JP4367572B1 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

An infrared sensor malfunctions or fails when electrostatic discharge due to friction of a towel or the like during cleaning in an ice making chamber or instantaneous discharge (ESD) due to static electricity charged on a human body occurs and the discharge energy is applied, or When the element of the infrared sensor itself is destroyed, the temperature change of the water in the ice tray cannot be detected by the infrared sensor, and the quality of the refrigerator is deteriorated.
A condensing opening 51 that penetrates a part of an infrared mounting case 47 to which the infrared sensor 13 is attached in the same shape as a side surface of an infrared condensing member 48, and around the condensing opening 51 toward the inside of the cabinet. By providing a plurality of protruding protrusions 52, the electrostatic resistance can be improved, the infrared sensor 13 itself can be prevented from being broken or malfunctioning, and the detection accuracy of the infrared sensor 13 can be improved.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator using an infrared sensor.

  In recent years, as the demand for large-capacity refrigerators has increased, refrigerators designed to improve volumetric efficiency by reducing the ineffective space and refrigerators with various layouts from the viewpoint of usability have been released.

  Among them, conventionally, a thermistor has been used to detect the temperature of an ice tray provided in a freezer. For example, when measuring the temperature of water stored in an ice tray, with a thermistor located at the bottom of the ice tray, indirectly measuring the temperature of the water in the ice tray and adjusting the cooling amount of the freezer, It was judged whether the water in the ice tray was frozen. However, in such a freezer, the temperature of the water actually stored in the ice tray is not measured, so it is not known whether the water actually stored in the ice tray is frozen, and it is cooled until the ice making is completed. It was operated and cooled to the target temperature. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes time to complete ice making.

  Therefore, by placing an infrared sensor directly above the ice tray, the infrared sensor detects the actual water temperature by detecting the thermal energy of the water stored in the ice tray as the amount of infrared radiation. However, the cooling operation is performed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  Hereinafter, the conventional refrigerator will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 5 is a side longitudinal sectional view of a conventional refrigerator described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged side sectional view of the refrigerator.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a freezer (not shown) is provided in a part of the refrigerator main body (not shown), and an ice making chamber 101 is provided in a part of the freezer. Further, there is a freezer door 102 for taking out food, ice and the like, and a fan grill 103 is provided on the back surface of the ice making chamber 101. Cold air is blown out from the blowing portion 104 of the fan grill 103 into the ice making chamber. The water 106 in the ice tray 105 provided in 101 is cooled.

  Next, a heat insulating material 107 is disposed in the ceiling portion of the ice making chamber 101, and an infrared detector 108 is disposed in the heat insulating material 107 above the ice tray 105. The infrared detection device 108 detects the amount of radiation radiated from the water stored in the ice tray 105 through the light guide 111 of the cylindrical holder 110 that covers the infrared sensor 109.

The infrared sensor 109 captures a change in thermal energy when the water 106 in the ice tray 105 is cooled to change into ice, determines completion of ice making, and completes the freezing operation. Is displayed.
JP 2006-308504 A

  However, in the conventional configuration, since the infrared detector 108 is disposed in the ice making chamber 101, for example, instantaneous discharge (ESD) due to static electricity charged on the human body, a towel for cleaning the ice making chamber 101, and the like. When static electricity is generated due to friction and the discharge energy is applied, malfunction or failure of the infrared sensor 109 or the element of the infrared sensor 109 itself is destroyed, so that the detection function by the infrared sensor 109 does not work and malfunctions. , Had the problem of reducing the quality of the refrigerator.

  The present invention solves the conventional problems, improves electrostatic resistance, prevents the destruction and malfunction of the infrared sensor itself, and influences the disturbance of the ambient temperature of the infrared sensor (for example, door opening / closing and hot food). An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which the warm air accumulation around the protrusion is reduced and the detection accuracy of the infrared sensor is improved.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a heat insulating box composed of a plurality of heat insulating compartments, a heat insulating partition that partitions the heat insulating box, and a storage compartment partitioned by the heat insulating partitions. And an infrared sensor having a temperature detection unit that detects a radiation amount radiated from a stored item stored in the storage chamber, and an infrared condensing member having a through-hole provided in the infrared sensor, A plurality of protruding protrusions are provided around the infrared condensing member.

  This prevents erroneous detection or failure of the infrared sensor due to static electricity or destruction of the element of the infrared sensor.

  According to the refrigerator of the present invention, it is possible to improve static electricity resistance and prevent erroneous detection or failure of the infrared sensor due to static electricity or destruction of the element of the infrared sensor.

The present invention includes a heat insulating box composed of a plurality of heat insulating compartments, a heat insulating partition that partitions the heat insulating box, a storage chamber partitioned by the heat insulating partition, and storage items stored in the storage chamber. An infrared sensor having a temperature detector for detecting the amount of emitted radiation, and an infrared condensing member having a through-hole provided in the infrared sensor, and a plurality of protruding protrusions around the infrared condensing member By providing the part, it is possible to prevent malfunction or failure of the infrared sensor or destruction of the infrared sensor element itself due to static electricity such as friction during cleaning of the storage chamber.

  In addition, by providing a plurality of protrusions around the infrared condensing member, it is possible to reduce the warm air accumulation around the protrusions due to the influence of disturbance (for example, door opening and closing, hot food, etc.) that changes the ambient temperature of the infrared sensor. The detection accuracy of the sensor can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, the infrared sensor is provided on the wall surface of the storage chamber, and an infrared mounting case is provided on the storage chamber side of the infrared sensor, and the protruding portion is formed on the infrared mounting case. Is formed as a separate member from the infrared condensing member, so that the projection that may be touched by the user because it is located closest to the storage chamber of the infrared sensor does not directly contact the infrared sensor as an intervening member. By arranging the protrusion and infrared sensor through the light collecting member, malfunction or failure of the infrared sensor due to static electricity generated when the user touches the protrusion, or instantaneous discharge of static electricity charged on the human body, Or destruction of the infrared element of an infrared sensor can be prevented.

Further, the present invention provides a slope portion formed in a shape in which the projection portion does not have a right-angle portion, thereby ensuring safety such as injury due to catching of the projection portion, and infrared rays along the slope portion. By guiding convection to the sensor front end surface, it is possible to suppress warm air accumulation around the infrared sensor and reduce the temperature gradient with the infrared sensor, thereby further improving the detection accuracy of the infrared sensor.

Further, the present invention eliminates the step between the infrared mounting case and the infrared light collecting member by making the front end surface of the infrared light collecting member substantially flush with the wall surface of the infrared mounting case on the storage chamber side. The temperature fluctuation is small even when the door is opened by storing inflow of warm air by opening and closing the door and storing food, etc., and eliminating the warm air accumulation of the steam from the food. It is possible to suppress erroneous detection due to the cause and improve the stability of detection accuracy of the infrared sensor.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the main part of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the infrared sensor mounting portion of the refrigerator in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a side cross-section A portion of the infrared sensor mounting portion of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan view seen from the direction B directly above the infrared sensor mounting portion of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIGS. 1 to 4, the freezer compartment 3, which is a part of the storage compartment of the refrigerator main body 2 composed of the heat insulating box 1, has a temperature zone due to the upper upper heat insulating partition 4 and the lower lower heat insulating partition 5. It is partitioned from different refrigerator compartment 6 and vegetable compartment 7. Further, an opening (not shown) of the freezer compartment 3 is provided with a partition 8 that connects the left and right ends of the opening.

  In the cold air generation chamber 9 provided on the back surface of the freezer compartment 3, an evaporator 10 that generates cold air and a blower 11 that supplies and circulates the cold air to the refrigerator compartment 6, the freezer compartment 3, and the vegetable compartment 7 are arranged, respectively. A defrosting heater 12 that is energized during defrosting is disposed in the lower space of the evaporator 10. In addition, a cold air distribution chamber 19 is provided on the back surface of the freezer compartment 3, and a cold air discharge port 21 and a cold air discharge port 22 are provided continuously to the cold air distribution chamber 19.

  A door 23 and a door 24 are provided at the opening of the freezer compartment 3, and the freezer compartment 3 is closed so that cold air does not flow out of the freezer compartment 3. Both the door 23 and the door 24 are drawer-type doors. When food is taken in and out, the door 23 and the door 24 are used by being pulled out toward the front side of the refrigerator, that is, the left side as shown in FIG. In addition, frame bodies 25 and 26 are provided behind the door 23 and the door 24, respectively. On the frames 25 and 26, an upper container 27, a lower container 28, and a slide-type middle container 32 placed on the upper part of the lower container 28 are placed.

  A cold storage material 29 is placed on a detection surface which is a surface facing the infrared sensor 13 on the bottom surface of the upper container 27. The cold storage material 29 is set to a melting temperature of −15 ° C., which is lower than the freezing temperature of food that is generally frozen and higher than the temperature of the freezer compartment 3. Further, the filling amount of the regenerator material 29 is set to an amount that does not completely melt even when food is put on and placed on the regenerator material 29.

  Further, a cold air suction port 30 for sucking cold air and leading it to the evaporator 10 is provided at the lower back of the freezer compartment 3.

  In addition, the food 31 is placed and stored on the cold storage material 29 by the user's hand.

  The infrared sensor 13 generally detects the amount of infrared rays radiated from an object in the visual field range, converts the infrared light receiving unit 40 to convert it into an electric signal, and measures the reference temperature of the ambient temperature of the infrared light receiving unit 40 to obtain an electric signal. And a thermistor 42 for converting into the infrared element unit 43.

  In the present embodiment, the purpose is to detect the temperature of the food 31, but the infrared sensor 13 detects the temperature of the food 31 and at the same time detects the temperature within the field of view of the infrared sensor 13. The amount of infrared rays emitted from the wall surface of the chamber 4, the food 31 stored in the freezer compartment 4, the cold storage material 29, and the like is detected. At that time, the ambient temperature of the infrared light receiving unit 40 is measured as a reference temperature.

  In addition, a control board (not shown) for controlling the refrigerator is electrically connected to the wire 46 to which the infrared element portion 43 is electrically connected, the connector 44, and the printed circuit board (not shown) 41. ) Wiring 45 and the connector 44 are electrically connected.

  And the infrared element part 43 outputs the voltage of the reference temperature of the thermistor 42, and the voltage of the infrared rays amount of the infrared light-receiving part 40 to a control board (not shown), The temperature of the detected measured object is output. The control means (not shown) makes a determination based on the calculated detected temperature.

  The infrared condensing member 48 covers the periphery of the infrared element unit 43 in a state of being in thermal contact with the infrared element unit 43, is provided without any gap with the substrate 45, and is an infrared ray of disturbance radiated from other than the food 31 and the cold storage material 29. In order to increase the detection intensity, a through hole 50 that restricts the viewing angle θ ° is provided so as to lead to the infrared light receiver 40. Thus, in this Embodiment, in order to have a condensing function, the height of the edge part 50c from the inner wall surface 50a tip part 50b of the through-hole 50 of the infrared condensing member 48 shall be 3 mm or more, and a viewing angle. Is provided to be 30 ° to 60 °. Here, when the height of the upper container 27 is approximately 110 mm, the viewing angle is preferably approximately 50 °.

  Here, in the through hole 50, the infrared detection intensity is the strongest in the center of the circle to be detected, and the detection intensity becomes weaker toward the end. Therefore, the intensity of the infrared ray of the detected object can be increased by further narrowing the viewing angle of the infrared sensor, and the temperature of the object can be detected with certainty. As a result, the inner wall surface 50a of at least the through hole 50 of the infrared condensing member 48 located within the visual field range of the infrared sensor is accompanied by, for example, opening / closing of the door. Even when there is a temperature fluctuation due to disturbance such as inflow of warm air, it is desirable to reduce the temperature follow-up to such disturbance so that stable detection can be performed. In this embodiment, the infrared light collecting member 48 penetrates. In order to increase the heat holding power of the inner wall surface 50a of the mouth 50, the thermal conductivity is increased and the heat capacity is increased so that the heat holding power of the infrared condensing member 48 itself is increased. Is devised sea urchin.

  As described above, in order to increase the thermal conductivity and increase the heat capacity so that the heat holding power of the infrared condensing member 48 is increased, the thermal condensing member 48 is more thermally conductive than the resin generally used as a conventional condensing member. It is made of a high material such as aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, iron, copper, or a material containing them. In particular, from the viewpoint of being lightweight, having high thermal conductivity and high heat capacity, and partially exposing the surface of the inside of the freezer compartment 3, those mainly composed of aluminum having high corrosion resistance are preferable.

  Further, when the surface of the freezer 3 is partially exposed, the infrared sensor 13 malfunctions due to friction caused by a cloth or the like that the user cleans the inside of the refrigerator or static electricity generated by the human body or the element itself. In order to prevent destruction, it is a powder oxide that is electrically insulated and has high thermal conductivity and high heat capacity. For example, PPS, ABS, LSP (liquid crystal) mainly containing any one of alumina, silica, and magnesia. It is also possible to improve the heat retention by using a material that is dispersed and mixed in a resin such as a polymer). In this case, it has both high thermal conductivity and electrical insulation, and its blending ratio is weight It is preferable that the powder oxide is 80% or more in terms of the ratio, and the electrical insulation is 1.0 × 10 14 Ω · m or more with a specific resistance equivalent to that of a general resin member. The It is also possible to satisfy the electrical insulation properties.

  Further, when the temperature of the stored item stored in the storage chamber is detected by the infrared sensor 13, the temperature gradient between the front end portion 50 b and the end portion 50 c of the inner wall surface 50 a of the through hole of the infrared condensing member 48 due to temperature fluctuation caused by opening and closing the door. Therefore, by setting the weight ratio of the powder oxide to approximately 85% or more, the thermal conductivity is increased, the thermal conductivity is 2 W / m · K or more, and the heat capacity per unit mass is 750 J / kg · ° C. or higher is desirable.

  Further, in the present embodiment, in order to further improve the heat holding power of the infrared light collecting member 48, the heat capacity is reduced by surrounding the infrared light collecting member 48 with the light collecting opening 51 of the infrared mounting case 47. The temperature fluctuation of the infrared condensing member 48 is further reduced.

  In this case, since the infrared mounting case 47 functions as a heat insulating member that surrounds the infrared condensing member 48 and prevents the outer surface of the infrared condensing member 48 from being exposed to the outside air, the infrared condensing member By reducing the contact area with the outside air of 48 and slowing the temperature change of the infrared light collecting member at a constant temperature, the followability to the temperature fluctuation due to the disturbance can be further relaxed.

  Next, the infrared mounting case 47 is provided with a condensing opening 51 penetrating in the same shape as the side surface of the infrared condensing member 48 at a portion located substantially at the center. A plurality of protruding protrusions 52 extending toward the surface are provided. An infrared mounting case 47 is provided so as to engage with a recessed portion 49 that is partially formed in a portion located substantially at the center of the upper heat insulating partition plate 4.

  Further, on the inner circle side of the protrusion 52, there is a protrusion opening 52 a that opens in communication with the through-hole 50 of the infrared condensing member 48. It is assumed that the projection opening 52a is opened in a larger area than the through hole 50.

  Here, for example, if the periphery of the condensing opening 51 is formed by a cylindrical projecting portion surrounded by a wall surface extending toward the inside of the warehouse, a step is formed between the infrared condensing member 48 and the projecting portion, and the door By storing warm food inflow by opening and closing of the door 23 and the door 24 and storing the food 31, a warm air pool of the steam from the food 31 is likely to be generated in the inner (inside) space of the cylindrical protrusion 52. The temperature gradient between the front end surface and the end surface of the infrared condensing member 48 is generated, which causes a detection error of the infrared sensor 13. However, in the present invention, a plurality of protrusions 52 are provided to prevent this. By providing with the gap h3, it is provided so that it is difficult to accumulate warm air around the protrusion 52 due to the influence of disturbance (for example, door opening / closing or hot food) that changes the ambient temperature of the infrared sensor 13. That is, the plurality of projecting portions 52 are not continuous and are provided in the infrared mounting case 47 in an independent manner.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the protrusion 52 has a shape in which the wind easily flows, and by providing the gap h3 ′ on the side facing the gap h3 between the adjacent protrusions 52 and the protrusion opening 52a, the resistance of the wind The shape is such that the wind can flow more easily.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the adjacent protrusions 52 are arranged at four positions so as to surround the infrared element 43 of the infrared sensor 13 with an angle of 90 °, and a shape in which wind flows sufficiently. It has become. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, it has installed so that two places of the four projection parts 52 may become a horizontal direction with respect to the front-back direction X of a refrigerator. Furthermore, the remaining two places are installed so as to be horizontal with respect to the left-right direction Y of the refrigerator orthogonal to the front-rear direction X of the refrigerator. This is because when cold air flows along the front-rear direction X of the refrigerator through the gap between the diameter d1 of the projection opening 52a and the outer diameter d2 of the infrared condensing member 48, for example, 30 ° or 45 with respect to X or Y Compared with the case where it is installed so as to have an angle of °, the air path resistance in the gap between the diameter d1 of the projection opening 52a and the outer diameter d2 of the infrared condensing member 48 is reduced.

  In other words, the protrusion 52 is not continuous on the diameter d1 of the protrusion opening 52a, which is an inner space of the protrusion 52, and a plurality of the protrusions 52 are provided intermittently, so that the air path resistance can be further reduced. Become. Further, the protrusion 52 is located in a point contact on the diameter d1 of the protrusion opening 52a that is an inner space of the protrusion 52. Specifically, only the tip end portion of the projection 52 having a semicircular diameter is located on the diameter d1 of the projection opening 52a. Further, in the present embodiment, the protrusion 52 is 1 with respect to the innermost diameter d3 of the straight cross section of the protrusion 52 that communicates with the semicircle at the tip of the protrusion. Occupies about / 4.

  And the wall surface 4a of the freezer compartment 3 side direction which is a storage chamber of the upper stage heat insulation partition plate 4 other than the recessed part 49, the outer surface 47a which is the wall surface by the side of the freezer compartment 3 of the infrared mounting case 47, and the front-end | tip of the infrared condensing member 48 Since the surface 48a is provided in substantially the same plane and the steps are reduced, even if the door 23 and the door 24 are opened and closed, the wind easily flows along the upper heat insulating partition plate 4 on the ceiling surface of the freezer compartment 3, It is provided so that a temperature gradient between the front end surface and the end surface of the infrared condensing member 48 is difficult to occur due to warm air accumulation.

  Thus, the fact that the outer surface 47a on the freezer compartment 3 side of the infrared mounting case 47 on which the protrusion 52 is formed and the tip end surface 48a of the infrared condensing part 48 are provided in the same plane, that is, the protrusion 52. In the portion corresponding to the gap h3 between the protrusions 52 where there is no air flow, the tip surface 48a of the infrared condensing part 48 is provided on the same surface, and the shape is such that there is little resistance when wind flows and it is difficult to collect warm air. It has become.

  In this case, on the top surface of the storage chamber to which the infrared sensor 13 is attached, only the protrusion 52 protrudes from the top wall surface.

  And, by providing the protrusion 52, the towel at the time of cleaning or the like is prevented from directly touching the infrared sensor 13, and the malfunction or failure of the infrared sensor 13 due to the static electricity due to the friction of the towel or the instantaneous discharge of the static electricity charged on the human body, Or destruction of the infrared element 43 of the infrared sensor 13 can be prevented.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the protrusion 52 is formed as a separate member from the infrared condensing member 48, so that the protrusion 52 may be touched by the user because it is located closest to the storage chamber of the infrared sensor 13. Since the protrusion 52 and the infrared sensor 13 are disposed via the infrared condensing member 48 as an interposed member without directly contacting the infrared sensor 13, the static electricity generated when the user touches the protrusion 52. In addition, it is possible to prevent malfunction or failure of the infrared sensor 13 due to instantaneous discharge of static electricity charged on the human body, or destruction of the infrared element 43 of the infrared sensor 13.

  As described above, in order to further alleviate the followability to the temperature fluctuation due to the disturbance of the infrared condensing member 48, in the present embodiment, the shape of the protruding portion 52 located within the visual field range of the infrared sensor 13 is devised, Since it is difficult to warm up around the protrusion 52, the detection accuracy of the infrared sensor 13 can be further improved.

  Further, the protrusion 52 can be made of a different material by forming it separately from the infrared condensing member 48, and the protrusion 52 is made of a material having lower thermal conductivity than the infrared condensing member 48. It is desirable to form, thereby preventing the heat of the protrusion 52 from being transferred to the infrared condensing member 48, and the temperature of the infrared condensing member 48 is more stabilized, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the infrared sensor 13. It is possible to make it.

  In general, the amount of charge charged on the human body may exceed 1000 V, and by setting the certain spatial distance h2 to 6 mm or more, even if the user tries to touch the infrared sensor 13, the finger does not enter. Therefore, in the range where the safety of the user is higher and the viewing angle of the infrared sensor 13 does not overlap with the protrusion 52, the spatial distance h2 is preferably 6 mm, and the diameter d1 of the protrusion opening 52a which is the inner diameter of the protrusion 52 is set. In addition to preventing the entry of fingers from the vertical direction by setting the diameter within 6 mm, it is possible to prevent the entry of fingers from the side surface direction by setting the dimension of the gap h3 between adjacent protrusions 52 to 4 mm or less. It is possible to ensure a sufficient insulation distance in actual use of the refrigerator.

  Further, cleaning is performed by providing a slope portion 53 that extends in a lateral direction from the protrusion opening 52 a in the inner circle of the protrusion 52 and has a right-angled portion on the surface of the infrared mounting case 47 in a cross shape. To prevent catching of towels, etc., etc., food 31 stored in the storage room etc. caught on the projection 52, damage to the food 31 or injury due to direct contact with the projection 52, etc. By providing 53, even if the door 23 and the door 24 are in an open / closed state, the wind easily flows through the upper heat insulating partition plate 4 on the ceiling surface of the freezer compartment 3 to the slope portion 53, and the infrared light is collected by the warm air pool. The member 48 is provided so that a temperature gradient between the front end surface and the end surface of the member 48 is more difficult to be generated. In this way, the slope portion is formed in a shape that does not have a right-angle portion and is formed in a curved shape so that it is difficult to catch.

  About the refrigerator comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  First, after turning on the power, the operation of the refrigeration cycle (not shown) is started, and the refrigerant flows through the evaporator 10 to generate cold air. The generated cold air is sent to the cold air distribution chamber 19 by the blower 11, distributed from the cold air discharge port 21 and the cold air discharge port 22, and discharged into the freezer compartment 3.

  The freezer compartment 3 is cooled to a predetermined temperature by the cold air discharged into the freezer compartment 3, and at the same time, the cold storage material 29 is also cooled. At this time, the freezer compartment 3 is adjusted to a temperature at which the food can be stored frozen for a certain period of time, for example, -20 ° C, but the heat storage material 29 uses a material whose melting temperature is set to -15 ° C. After the chamber 3 is sufficiently cooled and a predetermined time elapses, the regenerator 29 is completely frozen, and the cool air that has cooled the inside of the cooling chamber 3 enters the cool air generation chamber 9 through the cool air inlet 30 and the evaporator 10. Cooled again.

  For detecting the temperature of the infrared sensor 13, for example, when the ambient temperature of the infrared sensor 13 serving as the reference temperature is 25 ° C., the voltage output from the infrared sensor 13 is V, and the thermistor 42 is used to measure the ambient temperature of the infrared light receiver 40. When the temperature to be measured is S, the infrared ray amount is measured by the infrared light receiving unit 40 and the average temperature of the infrared ray amount is B, the relational expression “V = α (B ^ 4-S ^ 4)” It can be expressed as Here, α is a coefficient.

  Therefore, if there is no temperature difference between the ambient temperature S and the average temperature B of the amount of infrared rays, the infrared sensor 13 approaches the value of the output voltage V, and the reference temperature becomes the temperature S in the measurement range. If the temperature difference is large, the amount of infrared light detected by the infrared light receiving unit 40 increases, and the output voltage also increases.

  Therefore, if a warm food is introduced and the ambient temperature S of the infrared sensor 13 serving as the reference temperature also increases accordingly, the difference between the ambient temperature S and the average temperature B becomes small, and the warm food. Even if the absolute temperature is high, it cannot be detected that food having a relatively high temperature has been introduced, and the detection accuracy of the infrared sensor 13 is reduced.

  Next, the detection temperature of the infrared sensor 13 when the door 23 is closed is detected including the surface temperature of the regenerator 29 placed on the bottom surface of the upper container 27 which is a detection surface provided on the side facing the infrared sensor 13. To do. By forming the surface detected by the infrared sensor 13 with the cold storage material 29 having the cold storage function in this manner, for example, even when there is a disturbance such as inflow of warm air, the detection surface of the infrared sensor also has a high heat retention force and the disturbance. Since the temperature followability with respect to can be relaxed, it is less affected by temperature fluctuation due to disturbance, and a stable temperature can be maintained, so that higher detection accuracy can be obtained.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the detection surface provided on the side facing the infrared sensor 13 and the inner wall surface 50a of the through-hole 50 of the infrared condensing member 48 that is located in the visual field range of the infrared sensor 13. By forming both the bottom surface of the upper container 27 and the bottom of the upper container 27 with a member having a large heat holding force, even if a temporary temperature fluctuation due to a disturbance occurs, the temperature followability of the portion located within the visual field range of the infrared sensor Therefore, it is possible to more accurately detect the temperature of the food 31 that is the object of temperature detection by the infrared sensor 13.

  Further, the inner circular side of the protrusion 52 provided on the storage chamber side of the infrared condensing member 48 has a protrusion opening 52 a that is open to communicate with the through hole 50 of the infrared condensing member 48. The projection opening 52a is opened in a larger area than the through-hole 50, and the projection 52 located in the visual field range of the infrared sensor 13 is made smaller, so that the temperature of the projection 52 can be reduced. The detection accuracy of the infrared sensor 13 is prevented from lowering, and the shape of the protrusion 52 is less likely to cause warming up, so that the user can touch while maintaining the detection accuracy of the infrared sensor 13. It is possible to provide a refrigerator equipped with a more reliable infrared sensor by preventing failure of the infrared sensor in the case of occurrence of static electricity or when static electricity is generated.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the protrusions 52 are arranged so that two of the four protrusions 52 are in the horizontal direction with respect to the front-rear direction X of the refrigerator (the front-rear direction X is the direction of the air passage through which cold air flows). It is installed in. Furthermore, the remaining two places are installed so as to be horizontal with respect to the left-right direction Y of the refrigerator orthogonal to the front-rear direction X of the refrigerator. This is because when cold air flows along the front-rear direction X of the refrigerator through the gap between the diameter d1 of the projection opening 52a and the outer diameter d2 of the infrared condensing member 48, for example, 30 ° or 45 with respect to X or Y Compared with the case where it is installed so as to have an angle of °, the air path resistance in the gap between the diameter d1 of the projection opening 52a and the outer diameter d2 of the infrared condensing member 48 is reduced.

  This is because when the inventor actually carried out an experiment to measure the temperature of the infrared condensing member 48 by installing four projections at various angles as in the present embodiment. The configuration is derived from the result that the temperature variation of the infrared condensing member 48 is the smallest.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the protrusion is substantially point-contacted on the diameter d1 of the protrusion opening 52a, which is the inner space of the protrusion 52, specifically, the protrusion opening. On the diameter d1 of 52a, only the tip portion of the projection 52 having a semicircular diameter is located. Further, in the present embodiment, the protrusion 52 is 1 with respect to the innermost diameter d3 of the straight cross section of the protrusion 52 that communicates with the semicircle at the tip of the protrusion. Occupies about / 4. In the present embodiment, the protrusion 52 occupies about 1/4 with respect to the innermost diameter d3 of the linear cross section. In some cases, it is preferable that the protrusion 52 be at least 1/3 or less of the innermost diameter d3 of the straight section.

  When the user stores the food 31, for example, the door 23 is pulled out. At this time, the temperature detection of the infrared sensor 13 detects the temperature in the lower container 28. Then, the door 23 is in an open state, the warm air of the outside air flows in from the opening surface of the door 23, the warm air flows along the slope portion 53 through the upper heat insulating partition plate 4 of the ceiling surface of the freezer compartment 3, and infrared rays Since the outer surface of the mounting case 47 and the front end surface of the infrared condensing part 48 are the same surface, even when the door is opened, the wind flows through the slope part 53, so the temperature fluctuation due to warm air accumulation is small and abrupt. It is possible to suppress erroneous detection due to a rise or fall caused by a change in ambient temperature, and to improve the stability of the detection accuracy of the infrared sensor 13.

  When cleaning the freezer compartment 3 or the like, static electricity is charged by friction of towels, etc., and static electricity accumulates on the human body during the charged static electricity or the season when the air is dry (for example, autumn to spring). When the infrared sensor 13 is touched in an easy state, an instantaneous discharge is generated from the fingertip or the tip of the towel. Then, when the discharge energy is applied, noise enters the infrared element 43 by mistake, so that the infrared sensor 13 malfunctions or the infrared element 43 itself cannot withstand electrostatic withstand voltage, and thus the disconnection inside the infrared element 43 occurs. Or cause a short circuit.

  Therefore, by providing a plurality of protrusions 52 that extend partly around the condensing opening 51 on the same surface as the front end surface of the infrared sensor 13, a certain spatial distance is secured, and infrared rays due to static electricity are provided. In addition to preventing malfunction or failure of the sensor 13 or destruction of the infrared sensor 13, it is possible to prevent direct contact with an electrical component (infrared element 43) due to the entry of a finger.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the heat insulating box configured with a plurality of heat insulating compartments, the heat insulating partition that partitions the heat insulating box, the storage room partitioned by the heat insulating partition, and the heat insulating partition Infrared condensing member provided with a concave portion formed in, an infrared sensor for detecting the amount of radiation radiated from the stored item stored in the storage room, and a through-hole surrounding the infrared sensor and guiding the amount of radiation to the infrared sensor And an infrared mounting case that houses the infrared sensor, and a light collecting opening that penetrates the infrared mounting case in the same shape as the side surface of the infrared light collecting member, and the infrared mounting case is embedded in the recess and faces the storage chamber. By providing a plurality of protruding protrusions around the condensing opening, malfunction or failure of the infrared sensor due to static electricity such as friction during cleaning of the storage chamber, or infrared sensor element It is possible to prevent destruction of itself.

  In addition, by providing a plurality of protrusions around the opening, warming up around the protrusion due to disturbance effects (such as door opening and closing and hot food) that fluctuate the ambient temperature of the infrared sensor is reduced. Detection accuracy can be improved.

  In addition, by providing a distance of 6 mm or more from the tip of the infrared sensor to the protrusion of the infrared mounting case, the insulation distance from electrical components (infrared sensors) defined by various laws and regulations relating to home appliances can be reduced. In general, the charged voltage charged to the human body may exceed 1000V. By securing a certain spatial distance, an instantaneous discharge is generated from static electricity charged to the human body, and the discharge energy is applied. Even in this case, it is possible to further prevent malfunction or failure of the infrared sensor or destruction of the element of the infrared sensor.

  In addition, by making the inner diameter of the plurality of protrusions protruding around the condensing opening to be 6 mm or less, it is possible to prevent direct contact with an electrical component (infrared sensor) due to the insertion of a finger from the vertical direction inside the protrusion. Can do.

  In addition, the protrusions are arranged at equal intervals around the opening, and the distance between the protrusions is set to 4 mm or less, so that an electric component (infrared sensor) by direct insertion of a finger from the side surface inside the protrusion can be directly connected. Touching can be prevented.

  In addition, by providing a slope portion formed on the surface of the infrared mounting case from the protrusion toward the outside of the light collection opening, safety such as injury due to catching of the protrusion is ensured, and along the slope portion Thus, by guiding convection to the front end surface of the infrared sensor, it is possible to suppress the warm air accumulation around the infrared sensor and reduce the temperature gradient with the infrared sensor, thereby further improving the detection accuracy of the infrared sensor.

  Moreover, the front end surface of the infrared condensing member is substantially the same as the outer surface of the infrared mounting case on the storage chamber side, so that there is no step between the infrared mounting case and the infrared condensing member, so that warm air generated by opening and closing the door can be prevented. The temperature fluctuation is small even when the door is opened by storing the inflow and food, etc., and eliminating the warming up of the steam from the food, so false detection due to a rise or fall due to a sudden change in ambient temperature And the stability of detection accuracy of the infrared sensor can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the wall surface 4a in the direction of the freezer compartment 3 that is the storage chamber of the upper heat insulating partition plate 4 other than the recess 49, and the outer surface 47a that is the wall surface of the infrared mounting case 47 on the freezer compartment 3 side, However, the outer surface 47a, which is the wall surface on the freezer compartment 3 side of the infrared mounting case 47, may protrude to the storage chamber side from the wall surface 4a in the freezer compartment 3 side direction. As described above, the outer surface 47a of the infrared mounting case 47 has a convex shape rather than the wall surface 4a, so that even when the door 23 and the door 24 are in an open / closed state, more warm air is accumulated around the protruding portion of the infrared mounting case 47. This can be prevented, and it can be provided so that a temperature gradient between the front end surface and the end surface of the infrared condensing member 48 is difficult to be formed. In this case, it is also possible that at least the vicinity of the attachment portion 47b provided with the projection 52 is provided with a convex shape, and the wall surface 4a and the outer surface 47a of the infrared attachment case 47 are on the same surface, and the attachment surface 47b. In this case, it is possible to further increase the rigidity around the mounting surface 47 of the protrusion 52, and to provide a refrigerator having a non-contact sensor provided with a higher-quality protrusion 52. Can be realized.

  The refrigerator according to the present invention forms a protrusion and a slope on a part of the infrared mounting case to which the infrared sensor is attached, and has a certain spatial distance from the infrared element part, so that the infrared sensor is erroneously detected or failed due to static electricity. Or, it is possible to prevent the internal destruction of the infrared element of the infrared sensor, and to improve the detection accuracy without being affected by disturbances around the protrusion (for example, door opening / closing or temperature fluctuation due to hot food), and home appliances This ensures electrical insulation as defined by various laws and regulations, improves product quality, and is applicable not only to household refrigerators, but also to commercial refrigerators and measuring instruments in environments with large ambient influences.

Side surface sectional drawing of the principal part of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention Side surface sectional drawing of the infrared sensor attachment part of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention The enlarged view of the side surface cross section A part of the infrared sensor attachment part of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The top view seen from B direction right above the infrared sensor attachment part of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention Side view of conventional refrigerator Partially enlarged side sectional view of a conventional refrigerator

Explanation of symbols

1 Insulation box 2 Refrigerator body 3 Freezer room (storage room)
4 Upper insulation partition plate 5 Lower insulation partition plate 6 Refrigerated room (storage room)
7 Vegetable room (storage room)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 Partition 9 Cold air generation chamber 10 Evaporator 11 Blower 12 Defrost heater 13 Infrared sensor 21 Cold air outlet 22 Cold air outlet 23 Door 24 Door 25 Frame body 26 Frame body 27 Upper container 28 Lower container 29 Cold storage material 30 Cold air suction Mouth 31 Food 32 Middle container 33 Cold air discharge port 40 Infrared light receiving part 41 Substrate 42 Thermistor 43 Infrared element 44 Connector 45 Wiring 46 Wire 47 Infrared mounting case 47a Infrared mounting case outer surface 48 Infrared condensing member 48a Infrared condensing member The front end surface 48a of the member 48
49 Concave part 50 Through-hole 51 Condensing opening part 52 Protrusion part 52a Protrusion opening part 53 Slope part

Claims (5)

Heat radiation box radiated from a heat insulation box composed of a plurality of heat insulation compartments, a heat insulation partition part partitioning the heat insulation box body, a storage room partitioned by the heat insulation partition part, and stored items stored in the storage room an infrared sensor having a temperature sensing unit for sensing a quantity, said and an infrared condensing member having a through hole provided in the infrared sensor, the direction of the through hole than around the outside of the infrared condensing member The refrigerator which is provided with a plurality of protrusions protruding to the protrusion, and the protrusion protrudes beyond the front end surface of the infrared condensing member . A protrusion opening that opens in communication with the through-hole of the infrared condensing member is provided inside the protrusion, and the protrusion opening opens in a larger area than the through-opening of the infrared condensing member. The refrigerator according to claim 1 . Infrared sensors are infrared mounting case is provided in the storage compartment side of the infrared sensor with provided in the wall of the storage chamber, the protrusions refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2 formed on the infrared mounting case. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protruding portion is provided with a slope portion formed in a shape having no right angle portion. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein a front end surface of the infrared condensing member is substantially flush with an outer surface of the infrared mounting case on the storage chamber side.