Refrigerator

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator that can restrain deterioration of stored objects caused by load concentration and deterioration of stored objects caused by contact with dew condensation water.SOLUTION: A refrigerator 1 according to the present invention comprises: a refrigerator body 2; a storage chamber 12 provided in the refrigerator body 2; and a placement member 70 provided in the storage chamber 12, and on which stored objects can be placed. The placement member 70 comprises: a base part 71; and a plurality of supporting parts 72 protruding from the base part 71, and supporting the stored objects at tips. The supporting parts 72 comprise: root parts 72a provided on the side of the base part 71; and tip parts 72b provided on the tip side of the root parts 72a, and having larger cross-sectional areas than those of the root parts 72a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a refrigerator. [Background technology]

[0002] In refrigerators, a space is provided inside the refrigerator that is kept at a high humidity level to prevent stored items such as vegetables from drying out. In a space kept at a high humidity level, condensation can occur due to moisture emitted from the stored items and temperature differences between the stored items. If the condensation water generated in the space continues to adhere to the stored items, it can cause the stored items to deteriorate prematurely.

[0003] Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a technique for preventing stored items from coming into contact with condensation water by placing a tray with a plurality of through holes on the bottom surface of a vegetable compartment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 7-37064 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the above technology, when trying to reduce contact between the stored items and condensation water, the through holes in the tray must be made larger, which makes it easier for the load to be concentrated locally on the stored items placed on the tray, and may make the stored items more susceptible to deterioration.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of suppressing deterioration of stored items due to concentrated load and deterioration of stored items due to contact with condensed water. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a refrigerator main body, a storage chamber provided in the refrigerator main body, and a mounting member provided in the storage chamber and capable of placing stored items, the mounting member comprising a base and a plurality of support parts protruding from the base and supporting the stored items at their tips, the support parts comprising a root part provided on the base side, and a tip part provided on the tip side of the base part and having a larger cross-sectional area than the base part. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a lower container and an upper container in which a first mounting member and a second mounting member are arranged; [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of a first mounting member; [Figure 4] Cross section AA of Figure 4 [Diagram 5] 3 is a cross-sectional view of the lower container and the upper container in which the arrangement of the first mounting member and the second mounting member is swapped from the state shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a lower container and an upper container according to a first modified example of the present invention; [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of a first mounting member according to a second modified example of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a lower container and an upper container showing a fourth modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The following embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are merely examples, and the scope of the invention is not limited thereto. The following embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The following embodiments and their modifications are within the scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims.

[0010] In the following description, the left-right direction, front-rear direction, and up-down direction refer to the directions when the refrigerator is viewed from the front, and the left-right direction corresponds to the width direction of the refrigerator. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the terms right, left, top, bottom, front, rear, back, back, and front refer to the positions and sides of the refrigerator when viewed from the front, and for the refrigerator doors, refer to the positions and sides of the refrigerator when viewed from the front with the doors closed.

[0011] (1) Configuration of Refrigerator 1 A refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment includes a refrigerator body 2 made of an insulated box with an opening at the front, as shown in Fig. 1. The refrigerator body 2 includes an outer box made of a steel plate, an inner box made of a synthetic resin, an insulating material such as a vacuum insulating material or a foam insulating material provided in an insulating space formed between the outer box and the inner box, and an insulating partition wall 3 and a partition wall 4 that divide a storage space provided inside the inner box into upper and lower parts.

[0012] The space above the heat-insulating partition wall 3 is a storage compartment that is cooled to a refrigeration temperature range (for example, 1 to 4°C), and the inside is further divided into upper and lower compartments by a partition wall 4. A refrigerator compartment 10 in which a storage shelf and the like are arranged is provided above the partition wall 4, and a vegetable compartment 12 is provided below the partition wall 4. A communication passage 4a that connects the refrigerator compartment 10 and the vegetable compartment 12 is provided at the rear of the partition wall 4.

[0013] A pivotable refrigerator compartment door 11 pivoted by a hinge is provided at the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 10. The front opening of the vegetable compartment 12 is closed by a drawer-type vegetable compartment door 13. A pair of left and right support frames for holding the lower container 50 are fixed to the inside of the vegetable compartment door 13.

[0014] The lower container 50 functions as a pull-out container that is pulled out to the outside of the container when the vegetable compartment door 13 is opened and stored in the container when the vegetable compartment door 13 is closed. An upper container 60 is provided above the lower container 50. The upper container 60 is configured to be pulled out to the outside of the container together with the lower container 50 when the vegetable compartment door 13 is opened. The lower container 50 and the upper container 60 are provided with a first mounting member 70 and a second mounting member 80. The specific configurations of the lower container 50, upper container 60, first mounting member 70, and second mounting member 80 provided in the vegetable compartment 12 will be described in detail later.

[0015] In the space below the heat-insulating partition wall 3, an ice-making compartment (not shown) equipped with an automatic ice-making machine and a first freezer compartment 16 are arranged side by side on the left and right, and a second freezer compartment 18 is provided below them via a partition plate 5. The ice-making compartment, first freezer compartment 16, and second freezer compartment 18 are all cooled to a freezing temperature range (for example, -17°C or lower).

[0016] The openings of the ice-making compartment, first freezing compartment 16, and second freezing compartment 18 are closed by pull-out doors 17, 19, similar to the vegetable compartment 12. Storage containers 20, 21 are held in a pair of left and right support frames fixed to the back side of each door 17, 19, and are configured so that the storage containers 20, 21 are pulled out of the compartment when the doors 17, 19 are opened.

[0017] At the rear of the refrigerator compartment 10 and the vegetable compartment 12, there are formed a refrigerator-cooler compartment 24 separated into front and rear by an evaporative cover 23, a duct 25 connecting the refrigerator compartment 10 and the refrigerator-cooler compartment 24, and a return duct 27 connecting the refrigerator compartment 10 and the vegetable compartment 12 and the refrigerator-cooler compartment 24. A refrigerator-cooler 30 and a refrigerator fan 31 are housed in the refrigerator-cooler compartment 24.

[0018] At the rear of the ice making compartment, first freezing compartment 16, and second freezing compartment 18, there are formed a freezing cooler compartment 33 separated into front and rear by an evaporative cover 32, a duct 34 connecting the ice making compartment, first freezing compartment 16, and second freezing compartment 18 to the freezing cooler compartment 33, and a return duct 37 connecting the second freezing compartment 18 to the freezing cooler compartment 33. A freezing cooler 35 and a freezing fan 36 are housed in the freezing cooler compartment 33.

[0019] The refrigeration cooler 30 and the freezing cooler 35 constitute a refrigeration cycle together with a compressor 38 and a condenser (not shown) housed in a machine room 39. In the refrigeration cycle, the refrigeration cooler 30 and the freezing cooler 35 are cooled to a predetermined temperature by the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 38 being supplied to one of the refrigeration cooler 30 and the freezing cooler 35 by a switching valve (not shown).

[0020] The refrigeration cooler 30 cools the air in the refrigeration cooler chamber 24 to generate cold air of, for example, −10 to −20° C. At that time, the refrigeration cooler 30 exchanges heat with the air circulated through the refrigerator chamber 10 and the vegetable chamber 12 in the refrigeration temperature range, so that the frost adhering to the refrigeration cooler 30 melts and generates cold air containing a lot of moisture.

[0021] As the flow of cold air is indicated by arrows in FIG. 1, the generated cold air is supplied to the refrigerator compartment 10 from the air outlet 26 via the duct 25 by the rotation of the refrigerator fan 31, and cools and humidifies the refrigerator compartment 10.

[0022] A portion of the cold air that has flowed through the refrigerator compartment 10 flows into the return duct 27 from the intake port 28 provided at the rear of the partition wall 4 and returns to the refrigerator cooler compartment 24, while the remaining air flows into the vegetable compartment 12 through the communication passage 4a provided at the rear of the partition wall 4. The communication passage 4a is a cold air supply section that supplies cold air to the storage compartment that houses the upper container 60, and supplies cold air to a position behind the upper container 60. A portion of the air that has flowed into the vegetable compartment 12 cools the insides of the lower container 50 and the upper container 60, and then returns to the refrigerator cooler compartment 24 from the intake port 29 provided at the back of the vegetable compartment 12 through the return duct 27.

[0023] In addition, the air in the freezer cooler chamber 33 cooled by the freezer cooler 35 is supplied to the ice-making chamber, first freezer chamber 16, and second freezer chamber 18 via duct 34 by the freezer fan 36, and after cooling the ice-making chamber, first freezer chamber 16, and second freezer chamber 18, it returns to the freezer cooler chamber 33 through the return duct 37 from the suction port provided on the back of the second freezer chamber 18.

[0024] (2) Lower container 50 As shown in FIG. 2, the lower container 50 provided in the vegetable compartment 12 is a bottomed, box-shaped container that opens upward and has a front wall 51, left and right side walls 52, a rear wall 53, and a bottom 54, and is designed so that stored items can be put in and taken out from the inside through the upper opening.

[0025] The lower container 50 includes a front / rear partition wall 55 disposed inside the lower container 50, and a holder 40 disposed on the rear side of the upper opening. The front / rear partition wall 55, together with a front wall 51, left and right side walls 52, and a rear wall 53, constitute a wall portion that protrudes upward from a bottom surface 54.

[0026] The front / rear partition wall 55 is composed of a lower portion 55a provided integrally with the bottom surface 54 of the lower container 50 and an upper portion 55b provided above the lower portion 55a. The upper portion 55b of the front / rear partition wall 55 is provided so as to connect the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls 52 of the lower container 50. As a result, in the lower container 50, a lower front storage section 56 is formed on the front side of the front / rear partition wall 55, and a lower rear storage section 57 is formed on the rear side.

[0027] The rear side of the upper opening of the lower rear storage section 57 is covered by a humidity adjusting member 41 held by the holder 40. The humidity adjusting member 41 is, for example, a moisture-permeable waterproof sheet made by laminating a polyester long-fiber nonwoven fabric and a polyethylene porous film, and has stable waterproof properties, moisture permeability, and wind (cold air) impermeability. This polyester long-fiber nonwoven fabric is a base material for arranging the polyethylene porous film. This humidity adjusting member 41 has a plurality of pores, for example, having a diameter of 0.5 μm to 3 μm, and allows water vapor particles of, for example, 0.0004 μm or less to pass through, but does not allow water molecules larger than 0.5 μm to 3 μm to pass through. Therefore, the humidity adjusting member 41 has both moisture permeability and waterproof properties.

[0028] 1, the front side of the upper opening of the lower rear storage section 57 is covered by the upper container 60 when the vegetable compartment door 13 is closed (when the lower container 50 is stored in the vegetable compartment 12). In other words, when the vegetable compartment door 13 is closed, the upper opening of the lower rear storage section 57 is blocked by the upper container 60 and the humidity adjusting member 41, forming a space inside the lower rear storage section 57 where direct entry of air (wind) circulating in the vegetable compartment 12 is suppressed.

[0029] When opening the upper opening of the lower rear storage section 57, the vegetable compartment door 13 is opened, the lower container 50 is pulled out to the outside, and then the upper container 60 is slid backward relative to the lower container 50 to open the upper opening 57a. The upper opening of the lower front storage section 56 is open and not covered by the upper container 60 regardless of whether the vegetable compartment door 13 is open or closed.

[0030] (3) Upper container 60 The upper container 60 provided above the lower container 50 is a box-shaped container that opens upward and includes a front wall 61, left and right side walls, a rear wall 63, and a bottom surface 64, and is designed so that stored items are put in and taken out from the upper opening. In this embodiment, the upper container 60 is designed to have a shallower storage depth than the lower container 50.

[0031] The upper container 60 is disposed at a predetermined distance below the partition wall 4 that separates the refrigerator compartment 10 and the vegetable compartment 12. The upper container 60 is arranged so as to be able to be pulled out to the outside of the refrigerator independently of the lower container 50 by sliding the upper ends of the left and right side walls of the lower container 50 in the front-rear direction against inner box rails provided on the left and right inner wall surfaces of the vegetable compartment 12.

[0032] An opening 65 that opens into the lower rear storage section 57 is provided on the bottom surface 64 of the upper container 60 , and the upper container 60 and the lower rear storage section 57 are in communication with each other via the opening 65 .

[0033] (4) First mounting member 70 and second mounting member 80 As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the first mounting member 70 comprises a flat first base 71, a plurality of support portions 72 protruding from one plate surface of the first base 71, and a plurality of first through holes 73 penetrating the first base 71.

[0034] The support portions 72 are provided at regular intervals in the front-rear and left-right directions. The support portion 72 includes a base portion 72a protruding from the first base portion 71, and a tip portion 72b provided on the tip side of the base portion 72a. The tip portion 72b has a cross section cut along a plane perpendicular to the protruding direction of the base portion 72a that is wider than the base portion 72a. For example, the base portion 72a is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the tip portion 72b is formed in an oblong spheroid shape, with the minor radius of the tip portion 72b being larger than the radius of the base portion 72a.

[0035] In this embodiment, the tip portions 72b of adjacent support portions 72 are spaced apart so that they do not come into contact with each other, but the support portions 72 may be provided on the base portion 71 so that portions of the tip portions 72b of adjacent support portions 72 come into contact with each other.

[0036] As shown in Figures 2 and 5, this type of first mounting member 70 is provided on the bottom surface 64 of the upper container 60 or the bottom surface 54 of the lower container 50 on the side of the lower rear storage section 57, with the support portion 72 protruding upward from the base 71, and stored items such as vegetables are placed on the tip portion 72b.

[0037] The second mounting member 80 includes a flat second base portion 81 and a plurality of second through holes 82 penetrating the second base portion 81. The second base portion 81 has the same planar shape as the first base portion 71 of the first mounting member 70.

[0038] The aperture ratio of the second through holes 82 in the second base 81 is smaller than the aperture ratio of the first through holes 73 in the first base 71. Here, the aperture ratio is the ratio of the total aperture area of ​​the through holes to the area of ​​the base in which the through holes are provided. In other words, the number of second through holes 82 provided in the second base 81 is smaller than the number of first through holes 73 provided in the first base 71, or the aperture area of ​​the second through holes 82 is smaller than the aperture area of ​​the first through holes 73, and the ratio of the apertures in the second base 81 is smaller than the apertures in the first base 71.

[0039] Such first mounting member 70 and second mounting member 80 are sized and shaped so that they can be removably installed on either the bottom surface 54 of the lower container 50 or the bottom surface 64 of the upper container 60 on the lower rear storage section 57 side.

[0040] Therefore, as shown in Figure 2, a first mounting member 70 can be provided on the bottom surface 64 of the upper container 60 so as to cover and seal the opening 65 from above, and a second mounting member 80 can be provided on the bottom surface 54 of the lower container 50, or as shown in Figure 5, a second mounting member 80 can be provided on the bottom surface 64 of the upper container 60 so as to cover and seal the opening 65 from above, and the first mounting member 70 can be provided on the bottom surface 54 of the lower container 50, so that the first mounting member 70 and the second mounting member 80 can be interchanged between the bottom surface 64 of the upper container 60 and the bottom surface 54 of the lower container 50.

[0041] (5) Effects In this embodiment, the first mounting member 70 supports the stored item by using the support portion 72 to separate it from the flat base portion 71, so that even if condensation occurs on the stored item or in its vicinity, the condensed water is less likely to come into contact with the stored item, thereby suppressing deterioration of the stored items.

[0042] In addition, since the tip portion 72b provided at the tip of the support portion 72 has a larger cross-sectional area than the base portion 72a, the contact area with the stored item placed on the tip portion 72b can be increased, thereby suppressing deterioration of the stored item due to concentrated load.

[0043] In this embodiment, a first through hole 73 is provided in the base 71 of the first mounting member 70, so that condensation generated on or near the stored items can be discharged from the first through hole 73 to the first mounting member 70, and cool air inside the refrigerator can more easily circulate between the multiple support portions 72, making it easier for the condensed water to evaporate.

[0044] Furthermore, in the lower rear storage section 57, part of the space of which is partitioned off by the humidity adjusting member 41, the direct intrusion of cold air is suppressed and the inside is prone to becoming highly humid, but by providing the first mounting member 70 on the bottom surface 54 of the lower container 50 on the lower rear storage section 57 side, even if condensation occurs inside, the condensed water is less likely to come into contact with the stored items. Therefore, the stored items can be stored in a high humidity atmosphere while suppressing deterioration due to condensed water.

[0045] In this embodiment, the first mounting member 70 and the second mounting member 80 can be arranged interchangeably on the bottom surface 64 of the upper container 60 and the bottom surface 54 of the lower container 50, so that the first mounting member 70 having the support portion 72 can be arranged on the lower container 50 and the upper container 60, which have different capacities, thereby improving usability.

[0046] (6) Example of changes Several modified examples are described below, and any one of the modified examples may be applied to the above embodiment, or any two or more of the modified examples may be applied in combination.

[0047] (6-1) Change example 1 In the above-described embodiment, the first mounting member 70 is provided on the lower container 50 or the upper container 60 so that the support portion 72 protrudes upward from the first base 71. However, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the first mounting member 70 may be provided on the lower container 50 or the upper container 60 so that the support portion 72 protrudes downward from the first base 71, and storage items may be placed on the upper surface of the first base 71.

[0048] (6-2) Change example 2 In the embodiment described above, the support portion 72 of the first mounting member 70 is formed by a cylindrical base portion 72a and an elongated spherical tip portion 72b. However, various shapes can be adopted for the base portion and the tip portion. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a flat tip portion 172b may be provided at the tip of a columnar base portion 172a.

[0049] (6-3) Change example 3 In the above embodiment, the first mounting member 70 and the second mounting member 80 are provided with the first through hole 73 and the second through hole 82, but the first mounting member 70 and the second mounting member 80 do not necessarily need to be provided with through holes.

[0050] (6-4) Change Example 4 In the fourth modified example, a communication hole 58 is provided that connects the inside and outside of the lower rear storage section 57 of the lower container 50.

[0051] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, at least a portion of the communication hole 58 is provided in the lower portion 55a of the front-to-rear partition wall 55 so as to face the base portion 72a of the first mounting member 70 provided on the bottom surface 54 on the lower rear storage section 57 side of the lower container 50.

[0052] By providing the communication hole 58, which connects the inside and outside of the lower container 50, opposite the base portion 72a of the first mounting member 70, the cool air inside the refrigerator can easily circulate between the multiple support portions 72, and the condensed water that occurs can easily evaporate.

[0053] The communication hole 58 can be provided at any position of the lower container 50, such as the left and right side walls 52 or the rear wall 53 of the lower container 50, as long as it is a position facing the base portion 72a of the first mounting member 70. However, when the humidity adjustment member 41 is provided on the rear side of the upper opening of the lower rear storage section 57 as shown in Fig. 8, it is preferable to provide the communication hole 58 in the lower part 55a of the front-rear partition wall 55 (the front wall part of the lower rear storage section 57). By providing the communication hole 58 in the front wall part of the lower rear storage section 57, the air that has entered the inside of the lower rear storage section 57 from the humidity adjustment member 41 is more likely to flow through the multiple support parts 72 provided on the first mounting member 70 to the communication hole 58, and the condensed water accumulated in the first base part 71 is more likely to evaporate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] Reference Signs List 1: refrigerator, 2: refrigerator body, 10: refrigerator compartment, 12: vegetable compartment, 16: first freezer compartment, 18: second freezer compartment, 40: holder, 41: humidity adjusting member, 50: lower container, 56: lower front storage section, 57: lower rear storage section, 58: communication hole, 60: upper container, 61: front wall, 62: side wall, 63: rear wall, 64: bottom surface, 65: opening

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerator body; a storage chamber provided in the refrigerator body; and a placement member provided in the storage chamber and capable of placing a storage item thereon; The placement member includes a base and a plurality of support parts protruding from the base and supporting storage items at their tips. The support portion comprises a base portion provided on the base side, and a tip portion provided on the tip side of the base portion and having a larger cross-sectional area than the base portion.

2. A container is provided in the storage chamber, The mounting member is installable on a bottom surface of the container and has a through hole penetrating the base.

3. A container is provided in the storage chamber, The container has an opening on a bottom surface, The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the placement member is detachably installed on the container so as to cover the opening.

4. The storage chamber includes an upper container and a lower container disposed above and below the storage chamber, and a second placement member disposed in the storage chamber and capable of placing a storage item thereon, the second mounting member is provided with a through hole so that the opening ratio is smaller than that of the base of the first mounting member, or no through hole is provided, The upper container has an opening on a bottom surface, The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein one of the mounting member and the second mounting member is provided on the bottom surface of the upper container so as to cover the opening, and the other is provided on the bottom surface of the lower container, and the mounting member and the second mounting member are provided interchangeably between the bottom surface of the upper container and the bottom surface of the lower container.

5. A container is provided in the storage chamber, The container has a space at least partially partitioned by a humidity adjusting member, The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the storage member is provided in the space.

6. The container has a communication hole that communicates between the inside and the outside of the space, The refrigerator according to claim 5 , wherein at least a portion of the communication hole faces the base portion.

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