JP7511185B2 - Storage device and sensor unit - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a storage device and a sensor unit that can cool the interior of a storage chamber.

Conventionally, storage devices equipped with a storage chamber for temporarily storing items have been widely used, and include an item detection sensor that detects whether an item is present in the storage chamber. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a locker device equipped with an item detection means that detects the presence or absence of an item in the storage section. Patent Document 1 gives examples of item detection means, such as an optical sensor that detects the presence or absence of an item by emitting and receiving light, a weight sensor that detects the presence or absence of an item by weight, an ultrasonic sensor that detects the presence or absence of an item by changes in the transmission and reception time of ultrasonic waves, and an image sensor that detects the presence or absence of an item by an image.

JP 2008-115561 A

In recent years, storage devices have been developed that are equipped with a cooling unit for cooling the inside of the storage unit, and can store refrigerated or frozen items for long periods of time. In such refrigerated or frozen storage devices, the inside of the storage unit becomes a low temperature, so if an item detection sensor is placed inside the storage unit, condensation may form around the item detection sensor, causing the item detection sensor to break down. Furthermore, if the temperature around the item detection sensor falls below the sensor's operating temperature range, it becomes difficult to operate the sensor normally. For this reason, measures are needed.

The objective of the present disclosure is to provide a storage device and a sensor unit equipped with an item detection sensor that operates normally and prevents condensation even when installed inside a coolable storage room.

The storage device of the present disclosure is a storage device having a plurality of storage chambers and cooling each storage chamber, and is equipped with a sensor unit provided on the bottom portion of each storage chamber and detecting items stored inside each storage chamber, the sensor unit having an item detection sensor and an insulating material that provides insulation between the item detection sensor and the storage chamber , the item detection sensor is an infrared sensor having an infrared emitting portion that emits infrared rays toward the items and an infrared detecting portion that detects infrared rays reflected by the items, and the insulating material has a first hole portion and a second hole portion that allow the infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting portion and the infrared rays reflected by the items to pass through separately.

The sensor unit of the present disclosure is a sensor unit provided on the bottom surface of a cooled storage chamber of a storage device, and has an item detection sensor that detects items stored inside the storage chamber, and an insulating material that provides insulation between the item detection sensor and the storage chamber , wherein the item detection sensor is an infrared sensor having an infrared emitting section that emits infrared rays toward the item, and an infrared detecting section that detects infrared rays reflected by the item, and the insulating material has a first hole portion and a second hole portion that allow the infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting section and the infrared rays reflected by the item to pass through separately .

According to the present disclosure, even if the item detection sensor is installed inside a storage room that can be cooled, the item detection sensor can be operated normally and condensation on the surrounding area can be prevented.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the appearance of a storage device; FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the appearance of a storage device; Perspective view of the storage room AA cross-sectional view of FIG. A diagram showing how the sensor unit is embedded in the embedding hole. Exploded perspective view of the sensor unit FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a path of infrared light emitted from an object detection sensor.

Each embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed explanations than necessary, such as detailed explanations of already well-known matters and duplicate explanations of substantially identical configurations, may be omitted.

Note that the following description and the referenced drawings are provided to enable those skilled in the art to understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims of the present disclosure.

<Storage device 1>
1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining the appearance of the storage device 1. The storage device 1 includes a housing 11, an outer door 12, an inner door 13, and a cooling unit 14. In the following, when describing the directions of the storage device 1 and each component included in the storage device 1, the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B are used. That is, with the storage device 1 itself as a reference, the direction of the front side of the storage device 1 (in other words, the side of the outer door 12 and inner door 13 described later) is the front direction, the opposite direction is the rear direction, the right direction is the right direction, the left direction is the left direction, the upper direction is the upper direction, and the lower direction is the lower direction.

The storage device 1 has multiple storage chambers S, and each storage chamber S is provided with an outer door 12 and an inner door 13. Cold air is supplied to the inside of the storage chamber S through a duct (not shown) that spatially connects the cooling unit 14 to each storage chamber S. Therefore, when the outer door 12 and the inner door 13 are closed, the inside of the storage chamber S is cooled. The temperature inside the storage chamber S can be set by a control unit (not shown). In this embodiment, the storage device 1 is a refrigerated or frozen locker device that can store items that need to be refrigerated or frozen individually in multiple storage chambers S. The cooling unit 14 is controlled by a control unit (not shown).

The housing 11 is constructed with a plate-shaped insulating structure, for example, with an insulating material sandwiched between an outer plate and an inner plate. The outer door 12 and the inner door 13 are also constructed with the above-mentioned insulating structure, like the housing 11. As a result, when the inner door 13 is closed, the storage room S is surrounded by the insulating structure. Note that only either the outer door 12 or the inner door 13 may be constructed with the above-mentioned insulating structure. The outer door 12 and the inner door 13 are each connected to the housing 11 so as to be rotatable around a hinge mechanism (not shown) as a fulcrum.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the storage room S. In Figure 2, the storage room S is shown with the outer door 12 and the inner door 13 open. For convenience of explanation, only one storage room S will be described below, but all storage rooms S in the storage device 1 may have the same structure.

The storage room S is the internal space of a box body in which the above-mentioned plate-shaped insulating structure is arranged on each of the top, bottom, left, right, and rear sides, excluding the sides that are opened when the outer door 12 and inner door 13 are opened. Items can be stored in the storage room S by the user of the storage device 1 with the outer door 12 and inner door 13 open.

A sensor unit 20 for detecting items stored inside the storage chamber S is embedded in the lower surface, i.e., the bottom surface B, of the storage chamber S. The sensor unit 20 will be described below with reference to Figures 3A, 3B, 4, and 5.

Figure 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 2. In other words, Figure 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the front-rear direction of the bottom surface B of the storage chamber S, including the sensor unit 20. The sensor unit 20 is embedded in an embedding hole H provided in the bottom surface B. Figure 3B is a diagram showing how the sensor unit 20 is embedded in the embedding hole H. Arrow A1 in Figure 3B is an arrow showing how the sensor unit 20 is embedded in the embedding hole H.

In this way, the sensor unit 20 is detachable from the embedding hole H in the bottom portion B. This configuration makes it possible to easily attach the sensor unit 20 to the storage device 1 later.

The embedding hole H is provided in approximately the center of the bottom surface portion B. It is desirable that the size of the embedding hole H is formed to match the size of the sensor unit 20, but for example, the embedding hole H may be larger than the sensor unit 20. In that case, it is desirable that, for example, a heat insulating material is placed around the sensor unit 20 to fill the gap between the inner wall of the embedding hole H and the outer wall of the sensor unit 20.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the sensor unit 20. As shown in Figures 3A, 3B, and 4, the sensor unit 20 has an object detection sensor 21, a heater 22, a heat insulating material 23, a lid material 24, an infrared-transmitting plate 25, and a case 27.

The item detection sensor 21 is an infrared sensor having an infrared emitting section 21a that emits infrared rays and an infrared detecting section 21b that detects the reflected infrared rays when the emitted infrared rays are reflected by an item. When the infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting section 21a are reflected by an item placed on the bottom section B of the storage room S, for example, and detected by the infrared detecting section 21b, the item detection sensor 21 outputs an electrical signal indicating that an item has been detected.

The item detection sensor 21 also has a cable 21c connected to the infrared emitting unit 21a and the infrared detecting unit 21b. The other end of the cable 21c is connected to a connector 26, which will be described later. The cable 21c includes a power line that supplies power to the infrared emitting unit 21a and the infrared detecting unit 21b, and a signal line that outputs an electrical signal that indicates the detection result of the infrared detecting unit 21b.

The heater 22 is a heating mechanism for heating the item detection sensor 21. Although the heater 22 is not shown in Figures 3A and 3B, it is disposed near the item detection sensor 21, preferably in close contact with the item detection sensor 21. A cable 22a is connected to the heater 22, the other end of which is connected to a connector 26 described below. The cable 22a includes a power line that supplies power to the heater 22.

The heater 22 heats the area around the item detection sensor 21 to keep the ambient temperature of the item detection sensor 21 within the operable temperature range of the item detection sensor 21 even when the temperature inside the storage room S becomes low, and to prevent condensation around the item detection sensor 21. The amount of heating provided by the heater 22 can be determined appropriately depending on the temperature inside the storage room S, the operating temperature range of the item detection sensor 21, etc.

The connector 26 to which the other ends of the cable 21c of the item detection sensor 21 and the cable 22a of the heater 22 are connected is adapted to be connected to a connector (not shown) that receives power from the storage device 1. It is preferable that this connector 26 and the connector on the storage device 1 side are waterproof. It is preferable that the cable 21c, the cable 22a, and the connector 26 are embedded and disposed in the bottom portion B of the storage room S, similar to the sensor unit 20.

The control unit (not shown) of the storage device 1 receives an electrical signal indicating the detection result from the item detection sensor 21 via the connector 26. The control unit determines whether or not an item is stored inside the storage room S based on the detection result.

The control unit also supplies an electrical signal to the heater 22 via the connector 26 to control the operation of the heater 22. The control unit controls the operation of the heater 22 based on various factors such as the temperature inside the storage room S, the presence or absence of an item inside the storage room S, and the operable temperature range of the item detection sensor 21, so as to keep the ambient temperature of the item detection sensor 21 within the operable temperature range and to prevent condensation around the item detection sensor 21.

In this embodiment, an example will be described in which one control unit (not shown) controls the operation of the cooling unit 14 and the heater 22 based on the detection results of the item detection sensor 21, but the operation control of the cooling unit 14 and the operation control of the heater 22 may each be performed by a different control unit. These control units provided in the storage device 1 communicate with an external server device or the like using a public network such as the Internet via a router (not shown). This allows, for example, the operation of multiple storage devices 1 to be controlled by a single server device. The communication between the control unit and the external server device or the like may be performed by wired communication, or may be performed by wireless communication via an antenna (not shown), for example.

The heat insulating material 23 is a member formed of a foamed material such as a foamed plastic material, such as hard urethane foam, polyethylene foam, or polystyrene foam, or a foamed material, such as a foamed rubber material. The heat insulating material 23 insulates the area around the item detection sensor 21 from the cold air inside the storage room S. In FIG. 4, the internal structure of the heat insulating material 23 is indicated by dashed lines.

As shown in FIG. 4, the insulation material 23 has a first hole 23a and a second hole 23b formed along the vertical direction. The first hole 23a is a hole for passing infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting section 21a of the item detection sensor 21 to the inside of the storage room S. The second hole 23b is a hole for passing infrared rays reflected by an item placed in the storage room S to the infrared detecting section 21b of the item detection sensor 21. The first hole 23a and the second hole 23b are holes independent of each other. This configuration prevents the infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting section 21a of the item detection sensor 21 from entering the infrared detecting section 21b without being reflected by an item, which would cause a false detection.

As shown in FIG. 4, the insulating material 23 has a groove 23c formed along the vertical direction for passing the cables 21c and 22a. When the sensor unit 20 is embedded in the bottom portion B of the storage chamber S, it is desirable to fill the groove 23c with a putty material such as silicone rubber with the cables 21c and 22a passing through it. This ensures waterproofing of the inside of the sensor unit 20.

The lid material 24 is a member that reduces the intrusion of cold air, moisture, and the like from the upper side of the sensor unit 20 (the inside side of the storage chamber S). The lid material 24 is formed, for example, from soft urethane foam or foamed rubber. An opening 24a is provided in the lid material 24. This opening 24a is formed to a size that includes both the first hole portion 23a and the second hole portion 23b of the insulation material 23.

In addition, because the lid material 24 is made of a soft material, it also absorbs impacts that are applied from above the sensor unit 20. When an item is placed inside the storage chamber S, the weight of the item is distributed by the lid material 24. Therefore, the lid material 24 prevents excessive weight from being placed on the components below the insulating material 23 of the sensor unit 20.

The lid material 24 also has a predetermined thickness. Due to this thickness, the lid material 24 acts as a spacer that allows infrared light that has passed through the first hole 23a of the heat insulating material 23 and is reflected by an object to preferably pass through the second hole 23b instead of returning to the first hole 23a.

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the path of infrared rays emitted from the item detection sensor 21. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sensor unit 20 in a plane passing through the first hole 23a and the second hole 23b of the insulating material 23. If the lid material 24 is thin and the distance from the upper end of the first hole 23a of the insulating material 23 to the item is short, the infrared rays that pass through the first hole 23a are unlikely to enter the second hole 23b after being reflected by the item. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 5, in the present disclosure, if the lid material 24 has a predetermined thickness and a sufficient distance is secured between the upper end of the first hole 23a and the item, the infrared rays reflected by the item can enter the second hole 23b with ease. Note that the width and thickness of each part are exaggerated in Figure 5. Also, in Figure 5, the configuration of the sensor unit 20 other than the item detection sensor 21, the insulating material 23, and the lid material 24 is omitted.

The infrared-transmitting plate 25 is a thin film member that transmits infrared rays. The infrared-transmitting plate 25 is formed to a size that can completely cover the opening 24a of the lid material 24. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the infrared-transmitting plate 25 is formed in a circular shape, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the infrared-transmitting plate 25 may be formed in, for example, a rectangular shape.

The sensor unit 20 is formed by arranging the above-described object detection sensor 21, heater 22, heat insulating material 23, lid material 24, and infrared transmission plate 25 in the case 27 in this order from the bottom. As shown in FIG. 4, the case 27 is a box with an open top. As shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the bottom surface of the object detection sensor 21 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the case 27, the top surface of the object detection sensor 21 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the heat insulating material 23, and the top surface of the heat insulating material 23 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the lid material 24. The height of the side wall of the case 27 is formed to be approximately equal to the height of the stacked object detection sensor 21 and heat insulating material 23, as shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. As a result, the inside of the case 27 is almost filled with the object detection sensor 21 and heat insulating material 23.

In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 3A and 3B, a bottom plate 28 is disposed between the upper surface of the lid 24 and the lower surface of the infrared-transmitting plate 25. That is, the upper surface of the lid 24 and the lower surface of the bottom plate 28 are in close contact with each other, and the upper surface of the bottom plate 28 and the lower surface of the infrared-transmitting plate 25 are in close contact with each other. As described above, the openings in the lid 24 and the bottom plate 28 are blocked by the infrared-transmitting plate 25, so that the upper opening of the case 27 is completely blocked by the lid 24, the bottom plate 28, and the infrared-transmitting plate 25.

With this configuration, when the sensor unit 20 is embedded in the bottom portion B inside the storage chamber S, the inside of the sensor unit 20 (the inside of the case 27) is sealed off from the outside, ensuring waterproof performance inside the sensor unit 20. For example, even if liquid such as water is generated inside the storage chamber S due to condensation on items stored inside the storage chamber S, it is possible to prevent the liquid from entering the inside of the sensor unit 20.

The bottom and side surfaces of the sensor unit 20 are completely covered by the case 27. This prevents liquids such as water from entering the inside of the sensor unit 20 from the bottom and side surfaces of the sensor unit 20.

The bottom plate 28 is a plate member that constitutes the bottom surface of the storage chamber S when the sensor unit 20 is embedded in the bottom surface portion B of the storage chamber S. In FIG. 4, the bottom plate 28 is omitted from illustration. An opening similar to the opening 24a is formed in the bottom plate 28 at a position corresponding to the opening 24a of the lid material 24. It is desirable that the size of the opening in the bottom plate 28 is approximately the same as the size of the opening 24a of the lid material 24.

In this embodiment, an example in which the bottom plate 28 is disposed between the lid material 24 and the infrared-transmitting plate 25 has been described. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and for example, the bottom plate 28 may be disposed so that the bottom surface thereof is in close contact with the top surface of the infrared-transmitting plate 25, with the top surface of the lid material 24 and the bottom surface of the infrared-transmitting plate 25 in close contact with each other.

The configuration of the sensor unit 20 has been described above in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, when the sensor unit 20 is embedded in the bottom surface B of the storage room S, the infrared-transmitting plate 25, the opening 24a of the lid 24, and the bottom plate 28 are visible to the user of the storage device 1. When the user places an item so as to cover the opening 24a, the sensor unit 20 can reliably detect the presence of the item. For this reason, it is desirable to provide a message such as "Place your item here" or a mark such as an arrow indicating where to place the item on the upper surface of the bottom plate 28, so that the user is guided to place the item while covering the opening 24a.

<Action and Effects>
As described above, according to the storage device 1 of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the storage device 1 has a plurality of storage chambers S and cools each storage chamber S, and is equipped with a sensor unit 20 that is provided on the bottom portion B of each storage chamber S and detects items stored inside each storage chamber S, and the sensor unit 20 has an item detection sensor 21 and an insulating material 23 that provides insulation between the item detection sensor 21 and the storage chamber S.

This configuration can prevent cold air from reaching the item detection sensor 21 through the bottom surface B even when the inside of the storage room S is cooled. This can effectively prevent situations such as the ambient temperature of the item detection sensor 21 falling outside the operable temperature range of the item detection sensor 21, or condensation occurring around the item detection sensor 21, causing the item detection sensor 21 to break down.

Furthermore, according to the storage device 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensor unit 20 further includes a heater 22 that heats the item detection sensor 21.

The heater 22 increases the ambient temperature of the item detection sensor 21, which effectively prevents the item detection sensor 21 from falling outside its operable temperature range or from forming condensation around the item detection sensor 21.

In addition, according to the storage device 1 of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the item detection sensor 21 is an infrared sensor having an infrared emitting section 21a that emits infrared rays toward the item and an infrared detecting section 21b that detects infrared rays reflected by the item, and the heat insulating material 23 has a first hole 23a and a second hole 23b that allow the infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting section 21a and the infrared rays reflected by the item to pass through separately.

By using an infrared sensor as the item detection sensor 21, unlike a weight sensor, for example, it is possible to reliably detect items even when the items stored in the storage room S are very light. In addition, by using the insulating material 23, the infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting section 21a and the infrared rays reflected by the items pass through separate holes, preventing erroneous detection caused by, for example, the infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting section 21a directly entering the infrared detecting section 21b.

The storage device 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a lid material 24 connected to the surface of the insulating material 23 facing the interior of the storage chamber S.

This configuration prevents the item detection sensor 21 from being adversely affected by a heavy item placed inside the storage room S.

In addition, according to the storage device 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the lid material 24 has an opening 24a that allows infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting section 21a and infrared rays reflected by items to pass through.

With this configuration, the thickness of the lid material 24 ensures a sufficient distance between the upper end of the first hole 23a and the item, preventing infrared rays reflected by the item from returning to the first hole 23a and making it easier for them to enter the second hole 23b.

The storage device 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a case 27 having an opening on the inside of the storage chamber S and housing the item detection sensor 21 and the heat insulating material 23, and an infrared-transmitting plate 25 that is positioned closer to the inside of the storage chamber S than the lid material 24 and covers the opening of the case 27.

In this way, the upper opening of the case 27 that houses each component of the sensor unit 20 is blocked by the infrared-transmitting plate 25, which prevents water from entering through the upper opening of the case 27 and ensures waterproof performance inside the sensor unit 20. In addition, the infrared-transmitting plate 25 ensures that infrared rays emitted from the item detection sensor 21 and passing through the first hole 23a of the insulation material 23 can reach the inside of the storage room S where the items are placed.

In addition, according to the storage device 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the bottom surface B of the storage chamber S is provided with an embedding hole H into which the sensor unit 20 can be removably embedded.

With this configuration, even if the sensor unit 20 is not attached when the storage device 1 is sold, for example, it is possible to easily attach the sensor unit 20 later.

The storage device 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a bottom plate 28 that is disposed inside the storage chamber S of the sensor unit 20 embedded in the embedding hole H and has holes formed therein that allow infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting portion 21a and infrared rays reflected by the item to pass through.

With this configuration, when the sensor unit 20 is embedded in the bottom portion B of the storage chamber S, the embedding hole H is not visible from the outside, improving the aesthetic appearance of the storage chamber S.

This disclosure can be applied to storage devices that store refrigerated or frozen items.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 storage device 11 housing 12 outer door 13 inner door 14 cooling unit 20 sensor unit 21 object detection sensor 21a infrared emitting section 21b infrared detecting section 21c cable 22 heater 22a cable 23 heat insulating material 23a first hole 23b second hole 23c groove 24 lid 24a opening 25 infrared transmitting plate 26 connector 27 case 28 bottom plate S storage chamber B bottom surface H embedding hole

Claims (8)

A storage device having a plurality of storage chambers and cooling each of the storage chambers,
a sensor unit provided on a bottom surface of each of the storage chambers for detecting an item stored in each of the storage chambers;
the sensor unit includes an object detection sensor and a thermal insulator for insulating between the object detection sensor and the storage chamber;
The object detection sensor is an infrared sensor having an infrared emitting unit that emits infrared rays toward the object and an infrared detecting unit that detects infrared rays reflected by the object,
The heat insulating material has a first hole portion and a second hole portion through which the infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting portion and the infrared rays reflected by the article pass separately.
Storage device. The sensor unit further includes a heating mechanism for heating the object detection sensor.
The storage device according to claim 1 . Further comprising a lid material connected to the surface of the heat insulating material facing the inside of the storage chamber,
3. The storage device according to claim 1 or 2 . The lid material has an opening through which the infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting portion and the infrared rays reflected by the article pass.
The storage device according to claim 3 . a case having an opening on an inner side of the storage chamber and housing the object detection sensor and the heat insulating material;
and an infrared-transmitting plate disposed on the inner side of the storage chamber relative to the lid and closing the opening of the case.
5. The storage device according to claim 3 or 4 . A recess for removably embedding the sensor unit is provided in the bottom of each of the storage chambers.
6. The storage device according to claim 5 . The sensor unit is disposed on the inside of the storage chamber of the storage chamber, and the sensor unit is embedded in the embedding hole. The sensor unit further includes a bottom plate having a hole through which infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting unit and infrared rays reflected by the object pass.
7. The storage device according to claim 6 . A sensor unit provided on a bottom surface of a cooled storage chamber of a storage device,
an object detection sensor that detects an object stored inside the storage chamber;
a heat insulating material for insulating the object detection sensor from the storage chamber;
having
The object detection sensor is an infrared sensor having an infrared emitting unit that emits infrared rays toward the object and an infrared detecting unit that detects infrared rays reflected by the object,
The heat insulating material has a first hole portion and a second hole portion through which the infrared rays emitted from the infrared emitting portion and the infrared rays reflected by the article pass separately.
Sensor unit.

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