JP2014047930A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of improving adiabaticity by forcedly pressing and compressing a gasket attached to a door of the refrigerator to a housing and allowing the door to be opened even by weak force.SOLUTION: Since a gasket 22 for sticking a door 15a close to a housing 11 is prepared and a first door closing form capable of improving adiabaticity of a storage chamber by forcedly pressing and compressing the gasket 22 to the housing 11 by an actuator 23a and a second door closing form capable of suppressing door opening force by loosening a compressed state of the gasket 22 are prepared, energy saving can be improved in the door closing form in which the gasket is compressed and the adiabaticity of the storage chamber is improved, and the door can be opened with light force in the door closing form in which the compressed state of the gasket is loosened and door opening force is suppressed, so that the adiabaticity and usability of the refrigerator can be improved.

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with a means for improving heat insulation of a storage room.

  A general household refrigerator is provided with a gasket molded of a resin material in order to suppress cold air leakage from the gap between the housing and the door. Thus, as a refrigerator which improves heat insulation, there exist some which shield double the cold air leak from between a case and a door by a gasket, a convex wall, and a flange, for example. (See Patent Document 1).

  10 and 11 are enlarged cross-sectional views of main parts of a conventional refrigerator described in Patent Document 1. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the door 114 includes an outer plate 124 made of a steel plate, an inner plate 125 made of resin in which a peripheral portion is in contact with a rear flange of the outer plate 124, a heat insulating material 126, and a peripheral portion of the inner plate 125. And a gasket 128 attached with a groove 127. Conventionally, the gasket 128 is provided with a plurality of gaps 129 and further encloses the magnet material 130, thereby providing adhesion between the front flange 102a of the outer box 102 and the front plate 131 of the partition 110 as shown in FIG. It has come to improve. In order to further improve the heat insulation from this configuration, as shown in FIG. 11, the partition 110 is provided with a convex wall 132 that is substantially flush with the surface of the front flange 103 a of the inner box 103, while the gasket 128 is provided with the inner box 103. A hollow wall 133 is provided to be brought into contact with the front surface of the convex wall 132 on the front flange 103a side, and this hollow wall 133 and a portion containing the magnet material 130 double shield the cold air leakage from the interior. ing.

Japanese Patent No. 3388048

  However, as in the configuration described above, by pressing and compressing the gasket with a strong force against the housing (outer box and inner box of Patent Document 1) rather than heat insulation by multiple layers such as a gasket and a hollow wall, The heat insulation can be effectively improved by reducing the heat exchange area between the gasket and the outside air. Further, by pressing the gasket toward the housing side, the sealing performance can be improved and cold air leakage can be suppressed.

  For this purpose, it is necessary to apply a force to the housing side to the door, and it is usual to provide a latch mechanism that pulls the door to the housing side using a spring or a magnet.

  However, if the pulling force of the latch mechanism is too strong, a large force is required when the user opens the door, and there is a possibility that a child or an elderly person cannot open the door. Therefore, the pulling force of the latch mechanism is designed to be weak, and heat insulation must be sacrificed. That is, the gasket cannot be sufficiently compressed, and there is still room for improving the heat insulation. Thus, the further improvement of heat insulation and the compatibility of door opening are problems.

The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and by pressing and compressing the gasket toward the housing side, heat insulation can be improved when the door is closed, and the door is opened without impairing operability when the door is opened. An object is to provide a refrigerator that can be used.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a casing formed of a heat insulating wall, a storage chamber partitioned by a door, and a gasket that closely contacts the casing and the door. The door has a first closed form in which the heat insulation of the storage chamber is improved by pressing and compressing the gasket toward the housing, and the compressed state of the gasket from the first closed form. The released second door form is provided.

  Thereby, while being able to improve heat insulation at the time of a door closing, it can be opened without impairing operativity at the time of a door opening.

  The refrigerator of the present invention releases the compressed state of the gasket from the first closed form in which the heat insulating property of the storage chamber is improved by pressing and compressing the gasket to the housing side, and the first closed form. By providing the second closed door form, when the door is closed, the first closed door form improves the heat insulation of the storage room, so that power consumption can be suppressed, and when the door is opened, the second closed door form is used. By releasing the compressed state of the gasket, the door can be opened without impairing the operability, and the energy efficiency can be improved while maintaining the usability.

Front view of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Control block diagram of refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Sectional drawing of the normal closing form of the drawer storage chamber in Embodiment 1 of this invention Sectional drawing of the closed door form which pulled in the drawer | drawer storage chamber in Embodiment 1 of this invention to the housing | casing side Flowchart of refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Control block diagram of refrigerator in Embodiment 2 of the present invention Sectional drawing of the normal closing form of the drawer storage chamber in Embodiment 2 of this invention Sectional drawing of the closed door form which extruded the drawer storage chamber in Embodiment 2 of this invention to the door opening direction Flowchart of refrigerator in Embodiment 2 of the present invention Main section enlarged sectional view of a conventional refrigerator Main section enlarged sectional view of a conventional refrigerator

  1st invention equips the door periphery with the casing comprised by the heat insulation wall, the storage chamber partitioned by the door, and the gasket which makes the said housing | casing and the said door contact | adhere, The said door has the said gasket. A first door configuration in which the heat insulating property of the storage chamber is improved by pressing and compressing the housing side, and a second door configuration in which the compressed state of the gasket is released from the first door configuration. Is.

  As a result, the gasket is compressed to improve the energy saving performance when the closed door configuration improves the thermal insulation of the storage room, and the gasket is compressed to loosen the door to reduce the opening force. As a result, the door opens, and it is possible to achieve both heat insulation and door opening, which was a conventional problem.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the first aspect, the first closed form is configured such that the gasket is brought into close contact with the casing to improve the heat insulating property of the storage chamber, and the compressed state of the gasket is set to be non-powered. The second door form is provided with a compression release means for releasing the compressed state of the gasket.

  This enables three types of operations: compression, compression hold, and decompression, and by controlling each independent operation, it is possible to control heat insulation and door opening while reducing power required for operation. Can do.

  3rd invention is equipped with the prediction means which predicts opening and closing of a door in advance in the 2nd invention, and when it is predicted by said prediction means that there is no door opening and closing within a predetermined time, it will be said 1st door closing form, When it is predicted that the door will be opened and closed within a predetermined time, the second door is closed before the door is opened and closed.

  Thereby, when there is no possibility that a person opens and closes the door, the compressed state can be ensured, and energy-saving operation can be performed without waste. Moreover, when a person comes near, the compression can be loosened to improve the door opening performance, and the door can be opened with a weak force.

  According to a fourth invention, in the second or third invention, the compression means, the compression holding means, and the compression release means are electric actuators using a motor or a solenoid as a drive source.

  As a result, the door and the housing can be brought into close contact with each other with a strong force. Further, since the door closing mode can be changed by controlling the actuator, the system can be easily realized.

  In a fifth aspect based on the fourth aspect, the compression holding means utilizes a holding force when the electric actuator is not energized.

  As a result, a special mechanism for holding is not required, and the system can be realized with a simple configuration.

  According to a sixth invention, in the fourth invention, the compression holding means is an electric lock mechanism, and is locked to a drive source of the electric actuator or a transmission mechanism to the output portion when the gasket is firmly attached to the casing. To hold the compressed state of the gasket.

  As a result, since a mechanism dedicated to compression and holding is used, the compressed state can be reliably held with a strong force.

  According to a seventh invention, in the fourth invention, the compression holding means is a lock mechanism using a spring, and when the gasket is firmly attached to the casing, the drive source of the electric actuator or the output unit The transmission mechanism is locked to hold the compressed state of the gasket.

  As a result, since a mechanism dedicated to compression and holding is used and no electric parts such as a motor are used, the compressed state can be reliably held with a simpler configuration.

  According to an eighth invention, in any one of the fourth to seventh inventions, the compression release means also serves as the electric actuator, and is a mechanism for operating reversely during compression.

  As a result, a mechanism dedicated to decompression is not required, and a simple configuration can be realized.

  According to a ninth invention, in the second or third invention, the compression means and the compression holding means are configured to draw the door to the housing side with a spring or a magnet.

  Thereby, the compression of the gasket can be realized only by a simple change that strengthens the pull-in mechanism by a spring or magnet provided in a general conventional refrigerator.

  In a tenth aspect based on the ninth aspect, the compression release means is an electric actuator for opening a door using a motor or a solenoid as a drive source, and the door is opened when the prediction means predicts that the door will be opened or closed. It pushes in the opening direction.

  This makes it possible to reliably suppress the door opening force. Further, since the door closing mode can be changed by controlling the actuator, the system can be easily realized.

  In an eleventh aspect based on the third to tenth aspects, the predicting means is a sensor for detecting a human approach or a movement within a predetermined range.

  As a result, the possibility of opening the door can be predicted in advance, and the door opening can be surely prioritized immediately before the door is actually opened.

  In a twelfth aspect based on the third to tenth aspects, the predicting means is a touch sensor or a switch for detecting a human contact with the door.

  As a result, the door opening force can be weakened only when the door is actually opened, and the compression is not unnecessarily released in a situation where a person is around the refrigerator but does not open the door.

  In a thirteenth aspect based on the second to twelfth aspects, the holding force of the compression holding means can be manually released with a force of a certain level or more.

  As a result, the door can be opened even when the actuator does not operate, such as during a power failure or failure.

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

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  1 is a front view of a refrigerator in the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the refrigerator in the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a normally closed form of a drawer storage chamber in the embodiment, FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a closed door form in which the drawer storage chamber in the same embodiment is drawn into the housing, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the refrigerator in the same embodiment.

  In FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the heat insulating box body that is the casing 11 includes an outer box mainly using a steel plate, an inner box formed of a resin such as ABS, and heat insulation injected between the outer box and the inner box. It is composed of materials.

  The heat insulation box which is the housing 11 is divided into a plurality of storage rooms, and is provided with a refrigerating room 12 at the top, and an ice making room 13 or a switching room 14 at the bottom of the refrigerating room 12, and its ice making. A freezing room 15 is arranged at the lower part of the chamber 13 and the switching room 14, and a vegetable room 16 is arranged at the lowermost part, and a heat insulating door for partitioning with outside air is formed at the front of each storage room at the front opening of the housing. ing.

  In the vicinity of the central portion of the refrigerator compartment door 12a, which is a heat insulating door of the refrigerator compartment 12, it is possible to make settings such as the temperature inside the compartment, ice making and quick cooling, and the detection result of the storage state and the operation of the refrigerator An operation unit 17 capable of displaying the situation and the like is arranged. A human sensor 18 is provided on the operation unit 17 to detect the movement of a nearby person, and the calculation control unit 1 estimates the possibility of using the refrigerator. The human sensor 18 uses an optical sensor such as an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor. In addition to these sensors, a touch sensor for detecting that a person has touched the door, a door opening / closing detection sensor for detecting opening / closing of the door, and the like may be used. In addition, the illuminance sensor may estimate that a person is unlikely to exist when the surroundings are dark, and that a person is likely to exist when the surroundings are bright. Further, more accurate detection may be achieved by combining the sensors described above.

  The machine room formed in the uppermost rear region in the refrigerator compartment 12 houses components of the refrigeration cycle such as the compressor 30 and a dryer for removing moisture.

  A cooling chamber for generating cold air is provided on the back of the freezer compartment 15, and in the cooling chamber, the cooler and the cooling air cooled by the cooler are refrigerated chamber 12, switching chamber 14, ice making chamber 13, A cooling fan 31 for blowing air to the vegetable compartment 16 and the freezer compartment 15 is disposed. Further, an air volume adjusting damper 32 for adjusting the air volume from the cooling fan 31 is installed in the air path. Further, a radiant heater, a drain pan, a drain tube evaporating dish, and the like are configured to defrost frost and ice adhering to the cooler and its surroundings.

  The refrigerator compartment 12 is normally set to 1 ° C. to 5 ° C. at the lower limit of the temperature at which it is not frozen for refrigerated storage. In addition, the freezer compartment 15 is set in a freezing temperature zone, and is usually set at −22 ° C. to −15 ° C. for frozen storage. For example, in order to improve the frozen storage state, −30 ° C. or − It may be set at a low temperature of 25 ° C.

  The ice making chamber 13 creates ice with water sent from a water storage tank in the refrigerator compartment 12 by an automatic ice maker provided at the upper part of the room and stores it in an ice storage container disposed at the lower part of the room.

  The switching chamber 14 is not only refrigerated set at 1 ° C to 5 ° C, vegetables set at 2 ° C to 7 ° C, but also frozen at a temperature set at -22 ° C to -15 ° C. It is possible to switch to a preset temperature range between the freezing temperature ranges. The switching chamber 14 is a storage chamber provided with an independent door arranged in parallel with the ice making chamber 13, and is often provided with a drawer-type door.

  In the first embodiment, the switching chamber 14 is a storage room including the temperature range of refrigeration and freezing. However, the refrigeration is performed by the refrigerator compartment 12 and the vegetable compartment 16, and the freezing is performed by the freezer compartment 15. It is also possible to use a storage room specialized for switching only the above temperature range between the refrigeration and the freezing. Moreover, the storage room fixed to freezing may be sufficient as the demand for frozen foods has increased in recent years, for example, frozen food.

  A storage case 20 supported by a frame 19 is attached to the door 15 a of the freezer compartment 15. In addition, the drawer rail portion of the door 15a is provided with a latch mechanism 21a for pulling the door 15a toward the housing 11 in order to ensure the closing of the door. Further, a gasket 22 made of a resin material is provided to prevent cold air leakage from the gap between the door 15a and the housing 11.

The gap dimension α between the casing 11 and the door 15a is not constant for each refrigerator due to the dimensional variation and assembly variation of the constituent parts. Therefore, the gasket 22 is made elastic, and the gap dimension α
The dimensions are larger. Thereby, the gasket 22 is in a slightly compressed state when the door is closed. The stronger the retracting force of the latch mechanism 21a and the stronger the gasket 22 is compressed, the closer the casing 11 and the gasket 22 are, and the heat insulating property of the freezer compartment 15 is improved. It may not be possible. For this reason, the pull-in force of the latch mechanism 21a is restrained so that the door can be opened with a weak force of less than 50N, and the gasket 22 leaves room for further compression.

  The actuator 23a includes a motor, a gear mechanism, and the like, and transmits the power to the rotating shaft 24a to rotate the arm 25a. Other drive sources such as a solenoid may be used instead of the motor.

  The frame 19 is provided with a retracting shaft 26a, which is in a position where the arm 25a contacts when the arm 25a rotates. That is, the operation of the arm 25a can be transmitted to the door 15a via the retracting shaft 26a.

  About the refrigerator comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement is demonstrated below using the flowchart of FIG.3, FIG.4 and FIG.5.

In the initial state, the actuator 23a stops the arm 25a at the position shown in FIG. 3, and this state is set as a reference position. At this time, since the arm 25a and the retracting shaft 26a do not interfere with each other, the door 15a can be freely opened and closed. The door 15a is subjected to the action of being pulled toward the housing 11 by the latch mechanism 21a. However, in order to suppress the door opening force as described above, the pulling force of the latch mechanism 21a is kept below a certain level, and the gasket 22 can be further compressed. There is room for it. (Second closed state)
However, if the user is not in the vicinity of the refrigerator, there is no possibility of opening and closing the door 15a, so there is no need to suppress the door opening force, the door 15a is strongly retracted to the housing 11 side, and the gasket 22 is sufficiently It may be compressed to improve heat insulation.

Therefore, the presence sensor 18 detects whether there is a person around the refrigerator. If no person is detected for a certain period of time (step 101), it is determined that the refrigerator will not be used for a while, the actuator 23a is energized, and the door 15a is strongly pulled toward the housing 11 (step 102). The required pulling force at this time varies depending on the elasticity of the gasket, the friction of the drawer rail of the door 15a, the weight of the food in the freezer compartment 15, and the like, but the gasket can be sufficiently compressed with a force of approximately 50N to 300N. This action is realized by a mechanism in which the arm 25a is rotated and brought into contact with the retracting shaft 26a as shown in FIG. 4 to apply a force in the direction of the casing 11 to the door 15a. As a result, the gap β between the casing 11 and the door 15a is smaller than the gap α in FIG. 3, and the gasket 22 is compressed by 10% or more from the original thickness. (First closed state)
The gasket 22 can be further compressed by using a soft material and reducing the thickness of the material. Since the contact area with the outside air is reduced, an improvement in heat insulation can be expected. At this time, it can be expected that the pull-in force of the actuator necessary for the compression of the gasket is suppressed.

  In addition, a magnet is often loaded in the gasket in order to improve the adhesion with the casing. In this embodiment, the adhesion is already high due to the pulling force of the actuator 23a. no problem. Along with this, heat loss due to heat conduction of the magnet is eliminated, so that the heat insulation can be further improved.

  In addition, since cold air goes below, so that it is low temperature, the direction which compresses the gasket 22 also the lower part of the door 15a can improve heat insulation effectively. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the actuator 23a is provided on the lower surface of the freezer compartment 15, and the lower side of the door 15a is mainly retracted.

  After the gasket 22 is compressed and sufficiently adhered to the housing, the energization to the actuator 23a is stopped. However, since the motor 28a and the gear mechanism inside the actuator 23a are designed to generate a holding torque even when there is no energization, the retracted state of FIG. 4 is held (step 103). In addition, in order to hold the state of FIG. 4 without energization, it is good also as a mechanism which locks the transmission mechanism from the motor 28a to the arm 25a. For example, a mechanism is conceivable in which a spring mechanism or a second motor mechanism is caused to interfere with a gear and locked.

  When the gasket 22 is sufficiently in close contact with the housing 11, the heat insulating property of the freezer compartment 15 is improved, and leakage of cold air to the outside can be suppressed. For this reason, since the electric power of cooling systems, such as the compressor 30 and the cooling fan 31, can be suppressed and the actuator 23a is not energized, the power consumption of the refrigerator can be reduced.

  This state of improving heat insulation continues until a person next comes around the refrigerator. When the presence of a person is detected by the human sensor 18 (step 104), the door 15a may be opened and closed. Therefore, it is necessary to quickly return the arm 25a to the reference position in FIG. 3 so that the door can be opened with a weak force. is there. At this time, the actuator 23a moves the arm 25a in the direction opposite to that in step 102, and returns it to the reference position (second door closed state) within the time period from human detection until the door is opened (about 3 seconds) (step 105). The operation from step 101 to step 105 is the basic operation in the present embodiment.

  If the presence of a person is detected in step 101, the arm 25a maintains the reference position shown in FIG. At this time, it is determined whether or not the arm 25a is at the reference position by the reference position detection means 27a provided in the actuator 23a (step 106). If the arm 25a is not at the reference position due to misalignment or the like, an operation for returning to the reference position is performed (step 107). Since this positioning operation can suppress the rotation error of the arm 25a, it is desirable to carry out the operation even when the power is turned on.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, when there is no possibility that a person uses the refrigerator, the door 15a is strongly pulled in by the actuator 23a to improve the heat insulation, and the possibility that the person uses the refrigerator. When there is, the retracting force of the door 15a can be weakened before the door is opened and closed, and the opening force can be suppressed.

  On the other hand, in the above configuration, for example, when the arm 25a is in the state shown in FIG. 4 at the time of a power failure, the arm 25a cannot be returned to the reference position even if a person comes around the refrigerator. That is, there is a possibility that the door 15a cannot be opened during a power failure. Therefore, the actuator 23a is designed so that the arm 25a can be returned to the reference position when an external force is applied with a slightly stronger force than during the door retracting operation. This mechanism is realized by the use of a clutch mechanism or a mechanism that disengages the gear with a certain external force or more.

  In this way, the user can open the door 15a with a slightly stronger force, so that the holding state can be released even when a power failure occurs, and the food in the freezer compartment 15 can be used. In addition, a mechanism for returning the arm 25a to the reference position by a manual lever operation from the vegetable compartment 16 or from the outside of the housing 11 may be provided.

  In the present embodiment, the human sensor 18 is used to detect whether there is a person around the refrigerator. However, a touch sensor or a switch that detects human contact with the door may be used. it can.

  Moreover, although the freezer compartment 15 was demonstrated in this Embodiment, you may apply this system to another storage chamber.

(Embodiment 2)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the case of the same configuration as in the first embodiment, the same symbols are used and the description is omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the refrigerator in the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a normally closed form of the drawer storage chamber in the embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a drawer storage chamber of the refrigerator in the same embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the refrigerator in the same embodiment.

  The drawer rail portion of the door 15b is provided with a latch mechanism 21b that pulls the door 15b toward the housing 11 in order to ensure closing. Further, a gasket 22 made of a resin material is provided in order to prevent cold air leakage from the gap between the door 15b and the housing 11.

  Unlike the first embodiment, the force for pulling the door 15b by the latch mechanism 21b is set to a strong value of 50N or more so that the gasket can be sufficiently compressed, and the gasket 22 is in close contact with the housing 11. .

  In this state, a large door opening force is required, and there is a possibility that an elderly person or a child cannot open the door. Therefore, when there is a person around the refrigerator, the actuator 23b applies a force in the door opening direction so that the door can be opened even with a weak force.

  The actuator 23b includes a motor 28b and a gear mechanism, and transmits the power to the rotating shaft 24b to rotate the arm 25b. Note that another drive source such as a solenoid may be used instead of the motor 28b.

  The frame 19 is provided with an extrusion shaft 26b, and is in a position where it abuts when the arm 25b rotates. That is, the operation of the arm 25b can be transmitted to the door 15b via the push-out shaft 26b.

  About the refrigerator comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement is demonstrated below using the flowchart of FIG.7, FIG.8 and FIG.9.

  In the initial state, the actuator 23b stops the arm 25b at the position shown in FIG. 7, and this state is set as a reference position. At this time, the door 15b is strongly pulled toward the housing 11 by the latch mechanism 21b, the gasket 22 is sufficiently compressed, and the gap between the housing 11 and the door 15b is narrowed to β.

  If the user is in the vicinity of the refrigerator, there is a possibility of opening and closing the door 15b, so that an action of weakening the door opening force is required. Therefore, the presence sensor 18 detects whether there is a person around the refrigerator. If a person is detected (step 201), it is determined that the door 15b may be opened and closed, the actuator 23b is energized, and the door 15b is pushed in the door opening direction (step 202). The pushing force required at this time varies depending on the elasticity of the gasket, the friction of the drawer rail of the door 15b, the weight of the food in the freezer compartment 15 and the like, but the door 15b can be pushed with a force of approximately 50N to 300N. it can. This action is realized by a mechanism in which the arm 25b is rotated and brought into contact with the pushing shaft 26b as shown in FIG. 8 to apply a force in the door opening direction to the door 15a. As a result, the gap α between the housing 11 and the door 15b is wider than the gap β in FIG. 7, the pulling force by the latch mechanism 21b is weakened, and the gasket 22 returns to the original thickness.

In addition, when the site | part which extrudes the door 15b is the same height as the drawer rail of the door 15b, there exists a tendency which can extrude a door with the minimum force. In this embodiment, since the drawer rail is below the door 15b, the actuator 23b is provided on the lower surface of the freezer compartment 15.

  After the pulling force of the latch mechanism 21b is weakened, the energization to the actuator 23b is stopped. However, since the motor 28b and the gear mechanism inside the actuator 23b are designed so that the holding torque is generated even when there is no energization, the extruded state of FIG. 8 is held (step 203). In addition, in order to hold the state of FIG. 8 without energization, it is good also as a mechanism which locks the transmission mechanism from the motor 28b to the arm 25b. For example, a mechanism is conceivable in which a spring mechanism or a second motor mechanism is caused to interfere with a gear and locked.

  When the gasket 22 is sufficiently in close contact with the housing 11, the heat insulation of the freezer compartment 15 is improved, and leakage of cold air to the outside can be suppressed. For this reason, the electric power of cooling systems, such as the compressor 30 and the cooling fan 31, can be suppressed, and the power consumption suppression of a refrigerator is attained. Further, even in the push-out state of FIG. 8, the actuator 23b is not energized, so that the power consumption does not increase more than usual.

  The extruded state in FIG. 8 continues until there is no more people next to the refrigerator. When the absence of a person is detected by the human sensor 18 (step 204), there is no possibility that the door 15b is opened and closed. Therefore, the arm 25b is made to improve heat insulation by the pulling force of the latch mechanism 21b as shown in FIG. It is necessary to return to the reference position. At this time, the actuator 23b moves the arm 25b in the direction opposite to that in Step 202 and returns it to the reference position (Step 205). The operation from step 201 to step 205 is the basic operation of this system.

  If the presence of a person is not detected in step 201, the arm 25b maintains the reference position shown in FIG. At this time, it is determined by the reference position detection means 27b provided in the actuator 23b that the arm 25b is at the reference position (step 206). If the arm 25b is not at the reference position due to misalignment or the like, an operation for returning to the reference position is performed (step 207). However, since the person is in the vicinity of the refrigerator immediately after the power is turned on, the arm 25b is preferably rotated to the position shown in FIG.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, when there is no possibility that a person uses a refrigerator, the door 15b is strongly pulled in by the latch mechanism 21b to improve heat insulation, and the person can use the refrigerator. When there is a property, the door can be pushed out by the actuator 23b in the door opening direction to suppress the door opening force.

  In step 202, the door 15b is slightly pushed out. However, when the user touches the door 15b, the arm 25b may be largely rotated to open the door 15a.

  Moreover, although the freezer compartment 15 was demonstrated in this Embodiment 2, you may apply this system to another storage chamber.

  The refrigerator according to the present invention can be implemented and applied to a door mechanism that requires both improved heat insulation of the door and improved door opening.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Computation control part 2 Door opening / closing detection means 11 Case 12 Refrigeration room 12a Refrigeration room door (heat insulation door)
13 Ice making room 14 Switching room 15 Freezing room 15a, 15b Door (freezing room door)
16 Vegetable room 17 Operation part 18 Human sensor 19 Frame 20 Storage case 21a, 21b Latch mechanism 22 Gasket 23a, 23b Actuator 24a, 24b Rotating shaft 25a, 25b Arm 26a Retraction shaft 26b Extrusion shaft 27a, 27b Reference position detection means 28a, 28b motor

Claims (13)

A casing formed of a heat insulating wall, a storage chamber partitioned by a door, and a gasket that closely contacts the casing and the door are provided on the periphery of the door, and the door presses the gasket toward the casing. A refrigerator comprising: a first door configuration in which heat insulation of the storage chamber is improved by compression; and a second door configuration in which the compressed state of the gasket is released from the first door configuration. . The first closed form includes compression means for bringing the gasket into close contact with the casing to improve heat insulation of the storage chamber, and compression holding means for holding the compressed state of the gasket without power. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the second door form includes compression release means for releasing the compressed state of the gasket. When a predicting means for predicting door opening / closing in advance is provided, and when the predicting means predicts that there is no door opening / closing within a predetermined time, the first door is closed, and when door opening / closing is predicted within a predetermined time The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the second door is closed before the door is opened and closed. The refrigerator according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the compression unit, the compression holding unit, and the compression release unit are electric actuators using a motor or a solenoid as a drive source. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the compression holding means uses a holding force when the electric actuator is not energized. The compression holding means is an electric lock mechanism, and when the gasket is firmly attached to the casing, the transmission mechanism to the drive source of the electric actuator or the output unit is locked to hold the compressed state of the gasket. The refrigerator according to claim 4. The compression holding means is a lock mechanism that uses a spring, and when the gasket is firmly attached to the housing, a lock is applied to a drive source of the electric actuator or a transmission mechanism to the output unit, and the gasket is compressed. The refrigerator according to claim 4, which is configured to hold The refrigerator according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the decompression unit is also used as the electric actuator, and is configured to operate reversely to the time of compression. The refrigerator according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the compression means and the compression holding means are configured to draw the door to the housing side with a spring or a magnet. The refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein the decompression unit is an electric actuator for opening a door using a motor or a solenoid as a drive source, and pushes the door in the opening direction when the predicting unit predicts that the door is opened or closed. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 3 to 10, wherein the prediction unit is a sensor that detects a person approaching or a movement within a predetermined range. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 3 to 10, wherein the predicting means is a touch sensor or a switch that detects a human contact with the door. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 2 to 12, wherein a holding force of the compression holding means can be manually released with a force of a certain level or more.