JPH06265261A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To provide a refrigerator in which the humidity in the storage room can be adjusted for long-term storage, and dew condensation is less likely to occur on the wall surface of the storage room. [Structure] A raw material of a water-absorbing material 4 capable of absorbing and releasing water is reacted and polymerized on a structural material 3 composed of polyester fibers, so that the fibers of the structural material 3 are surrounded by
A humidity control member manufactured by closely wrapping the water absorbent material 4 is provided on the ceiling portion 2 in the refrigerator vegetable compartment housing 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a storage room such as a vegetable room for storing a substance which can be stored for a long period of time by controlling humidity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vegetable compartment for storing vegetables in a refrigerator, optimum temperature control or humidity control by a moisture permeable membrane has been carried out in order to maintain the freshness of the stored vegetables. . For example, there is a system in which a moisture permeable film is provided between the vegetable compartment and the general refrigerating compartment to control the humidity of the vegetable compartment.

[0003]

Generally, vegetables can be stored for a long period of time by storing them at a constant humidity. In other words, in order to preserve vegetables with a high water content in a fresh manner, it is necessary to effectively control the atmospheric humidity so that the amount of water evaporation from the vegetables can be suppressed in order to suppress the decrease of water content in the vegetables. Therefore, a humidity control device for a vegetable compartment of such a refrigerator is desired.

Further, the vegetable compartment is designed to maintain a high humidity atmosphere inside by indirect cooling instead of directly blowing cold air into the interior. In that case, there is a problem that dew condensation easily occurs on the wall surface of the vegetable compartment, which is the heat transfer surface.

In view of the above problems of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator in which the humidity in the storage room can be adjusted so that it can be stored for a long period of time, and dew condensation is less likely to occur on the wall surface of the storage room. To do.

[0006]

According to the present invention of claim 1, a part or all of the periphery of a base material having a large number of thin portions is closely attached to a water absorbing material capable of absorbing and releasing water. The wrapped humidity control member is a refrigerator provided inside the storage chamber.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a raw material of a water-absorbing material capable of absorbing and releasing water is reacted and polymerized on a base material having a large number of thin portions, whereby a part of the periphery of the thin portion of the base material is formed. Alternatively, it is a refrigerator in which a humidity control member manufactured by closely wrapping a water absorbing material in the whole or inside is provided inside the storage chamber.

[0008]

According to the present invention, the water-absorbing material absorbs excess moisture and accumulates the moisture when the humidity in the storage chamber becomes high, and releases the accumulated moisture when the humidity in the storage chamber decreases to store the moisture. It regulates the humidity inside the room and at the same time suppresses the formation of dew inside the storage room, and because a part or all of the periphery of the thin part of the base material is tightly wrapped with the water absorbing material, it is durable to the water absorbing material. There is.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing its embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, the refrigerator has a height of about 3
A refrigerator vegetable compartment casing 1 having a width of 0 cm, a width of about 50 cm, and a depth of about 50 cm was provided, and a ceiling portion 2 above the refrigerator vegetable compartment casing 1 was made of a polyester fiber having a thickness of 0.3 mm. Structural material 3 consisting of non-woven fabric with a thickness of about 4 mm
Is provided. Around the fibers of the nonwoven fabric of the structural material 3, a water-absorbing material 4 made of a polyacrylate-based polymer absorber is closely adhered and wrapped, and the silver-silica gel antibacterial and antifungal agent 5 is mixed and added to the water absorbing material 4. (See the cross-sectional view in the circle in FIG. 1, the water-absorbing material 4 wraps around the fibers of the structural material 3.)

Here, the water-absorbing material 4 is produced by reacting and polymerizing the polymer absorbent raw material on the structural material 3, and at the time of the reaction polymerization, the antibacterial / antifungal agent 5 is added to the polymer absorbent raw material dispersion liquid. The antibacterial and antifungal agent 5 is placed close to the structural material 3 and in close contact with the water-absorbing material 4 because it is manufactured by suspending and immersing the structural material 3 therein.

Next, the silver silica gel antibacterial and antifungal agent 5 will be described together with its manufacturing method.

First, 100 parts by weight of a water-soluble silver salt such as silver acetate is added to and dissolved in water containing no chlorine, 450 parts by weight of a mixture of sodium sulfite and sodium bisulfite, and 300 parts by weight of a water-soluble salt of sodium thiosulfate. The parts were sequentially mixed with sufficient stirring and dissolved to obtain an aqueous solution of silver thiosulfato complex salt. The weight of sodium thiosulfate is shown as the weight of its hydrate Na ₂ S ₂ O ₃ .5H ₂ O.

The carrier used for the silver silica gel-based antibacterial and antifungal agent of the above examples is B-type silica gel powder described in "JIS Z 0701 Silica gel desiccant for packaging". This B-type silica gel powder is a silica gel powder having a low moisture absorption rate at low humidity, a high moisture absorption rate at high humidity, and a high total moisture absorption amount at high humidity, and its average particle size is about 8 μm.

The silica gel powder was dried at 180 ° C. for 2 hours or more. The above thiosulfato silver complex salt aqueous solution was mixed with 100 parts by weight of the silica gel so that the silver component was 2 parts by weight. Then, the water absorbed in the solvent and the carrier was promptly removed. Then, this was pulverized to a predetermined particle size to obtain silica gel carrying an antibacterial and antifungal material.

Next, 100 parts by weight of the above silica gel was dispersed in a solution prepared by diluting 100 parts by weight of tetraethoxysilane with 100 parts by weight of ethyl alcohol as a coating material, and then 20 parts by weight of pure water was added thereto. The tetraethoxysilane was hydrolyzed to coat at least part of the surface of the silica gel. Then, this was dried to obtain a silver silica gel antibacterial and antifungal agent 5.

Next, the operating principle of the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator of the above embodiment will be described.

First, when the vegetable compartment for the refrigerator is opened and the vegetable compartment for the refrigerator is opened while the vegetable compartment for the refrigerator is operating, a part of the atmosphere of the vegetable compartment is replaced by the room temperature atmosphere. Then, the inside of the vegetable compartment is cooled to around 5 ° C, which is the optimum temperature for vegetable preservation, by indirect cooling using the ceiling and side walls.
As the room temperature air in the vegetable compartment cools, it begins to condense when it drops below its dew point temperature.
Before the dew condensation occurs, the water content in the room temperature atmosphere is absorbed by the water-absorbing material 4 provided on the ceiling part 2, and the absorbed water content is retained in the water-absorbing material 4, so that the dew condensation does not occur on the wall surface of the refrigerator vegetable compartment. . In this state, the refrigerator vegetable compartment will continue to operate in a high humidity state, preventing moisture evaporation of vegetables and maintaining freshness for a long time.

As described above, during continuous use, the high-humidity atmosphere in the vegetable compartment for the refrigerator gradually leaks out, so that the water content in the atmosphere becomes deficient (that is, the low-humidity state is reached). Then, contrary to the above, the water content retained in the water absorbing material 4 is released, and the humidity in the refrigerator vegetable compartment rises and is maintained at high humidity. In this way, the humidity in the refrigerator vegetable compartment is always maintained in a high humidity state, so that water evaporation from the stored vegetables can be suppressed and the freshness of the vegetables can be maintained for a long period of time.

Here, the water absorbing material 4 repeatedly swells and shrinks while repeating moisture absorption and desorption, but since the water absorbing material 4 is fixed on the structural material 3 by reaction polymerization so as to wrap around the fibers, it falls off. In addition, the antibacterial and antifungal agent 5 is also added to the water-absorbing material 4 during the reaction polymerization, so that it can be prevented from falling off.

Table 1 shows the storage condition of vegetables in the refrigerator vegetable compartment of the above-mentioned embodiment.

From the above results, in the above embodiment, vegetables can be preserved with good quality.

[0023]

[Table 1] As described above, the water-absorbing material 4 absorbs the excess water in the vegetable compartment, so that dew condensation does not occur at a place other than the humidity control member, and therefore, water drops do not drop on the preserved vegetables.

Furthermore, since the water-absorbing material 4 has a structure in which it is polymerized by reaction on the structural material 3 and is closely adhered to the structural material 3 and wrapped therein, even if it absorbs moisture and its own weight increases,
It can be used for a long period of time without falling off even if moisture is repeatedly absorbed and desorbed.

In addition, when the water-absorbing material 4 is reacted and polymerized on the structural material 3, the antibacterial / antifungal agent 5 is added and the antibacterial / antifungal agent 5 is mixed into the water-absorbing material 4, so that the water content is increased. Even if the above is continued, it is possible to suppress the propagation of various bacteria not only in the water absorbing material 4 but also in the structural material 3 and maintain a clean state.

In the above embodiment, the polyacrylate material is used as the water absorbing material 4, but the material is not limited to this, and any material that can be reactively polymerized on the structural material 3 and can absorb and release moisture can be used, for example. Polymethylmethacrylate, starch,
Other materials such as polyvinyl alcohol and carboxymethyl cellulose may be used.

Further, in the above embodiment, the non-woven fabric of polyester fiber is used as the structural material 3 which is the base material, but the present invention is not limited to this, and fibers of other materials such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl chloride are used. Of course, it is also possible to use a fiber made of a copolymer thereof, or a woven fabric or a non-woven fabric of a mixed woven fabric thereof.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a large number of thin portions of the base material are made of fibers, but the present invention is not limited to this. If so, it does not necessarily have to be a fiber.

In the above embodiment, the antibacterial and antifungal agent 5 is a thiosulfato silver complex salt adsorbed and adsorbed on silica gel. You may use the inorganic compound which consists of copper and a zinc compound.

In the above embodiment, the antibacterial and antifungal agent 5 is added to the water absorbing material 4, but instead of this, it may be added to the structural material 3, or alternatively, the water absorbing material 4 and the structural material 3 are added.
Of course, it may be added to both.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the humidity control member composed of the structural material 3 and the water absorbing material 4 is provided in the ceiling portion 2, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the humidity control member may be provided in another place such as a side wall in the vegetable compartment. Good.

Further, in the above embodiment, the humidity control member is provided in the vegetable compartment, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be provided in any other location as long as it is a storage room that requires humidity adjustment.

Further, in the above embodiment, the entire periphery of the fiber, which is the thin portion of the base material, is wrapped with the water absorbing material 4, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the water absorbing material 4 does not fall off from the structural material 3. For example, you may comprise so that a part of circumference | surroundings of a fiber may be wrapped. In addition, in addition to the above-mentioned meaning, a part or all of the claims means a part or all of the whole base material.

[0034]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a part or the whole of the periphery of a thin base material having a large number of narrow portions adheres to a water absorbing material capable of absorbing and releasing water. Since the humidity control member wrapped in the storage chamber is provided inside the storage chamber, the humidity inside the storage chamber can be adjusted for long-term storage, and dew condensation on the wall surface of the storage chamber can be prevented.

Further, since the inorganic antibacterial agent is mixed and added to the base material or the water absorbing material, there is an advantage that the cleanliness can be maintained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 vegetable compartment case for refrigerator 2 ceiling 3 structural material 4 water absorbing material 5 antibacterial and antifungal agent

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 2, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Claim 4

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Claim 5

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0010

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, the refrigerator has a height of about 3
A refrigerator vegetable compartment casing 1 having a width of 0 cm, a width of about 50 cm, and a depth of about 50 cm was provided, and a ceiling portion 2 above the refrigerator vegetable compartment casing 1 was made of a polyester fiber having a thickness of 0.3 mm. Structural material 3 consisting of non-woven fabric with a thickness of about 4 mm
Is provided. Around the fibers of the nonwoven fabric of the structural material 3, a water-absorbing material 4 made of a polyacrylate-based polymer absorber is closely adhered and wrapped, and the silver-silica gel antibacterial and antifungal agent 5 is mixed and added to the water absorbing material 4. (See the cross-sectional view in the circle in FIG. 1, the water-absorbing material 4 wraps around the fibers of the structural material 3.) Here, the antibacterial / antifungal agent means an agent having antibacterial or antifungal properties.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0035

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Further, since the inorganic antibacterial and antifungal agent is mixed and added to the base material or the water absorbing material, there is an advantage that the cleanliness can be maintained.

Front page continued (72) Inventor Atsushi Nishino 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Otani Tsusho Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A humidity control member in which a part or the whole of the periphery of a base material having a large number of thin parts is closely wrapped with a water absorbing material capable of absorbing and releasing water. A refrigerator characterized by being provided in. 2. A raw material of a water-absorbing material capable of absorbing and releasing water is subjected to reaction polymerization on a base material having a large number of thin portions, whereby a part or all of the periphery of the thin portion of the base material is A refrigerator characterized in that a humidity control member produced by closely wrapping a water absorbing material is provided inside a storage room. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the base material is fiber, and the raw material of the water absorbing material is an acrylate material. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein an inorganic antibacterial agent is mixed and added to the base material or the water absorbing material. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the inorganic antibacterial agent has a silver thiosulfato complex salt.