JP2009115371A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator, adjusting the inside illuminance of the refrigerator of a plurality of light emitting diodes in the case of using a plurality of light emitting diodes emitting light of a wavelength in a visible ray region as an inside illumination of a refrigerator or the like. <P>SOLUTION: This refrigerator includes: an illuminance detecting device 17 for detecting the illuminance in the refrigerator 14 and changing currents of light emitting diodes 11, 12, 13; and a door opening and closing detecting means 15 for detecting the opening and closing of the doors 16 of a refrigerating room, wherein in closing the door of the refrigerating room, an illuminating device 20 is lighted, and the currents of the light emitting diodes 11, 12, 13 are changed by an illuminance detecting device 17 to thereby adjust the inside of the refrigerating room to a predetermined illuminance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator in which a lighting device is installed in a cabinet.

  In recent years, as an in-refrigerator lighting device, a device using a semiconductor issue element has been proposed for reasons such as low heat generation, no infrared wavelength, and low voltage driving, instead of conventional incandescent lamps and light bulbs.

  As a refrigerator using a conventional light-emitting diode as a lighting device, there is a refrigerator in which a plurality of light-emitting diodes are arranged in a square shape and installed on the top surface of the interior to irradiate the interior (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an illumination device for a conventional ice making machine described in Patent Document 1, and FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram in which the illumination device of FIG. 4 is installed on the top surface of the ice making machine.

  In the lighting device 30 of FIG. 4, the mounting substrate 101 has a flat plate shape, a circuit pattern (not shown) is formed on one surface or both surfaces, and an epoxy resin substrate or an insulating metal substrate with good thermal conductivity is used. The white LED 102 is formed in a bullet shape, and has a structure in which white light is obtained by exciting a fluorescent material using blue light from a GaN-based blue LED, and two energization terminals 103 for energizing current are derived.

  The heat insulating plate 104 is formed in a flat plate shape using a resin such as urethane, and is provided between the mounting substrate 101 and the light emitting diode 102 with a plurality of insertion holes arranged in parallel. Here, the light-emitting diodes 102 are mounted with the current-carrying terminals 103 inserted through the insertion holes of the heat insulating plate 104 and soldered to the circuit pattern of the mounting substrate 101, and a plurality of the light-emitting diodes 102 are arranged in parallel on the mounting substrate 101. Note that when the light emitting amount of the light emitting diode 102 is small, the heat insulating plate 104 may be omitted.

  In FIG. 5, the lighting device 30 is disposed on the top surface 32 in the refrigerator of the ice making machine 31.

  The operation of the refrigerator using the light emitting diode configured as described above as a lighting device will be described below.

First, when the refrigerator door is closed, the light emitting diode 102 is not energized and the interior is not illuminated. When the door is opened, an electronic switch such as a mechanical switch or a Hall IC determines that the door is open, a forward current flows through the light emitting diode 102, white light is emitted, and the interior is irradiated.
JP 2001-82869 A

  However, in the above conventional configuration, since the plurality of light emitting diodes are lit with a constant current, the interior becomes darker or brighter depending on the amount of food stored in the warehouse, and a predetermined illuminance is obtained. It had the problem that it was not possible.

  This invention solves the said conventional subject, and it aims at providing the refrigerator which can always adjust the illumination intensity in a warehouse to a predetermined value irrespective of the quantity of foodstuffs stored.

  In order to solve the above conventional problems, the refrigerator of the present invention turns on the lighting device in the cabinet when the door is closed, detects the illuminance in the cabinet with the illuminance detection device, and changes the current of the plurality of light emitting diodes. It is.

  Accordingly, even if there is a difference in illuminance between individual light emitting diodes, it is possible to adjust the illuminance in the cabinet to a predetermined value.

  In the refrigerator of the present invention, if the door is not opened for a certain period of time (for example, one day), a plurality of light emitting diodes are turned on, the illuminance detection device detects the illuminance in the cabinet, and the current of each light emitting diode is detected. It is something to change.

  This makes it possible to set the interior illuminance to a predetermined value even when illuminance reduction occurs due to deterioration of the light emitting diode when the door is closed for a long time.

  The refrigerator of this invention can improve the visibility of stored food by always adjusting the illumination intensity in a store | warehouse | chamber to a predetermined value.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a lighting device in which a plurality of light emitting diodes that emit wavelengths in the visible light region are arranged in a refrigerator cabinet, and the illuminance in the refrigerator cabinet is detected, and the current of the light emitting diodes is detected. And a door open / close detection means for detecting opening / closing of the refrigerator door, the lighting device is turned on when the refrigerator door is closed, and the current of the light emitting diode is changed by the illumination detection device. By adjusting the illuminance to a predetermined value in the interior, the illuminance in the interior can be maintained at a predetermined value even if there is a difference in the illuminance between the individual light emitting diodes.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when the door opening / closing detection means does not detect the door opening for a certain period of time, the lighting device is turned on, and the illuminance detection device causes the light emitting diode to By adjusting the illuminance to a predetermined value by changing the current, the illuminance in the chamber can be set to a predetermined value even when the illuminance decreases due to the deterioration of the light emitting diode due to the door closing for a long time. it can.

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

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The illuminating device 20 includes light emitting diodes 11, 12, and 13, and is disposed on the top surface in the refrigerator compartment 14. The door open / close detection means 15 detects the open / closed state of the door 16 of the refrigerator compartment 14. The illuminance detection device 17 is installed on the lower surface of the refrigerator compartment 14 and detects the illuminance in the cabinet and changes the currents of the light emitting diodes 11, 12 and 13 in order to set the illuminance in the cabinet to a predetermined value. Here, the arrangement of the light emitting diodes 11, 12, and 13 may be configured on the side surface near the door in the refrigerator compartment 14, and the arrangement of the illuminance detection device 17 may be configured on the back surface of the refrigerator compartment 14.

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

  In step 100, when the state of the door 16 by the door opening / closing detection means 15 is in the open state, the process waits in step 100 until the door 16 is closed. If the door is closed, the process proceeds to step 101, where the illuminance detection device 17 supplies light to the light emitting diodes 11, 12, 13 to light them. Next, in step 102, the illuminance detection device 17 determines whether or not the illuminance in the cabinet is a predetermined value. If the illuminance in the chamber is not a predetermined value, the illuminance detection device 17 changes the current of the light emitting diodes 11, 12, and 13 in step 103, and then returns to step 102 and continues this step until the predetermined value is reached. . Here, when the currents of the light emitting diodes 11, 12, and 13 are changed, three of them may be changed simultaneously, or only one or two of them may be changed. If the interior illuminance reaches a predetermined value, the routine proceeds to step 104, where the current of the light emitting diodes 11, 12, 13 is stopped and extinguished. In the next step 105, the door opening / closing detection means 15 stands by in step 105 until the door 16 is opened. When the door 16 is opened, the current set in step 103 is supplied to the light emitting diodes 11, 12, and 13 in step 106 to light them. In the next step 107, the door opening / closing detection means 15 stands by in step 107 until the door 16 is closed. If the door 16 is closed, the process returns to step 102 and the above operation is repeated.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the illuminance of the light emitting diode is adjusted in a dark state when the door is closed, the illuminance in the cabinet is set to a predetermined value when the door is opened even if the illuminance of each light emitting diode is different. be able to.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the refrigerator in Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and the operation and action will be described.

  Detailed description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

  Step 101 to step 104 are the same as those in the first embodiment. If the door opening / closing detection means 15 is in the door closed state in step 105, the process proceeds to step 400. In step 400, the door closing time is counted, and if the door closing time is equal to or shorter than a certain time (for example, one day), the process returns to step 105 and is repeated. Step 106 and subsequent steps are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, even when a decrease in illuminance due to deterioration of the light emitting diode occurs when the door is closed for a long time, the illuminance in the chamber is set to a predetermined value by periodically adjusting the illuminance in the chamber. Can be kept in.

  As described above, the refrigerator according to the present invention can be applied to household or commercial refrigerators equipped with light-emitting diode lighting devices, and also to a wide range of equipment that applies light-emitting diode lighting such as article storage devices with doors. It can be applied.

Sectional drawing of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention Flow chart of the refrigerator of the same embodiment Flowchart of refrigerator in Embodiment 2 of the present invention A perspective view of a conventional ice making machine lighting device Conceptual diagram of the lighting device of FIG. 4 installed on the top of the ice machine

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Light emitting diode 12 Light emitting diode 13 Light emitting diode 14 Refrigeration room 15 Door opening / closing detection means 16 Door 17 Illuminance detection apparatus 20 Illumination apparatus

Claims (2)

  An illumination device in which a plurality of light emitting diodes emitting light in the visible light region are disposed in a refrigerator, an illuminance detection device that detects the illuminance in the refrigerator and changes the current of the light emitting diode, and Door opening / closing detection means for detecting opening / closing of the door of the refrigerator, and the lighting device is turned on when the refrigerator door is closed, and the current of the light emitting diode is changed by the illuminance detection device to be adjusted to a predetermined interior illuminance. A refrigerator characterized by   When the door opening / closing detection means does not detect the opening of the door for a certain period of time, the lighting device is turned on, and the illuminance detection device changes the current of the light emitting diode to adjust to a predetermined interior illuminance. The refrigerator according to claim 1.

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