JP2008075925A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator having no problem of noise in transmitting information while suppressing a cost increase without needing to separately provide an information transmission function. <P>SOLUTION: The refrigerator has a refrigerator body 1, doors 5, 6, internal lights 7a-7d, and a control board for controlling lighting and extinction of the internal lights 7a-7d individually. The control board switches the respective internal lights 7a-7d on or off according to predetermined abnormality as a warning. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Conventionally, as a refrigerator, it has a refrigerator body having an opening, a door that opens and closes the opening of the refrigerator body, and an operation panel equipped with a speaker, and when the door is opened for a predetermined time, A warning sound is output from the speaker of the operation panel (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-31468: Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-31468 A

  However, in the conventional refrigerator, since the operation panel equipped with the speaker is separately provided as a function of transmitting forgetting to close the door, the cost is high. Further, in order to transmit the forgetting to close the door, the warning is given by the warning sound from the speaker.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that does not require a separate information transmission function and that can suppress a high cost and that has no noise problem in information transmission.

In order to solve the above problems, the refrigerator of the present invention is
A refrigerator body having an opening;
A door for opening and closing the opening of the refrigerator body;
A plurality of interior lamps arranged in the refrigerator body;
And a control unit that individually controls lighting and extinguishing of each of the plurality of interior lamps.

  Here, the interior lamp normally lights up when the door is open and functions as interior illumination.

  According to the refrigerator of this invention, since it has the above-mentioned plurality of interior lamps and the above-mentioned control unit that individually controls the turning on and off of each of the plurality of interior lamps, conventionally, it is simply used for interior lighting. The above-mentioned interior light can be used as a function of transmitting information such as a warning to the user by individually controlling the lighting and extinguishing of each interior light. Moreover, lighting and extinguishing of each internal lamp can be patterned as a plurality of combinations, and a plurality of information can be expressed by blinking of the different patterns.

  Therefore, by using the interior light as the interior illumination as an information transmission function, it is not necessary to provide an information transmission function separately, and the cost can be suppressed. In addition, since information such as warning is transmitted visually, there is no problem of noise.

  Moreover, in the refrigerator of one Embodiment, the electric current which flows into each said interior lamp is less than 0.2A.

  According to the refrigerator of this embodiment, since the current flowing through each of the interior lamps is less than 0.2 A, the current that conforms to the requirements of international safety standards and is required when a current of 0.2 A or more flows. A heavy refractory structure is not required, and the cost can be further suppressed.

  Moreover, in the refrigerator of one Embodiment, the said control part turns on or turns off each said interior light according to a predetermined | prescribed abnormality, and displays it as a warning.

  According to the refrigerator of this embodiment, the control unit turns on or turns off each of the interior lamps according to a predetermined abnormality and displays it as a warning. Therefore, the interior temperature abnormality or the door is continuously opened. A plurality of abnormalities such as abnormalities can be reliably transmitted as warnings by turning on or off the respective interior lamps.

  Moreover, in the refrigerator of one Embodiment, after the said door is opened and the said interior lamp lights for a fixed time, the said control part controls each lighting and extinction of each of these interior lamps separately.

  According to the refrigerator of this embodiment, the control unit individually controls lighting and extinguishing of the plurality of interior lamps after the door is opened and the interior lamps are lit for a certain period of time. After the user opens the door, pays attention to the stored food in the cabinet, and finishes the business, the interior lamps can be turned on or off, which is convenient.

  Moreover, in the refrigerator of one Embodiment, when the said door is opened, the said control part will raise each illumination lamp from the light extinction state to the illumination intensity gradually, and will light it.

  According to the refrigerator of this embodiment, when the door is opened, each of the interior lights is turned on by gradually increasing the illuminance from the unlit state to the rated illuminance. Compared to the simple ON / OFF control of the interior light, the user gets time to adjust his / her eyes to the dark part without being obscured by the interior light even when the door is suddenly opened in a dark kitchen that is not illuminated at night. Can be dazzled.

  According to the refrigerator of the present invention, since the plurality of internal lamps and the control unit that individually controls the lighting and extinguishing of the plurality of internal lamps are provided, there is no need to separately provide an information transmission function. Thus, the high cost can be suppressed and there is no problem of noise in the transmission of information.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

  FIG. 1: has shown the front view which is one Embodiment of the refrigerator of this invention. This refrigerator has a refrigerator main body 1 having an opening, and the inside of the refrigerator main body 1 is divided into an upper refrigerator compartment 3 and a lower freezer compartment 2 by a partition wall 4. A refrigerator compartment door 6 that opens and closes the refrigerator compartment 3 and a refrigerator compartment door 5 that opens and closes the refrigerator compartment 2 are attached to the refrigerator body 1.

  In the refrigerator compartment 3 of the refrigerator body 1, a plurality of interior lamps 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d are arranged. Specifically, as viewed from the front, the first interior lamp 7a is arranged on the left side of the upper stage, the second interior lamp 7b is arranged on the right side of the upper stage, and on the left side of the lower stage, A third interior lamp 7c is disposed, and a fourth interior lamp 7d is disposed on the lower right side.

  The four interior lamps 7a to 7d are covered with a transparent cover member on the inner surface of the refrigerator main body 1. The interior lamps 7a to 7d are normally turned on when the doors 5 and 6 are opened, and function as interior illumination.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerator is provided with a microcomputer control board 10 as a control unit. The control board 10 includes a door switch 11, a refrigerator temperature sensor 12, a defrosting temperature sensor 13, a freezing room. The temperature sensor 14, the refrigerator power supply 15, the compressor 16, the defrosting heater 17, the cooling fan motor 18, the condensing fan motor 19, the interior lamps 7a to 7d, and the alarm buzzer 20 are electrically connected. Has been.

  Signals are input to the control board 10 from the door switch 11, the sensors 12, 13, 14, and the refrigerator power supply 15, and from the control board 10, the compressor 16, the heater 17, and the fan Signals are output to the motors 18 and 19, the interior lights 7 a to 7 d, and the alarm buzzer 20.

  The compressor 16, the heater 17, the fan motors 18 and 19, the interior lamps 7 a to 7 d, and the alarm buzzer 20 are connected to the refrigerator power source 15 through energization relays (not shown). Yes.

  Each contact of the energizing relay is controlled to open and close by a command from the control board 10. The control board 10 is a one-chip microcomputer in which an internal ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit), a program memory, a data memory, and the like are integrated, and is driven by a clock signal from a reference clock oscillator. An analog signal indicating the internal temperature measured by the temperature sensor is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter and input to the control board 10.

  The interior lights 7a to 7d are controlled by a door opening / closing signal of the door switch 11. The door switch 11 is, for example, a reed switch, and changes the internal contact to be closed by the approach of magnetic force of magnets provided on the doors 5 and 6.

  The control board 10 individually controls lighting and extinguishing of the plurality of interior lamps 7a to 7d. That is, the control board 10 controls the interior lamps 7a to 7d via the energization relay.

  At this time, the electric current which flows through each said interior lamp 7a-7d is less than 0.2A. That is, the control board 10 is directly connected to the individual interior lamps 7a to 7d without branching in parallel, and the current values of the interior lamps 7a to 7d do not exceed 0.2A. The interior lights 7a to 7d are turned on.

  Then, the control board 10 turns on or off each of the interior lamps 7a to 7d according to a predetermined abnormality and displays it as a warning. Examples of the predetermined abnormality include an abnormality in the internal temperature and an abnormality in continuous opening of the door. The alarm buzzer 20 may be used in combination, and a predetermined abnormality may be displayed as a warning sound of the alarm buzzer 20.

  Next, the operation when the internal temperature abnormality occurs will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the power is turned on, control by the control board 10 is started (first step S1), and the control board 10 reads the open / close state of the refrigerator compartment door 6 (second step S2).

  And the said control board 10 judges whether the said refrigerator compartment door 6 opens (3rd process S3), and if the said refrigerator compartment door 6 is open, the said 1st and said 2nd interior lamp While the lights 7a and 7b are turned on (fourth step S4), if the refrigerator compartment door 6 is closed, the first and second interior lamps 7a and 7b are turned off (fifth step S5).

  Thereafter, the control board 10 reads the open / close state of the freezer compartment door 5 (sixth step S6), and the control board 10 determines whether or not the freezer compartment door 5 is opened (seventh step S7). If the freezer compartment door 5 is open, the third and fourth interior lamps 7c and 7d are turned on (eighth step S8). If the freezer compartment door 5 is closed, the 3 and the fourth interior lamps 7c and 7d are turned off (9th step S9).

  The control board 10 reads the temperature of the refrigerating chamber 3 (10th step S10), compares the temperature of the refrigerating chamber 3 with an initial set temperature (11th step S11), and is below a certain temperature. If not, the first and second interior lamps 7a and 7b are intermittently turned on and off (12th step S12).

  Thereafter, the control board 10 reads the temperature of the freezer compartment 2 (13th step S13), compares the temperature of the freezer compartment 2 with an initial set temperature (14th step S14), and is below a certain temperature. Otherwise, the third and fourth interior lamps 7c and 7d are intermittently turned on and off (15th step S15).

  Then, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (16th step S16), and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the process returns to the second step S2.

  In the repetition of this series of processing steps, the control board 10 detects the opening and closing of the door and the internal temperature, and the control board 10 instructs the internal lamps 7a to 7d to be turned on or off each time.

  For example, when the control board 10 detects that the temperatures of the freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment 3 are below a predetermined temperature range (20 ° C.), the doors 5 and 6 are operated as usual. When the door is opened, the interior lamps 7a to 7d are turned on to illuminate the interior.

  When the control board 10 detects that the temperature of the freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment 3 is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature range (20 ° C.), when the doors 5 and 6 are opened, The interior lamps 7a to 7d are intermittently controlled to be turned on and off, and the interior of the interior is intermittently illuminated to prevent an increase in the interior temperature due to heat generated by the interior lamps 7a to 7d.

  As a result, the internal temperature rises due to the heat generated by the internal lamps 7a to 7d, and the resin molded parts that attach the internal lamps 7a to 7d to the inner wall of the refrigerator compartment 3 are prevented from being softened. And this is transmitted to the user by intermittently controlling the interior lights 7a to 7d.

  Next, an operation when an abnormality of continuous opening of the door occurs will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the refrigerator compartment door 6 is opened after the refrigerator power is turned on, the first and second interior lamps 7a and 7b are turned on, and the freezer compartment door 5 is When opened, the third and fourth interior lamps 7c and 7d are turned on.

  When the refrigerator compartment door 6 is opened for a predetermined time t1, the first and second interior lamps 7a and 7b blink alternately, and the freezer compartment door 5 is opened for a predetermined time t2. And the said 3rd and said 4th interior lamps 7c and 7d blink alternately.

  Thereafter, when the doors 5 and 6 are closed, the interior lights 7a to 7d are turned off, and the interior lights 7a to 7d are turned on in response to the opening of the doors 5 and 6.

  In this way, the continuous opening of the doors 5 and 6 is displayed as a warning by the blinking of the interior lamps 7a to 7d, thereby suppressing an increase in the interior temperature.

  Next, a blinking pattern of the interior lamps 7a to 7d will be described. In FIG. 5 to FIG. 11, white portions of the interior lamps 7 a to 7 d indicate lighting, and blackening of the interior lights 7 a to 7 d indicates light extinction.

  FIG. 5 shows a pattern of blinking up and down. After the first and second interior lamps 7a and 7b are turned on, the third and fourth interior lamps 7c and 7d are turned off, and then the first and second interior lamps 7c and 7d are turned off. The third and fourth interior lamps 7c and 7d are turned on while the first and second interior lamps 7a and 7b are turned off, and the first and second interior lamps 7a are repeated again. , 7b are turned on, and the third and fourth interior lamps 7c, 7d are turned off.

  FIG. 6 shows an upper flashing pattern, and the first and second interior lamps 7a and 7b are turned on and off while the third and fourth interior lamps 7c and 7d are turned off. repeat.

  FIG. 7 shows a pattern of blinking in the lower part, and the third and fourth interior lamps 7c and 7d are turned on and off while the first and second interior lamps 7a and 7b are turned off. repeat.

  FIG. 8 shows a left flashing pattern, and the first and third interior lights 7a and 7c are turned on and off while the second and fourth interior lights 7b and 7d are turned off. And repeat.

  FIG. 9 shows a blinking pattern on the right side, and the second and fourth interior lamps 7b and 7d are turned on and off while the first and third interior lamps 7a and 7c remain off. And repeat.

  FIG. 10 shows a pattern of blinking counterclockwise, and after only the second interior lamp 7b is lit, the first interior lamp 7a, the third interior lamp 7c, and the fourth interior are sequentially arranged. Only the inner lamp 7d is turned on and is repeated again, and only the second interior lamp 7b is turned on.

  FIG. 11 shows a pattern of blinking clockwise, and after only the second interior lamp 7b is lit, the fourth interior lamp 7d, the third interior lamp 7c, and the first warehouse are sequentially arranged. Only the inner lamp 7a is turned on and repeated again, and only the second interior lamp 7b is turned on.

  Thus, the lighting and extinguishing of the four interior lamps 7a to 7d can be patterned as a plurality of combinations, and a plurality of pieces of information (such as warnings) can be expressed by the blinking of the different patterns. For example, the upper flashing shown in FIG. 6 indicates an abnormality exceeding the upper limit of the internal temperature, and the lower flashing illustrated in FIG. 7 indicates an abnormality exceeding the lower limit of the internal temperature.

  According to the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, since the plurality of interior lamps 7a to 7d and the control board 10 that individually controls lighting and extinction of the plurality of interior lamps 7a to 7d are included, Information such as warnings is transmitted to the user by individually controlling the lighting and extinguishing of the interior lamps 7a to 7d for the interior lamps 7a to 7d, which are merely used for interior lighting. Can be used as a function.

  Therefore, by using the interior lamps 7a to 7d as interior lighting as an information transmission function, it is not necessary to provide an information transmission function separately, and the cost can be suppressed.

  In addition, since information such as warning is transmitted visually, there is no problem of noise. On the other hand, if information such as warning is notified to the user by a warning sound, the user can understand the purpose of the warning sound when opening the door and paying attention to the stored food in the warehouse. The case where the user became anxious was suitable.

  In short, the present invention provides a plurality of the interior lamps 7a to 7d, which are simply used for interior lighting in the past, and turns on or off the interior lights 7a to 7d, thereby preventing a plurality of abnormalities. Can express different patterns of flashing. That is, a plurality of warnings can be expressed by turning on or off the interior lamps 7a to 7d.

  Moreover, since the electric current which flows into each said interior lamp 7a-7d is less than 0.2A, it corresponds to the requirements of international safety standards, and the double fireproof structure required when the electric current of 0.2A or more flows. It becomes unnecessary and the cost can be further suppressed.

  This international safety standard is IEC60335-1 (Safety of household and similar electrical appliances. Part 1: General requirements). Electric wires that carry a current of 0.2A or more. In the housing connector for connection, a 3 mm dimension securing material (flame retardant cushioning material, etc.) and a refractory structure material (aluminum tape etc.) capable of withstanding the needle frame test are required in the periphery.

  In addition, the control board 10 turns on or off the interior lamps 7a to 7d in accordance with a predetermined abnormality and displays them as warnings. Therefore, an abnormality in the interior temperature, an abnormality in continuous opening of the door, or the like. Can be reliably transmitted as warnings by turning on or off the interior lamps 7a to 7d.

  The control board 10 individually turns on and off the plurality of interior lamps 7a to 7d after the doors 5 and 6 are opened and the interior lights 7a to 7d are turned on for a certain period of time. It may be controlled. Therefore, after the user opens the doors 5 and 6 and pays attention to the stored food in the warehouse and completes the business, the interior lights 7a to 7d can be turned on or off, which is convenient.

  In addition, when the doors 5 and 6 are opened, the control board 10 turns on the interior lamps 7a to 7d by gradually increasing the illuminance from the unlit state to the rated illuminance. Good. As the control of the control board 10, applied voltage control and applied waveform control are used, and the illuminance is increased stepwise or gradually.

  Therefore, compared to the simple ON / OFF control of the interior lamps 7a to 7d, even if the user suddenly opens the door in a dark kitchen that is not illuminated at night, the interior lamps 7a to 7d are dazzled. In addition, the time for the eyes to get used to the dark part can be obtained, and dazzling is reduced.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the number of the interior lamps can be increased or decreased. Moreover, you may arrange | position the said interior lamp in at least one of the said freezer compartment 2 or the said refrigerator compartment 3. FIG. Further, information other than the warning may be expressed by turning on and off the interior lamps.

It is a front view which shows one Embodiment of the refrigerator of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electricity supply control of each apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement when abnormality of the chamber internal temperature generate | occur | produces. It is a timing chart explaining operation | movement when abnormality of the continuous opening of a door generate | occur | produced. It is explanatory drawing which shows the pattern of up-down blinking. It is explanatory drawing which shows the pattern of upper part blinking. It is explanatory drawing which shows the pattern of a lower part blink. It is explanatory drawing which shows the pattern of left part blinking. It is explanatory drawing which shows the pattern of a right part blink. It is explanatory drawing which shows the pattern of counterclockwise blinking. It is explanatory drawing which shows the pattern of clockwise blink.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator main body 2 Freezer compartment 3 Refrigeration compartment 5 Freezer compartment door 6 Refrigeration compartment door 7a 1st interior lamp 7b 2nd interior lamp 7c 3rd interior lamp 7d 4th interior lamp 10 Control board (control Part)

Claims (5)

A refrigerator body having an opening;
A door for opening and closing the opening of the refrigerator body;
A plurality of interior lamps arranged in the refrigerator body;
A refrigerator comprising: a control unit that individually controls lighting and extinguishing of each of the plurality of interior lamps. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
The electric current which flows into each said interior lamp is less than 0.2A, The refrigerator characterized by the above-mentioned. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
The said control part turns on or turns off each said interior lamp according to predetermined | prescribed abnormality, It displays as a warning, The refrigerator characterized by the above-mentioned. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
The control unit individually controls lighting and extinguishing of each of the plurality of interior lamps after the door is opened and the interior lamps are lit for a certain period of time. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
The said control part lights up each said interior lamp from the light extinction state gradually from a light extinction state to illumination intensity to a rated illumination intensity when the said door is opened.

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