EP3306243A1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents
Refrigerator Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP3306243A1 EP3306243A1 EP16799569.5A EP16799569A EP3306243A1 EP 3306243 A1 EP3306243 A1 EP 3306243A1 EP 16799569 A EP16799569 A EP 16799569A EP 3306243 A1 EP3306243 A1 EP 3306243A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- variable temperature
- temperature room
- door
- disposed
- illumination
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
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Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D11/00—Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators
- F25D11/02—Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators with cooling compartments at different temperatures
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D11/00—Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D27/00—Lighting arrangements
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D27/00—Lighting arrangements
- F25D27/005—Lighting arrangements combined with control means
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D2400/00—General features of, or devices for refrigerators, cold rooms, ice-boxes, or for cooling or freezing apparatus not covered by any other subclass
- F25D2400/28—Quick cooling
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D2700/00—Means for sensing or measuring; Sensors therefor
- F25D2700/02—Sensors detecting door opening
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a refrigerator having a light emitting element which emits light to the inside of a storage compartment.
- a household refrigerator is of a type where a refrigerating compartment which is used most frequently and has a large capacity is disposed on an uppermost stage, an ice-making compartment and a temperature switching compartment are disposed parallel to each other below the refrigerating compartment, and a vegetable compartment and a freezing compartment are disposed below the ice-making compartment and the temperature switching compartment in the above-mentioned order.
- an indoor lamp formed of an electric bulb or a light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as LED) is mounted on a ceiling surface or a back surface of the refrigerating compartment having a large capacity.
- LED light emitting diode
- a refrigerator which is configured to allow a user to visually grasp temperature distribution in the inside of the storage compartment by indicating a temperature in the inside of cooling compartment by color of the indoor lamp, by changing the color of the indoor lamp corresponding to an indoor temperature, or by illuminating the inside of the storage compartment at color temperatures corresponding to the temperature distribution by a plurality of light sources (see PTL 1, for example).
- Refrigerating compartment 1 has inner box 2.
- the inside of refrigerating compartment 1 is vertically divided into a plurality of stages by shelves 3a, 3b on which stored goods are placed and shelf 3c which also functions as a ceiling plate disposed at a lowermost portion of refrigerating compartment 1.
- Variable temperature room 4 where a temperature is set to a different temperature zone compared to refrigerating compartment 1 is disposed below shelf 3c.
- Indoor lamp 5 is mounted on a ceiling surface of refrigerating compartment 1.
- Indoor lamp 5 is disposed in a recess formed on the ceiling surface, for example.
- a lower portion of indoor lamp 5 is covered by shade 6. With such a configuration, light emitted from indoor lamp 5 diffuses so that whole refrigerating compartment 1 is illuminated.
- back surface duct 7 is formed with a large width over the whole back surface. With such a configuration, cool air is introduced into refrigerating compartment 1.
- Back surface duct 7 is formed into an approximately planar plate shape by injection molding using a synthetic resin.
- a predetermined space is formed between back surface duct 7 and a back surface in refrigerating compartment 1.
- Back surface duct 7 is disposed so as to cover approximately the whole back surface of refrigerating compartment 1.
- An outer peripheral edge of back surface duct 7 is disposed such that predetermined cool air blow off gap 8 is formed between the outer peripheral edge of back surface duct 7, and an upper wall surface and both side wall surfaces of the back surface of inner box 2.
- Center blow off portion 9 is formed on a center portion of an inner side of back surface duct 7.
- Center blow off portion 9 has a lateral width size which is approximately one third of back surface duct 7, and has a vertical size which is a height size extending to upper and lower ends of plurality of shelves 3a to 3c.
- Plate-like design panel 10 is disposed on a surface of back surface duct 7, and light sources 11a, 11b, 11c formed of a plurality of LEDs having different colors are mounted on design panel 10.
- indoor lamp 5 mounted on a ceiling surface of inner box 2 and light sources 11a to 11c formed of LEDs are turned on, and the inside of refrigerating compartment 1 is illuminated by these lights.
- a temperature of an upper space which corresponds to shelf 3a disposed on an upper portion of refrigerating compartment 1 a temperature of an intermediate space which corresponds to shelf 3b disposed on an intermediate portion of refrigerating compartment 1, and a temperature of a lower space which corresponds to shelf 3c disposed on a lower portion of refrigerating compartment 1 are respectively detected by thermistors or the like, and respective light sources 11a to 11c are turned on with colors corresponding to temperatures of spaces below respective shelves 3a to 3c.
- a user can visually recognize the temperature distribution in the inside of refrigerating compartment 1 based on color distribution.
- variable temperature room which is used with delicate temperature setting for example, as a chilled compartment where a temperature is set to -1°C to +1°C, a partial compartment where a temperature is set to -5°C to -1°C or the like
- information on which temperature zone the variable temperature room is set is information more important for the user than information on temperature detected by thermistors or the like.
- the present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator which allows a user to confirm at a glance which predetermined temperature zone a temperature is set and which operation mode (operation state) is chosen or the like particularly in a variable temperature room thus preventing an adverse effect to food preservation caused by an error in setting of the predetermined temperature zone.
- a refrigerator includes: a storage compartment; a variable temperature room disposed in the storage compartment; a setting part for varying a temperature zone of the variable temperature room; an illumination device disposed in the variable temperature room, a door disposed on a front surface of the variable temperature room; and a door opening and closing detection part for detecting an open and close state of the door.
- the illumination device illuminates the inside of the variable temperature room while changing an illumination color based on signals input from the setting part and the door opening and closing detection part.
- variable temperature room is expressed by the difference in color of illumination and hence, a user can easily confirm a preset temperature zone.
- the variable temperature room may include: a first temperature zone set by the setting part; and a second temperature zone lower than the first temperature zone and set by the setting part, wherein an operation of the refrigerator may be switched to a rapid cooling operation when opening or closing of the door is detected during a time when the second temperature zone is set.
- the illumination color of the illumination device may be set to white color when the first temperature zone is set, may be set to light blue color when the second temperature zone is set, and may be set to blue color during a rapid cooling operation time.
- the illumination device may be mounted on a ceiling surface of the variable temperature room or may be disposed in the variable temperature room on a door side with respect to a center of the ceiling surface in a front-back direction.
- the storage case may be disposed in the variable temperature room
- the door opening and closing detection part may be disposed on a back surface wall of the variable temperature room
- the door opening and closing detection part may be configured to determine that the door is closed when the storage case is inserted to reach a predetermined position in the variable temperature room.
- both an air passage and a plurality of cool air blow-off ports for cooling the inside of the variable temperature room may be disposed on a ceiling surface of the variable temperature room, and a plurality of projections for restricting the flow of cool air may be disposed in the air passage in a vicinity of the illumination device.
- FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1
- FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in FIG. 2
- FIG. 4 is a schematic constitutional view of an illumination device of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a configuration for controlling the illumination device of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 6 is a view showing illumination ratios of the illumination device of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 7A is a timing chart of an operation of the refrigerator according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention during a period where a first temperature zone is set and turning-on of an illumination
- Fig. 7B is a timing chart of an operation of the refrigerator according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention during a period where a second temperature zone is set and turning-on of an illumination.
- refrigerator 101 is divided into an upper stage, an intermediate stage, and a lower stage, and includes a plurality of storage compartments.
- refrigerating compartment 102 is disposed on the upper stage, and refrigerating compartment 102 has double-hinged-type refrigerating compartment door 102a on a front surface thereof.
- first freezing compartment 103 including drawer-type freezing compartment door 103a and ice-making compartment 105 disposed parallel to first freezing compartment 103 in a horizontal direction and including a drawer door are disposed below refrigerating compartment 102.
- Refrigerating compartment 102, and ice-making compartment 105 and first freezing compartment 103 which are disposed parallel to each other are vertically divided by heat insulating partition wall 111.
- ice-making compartment 105 and first freezing compartment 103 which are disposed parallel to each other and second freezing compartment 104 are also vertically divided by heat insulating partition wall 111, and second freezing compartment 104 and vegetable compartment 106 are also vertically divided by heat insulating partition wall 111.
- Refrigerator 101 is formed by filling heat insulating wall 110 between outer box 108 and inner box 109.
- variable temperature room 107 is defined as another storage compartment on a lower portion of the inside of refrigerating compartment 102 disposed on the upper stage.
- Variable temperature room 107 is configured as a switching compartment.
- variable temperature room 107 is configured such that a first temperature zone (chilled) which is a refrigerating temperature zone near 0°C, and a second temperature zone (partial) of an approximately -3°C which is a temperature zone between the first temperature zone and a freezing temperature zone of approximately -6°C or below can be set selectively.
- cooling compartment 114 On a rear side of a back surface of second freezing compartment 104, cooling compartment 114 is disposed. Cooling compartment 114 has cooler 115 in the inside thereof. Cooling compartment 114 constitutes a refrigeration cycle for cooling refrigerator 101 in cooperation with compressor 112 provided to machine compartment 113 disposed on an upper portion of refrigerator 101. Further, fan 116 is disposed in cooling compartment 114 for forcibly circulating cool air produced by heat exchange in cooler 115 in the inside of refrigerator 101. Above fan 116, damper device 117 which makes cool air flow into refrigerating compartment 102 and variable temperature room 107 in a distributed manner is disposed.
- An indoor temperature of refrigerating compartment 102 is set to approximately 2°C to 3°C
- an indoor temperature of vegetable compartment 106 is set to approximately 2°C to 5°C.
- Indoor temperatures of first freezing compartment 103 and second freezing compartment 104 are set to approximately -18°C to -20°C.
- refrigerator 101 is configured such that the respective storage compartments can be used in predetermined temperature zones which differ from each other. With such a configuration, foods and the like can be stored while selecting temperature zones suitable for preservation of the foods and the like. With such a configuration, high freshness keeping performance and long period preservation can be realized.
- a plurality of shelf plates 118 which partition the inside of refrigerating compartment 102 into upper and lower stages are disposed.
- Indoor lamp 119 which illuminates the inside of refrigerating compartment 102 is disposed at a portion nearer to refrigerating compartment door 102a than end portions of shelf plates 118 facing refrigerating compartment door 102a, and indoor lamp 119 is embedded by partially indenting inner box 109 toward an outer box 108.
- Indoor lamp 119 is disposed in a vertically extending direction while straddling over the plurality of shelf plates 118.
- Indoor lamp 119 is constituted of a mounting printed circuit board (not shown in the drawing) on which a plurality of LEDs which emit light having a wave length within a visible light region are mounted, and a transparent resin cover which covers the mounting printed circuit board.
- a light emitting element which emits white light is used as the LEDs.
- variable temperature room 107 includes: synthetic-resin-made upper surface cover 122 which has an upper portion thereof utilized also as shelf plate 118 positioned at the lowermost stage of refrigerating compartment 102; synthetic-resin-made storage case 123 which is stored below upper surface cover 122 in a state where storage case 123 can be pulled out in a longitudinal direction; and door 124 which is disposed on an opening portion positioned on a front surface of upper surface cover 122 of variable temperature room 107 in an openable manner.
- Door 124 is configured such that door 124 is brought into close contact with front surface wall 123b of storage case 123 in a closed time so that the inside of variable temperature room 107 is brought into a substantially hermetically sealed space. It is preferable that door 124 be made of a synthetic resin having high transmissivity such that a user can visually recognize the illumination color in the inside of variable temperature room 107 and, more preferably, a user can visually recognize foods stored in the inside of variable temperature room 107.
- door opening and closing detection part 127 is mounted on a wall surface of the back surface of variable temperature room 107 such that door opening and closing detection part 127 is engaged with rear surface wall 123a of storage case 123 when door 124 is closed.
- aluminum-made bottom plate 128 is fitted in a bottom surface of storage case 123 thus realizing the enhancement of cooling performance and the enhancement of visibility due to diffusion of illumination light from illumination device 121. Bottom plate 128 is not particularly necessary.
- variable temperature room back surface duct 125 which guides cool air distributed by damper device 117 to variable temperature room 107 is formed.
- variable temperature room ceiling surface duct 126 is disposed on a downstream side of variable temperature room back surface duct 125.
- Variable temperature room ceiling surface duct 126 is constituted of heat insulating duct member 126a which is formed of a foamed heat insulating member having heat insulation property, and synthetic-resin-made duct cover 126b which covers an outer periphery of heat insulating duct member 126a and forms an ornamental plate.
- Variable temperature room ceiling surface duct 126 constitutes a duct in cooperation with upper surface cover 122, and has cool air blow-off port 129 which blows off cool air into the inside of variable temperature room 107 on an upper surface portion of storage case 123.
- refrigerating compartment door switch 130 which detects an open and close state of refrigerating compartment door 102a is disposed in refrigerating compartment 102.
- setting part 131 which switches a temperature zone and an operation mode of variable temperature room 107 is disposed.
- Signal S1 is input to control microcomputer 132 from refrigerating compartment door switch 130
- signal S2 is input to control microcomputer 132 from setting part 131
- signal S3 is input to control microcomputer 132 from door opening and closing detection part 127.
- signal S4 is output from control microcomputer 132 to illumination device 121.
- the inside of variable temperature room 107 is illuminated with an illumination color such as white, light blue, or blue corresponding to a temperature zone or the like set by setting part 131.
- refrigerator 101 having the above-mentioned configuration
- FIG. 6 the manner of operation and advantageous effects of refrigerator 101 having the above-mentioned configuration are described with reference to FIG. 6 , FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B .
- variable temperature room 107 is illuminated with white color (at a point of time C).
- white color at a point of time C.
- only LEDs 1, 2, 3 which are white LEDs on illumination device 121 are fully turned on at a lighting rate of 100%.
- illumination device 121 continues white color illumination (at a point of time D). Further, even when door 124 is closed, white color illumination is continued (at a point of time E), and only when refrigerating compartment door 102a is closed, illumination device 121 is turned off (at a point of time F).
- illumination device 121 illuminates the inside of variable temperature room 107 with white color (at a point of time G), and when refrigerating compartment door 102a is closed, illumination device 121 is turned off (at a point of time F). That is, when variable temperature room 107 is set to the first temperature zone (chilled), a chilling operation is constantly performed in variable temperature room 107. Irrespective of an open and close state of door 124, the inside of variable temperature room 107 is illuminated with white color or the illumination is turned off by illumination device 121 corresponding to only opening and closing of refrigerating compartment door 102a.
- the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is configured such that an illumination of a variable temperature room existing in the refrigerating compartment is provided as an illumination independently and additionally from an illumination for the refrigerating compartment, and an illumination color can be switched corresponding to a set temperature and an operation state (operation mode) of the variable temperature room.
- an illumination color can be switched corresponding to a set temperature and an operation state (operation mode) of the variable temperature room.
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- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
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- Devices That Are Associated With Refrigeration Equipment (AREA)
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Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a light emitting element which emits light to the inside of a storage compartment.
- It is often the case that a household refrigerator is of a type where a refrigerating compartment which is used most frequently and has a large capacity is disposed on an uppermost stage, an ice-making compartment and a temperature switching compartment are disposed parallel to each other below the refrigerating compartment, and a vegetable compartment and a freezing compartment are disposed below the ice-making compartment and the temperature switching compartment in the above-mentioned order.
- As an illumination device, an indoor lamp formed of an electric bulb or a light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as LED) is mounted on a ceiling surface or a back surface of the refrigerating compartment having a large capacity. By illuminating stored goods in the inside of the refrigerating compartment by turning on the indoor lamp at the time of opening a door of the refrigerator, an operation of storing or taking out foods is facilitated.
- Further, recently, there has been proposed a refrigerator which is configured to allow a user to visually grasp temperature distribution in the inside of the storage compartment by indicating a temperature in the inside of cooling compartment by color of the indoor lamp, by changing the color of the indoor lamp corresponding to an indoor temperature, or by illuminating the inside of the storage compartment at color temperatures corresponding to the temperature distribution by a plurality of light sources (see
PTL 1, for example). - Hereinafter, the specification of the illumination of a refrigerating compartment portion of the conventional refrigerator is described with reference to
FIG. 11 . - Refrigerating
compartment 1 hasinner box 2. The inside of refrigeratingcompartment 1 is vertically divided into a plurality of stages byshelves shelf 3c which also functions as a ceiling plate disposed at a lowermost portion of refrigeratingcompartment 1.Variable temperature room 4 where a temperature is set to a different temperature zone compared to refrigeratingcompartment 1 is disposed belowshelf 3c.Indoor lamp 5 is mounted on a ceiling surface of refrigeratingcompartment 1.Indoor lamp 5 is disposed in a recess formed on the ceiling surface, for example. A lower portion ofindoor lamp 5 is covered byshade 6. With such a configuration, light emitted fromindoor lamp 5 diffuses so that whole refrigeratingcompartment 1 is illuminated. - On a back surface of refrigerating
compartment 1,back surface duct 7 is formed with a large width over the whole back surface. With such a configuration, cool air is introduced into refrigeratingcompartment 1.Back surface duct 7 is formed into an approximately planar plate shape by injection molding using a synthetic resin. A predetermined space is formed betweenback surface duct 7 and a back surface in refrigeratingcompartment 1.Back surface duct 7 is disposed so as to cover approximately the whole back surface of refrigeratingcompartment 1. An outer peripheral edge ofback surface duct 7 is disposed such that predetermined cool air blow offgap 8 is formed between the outer peripheral edge ofback surface duct 7, and an upper wall surface and both side wall surfaces of the back surface ofinner box 2. Center blow offportion 9 is formed on a center portion of an inner side ofback surface duct 7. Center blow offportion 9 has a lateral width size which is approximately one third ofback surface duct 7, and has a vertical size which is a height size extending to upper and lower ends of plurality ofshelves 3a to 3c. - Plate-
like design panel 10 is disposed on a surface ofback surface duct 7, andlight sources design panel 10. When the door of refrigeratingcompartment 1 is opened,indoor lamp 5 mounted on a ceiling surface ofinner box 2 andlight sources 11a to 11c formed of LEDs are turned on, and the inside of refrigeratingcompartment 1 is illuminated by these lights. - In such a configuration, a temperature of an upper space which corresponds to
shelf 3a disposed on an upper portion of refrigeratingcompartment 1, a temperature of an intermediate space which corresponds toshelf 3b disposed on an intermediate portion of refrigeratingcompartment 1, and a temperature of a lower space which corresponds toshelf 3c disposed on a lower portion of refrigeratingcompartment 1 are respectively detected by thermistors or the like, andrespective light sources 11a to 11c are turned on with colors corresponding to temperatures of spaces belowrespective shelves 3a to 3c. For example, by differentiating temperature zones in such a manner that light red is given to a high temperature zone, light yellow is given to a standard temperature zone, and light blue is given to a low temperature zone, a user can visually recognize the temperature distribution in the inside of refrigeratingcompartment 1 based on color distribution. - However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, although the present temperature distribution can be grasped, a target temperature which the user sets cannot be understood at a glance. Particularly, when the variable temperature room which is used with delicate temperature setting (for example, as a chilled compartment where a temperature is set to -1°C to +1°C, a partial compartment where a temperature is set to -5°C to -1°C or the like) is used, information on which temperature zone the variable temperature room is set is information more important for the user than information on temperature detected by thermistors or the like. Further, even when the variable temperature room is set to a predetermined temperature zone, there exists a drawback that switching of an operation mode is difficult to be visually recognized.
- PTL 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No.
2008-106975 - The present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator which allows a user to confirm at a glance which predetermined temperature zone a temperature is set and which operation mode (operation state) is chosen or the like particularly in a variable temperature room thus preventing an adverse effect to food preservation caused by an error in setting of the predetermined temperature zone.
- To be more specific, a refrigerator according to one example of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a storage compartment; a variable temperature room disposed in the storage compartment; a setting part for varying a temperature zone of the variable temperature room; an illumination device disposed in the variable temperature room, a door disposed on a front surface of the variable temperature room; and a door opening and closing detection part for detecting an open and close state of the door. The illumination device illuminates the inside of the variable temperature room while changing an illumination color based on signals input from the setting part and the door opening and closing detection part.
- With such a configuration, a state of the variable temperature room is expressed by the difference in color of illumination and hence, a user can easily confirm a preset temperature zone.
- Further, in the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the variable temperature room may include: a first temperature zone set by the setting part; and a second temperature zone lower than the first temperature zone and set by the setting part, wherein an operation of the refrigerator may be switched to a rapid cooling operation when opening or closing of the door is detected during a time when the second temperature zone is set. With such a configuration, when a plurality of set temperature zones are provided and a user switches an operation mode by operating the setting part (for example, when the user switches the operation mode to a rapid cooling operation from a usual operation), a change in the temperature zone in the variable temperature room can be expressed by the difference in illumination color. Particularly, an operation mode switching operation and a change of illumination color are performed interlockingly with each other and hence, a user can actually visually feel the operation mode switching operation.
- In the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the illumination color of the illumination device may be set to white color when the first temperature zone is set, may be set to light blue color when the second temperature zone is set, and may be set to blue color during a rapid cooling operation time. With such a configuration, a set temperature in the variable temperature room can be expressed based on the difference in illumination color and hence, a user can properly visually determine a temperature set state.
- In the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the illumination device may be mounted on a ceiling surface of the variable temperature room or may be disposed in the variable temperature room on a door side with respect to a center of the ceiling surface in a front-back direction. With such a configuration, stored goods on a storage case is illuminated not only when the door is closed but also when the accommodated storage case is pulled out at the time of opening the door and hence, it is possible to perform illumination with excellent visibility also at the time of operating the storage case.
- In the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the storage case may be disposed in the variable temperature room, the door opening and closing detection part may be disposed on a back surface wall of the variable temperature room, and the door opening and closing detection part may be configured to determine that the door is closed when the storage case is inserted to reach a predetermined position in the variable temperature room. With such a configuration, it is unnecessary to provide the refrigerator with an unnecessary structure such as a sensor for detecting opening or closing of the door on a door side disposed on a front surface of the variable temperature room and hence, the refrigerator can have the aesthetically excellent configuration.
- In the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, both an air passage and a plurality of cool air blow-off ports for cooling the inside of the variable temperature room may be disposed on a ceiling surface of the variable temperature room, and a plurality of projections for restricting the flow of cool air may be disposed in the air passage in a vicinity of the illumination device. With such a configuration, it is possible to ensure an air passage toward a front side of the variable temperature room which is obstructed by mounting of the illumination device and hence, it is possible to enhance accuracy in a temperature control of the variable temperature room and in making a temperature in the compartment uniform.
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FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention taken along line 2-2 inFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 4 is a schematic constitutional view of an illumination device of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration for controlling the illumination device of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 6 is a table showing illumination ratios of the illumination device of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 7A is a timing chart of an operation of the refrigerator according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention during a period where a first temperature zone is set and turning-on of an illumination. -
FIG. 7B is a timing chart of an operation of the refrigerator according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention during a period where a second temperature zone is set and turning-on of the illumination. -
FIG. 8 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a main part of a refrigerator according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a duct mounted on a ceiling surface of a variable temperature room of the refrigerator according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention as viewed from an inner side. -
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the duct mounted on the ceiling surface of the variable temperature room of the refrigerator according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention as viewed from an upper surface side. -
FIG. 11 is a front view of a refrigerating compartment portion of a conventional refrigerator. - Exemplary embodiments according to the present invention are hereinafter described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the exemplary embodiments.
-
FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention,FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention taken along line 2-2 inFIG. 1 , andFIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention inFIG. 2 .FIG. 4 is a schematic constitutional view of an illumination device of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention,FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a configuration for controlling the illumination device of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 6 is a view showing illumination ratios of the illumination device of the refrigerating compartment according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 7A is a timing chart of an operation of the refrigerator according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention during a period where a first temperature zone is set and turning-on of an illumination, andFig. 7B is a timing chart of an operation of the refrigerator according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention during a period where a second temperature zone is set and turning-on of an illumination. - In
FIG. 1 andFIG. 2 , the inside ofrefrigerator 101 is divided into an upper stage, an intermediate stage, and a lower stage, and includes a plurality of storage compartments. To be more specific, refrigeratingcompartment 102 is disposed on the upper stage, and refrigeratingcompartment 102 has double-hinged-typerefrigerating compartment door 102a on a front surface thereof. On the intermediate stage, first freezingcompartment 103 including drawer-type freezingcompartment door 103a and ice-makingcompartment 105 disposed parallel to first freezingcompartment 103 in a horizontal direction and including a drawer door are disposed below refrigeratingcompartment 102. On the lower stage,vegetable compartment 106 disposed on a lowermost portion ofrefrigerator 101 and including drawer-typevegetable compartment door 106a, and second freezingcompartment 104 disposed abovevegetable compartment 106 and including drawer-type second freezingcompartment door 104a are disposed. Refrigeratingcompartment 102, and ice-makingcompartment 105 and first freezingcompartment 103 which are disposed parallel to each other are vertically divided by heat insulatingpartition wall 111. In the same manner, ice-makingcompartment 105 and first freezingcompartment 103 which are disposed parallel to each other and second freezingcompartment 104 are also vertically divided by heat insulatingpartition wall 111, and second freezingcompartment 104 andvegetable compartment 106 are also vertically divided by heat insulatingpartition wall 111. -
Refrigerator 101 is formed by fillingheat insulating wall 110 betweenouter box 108 andinner box 109. Inrefrigerator 101,variable temperature room 107 is defined as another storage compartment on a lower portion of the inside of refrigeratingcompartment 102 disposed on the upper stage.Variable temperature room 107 is configured as a switching compartment. To be more specific, in this exemplary embodiment, for example,variable temperature room 107 is configured such that a first temperature zone (chilled) which is a refrigerating temperature zone near 0°C, and a second temperature zone (partial) of an approximately -3°C which is a temperature zone between the first temperature zone and a freezing temperature zone of approximately -6°C or below can be set selectively. - Next, a configuration of a cooling system of
refrigerator 101 is described. On a rear side of a back surface of second freezingcompartment 104, coolingcompartment 114 is disposed.Cooling compartment 114 has cooler 115 in the inside thereof.Cooling compartment 114 constitutes a refrigeration cycle for coolingrefrigerator 101 in cooperation withcompressor 112 provided tomachine compartment 113 disposed on an upper portion ofrefrigerator 101. Further,fan 116 is disposed incooling compartment 114 for forcibly circulating cool air produced by heat exchange in cooler 115 in the inside ofrefrigerator 101. Abovefan 116,damper device 117 which makes cool air flow into refrigeratingcompartment 102 andvariable temperature room 107 in a distributed manner is disposed. An indoor temperature of refrigeratingcompartment 102 is set to approximately 2°C to 3°C, and an indoor temperature ofvegetable compartment 106 is set to approximately 2°C to 5°C. Indoor temperatures of first freezingcompartment 103 and second freezingcompartment 104 are set to approximately -18°C to -20°C. In this manner,refrigerator 101 is configured such that the respective storage compartments can be used in predetermined temperature zones which differ from each other. With such a configuration, foods and the like can be stored while selecting temperature zones suitable for preservation of the foods and the like. With such a configuration, high freshness keeping performance and long period preservation can be realized. - In the inside of refrigerating
compartment 102, a plurality ofshelf plates 118 which partition the inside of refrigeratingcompartment 102 into upper and lower stages are disposed.Indoor lamp 119 which illuminates the inside of refrigeratingcompartment 102 is disposed at a portion nearer to refrigeratingcompartment door 102a than end portions ofshelf plates 118 facing refrigeratingcompartment door 102a, andindoor lamp 119 is embedded by partially indentinginner box 109 toward anouter box 108.Indoor lamp 119 is disposed in a vertically extending direction while straddling over the plurality ofshelf plates 118.Indoor lamp 119 is constituted of a mounting printed circuit board (not shown in the drawing) on which a plurality of LEDs which emit light having a wave length within a visible light region are mounted, and a transparent resin cover which covers the mounting printed circuit board. To be more specific, a light emitting element which emits white light is used as the LEDs. - Next, a configuration of
variable temperature room 107 and a configuration ofillumination device 121 which is mounted on the ceiling surface ofvariable temperature room 107 are described with reference toFIG. 3 to FIG. 5 .variable temperature room 107 includes: synthetic-resin-madeupper surface cover 122 which has an upper portion thereof utilized also asshelf plate 118 positioned at the lowermost stage of refrigeratingcompartment 102; synthetic-resin-madestorage case 123 which is stored belowupper surface cover 122 in a state wherestorage case 123 can be pulled out in a longitudinal direction; anddoor 124 which is disposed on an opening portion positioned on a front surface ofupper surface cover 122 ofvariable temperature room 107 in an openable manner.Door 124 is configured such thatdoor 124 is brought into close contact withfront surface wall 123b ofstorage case 123 in a closed time so that the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 is brought into a substantially hermetically sealed space. It is preferable thatdoor 124 be made of a synthetic resin having high transmissivity such that a user can visually recognize the illumination color in the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 and, more preferably, a user can visually recognize foods stored in the inside ofvariable temperature room 107. - As shown in
FIG. 3 , door opening andclosing detection part 127 is mounted on a wall surface of the back surface ofvariable temperature room 107 such that door opening andclosing detection part 127 is engaged withrear surface wall 123a ofstorage case 123 whendoor 124 is closed. In this exemplary embodiment, aluminum-madebottom plate 128 is fitted in a bottom surface ofstorage case 123 thus realizing the enhancement of cooling performance and the enhancement of visibility due to diffusion of illumination light fromillumination device 121.Bottom plate 128 is not particularly necessary. - Further, behind the wall surface of the back surface of
variable temperature room 107, variable temperature room backsurface duct 125 which guides cool air distributed bydamper device 117 tovariable temperature room 107 is formed. On the ceiling surface ofvariable temperature room 107, variable temperature roomceiling surface duct 126 is disposed on a downstream side of variable temperature room backsurface duct 125. Variable temperature roomceiling surface duct 126 is constituted of heat insulatingduct member 126a which is formed of a foamed heat insulating member having heat insulation property, and synthetic-resin-madeduct cover 126b which covers an outer periphery of heat insulatingduct member 126a and forms an ornamental plate. Variable temperature roomceiling surface duct 126 constitutes a duct in cooperation withupper surface cover 122, and has cool air blow-off port 129 which blows off cool air into the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 on an upper surface portion ofstorage case 123. - As shown in
FIG. 3 , in the inside ofvariable temperature room 107,illumination device 121 which illuminates the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 is disposed on a front door side with respect to center position A-A in a longitudinal direction of variable temperature roomceiling surface duct 126 in a state whereillumination device 121 is embedded induct cover 126b. As a specific constitutional example ofillumination device 121, in general, a configuration shown inFIG. 4 is adopted where a plurality of LEDs, a current limiting circuit resistors, and a connecting connector are mounted on a printed circuit board formed in a laterally-elongated shape such thatillumination device 121 is installed in a lateral width direction of variable temperature room 107 (a lateral direction whenrefrigerator 101 is viewed from a front side). In this exemplary embodiment, LEDs with a white color tone and a blue color tone are mounted. - Next, refrigerating
compartment door switch 130 which detects an open and close state of refrigeratingcompartment door 102a is disposed in refrigeratingcompartment 102. At an arbitrary place outside or inside ofrefrigerator 101, settingpart 131 which switches a temperature zone and an operation mode ofvariable temperature room 107 is disposed. Signal S1 is input to controlmicrocomputer 132 from refrigeratingcompartment door switch 130, signal S2 is input to controlmicrocomputer 132 from settingpart 131, and signal S3 is input to controlmicrocomputer 132 from door opening andclosing detection part 127. Further, signal S4 is output fromcontrol microcomputer 132 toillumination device 121. With such a configuration, the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 is illuminated with an illumination color such as white, light blue, or blue corresponding to a temperature zone or the like set by settingpart 131. - Hereinafter, the manner of operation and advantageous effects of
refrigerator 101 having the above-mentioned configuration are described with reference toFIG. 6 ,FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B . - First, in a state where a temperature zone of
variable temperature room 107 is set to the first temperature zone (chilled) by setting part 131 (seeFIG. 7A ), when refrigeratingcompartment door 102a is opened, signal S4 is output toillumination device 121 fromcontrol microcomputer 132, andvariable temperature room 107 is illuminated with white color (at a point of time C). To be more specific,only LEDs illumination device 121 are fully turned on at a lighting rate of 100%. Subsequently, even whendoor 124 ofvariable temperature room 107 is opened andstorage case 123 is pulled out, and opening ofdoor 124 is detected by door opening /closing detection part 127,illumination device 121 continues white color illumination (at a point of time D). Further, even whendoor 124 is closed, white color illumination is continued (at a point of time E), and only when refrigeratingcompartment door 102a is closed,illumination device 121 is turned off (at a point of time F). - Thereafter, when refrigerating
compartment door 102a is opened again,illumination device 121 illuminates the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 with white color (at a point of time G), and when refrigeratingcompartment door 102a is closed,illumination device 121 is turned off (at a point of time F). That is, whenvariable temperature room 107 is set to the first temperature zone (chilled), a chilling operation is constantly performed invariable temperature room 107. Irrespective of an open and close state ofdoor 124, the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 is illuminated with white color or the illumination is turned off byillumination device 121 corresponding to only opening and closing of refrigeratingcompartment door 102a. - Next, when refrigerating
compartment door 102a is opened in a state where a temperature zone ofvariable temperature room 107 is set to the second temperature zone (partial) by setting part 131 (seeFIG. 7B ), signal S4 is output toillumination device 121 fromcontrol microcomputer 132, andvariable temperature room 107 is illuminated with light blue color (at a point of time I). To be more specific, for example, by controlling lighting such thatLEDs illumination device 121 are turned on at a lighting rate of 75% and, at the same time,LEDs - Next, even when
door 124 ofvariable temperature room 107 is opened andstorage case 123 is pulled out, and opening ofdoor 124 is detected by door opening andclosing detection part 127,illumination device 121 continues light blue color illumination (at a point of time J). Further, whendoor 124 is closed, although an operation state of variable temperature room107 is switched to a rapid cooling operation by settingpart 131, light blue color illumination is continued (at a point of time K), and after a lapse of predetermined time T, the illumination mode is switched to blue color illumination (at a point of time L). To be more specific, in the same manner as light blue color illumination, by controlling lighting such thatLEDs illumination device 121 are turned on at a light rate of 25%, andLEDs illumination device 121 is changed from light blue color to blue color with a delay of time T is as follows. When a color tone of illumination is changed simultaneously with an operation by a user, there is a concern that a user feels the sense of discomfort that a defect occurs. The change of illumination color with a delay of time T is performed for eliminating such a concern. Accordingly, the illumination time of the light blue color illumination is preferably set to approximately 0.1 seconds to 1 second. In a state where the rapid cooling operation is continued,illumination device 121 illuminates the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 with blue color until refrigeratingcompartment door 102a is closed (at a point of time M). - Thereafter, when a predetermined rapid cooling operation is finished, the operation of
refrigerator 101 returns to a usual partial operation state. When refrigeratingcompartment door 102a is opened again,illumination device 121 illuminates the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 with original light blue (at a point of time N). When refrigeratingcompartment door 102a is closed,illumination device 121 is turned off (at a point of time O). - Although not shown in a timing chart in
FIG. 7B , by adding a setting which can cope with even a non-regular situation, that is, a setting where when refrigeratingcompartment door 102a is opened during rapid cooling operation, blue color illumination is performed, and when the rapid cooling operation is finished in a state where refrigeratingcompartment door 102a is opened, blue color illumination is continued until refrigeratingcompartment door 102a is closed, and illumination mode is returned to light blue color illumination at next opening of refrigeratingcompartment door 102a, the sense of discomfort which a user feels can be further reduced. - In this manner, when
variable temperature room 107 is set to the second temperature zone (partial),variable temperature room 107 is usually operated in a partial operation mode and is illuminated with light blue color, and when an operation state is switched to the rapid cooling operation due to opening and closing ofdoor 124 ofvariable temperature room 107, illumination color is switched to blue color. - As has been described heretofore,
refrigerator 101 of this exemplary embodiment includes: settingpart 131 which can selectively set a temperature zone ofvariable temperature room 107 from a plurality of temperature zones; and door opening andclosing detection part 127 which detects an open and close state ofdoor 124.Refrigerator 101 of this exemplary embodiment is configured such that a signal from door opening andclosing detection part 127 is input to controlmicrocomputer 132, and an illumination color ofillumination device 121 can be changed corresponding to a temperature zone and an operation state (operation mode) of variable temperature room107 which are set by settingpart 131. Further, in addition toindoor lamp 119, variable temperature room107 is illuminated byillumination device 121 dedicated tovariable temperature room 107. Further,refrigerator 101 is configured such that an illumination color is changed corresponding to a set temperature zone and an operation state ofvariable temperature room 107. With such a configuration, visibility of set temperature zone and visibility of an operation state ofvariable temperature room 107 can be enhanced, and a user can determine the set temperature zone and the operation state ofvariable temperature room 107 at a glance. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent in advance an adverse effect to food preservation caused by, for example, such as slight freezing of a food which is desired to be preserved in chilled preservation invariable temperature room 107 which is set to a partial preservation mode or setting of a rapid cooling mode invariable temperature room 107 where a food desired to be preserved in usual partial preservation is placed. - In the first temperature zone and the second temperature zone which are set by setting
part 131, when an opening and closing operation ofdoor 124 is detected during a time when the second temperature zone is set (to be more specific, after an opening and closing operation ofdoor 124 is detected by door opening and closing detection part 127), an operation mode is switched to a rapid cooling operation by settingpart 131. In this case, when there are the plurality of set temperature zones (for example, a temperature zone for chilled preservation, and a temperature zone for partial preservation), and when a user switches an operation mode by operating setting part 131 (for example, when the operation mode is switched from a partial preservation operation to a rapid cooling operation) or the like, a temperature zone and an operation state ofvariable temperature room 107 can be expressed by the difference in illumination color. In this manner, an operation mode switching operation and a change in illumination color are performed interlockingly with each other and hence, a user can actually visually perform operation confirmation. - Further,
illumination device 121 is configured such that an illumination color ofillumination device 121 is set to a white color when the first temperature zone is set, the illumination color is set to a light blue color when the second temperature zone is set, and the illumination color is set to a blue color during a rapid cooling operation. That is, an illumination color differs corresponding to an operation state (operation mode). With such a configuration, a set temperature in the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 can be expressed by the difference in illumination color and hence, a user can sensually determine coolness of low-temperature-side temperatures in order of the chilled preservation mode, the partial preservation mode and the rapid cooling mode visually. - Further, since
illumination device 121 is disposed on the ceiling surface ofvariable temperature room 107 on a side ofdoor 124 with respect to the center of the ceiling surface, the inside of pulled-outstorage case 123 can be illuminated not only whendoor 124 is closed but also whendoor 124 is opened and hence, it is possible to provideexcellent illumination device 121 which can ensure visibility at the time of performing a door opening operation and at the time of taking out stored goods. - Further, door opening and
closing detection part 127 is disposed such that door opening andclosing detection part 127 is engaged withstorage case 123 whendoor 124 is closed on the back surface wall ofvariable temperature room 107, and door opening andclosing detection part 127 is separated fromstorage case 123 whendoor 124 is opened, that is, whenstorage case 123 is pulled out. With such a configuration, a user can determine an opening state ofdoor 124. A pull-out/put-in operation ofstorage case 123 is detected by the back surface wall and hence, it is unnecessary to route a connection harness towarddoor 124 disposed on the front surface and it is unnecessary to provide the refrigerator with an unnecessary structure whereby the refrigerator can have aesthetically excellent simple configuration. - In a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the description is made mainly with respect to portions different from corresponding portions of
refrigerator 101 of the above-mentioned first exemplary embodiment. The constitutional elements and the manner of operation identical with the constitutional elements and the manner of operation of the above-mentioned first exemplary embodiment are given the same symbols and their detailed description is omitted. -
FIG. 8 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a main part of a refrigerator according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention,FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a variable temperature room ceiling surface duct of the refrigerator according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention as viewed from an inner side, andFIG. 10 is a perspective view of the variable temperature room ceiling surface duct of the refrigerator according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention as viewed from an upper surface side. - In
FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 , a plurality of cool air blow-off ports 129 (opening portions) are formed induct cover 126b which constitutes variable temperature roomceiling surface duct 126 at an area excluding a portion whereillumination device 121 is embedded. Cool air (indicated by an arrow in the drawing) from variable temperature roomceiling surface duct 126 is fed to the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 through the plurality of cool air blow-offports 129 so that the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 is cooled and hence, a temperature in the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 is controlled at a predetermined set temperature. When the flow of cool air directly impinges on a portion whereillumination device 121 is embedded, turbulence occurs and hence, desired cool air cannot be fed from cool air blow-offports 129 particularly on a front surface side. In view of the above,projections 133a having a gentle inclination are disposed at positions in front of an area where cool air impinges onillumination device 121 and cool air is temporarily fed in transverse directions. Further,projections 133b having an inclination steeper thanprojections 133a are disposed continuously withprojections 133a respectively in air passage directions and hence, cool air is fed in a direction toward the front surface. Accordingly, cool air can be fed to the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 also from front-surface-side cool air blow-offports 129 uniformly. - As has been described heretofore,
refrigerator 101 of this exemplary embodiment has the plurality of cool air blow-offports 129 on the ceiling surface ofvariable temperature room 107 in addition to the selectively disposed constitutional elements, and the plurality ofprojections illumination device 121. With such a configuration, it is possible to ensure the air passages for cool air toward a front side ofvariable temperature room 107 which has a possibility being obstructed by mounting ofillumination device 121. With such a configuration, a temperature control ofvariable temperature room 107 and an uniformization of a temperature in the inside ofvariable temperature room 107 can be performed with high accuracy. - As has been described heretofore, the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is configured such that an illumination of a variable temperature room existing in the refrigerating compartment is provided as an illumination independently and additionally from an illumination for the refrigerating compartment, and an illumination color can be switched corresponding to a set temperature and an operation state (operation mode) of the variable temperature room. With such a configuration, a user can visually grasp an indoor state and hence, it is possible to acquire an advantageous effect that wasteful opening and closing time of the variable temperature room can be reduced and, at the same time, the increase of an indoor temperature of the refrigerator can be prevented before it happens, and freshness keeping performance can be enhanced, for example.
- As has been described heretofore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a convenient refrigerator which can acquire not only an advantageous effect that visibility of foods or the like in the inside of a storage compartment can be enhanced due to an indoor illumination but also an advantageous effect that a user can visually confirm a set temperature in the inside of the storage compartment and an operation state of the storage compartment at a glance. Accordingly, the present invention can be widely applicable to household-use and business-use refrigerators, cooler boxes, show cases, and the like.
-
- 101: refrigerator
- 102: refrigerating compartment
- 102a: refrigerating compartment door
- 103: first freezing compartment
- 103a: first freezing compartment door
- 104: second freezing compartment
- 104a: second freezing compartment door
- 105: ice-making compartment
- 106: vegetable compartment
- 106a: vegetable compartment door
- 107: variable temperature room
- 108: outer box
- 109: inner box
- 110: heat insulating wall
- 111: heat insulating partition wall
- 112: compressor
- 113: machine compartment
- 114: cooling compartment
- 115: cooler
- 116: fan
- 117: damper device
- 118: shelf plate
- 119: indoor lamp
- 120: refrigerating compartment duct
- 121: illumination device
- 122: upper surface cover
- 123: storage case
- 123a: rear surface wall
- 123b: front surface wall
- 124: door
- 125: variable temperature room back surface duct
- 126: variable temperature room ceiling surface duct
- 126a: heat insulating duct member
- 126b: duct cover
- 127: door opening and closing detection part
- 128: bottom plate
- 129: cool air blow-off port
- 130: refrigerating compartment door switch
- 131: setting part
- 132: control microcomputer
- 133a, 133b: projection
Claims (6)
- A refrigerator comprising:a storage compartment;a variable temperature room disposed in the storage compartment;a setting part for varying a temperature zone of the variable temperature room;an illumination device disposed in the variable temperature room;a door disposed on a front surface of the variable temperature room; anda door opening and closing detection part for detecting an open and close state of the door,wherein the illumination device performs illumination while changing an illumination color based on signals input from the setting part and the door opening and closing detection part.
- The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein
the temperature zone of the variable temperature room is selectively set by the setting part from a first temperature zone and a second temperature zone lower than the first temperature zone, and
an operation of the refrigerator is switched to a rapid cooling operation when opening or closing of the door is detected by the door opening and closing detection part during a time when the second temperature zone is set. - The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the illumination color of the illumination device is set to white color when the first temperature zone is set, is set to light blue color when the second temperature zone is set, and is set to blue color when the rapid cooling operation is set.
- The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the illumination device is mounted on a ceiling surface of the variable temperature room and is disposed in the variable temperature room on a door side with respect to a center of the ceiling surface in a front-back direction.
- The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
a storage case is disposed in the variable temperature room,
the door opening and closing detection part is disposed on a back surface wall of the variable temperature room, and
the door opening and closing detection part is configured to determine that the door is closed when the storage case is inserted to reach a predetermined position in the variable temperature room. - The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein
both an air passage and a plurality of cool air blow-off ports for cooling an inside of the variable temperature room are disposed on the ceiling surface of the variable temperature room, and
a plurality of projections for restricting a flow of cool air are disposed in the air passage in a vicinity of the illumination device.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2015105064A JP6564996B2 (en) | 2015-05-25 | 2015-05-25 | refrigerator |
PCT/JP2016/002504 WO2016189856A1 (en) | 2015-05-25 | 2016-05-24 | Refrigerator |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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EP3306243A1 true EP3306243A1 (en) | 2018-04-11 |
EP3306243A4 EP3306243A4 (en) | 2018-05-30 |
Family
ID=57392707
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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EP16799569.5A Withdrawn EP3306243A4 (en) | 2015-05-25 | 2016-05-24 | Refrigerator |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
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EP (1) | EP3306243A4 (en) |
JP (1) | JP6564996B2 (en) |
CN (1) | CN107614993A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2016189856A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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CN110595150A (en) * | 2019-10-14 | 2019-12-20 | 南京创维电器研究院有限公司 | Working method of refrigerator for judging compartment temperature through light color |
CN110906599A (en) * | 2019-10-30 | 2020-03-24 | 合肥晶弘电器有限公司 | A kind of refrigerator |
CN110793264A (en) * | 2019-12-09 | 2020-02-14 | 珠海格力电器股份有限公司 | Refrigerator, temperature-changing chamber structure and control method of temperature-changing chamber structure |
Family Cites Families (14)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP3504185B2 (en) * | 1999-06-02 | 2004-03-08 | 株式会社東芝 | refrigerator |
JP2001174131A (en) * | 1999-12-20 | 2001-06-29 | Fujitsu General Ltd | Electric refrigerator |
JP3933659B2 (en) * | 2004-11-18 | 2007-06-20 | シャープ株式会社 | refrigerator |
JP3938384B2 (en) * | 2004-10-28 | 2007-06-27 | シャープ株式会社 | refrigerator |
JP2007003173A (en) * | 2005-05-26 | 2007-01-11 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Refrigerator |
CN100526772C (en) * | 2005-05-26 | 2009-08-12 | 松下电器产业株式会社 | Refrigerator |
EP1887298B1 (en) * | 2005-05-26 | 2019-02-27 | Panasonic Corporation | Refrigerator |
JP2007071414A (en) * | 2005-09-05 | 2007-03-22 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Refrigerator |
KR100826202B1 (en) * | 2006-01-25 | 2008-04-30 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | Kimchi Refrigerator and Control Method for the Same |
KR20090020454A (en) * | 2007-08-23 | 2009-02-26 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Refrigerator |
JP5359174B2 (en) * | 2007-10-31 | 2013-12-04 | パナソニック株式会社 | refrigerator |
CN102384633A (en) * | 2010-09-03 | 2012-03-21 | 苏州三星电子有限公司 | Tri-gate refrigerator with illuminator of cool select zone |
JP2012220046A (en) * | 2011-04-05 | 2012-11-12 | Panasonic Corp | Refrigerator |
JP2012220144A (en) * | 2011-04-12 | 2012-11-12 | Sony Corp | Cooling apparatus and control method |
-
2015
- 2015-05-25 JP JP2015105064A patent/JP6564996B2/en active Active
-
2016
- 2016-05-24 EP EP16799569.5A patent/EP3306243A4/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2016-05-24 CN CN201680028906.1A patent/CN107614993A/en active Pending
- 2016-05-24 WO PCT/JP2016/002504 patent/WO2016189856A1/en unknown
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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EP3306243A4 (en) | 2018-05-30 |
CN107614993A (en) | 2018-01-19 |
WO2016189856A1 (en) | 2016-12-01 |
JP2016217660A (en) | 2016-12-22 |
JP6564996B2 (en) | 2019-08-28 |
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