JP2021143801A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To simplify the necessity of controlling dimensions of wiring.SOLUTION: A refrigerator includes an outer case, an inner case, a unit, wiring of which one end is connected to the unit or inside of the unit and an outer case opening which is provided in the outer case. The unit includes a unit opening where one end of which is open in a space between the outer case and the inner case. The unit is partially or wholly disposed in the space via the outer case opening, or the unit opening is opposed to the outer case opening. The wiring extends through the space between the outer case and the inner case and is connected to the unit through the unit opening.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a connection line 23, which is wired in the foamed heat insulating material 4 of the housing 2 and is connected to the wireless communication means (IT adapter 25), is pulled out to the drawer portion 22 through the drawer port 20. (0011-0016, FIGS. 4 and 6). A connector 26 is provided at the tip of the connection line 23B, which is a part of the drawn connection line 23, and is connected to the connector 34 of the IT adapter 25. To elaborate on this point, since the connector 34 is provided above the main surface of the outer box 3, that is, outside the box body, the drawn connection line 23B extends to the outside of the box body as well. ..

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-17781

In the case of a structure in which the connection line 23 in the housing 2 is pulled out of the outer box 3 and connected to the IT adapter 25 as in Patent Document 1, the dimensional control of the connection line 23B drawn out to the outside is required. Since the connecting line 23 that is not drawn out is embedded in the foamed heat insulating material 4, it is difficult to change the dimensions of the connecting line 23B after filling and solidifying the foamed heat insulating material.

Then, if the connection line 23B is too short, it becomes difficult to connect to the IT adapter 25 during the assembly work, and the operator may forcibly pull the connection line 23 to damage it. If the connecting line 23B is too long, it is considered that the surplus portion is accommodated in the accommodating recess 21, but depending on the degree of the connecting line 23B, the assembly workability may be deteriorated or the connecting line 23B may be damaged by being forcibly folded back.

Further, when the foaming heat insulating material 4 is filled and foamed, foaming is usually used to support the outer box from the outside so that the outer box is not deformed by the foaming pressure. At this time, it is presumed that it is necessary to temporarily store and fix the connecting wire 23B before the filling and foaming process so that the connecting wire 23B does not come into contact with the foaming employment.

The present invention made in view of the above circumstances
With the outer box
Inner box and
With the unit
With the unit or the wiring with one end connected to the inside of the unit,
It has an outer box opening provided in the outer box, and has.
The unit has a unit opening at one end in the space between the outer box and the inner box.
A part or all of the unit is arranged in the space through the outer box opening, or the unit opening faces the outer box opening.
The wiring extends the space between the outer box and the inner box, and is connected to the unit through the unit opening.

Front view of the refrigerator of the embodiment Top view of the refrigerator of the embodiment Side view of the main part around the top surface of the refrigerator of the embodiment AA cross-sectional view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. AA cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 of the second embodiment

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment.
The refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerating room 2, an upper freezing room 3, an ice making room 4, a lower freezing room 5, and a vegetable room 6 from the top. Only the refrigerating chamber doors 2a and 2b are of the rotary type about the hinges 12 and 13, and the other storage chamber doors are of the drawer type. The hinges 12 and 13 are covered by the hinge covers 12a and 12b, respectively. A display panel 11 is arranged on the refrigerator door 2b, and the user can confirm or command the operation control state of the refrigerator 1 and the strength setting of the cooling temperature.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment.
On the top surface 10a of the outer box 10 made of metal, for example, a steel plate, a communication unit 50 capable of transmitting and receiving wireless radio waves to and from a communication terminal 100 (for example, a wireless router) prepared by the user separately from the refrigerator 1 and a refrigerator. A control board 18 for controlling the cooling control of 1 and communication with the communication unit 50 is arranged. The communication unit 50 is arranged behind the hinge cover 12a (may be the hinge cover 12b). If it is adjacent to the rear of the hinge cover 12a as in the present embodiment, it is easy to transmit and receive radio waves to and from the area on the front side of the refrigerator. On the other hand, if it is adjacent to the control board 18, the wiring 20 described later can be shortened, so that noise can be reduced. Therefore, the communication unit 50 may be provided on the projection surface in the left-right direction of the control board 18.

The control board 18 is provided, for example, on the back side of the outer box 10 in order to suppress the cause of radio wave interference during communication of the communication unit 50. In addition, it can be provided in the machine room provided at the lower part or the upper part on the back side.
The control board 18 is electrically connected to the communication unit 50 by wiring 20 and is electrically connected to the display panel 11 by wiring 19. Wiring 19 and 20 can extend inside the box (between the outer box 10 and the resin inner box 15). A vacuum heat insulating material 70 and a foam heat insulating material 30 are provided between the outer box 10 and the inner box 15. The foamed heat insulating material 30 may be a foamed filling material obtained by injecting a foam liquid, or a molded product molded in a process different from the assembly of the refrigerator.

In the present embodiment, the communication unit 50 and the hinge cover 12a are provided adjacent to each other but separated from each other, and are composed of separate parts. As a result, it is possible to suppress the vibration when the refrigerating chamber door 2a is closed from being transmitted to the communication unit 50 side via the hinge cover 12a. Further, the shapes of the hinge covers 12a and 12b can be made the same, the hinge covers 12a and 12b can be shared, and the assembling property can be improved.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part around the top surface 10a of the refrigerator 1 of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.
The communication unit 50 has a non-conductive lower cover 52 in which a part or all of the opening (outer box opening) from which a part of the top surface 10a is removed is provided, and a non-conductive lower cover 52 arranged above the lower cover 52. It has an upper cover 53 and. In the present embodiment, substantially all of the lower cover 52 is arranged in the outer box opening, and the rest is used for mounting with the upper cover 53, which cannot be seen from the side view as shown in FIG. In this way, at least a part of the communication unit 50 reaches the space between the outer box 10 and the inner box 15. As in the second embodiment described later, the size of the outer box opening may be so small that the lower cover 52 cannot be accommodated.

The lower cover 52 is made of resin, for example, and is fixed by the adhesive force of the foamed heat insulating material 30 filled between the outer box 10 and the inner box 15. That is, in the present embodiment, it is embedded on the inner box 15 side from the outer box opening. As a result, the height dimension of the communication unit 50 and the upper cover 53 can be suppressed, the height dimension of the refrigerator 1 can be designed compactly, and the installability can be improved.

A communication board 51 having an antenna portion 51a is housed in the space between the lower cover 52 and the upper cover 53. The upper cover 53 may be made of resin, for example. The radio waves transmitted and received by the antenna unit 51a can mainly pass through the upper cover 53.

In the present embodiment, the foam heat insulating material 30 is provided directly below the antenna portion 51a, and the vacuum heat insulating material 70 is not arranged. Therefore, since the top surface 10a containing the metal material having a high dielectric constant and the vacuum heat insulating material 70 do not exist on the vertical projection surface of the antenna portion 51a, radio interference can be suppressed. The antenna portion 51a may be provided on either the upper surface or the lower surface of the communication board 51, but in the present embodiment, the antenna portion 51a is provided on the lower surface side.

The lower cover 52 is formed with a protrusion 52c protruding upward, and the upper cover 53 is formed with a protrusion 53a protruding downward. These are inserted into holes (not shown) of the communication board 51. As a result, the communication board 51 can be positioned and fixed. Only one of the protrusions 52c and 53a may be used.

An opening (unit opening) on the side surface of the lower cover 52, which communicates with a space (inside the box) below the top surface 10a, which is a part of the outer box 10, and into which a connector portion 60, which is one end of the wiring 20, is fitted. Is formed. The unit opening may be provided on the bottom surface of the lower cover 52. The connector portion 60 may be, for example, a panel-mounted connector (panel lock). On the other hand, the connector portion 51b is arranged on the communication board 51. The connector portions 51b and 60 are electrically connected by a relay line 54 provided in the space inside the communication unit 50. If the connector portion 51b is arranged in an area that can be directly connected to the connector portion 60, the relay line 54 may not be provided. However, since the connector portions 51b and 60 can be separated by providing the relay line 54 as in the present embodiment, the heights of the connector portions 51b and 60 can be made different. Thereby, in the present embodiment, the floor surface height of the communication board 51 can be made closer to the outer box 10 than the recess 52d, so that the installation space for the heat insulating material such as the foamed heat insulating material 30 can be increased.

With such a structure, substantially all of the wiring 20 connecting the communication unit 50 and the control board 18 extends inside the box body 10 and can be connected to the communication unit 50 from the space inside the box body 10. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the need for the outer box 10 to be pulled out to the outside, so that dimensional control is easy.

In the present embodiment, the foam insulating material 30 is a foam filling material. Therefore, the wiring 20 is embedded in the foam insulating material 30. If the connector portion 60 is fixed to the unit opening or the communication unit 50 or the inside thereof before the filling process of the foam insulation material 30, the extra dimensions of the wiring 20 are embedded in the foam insulation material 30, so that the wiring length becomes excessive. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of a situation in which bending occurs or the wiring length is insufficient to connect. Further, in the case of a model in which the communication board 51 is not installed, it is not necessary to provide a space for accommodating the wiring 20 drawn out to the outside of the outer box 10 in the lower cover 52, so that the lower cover 52 can be miniaturized and the lower cover 52 can be miniaturized. The heat insulating thickness of the foamed heat insulating material 30 around the 52 can be increased.

The connector portion 60 has a first locking portion 60a that is substantially in contact with the outside of the lower cover 52. As a result, after filling the foamed heat insulating material 30, the foamed heat insulating material 4 comes into close contact with the first locking portion 60a, so that the connector portion 60 can be firmly fixed. An elastic sealing material (not shown) is interposed between the first locking portion 60a and the lower cover 52. As a result, it is possible to prevent the urethane foam 30 from entering the communication unit 50 through the gap between the connector portion 60 and the unit opening.
Further, the connector portion 60 includes an elastic second locking portion 60b that has entered the inside of the communication unit 50. Even if the wiring 20 is pulled after the connector portion 60 is fitted into the unit opening and before the foaming heat insulating material 30 is filled, the second locking portion 60b abuts on the inner wall of the lower cover 52 and is caught. This prevents the connector portion 60 from coming out of the unit opening.

The lower cover 52 has a recess 52d recessed vertically downward in a region where the wireless substrate 51 is not arranged. When water infiltrates into the communication unit 50, the water can be guided to the recess 52d, and the infiltration of the communication board 51 can be suppressed.

The connector portion 60 is separated from the bottom of the recess 52d (for example, 4 mm or more). As a result, when water infiltrates into the communication unit 50 and water collects in the lower cover 52, it is possible to prevent the connector portion 60 from infiltrating, and urethane foam is formed through the unit opening into which the connector portion 60 is fitted. It is possible to prevent water from entering the 30 side.

Further, the dimension of the portion L1 in which the connector portion 60 is inside the communication unit 50 is larger than the dimension of the portion L2 outside the communication unit 50 (L1> L2). Further, the connector portion 60 may be attached to the lower cover 52 in the vertical direction, but it is desirable that the connector portion 60 extends in the horizontal direction as in the present embodiment. By doing so, when the vacuum heat insulating material 70 is attached to the inside of the outer box 10 and around the connector portion 60, it is possible to prevent the vacuum heat insulating material 70 from being accidentally contacted with the connector portion 60 and damaged.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. Urethane foam 30 and vacuum heat insulating materials 70a and 70b are provided in the space formed between the top surface 10a and the side surface 10c of the outer box 10 and the resin inner box 15. The ends of the vacuum heat insulating materials 70a and 70b reach the vicinity of the corners 10f of the outer box 10, respectively, and the lower cover 52 is provided at the corners 10f.

Further, the dimensions of the antenna portion 51a and the vacuum heat insulating material 70b including the metal material are arranged so as to be separated by a dimension that does not cause radio interference or more (for example, 30 mm or more).

<Embodiment 2>
The configuration of the second embodiment can be the same as that of the first embodiment except for the following points. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2 in the second embodiment.

Below the lower cover 52, there is a top surface 10a having a shape recessed along the shape of the lower cover 52. The lower cover 52 is arranged so as to face the recess of the top surface 10a. An outer box opening facing the unit opening is provided in a part of the recess in accordance with the position of the unit opening, and the connector portion 60 can be connected to the communication unit 50 via the unit opening and the outer box opening. That is, in the present embodiment, the outer box opening does not accommodate substantially the entire lower cover of the communication unit 50, but is sized to match the unit opening.

In order to suppress radio interference caused by metal in the recess of the top surface 10a, the total of the distance between the antenna portion 51a and the lower cover 52 and the plate thickness dimension of the lower cover 52 is equal to or more than a predetermined value (10 mm in this embodiment). Above) It is provided.

A radio wave absorbing member 55 that transmits and attenuates a part of the incident radio wave is arranged between the communication board 51 and the top surface 10a (outer box 10). As a result, it is possible to reduce radio interference due to reflection of radio waves by the metal top surface 10a arranged in the vicinity of the communication board 51, the vacuum heat insulating materials 70a, 70b whose outer surface is covered with aluminum foil, and the like, and the communication board. The distance between the 51 and the top surface 10a can be designed to be short. As a result, the height dimension of the refrigerator 1 can be made compact, and a refrigerator with a high degree of freedom in installation can be provided.

It is desirable that the radio wave absorbing member 55 is in the form of a sheet having excellent flexibility such as rubber or silicon. As a result, when the lower cover 52 has an uneven shape, the radio wave absorbing member 55 can be provided along the shape, and radio interference can be suppressed more effectively. The radio wave absorbing member 55 may be interposed between the communication board 51 and the top surface 10a.

In the first embodiment, the communication unit 50 is arranged on the inner box 15 side of the main surface of the outer box 10 through the large outer box opening, and in the second embodiment, the communication unit 50 is arranged in the recess of the outer box 10. As a result, the size of the communication unit 50 protruding from the main surface of the outer box 10 is reduced. If there is no problem even if the protruding dimension is large, a small outer box opening may be provided directly on the main surface of the outer box 10 and a unit opening facing the outer box opening may be provided without providing a large outer box opening or dent.

1 ... refrigerator, 10 ... outer box, 10a ... top surface, 10c ... side surface, 10f ... corner, 10g ... opening (outer box opening), 12, 13 ... hinge, 15 ... inner box, 18 ... control board, 19, 20 ... Wiring, 30 ... Foam heat insulating material, 50 ... Communication unit, 51 ... Communication board, 51a ... Antenna part, 52 ... Lower cover (cover), 52b ... Bottom, 52c ... Projection, 52d ... Recess, 53 ... Top cover , 54 ... Relay line, 60 ... Connector part, 70a, 70b ... Vacuum heat insulating material, 100 ... Home communication terminal, 101 ... External antenna.

Claims (7)

With the outer box
Inner box and
With the unit
With the unit or the wiring with one end connected to the inside of the unit,
It has an outer box opening provided in the outer box, and has.
The unit has a unit opening at one end in the space between the outer box and the inner box.
A part or all of the unit is arranged in the space through the outer box opening, or the unit opening faces the outer box opening.
The wiring extends the space between the outer box and the inner box, and is connected to the unit through the unit opening. It has a foam filler of foam insulation arranged in the space between the outer box and the inner box.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the wiring extends through the foamed heat insulating material. The wiring has a connector portion that enters the unit through the unit opening.
It has a relay line that electrically connects the substrate housed in the unit and the connector portion.
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover is located vertically below the floor surface in the area where the connector portion is inserted or in the vicinity thereof than the floor surface in the area where the substrate is attached. .. The connector part
It enters the unit through the unit opening provided on the side surface of the unit.
The refrigerator according to claim 3, which is located on the vertically lower side of the connector portion and is separated from the floor surface of the cover. It has a hinge and a hinge cover arranged on the top surface of the outer box.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the unit is provided on the top surface and is not in contact with the hinge cover. The outer box has a dent and
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the unit is arranged so as to face the recess. The unit is a communication unit that transmits and receives radio waves.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a radio wave absorbing member is provided between the communication unit and the outer box.

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