New refrigerator

Abstract

To provide a novel refrigerator that enables a delivery company to deliver refrigerated and / or frozen goods to a delivery destination while maintaining the goods at a low temperature even when the recipient at the delivery destination is absent, and also saves the recipient the trouble of storing the refrigerated and / or frozen goods in a storage compartment (freezer compartment or refrigerator compartment) of the refrigerator. [Solution] The refrigerator 10 of the present invention is characterized by having at least one storage compartment 20 having a storage area for storing items, an indoor door section 21A that can open and close the storage compartment, and an outdoor door section 21B at the back side opposite the indoor door section 21A that can open and close the storage compartment 20.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a novel refrigerator. More specifically, the present invention relates to a novel refrigerator that allows a delivery company to deliver refrigerated and / or frozen products to a destination while maintaining the temperature of the products even when the recipient is not at home, and that saves the recipient the trouble of storing the refrigerated and / or frozen products in a storage compartment (freezer compartment or refrigerator compartment) of the refrigerator. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, a delivery company provides refrigerated or frozen goods to a delivery destination, and after the recipient receives the goods, the goods are promptly placed in a refrigerator to maintain their low temperature. On the other hand, if the recipient is not at home, the delivery company temporarily places the goods in a refrigerated container, and the recipient removes the goods from the refrigerated container and places them in the refrigerator.

[0003] Here, a refrigerated container is generally a lidded housing (box) made of polystyrene foam, which is filled with refrigerated or frozen goods along with ice packs and dry ice, and then sealed with the lid to maintain a low temperature inside.

[0004] However, due to the high insulating properties of polystyrene foam, it is possible to keep the temperature of frozen or refrigerated items relatively constant or reduce temperature increases due to changes in the external temperature, but refrigerated items begin to melt within 2 to 3 hours, and even frozen items are exposed to temperature changes.

[0005] In addition, the cooling effect of a refrigerated container can be reduced due to various factors, such as when the outside temperature is high, when the polystyrene foam that makes up the refrigerated container is thin, when the initial temperature of the frozen or refrigerated goods is high, or when the refrigerated container is exposed to direct sunlight.

[0006] In consideration of these problems with conventional refrigerated containers, various technologies have been proposed.

[0007] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerated container that is "excellent in thermal insulation, lightweight, and inexpensive" (abstract, etc.). As shown in Figure 5, the refrigerated container is characterized by "a plurality of walls that form a closed space for storing items, each of the plurality of walls having a bag filled with an insulating gas having a thermal conductivity lower than that of air, and inner and outer covering plates that sandwich the bag, the bag being made of a film that does not allow the insulating gas to pass through, and the inner and outer covering plates being made of cardboard made of paper, reinforced cardboard, or plastic cardboard" (claims, etc.). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-030862 Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] However, conventional refrigerated containers, including the one in Patent Document 1, mainly suppress temperature rise by using ice packs or dry ice, which causes the temperature of refrigerated and frozen items to rise over time, resulting in a decrease in freshness.

[0010] As such, it can be said that conventional refrigerated containers still have room for improvement in terms of their ability to maintain low temperatures. Furthermore, recipients must carry the items from the refrigerated container placed outdoors (usually near the entrance) to the refrigerator inside, which can be a significant burden, especially for the elderly and physically disabled. Furthermore, they must determine whether the items are refrigerated or frozen and store them appropriately in the refrigerator's freezer or freezer compartment.

[0011] After thorough research into the conventional problems and ways to solve them, the inventor discovered that the above problems could be solved by providing two door sections, one on the indoor side and one on the outdoor side, that can open and close storage compartments such as refrigerators and freezers, and installing these indoors, such as near the entrance to a building, so that the storage compartments can be opened and closed from inside using the indoor door section and from outside using the outdoor door section.

[0012] In other words, the object of the present invention is to provide a new refrigerator that allows a delivery company to deliver refrigerated and / or frozen goods to a destination while maintaining the goods at a low temperature even when the recipient is not at home, and that also saves the recipient the trouble of storing the refrigerated and / or frozen goods in the refrigerator's storage compartment (freezer compartment or refrigerator compartment). [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1(A) and 1(B) are schematic diagrams showing one embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention, showing the exterior of the indoor side and the outdoor interior side (depth side), respectively.

[0014] [Figure 2] 2(A) and (B) are diagrams showing an example of installation of the refrigerator according to the present invention, showing the exterior of the indoor side and the outdoor inside side, respectively.

[0015] [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention. Figure 3(A) shows an embodiment in which one exterior door section of the exterior interior side (depth surface) of the refrigerator is exposed on the exterior inner side, allowing delivery personnel to open and close the one exterior door section. Figure 3(B) shows an embodiment in which two exterior door sections of the exterior interior side (depth surface) of the refrigerator are exposed on the exterior inner side, allowing delivery personnel to open and close both exterior door sections.

[0016] [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a more specific usage mode of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

[0017] [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conventional refrigerated container. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

[0019] As shown by reference numeral 10 in Figure 1, the refrigerator of the present invention has as essential components a storage compartment 20 having a storage area (storage space) for storing items (such as food), an indoor door section 21A, and an outdoor door section 21B, and may also have other components and configurations.

[0020] The storage compartment 20 can be selected as appropriate, for example, a refrigerator compartment for storing refrigerated items such as vegetables, beverages, and short-term storage items such as meat and seafood at a temperature of approximately 3 to 10 degrees, a chilled compartment for storing food items at a temperature of -5 to 0 degrees, or a freezer compartment for storing frozen foods and long-term storage items such as meat and seafood at a temperature of -10 degrees. Also, while Fig. 1 shows an example in which three storage compartments 20 are provided, the number and type of storage compartments are not particularly limited.

[0021] 1(A) and 1(B), the storage room 20 is provided with an indoor door section 21A and an outdoor door section 21B that enable the storage room 20 to be opened and closed. The indoor door section 21A and the outdoor door section 21B are provided in positions facing each other. That is, the outdoor door section 21B is provided on the rear side of the indoor door section 21A.

[0022] As shown in Figures 2(A) and 2(B), the refrigerator 10 according to the present invention is installed, for example, near the front door 60. Although Figure 2 shows the refrigerator installed near the front door 60, the refrigerator is not limited to this and can be installed in any location, for example, near the back door.

[0023] The indoor door 21A of the refrigerator 10 can be opened and closed from inside a house or the like, while the outdoor door 21B can be opened and closed from outside. In other words, the refrigerator of the present invention allows foodstuffs and other contents to be stored in the storage compartment 20 from both inside and outside.

[0024] More specifically, as shown in Figure 2(B), a food product deliverer would normally use intercom 70 to call the recipient from outside and hand over the delivery (food products) to the recipient, but if the recipient is not at home, the deliverer can store the food products in storage room 20 through outdoor door 21B without having to take them back home and redeliver them or use a refrigerated container. In this case, the recipient (a person who is indoors) can store and retrieve the food products in storage room 20 through indoor door 21A after returning home, while maintaining their freshness.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a slip holder 50 may be provided for holding a slip from a deliverer, a delivery item list, and the like.

[0026] In addition, various indicators may be provided, such as an indicator for indicating that a package (item) from a delivery person has been stored in storage room 20, as shown by reference number 40, a temperature change indicator for indicating that the temperature change of the package (item) stored in storage room 20 is within an acceptable range, and a storage history indicator for indicating the elapsed time since the item was stored in storage room 20.

[0027] Although not shown, an alarm device may be provided to notify that a package (item) from a deliverer has been stored in the storage room 20.

[0028] In Figure 2(B), almost the entire back side (depth side, outdoor side) of the refrigerator according to the present invention is exposed from the outer wall, but as shown in Figures 3(A) to (B), it may be an embodiment in which only the storage compartment 20 having the outdoor door portion 21B is exposed from the outer wall.

[0029] 4 shows a specific usage mode of the refrigerator according to the present invention. Here, the deliverer can open the exterior door 21B and place refrigerated or frozen goods in the appropriate storage compartment 20 (freezer or refrigerator compartment). The recipient can then take out the frozen or refrigerated goods stored in the storage compartment as needed.

[0030] In other words, recipients no longer need to carry items from a refrigerated container placed outdoors (mainly near the entrance) to a refrigerator indoors, which can be said to significantly reduce the burden on elderly people and people with disabilities in particular. Moreover, it can also eliminate the need to determine whether an item is refrigerated or frozen and store it appropriately in the freezer compartment or freezer compartment of the refrigerator, which is understood to significantly improve convenience. [Industrial Applicability]

[0031] According to the present invention, a new refrigerator can be provided that allows a delivery company to deliver refrigerated and / or frozen goods to a destination while maintaining the goods at a low temperature even when the recipient is not at home, and also saves the recipient the trouble of storing the refrigerated and / or frozen goods in the refrigerator's storage compartment (freezer compartment or refrigerator compartment). [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 10: Refrigerator according to the present invention 20: Storage room 21A: Indoor door section 21B: Outdoor door 30: Storage room 30A: Storage room door 40: Various indicators 50: slip holder 60: Entrance door 70: Intercom

Claims

[Claim 1] a storage compartment having at least one storage area for storing items; an indoor door portion that can open and close the storage room; an outdoor door portion that can open and close the storage room at the depth side opposite the indoor door portion; A refrigerator equipped with:

Images