Sterilizing/deodorizing apparatus for use in a refrigerator

A sterilizing/deodorizing apparatus for a refrigerator comprises an air intake section for introducing air thereinto, a sterilizing/deodorizing section including a discharge lamp to remove floating bacteria, odors, and the like contained in the air which passes through the intake section, a discharge section for discharging purified air. The apparatus is operated automatically by a temperature sensor or by an odor detector.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a sterilizing/deodorizing apparatus for 
use in a refrigerator which both sterilizes floating bacteria, which would 
otherwise deteriorate the freshness of stored foodstuffs, and eliminates 
unpleasant odors therein. 
1. Prior Art 
Generally, a refrigerator includes a deodorizing apparatus, with a high 
voltage generator mounted therein, which removes the odors. For example, 
the conventional deodorizing apparatus depicted in FIG. 1 is provided with 
a motor 12' and a high voltage generator 8' properly installed therein, an 
intake section 10' for introducing room air therein during the operation 
of the motor 12', and a deodorizing section 20 including an ozone 
generating electrode 9' mounted near the intake section 10'. The 
application of high voltage from the high voltage generator 8' to the 
ozone generating electrode 9' causes ozone to be generated, which removes 
the odors in an oxidization/deoxidization manner from the incoming air. 
Also provided are a residual ozone removing section 30' having an ozone 
removing catalyst portion for converting into Oxygen the residual 
non-oxidized ozone which was non-reacted at the deodorizing portion 20', 
and a discharging portion 40' for blowing air passing through the residual 
ozone removing section 30' outward. 
Because this deodorizing apparatus provides only an odor removing function, 
a disadvantage is that it does not hinder the growth of the floating 
bacteria nor does it sterilize them. It also can not be expected to retard 
or prevent the deterioration of the freshness of stored foodstuffs. 
Furthermore, when the deodorizing apparatus is used for an extended period 
of time, a problem develops when the ozone generating electrode has 
impurities such as dust particles attached to the surface thereof, so that 
the amount of ozone generated decreases which affects the removal of the 
odors from the refrigerator. The refrigerator operation control is 
randomly activated by applying the power source at predetermined 
intervals, thereby failing to accomplish an effective deodorizing function 
due to the extended use and the consequential unnecessary power 
consumption. 
A main object of the invention is to provide a sterilizing/deodorizing 
apparatus for a refrigerator for automatically sterilizing floating 
bacteria and removing odors to maintain the uniform freshness of stored 
foodstuffs. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the present invention, a sterilizing/deodorizing apparatus for 
a refrigerator comprises an air intake section for introducing room air 
thereinto while in operation; a sterilizing/deodorizing section including 
means for sterilizing floating bacteria and removing unpleasant odors, 
etc. contained in the air passing through the intake section; a residual 
ozone removing section having an ozone removing catalyst for converting 
non-oxidized ozone from the sterilizing/deodorizing section into Oxygen; a 
discharging section having a fan attachment driven by a motor for blowing 
purified air through the residual ozone removing section outward; and an 
automatic control section for controlling the operation of the 
sterilizing/deodorizing section and the motor. 
Herein, the automatic control section is provided with an odor sensor and 
its periphery circuit. The provision of the odor sensor is devised from 
the view-point of generating floating bacteria along with odors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to FIGS. 2-5, a housing 1 constituting the outer wall of a 
sterilizing/deodorizing apparatus for a refrigerator, in the bottom of 
which an inlet 2 is configured to intake chamber air therein and on the 
front of which an outlet 3 is placed through which purified air is 
discharged. A separating member 4 is located in the inner portion of the 
housing 1 to divide the inner portion into a left chamber portion 5 and a 
right chamber portion 6. A fixing member 7 is integrally formed on both 
side edges of the housing 1 to allow the apparatus to be properly removed 
from and/or positioned in the refrigerator. 
The inner right chamber portion 6 includes a motor 12 installed near the 
lower portion by means of a mounting member 11. The motor 12 is provided 
with a fan blade 41 shafted thereto, which is positioned in the left 
chamber portion 5. The lower portion of the right chamber portion 6 forms 
an air intake section 10 along with the intake portion 2 placed at the 
lowest part of the housing 1. 
A sterilizing/deodorizing section 20 is placed in the upper portion of the 
right chamber portion 6 in order to sterilize and deodorize floating 
bacteria and odors introduced from the air intake section 10. The 
sterilizing/deodorizing section 20 comprises a discharge lamp 21 fixed by 
means of a supporting member 22 to its rear wall, which radiates 
ultraviolet rays consisting of two wave lengths of 254 nm and 185 nm, so 
that each of the wave lengths serves to sterilize floating bacteria and 
generate ozone for removing odors in an oxidization/deoxidization manner. 
The sterilizing/deodorizing section 20 has ultraviolet ray shielding plates 
23 surrounded on the inner wall thereof except for an emanating portion 44 
and the air passage portion connected with the intake section 10. The 
shielding plates 23 function to reflect the ultraviolet rays and prevent 
their leakage, so that the sterilizing/deodorizing effect of the discharge 
lamp 21 is better promoted. A printed circuit board 26 is fixed to the 
shielding plate 23 adjacent to the discharge lamp 21. The 
sterilizing/deodorizing section 20 extends from the passage portion at the 
entrance end of the discharge lamp 21 to a residual ozone removing section 
30. The length may be less than 150 mm and is ideally 150 mm for 
facilitating the sterilization/deodorization of the intake air. 
The residual ozone removing section 30 is positioned adjacent to 
approximately the middle portion of the discharge lamp 21 in the left 
chamber portion 5 without the ultraviolet rays being directly radiated 
thereon. Also, the residual ozone removing section 30 contains an ozone 
removing catalyst for converting non-oxidized residual ozone from the 
sterilizing/deodorizing section 20 into Oxygen. Below the residual ozone 
removing section 30 an air discharging section 40 is positioned. 
The air discharging section 40 is provided with the fan member 41 arranged 
in an isolating portion 43 which is separated by means of a partition 
member 42. 
The fan blade 41 has a shaft 13 connected through a hole 8 to the motor 12, 
so that during its operation the motor 12 intakes air from the intake 
section 10 and then discharges the purified air into the refrigerator. 
Around the hole 8 a sealing member 9 is attached to prevent the 
circulation of air between the air discharging section 40 and the air 
intake section 10. 
The housing 1 has an indicating window 19 and an odor sensor 60 provided on 
the front thereof which permits the user to visually confirm the operating 
states of the discharge lamp 21. 
On the other hand, a sterilizing/deodorizing apparatus according to the 
present invention is controlled in conjunction with the operations of a 
temperature adjustment switch 51 and a defrost timer 52 which adjust the 
temperature and control the defrosting phase in the refrigerator, 
respectively. 
Referring to FIG. 6, the refrigerator is normally operated in a manner 
whereby the temperature adjustment switch 51 is turned on, and the defrost 
timer 52 is switched to connect the fixing terminal C to the selecting 
terminal NC. At that time the power source S (A.C. 220 V, 60 Hz) is 
applied to a fan motor 54 and a compressor 53, so that the fan motor 54 
circulates air in the refrigerating chambers, and the compressor 53 
performs the refrigerant cycle along with an evaporator and a condenser 
(not shown). A lamp L is activated by a refrigerator opening/closing 
switch 59. When the fixing terminal C is connected to the selecting 
terminal NO after a predetermined amount of time, the defrost timer 52 
activates a defrost heater 56 to remove frost accumulated on the 
evaporator. Reference nos. 57 and 58 are, respectively, a fuse for the 
defrost heater 56 and a switch for the fan motor 54. 
Therefore, the control circuit A, which operates the 
sterilizing/deodorizing apparatus is provided with an operating switch 55. 
The operating switch 55 is connected in series to the motor 12. The motor 
12 is coupled in parallel to a discharge lamp 21 through a ballast 24 
which applies a predetermined voltage to the discharge lamp 21. The 
discharge lamp 21 is provided with two resistors 25 which are coupled in 
parallel to each other and in series to respective electrodes of the 
discharge lamp 21. Herein, the ballast 24 and the resistors 25 have a 
predetermined resistance value which activates the discharge lamp 21 under 
low temperature and/or low voltage conditions (for example, below 
5.degree. C. and 190 V). An amount of gas, for example Mercury and Argon, 
sealed into the discharge lamp 21 is adjusted to maintain the conditions. 
Also, the resistors 25, the ballast 24 and supporting members 22 (as shown 
in FIG. 3) are mounted on the printed circuit board 26 between shielding 
plates 23. The control circuit A is operated by the operating switch 55 in 
a manner whereby the motor 12 is driven to cause the fan blade 41 to 
circulate the refrigerating air through the discharge lamp 21, and the 
discharge lamp 21 is activated in order to sterilize floating bacteria and 
deodorize odors. 
FIG. 7 is the schematic drawing of a circuit illustrating another 
embodiment for automatically controlling the operation of the control 
circuit A of the present invention. The odor sensor 60 is connected in 
series to a voltage source Vcc and grounded through a resistor R.sub.1 at 
its resistance side. The resistor R.sub.1 is connected at a tap Vout 
called the output voltage of the odor sensor 60 to the non-inverting 
terminal(+) of a comparator COMP. The comparator COMP is connected at the 
inverting terminal(-) to a tap Vref having a reference voltage which 
divides the voltage source Vcc into resistors R2 and R3. The output 
terminal of the comparator COMP is connected through a resistor R.sub.4 
and a capacitor C to a relay RY. It is also connected to a light emitting 
diode LED connected to a resistor R.sub.5. The relay RY is provided with a 
relay switch RYS to coordinate with a control circuit A of FIG. 6. 
Therefore, during its operation, the odor sensor 60 detects odors generated 
by foodstuffs stored in the refrigerator. As the amount of detected odor 
increases, the odor sensor 60 varies its resistance value to determine the 
output voltage Vout to the voltage source Vcc. The output voltage Vout is 
applied to the non-inverting terminal (+) of the comparator COMP. The 
comparator COMP compares the output voltage Vout to the reference voltage 
Vref of its inverting terminal (-). 
When there is no odor in the refrigerator, the resistance value of the odor 
sensor 60 becomes very high, which causes the output voltage Vout to be 
lower than the reference voltage Vref going to the comparator COMP. The 
comparator COMP sends low level signals when the light emitting diode LED 
is turned off, and the switch RYS of the relay RY is opened because the 
coil of the relay RY is not energized. As a result, AC voltage is not 
applied to the control circuit A of the sterilizing/deodorizing apparatus. 
On the contrary, when there are many odors in the refrigerator, the output 
voltage Vout becomes higher than the reference Vref because the resistance 
value of the odor sensor 60 becomes relatively lower. At that time, the 
comparator COMP sends high level signals, the light emitting diode LED is 
turned on, and the switch RYS is closed because the coil of the relay is 
energized. The source voltage AC is then applied to the control circuit of 
the sterilizing/deodorizing apparatus, whereby the sterilizing/deodorizing 
apparatus is activated to sterilize floating bacteria and eliminate odors 
in the refrigerator. 
The sterilizing/deodorizing apparatus controlled by the FIG. 6 control 
mechanism is activated by turning on an operating switch 55. The control 
circuit A is automatically energized whenever the terminals N and NC are 
interconnected. Initially, the motor 12 is driven to rotate the fan blade 
41, so that air in the refrigerator is forced through the air intake 
section 10 into the sterilizing/deodorizing section 20. The discharge lamp 
21 purifies air in the refrigerator, whereby the ultraviolet ray of 185 nm 
generates ozone to remove odors in an oxidation/deoxidation manner, and 
the ultraviolet ray of 254 nm sterilizes bacteria floating in the air. 
Then, the intake air is forced through the residual ozone removing section 
30, in which the residual nonreacted ozone at the sterilizing/deodorizing 
section 20 is converted into Oxygen by the catalyst contained in the 
residual ozone removing section. Along with the oxygen, the intake air is 
completely purified and then discharged through the air discharge section 
40, thereby allowing foodstuffs in the refrigerator to be maintained in a 
fresh condition. If the FIG. 7 control mechanism is utilized, then the 
sterilizing/deodorizing apparatus is automatically operated by the odor 
sensor 60. 
As can be seen from the above, the function for removing odors is added by 
the present invention to the prior art, functions thereby promoting its 
performance. Also, the automatic operation of the present invention 
provides the appliance with reliability of products for the benefit of the 
user and prevents unnecessary power consumption and prolongs the 
appliance's useful lifetime.