JP2022095342A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator that has a high degree of freedom of design, and can output voice.SOLUTION: A refrigerator according to an embodiment comprises a case including a storage chamber, a door 11Ab (right refrigerating chamber door) for openably closing the storage chamber, and a vibrator 30 provided so as to be surrounded by a heat insulation material 80, and for outputting vibration on the basis of an inputted acoustic signal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a refrigerator.

Refrigerators that are equipped with speakers and can output sound are known. By the way, it may be preferable that the refrigerator has a high degree of freedom in design.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-21731

An object to be solved by the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of outputting voice with a high degree of freedom in design.

The refrigerator of the embodiment includes a housing including a storage chamber, a door that can open and close the storage chamber, and a vibrating device that is surrounded by a heat insulating material and outputs vibration based on an input acoustic signal. ,have.

Front view of the refrigerator of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line F2-F2 of the refrigerator shown in FIG. A perspective view showing the right refrigerator door of the refrigerator. The same right is an exploded perspective view of the refrigerator door. The cross-sectional view along the F5-F5 line of the right refrigerating room door shown in FIG. The perspective view of the exciter of the same right refrigerating room door. The perspective view of the modification of the exciter of the right refrigerating room door. An exploded perspective view of the right refrigerating room door of the refrigerator of the second embodiment. Cross-sectional view of the same right refrigerating room door. The same right is an exploded perspective view of a modified example of the refrigerator compartment door. The cross-sectional view of the modification of the right refrigerating room door. The perspective view of the refrigerator of 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line F6-F6 of the refrigerator shown in FIG. A perspective view of a modified example of the refrigerator. The perspective view of the refrigerator of 4th Embodiment. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line F7-F7 of the refrigerator shown in FIG. Top view of the refrigerator in the vertical direction. A perspective view of a modified example of the refrigerator. The perspective view which shows the pipe member such as a radiating pipe and a dew-proof pipe.

Hereinafter, the refrigerator of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, configurations having the same or similar functions are designated by the same reference numerals. Then, the duplicate description of those configurations may be omitted.

In this specification, left and right are defined with reference to the direction in which the user standing in front of the refrigerator sees the refrigerator. In addition, the side closer to the user standing in front of the refrigerator when viewed from the refrigerator is defined as "front", and the side far from the refrigerator is defined as "rear". As used herein, the "horizontal width direction" means the left-right direction in the above definition. As used herein, the "depth direction" means the front-back direction in the above definition. In the figure, the + X direction is the right direction, the −X direction is the left direction, the + Y direction is the rear direction, the −Y direction is the front direction, the + Z direction is the upward direction, and the −Z direction is the downward direction.

(First Embodiment)
[Overall configuration of refrigerator]
The refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. First, the overall configuration of the refrigerator 1 will be described. However, the refrigerator 1 does not have to have all of the configurations described below, and some configurations may be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the refrigerator 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line F2-F2 of the refrigerator 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the refrigerator 1 includes, for example, a housing 10, a plurality of doors 11, a plurality of shelves 12, a plurality of containers 13, a flow path forming component 14, a cooling unit 15, a control board 16, and a like. It has a shaker 30 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). In the present embodiment, the refrigerator main body 5 is formed by the above-mentioned configuration other than the plurality of doors 11.

The housing 10 includes, for example, an inner box 10a, an outer box 10b, and a foamed heat insulating material 10c. The inner box 10a is a member that forms the inner surface of the housing 10, and is made of, for example, a synthetic resin. The outer box 10b is a member that forms the outer surface of the housing 10, and is made of metal, for example. The outer box 10b is formed to be one size larger than the inner box 10a, and is arranged outside the inner box 10a. The foamed heat insulating material 10c is a foamed heat insulating material such as urethane foam, and is filled between the inner box 10a and the outer box 10b. As a result, the housing 10 has a heat insulating property.

The housing 10 has an upper wall 21, a lower wall 22, left and right side walls 23, 24, and a rear wall 25. The upper wall 21 and the lower wall 22 extend substantially horizontally. The left and right side walls 23 and 24 stand upward from the left and right ends of the lower wall 22 and are connected to the left and right ends of the upper wall 21. The rear wall 25 stands upward from the rear end portion of the lower wall 22 and is connected to the rear end portion of the upper wall 21.

A plurality of storage chambers 27 are provided inside the housing 10. The plurality of storage chambers 27 include, for example, a refrigerator compartment 27A, a vegetable compartment 27B, an ice making chamber 27C, a small freezing chamber 27D, and a main freezing chamber 27E. In the present embodiment, the refrigerating room 27A is arranged at the uppermost part, the vegetable room 27B is arranged below the refrigerating room 27A, the ice making room 27C and the small freezing room 27D are arranged below the vegetable room 27B, and the ice making room 27C and the small freezing room 27D are arranged. The main freezing chamber 27E is arranged below the small freezing chamber 27D. However, the arrangement of the storage chamber 27 is not limited to the above example, and for example, the ice making chamber 27C and the small freezing chamber 27D are arranged below the refrigerating chamber 27A, and the main freezing chamber is arranged below the ice making chamber 27C and the small freezing chamber 27D. The 27E may be arranged, and the vegetable chamber 27B may be arranged below the main freezing chamber 27E. The housing 10 has an opening on the front side of each storage chamber 27 that allows food to be taken in and out of each storage chamber 27.

The openings of the plurality of storage chambers 27 are opened and closed by the plurality of doors 11. The plurality of doors 11 include, for example, the left and right refrigerating room doors 11Aa and 11Ab that close the opening of the refrigerating room 27A, the vegetable room door 11B that closes the opening of the vegetable room 27B, the ice making room door 11C that closes the opening of the ice making room 27C, and small freezing. It includes a small freezer door 11D that closes the opening of the chamber 27D and a main freezer door 11E that closes the opening of the main freezer 27E.

The left and right refrigerating room doors 11Aa and 11Ab are, for example, double doors. The left and right refrigerating chamber doors 11Aa and 11Ab are rotatably supported by the housing 10 by hinges 10h. In the present embodiment, the width of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab in the width direction is larger than the width of the left refrigerating room door 11Aa in the width direction.

On the other hand, the vegetable room door 11B, the ice making room door 11C, the small freezing room door 11D, and the main freezing room door 11E are, for example, pull-out doors. The vegetable room door 11B, the ice making room door 11C, the small freezing room door 11D, and the main freezing room door 11E are supported by rails so as to be retractable with respect to the housing 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 10 has first and second partition portions 28, 29. The first and second partition portions 28 and 29 are, for example, partition walls along substantially the horizontal direction, respectively. The first partition portion 28 is located between the refrigerating chamber 27A and the vegetable compartment 27B, and partitions the refrigerating chamber 27A and the vegetable compartment 27B. On the other hand, the second partition portion 29 is located between the vegetable compartment 27B and the ice making chamber 27C and the small freezing chamber 27D, and partitions the vegetable chamber 27B from the ice making chamber 27C and the small freezing chamber 27D. .. No partition wall is provided between the ice making chamber 27C and the small freezing chamber 27D and the main freezing chamber 27E.

The plurality of shelves 12 are arranged in the refrigerator compartment 27A.
The plurality of containers 13 are arranged in the refrigerating room container 13A (for example, the chilled room container) arranged in the refrigerating room 27A, the first and second vegetable room containers 13Ba and 13Bb arranged in the vegetable room 27B, and the ice making room 27C. Includes a chilled container (not shown), a small freezer container 13D arranged in the small freezer 27D, and first and second main freezer containers 13Ea, 13Eb arranged in the main freezer 27E.

The flow path forming component 14 is arranged in the housing 10. The flow path forming component 14 includes, for example, a first duct component 14A and a second duct component 14B. The first duct component 14A is provided along the rear wall 25 of the housing 10 and extends in the vertical direction. The first duct component 14A forms a flow path for flowing the cold air supplied from the cooling unit 15 to the refrigerating chamber 27A and the vegetable compartment 27B, respectively. The second duct component 14B is provided along the rear wall 25 of the housing 10 and extends in the vertical direction. The second duct component 14B forms a flow path for flowing the cold air supplied from the cooling unit 15 to the ice making chamber 27C, the small freezing chamber 27D, and the main freezing chamber 27E.

The cooling unit 15 includes a first cooling unit 15A, a second cooling unit 15B, and a compressor 45. The first cooling unit 15A includes, for example, a first cooler 41 and a first fan 42 arranged in a flow path formed by the first duct component 14A. The second cooling unit 15B includes, for example, a second cooler 43 and a second fan 44 arranged in a flow path formed by the second duct component 14B.

The compressor 45 is provided, for example, in the machine room 26 at the bottom of the refrigerator 1. The compressor 45 compresses the refrigerant gas used for cooling the storage chamber 27. The refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 45 is sent to the first cooler 41 and the second cooler 43 via a suction pipe or the like.

The control board 16 controls the entire refrigerator 1 in an integrated manner. For example, the control board 16 controls the drive of the first fan 42, the second fan 44, the compressor 45, and the like based on the detection results of the temperature sensors provided in the refrigerating chamber 27A, the main freezing chamber 27E, and the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the control board 16 is mounted on the upper wall 21 of the housing 10 together with the cover 17.

[Structure of right refrigerating room door 11Ab]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. Although not shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. 3, on the rear surface side of the right refrigerating chamber door 11Ab, the door containers 18A and 18B whose height positions can be changed and the door container fixed to the lower part are shown. 19 and are attached detachably.

The right refrigerating room door 11Ab includes, for example, an outer member 50 and a gasket 55. The outer member 50 is formed in a box shape. The "box shape" as used herein also includes a flat box shape. The outer member 50 has, for example, a frame 51, a front plate 52, and a rear member 53.

The frame body 51 is formed in the shape of a rectangular frame. The frame body 51 includes an upper side member 51a, a lower side member 51b, a left side member 51c, and a right side member 51d. The upper side member 51a has a plate shape along the width direction and the depth direction, and forms the upper surface of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. The lower side member 51b has a plate shape along the width direction and the depth direction, and forms the lower surface of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. The left side member 51c has a plate shape along the vertical direction and the depth direction, and forms the left side surface of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. The right side member 51d has a plate shape along the vertical direction and the depth direction, and forms the right side surface of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. The frame 51 is formed by combining the upper side member 51a, the lower side member 51b, the left side member 51c, and the right side member 51d with each other. The frame 51 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin.

The front plate 52 is attached to the frame 51 and is located at the front end of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. The front plate 52 is a plate member along the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and forms the front surface of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. The front plate 52 is, for example, a glass plate. However, the front plate 52 is not limited to the glass plate, and may be formed of a synthetic resin or another material.

The rear member 53 is attached to the frame 51 from the side opposite to the front plate 52, and is located at the rear end of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. The rear surface member 53 forms the rear surface of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. The rear surface member 53 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin.

The rear member 53 has a rib 61 protruding rearward. The rib 61 projects from the rear member 53 toward the refrigerating chamber 27A (storage chamber) in a state where the right refrigerating chamber door 11Ab is closed with respect to the housing 10. In the present specification, the term "rib" is a name for convenience of explanation, and broadly means a portion protruding rearward from the rear surface member 53, and is not limited to a specific shape or action.

The rib 61 is formed in an annular shape, which is one size smaller than the outer shape of the frame 51, for example. The term "ring" as used herein is not limited to the case where the entire circumference is completely continuous, but also includes the case where a notch or the like is provided and a part of the circumference is interrupted.

The rear surface member 53 has a convex portion 62 protruding in the rear direction (+ Y direction) at the central portion. The convex portion 62 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from the front-rear direction (± Y direction, thickness direction). As shown in FIG. 3, the convex portion 62 is provided on the lower side of the door container 18B attached to the lowermost stage at the mountable position. For example, when a container such as a large PET bottle is stored in the door container 19, the upper side of the container such as the PET bottle is often narrowed, so that the convex portion 62 is difficult to come into contact with the container such as the PET bottle. That is, the convex portion 62 is provided in the dead space on the storage, and is less likely to be an obstacle to the user.

The gasket 55 is attached to the rear surface member 53. More specifically, the rear member 53 has a throat 63 that is a recess toward the inside of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. For example, the throat 63 is formed in an annular shape surrounding the outer peripheral side of the rib 61. The gasket 55 is attached to the throat 63 by being inserted into the throat 63 provided on the rear member 53 of the right refrigerating chamber door 11Ab. As a result, the gasket 55 is fixed to the rear surface member 53.

Here, the configurations of the left refrigerator compartment door 11Aa, the vegetable compartment door 11B, the ice making chamber door 11C, the small freezer compartment door 11D, and the main freezer compartment door 11E are the same as the configurations of the right refrigerator compartment door 11Ab described above. That is, the configuration of the left refrigerating room door 11Aa, the vegetable room door 11B, the ice making room door 11C, the small freezing room door 11D, and the main freezing room door 11E is described in the above description regarding the right refrigerating room door 11Ab as "the right refrigerating room door 11Ab". "11Ab" may be read as "left refrigerating room door 11Aa", "vegetable room door 11B", "ice making room door 11C", "small freezing room door 11D", or "main freezing room door 11E".

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line F5-F5 shown in FIG.
Next, the internal structure of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab will be described. A vibration exciter 30 and a foam heat insulating material 80 are arranged inside the right refrigerating room door 11Ab.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the exciter 30.
The exciter 30 is attached to the front plate 52 inside the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. The exciter 30 outputs vibration based on the supplied acoustic signal (including audio signal). The exciter 30 vibrates the front plate 52. An acoustic signal is supplied to the exciter 30 via an electric signal line (not shown) connected to the control board 16. The exciter 30 has an exciter plate 31 and an exciter member 32.

The vibration plate 31 is formed in a plate shape and is a member that vibrates the vibration target. As shown in FIG. 5, the vibration exciter plate 31 is provided so as to abut on the substantially central portion of the back surface (rearward side surface) of the front plate 52. The vibration exciter plate 31 is attached to the front plate 52 by a screw, an adhesive tape, or the like.

The vibration member 32 generates a drive signal based on the supplied acoustic signal and vibrates the vibration plate 31. The vibration member 32 generates vibration by using a member that acoustically vibrates, for example, a voice coil or a piezo element. The generated vibration is transmitted to the back surface of the front plate 52 via the vibration plate 31.

The vibrating device 30 vibrates the entire front plate 52 by vibrating the back surface of the front plate 52. As a result, sound is emitted with the surface of the front plate 52 as a sound emitting surface. The exciter 30 is not limited to the above configuration, and an appropriately selected exciter from known exciters may be used.

The internal space S1 surrounded by the frame 51, the front plate 52, and the rear member 53 is filled with the foamed heat insulating material 80. The foamed heat insulating material 80 is a heat insulating material made of a foam such as urethane foam. As the foamed heat insulating material 80, the same material as the foamed heat insulating material 10c may be used.

The exciter 30 is provided surrounded by the foamed heat insulating material 80. Specifically, the exciter 30 is provided by being embedded in the foamed heat insulating material 80. A space around the exciter 30 is secured in consideration of the vibration of the exciter 30 so that the foam insulating material 80 is not filled.

As shown in FIG. 5, the convex portion 62 provided on the rear surface member 53 is arranged at a position overlapping with the exciter 30 when viewed from the front-rear direction (± Y direction, thickness direction). Further, the foam insulating material 80 is also filled in the internal space S2 of the convex portion 62. Therefore, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the heat insulating property due to the vibration vibrator 30 being provided in the region where the foamed heat insulating material 80 is conventionally filled.

Next, the operation and operation of the refrigerator 1 will be described.
By detecting a touch operation on the operation panel (not shown) by the user, the control board 16 changes, for example, the temperature of the storage chamber 27, the operation mode, and the like. The control board 16 vibrates the front plate 52 by the exciter 30 to generate a guide voice in accordance with a touch operation on the operation panel (not shown) by the user, with the front plate 52 as a sound emitting surface. Since the guide voice is emitted from the front plate 52 of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab, the user in front of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab can easily hear the guide voice.

The sound generated by the front plate 52 as a sound emitting surface is not limited to the guide voice. When the refrigerator 1 has an Internet connection function, the control board 16 may generate sound or music of a moving image, for example, by using the front plate 52 as a sound emitting surface.

According to the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, sound is emitted with the entire front plate 52 arranged in front of the refrigerator 1 as a sound emitting surface. The refrigerator 1 can emit a sound such as a guide voice without a separate speaker. The exciter 30 is provided at approximately the center of the front plate 52, and can vibrate the entire front plate 52 in a well-balanced manner to generate high-quality sound.

According to the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, the convex portion 62 is arranged at a position overlapping with the exciter 30 when viewed from the front-rear direction (± Y direction, thickness direction). It is possible to prevent deterioration of the heat insulating property due to the vibration device 30 being provided in the region where the foamed heat insulating material 80 is conventionally filled. Further, the convex portion 62 is provided on the lower side of the door container 18B, and is difficult to come into contact with the contained object.

(Modification 1-1)
In the above embodiment, the exciter 30 is attached to the front plate 52 of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. However, the mounting mode of the exciter 30 is not limited to this. The shaker 30 may be attached to the front plate of the left refrigerating room door 11Aa, the vegetable room door 11B, the ice making room door 11C, the small freezing room door 11D, and the main freezing room door 11E. From the viewpoint of producing a loud sound, it is desirable to attach the exciter 30 to a large front plate.

(Modification 1-2)
In the above embodiment, the exciter 30 is attached to a substantially central portion of the front plate 52 of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. However, the mounting mode of the exciter 30 is not limited to this. The exciter 30 may be provided at the end of the front plate 52 in the lateral width direction (± X direction) or at the end in the height direction (± Z direction). The convex portion 62 is less likely to get in the way of the user.

As shown in FIG. 7, for example, the exciter 30 may be provided at the upper end of the front plate 52 in the right direction (+ X direction). In this case, the convex portion 62 is provided at a position overlapping with the exciter 30 when viewed from the front-rear direction (± Y direction, thickness direction).

The modified example shown in FIG. 7 is disadvantageous in that the entire front plate 52 is vibrated in a well-balanced manner as compared with the case where the exciter 30 is provided in the central portion of the front plate 52, but the convex portion 62 is used. It is advantageous in that it does not get in the way of people.

In the modification shown in FIG. 7, the convex portion 62 may not be provided. The upper part of the front plate 52 to which the exciter 30 is attached and the end portion in the right direction (+ X direction) is a place where the temperature is relatively high in the refrigerating chamber 27A. Therefore, it is easy to secure sufficient heat insulation in the portion to which the exciter 30 is attached without providing the convex portion 62.

In the modified example shown in FIG. 7, the exciter 30 is attached to the hinge 10h side (see FIG. 1) at the end in the right direction (+ X direction). Since the exciter 30 is arranged at a position close to the hinge 10h that supports the right refrigerating chamber door 11Ab, when the exciter 30 vibrates the front plate 52, unintended vibration of the front plate 52 is likely to be suppressed.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the right refrigerating room door is different from the first embodiment. The configuration other than that described below is the same as that of the first embodiment. In the following description, the same reference numerals will be given to the configurations common to those already described, and duplicate description will be omitted.

The refrigerator 1B of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11. The refrigerator 1B of the second embodiment is the same as the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment except that it has a right refrigerating room door 11Ac instead of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the right refrigerating room door 11Ac of the refrigerator 1B of the second embodiment.
The right refrigerating chamber door 11Ac includes, for example, an outer member 50 and a gasket 55, as in the case of the right refrigerating chamber door 11Ab of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the right refrigerating room door 11Ac.
A vibration exciter 30, a foam heat insulating material 80, and a vacuum heat insulating material 81 are arranged inside the right refrigerating room door 11Ac.

The vacuum heat insulating material 81 is also called a VIP (Vacuum Insulation Panel), and is, for example, a heat insulating material containing an exterior body and a core material housed in the exterior body, and the inside of the exterior body is decompressed. The core material is, for example, a fiber material such as glass wool or a porous body such as a foam. In the present embodiment, the vacuum heat insulating material 81 is formed in a plate shape.

The vacuum heat insulating material 81 is arranged on the rear side (+ Y direction side) in the internal space S1 surrounded by the frame body 51, the front plate 52, and the rear surface member 53. The foam heat insulating material 80 is filled so as to surround the vacuum heat insulating material 81 in the internal space S1.

As shown in FIG. 9, the portion of the right refrigerating chamber door 11Ab to which the exciter 30 is attached is insulated by two types of heat insulating materials in the thickness direction (± Y direction) of the right refrigerating chamber door 11Ab. It is possible to prevent deterioration of the heat insulating property due to the vibration device 30 being provided in the region where the foamed heat insulating material 80 is filled in the conventional state.

According to the refrigerator 1B according to the present embodiment, since the foamed heat insulating material 80 has a high heat insulating effect, the right refrigerating room door 11Ac requires an additional heat insulating space such as the convex portion 62 of the first embodiment. Do not.

(Modification 2-1)
In the above embodiment, the exciter 30 is attached to the central portion of the front plate 52 of the right refrigerating room door 11Ac. However, the mounting mode of the exciter 30 is not limited to this. The exciter 30 may be provided at the end of the front plate 52 in the lateral width direction (± X direction) or at the end in the height direction (± Z direction).

As shown in FIG. 10, for example, the exciter 30 may be provided at the upper end of the front plate 52 in the right direction (+ X direction), as in the modified example 1-2.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a modified example of the right refrigerating chamber door 11Ac shown in FIG.
In the modified example shown in FIG. 10, the vacuum heat insulating material 81 has a notch 41a at the end. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the cutout portion 41a is arranged at a position overlapping with the exciter 30 when viewed from the front-rear direction (± Y direction, thickness direction). In the vacuum heat insulating material 81 formed in a plate shape, the cutout portion 41a is more likely to be formed at the end portion than at the central portion. Therefore, by arranging the exciter 30 at the end of the front plate 52, it becomes easy to arrange the exciter 30 and the vacuum heat insulating material 81 in combination.

(Modification 2-2)
In the above embodiment, the portion of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab to which the exciter 30 is attached is insulated by two types of heat insulating materials in the thickness direction (± Y direction) of the right refrigerating room door 11Ab. However, the portion of the right refrigerating chamber door 11Ab to which the exciter 30 is attached may be insulated by including, for example, a specific heat insulating material in the thickness direction (± Y direction) of the right refrigerating chamber door 11Ab.

The "specific heat insulating material" is a heat insulating material containing airgel, xerogel, or cryogel, and is an example of a "heat insulating member". In addition, "including airgel, xerogel, or cryogel" is used to mean "including one or more of airgel, xerogel, or cryogel". Airgel, xerogel, and cryogel are low-density structures (dry gels), respectively. The "airgel" is, for example, a porous substance in which the solvent contained in the gel is replaced with a gas by supercritical drying. The "xerogel" is a porous substance in which the solvent contained in the gel is replaced with a gas by evaporation and drying. The "cryogel" is a porous substance in which the solvent contained in the gel is replaced with a gas by freeze-drying.

(Third Embodiment)
Next, the third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the place where the exciter 30 is provided is different from the other embodiments. The configuration other than that described below is the same as that of the first embodiment. In the following description, the same reference numerals will be given to the configurations common to those already described, and duplicate description will be omitted.

The refrigerator 1C of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the refrigerator 1C. As shown in FIG. 12, the refrigerator 1C has, for example, a housing 10, a plurality of doors 11, a plurality of shelves 12, a plurality of containers 13, a flow path forming component 14, a cooling unit 15, a control board 16, and a shaker. Has 30.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line F6-F6 of the refrigerator 1C shown in FIG.
The exciter 30 is attached to the upper wall 21 between the inner box 10a and the outer box 10b of the housing 10. The exciter 30 vibrates the upper wall 21. The exciter 30 is provided surrounded by the foamed heat insulating material 10c. Specifically, the exciter 30 is provided by being embedded in the foamed heat insulating material 10c.

The control board 16 vibrates the upper wall 21 by the exciter 30 to generate a guide voice or the like with the upper wall 21 as a sound emitting surface. Since the guide voice is emitted from the upper wall 21, it easily spreads throughout the room.

According to the refrigerator 1C according to the present embodiment, sound is emitted with the entire upper wall 21 of the refrigerator 1C as a sound emitting surface. The refrigerator 1C can emit a sound such as a guide voice without a separate speaker.

(Modification 3-1)
In the above embodiment, the exciter 30 is attached to the upper wall 21. However, the mounting mode of the exciter 30 is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 14, for example, the exciter 30 may be attached to the left side wall 23 between the inner box 10a and the outer box 10b of the housing 10. Further, the exciter 30 may be attached to the right side wall 24, the lower wall 22, or the rear wall 25 between the inner box 10a and the outer box 10b of the housing 10.

(Modification 3-2)
In the above embodiment, the exciter 30 is provided surrounded by the foamed heat insulating material 10c. However, the mounting mode of the exciter 30 is not limited to this. The portion of the upper wall 21 to which the exciter 30 is attached may be insulated by a plurality of heat insulating materials including the vacuum heat insulating material 81 and the specific heat insulating material in the thickness direction (± Z direction) of the upper wall 21.

(Fourth Embodiment)
Next, the fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the place where the exciter 30 is provided is different from the other embodiments. The configuration other than that described below is the same as that of the first embodiment. In the following description, the same reference numerals will be given to the configurations common to those already described, and duplicate description will be omitted.

The refrigerator 1D of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 19. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the refrigerator 1D. As shown in FIG. 15, the refrigerator 1D includes, for example, a housing 10, a plurality of doors 11, a plurality of shelves 12, a plurality of containers 13, a flow path forming component 14, a cooling unit 15, a control board 16, and a shaker. Has 30.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line F7-F7 of the refrigerator 1D shown in FIG.
The exciter 30 is attached to the upper wall 21 on the outside of the housing 10. The exciter 30 vibrates the upper wall 21. The exciter 30 is arranged inside the box-shaped cover 36 provided on the outside of the housing 10.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of the refrigerator 1D as viewed from above in the vertical direction (± Z direction).
The exciter 30 is arranged on the upper wall 21 at a position away from the position through which the pipe members such as the heat radiation pipe 46 and the dew-proof pipe 47 arranged inside the housing 10 pass. Specifically, the exciter 30 is arranged at a position that does not overlap with the pipe member when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the upper wall 21. It is possible to suitably prevent the pipe member from vibrating when the vibrating device 30 vibrates the upper wall 21.

The control board 16 vibrates the upper wall 21 by the exciter 30 to generate a guide voice or the like with the upper wall 21 as a sound emitting surface. By vibrating the upper wall 21 from the outside of the housing 10, the exciter 30 can also generate a guide voice or the like with the upper wall 21 as a sound emitting surface.

According to the refrigerator 1D according to the present embodiment, it is possible to emit a sound such as a guide voice with the upper wall 21 as a sound emitting surface without arranging the exciter 30 in a place where the heat insulating member is arranged.

(Modification 4-1)
In the above embodiment, the exciter 30 is attached to the upper wall 21. However, the mounting mode of the exciter 30 is not limited to this. The exciter 30 may be attached to the left side wall 23 on the outside of the housing 10, for example, as shown in FIG. Further, the exciter 30 may be attached to the right side wall 24, the lower wall 22, or the rear wall 25 on the outside of the housing 10. It is desirable that the exciter 30 is arranged on the outside of the housing 10 at a position away from the position through which the pipe members such as the heat dissipation pipe 46 and the dew-proof pipe 47 pass, as shown in FIG.

According to at least one embodiment described above, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of outputting voice with a high degree of freedom in design.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and variations thereof are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof, as are included in the scope and gist of the invention.

1,1B, 1C, 1D ... Refrigerator, 5 ... Refrigerator body, 10 ... Housing, 10h ... Hinge, 11 ... Door, 11Aa ... Left refrigerating room door, 11Ab, 11Ac ... Right refrigerating room door, 16 ... Control board, 21 ... upper wall, 22 ... lower wall, 23 ... left wall, 24 ... right wall, 25 ... rear wall, 27 ... storage room, 27A ... refrigerating room, 30 ... shaker, 52 ... front plate

Claims (17)

The housing including the storage room and
A door that opens and closes the storage room and
A vibration exciter that is surrounded by heat insulating material and outputs vibration based on the input acoustic signal,
A refrigerator equipped with. The vibrating device is provided embedded in the heat insulating material.
The refrigerator according to claim 1. The exciter is attached to the front plate of the door and vibrates the front plate.
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the portion provided with the shaker is insulated by a plurality of heat insulating materials in the thickness direction of the door. The plurality of heat insulating materials include a vacuum heat insulating material.
The refrigerator according to claim 4. The exciter is attached to the central portion of the door.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 3 to 5. The exciter is attached to the lateral end of the door.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 3 to 5. The door is rotatably supported by the housing by a hinge.
The exciter is attached to the hinge side.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 3 to 5. The exciter is attached to the height end of the door.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 3 to 5. The door has a convex portion in which the internal space is filled with a heat insulating material at a position overlapping with the vibration exciter when viewed from the thickness direction of the door.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 3 to 5. It has a door container that can be attached to the door so that the height position can be changed.
The convex portion is formed below the door container attached to the lowermost stage.
The refrigerator according to claim 10. The convex portion is attached to the lateral end of the door.
The refrigerator according to claim 10. The door is rotatably supported by the housing by a hinge.
The convex portion is formed at the end portion of the door on the hinge side.
The refrigerator according to claim 10. The convex portion is attached to the height end of the door.
The refrigerator according to claim 10. The exciter is attached to the wall of the housing and vibrates the wall.
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2. The wall is the upper wall of the housing.
The refrigerator according to claim 15. The portion provided with the vibration exciter is insulated by a plurality of heat insulating materials in the thickness direction of the wall.
The refrigerator according to claim 15 or 16.

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