but this structure is an example, and the configuration structure of each storage room can be appropriately changed during design according to specifications, etc.

[0058] The refrigerator compartment 5 is maintained at a temperature for storing foods and other stored items in a cold state without freezing them. As a specific example, the temperature range is 1°C to 5°C. The vegetable compartment 9 is maintained at the same temperature range as the refrigerator compartment 5 or slightly higher, for example, 2°C to 7°C. The freezer compartment 8 is set to a freezing temperature range for frozen storage. As a specific example, the temperature range is -22°C to -15°C. The freezer / thaw compartment 6 is usually maintained at the same freezing temperature range as the freezer compartment 8, and performs a thawing process for thawing the stored stored items (frozen items) according to the user's thawing instructions. The structure of the freezer / thaw compartment 6 and the details related to the thawing process will be described later.

[0059] A machine room 10 is provided at the upper part of the refrigerator 1. The machine room 10 contains components constituting the refrigeration cycle, such as a compressor 19 and a dryer for removing moisture in the refrigeration cycle. The machine room 10 is not specifically located at the upper part of the refrigerator 1, but is located at a position appropriately determined according to the location of the refrigeration cycle, and may also be located at other areas such as the lower part of the refrigerator 1.

[0060] A cooling chamber 11 is provided on the back side of the freezer compartment 8 and the vegetable compartment 9 in the lower area of ​​the refrigerator 1. The cooling chamber 11 is provided with a cooler 13, which is a component of a refrigeration cycle for generating cold air, and a cooling fan 14 for sending the cold air generated by the cooler 13 to each storage chamber (refrigerator 5, freezer / thaw chamber 6, ice making chamber 7, freezer 8 and vegetable chamber 9). The cold air generated by the cooler 13 flows through the air passage 12 connected to each storage chamber through the cooling fan 14 and is supplied to each storage chamber. A damper (air door) 12a is provided in the air passage 12 connected to each storage chamber. Each storage chamber is maintained within a specified temperature range by the speed load of the compressor 19 and the cooling fan 14 and the opening and closing load of the damper 12a. In the lower part of the cooling chamber 11, a cooler 13 and a defrost heater 15 for defrosting frost or ice attached to its periphery are provided. A drain pan 16, a drain pipe 17, and an evaporation dish 18 are provided below the defrost heater 15. With these structures, water generated during defrosting or the like can be evaporated.

[0061] The refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment is provided with an operation unit 47 (see Fig. 9 ). The user can issue various instructions to the refrigerator 1 in the operation unit 47 (for example, temperature setting of each storage room, quick cooling instruction, thawing instruction, or ice making stop instruction, etc.). In addition, the operation unit 47 has a display unit for notifying the occurrence of abnormalities, etc. In addition, in the refrigerator 1, it is also possible to configure that various instructions are input from the user's external terminal by providing a wireless communication unit connected to a wireless LAN network. In addition, in the refrigerator 1, it is also possible to configure that a voice recognition unit is provided so that the user can input instructions by voice.

[0062] Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a freezer / thaw chamber 6 in a refrigerator 1 according to Embodiment 1. The freezer / thaw chamber 6 is a refrigerator for keeping stored items such as food stored in the freezer / thaw chamber 6 within a freezing temperature range. When a thawing instruction for the stored items is input to the refrigerator 1, the freezer / thaw chamber 6 becomes a thawing chamber for thawing processing by dielectric heating.

[0063] about Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 The respective characteristics will be further described in the later "1-4. System structure of dielectric heating mechanism".

[0064] In the freezing / thawing chamber 6, the cold air generated in the cooler 13 flows through the air passage 12 provided on the back side and the top side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6, and is introduced into the freezing / thawing chamber 6 from a plurality of cold air introduction holes 20 provided on the top surface of the freezing / thawing chamber 6, so that the cold air is maintained in the same freezing temperature range as the freezing chamber 8. A damper 12a is provided in the air passage 12 leading from the cooling chamber 11 to the freezing / thawing chamber 6. By opening and closing the damper 12a, the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is maintained in a predetermined freezing temperature range, and the stored objects are frozen and stored.

[0065] A cold air exhaust hole (not shown) is formed on the back of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. The cold air introduced into the freezing / thawing chamber 6 to cool the inside of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 returns to the cooling chamber 11 from the cold air exhaust hole through a return air path (not shown) and is cooled again by the cooler 13. That is, the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment is configured to circulate the cold air formed by the cooler 13.

[0066] The top surface, back surface, both sides and bottom surface of the inner surface constituting the storage space in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 are constituted by an inner surface member 32 (32a to 32c) of a resin material formed by an electrically insulating material. In addition, a door 29 is provided at the front opening of the freezing / thawing chamber 6, and the storage space of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is sealed by closing the door 29. In the freezing / thawing chamber 6 of the first embodiment, a storage housing 31 with an open top is provided on the back side of the door 29. Moreover, the storage housing 31 is configured to be able to move forward and backward at the same time by the opening and closing action of the door 29 in the front and rear directions. By increasing the opening and closing action of the door 29 in the front and rear directions, it is easy to put in and take out the stored items such as food in the storage housing 31.

[0067] [1-2. Dielectric heating mechanism for thawing frozen items]

[0068] Next, a dielectric heating mechanism for performing dielectric heating in order to thaw the frozen objects stored in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 will be described.

[0069] Fig. 9 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of the dielectric heating mechanism provided in the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment. The dielectric heating mechanism in the first embodiment includes an oscillating circuit 22, a matching circuit 23, an oscillating electrode 24, a counter electrode 25, and a control unit 50. The oscillating circuit 22 receives electric power from a power supply unit 48 to form a predetermined high-frequency signal. The oscillating circuit 22 is configured using semiconductor elements and is miniaturized. As described later, the oscillating circuit 22 is formed together with the matching circuit 23 in the space on the back side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6, that is, the electrode holding area 30 (see FIG. 1 ). Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 6 and Figure 7) is held on the electrode substrate 52. The oscillating circuit 22 and the matching circuit 23 form a high-frequency electric power generating unit for forming a high-frequency electric field applied between the oscillating electrode 24 and the opposing electrode 25.

[0070] The oscillating electrode 24 is an electrode disposed on the top surface side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. The counter electrode 25 is an electrode disposed on the bottom surface side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. The oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 are disposed opposite to each other across the storage space (thawing space) of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. The electrode holding substrate 52 described in "1-3. Structure of the circuit board of the dielectric heating mechanism" described later is provided, and the relative interval between the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 is set to a predetermined interval ( Figure 8 As a result, in the dielectric heating mechanism in Embodiment 1, the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 are arranged substantially in parallel. In the present invention, "substantially parallel" means a substantially parallel state, including errors caused by deviations in processing accuracy and the like.

[0071] The oscillating electrode 24 is provided on one surface of the storage space. The counter electrode 25 is provided on the other surface of the storage space opposite to the one surface in a manner of sandwiching the storage space. The matching circuit 23 on the back side, the oscillating electrode 24 on the top side, and the counter electrode 25 on the bottom side that constitute the dielectric heating mechanism are covered by the inner surface member 32. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent the stored object from contacting the matching circuit 23, the oscillating electrode 24, or the counter electrode 25, thereby preventing the stored object from drying (Joule heating of the food).

[0072] In addition, in the structure of the first embodiment, the oscillating electrode 24 is provided on the top surface of the storage space constituting the freezing / thawing chamber 6, and the relative electrode 25 is provided on the bottom surface of the storage space of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this structure. As long as the oscillating electrode 24 and the relative electrode 25 are opposite to each other via the storage space (thawing space), the oscillating electrode 24 and the relative electrode 25 may be arranged upside down from the present embodiment, or the oscillating electrode 24 and the relative electrode 25 may be arranged to be opposite to each other on the left and right sides across the storage space, etc., and the same effect can be achieved.

[0073] The oscillation circuit 22 outputs a high frequency voltage (40.68 MHz in the first embodiment) of the VHF (Very High Frequency) band. The high frequency voltage output by the oscillation circuit 22 forms an electric field between the oscillation electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 connected to the oscillation circuit 22. As a result, the dielectric body, i.e., the stored object, arranged in the storage space between the oscillation electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is thawed by dielectric heating.

[0074] Matching circuit 23 adjusts the load impedance formed by oscillation electrode 24, counter electrode 25 and the stored items in freezing / thawing chamber 6 to match the output impedance of oscillation circuit 22. Matching circuit 23 minimizes reflected waves of the output high frequency by matching the impedance.

[0075] The dielectric heating mechanism in the present embodiment is provided with an incident reflected wave detection unit 51 for detecting an incident wave output from the oscillation circuit 22 to the oscillation electrode 24 and a reflected wave returned from the oscillation electrode 24 to the oscillation circuit 22. The oscillation circuit 22 is electrically connected to the oscillation electrode 24 via the incident reflected wave detection unit 51 and the matching circuit 23. The control unit 50 calculates the ratio (reflectivity) of the reflected wave output relative to the incident wave output based on the incident wave and the reflected wave detected by the incident reflected wave detection unit 51, and performs various loads as described later based on the calculation result. In addition, the ratio (reflectivity) of the reflected wave output relative to the electromagnetic wave output can also be calculated based on the set value of the high-frequency electric power output from the oscillation circuit 22 which is impedance matched in the matching circuit 23 and the reflected wave detected by the incident reflected wave detection unit 51. In addition, the various loads described later can also be performed using only the reflected wave output regardless of the output setting value of the electromagnetic wave or the detection value of the incident wave.

[0076] like Fig. 9 As shown in the load block diagram of FIG. 1 , in the dielectric heating mechanism, the control unit 50 drives the oscillation circuit 22 and the matching circuit 23 to load based on the signals of the operation unit 47 for setting operation by the user and the temperature sensor 49 for detecting the indoor temperature. The control unit 50 is composed of a CPU and executes a load program stored in a memory such as a ROM to perform various loads.

[0077] [1-3. Structure of circuit board of dielectric heating mechanism]

[0078] The length of the positive-side wiring connecting the oscillation circuit 22, the incident reflected wave detection unit 51, the matching circuit 23, and the oscillation electrode 24 is preferably short in order to improve reliability. Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 ) and the oscillating electrode 24, and the electrode holding substrate 52 and the counter electrode 25 are directly connected without using a lead wire or a coaxial cable, etc. In addition, the electrode holding substrate 52 is arranged in the electrode holding area 30 on the back side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. In addition, the electrode holding substrate 52 includes at least the matching circuit 23.

[0079] In order to accurately determine whether impedance matching is sufficiently performed by the matching circuit 23, the incident reflected wave detection unit 51 is formed on the electrode holding substrate 52. Preferably, the incident reflected wave detection unit 51 and the matching circuit 23 are provided together on one substrate. Thus, there is no need to configure a connector such as a lead wire or a coaxial cable to connect the lead wire or the coaxial cable between the matching circuit 23 and the incident reflected wave detection unit 51. Therefore, the structure of the circuit board can also be simplified.

[0080] exist Fig. 9 In the embodiment, the incident reflected wave detection unit 51 and the matching circuit 23 are arranged on the electrode holding substrate 52. However, the matching circuit 23, the incident reflected wave detection unit 51 and the oscillation circuit 22 may all be formed on one substrate. In this way, the power supply loss caused by the lead wire or the coaxial cable can be suppressed, and the accuracy of impedance matching can also be improved.

[0081] In addition, each of the above circuits, such as the oscillation circuit 22 and the matching circuit 23, may be separately configured and electrically connected via leads or coaxial cables. In such a case, for example, the oscillation circuit 22 may be installed in the machine room 10 having a large vacant space, thereby realizing a reasonable configuration structure that flexibly uses the vacant space in the refrigerator.

[0082] [1-4. System structure of dielectric heating mechanism]

[0083] In the dielectric heating mechanism of the first embodiment constructed as described above, the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 are arranged to be substantially parallel to each other. Therefore, the electric field is made uniform in the storage space, i.e., the thawing space, of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. Figure 8 H) are arranged roughly in parallel, and in the dielectric heating mechanism in embodiment 1, the electrode interval is maintained as described below.

[0084] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing the electrode holding area 30 on the back side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 in the first embodiment, and illustrates the electrode holding mechanism in the electrode holding area 30 . Figure 8This is a diagram of the electrode holding area 30 viewed from the back side, with an oscillating electrode 24 disposed on the upper side (top side), and a counter electrode 25 disposed on the lower side (bottom side). Positive terminals 24a, 24b, and 24c are provided protrudingly at the end of the back side of the oscillating electrode 24. The positive terminals 24a to 24c are provided protrudingly in a manner bent upward (top side) or downward (bottom side) at a right angle from the end of the back side of the oscillating electrode 24. Similarly, cathode terminals 25a, 25b, and 25c are provided protrudingly at the center of the end of the back side of the counter electrode 25. The cathode terminals 25a to 25c are provided protrudingly in a manner bent upward (top side) or downward (bottom side) at a right angle from the end of the back side of the counter electrode 25.

[0085] The oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 are fixed to the upper and lower parts of the electrode holding substrate 52, respectively. The matching circuit 23 and the incident reflected wave detection unit 51 are fixed to the electrode holding substrate 52. The oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 are reliably held by the electrode holding substrate 52. In this way, the electrode holding substrate 52 substantially holds the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 at a predetermined distance ( Figure 8 In addition, the electrode holding substrate 52 is constituted with the matching circuit 23, etc., so the rigidity is increased by using the copper foil wiring pattern. Therefore, the electrode holding substrate 52 can have a predetermined relative interval (H) between the oscillating electrode 24 and the relative electrode 25. Figure 8 In the state of H), the oscillation electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 are respectively held in cantilever form. In addition, the electrode holding substrate 52 may also be provided with an oscillation circuit 22 and the like as described above.

[0086] The positive terminals 24a to 24c of the oscillating electrode 24 and the cathode terminals 25a to 25c of the relative electrode 25 are connected to the respective connection terminals on the positive side and the cathode side of the matching circuit 23. The connection between the positive terminals 24a to 24c and the cathode terminals 25a to 25c and the respective connection terminals of the matching circuit 23 is a surface contact connection having a predetermined contact area so that reliability can be ensured even when a large current flows. In the first embodiment, in order to ensure reliable surface contact connection, the flat terminals are connected by screws. In addition, as a connection between the terminals, at least a reliable surface contact connection is sufficient, and it is not limited to a screw connection.

[0087] In the first embodiment, the terminal width w (see Figure 8 ) is configured to be larger than the electrode width W (see Figure 8) is narrow (w<W). This is because a structure is adopted in which the heat generated in the matching circuit 23 is difficult to be conducted to the oscillation electrode 24, and by suppressing the heat conduction between the matching circuit 23 and the oscillation electrode 24, the occurrence of condensation in the matching circuit 23 when the oscillation electrode 24 is cooled is suppressed. In addition, in the relative electrode 25, the terminal width of the cathode terminals 25a~25c is the same as the terminal width of the positive terminals 24a~24c, and is formed to be narrower than the electrode width of the back side end of the relative electrode 25 protruding from the cathode terminals 25a~25c. By making the terminal width of the cathode terminals 25a~25c narrow in this way, the heat conduction between the relative electrode 25 and the matching circuit 23 is suppressed.

[0088] In the configuration in which the oscillation circuit 22 is disposed in the electrode holding region 30 , a cooling structure may be adopted in which a heat sink as a heat dissipation member is provided in the oscillation circuit 22 and the heat sink is brought into contact with the air passage 12 for cooling.

[0089] As described above, an electrode holding substrate 52 is provided as an electrode holding mechanism on the back side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. Therefore, the oscillating electrode 24 and the relative electrode 25 are arranged to be substantially parallel to each other. In addition, in Embodiment 1, in order to make the oscillating electrode 24 and the relative electrode 25 substantially parallel to each other in a more reliable manner, they are configured as a high-frequency heating module 53a. The high-frequency heating module 53a includes the oscillating electrode 24, the relative electrode 25, and the electrode holding substrate 52, and is formed as a whole in a state where the oscillating electrode 24 and the relative electrode 25 are determined to be substantially parallel to each other, and is installed in the freezing / thawing chamber 6.

[0090] [1-5. Structure of the freezing / thawing chamber]

[0091] As described above, the insulated box body 2 of the refrigerator 1 includes: an outer box 3 formed of a steel plate; an inner box 4 formed of a resin; and an insulated box body 2 formed of an insulating material 40 (for example, rigid polyurethane foam) filling and foaming the space between the outer box 3 and the inner box 4.

[0092] Moreover, if Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, the freezer / thaw chamber 6 is constructed with the inner surface component 32a on the inner side of the heat insulating material 40 as an outer frame. The outer side of the freezer / thaw chamber 6 is covered by an electromagnetic wave shielding member 26 (26a~26d). The electromagnetic wave shielding member 26 is provided in a manner of wrapping the freezer / thaw chamber 6 in order to prevent electromagnetic waves from leaking to the outside of the refrigerator 1. In addition, the electrode holding area 30 is divided into the freezer / thaw chamber 6 by the inner surface component 32a. On the back side of the inner surface component 32a, a back side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26b is provided. The main purpose of the back side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26b is to prevent the influence of impedance and electric field between the room divided into the freezer / thaw chamber 6 and the electrode holding substrate 52 including the matching circuit 23, etc.

[0093] A flat plate-shaped inner surface member 32b is horizontally disposed in the upper portion of the space surrounded by the inner surface member 32a, and the oscillating electrode 24 is mounted on the upper side of the inner surface member 32b. In addition, a flat plate-shaped inner surface member 32c is horizontally disposed in the lower portion of the space surrounded by the inner surface member 32a, and the counter electrode 25 is disposed on the lower surface of the inner surface member 32c. The lower surface of the inner surface member 32c is substantially parallel to the inner surface member 32b at a predetermined distance ( Figure 8 H). Thus, the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 are kept in a substantially parallel state by the electrode holding substrate 52 and the inner surface components 32a, 32b, 32c. The outer box 3 may be filled with foamed heat insulating material 40 with uneven foam, and the upper surface and the bottom surface of the room are not completely parallel. However, the above-mentioned structure can reliably and accurately make the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 in a substantially parallel state without being affected by the foam.

[0094] The high frequency heating module 53a is pre-assembled during the manufacturing process of the refrigerator 1. Figure 4 The high frequency heating module 53a is installed in a manner of being inserted into the outer box 3 of the refrigerator 1. The door assembly including the door 29, the door-side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d, the gasket 36 and the storage case 31 is inserted into the high frequency heating module 53a to complete the refrigerator.

[0095] In addition, it can also be Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 The structure shown. Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 In the refrigerator, the outer box 3 of the refrigerator 1; the inner box 4 formed of resin; the heat insulating material 40 filled with foam in the space between the outer box 3 and the inner box 4; the inner surface member 32 (32a to 32c) on the inner side of the heat insulating material 40 constituting the outer frame of the freezing / thawing chamber 6; and the electromagnetic wave shielding member 26 on the outer side of the inner surface member 32, Figure 2 and Figure 3 same.

[0096] In the upper part of the space surrounded by the inner surface component 32a, a flat plate-shaped inner surface component 32b is arranged in the horizontal direction. The oscillating electrode 24 is mounted on the upper side of the inner surface component 32b. In addition, in the lower part of the space surrounded by the inner surface component 32a, a flat plate-shaped inner surface component 32c is arranged in the horizontal direction. The opposite electrode 25 is arranged on the lower surface of the inner surface component 32c. The front sides of the inner surface component 32b and the inner surface component 32c are fixed by the support 54 respectively. The back sides of the inner surface component 32b and the inner surface component 32c are fixed by the electrode holding substrate 52 and the inner surface component 32a, and the oscillating electrode 24 and the opposite electrode 25 are maintained in a roughly parallel state.

[0097] The inner surface member 32b and the inner surface member 32c are substantially parallel to each other and are kept at a predetermined distance ( Figure 8 The oscillating electrode 24 and the opposing electrode 25 can be maintained in a substantially parallel state by the electrode holding substrate 52, the support 54 and the inner surface components 32b and 32c. The outer box 3 of the refrigerator 1 is sometimes not completely parallel to the bottom surface of the room due to uneven foam of the foamed heat insulating material 40. However, the above-mentioned structure can reliably and accurately make the oscillating electrode 24 and the opposing electrode 25 substantially parallel without being affected by the foam.

[0098] In the above structure, the high-frequency heating module 53a is formed integrally with the oscillating electrode 24, the counter electrode 25, the inner surface components 32a, 32b, 32c, the support 54, the back electromagnetic wave shielding member 26b for dividing the electrode holding area 30 and the freezing / thawing chamber 6, and the electrode holding substrate 52 including the matching circuit 23, etc. The high-frequency heating module 53a is assembled in advance, and the high-frequency heating module 53a is assembled in advance. Figure 4 In the manufacturing process shown, the high-frequency heating module 53a is installed in a manner of being inserted into the outer box 3 of the refrigerator 1. In addition, the door assembly including the door 29, the door-side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d, the gasket 36, and the storage case 31 is inserted into the high-frequency heating module 53a to complete the refrigerator 1.

[0099] In addition, the inner surface components 32a to 32c are preferably made of common industrial ceramic materials that are difficult to condense in the environment of the freezer, and the thermal conductivity of the material is 10W / (m·k) or less. In the present embodiment, the inner surface components 32a to 32c are made of resin materials such as polypropylene, ABS resin, and polycarbonate. The electromagnetic wave shielding member 26 (26a to 26d) is thinner than the inner surface component 32 (32a to 32c), and the heat capacity is suppressed. As a result, condensation can be prevented on the electromagnetic wave shielding member 26 and the inner surface component 32 (32a to 32c) in contact with the electromagnetic wave shielding member 26.

[0100] As described above, in the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment, the electrode holding mechanism is provided on the back side and the front side or the side side of the dielectric heating mechanism of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. Therefore, the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 can be arranged in a manner that they have a relative interval with high precision. Therefore, the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 can be arranged in a manner that they have a predetermined interval ( Figure 8 As a result, the dielectric heating mechanism of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 can prevent the unevenness of the high-frequency electric field in the electrode surface and achieve uniform high-frequency electric field, so that the stored items (frozen items) can be thawed uniformly. In addition, the refrigerator is completed by inserting the pre-assembled components as the high-frequency heating module, so there is no need to perform manufacturing operations in a narrow refrigerator room, and the manufacturing process becomes simple.

[0101] [1-6. Electromagnetic wave shielding mechanism]

[0102] As described above, in the freezing / thawing chamber 6, a dielectric body as a stored object is arranged in the atmosphere of the high-frequency electric field between the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25, and dielectric heating is performed. Therefore, electromagnetic waves are radiated in the freezing / thawing chamber 6. In order to prevent the electromagnetic waves from leaking to the outside of the refrigerator 1, the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment is provided with an electromagnetic wave shielding mechanism in a manner that wraps the freezing / thawing chamber 6.

[0103] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 , a top surface side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26a is disposed in the air passage 12 portion on the top surface side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. The top surface side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26a is disposed in the refrigerator chamber 5 ( 100 ) directly above the freezing / thawing chamber 6 so as to cover the top surface side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. Figure 1 The top surface side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26a is configured to have a plurality of openings, and the actual facing area with respect to the oscillation electrode 24 becomes small.

[0104] In this embodiment, the shape of the opening is a slit shape with a long side direction from the back side to the front side. By utilizing the opening of the top electromagnetic wave shielding member 26a, the magnetic field (current) generated from the positive terminals 24a to 24c in the forward direction smoothly passes through the top electromagnetic wave shielding member 26a, so the leakage magnetic field spreading around is suppressed by electromagnetic wave simulation analysis.

[0105] By using the top surface side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26a configured in this way, it is possible to suppress the generation of an unnecessary electric field between the top surface side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26a and the oscillating electrode 24. In addition, the top surface side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26a may also be a mesh structure having a plurality of openings. In addition, the top surface side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26a may also be provided inside the refrigerating chamber 5 located directly above the freezing / thawing chamber 6. A partial freezing chamber or a chilled chamber is often provided in the refrigerating chamber 5, and the top surface of the partial freezing chamber or the chilled chamber may also be utilized as an electromagnetic wave shielding member.

[0106] A back-side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26b is arranged so as to cover the electrode holding area 30 provided on the back side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. The matching circuit 23 and the like are arranged in the electrode holding area 30. By providing the back-side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26b in this way, it is possible to prevent the electric field generated between the oscillating electrode 24 and the opposing electrode 25 and the high-frequency noise generated by the matching circuit 23 from affecting the operation (load) of the electrical components of the cooling fan 14 and the baffle 12a. In addition, an electromagnetic wave shielding member (not shown) is also arranged on the side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6.

[0107] Next, the door-side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d provided on the door 29 for opening and closing the front side opening of the freezer / thaw chamber 6 will be described. The door 29 is a structure for opening and closing the main body of the refrigerator 1. Therefore, when a structure is adopted in which the electromagnetic wave shielding member provided on the door 29 is connected to the grounded portion of the main body of the refrigerator 1 through a wired passage (wired path), the wired passage is repeatedly expanded and contracted by the opening and closing of the door 29, and metal fatigue accumulates in the wired passage. In a structure connected like this, there is a possibility that the wired passage is broken. Therefore, a structure in which the door-side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d provided on the door 29 is connected to the grounded portion of the main body of the refrigerator 1 through a wired passage is not preferred.

[0108] Generally, in order to prevent electromagnetic wave leakage, the door side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d when the door 29 is closed is connected to the crossbeam 21 (connected to the outer box 3, Figure 1The spacing between the door side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d and the crossbeam 21 needs to be shorter than 1 / 4 of the wavelength λ of the electromagnetic wave. In embodiment 1, the spacing between the door side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d and the crossbeam 21 is further reduced, thereby achieving the grounding effect of the electromagnetic wave shielding member without providing a wired path between the door side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d and the crossbeam 21. For example, the spacing between the door side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d and the crossbeam 21 is within 30 mm when the door 29 is closed. The crossbeam 21 connected to the outer box 3 is grounded, so when the door 29 is closed, the door side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d is close to the crossbeam 21, so the same effect as grounding using a wired path can be achieved. In addition, by adopting a shape in which the end of the door side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d is bent toward the main body side of the refrigerator 1, the door side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d can be easily close to the crossbeam 21.

[0109] Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which the door-side electromagnetic wave shield 26d is placed close to, for example, the electromagnetic wave shield 26 (26a, 26c) other than the horizontal beam 21.

[0110] Next, the connection between the electromagnetic wave shielding member and other circuits and the ground will be described.

[0111] Fig.10 This is a schematic circuit diagram of an AC (alternating current: alternating current) / DC (direct current: direct current) converter that drives various circuits. In this circuit, a flyback switching power supply circuit is used as a DC / DC converter that is configured after the bridge diode BD1 and the rectifying capacitor C0 that rectify the AC commercial power supply ACV. However, the DC / DC converter is not limited to this, and any switching power supply using a transformer such as a forward type, a push-pull type, or a half-bridge type can be used. In addition, Fig.10 The circuit only records the main circuit components, omitting the noise filter, power supply load circuit and protection circuit.

[0112] The AC commercial power source ACV is converted into a DC power source by a bridge diode BD1 and a rectifying capacitor C0, which are referred to as a primary DC power source DCV0 (first power source). The zero holding reference potential of the primary DC power source DCV0 is set as a primary ground GND0 (first ground).

[0113] The primary DC power supply DCV0 is applied to the primary winding P1 of the switching transformer T1 and is switched at a frequency of several tens of kHz by the FET (Field effect transistor) Q1. The electric power accumulated in the primary winding P1 is transferred to the electrically insulated secondary winding S1 due to electromagnetic induction, rectified by the secondary rectifier diode D1 and the secondary rectifier capacitor C1, and the secondary DC power supply DCV1 is output. In addition, the secondary winding S2 is provided with an output section between the two ends of the winding, and the output is the secondary DC power supply DCV2 rectified by the secondary rectifier diode D2 and the secondary rectifier capacitor C2 and having a lower voltage than the secondary DC power supply DCV1. The zero holding reference potential of the secondary DC power supplies DCV1 and DCV2 (second power supply section) is set to the secondary ground GND1 (second grounding section).

[0114] In addition, the primary side DC power supply DCV0 is applied to the switching transformer T1 and also branched to the primary side winding P2 of the switching transformer T2, and is switched at a frequency of several tens of kHz by FETQ2. The electric power accumulated in the primary side winding P2 is transferred to the electrically insulated secondary side winding S3 due to electromagnetic induction, and is rectified by the secondary side rectifier diode D3 and the secondary side rectifier capacitor C3, and the secondary side DC power supply DCV3 (third power supply unit) is output. The zero holding reference potential of the secondary side DC power supply DCV3 is set to the secondary side ground GND2 (third grounding unit).

[0115] The insulation between the primary winding P1 and the secondary winding S1 in the switching transformer T1 and the insulation between the primary winding P2 and the secondary winding S3 in the switching transformer T2 have insulation performance higher than basic insulation as specified in the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law of Japan or IEC (International Electrotechnical Comission) standards.

[0116] like Fig. 9 As shown, in the oscillation circuit 22, an oscillation source 22a using a crystal or the like outputs a micro-electric power of 40.68 MHz allocated to the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) frequency band, is slightly amplified by a first amplifier circuit 22b, and is further amplified by a second amplifier circuit 22c and output in the direction of a matching circuit 23. In addition, the output frequency of the oscillation source 22a is not limited to 40.68 MHz.

[0117] In this embodiment, the secondary side DC power supply DCV1 is supplied to the second amplifier circuit 22c in the oscillation circuit 22, the secondary side DC power supply DCV2 is supplied to the oscillation source 22a and the first amplifier circuit 22b, the incident reflected wave detection unit 51 and the matching circuit 23 in the oscillation circuit 22, and the secondary side DC power supply DCV3 is supplied to the control unit 50.

[0118] Thus, the circuit system that sets the secondary side ground GND1 to zero holding reference potential is composed of the oscillation circuit 22, the incident reflected wave detection unit 51, the matching circuit 23, and the counter electrode 25. The circuit system that sets the secondary side ground GND2 to zero holding reference potential is composed of the control unit 50.

[0119] Each of the electromagnetic wave shielding members 26 (the top surface side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26a, the bottom surface side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26c, the back surface side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26b, and the door side electromagnetic wave shielding member 26d) is preferably connected at a position separated from the counter electrode 25 by a certain distance or more, when it is insulated or not insulated from the counter electrode 25 (the same potential as the secondary side ground GND1). In this way, the electric field and the magnetic field applied to each electromagnetic wave shielding member can be reduced, and the leakage to the outside is also suppressed. That is, the effect of the electromagnetic wave shielding member is enhanced.

[0120] There are several methods for improving the effect of the electromagnetic shielding material, and they are described below.

[0121] One is a method of not connecting each electromagnetic wave shield to any of the primary side ground GND0, the secondary side ground GND1, and the secondary side ground GND2. This method is particularly effective when the total area or total volume of the electromagnetic wave shield is above a certain level, and can suppress the situation where high frequency leaks to the outside through the ground line and causes adverse effects as noise.

[0122] Another method is to connect each electromagnetic wave shielding member to the primary side ground GND0. The primary side ground GND0 is usually connected to the outer box 3 made of metal material, and the grounding area is large. Therefore, the zero holding reference potential of the primary side ground GND0 is the most stable. Therefore, by connecting each electromagnetic wave shielding member to the primary side ground GND0, not only can the effect of each electromagnetic wave shielding member be improved, but also malfunction caused by noise can be suppressed.

[0123] Another method is to connect each electromagnetic wave shield to the secondary side ground GND2. The relative electrode 25 and each electromagnetic wave shield are insulated from the switching transformers T1 and T2 at two levels, so high-frequency noise is difficult to leak from the oscillating electrode 24 to each electromagnetic wave shield, and the electric field generated between the oscillating electrode 24 and the relative electrode 25 is stable.

[0124] Another method is to connect each electromagnetic wave shielding member to the secondary side ground GND1, and on the other hand, to connect at least the outer side of each electromagnetic wave shielding member at a position separated from the relative electrode 25 by a certain distance. A certain shielding effect can be obtained, and high-frequency noise is difficult to leak from the oscillating electrode 24 to each electromagnetic wave shielding member, and the electric field generation between the oscillating electrode 24 and the relative electrode 25 is stable.

[0125] The above-mentioned method of improving the shielding effect may have different effects depending on the system structure and wiring, so it is necessary to select the optimal method in consideration of the electric field generation efficiency from the oscillation electrode 24 to the counter electrode 25 and the electromagnetic wave shielding effect.

[0126] In the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment, the outer box 3 is made of a steel plate, so the steel plate itself has a function as an electromagnetic wave shielding member. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent electromagnetic waves inside the refrigerator 1 from leaking to the outside of the refrigerator 1.

[0127] [1-7. Structure of Oscillation Electrode and Counter Electrode]

[0128] Fig.11 It is a plan view of the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 on the top surface side of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 as seen from above.

[0129] like Fig.11 As shown in FIG. 1 , the size of the oscillating electrode 24 is configured to be slightly smaller than the area of ​​the counter electrode 25. In addition, a plurality of electrode holes 41 and 42 are formed in the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25, respectively. The plurality of electrode holes 41 and 42 are in the shape of a vertically long slit extending from the back side of the chamber where the positive terminals 24a to 24c and the cathode terminals 25a to 25c of the counter electrode 25 are provided to the front side. By adopting such a shape, the high-frequency current input from the positive terminals 24a to 24c side easily flows from the back side of the chamber to the front side, and the electric field strength generated between the two electrodes becomes slightly stronger.

[0130] In this embodiment, if Fig.11 As shown in FIG. 1 , the electrode holes 41 and 42 provided in the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 are not arranged at vertically opposed positions, but are arranged at positions offset from each other by about half the minor diameter of the electrode hole 41. Since a plurality of electrode holes 41 are formed on the electrode surface of the oscillating electrode 24, the region where the electric field is strongly formed is uniformly dispersed on the electrode surface of the oscillating electrode 24. Therefore, dielectric heating of the stored object can be uniformly performed. That is, the edge of the opening portion in the electrode hole 41 becomes the electric field concentration region.

[0131] in addition, Fig.11The shapes and arrangements of the electrode holes 41 and 42 shown are examples, and the shapes and arrangements of the electrode holes 41 and 42 are appropriately designed in consideration of efficiency and manufacturing cost, etc., according to the specifications and structure of the refrigerator. For example, the shapes of the electrode holes 41 and 42 can be perfect circles. In addition, the electrode holes 41 of the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 are not arranged at upper and lower relative positions, but are preferably arranged to be staggered with each other by half the aperture.

[0132] In addition, in the structure of Embodiment 1, as the shape and configuration of the electrode hole 41 of the oscillating electrode 24, a structure in which a plurality of electrode holes 41 are arranged is described, but the present invention is not limited to such a structure. For example, the oscillating electrode 24 may be in a shape in which at least one opening portion is formed. In this case, in the electrode surface of the oscillating electrode 24, the edge of the opening portion becomes an electric field concentration region where the electric field is concentrated. As for the present invention, as long as the electric field concentration region is dispersed in the electrode surface of the oscillating electrode 24, it will suffice. In addition, in Embodiment 1, a structure in which a plurality of electrode holes 42 are provided on the electrode surface of the relative electrode 25 is described, but the present invention is not specific to this structure. That is, as long as an opening is formed in the relative electrode 25 in a manner that can form a desired electric field between the electrodes between the oscillating electrode 24, it will suffice.

[0133] The electrode holding substrate 52 is configured to connect the oscillation electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 at a predetermined distance ( Figure 8 In this embodiment, the electrode interval H is larger than the long side dimension ( Fig.11 In addition, it is preferable that the electrode interval H is configured to be shorter than the diameter when the oscillation electrode is circular, and shorter than the major diameter when the oscillation electrode is elliptical.

[0134] Fig.12 The electrode distance H between the oscillation electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 is shown (see Figure 8 ) and the electric field strength between the two electrodes. Fig.12 As shown, there is a tendency that the electric field strength becomes weaker as the electrode spacing H increases. In particular, when the electrode spacing H1 (100 mm) is exceeded, the electric field strength decreases significantly, and when the electrode spacing H2 (125 mm) is exceeded, the electric field strength decreases to a level where the heating capability utilizing high frequency cannot be obtained. Based on the above, the electrode spacing H is preferably 100 mm or less, and needs to be at least 125 mm or less.

[0135] The inventors simulated the generation of an electric field between electrodes using the freezing / thawing chamber 6 having the electrode structure of Embodiment 1 and a freezing / thawing chamber 6 as a comparative example having an electrode structure provided with a counter electrode 25 without an electrode hole.

[0136] Fig.13AIt is a diagram showing simulation results in the case of an electrode structure using an oscillation electrode 24 or a counter electrode 25 without an electrode hole. Fig. 13B 2 is a diagram showing simulation results using an electrode structure of an oscillating electrode 24 or a counter electrode 25 having an electrode hole. Fig.13A and Fig. 13B In the figure, the darker part is the area where the electric field is concentrated. Fig.13A Compared with the electric field simulation diagram of Fig. 13B In the electric field simulation diagram of the dielectric heating structure, the electric field concentration is alleviated in the entire electrode, and it can be understood that the electric field is uniformly achieved.

[0137] like Fig.11 As shown, the electrode holes 41 of the oscillating electrode 24 and the electrode holes 42 of the counter electrode 25 are arranged in such a manner that the central axes of the electrode holes extending in the up-down direction (the relative direction) do not coincide with each other, thereby alleviating the electric field concentration in the entire electrode. In addition, in the electrode structure in which the electrode holes 41 of the oscillating electrode 24 and the electrode holes 42 of the counter electrode 25 are arranged in such a manner that the central axes of the electrode holes extending in the up-down direction (the relative direction) coincide with each other, the concentration of the electric field is alleviated, especially the concentration of the electric field in the corner portion is alleviated, compared with the structure using the counter electrode 25 without electrode holes.

[0138] In the freezing / thawing chamber 6 of the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the structure is such that a storage shell 31 is fixed on the back side of the door 29, and the interior of the freezer / thaw chamber 6 moves back and forth in the storage shell 31 along with the opening and closing action of the door 29. In the structure of embodiment 1, guide rails are provided on the inner sides of the two side surfaces of the freezer / thaw chamber 6 so that the storage shell 31 can move smoothly inside the freezer / thaw chamber 6. In addition, sliding parts that make the guide rails slide are provided on the two side surfaces of the outer side of the storage shell 31. These guide rails and the sliding parts of the frame (storage shell 31) are arranged at a position deviated from the area where the oscillating electrode 24 of the freezer / thaw chamber 6 is opposite to the relative electrode 25, that is, the dielectric heating area, in a manner that will not be dielectrically heated.

[0139] [1-8. Thawing process]

[0140] In the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment, when a thawing command is input, a thawing process is performed on the stored goods (frozen goods) arranged between the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. In the thawing process in the first embodiment, as described later, the control unit 50 loads the oscillation circuit 22, the incident reflected wave detection unit 51, and the dielectric heating mechanism having the matching circuit 23, and loads the cooling mechanism of the refrigeration cycle including the compressor 19 and the cooler 13, and the cold air introduction mechanism including the cooling fan 14 and the baffle 12a.

[0141] In the thawing process in Embodiment 1, a predetermined high-frequency voltage is applied between the oscillating electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25, and the frozen item as a dielectric is dielectrically heated by the high-frequency electric field generated between the electrodes. During the dielectric heating, the control unit 50 performs the opening and closing load of the baffle 12a to intermittently introduce cold air. Fig.14 The waveforms of the load signals of the dielectric heating mechanism (oscillation circuit 22) and the cold air introduction mechanism (baffle 12a) during the thawing process, as well as the food temperature, the room temperature of the freezing / thawing chamber 6, and the humidity of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 at that time are shown.

[0142] When a VHF wave is used for thawing, it is less likely to cause "local overheating" than when a microwave is used, as a frequency characteristic. In order to obtain better thawing uniformity, the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment adopts a structure in which an electrode holding substrate 52 is provided, and an oscillating electrode 24 and a counter electrode 25, which are substantially flat plate-shaped members, are connected to the electrode holding substrate 52 at a predetermined interval ( Figure 8 H) in a manner that is reliably maintained in approximately parallel fashion.

[0143] like Fig.14 As shown, in the thawing process, when the thawing command is input (the thawing starts), the oscillation circuit 22 becomes the conducting (On) state, and a high-frequency voltage of, for example, 40.68MHz is applied between the oscillation electrode 24 and the relative electrode 25. At this time, the damper 12a is in the open state, so the room temperature of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is maintained at the freezing temperature t1 (for example -20°C). After a predetermined period has passed since the start of thawing, the damper 12a is closed. When the damper 12a is closed, the room temperature of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 starts to rise. In the thawing process in Embodiment 1, the opening and closing load of the damper 12a is performed while dielectric heating is performed, thereby suppressing the rise in the surface temperature of the frozen goods and performing thawing without the so-called "local overheating".

[0144] The opening and closing load of the baffle 12a is performed by the control unit 50 based on the ratio (reflectivity) of the reflected wave to the incident wave detected by the incident reflected wave detection unit 51. Here, the incident wave refers to the electromagnetic wave supplied between the oscillation electrode 24 and the counter electrode 25 after matching by the matching circuit 23. When the reflectivity increases and reaches a preset threshold, the control unit 50 opens the baffle 12a to lower the indoor temperature of the freezer / thaw chamber 6. In this way, cold air is intermittently introduced into the freezer / thaw chamber 6 through the opening and closing load of the baffle 12a, so that the stored objects in the storage space (thaw space) of the freezer / thaw chamber 6 are dielectrically heated while maintaining the desired frozen state, and become the desired thawed state.

[0145] When the stored object reaches the desired thawed state, the thawing process is completed. In order to detect the desired thawed state at which the thawing process is completed, the reflectivity is used in the thawing process of the first embodiment. When the thawing of the stored object progresses by dielectric heating, the thawed water molecules increase in the stored object. As the thawed water molecules increase in the stored object, the dielectric constant changes and the impedance matching state shifts. As a result, the ratio of the reflected wave to the output electromagnetic wave, that is, the reflectivity, increases. In the thawing process, when the reflectivity increases and reaches a preset threshold, the matching circuit 23 performs impedance matching to reduce the reflectivity.

[0146] The detection of thawing completion in the thawing process of the first embodiment is performed when the reflectivity after the impedance matching of the matching circuit 23 exceeds the threshold value of thawing completion. The threshold value of thawing completion is the reflectivity when the stored product is melted and reaches the desired thawing state. Here, the desired thawing state of the stored product means a state in which a woman can cut the stored product with one hand and the amount of dripping from the stored product is extremely small. The threshold value of thawing completion is a value obtained by a pre-experiment.

[0147] In addition, if Fig.14 As shown, the damper 12a is opened and closed to load, and the relatively low humidity cold air passing through the air path 12 is supplied to the freezing / thawing chamber 6 from the cold air introduction hole 20, so the humidity of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 does not become 100%. Therefore, condensation in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 can be prevented.

[0148] The method of calculating the reflectivity is not limited to the ratio (reflectivity) of the reflected wave to the incident wave detected by the incident reflected wave detection unit 51. For example, the detection unit may detect only the reflected wave and calculate the reflectivity as the ratio of the reflected wave to the output preset by the oscillation circuit 22.

[0149] In addition, the thawing process may be performed without using the reflectivity. For example, the thawing process may be performed independently of the output using only the reflected wave detected by the incident reflected wave detection unit 51. The load using the reflectivity described in the following description may also be performed using these methods.

[0150] [1-9. Load after thawing process completed]

[0151] Fig.15 1 is a flow chart showing the load after the thawing process in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is completed. Fig.15 Each step shown in the flowchart is performed by the CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the control unit 50 executing a load program stored in a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory). As described above, when the reflectivity after the impedance matching by the matching circuit 23 exceeds the threshold value of the completion of the thawing process, the thawing process is performed. Fig.15 The load is shown after the thawing process is completed.

[0152] like Fig.15 As shown in step 101, after the thawing process is completed, the stored product is maintained in a desired thawed state. One of the methods is to make the room temperature of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 in the so-called slightly freezing temperature range, for example, about -1°C to -3°C. In addition, as another method, in order to make the room temperature of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 in the freezing temperature range, for example, -18°C to -20°C, a high-frequency electric field with a reduced output is applied, or a high-frequency electric field is applied intermittently to perform cooling and heating to maintain the stored product in a desired temperature range.

[0153] In the state where the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is maintained at a slightly freezing temperature, it is always detected whether there is a stored object in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 (step 102). The detection of whether there is a stored object in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 uses the reflectivity that is usually detected. Therefore, the matching circuit 23 is always operated intermittently, and the low-output electromagnetic wave is intermittently output from the oscillation electrode 24. The control unit 50 compares the reflectivity with a preset threshold value regarding the presence of the stored object to determine whether there is a stored object in the freezing / thawing chamber 6.

[0154] In step 102, when it is detected that there is no stored object in the freezer / thaw chamber 6 (No in step 102), it is determined that the stored object in the desired thawed state has been taken out, and the room temperature of the freezer / thaw chamber 6 is set to the freezing temperature range, for example -18°C to -20°C (step 105).

[0155] In step 102, when it is detected that there are stored items in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 (yes in step 102), it is determined whether the stored items include new non-frozen items (for example, food at room temperature). Whether the freezing / thawing chamber 6 includes new non-frozen items is determined based on the change in reflectivity. In step 103, when it is determined that new non-frozen items are put into the freezing / thawing chamber 6 (yes in step 103), the room temperature of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is set to the freezing temperature range (step 105).

[0156] On the other hand, in step 103, when it is determined that no new non-frozen items are stored in the freezing / thawing chamber 6, and the stored items are still in a thawed state (No in step 103), it is determined whether the time after the thawing is completed exceeds the prescribed time (step 104). Even if the thawing process of the stored items is completed, sometimes the user does not immediately take the stored items out of the freezing / thawing chamber 6. In such a case, the refrigerator 1 of embodiment 1 is configured to maintain a slightly freezing temperature range for a prescribed time, and the slightly freezing temperature range can maintain the stored items in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 in a desired thawed state. In the case where the stored items are stored in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 for more than the prescribed time, in order to maintain the freshness of the stored items, the refrigerator 1 of embodiment 1 is loaded to convert the room temperature of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 into a freezing temperature range. That is, in step 104, if it is determined that the time after thawing is completed in the state where the stored objects in the thawed state are stored exceeds the prescribed time (yes in step 104), the process proceeds to step 105 and performs freezing processing to make the room temperature of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 within the freezing temperature range.

[0157] As described above, in the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment, the stored products in a desired thawed state can be kept in the freezer / thaw chamber 6 after the thawing process is completed for a predetermined time to maintain freshness, and the stored products in the freezer / thaw chamber 6 can be appropriately temperature-controlled.

[0158] [1-10. Freezing and thawing chamber freezing and storage operation]

[0159] The refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment is configured to be able to perform dielectric heating during the freezing process of maintaining the room temperature of the freezer / thaw chamber 6 in the freezing temperature range so as to freeze and store the food as the stored object in a desired state. Generally speaking, when the food is frozen, frost occurs on the inner surface of the food wrapping material due to the moisture in the freezer / thaw chamber 6 and the moisture inside the food. When such frost occurs on the surface of the food, the food becomes dry and the taste becomes dry, and the food is no longer delicious and fresh ("freeze-dried"). In order to prevent such a state, in the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment, cooling action and dielectric heating action are performed simultaneously.

[0160] Fig.16A and Fig. 16B It is a waveform diagram showing the state of each element in the cooling operation. Fig.16A This is a waveform diagram showing the cooling action during freezing storage in a conventional refrigerator. Fig. 16B 1 is a waveform diagram showing a cooling operation performed in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 of the refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0161] exist Fig.16A In FIG. 1 , (1) is a waveform diagram showing the ON (on) / OFF (off) of the cooling action. The ON / OFF of the cooling action corresponds to, for example, the opening and closing of the damper or the ON (on) and OFF (off) actions of the compressor. Fig.16A In the display, ON (on) indicates that the cold air is being introduced into the freezer compartment, and OFF (off) indicates that the damper is closed and the introduction of the cold air into the freezer compartment is blocked. Fig.16A As shown in the waveform diagram of (2), the temperature of the food in the freezer fluctuates greatly up and down around the preset freezing temperature T1 (e.g., -20°C). As a result, the surface of the food in the freezer repeatedly evaporates and frost forms, resulting in a freezing state that is not optimal for the food.

[0162] On the other hand, in the cooling operation of the first embodiment, Fig. 16B In the process, unlike the conventional cooling operation, dielectric heating is performed together with cooling of the food. Fig. 16B (1) is a waveform diagram showing the opening and closing action of the damper 12a. ON (on) indicates the open state of the damper 12a, and cold air is introduced into the freezing / thawing chamber 6 from the cold air introduction hole 20 through the air duct 12. OFF (off) indicates the closed state of the damper 12a, and the introduction of cold air into the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is cut off. The introduction of cold air in the cooling action of Embodiment 1 is performed simultaneously with dielectric heating, and the introduction time of cold air is set longer than that of the conventional example. That is, the cooling capacity of the cooling action is increased.

[0163] Fig. 16B (2) is a waveform diagram showing the operation state of dielectric heating by the driving load of the oscillation circuit 22. When the baffle 12a is in the open state, dielectric heating is performed at the same time. In the cooling operation in the first embodiment, dielectric heating is performed with an output much smaller than that in the thawing operation. As a result, Fig. 16B As shown in (3), the temperature of the food in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is maintained at a preset freezing temperature T1 (eg, -20°C), and the fluctuation of the food temperature is suppressed.

[0164] Through experiments, it is found that when the change in food temperature is greater than 0.1K, the occurrence of frost can be eliminated. At least, the smaller the change in food temperature, the more the occurrence of frost can be suppressed. In addition, by performing dielectric heating, the elongation of ice crystals inside the food can be suppressed. In the case of dielectric heating, the electric field is easily concentrated on the front end of the ice crystals generated in the food, so even if the temperature in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is within the maximum ice crystal generation range, the ice crystals slow down or even do not elongate.

[0165] As described above, in the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment, the dielectric heating operation is also performed during the cooling operation in the frozen storage. Therefore, the frozen food as the stored object can be frozen and stored in a desired state.

[0166] [1-11. Freeze processing]

[0167] In the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment, based on the operation from the operation unit 47 (see Fig. 9 ) can freeze the non-frozen food newly placed in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 according to the user's instructions. Fig.17 This is a waveform diagram showing the state of each element obtained in the rapid cooling operation as a freezing process. Fig.17 In the figure, (a) is a graph showing whether there is a stored object (food) in the freezing / thawing chamber 6. Whether there is a stored object in the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is determined by the control unit 50 based on the ratio (reflectivity) of the reflected wave detected in the incident reflected wave detection unit 51 and the output electromagnetic wave. Fig.17 (b) shows a case where the control unit 50 intermittently obtains information from the matching circuit 23 and the incident reflected wave detection unit 51. Fig.17 (c) is a graph showing an example of the transition of the reflectivity. The control unit 50 determines that the food as the stored object has been put into the freezing / thawing chamber 6 when the reflectivity becomes equal to or less than the first threshold value R1.

[0168] In the rapid cooling operation of the food stored in the freezing / thawing chamber 6, the rotation speed of the compressor 19 and the cooling fan 14 of the cooling mechanism is increased to improve the cooling capacity and to perform forced continuous operation. In addition, the cold air introduction mechanism is driven with a load so that the damper 12a of the air passage 12 leading to the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is driven in a forced continuous open state to introduce cold air into the freezing / thawing chamber 6 (see Fig.17 (d) Waveform diagram of ).

[0169] During the rapid cooling operation, dielectric heating is performed to suppress the elongation of ice crystals when the food temperature is in the maximum ice crystal formation range (approximately -1°C to -5°C). The dielectric heating at this time is a low output of approximately 1W to approximately 10W, and the dielectric heating is performed intermittently ( Fig.17In order to start the dielectric heating operation, it is detected whether the food temperature has entered the maximum ice crystal formation range. This detection is performed based on the phenomenon that the change in reflectivity increases when the food passes through the latent heat area. In the first embodiment, when the detected reflectivity reaches the preset second threshold value R2, the dielectric heating operation is started (refer to Fig.17 (e)). In addition, the dielectric heating operation is continued in the area where the reflectivity is from the second threshold value R2 to the third threshold value R3 which is lower than the second threshold value R2 as the maximum ice crystal generation range of the food. When the reflectivity has passed the specified time (t2) from the third threshold value R3, the control unit 50 determines that the food has passed the maximum ice crystal generation range and stops the dielectric heating operation.

[0170] As described above, when it is determined that the food has passed the maximum ice crystal formation range, the dielectric heating operation is stopped, and the rapid cooling operation is ended and the normal cooling operation is switched. In this way, when the rapid cooling operation is performed, the food can also be placed in a preferred frozen state by performing the dielectric heating operation for a desired period of time.

[0171] [1-12. Safety load using door switch]

[0172] In this embodiment, as described above, in order to prevent electromagnetic waves from leaking to the outside of the refrigerator 1, an electromagnetic wave shielding member 26 is provided in a manner of wrapping the freezing / thawing chamber 6. Furthermore, the outer box 3 is made of a steel plate, which itself has a function as an electromagnetic wave shielding member, so when the door 29 is closed, it is possible to prevent electromagnetic waves from leaking to the outside.

[0173] However, when the door 29 is opened, there is a possibility that electromagnetic waves leak from the opening. In addition, since the user reaches into the room through the opening, there is a possibility that the high frequency may affect the human body, and countermeasures are required.

[0174] Therefore, in the present embodiment, the door opening and closing detection unit 55a (see FIG. 5 ) for detecting the opening of the door 29 is used. Fig. 9 ) When the door 29 is detected to be open, the oscillation circuit 22 is stopped to stop the supply of electric power to the oscillation electrode 24. In addition, a plurality of doors are usually provided in the refrigerator. Here, when the electromagnetic wave shielding member 26 fully functions, even if the door opening and closing detection unit 55b of the refrigerating chamber 5, the door opening and closing detection unit 55c of the ice making chamber 7, the door opening and closing detection unit 55d of the freezing chamber 8, or the door opening and closing detection unit 55e of the vegetable chamber 9 detects that the door of the storage chamber other than the freezing / thawing chamber 6 is opened, there is no external leakage of electromagnetic waves above the prescribed level. Therefore, the oscillation circuit 22 does not stop but continues to operate.

[0175] On the other hand, the present invention is not limited to the case where the freezing / thawing chamber 6 cannot be completely surrounded by the electromagnetic wave shielding member 26 due to design problems.

[0176] For example, when the top surface of the freezing / thawing chamber 6 cannot form the electromagnetic wave shielding member 26, the storage room above the freezing / thawing chamber 6 (in the Figure 1 In the layout of the refrigerator compartment 5, when the door is opened, the oscillation circuit 22 is stopped. In addition, when the bottom surface of the freezer / thaw compartment 6 cannot form an electromagnetic wave shielding member 26, the storage compartment (in the lower part of the freezer / thaw compartment 6) is Figure 1 In the layout of the freezer 8 or the vegetable compartment 9, when the door is opened, the oscillation circuit 22 is stopped. In addition, when the side portion of the freezer / thaw compartment 6 cannot form an electromagnetic wave shielding member 26, the storage compartment (in the side portion of the freezer / thaw compartment 6) Figure 1 In the layout of the ice making room 7), when the door is opened, the oscillation circuit 22 is stopped. In this way, when the door of the storage room arranged in the direction in which the electromagnetic wave shielding member 26 is not formed is opened, the oscillation circuit 22 is stopped, thereby preventing the leakage of electromagnetic waves.

[0177] As a method of stopping the oscillation circuit 22, there is the following method.

[0178] Fig.18A The method of using the door opening and closing detection unit 55a to cut off the power supply from the power supply unit 48 to the oscillation circuit 22 is shown. The door opening and closing detection unit 55a is a switch mechanism that is turned on when the door 29 is closed and cut off when the door 29 is opened. By cutting off the switch, the power supply to the oscillation circuit 22 is cut off, thereby reliably stopping the operation of the oscillation circuit 22.

[0179] Fig.18B The method of stopping the operation of the power supply control unit 48a of the load power supply unit 48 by using the door opening and closing detection unit 55a is shown. Fig.18A When the door 29 is opened, the power supply to the power control unit 48a is stopped, so that the power supply from the power supply unit 48 to the oscillation circuit 22 is also disconnected, thereby stopping the operation of the oscillation circuit 22. Fig.18B In the example shown, the operation of the oscillation circuit 22 is stopped by cutting off the power supply to the circuit in the power control unit 48a, but a method may be adopted in which an overcurrent protection circuit in the power control unit 48a recognizes an overcurrent state and stops the operation, or a method may be adopted in which the power supply unit 48 recognizes an overload state and stops the operation.

[0180] Fig. 18CThe structure is to use not only the door opening and closing detection unit 55a but also the magnetic sensor 55f to determine the opening and closing state of the door 29. The magnetic sensor 55f outputs the opening and closing signal of the door 29 to the control unit 50. The control unit 50 receives the signal from the magnetic sensor 55f and outputs a signal to the power supply control unit 48a indicating whether the operation is possible. The door opening and closing detection unit 55a is inserted between the magnetic sensor 55f and the control unit 50, and is turned on when the door 29 is closed and is cut off when the door 29 is opened. Therefore, when the door 29 is opened, no signal is output from the magnetic sensor 55f, and as a result, the operation of the power supply unit 48 stops.

[0181] The above-described configuration for turning on / off the power supply or the load signal is implemented by hardware, and therefore has high resistance to high-frequency noise or noise from the outside, and is therefore less likely to cause malfunctions.

[0182] In addition, Fig.18B and Fig. 18C In the embodiment, the door opening and closing detection unit 55a is a switch mechanism that is turned on when the door 29 is closed and is cut off when the door 29 is opened. However, a method using a mechanism that is cut off when the door 29 is closed and is turned on when the door 29 is opened may also be used. In this case, the logic of H (High: high level) / L (Low: low level) for stopping the power supply control unit 48a needs to be reversed.

[0183] As described above, in the freezer / thaw chamber 6 of the refrigerator of Embodiment 1, food can be frozen and stored in a desired state. And the frozen food in a desired state can be thawed to a desired state in a short time. In addition, by using an induction heating structure composed of semiconductor elements, miniaturization can be achieved in a refrigerator with a thawing function.

[0184] In addition, in the refrigerator of Embodiment 1, the freezer / thaw chamber 6 is described as having a freezing function and a thawing function, but it may be configured as a thawing chamber having a thawing function.

[0185] As described above, in the refrigerator of the present invention, a high-frequency electric field is generated between the oscillating electrode and the relative electrode to thaw the stored items stored in the storage chamber. The high-frequency electric field can be made uniform in the thawing space of the freezer / thaw chamber, and the desired dielectric heating can be performed during the thawing process and freezing process of the stored items held in the thawing space. Therefore, according to the present invention, the stored items stored in the storage chamber can be frozen, stored, and thawed in a desired state. Therefore, a refrigerator with highly reliable cooling, storage, and thawing functions can be realized. In addition, since the shielding part is used to prevent the leakage of electromagnetic waves, it is possible to avoid the high frequency from causing adverse effects on the stored food in other storage chambers and the users who use the refrigerator, thereby improving the safety of the refrigerator.

[0186] [2-1. Effects, etc.]

[0187] As described above, a refrigerator in one embodiment of the present invention includes: at least one storage chamber having a space capable of storing stored items; a first power supply unit that rectifies a commercial AC power supply and converts it into DC; a first grounding unit that serves as a reference potential for the first power supply unit; a second power supply unit and a third power supply unit that step down the output voltage of each first power supply unit and output it; a second grounding unit that serves as a reference potential for the second power supply unit; a third grounding unit that serves as a reference potential for the third power supply unit; an oscillating unit that supplies electric power from the second power supply unit to form high-frequency electric power; an oscillating electrode that receives the high-frequency electric power formed from the oscillating unit and generates an electric field in the storage chamber; and a relative electrode that is arranged opposite to the above-mentioned oscillating electrode; a matching unit that matches the output impedance of the oscillating unit with the impedance of a device class including an oscillating electrode and a relative electrode connected to the oscillating unit; a control unit that supplies electric power from the third power supply unit and controls the application of a high-frequency electric field between the oscillating electrode and the relative electrode; and a shielding unit that prevents electromagnetic wave leakage caused by the formation of high frequency.

[0188] Thus, it is possible to store food and other stored goods in a desired frozen state, and to thaw the frozen goods in a desired state in a short time. In addition, by using an induction heating structure composed of semiconductor elements, it is possible to achieve miniaturization as a refrigerator with a thawing function. Moreover, it is possible to avoid the adverse effects of high frequency on stored food in other storage compartments and users using it, thereby improving reliability and safety.

[0189] Furthermore, the second power supply unit, the third power supply unit, or both of them may be constituted by a switching power supply.

[0190] Furthermore, the first power supply unit and the second power supply unit may be insulated from each other.

[0191] Furthermore, the first power supply unit, the second power supply unit, and the third power supply unit may all be insulated from each other.

[0192] Furthermore, the counter electrode and the shielding portion may be configured to be non-electrically connected in the vicinity of the storage chamber.

[0193] Furthermore, the shield portion may be connected to the first ground portion.

[0194] Alternatively, the shielding portion may be connected to the third ground portion.

[0195] The present invention has been described above in a certain degree of detail in the embodiments; however, the disclosure of the embodiments may of course vary in structural details, and substitution, combination, and change of order of elements in the embodiments may be achieved without exceeding the scope and concept of the claimed invention.

[0196] Possibility of Industrial Application

[0197] In the refrigerator of the present invention, it is possible to process the freezing, storage and thawing of the stored items to the desired states, and it is possible to realize the cooling and storage functions with high reliability in a compact size, and it is possible to fully suppress the adverse effects of high frequency on the stored food in other storage compartments and the users using the refrigerator by using the shielding part, thereby improving safety. Therefore, the refrigerator has high added value, high reliability and safety, and has high market value, so it is preferably applicable to various refrigerators.

[0198] Description of Reference Numerals

[0199] 1Refrigerator (cold storage)

[0200] 2 Insulation box

[0201] 3 outer boxes

[0202] 4 inner boxes

[0203] 5. Refrigerator

[0204] 6 Freezer / thaw room (storage room)

[0205] 7Ice Making Room

[0206] 8 Freezer

[0207] 9 Vegetable Room

[0208] 10 Mechanical Room

[0209] 11Cooling room

[0210] 12 Wind Road

[0211] 12a Baffle (air door)

[0212] 13 Cooler

[0213] 14 Cooling Fan

[0214] 15. Defrost heater

[0215] 16 Drain tray

[0216] 17 Drain pipe

[0217] 18 Evaporating dish

[0218] 19Compressor

[0219] 20 Cold air inlet hole

[0220] 21 beam

[0221] 22 Oscillation circuit (oscillation part)

[0222] 22a Oscillator source

[0223] 22b First amplifier circuit

[0224] 22c Second amplifier circuit

[0225] 23 matching circuit (matching section)

[0226] 24 Oscillating Electrodes

[0227] 24a, 24b, 24c positive terminals

[0228] 25 Opposite electrode

[0229] 25a, 25b, 25c cathode terminals

[0230] 26Electromagnetic wave shielding parts (shielding parts)

[0231] 26a Top surface side electromagnetic wave shielding member

[0232] 26b Back side electromagnetic wave shielding member

[0233] 26c Bottom side electromagnetic wave shielding member

[0234] 26d Door side electromagnetic wave shielding parts

[0235] 29 doors

[0236] 30 electrode holding area

[0237] 31 Storage shell

[0238] 32a, 32b, 32c inner surface parts

[0239] 36 washers

[0240] 40 Insulation materials (insulation parts)

[0241] 41 electrode holes (oscillation electrode holes)

[0242] 42 electrode holes (opposite electrode holes)

[0243] 47 Operation Department

[0244] 48 Power Supply

[0245] 48a Power supply control unit

[0246] 49 Temperature Sensor

[0247] 50 Control Department

[0248] 51 incident reflected wave detection unit

[0249] 52 Electrode holding substrate (electrode holding circuit board)

[0250] 53a high frequency heating module

[0251] 54 Pillars

[0252] 55a, 55b, 55c, 55d, 55e door opening and closing detection unit

[0253] 55f magnetic sensor

[0254] DCV0 first power supply

[0255] GND0 first ground

[0256] DCV1, DCV2 second power supply

[0257] GND1 Second ground

[0258] DCV3 third power supply

[0259] GND2 is the third ground.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, characterized in that: include: A storage room capable of freezing and thawing preserved items; The compressor that makes up the refrigeration cycle; a damper for adjusting the amount of cold air introduced into the storage chamber; and The oscillation circuit, matching circuit, oscillation electrode, counter electrode and control unit that constitute the dielectric heating mechanism, In the freezing process of the stored product, the cooling action is performed by opening and closing the damper. During the thawing process of the stored items, the dielectric heating mechanism performs dielectric heating and the damper is controlled to open and close to introduce cold air into the storage chamber.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the thawing process starts, the oscillation circuit is turned on, a high-frequency voltage is applied between the oscillation electrode and the counter electrode, and the opening and closing control of the damper is performed.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The detection of the completion of thawing in the thawing process is performed when the reflectivity after the matching circuit performs impedance matching exceeds a threshold value of the completion of thawing.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: After the thawing process is completed, the storage chamber is maintained at a temperature range of approximately -1°C to -3°C, or the storage chamber is maintained at approximately -18°C to -20°C, and a high-frequency electric field with reduced output is applied or a high-frequency electric field is applied intermittently for cooling and heating to maintain the stored items in the desired thawed state.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: In the freezing process, the cooling action and the dielectric heating action are performed simultaneously.

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