JP2003302138A - Refrigerator-freezer and control method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator in which a door need not be opened/closed when the temperature is adjusted, the temperature is displayed at an easily viewable position, and a temperature adjustment unit is disposed at a position to cope with any mischief by children, shocks during carriage or transport, or shocks when the door is opened. <P>SOLUTION: In the refrigerator having a temperature adjustment unit having a function of setting the temperature in the refrigerator and a function of displaying the temperature, an operation unit of the temperature adjustment unit comprises one chamber-selection switch to select a chamber to change the temperature setting or the set time, and a change switch to change the set temperature and the set time of the selected chamber. After the chamber- selection switch is firstly operated to select the chamber for setting, the change switch is secondly operated to change the adjustment of the temperature and the time. When a predetermined time is elapsed after operating the chamber- selection switch, the change of the set temperature or the like by operating the change switch is fixed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a temperature control unit for setting the temperature inside a refrigerator installed in a refrigerator / freezer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 25 is a front view of a conventional refrigerator.
In the figure, 1 is a refrigerating room, 3 is a slide room, 5 is a vegetable room, 6 is a freezing room, and 10 is a temperature control unit. The uppermost stage of the refrigerator is a freezer compartment 6, and a temperature control unit 10 is installed at the center of the upper end of the door of the freezer compartment 6. However, the position of the temperature control unit is different from the height of the line of sight, and it is installed at a position that the user cannot see unless he is aware of it. It was a difficult position to do.

Further, the internal temperature of the freezing compartment 6 is -18 ° C. or lower, and the temperature difference from the outside air is large, so that when the installation part of the temperature control part 10 to the refrigerator door is not sufficiently insulated, it is exposed. The inside of the refrigerator (foam urethane side)
A heater is attached to the temperature control unit 10 as a measure for preventing dew condensation on the substrate. On the contrary, when ensuring sufficient heat insulation in the temperature control unit 10, when the heat insulation is ensured inside the refrigerator to reduce the internal volume of the refrigerator and the temperature control unit 10 is projected to the front side to ensure heat insulation. Had a problem in design, such as the temperature control unit 10 protruding from the door surface, and a problem that the temperature control was moved or damaged by hitting a wall or furniture when opening and closing.

FIG. 26 is a front view of a conventional refrigerator. In the figure, 1 is a refrigerating room, and 4 is a switching room. This is a case where the temperature control unit 10 is installed at a low position in the refrigerator, but since it is a position where a small child can easily operate, there is a possibility that the setting may be changed and food may be damaged.

FIG. 27 is a front view of a conventional refrigerator. This is the case of a refrigerator with a low height, but when installed above the top door of the refrigerator, the height of the refrigerator is low, so the operability of the temperature control unit 10 is good as a position, but the substrate etc. Since it is a component having electronic components, it is often stacked at the time of shipment, and there are many cases where objects are placed on the ceiling because the refrigerator is low, and at that time there were problems such as damage due to collision of objects and inflow of water.

[0006]

Since the conventional freezer-refrigerator is constructed as described above, if the temperature control unit 10 is provided on the door of the freezer compartment 6, the temperature inside the refrigerator is as low as -18 ° C. It is necessary to secure a temperature at which dew does not condense on the electronic board or the like arranged in the adjustment unit 10, and therefore it is necessary to take a thick heat insulating material on the back side (inside the refrigerator) of the electronic board, which reduces the volume in the heat insulating compartment. Was there. Further, in order not to reduce the internal volume, the temperature near the electronic substrate must be maintained above the dew point temperature by adding a heater or the like, which leads to an increase in cost.

When the temperature control unit 10 has a display function such as a liquid crystal display, its shape, the height of the installation place, and the positional relationship between the display and the operation button are operability, legibility, and stacking during transportation and transportation. There is a problem in that the temperature control unit 10 is damaged and cannot be operated due to the impact due to the impact or the impact when the door is opened and closed.

In addition, when increasing the lineup of exterior colors in the appearance design, it is general to add the color of the sheet metal panel, but since the minimum lot number of sheet metal panels is very large, the lineup of many exterior colors increases the cost. There was a problem leading to.

Further, in the case of a complicated part structure, the parts are inevitably divided due to the restriction of the mold, and the strength of the part connecting part is lowered, and the leakage of urethane from the connecting part to the design surface is a problem. .

Further, the cross-sectional shape of the door is round, and in refrigerators having different widths, the round size suitable for each width is adopted. Therefore, there is a difference of several millimeters in the thickness between the wide door and the narrow door, which is 100 mm inside from the side surfaces. If the display is placed on the left or right edge of the door to match this round,
The display unit faces the outside when the refrigerator is viewed from the front, and it is difficult for the user in front of the refrigerator to see the display unit. In addition, the difference in this round also affects the joint between the injection component that holds the display and the sheet metal, which is very important in terms of design, and if a gap is made here, it may not only be unsightly, but may also catch your nails. . In addition, in order to prevent this gap from being generated, there is a problem in that costs are increased when a mold is erected for injection parts according to rounds of refrigerator doors having different widths.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can be applied to an electronic substrate of a temperature control unit without reducing the volume of the inside of the refrigerator and without providing a heater or the like as another piece. In the refrigerator located at the top of the refrigerator, the refrigerating room with a high internal temperature that can ensure the temperature without dew condensation,
By arranging the temperature control unit at a height of 130 cm or more from the refrigerator installation surface other than the upper and lower ends of the door, the display is easy to see and the position with good operability can be secured, and it can be used for children's mischief or transportation. In consideration of the impact when the door is opened and closed, the handle is configured to protrude from the temperature control section. Further, the display part of the temperature control part has the same arrangement as that of the refrigerator, and the display part and the operation switch are arranged so that the display part is not hidden when the switches are operated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which the display unit is arranged substantially horizontally so that it can be easily seen from the front, and the injection parts are commonly used for the doors having different widths to reduce the cost of starting the mold.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator having a temperature controller having a function of setting a temperature in a refrigerator and a function of displaying a temperature. The operation unit includes one room selection switch for selecting a room whose temperature setting or setting time is desired to be changed, and a change switch for changing the setting temperature or setting time of the selected room,
Operate the room selection switch first to select the room you want to set, then operate the change switch second to change the temperature and time adjustment, and change it when a predetermined time has elapsed after operating the room selection switch The change of the set temperature and the like by operating the switch is confirmed.

In the refrigerator-freezer of the present invention according to claim 2, the shape of the switch operated first is larger than the area of the switch operated next.

In the refrigerator / freezer of the present invention according to claim 3, the display part of the temperature control part is a liquid crystal display part, and in addition to the usual set temperature display and set time display, thermistor detection performed at the time of service or development test. It has a function to display the temperature and abnormal point display with numerical values and characters.

In the refrigerator-freezer of the present invention according to claim 4, the temperature control part can be detached from the refrigerating compartment door and can be used as a remote controller.

The refrigerator / freezer of the present invention according to claim 5 is the refrigerator / refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the temperature controller has a function of recognizing a switch input of the controller. Waiting for the switch input, the step of determining whether the switch can accept when the switch is input, the step of issuing a voice if the switch is acceptable, and the switch not accepting If it is, the step of returning to the step of waiting for the switch input without producing a voice is provided.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator-freezer having a microcomputer for controlling a refrigerator main body and an operation section of a temperature control section, and serial communication is used for communication between the microcomputer and the operation section. In the refrigerator-freezer according to any one of Item 4, a step of transmitting data from the microcomputer or the operation unit to the operation unit or the microcomputer, and when the data is received, it is determined whether the data is normal or not. The steps include: a step of updating the data if the data is normal; and a step of discarding the received data when there is no reception or when the received data is not normal.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiment 1. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator-freezer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. In the figure, 1 is a refrigerating room, 2 is a refrigerating room door, 3 is a slide room provided in the refrigerating room 1, 4 is a switching room, 5 is a vegetable room, 6 is a freezing room, 7 is a part of the refrigerating room door 2. Is a sheet metal panel, 8 is a base, 9 is a handle which is a handle for the user to open and close the refrigerator compartment door 2, 1
Reference numeral 0 is a temperature control unit that sets the temperature inside the refrigerator.

The structure of this freezer-refrigerator comprises a refrigerating room 1, a slide room 3, a switching room 4, a vegetable room 5 (about 6 ° C.) and a freezing room 6 on the inner floor of the refrigerating room 1 from the top. , Each room is divided by temperature zone. In addition, the slide chamber 3 can be temperature-controlled for refrigeration (5 ° C), chilled (0 ° C), and soft freezing (-5 ° C, -7 ° C, -9 ° C), and the switching chamber 4 has a wine (9 ° C) temperature. ℃), refrigerated (5 ℃), chilled (0 ℃),
Soft freezing (-5 ℃, -7 ℃, -9 ℃), frozen (-1
It is possible to switch to a room with a wide temperature range (9 ° C). Among them, the temperature range of soft freezing can be adjusted in 3 stages, so for hard and frosty foods (foods with high water content, block meat with less fat, etc.), the slide chamber 3 is set to a slightly higher temperature (-5 ° C). Food stored in
It is possible to secure two rooms having the same temperature zone for the same purpose such as storing in the switching chamber 4 set to, and it is possible to store according to the characteristics of the food by changing the temperature strength. As a component of the refrigerating compartment door 2, a sheet metal panel 7 and an injection component called a base 8 by cutting a part thereof are coupled. The base 8 is provided with a handle 9 for hand-holding, and a temperature adjusting unit 10 is provided immediately above the base 8, and the temperature adjusting unit 10 can set the temperature of each room. Further, the temperature control unit 10 can confirm the current temperature of each room, and can also set the rapid cooling of each room for a time. The door chamber provided with the temperature control unit 10 is a refrigerating chamber, and it is a refrigerating chamber having a high internal temperature that can ensure a temperature that does not cause dew condensation on the electronic substrate of the temperature control unit 10. There is no need to provide a separate piece of heater or the like.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the temperature control section, the handle and the base section. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the temperature controller of FIG. In the figure, 8 is a base, 9 is a handle, 10 is a temperature controller, and 10a is a liquid crystal display of the temperature controller 10.
Reference numeral b is a switch unit (operation unit) of the temperature control unit 10.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the operation panel 10.
Reference numeral 0a is a liquid crystal display unit, and 10b is a switch unit (operation unit). As shown in the figure, the liquid crystal display unit 10a is vertically arranged so that the user can easily visually understand which room is currently operated, and the liquid crystal display unit 10a is arranged in the same order as the arrangement of each room of the refrigerator main body. In addition, a partition line has been added to each room for each temperature zone to make it easier to understand. Here, the room layout of the refrigerator main body is from the top, a refrigerator room, a slide room, a switching room,
It is a freezing room, and the display of the liquid crystal display unit 10a is also arranged in the same room from above. It should be noted that the partition line may be indicated by light or the like, or electricity may be passed through the liquid crystal to indicate the partition line without drawing a partition line. In addition, since the temperature of each room can be adjusted, the strength of the temperature adjustment is displayed on the side of the liquid crystal display unit 10a with a triangular pointer, and the higher temperature is weaker and the lower temperature is lower. It is arranged so that the strength is at the bottom. Further, when the button (switch) 10b is operated, the switch portion 10b is arranged beside or on the lower side of the liquid crystal display portion 10a so as not to cover the liquid crystal display portion 10a with a hand. Can be operated.

As described above, since the vertically arranged liquid crystal display matches the order of arrangement of the refrigerator rooms, the display is easy to understand, and it is possible to easily grasp which room is currently set and reduce erroneous operation. Further, since the operation button 10b of the temperature control unit is arranged beside or on the lower side of the liquid crystal display unit 10a, the operation can be performed without hiding the liquid crystal display unit by hand, and the operation is easy.

Further, since the refrigerators may be stacked when the refrigerators are transported and delivered, the operation panel 10 is arranged away from the upper end of the refrigerating compartment door where the stacking shock and pressure are most likely to be applied. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the handle 9 located immediately below is protruded from the liquid crystal display portion 10a by a dimension b of 1 mm or more so that the liquid crystal display portion 10a does not directly hit the side wall or furniture when the door is opened.

As described above, the temperature setting display section and the operation section are arranged in a position near the line of sight that the user can see without the user's attention, and the display is easy to see and the operability is good. In addition, because it is placed at a position away from the upper and lower ends of the refrigerating compartment door that considers the impact of stacking during transportation and transportation, board failure due to impact during transportation and transportation can be reduced, and it is a position that is difficult for children to set. There is no mistake and it is easy to adjust the temperature according to the user's convenience. Also, since the handle is designed to stick out from the external operation board, even if it hits the side wall etc. when the door is opened, the handle also acts as a bumper first, so it is possible to hit the display part directly and damage it. It is reducing.

FIG. 5 is a design diagram of the entire operation panel. Here, an ice making stop switch 39 is provided, and pressing this switch 39 stops the ice making. Automatic ice making can be stopped in winter when little ice is needed or when you are away from home for a long time, which is an energy-saving effect.

Further, in FIG. 5, an energy saving display 38 is provided on the operation panel 10, and the lamp is turned on when the energy saving mode is set. The energy saving mode can be set by pressing an energy saving switch and pressing it. However, if the energy saving mode can be turned on and off by pressing other switches for a few seconds, the number of switches on the operation panel 10 can be changed. Can be reduced. Here, the other switch is the switch 31a, and by pressing the switch 31a for 3 seconds or more, the energy saving mode is set. To cancel the energy saving mode, the same switch 31a should be pressed for 3 seconds or more. When leaving the refrigerator for a long time, sleeping, or the like, and when the refrigerator door is not opened or closed, the energy-saving mode can be set to suppress the motor rotation speed of the compressor for energy-saving operation. At this time, the LED 38 lights up to inform that the energy saving operation is being performed.

FIG. 6 is a simple flow chart showing the operating method when adjusting the temperature and setting the rapid cooling time. Switch part (operation part) 10 on the operation panel (temperature control part) 10 of FIG.
This will be described using 31a, 31b, and 31c which are b. In the figure, when it is desired to change the temperature setting, as in step 10, the temperature control room and the room to be changed by the SW (switch) 31a, which is a refrigerating room, a slide room, or a freezing room, is selected, and shown in step 11. As described above, when the set temperature is desired to be raised, the change SW 31b is pushed, and when the set temperature is desired to be lowered, the SW 31c is pushed and changed. In this case, the set temperature may be determined by a program that is set after a certain time has passed after the setting is changed, or a setting switch may be added separately. When changing the settings in this way, the program is such that the room to be set is first selected and then the set temperature is changed. By doing so, even if the switch portion is accidentally touched, the set temperature does not easily change. Especially in the switching room, even the temperature range of the room changes, so it is possible that the frozen room setting accidentally becomes the refrigerating room setting and the frozen ice cream etc. is thawed. . On the contrary, when tofu or the like is stored in the refrigerating room setting, it is possible that the tofu is frozen by mistake and the tofu is frozen. Therefore, you can use two separate buttons
By setting the stage, it is possible to avoid a problem caused by a change in the set temperature due to such an erroneous operation.

The same operation may be performed for setting the time of the rapid cooling. The operation will be described with reference to the switch portions (operation portion) 10b 31a, 31b, 31c on the operation panel (temperature control portion) 10 in FIG. Select the room you want to quench with Room Erabi SW 32a and set the quenching time to 32b, eg 1 hour →
2 hours → ... is set, and if it is desired to reduce the set time, SW32c is used. The rapid cooling method can be realized, for example, by rotating the compressor or the fan motor for cooling the inside of the refrigerator at a high speed.However, if it is operated by mistake, the compressor or fan motor will operate at a high speed when not necessary. , Waste of electricity bills. Therefore, such an erroneous operation can be prevented by using the method of operating in two steps as in this embodiment. In addition, as an advantage of such a two-step operation, since the room whose setting is to be changed is selected by one SW, it is not necessary to add a setting SW for each room, and the design can be simplified. It is also cost effective because the number of can be reduced.

Further, although FIG. 5 shows a case of performing a two-step operation, as shown in the figure, the switch (31a or 3) to be operated first is used.
Switch (31b, 31c) for operating the shape of 2a) next
Or 32b, 32c), for example, 2
Double or more (for example, large switch: short diameter 17 mm, long diameter 21 mm, small switch: short diameter 10 mm
With the long diameter of 16 mm), the first affordance is brought out, and the operation can be easily understood by the user who actually operates it even without the instruction manual.

FIG. 7 shows a method for making it easy to recognize whether or not the switch (SW) is accepted when the switch section (operation section) 10b of the temperature control section 10 is operated. If there is a SW input in step 20 while waiting for the SW input, that SW can be accepted in step 21. SW
If it is possible to accept, step 2
In step 2, for example, an alarm "pip" is sounded (sound is emitted), and if a switch that cannot be accepted is pressed, the alarm is not sounded, the process returns to the step before step 20 and waits for the SW input. Therefore, it becomes possible to have a recognition as to whether or not the user has performed a correct operation at the time of operation.

FIG. 8 is a ZZ sectional view of the base 8 portion at the height of the line of sight of a person in FIGS. 2 and 3, FIG. 9 is a ZZ sectional view showing another specification of the base 8, and FIG. 10 is a right side. FIG. 11 is a ZZ sectional view showing the base 8 of the open-door refrigerator, FIG. 11 is a ZZ sectional view showing the base 8 of the left-door refrigerator, FIG. 12 is a panel cross-sectional view of a wide door and a narrow door, and FIG. 3 base 8 parts YY
FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing XX of the base 8 portion in FIG.

The temperature control section (operation panel) 10 shown in FIG.
A panel 10c provided with a liquid crystal display section and a switch section as shown in FIGS. 9, 10, and 11 and an electronic substrate 10d having a liquid crystal mounted therein are provided. 7 is a sheet metal panel, 8
Is a base which is a connecting part to the sheet metal panel 7, and d is an angle of a contact surface of the base 8 with the sheet metal panel 7. Panel 10
c is formed by inserting and molding the PET film 10e on which the name of the refrigerator room (refrigerator, slide room, switching room, freezer, etc.) and the strength and weakness for temperature control are printed. Since there is no printing on the portion 10a (see FIG. 4), the liquid crystal display disposed on the internal substrate 10d can be seen, and the switch portion 10b (see FIG. 4) is the PET film for pressing the switch disposed on the substrate 10d. The hard injection on the back side of 10e is hollowed out in an embossed shape. Also, make sure that the embossed shape of the PET film 10e varies and that the switch is not pushed due to contraction.
A clearance of 0.2 to 0.5 is provided between the back side of the ET film 10e and the switch of the electronic substrate 10d.

Further, the outer periphery of the panel 10c to which the electronic substrate 10d is attached is surrounded by ribs, and the waterproof structure is adopted in this manner, so that the operation by wet hands and the entry of water by sprinkling can be prevented. Can be done.

The height of the liquid crystal display unit 10a (see FIGS. 2 and 3) is 127 cm, which is an average height (H7 national nutrition survey) of a child in the lower grades of elementary school, which is 127 cm, as a position where the eyes of a child are hard to reach. The height of 10a is 130 cm or more,
The panel 10c may be placed in front of the user in a position that is easy to see, but in order to smooth the connection with other parts in consideration of the design.
Is arranged with a round R so as to face substantially the front. Although the design is improved by this substantially horizontal round R, when the temperature control unit 10 is arranged at the left end or the right end of the door, the refrigerator door has a line that opens to the right and opens to the left. Need. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, an interference component 10f that fills the difference in round R is required between the PET film 10e and the electronic substrate 10d. However, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, by tilting the electronic substrate 10d by 5 °, the difference in clearance between the right side and the left side of the PET film 10e and the switch of the electronic substrate 10d is 0.2 to 0.5 or less. The electronic board 10d can be shared. Also,
Since the PET film 10e is insert-molded, water can be prevented from entering the electronic substrate. In addition, it is possible to share the electronic boards for the right-opening door and the left-opening door without interfering parts.

As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 8, the door has a round cross section, but the cross section of the base 8 including the display section is substantially parallel to the line of sight of the display section 10a when viewed from the front of the refrigerator. As described above, the drawing line is inserted in the sheet metal panel 7 to have a connecting structure with the base 8. Therefore, the display unit is not difficult to see.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the sheet metal panel 7 of the wide door and the narrow door. In the figure, 7a is a sheet metal panel with a wide door, and 7b is a sheet metal panel with a narrow door. The refrigerator door has a round cross-section, and the refrigerator has a lineup of products with different widths due to the difference in capacity band. Due to the difference in round R between wide doors and narrow doors, injection parts 8 When using the combined structure of the sheet metal panel 7 and
Joining position from the side (0 to 150 mm, 0 to 10 in FIG. 12)
The thickness difference e of the door in the case of 0 mm is 0 mm in FIG.
It is about 10 mm. Since the difference e in the door thickness occurs, it is difficult to share the parts, but the cross section YY in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 13, an angle d is provided on the contact surface between the sheet metal panel 7 and the base 8 which is an injection component at the connecting position of the sheet metal panel 7 and the base 8, and the width of 7c is drawn on the sheet metal panel 7 of the wide door, and 7d is drawn on the sheet metal panel of the narrow door so that the angle of the base 8 joint and the insertion angle of the joint of the sheet metal panel match. I try not to make a gap at the joint. With this structure, the base parts 8 of the doors with different widths are commonly used.

Therefore, even if there is a difference in the roundness of the refrigerator door, no gap is generated in the joint portion between the injection component 8 holding the display portion and the sheet metal panel 7, which is good in design.
In addition, there is no fear of catching a claw on the joint.
Further, the same injection parts 8 can be used for refrigerator doors having different widths, and even if the injection parts are grounded in a mold, they can be molded with a single mold, resulting in no cost. Here, the material of the injection component 8 is ABS or the like, which has good moldability and high gloss, and is suitable as a material for design. Since sheet metal molding relies on plastic deformation, it is difficult to achieve the intended design shape and it is costly, so injection with high design reproducibility was used.

Next, FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 3 showing the joint structure of the handle 9 and the base 8. In the drawing, a claw 9a of a handle 9 which is an insertion member is inserted into a square hole 8a of a base 8 which is an insertion hole, and at the same time holds a screw plate 11 and is also tightened by a screw 12.

The inside of the base 8 is filled with urethane foam 13, and a small amount of urethane foam 13 is intentionally leaked from between the square hole 8a of the base 8 and the claw 9a for the purpose of adhering the base 8 and the handle 9. There is. The triangular rib 9b provided on the handle side is crushed by tightening the screw 12 so as to prevent the urethane foam 13 from protruding to the design surface side, and is brought into pressure contact with the urethane leak prevention structure.

Therefore, the urethane foam intentionally leaked allows the parts to be bonded together, and the protrusion of urethane on the design surface side is provided on the outside of the claw portion 9a on the handle side without adding a urethane leak prevention seal. Urethane leakage can be prevented by pressing the ribs against each other with the tightening force of the screws. If there is a gap between the members when the insertion member 9a is inserted into the insertion hole 8a, that is, when the cross-sectional area of the insertion hole 8a is larger than that of the insertion member 9a and urethane leaks. For example, the insertion hole 8a may have a round shape instead of a square shape or another shape, and the insertion member 9a may have another shape.

Next, FIG. 15 shows a configuration diagram of the liquid crystal display portion 10a. As shown in the figure, the liquid crystal display unit 10a is composed of a front side polarizing plate 23, an upper glass 24, a liquid crystal 25, a lower glass 26, a back side polarizing plate 27, a reflecting plate or a non-transmissive plate 28 from the top. Here, an adhesive (not shown) is adhered between the lower glass 26 and the back side polarizing plate 27, but it is possible to form a color liquid crystal by coloring this adhesive, for example. By adopting this, it is possible to make the liquid crystal part look like a color even if the backlight used in the past is not used, and to eliminate the backlight. Also, eliminating the backlight will save about 0.1Wh / month. Furthermore, since there is no LED for backlight, there is no need for a diffuser plate to diffuse light to the entire liquid crystal, and the total thickness is 5 m.
It can be thinned by about m. As a result, it can be said that it is effective to reduce the thickness of the display portion in a portion where the heat insulating portion is thick and difficult to remove, such as a refrigerator door. In addition, the user can grasp the image in the store display without turning on the power and differentiate from other companies.

FIG. 16 is an assembly drawing of the substrate 10d.
(A) is a front view and (b) is a side view. As shown in the figure, a jumper wire 29 used for service is mounted on the substrate 10d. The jumper wire 29 has a function of finely adjusting the temperature setting according to the wish of the user (for example, the presence or absence of the jumper wire raises or lowers the set temperature by 1 ° C.). FIG. 17 shows an example of a circuit using one jumper wire on this substrate. In the circuit as shown in the figure, Lo (0V) is input to the microcomputer when the jumper wire 29 is present, and Hi (0V) when it is not present.
The specification is such that a (5V) signal is input to the microcomputer 33, and the presence / absence information of each jumper wire 29 is input to the control microcomputer 33 of the refrigerator main body by communication by the signal. By doing so, for example, when there is no jumper wire, the temperature setting of the refrigerating room can be lowered by 1 ° C., etc., so that the temperature setting can be changed at the time of service etc. according to the user's request. . By configuring such a service jumper wire 29 on the operation panel board on the front of the refrigerator, service can be performed from the front of the refrigerator, and in comparison with a control board on the back of the refrigerator equipped with a jumper wire,
There is no longer a need to pull out the refrigerator and turn behind when servicing, and service time can be shortened by 20 to 30 minutes.

Further, FIG. 18 shows a part of a front view of the assembly of the board BOX, but it is not necessary to remove the board by making a hole in the board BOX as shown in FIG. 30, and the workability can be further improved. Further, by providing a rib that abuts against the substrate around the hole of the substrate BOX, it is possible to prevent the jumper wire 29 from falling inside the substrate BOX during external work.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of the periphery of the electronic board 10d.
(A) is a front view, (b) is a side view, (c) is a rear view. In the figure, 10a is a liquid crystal display unit, 10d is a printed circuit board, 21 is a substrate BOX made of a material such as PS, 2
2 is a fixing screw. In this way, the substrate 10d is fixed to the substrate BOX 21 with the screws 22 or the like, and the substrate BOX 21
By being configured as an assembly, a two-part configuration of the surface decoration panel and the board BOX21 assembly is provided at the time of attachment and removal, which improves workability and improves recyclability. The same effect can be obtained by fixing the substrate BOX 21 and the substrate 10d with a claw or the like. Further, as shown in the drawing, the key top portion 21a including the spring structure is integrally formed on the substrate BOX 21 and is formed by one component, so that the number of components is small and the handling is improved. In addition, there are few components, which leads to cost reduction.

Further, in the refrigerating compartment door 2, by changing the color of the base 8, it is easy to increase the color variation by combining with the color of the sheet metal panel 7, so that the proportion of the area of the base 8 which is an injection part is occupied. Making it big. Therefore, it is possible to increase the color variation at a lower cost than changing the color of the sheet metal panel by changing the color of the base portion of the refrigerator compartment door. Further, since the base portion can be replaced, the color variation can be increased by combining with the color of the sheet metal panel.

FIG. 20 is a view showing a display example of the liquid crystal display section 10a. At the time of service or development test, the normal temperature display and the quenching time display are changed, and the function of displaying the actual thermistor detection temperature and abnormal point display with numerical values and characters is added to improve the refrigerator status during service and development evaluation. It will be easier to recognize and will lead to more efficient development. The figure shows an example in which the alphabet “F” is displayed on the upper segment display and the numerical value “−20” is displayed on the middle segment. In this case, the temperature detected by the thermistor of the freezer (abbreviated F) is It can be displayed as "-20 ° C". Incidentally, as a method for entering the mode, a switch may be separately provided on the substrate 10d of the operation panel 10 which the user cannot operate, and a combination of the operation of the existing switches, for example, two switches with the door open. It may be set in such a manner that the user is unlikely to perform the daily operation, such as being able to enter the mode when the switches are simultaneously pressed for 5 seconds or more.

Embodiment 2. 21, 22, and 23 are diagrams showing the configurations of the refrigerator and the operation board. 34
Is a wiring connecting the main body of the refrigerator 1 and the operation board 37, 35 is a light emitting section, 36 is a light receiving section, 37 is an operation board detachable from the main body of the refrigerator 1, 40 is a coil section, 41 is a coil section 40.
And the like. As shown in FIG. 21, the wiring 34 connecting the operation board 37 and the refrigerator 1 main body is lengthened so that it can be stretched when necessary, so that the operation board 37 provided with the temperature control unit 10 (see FIG. 3) is wired. It can also be used as a remote control. In the case of wired communication in which the operation board 37 is arranged on the door side of the refrigerator 1 and the control board 10d of the refrigerator 1 body is arranged on the back side as shown in the figure, the control board 10d of the refrigerator 1 body is
It is necessary to relay the wiring from the wiring through the hinge portion of the door, and it is necessary to consider that the wiring 34 is not broken when the door is opened and closed. Therefore, as the communication method, a non-contact communication method using infrared rays or the like similar to that of an air conditioner or the like is used, and as shown in FIG. By making the panel driving power source a battery type or a rechargeable type, it becomes possible to use it as a completely independent remote controller, and it is not necessary to consider disconnection of the wiring of the hinge part. Therefore, the temperature control unit 10 can be operated from a place away from the refrigerator, and the operability is improved. Further, the operation board 37 may be operated by using communication means such as a mobile phone.

If the removal is not taken into consideration,
As shown in FIG. 23, the power supply coil unit 40 and the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit for non-contact communication by infrared rays and the like are provided close to the door side where the refrigerator 1 main body and the panel 37 are mounted, for example, in the container 41. The power can be supplied in a contactless manner without connecting the wiring from the main body board to the wiring inside the door. Coil part 4
The position of 0 may be anywhere as long as it is close when the door is closed, and the vicinity of the hinge, the central portion of the upper side, or the like can be considered. The effect of making it non-contact is that wiring and connection with the door side are not required for power supply from the refrigerator 1 main body side, so the main body side is routed through the hinge part where the refrigerator 1 main body side and door are only in contact Since there is no need to connect with the hinge, there is no need to worry about disconnection due to driving of the hinge, and there is no need to use a hinge specification having a hollow for passing the lead wire, which is advantageous in terms of cost and strength.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart showing that control is performed while communicating between the microcomputer for controlling the refrigerator body and the operation panel (operation board) using a communication line.
This communication uses serial transmission / reception, and the operation panel side receives when the refrigerator body side is transmitting, and the refrigerator body side receives when the operation panel side is transmitting, and these are performed alternately. The refrigerator is controlled by. The refrigerator main body side waits for reception of Step 2 after transmitting at Step 1. If the data is received in Step 3 and the data is normal (Step 5), the data is updated in Step 6. Further, if the reception data is not received within the reception waiting time of Step 4, or if the reception data is not normal in Step 5, the reception data is discarded (Step
p7), and after waiting for transmission at Step 8, retransmit. In this way, when reception is no longer possible or when the received data is abnormal, by not updating the data, if a communication error occurs, the refrigerator is operated with the data immediately before the communication error occurred. As a result, it is possible to operate without impairing the cooling capacity. Also, Step8
If it becomes possible to communicate normally by waiting for transmission with and retransmitting, it becomes possible to update the data,
The refrigerator can be operated according to the user's operation without the user's knowledge. As mentioned above, even if an abnormality occurs, cooling operation can be realized while ensuring the minimum capacity,
Further, on the operation panel side, the user is not aware of the abnormality, and the display according to the user's operation becomes possible.

[0051]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

The refrigerator / freezer of the present invention according to claim 1 is a refrigerator having a temperature adjusting unit having a function of setting the temperature inside the refrigerator and a function of displaying the temperature, wherein the operating unit of the temperature adjusting unit is the temperature setting unit. Or select the room for which you want to change the set time 1
Two room selection switches and a change switch that changes the set temperature and set time of the selected room.First, operate the room selection switch to select the room you want to set, and then operate the change switch second. The temperature and time adjustments were changed by pressing the room selection switch, and after a predetermined time had elapsed after the room selection switch was operated, changes in the set temperature and other settings were confirmed by operating the change switch. By doing so, it is possible to avoid problems caused by changes in the set temperature due to malfunctions. In addition, it is possible to prevent a malfunction caused by a change in the set temperature due to an erroneous operation.

In the refrigerator according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the shape of the switch to be operated first is larger than the area of the switch to be operated next, the operation of the operation part of the temperature control part is easy to understand.

In the refrigerator-freezer of the present invention according to claim 3, the display part of the temperature control part is a liquid crystal display part, and in addition to the usual set temperature display and set time display, the thermistor detection performed at the time of service or development test. Since it has a function to display the temperature and abnormal point display with numerical values and characters, it is easy to recognize the state of the refrigerator at the time of servicing and development evaluation, which leads to efficiency of development.

In the refrigerator / freezer of the present invention according to claim 4, since the temperature control section can be detached from the refrigerating compartment door and can be used as a remote controller, it can be operated from a remote place.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator-freezer control method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the temperature control section has a function of recognizing a switch input of an operation section. , The step of waiting for the switch input of the operation unit, the step of determining whether the switch is acceptable when the switch is input, the step of issuing a voice when the switch is acceptable, and the switch If it is not possible to accept, no sound is emitted,
Since the step of returning to the step of waiting for the switch input is provided, it becomes possible to give a recognition as to whether or not the user has performed a correct operation during the operation.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for a refrigerator / freezer, which comprises a microcomputer for controlling the refrigerator main body and an operation section of a temperature control section, and serial communication is used for communication between the microcomputer and the operation section. In the refrigerator-freezer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a step of transmitting data from the microcomputer or the operation unit to the operation unit or the microcomputer, and whether the data is normal when the data is received. Since there is a step of judging whether the received data is normal or not, and a step of discarding the received data when there is no reception or when the received data is not normal, an abnormality occurs. Even if it happens, cooling operation can be realized while securing the minimum capacity,
Also, in the operation unit, the user does not notice any abnormality,
The display according to the user's operation becomes possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the handle and base according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the operation panel of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a design diagram of an operation panel showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the operating method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart diagram regarding acceptance of an operation SW according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a base ZZ of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing another specification of the base ZZ of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a base ZZ of the right-opening door refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a base ZZ of the left-opening door refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a panel sectional view of a wide door and a narrow door according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a base YY of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a base XX of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram of a liquid crystal display section showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an assembly diagram of a printed circuit board showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a partial circuit diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a substrate BOX showing the first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a part of an assembled front view of FIG.

FIG. 19 is a configuration diagram of a refrigerator operation board according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a display example of the liquid crystal display unit showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a wired configuration diagram of a refrigerator main body and an operation board according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a wireless configuration diagram of a refrigerator main body and an operation board according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a wireless configuration diagram of a refrigerator main body and an operation board according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a front view of a conventional refrigerator.

FIG. 26 is a front view of a conventional refrigerator.

FIG. 27 is a front view of a conventional refrigerator.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 refrigerating room, 2 refrigerating room door, 3 slide room, 4 switching room door, 5 vegetable room door, 6 freezing room door, 7 sheet metal panel,
7a wide panel, 7b narrow panel, 7c wide drawing line, 7d narrow drawing line, 8 base, 8a square hole, 9 handle, 9a claw, 9b triangular rib, 10
Temperature control unit, 10a liquid crystal display unit, 10b switch unit, 10c panel, 10d electronic substrate, 10e PE
T film, 10f interference part, 11 screw plate, 12
Screw, 13 urethane foam, 21 board BOX, 22 screw, 29 jumper wire, 30 board BOX hole, 38 LED, 39 ice stop button, 40 coil part.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) F25D 23/00 F25D 23/00 301Z 29/00 29/00 Z (72) Inventor Keiji Oya Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Marunouchi 2-3 2-3 Sanryo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuhiko Sugimoto Address 1071, Kami 5-chome, Sone-machi, Kita-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Mitsubishi Electric Mechatronics Software Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3L045 AA02 BA01 CA02 DA02 LA02 MA02 MA11 NA12 NA16

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator having a temperature control unit having a function of setting a temperature in a refrigerator and a function of displaying a temperature, wherein an operation unit of the temperature control unit selects a room in which a temperature setting or a setting time is desired to be changed. A room selection switch and a change switch for changing the set temperature and set time of the selected room are provided, and the room change switch is first operated to select the room to be set, and then the change switch is changed to the second The temperature and time adjustments are changed by operating the switch and the change of the set temperature and the like by the operation of the change switch is confirmed when a predetermined time has elapsed after the room selection switch was operated. Refrigerator and refrigerator. 2. The refrigerator-freezer according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the switch operated first is larger than the area of the switch operated next. 3. The display unit of the temperature control unit is a liquid crystal display unit, and in addition to the normal set temperature display and set time display, the thermistor detection temperature and abnormal point display performed during service or development test are displayed by numerical values or characters. The refrigerator / freezer according to claim 1 or 2, which has a function of displaying. 4. The refrigerator / freezer according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control unit is removable from the refrigerator compartment door and can be used as a remote controller. 5. The refrigerating refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control unit has a function of recognizing a switch input of the operation unit, the step of waiting for the switch input of the operation unit, When the switch is input, the step of determining whether the switch is acceptable, the step of producing a voice when the switch is acceptable, and the step of not producing a voice when the switch is not acceptable And a step of returning to the step of waiting for the switch input, the control method of the refrigerator-freezer. 6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a microcomputer for controlling the refrigerator main body and an operation unit for the temperature control unit, wherein serial transmission / reception is used for communication between the microcomputer and the operation unit. In the refrigerator-freezer, a step of transmitting data from the microcomputer or the operation unit to the operation unit or the microcomputer, and a step of determining whether the data is normal when the data is received, and A control device for a refrigerator / refrigerator, comprising: a step of updating the data if the data is normal; and a step of discarding the received data when there is no reception or when the received data is not normal.