Refrigerator

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator which can maintain appropriate humidity inside a case of a vegetable chamber and the like.SOLUTION: A refrigerator comprises a first cooling chamber and a second cooling chamber which are adjacent to each other. The first cooling chamber is a space in a case. The case has a humidity adjustment unit at a boundary with the second cooling chamber. The humidity adjustment unit includes a first humidity adjustment member and a second humidity adjustment member. The first adjustment member is disposed on the first cooling chamber side of the humidity adjustment part, and absorbs moisture when surrounding humidity is higher than a first humidity and releases moisture when the surrounding humidity is lower than a second humidity. The second humidity adjustment member is disposed on the second cooling chamber side of the humidity adjustment part, and absorbs moisture when the surrounding humidity is higher than a third humidity. The first humidity, the second humidity, and the third humidity satisfy a relation of "the first humidity≥the second humidity>the third humidity".SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to refrigerators. [Background technology]

[0002] Some refrigerators are equipped with drawer-type cases (storage compartments), which are used as, for example, vegetable compartments, freezers, and the like.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a food storage cabinet in which a dehumidifying agent containing ammonium polyacrylate, which has a high moisture absorption rate, is provided in the lid of the storage case. Patent Document 2 discloses a refrigerator in which a dehumidifying agent containing a polymer absorbent and silica gel is placed on the ceiling of a vegetable compartment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-317636 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-302781 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] For example, in a case used as a vegetable compartment, it is desirable to maintain a high humidity level inside the case to prevent evaporation of moisture from the vegetables, etc., in order to maintain the freshness of the vegetables, etc. For this reason, the case may have a structure close to an airtight structure. In such cases, as the humidity inside the case increases, condensation becomes more likely to occur.

[0006] As in Patent Documents 1 and 2, by providing a humidity control member in the case, the occurrence of condensation can be suppressed. However, dehumidifying agents such as silica gel, which are referred to as humidity control agents in Patent Documents 1 and 2, continue to absorb moisture until the amount of water absorbed reaches saturation, so there is a possibility that the humidity inside the case will drop too much (become too dry) due to the dehumidifying agent.

[0007] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator capable of maintaining an appropriate humidity level inside a case such as a vegetable compartment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A refrigerator according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a first cooling chamber and a second cooling chamber adjacent to each other. The first cooling chamber is the space inside the case. The case has a humidity control section at the boundary with the second cooling chamber. The humidity control section includes a first humidity control member and a second humidity control member. The first humidity control member is disposed on the first cooling chamber side of the humidity control section, and absorbs moisture when the ambient humidity is higher than a first humidity, and releases moisture when the ambient humidity is lower than a second humidity. The second humidity control member is disposed on the second cooling chamber side of the humidity control section, and absorbs moisture when the ambient humidity is higher than the third humidity. The first humidity, the second humidity, and the third humidity satisfy the relationship of the following formula. 1st humidity ≧ 2nd humidity > 3rd humidity [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator capable of maintaining an appropriate humidity level inside a case such as a vegetable compartment can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 2 taken along line III-III. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a case of a vegetable compartment of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the case shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is a front view of the case shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane VII-VII of the case shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the humidity control section in the cross section of the case shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings, in which the same components are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0012] <Cooler> In this disclosure, the term "refrigerating cabinet" generally refers to a cabinet that has an internal space (cooling compartment) that is kept at a temperature lower than the outside air temperature and can lower the temperature of stored items. The cooling cabinet may be, for example, a refrigerator or a freezer. The cooling cabinet has at least one cooling compartment. The cooling compartment may be, for example, a refrigerator compartment, a freezer compartment, a vegetable compartment, a chilled compartment, a partial compartment, or the like.

[0013] 1 to 3, refrigerator 1 includes a housing 5 (insulated box) for insulating each storage space from the surroundings. Housing 5 includes an insulating layer, an outer box that forms the outer shape of refrigerator 1, an inner box that forms the storage space of refrigerator 1, and the like. The insulating layer includes a foam insulating material, a vacuum insulating material, and the like.

[0014] The storage space formed by the housing 5 is divided by a horizontally extending partition into, for example, an upper cooling compartment 11 (freezer compartment) and a lower cooling compartment 12 (refrigerator compartment). In this way, the housing 5 has at least one cooling compartment (refrigerator compartment, vegetable compartment, freezer compartment, etc.). The arrangement of each cooling compartment is not limited to this. Each cooling chamber is provided with an openable and closable door, but the doors are omitted in FIGS.

[0015] In this specification, the surface on which the door (omitted in Figures 1 to 3) is provided is referred to as the front or front face of the refrigerator 1. Then, based on the arrangement of the refrigerator 1 when installed in a normal state with the front face as the reference, the respective faces of the refrigerator 1 are referred to as the back, top, bottom, and side faces. Furthermore, the direction perpendicular to the front and back faces is referred to as the front-to-back direction, the direction perpendicular to the top and bottom faces is referred to as the up-down direction, and the direction perpendicular to both side faces is referred to as the width direction. Note that the orientation of each component that constitutes the refrigerator 1 may also be expressed based on the arrangement of the refrigerator 1.

[0016] A drawer-type case (which can be pulled out and put in in the front-rear direction) may be provided in the cooling compartments 11, 12. In the illustrated cooling box 1, a first cooling compartment 3 (vegetable compartment) is configured by a drawer-type case 30 (see FIGS. 4 to 7) provided in the cooling compartment 12. Thus, in the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, the first cooling compartment 3 (for example, a vegetable compartment) is the space inside the case 30.

[0017] Further, the space outside the case 30 (above the case 30) within the cooling chamber 12 constitutes a second cooling chamber 2 (refrigerating chamber). As described above, the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment includes the first cooling compartment 3 (vegetable compartment) and the second cooling compartment 2 (refrigerating compartment) adjacent to each other.

[0018] The case 30 is composed of, for example, a case body 31 and a ceiling portion 32 (lid). The case body 31 has an opening at the top and can be inserted and removed in the front-to-rear direction. When the case body 31 is pushed back toward the rear side, the opening is closed by the ceiling portion 32, which functions as a lid. In this way, the case 30 can be a box with an airtight structure or a structure close to an airtight structure. With this structure, the case 30 can maintain a high humidity level inside the case 30 to a level that prevents evaporation of moisture from the vegetables and the like, thereby preserving the freshness of the vegetables and the like stored therein.

[0019] For example, a space (compressor chamber) for arranging a cooler (not shown) that generates cool air is provided on the rear side of the lower part of the housing 5. Since the temperature inside the compressor chamber rises when the cooler is operated, the compressor chamber is arranged outside the housing 5. The cooler includes a refrigeration cycle, a control unit, etc. The refrigeration cycle is made up of a compressor, a condenser, an expander, an evaporator, etc., which are connected via refrigerant pipes through which a refrigerant flows.

[0020] (humidity control section) The case 30 has a humidity control section 4 at the boundary with the second cooling compartment 2 (for example, a refrigerator compartment). 1 to 3, the second cooling compartment 2 (refrigerating compartment) is disposed above the first cooling compartment 3 (vegetable compartment). In this case, the boundary of the case 30 is the ceiling 32 (lid) of the case 30. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the humidity control unit 4 is placed on the ceiling portion 32 of the case 30, but depending on the positional relationship between the first cooling chamber 3 and the second cooling chamber 2, the humidity control unit 4 may also be placed at the boundary with the second cooling chamber other than the ceiling portion 32 of the case 30.

[0021] The first cooling compartment 3 (vegetable compartment) is cooled by the cool air above the ceiling portion 32 of the case 30, with the ceiling portion 32 serving as a heat transfer surface. This makes it easy for condensation to occur on the ceiling portion 32, but by providing the humidity control section 4 on the ceiling portion 32, the occurrence of condensation can be efficiently suppressed. In this way, it is preferable that the humidity control unit 4 be disposed near a location in the case 30 where condensation is likely to occur. In particular, the back side of the ceiling section 32 is close to the area where the cold air generated by the cooler is blown in, making it prone to condensation, so by providing the humidity control section 4 on the back side of the ceiling section 32, the occurrence of condensation can be more efficiently suppressed.

[0022] 5 and 8, the humidity control unit 4 includes a first humidity control member 41 and a second humidity control member 42. The illustrated humidity control unit 4 is composed of the first humidity control member 41, the second humidity control member 42, and a holder 40 in which they are placed.

[0023] The first humidity control member 41 is disposed on the first cooling chamber 3 side of the humidity control section 4 (relative to the second humidity control member 42). The first humidity control member 41 absorbs moisture when the humidity (relative humidity [%]; the same applies below) in the surroundings (inside the first cooling chamber 3 and in the gap 43) is higher than the first humidity, and releases moisture when the humidity in the surroundings is lower than the second humidity.

[0024] The second humidity control member 42 is disposed on the second cooling chamber 2 side of the humidity control section 4 (relative to the first humidity control member 41). The second humidity control member 42 absorbs moisture when the humidity in the surrounding area (inside the second cooling chamber 2 and the gap 43) is higher than a third humidity, and preferably releases moisture when the humidity is lower than a fourth humidity. The first humidity, the second humidity, the third humidity, and the fourth humidity satisfy the relationship of the following formula. 1st humidity ≧ 2nd humidity > 3rd humidity ≧ 4th humidity

[0025] For example, if the first humidity is 80%, the second humidity is 70%, and the third humidity is 50%, the first humidity control member 41 keeps the humidity in the first cooling chamber 3 within the range of 70 to 80%, and the second humidity control member 42 keeps the humidity in the second cooling chamber 2 at 50% or less. That is, the humidity inside the case 30 rises due to moisture constantly being released from the items stored inside the case 30 (for example, foodstuffs such as vegetables), but when the humidity approaches 80%, the first humidity control member 41 first absorbs the moisture. The moisture absorbed by the first humidity control member 41 is then absorbed by the second humidity control member 42. The moisture absorbed by the second humidity control member 42 is released into the second cooling chamber 2, which has a lower humidity, and a flow of moisture from inside the case 30 into the second cooling chamber 2 is established. In this way, the second humidity control member 42 serves to assist the first humidity control member 41 in releasing moisture, thereby improving the efficiency of moisture transfer.

[0026] If a humidity control member is simply provided inside the case 30, once the humidity control member has reached saturation in terms of water absorption, it will no longer be able to absorb moisture, and the humidity control function of the humidity control member will not be exerted, which may result in the inability to suppress condensation. In contrast to this, in this embodiment, a first humidity control member 41 capable of adjusting the humidity inside the first cooling chamber 3 to a desired target humidity is provided at the boundary (ceiling portion 32) between the case 30 and the second cooling chamber 2, so that moisture inside the case 30 absorbed by the first humidity control member 41 can be released toward the second cooling chamber 2. This makes it difficult for the amount of water absorption of the first humidity control member 41 to become saturated, so that the humidity control function of the first humidity control member 41 can be continuously exerted and condensation inside the first cooling chamber 3 can be continuously suppressed.

[0027] Furthermore, by providing the second humidity control member 42 on the second cooling compartment 2 side in addition to the first humidity control member 41 on the first cooling compartment 3 side, it becomes possible to maintain the humidity in the second cooling compartment 2 at the target humidity suitable for the stored items in the second cooling compartment 2 even if the target humidity is lower than the target humidity of the first cooling compartment 3. This is because, without the second humidity control member 42, the humidity in the second cooling compartment 2 would become as high as the humidity in the first cooling compartment 3.

[0028] When the case body 31 is pulled out to remove stored items such as vegetables, and the upper opening of the case body 31 that was closed by the ceiling portion (lid) 32 is opened, the humidity inside the case 30 temporarily drops. Even when the amount of stored vegetables is small, if the amount of moisture that escapes through gaps in the case 30 is greater than the amount of moisture that evaporates from the vegetables, the humidity inside the case 30 drops. In this case, the first humidity control member 41 releases the moisture that it had absorbed, thereby increasing the humidity inside the case 30. This makes it possible to maintain the atmosphere inside the case 30 at an appropriate humidity level to keep the vegetables etc. fresh, regardless of the frequency of opening and closing the case 30 or the amount of vegetables etc. stored in the case 30. That is, by absorbing moisture when the humidity inside the case 30 is high and releasing moisture when the humidity inside the case 30 is low, the humidity inside the case 30 can be adjusted to a desired humidity suitable for the stored items such as food.

[0029] An example of a commercially available first humidity control member having the humidity control function described above is "TEKIjuN" (Sharp Corporation).

[0030] By selecting the target humidity (type of humidity control member) of each of the first humidity control member 41 and the second humidity control member 42 according to the type of stored items, such as food, stored in each of the first cooling chamber 3 (case 30) and the second cooling chamber 2, it is possible to maintain humidity levels suitable for various stored items.

[0031] The second humidity control member 42 is a humidity control member whose target humidity is equal to or lower than a third humidity that is lower than the target humidity (first humidity and second humidity) of the first humidity control member 41. The third humidity is preferably higher than the average humidity in the second cooling compartment 2 (for example, a refrigerator compartment) when the humidity adjustment unit 4 is not provided. In this case, drying of the second cooling compartment 2 can be suppressed.

[0032] The second humidity control member 42 preferably has a humidity control function (is made of a humidity control agent). When the second humidity control member 42 has a humidity control function, the second humidity control member 42 absorbs moisture when the ambient humidity is higher than a third humidity, and releases moisture when the ambient humidity is higher than a fourth humidity. Here, the third humidity and the fourth humidity satisfy the relationship "third humidity ≧ fourth humidity".

[0033] As the second humidity control member having a humidity control function, for example, a commercially available product similar to the first humidity control member, such as "TEKIjuN" (Sharp Corporation), but with a different target humidity can be used.

[0034] The second humidity control member 42 may be any member that absorbs moisture when the ambient humidity is higher than the third humidity, and may be made of a dehumidifying agent such as silica gel (a moisture absorbent that does not have the function of maintaining a desired humidity). However, in this case, in order to prevent the second cooling chamber 2 from becoming too dry, it is preferable to provide a cover on the second cooling chamber 2 side of the humidity control section 4 to prevent the second humidity control member 42 from coming into contact with the air inside the second cooling chamber 2.

[0035] The second humidity control member 42 preferably has a larger effective area (surface area) for moisture absorption and release than the first humidity control member 41. Specifically, it is preferable to make the volume of the second humidity control member 42 larger than that of the first humidity control member 41, or to increase the surface area of the second humidity control member 42 by providing a large number of holes in the second humidity control member 42. In this case, the content of the second humidity control member 42 is greater and the moisture release efficiency is higher than that of the first humidity control member 41, thereby improving the efficiency of moisture transfer from the first humidity control member 41 to the second humidity control member 42. This makes it less likely that the amount of water absorbed by the first humidity control member 41 will become saturated, and the humidity control function can be sustained.

[0036] In addition, the second humidity control member 42 may be positioned in a position where it is exposed to the flow of cold air (for example, near the cold air outlet on the back side of the second cooling chamber 2) to improve the efficiency of moisture transfer between the second humidity control member 42 and the air in the second cooling chamber. In this case, however, it is preferable to provide a guide for the flow of cold air on the cover of the humidity control unit 4 or the like so that the cold air does not directly hit the ceiling 32 of the case 30. This is to prevent condensation on the ceiling 32 of the case 30.

[0037] When increasing the volume of the second humidity control member 42, it is advisable to position the second humidity control member 42 (humidity control section 4) by effectively utilizing the space on the back side (rear side) of the second cooling chamber 2 so as not to affect storage in the second cooling chamber 2 (for example, storage of food and other items placed on a shelf formed by the ceiling section 32 of the case 30). In this way, in order to ensure space for placing stored items, it is preferable that the installation space for humidity control unit 4 be small within a range that allows the desired humidity control function to be exerted. The humidity control unit 4 may be installed so that it does not protrude above the upper surface of the ceiling of the case 30, thereby expanding the storage space for stored items in the second cooling chamber 2. In this case, however, it is preferable that the humidity control unit 4 is configured so that a gap remains between the stored item and the humidity control unit 4, even when the stored item is placed on the humidity control unit 4, so that the humidity control function of the humidity control unit 4 is not hindered.

[0038] The humidity control unit 4 preferably has a gap 43 between the first humidity control member 41 and the second humidity control member 42. In this case, vaporized moisture present in the gap 43 is exchanged between the first humidity control member 41 and the second humidity control member 42, allowing moisture to move between the first humidity control member 41 and the second humidity control member 42 according to their respective target humidities.

[0039] It is preferable that the thickness of the gap between the first humidity control member 41 and the second humidity control member 42 (the distance between the first humidity control member 41 and the second humidity control member 42) is small. In this case, for example, the humidity increases rapidly due to moisture released from the first humidity control member 41, and the moisture is quickly absorbed by the second humidity control member 42. In this way, moisture can be quickly transferred between the first humidity control member 41 and the second humidity control member 42 according to their respective target humidities.

[0040] If the air inside the case 30 (such as a vegetable compartment) comes into direct contact with the second humidity control member 42, the humidity inside the case 30 will drop to a third humidity level, which is lower than the desired humidity level (a humidity level between the first and second humidity levels). Therefore, it is preferable that the first humidity control member 41 does not have any holes or gaps penetrating from the case 30 side to the second humidity control member 42 side, so that the air inside the case 30 does not come into direct contact with the second humidity control member 42.

[0041] As shown in Figure 7, by storing the humidity control unit 4 in a recess or the like in the ceiling portion 32 and positioning it so that it does not protrude downward from the underside of the ceiling portion 32, the humidity control unit 4 can be prevented from getting in the way when the case main body 31 is taken in and out.

[0042] The humidity control section 4 (first humidity control member 41, second humidity control member 42) may further contain other components such as a deodorizer, a disinfectant, and the like.

[0043] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not by the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. Furthermore, configurations obtained by combining the configurations of the different embodiments described in this specification are also included in the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1: Refrigerator 2: Second cooling compartment (refrigerator compartment) 3: First cooling compartment (vegetable compartment) 30: Case 32: Ceiling 4: Humidity control section 41: First humidity control member 42: Second humidity control member

Claims

1. a first cooling chamber and a second cooling chamber adjacent to each other; the first cooling chamber is a space within the case, the case has a humidity control section at a boundary with the second cooling chamber, The humidity control unit is a first humidity control member disposed on the first cooling chamber side of the humidity control unit, absorbing moisture when the ambient humidity is higher than a first humidity and releasing moisture when the ambient humidity is lower than a second humidity; a second humidity control member disposed on the second cooling chamber side of the humidity control unit and configured to absorb moisture when the ambient humidity is higher than a third humidity; The first humidity, the second humidity, and the third humidity satisfy the following relationship: 1st humidity ≧ 2nd humidity > 3rd humidity

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the humidity control unit has a gap between the first humidity control member and the second humidity control member.

3. the second cooling chamber is disposed above the first cooling chamber, The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the boundary portion of the case is a ceiling portion of the case.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the first cooling compartment is a vegetable compartment and the second cooling compartment is a refrigerator compartment.

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