JP2010286214A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of improving visibility of stored objects. <P>SOLUTION: The refrigerator comprises a storage chamber 2 for storing the stored objects, a plurality of LEDs 3 arranged and vertically aligned on both side walls 8 of the storage chamber 2, a transparent lamp cover 3 having a convex lens part 6c for collecting emission light of the LEDs 3 and covering the LEDs 3, and a light guiding plate 20 for taking and guiding light from an end surface 24a facing to the convex lens part 6c while covering the both side walls 8 of the storage chamber 2. The light guiding plate 20 guides the light to light inside the storage chamber 2 by the light emitted from the light guiding plate 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator that illuminates a storage room with LEDs.

  Conventional refrigerators are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2. This refrigerator has a plurality of LEDs for illuminating a storage room for storing stored items. The LEDs are arranged in front of both side walls of the storage room side by side.

  FIG. 11 is a top sectional view showing the front part of the side wall of the storage chamber. A side wall 8 of the storage chamber 2 is filled with a heat insulating material, and a lighting chamber 4 that faces the storage chamber 2 and extends vertically is recessed. The wall surface of the illumination chamber 4 is formed by a frame portion 5 made of a resin molded product integrated with the side wall 8. A mounting substrate 7 on which the LEDs 3 are mounted is attached to the frame portion 5. A lamp cover 6 made of a transparent resin is disposed in front of the illumination chamber 4. The lamp cover 6 is locked by engaging the claw portion 6 a with the hole portion 5 a provided in the frame portion 5.

  When the door of the storage chamber 2 is opened, the LED 3 is energized, and the emitted light emitted from the LED 3 passes through the lamp cover 6. Thereby, the inside of the storage chamber 2 is illuminated from the front.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-187363 (page 3 to page 6, FIG. 2) JP 2008-89277 A (pages 4 to 6, FIG. 2)

  However, according to the conventional refrigerator, since the emitted light of the LED 3 is emitted from the front part of the storage chamber 2, a shadow of the stored item illuminated from the front is formed behind the stored item. For this reason, there existed a problem that the visibility of the stored thing distribute | arranged to a rear part was bad.

  An object of this invention is to provide the refrigerator which can improve the visibility of stored goods.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a storage chamber for storing a stored item, a plurality of LEDs arranged on both side walls of the storage chamber and arranged in the vertical direction, and a convex lens portion for collecting the emitted light of the LED. A transparent lamp cover that covers the LEDs, and is arranged along both side walls of the storage chamber and takes in the light collected by the convex lens portion from the end surface and guides it from the front to the rear of the storage chamber. A light guide plate that emits light, and the interior of the storage chamber is illuminated with light that is guided through the light guide plate and emitted from the light guide plate.

  According to this structure, the emitted light of the LED arranged on the side wall of the storage chamber is collected by the convex lens portion when passing through the transparent lamp cover. The light condensed by the convex lens part enters the light guide plate from the end face of the light guide plate covering the side wall of the storage chamber. The light incident on the light guide plate is reflected from the surface of the light guide plate and guided from the front to the rear of the storage chamber. Light that is guided through the light guide plate and reaches the surface of the light guide plate at an incident angle smaller than the critical angle is emitted from the light guide plate toward the storage chamber or the side wall of the storage chamber. The light emitted in the direction of the side wall of the storage room is reflected by the side wall and is emitted into the storage room through the light guide plate.

  In the refrigerator configured as described above, the light guide plate includes a concave lens portion facing the convex lens portion. According to this configuration, the light condensed by the convex lens portion enters the light guide plate via the concave lens portion formed on the end surface of the light guide plate so as to face the convex lens portion. The concave lens unit corrects chromatic aberration due to the convex lens unit.

  Moreover, in the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, the present invention includes a bent portion in which an end portion of the light guide plate is bent toward the outside of the storage chamber, and the LED is disposed to face an end surface of the bent portion. It is a feature.

  Moreover, the present invention is characterized in that, in the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, the light guide plate has a concavo-convex portion extending forward and backward facing the side wall. According to this configuration, the light guide plate extends in the front-rear direction, and the vertical cross section is formed with, for example, a sawtooth-shaped uneven portion facing the side wall of the storage chamber, and light emitted from the surface of the uneven portion is reflected by the side wall and reflected in the storage chamber. Illuminate.

  Moreover, the present invention is characterized in that, in the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, the lamp cover is subjected to a process of lowering the visibility of the LED ahead of the LED. According to this structure, the process which reduces the visibility of LED by silk printing, a non-glossy surface process, etc. is performed ahead of LED of a lamp cover. Thereby, visual recognition of LED wiring etc. is prevented and the aesthetics in a storage chamber are improved.

  According to the present invention, in the refrigerator configured as described above, the light guide plate is made of polystyrene resin.

  According to the present invention, since the light emitted from the LEDs is guided by the light guide plates covering the both side walls of the storage chamber, the stored items disposed in the front and rear portions of the storage chamber are illuminated from the side by the light emitted from the light guide plate. be able to. Moreover, the storage thing distribute | arranged to the front part and rear part of a store room can be illuminated from front and back. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the visibility of the stored item behind from being deteriorated due to the shadow of the stored item, and to improve the visibility of the stored item. Further, since the convex lens portion facing the end face of the light guide plate is provided on the lamp cover, the light emitted from the LED can be condensed and light can be efficiently incident on the light guide plate. Therefore, illumination efficiency can be improved.

The perspective view which shows the refrigerator of 1st Embodiment of this invention. 1 arrow view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. The perspective view which shows the light-guide plate of the refrigerator of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the other light-guide plate of the refrigerator of 1st Embodiment of this invention. Top sectional drawing which shows the side wall of the storage chamber of the refrigerator of 2nd Embodiment of this invention Top surface sectional drawing which shows the side wall of the storage chamber of the refrigerator of 3rd Embodiment of this invention Top surface sectional drawing which shows the side wall of the storage chamber of the refrigerator of 4th Embodiment of this invention Top sectional drawing which shows the side wall of the storage chamber of the refrigerator of 5th Embodiment of this invention Top sectional drawing which shows the side wall of the storage chamber of the refrigerator of 6th Embodiment of this invention Top sectional view showing a side wall of a storage room of a conventional refrigerator

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, the same parts as those of the conventional example shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the refrigerator according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The refrigerator 1 has a storage chamber 2 defined by a heat insulating box 1a filled with a heat insulating material.

  In the front part of the left and right side walls 8 of the storage room 2, an illumination room 4 in which the LEDs 3 (see FIG. 3) are arranged extends vertically. A flat light guide plate 20 made of a transparent resin covering the left and right side walls 8 is disposed in the storage chamber 2. Between the side walls 8, a placing tray 9 for placing a stored item is disposed. The loading tray 9 is bridged on support portions 11 protruding from both side walls 8 of the storage chamber 2 so that it can be inserted and removed freely. The light guide plate 20 is formed with an opening 22 through which the support portion 11 passes.

  A cool air passage 12 through which cool air flows is formed on the back surface of the storage chamber 2. The cold air flowing through the cold air passage 12 is discharged into the storage chamber 2 through a discharge port (not shown). The front surface of the cold air passage 12 is covered with a metal panel 13, and the cold heat of the cold air flowing through the cold air passage 12 is released to the storage chamber 2 through the metal panel 13. Thereby, the inside of the storage chamber 2 can be cooled uniformly.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the light guide plate 20. The lighting chamber 4 is recessed on both side walls 8 of the storage chamber 2, and the wall surface of the lighting chamber 4 is formed by a frame portion 5 made of a resin molded product integrated with the side wall 8. A lamp cover 6 made of a transparent resin is disposed in front of the illumination chamber 4. The lamp cover 6 is locked by engaging the claw portion 6 a with the hole portion 5 a provided in the frame portion 5.

  A concave portion 6 b that is bent and protrudes into the illumination chamber 4 is formed on the front side of the lamp cover 6. A mounting substrate 7 on which a plurality of chip-shaped LEDs 3 are mounted in the vertical direction is mounted substantially parallel to the side wall 8 in the illumination chamber 4 on the side of the recess 6b. A convex lens portion 6c facing the emission surface 3a of the LED 3 is formed on the storage chamber 2 side of the concave portion 6b. The light emitted from the LED 3 is collected by the convex lens portion 6c.

  Further, since the lamp cover 6 is made of a transparent resin, opaque silk printing is applied in front of the LED 3. Thereby, the visual recognition of the inside of the illumination chamber 4 such as the mounting substrate 7 can be prevented. Instead of silk printing, the lamp cover 6 may be subjected to a non-glossy surface treatment by sandblasting or embossing. That is, it is only necessary that the lamp cover 6 be subjected to a process for reducing the visibility of the LED 3.

  The light guide plate 20 is made of polystyrene resin, and the first side surface 20a facing the storage chamber 2 and the second side surface 20b facing the side wall 8 face each other. A bent portion 24 bent outward is formed at the front portion of the light guide plate 20. The bent portion 24 extending in the left-right direction is disposed so as to enter the recessed portion 6b of the lamp cover 6, and the vertical end surface 24a is disposed so as to face the convex lens portion 6c. The end of the bent portion 24 on the storage chamber 2 side is formed on a curved or flat inclined surface 23.

  A step portion 25 is provided on the first side surface 20 a of the front portion of the light guide plate 20. The step portion 25 is formed so as to face rearward and is disposed rearward of the bent portion 24. The distance between the left and right light guide plates 20 is wider at the front portion having the step portion 25 than at the rear portion of the storage chamber 2. Thereby, when pulling out the mounting tray 9, the step part 25 does not get in the way, and the collision between the mounting tray 9 and the step part 25 can be avoided.

  In addition, the second side surface 20b of the light guide plate 20 is provided with a concave-convex portion 21 having a sawtooth-like vertical cross section extending in the front-rear direction. As for the shape of the concavo-convex portion 21, for example, the apex angle is 90 ° and the pitch is 0.15 mm. An air layer is formed between the uneven portion 21 and the side wall 8. When the refractive index of the air layer is about 1.0 and the light guide plate 20 is made of polystyrene, the refractive index is 1.59 to 1.60, so the critical angle for total reflection is about 43 °. .

  When the door of the storage chamber 2 is opened, the LED 3 is energized, and the emitted light emitted from the LED 3 passes through the lamp cover 6. At this time, the light is condensed by the convex lens portion 6 c and enters the light guide plate 8 from the end surface 24 a of the bent portion 24. The light incident on the light guide plate 20 is guided backward by the inclined surface 23 of the bent portion 24 and is reflected by the first and second side surfaces 20 a and 20 b to guide the light guide plate 20. Then, the light incident on the first side surface 20 a or the second side surface 20 b at an angle smaller than the critical angle is emitted from the surface of the light guide plate 20.

  The light emitted from the second side surface 20b is reflected by the reflecting surface 8a formed by the surface of the side wall 8 facing the light guide plate 20, enters the light guide plate 20 again, and is emitted from the first side surface 20a. Thus, the entire light guide plate 20 is illuminated from the front to the rear of the storage chamber 2. In addition, when the reflective surface 8a of the side wall 8 is made white, it will become easy to reflect in the storage chamber 2 side. In addition, it is more desirable to provide a reflection member such as a metal reflection film or a reflection sheet on the second side surface 20b of the light guide plate 20 or the reflection surface 8a of the side wall 8 because attenuation of light intensity can be suppressed. Further, a reflection member may be provided on the front surface of the bent portion 24 including the inclined surface 23.

  Further, the light guided through the light guide plate 20 is also emitted from the upper surface 20d, the lower surface 20e, and the back surface 20f of the light guide plate 20. Thereby, it is possible to illuminate the upper side, the lower side, and the rear side of the light guide plate 20. In addition, light guided through the light guide plate 20 is emitted backward from the step portion 25. The light emitted from the step portion 25 and the back surface 20f is reflected by the metal panel 13, and the interior of the storage chamber 2 can be illuminated from the back surface. When the stored item is not disposed above the light guide plate 20, a reflective member such as a reflective film or a reflective tape may be provided on the upper surface 20d.

  According to the present embodiment, since the light emitted from the LED 3 is guided by the light guide plate 20 that covers the both side walls 8 of the storage chamber, the stored items arranged in the front and rear portions of the storage chamber 2 by the light emitted from the light guide plate 20 are stored. Can be illuminated from the side. Moreover, the storage thing distribute | arranged to the front part and the rear part of the store room 2 can be illuminated from back and front. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the visibility of the stored item behind from being deteriorated due to the shadow of the stored item, and to improve the visibility of the stored item.

  Further, since the convex lens portion 6c facing the end surface 24a of the light guide plate 20 is provided on the lamp cover 6, the light emitted from the LED 3 and guided outside the end surface 24a is collected, and the light is efficiently transmitted to the light guide plate 20. It can be made incident. Therefore, illumination efficiency can be improved.

  Further, since the LED 3 is disposed so that the end portion of the light guide plate 20 is opposed to the end surface of the bent portion 24 bent toward the outside of the storage chamber 2, the emission surface 3 a of the LED 3 is disposed facing the storage chamber 2. Can do. Therefore, the LED 3 is not protruded into the storage chamber 2, and the convenience of the refrigerator 1 can be improved by making it easy to take out stored items.

  In addition, the light guide plate 20 has a concavo-convex portion 21 extending in the front-rear direction facing the side wall 8 on the second side surface 20 b. The light guide of the light guide plate 20 is dispersed in various directions compared to the case where the second side surface 20b is formed as a flat surface by reflection at the concavo-convex portion 21. As a result, the incident angle of light reaching the surface of the light guide plate 20 is likely to be smaller than the critical angle, so that the light guided to the back surface 20f of the light guide plate 20 is reduced and more light is emitted to the side. . Therefore, it is possible to more reliably illuminate the interior of the storage chamber 2 from the front portion to the rear portion, thereby further improving the visibility of the stored items.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, it is more desirable to perform a non-glossy surface treatment K such as a satin pattern on the surface of the concavo-convex portion 21 by sandblasting or embossing. Thereby, the reflected light of the uneven | corrugated | grooved part 21 can be disperse | distributed more.

  Further, the lamp cover 6 is subjected to a process for reducing the visibility of the LED 3 in front of the LED 3. Thereby, the mounting board | substrate 7 and wiring inside the illumination chamber 4 can be made invisible, and the beauty in the storage chamber 2 can be improved. Moreover, the glare by the light radiate | emitted ahead from LED3 can be reduced.

  Next, FIG. 6 is a top sectional view showing a front portion of the side wall 8 of the storage chamber 2 of the refrigerator 1 according to the second embodiment. For convenience of explanation, the same parts as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. The present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the shape of the lamp cover 6. Other parts are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  A convex lens portion 6 c is formed on the lamp cover 6 on the surface away from the storage chamber 2. The convex lens portion 6 c faces the emission surface 3 a of the LED 3, collects the emitted light of the LED 3, and guides it to the end surface 24 a of the light guide plate 20. Thereby, the effect similar to 1st Embodiment can be acquired.

  Next, FIG. 7 is a top sectional view showing the front part of the side wall 8 of the storage chamber 2 of the refrigerator 1 of the third embodiment. For convenience of explanation, the same parts as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. The present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the shape of the lamp cover 6. Other parts are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  A convex lens portion 6 c is formed on the lamp cover 6 on the surface on the storage chamber 2 side and on the surface away from the storage chamber 2. The convex lens portion 6 c faces the emission surface 3 a of the LED 3, collects the emitted light of the LED 3, and guides it to the end surface 24 a of the light guide plate 20. Thereby, the effect similar to 1st Embodiment can be acquired.

  Next, FIG. 8 is a top sectional view showing the front portion of the side wall 8 of the storage chamber 2 of the refrigerator 1 of the fourth embodiment. For convenience of explanation, the same parts as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. The present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the shape of the lamp cover 6 and the arrangement of the LEDs 3. Other parts are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  A projecting portion 6 d having a U-shaped planar cross section projecting into the storage chamber 2 is formed at the front portion of the lamp cover 6 covering the illumination chamber 4. A mounting substrate 7 on which a plurality of chip-like LEDs 3 are mounted side by side in the vertical direction is mounted inside the protruding portion 6d. The LED 3 is disposed facing the front surface 20c of the light guide plate 8 with the emission surface 3a facing rearward. A convex lens portion 6c is formed on the back side of the protruding portion 6d so as to face the emission surface 3a of the LED 3.

  The outgoing light emitted from the LED 3 passes through the lamp cover 6. At this time, the light is condensed by the convex lens portion 6 c and enters the light guide plate 20 from the front surface 20 c (end surface). The light incident on the light guide plate 20 is reflected by the first and second side surfaces 20 a and 20 b to guide the light guide plate 20. Then, the light incident on the first side surface 20 a or the second side surface 20 b at an angle smaller than the critical angle is emitted from the surface of the light guide plate 20.

  According to the present embodiment, the LED 3 protrudes into the storage chamber 2 as compared with the first embodiment, so that it is difficult to take out the stored item, but the visibility of the stored item is improved as in the first embodiment. Lighting efficiency can be improved. The convex lens portion 6c may be provided on the LED3 side surface of the protruding portion 6d, or may be provided on both the LED3 side and the back surface side.

  Next, FIG. 9 is a top sectional view showing the front portion of the side wall 8 of the storage chamber 2 of the refrigerator 1 of the fifth embodiment. For convenience of explanation, the same parts as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. This embodiment differs in the shape of the end surface 24a of the light-guide plate 20 with respect to 1st Embodiment. Other parts are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  A concave lens portion 24 b facing the convex lens portion 6 c is formed on the end surface 24 a of the bent portion 24 of the light guide plate 20. Light that is condensed by the convex lens portion 6 c and incident on the light guide plate 20 from the end surface 24 a is diverged by the concave lens portion 24 b and guided through the light guide plate 20. At this time, the chromatic aberration generated by the convex lens portion 6c is corrected by the concave lens portion 24d, and the illumination light can be emitted from the light guide plate 20 by reproducing the color of the emitted light of the LED 3.

  According to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and since the concave lens portion 24b is provided, variations in illumination light coloring by the convex lens portion 6c can be reduced.

  Next, FIG. 10 is a top sectional view showing the front part of the side wall 8 of the storage chamber 2 of the refrigerator 1 according to the sixth embodiment. For convenience of explanation, the same parts as those in the third embodiment shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the shape of the end surface 24a of the light guide plate 20 is different from that of the third embodiment. Other parts are the same as those of the third embodiment.

  A concave lens portion 24b facing the convex lens portion 6c is formed on the end surface 24a of the light guide plate 20. Light that is condensed by the convex lens portion 6 c and incident on the light guide plate 20 from the end surface 24 a is diverged by the concave lens portion 24 b and guided through the light guide plate 20. At this time, the chromatic aberration generated by the convex lens portion 6c is corrected by the concave lens portion 24d, and the illumination light can be emitted from the light guide plate 20 by reproducing the color of the emitted light of the LED 3.

  According to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the third embodiment can be obtained, and since the concave lens portion 24b is provided, variations in the color of illumination light by the convex lens portion 6c can be reduced. In addition, you may provide the concave lens part similar to 5th, 6th embodiment in the end surface 24a of the light-guide plate 20 of 2nd Embodiment, or the front surface 20c (end surface) of the light-guide plate 20 of 4th Embodiment.

  In the first to sixth embodiments, the light guide plate 20 may be made of acrylic resin or glass as long as it is transparent. However, polystyrene resin has better moldability and greater light diffusion than acrylic resin and glass. Therefore, the light guide plate 20 can be easily formed, and the light guided to the back surface 20f can be reduced to increase the light emitted from the first side surface 20a and the second side surface 20b. Therefore, the visibility of the stored item can be further improved.

Further, the illumination light may be colored by mixing a colorant into the light guide plate 20. Thereby, since the color is generated at a position away from the LED 3, it is possible to reduce the coloring material compared to coloring the lamp cover 6 close to the LED 3. For this reason, it can color by suppressing the fall of illumination intensity. Further, the color of the illumination light can be varied by replacing the light guide plate 20 according to the user's preference.

  According to this invention, it can utilize for the refrigerator which illuminates the storage chamber by LED.

1 Refrigerator 2 Storage room 3 LED
4 Illumination Room 5 Frame 6 Lamp Cover 6c Convex Lens 6d Projection 7 Mounting Board 8 Side Wall 11 Support 12 Cold Air Path 13 Metal Panel 20 Light Guide Plate 20a First Side 20b Second Side 20c Front 21 Unevenness 22 Opening 23 Inclination Surface 24 Bent part 24a End face 24b Concave lens part

Claims (6)

  A transparent lamp cover that covers a LED having a storage chamber for storing stored items, a plurality of LEDs arranged on both side walls of the storage chamber and arranged vertically, and a convex lens portion that condenses the emitted light of the LED And a light guide plate that covers both side walls of the storage chamber and guides light from an end surface facing the convex lens portion, and guides the light guide plate to emit light from the light guide plate. A refrigerator characterized in that the storage room is illuminated.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the light guide plate has a concave lens portion facing the convex lens portion.   3. The light guide plate according to claim 1, wherein the light guide plate has a bent portion that is bent toward the outside of the storage chamber, and the LED is disposed to face an end surface of the bent portion. The refrigerator described.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the light guide plate has a concavo-convex portion extending in the front-rear direction facing the side wall.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the lamp cover is subjected to a process of reducing visibility of the LED forward of the LED.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the light guide plate is made of polystyrene resin.

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