JP4514557B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator for storing stored items in a refrigerator.

The conventional refrigerator is provided with a temperature sensor that detects the temperature in the storage chamber, and the refrigeration cycle is operated and stopped based on the detection result of the temperature sensor. Moreover, the temperature display apparatus which displays the temperature in the storage chamber detected with the temperature sensor by LED etc. is provided in the refrigerator front surface. Thereby, the user can visually recognize the temperature in the storage room and grasp the operating state of the refrigerator.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-4641

  However, according to the conventional refrigerator, there is a problem that an electronic component such as an LED and an electric wiring are required, and the temperature display device becomes expensive. In addition, since the temperature sensor detects the temperature in the storage room, the temperature of the stored product is not accurately notified. For example, FIG. 15 shows the temperature of the stored item and the temperature of the room with respect to the elapsed time since the refrigerator was turned on. The vertical axis represents temperature (unit: ° C.), and the horizontal axis represents elapsed time (unit: hr). In the figure, A indicates the temperature inside the storage room, and B indicates the temperature of the stored item. The outside temperature is 30 ° C.

  According to the figure, the cool air in the storage chamber reaches a predetermined temperature in about 4 hours after the power is turned on, but the stored product reaches in about 6 hours. During this period, the room temperature and the temperature of the stored item differ by about 5 to 15 ° C. For this reason, when a user mistakenly thinks that the stored item was cooled and the stored item was taken out, the case where the stored item was not cooled occurred, and the convenience of the refrigerator was poor.

  Moreover, FIG. 16 has shown the temperature of the store | stored goods, and the indoor temperature with respect to the elapsed time after opening the door of a refrigerator. The vertical axis represents temperature (unit: ° C.), and the horizontal axis represents elapsed time (unit: min). In the figure, A indicates the temperature inside the storage room, and B indicates the temperature of the stored item. In addition, the outside air temperature is 30 ° C., and in the figure, the door is opened at S and is closed after 2 minutes.

  According to the figure, the room temperature is about 20 ° C. higher than the stored temperature for several minutes after the door is opened. For this reason, there is a case where the user mistakes that the stored item is not cooled and stops taking out the stored item, and the convenience of the refrigerator is poor.

  An object of this invention is to provide the refrigerator which can alert | report the temperature of a stored material cheaply and more correctly.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a temperature indicating device having a temperature indicating sheet that changes color when temperature is detected, and an animal cooling member that is provided in contact with the temperature indicating sheet and cools the cold in the storage chamber. It is characterized in that the temperature indicating sheet is discolored when it is provided in a storage chamber and the temperature of the cold storage member is lower than the temperature suitable for storage. According to this configuration, the livestock cooling member cools the cold in the storage room, and the temperature indicating sheet in contact with the livestock cooling member changes its color when the temperature of the livestock cooling member is sensed and falls below the temperature suitable for storage. To do.

  In the refrigerator configured as described above, the temperature indicating sheet is formed by applying a reversible thermochromic ink to a sheet-like member, and when the cold storage member has a temperature suitable for storage, the sheet-like member and the It is characterized by having the same color as the reversible color-changing ink. According to this configuration, no indication is displayed on the temperature indicating device until the temperature falls to a temperature suitable for storage.

  In the refrigerator configured as described above, the discolored portion of the temperature indicating sheet is around a character, symbol, or figure drawn on the temperature indicating sheet. According to this configuration, most of the temperature indicating sheet excluding characters, symbols or figures is discolored to notify the temperature.

  In the refrigerator configured as described above, the discolored portion of the temperature indicating sheet is a character, symbol, or figure itself drawn on the temperature indicating sheet. According to this configuration, the character, symbol, or figure itself changes color to notify the temperature, and most of the temperature indicating sheet excluding the character, symbol, or figure does not change color.

  According to the present invention, a temperature indicating device having a temperature indicating sheet and a livestock cooling member is provided in the storage chamber, and the temperature indicating sheet is discolored when the temperature of the cold accumulating member falls below a temperature suitable for storage. Can be notified.

  Further, according to the present invention, the temperature indicating sheet is formed by applying a reversible thermochromic ink to a sheet-like member, and the sheet-like member and the reversible color-changing ink have the same color when the cold storage member has a temperature suitable for storage. Therefore, a temperature indicating sheet that changes color depending on the temperature can be easily realized, and the visibility of the temperature indicating device is improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the portion of the temperature indicating sheet that changes color is set around the character, symbol, or figure drawn on the temperature indicating sheet, most of the temperature indicating sheet is discolored and the visibility is improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the color changing portion of the temperature indicating sheet is the character, symbol or figure itself drawn on the temperature indicating sheet, most of the temperature indicating sheet excluding the character, symbol or figure is the same color as the inner wall of the storage room. The color tone in the storage room can be unified.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment. The refrigerator 1 has upper and lower doors 5 and 6 that rotate by pulling handles 5a and 6a provided on the left in the drawing to open and close the front surface.

  FIG. 2 is a right side sectional view of the refrigerator 1. The refrigerator 1 is covered with a heat insulating material 14, and a freezer compartment 2, a refrigerator compartment 3, and a vegetable compartment 4 are provided from above. The front of the freezer compartment 2 is opened and closed by an upper open / close door 5. The front of the refrigerator compartment 3 and the vegetable compartment 4 is opened and closed by a lower opening / closing door 6. The vegetable compartment 4 arranged below the refrigerator compartment 3 is covered with the storage case 4a and the top plate 4b and is isolated from the refrigerator compartment 3. The refrigerator compartment 3 is provided with shelves 15 and 16 on which stored items are placed, and a drawer container 17 for storing the stored items is provided at the top of the refrigerator compartment 3.

  Behind the freezer compartment 2 and behind the refrigerator compartment 3 are provided cold air passages 10 and 11 having discharge ports (not shown) facing the freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment 3 and communicating with each other. A return passage 12 that communicates with the cold air passage 10 is provided below the freezer compartment 2, and a return passage 13 that communicates with the cold air passage 10 is provided above the refrigerator compartment 3.

  A cooler 8 and a blower 9 are arranged in the cold air passage 10. The cooler 8 is connected to the compressor 7 and becomes a low temperature side of the refrigeration cycle operated by the compressor 7. As a result, the cooler 8 exchanges heat with the air flowing through the cold air passage 10 to generate cold air.

  When the blower 9 is driven, air flows through the cold air passage 10, and the cold air exchanged with the cooler 8 is discharged into the freezer compartment 2. The cold air discharged into the freezer compartment 2 circulates in the freezer compartment 2, passes through the return passage 12, and returns to the cold air passage 10. Further, a part of the cold air that has returned from the return passage 12 to the cold air passage 10 flows through the cold air passage 11 and is discharged into the refrigerator compartment 3.

  The cold air discharged into the refrigerator compartment 3 flows through the refrigerator compartment 3 and returns from the return passage 13 to the cold air passage 10. A part of the cold air in the refrigerator compartment 3 flows into the vegetable compartment 4 from behind the storage case 4a, flows around the storage case 4a, and returns to the refrigerator compartment 3 from the front. Thereby, the cold air cooled by the cooler 8 is circulated through the freezer compartment 2, the refrigerator compartment 3, and the vegetable compartment 4 in this order by driving the blower 9. Since the cold air exchanges heat with the stored product, the room temperature increases in the order of the freezer compartment 2, the refrigerator compartment 3, and the vegetable compartment 4, and is about -18 ° C, about 3 ° C, and about 5 ° C, respectively. You may provide the chilled room etc. whose room temperature is about 0 degreeC.

  FIG. 3 is a left side cross-sectional view schematically showing the lower portion of the refrigerator 1. A temperature indicating device 20 for displaying the temperature is provided on the side wall 18 on the pivot side of the heat insulating door 6 of the refrigerator compartment 3. Thereby, the user can easily visually recognize the temperature display by arranging the temperature indicating device 20 at the upper front portion of the side wall 18.

  4 to 8 are a front view, a bottom view, a bottom sectional view, a side view, and a rear view showing the temperature indicating device 20. FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the temperature indicating device 20. The temperature indicating device 20 is covered with a housing 21 composed of a resin front cover 22 and a back cover 23. A temperature indicating sheet 25 and a livestock cooling member 26 are arranged in the housing 21.

  A plurality of engaging claws 22 a are provided around the front cover 22, and engaging grooves 23 a are formed around the back cover 23 at positions corresponding to the engaging claws 22 a. The engagement claw 22a and the engagement groove 23a are engaged, and the housing 21 is closed. Here, in order to house a cold storage member having a sufficient heat capacity, the outer dimensions of the housing 21 are preferably 30 mm or more and 40 mm or more (for example, 40 mm and 50 mm). The front cover 22 is provided with an opening 22b on the front surface, and a step 22c is formed around the back of the opening 22b. The temperature indicating sheet 25 is fitted to and supported by the stepped portion 22c. Therefore, the opening 22b must be smaller than the temperature indicating sheet 25. Thus, since a part of temperature indication sheet 25 is covered with the front cover 22, it is suppressed that a store thing contacts a temperature indication sheet. The opening 22b may have a circular shape or the like in addition to the rectangular shape as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the rear cover 23 is formed with ribs 23b and 23c that protrude to the front side.

  The temperature indicating sheet 25 is formed by applying a reversible thermochromic ink 25 a (see FIG. 10) to a sheet-like member (not shown) such as a resin, and is fitted to the step portion 22 c of the front cover 22. As shown in FIG. 10, "OK" characters 25b are formed as extracted characters by the reversible thermochromic ink 25a. A reversible thermochromic ink may be applied in a letter shape (see FIG. 12). As shown in FIG. 12, the letter “OK” 25c is written in reversible thermochromic ink. Further, other characters (for example, “COOL”), symbols (for example, “◯”, “◎”), figures, pictograms, and the like may be formed by the reversible thermochromic ink 25a.

  The reversible thermochromic ink 25a senses the temperature and changes color (for example, from white to blue) when the temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature (a temperature suitable for storage, for example, 3 ° C.). By using a sheet-like member having the same color as the reversible thermochromic ink 25a at a temperature higher than the predetermined temperature, the characters 25b and 25c are not visually recognized at a high temperature. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the characters 25 b and 25 c can be visually recognized through the opening 22 b of the front cover 22 at a low temperature. Thus, since the characters 25b and 25c are visually recognized only when the temperature is suitable for storage, the visibility is improved. Further, in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the discolored portion of the temperature indicating sheet 25 is set around the character 25 b written on the temperature indicating sheet 25, so that most of the temperature indicating sheet 25 is discolored and visibility is improved. On the other hand, in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, since the color changing portion of the temperature indicating sheet 25 is the character 25c itself written on the temperature indicating sheet 25, most of the temperature indicating sheet 25 except the character 25c is the same color as the inner wall of the refrigerator compartment 3 ( For example, the color tone in the refrigerator compartment 3 can be unified. A transparent sheet (not shown) is laminated on the surface of the temperature indicating sheet 25 to protect the reversible thermochromic ink 25a.

  The animal cooling member 26 is made of a metal lump having a large heat capacity formed of iron, aluminum, stainless steel or the like. Here, the metal lump in the refrigerator compartment 3 preferably uses 10 g or more of iron. Thereby, the metal lump has a heat capacity sufficient to suppress a temperature change caused by outside air entering the refrigerator compartment. For example, an iron lump of about 15 g (size: 3.2 × 22.5 × 26.5 [mm]) can be used. The animal cooling member 26 may be formed of a cooling gel or the like. The cold heat in the refrigerator compartment 3 is cooled by the livestock cooling member 26, and the cold heat is released from the livestock cooling member 26 when the temperature in the refrigerator compartment 3 increases. The animal cooling member 26 is supported on the back side by the ribs 23b of the back cover 23, and fits into the ribs 23c. Here, the rib 23b is preferably 2 mm or more in height (for example, 2.6 mm). This is because an air layer is provided between the cold storage member 26 and the back cover 23 to sufficiently block the heat transferred from the inner wall to the animal cooling member and to sufficiently block the heat transferred from the animal cooling member to the inner wall.

  The temperature indicating sheet 25 and the livestock cooling member 26 are sandwiched between the front cover 22 and the back cover 23 and are brought into close contact with each other. Thereby, the temperature indicating sheet 25 senses the temperature of the animal cooling member 26 and changes its color.

  A heat insulating material 24 is provided on the back surface of the housing 21. The heat insulating material 24 blocks the cold heat transmitted from the side wall 18 to the livestock cooling member 26 and also blocks the cold heat transmitted from the livestock cooling member 26 to the side wall 18. Here, sufficient heat insulation effect can be acquired by the thickness of the heat insulating material 24 being 1 mm or more (for example, 1 mm). As a result, the temperature indicating device 20 is not affected by the side wall 18, and the animal cooling member 26 cools and discharges the cold heat in the same manner as the stored material disposed in the refrigerator compartment 3, and the temperature indicating sheet 25 accurately controls the temperature. It can be perceived.

  An adhesive sheet (not shown) is provided on the back side of the heat insulating material 24, and the temperature indicating device 20 protrudes and is bonded to the side wall 18. Here, as shown in FIG. 14, a recess 23d may be formed on the heat insulating material 24 side of the back cover 23, and the heat insulating material 24 and an adhesive sheet (not shown) may be accommodated in the recess 23d. Thereby, it can prevent that the heat insulating material 24 and the adhesive sheet are visible to a user. By providing the temperature indicating device 20 on the side wall 18, the visibility is improved as compared with the case of providing the temperature indicating device 20 on the back surface of the refrigerator compartment 3. Further, by providing the temperature indicating device 20 in a projecting manner, the visibility is further improved, and cold heat is easily transmitted from the refrigerator compartment 3 to the livestock cooling member 26. The housing 21 preferably protrudes from the inner wall of the refrigerator compartment 3 by 9 mm or more (for example, 9.5 mm). The temperature indicating device 20 may be attached to the side wall 18 by engagement with the side wall 18.

  When the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3 is cooled by driving the compressor 7 and the blower 9, the cold heat in the refrigerator compartment 3 is cooled by the animal cooling member 26. The temperature indicating sheet 25 senses the temperature of the livestock cooling member 26, and when it becomes a predetermined temperature (for example, 3 ° C.) or less, the reversible thermochromic ink 25a changes color and the characters 25b are displayed in a visible manner.

  When the heat insulation door 6 is opened, outside air flows into the refrigerator compartment 3 and the temperature in the refrigerator compartment 3 rises. At this time, the temperature of the stored product gradually increases in accordance with the heat capacity, and the temperature of the stored animal member 26 increases gradually as the stock cooling member 26 releases the heat. For this reason, the temperature indicating sheet 25 maintains a state where the characters 25b are visible for a predetermined time. Thereby, the temperature indicator 20 can alert | report the temperature state of a stored material correctly, and can prevent malfunctions, such as cancellation of taking out of the stored material by a user's misidentification.

  Further, when the refrigerator 1 is turned on, the room temperature in the refrigerator compartment 3 is lowered by driving the compressor 7. At this time, the temperature of the stored product gradually decreases according to the heat capacity, and the animal cooling member 26 cools the cold in the refrigerator compartment 3 and the temperature gradually decreases. For this reason, even if the room temperature falls to a predetermined temperature, the temperature indicating sheet 25 maintains a state where the characters 25b cannot be visually recognized for a predetermined time. Thereby, the temperature indicator 20 can alert | report the temperature state of a stored material correctly, and can prevent malfunctions, such as taking out of the stored material by a user's misidentification. Therefore, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that does not require an electric component such as an LED and is highly convenient for the user at low cost.

  Moreover, since the temperature indicating device 20 is arranged on the side wall 18 on the pivotal support side of the heat insulating door 6, it is possible to reduce the influence of temperature change due to outside air flowing in from the side where the heat insulating door 6 is opened. In general, when the user opens the heat insulating door 6, the line of sight faces the back of the storage room, so the visibility is improved. Here, since the temperature indicating device 20 is disposed at the front portion of the side wall 18, the temperature indicating device 20 is easily affected by the temperature of the outside air flowing in by opening and closing the heat insulating door 6. However, in the cooling method in which the cool air is forcedly circulated by the blower 9, the room can be rapidly stirred, so that the influence on the temperature can be reduced, and the temperature indicating device 20 accurately indicates the temperature of the stored item by the heat capacity of the animal cooling member 26. be able to.

  Therefore, the temperature indicating device 20 can be provided above the uppermost shelf 16. Visibility is improved by providing the temperature indicating device 20 at a high position in the refrigerator compartment 3. The temperature indicating device 20 is preferably provided behind the front end portions of the shelves 15 and 16. It is because the influence of the temperature change by the high temperature external air which flows in by opening and closing of the heat insulation door 6 can be reduced. The temperature indicating device 20 is preferably provided below the drawer container 17. This is to prevent the drawing operation from being disturbed by touching the temperature indicating device 20 when the drawing container 17 is operated.

  A similar temperature indicating device 20 may be provided in the freezer compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 4. At this time, the mass of the livestock cooling member 26 in the freezer compartment 2 having a large temperature difference from the outside air temperature may be larger than that of the livestock cooler member 3 in the refrigerator compartment. Thereby, the temperature change of the livestock cooling member 26 by external air penetration | invasion is suppressed, and the temperature of a stored item can be alert | reported more correctly. Similarly, the mass of the animal cooling member 26 of the vegetable room 4 having a small temperature difference from the outside air temperature may be smaller than that of the animal cooling member 26 of the refrigerator room 3.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a domestic refrigerator or a commercial refrigerator that displays the temperature in a storage room.

The perspective view which shows the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing of right side which shows the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention Left side sectional drawing which shows the lower part of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The front view which shows the temperature indicator of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The bottom view which shows the temperature display apparatus of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention Bottom sectional drawing which shows the temperature display apparatus of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The side view which shows the temperature display apparatus of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The rear view which shows the temperature display apparatus of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The exploded view which shows the temperature display apparatus of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The front view which shows the temperature indication sheet | seat of the temperature indicator of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The front view which shows the display state of the temperature indicator sheet of the temperature indicator of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The front view which shows the other temperature indication sheet | seat of the temperature indicator of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The front view which shows the display state of the other temperature indicator sheet of the temperature indicator of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention Bottom sectional drawing which shows the other temperature display apparatus of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The figure which shows the room temperature of the storage room at the time of power-on of a refrigerator, and the temperature of stored goods The figure which shows the room temperature of the storage room at the time of door opening and closing of a refrigerator, and the temperature of stored goods

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 2 Freezing room 3 Refrigeration room 4 Vegetable room 5, 6 Heat insulation door 7 Compressor 8 Cooler 9 Blower 15, 16 Shelf 17 Drawer container 18 Side wall 20 Temperature display device 21 Housing 22 Front cover 23 Back cover 24 Heat insulation material 25 Thermal insulation sheet 25a Reversible thermochromic ink 25b, 25c Character 26 Animal cooling member

Claims (4)

A temperature indicator having a temperature indicating sheet that changes color by sensing temperature, an animal cooling member that is provided in contact with the temperature indicating sheet and cools the cold in the storage chamber, and a housing that covers the temperature indicating sheet and the animal cooling member. Install the device on the inner wall of the storage room,
A space is provided between the attachment side with the inner wall of the temperature indicating device and the animal cooling member,
The refrigerator, wherein the temperature indicating sheet changes color when the temperature of the cold storage member is equal to or lower than a temperature suitable for storage. An opening is provided at a position facing the temperature indicating sheet on the storage chamber side of the housing,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the opening side of the housing protrudes 9 mm or more from an inner wall of the storage chamber . An opening is provided on the front surface of the storage room,
Providing a heat insulating door that closes the opening;
One of the left and right sides of the heat insulating door is pivotally supported by the opening of the storage chamber at a pivotal support,
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the temperature indicating device is provided on a side wall on the pivot portion side . The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a shelf on which stored items are placed is provided in the storage chamber, and the temperature indicating device is provided behind the front end portion of the shelf .

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