KR100993054B1 - A refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

According to the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, even when the conductive metal member is used as the exterior material of the refrigerator, the capacitive buttons can be used together without malfunction, thereby improving the user's satisfaction with the product.

Refrigerator, Capacitive Type, Button

Description

Refrigerator {A refrigerator}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Generally, a refrigerator is a device for low temperature storage of food, and is configured to freeze or refrigerate food according to the type of food to be stored.

The inside of the refrigerator is cooled by continuously supplied cold air, and the cold air is continuously generated by the heat exchange action of the refrigerant by a refrigeration cycle undergoing a process of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation. The cold air supplied to the inside of the refrigerator is evenly transferred to the inside of the refrigerator by convection, so that food in the refrigerator can be stored at a desired temperature.

The refrigerator main body has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open front surface, and includes a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber inside the main body. The front surface of the main body includes a refrigerator compartment door and a freezer compartment door for selectively shielding the opening.

Recently, a refrigerator having an operation unit for adjusting an operating environment of the refrigerator on the front of the door has been released for the convenience of the user. The operation unit includes a button for setting a function and the like and a display device for displaying the operation status. In this case, a pressurized button is generally used as the button, but recently, a capacitive button that is operated even when a user touches the button with a body part without pressing the button may be used. That is, when the user touches the button, a change occurs in the capacitance, and a change in the capacitance is detected and a command given to the button is transmitted to the controller of the refrigerator.

However, the above conventional technologies have the following problems.

In order to enhance the appearance of the refrigerator, there may be a case where a metallic member should be used on the front side of the refrigerator as an exterior material of the refrigerator. In this case, when the capacitive button is provided on the front side of the refrigerator, even if the user's hand touches only a specific capacitive button, the change in capacitance is also changed in other capacitive button through the metallic member around the specific button. Can be detected. That is, there is a problem that other buttons can be operated as well as buttons that the user wanted to operate.

Therefore, the capacitive button cannot be used together with a metallic exterior material having conductor properties. That is, there was a limit in selecting a member of the exterior material of the refrigerator.

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which a metallic member having conductivity is used as the exterior material and whose operating environment is controlled by a capacitive button.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which a malfunction of the capacitive button is prevented.

The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the object as described above is provided with a storage space for storing food at low temperature; A door provided at the front of the main body to selectively shield the storage space; A metal member provided on the front surface of the door and having a plurality of holes spaced apart from each other; A protective member provided on the front surface of the metal member; A sensing unit provided on a front surface of the door at a position corresponding to the hole of the metal member to sense a change in capacitance generated at an outer circumferential surface of the protective member; And a non-conductive blocking member provided on the back of the metal member.

According to the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, even if a conductive metal member is used as the exterior material of the refrigerator, the capacitive-type button can be used together without malfunction, thereby improving the user's satisfaction with the product. .

In addition, since the malfunction of the capacitive button is prevented, there is an advantage that the reliability of the user's product is improved.

According to the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, even if the conductive member is used as the exterior material of the refrigerator, the capacitive button can be used together without malfunction, thereby improving the user's satisfaction with the product.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, in order to explain the idea of the present invention, a side by side type refrigerator will be described as an example. However, the idea of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated double door refrigerator, and is applicable to both a top mount type in which a freezer compartment is located at an upper side and a bottom freeze type in which a freezer compartment is located at a lower side thereof. To reveal.

Referring to FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 10 having a front surface opened, a freezer compartment provided inside the main body, and stored in a freezer compartment where the food is stored at a low temperature and refrigerated. A refrigerator compartment door 11 and a refrigerator compartment door 12 that selectively shield the refrigerator compartment, the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment, respectively.

In addition, a freezer compartment home bar 13 is provided on the front surface of the freezer compartment door 11, and a refrigerator compartment home bar 14 is provided on the front side of the refrigerator compartment door 12, so that a user does not open the doors 11 and 12. You can easily take out the drinks stored inside.

In addition, an upper portion of the freezer compartment home bar 14 is provided with an operation unit 16 capable of operating an operating environment of the refrigerator 1 and the like. The operation unit 16 is provided on both sides of the display unit 17 and the display unit 17 on which the operating environment and operation details of the refrigerator 1 are displayed, and controls a plurality of operating environments of the refrigerator 1. A button is included.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the buttons are provided to be aligned with each other in the up and down direction on both sides of the display unit 17. However, the number and location of the buttons are optional and can be easily invented by those skilled in the art as needed. Changes, deletions, and additions can be made in the scope.

On the other hand, the button corresponds to the contact area 18 recognized by the printing unit 301 to be described later to the user. That is, when the user touches the button means that a part of the body is in contact with a part recognized by the printing unit 301 of the outer surface of the protective member 30. In other words, the outer surface of the protection member 30 recognized by the printing unit 301 corresponds to the contact area 18, and the user recognizes the contact area 18 as the button.

In addition, the main body 10 and the doors 11 and 12 are used for the protection member 30 and the metal member 31 to the exterior to improve the aesthetics and give a luxurious image. In detail, the metal member 31 is attached to the front surface of the main body 10 and the doors 11 and 12 in a panel shape. In addition, a protective member 30 such as tempered glass is added to the outer surface of the metal member 31. Therefore, the texture of the metal member 31 may be exposed to the outside as it is.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the operation unit of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view taken along line II ′ of FIG. 1.

2 and 3, the metal member 31 is attached to the front surfaces of the doors 11 and 12, and the bohu member 30 is attached to the front surface of the metal member 31. In addition, a control board 34 having a sensing unit 341 for detecting a change in capacitance is positioned behind the metal member 31, and the control board 34 is behind the control board 34. It is housed in the control board housing 35 provided in the fixed position. In addition, a non-conductive blocking member 32 is provided between the metal member 31 and the control substrate 34.

In detail, the metal member 31 is attached to the doors 11 and 12 and the main body 10 as a whole. The metal member 31 is provided to allow a user to feel a metallic texture and receive a luxurious feeling, and a decoration of a predetermined shape may be added to the front surface.

Here, the metal member 31 may be used, such as stainless steel (Stainless Steel) excellent in metal texture and workability.

Meanwhile, a display hole 312 is formed in the center of the metal member 31 so that an image of the display device 342, which will be described later, is viewed from the front of the refrigerator 1. The display hole 312 is formed to correspond to the shape of the display device 342.

The protective member 30 is attached to the front surface of the metal member 31. The protective member 30 and the metal member 31 are firmly bonded by a predetermined adhesive film. In this case, a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) may be used as the adhesive film.

The protective member 30 is formed of a transparent material so that the texture of the metal member 31 formed therein may be exposed to the outside as it is. At this time, in order to protect the configuration of the inside of the refrigerator 1 from an external impact, tempered glass may be provided to the protective member 30. In addition, the printing unit 301 for inducing a user's contact is formed on the inner surface of the protective member 30. That is, when the printing unit 301 is formed on the inner surface of the transparent protection member 30, the user recognizes the position where the printing unit 301 is formed as the contact area 18, the body in this area Will touch a part of. Therefore, the touch sensing unit 343, which will be described later, may be located immediately after the printing unit 301 in order to detect a change in capacitance. The printing unit 301 may be formed on the protective member 30 by spraying or the like, and a predetermined adhesive film may be used.

In addition, the control board 34 is provided at the rear of the metal member 31 including a detector 341 for detecting a change in capacitance and a display device 342 displaying an image. The sensing unit 341 is located immediately after the contact area 18, that is, immediately after the printing unit 301, so as to change the capacitance generated when the user touches the contact area 18. Detect. The display device 342 forms the display unit 17.

The control board 34 may be provided in a form in which the sensing unit 341 and the display device 342 are attached to a printed circuit board (PCB). The sensing units 341 are arranged on both sides of the display device 342 in the vertical direction, and two are provided. In this case, the sensing unit 341 includes a touch sensing unit 343 that enables the control board 34 to detect a change in capacitance generated when a part of the user's body touches the contact area 18. Included. In addition, a light emitting device (not shown) is provided inside the sensing unit 341 to emit different light so as to distinguish a state when a user touches a button and when the user does not touch the button.

On the other hand, the front surface of the freezer compartment 11 is formed with a depression recessed to a predetermined depth so that the control board housing 35 is coupled, the control board housing 35 is fitted to the depression. In addition, the control board 34 is coupled to the control board housing 35 to be fixed to the freezer compartment door 11.

In addition, the blocking member 32 is provided between the metal member 31 and the control substrate 34. The blocking member 32 is a non-conductive material that is provided to prevent a malfunction of the operation unit 16. Detailed functions of the blocking member 32 will be described later.

In this case, the blocking member 32 may be provided with a transparent member. In this case, it is not necessary to drill a hole through which the image of the display device 342 is transmitted, and the light emitted from the sensing unit 341 may be transmitted well.

As an example, the blocking member 32 may be provided with a polycarbonate sheet having excellent electrical insulation and good transparency. In this case, not only the original effect according to the embodiment of the present invention but also the perforated part of the blocking portion hole 321 in the polycarbonate sheet, so that the process can be shortened to improve the productivity.

In addition, a diffusion sheet 33 is provided on the front of the sensing unit 341 to diffuse light emitted from the light emitting device (not shown). In detail, the diffusion sheet 33 is positioned between the sensing unit 341 and the blocking member 32. In addition, the diffusion sheet 33 is perforated with a diffusion sheet hole 331 through which the touch sensing unit 343 passes. The diameter of the diffusion sheet hole 331 is smaller than the diameter of the printing unit 301, so that the difference in color and brightness of the edge and the center of the printing unit 301 can be more prominent.

In this case, the diffusion sheet 33 is cut and provided to be attached only to the front surface of the sensing unit 341 so as not to interfere with the display apparatus 342.

On the other hand, the metal member 31, the blocking member 32 is formed with a metal member hole 311 and the blocking member hole 321 at a point corresponding to the position of the printing unit 301, respectively. At this time, the center of the printing unit 301, the center of the metal member hole 311, and the center of the blocking member hole 321 is formed to be located on the same straight line.

In this case, the sensing unit 341 is formed to be located immediately after the printing unit 301, so that the center of the sensing unit 341 and the center of the holes 311 and 321 are also located on the same straight line. Can be.

In addition, the metal member hole 311 is formed larger than the printing unit 301 and the blocking member hole 321. The touch sensing unit 343 is formed to contact the printing unit 301 through the holes 311 and 321. Thus, it is possible to more accurately detect the change in capacitance.

Meanwhile, the blocking member hole 321 may be selectively provided. That is, only the metal member hole 311 may be formed, and the blocking member hole 321 may not be provided. In this case, the touch sensing unit 343 is in contact with the rear surface of the blocking member 32.

In addition, the light generated by the light emitting device (not shown) is emitted through the diffusion sheet 33 and the holes (311, 321) to the front of the refrigerator (1). In this case, since the metal member hole 311 is formed larger than the printing unit 301, the light passing through the diffusion sheet 33 between the edge of the printing unit 301 and the metal member hole 311. This is emitted directly. In addition, since the light passing through the printing unit 301 is diverged, the user may recognize the contact area 18 better because a difference in brightness or color may occur.

Hereinafter, the operation and effects of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention having the configuration as described above will be described.

When the user touches the button (i.e., when a part of the body contacts the contact area 18), a change in capacitance is sensed by the sensing unit 341, and a signal corresponding thereto is received by the control board 34. Is generated and delivered to a controller (not shown). In addition, the controller (not shown) operates the refrigerator 1 to match a function assigned to the corresponding button.

In detail, since the metal member hole 311 is provided to be larger than the size of the printing unit 301, when the user touches the contact area 18 accurately, the portion of the metal member 32 is provided. Since the body does not touch, the static electricity is not directly transmitted to the metal member 32. That is, since a change in effective capacitance is detected only in the sensing unit 341 provided immediately after the corresponding contact area 18 touched by the user, only a function corresponding to the corresponding button is performed.

However, when the user touches any portion of the protection member 30 instead of the contact region 18 or when touching a peripheral portion of the contact region 18 together with the contact region 18, Since the conductive metal member 31 is provided behind the protective member 30 except for the contact region 18, a change in capacitance caused by a user's touch may affect the sensing unit 341. have. In this case, the control board 34 recognizes that the user has touched the contact area 18 and will send a signal to the controller (not shown) to perform a function corresponding thereto, so that the refrigerator 1 malfunctions. Done.

However, the non-conductive blocking member 32 is provided between the sensing unit 341 and the metal member 31, and the metal member hole 311 is formed larger than the blocking member hole 321. This problem can be prevented.

In detail, even if static electricity is transmitted through the metal member 31, since the blocking member 32 is a non-conductive material, static electricity is not transmitted to the inside thereof. In addition, since the blocking member hole 321 is formed smaller than the metal member hole 311, the blocking member hole 321 is closer to the sensing unit 341. Therefore, since the influence of static electricity transmitted by the metal member 31 is not affected until the sensing unit 341, the change of the capacitance is not sensed by the sensing unit 341.

That is, even if the user touches a portion other than the contact area 18, since the change in capacitance is not sensed by the sensing unit 341, the refrigerator 1 may not malfunction.

In addition, an air layer may be formed on the front and rear surfaces of the blocking member 32 in the coupling process of the blocking member 32. The blocking member hole 321 is provided to provide the blocking member hole 321 in the coupling process. Since the air can escape to the) site, it is possible to prevent the formation of an air layer.

In the refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the conductive metal member 31 is used as the exterior material by the above-described configuration, and malfunctions are prevented even when the operation unit 16 is provided in a capacitive manner. .

Accordingly, the capacitive button which is convenient to use together with the luxurious metallic texture is provided reliably, so that the user's satisfaction with the product is improved.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the embodiments may be changed, added, or deleted within the scope of the spirit of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an exploded perspective view of the operation unit of FIG. 1;

3 is a cross-sectional side view taken along the line II ′ of FIG. 1;

Claims (16)

A main body having a storage space for storing food at low temperature; A door provided at the front of the main body to selectively shield the storage space; A metal member provided on the front surface of the door and having a plurality of holes spaced apart from each other; A protective member provided on the front surface of the metal member; A printing portion provided on a rear surface of the protection member to define a contact area; A sensing unit provided on a front surface of the door at a position corresponding to the hole of the metal member to sense a change in capacitance generated at an outer circumferential surface of the protective member; And A non-conductive blocking member provided on a rear surface of the metal member and having a hole formed at a position corresponding to the hole of the metal member, The detection unit, A light emitting element, A touch sensing unit for transmitting a change in capacitance to the control substrate is included, An end of the touch sensing unit is located immediately after the printing unit. The method of claim 1, And the sensing unit protrudes in front of a control board interposed between the door and the blocking member. The method of claim 1, The protective member is provided with a transparent tempered glass, characterized in that attached to the front of the metal member. delete delete The method of claim 1, And a diffusion sheet provided on a rear surface of the blocking member to diffuse light emitted from the light emitting device. The method of claim 1, At least an end of the touch sensing unit is located in the hole of the metal member. The method of claim 1, At least a portion of the sensing unit is characterized in that the refrigerator in close contact with the back of the blocking member. The method of claim 1, At least a portion of the sensing unit is characterized in that the refrigerator penetrates close to the rear surface of the protection member. The method of claim 1, The blocking member is formed with a hole for penetrating the sensing unit, And a hole diameter of the metal member is larger than a hole diameter of the blocking member. The method of claim 1, The blocking member is a refrigerator characterized in that the polycarbonate sheet (Polycarbonate Sheet). A transparent protective member forming a front surface of the door shielding the storage space; A printing unit provided in the protection member and defining a contact area for operation; A metal member provided on a rear surface of the protection member and forming a texture of the door; A metal member hole drilled in said metal member at a position corresponding to said printing portion; A blocking member provided on a rear surface of the metal member and made of a non-conductive material; A blocking member hole formed in the blocking member at a position corresponding to the printing part; And a touch sensing unit provided at a rear side of the same extension line as the printing unit, the metal member hole, and the blocking member hole, and detecting a change in capacitance when the printing unit is touched and transferring the same to the control board. 13. The method of claim 12, A plurality of printing unit is formed, And the blocking member is formed in a shape of one sheet to form a plurality of other end member holes at a position corresponding to the plurality of printing parts. 13. The method of claim 12, And a display hole is formed in the metal member to expose a display device displaying an operating state to the outside of the door. The method of claim 13, The blocking member is formed of a transparent material, characterized in that the refrigerator is formed to cover the display device. 13. The method of claim 12, And the touch sensing unit is disposed to contact the printing unit.

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