1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to an air flow arrangement for a refrigerator assembly used to store food items in a controlled humidity and temperature environment.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In the art of refrigerators, particularly household refrigerators, it is often desirable to create varying humidity and/or temperature storage zones to enhance the preservation of different food items. For instance, it is common to accommodate the storage requirements for certain food items, such as dairy products, meats, fruits and vegetables, by forming separately enclosed storage areas within a fresh food compartment. In most instances, these storage areas are designed to be maintained at temperatures which are different from the temperature of the remainder of the fresh food compartment.
In at least the case of fruits and vegetables, it is typically desirable to isolate these food items from direct contact with a flow of cooling air, especially any cold air flowing into the fresh food compartment from a freezer compartment of the refrigerator, mainly because this cold air can be fairly dry. Therefore, in order to isolate the fruits and vegetables from the desiccating effects of the cold air so as to maintain the moisture content of the fruits and vegetables, it has heretofore been proposed to provide a specialized storage receptacle, such as a crisper, within a refrigerator fresh food compartment. A crisper generally takes the form of a slidable bin which is sealed to maintain a relatively high humidity level, while the walls of the bin are chilled to establish a desirable temperature within the bin.
Many different food storage compartment designs have been proposed in the art in an attempt to establish and maintain effective humidity and temperature conditions within the compartment while attempting to avoid the development of condensation. However, there still exists a need for an improved storage compartment system which can maintain a desired humidity level, accurately control the temperature and minimize the tendency for condensation within the compartment. In designing a specialty food storage compartment for a refrigerator, consideration must be taken of the manner in which a flow of cooling air is effectively and efficiently supplied to and exhausted from the food, vegetable, meat or the like bin.