JP6779016B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to refrigerators.

In recent years, the door of a refrigerator is provided with a switch for opening the door, and the door is automatically opened when the user presses the switch. When a switch using a capacitance type sensor is used as this type of switch, an electrode for detecting an erroneous operation is provided, and measures are taken to prevent the switch from malfunctioning.

Further, the authentication system described in Patent Document 1 is composed of an authentication device and a door control device, and by holding an IC card over the authentication device, it is authenticated whether or not the user is a legitimate user. Then, when the door control device receives the authentication result, it locks and unlocks the door that is opened and closed when entering and leaving the room, thereby ensuring the security of unlocking the door.

JP-A-2014-157550

By the way, if a small child or the like carelessly touches the switch for opening the door, or if the child's body unknowingly touches this switch, the door will open even though the child or the like has no intention of opening the door. There is a risk of malfunction.

In this way, in order to prevent the door opening operation by a small child or the like, if a function of keeping the switch for opening the door in the off state is provided, the adult operator opens the door when opening the door. It is complicated because the door cannot be opened until the off function of the switch for opening is released.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to prevent a malfunction that a child or the like opens the door even though he / she does not intend to open the door, and the operator can smoothly open the door. The purpose is to provide a refrigerator capable of opening the door.

The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a main body, a door that closes the front opening of the main body, a door operating device that opens the door, and an operation for opening the door operating device. Based on the operation unit received from the operator, the storage unit that registers an arbitrary key selected by the operator from a plurality of keys having different reading methods as a specific key, and the registration in the storage unit, the operator The door operating device is opened when the recognition area portion recognizes the specific key and the operation unit of the operator recognizes the specific key. It is provided with a control unit for operating the door.

It is a front view which shows the refrigerator of the preferable embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electric connection example of each element in the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the operation part arranged inside the front plate of a door, a specific key and the like. It is a figure which shows the example which the light emitting element shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the message which is displayed in the display part arranged in the door. It is a figure which shows the example of the message which is notified by the notification unit arranged in the door. It is a flow chart which shows the operation example of a refrigerator.

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

<Overall explanation of refrigerator 1>
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The refrigerator 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a main body 1A. The main body 1A of the refrigerator 1 has 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 arranged between the outer box and the inner box, the main body 1A has a heat insulating property. A plurality of storage chambers are formed inside the main body 1A.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, as storage chambers, a refrigerating chamber 2 and a vegetable compartment 3 are provided in order from the top, and an ice making chamber 4 and a small freezing chamber 5 are provided side by side under the vegetable compartment 3. A main freezing chamber 6 is provided at the bottom.

On the front surface of the refrigerating chamber 2 shown in FIG. 1, left and right doors 7 and 8 for opening and closing the front opening of the refrigerating chamber 2 are provided. The left and right doors 7 and 8 are double doors, and the left end of the left door 7 is rotatably attached to the main body 1A by a hinge (not shown). Similarly, the right end of the right door 8 is rotatably attached to the body 1A by a hinge (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 1, drawer-type doors 9, 10, 11, and 12 for opening and closing each front opening are provided on the front surfaces of the vegetable compartment 3, the ice making chamber 4, the small freezing chamber 5, and the main freezing chamber 6. Has been done. The left and right doors 7 and 8 and the drawer type doors 9, 10, 11 and 12 have heat insulating properties by providing a heat insulating material inside.

As shown in FIG. 1, on the front surfaces (outer surfaces) of the left and right doors 7 and 8 and the pull-out doors 9, 10, 11 and 12, preferably front plates 7A, 8A and 9A are used in order to improve the appearance. , 10A, 11A, 12A are arranged respectively. The front plates 7A, 8A, 9A, 10A, 11A, and 12A are preferably a translucent glass plate or a transparent glass plate.

As shown in FIG. 1, the door opening devices 51 and 52 are provided on the upper surface portion 19 of the main body 1A, for example, as an example of the door operating device. Both of the door opening devices 51 and 52 can use an actuator such as an electromagnetic solenoid. When the door opening device 51 is driven, for example, the plunger of the electromagnetic solenoid extends and the door 7 on the left side can be pushed to open the door 7. Similarly, when the door opening device 52 is driven, for example, the plunger of the electromagnetic solenoid can be extended to push and open the door 8 on the right side.

As shown by the broken line in FIG. 1, the operation unit 21 is arranged on the left door 7. An operation unit 22 is arranged on the door 8 on the right side. The operation unit 21 is arranged at the lower part of the left door 7 and at an inner position so that the operator can easily operate it with a finger. Similarly, the operation unit 22 is arranged at the lower part of the door 8 on the right side and at an inner position so that the operator can easily operate it with a finger. As a result, the operation units 21 and 22 are lined up close to each other.

The operation unit 21 accepts the operator's on operation by touching the door operation device 51 with a finger in order to operate the door operation device 51. The operation unit 22 accepts the operator's on operation by touching the door operation device 52 with a finger in order to operate the door operation device 52. The operation unit 21 is arranged inside the front plate 7A of the left door 7, and the operation unit 22 is arranged inside the front plate 8A of the right door 8.

The operation unit 21 is a capacitance type touch switch (contact switch) that can be turned on by, for example, an operator touching the front plate 7A of the left door 7 with a finger. Similarly, the operation unit 22 is a capacitance type touch switch (contact switch) that can be turned on by, for example, the operator touching the front plate 8A of the door 8 on the right side with a finger.

As the shape of the operation unit 21 and the operation unit 22, a vertically long rectangular shape or the like can be preferably adopted in order to make it easy for the operator to touch with a finger, but a circular shape or the like may be adopted, and the operation unit 21 and the operation unit 22 can be operated. The shape of the portion 22 is not particularly limited.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, in addition to the operation unit 21, the left door 7 includes a notification unit 30, a recognition area unit 60 for recognizing a specific key held by the operator, and a display unit. It includes 70 and a motion sensor 99. Further, the door 8 on the right side is provided with a recognition area unit 60 for recognizing a specific key held by the operator in addition to the operation unit 22. In the example of FIG. 1, the recognition area portion 60 is arranged on the left and right doors 7 and 8, respectively, but the recognition area portion 60 may be arranged only on one of the doors 7 and 8.

For the display unit 70 shown in FIG. 1, for example, a liquid crystal display device can be used, and the display unit 70 can display a necessary message or the like, which will be described later.

<Example of electrical connection of elements of refrigerator 1>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of electrical connection of each element in the refrigerator 1 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 100 is arranged in the main body 1A, and the control unit 100 recognizes the left and right door opening devices 51 and 52, the left and right operation units 21 and 22, and the notification unit 30. The area unit 60, the display unit 70, and the motion sensor 99 are electrically connected. As a result, the control unit 100 can control the operations of the left and right door opening devices 51 and 52 and the operation of the display unit 70.

The notification unit 30 shown in FIG. 2 is a buzzer, a speaker, or the like, and notifies the operator of a necessary message by sound or voice. The notification unit 30 is attached to the lower part of the left door 7 as shown in FIG. 1, for example, but the notification unit 30 may be attached to the right door 8 or the main body 1A. , Not particularly limited.

For example, the notification unit 30 automatically opens the left door 7 from the state where the front opening of the left region of the refrigerating chamber 2 is closed, or the right door 8 is the right side of the refrigerating chamber 2. When the front opening of the area is closed and the door is to be opened automatically, a message such as the timing of the operation can be notified to the operator by sound or voice. As a result, the operator can know the timing when the left and right doors 7 and 8 are automatically opened by sound or voice, so that the safety can be improved. Further, the notification unit 30 may notify the operator of the message not only by sound or voice but also by light.

Next, for example, a plurality of types of specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 held by the operator and the recognition area unit 60 shown in FIG. 2 will be described.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the recognition area unit 60 brings together a plurality of types of specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 that the operator may hold, for example, so that different types of specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 can be recognized. The specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 are IC cards and the like that are generally held by the operator and often used in daily life. The operator can automatically open the doors 7 and 8 of the refrigerator 1 when holding one or more of these specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94. ..

For example, the specific key 91 is an IC card key using the non-contact IC card technology method "FeliCa (registered trademark of Sony Corporation)". This specific key 91 is equipped with an IC chip and an antenna. Further, the specific key 92 is an NFC (Near Field Communication) card key using short-range wireless communication technology.

The specific key 93 is an IC card key having a function of unlocking and locking the entrance of the operator's home. The specific key 94 has a function of unlocking and locking the door of the operator's automobile, for example, a smart entry key (registered trademark of Toyota Motor Corporation) or an intelligent key (registered trademark of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.). It is a key called etc.

On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the recognition area unit 60 includes a reader / writer 61, an NFC card reader 62, and an NFC card reader 62 in order to identify and recognize a plurality of types of specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94. It is provided with a recognition unit 63 for the front door key of the house and a recognition unit 64 for the key of the automobile.

The reader / writer 61 shown in FIG. 2 has an operator holding a specific key 91 to read / write data in a non-contact manner by an electromagnetic wave transmitted by the reader / writer 61, and the control unit 100 is operated by the operator. , It has a specific key 91, and can recognize that it is a qualified operator who may operate the refrigerator 1.

The NFC card reader 62 exchanges radio waves with a specific key 92 held by the operator, and reads the data of the specific key 92, which is an NFC card, in a non-contact manner. It can be recognized that the operator has a specific key 92 and is a qualified operator who may operate the refrigerator 1. The specific key 92 is a card key for NFC communication using short-range wireless communication technology, and the specific key 92 and the NFC card reader 62 can perform bidirectional communication. The NFC card reader 62 has a card emulation function (Card Emulation). In the card emulation function, a specific key 92 has a function of acting as an IC card or a tag, and for example, "Osaifu-Keitai" is an application example thereof.

The recognition unit 63 of the entrance key of the house shown in FIG. 2 reads and writes data in a non-contact manner by the radio wave transmitted by the recognition unit 63 of the entrance key of the house when the operator holds a specific key 93 over it. The control unit 100 can recognize that the operator has a specific key 93 and is a qualified operator who may operate the refrigerator 1.

The key recognition unit 64 of the automobile is a control unit 100 by reading and writing data in a non-contact manner by the radio wave transmitted by the specific key 94 when the operator presses the unlock operation button 94A of the specific key 94. Can recognize that the operator has a specific key 94 and is a qualified operator who may operate the refrigerator 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 100 has a storage unit 45 of a specific key type. The operator's specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 shown in FIG. 2 previously include a reader / writer 61, an NFC card reader 62, a home entrance key recognition unit 63, and an automobile key recognition unit 64. The control unit 100 stores the type of the specific key 91, 92, 93, 94 of the operator in advance in the storage unit 45 of the specific key type by using and recognizing each of them in advance. As a result, when the operator holds some key over the recognition area unit 60, the control unit 100 does not accept keys other than the operator's specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 stored in advance. ing. As a result, the doors 7 and 8 are not opened except for the specific keys 91, 92, 93 and 94.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, structural examples of operation units 21 and 22 arranged inside the front plates 7A and 8A of the doors 7 and 8 and a specific key 91 as an example will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structural example of operation units 21 and 22 arranged inside the front plates 7A and 8A of the doors 7 and 8 and a specific key 91.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the shielding sheet 70 is arranged on the inner surface side of the front plates 7A and 8A made of glass, for example, and the sheet 70 passes through the front plates 7A and 8A and is inside the doors 7 and 8. Is prevented from being seen.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first substrate 81 and the second substrate 82 are arranged in parallel on the inner surface side of the front plates 7A and 8A at intervals. An operation unit 21 which is a capacitance type touch electrode is arranged on the first substrate 81. The first substrate 81 in the door 7 on the left side is formed with a through hole 83 corresponding to the operation unit 21 which is a touch electrode.

Similarly, the operation unit 22, which is a capacitance type touch electrode, is arranged on the first substrate 81. The first substrate 81 in the door 8 on the right side has a through hole 83 formed corresponding to the operation portion 22 which is a touch electrode. The first substrate 81 and the second substrate 82 are electrically connected by the wiring 85.

As shown in FIG. 3, a light emitting element 84 is arranged on the second substrate 82. The light emitting element 84 is preferably a light emitting diode (LED). The light L generated by the light emitting element 84 illuminates the touch electrode 22 from the back side through the front plates 7A and 8A through the through hole 83 of the first substrate 81. As a result, the operation units 21 and 22 appear to be lit, so that the positions of the operation units 21 and 22 can be easily confirmed even when the refrigerator 1 is placed in a dark environment.

Next, an example of the reader / writer 61 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 will be described.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the reader / writer 61 transmits a signal that is a radio wave, so that a specific key 91 possessed by the operator receives a response signal from the reader / writer 61. The specific key 91 is adapted to automatically transmit a response signal in response to a radio wave from the reader / writer 61.

The reader / writer 61 has a controller 61A and an antenna 61B, and a radio signal having a predetermined frequency is transmitted from the antenna 61B under the control of the controller 61A. The specific key 91 has, for example, an IC chip 201 having a power supply unit, a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, a storage unit, and the like, and an antenna 202 connected to the IC chip 21.

When the operator approaches the refrigerator 1 with a specific key 91 and the operator touches at least one of the operation units 21 and 22 with a finger, the operation signals R1 and R2 are output from either one of the operation units 21 and 22. , Is sent to the control unit 100. When the control unit 100 receives the operation signals R1 and R2, the control unit 100 starts transmitting a radio wave signal from the antenna 61B of the reader / writer 61. This radio signal is received by the antenna 202 of the specific key 91. The specific key 91 automatically emits a response signal from the antenna 202, and this response signal is received by the antenna 61B of the reader / writer 61.

As a result, the reader / writer 61 reads and writes data in a non-contact manner by the signal transmitted by the reader / writer 61 by the operator holding up the specific key 91. As a result, the detection signal is sent from the controller 61A to the control unit 100. When the control unit 100 recognizes that the operator is a qualified operator who may operate the refrigerator 1 based on the detection signal, the control unit 100 opens the door opening device 51 (52). The desired door 7 (8) can be automatically opened.

In this way, unless the operator approaches the refrigerator 1 with a specific key 91 and the operator touches at least one of the operation units 21 and 22 with a finger, radio waves are transmitted from the antenna 61B of the reader / writer 61. Do not start sending. From this, it is possible to save power in the refrigerator 1 as compared with the case where radio waves are constantly transmitted from the antenna 61B of the reader / writer 61.

In the above example, the operator has described as a representative example of the use of the specific key 91 and the reader / writer 61 in combination, but the combination of the specific key 92 and the NFC card reader 62, the specific key 93 and the house The usage is the same for the combination of the entrance key recognition unit 63 and the combination of the specific key 94 and the automobile key recognition unit 64.

When a person who does not have the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94, such as a child, is approaching the refrigerator 1, the control unit 100 touches the operation units 21 and 22. Even if the operation signals R1 and R2 are received from the operation units 21 and 22 by operating, the door opening devices 51 and 52 do not open the door, and the doors 7 and 8 do not open automatically. ..

Next, FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B) show a lighting example when the light emitting element 84 shown in FIG. 3 lights the operation units 21 and 22 from the back.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 (A), when the control unit 100 detects that the operator is approaching by the motion sensor 99 shown in FIG. 1, for example, the light emitting element 84 is made to emit light from the non-light emitting state to emit light. 21 and 22 can be illuminated from the back to light the operation units 21 and 22. As a result, when the operator having the specific keys 91 to 94 approaches the main body 1A, the position of the operation units 21 and 22 can be notified to the operator by light by lighting the light emitting element 84. Therefore, even if the refrigerator 1 is in a dark environment, the operator can visually confirm the positions of the operation units 21 and 22 and easily perform the touch operation.

Further, FIG. 4B is another light emitting example of the light emitting element 84. The light emitting element 84 may be made to emit light in two steps, for example. In the standby state where the operator is not approaching the refrigerator 1 with the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 and the operator is not touching the operation unit 21 or the operation unit 22 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4B, the control unit 100 shown in FIG. 3 causes the light emitting element 84 to emit light with low brightness.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the control unit 100 detects that the operator is approaching by, for example, the motion sensor 99 shown in FIG. 1, the light emitting element 84 is made to emit light with low brightness. It emits light with high brightness. Therefore, the light emitting element 84 can illuminate the operation units 21 and 22 from the back portion to light the operation units 21 and 22.

As a result, when the operator holding the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 approaches the refrigerator 1, the brightness of the light emitting element 84 is changed from a low state to a high state even before touching the operation units 21 and 22. Therefore, the arrangement positions of the operation units 21 and 22 can be constantly lit and displayed with low brightness. Therefore, the operator can improve the visibility of the arrangement position of the operation units 21 and 22 as compared with the case where the operation units 21 and 22 are not lit at all. Moreover, when the operator holding the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 is not close to the refrigerator 1, the brightness of the light L of the light emitting element 84 can be lowered, so that the light emitting element 84 can be lowered. The power consumption of the refrigerator 1 can be reduced as compared with the case where the light is emitted with high brightness.

<Explanation of operation example of refrigerator 1>
Next, an operation example of the refrigerator 1 having the above-described structure will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

The operator uses the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 that are expected to be used normally in advance for the reader / writer 61, the NFC card reader 62, the home entrance key recognition unit 63, and the car key recognition. Each part 64 is used to recognize each in advance. That is, the control unit 100 stores the type of the specific key 91, 92, 93, 94 of the operator in the storage unit 45 of the specific key type. As a result, the control unit 100 can prevent the keys other than those specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 stored in advance from being accepted.

In step ST1 of FIG. 7, when the operator actually uses the refrigerator 1, the operator holds the specific key 91 shown in FIG. 2 and approaches the front side of the refrigerator 1 of FIG. The operator touches at least one of the operation units 21 and 22 with his / her finger. In this way, when the operator touches the operation units 21 and 22 with his / her finger, the operation signals R1 and R2 are sent to the control unit 100 from either one of the operation units 21 and 22.

When the control unit 100 receives the operation signal R1 (R2), the control unit 100 transmits a radio wave signal from the antenna 61B of the reader / writer 61 for the first time. This radio signal is received by the antenna 202 of the specific key 91. As a result, the specific key 91 automatically emits a response signal from the antenna 202, and this response signal is received by the antenna 61B of the reader / writer 61.

At this time, in step ST2, the control unit 100 stores the specific key 91 in advance in the storage unit 45 of the specific key type of the control unit 100 shown in FIG. 2 by the response signal of the specific key 91. Determines if it matches a particular qualified key 91.

When the control unit 100 determines that the specific key 91 is a suitable key, the control unit 100 displays "Welcome back", "received", etc. to the display unit 70 in step ST3 as illustrated in FIG. Message 89 is displayed to the operator to notify the operator. As a result, the operator knows that at least one of the doors 7 and 8 can be automatically opened by the specific key 91, which increases the safety.

Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the notification unit 30 sends a message 89 such as "Welcome back" or "Received" to the operator to automatically open at least one of the doors 7 and 8. It will be notified by voice. As a result, the operator knows that at least one of the doors 7 and 8 can be automatically opened by the specific key 91, which increases the safety.

In step ST4, when the operator holds the specific key 91 over the reader / writer 61, data is read / written in a non-contact manner by the signal transmitted by the reader / writer 61. As a result, when the control unit 100 recognizes that the operator is a qualified operator who may operate the refrigerator 1, the control unit 100 operates the door opening device 51 (52) to open the door, which is desired. Door 7 (8) can be opened automatically.

When the operator approaches the refrigerator 1, the motion sensor 99 shown in FIG. 2 detects the operator. Therefore, the control unit 100 causes the light emitting element 84 to emit light from a non-light emitting state to cause the operation units 21 and 22 to emit light. It can be turned on in advance. As a result, when the operator holding the specific key 91 approaches the main body 1A, the positions of the operation units 21 and 22 can be notified by lighting the light emitting element 84. Therefore, even if the refrigerator 1 is in a dark environment, the operator can visually confirm the positions of the operation units 21 and 22 and easily perform the touch operation.

In the control unit 100, even if an operator who does not have the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 approaches the refrigerator 1 and touches the operation units 21 and 22, the control unit 100 is a door opening device. Do not operate 51 and 52. Therefore, even if the control unit 100 does not have the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94, for example, a child or the like touches the operation units 21 and 22, the door opening devices 51 and 52 open the door. There is no such thing as doors 7 and 8 do not open automatically.

As a result, the refrigerator 1 can prevent a malfunction that a child or the like opens the door even though he / she does not intend to open the door, and plays the role of a child lock, and the operator can smoothly open the door. it can.

As described above, in the operation example shown in FIG. 7, the operator holds the specific key 91 to open the doors 7 and 8 of the refrigerator 1, but the operator opens the specific keys 92 and 93. The same procedure applies when opening the doors 7 and 8 of the refrigerator 1 with the, 94.

As described above, the refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a main body 1A, doors 7 and 8 for closing the front opening of the main body 1A, and opening as a door operating device for opening the doors 7 and 8. The door devices 51 and 52, the operation units 21 and 22 that accept the operation for opening the door operation devices 51 and 52 from the operator, and the recognition that the operator recognizes the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94. When an operator having the area unit 60 and having the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 approaches the main body 1A and the recognition area unit 60 recognizes the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94, the operator operates. A control unit 100 for opening the door opening devices 51 and 52 when an operation is performed by the units 21 and 22 is provided.

As a result, the doors 7 and 8 of the refrigerator 1 cannot be opened unless the operator has a specific key. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a malfunction in which a child or the like who does not have a specific key opens the door even though he / she does not intend to open the door, and an operator who has a specific key can smoothly open the door. It can be carried out.

A light emitting element 84 for lighting the operation units 21 and 22 is provided, and the control unit 100 causes the light emitting element 84 to emit light when an operator having specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 approaches the main body 1A. Turn on the operation units 21 and 22.

As a result, when the operator holding the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 approaches the main body 1A, the operation units 21 and 22 can be turned on by the light emission of the light emitting element 84. Therefore, even if the refrigerator 1 is in a dark environment, the operator can easily visually recognize and touch the operation units 21 and 22.

A light emitting element for lighting the operation unit is provided, and the control unit further emits light from the light emitting element when an operator having a specific key approaches the main body, as compared with the light emission brightness of the light emitting element in a state of constantly emitting light. Increase the brightness of the light emission and turn on the operation unit.

As a result, when an operator holding the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 approaches the main body 1A, the operation units 21 and 22 further increase the brightness of the light emitted from the light emitting element 84, thereby causing the operation units 21 and 22. Visibility can be improved. Therefore, in a normal case, the light emitting element 84 emits light with a low brightness, and when the operator approaches the main body 1A, the light emitting brightness of the light emitting element 84 is increased, so that the power saving of the refrigerator 1 can be achieved. Therefore, even if the refrigerator 1 is in a dark environment, the operator can easily visually recognize and operate the operation units 21 and 22.

The specific key is a card key for card emulation, and the door is touched with the card key to drive the door operating device when the door is opened by the operator's operation unit. Equipped with a functional reader.

As a result, the doors 7 and 8 can be opened by using a card having a card emulation function as a specific key. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a malfunction that a child or the like who does not have a specific key opens the door even though he / she does not intend to open the door, and the operator can smoothly open the door.

The refrigerator 1 includes a notification unit 30, and when the notification unit 30 recognizes a specific key, it notifies by voice. As a result, the operator can confirm that the specific key has been recognized (detected) by the voice notification.

By the way, in the refrigerator 1 of the embodiment of the present invention, the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 can be set as follows. For example, the specific key 91, which is the IC card key shown in FIG. 2, can be used by registering the key 91 at the time of shipment from the factory so that the user does not need to register it again in the storage unit 45, and the doors 7 and 8 can be used. The door opening operation can be performed by this specific key 91 immediately after the start of use of the refrigerator. Next, when a specific key 92, 93 such as a plurality of arbitrary card keys or a specific key 94 which is a car key can be added and used, the specific keys 92, 93, 94 are stored. By individually registering in the unit 45 in advance, the doors 7 and 8 can be opened by using the specific keys 92, 93 and 94.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

In the illustrated example, as an example of the door operating device, door opening devices 51 and 52 are provided to open the left and right doors 7 and 8, respectively. However, as the door operating device, a door opening / closing device may be provided instead of the door opening devices 51 and 52. The door opening / closing device may be, for example, a motor gear drive system including a motor and a gear, and the doors 7 and 8 can be opened and closed by operating the motor, respectively.

Further, the structure of the refrigerator 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and any structure can be adopted. For example, the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a door structure that opens on both the left and right sides, but the refrigerator compartment may have a single door structure that opens on one side. The arrangement structure of each storage chamber of the refrigerator can be arbitrarily selected.

The operation units 21 and 22 are not limited to the capacitance type switch, and may be a switch that can be turned on by mechanically pressing.

The front plates 7A, 8A, 9A, 10A, 11A, 12A of the left and right double doors 7, 8 and the drawer doors 9, 10, 11, 12 of the refrigerator 1 are made of metal plates, even if they are not glass plates. It may be a plastic plate.

In the embodiment of the present invention, as the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 shown in FIG. 2, examples of the types of keys that the operator often uses in normal life are given. For example, among the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94, the specific keys 91, 92, 93 have a structure having no power supply, and the specific key 94 has a structure having a power supply. The specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 shown in FIG. 2 are tangible. For example, if the specific key is an encryption key, the specific key is intangible. In the embodiment of the present invention, the "specific key" is not limited to intangible or tangible, and can be adopted.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, if the specific key 94 is a car key, when the operator presses the button of the car key, the refrigerator 1 that receives the signal of the car key receives the signal for individual identification. Check the correctness of. That is, if it is registered in the storage unit 45 whether or not it is a signal of a car key registered in advance, the doors 7 and 8 can be opened by the door opening devices 51 and 52.

On the other hand, when a person holding a specific key 94, which is a car key, suddenly opens the doors 7 and 8 of the refrigerator 1, the identification unit 64 is instructed by the control unit 100 of the refrigerator 1. Emits a signal requesting a key registration number (key identification code) for a specific key 94. The specific key 94 that has received this request signal emits a signal for individual identification, and the control unit 100 of the refrigerator 1 that has received this signal confirms the correctness of the signal for individual identification. That is, if it is registered in the storage unit 45 of the specific key type whether or not it is the signal of the specific key 94 registered in advance, the control unit 100 is connected to the doors 7 and 8 by the door opening devices 51 and 52. The door can be opened.

Further, in the case of a specific key 91 such as the watermelon card "Suica" (registered trademark of East Japan Railway Company) illustrated in FIG. 2, the command of the control unit 100 of the refrigerator 1 is given by the contact or proximity of the watermelon card. Therefore, the reader / writer 61 emits a confirmation signal. The specific key 91 that has received this request signal emits a signal for individual identification, and the control unit 100 of the refrigerator 1 that receives this signals confirms the correctness of the signal for individual identification. That is, if the signal of the specific key 91 registered in advance is registered in the storage unit 45, the doors 7 and 8 can be opened by the door opening devices 51 and 52.

However, in addition to the examples of the specific keys 91, 92, 93, 94 shown in FIG. 2, as the specific key, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet, or the like may be portable, and a specific key type may be used. Is not particularly limited.

For example, when an operator holding a specific key 91 touches the operation units 21 and 22 shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 100 is triggered by a reader / writer 61 of the recognition area unit 60 having a specific key. Communicating with the 91, the control unit 100 determines whether the operator holding the specific key 91 is a suitable operator for opening the doors 7 and 8. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, when the motion sensor 99 shown in FIG. 2 detects an operator having a specific key 91, for example, the reader / writer 61 of the recognition area unit 60 triggers the specific key. By communicating with the 91, the control unit 100 may determine whether the operator holding the specific key 91 is a suitable operator for opening the doors 7 and 8. ..

1 Refrigerator 2 Main body 7 Door 8 Door 51 Door opening device (an example of door operating device)
52 Door opening device (an example of door operating device)
60 Recognition area unit 61 Reader / writer 62 NFC card reader 63 Home entrance key recognition unit 64 Automobile key recognition unit 70 Display unit 91, 92, 93, 94 Specific key example 100 Control unit

Claims (5)

With the main body
A door that closes the front opening of the main body and
A door operating device that opens the door and
An operation unit that receives an operation for opening the door of the door operation device from the operator, and an operation unit.
A storage unit that registers an arbitrary key selected by the operator from a plurality of keys having different reading methods as a specific key.
A recognition area unit that recognizes the specific key possessed by the operator based on the registration in the storage unit is provided.
A refrigerator including a control unit that opens the door operating device when the recognition area unit recognizes the specific key and the operation unit of the operator performs the operation. A claim that includes a light emitting element for lighting the operation unit, and the control unit causes the light emitting element to emit light and lights the operation unit when the operator having the specific key approaches the main body. The refrigerator according to 1. The control unit includes a light emitting element for lighting the operation unit, and the control unit compares with the brightness of the light emission of the light emitting element in a state where the operator who has the specific key approaches the main body and constantly emits light. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is turned on by further increasing the brightness of the light emitted from the light emitting element. The specific key is a card key for card emulation, and when the door is touched by the card key to open the door by the operation unit of the operator, the door operating device The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a reader having a card emulation function for driving the refrigerator. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a notification unit that notifies by voice when the specific key is recognized.

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