JP2020034165A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator with improved convenience which does not require a user to pay attention to injuries or the like.SOLUTION: A refrigerator has: a plurality of storage chambers; a door opening device which has doors covering the respective plurality of storage chambers, which forms at least a part of the door as a drawable door drawable in the back and forth directions, and supports opening the drawable door; and an operation part for operating the door opening device. The operation part of the door opening device is arranged on a door different from the drawable door opened by the opening device, and an opening amount of the drawable door opened by the door opening device is 35 cm or less. With respect to a dimension of the door operation or time until when the opening operation is over, a door opening function is adjusted within the range that the user can safely use, and the electric door opening function can be performed without causing the user to feel danger.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Conventionally, an electric door opening function that assists opening of a refrigerator door has a configuration in which a button is provided on the door to be opened, and the door is opened by an electric door opening device provided in the refrigerator body by operating the button. It has been disclosed. (For example, see Patent Document 2)
In addition, in the refrigerator described in Patent Literature 1, an electric opening function is adopted in a lower drawer door (freezing room, vegetable room), and the opening button (operation unit) is rotated at an upper level, which is the level of the line of sight. It is equipped with a door (refrigerated room).

Japanese Patent No. 04861927 Japanese Patent No. 04902385

  However, in the refrigerator of Patent Literature 2, when using the electric door opening function, the lower door must be bent and operated to operate the lower door, and after the button is operated and the electric door opening operation is completed. You must bend your waist all the time. Therefore, if the button on the upper door has a button as in the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, the problem is solved. However, when the button is operated, the door that is electrically opened is not seen. If care is not taken, care must be taken because the user may be injured.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in a refrigerator provided with a mechanism for assisting opening of a door, a refrigerator is provided which does not require a user to be injured or the like when an opening means is provided on a door different from the opening door. It is in.

    In order to solve the above problem, for example, a configuration described in the claims is adopted. The present application includes a plurality of means for solving the above-described problems, and, for example, has a plurality of storage rooms and a door that covers each of the plurality of storage rooms, at least a part of the doors. Is a refrigerator formed as a drawer door that can be pulled out in the front-rear direction, comprising: a door opening device that assists in opening the drawer door; and an operation unit for operating the door opening device. The operation unit is arranged on a door different from the drawer door opened by the opening device, and the opening amount of the drawer door opened by the door opening device is 35 cm or less.

  Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, in a refrigerator in which a door opened by an electric opening device and an operation unit for opening are provided on different doors, the user can safely use the door opening dimensions or the time until the opening operation is completed. The door opening function is adjusted to the extent possible, and the electric door opening function can be operated without causing the user to feel danger.

Refrigerator body perspective view Explanatory cross-sectional view such as the positional relationship of the door opening device Illustration of the amount of door opening by the door opening function

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a refrigerator according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view of a main part of the refrigerator in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  1 and 2, the refrigerator main body 1 is divided into a plurality of storage rooms, and a refrigerator room 2 is provided at the uppermost portion, and the refrigerator door is, for example, a double-sided double-door that opens on both the left and right sides. The door 2a is provided. The lower side of the refrigerator compartment 2 is a storage compartment divided into right and left. For example, one of the compartments is a function switching compartment 3, and the other stores ice produced by an automatic ice making device (not shown). The ice making room 4 is taken out.

  Here, the freezer compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are provided with a freezer compartment door 5a and a vegetable compartment door 6a which can be pulled out forward and backward, and the freezer compartment door 5a of at least one of the freezer compartment 5 or the vegetable compartment 6 is provided. The room door 6a is configured to be electrically opened as described later.

  The freezer compartment door 5a and the vegetable compartment door 6a are configured to be able to be pulled out by electric power. The freezer compartment door 5a and the vegetable compartment door 6a, which can be pulled out by electric power, can be manually operated by operating the push buttons shown in the freezer compartment door open switch 8a and the vegetable compartment door open switch 8b. Can be opened with about 1/10 of the force. In the embodiment, in the state where 25 kg is stored in the freezer, the force for pushing the electric button is about 4 Newtons, while the conventional manual withdrawal force is about 40 Newtons. This makes it easy to open with a single hand even in a heavy room full of vegetables, in a freezer compartment with a large capacity of about 170 L or in a vegetable compartment that is located below the freezer compartment and is hard to put power when opening the door. it can.

  In this manner, the refrigerator is provided with the drawer doors of the electric freezer compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 which can be easily opened with one hand, and the refrigerator compartment doors 2a which open on the left and right sides of the refrigerator compartment 2 which can be opened with the small force. As a result, even a large refrigerator can open all the doors without requiring great force. As a result, all doors can be easily opened and closed by a child, an elderly person, and other persons without great power. In addition, since it can be opened with a small force, it can be easily opened even when holding a luggage in a hand or sitting in a wheelchair without dropping the luggage or wobbling due to a reaction force at the time of opening and closing.

  The refrigerator compartment 2 includes a refrigerator compartment 5 provided below the refrigerator compartment 2, and a vegetable compartment 6 provided below the refrigerator compartment 5. The refrigerator compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 include: A freezer compartment door 5a and a vegetable compartment door 6a that can be pulled back and forth are provided, and the freezer compartment door 5a of the freezer compartment 5 is configured to be electrically opened as described later. The freezer compartment 5 is provided in the middle of the refrigerator, and although it is a frequently used freezer compartment, the drawer door is automatically turned over by overcoming the suction force of the freezer compartment door 5a due to the cold internal space and the magnetizing force of the seal packing. It is necessary to draw out. Usability is improved by electrically pulling out the drawer door.

  In addition, since the freezing room 5 is arranged in the middle stage of the refrigerator, the freezing room at a low temperature, for example, −20 degrees, is not adjacent to the machine room 52 at which the compressor is arranged and has a high temperature, for example, 50 ° C. Adjacent to a cooler room (not shown) at a low temperature, for example, −40 ° C. in which a vessel is arranged, and by reducing the temperature difference between the adjacent rooms, the thickness of the heat insulating wall between the adjacent rooms is reduced. Can be smaller. Also, the temperature difference in the vegetable room was similarly reduced, and the heat insulating material between the adjacent machine room was made thinner.

  Further, in the above-described configuration, a configuration is provided in which a cooler is provided behind the freezer compartment 5. Thereby, since the temperature difference between the freezer compartment 5 and the cooler can be small, the thickness of the heat insulating wall separating the freezer compartment 5 and the cooler is smaller than when the cooler is provided on the back side of the vegetable compartment 6. As a result, it is possible to further increase the internal volume of the freezer compartment 5. Here, the internal volume is a rated internal volume defined by JIS. For this reason, more force is required when pulling out the freezing compartment 5, but by adopting a configuration that can be pulled out electrically, usability can be improved.

  Hereinafter, the door driving device will be described using the vegetable room 6 as an example. The same applies to the freezer compartment 5.

  The vegetable room door 6a and the container 12 for storing food are supported by the door frame 400 so as to be freely drawn out toward the user.

  A door driving device 500 is provided inside the vegetable compartment 6. The door driving device 500 includes a main body driving device 600 fixedly provided on the refrigerator main body 1 side and including a motor serving as a driving source as a rotation driving unit and a deceleration mechanism for decelerating the rotation of the motor. A connection member 700 provided on a reinforcing member 410 that is opened and closed together with the door 6a of the chamber 6 and that is connected to the left and right door frames 400 in the present embodiment is provided. Then, a force is applied to the connecting member 700 in the moving direction of the door frame 400 to open and close the vegetable compartment door 6a.

  Then, in the vegetable compartment 6, it is detected whether or not the vegetable compartment 6 is completely closed (that is, whether or not the vegetable compartment door 6a is in a closed state), and the control means 51 is described later. Is provided with a first door state detecting means 510 configured to send the signal. As a method of installing the first door state detection means 510, for example, a magnetic detection sensor 512 constituting the first door state detection means 510 is provided in the driving device 600 on the main body side, and the magnetic detection sensor 512 is installed. By providing the operating member 521 on the connecting member 700, it is possible to reliably detect whether the vegetable compartment 6 is completely closed (ie, whether the vegetable compartment door 6a is in the closed state).

  An operation display unit 7 is provided on the refrigerator compartment door, and an open switch 8a for the freezer compartment door 5a and an open switch 8b for the vegetable compartment door 6a are provided. The user pushes the switch to open the drawer. This is a configuration that can instruct an operation. Here, when the freezer compartment 5 is provided above the vegetable compartment 6, the open switch 8a of the freezer compartment door is provided above the open switch 8b of the vegetable compartment door, and is provided in the same manner as the positional relationship of the door. This is preferable because it is easy for the user to determine which open switch 8 should be operated when operating.

  The signal of the open switch 8a of the freezer compartment door 5a and the signal of the open switch 8b of the vegetable compartment door 6a are sent to the control means 51 together with the signal of the first door state detecting means 510. The control means 51 sends a drive signal to the drive device 600 based on the signal of the open switch 8a of the freezer compartment door 5a, the signal of the open switch 8b of the vegetable compartment door 6a, and the signal of the first door state detection means 510. Send. Thus, the operation of the driving device 600 is controlled.

  Assuming that the operation of operating this operation unit is to stand in front of the refrigerator 1 and press the switch 8a or 8b of the operation unit 7 with an index finger without applying force while holding nothing in hand, the Japanese When the average height of an adult woman is about 155 cm and the above-mentioned operation is performed by a person who is 150 cm slightly lower than the average, the space between the refrigerator main body 1 and the person is about 40 cm. Therefore, if the opening amount of the door is less than 40 cm, the possibility of hitting the operator is small, and it is considered that there is no problem in safety. Therefore, in consideration of the safety likelihood of 5 cm, the opening amount A of the vegetable room door 6a opened by the door driving device 500 is set to 35 cm or less.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerator surface 2a, the switching room door 3a, the ice making room door 4a, the freezing room door 5a, and the vegetable room door 6a are formed on the same surface. The opening amount A is a distance from the closed state of the vegetable compartment door 6a to the open state by the driving device 600 as shown in FIG. In other words, it is the distance between the surface of the vegetable compartment door 6a in the open state and the surface of the freezer compartment door 5a in the closed state.

  In order to set the opening amount A to 35 cm or less, for example, a damper for gradually reducing the urging force of the door driving device 500 is provided between the driving device 600 and the connecting member 700, and the damper is set so that the opening amount A is 35 cm or less. adjust. Alternatively, a stopper is provided on the connecting member 700 so that the movement of the vegetable compartment door 6a stops at a position where the opening amount A is 35 cm or less. In this state, a release function is provided so that the damper or stopper function is released so that when the user manually pulls out the vegetable compartment door 6a beyond the opening amount A, the vegetable room door 6a can be pulled out without any obstacle.

  In addition, the opening amount A is set to 35 cm or less. However, in consideration of children and the elderly, the opening degree A may be set to 30 cm or less, and the opening degree A may be set to 25 cm or less by further increasing the degree of safety.

  Also, for example, it is safe to move the vegetable compartment door 6a at a relatively high speed in a region having an opening amount of A25 cm or less, and to move the vegetable room door 6a at a relatively slow speed in a region having an opening amount of A35 cm or less. The degree improves.

  In order to further enhance safety, there is a method of extending the operation time of the opening operation by the door driving device 500. The operation time at this time is a time from when the switch 8 is operated to when the opening of the drawer door stops. The earlier this operation time is, the faster the convenience will be, but the greater the risk of the open door hitting the operator or other people or pets in the vicinity, and at the same time the falling or falling of the stored food, etc. It is possible that the damage was caused. Conversely, if it is too long, if the time taken for a small number of operations (in this example, the operation of simply opening the door) is long, irritation will occur, and there is a feeling that you do not want to enjoy the irritation rather than convenience. Will win. Therefore, this function is not used. However, considering the safety, the longer the operation time, the better. Therefore, it is important to set an operation time that can achieve both safety and convenience. In developing this function, as a result of investigating the operation time with a plurality of monitors, there are opinions that two seconds indicate “early” and that after four seconds “slow” increases. Therefore, it can be said that the intermediate operation time of about 3 seconds is the most suitable operation time. However, it may take three seconds or more for the door opened by the opening operation of the door opening device to completely stop due to the inertia force of its own weight, depending on the load amount of food or the like stored in the container. Even in such a case, as described above, since the load and the operation of the door and the storage object having a large mass become particularly large, the control is not performed so as to shorten the opening time. Doing so can increase safety. This operation can be easily performed by programming the control operation in the control means 51 in advance.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator main body 1c Inner box back surface 2 Refrigerating room 2a Refrigerating room door 3 Switching room 3a Switching room door 4 Ice making room 5 Freezing room 5a Freezing room door 6 Vegetable room 6a Vegetable room door 7 Operation display part 8 Open switch 8a Freezing room door Open switch 8b Open switch 12 for the vegetable compartment door Container 13 Closer 14 Magnet packing 51 Control means 52 Machine room 72 Door gap 400 Door frame 410 Reinforcement member 500 Door driving device 510 First door state detecting means 511, 521 Magnet 512, 522 Magnetic detection sensor 520 Second door state detecting means 600 Main body side driving device 700 Connecting member A Door opening amount

Claims (4)

  A refrigerator having a plurality of storage rooms and a door covering each of the plurality of storage rooms, wherein at least a part of the doors are formed as drawer doors that can be pulled out in the front-rear direction. An auxiliary door opening device and an operation unit for operating the door opening device, comprising an operation unit of the door opening device, which is arranged on a door different from a drawer door opened by the opening device, The refrigerator, wherein the opening amount of the drawer door opened by the door opening device is 35 cm or less.   2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a time until the opening operation of the drawer door is completed by the door opening device is 3 seconds or more.   3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the drawer door is arranged at a lower portion of the refrigerator.   4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the operation unit is provided on a door disposed above the refrigerator.

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