JP2015158307A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator appropriately notifying a user of abnormality in a case where notification means with sound does not function appropriately.SOLUTION: A refrigeration 1 includes: a heat insulation box 2 whose front face is opened and inside is a storage space; a cooling device 4 that cools the storage space; a door 3 that closes the opening of the storage space; door opening/closing detection means 10 that detects whether the door is in an opened state, a closed state or a half-opened state; a luminaire 12 that is provided in the heat insulation box; and a control unit that controls the luminaire. When the door opening/closing detection means detects the half-opened state or the opened state continuously for a predetermined period, the control unit controls the luminaire to notify a user of abnormality.

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

  There is a refrigerator that notifies a user of an abnormality by, for example, warning a user with a buzzer sound when there is an abnormality in the refrigerator such as the door is open for a certain time or more. However, in order to keep the productivity and cost of the refrigerator low, there is no notification means by sound such as a buzzer, or even if a buzzer is provided, the surrounding noise, the surroundings of the refrigerator are surrounded by furniture and walls, etc. In a use environment where the buzzer sound cannot be confirmed, the user cannot be properly notified of the abnormality.

JP 2000-130917 A JP 2008-75925 A

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that appropriately notifies a user of an abnormality even when sound notification means does not function properly.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the refrigerator of the present embodiment includes a heat insulating box that has a front opening and a storage space inside, a cooling device that cools the storage space, and a door that closes the opening of the storage space. A door opening / closing detection means for detecting an open state, a closed state, and a half-open state of the door, a lighting device provided in the heat insulating box, and a control unit for controlling the lighting device, the control unit. When the door open / close detection means continuously detects a half-open state or an open state for a predetermined time, the lighting device is controlled to notify the abnormality.

It is a perspective view of the refrigerator which shows 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the refrigerator which shows the installation state of an illuminating device. It is a perspective view which shows the machine room of a refrigerator. It is a schematic diagram which shows the refrigerating cycle of a refrigerator. It is a block diagram which shows the structure in a control part. It is a bottom view which shows the bottom face of the refrigerator of 2nd embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator body 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The housing of the refrigerator main body 1 is a heat insulating box body having a front opening and a storage space by foaming and filling a space between a steel plate outer box and a synthetic resin inner box with a heat insulating material such as urethane foam. 2 is formed. The opening on the front surface of the heat insulating box 2 is closed by a rotary door 3 having a heat insulating function so as to be freely opened and closed.

  As an example, the refrigerator main body 1 has a height of about 500 mm, a depth of about 490 mm, and a width of about 480 mm, and when installed on the floor, the ceiling surface is at a position of about 500 mm. The height of the ceiling surface is about 1/3 of the height of the average eye height of a 20 to 50 year old woman, and the user installed the refrigerator body 1 on the floor. In this case, the height is such that the ceiling surface of the refrigerator body 1 is looked down.

  A cooler 4 is provided above the storage space inside the refrigerator, and an ice tray 5 is disposed between the ceiling surface of the refrigerator and the cooler 4. Below the cooler 4, an internal temperature sensor 6, which is one of anomaly detection means, is arranged close to the cooler 4, and the cooler 4 is generated below the cooler 4 and the internal temperature sensor 6. A dew receiving tray 7 for receiving the dew and draining the outside of the storage is disposed, and the defrost water is prevented from falling into the storage space below the storage.

  The interior space located below the dew receiving tray 7 is provided with an upper shelf 8 and a lower shelf 9, and stored items can be placed on the respective shelves or on the bottom of the refrigerator for storage.

  Further, on the left side above the storage space, the operation of the push-in door switch 10 which is a door open / close detection means for detecting the open / close state of the refrigerator door 3 and the compressor 21 constituting the refrigeration cycle is forcibly selected by the user. A compressor stop switch 11 that can be stopped automatically is provided.

  The door switch 10 has a pin that protrudes into the refrigerator body 1 and a detection unit that detects the amount of pressing of the pin. This pin contacts the throat 16 that is a rising portion provided inside the door 3 and is pushed inward to detect the open / closed state of the door 3.

  The door switch 10 includes an open state of the door 3 in which the door switch 10 is not pushed in, a half-open state in which the door switch 10 is not pushed in completely but a contact with the door 3 is detected, Three states of the closed state in which 10 is completely pushed by the door 3 are detected.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the heat insulating box 2 has an illuminating device (an interior lamp) that is located behind the door switch 10 and the compressor stop switch 11 and illuminates the interior of the storage space (inside the storage). ) 12 is provided. The interior lamp 12 is covered with a cover 18 having a transparent member 18a that transmits light downward and to the side facing the interior. In the lighting state, the light emitted from the interior lamp 12 is inside the interior. The whole interior is illuminated by reflecting on the shelves 8, 9 and the inner wall surface.

  Moreover, the leg 15 which distribute | arranges between the refrigerator main body 1 and an installation surface at the bottom face of the heat insulation box 2, and supports the refrigerator main body 1 is distribute | arranged to the four corners of a refrigerator bottom face. The bottom surface of the refrigerator body 1 is separated from the installation surface by the height of the legs 15. One of the four legs 15 is an adjustment foot 15a whose height can be adjusted, and the inclination of the refrigerator body 1 can be adjusted with respect to the installation surface.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a machine room 20 is provided in the lower rear part of the refrigerator main body 1 in a heat insulating partition with a storage space, and a compressor 21 constituting the refrigeration cycle and a heat radiating pipe as a refrigerant pipe in the machine room 20 22, a dryer 23, a capillary tube 24, and a suction pipe 25 are disposed. In addition, on the back of the refrigerator body 1 above the machine room 20, a control board on which a microcomputer 31 (control unit) that controls the operation of the refrigerator, a timer 32 that measures time, and the like is mounted.

  Door pockets 13a and 13b are provided on the inner side of the door 3 so as to be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval. A soundproof mat 14 is laid on the bottom surface of the door pockets 13a and 13b. Sounds are prevented from being transmitted through the main body 1 to the stored items stored in the door pockets 13a and 13b.

  In addition, a gasket (not shown) is disposed on the inner peripheral edge of the door 3, and when the door 3 is closed, a gap is generated between the door 3 and the opening peripheral edge of the heat insulating box 2, The cold inside the cabinet is prevented from leaking outside the cabinet. Further, a magnet is arranged inside the gasket, and a steel plate outer box is folded back to the inside of the cabinet at the periphery of the opening of the heat insulating box 2, so the magnetic force of the magnet arranged inside the gasket of the door 3. Thus, the closed state of the refrigerator is maintained by the gasket portion of the door 3 being in close contact with the periphery of the opening of the heat insulating box 2.

  Next, the refrigeration cycle will be described with reference to FIG. When the compressor stop switch 11 is off and the internal temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 6 is equal to or higher than the threshold, the compressor 21 is operated. The high-temperature refrigerant whose temperature has been increased by being compressed by the compressor 21 is a process of passing through the heat radiating pipe 22 disposed between the outer box and the inner box at the side surface and the upper part of the front opening of the heat insulating box 2. As the temperature decreases due to heat dissipation, it condenses and liquefies. Thereafter, moisture and dust in the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant piping are removed by drying the refrigerant in the dryer 23. The refrigerant from which moisture and dust have been removed is depressurized by passing through the capillary tube 24, and the liquid refrigerant having a low temperature and low pressure is sent to the cooler 4. In the cooler 4, the air around the cooler 4 is cooled because heat from the air around the cooler 4 is removed to vaporize the liquid refrigerant. The whole inside of the refrigerator is cooled by the cold air generated here. Here, when it is detected that the internal temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 6 has dropped to a predetermined temperature or less, the operation of the compressor 21 is stopped and the cooling operation is terminated.

  About the defrosting of the cooler 4, the temperature in the refrigerator rises by keeping the state where the operation of the compressor 21 is stopped for 2 hours, and the temperature of the cooler 4 is kept at 0 ° C. or higher. To defrost. In this defrosting operation, when the compressor stop switch 11 is turned on from off, that is, when the cooling operation cannot be performed from the state where the cooling operation can be performed, the operation of the compressor 21 is forcibly performed. It is stopped and started when the temperature of the cooler 4 starts to rise.

  When the compressor stop switch 11 is kept off, it is detected by detecting from the time measured by the timer 32 mounted on the control board that the non-defrosting time has continued for 24 hours. Determine the start of frost. Note that the timing of defrosting is not limited to the method of detecting that the time when defrosting is not continued for 24 hours, and when the operating time of the compressor 21 reaches a predetermined time or the frosting amount of the cooler 4 If a detection sensor for detection is provided and the amount of frost formation is equal to or greater than a threshold value, defrosting may be started.

  Next, the control by the control board which is the control part 31 is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 5 showing the configuration of the control unit 31, the compressor stop switch 11, the timer 32, the internal temperature sensor 6 that is an abnormality detection means, and the door switch 10 are connected to the control unit 31, respectively. The status of the refrigerator, such as the open / close state of, is input. Further, the control unit 31 is connected to the compressor 21, the interior lamp 12, and the exterior lamp 17 which are control targets, and outputs a control command in accordance with each input status.

  Hereinafter, the contents of control by the control unit 31 will be described in detail.

  The interior lamp 12 is turned on when the door switch 10 detects the open state of the door 3, and the interior lamp 12 is turned off when the closed state of the door 3 is detected. In addition, when the half-open state of the door 3 is detected continuously for a predetermined time T1, for example, 1 second, the interior lamp 12 is blinked so as to be turned on and off at intervals of 1 second to confirm that the door 3 is in the half-open state. Notify the user immediately.

  Further, when the door switch 10 detects that the door 3 is in an abnormally open state that lasts for a predetermined time T2, which is set to a time longer than the predetermined time T1 for detecting the half-open state, for example, The open state notification control is performed by blinking the inner light 12. More specifically, the control of turning on the interior lamp 12 for 1 second and then turning it off for 2 seconds is repeated.

  Further, the controller 31 starts the operation of the refrigeration cycle by starting the compressor 21, and the internal temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 6 after the predetermined time has elapsed (for example, after 4 hours have elapsed) is the predetermined temperature. When the temperature does not reach the following (for example, 8 ° C.), the abnormality of the compressor 21 included in the refrigeration cycle is detected.

  Normally, the interior lamp 12 is turned on when the door 3 is opened. However, when the control unit 31 detects that the compressor 21 is abnormal, the interior lamp 12 is different from the open state notification control. Compressor abnormality notification control is performed by blinking in a pattern. More specifically, the control cycle of lighting the interior lamp 12 for 1 second, turning it off for 1 second, turning it on for 1 second, and turning it off for 2 seconds is repeated.

  If no abnormality is detected in the compressor 21 after the repair is completed, the compressor abnormality notification control is stopped, and the normal control, that is, the door 3 is lit and closed if the door 3 is opened. The lamp is turned off when it is in the half-open state, and blinking is controlled.

  Another example of abnormality is shown below. If the timer 32 detects that 5 hours have elapsed since the power was turned on, and the internal temperature sensor 6 detects that the internal temperature is 30 ° C. or higher, the internal temperature is abnormally high. The internal lamp 12 is turned on for 1 second, turned off for 1 second, turned on for 1 second, and turned off for 3 seconds.

  According to the embodiment described above, when the open state of the door 3 by the door switch 10 continues for 1 minute or longer and the lighting state of the interior lamp 12 continues for 1 minute or longer, the interior lamp 12 is blinked. . Thereby, even in a refrigerator that cannot be notified by a sound such as a buzzer, the user can be notified that the open state of the door 3 continues for one minute or more, and the open state of the door 3 continues. It is possible to prevent the temperature inside the chamber from rising.

  Since the predetermined time T1 for detecting the half-open state of the door 3 by the door switch 10 is set to be shorter than the time T2 for detecting the door 3 opening abnormality, the flashing control is immediately performed when the half-open state of the door 3 is detected. By performing the operation, immediately after the user tries to close the door 3, that is, before the user leaves the refrigerator, the door 3 is in a half-open state that is not completely closed. Can be obstructed. Thereby, it is possible to notify the user of the half-opened state of the door 3 which is usually difficult to notice early and reliably, and it is possible to prevent the internal temperature from rising due to the half-opened state of the door 3 continuing.

  Since the abnormality is notified by the blinking control of the interior lamp 12, the abnormality can be notified to the user without providing an operation panel on the surface of the buzzer or the door 3, so that the abnormality can be notified at a low cost.

  Furthermore, when an abnormality is detected in the refrigerator, the interior lamp 12 is blinked according to the abnormality, so that the user can recognize that an abnormality has occurred. At the same time, it is possible to grasp what type of abnormality is detected from the blinking pattern. As a result, when the user requests repair, it is possible to communicate the blinking pattern, and the person performing the repair can go to repair with the status of the failure grasped from the blinking pattern notified by the user. Repair can be performed efficiently.

  In addition, when blinking the inside lamp | ramp 12, you may alert | report abnormality by carrying out control which weakens light instead of making it completely extinguish, and applying strength. That is, when the door 3 is in the open state notification control, the interior lamp 12 is always turned on by repeating the lighting for 1 second (strong lighting) at a duty ratio of 100% and repeating the lighting for 1 second (weak lighting) at a duty ratio of 50%. You may control light and dark for every time in the lighting state.

(Second embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 6 which is a bottom view of the refrigerator of the second embodiment, an illumination device (outside lamp) 17 which is an outside lighting means is provided on the front side which is the bottom face of the refrigerator and the direction in which the door 3 is arranged. I have. The outdoor lamp 17 is provided with an inclination so that the light irradiation direction is directed from the rear to the front of the refrigerator main body 1 and is directed downward toward the installation surface on which the refrigerator main body 1 is installed. The light is irradiated obliquely downward from above toward the installation surface where is installed, and the area located in front of the refrigerator body 1 is illuminated.

  Furthermore, when the time is detected by the timer 32 provided on the control board and it is detected that the present time is night, for example, the current time is between 6 pm and 6 am, the compressor is stopped. If the switch 11 is off, the outdoor lamp 17 is turned on. This informs the user that the compressor stop switch 11 is in an off state, and the outdoor lamp 17 illuminates the front area of the refrigerator body 1 when the room is dark at night. Indoor lighting can be performed.

  When it is detected that the compressor 21 is abnormal, the compressor abnormality notification control is performed by blinking the outdoor lamp 17. More specifically, the control cycle of lighting the outdoor lamp 17 for 1 second, turning it off for 1 second, turning it on for 1 second, and turning it off for 2 seconds is repeated.

  Further, in the blink control in the abnormally open state or the half-open state, the notification may be performed by blinking the exterior lamp 17 instead of the blink control of the interior lamp 12 or in conjunction with the blink control of the interior lamp 12.

  According to the embodiment described above, since it is possible to detect that there is an abnormality in the refrigerator by the blinking of the outdoor lamp 17, it is possible to confirm whether there is an abnormality regardless of whether the door 3 is opened or closed. That is, the abnormality is not detected for the first time by opening the refrigerator door 3 and confirming the blinking of the interior lamp 12 provided in the storage space, but the abnormality is detected from the blinking of the exterior lamp 17 provided outside the warehouse. Because you can, you can quickly notice abnormalities.

(Third embodiment)
The difference from the above-described embodiment is that the interior lamp 12 does not illuminate only one color of light, but the interior lamp 12 can illuminate a plurality of colors, and an abnormality is detected when an abnormality is not detected. In some cases, the color to be lit is changed.

  The interior lamp 12 includes two illuminations, a white illumination and a red illumination. In the case where no abnormality is detected, that is, in normal time, the white illumination is turned on among the two illuminations, but the red illumination is not turned on. On the other hand, when an abnormality is detected, the white illumination is not turned on, but the red illumination is turned on.

  As a modification, when an abnormality is detected, white illumination and red illumination may be alternately turned on. Specifically, when the door switch 10 detects that the door 3 is open for more than 1 minute, the white light of the interior lamp 12 is turned on for 1 second and then the red light is turned on for 1 second. The control of turning on one of white and red is repeated alternately for one second. When it is detected that the compressor 21 is abnormal, the control of turning on the red illumination for 1 second after turning on the white illumination of the interior lamp 12 for 2 seconds is repeated.

  In addition, the interior lamp 12 is provided with white and red light in addition to blue, and normally lights in white. When the compressor 21 has an abnormality, it lights in red, and the interior temperature is 30 ° C. The color to be lit may be changed according to the type of abnormality, such as lighting blue when the temperature is abnormally high.

  Note that it is only necessary for the user to be able to visually distinguish between the normal time when no abnormality is detected and the abnormal time when the abnormality is detected, and the color of the illumination of the interior lamp 12 is not limited to the color described above, and the lighting pattern is also described above. The example is not limited.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the user can easily confirm the presence or absence of an abnormality in the refrigerator by identifying the color to which the interior lamp 12 is lit. Thereby, since what kind of abnormality has occurred in the refrigerator can be clearly recognized from the color information of the interior lamp 12, the user can easily convey the contents of the abnormality of the refrigerator when making a repair request. It is possible.

  According to at least one embodiment described above, the user can confirm the presence or absence of an abnormality of the refrigerator from the blinking of the interior lamp 12 or the exterior lamp 17 and can quickly respond to the abnormality of the refrigerator. Is possible.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  1 is a refrigerator body, 2 is a heat insulating box, 3 is a door, 4 is a cooler, 5 is an ice tray, 6 is a temperature sensor in the cabinet, 7 is a dew tray, 8 is an upper shelf, 9 is a lower shelf, and 10 is a door switch. , 11 is a compressor stop switch, 12 is an interior lamp (illumination device), 13a and 13b are door pockets, 14 is a soundproof mat, 15 is a leg, 15a is an adjustment leg, 16 is a throat, 17 is an exterior light (illumination device) ), 18 is a cover, 18a is a transparent member, 20 is a machine room, 21 is a compressor, 22 is a heat radiating pipe, 23 is a dryer, 24 is a capillary tube, 25 is a suction pipe, 31 is a microcomputer, and 32 is a timer.

Claims (7)

A heat-insulated box with a front opening and a storage space inside;
A cooling device for cooling the storage space;
A door that closes the opening of the storage space;
Door opening / closing detection means for detecting the open state, closed state, and half-open state of the door;
A lighting device provided in the heat insulating box;
A control unit for controlling the lighting device,
The said control part is a refrigerator which notifies the abnormality by controlling the said illuminating device, if the said door opening / closing detection means detects a half-open state or an open state continuously for the predetermined time.   The time from the detection of the half-open state by the door opening / closing detection means until the control unit notifies the abnormality is shorter than the time from the detection of the open state by the door opening / closing detection unit until the control unit notifies the abnormality. The refrigerator according to claim 1 set to time.   3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the lighting device to blink when the door opening / closing detection unit continuously detects a half-open state or an open state for a predetermined time.   The control unit sets a time for turning on and a time for turning off the lighting device when the door open / close detection means detects the half-open state continuously for a predetermined time and when the door is detected for a predetermined time continuously. The refrigerator according to claim 3 to be changed.   The said control part changes the brightness | luminance of the said illuminating device with the case where the said door opening / closing detection means detects a half-open state continuously for a predetermined time, and the case where an open state is continuously detected for a predetermined time. 2. The refrigerator according to 2. The lighting device has a function of lighting a plurality of colors,
The control unit lights up a different color when the door opening / closing detection means continuously detects a half-open state or an open state for a predetermined period of time when a half-open state or an open state is not detected for a predetermined period of time. Refrigerator. Having an abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality of the cooling device;
When the abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality of the cooling device, the control unit controls the lighting device with a control different from the case where the door opening / closing detection unit continuously detects a half-open state or an open state for a predetermined time. The refrigerator of any one of Claims 1-6 which alert | reports abnormality.

Images