Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6253668
-
Patent Number
6,253,668
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, August 29, 200023 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, July 3, 200122 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 099 276
- 099 331
- 099 451
- 099 483
- 099 486
- 099 493
- 099 506
- 099 534
- 099 535
- 099 516
- 062 229
- 062 157
- 062 187
- 062 115
- 062 117
- 062 253
- 062 440
- 062 447
- 062 254
- 062 DIG 13
- 165 30
- 165 64
- 165 206
- 165 263
- 165 481
- 219 400
- 219 530
- 219 531
- 426 49
- 426 52
- 426 615
- 426 231
- 435 313
- 435 316
- 435 691
- 435 1721
- 435 3001
- 435 813
- 435 819
-
International Classifications
- A23L100
- F25B100
- F25B2900
- C12H100
-
Abstract
The present invention discloses a compound type kimchi storage device including an upper storage tank of an upper open/shut type and a lower storage tank of a front slide open/shut type as storage tanks for storing foods. The kimchi storage device for ripening and storing foods such as kimchi by selectively operating a compressor and a heater, includes: a casing composing an outward form of the device; at least one upper storage tank disposed at the inside of the casing for providing at least one upper storage chamber, an insulating material being filled between the casing and the storage tank; a door disposed at one side of the casing for opening and shutting the upper storage chamber; a drawer-type lower storage tank disposed below the upper storage tank for providing a lower storage chamber, a sidewall being positioned between the upper and lower storage tanks; and a driving chamber positioned adjacently to the lower storage tank, a compressor being installed in the driving chamber.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compound type kimchi storage device, and in particular to a compound type kimchi storage device that can separately store a variety of foods according to the user's preference, by including an upper storage tank of an upper open/shut type and a lower storage tank of a front slide open/shut type as storage tanks for storing foods, and by respectively controlling an inside temperature of the storage chambers.
2. Description of the Background Art
In general, a kimchi storage device includes a cooling device and a heating device. In order to ripen kimchi, a temperature in a storage chamber is raised by operating a heater that is the heating device. Accordingly, kimchi stored in the storage chamber is ripened.
When kimchi is suitably ripened, the operation of the heater is stopped, and at the same time the cooling device starts to be operated. Thus, a temperature of the storage chamber is adjusted so that taste and freshness of kimchi can be maintained for an extended period of time.
FIG. 1
is a perspective view illustrating a conventional kimchi storage device, and
FIG. 2
is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A′ in FIG.
1
.
As illustrated in
FIG. 1
, a door
13
is provided to be opened and shut at an upper portion of a kimchi storage device
10
, and a casing
11
composing a main body is disposed below the door
13
. The casing
11
includes a storage tank for storing foods. An operating unit
14
is provided at the one-side upper portion of the kimchi storage device
10
.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, the kimchi storage device
10
includes: the outer casing
11
; an inner tank
11
disposed at the inside of the casing
11
for providing a storage chamber
12
a
for refrigerating foods, an insulating material
21
being positioned between the casing
11
and the inner tank
12
; the door
13
rotatably disposed at the casing
11
for opening and shutting the storage chamber
12
a
; and the operating unit
14
adhered to a front surface of the casing for controlling the operation of the kimchi storage device
10
. On the basis of a sidewall
15
, the inner tank
12
for storing foods is provided at the upper portion of the kimchi storage device
10
, and a driving chamber
17
where a compressor
22
is installed is provided at the lower portion thereof.
An evaporator pipe
18
extended from the driving chamber
17
is coiled around the outer circumferential surface of the storage tank
12
. Low temperature refrigerants for cooling the air in the storage chamber
12
a
flow through the evaporator pipe
18
winding around the upper portion of the outer circumferential surface of the storage tank
12
. A heater
19
is coiled around the lower portion of the evaporator pipe
18
.
On the other hand, a temperature sensor
20
for sensing a temperature in the storage chamber is provided to the evaporator pipe
18
or the outer circumferential surface of the storage tank
12
.
In addition, the insulating material
21
is filled between the storage tank
12
and the casing
11
in order to prevent a heat loss of the evaporator pipe
18
winding around the outer portion of the storage tank
12
and the heater
19
positioned therebelow.
A control unit for controlling the whole operation of the kimchi storage device
10
and the compressor
22
driven by a control signal from the control unit for compressing the refrigerants are provided in the driving chamber
17
which is positioned below the sidewall
15
. The refrigerants from the compressor
22
are cooled in a condenser
23
through heat exchange with the ambient air, and supplied to the evaporator pipe
18
. On the other hand, the temperature sensor
20
disposed at the outer portion of the inner tank
12
is coupled with the control unit.
In the thusly-constituted kimchi storage device
10
, in the case that the temperature of the storage chamber
12
a
sensed by the temperature sensor
20
rises over a reference value due to the internal heat loss or external heat, the control unit transmits the control signal to the compressor
22
according to the signal from the temperature sensor
20
. Accordingly, the low temperature refrigerants are provided to the evaporator pipe
18
winding around the outer circumferential surface of the storage tank
12
, thereby lowering the temperature of the storage chamber
12
a.
As described above, the control unit drives the compressor
22
according to the input signal from the temperature sensor
20
, and thus maintains the storage chamber
12
a
at a constant temperature. In order to ripen foods, the control unit generates heat by transmitting the control signal to the heater
19
. As a result, the temperature of the storage chamber
12
a
is raised, and kimchi starts to be ripened.
However, in the conventional kimchi storage device, for example, when the user intends to store kimchi according to its ripening level after ripening it according to his/her taste, the user has little choice because there are only one or two storage chambers. In addition, it is necessary to store kimchi in the different storage chamber to maintain its ripening state. However, there are few storage chambers, and thus kimchi is stored with other foods. It cannot satisfy the demand of the users. Moreover, the noise is discharged from the compressor in the driving chamber to the front surface of the casing. Also, the noise generated at the time of driving the compressor in the driving chamber is discharged to the front, thereby causing the serious noise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a kimchi storage device which can separately store kimchi ripened according to the user's taste and reduce the noise discharged from a driving chamber at the time of driving the device by a storage tank disposed at the front portion of the driving chamber, by further including the storage tank opened and shut toward the upper portion of the device and the front slide open/shut type storage tank sliding toward the front portion of the device.
In order to achieve the above-described object of the present invention, there is provided a kimchi storage device for ripening and storing foods such as kimchi by selectively operating a compressor and a heater, including: a casing composing an outward form of the device; at least one upper storage tank disposed at the inside of the casing for providing at least one upper storage chamber, an insulating material being filled between the casing and the storage tank; a door disposed at one side of the casing for opening and shutting the upper storage chamber; a drawer-type lower storage tank disposed below the upper storage tank for providing a lower storage chamber, a sidewall being positioned between the upper and lower storage tanks; and a driving chamber positioned adjacently to the lower storage tank, a compressor being installed in the driving chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings which are given only by way of illustration and thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view illustrating a conventional kimchi storage device;
FIG. 2
is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A′ in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a perspective view illustrating a compound type kimchi storage device in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4
is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B′ in
FIG. 3
;
FIG. 5
is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C′ in
FIG. 3
; and
FIG. 6
is a circuit view illustrating the compound type kimchi storage device in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A compound type kimchi storage device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 3
is a perspective view illustrating the compound type kimchi storage device in accordance with the present invention,
FIG. 4
is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B′ in
FIG. 3
, and
FIG. 5
is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C′ in FIG.
3
.
As illustrated in
FIG. 3
, two doors
116
,
118
are disposed to be opened and shut at the upper portion of the compound type kimchi storage device
100
. First and second upper storage tanks
115
,
120
for respectively providing first and second upper storage chambers (
115
a
,
120
a
in
FIG. 4
) are disposed below the doors
116
,
118
. In addition, a front slide open/shut type lower storage tank
125
is slidably installed at a front lower portion of the kimchi storage device
100
. A handle
126
is formed at the lower storage tank
125
.
Thus, the kimchi storage device
100
in accordance with the present invention include three storage chambers
115
a,
120
a,
125
a.
An operating unit
185
is disposed at the front upper portion of the kimchi storage device
100
.
Referring to
FIGS. 4 and 5
, the compound type kimchi storage device
100
according to the present invention includes: a casing
105
composing a main body; the first and second upper storage tanks
115
,
120
disposed at the inside of the casing
105
for respectively providing the first and second upper storage chambers
115
a,
120
a,
an insulating material
110
for intercepting an external heat being positioned between the casing
105
and the first and second storage tanks
115
,
120
; the lower storage tank
125
disposed below the first and second upper storage tanks
115
,
120
; and a driving chamber
145
including a compressor
135
disposed at the rear of the lower storage tank
125
for compressing refrigerants and a control unit
140
for controlling the operational state of the compressor
135
according to an operational signal from an operating unit
185
. The driving chamber
145
is separated from the lower storage tank
125
by a sidewall
150
.
Here, the first and second storage tanks
115
,
120
are opened by the doors
116
,
118
that are slidably disposed at the upper portion of the casing
105
. The lower storage tank
125
is slidably drawn to the front of the casing
105
along a guide box
155
, and opened.
As shown in the partially enlarged view of
FIG. 4
, in order to slide the lower storage tank
125
, grooves are formed at the side of the guide box
155
and protrusions
125
b
slidably moved along the grooves are formed at the side of the lower storage tank
125
.
An evaporator pipe
160
through which the refrigerant gas from the compressor
135
flows is coiled around the outer circumferential surfaces of the first and second storage tanks
115
,
120
. Heaters
165
,
165
′ for ripening kimchi in the first and second upper storage chambers
115
a
,
120
a
are coiled around the lower portion of the evaporator pipe
160
. In addition, the evaporator pipe
160
is also coiled around the outer circumferential surface of a guide box
155
surrounding the lower storage tank
125
.
Here, three temperature sensors
170
,
175
,
180
for respectively sensing a temperature of the storage chambers and transmitting it to the control unit
140
are adhered to the evaporator pipe
160
winding around the outer circumferential surfaces of the first and second upper storage tanks
115
,
120
and the lower storage tank
125
.
Also, solenoids S
1
, S
2
, S
3
are disposed at the kimchi storage device
100
in order to control the refrigerants supplied to the evaporator pipe
160
winding around the outer circumferential surfaces of the three storage tanks
115
,
120
,
125
. The solenoids S
1
, S
2
, S
3
are opened and shut under the control of the control unit
140
, thereby varying a passage of the refrigerants. Here, the first and second solenoids S
1
, S
2
respectively control the refrigerants supplied to the evaporator pipe
160
winding around the first and second upper storage tanks
115
,
120
, and the third solenoid S
3
controls the refrigerants supplied to the evaporator pipe
160
winding around the lower storage tank
125
.
Therefore, kimchi ripened according to the user's taste may be separately stored in the three storage chambers
115
a,
120
a,
125
a.
The three storage chambers
115
a
,
120
a,
125
a
may be divided into a ripening unit and a storage unit.
FIG. 6
is a circuit view illustrating the compound type kimchi storage device in accordance with the present invention. In the case that the first upper storage chamber
115
a
disposed at the upper portion of the kimchi storage device
100
is used as the ripening unit, the kind and ripening degree of kimchi are set by operating the operating unit
185
. Accordingly, the heater
165
is operated, the temperature of the first upper storage chamber
115
a
is raised, and thus kimchi starts to be ripened. At this time, the compressor
135
and the heater
165
′ of the second upper storage tank
120
are not operated.
For instance, when kimchi that is ripened is refrigerated in the second upper storage chamber
120
a,
a wanted temperature is set by operating the operating unit
185
. As a result, the control unit
140
drives the compressor
135
, intercepts the refrigerants supplied to the first upper storage chamber
115
a
and the lower storage chamber
125
a
by turning off the first and third solenoids S
1
, S
3
, and at the same time supplies the refrigerants merely to the evaporator pipe
160
of the second upper storage chamber
120
a
by turning on the second solenoid S
2
, thereby refrigerating the foods.
As described above, the lower storage chamber
125
a
is provided in the slide open/shut type lower storage tank
125
in accordance with the present invention. Therefore, the lower storage chamber
125
a
may be maintained at a different temperature from the upper storage chambers
115
a,
120
a
according to the ripening level of kimchi. If necessary, vegetables or fruits can be freshly stored.
That is, when the inside temperature of each storage chamber
115
a,
120
a,
125
a
is suitably set by operating the selection button provided in the operating unit
185
, the amount of the refrigerants supplied to the evaporator pipe
160
winding around the outer circumferential surfaces of the storage chambers
115
,
120
,
125
is varied according to the open/shut state of the solenoids S
1
˜S
3
operated by the control signal from the control unit
140
. As a result, the respective storage chambers
115
a
,
120
a
,
125
a
may be maintained at different temperatures.
The first to third temperature sensors
170
,
175
,
180
respectively sense the temperature of the storage chambers
115
a,
120
a,
125
a
and transmit it to the control unit
140
. Accordingly, the control unit
140
turns on/off the first to third solenoids on the basis of the temperature, thereby controlling the amount of the refrigerants supplied to the evaporator pipe
160
. Thus, the temperature of the storage chambers
115
a,
120
a,
125
a
is maintained within a range of the design temperature.
In accordance with the present invention, the kimchi storage device includes two upper storage chambers at its upper portion and one lower storage chamber at its lower portion. The user can suitably set the temperature of the respective storage chambers according to his/her taste, and thus enjoy various tastes of kimchi. In addition, the noise generated from the driving chamber is intercepted by the lower storage chamber.
As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiment is not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the meets and bounds of the claims, or equivalences of such meets and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A kimchi storage device for ripening and refrigerating foods such as kimchi by selectively operating a compressor and a heater, comprising:a casing composing an outward form of the device; at least one upper storage tank disposed at the inside of the casing for providing at least one upper storage chamber, an insulating material being filled between the casing and the storage tank; a door disposed at one side of the casing for opening and shutting the upper storage chamber; a slide open/shut type lower storage tank disposed below the upper storage tank for providing a lower storage chamber, a sidewall being positioned between the upper and lower storage tanks; and a driving chamber positioned adjacently to the lower storage tank, a compressor being installed in the driving chamber.
- 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the lower storage tank is installed to be slidable along a guide box disposed at an internal insulating material of the casing.
- 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein an evaporator pipe into which the refrigerants are inputted according to the open state of a solenoid is coiled around the outer circumferential surface of the upper storage tank, a heater is coiled around the lower portion of the evaporator pipe, and an evaporator pipe into which the refrigerants are inputted according to the open state of a solenoid is coiled around the outer circumferential surface of the guide box winding around the lower storage tank.
- 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein a handle unit is formed at the upper center portion of the lower storage tank.
- 5. The device according to claim 2, wherein an evaporator pipe into which the refrigerants are inputted according to the open state of a solenoid coiled around the outer circumferential surface of the upper storage tank, a heater is coiled around the lower portion of the evaporator pipe, and an evaporator pipe into which the refrigerants are inputted according to the open state of a solenoid is coiled around the outer circumferential surface of the guide box winding around the lower storage tank.
- 6. The device according to claim 2, where a handle is formed at the upper center portion of the lower storage tank.
- 7. The device according to claim 3, where a handle is formed at the upper center portion of the lower storage tank.
- 8. The device according to claim 5, where a handle is formed at the upper center portion of the lower storage tank.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
00-8604 |
Feb 2000 |
KR |
|
US Referenced Citations (13)