Matsushita Refrigeration Company

Yoshiki Ohashi

Kazutaka Uekado

Hiroshi Yamada

Masatoshi Sasaki

Masato Sasaki

Akihiko Manabe

Yohei Nomoto

Takao Kawamura

An insulation box unit and a refrigerator of the present invention employs i) rigid urethane foam with a 8.0 MPa-or-greater bending modulus, and a 60 kg/m-or-lower density, and ii) a vacuum insulation material. The proper bending modulus provides the insulation box unit with a substantial strength, even in the case that the coverage of the vacuum insulation material with respect to the surface of the outer box exceeds 40%. The proper density prevents the insulation box unit from poor insulation efficiency due to undesired solid thermal conductivity. Despite of an extended use of the vacuum insulation material, the insulation box unit offers an excellent insulation efficiency and therefore accelerates energy saving. According to the recycling method of the present invention, rigid urethane foam formed of tolylene di-isocyanate composition, which was separated from refrigerator wastes, is recycled as a material of rigid urethane foam.

Insulated box body, refrigerator having the box body, and method of recycling materials for insulated box body

A refrigerator is improved in storage environment by suppressing drying and oxidation and enhanced in volume efficiency and cooling efficiency. The refrigerator includes a refrigerating chamber, a vegetable chamber, and a freezing chamber in order from its top to its bottom. Cool air is introduced into the freezing chamber by a first cooler and a first fan, and is introduced into the refrigerating chamber by a second cooler and a second fan. These chambers function as a direct cooling chamber. The vegetable chamber functions as an indirect cooling chamber cooled by a cooling plate which is disposed at the top of the chamber and has a large thermal conductivity, which is cooled by forced convection by the second cooler and the second fan, producing the effects of low temperature radiation and natural convection in the chamber. This arrangement provides the refrigerator with quality maintaining effects in accordance with the suitability for storage of foods, and allows the refrigerator to assure high storing performance.

Refrigerator

There are provided, in the order from top, a refrigerating compartment ( ), a vegetable compartment ( ) and a freezing compartment ( ), and a compressor ( ) and a cooler ( ) are disposed in side-by-side relation in a left and right direction at a location rearwardly of the freezing compartment ( ). Also, a damper device ( ) and a forced draft fan ( ) are provided above the compressor ( ) and the cooler ( ), and an electronic control board ( ) is provided rearwardly of the cooler ( ). In addition, a chilly air discharge duct ( ) and a chilly air suction duct ( ) are provided at opposite ends of a deep region within the refrigerating compartment ( ).

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Shiga, Japan

Yoshiki Ohashi