JP2005344976A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator wherein a flat lighting panel composed of a semiconductor light-emitting element or the like is mounted to a basic constitution such as a cold air duct, a cold air blowout port and a loading shelf position in the refrigerator without impairing the cooling performance, thus the indoor lighting can be effectively performed while widening a storage volume of a storage chamber. <P>SOLUTION: The semiconductor lighting-emitting element 15 is used as a light source, and the flat lighting panel 13 diffusing the light from the light source by a light guide plate 14 is mounted between the cold air blowout ducts 11 mounted on a ceiling part 3a in the storage chamber 4 over the longitudinal direction, between the cold air blowout ports 10a intermittently formed on a back face 3b in the storage chamber over the vertical direction, or between stored article loading shelves 12 mounted in several stages on side walls of the storage chamber over the vertical direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator in which a flat lighting panel made of a semiconductor light emitting element or the like is disposed as storage room lighting means.

Conventionally, as an indoor lighting device in a refrigerator, one or two interior lamps using incandescent bulbs have been used to illuminate a storage room through a cover body. It has been proposed to use a surface light emitter made of a semiconductor light emitting element such as a diode (LED) or electroluminescence (EL) (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
JP 2001-82869 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-303953

  Since the semiconductor light emitting element has a smaller amount of heat generation than an incandescent bulb, it can eliminate the adverse effect of an increase in indoor temperature due to illumination, and has the effect of reducing power consumption and extending the life. However, as a device for illuminating a cooling storage room having a large storage capacity such as a home refrigerator, it is difficult to illuminate the room sufficiently with a single light emitting element because of its low luminous intensity and the relationship of the light direction characteristics. Therefore, it is necessary to use a large number of light emitting elements, and since the configuration is not embodied, it is not practically used.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and has a flat plate shape made of a semiconductor light-emitting element or the like without impairing the cooling performance with respect to the basic structure such as a cold air duct, a cold air outlet, and a mounting shelf position in the refrigerator. It aims at providing the refrigerator which attaches an illumination panel and can expand the storage capacity of a storage room, and can perform effective room lighting.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a refrigerator according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided with a flat panel lighting panel in a ceiling in a storage room, using a semiconductor light emitting element as a light source and diffusing light from the light source by a light guide plate. The present invention is characterized in that the flat lighting panel is disposed intermittently over the upper and lower sides of the rear surface of the storage room. It is arranged between the provided cold air outlets. Furthermore, the invention of claim 3 is characterized in that the flat lighting panel is disposed on the side wall surface between the storage product mounting shelves attached to the storage chamber side wall surface in a plurality of stages. It is.

  The invention of claim 5 is characterized in that the surface light emitter made of electroluminescence is disposed between the cold air outlet ducts provided in the front and rear of the ceiling part of the storage room. The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the surface light emitter is disposed between the cold air outlets provided intermittently over the upper and lower sides of the back of the storage chamber, and the invention according to claim 7 further comprises the surface light emission. The body is disposed on the side wall surface between the storage product mounting shelves attached to the side wall of the storage chamber in a plurality of stages up and down.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to dispose a flat lighting panel made of a semiconductor light emitting element or the like in an accurate place with almost no change in the arrangement of existing components such as a cold air duct, a cold air outlet, and a shelf device. It is possible to reduce the protruding space into the storage room and widen the food storage volume, and since the amount of heat generated is small, even if it is placed in the cooling storage room, it prevents the temperature rise in the room and improves the cooling effect, Power consumption can be reduced while maintaining a long lifetime as a lighting device. Moreover, the novel design effect by a large illumination space and the effective illumination effect | action with respect to stored goods can be measured.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The refrigerator main body (1) which shows the schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view in FIG. 1 consists of the heat insulation box which interposed the heat insulating material (4) between the outer box (2) and the inner box (3), and refrigerated food is on the uppermost part. A cold storage room (5) for storing and storing food is provided, and a cooling storage room according to a predetermined storage temperature, such as a vegetable room (6) and a freezer room (7), is arranged at the lower part thereof, and a front opening of the cold storage room (5) Is attached with a door that can be opened and closed by a hinge provided on one side of the main body, and a drawer-type door is provided at the front opening of the vegetable compartment (6) and other storage rooms.

  The refrigerating room (5) cools the air generated by the cooler (8) dedicated to the refrigerating space provided on the back surface inside the main body by the fan (9) from the air outlet (10a) from the duct (10) and the ceiling duct ( 11) It is the structure which introduces and cools indoors through the front blower outlet (11a), and has the largest storage space as a storage room in a refrigerator, and a multistage mounting shelf (12) in the room Is provided to form a storage space for stored items, and an illumination panel (13), which is a device for illuminating the room, is installed on the ceiling. In addition, the freezing compartment (7) and other freezing spaces are also controlled to be cooled to a predetermined temperature by a freezing-only cooler and a fan provided at the back thereof.

  The lighting panel (13) installed in the ceiling part of the refrigerator compartment (5) has an inner box (as shown in FIG. 2 which is a front view from the front of the refrigerator compartment and FIG. 3 which is a sectional view of the main part thereof. 3) It is formed in the ceiling duct (11) which is formed over the ceiling surface (3a) in the front-rear direction, and is provided with cold air outlets (11a) intermittently on the front side of the room and on the lower surfaces of both sides. And a light-emitting diode (15) (hereinafter referred to as an LED) which is a semiconductor light-emitting element disposed in the vicinity of the left and right edges of the light-guide plate (14). It is comprised as a flat panel body.

  The light guide plate (14) is made of an acrylic resin or the like formed to a predetermined thickness, and has a well-known configuration for reflecting the light in a scattered state by applying a graining process (14a) to the upper surface of the light guide plate (14). Since the light intensity for illuminating the entire refrigerator compartment is weak by itself, as shown in FIG. 4 and its side view in FIG. 5, a plurality of connecting portions (16a) for attaching a plurality of LEDs (15) are formed. The socket (16) is disposed adjacent to the left and right edges of the light guide plate (14), and the LED (15) is attached to each connection portion (16a), so that the light from the left and right LEDs (15) Reflected by the embossed surface (14a) on the upper surface of the light guide plate (14), diffused and irradiated downward from the exit surface (14b) without variations in brightness, and brightly illuminated the refrigerator compartment (5) without unevenness To do.

  (17) is attached so as to cover the portion of the LED (15) and socket (16) disposed at both ends of the light guide plate (14) of the lighting panel (13), and attaches both sides of the cold air duct (11). It is a cover body to be formed, and is provided so as to protect the LED (15) portion from external force. Since this cover body (17) does not attenuate the amount of light irradiated from the light guide plate (14) into the refrigerator compartment (5) due to light shielding, the lower surface portion of the light guide plate (14) is disposed without being covered. A cold air outlet (11a) is provided at intervals in the direction.

  Note that the lighting panel (13) may be arranged in a plurality of pieces by relatively small pieces of panels, as long as it is not a flat single piece as described above. What is necessary is just to arrange | position a cold air blower outlet (11a) in the clearance gap between the light-guide plates of each small piece. Further, the LED (15) may be configured not only with a single color of white or blue, but also with a mixed color using a plurality of colors.

  The light guide plate (14) of the lighting panel (13) is arranged so that its lower surface is flush with the lower surface of the ceiling duct (11) so as not to protrude into the refrigerator compartment (5), and is cooled by a fastener or other fixture. It is fixed to the ceiling duct (11) member, and a gap is provided between the upper surface of the light guide plate (14) and the inner box (3), and this gap is also part of the ceiling duct (11). Cold air is circulated to increase the amount of cold air circulated to the refrigerator compartment (5).

  The socket (16) is connected to the connector (18) via the connection pin (16b), and the connection pin (16b) is not easily detached by being inserted into the connector (18). Even when the combustible refrigerant used as the refrigerant leaks, it can be prevented from becoming an ignition source. With the above configuration, each LED (15) passes through the heat insulating wall (4) from the connector (18) through the lead wire (19), and is connected to a DC5V or DC14V power supply unit (not shown) on the back of the main body to emit light. Since it is a low voltage, it is highly safe.

  By configuring as described above, since the lower surface of the lighting panel (13) is flush with the lower surface of the ceiling duct (11) formed by the cover body (17), the amount of protrusion to the indoor side is reduced. Moreover, not only can the storage space for stored items in the refrigerator compartment (5) be widened, but also the cold air circulation in the room is not hindered. Moreover, heat insulation wall (4) thickness in a main-body ceiling part can fully be ensured, and a heat leak can be decreased.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. As can be understood from the front view of the refrigerator compartment (5) portion shown in FIG. 6 in which the same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as in the embodiment, the illumination panel (33) forms the refrigerator compartment (5). The inner box (3) is arranged between the cold air outlets (10a) from the cold air duct (10) provided intermittently over the back surface (3b) of the inner box (3).

  At this time, the illumination panel (33) is formed to have a height dimension between the cold air outlets (10a) and a width dimension over the entire width of the refrigerator compartment (5), and a plurality of light panels (34) on both sides of the light guide plate (34). Each LED (15) is arranged, and this portion is covered with a cover body (37).

  Accordingly, the light guide plate (34) has a thickness that does not impair the cold air flow area of the cold air outlet duct (10), and is arranged over a plurality of upper and lower stages on the back surface to supplement the light intensity. The illumination light radiated from is irradiated from the entire back surface.

  Further, in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 7 which is a sectional side view of the refrigerator compartment (5) with the same reference numerals, the lighting panel (43) is placed up and down on the inner wall of the refrigerator compartment (5). It is arrange | positioned on the side wall (3c) surface between the storage goods mounting shelves (12) attached to the multistage.

  According to this configuration, there is no crossing or adjacency relationship with the cold air duct (10), and it is not necessary to consider the contact relationship with the duct area, and the lighting panel (43) carries stored items. Since the upper surface of each shelf (12) is irradiated with light from the side, each shelf (12) can be illuminated uniformly. Further, in this case, the illumination panel (43) can be provided on both side walls (3c) of the refrigerator compartment (5), thereby obtaining a more effective illumination configuration.

  In addition, it is also possible to arrange the lighting panel between the ceiling part and the back surface, or between the back surface and the side wall shelf by appropriately combining the above structures. According to the above structures, the cold air duct (10) (11) Lighting panels (13), (33), (43) with almost no change in the arrangement of existing parts, such as air outlets, cold air outlets (10a) (11a), and shelves (12) In addition, a novel design effect by a large illumination space using a thin flat light guide plate (14) (34) (44) and an effective illumination function for stored goods can be achieved. Is.

  In addition, the lighting panel in the present invention is not particularly illustrated, but is not limited to the combination of the LED (15) and the light guide plate (14) described in the above embodiment. For example, the phosphor emits light in an electric field. An illumination panel using a surface light emitter (EL panel) using electroluminescence (EL), which is a phenomenon that occurs, may be used.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, a similar effect can be easily obtained by connecting the wiring connector (53a) provided in the EL panel (53) to the power source section. ) Is a thin flat plate and is effective for placement in a heat-insulating wall portion such as a heat insulating wall in a storage room where the thickness is not sufficient. In particular, LEDs and EL are effective as refrigerator lighting as a low-temperature storage room because they have a long life and generally operate stably on the low temperature side, and emit light even at an extremely low temperature of −60 ° C. or lower. Since the amount of heat generated is smaller than that of an incandescent bulb, even if it is placed in the cooling storage room, the temperature rise in the room can be prevented to improve the cooling effect, and the power consumption can be reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the storage room in which the lighting device is disposed is described as the refrigeration room (5). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the vegetable room (6) disposed in the lower part or the freezer. Needless to say, the chamber (7) may be installed in the same configuration as in the above embodiment.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention can be utilized for the refrigerator which arrange | positioned the lighting panel by LED and EL in the storage chamber.

It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the refrigerator of this invention. It is a front view of the refrigerator compartment part in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of FIG. It is a front view of an LED socket. FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 4. It is a front view of the same part as FIG. 2 which shows the other Example of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the refrigerator compartment part which shows another Example. It is a perspective view of the EL panel which shows the other Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator main body 2 Outer box 3 Inner box 3a Ceiling surface 3b Back surface 3c Side wall 4 Heat insulation wall 5 Refrigeration room 6 Vegetable room 7 Freezer room 8 Cooler 9 Fan
10 Cold air duct 10a Cold air outlet 11 Ceiling duct
11a Cold air outlet 12 Mounting shelf 13, 33, 43 Lighting panel
14, 34, 44 Light guide plate 14a Texture processing 14b Outgoing surface
15 LED 16 Socket 16a Connection part
16b Connection pin 17, 37, 47 Cover body 18 Connector
19 Lead wire 53 EL panel 53a Wiring connector

Claims (7)

  A flat panel lighting panel in which a semiconductor light emitting element is used as a light source and light from the light source is diffused by a light guide plate is disposed between cold air outlet ducts provided in the front and rear of the ceiling in the storage room. Refrigerator.   A wide plate-like lighting panel that uses a semiconductor light-emitting element as a light source and diffuses light from the light source by a light guide plate is arranged between cold air outlets that are provided intermittently over the back and top of the storage room. A refrigerator characterized by the installation.   A side between storage product mounting shelves in which a flat panel lighting panel having a semiconductor light emitting element as a light source and light from the light source diffused by a light guide plate is attached to the storage chamber side wall in a plurality of stages. A refrigerator characterized by being arranged on a wall surface.   A socket member in which a plurality of connection portions are formed at predetermined intervals along the edge of the light guide plate is disposed adjacent to the light guide plate, and a semiconductor light emitting element is inserted into and fixed to each connection portion to fix the lighting panel. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the refrigerator is configured.   A refrigerator characterized in that a surface light emitter made of electroluminescence is disposed between cold air ducts provided in the front and rear of a ceiling in a storage room.   A refrigerator characterized in that a surface light emitter made of electroluminescence is disposed between cold air outlets provided intermittently across the upper and lower sides of the back of the storage room. A refrigerator characterized in that a surface light emitter made of electroluminescence is disposed on a side wall surface between storage product mounting shelves attached to a side wall of a storage room in a plurality of stages.

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