Refrigerator

Abstract

A casing unit ( 8 ) with built-in ionizer ( 7 ) and blower ( 21 ) is integrated with a control panel ( 6 ) so as to emit plus ions and minus ions into an outside-refrigerator living space around the front side of the refrigerator, and an ionized air discharge port ( 11 ) is disposed in the front side thereof, whereby suspended bacteria in the outside-refrigerator living space are sterilized to provide a hygienic living space. Concurrently, suspended bacteria intruding into the inside of the refrigerator from the outside when the door is opened can be excluded to realize a hygienic inside-refrigerator environment.

1 . A refrigerator comprising ion generating means having an air passage leading to an air outlet, wherein positive and negative ions are released into a living space outside the refrigerator.  
   
   
       2 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein the positive and negative ions are released to outside a door of a storage compartment of the refrigerator.  
   
   
       3 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein the ion generating means is built as a unit by being housed inside a casing unit.  
   
   
       4 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein an air inlet of the ion generating means has an opening pointing downward.  
   
   
       5 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein the ion generating means is built into and thereby integrated into a control panel for making various settings, for example, for adjustment of a temperature inside a storage compartment.  
   
   
       6 . The refrigerator according to  claim 3 , wherein the ion generating means is built as a unit including a blower and an ion generating apparatus housed inside a casing unit.  
   
   
       7 . The refrigerator according to  claim 5 , wherein an air outlet of the ion generating means is located in a front face of the control panel.  
   
   
       8 . The refrigerator according to  claim 7 , wherein an air inlet of the casing unit is located in a bottom face of the control panel and above a recess formed, as a door handle for the storage compartment, below the control panel.  
   
   
       9 . The refrigerator according to  claim 8 , wherein a dustproof filter is detachably attached to the air inlet of the ion generating means.  
   
   
       10 . The refrigerator according to  claim 3 , wherein the casing unit is provided with water damage preventing means for preventing liquid such as water that has entered the casing unit from reaching the ion generating apparatus.  
   
   
       11 . The refrigerator according to  claim 10 , wherein the water damage preventing means is realized with the air inlet formed in the casing unit and a drain hole formed separately from the air outlet.  
   
   
       12 . The refrigerator according to  claim 11 , wherein a drain hole is formed in a bottom portion of the control panel so as to correspond to the drain hole formed in the casing unit.  
   
   
       13 . The refrigerator according to  claim 10 , wherein a water damage preventing rib is formed so as to protrude upward from a bottom portion of the casing unit in an air passage between the air outlet formed in the casing unit and the ion generating apparatus.  
   
   
       14 . The refrigerator according to  claim 7 , wherein the control panel is located at a height of 800 mm to 1 100 mm from a floor surface of a body of the refrigerator.  
   
   
       15 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein the ion generating means is located in a ceiling portion of a body of the refrigerator.  
   
   
       16 . The refrigerator according to  claim 15 , wherein in the ceiling portion of the body of the refrigerator is provided a box-shaped member composed of a fitting member for fitting a door hinge for a topmost storage compartment of the refrigerator and a cover for covering the fitting member, and the ion generating means is housed inside the box-shaped member.  
   
   
       17 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein an air outlet of the ion generating means is formed in a front face of the refrigerator.  
   
   
       18 . The refrigerator according to  claim 16 , wherein in a front bottom portion of the box-shaped member is formed a recess, and an air inlet of the ion generating means is formed in a bottom face of the box-shaped member so as to face the recess.