JP6478083B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with illumination means such as an interior lamp that illuminates the interior of a storage room, and means for detecting the amount of storage.

  In recent household refrigerators, when an opening / closing door is opened, an interior lamp such as an LED is turned on to make it easier to see the interior. Also, if the door is opened for a long time, the internal temperature rises and power consumption increases, so it has a function to notify the user with a buzzer or internal light. For example, there is a refrigerator that blinks the interior lamp or changes the illumination color as a method of notifying (see Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a schematic configuration of a conventional refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, and FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an illumination control unit of the conventional refrigerator. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the refrigerator 101 includes an interior lamp 102 as an illumination unit that illuminates the interior of the refrigerator, a door switch 104 that detects opening and closing of the door 103, and an illumination control unit 105 that controls the interior lamp 102. ing.

  The refrigerator 101 also has an automatic defrosting device 106, a compressor 107, a fan motor 108, and a temperature sensor 109 for detecting the internal temperature. Well-known storage rooms such as a refrigerator compartment 110, a freezer compartment 111, and a vegetable compartment 112 are known. The components are provided.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 14, the illumination control unit 105 is mainly configured by a control circuit such as a CPU, and signals from the door switch 104 and the temperature sensor 109 are input to the input unit. A touch panel 115 having keys for inputting various information such as a set temperature is provided on the surface of the door 103, and the data is input to the illumination control unit 105. Next, the compressor drive unit 113, the fan motor drive unit 114, the interior lamp 102, and the automatic defrosting device 106 are connected to the output unit of the illumination control unit 105, and a signal is output to each load.

  With such a configuration, the CPU in the illumination control unit 105 compares and determines the set temperature input on the touch panel 115 and the internal temperature detected by the temperature sensor 109, and the compressor 107, fan motor 108, automatic frost The take-up device 106 is controlled to perform the cooling operation and the defrosting operation of the refrigerator 101. Further, the lighting control unit 105 performs control to turn on the interior lamp 102 when the door switch 104 detects opening, and turn off the lamp when detecting the closing of the door.

  Furthermore, the timer 117 in the CPU of the illumination control unit 105 counts the elapsed time after the door switch 104 detects the opening of the door, and determines whether or not it is longer than the specified time. In addition, the opening / closing counter 116 inputs the opening / closing count of the door 103 detected by the door switch 104 within the unit time to the illumination control unit 105, and the CPU determines whether or not the number is equal to or more than the specified number. Here, if the opening time or the number of times of opening and closing of the door 103 is equal to or greater than the specified value, the interior lamp 102 is blinked, the illumination color is changed, or the energization rate to the interior lamp 102 is decreased to reduce the interior of the interior. By dimming the illuminance, the user is informed that usage is frequent.

JP 2010-164250 A

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1 described above, the interior lamp 102 is in the same all-light state as before until the user is notified of the usage frequency of the door opening / closing, and the power consumption of the interior lamp 102 is reduced. There is no reduction. In addition, the interior light 102 illuminates the interior with a constant amount of light regardless of the amount of storage items in the storage room and the storage state of the storage location. Had problems.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and estimates the storage state of the food in the storage chamber based on detection information from the storage state detection means, and irradiates the interior with the optimal amount of light according to the storage state. The purpose is to improve the visibility and automatically reduce the power consumption of the interior lamp.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a housing provided with a plurality of storage chambers partitioned by a heat insulating wall and a heat insulating door, and a storage in a cabinet that defines a plurality of storage spaces in the storage chamber. A shelf, door opening / closing detection means for detecting the door open / closed state of the storage room, interior lighting for illuminating the interior of the storage room, ambient illuminance detection means for detecting the illuminance around the housing, and the storage Information detected by the ambient illuminance detection unit and the stored item detection unit, the stored item detection unit for detecting the storage state of the stored items in the room, the transmittance of the storage shelf in the warehouse is 50% or more From the above, there is provided a light amount adjusting means for changing the light amount of the interior lighting and the lighting pattern, and the stored item detection means detects the storage amount in the upper stage of the storage chamber and the storage amount in the lower stage of the storage chamber. The interior lighting is an upper side illumination corresponding to the upper stage. And the lower stage illumination corresponding to the lower stage, the light amount adjusting means changes the light quantity of the upper stage illumination based on the upper storage amount, and the lower stage illumination based on the lower storage amount The amount of light is changed . Thereby, the said interior lighting is adjusted with the light quantity according to the accommodation state in a storage room, and the surrounding illumination intensity of a refrigerator.

  The refrigerator of the present invention is a double door type in which the door of the storage room is on the left and right sides, the door opening / closing detection means is provided on each of the left and right sides of the door, and when the door opening / closing detection means detects the open state, the door The light amount adjusting means controls so as to turn on the side interior lighting. As a result, when the door is opened on only one side, only the interior lighting is turned on only on the opened side, and the other closed side is kept in the unlit state.

Refrigerator of the present invention, since estimates the storage state of the storage chamber, obtain line irradiation optimum visibility according to the stored state.

Front view of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Control block diagram of refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of the present invention AA sectional view (a) in FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a front view in an opened state (b). Control flowchart of storage state detection of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Explanatory drawing of the accommodation state detection operation by the top light source of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention Explanatory drawing of the accommodation state detection operation by the downward light source of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention Storing state detection characteristic diagram of refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Storage capacity ratio characteristic diagram of upper and lower stages of refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of the present invention LED control flowchart of refrigerator interior lighting in Embodiment 1 of the present invention LED output characteristic diagram of refrigerator interior lighting in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Matrix diagram of the illuminance in the refrigerator of the first embodiment of the present invention Front view (a) of only the left door opened in the refrigerator compartment open state of the refrigerator in Embodiment 2 of the present invention and front view (b) of only the right door opened Schematic diagram of the schematic configuration of a conventional refrigerator Block diagram of lighting control unit of conventional refrigerator

The first invention includes a housing provided with a plurality of storage chambers partitioned by a heat insulating wall and a heat insulating door, an internal storage shelf that defines a plurality of storage spaces in the storage chamber, and a door open / close state of the storage chamber A door opening / closing detection means for detecting the interior of the storage room, an interior lighting for illuminating the interior of the storage room, an ambient illuminance detection means for detecting the illuminance around the housing, and a storage state of the storage items in the storage room. And the storage shelf has a transmittance of 50% or more, and the amount of light and lighting of the interior lighting are determined based on information detected by the ambient illuminance detection unit and the stored item detection unit. By providing the light amount adjustment means for changing the pattern, the interior lighting is adjusted with the light amount according to the storage state in the storage room, the ambient illuminance of the refrigerator, All lighting conditions at night are reduced, visibility is good, Cost power is also reduced the internal illumination, the user can be performed automatically without any complicated settings.

  In the second invention, in particular, the information detected by the storage object detection means of the first invention is used as the storage amount of each zone when the storage chamber is divided into a plurality of zones, thereby detecting the storage state. The area to be processed is limited, and the configuration and quantity of the stored item detection means can be minimized, and the visibility can be improved and the power consumption can be reduced at a low cost.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in particular, at least one or more of the interior lighting of the first or second aspect of the present invention is disposed on the left side surface and the right side surface of the storage room, so By controlling the irradiation, it is possible to cope with interior lighting that is difficult to install on the bottom surface of the storage room, and it is possible to optimally irradiate the lower area of the storage room.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in particular, the door of the storage chamber of the first or third aspect is a double door opening type on the left and right sides, the door opening / closing detection means is provided on each of the left and right sides of the door, and the door opening / closing detection means is When the open state is detected, the light amount adjusting means controls to turn on the interior lighting on the door side, so that only the opened door side is irradiated, so the closed side It is possible to suppress wasteful power consumption of irradiating the inside of the storage room.

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

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the refrigerator according to the embodiment, and FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. Fig. 3 (b) is a front view of the door in the opened state of Fig. 1 in the same embodiment, Fig. 4 is a control flowchart for storing the refrigerator in the same embodiment, and Fig. 5 is a flowchart of the refrigerator in the same embodiment. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the storage state detection operation by the top light source, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the storage state detection operation by the lower light source of the refrigerator in the embodiment, FIG. 7 is a storage state detection characteristic diagram of the refrigerator in the embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a storage capacity ratio characteristic diagram of the upper and lower stages of the refrigerator in the embodiment, FIG. 9 is an LED control flowchart of the interior lighting of the refrigerator in the embodiment, and FIG. 10 is an interior lighting of the refrigerator in the embodiment. LED Force characteristic diagram, Fig. 11 is a matrix diagram of the refrigerator in the illuminance in the same embodiment.

1-3, the heat insulation box which is the refrigerator main body 1 is an outer box mainly using a steel plate, an inner box formed of a resin such as ABS, and heat insulation injected between the outer box and the inner box. It is composed of materials. Further, the heat insulation box is partitioned into a plurality of storage rooms, and the refrigeration room 2 is provided at the top, and the ice making room 3 or the switching room 4 is provided side by side at the lower part of the refrigerating room 2 and switched to the ice making room 3. A freezing room 5 is arranged at the lower part of the room 4, and a vegetable room 6 is arranged at the lowermost part, and a heat insulating door for partitioning with the outside air is formed in the front opening of the refrigerator main body at the front of each storage room. In the vicinity of the center of the refrigerator compartment left door 2a and refrigerator compartment right door 2b (the left end surface of the refrigerator compartment right door 2b), which are the heat insulating doors of the refrigerator compartment 2, there are temperature chamber settings, ice making, rapid cooling, etc. An operation unit 7 that can be set and can display the detection result of the storage state, the operation status of the refrigerator, and the like is arranged. In addition, ambient illuminance detection means 14 is disposed above the operation unit 7 to detect the ambient illuminance in the installation environment of the refrigerator body 1.

  In the refrigerator main body 1, there is an arithmetic control unit 8 on a control board or the like, and a memory 18, a timer 19, and a determination means 20 are incorporated. The arithmetic control unit 8 receives as input signals from the door open / close detection means 9 for detecting the door open / close state, the ambient illuminance detection means 14, and the optical sensors 11 a and 11 b of the storage state detection means 12. Further, a signal is output from the arithmetic control unit 8 to the light amount adjusting means 13, and the light amount adjusting means 13 controls the interior lighting 10 that also serves as the storage state detecting means 12.

  A plurality of storage shelves 15 are arranged in the refrigerating room 2 so that foods as stored items can be arranged and stored, and doors are housed on the indoor side surfaces of the refrigerating room left door 2a and the refrigerating room right door 2b. A shelf 16 is provided, and the internal storage shelf 15 is provided above and below to define a plurality of storage spaces. The interior storage shelf 15 and the door storage shelf 16 are made of a material having high light transmittance such as glass or transparent resin, and the surface thereof is processed so that light is diffused while maintaining a certain transmittance. Thus, it is possible to adjust the brightness distribution in the refrigerator compartment 2. The transmittance at this time is desirably 50% or more. When the transmittance is low, a place where light does not easily reach is formed, and the detection accuracy of the storage state is lowered.

  In the refrigerator compartment 2, there is an interior lighting 10 for brightly illuminating the interior of the storage room, thereby improving the visibility of the food that is stored. The interior lighting 10 is arranged on the top surface, the left side surface, and the right side surface from the front side of the door opening side in the refrigerator compartment 2 to the door side from ½ of the interior depth. A plurality of LEDs such as the top LED 10a, 10b, the left LED 10c to 10g, the right LED 10h to 10l are used as the light source of the interior lighting 10, and the left and right LEDs are arranged in the vertical direction on the side surface. The entire refrigerator compartment 2 that is long in the height direction can be irradiated evenly. In the present embodiment, the compressor 17 is disposed on the upper rear surface of the refrigerator main body 1, and the storage space in the uppermost part of the refrigerator compartment 2 is small due to the mounting effect so as not to affect the user's usability. It has become.

  Furthermore, optical sensors 11a and 11b are installed below the refrigerating chamber 2 and at a position closer to the door than ½ of the depth direction in the room. As these optical sensors 11a and 11b, an illuminance sensor is used in the present embodiment, and a sensor having a peak wavelength with the highest sensitivity of 500 to 600 nm is generally used. Note that the peak sensitivity wavelength of the optical sensor may be another wavelength band, and is determined in accordance with the emission wavelength of the light source.

  Thus, when the refrigerator compartment 2 is divided into two sections in the left-right direction, the top LED 10a and the optical sensor 11b are arranged in the right compartment, and the top LED 10b and the optical sensor 11a are arranged in the left compartment. When the refrigerator compartment 2 is divided into two sections in the vertical direction, the top LEDs 10a and 10b are disposed in the upper section, and the left and right side LEDs 10g and 10l and the optical sensors 11a and 11b are disposed in the lower section. . That is, LEDs and photosensors are arranged in the plurality of sections.

  The optical sensors 11a and 11b measure the state in which the illumination distribution of the storage chamber is saturated, with the irradiation light of the LEDs 10a, 10b, 10g, and 10l repeatedly reflecting on the wall surface of the storage room and reflecting / attenuating by the storage object. The storage state is estimated by calculation. In addition to this principle, by arranging LEDs and optical sensors in a plurality of sections, it is possible to detect the storage state with high accuracy regardless of the arrangement of the storage items.

In addition, the detection of an object by an optical sensor is a method of digitally detecting the presence of one object using a phenomenon in which the intensity of light is extremely attenuated by shielding, such as a photo interrupter, or a number of sensors. A method of detecting the presence of a plurality of objects with a configuration is common. Such a configuration can only detect the presence or absence of stored items in a limited place in the storage chamber, and cannot grasp the storage state of the entire storage chamber. However, the configuration of the present invention makes it possible to grasp the entire storage state in the space called the refrigerator compartment 2 in an analog manner with a small number of LEDs and optical sensors.

  In this system, if the food sensor closes the front of the light sensor, the level of light that can be detected decreases drastically and the rate of change in light intensity decreases. Complex processing is required. However, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), even if the refrigerator compartment 2 is filled with storage items, the top LEDs 10a and 10b, the left and right LEDs 10c to 10g and 10h to 10l, and the optical sensors 11a and 11b are attached. Since there is a space α between the storage cabinet 15 and the door storage shelf 16 at the position, the possibility that the optical sensors 11a and 11b are blocked with food is low. Furthermore, this space α is between the refrigeration room right door 2b and the refrigeration room left door 2a, which are heat insulation doors on the front side of the vertical surface 15a including the front end of the storage shelf 15, and the optical sensor 11a, It is formed by having 11b installed.

  In addition, although the refrigerator main body 1 has functional components other than the above and performs cooling operation of each storage chamber, detailed description in embodiment of this invention is abbreviate | omitted.

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

  In the present embodiment, the storage state is detected using the top LEDs 10a and 10b and the lower left and right side LEDs 10g and 10l in the interior lighting 10.

  In the present embodiment, the storage state is detected using 11a of the optical sensors.

  Furthermore, when it is necessary to increase the detection accuracy of the storage state, the other left and right side LEDs 10c to 10f and 10h to 10k are additionally used to increase the number of light sources and to increase the number of light sensors so as to add the light sensor 11b. Good.

  Hereinafter, the storage state detection operation by the top LEDs 10a and 10b, the lower left LED 10g, and the optical sensor 11a will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Since the refrigerator compartment 2 is generally long in the height direction, an example of detecting the storage state will be described mainly based on the idea that the refrigerator compartment 2 is divided into two upper and lower sections.

  First, when a signal is input to the calculation control unit 8 by the door opening / closing detection means 9 and opening / closing of the refrigerator compartment left door 2a and right door 2b is detected (step 1), it is determined that there is a possibility of putting in / out the stored items. Then, after the refrigerator compartment left door 2a and the right door 2b are closed, a predetermined time is counted by the timer 19 in the calculation control unit 8 (step 2), and then the storage state detection operation is started. In addition, when opening / closing of the refrigerator compartment left door 2a and the right door 2b is not detected, the storage state detection operation is not performed.

  Here, the reason for measuring the predetermined time in Step 2 will be described.

  For example, the storage shelf 15 and the door storage shelf 16 that are at a low temperature may be condensed even though they are minute, and the change in transmittance will affect the detection of the storage state. The purpose is to detect after the condensation has been resolved after a period of time.

Also, one of the considerations is that the LED lights as illumination when the refrigerator door left door 2a and the right door 2b are open, and the detection of the storage state is affected by a decrease in luminous intensity due to heat generation. It is intended to detect after the temperature rise of the LED is eliminated after a predetermined time. As another means of stabilizing the luminous intensity of the LED, the LED is turned on for a while after the refrigerator door left door 2a and the right door 2b are closed, deliberately generates heat, and the temperature rise of the LED is saturated and constant after a predetermined time. Then, even if detection is started, the luminous intensity of the LED is stabilized.

  Subsequently, when the storage state detection operation is started, a signal is first sent from the calculation control unit 8 to the light amount adjusting unit 13, and further, the ceiling light placed on the top surface, which is the upper compartment of the refrigerator, according to the signal from the light amount adjusting unit 13. The light sources of the surface LEDs 10a and 10b are turned on (step 3). At this time, for example, when the food item 21a is stored on the storage shelf 15 as shown in FIG. 5, the light 22a output from the top LED 10a is reflected by the storage item 21a and attenuated. It diffuses in the other direction like 21b and 21c (hereinafter, the light component is indicated by an arrow in FIG. 5, and the dotted line indicates that the luminous intensity is attenuated). Furthermore, the light 21b, 21c repeats reflection on the wall surface in the refrigerator compartment 2 and other food (not shown).

  Further, the light 21d reflected by the stored item 21b of the door storage shelf 16 is also attenuated and diffused in another direction like the light 21e, and further reflected by the wall surface in the refrigerator compartment 2 and other food (not shown). repeat. After repeating the reflection in this way, the brightness distribution in the refrigerator compartment 2 is saturated and stabilized.

  Note that light emitted from an LED generally emits light at a predetermined irradiation angle, and thus the light indicated by an arrow in FIG. 5 is a part of the light component emitted by the LED. The same applies to the description of light in the following description.

  Since the top LEDs 10a and 10b face downward, the optical sensors 11a and 11b face horizontal, and they are not opposed to each other, most of the light components do not directly enter the optical sensor. It is configured to pass through reflection.

  The illuminance information measured at this time is recorded in the memory 18 as detection data A (step 4).

  Next, the light source of the left side lower LED 10g disposed below the left side which is the lower compartment of the refrigerator is turned on (step 5). For example, when the food item 21c is stored on the storage shelf 15 as shown in FIG. 6, the light 22f output from the LED 10g (hereinafter, the light component is indicated by an arrow in FIG. 6. The dotted line indicates the light intensity. Is attenuated by reflection on the food that is the stored item 21c, and diffuses in another direction like light 22g. The light 22g further repeats reflection on the wall surface in the refrigerator compartment 2 and other food (not shown). Further, the light 21h reflected by the stored item 21d is also attenuated, diffuses in another direction like the light 22i and 22j, and is repeatedly reflected on the wall surface in the refrigerator compartment 2 and other food (not shown). After repeating reflection in this way, the distribution of brightness in the refrigerator compartment 2 is saturated and stabilized.

  When the left side lower LED 10g is lit, it is detected by the optical sensor 11a and detected by a combination that does not oppose each other, so that most of the light components do not directly enter the optical sensor, but are reflected by the wall surface or the stored items. It is configured.

  The illuminance information measured at this time is recorded in the memory 18 as detection data B (step 6).

Next, the measurement results obtained by sequentially turning on the top LED 10a, 10b in the upper section and the lower LED 10g in the lower left side of the lower section are combined, and for example, a value obtained by averaging the detection data A and the detection data B is defined as the detection data C (step 7). ), And this storage state detection characteristic is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the storage state can be detected with high accuracy regardless of the deviation in the arrangement of the storage items up and down. The storage amount data obtained in this way is recorded in the memory 18 (step 8).

  Note that the vertical axis of the graph in FIG. 7 is “illuminance”. However, if relative values such as “relative illuminance” or “illuminance attenuation rate” with reference to the absence of stored items are used, the brightness variation of the LED as an initial characteristic, etc. It is easy to cope with. Hereinafter, the concept regarding “illuminance” is the same.

  Further, in the calculation in step 7, the detection data A and B are not simply averaged, but the degree of influence on the storage state detection of each data is taken into account. For example, “(A × γ) + (B × δ) And the arbitrary coefficients γ and δ are integrated so that the error is minimized.

  In addition, about the arrangement | positioning bias | inclination to the right-and-left or back and front of a stored item, the refrigerator compartment 2 should just be divided into 2 divisions by the same view as the above, and LED or an optical sensor should just be provided in each.

  The flow from step 3 to step 8 so far is tentatively referred to as a “storage amount detection sequence” for obtaining the total storage amount in the refrigerator compartment 2.

  Next, the vertical distribution of the storage amount in the refrigerator compartment 2 is obtained. This is because the output “detection data A” when the top LED 10a, 10b is lit is lower when the inside of the refrigerator compartment 2 is divided into the upper and lower stages, and the upper stage has a large storage quantity. When there is a large amount, the output “detection data B” when the left side lower LED 10g is lit is utilized. When the difference between “detection data A−detection data B” is calculated as “sensor output difference D” (step 9), the relationship between “sensor output difference D” and “upper / lower storage amount ratio” is as shown in FIG. become. In FIG. 8, the horizontal axis “sensor output difference D” is expressed as a relative value difference with the output when the refrigerator compartment 2 is empty as 100%. In addition, the vertical axis “storage amount ratio (upper / lower)” represents 1 when the storage amounts in the upper and lower stages are approximately the same. When the lower storage amount is large, it is less than 1, and when the upper storage amount is large, it is larger than 1. In this manner, the storage amount ratio characteristic of FIG. 8 shows a characteristic close to a linear function, so that the storage amount distribution in the upper and lower stages can be obtained (step 10).

  Further, the upper storage amount E and the lower storage amount F are specifically calculated from the storage amount C obtained in the storage amount detection sequence and the storage amount ratio obtained in step 9, and each is stored in the memory 18 (step 18). 11-14).

  The flow from step 9 to step 14 so far is tentatively referred to as a “bias ratio calculation sequence” for obtaining the upper and lower storage amounts in the refrigerator compartment 2.

  Next, based on the storage amount distribution determination results of the upper and lower stages obtained as described above, specific control for turning on the interior lighting 10 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11. explain.

  First, the upper storage amount E obtained in the flow of FIG. 9 is determined in the classification range defined by the determination means 20, and is classified into three categories “high”, “low”, and “none” (step 15). When classified as “many”, the output setting of the top LED 10a, 10b, left LED 10c, 10d, right LED 10h, 10i (hereinafter referred to as the upper LED) installed on the upper side of the interior lighting 10 Is stored in the memory 18 as 100%, and similarly, the output setting is stored as 50% when “less” and 20% when “none” (step 16).

Next, similarly to the upper storage amount, the detected lower storage amount F is classified into three categories, “large”, “small”, and “none” (step 17). When classified as “many”, the output settings of left side LEDs 10e, 10f, 10g, right side LEDs 10j, 10k, 10l (hereinafter referred to as lower side LEDs) installed on the lower side of the interior lighting 10 are set to 100. % Is stored in the memory 18, and similarly, the output setting is stored as 50% when “less” and 20% when “none” (step 18).

  Subsequently, the ambient illuminance detection means 14 measures the illuminance of the surrounding environment where the refrigerator body 1 is installed (step 19). Next, when the ambient illuminance is larger than a specified value (for example, 5 lux or more), it is determined that the light is bright, that is, during daytime activity, and the previously determined LED output setting value is maintained without change. Also, if the ambient illuminance is smaller than a specified value (for example, less than 5 lux), it is determined that it is dark, that is, at bedtime at night, and the LED output setting value is increased by 0.5 times to change the setting to reduce the output. 18 (step 20).

  Next, in the state where the LED output set value finally determined as described above is held, the door open / close detection means 9 determines the door state of the refrigerating room left door 2a or the refrigerating room right door 2b (step 21). In this case, the output setting stored in the memory 18 is instructed to the interior lighting 10 to light each LED to irradiate the interior, and if the door remains closed, the logic is returned to step 21 until each LED is opened. Is turned off to stand by (step 22). These specific dimming means include duty control of LED energization (variable pulse), variable LED forward current, variable number of LED lighting, etc., and if these are performed, dimming can be realized.

  In the description of the lighting control for dimming the interior lighting 10 so far, the storage amount is divided into three categories of “large”, “small”, and “none”, and the LED output settings are “100%” and “50%”.・ Three categories of “None” are used. However, if the classification or linear relationship is made a little more detailed, finer control becomes possible. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, it is only necessary to increase the LED output in a proportional relationship as the storage amount increases. When the ambient illuminance is low, the linear gradient when bright is small (half here).

  As described above, the contents of dimming the LEDs to control the interior lighting are summarized from the user's viewpoint, and a matrix diagram shown in FIG. 11 is obtained.

  In FIG. 11, when the ambient illuminance is “bright”, the refrigerator is actively used. When the storage amount is large at that time, it is difficult to see the interior of the refrigerator. Conversely, if the amount of storage is small, the interior is easy to see, so the lighting is turned on “slightly dark”.

  Next, when the ambient illuminance is “dark”, it is a bedtime when you do not use the refrigerator very much, and you want to reduce glare. Even if the amount of storage is large, the interior lighting is “slightly dark” and the amount of storage is small. If it is darker, turn on the light. Moreover, since the light from the top surface feels particularly dazzling at night, the top surface LEDs 10a and 10b may be turned off without dimming.

  In this embodiment, the lighting control of the interior lighting in the upper and lower zones has been described. However, the same storage amount detection and the lighting control of the interior lighting are performed in the left and right zones, the 4 zones, and the arbitrary zones. Just do it.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the storage state detection unit 12 detects the storage state (storage zone / storage amount) in the warehouse, and further, based on the illuminance around the refrigerator body 1 measured by the ambient illuminance detection unit 14. Daytime / nighttime is judged, and the interior lighting 10 is dimmed by the light amount adjusting means 13 according to the combined state, so that irradiation to a part with less storage or all lighting conditions at night is reduced, etc. Power consumption can be reduced. In addition, these light adjustments are not only performed automatically, but dazzle is reduced and visibility is improved especially at night, and the convenience and satisfaction of the user can be greatly improved.

In the above description, the storage state detection means 12 is an optical means composed of a light emitting part (LEDs 10a, 10b, 10g, etc.) and a light receiving part (optical sensor 11a, etc.), but is not limited to this. There is no. For example, it is possible to use a means for detecting the storage state using a change in the internal temperature, a change in the operating current of the cooling functional component, or the like.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 12: is a front view of the refrigerator compartment open state of the refrigerator in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  In the state where only the left door of FIG. 12A is opened, the left door switch 23a is installed as the door open / close detection means 9 for detecting the open / closed state of the refrigerator compartment left door 2a. Further, in the state where only the refrigerator compartment right door 2b in FIG. 12B is opened, a left door switch 23a is installed as the door open / close detection means 9 for detecting the open / close state of the refrigerator compartment right door 2b.

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

  First, when the refrigerator compartment left door 2a is opened, the left door switch 23a detects the opening and inputs a signal to the arithmetic control unit 8. And the calculation control part 8 outputs the signal which lights the top | upper surface LED10b and left side LED10c-10g arrange | positioned on the left side in the refrigerator compartment 2 to the light quantity adjustment means 13, and makes the interior illumination 10 light.

  Next, when the refrigerator door right door 2b is opened, the right door switch 23b detects the opening and inputs a signal to the arithmetic control unit 8. And the calculation control part 8 outputs the signal which lights the top | upper surface LED10a and right side LED10h-10l arrange | positioned on the right side in the refrigerator compartment 2 to the light quantity adjustment means 13, and makes the interior illumination 10 light.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the left and right door switches 23a and 23b detect the open state of each door and turn on the interior lighting 10 only on the opened door side. The LED on the closed state side where the inside is not confirmed can be turned off, and wasteful power consumption can be reduced. It is particularly useful for refrigerators having a double door spread type as described above and having light emitters such as LEDs on the left and right sides as interior lighting.

  Further, if the storage amount detection and the illumination dimming control as described in the first embodiment are combined, the user-friendliness can be further improved.

  As described above, the refrigerator according to the present invention is provided with a storage amount detection function in a home or commercial refrigerator, and using the result, dimming control of the interior lighting according to the ambient brightness is performed. Can be applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator body 2 Refrigerating room 2a Refrigerating room left door 2b Refrigerating room right door 3 Ice making room 4 Switching room 5 Freezing room 6 Vegetable room 7 Operation part 8 Computation control part 9 Door opening / closing detection means 10 Interior lighting 10a, 10b Top LED
10c-10g Left side LED
10h to 10l Right side LED
11a, 11b Optical sensor 12 Storage state detection means 13 Light quantity adjustment means 14 Ambient illuminance detection means 15 Storage cabinet 16 Door storage rack 17 Compressor 18 Memory 19 Timer 20 Determination means 21a-21d Storage goods 22a-22j Light 23a Left door Switch 24b Right switch

Claims (1)

A housing provided with a plurality of storage chambers partitioned by a heat insulating wall and a heat insulating door, a storage shelf in the storage chamber that defines a plurality of storage spaces, and a door opening / closing detection that detects the door open / closed state of the storage chamber Means, interior lighting for illuminating the interior of the storage room, ambient illuminance detection means for detecting the illuminance around the housing, and storage object detection means for detecting the storage state of the storage objects in the storage room. a transmittance of the in-compartment shelf is 50% or more, from the information the said ambient illuminance detecting unit accommodated article detection unit detects the light amount adjusting means for changing a light amount of the in-compartment lighting The stored item detection means distinguishes and detects an upper storage amount of the storage chamber and a lower storage amount of the storage chamber, and the interior lighting includes an upper side illumination corresponding to the upper step and the lower step And at least a lower side illumination corresponding to the light intensity adjustment Refrigerator stage, based on said upper housing volume by changing the amount of the upper side illumination, and wherein the changing the amount of the lower-side illumination based on the storage amount of the lower.

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