JP2008232529A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator using an LED for lighting in a storehouse, preventing food kept therein from losing its freshness due to a temperature rise in the storehouse caused by a user's opening a door for a long time or preventing increase in power consumption to lower the largely elevated temperature in the storehouse. <P>SOLUTION: This refrigerator includes a door opening and closing detection means 101 for detecting the opening and closing state of a door, a storehouse illuminator 102 for lighting the storehouse, and a control means 100 for controlling the above, wherein in the lapse of a fixed time after opening of the door is detected, the storehouse illuminator 102 is flickered so that a user is allowed to know that the opening time of the door stretches over a long time. Thus, the food kept therein can be prevented from losing its freshness due to a temperature rise in the storehouse, and increase in power consumption to lower the largely elevated storehouse temperature can be prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with interior lighting using LEDs.

  Conventionally, there is a refrigerator of this type that uses LEDs as interior lighting (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Hereinafter, the interior lighting of the conventional refrigerator will be described with reference to FIGS.

  1 is a compressor that compresses and circulates the refrigerant, 2 is a cooler that evaporates the refrigerant, 3 is a fan that circulates cold air cooled by the cooler 2, and 4 is a temperature at which the temperature in the freezer compartment 5 is detected. The freezer compartment thermistor as detection means, 6 is a door for closing the freezer compartment 5 so that it can be opened and closed, 7 is a door switch that is turned on and off by opening and closing the door 6, 8 is a control board for controlling the operation of the entire refrigerator, and 9 is a door switch 7 The door closing detection means for detecting the closed state of the door 6 by turning on and off the door 6 may not be completely closed due to play of the contact of the door switch 7, etc., and the door 6 is closed below a certain angle. Has been detected.

  Reference numeral 10 indicates the time during which the inside of the refrigerator is in a cooled state since the door closed detection means 9 detects the closed state of the door 6, that is, the time during which the compressor 1 is operated and the freezer compartment 5 is cooled. Then, the internal temperature measuring means before and after cooling detects the temperature before and after cooling when the accumulated cooling time reaches a preset time from the freezer compartment thermistor 4 as temperature detecting means. 11 determines whether the door 6 is opened or closed based on the temperature change before and after cooling detected by the internal temperature measuring means 10 before and after cooling, that is, whether the door 6 is completely closed, and based on this determination result. As shown in FIG. 14, it is an alarm control determination means for outputting an alarm to the buzzer 12, which is an alarm provided on the control board 8, and causing an alarm.

  FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram showing electrical connection. A switch 14 is provided as means for turning off the power supply 13 of the electrical component. This switch is a contact for turning the compressor 1 ON / OFF. The contact is driven by the coil 15, and the coil 15 is energized by the drive circuit (1) 16. Energized. The fan 3 is energized by a photocoupler 18 driven by a drive circuit (2) 17, and the buzzer 12 is controlled by a drive circuit (3) 19. The microcomputer 20 determines which of the drive circuit (1) 16, the drive circuit (2) 17, and the drive circuit (3) 19 is energized. The thermistor 4 and the door switch 7 are input to the microcomputer 20. Here, reference numeral 21 denotes a voltage dividing resistor that divides the voltage with the thermistor 4. Reference numeral 22 denotes a capacitor of the fan 3. The door closing detection means 9, the temperature measuring means 10 before and after cooling, and the alarm control determination means 11 are executed by a microcomputer 20.

  Next, the operation will be described. After the door closing detection means 9 detects that the door 6 is closed at a certain angle or less, the internal temperature before and after cooling is detected and held by the internal temperature measuring means 10 before and after cooling. Then, from the change in the detected temperature, the alarm device control determination means 11 operates the buzzer 12 to determine whether or not to issue an alarm. Next, the operation of the internal temperature measuring means 10 before and after cooling will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the microcomputer 20 detects the operation of the compressor 1 in step 23, the internal temperature is measured from the thermistor 4 in step 24, and this is defined as T1. Next, at step 25, the operation time of the compressor 1 is integrated. When the stop of the compressor 1 is detected in step 26, it is determined whether or not the accumulated operation time of the compressor 1 has reached a predetermined time. If it has reached, the internal temperature is measured again in step 27, and this is defined as T2.

Next, the alarm control determination means 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step 28, the internal temperature measured in step 24 and step 27 is compared to check whether T2 is larger than T1. If it is confirmed, it is determined that the temperature does not drop even though it is cooled because the door 6 is not securely closed, and it is determined in step 29 that the door 6 is open. Next, in step 30, the internal temperature is measured, and this is T. In step 31, the T is compared with a preset temperature T0 in the cabinet. If T0 is large, there is no effect on the temperature of the food even if the door 6 is slightly opened. Repeat 31. If T is large in step 31, the buzzer 12 is sounded in step 32. If the door switch 7 detects the opening of the door 6 during the operation of the internal temperature measuring means 10 and the alarm device control determining means 11 before and after cooling in FIGS. 15 and 16, all the operations are stopped and the door closing detecting means. Returning to 9, if the buzzer 12 is sounding in step 32, the buzzer 12 is stopped.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-223436

  However, in the above conventional configuration, the user opens the door for a long time and the temperature inside the cabinet rises, and the freshness of the stored food is reduced or consumed to lower the temperature inside the cabinet. There was a problem that electric power would increase.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problem, and informs the user that the door has been open for a long time by blinking the interior lighting after a certain time since the door opened. An object is to provide a refrigerator that can be used.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the refrigerator of the present invention is configured to blink the interior lighting after a predetermined time after detecting the opening of the door.

  As a result, the user can be informed that it takes a long time to open the door.

  Moreover, it is comprised so that the color of interior lighting may be changed with the passage of time after detecting door opening.

  As a result, the user can be informed that the door has been open for a long time and the door needs to be closed quickly.

  The refrigerator of the present invention consumes power in order to lower the temperature of the food that has been stored in the refrigerator because the user has opened the door for a long time and the temperature in the cabinet has risen to decrease the freshness of the stored food. Can be prevented from increasing.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a refrigerator using LEDs as interior lighting, door opening / closing detection means for detecting opening / closing of the door, interior lighting for illuminating the interior, and a signal from the door opening / closing detection means. And control means for controlling the interior lighting, and the interior lighting blinks after a certain period of time after detecting the opening of the door, so that it takes a long time to open the door. To prevent the consumption of food from increasing because the temperature in the storage rises and the freshness of the stored food drops or the temperature in the storage that has risen greatly decreases. it can.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the blinking cycle is accelerated as time elapses after the door opening is detected, and the door is opened for a long time. In order to inform the user that the door needs to be closed as soon as possible, to lower the temperature of the food in which the temperature of the food has risen and the freshness of the stored food has dropped or has risen significantly An increase in power consumption can be prevented.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, there is provided an internal temperature detecting means for detecting an internal temperature, and the control means determines the internal temperature according to the internal temperature when the door opening is detected. Since the lighting start time of the internal lighting is changed, it is possible to notify the user that the door needs to be closed earlier when the internal temperature is high before opening the door, and the internal temperature rises and is stored. It is possible to prevent the power consumption from increasing because the freshness of the food being eaten is lowered or the inside temperature is greatly increased.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the apparatus includes an internal temperature detecting means for detecting the internal temperature, and changes the blinking cycle according to the temperature rise after the door is opened. When the outside air temperature is high and the temperature inside the cabinet rises sharply, it is possible to inform the user that the door needs to be closed sooner, and the food inside the cabinet rises and is stored. It is possible to prevent the power consumption from increasing because the freshness of the product is lowered or the temperature inside the container has been greatly increased.

  The invention according to claim 5 is a refrigerator using LEDs as interior lighting, door opening / closing detection means for detecting opening / closing of the door, interior lighting for illuminating the interior, and signal from the door opening / closing detection means Control means for controlling the interior lighting and changing the color of the interior lighting over time after detecting the opening of the door. The user can be informed that it is necessary to close the container, and the power consumption is reduced to reduce the temperature of the food that has been stored or the freshness of the stored food has dropped or has increased significantly. It can be prevented that it increases.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are given to the same configurations as those of the above-described embodiments, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control circuit for a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation. The operation will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 1, the control unit 100 is configured to input a signal indicating whether the door is open or closed from the door open / close detection unit 101 and control the interior lighting 102.

  Operation of the refrigerator configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step 100, a signal from the door open / close detection means 101 is input. If the door is closed in step 101, processing for turning off the interior lighting 102 is performed in step 102, and the process returns to step 100. If the door is opened in step 101, the interior lighting 102 is turned on in step 104 if the time t1 from the input of the door opening in step 103 has not reached the predetermined value T1, and the predetermined value T1 is exceeded. In step 105, the interior lighting 102 is blinked.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the interior lighting blinks after a certain period of time from the detection of the door opening, the user can be informed that the door has been open for a long time. In addition, it is possible to prevent power consumption from increasing due to a decrease in the freshness of food stored due to an increase in the internal temperature or a decrease in the internal temperature that has been greatly increased.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the control circuit of the refrigerator in the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the blinking pattern of the interior lighting. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the control means 200 is configured to input a signal indicating whether the door is open or closed from the door open / close detection means 101 and control the interior lighting 102.

  Operation of the refrigerator configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. First, the process up to step 104 is the same as that of the first embodiment. In step 200, the interior lighting 102 blinks in the blink cycle S1, and the time t1 after the door opening is inputted in step 201 has reached the predetermined value T2. If not, the process returns to step 100, and if it is equal to or greater than the predetermined value T2, in step 202, the interior lighting 102 is blinked at the blinking cycle S2 (S2 <S1). Here, T2> T1. FIG. 5 shows an example of a blinking pattern.

  As described above, in this embodiment, since the blinking cycle is accelerated as time elapses after the door opening is detected, the door has been open for a long time and the door needs to be closed quickly. The temperature inside the cabinet rises and the freshness of the stored food drops, or the consumption temperature increases because the temperature inside the cabinet has risen significantly. Can be prevented.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control circuit for a refrigerator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation, which will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 6, the control means 300 is configured to input a signal indicating whether the door is open or closed and a signal from the internal temperature detection means 301 from the door open / close detection means 101 and control the internal lighting 102. .

  The operation of the refrigerator configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. The process up to step 102 is the same as in the first embodiment. If the temperature p1 of the internal temperature detection means 301 when the door opening is detected in step 300 is lower than the predetermined value P1, the door opening time is set to the predetermined value T1 in step 301. Time A is set, and time B is set if it is equal to or greater than a predetermined value P1. Here, B <A. If the time t1 after the door opening is input in step 303 does not reach the predetermined value T1, the interior lighting 102 is turned on in step 304, and if it exceeds the predetermined value T1, the interior lighting 102 is turned on in step 305. Blink.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the start time of blinking of the interior lighting is changed according to the interior temperature when the door opening is detected, so the door is opened earlier when the interior temperature is high before the door is opened. It can inform the user that it needs to be closed, and it consumes a lot of power to reduce the temperature of the food that has been stored or the freshness of the stored food has dropped or has risen significantly Can be prevented.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a refrigerator control circuit according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation, which will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 8, the control means 400 is configured to input a signal indicating whether the door is open or closed and a signal from the internal temperature detection means 301 from the door open / close detection means 101 and control the internal lighting 102. .

  The operation of the refrigerator configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 5. The process up to step 102 is the same as that of the first embodiment. In step 400, the temperature p2 of the internal temperature detecting means 301 is input. In step 401, if the door opening time t1 does not reach the predetermined value T1, the internal illumination is performed in step 402. 102 is turned on, and if it is equal to or higher than the predetermined value T1, the temperature p3 of the internal temperature detection means 301 is input in step 403. If the difference between p3 and p2 (p3-p2) is greater than or equal to the predetermined value P2 in step 404, the interior lighting 102 is blinked in the blinking period S2 in step 405, and if smaller than the predetermined value P2, the interior illumination 102 is blinked. Blink in S1. Here, S2 <S1. FIG. 5 shows an example of a blinking pattern.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the blinking cycle is changed depending on the temperature rise width after the door is opened, so the door is closed earlier when the outside temperature is high when the door is opened, such as in summer. Users can be informed that it is necessary, and the power consumption increases to reduce the temperature of the food that has been stored or the freshness of the stored food has dropped or greatly increased. Can be prevented.

(Embodiment 5)
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing LEDs used for refrigerator interior lighting according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. One LED is composed of three red, green, and blue LEDs, and currents flowing through the three LEDs are shown. By changing the light intensity of each LED, the overall color changes. The interior lighting is composed of several LEDs, each composed of three red, green and blue LEDs. FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the control circuit, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation, which will be described below with reference to FIG. 10, FIG. 11, and FIG.

  In FIG. 11, the current varying means 501 varies the current value flowing through the red LED 502, the current varying means 503 varies the current value flowing through the blue LED 504, and the current varying means 505 varies the current value flowing through the green LED 506. The control unit 500 controls the 501, the current varying unit 503, and the current varying unit 505.

  Operation of the refrigerator configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. The steps up to step 103 are the same as those in the first embodiment. If the door opening time does not reach the predetermined value T1 in step 103, the settings of the current variable means 501, current variable means 503, and current variable means 505 are the same in step 500. Then, the red LEDs 502, the blue LEDs 504, and the green LEDs 506 are set to have the same luminous intensity, and lighted in white as interior lighting. If the door opening time t1 is equal to or greater than the predetermined value T1, the current variable means 505 causes a current to flow through the green LED 506 in step 501 to emit light, the current variable means 501 and the current variable means 503 are set to 0, and the red LED 502 and blue The LED 504 is turned off and turned on in green as interior lighting. If the door opening time t1 does not reach the predetermined value T2 in step 502, the process returns to step 100. If the door opening time t1 is equal to or greater than the predetermined value T2, in step 503, the current variable means 501 causes the red LED 502 to flow and emit light. The setting of the means 503 and the current variable means 505 is set to 0, the blue LED 504 and the green LED 506 are turned off and lighted red as the interior lighting. Here, T2> T1.

  As described above, in this embodiment, since the color of the interior lighting changes with the passage of time since the detection of the door opening, it takes a long time to open the door and it is necessary to close the door quickly. The user can be notified that there is something, and the temperature inside the warehouse rises, and the freshness of the stored food drops, or the power consumption increases to lower the temperature inside the warehouse Can be prevented.

  As described above, the refrigerator according to the present invention has an internal temperature at which the user opens the door for a long time, the internal temperature rises, and the freshness of the stored food drops or increases greatly. Since it can prevent that power consumption increases because of lowering, it can be applied to food storage equipment in general using interior lighting using LEDs.

The block diagram of the control circuit of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention The flowchart of the control circuit of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of the present invention The block diagram of the control circuit of the refrigerator in Embodiment 2 of this invention The flowchart of the control circuit of the refrigerator in Embodiment 2 of the present invention Flashing pattern diagram of refrigerator interior lighting in Embodiment 2 of the present invention The block diagram of the control circuit of the refrigerator in Embodiment 3 of this invention The flowchart of the control circuit of the refrigerator in Embodiment 3 of this invention The block diagram of the control circuit of the refrigerator in Embodiment 4 of this invention The flowchart of the control circuit of the refrigerator in Embodiment 4 of this invention (A) The figure which looked at LED of the refrigerator in Embodiment 5 of this invention from the top (b) The side view of the LED The block diagram of the control circuit of the refrigerator in Embodiment 5 of this invention Flowchart of the refrigerator control circuit according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. Block diagram of a conventional refrigerator control device Block diagram of conventional refrigerator control circuit Conventional refrigerator control circuit flowchart Conventional refrigerator control circuit flowchart

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Control means 101 Door opening / closing detection means 102 Interior illumination 200 Control means 300 Control means 301 Interior temperature detection means 400 Control means 500 Control means 501 Current variable means 502 Red LED
503 Current variable means 504 Blue LED
505 Current variable means 506 Green LED

Claims (5)

  In a refrigerator that uses LEDs as interior lighting, door opening / closing detection means for detecting opening and closing of the door, interior lighting for illuminating the interior of the warehouse, and signals from the door opening / closing detection means are input to control the interior lighting. The refrigerator which is equipped with the control means to perform, and blinks the interior lighting after a certain time after detecting the door opening.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the flashing cycle is advanced with the passage of time after the door opening is detected.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising an internal temperature detection unit that detects an internal temperature, and changes a blinking start time of the internal illumination light according to the internal temperature when the door opening is detected.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising an internal temperature detecting means for detecting the internal temperature, and changing a blinking cycle according to a temperature rise width after the door is opened.   In a refrigerator that uses LEDs as interior lighting, door opening / closing detection means for detecting opening and closing of the door, interior lighting for illuminating the interior of the warehouse, and signals from the door opening / closing detection means are input to control the interior lighting. The refrigerator which is equipped with the control means which changes, and changes the color of interior lighting with the passage of time after detecting opening of a door.

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