JPH0473073B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a vegetable storage container for a refrigerator for preserving vegetables in a fresh state for a long period of time.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, vegetable storage containers in refrigerators have been designed to preserve vegetables for a long period of time by improving airtightness. An example of a conventional vegetable storage container for a refrigerator will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part showing a state in which a vegetable storage container of a conventional refrigerator is installed. The refrigerator body 1 has a door 2 on the front.
A vegetable storage container 3 with an open top at the bottom.
is installed. The upper opening surface of the vegetable storage container 3 has a glass lid 5 around which a rubber gasket is arranged. The refrigerator body 1 is made up of an outer box 6, an inner box 7, and a urethane insulation material 8 injected with foam into the space of the box body, and the door 2 is made up of an outer box 6', an urethane insulation material 8', and an inner frame 9. It consists of a shelf 10 disposed on the inner frame 9, and a sealing gasket 11 is disposed around the door 2. The vegetable storage container 3 is located in the refrigerator compartment 1 of the refrigerator main body 1.
When stored in the lower part of 2, the upper opening surface is completely sealed by a glass lid 5 around which a rubber gasket 4 is arranged. Therefore, it has been devised to prevent the stored vegetables 13 from drying and shriveling, so that the vegetables 13 can be stored for a long period of time.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above-mentioned structure, since it was a completely sealed structure, a large amount of water evaporated from vegetables, especially leafy vegetables, condensed and adhered to the inner surface of the lid 5. This means that the vegetable storage container 3 is in the refrigerator compartment 12.
The cold air in the refrigerator compartment 12 cools the outer surface of the lid 5, while the temperature inside the vegetable storage container 3 is high due to the heat of respiration of the vegetables 13, and the lid 5
This is because a temperature difference occurs on the surface. A large amount of water droplets adhering to the lid body 5 fall by natural fall or due to vibrations when the vegetable storage container 3 is attached and removed, and accumulate on the surface of the stored vegetables 13 and the bottom of the vegetable storage container 3. . Therefore, during the first few days of storage, the vegetables 13 are prevented from drying out and thus remain fresh; however, as described above, the vegetables 13 are damaged by the accumulated water and become slimy. There was a problem. As a result, vegetables could not be kept fresh for very long. In particular, if you add new vegetables (especially leafy vegetables) to vegetables that have already been stored for several days, the water that evaporates from the new vegetables will rapidly damage the previously stored vegetables and cause them to rot. There was a problem with this.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vegetable storage container for a refrigerator that can remove dew condensation water that adheres to the lid and preserve vegetables for a long period of time.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the vegetable storage container for a refrigerator of the present invention is provided by forming a silicone rubber thin film on a base fabric, further forming a urethane thin film on the base fabric, and forming a urethane thin film on the base fabric. A lid partially or entirely constructed of a laminated member in which protective fibers are laminated via an adhesive layer is provided in close contact with the upper opening of the container.

Effect The present invention, with the above-described configuration, prevents water vapor generated from stored vegetables due to transpiration or respiration from condensing on the lid surface of the container, and also prevents water vapor generated from stored vegetables from condensing on the lid surface of the container. This allows vegetables to be stored for a long time by moderately suppressing drying.

Embodiment A vegetable storage container for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Components that are the same as those in the conventional example are given the same numbers, and their explanations will be omitted.

Reference numeral 14 designates a vegetable storage container with a lid 15 tightly closed to the top opening. The lid 15 includes a flat plate 16 made of an olefin thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene and having a large number of through holes, and a moisture permeable membrane 1 made of a silicone rubber thin film welded to one side of the flat plate 16.
7 and a rubber gasket 18 made of vinyl chloride or the like disposed around the outer periphery of the rubber gasket 18. When the vegetable storage container 14 is stored in a predetermined position below the refrigerator compartment 12 of the refrigerator main body 1, the vegetable storage container 14 is brought into close contact with the lid 15 having a rubber gasket 18 around the outer periphery. It is arranged so that it can be attached and detached at will. Here, the moisture permeable membrane 1
7 will be explained in detail. The moisture permeable membrane 17 is
A silicone rubber thin film 17b of several microns is formed on a base fabric 17a of polyester or nylon, and a urethane thin film 1 of several microns is further formed thereon.
7c, the silicone rubber thin film 17a and the urethane thin film 17 are bonded via the adhesive layer 17d.
This is a laminate coated with protective fibers 17e to prevent tearing of c. The moisture permeable membrane 17 is welded to the flat plate 16 on the surface of the base fabric 17a. Although it is difficult to weld the silicone rubber thin film 17b with excellent moisture permeability to the flat plate 16, when the base fabric 17a is interposed as described above, it is possible to heat press the flat plate 16 to the extent that the through hole is not destroyed. As a result, the molten polyolefin resin sinks into the weave of the base fabric 17a and is welded. Further, as a joining method, in addition to the above-mentioned welding method, welding with adhesive or sandwiching between two net-like flat plates may be used. Note that the silicone rubber thin film 17b and the urethane thin film 17c
is composed of mostly amorphous chain molecules, and these linear molecules completely shut out liquid and have gas permeability due to the molecular spacing of 10 to 10 ³ Å. In other words, water vapor, air, and carbon dioxide gas can permeate through the membrane if there is a difference in concentration between the inside and outside of the membrane. Further, the adhesive layer 17
d forms a thin adhesive layer dotted at predetermined intervals on the urethane thin film 17c or on the protective fiber 17e by a processing method commonly called adhesive dot processing, and forms a thin adhesive layer dotted at predetermined intervals on the urethane thin film 17c surface and the protective fiber 17e.
The surfaces are glued together. Here, the urethane thin film 17c
Explain the role of Said silicone rubber thin film 17
Even if an attempt is made to directly coat the b-side with the protective fiber 17e, the adhesive strength is not sufficient. Therefore, a urethane thin film 17c is formed as thin as possible on the silicone rubber thin film 17b so as not to impede moisture permeability, thereby strengthening the bond with the protective fibers 17d.

With the above structure, cold air does not directly enter into the vegetable storage container 14, and the inside of the container 14 is kept at a moderately high humidity due to the moisture evaporated from the vegetables 13 stored in the vegetable storage container 14. drooping As shown in FIG. 5, moisture above the saturated humidity tends to condense on the inner surface of the lid 15, which faces the refrigerator compartment 12 and is easily cooled by cold air. The moisture permeable membrane 17 gradually permeates moisture into the refrigerator compartment 12, which is dried by the refrigerator's evaporator (not shown), as shown by the arrow. Further, when a large amount of vegetables is stored and a large amount of moisture evaporates, a slight amount of condensation 19 may occur on the flat plate 16 having the through holes, which is a support, as shown in FIG. 5, but it gradually disappears. Therefore, since water droplets do not fall and accumulate on the surface of the vegetables 13 or the bottom of the vegetable storage container 14, the stored vegetables 13 are prevented from drying out and shriveling, and are not damaged by the water droplets and become slimy. Vegetables 13, especially leafy vegetables such as spinach, can be stored in a fresh state for a longer period of time than conventionally. Incidentally, according to the experimental results, the moisture permeable membrane 17
It is said that the interior of the vegetables 14 is suitable for storing vegetables by selecting a material with appropriate moisture permeability.
Can maintain humidity of 80-95%RH. Further, in the above embodiment, the silicone rubber thin film 17b may be a microporous thin film made of polytetrafluoroethylene or polyurethane, which also has moisture permeability.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a vegetable storage container of a refrigerator showing a second embodiment of the present invention.
Components that are the same as those in the first embodiment described above are given the same numbers, and their explanations will be omitted.

In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a vegetable storage container whose top opening is tightly closed with a lid 15 having a moisture-permeable membrane 17 as described in the first embodiment. The point is that a moisture permeable window 21 is provided on a part of the back surface. The moisture permeable window 21 is composed of a support 22 and a moisture permeable membrane 23, and its constituent materials are the same as those of the lid 15 described above. Said container 2
The back side of the refrigerator compartment 12 is similar to the lid body 15.
When large quantities of leafy vegetables such as spinach, which have a strong transpiration effect, are stored in areas where condensation is likely to occur due to the cold air being cooled by the air, condensation could occur not only on the lid but also on the back of the container if a conventional closed structure was used. . However, by arranging the moisture permeable membranes 17 and 23 on the lid 15 and the back surface of the container 20 as described above, the vegetable storage container 20 can have an airtight structure while preventing dew condensation and maintaining an appropriately high humidity level. As described in the first embodiment, vegetables 13, especially leafy vegetables such as spinach, can be stored in a fresh state for a longer period than before.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the refrigerator vegetable storage container of the present invention includes a silicone rubber thin film formed on a base fabric, a urethane thin film formed on the silicone rubber thin film, and an adhesive layer interposed on the urethane thin film. Since the lid, which is partially or entirely composed of a laminated member having protective fibers, is provided in close contact with the top opening of the container, the vegetable storage container does not allow cold air to directly enter. The moisture that evaporates from the fresh vegetables stored inside the container keeps the inside of the container at a moderately high humidity, thereby preventing the vegetables from drying out and wilting. In addition, there is almost no condensation on the lid or back, and no water droplets fall onto the stored vegetables, so vegetables, especially leafy vegetables such as spinach, are not damaged by water droplets and become slimy, and vegetables can be stored for a long time. It can be stored in a fresh state.
In addition, since the protective fibers of the laminated member can be firmly adhesively bonded to the surface of the resin thin film, the protective fiber main body plays a role of preventing peeling of the protective fibers and preventing tearing of the silicone rubber thin film and urethane thin film. can be fully satisfied.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing how a vegetable storage container of a refrigerator is installed in an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lid of the vegetable storage container, and FIG. 3 is a lid corresponding to FIG. 2. A perspective view of the back side of the body, FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part of the lid, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the dew condensation and moisture permeability state in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a vegetable storage container of another embodiment. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of a conventional refrigerator showing a state in which a vegetable storage container is installed. 15... Lid body, 16... Flat plate having a through hole,
17... Moisture permeable membrane, 17a... Base fabric, 17b... Silicone rubber thin film, 17c... Urethane thin film, 1
7d...adhesive layer, 17e...protective fiber.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 A silicone rubber thin film is formed on a base fabric, a urethane thin film is further formed on the silicone rubber thin film, and a part of the laminated member having protective fibers is formed on the urethane thin film via an adhesive layer. Alternatively, there is provided a vegetable storage container for a refrigerator, in which a fully constructed lid body is provided in close contact with an upper opening of the container. 2. A vegetable storage container for a refrigerator according to claim 1, which is formed by joining a laminated member to a resin flat plate having a large number of through holes. 3. A vegetable storage container for a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein part or all of the back surface of the container is formed of a laminated member.