KR101469274B1 - Refrigerator System with Automatic Water Dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator system having an automatic water supply unit, comprising: a refrigerator main board for controlling a main function of a refrigerator; A water supply unit for supplying water from the refrigerator; A display unit for displaying a state of the refrigerator or the water supply unit; A display control unit for controlling the display unit; The ultrasonic sensor part formed on the water supply part and connected to the main board part through the display control part and the transmission and reception circuit part can use the refrigerator irrespective of the failure or maintenance of the automatic water supply part, It is easy to assemble and replace since each component of the automatic water supply part can be configured as a module or a package in installation and maintenance.

Refrigerator, Automatic Water Supply, Display

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator system having an automatic water supply unit,

1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator having a water supply unit according to the prior art.

Fig. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of Fig.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a refrigerator system having an automatic water supply unit according to the present invention.

4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of Fig.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

200: Refrigerator

201: Water tank 203: Euro

210: refrigerator main board section

230: water supply part 231: container mounting part

233: Nozzle

250: Euro switch

270: container and water level confirmation unit

271: ultrasonic sensor part 273: transmitting / receiving circuit part

290:

291: Display section 293:

295: Ultrasonic Analysis Unit

V: container

The present invention relates to an automatic water supply system configured to operate independently of a refrigerator main board unit of an automatic water supply unit.

Generally, the water supply unit is installed in a refrigerator, a water purifier, etc., and is constructed so that a user can easily take out the liquid.

Particularly, the water supply unit provided in the refrigerator is configured to be able to take out the liquid inside the refrigerator through the water supply unit provided outside the refrigerator without opening the door of the refrigerator.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a water purifier according to a related art is installed in a refrigerator. A water dispenser 120 is installed on a front surface of a door 110 of a refrigerator 100.

The water dispenser 120 is provided with a container seating portion 130 and a dispensing key (not shown) for discharging water is provided in the water dispenser 120.

Therefore, the user inserts the container 140 into the container seating portion 130 of the water dispenser 120 installed on the front surface of the door 110 of the refrigerator 100 and pushes the throwing key of the water dispenser 120 to the container 140 Water.

In this case, when the water dispenser is installed in the refrigerator, there is no need to open the door, so that the cold air in the refrigerator compartment can be prevented from flowing out, thereby reducing power consumption of the refrigerator and maintaining freshness of foods stored in the refrigerator.

2, the refrigerator main board unit 181 is electrically connected to the display control board unit 183 and the solenoid 185, and the solenoid 185 Is connected to the water dispenser 120.

The refrigerator main board 181 is disposed in a rear portion of the refrigerator as a main part of the refrigerator that is responsible for power supply, refrigeration, refrigeration or circulation.

And a display control board unit 183 operated according to a control signal of the refrigerator main board unit 181 is provided for interfacing between the user and the refrigerator.

Here, the display control board unit 183 can be configured simply or complicatedly according to the function of the refrigerator, and includes a control circuit unit (not shown) and a display unit capable of displaying whether the user performs operation or function (Not shown) provided on the front portion of the refrigerator in the form of a panel of the refrigerator.

The solenoid 185 is supplied with power from the refrigerator main board 181 to selectively open the channel in response to mechanical contact (or manipulation) of the water dispenser 120.

This configuration eliminates the need to open the door of the refrigerator when water is to be obtained, so that the cold air inside the refrigerator can not be drained to the outside, which can reduce the power consumption of the refrigerator and can maintain the freshness of foods stored in the refrigerator for a long time .

However, such a configuration is troublesome in use, in which attention must be focused until the user completes the water supply.

In order to solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator which can separate a main board and an automatic water supply control circuit of a refrigerator into functions and circuits so that the main function of the refrigerator can be used regardless of a failure or malfunction of the water supply unit And an automatic water supply unit for automatically supplying water to the refrigerator.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator system having an automatic water supply unit capable of facilitating installation and maintenance of an automatic water supply circuit.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator main board unit for controlling a main function of a refrigerator; A water supply unit for supplying water from the refrigerator; A display unit for displaying a state of the refrigerator or the water supply unit; A display control unit for controlling the display unit; And an automatic water supply unit formed on the water supply unit and configured to include an ultrasonic sensor unit connected to the main board unit through the display control unit and a transceiver circuit unit.

Preferably, the ultrasonic sensor part of the present invention is formed in a transmission / reception circuit of the water supply part.

Preferably, the display control unit of the present invention further comprises an ultrasonic signal analyzer for analyzing the signal transmitted from the ultrasonic sensor unit.

Preferably, the ultrasonic sensor part of the present invention is mounted on a printed circuit board of the transmission / reception circuit.

Preferably, the present invention further comprises at least one actuator provided between the flow paths for communicating the water supply portion and selectively opening and closing the flow path by an electrical signal.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a refrigerator system having an automatic water supply unit according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG.

3 and 4, a refrigerator system having an automatic water supply unit according to the present invention includes a refrigerator main board unit 210, a water supply unit 230, a flow switch 250, a container and a water level confirmation unit 270 and a display control unit 290.

The refrigerator main board unit 210 is an important part of the refrigerator 200 that functions as a main function of a refrigerator function, a freezing function, a circulation function, a door lamp point / off function, etc. In the present invention, the display controller 290 ) To perform all the functions of the refrigerator. The refrigerator main board unit 210 according to the present invention may have the same configuration as the refrigerator main board unit 181 according to the related art, or may be constructed by removing or adding other functions.

The refrigerator main board unit 210 receives external power and supplies power to all components inside the refrigerator, and is installed on the back of the refrigerator 200. Here, the refrigerator main board unit 210 is energized with the display control unit 290 and the flow path switch 250.

The water supply part 230 is provided on the front surface of the refrigerator 200 and a container mounting part 231 on which the container V is mounted is formed. The container seating part 231 is a certain space having a flat horizontal surface formed on the inner side so that the container V can be seated on one side of the front surface of the refrigerator 200.

The water supply unit 230 is communicated with the water tank 201 in which the water is filled and the flow channel 203 and at least one nozzle 233 through which water (or liquid) is discharged is provided at an upper portion of the container mount.

The channel switch 250 is electrically connected to the refrigerator main board 210 and is interposed between the channel 203 communicating the water tank 201 and the water supply unit 230 described above, Lt; / RTI >

Here, the actuator is operated by receiving electric power from the refrigerator main board unit 210 as a power source, and selectively opens and closes the flow path 203 by an electric signal of the display control unit 290, which will be described later. More specifically, the actuator is preferably a solenoid-type valve that selectively opens and closes the flow path 203 by changing the position of the spool inside by an electrical signal, but is not limited thereto.

At least one flow path switch 250 according to the present invention may be installed along the flow path 203 and the opening and closing degree of the flow path 203 may vary according to the reaction speed of the display control unit 290.

Unlike the conventional solenoid which is opened and closed by mechanical friction or contact, the flow path switch 250 according to the present invention selectively opens and closes the flow path 203 by an electrical signal by the display control unit 290, which will be described later. The flow path switch 250 according to the present invention is installed along the flow path 203 and can be modified in accordance with the purpose of use. The degree of opening and closing can be freely changed.

Although the flow path switch 250 and the water tub 201 are described as different components from the water supply unit 230 in the embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be integrally assembled to the water supply unit 230.

The container and water level confirmation unit 270 confirms whether or not the container V is at the normal position and detects the water supply level of the container V and outputs a signal to the display control unit 290. [ to be. The container and water level confirmation unit 270 according to the present invention can confirm whether the container V is seated in the normal position or the water level by utilizing a light source or an ultrasonic wave.

In the case of using ultrasonic waves, it is preferable that the transmitting ultrasonic transducer and at least one receiving ultrasonic transducer are integrally formed. In addition, when using a light source, the reaction speed and sensitivity are excellent compared with the case of using ultrasonic waves. However, when the water level is measured during water level measurement, light may be scattered and it may be difficult to accurately measure the water level.

In the present invention, the automatic water supply unit including the container, the water level confirmation unit 270 and the water supply unit 230 is configured to be independent of the refrigerator main board unit 210, And the water level confirmation unit 270 will not be described in detail.

The container and water level checking unit 270 can be easily installed inside the refrigerator 200 because it is composed of one module or a package as described above. It is possible to improve the productivity of the refrigerator without affecting the productivity of the refrigerator.

The vessel and water level confirmation unit 270 includes an ultrasonic sensor unit 271 and a transceiver circuit unit 273 provided in the water supply unit 230 as an embodiment. The transmission / reception circuit unit 273 is connected to the ultrasonic signal analysis unit 295 of the display control unit 290.

The automatic water supply unit includes a water supply unit 230, a flow path switch 250, and a container and water level confirmation unit 270. The automatic water supply unit includes an automatic water supply unit and a display control unit 290.

The display control unit 290 includes a display unit 291 that displays the state of the refrigerator and includes at least one operation key, a control unit 293 that controls the flow switch 250 based on the value set by the operation key, And an ultrasonic signal analyzer 295 for analyzing ultrasonic signals input from the transceiver circuit unit 273 of the water level confirmation unit 270. Here, the ultrasonic signal analysis unit 295 is mounted on the transceiver circuit unit 273 described above.

The display control unit 290 is electrically connected to the refrigerator main board unit 210 to receive power, and supplies power to the container and water level checking unit 270 described above. Therefore, the container and water level confirmation unit 270 operates completely independently of the refrigerator main board unit 210, so that the refrigerator 200 normally operates during its failure or maintenance.

Since the flow path switch 250 according to the present invention opens and closes the flow pathway 203 only by the electrical signal of the control unit 293 and the mechanical signal of the water supply button, the flow path breakage of the refrigerator 200 itself The automatic watering function may not be available.

The display unit 291 may represent the main function and the automatic water supply function of the refrigerator 200, or may separately represent the automatic water supply function according to the present invention. Here, the display unit 291 preferably includes at least one operation key for supplying water to the container V. When the display unit 291 is a touch screen, the display unit 291 may be provided inside the touch screen panel, And may be provided outside the panel.

When the main function of the refrigerator 200 is displayed together with the display unit 291 as described above, the display unit 291 is controlled so that the main function display portion of the refrigerator 200 and the water supply function display portion of the automatic water supply portion are displayed independently .

When the user places the container V at a predetermined position (bottom mark) of the container seating portion 231 and operates the operation start key, the control unit 293 controls the flow switch 250 to supply water corresponding to the set value of the user, Lt; / RTI > At the same time, the transceiver circuit portion 273 of the container and water level confirmation unit 270 detects the water supply level of the container V in real time and sends this signal to the ultrasonic signal analyzer 295. At this time, the water supply state is displayed on the display unit 291 of the display control unit 290 in graphic form or digital form in real time.

When it is determined that the level value by the signal inputted from the container and level check unit 270 is equal to or higher than the set value of the user, the ultrasonic signal analyzing unit 295 controls the flow path switch 250 The flow passage 203 is closed and the user completes the automatic water supply when the container V in which the water supply is completed is removed from the container mounting portion 231. [

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, It is obvious that it belongs to the technical idea of.

The present invention having the above-described configuration has the following effects.

First, the present invention can be used independently of the malfunctioning or maintenance of the automatic water supply unit, independently of the function and configuration of the automatic water supply unit and the refrigerator main board unit.

Second, since the automatic water supply function is configured independently of the refrigerator main board unit, the present invention excludes damage, damage and other risk factors of the refrigerator main board portion that can be caused by the abnormality of the automatic water supply function.

Third, the present invention is capable of completely inspecting and assembling the refrigerator parts, and completely independently producing, inspecting and assembling the parts of the automatic water supply part, thereby preventing work productivity from being deteriorated due to mounting on the automatic water supply part.

Fourth, the present invention can be easily assembled and replaced since each component of the automatic water supply unit can be configured as a module or a package when assembling and maintaining the automatic water supply unit.

Claims (5)

A refrigerator main board portion for controlling the main function of the refrigerator; A water supply unit for supplying water from the refrigerator; A display unit for displaying a state of the refrigerator or the water supply unit; A display control unit having at least one control key for controlling the display unit; A container and water level confirmation unit installed in the water supply unit and including a transceiver circuit unit mounted on a printed circuit board, the ultrasonic sensor unit connected to the main board unit through the display control unit; An ultrasonic signal analyzer installed in the display control unit and analyzing a signal transmitted from the ultrasonic sensor unit; And And at least one actuator installed between the flow paths for communicating the water supply portion and selectively opening and closing the flow path by an electrical signal, The display control unit A refrigerator main board unit electrically connected to the refrigerator main board unit to supply power to the container and the water level confirmation unit, The display unit displays the water supply status in graphic form or digital form in real time, Wherein the actuator is a solenoid which is electrically connected to the main board unit and is supplied with power and opens and closes the flow path according to a control signal of the control key and a control signal of the display control unit. delete delete delete delete

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