JPH0147716B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a container in a vegetable storage compartment that can be sealed off from the interior of the refrigerator for storing vegetables, fruits, etc.

Conventional Structure and Problems Conventionally, in a refrigerator having a vegetable storage compartment, the vegetable storage container in the compartment can be freely pulled out or rotated, and cold air can be flowed into the vegetable storage container to create a "refrigerating room". Attempts have been made to make it possible to use it as a vegetable storage container, or to enable it to be used as a "vegetable compartment" by circulating cold air around the outer periphery of the vegetable storage container.

Conventionally, one vegetable storage container was placed inside the vegetable storage compartment, and as mentioned above, by blocking the flow of cold air into the container, the container could be used as a "refrigeration room" or "vegetable room", but recently, From the viewpoint of usability or from the viewpoint of separating storage management from vegetables and fruits, there is an upper shelf in the vegetable storage compartment.
Attempts have been made to place two vegetable storage containers on the lower tier, but in this case, only the large storage container with a large capacity placed on the lower tier has a "vegetable compartment" and a "refrigeration compartment" with a cold air switching structure. It was used. The reason for this is that the vegetable storage containers are divided into upper and lower tiers, so a cold air switching shutter is required for each container, and the operating levers for the shutters that conduct and cut off the cold air are located in different locations. This was due to operational inconvenience due to the different operating positions.

In addition, a device in which each container can be switched to a "vegetable compartment" or a "refrigerating compartment" as needed and has an operating lever in one place was proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 57-56358 and 57-56359. As already proposed, these containers have only one entrance and exit for cold air, which prevents sufficient convection within the container when used as a "refrigeration room."

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention has the object of making it possible to switch each of the containers arranged in the upper and lower levels into a refrigerator compartment and a vegetable compartment as needed, and to prevent cold air convection inside the containers when the containers are used as a refrigerator compartment. This was done in order to provide a refrigerator in which switching operations can be performed at the same location.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve this object, a large container and a small container are arranged in two stages, upper and lower, and a cold air inlet and a cold air outlet to each container are formed at the front and rear of the lid that closes the upper opening of the small container. In addition, shutters for opening and closing these cold air inlets and outlets and levers for connecting the shutters were provided, and cold air could be introduced into the large container located at the lower level through a duct formed at the rear of the small container. . In other words, by forming a duct at the rear of the small container, it is possible to introduce cold air into each container from the cold air inlet at the rear of the lid, and this introduced cold air flows out from the cold air outlet and causes convection. By connecting the front and rear shutters provided at the cold air inlet and outlet, it is possible to operate the lid from one location, near the lid.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the figure, 1 is the refrigerator main body, an outer box 2, an inner box 3, and a heat insulating material 4 filled between these boxes 2 and 3.
Consists of. The inside of the main body 1 is divided into a top freezer compartment (not shown), a middle refrigerator compartment 5, and a vegetable preservation compartment 8 defined by a partition wall 6 and a lid 7 from the refrigerator compartment 5. Each of the chambers 5 and 8 is provided with a door 9 that can be opened and closed by pivoting the upper and lower ends of one side, and a door 10 that can be freely drawn out. Inside the vegetable storage compartment 8, a large container 11 as a vegetable storage container is fixed to a door 10.
When the door 10 is opened and closed, the top opening moves into and out of the refrigerator. This large container 11 is fixed to the door 10 with a slight gap 12 between the back wall and bottom wall of the vegetable storage compartment 8 and the inner wall of the door 10. It forms a cold air passage that cools from the surface. This cold air passage 12
The cold air inlet 12a is formed by recessing approximately the center of the back wall of the compartment 8 over a predetermined width, and is configured between the rear end of the lid 7 and the cold air outlet 12a, which is formed by a horizontal overhang to the door 10 of the large container 11. It is composed of a hole 11b drilled in the hole 11a and a long hole 7i bored in the lid body 7.

On the other hand, the small container 13 has a vegetable compartment in the upper opening of the large container 11 so as to cover the entire opening.
(8) is provided so that it can be freely pulled out along a rail groove (not shown) formed on the side wall of the small container 1.
3 is also used as a vegetable storage container. That is,
This small container 13 is opened when the door 10 is pulled out.
It can be pulled out by holding the handle 13a extending toward the back side. Handle portion 13 of this small container 13
A is provided with a large number of convection holes 13b, and a partition plate 13c is provided on one side of the rear part of the large container 11.
A duct 14 communicating with is formed.

Next, the lid 7 will be explained. The lid body 7 is provided so as to cover the entire top opening of the small container 13, and the front part has a horizontal part 7a that is locked to the partition wall 6 and an inclined part that slopes downward from the horizontal part 7a toward the back. 7b, the rear end thereof hangs down approximately vertically, and is formed with a stopper 7c that abuts the rear end of the small container 13, and a blocking portion 7d that abuts the partition plate 13c to extend and partition the duct 14. There is. At the rear end of the lid 7, between the stopper 7c and the shielding part 7d, an appropriate number of cold air inlets 7e for large containers are provided on one side, that is, in positions facing the duct 14, and on the other side, for small containers. A suitable number of cold air inlets 7f are provided. Also, the inclined part 7b
An appropriate number of cold air outlets 7g for small containers are bored in the center, and an appropriate number of cold air outlets 7h for large containers are bored on both left and right sides of the outlets 7g. An elongated hole 7i serving as a cold air outlet of the cold air passage 12 is bored in parallel with the large container cold air outlet 7h.

The large container cold air inlet 7e is provided with a large container shutter 15 that opens and closes the inlet by providing a hole corresponding to the inlet, and the large container cold air outlet 7h is provided with large container shutters 16a and 16b. There is. Shutter 16 provided on this exit 7h side
a and 16b are connected by a connecting plate 16c, and thus operate in conjunction with each other. Further, the large container shutter 16a has an operating portion 16d at the tip, and the lid 7
It is made to protrude from a through hole 7j bored in the horizontal part 7a, so that it can be slid in the left and right direction. Further, both large container shutters 15 and 16a are connected to a lever 17 which is pivotally supported by a pivot pin 7k projected from the back surface of the lid 7.
The large container shutters 15, 16a, and 16b simultaneously slide by operating the operating portion 16d to simultaneously open and close the cold air inlet 7e and the cold air outlet 7h.

On the other hand, the small container cold air inlet 7f and the small container cold air outlet 7g are also provided with small container shutters 18 and 19, and the tip of the shutter 19 on the outlet 7g side has an operating part 19a, and the lid body 7 horizontal part 7a of
It is made to protrude from a through hole 7e bored in the hole 7e, so that it can be slid in the left and right direction. Shutter 1 for both small containers
8 and 19 are also pivot pins 7 protruding from the back side of the lid body 7.
They are connected by a lever 20 pivoted to m,
By operating the grip operation part 19a, the shutters 18 and 19 for each small container slide at the same time, and the cold air inlet 7
f. The cold air outlet 7g is opened and closed at the same time.

Next, in the above configuration, the large container 11 and the small container 13
The flow of cold air in the usage mode will be explained.

(i) When using both the large container 11 and the small container 13 as a refrigerating room... Since it is necessary to cause cold air to circulate between both containers 11 and 13, each shutter 15, 16a, 16b, 18
The holes communicate with the respective inlets and outlets 7e, 7f, 7h, and 7g. At this time, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, cold air flows from the refrigerator compartment 5 → cold air inlet 7e for large containers → the hole in the shutter 15 for large containers → duct 14 → large container 11 → convection hole 13b → large Holes in container shutters 16a and 16b → cold air outlet 7h for large containers → air path flowing from refrigerator compartment 5 and refrigerator compartment 5
→ Cold air inlet 7f for small containers → Hole of shutter 18 for small containers → Small container 13 → Shutter 19 for small containers
An air path is formed that flows from the hole to the small container cold air outlet 7g to the refrigerator compartment 5, and both containers 11 and 13 have the same temperature as the refrigerator compartment 5 by convection of cold air, that is, become a refrigerator compartment. At this time, not only cold air convection flows into each container 11 and 13, but also the cold air passage 1 shown in (ii) below.
Naturally, the second flow also exists.

(ii); When both the large container 11 and the small container 13 are used as a vegetable compartment...Since cold air must not be allowed to flow into both containers 11 and 13, each shutter 15, 16a, 16b, 18
to close each inlet and outlet 7e, 7f, 7h, and 7g. . At this time, as shown by the arrows in Figures 2B and 3B, the flow of cold air is from the refrigerator compartment 5 to the cold air inlet 12.
a → cold air passage 12 → hole 11b → convection hole 13b →
The long hole 7i→forms an air path that becomes the refrigerating chamber 5 to cool the large container 11 from the outer periphery, and the small container 11 is also cooled by the temperature of the large container 11 and the inner wall portion facing the cold air passage 12. A vegetable compartment is also formed as a sealed space against cold air.

(iii); When using the large container 11 as a refrigerator compartment and the small container 13 as a vegetable compartment...at this time, open the large container cold air inlet 7e and cold air outlet 7h, and open the small container cold air inlet 7f and cold air outlet 7g. When closed, Figure 2A
A cold air convection is generated to the large container 11 as shown in , and the above-mentioned use becomes possible.

(iv); When using the large container 11 as a vegetable compartment and the small container 13 as a refrigerator... At this time, close the large container cold air inlet 7e and cold air outlet 7h, and open the small container cold air inlet 7f and cold air outlet 7g. Figure 3 A
A cold air convection is generated to the small container 13 shown in , and the above-mentioned use becomes possible.

As described above, both the large container 11 and the small container 13 can be used as a refrigerator compartment or a vegetable compartment, and in particular, when used as a refrigerator compartment, the cold air inlets 7e, 7f and the cold air outlet formed at the front and rear of the lid 7 are provided. 7h, 7g
As a result, cold air is convected within each container 11, 13, and a refrigerating temperature very close to the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 5 can be obtained. When the large container 11 is used as a refrigerating room, the cold air inflow path is provided by the duct 14 formed at the rear of the small container 13, so the small container 13 can be designed to have almost the same width and depth as the large container 11. This makes it possible to maximize the volume of the small container 13 and to align the large container cold air inlet 7e and the small container cold air inlet 7f with respect to the lid 7. In addition, each cold air inlet 7e, 7f, cold air outlet 7
h, 7g are formed at the front and rear of the lid body 7, and each shutter 15, 16a, 16b,
18 and 19, the operation parts 16d and 19a can be placed together in the same position, specifically, in the horizontal part 7a of the lid 7.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, a small container is provided at the top opening of the large container, and a lid body is provided at the top opening of the small container with a cold air inlet and a cold air outlet for each container. Since each container is equipped with shutters to open and close the inlet and outlet, each container can be used as a refrigerator compartment by convection of cold air, or can be used as a vegetable compartment by blocking cold air. , an outlet is formed and connected by a lever, so the switching operation part can be installed in the same position.Furthermore, the duct formed in the small container allows the cold air inlet to each container to be aligned, and the volume of the small container is reduced. It has the effect of being able to expand the effective volume by being able to take a sufficient amount of space, that is, by forming a depth that is approximately the same as the top opening of the large container.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2A is a cross-sectional view of the large container cold air inlet and outlet when they are opened, taken along line -' in Figure 1, Figure 2B is a cross-sectional view when they are closed, and Figure 3A is taken along line -' in Figure 1. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the small container cold air inlet and outlet when they are closed, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the lid and each shutter. 7...Lid body, 7e...Cold air inlet for large container, 7f
...Cold air inlet for small containers, 7g...Cold air outlet for small containers, 7h...Cold air outlet for large containers, 11...Large container, 13...Small container, 14...Duct, 15,1
6a, 16b... Shutter for large container, 18, 1
9... Shutter for small containers, 17, 20... Lever.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A large container that can be freely pulled out within the main body, and a small container that can be freely pulled out independently of the large container so as to cover the entire opening of the upper surface of the large container;
a convection hole formed in the front part of the small container facing the top opening of the large container; a duct integrally formed in the rear part of the small container so as to communicate with the interior of the large container; and a top surface of the small container. a lid body that closes the opening;
A cold air inlet for the large container that communicates with the inside of the large container via the duct formed at a position opposite to the duct at the rear end of the lid, and a rear end of the lid facing the top opening of the small container. a cold air inlet for the small container formed in the front end of the lid, a cold air outlet for the large container that communicates with the inside of the large container via a convection hole of the small container formed in the front end of the lid, and a cold air outlet for the large container that communicates with the top opening of the small container. a small container cold air outlet formed at the front end of the lid, and a large container shutter for opening and closing the cold air inlet and cold air outlet for the large container cold air inlet and cold air outlet of the lid;
A small container shutter for opening and closing a cold air inlet and a cold air outlet provided at a cold air inlet and a cold air outlet for a small container of the lid is interlocked with a large container shutter provided at a front end and a rear end of the lid. lever and
A refrigerator comprising a lever that operatively connects small container shutters provided at the front and rear ends of the lid.