JP4054361B2 - Storage - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a storage provided with a plurality of drawer-type doors for opening and closing a storage chamber of a storage body, and provided with an actuator for assisting in opening the corresponding door corresponding to the plurality of doors.

Conventionally, in a storage, for example, a refrigerator, a refrigerator door or a freezer door is known as a rotary door, and an actuator such as a solenoid is provided in the cabinet body to assist the opening of the rotary door, When the door opening assist switch is turned on, there is an actuator that energizes the actuator to apply a force to the door in the opening direction, thereby assisting in opening the door.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-150786

  Recently, in the refrigerator, doors such as a freezer room, a vegetable room, and a temperature switching chamber in the refrigerator have been made to be a drawer type, and the door opening auxiliary switch and the actuator are respectively adapted to a plurality of the drawer type doors. It is considered that the opening of the plurality of pull-out doors can be assisted.

  However, if a plurality of actuators are energized and driven at the same time, a large current may flow at a time, causing the power breaker in the house to operate. Also, when multiple drawer doors are opened almost simultaneously, unlike the case of a pivoting door, the lower drawer door is obstructed by the upper drawer door, and the storage is taken in and out. Also, in this case, the lower door is left unnecessarily opened without being taken in and out, and there are many cold air leaks. Therefore, it is preferable to avoid simultaneous opening of a plurality of doors.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent a plurality of doors from being assisted at the same time even when an opening command is issued to a plurality of drawer-type doors almost simultaneously. It is possible to provide a storage that can prevent generation of a large current.

The invention of claim 1 is a drawer-type vegetable compartment door that opens and closes the vegetable compartment of the storage body, and a drawer-type freezer compartment door that is provided in the vertical direction of the vegetable compartment door and opens and closes the freezer compartment of the storage body. A vegetable room opening command generation unit that generates an opening command for assisting the opening of the vegetable room door, and a freezing room opening command that generates an opening command for assisting the opening of the freezer door Generating unit, vegetable room actuator for applying force in the opening direction to the vegetable room door based on the opening command of the vegetable room opening command generating unit, and opening command of the freezing room opening command generating unit A freezer compartment actuator for applying a force in the opening direction to the freezer door based on
It is characterized in that there is provided a control means for driving only an actuator corresponding to one door when an opening command is generated almost simultaneously from the vegetable room opening command generating unit and the freezing room opening command generating unit.

  According to this, even when the user inadvertently generates opening commands from a plurality of opening command generation units almost simultaneously, the control means drives only the actuator corresponding to one door, At the same time, opening assistance can be prevented, and generation of a large current can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a plurality of doors from being opened and supported simultaneously, and to prevent generation of a large current.

  A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a refrigerator will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a refrigerator corresponding to a storage as viewed from the front. The refrigerator 1 forms a refrigerator room, a vegetable room (this is shown in FIG. 3 with reference numeral 4A), a switching room, an ice making room, and a freezing room (not shown) in the storage body 2 corresponding to the storage body. The room is opened and closed by a refrigerator room door 3, a vegetable room door 4, a switching room door 5, an ice making room door 6, and a freezer room door 7. The refrigeration room door 3, the switching room door 5 and the ice making room door 6 are rotary doors, and the vegetable room door 4 and the freezing room door 7 are drawer type doors. Since the vegetable room door 4 and the freezer room door 7 have substantially the same configuration, the vegetable room door 4 will be described as a representative.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a support member 8 is attached to the back surface of the vegetable room door 4, and a storage container 9 is supported by the support member 8. This support member 8 has a support roller 8a at its rear end, and can slide back and forth on a rail 10 provided on the inner surface of the vegetable compartment 4A. Accordingly, when the vegetable room door 4 is pulled out, the storage container 9 is also pulled out.

The vegetable compartment door 4 and the freezer compartment door 7 are provided with doors 4 and 7, respectively, which are used to assist in opening the door. A door opening assisting device 11 is provided for this purpose. Hereinafter, the opening assist device 11 will be described. A pair of left and right first electromagnets 12 (vegetable room actuators) serving as actuators are provided in the opening of the vegetable room 4A, and a pair of permanent magnets 13 are disposed on the back of the vegetable room door 4 opposite thereto. The electromagnet 12 is energized so as to have a repulsive polarity with respect to the permanent magnet 13 and applies a force to the vegetable room door 4 in the opening direction, thereby assisting in opening the vegetable room door 4.
Further, a second electromagnet 14 (actuator for freezer compartment, see FIG. 1) as an actuator is provided on the back surface of the freezer compartment door 7 in the same relationship as the first electromagnet 12 and the permanent magnet 13. Although not shown, a permanent magnet is provided on the back of the freezer compartment door 7 facing the second electromagnet 14.

  The vegetable compartment door 4 has a handle 4a for opening the door, and is provided with a vegetable room opening switch 15 (a vegetable room opening command generating portion) comprising a touch switch as an opening command generating portion, and a freezer compartment door. The door opening handle 7a is provided with a freezer compartment opening switch 16 (freezer compartment opening command generator) comprising a touch switch as an opening command generator. The opening switches 15 and 16 may be of a capacitance type or may be panel switches having thin electrode contacts. The ON signals of the door opening switches 15 and 16 are given to the control circuit 24 on the storage body 2 side which is the storage body through signal transmission means (for example, a photocoupler) not shown. The vegetable room door 4 and the freezer room door 7 have substantially the same size (area viewed from the front).

  In FIG. 1, the electric circuit structure of the door assistance apparatus 11 is shown. A plug 17 connected to a power outlet of the AC power supply is connected to a DC power supply circuit 20 having a full-wave rectifier circuit 18 and a smoothing capacitor 19. A control power supply circuit 21, a first electromagnet drive circuit 22, and a second electromagnet drive circuit 23 are connected. The control power supply circuit 21 supplies a control power supply to the control equipment including the control circuit 24.

  The first electromagnet driving circuit 22 connects in series a pair of first electromagnets 12 and 12 connected in series and a semiconductor switching element 25 made of, for example, a MOSFET which is a driving element capable of high-speed switching operation. A free wheel diode 26 is connected in parallel to the first electromagnet 12 with the illustrated polarity, and a protective diode 27 is connected in parallel to the switching element 25 with the illustrated polarity.

The second electromagnet driving circuit 23 connects in series a pair of second electromagnets 14 connected in series and a semiconductor switching element 28 made of, for example, a MOSFET, which is a driving element capable of high-speed switching operation. A free wheel diode 29 is connected in parallel to the electromagnet 14 with the illustrated polarity, and a protection diode 30 is connected to the switching element 28 with the illustrated polarity.
The switching elements 25 and 28 are switched at high speed by the control circuit 24 and are subjected to PWM control. By this PWM control, the electromagnetic force and thus the opening force of the first electromagnet 12 and the second electromagnet 14 are adjusted. It is supposed to be. In addition, generation | occurrence | production of a beep is reduced by switching the switching elements 25 and 28 at high speed.

  The control circuit 24 includes a microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output interface, and the like. The control circuit 24 is supplied with an ON signal of the opening switches 15 and 16. It has become. Further, the control circuit 24 is supplied with an ON signal (door opening detection signal) and an OFF signal (door closing detection signal) of the vegetable compartment door switch 31 and the freezer compartment door switch 32. The door switch 31 is attached to the opening of the vegetable room 4A so as to detect the opening / closing of the vegetable room door 4, and the door switch 32 is used to detect the opening / closing of the freezer room door 7. It is attached to the opening.

  The control circuit 24 functions as control means, and has a control program in the ROM. The control contents of the control circuit 24 will be described with reference to FIG. The control circuit 24 is set in advance with a priority order that preferentially assists the opening when the vegetable compartment door 4 and the freezer compartment door 7 are turned on almost simultaneously. In this case, the priority of the vegetable compartment door 4 is set higher than that of the freezer compartment door 7.

In step P1 of FIG. 5, it is determined whether any of the door opening switches 15 and 16 is switched on (opening command is generated). When any one of the door opening switches is turned on, it is determined in step P2 whether or not another door opening switch is turned on almost simultaneously. In this case, when both the door opening switches 15 and 16 are turned on within, for example, 0.3 seconds, it is determined that the switches are turned on almost simultaneously.
If it is determined in step P2 that the switches are not turned on almost simultaneously, the process proceeds to step P3, and the electromagnets 12 and 14 are energized to the electromagnets corresponding to the door opening switches turned on in step P1. Assist in opening the door corresponding to.

  For example, when the user inadvertently turns on the opening switches 15 and 16 almost simultaneously, it is determined that the switches are turned on almost simultaneously in Step P2, and the process proceeds to Step P4. In this step P4, it is determined whether or not the door opening switch that has been switched on first is the door opening switch 15 for the vegetable room door 4 having a higher priority. In Step P5, the first electromagnet 12 corresponding to the door opening switch 15 turned on earlier is energized. This energization is performed by PWM control of the switching element 25 at a predetermined duty ratio. Thereby, opening of the vegetable compartment door 4 is assisted.

  When the opening switch that was turned on first is the opening switch 16 of the freezer compartment door 7 with the lower priority ("NO" in step P4), also in this case, the opening switch that was turned on later in step P6. The first electromagnet 12 corresponding to the opening switch 15 corresponding to the door switch is energized. That is, when a switch-on signal (opening command) is generated almost simultaneously from the plurality of opening switches 15 and 16, only the electromagnet 12 corresponding to the vegetable compartment door 4 is energized and driven.

According to the present embodiment, even when the user inadvertently generates an ON signal from the plurality of door opening switches 15 and 16, the control circuit 24 drives only the electromagnet corresponding to one door. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the doors 4 and 7 from being assisted to open at the same time and to prevent generation of a large current.
In addition, in the said Example, since the priority order of door opening assistance was set so that the vegetable room door 4 located in the upper stage may become the upper rank, the lower freezer compartment door 7 which is hard to be careful is not prepared. Opening assistance is not provided by simultaneous operation of various switches, and for example, it is possible to prevent the freezer compartment door 7 from inadvertently hitting a foot or the like.

  FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the control function of the control circuit 24 is slightly different. In FIG. 6, Steps Q1 to Q4 are the same as Steps P1 to P4 of FIG. 5 in the first embodiment. In step Q4, if it is determined that the door switch that is turned on first is the vegetable room door 4 having the higher priority, the process proceeds to step Q5, and the door switch that is turned on first is changed to the door switch 4 that is turned on first. The corresponding electromagnet 12 is energized, and then, in step Q6, the electromagnet 14 corresponding to the door switch freezer compartment door 7 that is turned on later is energized.

  In Step Q4, when it is determined that the door switch that was turned on first is the lower-order freezer compartment door 7, the process proceeds to Step Q5, and the door switch 4 that was turned on later is switched to. The corresponding electromagnet 12 is energized, and then, in step Q6, the electromagnet 14 corresponding to the previously opened door switch freezer door 7 is energized. That is, when the door opening switches 15 and 16 are turned on almost simultaneously, the electromagnet 12 of the vegetable room door 4 with the higher priority is first energized, and thereafter the remaining electromagnets 14 are energized.

  According to the second embodiment, even when the user inadvertently turns on the plurality of opening switches 15 and 16 almost simultaneously, the control circuit 24 first turns on the electromagnet 12 corresponding to the vegetable compartment door 4. Since the electromagnet 14 corresponding to the remaining freezer compartment door 7 is driven after that, the vegetable compartment door 4 and the freezer compartment door 7 can be prevented from being simultaneously opened and prevented from generating a large current. it can. Furthermore, doors that were switched on can be opened sequentially.

  7 and 8 show a third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the following points are different from the first embodiment. Weight sensors 41 and 42 are provided as opening load determining means for determining an opening load applied to the opening of the opening switches 15 and 16. As shown in FIG. 7, the weight sensor 41 is disposed on the rear end upper portion of the rail 10 of the vegetable compartment 4A so as to receive the load of the roller 8a (including the weight of the storage container 9 and the stored item). . In addition, although the weight sensor 42 is arrange | positioned at the rail rear-end upper part of a freezer compartment, it has shown in FIG. 7 for convenience.

  In the third embodiment, the control circuit 24 functions as an opening load determination means. The door opening load determining means includes weight sensors 41 and 42. That is, if the detection result of the control circuit 24 and the weight sensor 41 is “light”, it is determined that the load applied to the opening of the vegetable room door 4 is small, and if the detection result is “heavy”, the vegetable room It determines with the load concerning opening of the door 4 being large. Further, the load applied to open the freezer compartment door 7 is similarly determined according to the detection result of the freezer compartment weight sensor 42.

  The control circuit 24 performs the control shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, Steps R1 to R3 are the same as Steps P1 to P3 of FIG. 5 of the first embodiment. In step R3, when it is determined that the door opening switches 15 and 16 are turned on almost simultaneously, it is determined which electromagnet is energized according to the detection results of the weight sensors 41 and 42. That is, in step R4, it is determined whether or not the weight sensor corresponding to the switch that is turned on first among the door opening switches 15 and 16 is light. If “YES”, the switch is turned on first in step R5. The electromagnet corresponding to the door opening switch is energized, and in step R6, the electromagnet corresponding to the door opening switch turned on later is energized. If step R4 is “NO”, the electromagnet corresponding to the door switch that was turned on later is first energized (step R7), and the electromagnet that is associated with the door switch that was previously turned on is energized (step R8).

  That is, if the detection result of the weight sensor 41 in the vegetable compartment 4A is “lighter” than the detection result of the weight sensor 42 in the freezer compartment, the magnet 12 corresponding to the opening switch 15 of the vegetable compartment door 4 first. On the contrary, if the detection result of the weight sensor 42 in the freezer compartment is “lighter” than the detection result of the weight sensor 41 in the vegetable compartment 4 </ b> A, the opening switch 16 of the freezer door 7 is first connected. The corresponding magnet 14 is energized.

  According to the third embodiment, when the ON signals are generated from the opening switches 15 and 16 almost simultaneously, the control circuit 24 determines that the opening load is light based on the weight detection results from the weight sensors 41 and 42. Since the actuator corresponding to the door that was determined to be driven first is driven first, the first opening assistance door can be opened in a short time, that is, compared to the case where the opening time required for opening assistance is longer. In addition, it has good switch response and is easy to use.

  FIG. 9 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the configuration as the door opening load determining means is different from that of the fifth embodiment. That is, the control circuit 24 does not include the weight sensors 41 and 42, but instead, the time required for opening the vegetable compartment door 4 (from the start of energization to the electromagnet 12 to turning on the vegetable compartment door switch 31 (door opening detection)). Time) Tm4 and the required opening time of the freezer door 7 (the time from the start of energization of the electromagnet 14 to the turning on of the freezer door switch 32 (door open detection)) Tm7, For example, the RAM is sequentially stored in a RAM, and it is determined that the door opening load is lighter as the required opening time Tm4 or Tm7 is shorter.

  Steps S1 to S3 in FIG. 9 are the same as steps R1 to R3 in FIG. 8 of the third embodiment. If it is determined in step S2 that the door opening switches 15 and 16 are turned on almost simultaneously (“YES”), the process proceeds to step S4, and among the door opening switches 15 and 16, the previous opening time is required. It is determined whether the short one is the one that was turned on first. If the previous opening time of the door corresponding to the door switch that was turned on earlier is shorter than that that was turned on later, the process proceeds to step S5, and the electromagnet corresponding to the door switch that was turned on first In step S6, the time required for opening the door from the start of energization until the door switch of the corresponding door is turned on is measured and stored (updated). Thereafter, in step S7, the electromagnet corresponding to the door switch that was turned on later is energized. In step S8, the time required for opening the door from the start of energization until the door switch is turned on is measured and stored. (Update storage).

If “NO” in the step S4, the electromagnet corresponding to the door switch that is turned on later is energized in a step S9. In step S10, it is necessary to open the door from the start of energization until the door switch of the corresponding door is turned on. Time is measured and stored (updated storage). In step S11, the electromagnet corresponding to the previously opened door switch is energized. In step S12, from the start of energization until the door switch of the corresponding door is turned on. The time required for opening the door is measured and stored (updated).
In short, when the opening switches 15 and 16 are turned on almost simultaneously, the electromagnet corresponding to the door with a short opening time is energized first, and then the door with a long opening time is supported. Energize the electromagnet. Also in the fourth embodiment, the same effects as in the third embodiment can be obtained.

  FIG. 10 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment differs from the third embodiment in the following points. That is, in this embodiment, the structure as the door opening load determining means is different from that of the fifth embodiment. That is, the control circuit 24 does not include the weight sensors 41 and 42, but instead includes internal pressure determination means for determining the internal pressure (actually negative pressure) between the vegetable compartment 4A and the freezer compartment. The higher the internal pressure (the smaller the negative pressure), the lighter the door opening load is. Although not shown, the internal pressure determination means includes an external temperature sensor that detects the external temperature of the refrigerator, a vegetable room temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the vegetable room 4A, and a freezer temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the freezer. The door switch 31 of the vegetable compartment 4A, the door switch 32 of the freezer compartment, and the like are provided to determine the state of the negative pressure in the vegetable compartment 4A and the freezer compartment. That is, the negative pressure changes depending on the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the refrigerator or the opening and closing of the door (intake and discharge of air inside and outside the refrigerator). In particular, the vegetable room door 4 is opened approximately 10 seconds after the freezer compartment door 7 is opened in a state where the outside air temperature is high and the inside is sufficiently cooled (the time can be counted by opening and closing the door switch). In such a case, it is empirically known that the degree of negative pressure in the vegetable room 4A increases.

  In FIG. 10, step T4 is different from step R4 of FIG. That is, in step T4, it is determined whether the internal pressure of the chamber (storage chamber) corresponding to the opening switch that has been turned on first is relatively high (relatively low negative pressure), and if it is high ("YES"). , Step T5 (same as step R5), shift to step T6 (same as step R6), if not higher ("NO"), step T7 (same as step R7), shift to step T8 (same as step R8) To do. In short, the electromagnet corresponding to the chamber having a relatively lower negative pressure is first energized and then the electromagnet corresponding to the chamber having a relatively larger negative pressure is energized. In the fifth embodiment, the same effect as in the third embodiment can be obtained.

  FIG. 11 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, when an on signal is generated for a plurality of doors, if the sizes of the plurality of doors are different, the plurality of the exceptions are exceptions. It is characterized in that the electromagnets corresponding to the doors are driven almost simultaneously. That is, in this embodiment, in addition to the vegetable room door 4 and the freezer room door 7, the switching room door 5 and the ice making room door 6 are also constructed as drawer-type doors, and each door has a door. The door opening switch is composed of a touch switch as an opening command generation unit, and an electromagnet is provided as an actuator for opening the door. Note that the size of the vegetable room door 4 and the freezing room door 7 is substantially the same, whereas the size of the switching room door 5 is smaller, and the ice making room door 6 is smaller than the switching room door 5. Even smaller.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 11, a characteristic point will be described. When a plurality of opening switches are turned on almost simultaneously, the size of the door corresponding to the opened opening switch is the same in step U4. If it is not the same ("NO"), the process proceeds to step U5, and the electromagnets corresponding to the plurality of opened door switches are energized simultaneously (exceptionally energized). The purpose of this control is as follows. That is, if the size of the door is different, the output of the electromagnet is also different. In particular, the output of the electromagnet for assisting opening the switching room door 5 and the ice making room door 6 is the vegetable room door 4 and the freezer room door. The output of the electromagnet 7 can be smaller. Considering this, when the size of the doors is different, even if the electromagnets are energized and driven at almost the same time, a large current does not flow, and it is possible to assist opening the multiple doors without any time difference. Good.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show a seventh embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the energizing circuit 51 of the electromagnets 12 and 14 is characterized in comparison with the electric circuit configuration of FIG. That is, a switching element 52 as a driving element for driving the electromagnets 12 and 14 in common is provided, and circuit switches 53 and 54 for individually opening and closing the electromagnets 12 and 14 are provided. The electromagnets 12 and 14 are selected and driven by controlling the circuit switches 53 and 54 and controlling the opening and closing.
In this case, as can be seen from step V6 and step V7 or step V8 and step V9 in FIG. 13, one of the circuit switches 53 and 54 is turned on first, and then the switching element 52 is driven. As a result, one of the electromagnets is energized and driven.

  According to the seventh embodiment, when the electromagnets 12 and 14 are selected and energized and driven (no simultaneous energization is performed), only one expensive switching element that is switched at a high speed is required. The cost can be reduced. In addition, since the electromagnet 12 and the electromagnet 14 are connected in parallel and the freewheel diode 55 having the illustrated polarity is connected to the electromagnets 12 and 14 in common, the number of diodes can be reduced.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to each above-mentioned Example, You may implement as changed as follows. As the opening command generation means, a plurality of opening switches may be arranged on the operation panel, or a plurality of opening switches may be mounted on the remote control. Further, the drive element is not limited to the MOSFET, but may be an IGBT or the like. The actuator may be a solenoid or the like. Moreover, it is not restricted to a refrigerator, It can apply and apply to the whole storage. In the above embodiment, the criterion of “substantially simultaneously” is “within 0.3 seconds”, but this may be set as appropriate.

Electrical circuit diagram of a door opening assist device showing a first embodiment of the present invention Front view of refrigerator Broken side view of vegetable compartment Perspective view of the vegetable compartment door in the open state Flow chart showing control contents FIG. 5 equivalent view showing a second embodiment of the present invention FIG. 3 equivalent view showing a third embodiment of the present invention. 6 equivalent diagram FIG. 6 equivalent view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 equivalent view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 equivalent view showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 equivalent view showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention 6 equivalent diagram

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a refrigerator (storage), 2 is a storage body (storage body), 4 is a vegetable room door, 4A is a vegetable room (storage room), 7 is a freezing room door, 11 is a door opening assist device, 12 Is a first electromagnet (vegetable room actuator), 14 is a second electromagnet (freezer room actuator), 15 is a vegetable room door opening switch (vegetable room opening command generator), and 16 is a freezer room door. A switch (freezer compartment opening command generator), 24 is a control circuit (control means), 25, 28 and 52 are switching elements (drive elements), and 53 and 54 are circuit switches.

Claims (4)

A drawer-type vegetable compartment door that opens and closes the vegetable compartment of the storage body, a drawer-type freezer compartment door that opens and closes the freezer compartment of the storage body provided in the vertical direction of the vegetable compartment door, and the vegetable compartment door An open command generating unit for a vegetable room that generates an open command for assisting the opening of the freezer, an open command generating unit for a freezer room that generates an open command to assist the opening of the freezer door, and the vegetable room An actuator for a vegetable room that applies a force in an opening direction to the door for the vegetable room based on an opening command of the opening command generating unit for the freezing room, and the door for the freezing room based on an opening command of the opening command generating unit for the freezing room And an actuator for a freezer that applies a force in the opening direction to the
A storage provided with a control means for driving only an actuator corresponding to one door when an opening command is generated almost simultaneously from the vegetable room opening command generating unit and the freezing room opening command generating unit. . A drive element that drives each actuator in common is provided, and a circuit switch that opens and closes each actuator individually is provided.
2. The storage according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the driving element, and selects and drives the actuator by selecting and opening / closing the circuit switch. When an opening command is generated almost simultaneously from the vegetable room opening command generation unit and the freezer room opening command generation unit, a control means is provided for driving only the actuator corresponding to the door located in the upper stage. The storage according to claim 1. A plurality of pull-out type doors that open and close the storage chamber of the storage body, and a plurality of opening command generation units that are provided corresponding to the plurality of doors and generate opening commands to assist opening the corresponding doors, Each provided with an actuator that applies force to the corresponding door in the opening direction,
A storage provided with control means for driving only an actuator corresponding to one door when an opening command is generated almost simultaneously from the plurality of opening command generation units.

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