JP6993817B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a refrigerator.

Conventionally, in the refrigerating room of a refrigerator or the storage room of a vegetable room, a product name, a function display, etc. are displayed on the inner surface of the refrigerator by printing or a label in order to improve the appearance quality.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-116121 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-72316

If a lot of printing or labeling is performed in the storage chamber as described above, there is a problem that the cost of parts increases and the man-hours for attaching labels increases.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator capable of reducing printing and labeling of labels and the like in the storage chamber in view of the above problems.

An embodiment of the present invention includes a storage chamber having an open front surface, a front door, a light source composed of a point light source provided in the storage chamber or the door, and characters, symbols, and symbols provided in the storage chamber . It has an expression unit in which at least one expression body of a figure is expressed, and a projection unit that reflects a projection image of the expression body formed by irradiating the expression unit with light from the light source. The unit is a refrigerator that displays the expression body by the projection image .

The perspective view of the refrigerator of Embodiment 1 of this invention with the door open. Vertical cross-sectional view of the refrigerator with the refrigerator door open. Enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the air purification device. Explanatory diagram of the refrigeration cycle. Refrigerator block diagram. A vertical sectional view of a refrigerator compartment in which characters are projected. A perspective view of a slope in which characters are projected. The perspective view of the state which the character of Embodiment 6 is projected.

Hereinafter, the refrigerator 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1

The refrigerator 10 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

(1) Refrigerator 10
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the refrigerator 10 according to the present embodiment, a storage space having a plurality of storage chambers is formed inside a cabinet 12 made of a heat insulating box body having an opening formed in the front surface. .. The cabinet 12 is configured by providing a heat insulating member 13 such as a vacuum heat insulating material or a foam heat insulating material between the outer box 12a made of a steel plate and the inner box 12c forming a storage space.

The storage space formed inside the inner box 12b is divided into an upper refrigerating space and a lower freezing space by a heat insulating partition 36. The refrigerating space is a space cooled to a refrigerating temperature (for example, 2 to 3 ° C.), and the inside is further divided into upper and lower parts by a partition body 38, and a plurality of storage shelves are provided above the partition body 38. A refrigerating room 14 is provided, and a vegetable room 16 in which a drawer-type vegetable container 17 is arranged below the partition body 38 is provided. On the back surface of the refrigerating chamber 14, a refrigerating chamber temperature sensor (hereinafter referred to as “R sensor”) 31 for detecting the temperature inside the refrigerating chamber 14 is provided.

The freezing space arranged below the vegetable compartment 16 via the heat insulating partition 36 is a space cooled to a freezing temperature (for example, -18 ° C. or lower), and is an ice making chamber 21 equipped with an ice making device 19 and a small freezing. A room 18 is provided on the left and right sides, and a freezing room 20 is provided below the room 18. On the back surface of the freezing chamber 20, a freezing chamber temperature sensor (hereinafter referred to as “F sensor”) 35 for detecting the temperature inside the freezing chamber 20 is provided.

The front opening of the refrigerating chamber 14 is closed by a pair of left and right rotating refrigerating chamber doors 14a, 14a rotatably supported by hinges 25 provided on both the left and right sides of the cabinet 12. A plurality of door pockets 39 are provided on the rear surface of the refrigerator compartment door 14a. Further, a push-in type door sensor 14b is provided to detect whether the refrigerating chamber 14 is in an open state or a closed state.

The front openings of the vegetable compartment 16, the ice making chamber 21, the small freezing chamber 18, and the freezing chamber 20 are closed by a pull-out vegetable chamber door 16a, an ice making chamber door 21a, a small freezing chamber 18a, and a freezing chamber door 20a, respectively. , Push-in type door sensors 16b, 21b, 18b, 20b are provided to detect whether each door is in an open state or a closed state.

(2) Structure of Refrigerating Chamber 14 Next, the refrigerating chamber 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7.

A chilled chamber 26 is provided at the lower part of the refrigerating chamber 14. The chilled chamber 26 is provided with a top plate (shelf plate) 50 made of a transparent glass plate and a chilled container 51 arranged below the top plate 50 and freely retractable in the front-rear direction. The back surface of the chilled chamber 26 is separated from the R EVA chamber 29 by a cover 48 described later. The cover 48 is composed of an inclined surface 52 inclined downward from the lower side of the top plate 50 toward the front, and a vertical surface 53 provided in the vertical direction from the lower end of the inclined surface 52. The cover 48 is made of polypropylene, and a translucent portion 87 is opened in the vertical surface 53.

An interior light 54 is provided on the ceiling surface of the refrigerator compartment 14. The internal light 54 is provided with a circuit board 56 in a recess 55 provided in front of the center in the front-rear direction of the ceiling surface, and the circuit board 56 is provided with an LED 57 as a light source of the internal light 54. A transparent interior light cover 58 is provided so as to surround the LED 57.

A plurality of outlets 41 for blowing out cold air are opened on the back surface of the refrigerator compartment 14.

From the upper part of the refrigerating chamber 14 to the chilled chamber 26, a plurality of shelves 59 made of a plurality of transparent glass plates are horizontally installed in a plurality of stages.

(3) Refrigeration cycle 60
The refrigerating cycle 60 of the refrigerator 10 will be described.

At the rear of the refrigerating room 14 and the vegetable room 16, a refrigerating evaporator (hereinafter referred to as "R EVA") 28 for cooling these rooms and cold air cooled by the R EVA 28 are transferred to the refrigerating room 14 and the vegetable room 16. A refrigerating blower (hereinafter referred to as “R fan”) 30 for blowing air and an R chamber 29 for accommodating an air purification device 80 to be described later are provided.

At the rear of the ice making chamber 21, the small freezing chamber 18, and the freezing chamber 20, a freezing evaporator (hereinafter referred to as "F EVA") 32 for cooling these chambers and the cold air cooled by the F EVA 32 are put into the ice making chamber 21. An F-evaporation chamber 33 for accommodating a small freezing chamber 18 and a freezing blower (hereinafter referred to as “F fan”) 34 for blowing air to the freezing chamber 20 is provided.

The R EVA 28 and the F EVA 32 form a refrigerating cycle 60 together with the compressor 65 and the condenser 66 housed in the machine room 22 provided in the lower part of the back surface of the cabinet 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, the refrigeration cycle 60 includes a compressor 65 that discharges a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant, a condenser 66 that receives the gaseous refrigerant discharged from the compressor 65 and liquefies the heat, and a condenser 66. A switching valve 67 provided on the outlet side of the vessel 66 to switch the refrigerant flow path, the R EVA 28 and the F EVA 32, and the R decompressor 68 and the F decompressor 69 as throttle means for the R EVA 28 and the F EVA 32. And a check valve 70. In the refrigerating cycle 60, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 65 is circulated and the R EVA 28 and the F EVA 32 are cooled by connecting the refrigerant pipes to each other.

(4) Duct structure As shown in FIG. 2, the R chamber 29 is connected to a rear duct 40 provided on the back surface of the refrigerating chamber 14, and the air cooled by the R EVA 28 by the rotation of the R fan 30. Passes through the air purification device 80 and flows upward from the lower end to the upper end of the rear duct 40, and blows out into the refrigerating chamber 14 from the air outlet 41 provided on the back surface of the refrigerating chamber 14.

After the air blown out to the refrigerating chamber 14 flows through the refrigerating chamber 14, a part of the air flows back to the R chamber 29 from the suction port 42 provided in the partition body 38, and the other part is bored in the partition body 38. After flowing into the vegetable compartment 16 through the introduction port (not shown) and flowing through the vegetable compartment 16, the suction port 43 provided on the back surface of the vegetable compartment 16 returns to the R chamber 29.

The F EVA chamber 33 is connected to an outlet 44 provided on the back surface of the ice making chamber 21 and the small freezing chamber 18, and an outlet 45 and a suction port 46 provided in the freezing chamber 20. Then, the air cooled by the F EVA 32 is blown out from the outlet 44 into the ice making chamber 21 and the small freezing chamber 18 by the rotation of the F fan 34 in the F EVA chamber 33, and from the outlet 44 into the freezing chamber 20. Blow out to. The air blown from the outlet 44 into the ice making chamber 21 and the small freezing chamber 18 flows while cooling the inside of the ice making chamber 21 and the small freezing chamber 18, and then flows into the freezing chamber 20. The air flowing from the ice making chamber 21 and the small freezing chamber 18 into the freezing chamber 20 flows into the freezing chamber 20 together with the air blown out from the outlet 45 to the freezing chamber 20, and then passes through the suction port 46 to the F EVA chamber 33. return.

(5) Air purification device 80
The air purification device 80 will be described with reference to FIG. The air purification device 80 is provided near the outlet of the R chamber 29, and sterilizes and deodorizes the air circulating in the refrigerating chamber 14 and the vegetable chamber 16.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air purification device 80 is arranged between the frame 81, the two light emitting devices 82 arranged at the upper part and the lower part inside the frame 81, and the two light emitting devices 82. It is equipped with two filters 83.

The frame 81 is a rectangular parallelepiped, and ventilation openings 89 and 90 are opened on the lower surface and the upper surface.

The filter 83 is supported by a visible light responsive photocatalyst 84, which allows air to flow. The visible light responsive photocatalyst is composed of vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel and copper in at least one selected from the group consisting of titanium oxide, zinc oxide, strontium titanate, tungsten oxide and silicon carbide. A photocatalyst having at least one kind of impurity element selected from the group added as a dopant, or a photocatalyst containing a halogenated platinum compound on the surface of the photocatalyst particles, which is a catalyst at a wavelength of ultraviolet rays of 1 to 360 nm. A normal photocatalyst showing activity, for example, the most common photocatalyst, titanium oxide, is activated by ultraviolet rays at 270 nm, whereas it is activated by light in the visible light region of 360 to 760 nm, which has a lower energy. For example, a nitrogen-doped titanium oxide visible light responsive photocatalyst, platinum-supported titanium oxide, and the like are known.

A plurality of through holes 85 penetrating in the thickness direction are formed in the upper and lower two light emitting devices 82, and the cold air flowing through the R chamber 29 passes through the through holes 85 provided in the light emitting device 82. A plurality of light source LEDs (light emitting diodes) 86 are provided downward on the lower surface of the upper light emitting device 82, and a plurality of LED 86s are provided upward on the upper surface of the lower light emitting device 82. ing. Each of these LEDs 86 emits visible light including light in a wavelength band that excites the visible light responsive photocatalyst 84 carried on the filter 83, and such two light emitting devices 82 are the visible light responsive photocatalyst 84. The surface on which the LED 86 is provided is arranged toward the filter 83 while being spaced above and below the filter 83 on which the LED 86 is provided.

A rectangular translucent portion 87 is provided at a position corresponding to the air purifying device 80 on the vertical surface 53 of the cover 48 that divides the front surface (refrigerating chamber 14 side) of the chilled chamber 26 and the R chamber 29. The translucent unit 87 transmits visible light radiated to the filter 83 from the LED 86 of the light emitting device 82 provided in the air purifying device 80, and leaks to the chilled chamber 26.

The operation of the air purification device 80 will be described. The cooled air flows into the frame 81 through the ventilation opening 89 on the lower surface, passes through the through hole 85, and reaches the filter 83 through which air can flow. The light of the LED 86 of the light emitting device 82 excites and activates the visible light responsive photocatalyst 84 of the filter 83, and decomposes and removes odorous components and bacteria contained in the air reaching the two filters 81. The purified air passes through the through hole 85 and flows out of the frame 81 through the ventilation opening 90 on the upper surface. Further, the light of the LED 86 leaks from the translucent portion 87 to the chilled chamber 26, and the user can determine that the air purification device 80 is operating.

(6) Electrical Configuration of Refrigerator 10 The electrical configuration of the refrigerator 10 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The control unit 100 provided on the upper rear surface of the cabinet 12 includes, for example, a microcomputer and a memory, and as shown in FIG. 5, the door sensors 14b, 16b, 21b, 18b, 20b, the ice making device 19, the R sensor 31, F. A sensor 35, an R fan 30, an F fan 34, a compressor 65, a switching valve 67, an interior light 54, and a light emitting device 82 are connected.

The control unit 100 has the rotation speeds of the R fan 30 and the F fan 34 based on the detection signals input from the various sensors 26a, 27a, 28a, 29a, 30a, 35, 31, 35 and the control program stored in the memory in advance. The operation frequency of the switching valve 67, the internal light 54, and the amount of light emitted from the light source provided in the light emitting device 82 are controlled to control the overall operation of the refrigerator 10.

Specifically, when cooling the refrigerating space of the refrigerating chamber 14 and the vegetable compartment 16, the control unit 100 switches the switching valve 67 provided in the refrigerating cycle 60 so that the refrigerant flows to the R EVA 28. The R mode for operating the R fan 30 is executed. As a result, the air cooled by the R EVA 28 is blown to the refrigerating chamber 14 and the vegetable compartment 16 to cool the storage chambers thereof.

On the other hand, when cooling the freezing space such as the freezing chamber 20, the control unit 100 switches the switching valve 67 provided in the freezing cycle 60 so that the refrigerant flows to the F EVA 32 and the F fan 34. Execute the F mode to be operated. As a result, the air cooled by the F EVA 32 is blown to a freezing space such as the freezing room 20, and each room provided in the freezing space is cooled.

Further, the control unit 100 operates the air purification device 80 during the execution of the above-mentioned R mode to perform a clean operation.

Further, when the control unit 100 detects the open state of the refrigerating room door 14a by the door sensor 14b, the control unit 100 turns on the LED 57 of the refrigerator interior light 54 to illuminate the inside of the refrigerating room 14.

(7) Character projection of “deodorizing and sterilizing” Next, a structure for projecting characters using the internal light 54 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

When the pair of left and right refrigerating room doors 12a, 12a of the refrigerating room 14 are opened, the LED 57 of the internal light 54 is turned on, and the illumination light is radiated below the refrigerating room 14. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, black characters "deodorizing and sterilizing" are printed as an expression on the top plate 50 of the chilled chamber 26. Hereinafter, this printed part is referred to as "expression unit 49".

When the LED 57 of the internal light 54 is turned on, the illumination light passes through the three transparent shelf plates 59 and reaches the top plate 50 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, since the expression unit 49 is printed on the top plate 50, a shadow is formed by the expression unit 49, and this shadow is projected on the inclined surface 52.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the refrigerator compartment 14, the LED 57 of the interior light 54, the expression unit 49, and the inclined surface (projection unit) 52 are provided in the rear part of the chilled chamber 26 in order from the top. , The straight line of the illumination light connecting the LED 57 and the inclined surface 52 is an inclined line with the vertical line, and the reflected light of the illumination light is directed to the front opening of the refrigerating chamber 14, so that the user can use the refrigerating chamber 14 It can be seen from the front.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the inclined surface 52 is at a height (130 to 150 cm) that can be visually recognized from the front of the refrigerating chamber 14, and the vertical surface of the inclined surface 52 is the front opening of the refrigerating chamber 14. Since it is within the range and the vertical surface is not hidden when viewed from the front of the refrigerator compartment 14, the characters projected by the user are easy to see.

Further, since the inclined surface 52 is made of polypropylene, characters can be projected clearly, and further, since the LED 57 is a point light source, it is projected on the inclined surface 52 more than the characters expressed by the expression unit 49. Since the characters are enlarged, it is easier for the user to see.

The characters of the expression body expressed in the expression unit 49 are merely examples, and other kanji, hiragana, alphabets, numbers, symbols, and figures may be used, and the meaning of the expression body expressed by the expression unit 49 is. The product name, model number, specific function of the air purification device 80, etc. may be indicated.

(8) Effect According to the present embodiment, only the expression unit 49 is printed only on the top plate 50, and the characters are projected on the inclined surface 52, so that the number of printed parts of the characters inside the refrigerating chamber 14 is reduced. This can reduce costs and reduce the number of processes.

Further, since the inclined surface 52, which is a projection unit, is at a height that can be visually recognized by the user, the characters projected on the inclined surface 52 can be reliably recognized. Further, since the size of the character projected on the inclined surface 52 is larger than the character represented by the expression unit 49, it is easy for the user to see.

Further, since the vertical surface of the inclined surface 52 is within the range of the front opening of the refrigerating chamber 14, the projected characters are not hidden.

Further, since the position of the internal light 54 is located in front of the expression unit 49, the straight line of the illumination light connecting the LED 57 and the inclined surface 52 has an inclined angle with the vertical line, and the reflection of this illumination light. Since the light is directed to the front opening of the refrigerating chamber 14, the user can see the characters projected on the inclined surface 52.

Further, since the cover 48 is made of polypropylene, characters are clearly projected on the inclined surface 52.

Embodiment 2

Next, the refrigerator 10 of the second embodiment will be described.

In the above embodiment, the expression unit 49 is provided on the top plate 50 of the chilled chamber 26, but instead of this, in the present embodiment, printing is performed on another shelf plate 59 of the refrigerating chamber 14. In this case, printing is performed at a position where the LED 57, the expression unit 49, and the inclined surface 52 are in a straight line.

Embodiment 3

Next, the refrigerator 10 of the third embodiment will be described.

In the first embodiment, the expression unit 49 is printed on the top plate 50 of the chilled chamber 26, but instead of this, in the present embodiment, the expression unit 49 is printed on the interior light cover 58 of the interior light 54.

Embodiment 4

Next, the refrigerator 10 of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In the above embodiment, characters are projected onto the inclined surface 52 using the internal light 54 as a light source, but in the present embodiment, the LED 86 of the air purification device 80 is projected as a light source. As shown in FIG. 8, an expression portion 89 made of a transparent plate is provided on the front surface of the translucent portion 87 opened in the vertical surface 53 of the cover 48. For example, "chilled" is printed on the expression unit 91.

When the user opens the pair of left and right refrigerating room doors 12a, 12a, the illumination light from the LED 86 of the air purification device 80 passes through the transparent expression unit 89 and projects "chilled" on the front surface 51a of the chilled container 51. ..

This makes it possible to inform the user that the container 51 is a chilled container without printing the characters "chilled" on the front surface 51a of the chilled container 51.

Embodiment 5

Next, the refrigerator 10 of the fifth embodiment will be described.

In the third embodiment, as the light source, the interior light 54 on the ceiling surface of the refrigerator compartment 14 and the expression unit 49 are provided on the interior light cover 58 and projected onto the slope 52. Instead of this, in the present embodiment, a new light source is provided at the front end of the ceiling surface, an expression unit 49 on which an expression body is printed is provided on the shade cover of this light source, and an expression unit 49 is provided on the back surface of the refrigerating chamber 14. It may be projected. That is, in this case, the back surface is the projection unit.

Further, as a modification of the present embodiment, the light source may be provided on the side surface of the door 14a of the refrigerating chamber 14 instead of the front end portion of the ceiling surface. This side surface is a surface facing the refrigerating chamber 14 with the door 14a open. Even in this case, the expression unit 49 on which the expression body is printed is provided on the shade cover of the light source, and the expression unit 49 is projected on the back surface of the refrigerating chamber 14.

Embodiment 6

Next, the refrigerator 10 of the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In each of the above embodiments, the light source, the expression unit, and the projection unit are provided in this order. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the light source and the expression unit may not be independent and may partially overlap.

For example, in the air purification device 80 having the LED 86 built-in, since the entire frame 81 seems to shine, an expression unit may be provided so as to overlap the air purification device 80 in the front-rear direction with the entire frame 81 as a light source. That is, a part of the expression body may be housed inside the frame 81.

Change example

In the above embodiment, the color of the light of the LED 57 of the internal light 54 and the LED 86 of the air purification device 80 is constant, but instead of this, the color may be changed according to the operating state of the refrigerator 10. For example, it is white in the chilled state, blue in the quick freezing, and orange in the thawed state.

Further, in the above embodiment, the refrigerating chamber 14 is provided with the LED (light source) 57, the expression unit 49, and the inclined surface (projection unit) 52, but instead of this, the vegetable chamber 16 is provided with the LED (light source) 57 and the expression unit 49. , The inclined surface (projection portion) 52 may be provided in a straight line.

Further, in the above embodiment, the characters in the expression unit 49 are expressed in black or a non-transparent color, but instead of this, the characters are printed transparently in the non-transparent parts such as black, blue, and red. It may be a department.

The above embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof, as are included in the scope and gist of the invention.

10 ... Refrigerator, 14 ... Refrigerator room, 26 ... Chilled room, 48 ... Cover, 49 ... Expression section, 50 ... Top plate, 51 ... Chilled container, 52 ...・ Inclined surface (projection part), 54 ・ ・ ・ Interior light, 59 ・ ・ ・ Shelf board, 80 ・ ・ ・ Air purification device

Claims (16)

A storage room with an open front and
With the front door
A light source consisting of a point light source provided in the storage chamber or the door,
An expression unit provided in the storage chamber and expressing at least one expression of characters, symbols, and figures, and an expression unit.
A projection unit that reflects the projected image of the expression body formed by irradiating the expression unit with light from the light source, and a projection unit.
Have,
A refrigerator in which the projection unit displays the representation body by the projection image . The light source, the expression unit, and the projection unit are provided in order from the top.
The refrigerator according to claim 1. In the storage chamber, the light source, the expression unit, and the projection unit are provided in order from diagonally above.
The refrigerator according to claim 2. The light source, the expression unit, and the projection unit are provided in order from the front or the back.
The refrigerator according to claim 1. The projection portion is an inclined surface that is inclined downward as it goes forward.
The refrigerator according to claim 1. The size of the expression body projected on the projection unit is larger than that of the expression body expressed by the expression unit.
The refrigerator according to claim 1. The projection unit is provided in the refrigerator with a specific function means having a specific function or in the vicinity of the specific function means.
The refrigerator according to claim 1. In the expression body of the expression unit, the expression body is formed in a transparent portion, or the expression body is transparently formed in a non-transparent portion.
The refrigerator according to claim 1. A transparent shelf board is provided between the light source and the expression unit in one or more stages.
The refrigerator according to claim 2. One or more transparent shelves are provided between the expression unit and the projection unit.
The refrigerator according to claim 2. The color of the light source changes according to the operating conditions of the refrigerator.
The refrigerator according to claim 1. The projection unit is provided at a height visible from the front of the storage chamber.
The refrigerator according to claim 1. The projection is made of polypropylene,
The refrigerator according to claim 1. The light source is an interior light of the storage room.
The refrigerator according to claim 1. The expression unit is provided on the lamp cover of the light source.
The refrigerator according to claim 1. The expression unit is provided on the shelf board.
The refrigerator according to claim 9 or 10.

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