KR101454225B1 - A refrigerator provided with light valve-door - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a variable-permeability door for allowing a user to confirm the position of a stored food stored in a refrigerator without opening the refrigerator door. The refrigerator includes a main body defining a storage space in which one side is opened, The door is provided with a variable transmissivity glass which is transparent or opaque depending on whether power is applied or not, and a variable transmissivity glass for securing stability according to the vitrification of the variable transmissivity glass. In the refrigerator, And a transparent support plate disposed on a back surface of the housing.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a variable-

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a permeability variable door that enables a user to confirm the position of a stored product in a refrigerator without opening the refrigerator door.

Generally, a refrigerator is a device that allows a refrigerator or a refrigerating room to be cooled by repeating a refrigeration cycle to store food for a predetermined period of time.

The refrigerator includes a main body defining a storage space and a door selectively shielding the main body. The storage space is filled with the stored product, and the user opens the door to take out the stored product.

However, in the conventional refrigerator, when the door is shielding the main body, there is a problem that it is difficult to grasp the position of the storage object to be drawn until the door is opened.

Therefore, the user must grasp the position of the stored product in a state in which the door is opened, and there is a problem that the cool air in the storage space flows out to the outside. Further, since the cool air flows out to the outside, the temperature of the storage space is increased, the quality of the stored product stored in the refrigerator is lowered, and the power consumption is increased to lower the temperature of the storage space.

A related prior art is Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 1997-0047546 (published on July 26, 1997, entitled Refrigerator).

The present invention provides a refrigerator having a variable permeability door that enables a user to confirm the position of a stored product in a refrigerator without opening the refrigerator door.

The technical objects to be achieved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems.

A refrigerator comprising: a main body defining a storage space in which one side is opened; and a door mounted to the main body so as to shield the opened storage space, wherein the door is transparent or opaque depending on whether power is applied or not, Transmittance variable glass; And a transparent support plate disposed on the back surface of the variable transmissivity glass for securing stability according to the vitrification of the variable transmissivity glass.

Specifically, the transmittance variable glass includes first and second transparent glass disposed facing each other, first and second electrodes disposed facing each other inwardly of the first and second transparent glass, first and second electrodes filled between the first and second electrodes, A liquid crystal layer, a passive switch and a liquid crystal layer for applying or blocking power to the first and second electrodes, and a finishing material for finishing the edges of the first and second transparent glasses having the first and second electrodes embedded therein .

Specifically, the transmittance variable glass may be formed of any one of a magic glass or an in-glass which maintains a transparent state when power is supplied and remains opaque when the power is turned off.

Specifically, the support plate may have a permeability variable door made of transparent acrylic.

More specifically, the door further includes an automatic switch unit capable of operating the variable transmissivity glass even if the user does not touch the door. The automatic switch unit includes a motion sensor for sensing a person, And a controller which is electrically connected to the motion sensor and the delay unit and controls the motion sensor and the delay unit.

Specifically, the motion sensor can be disposed at the front of the door at a height that can detect a person.

Specifically, the delay unit may be a relay or a timer.

Specifically, the door may further include a heat insulating film disposed on the front surface of the variable transmissivity glass, between the variable transmissivity glass and the support plate, and on the back surface of the support plate.

As described above, in the refrigerator having the permeability variable door according to the present invention,

First, by configuring the door with the variable transmissivity glass whose transparency is controlled to be transparent or opaque according to power application, there is an advantage that the user can grasp the position of the stored product and the stored product in the refrigerator without opening the door.

Second, by providing a transparent plate made of transparent acrylic on the back surface of the variable transmissivity glass, it is possible to safely protect and support the variable transmissivity glass.

Third, there is an advantage that the user does not have to touch the variable-transmittance glass in order to control the transmittance by further including an automatic switch unit for applying power to the variable transmittance glass depending on whether a person is detected or not and thereby to adjust the transmittance in a transparent or opaque manner .

Fourth, since the automatic switch unit includes the delay unit that allows the power to be applied to the variable transmissivity glass after a certain period of time even if a person is detected, it is advantageous in preventing power consumption from being increased by preventing indiscriminate operation of the variable transmissivity glass .

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator having a variable permeability door according to an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 1, and
FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating an operating state of a variable transmissivity glass according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference symbols whenever possible. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator having a variable permeability door according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a refrigerator 100 according to the present invention includes a main body 10 forming a storage space, And a door 120 mounted on the main body 10 so as to shield the opened storage space.

Here, the configuration of the main body 10 and the connection relation between the main body 10 and the door 120 are well-known descriptions, and thus the detailed description is omitted.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, in which the door 120 includes a transmissive variable glass 124 and a transparent support plate 122 sequentially disposed from the outside of the main body 10 to the storage space side of the main body 10 ).

The variable transmissivity glass 124 maintains a transparent state when power is supplied and remains opaque when the power is interrupted. The variable transmissivity glass 124 is made of either a normal magic glass or an in-glass.

As can be seen, the variable transmissivity glass 124 includes first and second transparent glasses 200a and 200b disposed in opposition to each other, first and second transparent glasses 200a and 200b disposed inside the first and second transparent glasses 200a and 200b, The liquid crystal layer 230 filled between the first and second electrodes 220a and 220b and the transmissivity variable glass 124 so that the user can turn on or off the power source The passive switch 160 and the liquid crystal layer 250 and the first and second transparent glasses 200a and 200b in which the first and second electrodes 220a and 220b are embedded, .

When the voltage is applied to the first and second electrodes 220a and 220b through the passive switch 160, the liquid crystal layer 230 is arranged in a different arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules 250 Thereby controlling the light transmittance. The liquid crystal layer 230 can control the transmittance of the variable transmissivity glass 124 by varying the difference in voltage between the first and second electrodes 220a and 220b.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 3A, if power is not applied to the first and second electrodes 220a and 220b, the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules 250 is not changed. Therefore, incident light 270 is scattered and absorbed and can not pass through. On the other hand, when power is applied to the first and second electrodes 220a and 220b as shown in FIG. 3B, the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules 250 changes in the longitudinal direction. At this time, the user can see through the incident light 270. The supporting plate 122 is disposed on the rear surface of the variable transmissivity glass 124 thus formed.

The support plate 122 is disposed for securing stability with the front glass of the door 120. The support plate 122 is made of conventional transparent acrylic, which represents a synthetic resin derived from derivatives of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid. At this time, the variable transmissivity glass 124 and the support plate 122 are adhered to each other through the transparent silicon having excellent adhesive property and heat radiation effect.

The door 120 further includes an automatic switch unit 140 that can operate the variable transmission glass 124 even if the user does not touch the door 120.

The automatic switch unit 140 includes a motion sensor 142 for sensing a human being, a delay unit 144 for receiving a signal of the motion sensor 142 and delaying power supply, and a motion sensor 142 and a delay unit 144 And a control unit 146 electrically connected to the motion sensor 142 and the delay unit 144 to control the motion sensor 142 and the delay unit 144.

The motion sensor 142 is disposed at the front of the door 120 at a height at which the person can be sensed. When the movement of the human being is sensed by the motion sensor 142, the activated sensing signal is output to the delay unit 144 side.

The delay unit 144 is disposed in the door 120 or the main body 10. The delay unit 144 delays the time by counting time by a predetermined time when receiving the detection signal output from the motion sensor 142. [ When the delay unit 144 outputs a termination signal to the control unit 146 in the delay unit 144 in this way, the control unit 146 controls the transmission window 124 ) So that the transmittance of the variable transmissivity glass 124 is made transparent.

On the contrary, if no human is detected in the motion sensor 142, the control unit 146 cuts off the power applied to the variable transmissivity glass 124 to make the transmissivity of the variable transmissivity glass 124 opaque.

That is, the delay unit 144 allows the variable transmissivity glass 124 to be operated only when a person is sensed by the motion sensor 142 at a predetermined time or longer, and when the person is detected by the motion sensor 142 In other words, when the person who is passing by is sensed by the motion sensor 142, the variable transmission glass 124 is not operated and the power consumption can be prevented from being increased.

Here, the delay unit 144 may be a normal relay or a normal timer.

The door 120 further includes a heat insulating film 126 disposed on the front surface of the variable transmissivity glass 124, between the transmissive variable glass 124 and the support plate 122, and on the back surface of the support plate 122.

The heat insulating film 126 disposed in this way blocks infrared rays and ultraviolet rays, and prevents discoloration inside the refrigerator. The heat insulating film 126 minimizes the temperature change inside the refrigerator 100.

According to the present invention, the refrigerator having the variable-permeability door has the door 120 formed of the variable transmissivity glass 124 whose transparency is controlled to be transparent or opaque depending on whether power is applied or not, It is possible to grasp the position of the stored storage and storage therein.

The refrigerator 100 having a permeability variable door according to the present invention can be used for safely protecting and supporting the variable transmissivity glass 124 by arranging a supporting plate 122 made of transparent acrylic on the back surface of the variable transmissivity glass 124 .

In addition, by further including an automatic switch unit 140 that allows the power to be applied to the variable transmission glass 124 according to whether a person is sensed or not and to control the degree of transmission in a transparent or opaque manner, 124) is not required to be touched.

In addition, the automatic switch unit 140 includes the delay unit 144 that allows power to be applied to the variable transmissivity glass 124 after a certain period of time even if a person is detected, thereby preventing undesirable operation of the variable transmissivity glass 124 There is an advantage that the power consumption can be prevented from being increased.

The refrigerator having the above-described variable permeability door is not limited to the configuration and operation of the above-described embodiments. The embodiments may be configured so that all or some of the embodiments may be selectively combined so that various modifications may be made.

100: Refrigerator 120: Door
10: Main body 122: Support plate
124: Transmittance variable glass 126: Adiabatic film
128: closing member 140: automatic switch part
142: Motion sensor 144: Delay unit
146: Control section 160: Manual switch
230: liquid crystal layer 250: liquid crystal molecule
200a: first transparent glass 200b: second transparent glass 220a: first electrode 220b: second electrode
270: incident light

Claims (8)

1. A refrigerator comprising: a main body defining a storage space in which one side is opened; and a door mounted on the main body so as to shield an opened storage space,
The door
Transmittance variable glass whose transparency is controlled by transparency or opaque depending on power application; A transparent support plate disposed on a rear surface of the variable transmissivity glass for securing stability of the transmissivity variable glass according to front glass vitrification; And an automatic switch unit capable of operating the variable transmissivity glass even if the user does not touch the door,
Wherein the automatic switch unit comprises: a motion sensor for sensing a person; A delay unit for receiving a signal of the motion sensor and delaying power supply; And a control unit electrically connected to the motion sensor and the delay unit and controlling the motion sensor and the delay unit,
Wherein the motion sensor has a permeability variable door disposed at a front surface of the door at a height that can detect a person.
The method according to claim 1,
The transmittance variable glass,
First and second transparent glasses disposed to face each other;
First and second electrodes disposed facing each other in the first and second transparent glasses;
A liquid crystal layer filled between the first and second electrodes;
A manual switch for applying or disconnecting power to the first and second electrodes; And
And a finishing material for finishing the rims of the liquid crystal layer, the first and second transparent glasses having the first and second electrodes embedded therein.
The method according to claim 1,
The transmittance variable glass,
A refrigerator having a variable permeability door comprising a magic glass or an ino-glass which maintains a transparent state when the power is supplied and remains opaque when the power is turned off.
The method according to claim 1,
The support plate
A refrigerator having a variable permeability door made of transparent acrylic.
delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the delay unit has a variable permeability door, which is a relay or a timer.
The method according to claim 1,
The door
And a heat insulating film disposed on the front surface of the variable transmissivity glass, between the transmissive variable glass and the support plate, and on the rear surface of the support plate.

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