JP2007325804A - Home electric appliance storage cabinet - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a home electric appliance storage cabinet capable of preventing a shutter from being closed when a home electric appliance is used by a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The home electric appliance storage cabinet 10 comprises shelves A whose front sides are open, for storing home electric appliances; power outlets 19a and 19b provided inside the shelves for power feeding; and the shutter 16 which can close the opened front sides of the shelves. The home electric appliance storage cabinet 10 also has a home electric appliance use detecting means for detecting the use of the home electric appliances connected to the power outlets 19a and 19b, a driving means 16d for opening/closing the shutter, and a control means 22 for operating the driving means to open the shutter when the home electric appliance use detecting means detects the use of the home electric appliances. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a home appliance storage cabinet in a system kitchen or the like, and more particularly to a home appliance storage cabinet with a shutter provided with a home appliance storage shelf that stores home appliances that generate water vapor when used.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the conventional home appliance storage cabinet 1 includes a pair of left and right side plates 2 a and 2 b, a top plate 3, a bottom plate 4 and a back plate 5, and the top plate 3 and the bottom plate 4. And a plurality of shelves 6 arranged at appropriate intervals, and are assembled to each other to define a plurality of shelves A having front surfaces open, in the illustrated case, four shelves A. ing. In addition, the bottom plate 4 is arrange | positioned in the state slightly lifted by the base ring 4a arrange | positioned under it.

  Here, among the shelves A, the uppermost shelf A1 and the lowermost shelf A4 are configured as normal storage shelves for storing, for example, tableware and kitchen utensils, and the front is closed as necessary. Doors and sliding doors are provided. In the illustrated embodiment, only the bottom shelf A4 is provided with a door A4a.

  On the other hand, the intermediate two-stage shelves A2 and A3 are configured as home appliance storage shelves for storing microwave ovens and coffee makers, and for storing electric pots and electric rice cookers, respectively. A blower 7 is arranged at the rear end of the second shelf A3 from the bottom so that water vapor generated when using the electric pot or the electric rice cooker is discharged to the outside.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the blower device 7 includes a shielding plate 7a arranged in parallel with the back plate 5 on the front side, a blower fan 7b arranged on the back side of the shield plate 7a, and the blower fan. And a motor (not shown) that rotationally drives 7b. The shielding plate 7a has a ventilation gap opened frontward over the entire width at the upper and lower ends, and the blower fan 7b is disposed below the space defined on the back side of the shielding plate 7a, When the blower fan 7b is rotationally driven by the motor, the blower fan 7b sends air upward and sucks air from the inside of the shelf A3 through the gap below the shield plate 7a, and above the shield plate 7a. The air is sent into the shelf A3 through the gap and to the outside from the shelf A3.

Further, power supply outlets 8a and 8b are provided on the rear end surfaces of the middle two-tier shelves A2 and A3, respectively. These power outlets 8a and 8b are connected to an external power source, for example, a general commercial power source, and are constantly supplied with power. These power outlets 8a and 8b are connected to a microwave oven, an electric pot, an electric rice cooker, etc. to be used. By connecting the power cords of home appliances, these home appliances can be used anytime.
And when the electric current more than a predetermined value flows by the power-on of household appliances especially in the power outlet 8b in the shelf A3, this will be detected and the air blower 7 will operate | move.

Thus, in the household appliance storage cabinet 1, when using household appliances, especially when using household appliances such as an electric pot, a coffee maker, and an electric rice cooker that generate steam, the blower 7 is automatically operated. As a result, water vapor generated from the home appliance is discharged from the shelf A3 to the outside, thereby preventing condensation and mold generation in the shelf A3.
This kind of home appliance storage cabinet is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  However, in such home appliance storage cabinet 1, shelves A2 and A3 for storing home appliances in particular are open at the front, so that a microwave oven, an electric kettle, an electric rice cooker, etc. are housed inside. Household appliances will be exposed and will look cluttered. For this reason, for example, when visiting customers, there is a demand to cover the front surfaces of the shelves A2 and A3 with shutters, doors, etc. so that the inside is not visible.

  However, when the home appliances stored inside are used with the shelves A2, A3, especially the shelf A3 closed, water vapor is generated along with the use, and this water vapor enters the shelf A3. As it accumulates, condensation may form inside and mold may form in some cases.

Patent Document 2 discloses a cabinet provided with a shelf with an open front for storing home appliances that can be opened and closed by a door body, and provided with a power outlet near the back side when the door body is closed. In the cabinet according to Patent Document 2, in order to prevent the use of home appliances when the door body is closed, a power outlet is provided in the vicinity of the back surface of the door body closed position so that the power cord of the home appliance is connected to the power outlet. The door body cannot be closed in the state where it is inserted into the door, and when the door body is closed, home appliances are used to prevent water vapor from accumulating inside the shelf.
JP 2004-275246 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-084443

  However, in the cabinet of Patent Document 2, it is possible to conceal the cluttered interior of the shelf by closing the door body at the time of a visitor or the like. Need to be removed from the power outlet, and the operation becomes complicated.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a home appliance storage cabinet having a simple configuration that avoids closing of a shutter when a home appliance is used.

  In order to achieve the above object, the home appliance storage cabinet of the present invention is a home appliance storage shelf whose front surface is open, a power supply outlet provided in the home appliance storage shelf, and the shelf opened. A home appliance use detecting means for detecting the use of a home appliance connected to a power outlet, a driving means for opening and closing the shutter, and a home appliance use detecting means for detecting the use of the home appliance. And a control means for opening the shutter by operating the driving means.

  The control means is preferably configured to operate the driving means to open the shutter only when it is confirmed that the shutter is closed.

  The home appliance storage cabinet of the present invention preferably includes warning means for warning that the shutter is open, and the control means operates the warning means to open the warning before the shutter is opened by the operation of the driving means. .

  According to the above configuration, when a home appliance connected to a power outlet of the shelf is turned on and used, the home appliance use detection means detects the use of the home appliance. . Thereby, the control means operates the drive means to open the shutter. Therefore, since the shutter is automatically opened when the home appliance stored in the shelf is used in a state where the shutter is closed by the carelessness of the user, the shutter is not closed in the home appliance use state.

  In this way, the shutter can be closed when using the home appliances stored in the shelf, so that the water vapor is contained inside the home appliances stored in the shelf with the shutter closed. There is no such thing as getting stuck in.

  When the shutter is opened by operating the driving means only when the control means confirms that the shutter is closed, the control means confirms that the shutter is open before the shutter is opened when the use of the home appliance is started. The driving means is prevented from operating so as to further open the shutter in the open state.

  When the control means activates the warning means before the shutter is opened by the operation of the driving means to warn of the shutter opening, when the use of the home appliance is started, the control means uses the warning means to release the shutter before the shutter is opened. Since the release is warned, the shutter does not open suddenly, and the user can know in advance the shutter release.

  According to the present invention, the use of home appliances in the shutter closed state is surely prevented, and with the shutter closed, the use of the home appliances stored in the shelf causes water vapor to accumulate inside. Can be prevented.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail using the same reference numerals for members that are the same as or correspond to those in the background art, with reference to the drawings.
[First embodiment]
FIG.1 and FIG.2 has shown the structure of 1st embodiment of the household appliance storage cabinet by this invention. In these drawings, the home appliance storage cabinet 10 is used by being incorporated in a system kitchen, for example, and includes a pair of left and right side plates 11a and 11b, a top plate 12, a bottom plate 13 and a back plate 14, and a plurality of shelf plates 15. By being assembled and assembled to each other, a plurality of stages whose front surfaces are open, in the illustrated case, four stages of shelves A and a shutter storage portion 16c described later are defined. The bottom plate 13 is disposed in a state slightly lifted by the wheel 13a disposed below the bottom plate 13.

  Furthermore, this household appliance storage cabinet 10 can close the open front surface of the upper three shelves A1, A2, and A3 among the shelves A, and can be retracted upward, and the shutter opening / closing control device 20 (FIG. 2). Further, the lowermost shelf A4 is configured as a normal storage shelf for storing, for example, tableware and kitchen utensils, and includes a door 17 for closing the front surface in the illustrated case.

  On the other hand, the intermediate two-tier shelves A2 and A3 are used for storing microwave ovens and coffee makers, and for storing household appliances that generate water vapor when used in electric pots, electric rice cookers, oven toasters, etc. It is configured as a home appliance storage shelf. At the rear end of the second shelf A3 from the bottom, as shown in FIG. 2, the air blower 7 described in Patent Document 1 is disposed.

  Further, the middle two-tier shelves A2 and A3 are respectively provided with power supply outlets 19a at predetermined positions on the inner rear end surfaces, that is, on the front surface of the back plate 14 on the shelf A2 and on the front surface of the shielding plate 7a on the shelf A3. , 19b are provided. In addition, you may provide these power outlets 19a and 19b in the inner surface of the side plate 11a or 11b, respectively.

  These power outlets 19a and 19b are connected to an external power source, for example, a general commercial power source, and are supplied with power. The power outlets 19a and 19b are microwave ovens stored in the shelves A2 and A3. These home appliances are used by connecting power cords of home appliances such as electric pots and electric rice cookers. Each power outlet 19a, 19b is provided with home appliance use sensors 19c, 19d as home appliance use detection means for detecting the use of the connected home appliances. In particular, in the power outlet 19b in the shelf A3, the home appliance use sensor 19d detects the use state when the home appliance is used, and the blower 7 is automatically operated.

  The home appliance use sensors 19c and 19d are each configured as, for example, a current sensor, and detects when a current of a predetermined value or more flows through the power outlet 19a or 19b when the home appliance is turned on.

  The shutter 16 is configured to be retractable upward so that the front of the upper three shelves A1, A2, A3 of the shelf A can be closed. Specifically, the shutter 16 is configured by connecting a large number of shutter members 16a extending in the horizontal direction in the vertical direction, and the lower end 16b is configured by a relatively rigid member.

  The shutter 16 is guided in the vertical direction along the guide grooves 11c and 11d provided near the front edges inside the side plates 11a and 11b, and the shutter 16 is provided above the shelf A1. The portion 16c is housed in a spirally folded state.

  The shutter 16 is opened / closed by being driven by a motor 16d as a driving means accommodated in the shutter accommodating portion 16c. The shutter 16 is moved downward by the motor 16d to close the front surfaces of the shelves A1, A2, and A3 as shown in FIG. The shutter 16 is preferably biased upward by a spring or the like (not shown) so that it can easily move upward, that is, to reduce the load on the motor 16d. Here, the motor 16d automatically stops in order to ensure safety when a large load is generated when the shutter 16 is raised or lowered, as in a known commercial shutter.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the shutter opening / closing control device 20 includes a shutter detection sensor 21 as a shutter detection unit, a control circuit 22 as a control unit, an alarm device 23 as a warning unit, and an operation unit 24. Has been. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the shutter detection sensor 21 is configured as a limit switch, and the actuator 21a is pushed by the shutter 16 that descends along the guide grooves 11c and 11d, thereby causing the shutter 16 to move. To detect. The shutter detection sensor 21 is not limited to a limit switch, and may be any other type of shutter detection sensor, such as a transmissive photocoupler, a reflective photocoupler, or an electrostatic sensor, as long as it can detect a shutter. A sensor or the like may be used.

  Here, the shutter detection sensor 21 is provided for each of the shelves A2 and A3 from which the shutter 16 is to be detected. In the illustrated case, the shutter detection sensor 21 is disposed near the upper end of each shelf A2 and A3. Thereby, the shutter detection sensor 21 can detect the state where the front surface of the shelves A2 and A3 is closed by the shutter 16, respectively.

  Further, the control circuit 22 is disposed in an appropriate position of the home appliance storage cabinet 10, in the illustrated case, on the lower side of the bottom plate 13, in the wheel 13 a, and as shown in FIG. The motor 16d of the shutter 16 and the alarm device 23 described above are controlled based on the detection signal input from the power supply and the detection signals of the home appliance use sensors 19c and 19d provided in the power outlets 19a and 19b.

  Specifically, the control circuit 22 first sends a control signal to the alarm device 23 when the use of the home appliance is detected at the power outlets 19a, 19b provided in the shelves A2, A3. Thereafter, a drive control signal for opening the shutter is sent to the motor 16d. As a result, the alarm device 23 is operated, and then the motor 16d is operated, so that the shutter 16 is opened.

  Here, the alarm device 23 is provided on the front surface between the shelf A3 and the shelf A4 so as to be exposed even when the shutter 16 of the home appliance storage cabinet 10 is closed. In the illustrated case, the alarm device 23 includes a warning light 23a and a warning buzzer 23b. When a control signal is input from the control circuit 22, the warning light 23a is lit or blinked for a predetermined time, and the warning buzzer is displayed. 23b sounds.

The operation unit 24 is disposed on the front surface between the shelves A3 and A4, for example, adjacent to the alarm device 23 described above, for example, in a place where the user outside the home appliance storage cabinet 10 can easily operate, and is operated by the user. Thus, the shutter 16 can be opened and closed by driving the motor 16 d of the shutter 16. In the illustrated case, the operation unit 24 sends an open signal to the control circuit 22 by operating the operation button 24a, and sends a close signal to the control circuit 22 by operating the operation button 24b. As a result, when receiving the opening signal from the operation unit 24, the control circuit 22 activates the alarm device 23 and then drives the motor 16d to open the shutter 16.
Further, when the control circuit 22 receives the closing signal from the operation unit 24, the control circuit 22 confirms whether the shutter is open or not used based on the detection signals from the shutter detection sensor 21 and the home appliance use sensors 19c and 19d. When it is confirmed that the shutter is open and the home appliance is not used, the motor 16d is driven after the alarm device 23 is activated, and the shutter 16 is closed.

  The home appliance storage cabinet 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, the shutter 16 is normally opened, and the front sides of the shelves A1, A2, and A3 are opened so that the inside can be seen. It has become. For example, a coffee maker is stored in the shelf A2, and an electric kettle and an electric rice cooker are stored in the shelf A3. The power cords are connected to the power outlets 19a and 19b, respectively.

From this state, for example, when the power of the electric rice cooker is turned on, power is supplied from the power outlet 19b to the electric rice cooker via the control circuit 22, and the electric rice cooker operates. Then, the home appliance use sensor 19d senses the current of the power outlet 19b and detects use of the home appliance, whereby the blower 7 starts operating.
Further, when the lower end 16b of the shutter 16 is moved downward, as shown in FIG. 3, the shutter 16 closes the shelves A1 to A3. For example, in the case of an unexpected visitor, the shelves of the shelves A1 to A3 are cluttered. The inside can be concealed.

The shutter opening / closing control device 20 of the home appliance storage cabinet 10 operates as follows according to the flowchart of FIG.
First, in step S <b> 1, the control circuit 22 checks an operation signal from the operation unit 24. When the operation signal is not input from the operation unit 24 in step S1, the control circuit 22 determines the use of the home appliance on the shelf A2 based on the detection signal from the home appliance use sensor 19c on the shelf A2 in step S2. To check.

When the home appliance is used in step S2, the control circuit 22 checks the shutter opening of the shelf A2 based on the detection signal of the shutter detection sensor 21 of the shelf A2 in step S3.
If the shutter of the shelf A2 is closed in step S3, the control circuit 22 activates the alarm device 23 in step S4, and then drives the motor 16d to open the shutter 16 in step S5. Return to step S1. If the shutter 16 is open at step S3, the control circuit 22 determines that the shutter is open at the shelves A2 and A3, and returns to step S1 as it is.

When the home appliance is not used in the shelf A2 in step S2, the control circuit 22 determines the home appliance in the shelf A3 based on the detection signal from the home appliance use sensor 19d in the shelf A3 in step S6. Check usage.
When the home appliance is used in step S6, the control circuit 22 checks the shutter opening of the shelf A3 based on the detection signal of the shutter detection sensor 21 of the shelf A3 in step S7.

  If the shutter of the shelf A3 is closed in step S7, the control circuit 22 activates the alarm device 23 in step S8, and then drives the motor 16d to open the shutter 16 in step S9. Return to step S1. In this case, when the shutter 16 is opened in step S9, the control circuit 22 may open the shutter 16 until the shutter 16 shown in FIG. 1 is fully opened, or until only the shelf A3 is opened, that is, the shelf. You may make it open the shutter 16 until the shutter detection sensor 21 of A3 detects shutter opening.

If the shutter 16 is open at step S7, the control circuit 22 determines that the shutter is open at the shelves A2 and A3, and returns to step S1 as it is. If the home appliance is not used in the shelf A3 in step S6, the control circuit 22 returns to step S1.
In this way, the shutter is automatically opened in conjunction with the use of home appliances.

Further, when an operation signal is input from the operation unit 24 in the above-described step S1, the shutter is manually opened and closed. That is, in step S10, the control circuit 22 determines whether the operation signal from the operation unit 24 is an open signal or a close signal. If it is an open signal, the control circuit 22 checks the shutter open of the shelf A2 based on the signal from the shutter detection sensor 21 of the shelf A2 in step S11. When the shutter 16 is opened in step S11, the control circuit 22 determines that the shutter is opened in the shelves A2 and A3, and returns to step S1 as it is.
If the shutter of the shelf A2 is closed in step S11, the control circuit 22 activates the alarm device 23 in step S12, and then drives the motor 16d to open the shutter 16 in step S13. Return to step S1.

  If the operation signal from the operation unit 24 is a closing signal in step S10, the control circuit 22 checks the shutter opening of the shelf A2 based on the signal from the shutter detection sensor 21 of the shelf A2 in step S14. To do. If the shutter 16 is open at step S14, the control circuit 22 determines that the shutter is open at the shelves A2 and A3, and checks the use of the home appliances at the shelves A2 and A3 at step S15. If the home appliance is used in step S15, the control circuit 22 determines that the home appliance is used in the shelf A2 or A3 and returns to step S1. If the home appliance is not used in step S15, the control circuit 22 activates the alarm device 23 in step S16, and then drives the motor 16d to close the shutter 16 in step S17. Return.

When the shutter of the shelf A2 is closed at step S14, the control circuit 22 checks the shutter opening / closing at the shelf A3 at step S18. If the shutter is open at the shelf A3, the control circuit 22 determines that the shutter is open at the shelf A3, and checks the use of home appliances at the shelves A2 and A3 at step S19. If the home appliance is used in step S19, the control circuit 22 determines that the home appliance is used in the shelf A3 and returns to step S1. If the home appliance is not used in step S19, the control circuit 22 activates the alarm device 23 in step S20, and subsequently drives the motor 16d to close the shutter 16 in step S21. Return.
In this way, the shutter is manually opened and closed.

  By the way, when the home appliance is not used after the shutter is automatically opened by using the home appliance, the control circuit 22 may close the shutter to return it to the original state. In this case, the control circuit 22 checks the opening of the shutter 16 when it detects that the home appliance is not used in step S6 in the flowchart of FIG. 6, and activates the alarm device 23 if the shutter 16 is open, and then In addition, the shutter 16 may be closed by driving the motor 16d.

  In addition, when the shutter 16 is reclosed in this way, a display unit for displaying the shutter reclose is provided in an easily visible place on the front surface of the home appliance storage cabinet 10, and the display unit indicates that the shutter is closed again. May be displayed. Thereby, the user can recognize that the shutter is automatically opened and then closed by using the home appliance by visually recognizing the display unit. Furthermore, when the shutter is reclosed, not only the fact that the shutter is reclosed is displayed on the display unit, but also the power outlets 19a, 19b to which the home appliances used by the automatic shutter release are connected can be identified. You may make it perform display, such as a lighting display of the indicator lamp provided adjacent to the power outlets 19a and 19b.

  Thus, when the use of home appliances, particularly home appliances that generate water vapor such as an electric rice cooker, is started, the shutter 16 is automatically opened, so that the home appliances are placed in the shelves A2 and A3 closed by the shutter. The use of the product effectively prevents water vapor from accumulating, condensation, and mold generation.

  The present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, instead of the current sensor as the home appliance use sensors 19c and 19d, it is also possible to use a temperature sensor or a humidity sensor that detects heat and water vapor generated when using the home appliance. Thus, when the home appliance is used, it is possible to detect the use of the home appliance by detecting the temperature rise due to the heat generation of the home appliance by the temperature sensor or detecting the humidity rise due to the water vapor by the humidity sensor.

  Furthermore, in embodiment mentioned above, although shelf A4 of the lowest step is comprised as a storage shelf with a normal door among the shelves A, it is not restricted to this, The drawer generally employ | adopted by the system kitchen It may be configured as a storage shelf of any type such as a storage shelf having a door or a storage shelf without a door.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows the structure of 1st embodiment of the household appliance storage cabinet by this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the household appliance storage cabinet shown in FIG. It is a schematic perspective view of the shutter closed state of the household appliance storage cabinet shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the electrical constitution of the household appliance storage cabinet shown in FIG. It is the elements on larger scale of the shutter detection means of the household appliance storage cabinet shown in FIG. It is a flowchart of operation | movement of the shutter opening / closing control apparatus of the household appliance storage cabinet shown in FIG. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the structure of an example of the conventional household appliance storage cabinet. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the household appliance storage cabinet of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

7 Blower 10 Home Appliance Storage Cabinet 11a, 11b Side plate 12 Top plate 13 Bottom plate 14 Back plate 15 Shelf plate 16 Shutter 16d Motor (drive means)
17 Door 19a, 19b Power outlet 19c, 19d Home appliance sensor 20 Shutter opening / closing control device 21 Shutter detection sensor 22 Control circuit 23 Alarm device 23a Warning light 23b Warning buzzer 24 Operation unit 24a, 24b Operation button

Claims (3)

A home appliance storage cabinet including a home appliance storage shelf whose front surface is open, a power outlet for power supply provided in the shelf, and a shutter that can close the front surface of the shelf,
Household appliance use detection means for detecting the use of household appliances connected to the power outlet;
Driving means for opening and closing the shutter;
When the home appliance use detecting means detects the use of home appliances, the control means for operating the drive means to open the shutter;
A home appliance storage cabinet, characterized by comprising   2. The home appliance storage cabinet according to claim 1, wherein the control unit opens the shutter by operating the driving unit only when it is confirmed that the shutter is closed. 3. It has a warning means to warn of shutter release
3. The home appliance storage cabinet according to claim 1, wherein the control unit operates the warning unit to warn of the shutter opening before the shutter is opened by the operation of the driving unit.

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