JP2019215160A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator that notifies a user appropriately.SOLUTION: A refrigerator in the embodiment includes a heat insulation box whose front face is open and inside is a storage space; a cooling device for cooling the storage space; a door for closing the opening of the storage space; an illumination device provided in the heat insulation box for illuminating the outside of the refrigerator; and a control unit for controlling the illumination device. The illumination device can be visually recognized from below, and is inclined so as to irradiate an installation surface where the heat insulation box is installed with a light obliquely forward and downward from above, and illuminate the front of the heat insulation box.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

  There is a refrigerator that notifies a user of information such as an abnormality of the refrigerator. In such a refrigerator, it is required to notify the user appropriately.

JP 2000-130917 A JP 2008-75925 A

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a refrigerator that appropriately notifies a user.

  The refrigerator of the present embodiment is provided on the heat-insulating box, a heat-insulating box body having a front surface opened and the inside as a storage space, a cooling device for cooling the storage space, a door closing an opening of the storage space, A lighting device for illuminating the outside of the refrigerator, and a control unit for controlling the lighting device, wherein the lighting device is visible from below, and is oblique from above toward the installation surface on which the heat-insulating box is installed. The illuminating device is provided to be inclined so as to irradiate light forward and downward to illuminate the front of the heat insulating box.

It is a perspective view of the refrigerator which shows the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the refrigerator which shows the installation state of a lighting 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. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit. It is a bottom view showing the bottom of the refrigerator of a second 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 main body 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The housing of the refrigerator body 1 is formed by foaming and filling a heat insulating material such as urethane foam into a gap between an outer case made of steel plate and an inner case made of synthetic resin so that the front surface is opened and the inside is a storage space. 2 are formed. The opening at the front of the heat-insulating box 2 is closed by a rotary door 3 having a heat-insulating function so that it can be opened and closed.

  As one 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 a 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 about 1450 mm, which is the average eye height of a woman aged 20 to 50, 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 main body 1 is looked down.

  A cooler 4 is provided above the storage space inside the refrigerator, and an ice tray 5 is arranged between the ceiling surface in the refrigerator and the cooler 4. Below the cooler 4, an in-compartment temperature sensor 6, which is one of the abnormality detection means, is arranged in proximity to the cooler 4, and below the cooler 4 and the in-compartment temperature sensor 6, A dew tray 7 for receiving the dew and discharging the defrosted water to the outside of the refrigerator is disposed to prevent the defrost water from falling into a storage space below the refrigerator.

  An upper shelf 8 and a lower shelf 9 are provided in a space inside the refrigerator located below the dew tray 7, and the storage items can be placed and stored on the respective shelves or on the bottom surface in the refrigerator.

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

  The door switch 10 has a pin protruding into the refrigerator of the refrigerator main body 1 and a detecting unit for detecting a pushing amount of the pin. The pin contacts the throat 16 which is a rising portion provided inside the door 3 and is pushed inward, thereby detecting the open / closed state of the door 3.

  The door switch 10 includes an open state of the door 3 where the door switch 10 is not depressed, a half-open state where the door switch 10 is not fully depressed but detects contact with the door 3, and a door switch 10. 10 detects three closed states in which the door 10 is completely pushed in by the door 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the heat insulation box 2 is provided with a lighting device (inside light) for illuminating the inside of the storage space at a position farther back in the storage space (inside the storage space) than the door switch 10 and the compressor stop switch 11. ) 12 is provided. The interior lamp 12 is covered by a cover 18 having a transparent member 18a that transmits light downward and to the side facing the interior of the refrigerator. Downward and to the side, and illuminates the entire interior of the compartment by reflecting off the shelves 8, 9 and the interior wall surface.

  Further, on the bottom surface of the heat insulating box 2, legs 15 for supporting the refrigerator main body 1 are disposed at four corners of the refrigerator bottom surface, disposed between the refrigerator main body 1 and the installation surface. 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 adjustable foot 15a whose height can be adjusted, and can adjust the inclination of the refrigerator body 1 with respect to the installation surface.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a machine room 20 is provided in a lower rear portion of the refrigerator main body 1 so as to be insulated from a storage space. 22, a dryer 23, a capillary tube 24, and a suction pipe 25 are provided. A control board on which a microcomputer 31 (control unit) for controlling the operation of the refrigerator, a timer 32 for measuring time, and the like are mounted above the machine room 20 and on the back of the refrigerator body 1.

  Door pockets 13a and 13b are provided at predetermined intervals in the interior of the door 3 at the top and bottom, and a soundproof mat 14 is laid on the bottom of the door pockets 13a and 13b. The sound is prevented from being generated by transmitting to the storage items stored in the door pockets 13a and 13b via the main body 1.

  Further, a gasket (not shown) is arranged on the inner peripheral portion of the door 3, and when the door 3 is closed, a gap is generated between the door 3 and the peripheral portion of the opening of the heat insulating box 2. This prevents cold air inside the refrigerator from leaking out of the refrigerator. Further, a magnet is arranged inside the gasket, and since a steel plate outer box is folded back inside the refrigerator at the periphery of the opening of the heat insulating box 2, the magnetic force of the magnet arranged inside the gasket of the door 3 is increased. As a result, the gasket portion of the door 3 comes into close contact with the periphery of the opening of the heat-insulating box 2, thereby maintaining the refrigerator in the closed state.

  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. A process in which the high-temperature refrigerant whose temperature has risen by being compressed by the compressor 21 passes through the heat-dissipating pipe 22 disposed between the outer box and the inner box on the side surface and the upper portion of the front opening of the heat insulating box 2. As a result, the temperature is lowered by the heat radiation action, and the liquid is condensed and liquefied. Thereafter, the dryer 23 dries the refrigerant to remove moisture and dust in the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe. The refrigerant from which moisture and dust have been removed is depressurized by passing through the capillary tube 24, and the low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant is sent to the cooler 4. In the cooler 4, air around the cooler 4 is cooled because heat of vaporization is taken from the air around the cooler 4 to vaporize the liquid refrigerant. The cool air generated here cools the entire refrigerator. Here, when it is detected that the temperature in the refrigerator detected by the temperature sensor 6 in the refrigerator has dropped to a predetermined temperature or lower, the operation of the compressor 21 is stopped and the cooling operation is ended.

  Regarding the defrosting of the cooler 4, keeping the state in which the operation of the compressor 21 is stopped for two hours increases the temperature in the refrigerator and keeps the temperature of the cooler 4 at or above 0 ° C. 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. The operation is stopped when the temperature of the cooler 4 starts to rise.

  When the compressor stop switch 11 is kept in the off state, it is detected from the time measured by the timer 32 mounted on the control board that the non-defrosting time has been continuously continued for 24 hours. Determine the start of frost. The timing of the defrosting is not limited to the method of detecting that the time during which the defrosting is not performed has continued for 24 hours. When the operation time of the compressor 21 has reached a predetermined time or when the amount of frost on the cooler 4 is determined. If a frost amount is equal to or more than a threshold value provided with a detection sensor for detecting, a defrost may be started.

  Next, control by the control board as the control unit 31 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5 showing the configuration of the control unit 31, the control unit 31 is connected to the compressor stop switch 11, the timer 32, the in-compartment temperature sensor 6 serving as abnormality detection means, and the door switch 10, respectively. The status of the refrigerator such as the open / close state of the refrigerator is input. Further, the control unit 31 is connected to the compressor 21, the interior light 12, and the exterior light 17 to be controlled, and outputs a control command according to each input status.

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

  The door switch 10 turns on the interior light 12 by detecting the open state of the door 3, and turns off the interior light 12 by detecting the closed state of the door 3. When the half-open state of the door 3 is continuously detected for a predetermined time T1, for example, one second, the interior lamp 12 is turned on and off at intervals of one second so 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 the abnormally open state for a predetermined time T2 that is longer than the predetermined time T1 for detecting the half-open state, for example, for one minute, the storage is opened. The open state notification control is performed by blinking the inner light 12. More specifically, the control of turning on the interior light 12 for one second and then extinguishing it for two seconds is repeated.

  In addition, the control unit 31 determines that the inside temperature detected by the inside temperature sensor 6 after the lapse of a predetermined time (for example, after the lapse of 4 hours) from the start of the compressor 21 and the operation of the refrigeration cycle is the predetermined temperature If the temperature does not reach the following (for example, 8 ° C.), an 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 turning on the interior light 12 for 1 second, turning off the light for 1 second, turning on the light for 1 second, and turning off the light for 2 seconds is repeated.

  When the abnormality is no longer detected in the compressor 21 due to completion of the repair or the like, the compressor abnormality notification control is stopped, and the normal control, that is, the door 3 is turned on if it is opened, and the door 3 is turned on and closed. If it is turned off, it will blink when it is half open.

  An example of another abnormality is shown below. When the timer 32 detects that 5 hours have elapsed since the power was turned on, and when the internal temperature sensor 6 detects that the internal temperature is 30 ° C. or higher, the internal temperature of the internal chamber is abnormally high. Is determined, and the control cycle of turning on the interior light 12 for 1 second, turning off the light for 1 second, turning on the light for 1 second, and turning off the light for 3 seconds is repeated.

  According to the above-described embodiment, when the open state of the door 3 by the door switch 10 continues for one minute or more and the lighting state of the interior light 12 continues for one minute or more, the interior light 12 is turned on and off. . Thereby, even in a refrigerator that cannot perform notification by sound such as a buzzer, it is possible to notify the user that the open state of the door 3 has been continued for one minute or more, and that the open state of the door 3 continues. It is possible to prevent the temperature in the refrigerator 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 abnormal opening of the door 3, the blinking control is performed immediately when the half-open state of the door 3 is detected. Immediately after the user performs an operation of closing the door 3, that is, before the user leaves the refrigerator, the door 3 is in a half-open state in which the door 3 is not completely closed. Can encourage blockage. As a result, the user can be quickly and reliably notified of the half-open state of the door 3 that is difficult to notice, and it is possible to prevent the internal temperature from rising due to the continued half-open state of the door 3.

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

  Further, when an abnormality is detected in the refrigerator, the interior light 12 is flashed in response to the abnormality, so that the user can recognize that an abnormality has occurred. At the same time, it is possible to know what kind of abnormality is detected from the blinking pattern. This makes it possible for the user to convey the blinking pattern when the user requests repairs, and that the repairer can proceed with the repair while grasping the failure content from the blinking pattern notified by the user, Repairs can be performed efficiently.

  When the interior light 12 is flickered, the abnormality may be notified by controlling the light to be weakened instead of completely extinguishing the light to increase or decrease the intensity. That is, when the door 3 is in the open state notification control, the interior light 12 is always turned on by repeating one second (strong lighting) at a duty ratio of 100% and one second (weak lighting) at a duty ratio of 50%. Lighting and darkness may be controlled for each time in the lit state.

(Second embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 6 which is a bottom view of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment, an illumination device (external lamp) 17 as an external lighting means is provided on the bottom side of the refrigerator and on the front side where the door 3 is arranged. Have. The exterior lamp 17 is provided so that the light irradiation direction is directed toward the front from the rear of the refrigerator main body 1 and inclined downward so as to be an installation surface on which the refrigerator main body 1 is installed. Light is radiated obliquely downward from above toward the installation surface on which is installed to illuminate an area located in front of the refrigerator body 1.

  Further, the time is detected by the timer 32 provided on the control board, and when it is detected that the current time is night, for example, between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am, the compressor is stopped. If the switch 11 is off, the outside lamp 17 is turned on. Thus, the user is notified that the compressor stop switch 11 is off, and the exterior lamp 17 illuminates the area in front of the refrigerator body 1 when the room is dark at night. It is possible to illuminate the interior of the room.

When it is detected that the compressor 21 has an abnormality, the compressor abnormality notification control is performed by blinking the outside lamp 17. More specifically, the outside lamp 17 is turned on for 1 second, turned off for 1 second, turned on for 1 second,
The control cycle of turning off the light for 2 seconds is repeated.

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

  According to the above-described embodiment, since the abnormality of the refrigerator can be detected by the blinking of the outside lamp 17, the presence or absence of the abnormality can be confirmed regardless of the opening and closing of the door 3. That is, it is not possible to notice the abnormality only by opening the door 3 of the refrigerator and checking the blinking of the interior lamp 12 provided in the storage space, but to discover the abnormality from the blinking of the exterior lamp 17 provided outside the refrigerator. Because it is possible, it is possible to notice abnormality immediately.

(Third embodiment)
The point different from the above-described embodiment is that the interior light 12 does not emit only one color light, but the interior light 12 can emit a plurality of colors, and the abnormality is detected when no abnormality is detected. In some cases, the color to be lit is changed.

  The interior light 12 includes two illuminations, white illumination and red illumination. When no abnormality is detected, that is, during normal times, white light is turned on among the two lights, but red light 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 modified example, white light and red light may be turned on alternately when an abnormality is detected. Specifically, if the door switch 10 detects that the door 3 has been open for more than one minute, the white light of the interior light 12 is turned on for one second, and then the red light is turned on for one second. The control of turning on either white or red is alternately repeated for one second. When it is detected that the compressor 21 has an abnormality, the control of turning on the white light of the interior light 12 for 2 seconds and then turning on the red light for 1 second is repeated.

  In addition, the interior lamp 12 is provided with blue illumination in addition to white and red, and normally illuminates white, and when the compressor 21 has an abnormality, illuminates red, and the interior temperature becomes 30 ° C. The color to be lit may be changed according to the type of the abnormality, such as turning on blue at the above abnormal high temperature.

  It is sufficient that the user can visually distinguish between the normal state where no abnormality is detected and the abnormal state where the abnormality is detected, and the color of the illumination of the interior lamp 12 is not limited to the above-described color. The present invention is not limited to the example.

  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 in which the interior lamp 12 lights up. Thus, the user can clearly recognize what kind of abnormality has occurred in the refrigerator from the color information of the interior light 12, and easily communicate the details of the abnormality in the refrigerator when requesting repair. It is possible.

  According to at least one embodiment described above, the user can confirm the presence or absence of the abnormality of the refrigerator from the blinking of the interior light 12 or the exterior light 17, and can promptly respond to the abnormality of the refrigerator. It is possible.

  While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are provided 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 main body, 2 is an insulated box, 3 is a door, 4 is a cooler, 5 is an ice tray, 6 is an inside temperature sensor, 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 light (illumination device), 13a and 13b are door pockets, 14 is a soundproof mat, 15 is a leg, 15a is an adjustable leg, 16 is a throat, and 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 radiating pipe, 23 is a dryer, 24 is a capillary tube, 25 is a suction pipe, 31 is a microcomputer, and 32 is a microcomputer.

Claims (2)

An insulated box with an open front and a storage space inside,
A cooling device for cooling the storage space,
A door closing an opening of the storage space,
A lighting device for illuminating the outside of the refrigerator provided in the heat-insulating box,
A control unit for controlling the lighting device,
The lighting device is visible from below, and the lighting device is tilted so as to irradiate light obliquely forward and downward from above toward the installation surface on which the heat-insulating box is installed to illuminate the front of the heat-insulating box. Refrigerator provided. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device is provided on a front side of the refrigerator.

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