JP6501943B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a refrigerator.

  Some refrigerators are configured to have a so-called double-opening door on the main body of the refrigerator. This double-opening type door is provided with two left and right doors (a left door and a right door) at the opening of the storage body. The left door is rotatably supported at its left end on the front left of the opening, and the right door is rotatably supported at its right end on the front right of the opening. And a vertical partition is provided in the edge part of one side among the both-ends parts (end part by the side of an anti-rotation fulcrum) at the time of closing of both doors at the time of door closing. The vertical partition, when the doors are closed, divides the opening into right and left, and the inner surface of the other end of the door abuts against the vertical partition to prevent the cold air from leaking inside the refrigerator body.

  The vertical partition is provided with a heater (electric heater) for preventing the vertical partition and dew adhesion of both doors.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 5-240565

In the refrigerator, measures have been taken to save power from before. From this point of view, it is also necessary to reduce the amount of power by the heater as much as possible within the range in which the prevention of dew attachment can be achieved.
Then, the refrigerator which can reduce the electric energy of a heater is achieved, aiming at a dew attachment prevention.

  The refrigerator according to the embodiment is provided in a refrigerator main body having a storage chamber having a front opening, a rotatable left door and a right door closing the opening of the storage chamber, and one of the left door and the right door A vertical partition provided with a vertical partition with which the opening is divided left and right when one door is closed and the end of the other door abuts when the other door is closed, and a heater provided in the vertical direction inside the vertical partition The imaging means includes an imaging means capable of transmitting a captured image to the outside, the imaging means includes a lens on one side of the main body, and a part of the heater is provided on the opposite side to the one side of the main body.

Front view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment A perspective view of the refrigerator with the left and right doors open Top view of the said door part in left door and right door closed state Top view of the said door part in left door and right door open state Top view for explaining the movement of the vertical partition (part 1) Top view for explaining the movement of the vertical partition (part 2) Transverse top view of vertical partition Diagram showing heater wiring configuration Block diagram showing the electrical configuration Flow chart showing control contents of control device The figure which shows the wiring form of the heater in 2nd Embodiment. Block diagram showing the electrical configuration Top view of the said door part in the left door and right door closed state in 3rd Embodiment Top view of the said door part in left door and right door open state Transverse top view of vertical partition Diagram showing heater wiring configuration Transverse top view of the vertical partition according to the fourth embodiment Transverse top view of the vertical partition according to the fifth embodiment The figure which shows the wiring form of the heater by 6th Embodiment. Electrical configuration block diagram Top view of the said door part in the left door and right door closed state by 7th Embodiment Top view of the said door part in left door and right door open state Diagram showing the relationship between the heater wiring configuration and the camera position The top view of the said door part in the left door and right door closed state by 8th Embodiment A perspective view of the refrigerator with the left and right doors open Front view of the refrigerator

  Hereinafter, the refrigerator according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. The refrigerator 1 is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, sequentially from the top of the refrigerator main body 2, a refrigerator compartment 3, which is a storage compartment for storing food, a vegetable compartment 4, an icemaker 5, an upper freezer compartment 6, and A lower freezer compartment 7 is provided. The front surfaces of the chambers 3 to 7 are open. The opening of the refrigerator compartment 3 is opened and closed by a so-called double-opening (rotational) left door 3a and right door 3b. The left and right portions of the left door 3a are rotatably supported by hinges 2a shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the right and left portions of the right door 3b are rotatably supported by hinges 2b. In this case, the length of the right door 3b (the length from the rotation center of the hinge 2b to the open end) is longer than the length of the left door 3a.

The vegetable compartment 4, the icemaker 5, the upper freezer compartment 6, and the lower freezer compartment 7 are opened and closed by the drawer type door 4a, the door 5a, the door 6a and the door 7a, respectively.
The left door 3a and the right door 3b of the refrigerator compartment 3 are mainly made of non-metallic materials that transmit radio waves. In addition, the longitudinal partition 13 mentioned later is mainly comprised by the non-metallic material which permeate | transmits an electromagnetic wave.

  In the left door 3a of the refrigerator compartment 3, as shown in FIG. 2, a door pocket 8a, a door pocket 9a and a door pocket 10a are provided in order from the upper stage, and in the right door 3b, the door pocket 8b in order from the upper stage A door pocket 9b and a door pocket 10b are provided. In addition, while a plurality of shelf boards 11 formed of a transparent material such as glass, for example, are provided in the refrigerator compartment 3, at the lowermost stage, a special purpose room such as an egg room or a chilled room 12 are arranged.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the left door 3a is a non-metal material of rotational type for filling the gap S (see FIG. 3) with the right door 3b when the doors 3a and 3b are closed. A vertical partition 13 which is a synthetic resin is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the vertical partition 13 has a substantially rectangular planar shape of the outer shell case 13a, and has a longitudinally long shape as a whole. The outer shell case 13a has a front end plate 13b in contact with both the doors 3a and 3b, a left and right side plate portion and a back plate portion, and a rear cover constituting the outer shell case 13a of the vertical partition 13 with the front end plate 13b. And 13c. In this case, the back plate portion and the front end plate 13b form a long side of a rectangle in a planar shape, and the left and right side plate portions form a short side.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the vertical partition 13 is rotatably provided on the back side of the right end of the left door 3a by upper and lower hinges 14 (only the upper hinge is shown). As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the vertical partition 13 projects from the inner surface of the left door 3a in a form substantially perpendicular to the left door 3a in the open state of the left door 3a. It is held.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the upper and lower portions of the vertical partition 13, guide grooves 15 (only the upper guide grooves are shown) having a predetermined shape are formed in the longitudinal direction. And the guide convex part 16 which the said guide groove 15 can fit is formed in the ceiling surface and bottom face of the said refrigerator compartment 3. As shown in FIG. When the left door 3a is turned in the closing direction from the open state, the guide groove 15 is fitted with the guide convex portion 16, and the guide groove 15 has the vertical partition 13 as shown in FIG. Rotate.

  Thereby, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 3, when the left door 3a is closed, the vertical partition 13 further protrudes to the right from the right end of the left door 3a (the back plate portion and the front end plate 13b are left door 3a Contact with the gasket of the left door 3a, and in this state, further divides the opening of the refrigerator compartment 3 into right and left. In this state, when the right door 3b is closed, the gasket at the left end contacts the outer surface of the vertical partition 13 (see FIG. 3). Even if the left door 3a is closed after the right door 3b is closed, as shown in FIG. 3, the gasket contacts the gasket of the right door 3b. The vertical partition 13 closes the opening between the two doors 3a and 3b.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a heater (electric heater) 17 for preventing dew attachment is attached to the inner surface of the front end plate 13b inside the outer shell case 13a of the vertical partition 13 in the vertical direction (vertical direction) It is done. The heater 17 is formed of, for example, a single heating wire, and the amount of heat generation (hereinafter referred to as unit heat generation amount) per unit distance in the vertical direction of the heater 17 is set as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when the distance in the vertical direction of the heater 17 is divided into the upper region, the middle region, and the lower region in the vertical direction, the heater 17 in the middle region is formed in a dense zigzag shape. The unit heat generation amount is made relatively large, and the heater 17 in the lower region is formed in a zigzag shape to make the unit heat generation relatively middle, and the heater 17 in the upper region is made straight. By forming it, the unit calorific value is made relatively small.

  The heater 17 prevents the occurrence of dew condensation on the vertical partition 13 itself and the open side end of both doors 3a and 3b (right end in the case of the left door 3a and left end in the case of the right door 3b) To prevent condensation on the Although not shown, a heater for dew proofing is disposed at the opening edge of the refrigerator compartment 3, and the left door 3a has an end other than the right end and the right door 3b has a left end. Condensation prevention of the end other than the part is aimed at.

  Moreover, the interior illumination lamp (not shown) as an illumination means is provided in the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3. As shown in FIG. This indoor light is provided on the ceiling and on the side. Among them, the ceiling room lamp is provided on the upper side of the cabinet, and the side room lamp is provided to illuminate a specific position in the cabinet such as the central part or the lower part of the cabinet.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an operation panel 18 is provided on the left door 3 a. A panel display 19 is provided on the operation panel 18. An operation switch group 20 (see FIG. 9) including a touch input unit is formed on the surface of the panel display 19. As shown in FIG. 9, the operation switch group 20 includes a refrigerator temperature setting switch 20a and a heater strength setting switch 20b.

  In FIG. 9, a control unit 21 mainly controls the heater 17. The control unit 21 is constituted by a microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a timer and the like. The control device 21 includes, as devices on the input side, left door open / close detection means 22a, right door open / close detection means 22b, cold storage room temperature setting switch 20a, heater strength setting switch 20b, outside air temperature sensor 23, cold storage room temperature A sensor 24 is connected. Further, the heater 17 and the panel display 19 are connected to the control device 21 as devices on the output side. The left door opening / closing detection means 22a is, for example, an opening / closing detection switch, and detects the opening and closing of the left door 3a. The right door open / close detection unit 22b is, for example, an open / close detection switch, and detects the opening and closing of the right door 3b.

  The control device 21 controls the heater 17 as shown in FIG. The control device 21 acquires the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 23 while the refrigerator 1 is in operation (step S1), and sets the energization ratio to the heater 17 according to the acquired outside air temperature (step S2). ). The conduction rate is so-called maximum input power when the conduction rate is 100%. As the outside air temperature is higher, dew condensation is more likely to occur, and therefore, the conduction ratio is set to be larger as the outside air temperature is higher.

  Then, based on the detection results by the left door open / close detection unit 22a and the right door open / close detection unit 22b, after at least one of the doors 3a and 3b is opened, whether both doors 3a and 3b are closed It is determined whether or not it is (step S3). If it is determined that both the doors 3a and 3b are in the closed state, the heater 17 is energized at the aforementioned energization rate (step S4).

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, since the unit calorific value in the middle region of the heater 17 is relatively large, the heat generation temperature also becomes high in this middle region. Further, since the unit calorific value in the lower region of the heater 17 is relatively middle, the heat generation temperature in this lower region is relatively medium. Further, since the unit calorific value in the upper region is relatively small, the heat generation temperature in the upper region is relatively low.

  As described above, even if there is a difference in the heat generation temperature, it is possible to prevent dew condensation on the dew condensation occurrence predicted location (the vertical partition 13, the right end of the left door 3a and the left end of the right door 3b). That is, when both doors 3a and 3b are in a closed state, the refrigerator 1 cools the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3, but in that case, the temperature distribution in the refrigerator compartment 3 is divided into the upper part, the middle part, and the lower part In the case of the inventors, it was considered by the inventor's investigation that the upper part has a relatively high temperature state, the middle part has a relatively low temperature state, and the lower part has a relatively moderate temperature state. That is, the temperature is relatively low except for the upper part with respect to the upper part. As a result, the amount of dew attached to the portion corresponding to the upper portion in the right end portion of the vertical partition 13 and the left door 3a and the right door 3b is small, and the amount of dew attached to the portion corresponding to the middle portion is larger than the upper portion. The amount of dew on the corresponding part is relatively higher than the upper part (slightly less than the middle part).

  Under such a state of occurrence of dew attachment, even if the heat generation temperature of the upper region of the heater 17 is relatively low with respect to the upper part in a relatively high temperature state in the refrigerator compartment 3, sufficient prevention of dew attachment is achieved. Can. In addition, since the heat generation temperature of the intermediate region of the heater 17 is high for the intermediate portion in a relatively low temperature state in the refrigerator compartment 3, it is possible to sufficiently prevent the dew adhesion also in this case. In addition, since the heat generation temperature of the lower part of the heater 17 is slightly higher than that of the upper part in the lower part of the cold storage 3 in the temperature state slightly lower than the upper part, in this case as well, it is possible to sufficiently prevent the dew.

  After the above-described step S4, when the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3 reaches a preset heater power-off temperature (determined in step S5), the heater 17 is powered-off (step S6). Then, after that, when the outside air temperature acquisition timing set in advance is reached (determined in step S7), the process returns to step S1 described above.

  Here, conventionally, without paying attention to the temperature distribution state of the refrigerator compartment 3 (cooling chamber), the heater has a dense zigzag shape over the top and bottom as uniformly large unit calorific value so that condensation does not occur in any part. It was. In this configuration, the heat generation amount in the upper region of the heater becomes excessive in consideration of the fact that the temperature distribution in the refrigerator compartment 3 is high at the upper part and relatively low at other parts as described above. .

  In this respect, in this embodiment, the unit calorific value in the upper region corresponding to the upper portion in the refrigerating chamber 3 of the heater 17 is relatively smaller than that in the upper region, so that it corresponds to the upper portion in the refrigerating chamber 3 The amount of electric power generated by the heater 17 can be suppressed while preventing the occurrence of dew condensation at the condensation occurrence predicted location.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the unit calorific value of the lower region corresponding to the lower inside of the refrigerator compartment 3 in the heater 17 is smaller than the unit calorific value of the middle region in the heater 17 and larger than the unit calorific value in the upper region. Because of this, it is possible to suppress the amount of electric power generated by the heater 17 while preventing the occurrence of dew condensation at the dew condensation occurrence predicted location corresponding to the lower part in the cold storage room 3.

The conduction rate may be adjusted in relation to the outside air temperature, the outside air humidity, the refrigerator compartment temperature (set temperature) and the like.
11 and 12 show the second embodiment, and the means for making the unit heat generation amount different in the upper region, the middle region, and the lower region of the heater 17 is different from the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the heater 17 is divided into an upper heater 17a serving as an upper region, an intermediate heater 17b serving as an intermediate region, and a lower heater 17c serving as a lower region. The degree of density of the zigzag shape of each of the heaters 17a to 17c is set to be the same. The heaters 17a to 17c are connected to the control device 21 via the input power adjuster 17W shown in FIG.

  Then, when receiving the heater energization command from the control device 21, the input power adjuster 17W relatively sets the power input to the upper heater 17a to be relatively small, and makes the power input to the intermediate heater 17b to be relatively large. The setting is made, and the power to be input to the lower heater 17c is set relatively in the middle. Thereby, the unit calorific value in the upper heater 17a of the heaters 17 is relatively small, the unit calorific value in the middle heater 17b is relatively large, and the unit calorific value in the lower heater 17c is relatively medium. . Also in this second embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

The heaters 17a to 17c may be individually adjustable in input power by a manual switch.
13 to 16 show a third embodiment. In this embodiment, the vertical partition 13 is provided with a camera device 25 as an imaging means. As shown in FIG. 15, the camera device 25 includes a lens 25b on the front surface (one surface) of an apparatus case 25a corresponding to the main body, and controls the image pickup device and the communication unit, and further the image pickup device and the communication unit Control unit and the like. Moreover, the refrigerator 1 is provided with the communication part for relays.

  When the camera device 25 receives an imaging command from an external device (smart phone, tablet terminal, personal computer, etc.) via the relay communication unit, the camera device 25 images the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3 and relays the captured image to the relay communication unit. And to the external device via the wide area communication network or the short distance communication means. The camera device 25 can also image the inside of the cold storage room 3 by automatic activation by its own timer function or the like, and in this case as well the wide-area communication network or near network via the relay communication unit. It transmits to an external device via distance communication means.

  A lens window 13 e is formed in the back plate portion of the rear cover 13 c inside the vertical partition 13. The camera device 25 is provided inside the vertical partition 13 such that one surface provided with the lens 25b abuts the inner surface of the back plate of the rear cover 13c, and the lens 25b goes from the lens window 13e to the external of the vertical partition 13. I am facing. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the heater 17 is disposed around the camera device 25 by turning a part of the upper region into the back plate portion of the rear cover 13 c. In this case, the heater 17 substantially doubles the camera device 25 to increase the unit heating value.

Also in the third embodiment, the heater 17 is controlled as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
According to the third embodiment, since the vertical partition 13 is provided with the camera device 25 capable of transmitting the captured image in the refrigerator compartment 3 to the outside, the camera device 25 is inside the refrigerator compartment 3 in the closed state of the left door 3a. Since it turns to, information, such as foodstuffs in cold storage 3, can be acquired also from a remote place.

  Further, according to the third embodiment, the camera device 25 is provided with the vertical partition 13 so that the camera device 25 can easily receive the heat of the heater 17 for preventing condensation, that is, the camera using the heater 17 Clouding (condensation) can be prevented from occurring on the lens 25 b of the device 25.

  Further, according to the third embodiment, since a part of the upper region which is a part of the heater 17 is disposed around the camera device 25, the camera device 25 further receives the heat of the heater 17 for preventing condensation. This is more effective in preventing fogging of the lens 25b in the camera device 25.

  Further, since the heater 17 is energized when any of the doors 3a, 3b is opened or closed, the anti-fogging stop is eliminated immediately after the door is closed even if the lens 25b of the camera device 25 becomes cloudy due to the opening or closing of the doors 3a, 3b. .

  In this case, the heater 17 turns off the heater 17 in step S6 when the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3 reaches a preset heater power-off temperature (determined in step S5). This third embodiment In the first embodiment, in place of the power disconnection, for example, the current may be intermittently applied at the end of a predetermined time.

  FIG. 17 shows a fourth embodiment, and the following points are different from the third embodiment. In the fourth embodiment, a part of the upper region which is a part of the heater 17 is disposed in a form in which the lens 25 b is avoided on the front surface which is one surface of the device case 25 a of the camera device 25.

  In the fourth embodiment, since a part of the heater 17 is disposed on the front surface of the camera device 25 on which the lens 25b is present, the occurrence of fogging on the lens 25b can be further effectively prevented. Moreover, since the heater 17 is in a form avoiding the lens 25b, the heater 17 does not disturb the imaging.

  FIG. 18 shows a fifth embodiment, and the following point is different from the third embodiment. In the fifth embodiment, a part of the heater 17 is provided on the back surface of the camera device 25 (opposite to the front surface which is the one surface). According to the fifth embodiment, the entire camera device 25 can be warmed from the back side, and the occurrence of fogging on the lens 25 b of the camera device 25 can be prevented. In this case, since it is not necessary to allow a part of the heater 17 to reach the camera device 25, wiring becomes easy.

  19 and 20 show the sixth embodiment, and the following point is different from the third embodiment. In the sixth embodiment, the heater 17 includes an upper heater 17a having an upper area, an intermediate heater 17b having an intermediate area, a lower heater 17c having a lower area, and a camera apparatus for heating the camera device 25. It is divided into the heater 17k. The camera device heater 17k doubles as a condensation prevention heater. The camera device heater 17 k is located above the upper heater 17 a at a position corresponding to the camera device 25.

  The heaters 17a to 17c and 17k are connected to the control device 21 via the input power adjuster 17Wa. Then, when receiving the heater energization command from the control device 21, the input power regulator 17Wa sets the power input to the upper heater 17a to be relatively small, and makes the power input to the intermediate heater 17b to be relatively large. Then, the power input to the lower heater 17c is set to be relatively high, and the power to be input to the camera device heater 17k is set to be relatively large. Thereby, the unit calorific value in the upper heater 17a of the heaters 17 is relatively small, the unit calorific value in the middle heater 17b is relatively large, and the unit calorific value in the lower heater 17c is relatively medium. . Also in the sixth embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

In addition, the unit calorific value in the camera device heater 17k is relatively large, and the lens 25b of the camera device 25 can be prevented from being fogged.
The unit calorific value of the camera device heater 17k may be relatively small or medium. Also, an operation unit for adjusting the upper heater input power, an operation unit for adjusting the middle heater input power, an operation unit for adjusting the lower heater input power, and an operation unit for adjusting the heater input power for the camera device are provided. The respective input powers of the heaters 17a to 17c and 17k may be adjustable by the respective operation units.

  21 to 23 show a seventh embodiment, and the following point is different from the third embodiment. The camera device 25 is provided in the vicinity of the heater 17 in the left door 3a. The camera device 25 is provided at a position corresponding to an area other than the upper area of the heater 17 in the left door 3a, for example, an intermediate area and hidden by the vertical partition 13 (a position hidden by the vertical partition 13 in the open state in FIG. 22). ing. Further, as shown in FIG. 23, the heater 17 is disposed in the vertical partition 13 so as to be biased toward the camera device 25 from the center in the left-right direction (the reference line (center line) which divides the left-right direction into two). It is set up.

In the seventh embodiment, since the camera device 25 is provided in the vicinity of the heater 17 in the left door 3a, the lens 25b can be prevented from being fogged.
Further, since the camera device 25 is disposed at a position corresponding to the middle area (area of large unit heat generation amount) of the left door 3a, the upper area (area of small heat generation area) of the heater 17 in the left door 3a As compared with the case where the camera device 25 is disposed corresponding to the above, the heating action on the camera device 25 can be enhanced, and antifogging of the lens 25 b can be effectively achieved. In this case, the camera device 25 may be disposed corresponding to the lower area (area in the unit heat generation amount) of the heater 17 in the left door 3a.

  Further, since the heater 17 is disposed in the vertical partition 13 so as to be biased toward the camera device 25 from the central portion in the left and right direction, the heater 17 can be brought close to the camera device 25 as much as possible. . In addition, since the camera device 25 is provided in the left door 3a at a position where it is hidden by the vertical partition 13 in the opened state, food etc. taken in and out are carelessly careless when the left door 3a is opened. It can avoid hitting the part.

  FIGS. 24 to 26 show the eighth embodiment, which differs from the seventh embodiment in that the camera device 25 is disposed on the right door 3b. In this case, since the right door 3b is slightly longer in the left-right direction than the left door 3a, the camera device 25 is positioned approximately at the center in the left-right direction of the opening of the refrigerator compartment 3. For this reason, the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3 can be imaged without bias from the front center.

  In the heater 17, only the upper region may be set to a small unit heat generation amount, and the middle portion region and the corporation area may be set to a large unit heat generation amount. Further, the camera device 25 may be disposed to image the outside of the refrigerator 1. In this case, the camera device 25 may be provided in the vicinity of the heater 17.

  According to the refrigerator of the embodiment described above, a refrigerator main body provided with a storage room having a front opening, a rotatable left door and a right door closing the opening of the storage room, and the left door and the right door A vertical partition provided on one of the doors, the opening being divided to the left and right when the one door is closed, and an end of the other door being in contact when the other door is closed, and provided longitudinally inside the vertical partition The heating amount in the upper region of the heater is set to be smaller than the heating amount in the region other than the upper portion. According to this, it is possible to reduce the amount of power of the heater while preventing dew attachment.

  While certain embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and the gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  In the drawings, 1 is a refrigerator according to the embodiment, 2 is a refrigerator main body, 3 is a refrigerator compartment (storage chamber), 3a is a left door, 3b is a right door, 13 is a vertical partition, 17 is a heater, 25 is a camera device (imaging means , 25a indicates an apparatus case (main body), and 25b indicates a lens.

Claims (1)

A refrigerator body provided with a storage room having an open front,
Pivotable left and right doors closing the opening of the storage chamber;
A vertical partition provided on one of the left door and the right door to divide the opening into right and left when the one door is closed and to contact an end of the other door when the other door is closed;
A heater provided in the vertical direction inside the vertical partition,
The vertical partition is provided with an imaging unit capable of transmitting a captured image to the outside,
The imaging means comprises a lens on one side of the main body,
A part of said heater is provided in the opposite side to one side of said main part.

Images