JP2008151357A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of lighting only a part to be confirmed in confirmation, in the refrigerator comprising a lighting device inside of a storage compartment. <P>SOLUTION: This refrigerator is provided with a door switch 7 detecting the opening and closing of a door, and a load sensor 8 detecting existence of food on shelves in the storage compartment 5, in the storage compartment 5 provided with the lighting device 6 of the refrigerator 3, and the lighting-on and lighting-off of the lighting device 6 are controlled on the basis of the opening and closing of the door and the existence or nonexistence of food, thus only the part to be confirmed can be lit when an user desires confirmation, and power consumption can be reduced as unnecessary lighting is not performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator including an illumination device that irradiates a stored item stored in the refrigerator.

  Conventionally, an illuminating device for illuminating stored items in a refrigerator is installed in the refrigerator. Illumination devices include incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps, and in recent years, some use LEDs, and some have improved visibility and have been devised by design. As a refrigerator equipped with an LED lighting device, a storage room such as a refrigerating room cooled by cold air generated by a cooler of a refrigeration cycle, a mounting substrate, and a plurality are mounted and in a visible light region. Equipped with a lighting device consisting of a semiconductor light emitting element that emits only light of a wavelength, the semiconductor light emitting element does not emit light in the infrared region, and when the interior of the refrigerator is irradiated, the surface temperature of the stored product does not increase, so the stored product There has been proposed a refrigerator having a function capable of preserving the storage portion with high freshness without causing surface discoloration or the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of a refrigerator provided with the conventional LED lighting device described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a semiconductor light emitting element. The lighting device is configured by mounting the semiconductor light emitting element 1 on the mounting substrate 2, and is installed inside the refrigerator 3, so that the semiconductor light emission occurs when the refrigerator door 4 is opened. The element 1 emits light and irradiates the stored material inside the refrigerator 3. At this time, only light having a wavelength in the visible light region is emitted and light in the infrared region is not emitted, so that irradiation can be performed without increasing the surface temperature of the stored product.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-159953

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, while the door is open, the entire refrigerator compartment is continuously illuminated, and there is a problem that power consumption is wasted if there is an extra lighting time.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a refrigerator capable of reducing power consumption by eliminating extra lighting time because the lighting device is turned on and off according to the presence or absence of stored items in the refrigerator compartment. The purpose is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the refrigerator of the present invention is configured such that the storage room in which the lighting device of the refrigerator is installed has a door switch that detects opening and closing of the door, and food is placed on a shelf in the storage room. A load sensor for detection is provided, and the lighting device can be controlled to be turned on and off by opening and closing the door and the presence or absence of food.

  The refrigerator of the present invention includes a door switch that detects opening and closing of a door and a load sensor that detects that food is placed on a shelf in the storage room in a storage room in which the lighting device of the refrigerator is installed. By controlling opening / closing and lighting of the lighting device according to the presence / absence of food, the lighting device can be turned off when it is not necessary to reduce power consumption.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a storage chamber cooled by cold air generated by a cooler of a refrigeration cycle, a lighting device that illuminates a stored item in the storage chamber, and a door that detects opening and closing of the door of the storage chamber. A switch and a load sensor that detects that food has been placed on the shelf in the storage chamber, and controls the opening and closing of the door and the lighting device on and off depending on the presence or absence of food. It can be turned off to reduce power consumption.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the storage chamber is divided into a plurality of sections, the lighting device and a plurality of the load sensors are installed, and the door is opened and closed and the presence or absence of food is determined. The lighting devices are individually controlled to be turned on and off, and when unnecessary, the lighting devices at unnecessary portions can be turned off to further reduce power consumption.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lighting device is turned on only in a section where the door of the storage room is opened and food is placed. It is possible to automatically illuminate only the location, and to turn off the illumination device at an unnecessary location, so that power consumption can be reduced.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, when the door of the storage room is opened, all the installed lighting devices are turned on, and then the section where food is placed. The lighting devices other than the above are turned off, and illumination can be automatically performed only on a portion to be confirmed, and power consumption can be reduced because the lighting device at an unnecessary portion is turned off.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the illumination according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the load sensor is installed respectively in front of and behind the shelf in the storage chamber to change the illuminance. When the food is placed in the front, the lighting device is turned on with a weak illuminance, and when the food is placed in the back, the lighting device is turned on with a strong illuminance and stored. The visibility in the room can be further improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the refrigerator control device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and shows the configuration and operation of the refrigerator.

  In FIG. 1, a refrigerator 3 includes a storage room 5 such as a refrigeration room that is cooled by cold air generated by a cooler of a refrigeration cycle, and includes a lighting device 6 that illuminates stored items in the storage room 5. It includes a door switch 7 that detects opening and closing of the door, a load sensor 8 that detects that a stored item has been placed on a shelf in the storage chamber 5, and the lighting device 6 is turned on by opening and closing the door and the presence or absence of the stored item. The illumination device control means 9 that controls turning off is provided.

  About the refrigerator comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  First, after the refrigerator 3 is turned on, when the door of the storage chamber 5 is opened, the door switch 7 detects that the door has been opened. Next, when a stored item is placed on a shelf in the storage chamber 5, the load sensor 8 detects that the stored item is placed by its weight. Depending on the detection conditions of the door switch 7 and the load sensor 8, the lighting device 6 is turned on and off.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the illumination device 6 is controlled by opening / closing of the door and the presence / absence of a stored item, so that the stored item in the storage room 5 is illuminated with illumination only when the user wants to see it. be able to.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the refrigerator control device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and shows the configuration and operation of the refrigerator.

  In FIG. 2, the refrigerator 3 includes a storage room 5 such as a refrigerating room that is cooled by cold air generated by a cooler of a refrigeration cycle, divides the inside of the storage room 5 into a plurality of sections, and illuminates the stored items in each section. It includes a lighting device 6 and a load sensor 8 that detects the weight of the stored material, and a door switch 7 that detects opening and closing of the door of the storage chamber 5. The illumination device control means 9 for controlling lighting / extinguishing is provided.

  About the refrigerator comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  First, after the refrigerator 3 is turned on, when the door of the storage chamber 5 is opened, the door switch 7 detects that the door has been opened. Next, the load sensor 8 provided in each section in the storage chamber 5 detects in which section in the storage chamber 5 the stored item is placed. Depending on the detection conditions of the door switch 7 and the load sensor 8, the lighting device 6 provided in each section is individually controlled to be turned on / off.

  Further, when the door of the storage room 5 is opened and a stored item is placed, only the lighting device 6 in the section where the stored item is placed is turned on.

  Moreover, when the door of the storage chamber 5 is opened, first, all the lighting devices 6 are turned on. Next, the lighting device 6 provided in the section where the stored items are placed is turned on as it is, and the lighting devices 6 provided in the other sections are turned off.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the lighting device 6 provided in each section is controlled according to the opening / closing of the door and the presence / absence of stored items, so that the user can place the lighting device 6 where he / she wants to see. You can illuminate the stored objects with lighting. Moreover, since the illumination of an unnecessary place is turned off, the power consumption of the refrigerator can be reduced.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the refrigerator control device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and shows the configuration and operation of the refrigerator.

  In FIG. 3, the refrigerator 3 is provided with a load sensor 8 on each of the front and back of the shelf in the storage room 5 and includes a lighting device 6 that can change the illuminance, and when food is placed on the front, When the lighting device 6 is turned on with a weak illuminance and food is placed in the back, the lighting device 6 includes a lighting device control means 9 that can turn on the lighting device 6 with a strong illuminance.

  About the refrigerator comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  First, after the refrigerator 3 is turned on, when the door of the storage chamber 5 is opened, the door switch 7 detects that the door has been opened. Next, the load sensor 8 provided in the front and back of the storage chamber 5 detects whether the place where the stored item is placed is in front of or in the back of the storage chamber 5. When the stored item is placed in front, the illumination device 6 is turned on with the illuminance reduced, and when the stored item is placed in the back, the illumination device 6 is turned on with the illuminance increased.

  As described above, the visibility in the storage chamber 5 can be improved by adjusting the illuminance of the lighting device 6 depending on whether the position where the stored item is placed is in front of or in the storage chamber 5. When a stored item is placed in front of the lighting that does not require much, the lighting is set weakly, so that the power consumption of the refrigerator can be reduced.

  As described above, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a load sensor that detects that an object is placed in the storage chamber, and illuminates only a portion that is desired to be viewed when observing the stored item in the storage chamber with illumination. It can be applied not only to a refrigerator but also to a storage room equipped with a lighting device, and can improve convenience and reduce power consumption due to lighting.

The block diagram of the control apparatus of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention The block diagram of the control apparatus of the refrigerator in Embodiment 2 of this invention The block diagram of the control apparatus of the refrigerator in Embodiment 3 of this invention The perspective view which shows the structure of the refrigerator provided with the illumination device of the conventional LED

Explanation of symbols

3 Refrigerator 5 Storage Room 6 Lighting Device 7 Door Switch 8 Load Sensor 9 Lighting Device Control Means

Claims (5)

  A storage room that is cooled by cold air generated by a cooler of a refrigeration cycle, a lighting device that illuminates stored items in the storage room, a door switch that detects opening and closing of the door of the storage room, and a shelf in the storage room A refrigerator comprising a load sensor for detecting that food has been placed, and controlling on / off of the lighting device according to opening / closing of a door and presence / absence of food.   The storage room is divided into a plurality of sections, and a plurality of the lighting devices and the plurality of load sensors are installed, and the lighting devices are individually controlled to be turned on and off according to the opening / closing of the door and the presence or absence of food. The refrigerator according to 1.   The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lighting device is turned on only in a section where the door of the storage room is opened and food is placed.   3. The device according to claim 1, wherein when the door of the storage room is opened, all the installed lighting devices are turned on, and thereafter the lighting devices other than the section where the food is placed are turned off. refrigerator.   The load sensor is installed in front of and behind the shelf in the storage room, and includes an illuminating device that can change the illuminance.When food is placed in front, the illuminating device is turned on with a weak illuminance, The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the food is placed in the back, the lighting device is turned on with strong illuminance.

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