JPH0560458A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the range of illumination in accordance with the brightness of the outside of a refrigerator by a method wherein the brightness of the inside of a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber is controlled in accordance with the state of adaptation of the eye of the user of the refrigerator. CONSTITUTION:A refrigerator is equipped with an illuminating device 1, illuminating the inside of a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber, and a brightness regulating device 2, changing the output condition of the illuminating device 1. Further, the refrigerator is equipped with a measuring unit 3, measuring the level of the average brightness of outside circumstance of the refrigerator, an operating unit 4, operating the optimum average brightness of the inside of the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber in accordance with the signal from the measuring unit 3, a luminous intensity distribution changing unit 6, controlling the luminous intensity distribution of the illuminating device 1, and a power supply unit 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a refrigerator with improved internal lighting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional lighting in a refrigerator and a freezer is to always achieve the same brightness and irradiation range by an illumination lamp installed on a ceiling surface or a back surface of the refrigerator. It did not take into account the brightness of the, that is, the adaptation state of the eyes of the refrigerator user. Also, the lighting around the refrigerator users was not taken into consideration.

[0003]

The illumination in the refrigerator and in the freezer always realizes the same brightness and irradiation range by the illumination lamps installed on the ceiling surface or the interior back surface of the refrigerator. It did not take into consideration the brightness of the outside, that is, the adaptation state of the eyes of the refrigerator user. for that reason,
If the outside of the refrigerator is bright, the refrigerator user feels dark inside the refrigerator, and if the outside of the refrigerator is dark, the refrigerator user and people in the vicinity feel dazzling inside the refrigerator,
As a result, it impaired the visual function. Further, since the lighting around the refrigerator user was not taken into consideration, when the outside of the refrigerator was dark, the vicinity of the feet of the refrigerator user and the vicinity of the outside of the refrigerator were dark, which hindered visual work outside the refrigerator.

[0004]

According to the present invention, an average illuminance measuring section around the outside of a refrigerator and an acclimatization level of a refrigerator user's eyes are calculated from a signal from the measuring section, and the inside of the refrigerator corresponding to the acclimatization level is calculated. A refrigerator and a freezer which are composed of a calculation unit for calculating an appropriate average illuminance in the freezer and a dimming unit, and perform dimming control of the inside of the refrigerator and the freezer according to the adaptation state of the eyes of the user.

Further, according to the present invention, when the average illuminance around the refrigerator is 100 lx or more, the light distribution of the illuminating device for illuminating the inside of the refrigerator and the freezer is controlled so that the irradiation range becomes a horizontal cross section inside the refrigerator and inside the freezer. Average illuminance is 10
When it is less than 0 lx, the light distribution of the lighting device that illuminates the inside of the refrigerator and the freezer is controlled, or other lighting is turned on, and the irradiation range is at least the horizontal section in the refrigerator and the freezer, and from the refrigerator to the front and front side at least. It is a refrigerator and a freezer that are horizontal to the user.

[0006]

The present invention includes an average illuminance measuring unit around the outside of the refrigerator,
It is composed of an arithmetic unit and a dimming unit for calculating the adaptation level of the eyes of the refrigerator user from the signal from the measuring unit, and calculating an appropriate average illuminance in the refrigerator and the freezer according to the adaptation level. By controlling the light inside the refrigerator and the freezer according to the adaptation state of the eyes, the inside of the refrigerator and the freezer can be viewed without impairing the visual function.

Further, according to the present invention, the average illuminance around the refrigerator is 1
When it is 00lx or more, the light distribution of the lighting device that illuminates the inside of the refrigerator and the freezer is controlled, and the irradiation range is the horizontal cross section inside the refrigerator and inside the freezer, and the average illuminance around the refrigerator is 100.
If it is less than lx, control the light distribution of the lighting device that illuminates the inside of the refrigerator and the freezer, or turn on other illumination lights, and the irradiation range is at least the refrigerator in the horizontal cross section in the refrigerator and the freezer and in the front direction from the refrigerator. By providing a horizontal plane up to the worker, the refrigerator user can easily and visually perform visual work in the vicinity of the refrigerator.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of the present invention. The present invention provides a lighting device 1 for illuminating the inside of a refrigerator and the inside of a freezer,
A dimmer 2 that changes the output state of the lighting device 1, a measurement unit 3 that measures the average illuminance level around the outside of the refrigerator, and an appropriate average illuminance inside the refrigerator and inside the freezer according to the signal from the measurement unit 3. The calculation unit 4 and the light distribution variable unit 6 for controlling the light distribution of the lighting device 1 and the power supply unit 5. Arithmetic unit 4
The calculation process in will be described. The signal from the measuring unit 3 indicates the average illuminance outside the refrigerator. The relationship between this average illuminance and the adaptation level of the refrigerator user's eyes varies slightly depending on the environmental conditions such as the reflectance of the interior of the environment where the refrigerator is installed and the installation position, but in general, the refrigerator user's eyes are on average. About 1 of illuminance
It is considered to be adapted to a luminance of / 10. Further, as a result of observation experiments, it can be said that it is appropriate to illuminate the refrigerator and the freezer to an illuminance of 200 lx when the average illuminance outside the refrigerator is 200 lx. That is, the eye adaptation level is 20 cd
In the case of / m ² , it can be said that it is appropriate to illuminate with an illuminance of 200 lx. Here, the illuminance for obtaining a constant brightness (brightness) inside the chamber when the adaptation level of the eyes changes, is called the quantification theory of brightness (Proceedings of CIE 22n
d (1991) vol.1 Part1 pp.93-96). The result is shown in FIG. Further, based on FIG. 2, the relationship between the average illuminance outside the refrigerator and the average illuminance inside the refrigerator to obtain a constant brightness was obtained. The result is shown in FIG. Therefore, the calculation unit 4
Then, based on the signal of the average illuminance value outside the refrigerator from the measuring unit 3, the set illuminance inside the refrigerator is calculated using the relationship of FIG. The set illuminance value calculated by the calculation unit 4 is realized by the lighting device 1 via the dimming device 2, and dimming control is performed in the refrigerator and the freezer according to the adaptation level of the eyes of the refrigerator user.

Further, an operation process in the light distribution variable device 6 will be described. The signal of the average illuminance value around the outside of the refrigerator is sent from the measuring unit 3 to the light distribution variable device 6. The average illuminance value is 1
If it is 00 lx or more, the light distribution of the lighting device 1 is controlled by receiving a signal from the light distribution variable device 6 so that the irradiation range of the lighting device 1 becomes a horizontal cross section in the refrigerator and the freezer. If the average illuminance value is less than 100 lx, the light distribution is performed so that the irradiation range of the lighting device 1 is a horizontal cross section in the refrigerator and the freezer, and a horizontal plane from the refrigerator to at least the refrigerator user in the front direction. Upon receiving a signal from the variable device 6, the light distribution of the lighting device 1 is controlled. FIG. 4 shows an example of a structural diagram of the lighting device 1 according to the above-described embodiment. The reflector 8 installed at the upper end of the refrigerator mouth 7 rotates about the axis 9 as a branch line, and the size of the angle a10 changes in response to the signal from the light distribution variable device 6, so that the irradiation range of the lighting device 1 can be arbitrarily set. Can be set. Further, the lighting at the feet and hands of the refrigerator user need not be shared with the lighting device 1.

[0010]

As described above, in the present invention, the inside of the refrigerator and the inside of the freezer can be seen without impairing the visual function. Further, in the present invention, when the average illuminance around the refrigerator is 100 lx or more, the irradiation range is a horizontal cross section inside the refrigerator and inside the freezer, and the average illuminance around the refrigerator is 1
If it is less than 00lx, the irradiation range is horizontal in the refrigerator and in the freezer and on the horizontal plane between the refrigerator and at least the refrigerator user in the front direction, so that the refrigerator user can see and work safely near the refrigerator. Can be done.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main part of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the user's eye adaptation level and the required illuminance in the refrigerator in the refrigerator.

[Fig. 3] Relationship between average illuminance outside the refrigerator and required illuminance inside the refrigerator

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of an example of a lighting device in the refrigerator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lighting device 2 Light control device 3 Measuring part 4 Computing part 5 Power supply part 6 Light distribution variable part 7 Refrigerator mouth 8 Reflector 9 Axis 10 Angle a

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for illuminating the inside of a refrigerator, an average illuminance measuring section around the outside of the refrigerator, an acclimatization level of a refrigerator user's eyes is calculated from a signal from the measuring section, and the inside of the refrigerator corresponding to the acclimatization level is calculated. A refrigerator comprising: a calculation unit that calculates an appropriate average illuminance in a freezer; and a light control unit that adjusts the lighting device according to the output of the calculation unit. 2. When the average illuminance around the refrigerator is 100 lx or more, the irradiation range by the lighting device for illuminating the inside of the refrigerator and the freezer is a horizontal cross section inside the refrigerator, and when the average illuminance around the refrigerator is less than 100 lx, The irradiation range of the lighting device for illuminating the inside of the refrigerator and the freezer is a horizontal cross section in the refrigerator and a horizontal plane between the refrigerator and at least the refrigerator user in the front direction. refrigerator.