JP6483456B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a refrigerator.

  In recent years, the capacity of refrigerators has increased due to the increase in size, and the capacity of vegetable rooms and freezer rooms has increased, and users have come to store large quantities of food and other items in vegetable rooms and freezer rooms. Yes. In this way, when a large amount of articles are stored in the article storage part of the vegetable room or freezer room, the drawer type door of the vegetable room and the drawer type door of the freezer room increase in weight due to the stored food and are used. In order for a person to open and close the drawer-type door, great force is required. Therefore, in a refrigerator, a mechanism has appeared that automatically opens and closes such a heavy drawer-type door by operating a switch or the like by a user.

  The refrigerator described in Patent Literature 1 includes an electric assist device that assists and reduces the operation force when the drawer-type door is opened and closed by the output of the motor. In this electric assist device, the operating force of the handle of the drawer type door is transmitted to the drawer type door, and the magnitude and direction of the operating force are detected by the torque sensor.

Control is performed so that the output torque of the motor is at a level corresponding to the magnitude of the operating force detected by the torque sensor. The output of the motor controlled in this way is transmitted to the drawer type door by the pinion and the rack, and the moving force in the operation direction of the handle by the user acts on the drawer type door. When the user operates the handle, both the operating force by the handle and the output torque of the motor act as the force for moving the drawer-type door in the operating direction of the handle throughout the operating period.
(See Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-93053 A

  In the conventional refrigerator described above, for example, when a user tries to close the drawer door by pushing the handle of the heavy drawer door, the user pulls the handle of the drawer door before closing the drawer door completely. If you stop pressing, the motor stops assisting. For this reason, there is a possibility that the drawer type door may not be completely closed but may be opened.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to allow a user to perform a light opening and closing operation even if the user is a large drawer door, and before closing the drawer door completely, However, even if the pushing of the handle of the drawer type door is stopped, the drawer type door can be completely closed, the operability can be improved, and a user-friendly refrigerator is provided.

  The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is a refrigerator having an article storage section that can be moved in a storage room according to an opening / closing movement operation of the drawer-type door, and the movement of the article storage section is performed according to the opening / closing movement operation of the drawer-type door. A drive mechanism section of the article storage section for assisting, the drive mechanism section of the article storage section detecting a torque applied according to an opening / closing movement operation of the drawer type door and generating a torque detection output; A control unit that generates a motor assist amount for assisting an opening / closing movement operation of the drawer type door from the motor according to the torque detection output obtained by the torque sensor, and the control unit includes the drawer type door. When the drawer door is closed to a certain distance during the closing operation, the motor is controlled to rotate and the drawer door is automatically closed to the end. .

It is a front view which shows the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention. It is the figure seen from the side surface which shows the structural example of a vegetable compartment as a preferable example of the storage compartment shown in FIG. It is the figure which looked at the vegetable room shown in FIG. 2 from back RR. It is a figure which shows the state which pulled out the articles | goods storage part of the drawer-type door from the vegetable compartment to X1 direction. It is a figure which shows the state in the middle of pushing the goods storage part of a drawer | drawing-out type door to a fixed position into the vegetable compartment, and closing. As shown in FIG. 2, it is the perspective view which looked at the drive mechanism part of the goods storage part from the diagonal back in the state in which the goods storage part is accommodated in the space of the vegetable compartment. It is the perspective view which looked at the drive mechanism part of the article | item storage part in FIG. 6 from arrow RT. It is a perspective view which shows the state by which the goods accommodating part was pulled out from the space of a vegetable compartment. It is a perspective view which shows a position detection sensor, a shielding member, etc. FIG. 10B shows a state in which the light L emitted from the light emitting unit of the position detection sensor is received by the light receiving unit. FIG. 10B shows that the light emitting unit emits when the light shielding member passes between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit. It is a figure which shows the state which interrupts | blocks the light L and the light L does not reach a light-receiving part. It is a figure which shows the example of the electric block of the refrigerator shown in FIG. FIG. 12A shows the torque detection output of the torque sensor in the operation of pulling out the article storage section from the vegetable room space in the X1 direction, FIG. 12B shows the motor assist amount of the electric motor, and FIG. 12 (C) is a diagram showing the door movement distance of the drawer-type door. FIG. 13A shows the torque detection output of the torque sensor in the operation of pushing the article storage portion into the space of the vegetable room in the X2 direction and storing it, FIG. 13B shows the motor assist amount of the electric motor, FIG. 13C is a diagram showing the door movement distance of the drawer-type door. It is a figure which shows the example which applied the assist not only to the drawer-type door of a vegetable room but to the drawer-type door of a main freezer compartment, the drawer-type door of an ice making room, and the drawer-type door of a small freezer compartment.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The refrigerator 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a main body 1A. A main body 1 </ b> A of the refrigerator 1 includes a left side surface portion 17, a right side surface portion 18, an upper surface portion 19, a bottom surface portion 15, and a back surface portion 16. The main body 1A includes an outer box made of an outer side plate and an inner box made of an inner side plate, and is constituted by a heat-insulating cabinet. A plurality of storage chambers are formed in the main body 1A.

  As the storage room, for example, a refrigeration room 2 and a vegetable room 3 are provided in order from the top. Below the vegetable room 3, an ice making room 4 and a small freezer room 5 are provided side by side, with the main freezer room 6 at the bottom. Is provided. However, the order in which the storage chambers are arranged from top to bottom is not particularly limited and can be arbitrarily selected.

  Left and right doors 7 and 8 that open and close the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 2 are provided on the front face of the refrigerator compartment 2 shown in FIG. The left and right refrigerator compartment doors 7 and 8 are double doors (double doors). The left end portion of the left refrigerator door 7 is rotatably attached by a hinge. Similarly, the right end portion of the right refrigerator compartment door 8 is rotatably attached by a hinge.

  In addition, on the front surfaces of the vegetable room 3, the ice making room 4, the small freezer room 5, and the main freezer room 6, drawer type doors 9, 10, 11, and 12 that open and close the front opening parts are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, front plates 7A, 8A, which are preferably transparent glass plates, are provided on the front surfaces of the left and right refrigerator compartment doors 7, 8 and the drawer type doors 9, 10, 11, 12, respectively. 9A, 10A, 11A, and 12A are arranged, respectively. The left and right refrigerator compartment doors 7 and 8 and the drawer-type doors 9, 10, 11, and 12 have heat insulation properties by providing a heat insulating material therein.

  An operation panel unit 20 is disposed in the left refrigerator compartment door 7. The operation panel unit 20 allows the user to input necessary items for setting various operation functions of the refrigerator 1 by touching a switch such as an electrostatic touch switch with a finger. The operation panel unit 20 displays various display items such as the operation setting status of the refrigerator 1.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure example of the vegetable compartment 3 as a preferred example of the storage compartment shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a view of the vegetable compartment 3 shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the rear side RR. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which the article storage portion 21 of the pull-out door 9 is pulled out from the vegetable compartment 3. FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in the middle of pushing the article storage portion 21 of the pull-out door 9 into the vegetable compartment 3 and closing it.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vegetable compartment 3 has a drawer-type door 9 and an article storage unit 21 shown in FIG. 1. In the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3, for example, an article storage unit 21 made of plastic is stored. This article storage unit 21 is a container for storing vegetables, and includes an upper edge portion 21A, a bottom portion 21B, front and rear side portions 21C and 21D, and left and right side portions 21E and 21F formed in four directions. Have. The upper edge portion 21A forms an upper opening 21P for inserting and removing rectangular vegetables.

  The article storage unit 21 is integrally attached to the inner surface side of the drawer-type door 9. When the user moves with the pull-out door 9, the article storage unit 21 can be pulled out in the X1 direction together with the pull-out door 9, or can be closed by pushing in the X2 direction. The drawer-type door 9 is a rectangular door that closes the front opening 3 </ b> R of the space 22 of the vegetable room 3.

  Referring to FIG. 3, left and right edge portions 21 </ b> A and 21 </ b> A are provided horizontally along the X <b> 1 and X <b> 2 directions in the upper part of the article storage unit 21. The left and right slide rails 31 and 32 are fixed to the left and right edge portions 21A and 21A, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, the front ends of the left and right slide rails 31 and 32 are fixed to the inner surface of the drawer door 9, respectively. On the inner surface side of the drawer-type door 9, the article storage unit 21 is integrally fixed using left and right slide rails 31 and 32.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the left and right slide rails 31 and 32 are, for example, metal members having an inverted U-shaped cross section. One slide rail 31 is slightly larger than the other slide rail 32.

  As shown in FIG. 3, support rails 27 and 28 are fixed to the side portions 25 and 26 of the vegetable compartment 3, respectively. The support rails 27 and 28 are fixed at positions above the side portions 25 and 26 of the vegetable compartment 3, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, these support rails 27 and 28 are provided along the X1 and X2 directions. As shown in FIG. 3, the support rails 27 and 28 are, for example, metal members having a U-shaped cross section. The support rails 27 and 28 have guide groove portions 27A and 28A, respectively, and the guide groove portions 27A and 28A are along the X1 and X2 directions. In FIG. 2, the support rail 27 is indicated by a broken line.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the guide portion 31A of the slide rail 31 is fitted in the guide groove portion 27A of the support rail 27, and the guide portion 31A of the slide rail 31 extends along the guide groove portion 27A of the support rail 27 along X1. , Can slide in the X2 direction. Similarly, the guide portion 32A of the slide rail 32 fits into the guide groove portion 28A of the support rail 28, and the guide portion 32A of the slide rail 32 extends along the guide groove portion 28A of the support rail 28 in the X1 and X2 directions. Is slidable.

  2, when the user tries to pull out the pull-out door 9 in the X1 direction in FIG. 2, the user guides the slide rail 31 shown in FIG. 3 along the support rail 27 and simultaneously moves the slide rail 32 along the support rail 28. invite. For this reason, the article storage unit 21 integrated with the drawer-type door 9 can be smoothly pulled out from the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3 along the X1 direction, as shown in FIGS.

  Conversely, when the user attempts to close the drawer-type door 9 by pushing it in the X2 direction in FIG. 4, the user guides the slide rail 31 shown in FIG. 3 along the support rail 27 as shown in FIGS. 4 to 5. At the same time, the slide rail 32 is guided along the support rail 28. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 2, the article storage unit 21 integrated with the drawer-type door 9 can be smoothly accommodated in the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3 along the X2 direction. ing.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the drive mechanism 40 of the article storage section as viewed obliquely from behind in a state where the article storage section 21 is stored in the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3 as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the drive mechanism 40 of the article storage unit as viewed from the arrow RT in FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the article storage unit 21 is pulled out from the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3.

  The drive mechanism 40 of the article storage unit shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is used when the user pulls the article storage unit 21 out of the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3 and when the user places the article storage unit 21 in the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3. , The power is assisted by commands from the control unit 100.

  The drive mechanism unit 40 of the article storage unit shown in FIGS. 3, 6, and 7 includes a slide mechanism unit 70, an electric motor 41, a reduction gear 42, a torque sensor 43, an encoder 44, a drive belt 45, A main pulley 51 and a driven pulley 52 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the slide mechanism unit 70 is composed of the left and right support rails 27 and 28 and the left and right slide rails 31 and 32 shown in FIG. The support rails 27 and 28 are fixed-side rails fixed to the vegetable compartment 3 side, and the slide rails 31 and 32 are fixed to the article storage unit 21 side and along the support rails 27 and 28, X1 and X2, respectively. It is a rail on the moving side that can move in the direction. The slide mechanism unit 70 supports the article storage unit 21 so as to be linearly movable in the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3 serving as a storage room along the X1 and X2 directions that are the opening / closing movement directions of the drawer type door 9. ing.

  The electric motor 41 shown in FIGS. 3, 6, and 7 can use, for example, a permanent magnet motor (PM motor, magnet synchronous motor) using a magnet as a rotor, but is not particularly limited. The electric motor 41 performs forward rotation and reverse rotation according to a command from the control unit 100.

  The main shaft 41A of the electric motor 41 and the rotation shaft 46 of the torque sensor 43 shown in FIG. 7 are attached to a reduction gear 42 that is a gear box. For example, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the speed reducer 42 includes a plurality of gears 42 </ b> G and 42 </ b> H having different numbers of teeth and a belt 42 </ b> K that is engaged with these gears 42 </ b> G and 42 </ b> H. The speed reducer 42 reduces the rotational speed of the main shaft 41 </ b> A of the electric motor 41 to a rotational speed necessary for moving the drive belt 45. However, the structure of the reduction gear 42 is an example and is not limited to this.

  The rotation of the main shaft 41 </ b> A of the electric motor 41 is decelerated by the speed reducer 42 and transmitted to the rotation shaft 46 of the torque sensor 43. The rotating shaft 46 of the torque sensor 43 fixes the rotating disk 47 of the encoder 44, and the rotating shaft 46 is also the main driving shaft of the main driving pulley 51.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the drive belt 45 is an endless belt and is hung on the main pulley 51 and the driven pulley 52. As shown in FIG. 7, the drive belt 45, the main pulley 51, and the driven pulley 52 are provided to be rotatable along the inner side of the support rail 27. The main pulley 51 is located on the rear side of the space 22 in the vegetable compartment 3, and the driven pulley 52 is located on the front side of the space 22 in the vegetable compartment 3.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a first bearing 99M and a second bearing 99N are provided at both ends of the support rail 27. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 3, the first bearing 99 </ b> M supports the end portion of the rotating shaft 46 in a rotatable manner. The second bearing 99N supports the shaft 52P of the driven pulley 52 to be rotatable.

  The drive belt 45 shown in FIG. 7 may be a rubber belt or a metal belt, and is more preferably a toothed belt. When the driving belt 45 is a toothed belt, both the main pulley 51 and the driven pulley 52 are toothed pulleys correspondingly.

  The torque sensor 43 shown in FIG. 7 has a main pulley 51 through a driving belt 45 that moves in conjunction with the pulling-out operation of the article storage unit 21 in the X1 direction when the user pulls out the drawer-type door 9 in the X1 direction. Power is applied. The torque sensor 43 outputs a torque detection output SS to the control unit 100 in accordance with the force applied to the main pulley 51 via the rotating shaft 46, that is, the force for pulling out the drawer door 9. Upon receiving this torque detection output SS, the control unit 100 controls the rotation of the electric motor 41 so that the torque is reduced, and assists the force when the user pulls the drawer-type door 9 in the X1 direction.

  Further, when the user pushes the drawer-type door 9 in the X2 direction, the torque sensor 43 shown in FIG. 7 is a main pulley through a drive belt 45 that moves in conjunction with the pushing operation of the article storage unit 21 in the X2 direction. Power is applied to 51. The torque sensor 43 outputs a torque detection output SR to the control unit 100 according to the force applied to the main pulley 51 via the rotating shaft 46, that is, the force for pulling out the pull-out door 9. In response to the torque detection output SR, the control unit 100 controls the rotation of the electric motor 41 so that the torque is reduced, and assists the force when the user pulls the drawer-type door 9 in the X2 direction.

  The encoder 44 shown in FIG. 7 provides the control unit 100 with position information SG including a drawing speed, a drawing amount, and an opening / closing direction when the drawer-type door 9 is drawn in the X1 direction during rotation control of the electric motor 41. In addition, the encoder 44 gives the control unit 100 position information SH including the pushing speed, pushing amount, and opening / closing direction when pushing the drawer-type door 9 in the X2 direction during rotation control of the electric motor 41. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, a position detection sensor 50 as a home position sensor is disposed on the inner surface 25 </ b> A of the side surface portion 25 of the vegetable chamber 3. The position detection sensor 50 is preferably an optical sensor, for example, a photo sensor.

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the position detection sensor 50, the shielding member 54, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the position detection sensor 50 includes a main body 51, a light emitting unit 52, and a light receiving unit 53. The position detection sensor 50 is preferably disposed at a position between the lower portion 45A and the upper portion 45B of the drive belt 45. A light emitting unit 52 is disposed above the main body 51, and a light receiving unit 53 is disposed below the main body 52. The light emitting unit 52 is, for example, a light emitting diode, and the light receiving unit 53 is a photodiode, but is not particularly limited.

  The light shielding member 54 shown in FIG. 9 is a plastic or metal plate member that does not transmit light, and has a base portion 55 and an attachment portion 56. The base 55 of the light shielding member 54 is fixed to the lower portion 45 </ b> A of the drive belt 45. For this reason, the light shielding member 54 can move in the X1 and X2 directions together with the drive belt 45. The light shielding member 54 protrudes in the Y direction (upward direction).

  10A shows a state where the light L emitted from the light emitting unit 52 of the position detection sensor 50 is received by the light receiving unit 53, and FIG. 10B shows that the light shielding member 54 includes the light emitting unit 52 and the light receiving unit. By passing between 53, the light L emitted from the light emitting unit 52 is blocked, and the light L does not reach the light receiving unit 53.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, the light L emitted from the light emitting unit 52 of the position detection sensor 50 is received by the light receiving unit 53. However, as shown in FIG. 10B, when the drive belt 45 moves in the X2 direction, the light shielding member 54 passes between the light emitting unit 52 and the light receiving unit 53, so that the light L emitted from the light emitting unit 52 is emitted. The light L does not reach the light receiving portion 53. Accordingly, the light receiving unit 53 sends the home position signal SHP to the control unit 100 at a timing at which the light L is not received.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 (B), the attachment portion 56 of the light shielding member 54 is fixed to the inner side 31 </ b> M of the slide rail 31. Accordingly, the attachment portion 56 of the light shielding member 54 has a fixed relationship between the slide rail 31 and the drive belt 45.

  For this reason, when the user pulls out the drawer-type door 9 in order to take out the vegetables from the inside from the article storage unit 21, the article storage unit 21 moves along with the slide rail 31 by the movement of the drive belt 45 by the assist of the electric motor 41. It can be pulled out from the space 22 of the chamber 3 in the X1 direction. When the user tries to push in the drawer-type door 9 after taking out the vegetables from the article storage unit 21, the article storage unit 21 moves along with the slide rail 31 by the movement of the drive belt 45 by the assist of the electric motor 41. It can be pushed in the X2 direction.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of an electric block of the refrigerator 1 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 100 is mounted on the main board 101. In addition to the control unit 100, the main board 101 includes an inverter controller 102, a heater drive circuit 103, an intelligent power module (IPM) 108, fan drivers 104 and 105, a three-way valve driver 106, and the like.

  The heater drive circuit 103 drives the defrost heater 107. The intelligent power module (IPM) 108 drives the compressor 109. Fan drivers 104 and 105 drive the refrigerator compartment fan 110 and the freezer compartment fan 111, respectively. The three-way valve driver 106 drives the three-way valve 112.

  11 is connected to a refrigerator compartment sensor 121, a freezer compartment sensor 122, an ice maker sensor 123, and a defrost sensor 124, and temperature information can be obtained from each of them. The control unit 100 is connected to switches 131 and 132 for detecting door opening / closing of the refrigerator compartment doors 7 and 8 shown in FIG. The control unit 100 is connected to the operation panel unit 20 via an interface 20F.

  Further, as described above, the control unit 100 is connected to the position detection sensor 50, the encoder 44, the torque sensor 43, and the electric motor 41 of the drive mechanism unit 40 of the article storage unit.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 12, in the vegetable compartment 3 mentioned above, when a user takes out vegetables from the inside of the article | item storage part 21, a user pulls out the drawer-type door 9 with fingers, and makes the article | item storage part 21 a vegetable. The door opening operation with electric assistance drawn out from the space 22 of the chamber 3 in the X1 direction will be described.

  And after this, with reference to FIG. 13, in the vegetable compartment 3 mentioned above, after a user takes out vegetables from the inside of the article | item storage part 21, it pushes the drawer-type door 9 with a finger | toe, The article | item storage part 21 The door closing operation with the electric assistance which pushes in the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3 in the X2 direction and stores it will be described.

<1. Opening operation with electric assist for pulling out the drawer type door 9 and the article storage unit 21 from the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3 in the X1 direction>
12A shows the torque detection output SS of the torque sensor 43 in the operation of pulling out the article storage unit 21 from the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3 in the X1 direction, and FIG. 12B corresponds to the torque detection output SS. The motor assist amount MA of the electric motor 41 output in this manner is shown.

  FIG. 12C shows the door movement distance DT of the drawer-type door 9 from the door closing position CP to the door opening position OP.

  As shown in FIG. 12 (C), the case where the user holds the pull-out type door 9 with fingers and pulls it in the X1 direction, and the door moving distance DT increases from the door closing position CP to the door opening position OP will be described. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, when the user holds the pull-out door 9 shown in FIG. 2 with his / her fingers and applies a force when pulling out (opening) in the X1 direction, the pull-out door 9 shown in FIG. The article storage unit 21 and the slide rails 31 and 32 are pulled out in the X1 direction along the support rails 27 and 28 as an integrated unit. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the slide rail 31 is pulled out in the X1 direction, and the lower portion 45A of the drive belt 45 moves in the X1 direction.

  Thus, when the lower part 45A of the drive belt 45 moves in the X1 direction, a force is applied to the main pulley 51, and the torque sensor 43 coaxial with the main pulley 51, as shown in FIG. The torque sensor 43 in FIG. 7 outputs a positive torque detection output SS indicated by a broken line to the control unit 100 in accordance with the force for pulling out the drawer type door 9.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, the torque detection output SS takes a large value at a time T1 immediately after the user pulls out the drawer-type door 9. As shown in FIG. 12A, the torque detection output SS maintains a substantially constant value after the time T1.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 12A, the brake is applied at the time T2 when the user stops applying the force to stop the pull-out operation of the pull-out type door 9, so that the torque sensor 43 in FIG. Outputs a negative torque detection output SS1 to the control unit 100. That is, as shown in FIG. 12A, at the time T2 when the user intends to stop pulling out the drawer type door 9, the torque sensor 43 outputs by suppressing the force with which the user pulls out the drawer type door 9. The direction of the positive torque detection output SS to be reversed becomes a negative torque detection output SS1.

  In response to a change in the torque detection output SS shown in FIG. 12A, the control unit 100 shown in FIG. 7 provides a motor assist amount MA so as to reduce the torque as shown in FIG. 7 is controlled to rotate. Thereby, the electric motor 41 performs the electric assist operation of force so as to reduce the torque in the operation when the user pulls out (opens) the drawer-type door 9.

  When performing an electric assist operation for reducing torque by controlling the rotation of the electric motor 41, the control unit 100 compares FIG. 12 (A) and FIG. 12 (B) in the operation of opening the drawer-type door 9. As can be seen, a motor assist amount MA that is preferably smaller than the torque detection output SS obtained by the torque sensor 43 is generated.

  As a result, the motor assist amount greater than the force for the user to open the drawer-type door 9 is not exhibited, so the user can move the drawer-type door 9 from the closed state shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. It is possible to open the drawer operation without a sense of incongruity with an appropriate opening operation feeling up to the open state shown.

  As in the example shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, after the time T1 immediately after the user pulls out the drawer-type door 9, the motor assist amount MA is, for example, torque detection detected by the torque sensor 43. The assist can be set by setting the output SS to 1/2, but the assist amount of the motor assist amount MA is not limited to 1/2 and can be set arbitrarily.

  When performing the electric assist for reducing the torque by the rotation control of the electric motor 41, the position information SG including the pulling speed, the pulling amount, and the opening / closing direction when the pulling-out type door 9 shown in FIG. The amount of assist may be reduced when the pull-out speed of the pull-out type door 9 is high or when the pull-out door 9 is near the pull-out limit.

<2. Door closing operation with electric assist for storing the drawer-type door 9 and the article storage part 21 into the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3 in the X2 direction>
FIG. 13A shows the torque detection output SR of the torque sensor 43 in the operation of pushing the article storage portion 21 into the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3 in the X2 direction and storing it, and FIG. 13B shows the torque detection output SR. The motor assist amount MB of the electric motor 41 output corresponding to

  FIG. 13C shows the door movement distance DT of the drawer-type door 9 from the door opening position OP to the door closing position CP.

  As shown in FIG. 13 (C), when the user holds the drawer-type door 9 with his / her finger and pushes it in the X2 direction, the door moving distance DT decreases from the door open position OP to the door close position CP. Will be explained.

  As shown in FIG. 13 (A), when the user holds the pull-out door 9 with his / her fingers and applies force when pushing (closing) the X-direction in the X2 direction, the pull-out door 9 and the article storage unit 21 shown in FIG. The slide rails 31 and 32 are pushed in the X2 direction along the support rails 27 and 28 as one unit. As shown in FIG. 8, the slide rail 31 is pushed in the X2 direction, and the lower portion 45A of the drive belt 45 also moves in the X2 direction. The drawer-type door 9 changes from the open state shown in FIG. 4 to the substantially closed state shown in FIG. 5 and closes to the fully closed state shown in FIG.

  As described above, the lower portion 45A of the drive belt 45 shown in FIG. 7 moves in the X2 direction, and thus the main pulley 51 is subjected to a force contrary to the case of pulling out the pull-out door 9, which has already been described. As shown in FIG. 13A, the torque sensor 43 coaxial with the 51 outputs a positive torque detection output SR indicated by a broken line corresponding to the pushing force of the pull-out type door 9 to the control unit 100. This torque detection output SR takes a large value at time T10 immediately after the user tries to push in the pull-out door 9. The torque detection output SR maintains a substantially constant value after time T10.

  When performing the electric assist operation for torque reduction by the rotation control of the electric motor 41 shown in FIG. 7, as can be seen by comparing FIG. 13A and FIG. In the operation of closing the drawer type door 9, a motor assist amount MB that is preferably smaller than the torque detection output SR obtained by the torque sensor 43 is generated.

  As a result, the user can close the drawer-type door 9 from the opened state shown in FIG. 4 to the slightly opened state shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, after time T10 immediately after the user pulls out the drawer-type door 9, the motor assist amount MB is, for example, the torque detection output SR detected by the torque sensor 43. However, the assist amount of the motor assist amount MB is not limited to 1/2 and can be arbitrarily set.

  By the way, when the user performs a pushing operation along the X2 direction of the drawer-type door 9 from the opened state shown in FIG. 4 to the slightly opened state shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. Passes the position detection sensor 50.

  When the light shielding member 54 passes through the position detection sensor 50, the light shielding member 54 blocks the light L of the light emitting unit 52 as shown in FIG. 10B, so that the light L does not reach the light receiving unit 53. Accordingly, the light receiving unit 53 in FIG. 10B sends the home position signal SHP to the control unit 100 at a timing when the light L is not received.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the position detection sensor 50 is preferably configured such that the article storage portion 21 of the drawer-type door 9 is set to the home position position HP at a distance MJ of, for example, 3 cm from the inner end portion of the space 22. In other words, as shown in FIG. 5, this distance MJ is an interval from the state in which the drawer type door 9 is slightly opened as shown in FIG. 5 until it is completely closed as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, when the light shielding member 54 passes in the X2 direction, the position detection sensor 50 arranged at the home position HP returns the home position signal SHP as shown in FIG. Send to control unit 100.

  Thus, the position detection sensor 50 is provided at the home position position HP corresponding to a certain distance (for example, 3 cm) MJ to the door closing position CP at which the drawer type door 9 shown in FIG. 13 is completely closed.

  For this reason, as shown to FIG. 13 (A) and FIG. 13 (B), the accommodating part 21 of the drawer-type door 9 is pushed in in the space 22 of the vegetable compartment 3 to a certain fixed position (home position HP position). In such a case, as described below, the control unit 100 controls the rotation of the electric motor 41 to automatically generate the motor assist amount MB1 as shown in FIG.

  That is, even if the user pushes down the pull-out door 9 at time T11 and the torque detection output SR of the torque sensor 43 decreases, the control unit 100 determines the torque detection output SR of the torque sensor 43. Regardless of the magnitude or the presence or absence of the torque detection output SR, the electric motor 41 is rotationally controlled to automatically generate a motor assist amount MB1 separately as shown in FIG.

  Thereby, the control unit 100 causes the electric motor 41 to generate the motor assist amount MB1, and the drawer type door 9 and the article storage unit 21 are positions where the drawer type door 9 completely closes the front opening 3R of the vegetable compartment 3. Until you can force it.

  Accordingly, even if the user pushes down the pull-out door 9 while the user pushes the pull-out door 9 in the middle, or if the user stops stopping the pull-out door 9 completely, the control unit 100 does not change the home position HP. By providing an additional motor assist amount MB1 from the position by the electric motor 41, the drawer-type door 9 can be automatically closed to the door closing position CP. Thereby, the drawer-type door 9 can be prevented from stopping in a half-open state, and the burden on the user when closing the drawer-type door 9 can be reduced.

  On the other hand, as a comparative example, in the case of a normal drawer type door, if the user stops pushing the drawer type door before completely closing the drawer type door, the torque sensor will detect the torque detection signal. Therefore, the control unit does not generate a motor assist amount. For this reason, there arises an inconvenience that the drawer-type door remains in a half-open state in the vegetable compartment while the drawer-type door is stopped at this position.

  The refrigerator 1 having the above-described configuration can be opened and closed lightly even if the user is a large drawer door, and the user can stop pressing the handle of the drawer door before the drawer door is completely closed. Even then, the drawer door can be completely closed. For this reason, the operativity at the time of opening and closing of a drawer-type door can be aimed at, and the usability of the refrigerator 1 becomes favorable.

  Even in a storage section such as a vegetable room having a large drawer-type article storage section, the user can easily open and close the drawer-type door, and the user does not feel uncomfortable with the operation of the drawer-type door.

  The refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is a refrigerator having an article storage unit that is movable in a storage room according to an opening / closing movement operation of the drawer door, and assists the movement of the article storage part according to an opening / closing movement operation of the drawer door. A drive mechanism section of the article storage section is provided. The drive mechanism section of the article storage section is obtained by a motor, a torque sensor that detects a torque applied according to an opening / closing movement operation of the drawer-type door, and generates a torque detection output, and a torque sensor. And a control unit that generates a motor assist amount that assists the opening / closing movement operation of the drawer type door from the motor according to the torque detection output, and the control unit pulls out to a certain distance when the drawer type door is closed. When the door is closed, the motor is controlled to rotate and the drawer door is automatically closed to the end.

  Thus, the control unit generates a motor assist amount for assisting the opening / closing movement operation of the drawer-type door from the motor according to the torque detection output obtained by the torque sensor according to the opening / closing movement operation of the drawer-type door. Even when a large amount of articles are stored in the article storage unit 21 of the storage room 3 or the freezer compartment 6, the user can easily and lightly open and close the drawer-type door. Even when a large-sized drawer-type door and a large amount of articles are stored in the article storage unit 21, before the drawer-type door is completely closed, the user can press the handle of the drawer-type door. Even if it is stopped, the drawer door can be completely closed. For this reason, the drawer type door is not in a half-open state, the operability of the drawer door of the refrigerator can be improved, and the usability is good.

  The drive mechanism unit 70 of the article storage unit has a position detection sensor 50 disposed at a position HP that is a position before the drawer-type door 9 is completely closed, and the control unit 100 is fixed during the operation of closing the drawer-type door. Regardless of the torque detection output obtained by the torque sensor 43 when the position detection sensor 50 detects that the drawer door has been closed to a distance, the motor assist amount is generated by the motor 41 and the drawer door 9 is moved to the end. The automatic closing operation is performed.

  Thus, the control unit 100 relates to the torque detection output obtained by the torque sensor 43 when the position detection sensor 50 detects that the drawer door 9 has been closed to a certain distance during the operation of closing the drawer door 9. The operation of closing the drawer-type door 9 to the end by generating the motor assist amount by the motor 41 can be automatically performed. For this reason, even if it is a large drawer-type door 9 and a large amount of articles are stored in the article storage unit 21, the drawer-type door is not half-opened and the drawer door of the refrigerator 1 is operated. The improvement of the property can be achieved and the usability is good.

  The drive mechanism section 40 of the article storage section includes a slide mechanism section 70 that supports the article storage section 21 so as to be slidable along the opening / closing movement direction of the drawer-type door 9 in the vegetable room 3 that is a storage room, for example. 70, an endless drive belt 45 that moves synchronously when the article storage unit 21 moves, a main pulley 51 and a driven pulley 52 that hang the drive belt 45, a torque sensor 43 that is attached to the main pulley 51, It has a motor 41 that assists the main pulley 51 via a torque sensor 43.

  Thereby, the article storage unit 21 can smoothly move using the slide mechanism unit 70 of the drive mechanism unit 40 of the article storage unit as the drawer-type door is opened and closed. The motor assist amount generated by the motor 41 can assist the opening / closing operation of the drawer-type door 9 through the main driving pulley 51 and the driving belt 45.

  The controller 100 generates a motor assist amount smaller than the torque detection output obtained by the torque sensor 43 in the opening / closing movement operation of the drawer type door.

  Thus, the user can perform the opening / closing operation with an appropriate opening / closing operation feeling without exhibiting a motor assist amount larger than the force with which the user opens / closes the drawer-type door.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other modes, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  In the illustrated example showing the embodiment of the present invention, it is explained that a force assisting operation is performed using the drive mechanism unit 40 of the article storage unit during the opening operation and the closing operation of the drawer-type door 9 in the vegetable compartment 3. Yes.

  However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and as illustrated in FIG. 14, not only the drawer type door 9 of the vegetable room 3 but also the drawer type door 12 of the main freezing room 6, the drawer type door 10 of the ice making room 4, and the small freezing room 5. When performing an opening operation and a closing operation on at least one of the drawer-type doors 11, a force assist operation may be performed using the drive mechanism unit 40 of the article storage unit. Moreover, the vertical positional relationship of the vegetable compartment 3, the main freezer compartment 6, the ice making compartment 4, and the small freezer compartment 5 is not limited to the examples of FIGS. 1 and 14, and can be arbitrarily changed.

  As the position detection sensor 50, a non-contact sensor such as a photo sensor is used. However, the position detection sensor is not limited to this, and the position of the home position HP of the article storage unit may be detected by, for example, a mechanical contact sensor. As another example of the position detection sensor, a combination of a detection signal from the door opening / closing switch and an encoder that detects the amount of movement of the door, a home position HP that is a position before the drawer type door is completely closed, You may make it obtain the position of the fixed distance before closing, for example, the distance of 3 cm.

  The electric motor employs a type in which the main shaft rotates, but is not limited thereto, and may be another type of drive motor, for example, a linear motor.

  Moreover, the structure of the refrigerator 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and can employ | adopt arbitrary structures. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerator compartment 2 of the refrigerator 1 has a structure having double-opening type refrigerator compartment doors 7 and 8, but is not limited to this, and has a structure having a single-opening type refrigerator compartment door. Also good.

1 Refrigerator 1A Body 3 Vegetable room (example of storage room)
6 Main freezer room (example of storage room)
9 Drawer door in the vegetable room 12 Drawer door in the main freezer room 21 Goods storage part 25 in the vegetable room Side part 25A of the vegetable room Inner surfaces 27 and 28 of the side part of the vegetable room Support rails 31 and 32 Slide rail 40 Goods storage part Drive mechanism 41 Electric motor 42 Reducer 43 Torque sensor 44 Encoder 45 Drive belt 50 Position detection sensor 51 Driving pulley 52 Driven pulley 54 Shield member 70 Slide mechanism 100 Control unit HP Home position MJ Position at which the drawer-type door is completely closed A certain distance to

Claims (3)

A refrigerator having an article storage section movable in a storage room according to an opening / closing movement operation of a drawer-type door,
A drive mechanism unit for the article storage unit that assists the movement of the article storage unit according to the opening / closing movement operation of the drawer-type door;
The drive mechanism of the article storage unit is
A motor,
A torque sensor for detecting torque applied according to the opening / closing movement operation of the drawer type door and generating a torque detection output;
A control unit that generates a motor assist amount for assisting an opening / closing movement operation of the drawer type door from the motor according to the torque detection output obtained by the torque sensor,
The control unit generates the motor assist amount smaller than the torque detection output obtained by the torque sensor in the opening / closing movement operation of the drawer type door, and closes the drawer type door to a certain distance during the operation of closing the drawer type door. When the drawer door is closed, the refrigerator automatically performs the operation of controlling the rotation of the motor and closing the drawer door to the end. The drive mechanism of the article storage unit is
A position detection sensor disposed at a position that is a position before the drawer type door is completely closed;
The control unit, regardless of the torque detection output obtained by the torque sensor, when the position detection sensor detects that the drawer door is closed to a certain distance during the operation of closing the drawer door, The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the motor assist amount is generated by a motor to automatically close the drawer-type door to the end. The drive mechanism of the article storage unit is
A slide mechanism that slidably supports the article storage unit along the opening and closing movement direction of the drawer-type door in the storage chamber;
An endless drive belt that moves synchronously when the article storage unit moves by the slide mechanism; and
A main pulley and a driven pulley for hanging the drive belt;
The torque sensor attached to the main pulley;
The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising the motor that assists the main pulley via the torque sensor.

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