JP5703265B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

  As a background art in this technical field, there is Japanese Patent No. 4324635 (Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, “an outer member having an opening for taking in and out stored items, a lid member for opening and closing the opening of the outer member, and the lid member provided between the lid member and the opening of the outer member; In a refrigerator including a storage chamber having a sealing member that suppresses gas movement between the opening of the outer shell member and a decompression unit that depressurizes the storage chamber, the opening of the outer member is more than in the height direction. A rectangular shape having a round shape that is long in the width direction and has a central portion that is higher than the end portion, and the outer member is integrally formed in a box shape, and the upper surface and the bottom surface are larger than the side surface and the rear surface, respectively, The top surface and the bottom surface respectively have a first inclination from the opening side, a second inclination having a larger inclination angle than the first inclination, and a third inclination having a larger inclination angle than the second inclination. And close to the rear from the opening side Has been described is provided "that the cormorants.

Japanese Patent No. 4324635

  However, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, since the storage chamber is surrounded by the outer member, it is difficult for light to reach and it is difficult to check the stored items.

  Further, in the case of a storage chamber whose inside is decompressed, it has been difficult to provide electrical parts such as illumination means in order to maintain the inside in a sealed state. That is, the problem is how to configure the electrical wiring that communicates the inside and outside of the storage chamber.

  Further, when the storage chamber is depressurized, the outer member is deformed by a negative pressure. However, it is necessary to dispose an electric component in consideration of the deformation by the negative pressure.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the refrigerator which improved the visibility in a pressure reduction room | chamber interior.

  In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims is adopted. The present application includes a plurality of means for solving the above-described problems. For example, the present application includes an outer member, a lid member that opens and closes the outer member, and a decompression unit that depressurizes the outer member. In a refrigerator, a protrusion provided to protrude outwardly on an opening edge formed on a wall surface of the outer shell member, a seal member provided on an outer periphery of the protrusion, and the opening closed in contact with the seal member A translucent member, an illuminating unit provided facing the outer side of the translucent member, and a cover member covering the illuminating unit, wherein the seal member has a plurality of projecting pieces on the outer periphery. And a groove formed between the plurality of projecting piece portions.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the refrigerator which improved the visibility in a pressure reduction chamber can be provided.

It is the figure which looked at the refrigerator main body in embodiment of this invention from the front. FIG. 2 is a conceptual cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the structure of the decompression chamber from diagonally forward upper direction. It is the JJ sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a front view of a decompression chamber. It is the DD sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the EE sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the A direction of FIG. 4 which shows the structure of a cover member and a food tray. It is the perspective view which looked at the structure of the decompression chamber from diagonally front upper, and is a figure which shows the fully open state of a cover member. It is a disassembled perspective view of the decompression chamber provided with the illumination means. It is sectional drawing explaining the state which integrated the illumination means of the decompression chamber. It is sectional drawing explaining the state of the 1st step in the middle of incorporating the illumination means of a decompression chamber. It is sectional drawing explaining the state of the 2nd step in the middle of further installation from the state of FIG. It is a top view of the state of FIG. It is a top view of the state of FIG. It is sectional drawing explaining the state in the middle of incorporating an illumination means into a cover member. It is sectional drawing explaining the state which integrated the illumination means into the cover member from the state of FIG. It is a perspective view of a sealing member. It is sectional drawing of a sealing member.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Drawing 1 is a figure which looked at the refrigerator main part in the embodiment of the present invention from the front. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional conceptual diagram taken along line AA in FIG.

<Overall configuration of refrigerator body 1>
As shown in FIG. 1, a refrigerator body 1 to which the present invention is applied includes a refrigerator room 2 which is a storage room having a refrigeration temperature zone of about 6 ° C. as an example at the top, and a refrigeration temperature zone around 6 ° C. as an example at the bottom. A vegetable room 6 which is a storage room is arranged respectively. Between the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6, an ice making room which is a freezing temperature zone of 0 ° C. or less (for example, a temperature zone of about −20 ° C. to −18 ° C.) which is adiabatically separated from both the chambers. 3. A quick freezer room 4 and a freezer room 5 are arranged. As shown in FIG. 2, each storage chamber is partitioned and arranged by an upper heat insulating partition wall 31a and a lower heat insulating partition wall 31b.

  In the refrigerator compartment 2, a decompression chamber 13 capable of maintaining the interior in a decompressed state is provided. The decompression chamber 13 of the present embodiment is a storage chamber capable of switching automatically or manually between a chilled temperature zone around 1 ° C. and an ice temperature zone below 0 ° C.

  The refrigerating room 2 includes, on the front side, refrigerating room doors 2a and 2b with double doors (so-called French type) divided into left and right. The ice making room 3, the quick freezing room 4, the freezing room 5, and the vegetable room 6 are provided with a drawer type ice making room door 3a, a quick freezing room door 4a, a freezing room door 5a, and a vegetable room door 6a, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the outside of the refrigerator body 1 and the inside of the refrigerator are separated by a heat insulating box 10 formed by filling a foam heat insulating material (foamed polyurethane) between the inner box 10a and the outer box 10b. It has been.

  The inside of the refrigerator is separated from the refrigerator compartment 2, the quick freezing compartment 4 and the ice making room 3 (see FIG. 1, the ice making room 3 is not shown in FIG. 2) by the upper heat insulating partition wall 31a. The freezer compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are separated by 31b.

  A plurality of door pockets 32 are provided in the vertical direction inside the refrigerator compartment doors 2a and 2b (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The refrigerator compartment 2 is provided with a plurality of shelves 37. The refrigerator compartment 2 is partitioned into a plurality of storage spaces in the vertical direction by the shelves 37, and a chilled chamber that is a decompression chamber is provided in the lowermost storage space.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the quick-freezing compartment 4, the freezing compartment 5, and the vegetable compartment 6 are provided with storage containers 3b, 4b, 5b, 6b, respectively. The ice making room door 3a, the quick freezing room door 4a, the freezing room door 5a and the vegetable room door 6a are each put on a handle portion (not shown) and pulled out to the front side, thereby storing containers 3b, 4b, 5b, 6b. Can be pulled out together.

  The decompression chamber 13 is provided with a decompression chamber lid 16 that opens and closes the front opening.

  When the refrigerator doors 2a and 2b are opened, the storage container of the decompression chamber 13 can be pulled out by placing the hand on the handle portion 27 of the decompression chamber lid 16 and pulling the lid member 16 forward. Yes. Details thereof will be described later.

  The refrigeration cycle for refrigeration and refrigeration is connected to the refrigerator body 1 in the order of a compressor, a condenser, a capillary tube, an evaporator serving as a cooling source that takes away the heat of vaporization of the refrigerant, and a compressor again. (Not shown).

  The evaporator serving as a cooling source is installed behind the ice making chamber 3, the quick freezing chamber 4 and the freezing chamber 5, and the cold air exchanged with the evaporator by a blower fan (not shown) is converted into the ice making chamber 3, It is sent to the quick freezer 4 and the freezer 5. In addition, after the cool air is blown into each storage chamber, it has a circulation structure in which it is cooled again by the evaporator and blown. Each storage chamber is maintained at a predetermined temperature by temperature control by a control device using a temperature sensor.

  Next, FIG. 3 shows a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. The refrigerator compartment door 2a is supported so as to be rotatable about the support shaft S1. The refrigerator compartment door 2a is provided with a translucent resin-molded door pocket 32 for injecting drinks and the like on the inner side. On the storage chamber side of the refrigerator door 2a, there is provided a rotary partition 2a2 configured to be swingable by a biasing force of a torsion coil spring and a guide.

  The rotary partition 2a2 prevents cold air from leaking between the refrigerator compartment doors 2a and 2b at a position along the refrigerator compartment door 2a on the left side when the refrigerator compartment doors 2a and 2b are closed (see FIG. 1). On the other hand, when the refrigerating room door 2a is opened, the refrigerating room door 2a is configured to swing in the thickness direction of the refrigerating room door 2a so as not to disturb the user.

  Further, the right refrigerator compartment door 2b is supported so as to be swingable about the support shaft S2, and a translucent resin-molded door pocket 32 into which a drink or the like is placed protrudes on the inner side.

<Configuration of decompression chamber 13 which is a gas control chamber>
The decompression chamber 13 shown in FIG. 3 is a gas control chamber in which internal air is sucked by a vacuum pump 12 as decompression means, and the pressure is reduced to an atmospheric pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, for example, 0.8 atmospheric pressure (80 kPa). is there. That is, the decompression chamber 13 creates a special air atmosphere for preventing oxidation of food, maintaining the freshness of vegetables, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the decompression chamber 13 is provided with ribs 14s as protrusions on the upper surface. Thereby, it is the structure supported in the state which provided the moderate clearance gap between the decompression chamber 13 and the shelf 37 immediately above it. At the rear of the decompression chamber 13, a cold air return port 19 of the refrigerating chamber 2 is provided, and proceeds forward through the upper surface of the decompression chamber 13 as indicated by the arrow, and then passes through the side surface or bottom surface of the decompression chamber 13. , Go to the return port 19. Thereby, the decompression chamber 13 is indirectly cooled from the surroundings.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the refrigerator compartment door 2b is closed, a predetermined space is formed between the door pocket 32 of the refrigerator compartment door 2b and the lid member 16 of the decompression chamber 13 so as not to contact each other. ing.

  Next, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the configuration of the decompression chamber 13 as seen obliquely from above. The decompression chamber 13 has an opening 14r on the front surface (see FIG. 10). The outer member 14 is divided into two parts in the upper and lower parts of a flat, long rectangular parallelepiped shape, and moves forward and backward to open and close the opening 14r. An outer peripheral wall is formed by the lid member 16 that performs the above operation.

  That is, a lid member 16 that opens and closes is provided in order to put a stored product into and out of the decompression chamber 13. Further, reinforcing ribs are provided on the outer surface of the outer member 14 in a straight line shape or a lattice shape to increase the section modulus and improve the strength. The shape of the reinforcing rib is not limited thereto, and any shape may be used as long as the section modulus of the outer member 14 is increased to improve the strength.

  The decompression chamber 13 is placed on the upper heat insulating partition wall 31a as in the present embodiment, placed on one of the shelves 37, or the upper wall portion (the heat insulating box body of the shelf 37 or the storage chamber). It may be hung on the upper part of 10 by a hanging means. Moreover, the structure which mounts the decompression chamber 13 not only in the refrigerator compartment 2 but in any storage chamber may be sufficient.

<Configuration of vacuum pump 12 and decompression chamber 13>
As shown in FIG. 3, the vacuum pump 12 is installed on the back side of the decompression chamber 13 in order to widen the decompression chamber 13 and to make extensive use of the storage space. That is, it arrange | positions so that a part of vacuum pump 12 and a part of decompression chamber 13 may wrap in the front-back direction. Thereby, the decompression chamber 13 can be expanded in the left direction in the figure.

  At this time, in order to depressurize the inside of the decompression chamber 13, the decompression chamber 13 and the vacuum pump 12 are configured by connecting with a bent shape (L-shaped) tube 12a.

  The tube 12a has a shape having a straight portion of 10 mm or more as a connection dimension for preventing air leakage when connecting the connecting portion 13a which is a suction port of the decompression chamber 13. Moreover, when connecting with the vacuum pump 12, it is set as the shape which has a linear part of 10 mm or more as a connection length.

<Schematic shape of outer member 14>
Next, the configuration of the outer member 14 will be described. FIG. 4 is a simplified perspective view of the outer member as viewed from the front upper side. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line JJ in FIG.

  The outer member 14 has a configuration in which a lower case 140 (first outer member) and an upper case 141 (second outer member) are joined to each other at a joint 142 while keeping airtightness.

  The lower case 140 of the outer member 14 is resin-molded using ABS (resin containing acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene), AS (resin containing acrylonitrile, styrene) or the like. Both side walls 140a and 140b, a bottom wall 14c, and a rear wall 140d are integrally formed. Further, the lower case 140 forms a front opening 14r and an upper opening 140e. That is, it has a shape in which two surfaces are opened. The connecting portion 140f constituting the upper side of the front opening 14r and the front side of the upper surface opening 140e is connected to the left and right side walls 140a and 140b, respectively. Furthermore, it has the junction part 142 provided seamlessly over the perimeter of the upper surface opening 140e.

  The upper case 141 of the outer member 14 is resin-molded using ABS (resin containing acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene), AS (resin containing acrylonitrile, styrene), or the like. The upper case 141 is integrally formed in a shape having an upper surface wall 141e, both side surface walls 141a and 141b, a rear surface wall 141d, and a joint 142 on the entire periphery. The upper case 141 is formed so as to cover the entire upper surface opening of the lower case 140 with no gap.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the side wall 14 a of the decompression chamber 13 is divided into a side wall 140 a of the lower case 140 and a side wall 141 a of the upper case 141. Similarly, the side wall 14b is divided into a side wall 140b of the lower case 140 and a side wall 141b of the upper case 141. Further, the rear wall 14d is divided into a rear wall 140d of the lower case 140 and a rear wall 141d of the upper case 141, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a pump connection portion 13 a having an insertion hole, which is a connection portion with the vacuum pump 12, is provided behind the outer surface of the left side wall 14 a of the outer member 14.

  When the inside of the decompression chamber 13 is decompressed by the vacuum pump 12, a load from the atmosphere is uniformly applied to the entire surface of the outer member 14 due to the differential pressure between the external atmospheric pressure and the internal low pressure. Since the inside of the decompression chamber 13 is at a low pressure, this load is applied in a direction in which the entire outer member 14 is crushed from the outside to the inside. For example, the planar dimensions of the outer member 14 are a width of 450 mm and a depth of 300 mm. If the pressure is 0.2 atm, a large load of about 270 kgf (about 2700 N) is obtained.

  For this reason, it is necessary to increase the sectional modulus of each outer surface of the side wall 14a, 14b, the bottom wall 14c, the rear wall 14d, and the top wall 14e of the outer member 14 to improve the strength. Therefore, each surface of the outer member 14 is not a flat surface, but has a substantially dome-shaped curved surface that is curved outwardly. Furthermore, it is preferable that the outer surface wall of the outer member 14 has a shape curved outward in both the depth direction and the left-right direction.

  The outer member 14 has a shape in which the opening 14r is longer in the width direction than in the height direction. Moreover, it is substantially circular arc shape which has height toward both sides from a center part. That is, the outer member 14 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having a flat horizontally long opening 14r. Thereby, the bottom wall 14c and the top wall 14e have a larger area than the other side walls 14a, 14b and the rear wall 14d. Since the load generated by the pressure difference from the atmospheric pressure when the inside is depressurized is proportional to the area, it is particularly necessary to ensure the strength of the bottom wall 14c and the top wall 14e. Since the load at this time is a load in a direction in which the outer member 14 is compressed and crushed from the outside, the strength is increased as a dome-shaped spherical shell that forms a part of a sphere, for example, a surface that receives the load. It is increasing.

  Each wall surface of the outer member 14 has an arc shape that protrudes outward, and has a shape in which corners of the walls are connected by a smooth arc.

  Further, the vicinity of the center of the upper and lower sides of the opening 14r is an upper surface opening support portion 14f and a lower surface opening support portion 14g that are convex toward the inside of the opening 14r.

  When a lid member 16, which will be described later, is closed, the packing 16p provided on the lid member 16 comes into pressure contact with the packing contact surface 14k, which is a convex portion provided along the edge of the opening 14r, and performs a hermetic seal. That is, the packing 16p is provided as a seal member that suppresses the movement of gas between the lid member 16 and the opening 14r of the outer member 14.

<Partition surface shape>
Next, the shape of the joint 142 between the upper case 141 and the lower case 140 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 6 which is a front view of the decompression chamber.

  The upper case 141 and the lower case 140 are planes inclined rearwardly downward from the connecting portion 140f near the upper end of the opening 14r toward the center in the height direction of the rear wall 14d, and the joint 142 is formed along the dividing surface. Provided. The upper case 141 constitutes a part of the outer member 14 composed of a dome-shaped upper surface 141e, side surfaces 141a and 141b, and a rear surface 141d, and supports a load during decompression in cooperation with a rib disposed around the upper case 141. Get the strength you want.

  In the present embodiment, the dividing surface is inclined so as to gradually descend from the vicinity of the upper surface of the opening 14r toward the rear so as to be a plane connecting the substantially central portion of the rear wall 140d. In this configuration, the upper case 141 does not have a thin plate shape, and a moderate thickness can be secured. Since the joining portion 142 is an inclined plane, even if a positional deviation occurs between the upper case 141 and the lower case 140, the close contact state does not change. That is, since the surfaces of the joint portion 142 are flat with each other, the accuracy is easily obtained, and the airtightness is easily maintained even when the positional relationship between the upper case 141 and the lower case 140 is low.

  If it is set as said structure, since both the upper case 141 and the lower case 140 can be shape | molded with resin, there exists an effect that the outer shell member 14 can be comprised cheaply. For joining of the joint portion 142 of the upper case 141 and the lower case 140, known joining means such as heat welding, bonding with an adhesive, and fastening with a screw or the like through a sealing material can be employed. In order to further improve the sealing performance, it is preferable to integrate the upper case 141 and the lower case 140 by heat welding.

  Note that the outer member 14 may have an inclined surface shape in which the relationship between the lower case 140 and the upper case 141 is reversed and the joint portion 142 gradually increases from the opening 14r toward the back.

  In addition, the configuration is not limited to the lower case 140 and the upper case 141, and may be a configuration formed integrally with, for example, resin. Moreover, the structure of the pressure reduction container made of metal and having rigidity may be used. That is, a known container shape / material can be adopted as long as the pressure resistance during decompression can be secured.

<Material>
As the material of the outer member 14, the strength is high enough to withstand the load caused by the differential pressure when the inside is depressurized, and the amount of deflection at the time of depressurization is reduced so as not to compress the food stored inside. Material is desirable. As an example, as a fibrous reinforcing filler, an ABS material reinforced by mixing glass fibers or carbon fibers can be used. As a result, the bending strength is increased and the Young's modulus (elastic coefficient) is increased, so that the outer member 14 can be suitably used.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, on the inner side of the opening 14r of the outer member 14, an upper surface opening support portion 14f that protrudes inward from the upper surface wall 14e and a lower surface opening support portion 14g that protrudes inward from the bottom surface wall 14c. Is provided on the rear surface side of the front opening 14r. At the edge of the opening 14r, there is a packing contact surface 14k, the upper surface opening support portion 14f is connected to the inclined surface 14m, and the lower surface opening support portion 14g is connected to the inclined surface 14n.

<Relationship between lid member 16 and opening 14r>
Next, the relationship between the lid member 16 and the opening 14r will be described. 5 and 7, the distance between the upper surface opening support portion 14f and the lower surface opening support portion 14g, that is, the height dimension of the opening 14r is higher than the height dimension of the reinforcing support portion H provided on the back surface of the lid member 18. Somewhat big. Thereby, the reinforcement support part H is inserted smoothly.

  Here, when the inside of the decompression chamber 13 is decompressed and a load due to the differential pressure of the atmospheric pressure is applied to the outer surface of the outer member 14, the outer member 14 is compressed and the gap is eliminated. Then, the upper surface opening support portion 14f and the lower surface opening support portion 14g are in contact with the upper and lower sides of the reinforcement support portion H, respectively. Thereby, since it is not compressed any more, the deformation of the opening 14r can be prevented.

  On the other hand, in the contact portion, the outer member 14 is compressed by the atmospheric pressure from the outside and is in contact with the reinforcing support portion H while being bent inward. That is, it does not contact uniformly, but comes into contact with the outer member 14 at the left and right ends of the reinforcing support H, and a reaction force F1 is generated between the outer member 14 and the outer member 14. Here, the width of the upper surface opening support portion 14f is approximately L2, and the width of the opening 14r outside the opening support portion is approximately L1. Then, it is desirable that L1 and L2 are configured to be substantially equal. By doing in this way, the load by the differential pressure added to the range of the upper surface reinforcement part 14f and the range of the upper surface wall 14e becomes respectively substantially equal and equal. Therefore, a load is not intensively applied to a specific portion, and the stress generated in the upper surface opening support portion 14f and the range of the opening outside thereof is almost equal to prevent damage due to repeated loads and increase the life. High reliability can be achieved.

  The widths of the bottom wall 14c and the lower surface opening support portion 14g are preferably similar in size and shape.

  As described above, in addition to the shape of the outer member 14, each of the side walls 14a and 14b, the bottom wall 14c, the rear wall 14d, the top wall 141e, the top opening support 14f, and the bottom opening support 14g, respectively. On the outer surface, reinforcing ribs that increase the section modulus and improve the strength are erected in a straight line shape, a lattice shape, and the like, and further strength against deformation due to differential pressure is secured.

  Guide rails 14s and 14s, which are protrusions along the depth direction, are provided on the inner surfaces of the side walls 140a and 140b of the lower case 140, and a pair of protrusions 17g and 17g provided on the food tray 17 described later are provided. The rear end side of the food tray 17 is supported.

  Since the outer member 14 is shaped as described above, and the upper case 141 and the lower case 140 molded by resin are joined by the joint 142, the outer member 14 is molded by resin and simplified. And can be constructed at low cost, and both expansion of the internal volume and increase in rigidity can be achieved.

<Food tray (drawer container)>
Next, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the lid member and the food tray as viewed from the direction A in FIG. 4.

  The food tray 17 (drawer container) disposed in the outer member 14 is a transparent resin molded product such as AS. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, it has both side walls 17a and 17b, a bottom wall 17c, a rear wall 17d and a front wall 17e.

  The front wall 17e of the food tray 17 is formed with a concave portion 17f for arranging a reinforcing support portion H described later, and a central side wall portion 17h connecting the front wall 17e and the concave portion 17f along the reinforcing support portion H. Yes. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 9, two pairs of attachment claws 17t1 for attaching the food tray 17 to the lid member 16 and interlocking with the opening / closing operation of the lid member 16 are provided on the central side wall portion 17h and the side walls 17a, 17b. 17t2 is formed, and a pair of left and right projections 17g and 17g are formed in the vicinity of the rear wall 17d of the side walls 17a and 17b. On the lid member side of the concave portion 17f, a stopper 17n is formed that is a convex portion that engages with the convex portion 16j provided at the center of the back surface of the lid member 18.

  The two pairs of attachment claws 17t1 and 17t2 are formed in a semi-cylindrical shape with the lower part opened and one side extended downward, and engage with columnar protrusions 16g1 and 16g2 provided on the lid member 16. . Thus, the food tray 17 is fixed to the lid member 16 and interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the lid member 16.

  Therefore, the user can easily take out the food in the food tray 17 by visually recognizing the inside of the food tray 17 that is pulled out as the lid member 16 opens and closes.

  The food tray 17 is provided with a guide claw 17t3 opening upward, and the food tray 17 is provided with a columnar protrusion 16g3 provided corresponding to the guide claw 17t3. By cooperating with each other, the food tray 17 can be detached from the lid member 16 and attached.

<Guide rail>
As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the food tray 17 and the lid member 16 are configured to be opened and closed integrally with each other.

  The bottom wall 17c of the food tray 17 is provided with guide ribs 17j and 17j that are elongated in the opening and closing direction. The guide ribs 17j and 17j are placed in the vicinity of the opening 14r of the bottom wall 14c of the outer member 14. Guide protrusions 14t, 14t are provided. A stopper 17m, which is a step, is provided on the rear side of the bottom surface of the food tray 17. The stopper 17m is slidably mounted on a lower guide rail 14y provided on the bottom surface of the outer member 14.

  On the side close to the opening 14r of the food tray 17, that is, on the side of the lid member 16, the guide rib 17j is placed on the guide protrusion 14t, and the upper surfaces of the protrusions 17g and 17g provided near the rear surface of the food tray 17 are the guide rails 14s. , 14s is supported by the lower side. The lower guide rail 14y is provided with a stopper 14v that is a step. When the lid member 16 and the food tray 17 are opened as a unit, the stopper 17m hits the stopper 14v at the fully opened position, and is restricted from opening further.

  With the above-described configuration, the food tray 17 is integrated with the lid member 16 and guided in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 7 and the vertical direction in FIG. 6).

<Bottom rack and pinion>
Next, on the lower surface of the bottom wall 17c of the food tray 17, that is, the side facing the bottom wall 14c of the outer shell member 14, racks 17k, which are linear gears in the front-rear direction, are provided in two rows symmetrically at a distance from each other. It has been.

  A pinion gear 15 is rotatably supported in a bottom surface recess 14w provided on the bottom wall 14c of the outer member 14 in parallel with the opening 14r. The pinion gear 15 includes a pair of left and right pinion gears 15a that are coupled to each other by a connecting shaft 15b and rotate as a unit, and a support shaft 15c that further protrudes outside the pinion gear 15a.

  The bottom surface recess 14w of the outer member 14 has a substantially semi-cylindrical shape larger than the diameter of the pinion gear 15a, and the left and right ends of the bottom surface recess 14w and the support recess 14x to which the support shaft 15c of the pinion gear 15 is rotatably fitted. It has become. Since the pinion gear 15 is simply dropped into the bottom recess 14w from above, the pinion gear 15 can be removed simply by removing the food tray 17 and picking it with a finger and lifting it upward. For example, even when the bottom recess 14w and the pinion gear 15 are dirty, they can be easily removed and cleaned or washed.

  When the food tray 17 is disposed in the outer shell member 14, the rack 17 k provided in the food tray 17 and the pinion gear 15 a provided in the bottom surface recess 14 w of the outer shell member 14 are disposed in meshing positions. However, the rack 17k does not mesh with the pinion gear 15a over the entire range in which the lid member 16 and the food tray 17 are opened and closed, but is at a distance L1 from the fully closed position of the lid member 16 and the food tray 17 (see FIG. 7). A rack 17k is not provided in the range.

  According to the above configuration, it is not necessary to provide a rail member or the like in order to open and close the lid member 16 and the food tray 17 back and forth, and it is also necessary to provide a component such as a support shaft for supporting the pinion gear. The lid member 16 and the food tray 17 can be opened and closed stably with a simple configuration.

  Note that the pinion gear 15a and the rack 17k are not necessarily required, and the operability can be sufficiently satisfied even if the food tray 17 is slidable due to the relationship between the lower guide rail 14y and the stopper 17m described above.

<Configuration of lid member 16>
As shown in FIG. 4, the lid member 16 has an opening / closing handle 26 rotatably supported around a support shaft 16s provided on both sides thereof. Further, the lid member 16 includes a differential pressure relief valve V shown in FIG.

  The user holds the opening / closing handle 26, and the lid member 16 is opened / closed and locked when the lid member 16 is closed, and the differential pressure relief valve V is opened / closed.

  When the decompression chamber 13 is decompressed by the vacuum pump 12, the load applied to the lid member 16 increases due to the differential pressure between the atmospheric pressure outside the decompression chamber 13 and the decompressed pressure inside the decompression chamber 13. Thus, in order to directly open the lid member 16, the user needs a considerable force.

  Therefore, by opening the differential pressure relief valve V, the inside and outside space of the lid member 16 is inserted, the inside / outside pressure difference is eliminated, the load due to the differential pressure is eliminated, and the lid member 16 can be easily opened.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the lid member 16 is provided with an elastic packing 16 p at the inner peripheral edge that abuts the outer member 14 when closed. The packing 16p provides a seal between the outer member 14 and the lid member 16.

As shown in FIG. 10, the packing 16 p is formed in an annular shape having a recess 16 p 1 whose outer peripheral center in the cross section is recessed inward. Even when the cover member 16 is closed with a slight inclination with respect to the outer shell member 14, the packing 16 p is elastically deformed in the recess 16 p 1 to absorb the deviation, and the gap between the outer member 14 and the outer cover member 16. Can be reliably sealed.
The packing 16p can be provided on the outer member 14 side without being provided on the lid member 16.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lid member 16 is formed of a resin such as ABS whose left and right end portions 16 h are opaque, and a translucent AS so that the central portion 16 c 2 can visually recognize food stored in the decompression chamber 13. It is molded with resin such as.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the side portions 16 c 1 and 16 c 1 of the center portion 16 c 2 of the lid member 16 have a space between the opening and closing handle 26 and the lid member 16 when the opening and closing handle 26 is rotated with respect to the lid member 16. The distance between the side portions 16c1 and 16c1 of the lid member 16 and the rotation locus of the rod 27 of the opening / closing handle 26 is set to a predetermined value or less, for example, 7 mm or less. That is, the both side portions 16c1 and 16c1 of the lid member 16 are formed in a shape projecting outward substantially along an arcuate locus along which the rod body 27 of the opening / closing handle 26 moves.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the central portion 16 c 2 of the lid member 16 has a space occupied by the handle operating portion 36 of the opening / closing handle 26 so that the user's hand can enter from the outer surface side. It is formed in a concave shape.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a reinforcing support portion H that is an upper and lower support portion of a front opening having a shape protruding inward is formed on the inner side of the center portion 16 c 2 of the lid member 16.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the reinforcing support portion H of the lid member 16 is provided near the center of the back surface of the lid member 16. The reinforcing support portion H is formed by continuously forming an outer peripheral upper wall surface H1, an outer peripheral lower wall surface H2, and both side wall surfaces H3 standing on the inner side, and a plurality of reinforcements are provided between the outer peripheral upper wall surface H1 and the outer peripheral lower wall surface H2. Ribs hr are formed extending in the vertical direction.

  As described above, when the outer shell member 14 is depressurized by the vacuum pump 12, a large load is applied due to a differential pressure between the external atmospheric pressure and the internal low pressure.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the lid member 16 is closed, the reinforcing support portion H inside the lid member 16 contacts the upper surface opening support portion 14f and the lower surface opening support portion 14g of the outer member 14 in the decompression chamber 13. In contact therewith, due to the differential pressure between the atmospheric pressure outside the decompression chamber 13 and the low pressure inside the decompression chamber 13, the load applied from above to the upper surface wall 141e of the outer member 14 and the upper surface opening support portion 14f, and the bottom wall 14c of the outer member 14 And the load due to the differential pressure applied to the lower surface opening support 14g from below, and the deformation of the decompression chamber 13 is suppressed by these loads.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a differential pressure relief hole 16 a that is inserted into the decompression chamber 13 of the differential pressure relief valve V is provided in the central portion 16 c 2 of the lid member 16. The lid member 16 is provided with a valve opening / closing member 35 having a valve body 35t made of rubber having an elastic property and flexibility for opening / closing the differential pressure release valve V so as to be rotatable around a support shaft 35s. ing.

  Here, the support shaft 35 s on which the valve opening / closing member 35 rotates and the support shaft 16 s on which the opening / closing handle 26 rotates are concentric, and the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing handle 26 is performed via the valve opening / closing member 35. It is configured to be interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the valve body 35t.

  The opening / closing handle 26 is rotatably supported around the support shafts 16s, 16s on the left and right side portions of the lid member 16, and the rod body 27 is positioned at the lowermost part of the rotation trajectory about the left and right support shafts 16s, 16s. In this case, the lid member 16 is closed and locked by the opening / closing handle 26. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the rod body 27 is positioned above the rotation locus around the left and right support shafts 16s, 16s. In this case, the lid member 16 is unlocked by the opening / closing handle 26.

  The handle operating portion 36 (see FIGS. 7 and 10) of the opening / closing handle 26 has a function of a grip portion when the user operates the opening / closing handle 26 and a function of guiding opening / closing of the differential pressure relief valve V. ing. That is, the opening / closing operation by the rotation of the opening / closing handle 26 is linked to the opening / closing valve operation of the valve body 35t via the valve opening / closing member 35. When the opening / closing handle 26 is closed as shown in FIG. 7, the valve body 35t is closed, and when the opening / closing handle 26 is turned upward and opened as shown in FIG. 10, the valve body 35t is opened.

  When the valve is opened, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 10, the difference between the pressure applied to the lid member 16 when the lid member 16 is opened as the outside air enters the decompression chamber 13 where the pressure is reduced and the pressure difference is eliminated. The load due to pressure is eliminated, and the lid member 16 can be opened smoothly.

  After the lid member 16 is closed, for example, the user presses an operation switch (not shown) or the refrigerator doors 2a and 2b are closed and the door switch (not shown) is turned on. The air in the decompression chamber 13 is sucked and decompression is started.

  When the pressure reduction is started, the lid member 16 is pressed from the outside by the differential pressure between the atmospheric pressure and the internal low pressure, and the packing 16p is pressed against the outer member 14 by a pressure greater than the force locked by the handle. The recess 16p1 of the packing 16p is brought into close contact with the state shown in FIG. 7, and the packing 16p is crushed due to a large load due to the differential pressure between the atmospheric pressure and the internal low pressure, resulting in a large surface pressure. Thus, the internal negative pressure can be maintained.

  With the above configuration, by driving the vacuum pump 12 to reduce the pressure, the inside of the decompression chamber 13 can be set to a negative pressure and the negative pressure can be maintained. Here, the outer member 14 of the decompression chamber 13 can be formed at low cost by being formed of a plastic material. Furthermore, by making the outer shell member 14 into an upper and lower divided configuration in which the outer members 14 are joined in an airtight manner, the internal volume can be expanded and the strength can be secured. Further, since the portions other than the front opening 14r are sealed, only the gap between the lid member 16 and the opening 14r is sealed with the packing 16p, so that the entire decompression chamber 13 can be kept hermetically sealed.

<Lighting means>
Next, a structure for attaching illumination means such as an LED (Light-Emitting Diode) to the decompression chamber will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a decompression chamber provided with illumination means. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the illumination means for the decompression chamber is incorporated. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the state of the first stage in the middle of incorporating the illumination means of the decompression chamber. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a second stage state during the further assembly from the state of FIG. FIG. 15 is a top view of the state of FIG. FIG. 16 is a top view of the state of FIG. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in the middle of incorporating the illumination unit into the cover member. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the illumination unit is incorporated in the cover member from the state of FIG. FIG. 19A is a perspective view of a seal member. FIG. 19B is a cross-sectional view of the seal member.

  First, in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the decompression chamber 13 is provided with a lid member 16 that opens and closes in order to put a stored product in and out. Further, reinforcing ribs 40 are provided on the outer surface of the outer member 14 so as to increase the section modulus and improve the strength in a straight line shape or a lattice shape. In the case of this configuration, it is difficult for light to reach the inside of the outer shell member 14, so that it is difficult to visually recognize the inside.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the illumination means 46 dedicated to the decompression chamber 13 is provided on the outer wall surface of the outer member 14. Reference numeral 41 denotes an opening formed in the upper case 141 of the outer member 14. Illumination means such as an LED, which will be described later, is provided above the opening 41 to illuminate the inside of the decompression chamber 13. Here, the opening 41 is located in an upper part in front of the center of the outer member 14 and irradiates the inside of the decompression chamber 13 from the rear to the front.

  Reference numeral 47 denotes a protrusion provided on the wall surface of the outer member 14, that is, the edge of the opening 41 formed in the upper case 141 so as to protrude outward. The protrusion 47 is formed in an annular shape on the outer peripheral edge of the opening 41.

  Reference numeral 42 denotes a seal member provided in an annular shape on the outer periphery of the protruding portion 47.

  Reference numeral 43 denotes a translucent member disposed so as to be in contact with the seal member 42. The translucent member 43 is a plate formed of a material having a property of transmitting light, such as glass, and is transparent or translucent. The translucent member 43 is placed on the seal member 42 and closes the opening 41.

  Reference numeral 44 denotes a substrate on which illumination means such as an LED is mounted. A cover member 45 covers the substrate 44.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the opening 41 is covered with a translucent member 43 disposed so as to contact the seal member 42, a substrate 44 is disposed above the translucent member 43, and the seal member 42. The translucent member 43 and the substrate 44 are covered with a cover member 45.

  The illumination means 46 is provided on the near side of the upper case 141 and is turned on when the lid member 16 is opened, thereby improving the visibility in the decompression chamber 13.

  12 and 16, holding portions 48 and 49 are provided at the rear and front of the protruding portion 47 of the outer member 14, respectively. On the other hand, locking portions 51 and 52 are provided at the back and front of the cover member 45, respectively. The locking portion 51 is restricted from moving upward by the holding portion 48, and the locking portion 52 is restricted from moving upward by the holding portion 49. That is, the cover member 45 incorporating the substrate 44 has a configuration in which the substrate 44 is disposed at a predetermined position above the opening 41 by engaging the locking portions 51 and 52 with the holding portions 48 and 49.

  In addition, the cover member 45 includes a pressing portion 50 on a surface facing the translucent member 43. A plurality of pressing portions 50 are provided, and are in contact with each other at the front and rear of the translucent member 43. In a state where the locking portions 51 and 52 are engaged with the holding portions 48 and 49, the pressing portion 50 provided on the cover member 45 abuts on the translucent member 43, and the translucent member 43 becomes the seal member 42. Press. Thereby, the sealing performance of the opening 41 is improved.

  The opening 41 provided in the outer member 14 has a rectangular shape with a front-rear width of about 20 mm and a left-right width of about 130 mm, and the protruding portion 47 surrounding the opening 41 has a shape of a height of about 3 mm.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, the seal member 42 has a rectangular cross section, and is formed in an annular shape from a flexible material such as resin that is elastically deformed. The seal member 42 has a thickness of about 5 mm, and when the inscribed surface 42 c is disposed so as to surround the outer periphery of the protrusion 47, the seal member 42 protrudes upward from the protrusion 47 by about 2 mm. A translucent member 43 is placed on the seal member 42 protruding upward.

  The translucent member 43 covering the opening 41 is larger than the outer periphery of the protruding portion 47, and as an example, the front-rear width is 40 mm, the left-right width is 150 mm, and the thickness is about 4 mm.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 19B, projecting piece portions 42b extending outward are formed in an annular shape on the upper surface 42d side and the lower surface 42e side of the seal member 42, respectively. A groove 42a that is recessed toward the inner peripheral side is formed between the upper and lower protruding pieces 42b and 42b. Furthermore, the center protrusion 42c is provided so that the groove | channel 42a may be divided | segmented up and down. That is, the projecting piece portions 42b and 42b are provided on the outer periphery, the central projecting piece portion 42c is provided closer to the center of the cross section than the projecting piece portions 42b and 42b, and the projecting piece portion 42b and the central projecting piece portion 42c Grooves 42a and 42a are formed between them.

  As an example, the seal member 42 having a rectangular cross section has a vertical width of about 5 mm and a horizontal width of about 6 mm, and has two grooves 42a and 42a formed in the vertical direction. When the seal member 42 is compressed and deformed, the broken line state in FIG. 21B is changed to a solid line state, and the protruding pieces 42b and 42b are deformed so as to spread outward. In this deformation, the grooves 42a and 42a are configured to absorb the deformation dimension of the base portions of the projecting piece portions 42b and 42b. Therefore, assemblability can be improved.

  In the case of the seal member 42 of the present embodiment, the translucent member 43 is drawn toward the opening 41 side by negative pressure when the decompression chamber 13 is decompressed. At this time, the translucent member 43 is in contact with the seal member 42, and the seal member 42 is compressed by the translucent member 43 and pressed toward the outer member 14.

  Further, the seal member 42 has a size higher than that of the protruding portion 47. With this configuration, when the decompression chamber 13 is decompressed, the translucent member 43 is displaced in a direction to approach the projecting portion 47 to improve the sealing performance.

  Further, when the seal member 42 is compressed, the inner periphery of the seal member 42 is in contact with the protruding portion 47, so that the seal member 42 is deformed to the outer periphery. At this time, since the groove 42a is formed on the outer periphery, the seal member 42 is reliably deformed by the deformation of the groove 42a without being greatly deformed to the outside and flexibly deforming following the negative pressure operation. A simple sealing structure. Moreover, the elastic force of the sealing member 42 can be adjusted appropriately by providing the protruding piece part 42b and the groove 42a.

  Next, the cover member 45 will be described. The cover member 45 has locking portions 51 and 52 that engage with holding portions 48 and 49 provided on the outer member 14 side, and the holding portions 48 and 49 and the locking portions 51 and 52 are engaged. At this time, the pressing portion 50 provided on the cover member 45 side presses the translucent member 43 toward the central side of the decompression chamber 13 and compresses the seal member 42.

  By this compression, the airtightness between the translucent member 43 and the outer member 14 is maintained. That is, the projecting piece 42b of the seal member 42 is pressed and deformed so that the deformation margin is pushed into the groove 42a side, and between the upper surface of the seal member 42 and the translucent member 43, the lower surface of the seal member 42 and the outer shell. The sealing member 42 is in close contact with the member 14 via the sealing member 42, and the sealing member 42 is compressed between the inscribed surface 42 c of the sealing member 42 and the protruding portion 47, and is expanded to the protruding portion 47 side. Contact between the protrusion 42 and the protrusion 47 is strengthened, and adhesion at this portion is also promoted.

  Next, in FIGS. 17 and 18, reference numeral 53 denotes an attachment piece for holding the substrate 44 on the cover member 45. The substrate 44 attached to the cover member 45 via the attachment piece 53 illuminates the inside of the decompression chamber 13 via the translucent member 43 with the illumination means 46 being restricted to a predetermined position on the translucent member 43. . The timing of irradiating the decompression chamber 13 with the illumination means 46 is, for example, when the lid member 16 is opened. Moreover, if it is set as the structure which irradiates the inside of the decompression chamber 13 manually or automatically in the state which closed the cover member 16, the inside can be visually recognized with the decompression state of the decompression chamber 13 maintained. In this case, by making part of the lid member 16 translucent, the user can visually recognize the inside from the front of the lid member 16. In particular, as shown in FIG. 2, when the shelf 37 is arranged in the upper part of the decompression chamber 13 with a slight gap, it is possible to see from the front lid member 16 side rather than viewing the decompression chamber 13 from above. It is.

  The substrate 44 and the translucent member 43 are provided so that the opening 41 is inclined with respect to the reference plane P (see FIG. 12) of the outer member 14, and is inclined so that the front increases from the rear. . This inclination is along the inclination of the joint portion 142 between the upper case 141 and the lower case 140 described above. This is because the front edge of the opening 41 is formed to be higher than the rear edge along the inclination of the joint portion 142. That is, by forming the protruding portion 47 in the vertical direction based on the inclination of the joint portion 142, the upper case 141 can be easily released from the mold when the upper case 141 is molded.

  Further, the illumination means 46 is provided so as to be inclined so that the front becomes higher, so that when the lid member 16 is opened, the food tray 17 in the pulled out state can be appropriately irradiated.

  At this time, the opening 41 is in a state of being covered with a transparent translucent member 43 through a seal member 42.

  Next, the process of incorporating the cover member 45 incorporating the substrate 44 into the outer member 14 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, as shown in FIG. 13, the tip of the locking portion 51 of the cover member 45 is inserted into the holding portion 48, and the cover member 45 is moved downward as indicated by an arrow K1 with the contact portion between the locking portion 51 and the holding portion 48 as a fulcrum. The locking portion 51 is inserted to the rear of the holding portion 48 while being rotated. Then, as shown in FIG. 14, the front engaging portion 52 on the cover member 45 side is moved until the height is located below the holding portion 49 on the front side of the outer member 14. In the state of FIG. 14, the locking portion 52 is not engaged with the holding portion 49, and the pressing portion 50 is not in contact with the translucent member 43.

  From the state of FIG. 14, the cover member 45 is slid to the arrow K2 side of FIG. 12, and the holding portion 48 and the locking portion 52, and the holding portion 49 and the locking portion 52 are engaged.

  At this time, the pressing portion 50 comes into contact with the translucent member 43, and the projecting piece portion 42 b of the seal member 42 is pressed and deformed so as to be pushed into the groove 42 a side. The sealing member 42, the lower surface 42 e of the sealing member 42 and the outer member 14 are in close contact with each other via the sealing member 42, and even between the inscribed surface 42 c of the sealing member 42 and the protrusion 47. 42 is compressed and comes into contact with the protruding portion 47 side, and adhesion at this portion is also promoted.

  Next, in FIGS. 15 and 16, reference numeral 54 denotes a locking piece, and 55 denotes an engaging protrusion. The locking piece 54 is provided to protrude outward near the center of each of the left side portion and the right side portion of the cover member 45. The engagement protrusions 55 are provided to protrude inward on the left side and the right side of the recess where the cover member 45 of the outer member 14 is disposed.

  In this configuration, in the state of FIG. 15 (FIG. 14), the locking piece 54 is located behind the engaging protrusion 55. Then, when the cover member 45 is moved from the state of FIG. 15 (FIG. 14) to the state of FIG. 16 (FIG. 12), the locking piece 54 that has reached the locking projection 55 Get over the end and lock it. Thereby, the position regulation of the cover member 45 can be ensured.

  Next, the incorporation of the substrate 44 into the cover member 45 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The substrate 44 has a configuration in which an illumination means 46 such as an electronic component 44a or an LED is mounted. The substrate 44 is fixed by an attachment piece 53 of the cover member 45. The attachment piece 53 is a piece-like portion that is below the cover member 45 and is open at the front, and is configured to form a substrate incorporation portion 53 a between the upper surface of the cover member 45. Further, the attachment piece 53 has an inclination that becomes lower from the front side toward the rear side. The attachment pieces 53 are arranged so as to be paired on the left and right of the illumination means 46 so as not to block the irradiation range of the illumination means 46.

A substrate restricting portion 56 extending downward is provided in front of the substrate incorporating portion 53a.
The lower end of the board restricting portion 56 has an inclination that increases from the front side toward the rear side.

  In this configuration, as shown in FIG. 17, when the substrate 44 is incorporated into the substrate incorporation portion 53 a, the upper portion of the substrate 44 contacts the substrate restriction portion 56. Further, the lower part of the substrate 44 is in contact with the inlet side end of the mounting piece 53. In this state, when the substrate 44 is slid rearward, the rear end of the substrate 44 is guided downward along the inclination of the mounting piece 53. On the other hand, the front end of the substrate 44 is guided so as to gradually move upward along the inclination of the substrate restricting portion 56. And as shown in FIG. 18, the board | substrate 44 is arrange | positioned smoothly at the board | substrate incorporating part 53a. Since the substrate 44 of the substrate mounting portion 53a is arranged so that the rear side is inclined downward than the front side, the substrate 44 is not easily displaced. Further, when the substrate 44 moves forward, it is regulated by the substrate regulating unit 56.

  The wiring of the substrate 44 is arranged along the outer surface of the outer member 14 from the cover member 45. That is, no electrical component wiring is provided in the decompression chamber 13. For this reason, there is no possibility of leakage from the wiring inlet or the like during decompression.

  Next, the deodorizing action of the decompression chamber 13 using the translucent member 43 and the LED as the illumination means 46 will be described.

  The translucent member 43 is provided with a transparent visible response photocatalyst on the surface on the decompression chamber 13 side as a flat plate of glass. This visible response type photocatalyst is provided by directly applying to the translucent member 43 or attaching a film containing the catalyst. By the action of this catalyst, dirt and odor in the decompression chamber are decomposed to obtain effects such as deodorization.

  Note that the catalytic reaction is performed by visible light of the LED. As the photocatalyst, for example, a tungsten oxide-based material having a thickness of about 100 μm and, in the case of a film, a catalyst kneaded into a highly weather-resistant PET film is employed.

  When the catalyst 46 is irradiated with light from the LED 46 that illuminates the decompression chamber, electrons in the tungsten oxide-based material reduce oxygen to change to active oxygen, oxidize moisture, and change to hydroxyl radicals. Harmful substances are decomposed into harmless carbon dioxide and water by the strong oxidizing power of this active oxygen and hydroxyl radical. As a result, dirt and odor components in the decompression chamber are decomposed to obtain effects such as deodorization.

  In addition, although the light-transmitting member is provided with a photocatalyst, the light of the LED 46 reaches the decompression chamber 13 by adopting a light-transmitting material for the photocatalyst itself and the film, and functions as illumination, deodorization, etc. It is possible to combine these functions.

  In the present embodiment having the configuration described above, the following effects can be obtained. That is, in a refrigerator including an outer member, a lid member that opens and closes the outer member, and a decompression unit that depressurizes the outer member, the refrigerator protrudes outward at an opening edge formed on the wall surface of the outer member. A projecting portion provided on the outer periphery of the projecting portion, a seal member provided on the outer periphery of the projecting portion, a translucent member that contacts the seal member and closes the opening, and is provided facing the outer side of the translucent member. Illumination means and a cover member that covers the illumination means. Thereby, while being able to illuminate the decompression chamber from the outside of the decompression chamber, the inflow of air from the portion where the illumination means is installed can be suppressed, and the decompressed state can be maintained. Moreover, since the circumference | surroundings of the sealing member and the illumination means are covered with a cover member, a translucent member, and an outer shell member, it is possible to prevent food contamination.

  Further, the seal member is disposed so as to be higher in the height direction than the protruding portion. Accordingly, when the translucent member is disposed so as to contact the seal member and the pressure in the decompression chamber is reduced, the translucent member is drawn toward the opening side, compressing the seal member, and improving the sealing performance. Moreover, in the state of the normal pressure which is not decompressed, since the compressive force which acts on a sealing member is small, degradation of a sealing member can be suppressed.

  Moreover, the said cover member has a press part, and this press part presses the said translucent member to the said seal member side. Thereby, the sealing property of an opening can be improved and the position shift of a translucent member can be prevented.

  In addition, the protruding portion is inclined so that the rear is lower than the front of the opening, and the translucent member is inclined. Thereby, when the lid member is opened, it is possible to appropriately irradiate the front of the decompression chamber that is noticeable by the user.

  Further, in a refrigerator including an outer member, a lid member that opens and closes the outer member, and a decompression unit that depressurizes the outer member, the refrigerator protrudes outward at an opening edge formed on a wall surface of the outer member. A projecting portion provided on the outer periphery of the projecting portion, a seal member provided on the outer periphery of the projecting portion, a translucent member that contacts the seal member and closes the opening, and is provided facing the outer side of the translucent member. And a cover member that covers the illumination means, and the seal member includes a plurality of projecting pieces on the outer periphery and a groove formed between the projecting pieces. Thereby, when the seal member is compressed and deformed, the deformation of the seal member is absorbed by the groove, so that it is not necessary to secure an extra space considering the deformation between the seal member and the protruding portion for positioning the seal member. In addition, it is deformed flexibly by the compression by the negative pressure in the decompression chamber, and a reliable sealing structure can be obtained without generating a large repulsive force.

  In addition, a plurality of the grooves are annularly provided on the outer periphery of the seal member. Thus, when the seal member is deformed, the seal member is flexibly deformed toward the groove, so that the assembling property of the seal member is improved.

1 Refrigerator body 2 Refrigerating room 12 Vacuum pump (pressure reduction means)
13 Decompression chamber (storage chamber, gas control chamber)
14 Outer member 16 Decompression chamber lid (lid member)
17 Food tray (withdrawal container)
41 Opening 42 Sealing member 42a Groove 42b Projection piece 42c Inscribed surface 42d Upper surface 42e Lower surface 43 Translucent member 44 Substrate 44a Electronic component 45 Cover member 46 Illumination means (LED)
47 Protruding portion 48 Holding portion 49 Holding portion 50 Pressing portion 51 Locking portion 52 Locking portion 53 Mounting piece 53a Substrate incorporating portion 54 Locking piece 55 Engaging protrusion 56 Substrate regulating portion

Claims (2)

In a refrigerator including an outer member, a lid member that opens and closes the outer member, and a decompression unit that depressurizes the outer member.
A projecting portion provided to project outward at an opening edge formed on the wall surface of the outer member;
A seal member provided on the outer periphery of the protruding portion;
A translucent member that contacts the seal member and closes the opening;
Illuminating means provided facing the outside of the translucent member;
A cover member that covers the illumination means,
The said sealing member has a some protrusion piece part in the outer periphery, and the groove | channel formed between this some protrusion piece part, The refrigerator characterized by the above-mentioned.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the grooves are annularly provided on an outer periphery of the seal member.