Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Mitoko Ishita

Hiroshi Tatsui

Toyoshi Kamisako

Tadashi Adachi

Hideji Kawarazaki

Masahiro Kagimoto

Yoshihiro Ueda

Ichiro Onishi

Kenichi Kakita

Yoshimasa Horio

Toshiaki Mamemoto

Masatoshi Shoukyuu

Kumiko Okubo

Masaaki Tanaka

Akinori Tsujimoto

A heat retaining container () includes: an accommodating space (); and walls () including inner surfaces surrounding the accommodating space (). Heat conductivity of each wall () in a surface direction is higher than heat conductivity of the wall () in a thickness direction orthogonal to the inner surface of the wall, the surface direction being orthogonal to the thickness direction and extending along the inner surface of the wall.

Heat retaining container

In a storage compartment (), storage spaces having different mist concentrations are formed such that effects of a mist is more efficiently utilized to provide a refrigerator with improved usability. The storage compartment () includes a first storage unit () that has a high mist concentration. The first storage unit () includes a spray device () and is disposed in a position outside an air path of cool air between a discharge port () through which the cool air flows in from outside the storage compartment () and a suction port () through which the cool air is discharged to outside the storage compartment (). Thus, mist concentration inside the first storage unit () can be increased.

Refrigerator

A compact ice-making device is provided for making ice chips of varied shapes for use in glasses of whiskey and water, and the like purposes. Ice is made using an ice-making vessel () for making a plank-like block of ice with a shaft () inserted in advance in the vessel, the shaft () having ribs (A) extending substantially radially from a rotating axis. Upon completion of the ice making, a gear unit () connected to the shaft () is driven by a motor to rotate the shaft (), which cracks and divides the plank-like ice block into ice chips of varied shapes.

Ice-making device

An ice tray includes a tray section and a heater. The tray section has a first face and a second face opposite to the first face. The first face temporarily retains water and the water is cooled to make ice. The heater is unitarily molded with the tray section at the second face, and warms the tray section for the ice to come off the tray section.

Ice tray and ice making machine, refrigerator both using the ice tray

Growing community of inventors

Shiga, Japan

Mitoko Ishita