JP2009236366A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of confirming contents such as food stored within a refrigerator body without opening a door body and of shielding the contents from outside persons who do not confirm the contents. <P>SOLUTION: The refrigerator is provided with the refrigerator body 10 comprising a heat insulation panel, the door body 30 opening/closing an opening part 14 of the refrigerator body 10 and comprising a heat insulation panel, and a lighting light source arranged on a ceiling part within the refrigerator body 10. The door body 30 has a transparent window 31 making inside of the refrigerator body 10 visible from outside, and a visibility control film 32 for performing control of transparency and opacity depending on a view angle is attached to the transparent window 31. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator that keeps and stores fresh foods such as vegetables, fruits, and shellfish, and foods such as beverages and processed foods.

  In general, a refrigerator for storing and storing food and the like includes a cabinet body and a door body having a heat insulating property, and a cooling unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, in a general refrigerator, in order to confirm foods and the like contained in the box, it is necessary to open the door and directly check the foods and the like. Therefore, when it is used in commercial facilities such as restaurants, not only is it necessary to open the door to check food in the warehouse, but also the outside air enters the warehouse by opening the door and the cooling function There is a risk of lowering.

  As a means for solving the above-mentioned problem, one that forms a transparent window on the door of the refrigerator can be considered. For example, when a liquid crystal light control glass that is normally shielded is fitted into a window formed in the door body, voltage application means for applying a voltage to the liquid crystal light control glass is provided, and when the inside of the refrigerator is desired to be visually observed, There is known a refrigerator that is switched on and can be switched to a transparent state by applying a voltage to a liquid crystal light control glass (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

In addition, in the refrigerator of patent document 2, when the inside of a refrigerator is to be visually observed, it is comprised so that the illumination arrange | positioned in a refrigerator may light simultaneously with turning on.
JP 2004-37008 A (paragraphs [0021], [0022], FIGS. 1 to 4) JP-A-5-106962 (Claims, FIGS. 1, 2 and 4)

  However, since the refrigerator described in Patent Document 2 has a structure in which a voltage is applied to a liquid crystal light control glass fitted in a window by switching ON and OFF to switch to a transparent state, the structure is complicated and expensive. The switch needs to be turned on and off every time the inside of the container is checked, which is complicated. Furthermore, when the refrigerator described in Patent Document 2 is used in a commercial facility such as a restaurant, when it is switched to a transparent state, all persons including customers in the store can visually observe the inside of the store. There is a concern that even things that you don't want to see will be seen.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can easily check the contents of foods and the like contained in the container without opening the door, and check the contents. It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator capable of shielding contents from an outside person who does not.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the refrigerator of the present invention is a refrigerator for storing and storing food and the like, and a cabinet made of a heat insulation panel, and a door made of a heat insulation panel for opening and closing the opening of the cabinet, A light source for illumination disposed on a ceiling portion in the interior of the box, and a transparent window in which the interior of the box is visible from the outside is provided on the door body, and the transparent window is transparent depending on the viewing angle. A visual field control film that is controlled to be opaque is pasted (Claim 1).

  In the present invention, the visibility control film has a function of controlling the transparency to be transparent and opaque depending on a viewing angle. For example, the visibility control film is formed so that a predetermined angle in the front direction of the transparent window can be controlled to be opaque, or A predetermined angle in the upper direction of the transparent window is formed so as to be opaque, or a predetermined angle in the lower direction of the transparent window is formed so as to be opaque (claims 2, 3, 4).

  According to invention of Claims 1-4, the field which illuminates the inside of a warehouse from the light source for illumination arrange | positioned in the ceiling part in the inside of a warehouse, and controls to transparent and opaque according to the viewing angle on the transparent window provided in the door body Since the control film is pasted, the food or the like (contents) contained in the container can be easily confirmed visually from the transparent region without opening the door. Moreover, the visual inspection of the contents in the warehouse can be blocked by the opaque region. For example, by controlling the predetermined angle in the front direction of the transparent window to be opaque, the contents inside the refrigerator can be blocked from the front side of the refrigerator, and the contents inside the refrigerator can be visually confirmed from the side. (Claim 2). In addition, by controlling the predetermined angle in the upper direction of the transparent window to be opaque or by controlling the predetermined angle in the lower direction of the transparent window to be opaque, the contents inside the refrigerator are blocked from viewing from the lower side of the refrigerator. The contents in the cabinet can be visually confirmed from the upper side (Claim 3), or the contents in the cabinet can be viewed from the upper side of the refrigerator by controlling the predetermined angle in the lower direction of the transparent window to be opaque. It is possible to block the visual inspection of the object and visually confirm the contents in the warehouse from the lower side (Claim 4).

  In the present invention, the illumination light source is preferably a light emitting element (LED). In this case, it is preferable that the illumination light source is formed in a panel shape in which a plurality of light emitting elements (LEDs) are arranged, and the panel illumination light source is detachably disposed on the inner wall of the cabinet. .

  By comprising in this way, generation | occurrence | production of a heat | fever and an ultraviolet-ray can be suppressed by forming the light source for illumination with a light emitting element (LED). In this case, the illumination light source is stored in a panel shape in which a plurality of light emitting elements (LEDs) are arranged, and the panel illumination light source is detachably disposed on the inner wall of the cabinet. It can be arranged inconspicuously in the body and can be easily exchanged.

  According to this invention, since it is configured as described above, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

  (1) According to the inventions described in claims 1 to 4, the food or the like (contents) accommodated in the container can be easily confirmed by visual inspection without opening the door, and the contents The contents can be shielded from outside persons who do not confirm the above. In addition, since the opaque region is formed in a part of the transparent window, it is possible to suppress the temperature change in the container due to the transmission of light from the outside.

  (2) According to the invention described in claim 5, since the light source for illumination is formed of a light emitting element (LED), generation of heat and ultraviolet rays can be suppressed, so in addition to the above (1), Deterioration of food or the like (contents) stored in the container can be suppressed.

  (3) According to the invention described in claim 6, in addition to the above (2), the illumination light source can be further arranged inconspicuously and can be easily replaced.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 is a schematic perspective view showing a refrigerator according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view (a) and a front perspective view (b) of the refrigerator, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section showing an enlarged part of the refrigerator. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a part of the refrigerator.

  The refrigerator 1 according to the present invention includes a cabinet 10 having an opening 14 on one side, a door 30 that opens and closes the opening 14 of the cabinet 10, and an illumination that is disposed on a ceiling portion in the cabinet 10. The light source 2 and the cooling unit 50 that supplies cold air into the cabinet 10 are mainly configured. In this case, the cooling unit 50 is mounted on the upper part of the box body 10 and is predetermined in the box body 10 through a communication port (not shown) provided in the ceiling portion of the box body 10 by a blower fan (not shown). It is configured to be able to supply cold air at a temperature.

  The cabinet 10 includes a rectangular bottom wall body 11 and three rectangular side wall bodies 12a, 12b, and 12c that are erected on the left and right sides of the bottom wall body 11 and one end sides of the left and right sides, respectively. The side wall bodies 12a, 12b, and 12c are formed in a box shape including a rectangular ceiling wall body 13 that covers the upper ends of the side wall bodies 12a, 12b, and 12c. Is installed to open and close. In addition, adjusters 4 are attached to the four corners of the bottom surface of the bottom wall body 11, and casters 5 are attached to both rear ends.

  In this case, the bottom wall body 11, the side wall bodies 12 a, 12 b, 12 c and the ceiling wall body 13 are each made of a pair of surface plates 15 made of, for example, aluminum or steel plates, and, for example, aluminum connecting the side portions of both surface plates 15 Heat insulation panel comprising a frame member 16 formed of an extruded product made of vinyl chloride or vinyl chloride, and a heat insulating core member 17 made of, for example, polyurethane foam, filled in a space formed by the surface plate 15 and the frame member 16 It is formed by.

  Note that the bottom wall body 11 and the side wall bodies 12a, 12b, and 12c are joined together, the adjacent side wall bodies 12a, 12b, and 12c are joined together, and the side wall bodies 12a, 12b, 12c and the ceiling wall body 13 are joined to the frame member 16. The provided fitting ridges 18a and fitting ridges 18b are fitted (see FIGS. 3 and 5).

  On the other hand, the door body 30 is also formed of a rectangular heat insulating panel in the same manner as the bottom wall body 11, the side wall bodies 12 a, 12 b, 12 c and the ceiling wall body 13 constituting the cabinet body 10. That is, the door body 30 is a frame member formed of a pair of surface plates 35 made of, for example, aluminum or steel plates, and an extruded shape member made of, for example, aluminum or vinyl chloride that connects the side portions of both surface plates 35 to each other. 36 and a heat insulating panel made up of, for example, a foamed polyurethane heat insulating core material 37 filled in a space formed by the surface plate 35 and the frame member 36.

  As described above, by forming the bottom wall body 11, the side wall bodies 12a, 12b, 12c, the ceiling wall body 13 and the door body 30 with the heat insulating panels having the surface plates 15, 35, in particular, the side wall bodies 12a, 12b. , 12c and the surface plates 15 and 35 of the door body 30 can be appropriately changed in color, pattern, and the like. Thereby, use of the refrigerator 1 can be made to correspond to Japanese style, Western style, etc., and a freedom degree can be given.

  In addition, a rectangular transparent window 31 is provided at the center of the door body 30 so that the inside of the box 10 can be seen from the outside. On the surface side of the transparent window 31, a visibility control film 32 that is controlled to be transparent and opaque according to the viewing angle is attached. In this case, the transparent window 31 is made of transparent glass. Note that the transparent window 31 may be a vacuum insulating glass made of double glass with a vacuum therebetween. Thereby, the heat insulation of the transparent window 31 can be improved. The visibility control film 32 is made of a laminated film of an adhesive film, a visibility control film main body, and a protective film, and is controlled to be transparent or opaque depending on the viewing angle, for example, Lumisty {manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. (trade name) )} Is used. In addition, you may affix the ultraviolet-ray shielding film like pure refure {Sumitomo 3M Co., Ltd. (brand name)} on the inner surface side of the transparent window 31, for example. Thereby, the penetration | invasion of the ultraviolet-ray from the outside can be prevented, and deterioration of the content A can be suppressed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the transparent window 31 with the visibility control film 32 formed as described above is hermetically sealed through a seal packing 34 in an open window frame 33 provided in the door body 30. It is attached to.

  By sticking the visibility control film 32 to the transparent window 31 as described above, the predetermined angle ± α ° in the front direction of the transparent window 31 is controlled to be opaque, for example, as shown in FIG. Can be controlled to be transparent when the angle is larger than α °, for example, the angles β ° and γ °. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 7A, when the refrigerator 1 is viewed from the front, the range of the predetermined angle ± α ° in the front direction becomes an opaque region T and is accommodated in the cabinet 10. The content A such as food that has been applied is not visible. Moreover, since a part of external light is interrupted | blocked in this state, it can suppress that the temperature in the container 10 changes with external light. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 (b) and 7 (b), the transparent window 31 is transparent when the angle in the front direction of the transparent window 31 is in the range of β °, γ ° larger than α °, and the contents in the box 10 A can be visually confirmed. Therefore, when the refrigerator 1 is used in a commercial facility such as a restaurant, the contents 1 in the refrigerator 1 are made invisible to external customers, and the internal employee does not open the door 30 and the refrigerator 1 is opened. The content A can be confirmed. The angles α °, β °, and γ ° can be arbitrarily set, and the opaque region T and the transparent region can be set as necessary. In this way, by making the front direction of the transparent window 31 opaque, for example, the refrigerator 1 can be placed over the counter of the store when viewed from the customer, and the customer is not located on the side of the refrigerator 1. Especially effective.

  3 and 5, a seal packing 6 is provided around the frame body 36 of the frame member 36 of the door body 30, and the seal packing 6 is used as a frame material for the opening 14 of the container body 10. It is formed so as to be able to abut on a heater wire pressing decorative frame 7 made of an aluminum extruded shape member that holds a heater wire H for preventing condensation that is mounted on the end face 16. A handle 38 is attached to the center of the surface of the door 30 on the free end side, and the free end is detachably engaged with a latch receiver 39a attached to the outer side surface of the side wall 12a of the cabinet 10. A mating latch claw 39b is mounted so as to be able to appear and retract (see FIG. 5). Further, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the door 30 is adsorbed on the side surface of the free end side of the door body 30 by a magnet catcher 60 erected by a fixing bracket 61 on the upper surface of the bottom wall body 11 of the body 10. A possible magnetic plate 62 is fixed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the illumination light source 2 includes a plurality of light emitting elements {light emitting diodes (LEDs)} 20 that emit one or more of blue light, green light, red light, and infrared light. It is formed by an LED illuminator composed of a set group 21 arranged. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the illumination light source, that is, the LED illuminator 2 is a plate member made of an aluminum or acrylic resin made up of a plurality of LED aggregates 21 in which LEDs 20 are arranged (in the drawing, nine cases are shown). The LED panel 23 mounted on the LED 22 and a transparent cover 24 made of, for example, an acrylic resin that covers the surface side of the LED panel 23 and is subjected to antibacterial treatment, for example. The transparent cover 24 has an outward flange 25 on the entire periphery, and a fixing screw 27 that penetrates the through hole 26a provided in the outward flange 25 and the through hole 26b provided in the LED panel 23, The LED illuminator 2 can be assembled to the top plate 29 by screwing to the lower surface of the top plate 29 via the cylindrical spacer 28. In this case, by providing an uneven portion (not shown) on the inner surface of the transparent cover 24, for example, the light can be diffusely reflected, and the light can be irradiated uniformly. An uneven portion may be provided on the surface of the transparent cover 24.

  The top plate 29 assembled with the LED illuminator 2 configured as described above is detachably disposed on the ceiling in the refrigerator 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a mounting plate 40 having a continuous concavo-convex portion 41 is fixed to the inner surfaces of the opposing side wall bodies 12 a and 12 b by fixing means such as screws, rivets, and welding. The LED illuminator 2 can be placed on the ceiling in the refrigerator 1 by placing the top plate 29 in a detachable manner on the uppermost uneven portion 41. The LED illuminator 2 is detachably connected to a power supply unit (not shown) through a plug (not shown).

  By disposing the LED illuminator 2 on the ceiling in the refrigerator 1 as described above, the LED illuminator 2 can be disposed at a position where it cannot be seen from the outside, and the replacement of the LED illuminator 2 is facilitated. It is possible to change the color tone (wavelength) of the irradiated light as necessary. Moreover, since LED20 can suppress generation | occurrence | production of a heat | fever and an ultraviolet-ray, it can suppress deterioration of the content A. FIG.

  In addition, by fixing the mounting plate 40 to the inner surfaces of the side wall bodies 12a and 12b as described above, the shelf board 70 can be arranged at an arbitrary height position using the uneven portion 41 (see FIG. 4). . In addition, a space 42 formed by the uneven portion 41 of the mounting plate 40 and the surface plate 15 of the side walls 12a and 12b is connected to a cold air supply port of the cooling unit 50 through a duct (not shown), and the cooling unit It is also possible to supply (circulate) cold air from 50. Thereby, since it can cool without applying cold air to the contents A directly, drying of the contents A can be suppressed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the visibility control film 32 controls the predetermined angle ± α ° in the front direction of the transparent window 31 to be opaque has been described, but another control mode may be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, by visually controlling the predetermined angle + θ1 ° to + θ2 ° in the upper direction of the transparent window 31, the visual inspection of the content A in the refrigerator 1 is blocked from the lower side of the refrigerator 1, The contents A in the refrigerator 1 may be visually confirmed from above. In this way, by making the upper direction of the transparent window 31 opaque, for example, when the customer does not want to show the LED illuminator 2 or the cold air outlet disposed in the upper part of the refrigerator 1 or the customer is seated. This is particularly effective because the line of sight from below can be blocked. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, by visually controlling the predetermined angle −θ1 ° to −θ2 ° in the lower direction of the transparent window 31, the visual observation of the content A in the refrigerator 1 is blocked from the upper side of the refrigerator 1. And you may make it confirm the content A in the refrigerator 1 visually from the downward side. In this way, by making the lower direction of the transparent window 31 opaque, for example, when it is not desired to show the appliances placed on the floor wall of the refrigerator 1 or when the customer is standing up, This is particularly effective because the line of sight can be blocked. The angles θ1 and θ2 ° can be arbitrarily set, and the opaque region T and the transparent region can be set as necessary.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the refrigerator which concerns on this invention. It is the front view (a) and front perspective view (b) of the said refrigerator. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which expands and shows a part of said refrigerator. FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 3. It is a cross-sectional view which expands and shows a part of said refrigerator. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the light source for illumination in this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of the transparent and opaque state of the transparent window which affixed the visibility control film in this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows another example of the transparent and opaque state of the transparent window which affixed the visibility control film. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows another example of the transparent and opaque state of the transparent window which affixed the visibility control film.

Explanation of symbols

1 box 2 LED illuminator (light source for illumination)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Housing | casing body 11 Bottom wall body 12a, 12b, 12c Side wall body 13 Ceiling wall body 14 Opening part 15 Surface board 16 Frame material 17 Thermal insulation core material 20 LED (light emitting element)
21 LED assembly group 30 door 31 transparent window 32 visibility control film 35 surface plate 36 side frame 37 heat insulating core A contents T opaque region

Claims (6)

A refrigerator for storing and storing food, etc.
A cabinet comprising a heat insulation panel, a door comprising a heat insulation panel for opening and closing the opening of the cabinet, and an illumination light source disposed on the ceiling in the cabinet,
The door is provided with a transparent window through which the interior can be seen from the outside, and a visibility control film that is controlled to be transparent and opaque according to the viewing angle is attached to the transparent window.
A refrigerator characterized by that. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
The visibility control film is formed so that a predetermined angle in the front direction of the transparent window can be controlled to be opaque. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
The refrigerator, wherein the visibility control film is formed so that a predetermined angle in the upper direction of the transparent window can be controlled to be opaque. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
The refrigerator, wherein the visibility control film is formed so that a predetermined angle in a lower direction of the transparent window can be controlled to be opaque. In the refrigerator in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4,
The refrigerator characterized in that the illumination light source comprises a light emitting element. The refrigerator according to claim 5,
The illumination light source comprising the light-emitting elements is formed in a panel shape in which a plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged, and the panel-shaped illumination light source is detachably disposed on the inner wall of the box.

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