JP2002090059A - Door for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a door for a refrigerator having excellent visibility of a display unit for displaying operating contents of a control button provided on a control panel, improving an appearance at a low cost. SOLUTION: The door 10 for the refrigerator comprises the control panel 22 having the control button 20 and arranged on a front surface of the door, a switch 32 corresponding to the button 20 and a printed board 28 having an LED 52 arranged in a housing recess 24 provided behind the panel 22. In this case, the display unit 50 is provided at a pushing position of the button 20a. The LED 52 is disposed behind the unit 50. The switch 32 is disposed at a position deviated from behind the unit 50. A button member 34 is interposed between the panel 22 and the board 28. The member 34 is pressed by the switch 32 by pressing the button 20a. Thus, the LED 52 is lit to display the operating contents on the button 20a itself.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator door.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, there is a refrigerator provided with an operation section for controlling the operation of the refrigerator and a display window of a liquid crystal display device for displaying the state of the refrigerator in front of a door. In such a refrigerator door, a storage recess is provided in the front of the door, a printed circuit board is stored in the storage recess, and the front surface is closed with an operation panel having operation buttons, and a switch corresponding to the operation button is provided on the printed circuit board. There is a type in which an LED element which is a light emitting element is provided, and by pressing an operation button on an operation panel, a switch on a printed board is pressed to turn on the LED element, thereby displaying the operation content of the operation button.

Conventionally, when the operation content of the operation button is displayed by turning on the LED element, the operation button and the LED display section are separately provided on the operation panel. That is, for example, the LED display unit is provided close to and above each operation button.

[0004]

However, if the operation buttons and the LED display are separately provided as described above,
The operation panel, which is a design surface, becomes large, and the appearance image is deteriorated. In addition, the size of the printed circuit board and the storage recesses are increased together with the operation panel, and the cost of each component is increased, and the cost of a sealing material required for pre-foaming treatment of urethane, which is a door heat insulating material, is also involved. Further, when a plurality of operation buttons are close to each other, it is difficult to understand which operation button each LED display unit corresponds to, and there is a problem that visibility is poor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has excellent visibility of a display section for displaying the operation contents of operation buttons provided on an operation panel, and can improve the appearance and reduce costs. It is intended to provide a refrigerator door.

[0006]

According to the refrigerator door of the present invention, an operation panel having operation buttons is disposed in front of the door, and a printed circuit board provided with a switch corresponding to the operation buttons and a light emitting element is mounted on the operation panel. A refrigerator door arranged in a storage recess at the front of the door provided behind and pressing the corresponding switch by pressing the operation button to display the operation content of the operation button by turning on the light emitting element. A display unit for displaying the operation content is provided at a position where the operation button is pressed, and the light emitting element is arranged behind the display unit, and the switch is arranged at a position shifted from behind the display unit. A button member is interposed between the operation panel and the printed circuit board, and the switch is pressed by the button member by pressing the operation button. It is.

In this refrigerator door, when an operation button provided with a display unit is pressed, a switch on a printed circuit board is pressed by a button member behind the operation button, whereby the light emitting element is turned on. Since the light emitting element is disposed behind the push position by displacing the switch from the push position of the operation button, the operation content of the operation button is provided on the operation button itself by lighting. It is displayed on the display.

[0008] In the refrigerator door of the present invention, the button member includes a pressed portion disposed behind each operation button, and a support body for connecting and integrating the plurality of pressed portions. In some cases, a switch pressing portion is formed to protrude from a pressed portion corresponding to an operation button having the display portion.

In this case, when the display of the operation button is pressed,
The pressed portion of the button member disposed behind the switch is pressed, and the switch pressing portion presses the corresponding switch on the printed circuit board, whereby the light emitting element is turned on and the operation content is displayed on the display of the operation button. Is displayed.

In the refrigerator door, the pressed portion disposed behind the operation button having the display portion is a transparent cover portion covering the front of the light emitting element, and has a U-shaped cross section opened to the light emitting element side. Preferably, the inner surface of the U-shaped bottom is formed in a curved shape.

By forming the inner surface of the transparent pressed portion that covers the light emitting element in a curved shape as described above, it is possible to prevent a shadow from being generated on the display portion of the operation button at the time of lighting.

In the refrigerator door, two display units are provided side by side, a light emitting element is arranged behind each display unit, and an operation button for turning on both light emitting elements by a common switch is provided. The pressed part provided behind the operation button has two corresponding to the two display parts.
The book may be supported by the support by a support arm of a book.

As described above, the display unit is assigned to one operation button.
When a common switch is pressed by one switch pressing portion, the pressed portion of the button member is supported by two support arms, so that the pressed portion when one display portion is pressed is pressed. And the switch on the printed circuit board can be reliably pressed.

Further, in this case, a prism located between the two light emitting elements to prevent light leakage from each other is provided on the pressed portion disposed behind the operation button provided with the two display portions. You may.

Thus, in the operation button provided with two display units, it is possible to prevent the light of the light emitting element for displaying each display unit from leaking to the adjacent display units.

In the refrigerator door of the present invention, a projection may be provided on the back surface of the printed circuit board, and a convex shape may be provided on the bottom surface of the storage recess so as to contact the projection.

In this way, the protrusion protruding from the back surface of the printed circuit board is brought into contact with the convex shape provided on the bottom surface of the storage recess, so that when a part other than the operation button of the operation panel is pressed, the printed circuit board is contacted by the contact. Is suppressed, it is possible to prevent a malfunction of the switch.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a display operation unit of a refrigerator door according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the display operation unit in rear view. This refrigerator door is the refrigerator compartment door 10 in the refrigerator shown in FIG. The refrigerator is a refrigerating refrigerator having a refrigerator room in an upper stage, and a vegetable room and a freezer room in a middle stage and a lower stage. A display operation unit is provided in a central part of the front of a refrigerator room door 10 for opening and closing the refrigerator room in the upper stage. Have been.

The refrigerator compartment door 10 includes a metal door front plate 12 whose left and right sides are bent rearward in a U-shape in cross section, and a synthetic resin door inner plate (not shown) forming an inner side surface of the refrigerator. ) And an upper and lower synthetic resin door caps 14 and 15 inserted into the upper and lower sides of the door front plate 12 to fill and foam a heat insulating material 16 made of hard urethane in a foaming space. It is.

As shown in FIG. 3, a transparent display window 18 for a liquid crystal display device and a plurality of operation buttons 20 around the transparent display window 18 are provided at a slightly lower portion of the center in the width direction in front of the door. Operation panel 22 is provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the operation panel 22 is attached so as to close the front surface of a storage recess 24 provided at the front of the door.
The storage recess 24 is formed by attaching a storage box 26 to a rectangular opening provided in the door front plate 12 from the back side.

A printed circuit board 28 is provided in the accommodation recess 24.
A liquid crystal display device 30 is mounted on the printed circuit board 28 at the center, and operation buttons 2 are provided around the liquid crystal display device 30.
A plurality of switches 32 corresponding to 0 are provided.

The liquid crystal display device 30 has a structure in which a reflection plate 36, a light guide plate 38, and a liquid crystal cell 40 are sequentially laminated on a printed circuit board 28, and a frame member 44 is attached so as to cover the periphery of the liquid crystal cell 40. It is configured.

A button member 34 made of transparent synthetic resin is disposed between the operation panel 22 and the printed circuit board 28. The button member 34 is pressed by pressing the operation button 20 of the operation panel 22. It is configured to press the corresponding switch 32 on 28.

The operation panel 22 and the printed circuit board 2
With the button member 34 interposed therebetween, the side surface of the liquid crystal display device 30 is locked by a locking portion 46 provided on the back surface of the operation panel 22. Then, as shown in FIG. By fixing the screw 48 from behind
An operation panel assembly is formed, and this operation panel assembly is
The display operation unit of the refrigerator door 10 is formed by incorporating the engaging claw 21 around the operation panel 22 into the storage recess 24 on the front of the door.

Hereinafter, the structure of the operation unit in the display operation unit will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 5, the operation panel 22 is composed of a synthetic resin plate 22a and a synthetic resin sheet 22b adhered to the surface thereof. The operation button 20 is formed by making a hole in the plate 22a. By using only the sheet 22b, the sheet can be pressed and deformed.

As shown in FIG. 4, among the plurality of operation buttons 20 provided on the operation panel 22, a button 20a having a display section 50 for displaying the operation content at a pressed position is provided.
20b and a button 20c without such a display. The display unit 50 is formed by printing an icon (figure) for displaying a light emitting diode element (LED element).
0a and 20b, as shown in FIG.
An LED element 52 is provided on the switch 8 together with the switch 32. Then, as shown in FIG.
The switch 2 is disposed behind the display unit 50, that is, directly behind the display unit 50. Therefore, the switch 32 is disposed at a position shifted from the rear of the display unit 50.

As shown in FIG. 1, the button member 34
Is a pressed portion 54 disposed behind each operation button 20.
And a support 56 for connecting and integrating the plurality of pressed parts 54. The pressed part 54 corresponding to the operation buttons 20a and 20b provided with the display unit 50 is used to press the switch 32. A switch pressing portion 58 is formed to protrude. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, a plurality of leg pieces 57 are protruded rearward from the support body 56, and the leg pieces 57 abut on the printed circuit board 28.
And the switch pressing portion 58 are positioned at a predetermined height from the surface of the printed circuit board 28.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pressed portion 54 corresponding to the operation button 20a is a covering portion for covering the front of the LED element 52, and has a U-shaped cross section opened to the rear, that is, the LED element 52 side. Has made.

When the operation button 20a is pressed, the pressed portion 54 of the button member 34 is pressed backward, whereby the switch pressing portion 58 presses the switch 32 which is disposed close to the back. Then, the LED element 52 disposed behind the pressed portion 54 is turned on, and the display unit 50 of the operation button 20a indicates that the operation mode is the cooling mode corresponding to the button 20a.

As shown in FIG. 6A, when the corner portion 60 is inside the U-shaped bottom of the pressed portion 54, when the LED element 52 is turned on, the light is refracted and does not pass. A portion occurs, and a shadow appears on the operation button 20a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the shadow can be prevented from being generated by forming the inner surface into a curved shape by R-fitting the inner surface at the bottom of the U-shape. . That is, it is preferable that not only the outer surface but also the inner surface of the pressed portion 54 be formed in a U-shaped cross section. Further, as shown in FIG. 6C, by covering the outer periphery of the LED element 52 with a light-shielding film 64 such as a black film, the light of the LED element 52 is directed forward and the display unit 50 is turned on.
Can be improved.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the pressed portion 54 corresponding to the operation button 20b provided with two display units 50 on the left and right (see FIG. 4). Behind the two display units 50, LED elements 52 are arranged, respectively, and both LED elements 5
2 is configured to be turned on by a common switch 32 so that the right and left functions can be separately selected. For example,
Pressing the switch 32 once causes the right LED element 5
2 lights up to enter the rapid ice making mode.
By pressing the button twice, the left LED element 52 is turned on to set the flash refrigeration mode.

The pressed portion 54 corresponding to the operation button 20b is supported by the support 56 by two left and right support arms 66 corresponding to the two display portions 50. In addition, a switch pressing portion 58 that presses the common switch 32 is protruded from a longitudinally central portion of the pressed portion 54 that is long in the left and right direction.

As described above, when two display units 50 are provided side by side with one operation button 20b and the common switch 32 is pressed by one switch pressing unit 58, the pressed portion 54 of the button member 34 is pressed. The two support arms 66 are used to suppress the inclination of the pressed portion 54 when the display unit 50 on one side is pressed. That is, when such a pressed portion 54 is supported by a single support arm at the center in the longitudinal direction, when the display unit 50 on one side is pressed, the pressed portion 54 tilts about the support arm. In some cases, the switch 32 cannot be pressed. When supported by the two support arms 66, such inclination can be suppressed and the switch 32 can be pushed reliably.

FIG. 8A is a perspective view showing a modified example of the pressed portion 54 corresponding to the operation button 20b provided with two display units 50, and FIG. 8B is a diagram showing the modified example. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to line BB of FIG. 4.

In this modified example, a prism 68 located between the left and right LED elements 52 for preventing leakage of light from each other is provided on the pressed portion 54 disposed behind the operation button 20b. More specifically, the prism 68 protrudes downward from the U-shaped bottom inner surface of the pressed portion 54 having a U-shaped cross section, and is formed so as to partition an intermediate position between the two LED elements 52 left and right.

By providing such a prism 68, an LED element 52 for displaying each display unit 50 can be displayed on the operation button 20b having two display units 50 provided side by side.
Can be prevented from leaking to adjacent display units.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are cross-sectional views showing an example in which a projection 70 is provided on the bottom surface of the storage recess 24 and a projection 72 is provided from the back surface of the printed circuit board 28 to contact the projection 70. It is.

When the operation panel 22 is provided at the center of the door 10 without touching the four sides of the door 10 as in this embodiment,
Since the door 4 is formed by cutting the door front plate 12, the operation panel 22 disposed on the front surface thereof is easily deformed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9C, when the operation panel 22 is pressed by a part other than the operation buttons 20, the operation panel 22 is deformed, and the printed circuit board 28 is thereby deformed. The switch 32 may be pressed by mistake.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b), a convex shape 70 and a projection 72 which are in contact with each other are provided in the storage recess 24 and the printed circuit board 28. This projection 72
Are constituted by locking claws or the like for locking the printed circuit board 28 provided on the reflection plate 36 of the liquid crystal display device 30.
The convex shape 70 is formed on the inner surface of the storage box 30 at a position corresponding to the protrusion 72.

The contact between the protrusion 72 and the convex shape 70 makes it difficult for the printed circuit board 28 to be deformed, and at the same time makes it difficult for the operation panel 22 mounted on the printed circuit board 28 to be deformed. Can be.

[0043]

According to the refrigerator door of the present invention, the operation contents of the operation buttons are displayed on the operation buttons themselves, so that the operation panel can be provided as compared with the case where the operation buttons and the display section are separately provided. The size can be reduced to improve the appearance. In addition, the printed circuit board and the storage recess can be made smaller together with the operation panel, so that the cost can be reduced. Furthermore, since what is displayed on the pressed operation button itself, what is displayed is clear and the visibility is excellent.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a display operation unit in a refrigerator door according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a rear view of a display operation unit of the refrigerator door.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the refrigerator.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an operation panel.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of an operation button including a display unit, and FIGS. 6B and 6C are cross-sectional views according to a modified example thereof.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a button member corresponding to an operation button provided with two display units.

FIG. 8A is a perspective view according to a modified example of a pressed portion corresponding to an operation button provided with two display units, and FIG.
FIG. 13 is a sectional view corresponding to the line BB of FIG. 4 in the modification.

9A is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 4, and FIG.
FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view of the display operation unit showing a deformed state of the operation panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Refrigerator door 20 ... Operation button 20a ... Operation button with a display part 20b ... Operation button with two display parts 22 ... Operation panel 24 ... Storage recess 28 ... Printed circuit board 32 ... Switch 34 button member 50 display unit 52 LED element 54 pressed part 56 support body 58 switch pressing part 66 support arm 68 prism 70 convex shape 72 projection

Claims (6)

[Claims] An operation panel having an operation button is disposed in front of a door, and a printed circuit board provided with a switch and a light emitting element corresponding to the operation button is provided in a storage recess at the front of the door provided behind the operation panel. A refrigerator door arranged so that the corresponding switch is pressed by pressing the operation button to display the operation content of the operation button by turning on the light emitting element. A display unit for displaying the contents is provided, and the light emitting element is arranged behind the display unit, and the switch is arranged at a position shifted from behind the display unit, between the operation panel and the printed circuit board. A refrigerator, wherein the switch is pressed by the button member by pressing the operation button with a button member interposed therebetween. 2. The operation device according to claim 1, wherein the button member includes a pressed portion disposed behind each operation button, a support body that connects and integrates the plurality of pressed portions, and further includes an operation unit that includes the display unit. 2. The refrigerator door according to claim 1, wherein a switch pressing portion protrudes from a pressed portion corresponding to the button. 3. The pressed portion disposed behind the operation button having the display portion is a transparent covering portion covering the front of the light emitting element, and has a U-shaped cross section opened to the light emitting element side. 3. The refrigerator door according to claim 2, wherein the inner surface of the U-shaped bottom is formed in a curved shape. 4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein two display units are provided side by side, the light emitting elements are arranged behind each display unit, and operation buttons are provided such that both light emitting elements are turned on by the common switch. 3. The refrigerator door according to claim 2, wherein the pressed portion disposed behind the operation button is supported by the support by two support arms corresponding to the two display portions. 5. A press-fit portion disposed behind an operation button provided with two display portions, wherein a prism positioned between both light-emitting elements to prevent light leakage from each other is provided. The refrigerator door according to claim 4, characterized in that: 6. The refrigerator door according to claim 2, wherein a projection is provided on a back surface of said printed circuit board, and a projection is provided on a bottom surface of said storage recess to contact said projection.