JP6560006B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a refrigerator.

  Conventional refrigerators may have a glass plate disposed on the surface of the door in order to improve the appearance design. Moreover, it is advancing to add various functions to a refrigerator. For example, functions such as arranging a human sensor for detecting the presence of a person in front of a refrigerator, notifying information by voice, and enabling a voice recognition function are being added.

  The refrigerator described in Patent Document 1 includes a human sensor that senses the presence or absence of a person in front of a metal refrigerator.

JP 2014-196847 A

  However, in patent document 1, the human sensor is only arrange | positioned on the surface of the normal metal door.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to install a human sensor without impairing the external design of a refrigerator having a front plate such as a glass plate at a door. It is to provide a refrigerator that can be used.

  A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body and a door capable of opening and closing a storage chamber of the main body, and a light transmissive front plate is disposed on a front surface of the door. An infrared type human sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a person is disposed on the back surface of the front plate of the door.

It is a front view which shows the whole refrigerator concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the vertical direction of the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the electrical connection example of the refrigerator shown to FIG. 1 and FIG. FIG. 4A is a front view showing an example of an infrared type human sensor, and FIG. 4B shows the human HM by irradiating the human HM with infrared rays. It is a figure which shows a mode that it is detecting. In 1st Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 5 (A) is a front view which shows the right door, FIG.5 (B) is the cross-section structural example in the DD line | wire of the door shown to FIG. 5 (A). FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 (A) is a front view showing a right door, and FIG. 6 (B) is a cross-sectional structure taken along line EE of the door shown in FIG. 6 (A). It is a figure which shows an example. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

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

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a front view showing the entire refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator 1 shown in FIG.

  The refrigerator 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 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 has an outer box made of an outer side plate and an inner box made of an inner side plate. Since a heat insulating material is disposed between the outer box and the inner box, the main body 1A has heat insulating properties. A plurality of storage chambers are formed in the main body 1A.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, as a storage room, a refrigeration room 2 and a vegetable room 3 are provided in order from the top, and an ice making room 4 and a small freezer room 5 are arranged side by side on the left and right of the vegetable room 3. The main freezer compartment 6 is provided at the bottom.

  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 FIGS. 1 and 2. The left and right doors 7 and 8 are double doors, and the left end of the left door 7 is rotatably attached by a hinge (not shown). Similarly, the right end portion of the right door 8 is rotatably attached by a hinge (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, drawer-type doors 9, 10, 11, which open and close each front opening are provided 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. 12 is provided. The left and right doors 7 and 8 and the drawer-type doors 9, 10, 11, and 12 have heat insulation properties by providing a heat insulating material inside.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the front plates 7A, 8A, 9A, 10A, preferably on the front surfaces (outer surfaces) of the left and right doors 7, 8, and the drawer-type doors 9, 10, 11, 12 11A and 12A are arranged. The front plates 7A, 8A, 9A, 10A, 11A, and 12A are preferably light-transmitting glass plates or transparent glass plates, and have light-transmitting properties through which infrared rays pass. The front plate preferably employs tempered glass from the viewpoint of cracking and strength.

  As an example, the left door 7 is provided with an operation panel 200. The operation panel 200 is preferably arranged inside the front plate 7A, and has an operation area 20 and a display area 21, for example. In the operation area 20, various operation functions of the refrigerator 1 can be input by, for example, a user touching a finger. The display area 21 displays various display items to the user.

  Next, an example of the structure of the refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment 3, the ice making compartment 4, the small freezer compartment 5, and the main freezer compartment 6 of the refrigerator 1 is demonstrated with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a machine room 22 is provided at a back position of the main freezer compartment 6 of the main body 1 </ b> A, and a compressor (compressor) 23 and the like are disposed in the machine room 22.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a refrigerated cooling fan 30, a storage room cooler 31, and a blower duct 32 are disposed on the rear side of the main body 1 </ b> A on the rear side of the vegetable room 3. In addition, at the back of the main body 1A, a freezing cooling fan 40, a freezing room cooler 41, and a fan are provided on the rear side of the ice making room (storage room) 4, the small freezing room (storage room) 5, and the main freezing room 6. A duct 42 is arranged. The storage chamber cooler 31 and the freezer cooler 41 are cooled by the refrigerant supplied from the compressor 23.

  In the vegetable compartment 3, upper and lower storage containers 3M and 3N are accommodated in a removable manner. A storage container 5M is accommodated in the small freezer compartment 5 so that it can be taken in and out. In the main freezer compartment 6, upper and lower storage containers 6M and 6N are accommodated in a removable manner.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, door opening devices 51 and 52 are provided, for example, on the upper surface portion 19 of the main body 1A. Both the door opening devices 51 and 52 can use actuators such as electromagnetic solenoids. When the door opening device 51 is driven, the left door 7 can be pushed and opened. Similarly, when the door opening device 52 is driven, the right door 8 can be pushed and opened.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of electrical connection of the refrigerator 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerator 1 includes a control unit 100. The control unit 100 includes a left door switch 61, a right door switch 62, a refrigerator temperature sensor 63, a freezer temperature sensor 64, a freezer door switch 65, a cooler temperature sensor 66, an interior lighting 67, and a refrigerator cooling fan 30. The refrigeration cooling fan 40 and the compressor 23 are electrically connected.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the left door switch 61, the right door switch 62, and the freezer door switch 65 are arranged on the doors 7, 8, and 12, respectively. For example, a capacitive touch sensor can be employed.

  The control unit 100 receives an operation-on signal when the user touches the left door switch 61, the right door switch 62, and the door switch 65 of the freezer compartment to turn it on. The control unit 100 receives temperature information signals from the refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 63, the freezer compartment temperature sensor 64, and the cooler temperature sensor 66. Further, the control unit 100 can control each operation of the interior lighting 67, the refrigeration cooling fan 30, the refrigeration cooling fan 40, and the compressor 23.

  3 is electrically connected to the opening devices 51 and 52. The control unit 100 controls the operation of the door opening devices 51 and 52. When the user turns on the left door switch 61, the control unit 100 commands to drive the door opening device 51, and the door opening device 51 can push the left door 7 to open. When the user turns on the right door switch 62, the control unit 100 commands to drive the door opening device 52 and push the right door 8 to open.

  The control unit 100 in FIG. 3 is electrically connected to the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120. The sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 is electrically connected to the sensitivity adjustment switch 121, the display unit 130, and the speaker 140 that is an audio device. The display unit 130 and the speaker 140 are also electrically connected to the control unit 100.

  The sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 and the sensitivity adjustment switch 121 illustrated in FIG. 3 can be disposed, for example, in the operation region 20 of the left door 7 illustrated in FIG. 1, but the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 is disposed at the position of the refrigerator 1. It may be in the main body 1A and is not particularly limited.

  The sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 is provided so that the detection sensitivity of the infrared type human sensor 80 can be arbitrarily adjusted through the control unit 100. For example, when the refrigerator 1 is installed for the first time at a user's home installation location, the user or the maintenance staff of the refrigerator operates the sensitivity adjustment switch 121 according to the situation of the installation location of the refrigerator 1, so that the infrared type The sensitivity of the human sensor 80 can be adjusted as appropriate.

  The situation of the installation location of the refrigerator 1 is, for example, the brightness of the installation location, where the heat source such as a stove is located at the installation location, and the like. Depending on the situation of the installation location, the sensitivity adjustment mode can be set in advance in several modes.

  The sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 in FIG. 3 includes a sensitivity adjustment mode storage unit 122, a sensitivity adjustment data storage unit 123, an audio data storage unit 124, and a reception unit 150.

  Next, the above-described elements shown in FIG. 3 will be described sequentially.

  First, the infrared type human sensor 80 shown in FIG. 3 will be described. As illustrated by a broken line in FIG. 1, the infrared type human sensor 80 is preferably disposed at a position near the left door 7 at the lower part of the right door 8.

  In recent years, as the appearance design of the refrigerator 1 (aesthetic appearance) is emphasized, the left and right doors 7, 8 on the front side of the refrigerator 1 and the drawer-type doors 9, 10, 11 are shown in FIG. , 12, front plates 7A, 8A, 9A, 10A, 11A, 12A such as glass plates are arranged for decoration. If it is the steel plate door conventionally used for the refrigerator, the resin component containing a human sensitive sensor can be embedded in the part which cut out the steel plate door.

  However, like the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment of the present invention, the left and right doors 7 and 8 and the drawer-type doors 9, 10, 11, and 12 have front plates 7 A, 8 A, and 9 A such as tempered glass plates. , 10A, 11A, and 12A cannot be embedded into the infrared sensor 80 by processing the front plate later. The reason for this is that, as already explained, a tempered glass plate is used as the front plate in order to ensure the strength against cracking and prevent scattering. This is because the current situation is difficult.

  Even in such a situation, the function of the refrigerator 1 has been advanced, and the presence or absence of a person who has approached the refrigerator 1 is detected, spoken by voice, or operates only at that time. In order to perform energy saving design, it is necessary to attach a human sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a person.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, an infrared type human sensor 80 shown in FIG. 3 is used as the human sensor. As will be described in detail later, the infrared type human sensor 80 is disposed on the back surface (inner surface) side of the front plate 8A of the right door 8 and does not move relative to the door 8, as shown in FIG. So that the position is fixed.

  The infrared type human sensor 80 includes an active type infrared sensor and a passive type infrared sensor. More preferably, an active type infrared sensor is used.

  An active infrared sensor is also called an active infrared sensor, and generates infrared rays and irradiates a person, and then detects infrared rays reflected by the person. At this time, the presence or absence of a person is detected by examining changes in the amount of received infrared rays. The type of infrared used is near infrared, and near infrared has a property intermediate between visible light and far infrared light. As the active infrared sensor, an integrated object having a light emitting unit that generates infrared rays and a light receiving unit that receives infrared rays reflected from a person, and the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are combined into one product can be used. For example, a pyroelectric infrared element is used as the active infrared sensor. A specific structure example of the active infrared sensor will be described later.

  In contrast, passive infrared sensors, also called passive infrared sensors, receive infrared rays emitted from the surface of the human body and examine the difference (temperature difference) between the infrared energy of the background and the human body to determine whether a person exists. Is detected. The type of infrared rays used is far infrared rays, which are also called heat rays. The passive infrared sensor has a light receiving portion that receives an infrared beam, but does not have a light emitting portion. The passive infrared sensor can use a ferroelectric ceramic element.

  An infrared type human sensor 80 shown in FIG. 3 uses a signal SG for detecting the presence / absence of a person within a predetermined detection range and a detection distance to the person as 12C communication, which is a serial communication system with peripheral devices, etc. Thus, it is sent to the control unit 100 side as a digital signal or an analog signal. Thereby, the control part 100 can obtain the presence / absence information of the person whether or not the person is detected and the detected distance information to the person based on the signal SG.

  When the infrared type human sensor 80 detects a person (user) within a predetermined detection range, the control unit 100 displays on the display unit 130 such as a liquid crystal display device that the person has been detected. Or uttering by voice through the speaker 140 and notifying a person (user).

  However, when one of the left and right doors 7 and 8 is already open, the control unit 100 does not allow the infrared human detection sensor 80 to detect a person. The reason for this is that if one of the left and right doors 7 and 8 is already open, it is certain that a person is already in front of the refrigerator 1 and that the doors 7 and 8 are opened and closed. In order to draw an arc shape, the direction in which the infrared type human sensor 80 detects the presence or absence of a person is indefinite depending on the opening / closing angle of the door 8, and the infrared type human sensor 80 detects an object other than a person. This is because it may be detected.

  As described above, the control unit 100 sets the signal SG to “valid” from the infrared type human sensor 80 only when the doors 7 and 8 are closed, and when any of the doors 7 and 8 is open. Even if the control unit 100 receives the signal SG from the infrared type human sensor 80, the control unit 100 makes the signal S “invalid”.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, an active infrared sensor as shown in FIG. 4 is particularly preferably used as the infrared type human sensor 80.

  4A is a front view showing an infrared type human sensor 80, and FIG. 4B shows an infrared type human sensor 80 that irradiates the human HM with infrared rays. It is a figure which shows a mode that it is detecting.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, the active infrared sensor described above is preferably used as the infrared type human sensor 80. The infrared type human sensor 80 generates infrared IR1 in the near-infrared region and detects return infrared IR2 reflected by the person, thereby detecting the presence or absence of the person and detecting distance to the person as necessary. Information can be obtained.

  The infrared type human sensor 80 includes a light emitting unit 81 that generates infrared IR1 in the near infrared region, a light receiving unit 82 that receives return infrared IR2 reflected from a person, and a substrate 83 on which the light emitting unit 81 and the light receiving unit 82 are mounted. Have A visible light cut filter 84 is disposed in front of the light receiving unit 82. The visible light cut filter 84 is fixed to the inner surface 8S of the front plate 8A, for example.

  Thereby, the infrared ray IR1 in the near-infrared region generated by the light emitting unit 81 strikes the person HM that is the detection target through the light-transmitting front plate 8A. Then, the infrared ray IR2 in the returning near-infrared region reflected by the person MH passes through the front plate 8A again and cuts visible light so that visible light does not enter by the visible light cut filter 84, and then is received by the light receiving unit 82. Is done. For this reason, since the visible light does not enter in the light receiving unit 82, it is possible to increase the light receiving accuracy of the infrared IR2 in the near infrared region and increase the ability to detect the presence of a person.

  Since the infrared type human sensor 80 shown in FIG. 4 uses infrared rays in the near-infrared region, it can more reliably detect human presence information than using infrared rays in the far-infrared region. Can do. There are many heat sources such as a stove around the kitchen where the refrigerator 1 is placed, but infrared rays in the near infrared region use infrared rays in the far infrared region to erroneously detect these heat sources such as the stove. Compared to For this reason, it is effective to use infrared rays in the near infrared region in order to detect a person approaching the refrigerator 1 within a predetermined detection range DR shown in FIG. 4B.

  Using the infrared type human sensor 80 has an advantage that the human detection range DR shown in FIG. 4B can be made larger than that using the capacitive human sensor. A numerical example of the detection range DR of the infrared type human sensor 80 shown in FIG. 4B is, for example, 1 m. The angle of the detection range is, for example, about 30 degrees in each of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. However, the numerical value of the detection range and the numerical value of the angle are not particularly limited and can be arbitrarily selected.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the infrared type human sensor 80 is disposed in the lower left portion of the right door 8. For this reason, the infrared type human sensor 80 is disposed at a substantially middle position on the left and right sides of the refrigerator 1.

  The height H from the floor surface of the arrangement position of the infrared type human sensor 80 shown in FIG. 1 is to be able to reliably detect the presence / absence of a person, even if the person is tall or low to some extent. The height from the floor surface is preferably 100 cm to 120 cm. If the height H from the floor surface of the arrangement position of the infrared type human sensor 80 is smaller than 100 cm, the infrared type human sensor 80 may not be attached within the range of the door 8, and is more than 120 cm. If it is large, it may be difficult to detect the child user. In this example, the total height of the refrigerator 1 is, for example, 180 cm.

  Thereby, the infrared type human sensor 80 detects that a person (user) has come to the position where the doors 7 and 8 of the refrigerator 1 are intentionally opened, not simply passing in front of the refrigerator 1. can do.

  FIG. 5 shows a more specific example in which the infrared type human sensor 80 is disposed in the right door 8. FIG. 5A is a front view showing the right door 8, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an example of a cross-sectional structure taken along line DD of the door 8 shown in FIG. 5A.

  5 (A) and 5 (B), the coating part 75 is formed over almost the front surface of the back surface (inner surface) 8S of the front plate 8A.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the coating portion 75 is formed of a paint having a property that does not transmit infrared rays, the infrared transmission portion corresponding to the front side of the infrared type human sensor 80 shown in FIG. 4. If the coating part 75 has been formed in 8R, the coating part 75 cannot transmit the near-infrared IR1 and the near-infrared IR2.

  For this reason, the coating part 75 is formed in areas other than the infrared transmission part 8R corresponding to the front side of the infrared type human sensor 80. In other words, the coating portion 75 is not formed in the infrared transmitting portion 8R having a rectangular shape, for example, corresponding to the front surface side of the infrared type human sensor 80.

  As a result, as another effect, the user can easily see and confirm the position of the infrared type human sensor 80 through the infrared transmitting portion 8R of the front plate 8A which is the glass plate.

  The coating unit 7 adopts a desired color, for example, red, white, black, etc., so that the color of the door 8 is the same as the color of the entire refrigerator 1, for example, red, white, black, etc. can do. For this reason, even if the infrared type human sensor 80 is arranged on the back surface 8S side of the front plate 8A, in the refrigerator 1, the color of the door 8 is made the same as the entire color of the refrigerator 1, and the appearance design is impaired. The color can be unified.

  As described above, in the front plate 8A which is the glass plate shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the infrared transmitting portion 8R corresponding to the front side of the infrared type human sensor 80 is only the front plate 8A, and the coating portion 75 is provided. Since it is not arranged, the infrared transmitting portion 8R is made of a material having infrared transparency. That is, the coating portion 75 is not formed on the back surface of the front plate 8A and the front surface of the human sensor 80, and only the front plate 8A that is an infrared transmitting member that transmits infrared rays is used. No material that cuts off infrared rays is used.

  As a result, the near-infrared IR1 generated in the near-infrared region generated by the light-emitting portion 81 is transmitted through the front plate 8A that is an infrared transmitting member, irradiated to the person HM that is the detection target, and returned near-infrared reflected by the person MH. The infrared ray IR2 in the region is transmitted through the front plate 8A, which is an infrared ray transmitting member again, and the visible light is cut by the visible light cut filter 84 so that the visible light does not enter, and then is reliably received by the light receiving unit 82. be able to.

  Thus, in order to arrange the infrared type human sensor 80 on the inner surface side of the front plate 8A which is a glass plate of the door 8, the front plate 8A which is a glass plate is an infrared type human sensor 80. By avoiding the formation of the coating portion 75 in the infrared transmitting portion 8R, which is the facing region, near infrared rays can be reliably transmitted.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4B and 5A, the light emitting direction of the light emitting portion 81 and the light receiving direction of the light receiving portion 82 of the infrared human sensor 80 are preferably perpendicular to the front plate 8A. It is set to be. For example, when tempered glass is used as the front plate 8A, the thickness of the front plate 8A is usually 3 mm or more.

  In order to suppress the near-infrared IR1 generated by the light-emitting unit 81 from being reflected or refracted on the front plate 8A, and to suppress the returning near-infrared IR2 to reach the light-receiving unit 82 from being reflected or refracted, Preferably, the light emitting direction of the light emitting portion 81 and the light receiving direction of the light receiving portion 82 of the infrared type human sensor 80 are preferably set to be perpendicular to the front plate 8A.

  Thereby, even if the thickness of the front plate 8A is 3 mm or more, the near infrared IR1 generated by the light emitting portion 81 can be suppressed from being reflected or refracted on the front plate 8A as much as possible. The light receiving unit 82 can receive light while suppressing reflection and refraction at 8A as much as possible.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the substrate 83 on which the light emitting part 81 and the light receiving part 82 of the infrared type human sensor 80 are mounted is fixed to the door 8 by a foamed polyurethane 77 which is a heat insulating material. ing. In this case, the substrate 83 can be fixed to the foamed polyurethane 77 side with, for example, an adhesive.

  Thereby, it is possible to prevent the substrate 83 on which the light emitting unit 81 and the light receiving unit 82 of the infrared type human sensor 80 are mounted from being displaced in the door 8 due to vibration generated when the door 8 is opened and closed. For this reason, the positional relationship between the infrared type human sensor 80 and the front plate 8A can be fixed.

  In the refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above, the human sensor 80 is provided on the back surface of the front plate 8A without impairing the appearance design of the refrigerator having the front plate 8A such as a glass plate on the door 8. Can be installed on the side.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the same reference numerals are used for the same portions as the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and the description is used. 6A is a front view showing the right door 8, and FIG. 6B shows an example of a cross-sectional structure taken along line EE of the door 8 shown in FIG. 6A.

  The second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is different from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5 between the back surface 8S of the front plate 8A and the front side portion of the infrared type human sensor 80, which is of the infrared type. The infrared transmitting member 8R corresponding to the front side of the human sensor 80 is preferably provided with an infrared transmitting member 88 which is a separate member. The infrared transmitting member 88 is, for example, a rectangular plate member made of an infrared transmitting material capable of transmitting infrared light.

  Thus, the infrared transmitting member 88 is between the back surface 8S of the front plate 8A of the door 8 and the front side portion of the infrared type human sensor 80, and corresponds to the front side of the infrared type human sensor 80. The reason why it is disposed in the infrared transmitting portion 8R is as follows.

  In the front plate 8 </ b> A of the door 8, the infrared transmitting portion 8 </ b> R corresponding to the front side of the infrared type human sensor 80 is not colored. However, the user can see the color of the coating part 75 through the front plate 8A in a wide area other than the infrared transmission part 8R. For this reason, at the door 8, the user views the door 8 through the front plate 8A between the infrared transmitting portion 8R corresponding to the front side of the infrared type human sensor 80 and a wide area other than the infrared transmitting portion 8R. And the color of the door 8 is different, which may be undesirable in terms of external design.

  Therefore, an infrared transmitting member 88 having the same color as the color of the coating portion 75 is disposed in a portion including the infrared transmitting portion 8R corresponding to the front side of the infrared type human sensor 80. For example, if the color of the coating part 75 is red, the color of the infrared transmitting member 88 is also red. As a result, a sense of unity of the overall color of the door 8 can be obtained. An example of the infrared transmitting member 88 is an infrared transmitting film.

  The infrared transmitting member 88 is realized by depositing a dielectric multilayer film on an infrared transmitting material such as glass. As a dielectric multilayer film, a necessary reflectivity is obtained by stacking two or more materials having different refractive indexes. Examples of materials having different refractive indexes include Al2O3 (alumina), CaF2 (calcium fluoride), MgF2 (magnesium fluoride), SiO2 (silicon dioxide: glass), ZnS (zinc sulfide), ZrO2 (zirconium dioxide), Si ( Silicon), TiO2 (titanium dioxide), and the like.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the same reference numerals are used for the same portions as the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  The third embodiment shown in FIG. 7 differs from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4B in that the periphery of the light emitting portion 81 and the light receiving portion 82 of the infrared type human sensor 80 is not open. It is surrounded by the infrared absorbing member 90.

  As already described, it is desirable that the light emitting portion 81 and the light receiving portion 82 of the infrared type human sensor 80 be mounted so as to be perpendicular to the front plate 8A. When attaching the human sensor 80 of the type, it is assumed that the attachment angle varies rather than in the vertical direction.

  Therefore, the end portions of the four sides of the substrate 99 and the back surface of the front plate 8A so that the side portions of the four sides around the light emitting portion 81 and the light receiving portion 82 of the infrared type human sensor 80 are surrounded by the infrared absorbing member 90. Infrared absorbing members 90 are provided between 8S.

  As a result, there are no infrared reflecting members on the four sides of the light emitting portion 81 and the light receiving portion 82 of the infrared type human sensor 80, and the near infrared rays IR1 and IR2 are not reflected. If the near infrared rays IR1 and IR2 are reflected, the light receiving unit 82 receives the extraneous near infrared rays reflected, and the light receiving unit 82 receives the returning near infrared ray IR2 from the person HM with an accurate light amount. There is a risk that it will not be possible. As described above, by surrounding the four sides of the light emitting part 81 and the light receiving part 82 of the infrared type human sensor 80 with the infrared absorbing member 90, the generation of noise sources in the infrared type human sensor 80 is minimized. It has been removed.

  The infrared absorbing member 90 is fixed to the back surface 8S of the front plate 8A using, for example, an adhesive. Thereby, the infrared sensor 80 can be fixed to the back surface 8S of the front plate 8A in the same manner as illustrated in FIG. 6 and also fixed to the polyurethane foam 77 using an adhesive. it can.

  Thereby, it is possible to prevent the substrate 83 on which the light emitting part 81 and the light receiving part 82 of the infrared type human sensor 80 are mounted from being displaced in the door 8 due to vibration generated when the door 8 is opened and closed. For this reason, even if the door 8 is opened and closed and vibration is applied, the positional relationship between the infrared type human sensor 80 and the front plate 8A can be fixed.

  The infrared absorbing material of the infrared absorbing member 90 includes, for example, a near-infrared absorbing dye in a material such as glass, and examples of the near-infrared absorbing dye include a cyanine compound, a phthalocyanine compound, a dithiol metal complex, a naphthoquinone compound, a diimmonium compound, and an azo compound. Compounds and the like.

<Fourth embodiment>
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In 4th Embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the example which can adjust the detection sensitivity of the infrared type human sensitive sensor 80 is shown.

  As described above, as shown in FIG. 1, the infrared type human sensor 80 is attached to the back side of the front plate 8 </ b> A of the door 8 of the refrigerator 1. Since the environment of the kitchen in which the refrigerator 1 is installed varies from house to house, the extent of the kitchen space in front of the doors 7 and 8 is not constant. For this reason, it is preferable that the numerical value of the detection range (detection distance) of the infrared type human sensor 80 can be adjusted by the kitchen environment where the refrigerator 1 is installed.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 is connected to the control unit 100 by wired communication or wireless communication, and the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 transmits an infrared type to the control unit 100. The detection sensitivity of the human sensor 80 can be adjusted.

  A sensitivity adjustment switch 121 is electrically connected to the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120. The sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 includes a sensitivity adjustment mode storage unit 122, a sensitivity adjustment data storage unit 123, an audio data storage unit 124, and a wireless reception unit 150. The sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 and the sensitivity adjustment switch 121 can be arranged, for example, in the operation area 20 of the operation panel 200 shown in FIG. 1, but are not particularly limited to the arrangement positions.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the sensitivity adjustment mode storage unit 122 stores a sensitivity adjustment mode table 122T. In this sensitivity adjustment mode table 122T, for example, considering the difference in the environment of the kitchen in which the refrigerator 1 is installed, for example, the area of the kitchen is different, as an example, there are three levels of sensitivity adjustment modes (1), ( 2) and (3) are set.

  As a sensitivity adjustment mode (1), a kitchen with a small space distance that can be secured in front of the refrigerator 1 is assumed, and as a sensitivity adjustment mode (2), the space distance that can be secured in front of the refrigerator 1 is medium. As a mode (3) for sensitivity adjustment, a kitchen having the largest space distance that can be secured in front of the refrigerator 1 is assumed.

  The sensitivity adjustment data storage unit 123 stores sensitivity adjustment data 123D. For example, the sensitivity adjustment data 123D includes the detection range (for example, 80 cm) of the appropriate infrared sensor 80 that is set in advance for the sensitivity adjustment mode (1), and the sensitivity adjustment mode (2). The detection range (for example, 90 cm) of the appropriate infrared type human sensor 80 set in advance and the detection range of the appropriate infrared type human sensor 80 set in advance for the mode (3) for sensitivity adjustment (For example, 100 cm).

  Each time the user who is the user presses the sensitivity adjustment switch 121 shown in FIG. 3, the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 reads the sensitivity adjustment mode (1), mode (2), and mode (3) from the sensitivity adjustment mode table 122T. ) Select one of the items to call. For this reason, the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 calculates the numerical value of the detection range of the infrared type human sensor 80 corresponding to the mode selected from the mode (1), mode (2), and mode (3) for sensitivity adjustment. , Extracted from the sensitivity adjustment data 123D.

  For example, when the user presses the sensitivity adjustment switch 121 and selects the mode (2) assuming that the size of the kitchen in which the refrigerator 1 is installed corresponds to the sensitivity adjustment mode (2), the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 is selected. Calls the value of the detection range of the infrared type human sensor 80 corresponding to the sensitivity adjustment mode (2) from the sensitivity adjustment data 123D of the sensitivity adjustment data storage unit 123.

  When the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 instructs the control unit 100, the control unit 100 adjusts the detection sensitivity of the infrared type human sensor 80, and the detection range of the infrared type human sensor 80 is used for sensitivity adjustment. Can be set to a value corresponding to mode (2).

  The audio data storage unit 124 stores audio data for notifying the result of sensitivity adjustment. For example, the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 causes the speaker 140 to generate sound data explaining the guidance content of the sensitivity adjustment mode (2) selected by the user stored in the sound data storage unit 124. Thus, the user can be notified of this, and the user can confirm with sound that the mode (2) has been set.

  At the same time, the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 can display, for example, the guidance content of the mode (2) selected by the user stored in the voice data storage unit 124 on the display unit 130, and the user can select the mode (2). ) Can be visually confirmed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the sensitivity adjustment remote control device 160 includes a wireless transmission unit 170. For example, after the refrigerator 1 is assembled and manufactured in the manufacturing process, a factory operator operates the sensitivity adjustment remote controller 160 before the refrigerator 1 is shipped, and the transmitter 170 receives the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 reception unit. The sensitivity adjustment information is wirelessly transmitted to 150.

  Thereby, the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 can instruct the control unit 100, and the control unit 100 can adjust the detection sensitivity of the infrared type human sensor 80.

  In the factory, after the assembly, the sensitivity adjustment operation unit 120 is adjusted with respect to the sensitivity of the infrared type human sensor 80 between the modules of the infrared type human sensor 80 mounted in each refrigerator 1. This is because there is a certain detection range error in the initial stage of installation. For this reason, the detection range error between the modules of the infrared type human sensor 80 is calibrated for each refrigerator 1, and the detection range is set to 1 m for the module of the infrared type human sensor 80 of each refrigerator 1, for example. After the setting is unified, the refrigerator 1 is shipped.

  Thus, there is an advantage that each refrigerator 1 can be shipped from the factory after the detection range is set to a predetermined value in advance for the module of the infrared type human sensor 80 of each refrigerator 1.

  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 example illustrated in FIG. 1, the position where the infrared type human sensor is disposed is the lower portion of the right door 8, but is not limited thereto, for example, the lower portion of the left door 7, or the left door 7. Or the right end position of the right door 8 or the like.

  Thus, when the infrared type human sensor is arranged at the left end position of the left door 7 or the right end position of the right door 8, the mounting direction of the human sensor is set to the vertical direction (frontward of the front of the door). (Direction) is preferably directed toward the oblique central side. Thereby, even if a user approaches the center position of the refrigerator 1, a user's existence can be detected reliably.

  The structure of the refrigerator 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and an arbitrary structure can be adopted. For example, although the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a door structure with double doors left and right, the refrigerator compartment may have a single door structure with a single opening. The arrangement structure of each storage room of the refrigerator can be arbitrarily selected. In the case of a single door of a single opening type, it is preferable that the infrared type human sensor is disposed at the center of the door and at the lower position.

  The front plate 8A may be a plastic plate having optical transparency other than a glass material.

  Each embodiment of the present invention can be arbitrarily combined as necessary.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 1A Main body 8 Door 8A Front plate 8S Back surface 8R of front plate Infrared transmission part 75 Paint part 77 Polyurethane foam (example of heat insulating material of a door)
80 Infrared type human sensor 81 Light emitting part 82 Light receiving part 83 Substrate 84 Visible light cut filter 88 Infrared transmitting member 90 Infrared absorbing member 100 Control part 120 Sensitivity adjusting operation part 160 Sensitivity adjusting remote control device IR1 Near infrared IR2 Near infrared

Claims (9)

A refrigerator having a main body and a door capable of opening and closing the storage chamber of the main body, and a light transmissive front plate disposed on a front surface of the door;
An infrared type human sensor arranged on the back side of the front plate of the door for detecting the presence or absence of a person,
A refrigerator having a control unit that performs the operation of detecting the presence or absence of the person by the human sensor only when the door closes the storage chamber.   The human sensor includes a light emitting unit that generates infrared rays and a light receiving unit that receives the infrared rays reflected back from the person, and the infrared rays generated by the light emitting units are near infrared rays. The refrigerator according to 1. The refrigerator according to claim 2 , wherein a portion of the front plate on the front side of the human sensor is an infrared transmitting portion that transmits the infrared light. In front of the position of the human sensor to a back side of the front panel, to claim 2 or 3 peripheral portion of the same color as infrared transmission member position where the human sensor is arranged is located The refrigerator described. The light emitting part and the light receiving part are arranged so that the light emitting direction of the infrared light from the light emitting part is perpendicular to the front plate, and the light receiving direction in which the light receiving part receives infrared light and the front plate are perpendicular. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 2 to 4. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein a periphery of the human sensor is surrounded by an infrared absorbing member that absorbs the infrared light on a back surface side of the front plate.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the human sensor is fixed to the door.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the detection sensitivity of the human sensor can be adjusted by communication. The refrigerator in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 8 which has a sensitivity adjustment operation part for adjusting the detection sensitivity of the said human sensitive sensor.

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