JPH05133681A - Door switch device for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve reliability in the detection of the opening and/or closing of a door and permit the concentrated arrangement of electric parts. CONSTITUTION:One set of substrate 21, into which a luminous diode 15 and five pieces of phototransistors 16 are incorporated, is provided in a receiving unit. Respective ends of a first optical fibers 17, arranged in a luminous diode unit 15, are arranged in a detecting unit 20 in the peripheral part of the circumference of storing chambers respectively through a partitioning wall 2. The base parts of a second optical fibers, whose respective tip ends are arranged in a phototransistor 16 unit, are arranged in respective detecting units 20. Reflecting plates 19 are arranged at the rear surface side of respective doors to reflect light, guided by the first optical fibers 17, by a reflecting plate 19 and introduce it into the second optical fibers 18 only when the doors are closed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator door switch device for detecting opening / closing of a refrigerator door.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a refrigerator, a door switch for detecting the opening and closing of the door of each storage room is provided, and based on the detection of this door switch, the interior light is turned on and the compressor and fan are stopped. Is being done.

As a conventional door switch of this type, a micro switch having an actuator projecting to the front is provided around the front opening of each storage compartment of a refrigerator, and when the door is closed, the above-mentioned door switch is used. In general, the opening and closing of the door is detected by pressing the actuator.

[0004]

However, since the conventional door switch described above has a mechanical structure using a micro switch, there is a problem that the actuator portion, the contact portion, and the like are worn due to use, and reliability is low. It wasn't enough.

Further, in the refrigerator, in order to save space and improve maintainability, it has been demanded to arrange electric parts and the like as concentrated as possible. In the configuration in which the microswitches are provided in the peripheral portions of the chamber, the microswitches are arranged in a distributed manner, and it is not possible to centralize the electric parts.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve the reliability of door open / close detection and to enable centralized arrangement of electric components. It is to provide a switch device.

[0007]

A door switch device for a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a light source, a light-receiving element for receiving light emitted from the light source, and detection of light emitted from the light source near the door. The first optical fiber leading to the
Second optical fiber that guides the light guided to the detection unit by the optical fiber of the second optical fiber to the light receiving element, and the introduction of the light from the first optical fiber to the second optical fiber in response to opening and closing of the door. It is characterized in that it is provided with an optical communication means for permitting or prohibiting.

[0008]

According to the above means, the light emitted from the light source is
The light is guided to the detection unit by the first optical fiber, and further guided to the light receiving element by the second optical fiber. Here, the light communication means allows or prohibits the introduction of light from the first optical fiber to the second optical fiber in response to opening and closing of the door. With this, depending on whether light is detected by the light receiving element,
Door open / closed is detected.

In this case, the opening / closing of the door can be detected in a contactless manner by using light instead of the mechanical structure, so that the opening / closing of the door can be reliably detected without fear of wear or the like. .. Further, since the light is guided to the detection unit using the optical fiber, it is not necessary to dispose the light source and the light receiving element in the vicinity of the door, and it is possible to dispose the light source and the light receiving element centrally in one place. It will be possible.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the refrigerator will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 1, the inside of a main body 1 of a refrigerator composed of a heat-insulating box is partitioned by a heat-insulating partition wall 2, and a refrigerator compartment 3, an ice making compartment 4, an upper freezing compartment 5, a lower freezing compartment 6, and vegetables A plurality of chambers 7 and the like, 5 storage chambers in this case are formed.

Each of the storage chambers 3 to 7 has a front opening, and the front opening is opened and closed by a rectangular door 8 (only partly shown in FIG. 3). in this case,
Although not shown, the door 8 is formed to be slightly larger than the opening of each of the storage chambers 3 to 7, and the back surface of the door 8 is provided with a gasket located slightly inside the peripheral edge.
In the closed state, the gasket comes into contact with the peripheral portion (front surface of the partition wall 2) of the front opening of each storage chamber 3 to 7.

Although not shown in detail, the main body 1
A refrigeration cycle including a compressor 9 (see FIG. 2), a condenser, a cooler, and the like is disposed inside, and the cool air from the cooler is driven by a fan driven by energizing a fan motor 10 (see FIG. 2). It is adapted to be circulated and supplied to each of the storage chambers 3 to 7. In addition, in each storage room 3-7, the interior light 11
(See FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 2, the compressor 9, the fan motor 10 and the five interior lights 11 (1
The power supply 12 is connected in parallel to each of them and is turned on / off by a control unit 13 including a microcomputer. This control unit 1
The reference numeral 3 is arranged in a storage section (not shown) formed on the upper rear surface side of the refrigerator main body 1. Further, in this case, the control unit 13 receives a signal from the door switch device 14 which will be described later, and when the door 8 is opened, turns on the corresponding interior lamp 11 and also causes the compressor 9 and the fan motor 10 to operate.
The control to stop is executed.

Now, the door switch device 1 according to the present embodiment.
4 will be described. The door switch device 14 includes a light emitting diode 15 as a light source, a phototransistor 16 as a light receiving element, a first optical fiber 17, a second optical fiber 18, and a reflection plate 19 as an optical communication means. Further, in this case, the central portion of the upper part of the front peripheral portion of each of the storage chambers 3 to 7 serves as a detection unit 20 for detecting opening / closing of the door 8. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, for convenience, the first optical fiber 17 is shown as a solid line and the second optical fiber 1 is shown as a solid line.
8 is shown by a broken line.

Of these, the light emitting diode 15 and the phototransistor 16 are assembled on a single substrate 21 and are arranged in a housing portion like the control portion 13. In this case, one light emitting diode 15 is provided,
As many phototransistors 16 as the number of storage compartments, in this case, five phototransistors 16 are provided.

The first optical fiber 17 and the second optical fiber 18 are also provided in the same number as the storage chambers, that is, five, and the first optical fiber 1 is the same as the storage chamber.
The reference numeral 7 is arranged in a state that the base end portion of the light emitting diodes 15 is bundled with five pieces, and the light emitting diodes 15 are passed through the partition wall 2 so that the respective tip portions are detecting portions in the peripheral portions of the respective storage chambers 3 to 7. It is provided so as to be arranged in 20 parts. As a result, the light emitted from the light emitting diode 15 is detected by the first optical fiber 17 near the door 8 of each storage chamber 3 to 7.
It is supposed to be led to 0.

On the other hand, the second optical fiber 18 is arranged such that the base end thereof is arranged in each detection portion 20 and is passed through the partition wall 2 so that each tip is arranged in the phototransistor 16 portion. It is provided in. Thus, the light guided to each detection unit 20 is guided to each phototransistor 16 by this second optical fiber 18.
The detection signal of the phototransistor 16 is the amplifier 2
It is adapted to be input to the control unit 13 via the command line 2.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tip of the first optical fiber 17 is exposed to the front surface of the partition wall 2 in the state of being oriented in the oblique direction in the detection section 20, and the second light is emitted. The proximal end of the fiber 18 is also exposed to the front surface of the partition wall 2 in a state of being symmetrically directed to the first optical fiber 17 in an oblique direction.

The reflection plate 19 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the rear surface of each door 8 outside the gasket. When the door 8 is closed, as shown in FIG. 3, the reflection plate 19 faces the tip of the first optical fiber 17 and the base end of the second optical fiber 18.

As a result, when the door 8 is closed, the light guided to the detecting section 20 by the first optical fiber 17 is reflected by the reflecting plate 19 and introduced into the second optical fiber 18. ing. Further, when the door 8 is opened, as shown in FIG. 4, the light guided to the detection unit 20 by the first optical fiber 17 is not reflected, and thus the light is not reflected by the second optical fiber 17.
The optical fiber 18 is not introduced. As a result, the reflection plate 19 functions as an optical cutoff unit that allows or prohibits the introduction of light from the first optical fiber 17 to the second optical fiber 18 in response to opening and closing of the door 8.

According to the above construction, when the door 8 is closed, the light from the light emitting diode 15 passes through the first optical fiber 17, the reflector 19 and the second optical fiber 18 and the phototransistor 16 is provided. Entered in. On the other hand, when the door 8 is opened, the light guided to the detection unit 20 through the first optical fiber 17 is transferred to the second optical fiber 18 there.
Is prohibited from being input to the phototransistor 16.

Thus, the door switch device 14 detects the opening / closing of the door 8 of each of the storage chambers 3-7. Then, based on the detection signal from the phototransistor 16, the control unit 13 causes the compressor 9 and the fan motor 1 to operate.
0 and the internal light 11 are switched on and off.

Specifically, when the doors 8 are all closed, the control unit 13 turns off the interior light 11 and normally operates the compressor 9 and the fan motor 10 (operation based on a temperature sensor or the like). When, for example, one door 8 is opened, the interior lamp 11 of the storage room opened by the door 8 is turned on and the compressor 9
Also, the fan motor 10 is stopped.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the opening / closing of the door 8 is detected in a non-contact manner using light.
Unlike a conventional door switch using a micro switch, the opening / closing of the door 8 can be reliably detected without fear of wear and the like, and the reliability of the opening / closing detection of the door 8 can be significantly improved.

Unlike the conventional structure in which microswitches are provided in the peripheral portions of the storage chambers, the first and second optical fibers 1 are provided in the detection unit 20 near the door 8.
It is only necessary to dispose 7 and 18 and the reflection plate 19, and the electric parts such as the light emitting diode 15 and the phototransistor 16 can be concentrated in the accommodating portion on the back surface of the main body 1, which leads to space saving and maintenance. It is possible to improve the sex.

In the above embodiment, the reflection plate 19 is provided as the light conducting means to allow the introduction of light when the door 8 is closed. However, for example, the tip of the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber are provided. The same effect can be obtained even if the base end of the door is provided with a gap therebetween and the door is provided with a light shielding plate that enters the gap and prohibits the introduction of light when the door is closed. You can

In addition, the light sources may be provided for the number of doors, or may be applied to a refrigerator having one door. It is possible.

[0028]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the door switch device of the refrigerator of the present invention, the light source, the light receiving element for receiving the light emitted from the light source, and the light source emitted from the light source. A first optical fiber that guides the emitted light to the detection unit near the door, a second optical fiber that guides the light guided to the detection unit by the first optical fiber to the light receiving element, and the opening and closing of the door According to the above, since there is provided an optical communication means which permits or prohibits the introduction of the light from the first optical fiber to the second optical fiber, it is possible to improve the reliability with respect to the detection of the opening and closing of the door. This has an excellent effect that the electric components can be centrally arranged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram schematically showing the entire configuration of a door switch device from the front side of a refrigerator.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a basic circuit configuration.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional top view of the detection portion when the door is closed.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional top view of the detection portion when the door is opened.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the drawings, 1 is a refrigerator main body, 2 is a partition wall, 3 to 7 are storage rooms, 8 is a door, 9 is a compressor, 10 is a fan motor, 11 is an interior light, 13 is a control unit, 14 is a door switch device, Reference numeral 15 is a light emitting diode (light source), 16 is a phototransistor (light receiving element), 17 is a first optical fiber, 1
8 is a second optical fiber, 19 is a reflection plate (light cutoff means),
Reference numeral 20 denotes a detection unit, and 21 denotes a substrate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator for detecting opening / closing of a door, a light source, a light-receiving element for receiving light emitted from the light source, and a light emitted from the light source to a detection unit in the vicinity of the door. A first optical fiber for guiding, a second optical fiber for guiding the light guided by the first optical fiber to the detection unit to the light receiving element, and a first optical fiber according to opening and closing of the door. A door switch device for a refrigerator, comprising: a light-interrupting unit that allows or prohibits the introduction of light into the second optical fiber.