KR102095452B1 - Refrigerator and the control method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cabinet is provided with a storage chamber therein; A lighting unit provided to illuminate the interior of the storage compartment; A door including a panel assembly having a viewing window provided to open and close the storage compartment and provided to view the inside of the storage compartment illuminated by the lighting unit; A knock module including a knock sensor detecting a knock input and a module microcomputer generating a knock-on signal when it is determined as a normal knock input through the knock signal received from the knock sensor; A control method of a refrigerator including a control unit that receives the knock-on signal and outputs a control signal for controlling the lighting unit, wherein the module micom satisfies an effective knock condition for each of two consecutive knock signals. Knock judgment step to determine; In the module microcomputer, when the interval between the effective knock and the effective knock is within a preset time range, a knock-on determination step of determining as knock-on; In addition, in the module microcomputer, when it is determined to be knock-on, a control method of a refrigerator including a knock-on signal generation step of generating a knock-on signal may be provided.

Description

Refrigerator and the control method of the same}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a control method thereof.

Generally, a refrigerator is a household appliance that allows food to be stored at a low temperature in an internal storage space shielded by a door. To this end, the refrigerator is configured to store stored foods in an optimal state by cooling the inside of the storage space by using cold air generated through heat exchange with a refrigerant circulating through the refrigeration cycle.

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, refrigerators are gradually becoming large-scale and multi-functional according to changes in diet and the trend of upgrading products, and refrigerators having various structures and convenience devices for efficiently using the user's convenience and interior space have been released. .

The storage space of the refrigerator can be opened and closed by a door. The refrigerator may be classified into various types of refrigerators according to the arrangement of the storage space and the structure of a door that opens and closes the storage space.

In addition, a separate storage space accessible from the outside may be provided on the door of the refrigerator. Through this storage space, a part of the auxiliary door or the home bar door can be opened without opening the entire refrigerator door to access the storage space.

Therefore, frequently used foods can be stored in a separate storage space provided in the refrigerator door. In addition, since the entire refrigerator door is not opened for storage of food, there is an advantage of minimizing the outflow of cold air from the inside.

However, even in such a structure, there is a problem that the food inside cannot be identified without opening the refrigerator door. That is, the door must be opened to check whether the desired food is stored in the interior space or in a separate storage space provided in the door. In addition, if the desired food is not opened when the auxiliary door or the home bar is opened, there is a problem in that the main door must be opened again, and there is a problem that unnecessary leakage of cold air may occur.

In order to solve this problem, a part of the front surface of the refrigerator door may be formed of a transparent material, but in this case, a heat insulation problem in the interior may occur. In addition, when the inside can be seen while the refrigerator is not in use, there is a problem in that the food is exposed to the outside and is very bad in appearance.

Therefore, there is a need to provide a refrigerator that can selectively view the inside of the refrigerator from the outside of the refrigerator according to user needs.

In addition, there is a need to provide a refrigerator capable of accurately determining a user's needs or intentions. For example, when the user does not want to see through, the inside of the refrigerator may be visible, or the user wants to see through but the inside of the refrigerator may not be visible. This situation causes the user to deteriorate the reliability of the refrigerator.

The user's needs or will can recognize the user's actions or the user's active input in the refrigerator. That is, the user's active behavior or input for fluoroscopy can be recognized in the refrigerator. Therefore, there is a need to provide a refrigerator capable of effectively recognizing input for fluoroscopy.

On the other hand, it is possible to recognize that it is not an input for fluoroscopy as an input for sight. In other words, it can be mistaken. Therefore, there is a need to provide a refrigerator capable of minimizing the occurrence of such erroneous recognition.

In addition, it would be necessary to provide a refrigerator that is very easy and intuitive to see through, and has a simple structure and structure for seeing through.

Meanwhile, the necessity of such a refrigerator may be the same in a refrigerator having a single door as well as a refrigerator having a plurality of doors that open and close each of the plurality of storage rooms. In addition, the same may be said of a refrigerator capable of seeing the storage compartment of the door, as well as a refrigerator capable of seeing the storage compartment itself.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator and a control method for minimizing misrecognition of a user's action or input (hereinafter referred to as "perspective input") so that the inside of a refrigerator can be viewed from outside the refrigerator.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, perspective input can be performed intuitively and easily, and it is intended to provide a refrigerator having a simple configuration and structure.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, to provide a refrigerator having a perspective input structure that is easy to manufacture and can be manufactured at low cost.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the panel assembly forming the viewing window, and to provide a refrigerator capable of reducing the thickness of the panel assembly.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, to form a vacuum panel of a panel assembly forming a viewing window, to reduce the thickness of the panel assembly to provide a refrigerator for preventing the storage space is reduced by the door.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator capable of effectively detecting vibration generated by knock applied to the viewing window.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, to provide a refrigerator that is easy to manufacture a product by allowing a sensor for detecting knock to be mounted on an insulating panel located behind the front panel rather than the front panel.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator capable of extending an area of a viewing window in a panel assembly or excluding an area unrelated to the viewing window in a panel assembly. Therefore, it is intended to provide a refrigerator that is easy to manufacture and can reduce manufacturing cost.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator and a control method thereof that can accurately detect a knock input of a real user and significantly reduce the possibility of detecting a knock input of external noise.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of effective knock conditions are set so that it is determined as an effective knock only when all of these conditions are satisfied, thereby reducing the possibility of erroneously recognizing external noise as a knock input and controlling the refrigerator. I want to provide a method.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, the validity of a single knock input is first analyzed and judged, and knock-on determination is performed through a time interval condition between valid knock inputs, thereby double-knock-on determination is performed to accurately recognize knocking. It is possible to provide a refrigerator and a control method thereof, which are possible and can significantly reduce misrecognition.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the cabinet is provided with a storage room therein; A lighting unit provided to illuminate the interior of the storage compartment; A door including a panel assembly having a viewing window provided to open and close the storage compartment and provided to view the inside of the storage compartment illuminated by the lighting unit; A knock module including a knock sensor detecting a knock input and a module microcomputer generating a knock-on signal when it is determined as a normal knock input through the knock signal received from the knock sensor; In the control method of a refrigerator including a control unit for receiving the knock-on signal and outputting a control signal for controlling the lighting unit,

A knock determination step of determining whether the effective knock condition is satisfied for each of two consecutive knock signals in the module microcomputer;

In the module microcomputer, when the interval between the effective knock and the effective knock is within a preset time range, a knock-on determination step of determining as knock-on; And

In the module microcomputer, when it is determined to be knock-on, a control method of a refrigerator including a knock-on signal generation step of generating a knock-on signal may be provided.

The knock module may be a device for sensing a user's perspective input, and the lighting unit may be referred to as a perspective activation device. The control unit may be said to perform fluoroscopic control by controlling the fluoroscopic activation device based on this, when the knock module detects the fluoroscopic input and generates a fluoroscopic activation signal.

The knock input can be sensed as an analog signal. It may be an analog signal having amplitude and frequency and variable amplitude and frequency. Therefore, the signal detected by the knock module senses not only the knock input but also the input due to external noise.

Therefore, it is very important to analyze and determine whether a knock input has occurred in the detected signal. In particular, it is important to determine whether a single knock input is a valid knock input.

Preferably, the module microcomputer performs a knock determination step by setting a time point at which a knock signal having a strength greater than a preset value is received as a knock start time point. That is, it is possible to start determining whether or not the knock is effective at the start of the knock.

The module micom may perform the knock-on determination step at intervals between start times of valid knocks successively at the knock determination step or at intervals between valid knock determination points. That is, it is possible to determine whether the input is a normal knock through the gap between the effective knock and the effective knock. In other words, it is possible to determine whether each knock input is an effective knock, and if the interval between two consecutive effective knocks is within a certain range, it can be determined as a normal knock input, that is, a knock-on input.

The module micom does not perform the knock determination step while a knock signal having an intensity less than the preset value is received, and performs the knock determination step when a knock signal having an intensity greater than the preset value is received. desirable. This is because the intensity or amplitude of the signal due to knocking must be larger than the signal in the default state.

The effective knock condition may include that the range of frequencies from the start of the knock to the stabilization of the knock signal is a preset range.

The stabilization of the knock signal is preferably such that the intensity of the knock signal is less than a preset value.

The effective knock condition is preferably smaller than a preset time from the start of the knock to stabilization of the knock signal.

Since a signal is attenuated when knocking occurs, it can be said that the attenuation pattern peculiar to knock input is reflected as an effective knock condition.

The knock determination step may be ended by stabilizing the knock signal. That is, the time at which the knock signal stabilizes may be referred to as the effective knock determination time. In addition, the time at which the knock signal stabilizes can be said to be a time at which the effective knock determination can be restarted. If a knock start occurs before the knock signal is stabilized, it is ignored and the valid knock determination is ended.

The effective knock condition may include that the sum of the intensity of each of the vibrations of the knock signal until the knock signal is stabilized is a preset range.

The effective knock condition may include that the ratio of the sum of the intensity of each of the vibrations of the knock signal until the knock signal stabilizes to the frequency of the knock signal until the knock signal stabilizes is greater than a preset value.

 Similarly, it can be said that the attenuation pattern peculiar to knock input is reflected as an effective knock condition.

The effective knock condition may include that the time from the start of the knock to the stabilization is greater than a preset value.

The effective knock condition may include that the maximum peak position of the knock signal is less than the initial 40%, assuming that the interval between the start of the knock and the stabilization of the knock signal is 100%.

When the actual user inputs the knock, it can be seen that the peak signal is generated near the knock start point. Therefore, it can be said that the effective knock condition is set in response to this tendency.

Similarly, the effective knock condition may be that the maximum peak of the knock signal is greater than 120% than the intensity of the knock signal at the start of the knock.

When the knock module is first turned on, it is preferable that a stabilization step is performed to determine that the intensity of the knock signal is maintained at a strength less than a preset value, which is greater than a preset frequency. After the knock module activation starts and the stabilization step is performed, the knock module can perform a normal function.

When the knock signal is stabilized in the stabilization step, it is preferable that the knock determination step is performed.

Preferably, the module micom performs the signal correction step for sharpening the knock signal and reducing noise.

In the signal correction step, it is preferable to correct the knock signal by using a difference between the current knock signal and the past knock signal. Therefore, it is possible to exclude as much as possible the influence of the signal caused by the noise input by default.

After the signal modification step, it is preferable to perform a signal processing step of processing the knock signal by replacing the absolute value with the reference value of the modified knock signal as a baseline. That is, it is desirable to process the signal to facilitate processing while maintaining the characteristics of the signal.

The knock determination step may be performed through the processed knock signal.

A plurality of the effective knock conditions are provided, and it is preferable that the standard of each effective knock condition can be changed. In addition, it is preferable that the time interval condition between the effective knock and the effective knock can also be changed.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in the control method of a refrigerator for outputting a control signal for performing perspective control to enable the perspective of the door through the knock input input by the user, knock A knock determination step of determining whether an effective knock condition is satisfied through a signal detected by the sensor; A knock-on determination step of determining knock-on when the interval between two consecutive effective knocks is within a preset time range; A knock-on signal generation step of generating a knock-on signal when it is determined to be knock-on; In addition, a control method of a refrigerator including a perspective control step of performing perspective control based on the knock-on signal may be provided.

In the knock determination step, it is determined whether an effective knock is input. A plurality of conditions may be used, and these conditions may be set in consideration of various factors such as signal strength and attenuation characteristics by knock input. In the knock determination step, it is determined whether or not an effective knock input has occurred. That is, it is determined whether an effective knock input has occurred through the effective knock occurrence time point and the end time point as time passes. Therefore, the effective knock determination can be continuously performed. For example, it may be determined that the knock is effective at 1 minute intervals, and it may be determined that the 1 second interval is effective knocking.

When two consecutive knock signals are valid knocks, it can be determined whether these valid knocks constitute a knock-on input. That is, it is possible to determine whether the input is a valid perspective. If the interval between the effective knock and the effective knock is within a predetermined time range, a knock-on determination step of determining as knock-on may be performed. When the user's knock pattern is analyzed and consecutive effective knocks are generated twice between a range of about 80 ms to 600 ms, it can be determined as a normal knock-on input. If it is determined to be knock-on, a knock-on signal may be generated.

Meanwhile, the knock determining step and the knock-on determining step are preferably performed in a module microcomputer provided separately from the main control unit of the refrigerator. The module micom constitutes a knock module together with a knock sensor. The module micom analyzes and determines the signal, and generates a knock-on signal. Therefore, the control unit is independent of the occurrence of the knock-on signal and only needs to perform perspective control by reflecting the received knock-on signal.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent overloading of the control unit.

In the above embodiment, the user's knock input is determined in duplicate. That is, it is determined whether a single knock is caused by the user's knock. It is determined whether or not each knock is a valid knock. Therefore, at this time, it is possible to significantly prevent false recognition due to external noise.

Even a valid knock may be due to external noise. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the knock-on is input through the interval between the effective knock and the effective knock. When the user continuously knocks, the time interval between knock and knock will be within a predetermined range. Therefore, knocks and knocks outside this range may not be due to normal knocks.

Therefore, it is possible to significantly reduce the possibility of erroneous recognition.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator and a control method for minimizing misrecognition of user actions or inputs (hereinafter referred to as "perspective inputs") so that the inside of the refrigerator can be viewed from outside the refrigerator.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, perspective input can be performed intuitively and easily, and a refrigerator having a simple configuration and structure can be provided.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator having a perspective input structure that is easy to manufacture and can be manufactured at low cost.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the panel assembly forming the viewing window, and to provide a refrigerator capable of reducing the thickness of the panel assembly.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator for preventing the storage space from being reduced by a door by reducing the thickness of the panel assembly by forming a vacuum panel of the panel assembly forming the viewing window.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of effectively detecting vibration generated by knock applied to the viewing window.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that is easy to manufacture a product by allowing a sensor for detecting knock to be mounted on an insulating panel located behind the front panel rather than the front panel.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator capable of extending an area of a viewing window in a panel assembly or excluding an area unrelated to the viewing window in a panel assembly. Therefore, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that is easy to manufacture and can reduce manufacturing cost.

In the above-described embodiments, the lighting unit is an example of the fluoroscopy unit, the knock module is an example of the fluoroscopy input unit, and the knock-on signal may be an example of the fluoroscopy signal. Accordingly, the perspective switching unit and the perspective input unit may be modified in various forms.

Through the refrigerator and the control method thereof according to the above-described embodiments, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that is easy to use and can improve reliability.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the sub-door of the refrigerator is opened,
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the main door of the refrigerator is opened,
Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a coupling structure of the main door and the sub-door,
5 is a perspective view of the refrigerator compartment door (main door) from the rear,
6 is a front view of the sub-door,
7 is an exploded perspective view of the sub-door,
8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA 'in FIG. 1;
9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB 'of FIG. 6,
Figure 10 is an exploded perspective view of the combination structure of the knock detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention seen from the front of the sub-door
11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC ′ in FIG. 6.
12 is a block diagram showing a control signal flow of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention,
13 is a flow chart showing the control logic of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention,
14 is a perspective view of a state before and after the knock operation in the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;
15 is a block diagram showing a control signal flow of the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention,
16 is a flow chart showing the control logic of the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention,
17 is a flowchart illustrating control logic of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention,
18 is a front view of a front panel of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention,
19 is a cross-sectional view of a panel assembly to which a microphone sensor is applied and a panel assembly to which a vibration sensor is applied,
20 is a cross-sectional view of a panel assembly to which a microphone sensor is applied and a vacuum panel assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention, and a front view of the vacuum panel assembly,
21 shows an embodiment of a control flow from the knock module to generating a knock-on signal,
22 is a graph showing effective knock conditions and knock-on conditions for the knock input.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings and examples specifically specifying components and the like of the present invention. However, it is only used to aid the understanding of the present invention. In addition, in the following embodiments, specific components may be illustrated or described as exaggerated or reduced for convenience of description. This is also to aid the understanding of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the following examples, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can make various modifications and variations from these descriptions, and these modifications and variations are the scope of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. And, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the sub-door 50 of the refrigerator is opened. And Figure 3 is a perspective view of the main door 40 of the refrigerator is opened.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the refrigerator 1 may have an external shape by a cabinet 10 forming a storage space and a door opening and closing the storage space.

The interior of the cabinet 10 may be divided up and down by a barrier, a refrigerating chamber 12 may be formed at an upper portion of the cabinet 10, and a freezer 13 may be formed at a lower portion of the cabinet 10. You can.

The door may include a refrigerator compartment door 20 and a freezer compartment door 30. The refrigerator compartment door 20 may be provided to open and close the opened front surface of the refrigerator compartment 12 by rotation. The freezer compartment door 30 may be configured to open and close the opened front surface of the freezer compartment 13 by sliding. The freezer door 30 may be drawn out in a drawer type, and may be configured to open and close the freezer 13 by drawing in and out. In addition, the refrigerator compartment door 20 may be configured to be provided with a pair of left and right sides so that the refrigerator compartment 12 is shielded by a pair of doors. Of course, one refrigerator compartment door 20 may be provided.

On the other hand, the freezer compartment door 30 may be provided as a swing-type door, like the refrigerator compartment door 20, not a drawer. In addition, the freezer compartments are provided on the left and right sides, respectively, and two freezer compartment doors may be provided. In a refrigerator freeze-cooled below, a freezer compartment is provided on the left and right sides, and a refrigerator with a pair of swing-type freezer doors can be called a French-type refrigerator.

In addition, various storage members such as shelves, drawers, or baskets may be provided inside the refrigerator compartment 12 and the freezer compartment 13. If necessary, the storage member may be drawn in and out while the refrigerator compartment door 20 and the freezer compartment door 30 are opened, and food can be stored and stored by the withdrawal.

The refrigerator compartment door 20 and the freezer compartment door 30 form an overall appearance when viewed from the front, and if necessary, the refrigerator compartment door 20 may be provided with a dispenser 22 for taking out water or ice.

Meanwhile, the refrigerator compartment door 20 on the right side (as shown in FIG. 1) of the pair of refrigerator compartment doors 20 may be configured to be opened and closed in double. In detail, the refrigerating compartment door 20 located on the right side is arranged to be rotatable in the main door 40 and the main door 40 or the cabinet 10 to open and close the refrigerating compartment 12, and the main door 40 It may be composed of a sub-door 50 for opening and closing the opening 403 formed in).

The main door 40 may be rotatably mounted on the cabinet 10 by an upper hinge 401 and a lower hinge 402 to open and close at least a portion of the refrigerator compartment 12.

A door basket 43 may be mounted on the rear surface of the main door 40 including the inside of the opening 403. Accordingly, the user can access the door basket 43 through the opening 403 even if only the sub-door 50 is opened and the main door 40 is not opened. At this time, the size of the opening 403 may occupy most of the front surface of the main door 40 except for a part of the circumference of the main door 40.

The door basket 43 may include only the first door basket 431, but further includes a second door basket 433 located under the first door basket 431 as necessary to secure a storage space. In addition, the third door basket 435 located below the second door basket 433 may be further included.

The sub-door 50 may be rotatably mounted on the front surface of the main door 40 to open and close the opening 403. Therefore, access to the opening 403 from the outside is possible through the opening of the sub-door 50.

The size of the sub-door 50 is formed to be the same as the size of the main door 40 and may be configured to shield the entire front surface of the main door 40.

The sub-door 50 is provided with a panel assembly 54 formed of a transparent material such as glass at the center. Therefore, it is possible to see through the inside of the opening 403 even when the sub-door 50 is closed. The sub-door 50 may be referred to as a see-through door or a see-through door. Accordingly, the panel assembly 54 may be referred to as a viewing window. As will be described later, the viewing window is not always provided in a viewable state, but may be provided to be switched to a viewable state (perspective activation state) and a non-perspective state (perspective deactivation state) as necessary. Normally, when the user performs fluoroscopic input in the fluoroscopically inactive state, it may be provided to be switched to the activated state. In addition, when the user performs the perspective input to no longer perform fluoroscopy in the activated state, it may be provided to be switched to the inactive state.

Since the sub-door 50 is rotatably mounted on the front side of the main door 40, the sub-door 50 rotates independently in the closed state of the main door 40 to open and close the opening 403 Can be configured to do so.

Meanwhile, a handle 23 may be provided on the front surface of the refrigerator compartment door 20. The handle 23 may be formed at ends of a pair of the refrigerator compartment doors 20 adjacent to each other. Meanwhile, the handle 23 of the refrigerator compartment door 20 located on the right side may be provided on the front surface of the sub-door 50.

The handle 23 may be disposed such that a central portion is farther away from the refrigerator compartment door 20 than the upper and lower parts that contact the refrigerator compartment door 20. In one example, the handle 23 has an arch shape, and a center has a curved shape, and may be coupled to the refrigerator compartment door 20.

The sub-door 50 may be provided with a locking unit 232 operated by an operation button 231, the locking unit 232 protrudes to the rear of the sub-door 50, the main door It can be selectively coupled and disengaged with the restraining member 404.

Therefore, the user can open the main door 40 by holding the handle 23, and at this time, the sub-door 50 rotates integrally with the main door 40. In addition, when the user holds the handle 23 and pulls the handle 23 while pressing the crude button 231, the main door 40 is fixed and only the sub door 50 can be opened.

In one embodiment of the refrigerator illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, it may be said that the sub-door 50 is a type of refrigerator that is superimposed on the front of the main door 40. Therefore, in this case, the size of the sub-door 50 is substantially the same as the size of the main door 40. Of course, the sub-door 50 may be a refrigerator in which a part overlaps the front of the main door 40.

However, unlike this, the sub-door 50 may be inserted into the main door 40 and closed to form a refrigerator. In this case, the size of the sub-door 50 is smaller than the size of the main door 40. In other words, the main door 40 may form the door frame of the sub-door 50. In this type of refrigerator, a handle for opening the main door 40 and a handle for opening the sub door 50 may be separately provided.

In any case, the sub-door 50 may be formed as a perspective door, and is preferably formed as a door selectively activated as needed. That is, it is preferable that it is a perspective door in which perspective activation is performed by a perspective input or a perspective activation input.

Perspective activation means changing from a state where the inside cannot be seen through a door to a state where the inside can be seen. Therefore, when fluoroscopic activation is performed in the refrigerator, the storage room behind the door can be seen from outside the refrigerator through the door.

4 is an exploded perspective view showing a coupling structure of a main door and a sub door in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the upper hinge 401 is fixedly mounted to the cabinet 10 so that the main door 40 is rotatably mounted to the cabinet 10, and the sub upper hinge 51 Is to allow the sub-door 50 to be rotatably mounted on the main door 40.

At this time, the hinge shaft 511 of the sub upper hinge 51 may be formed in a tube shape having a cross section with one side open. Such a cross-sectional structure provides a space inside the hinge shaft 511 which is more extended. Therefore, the electric wires or signal lines L connected to the electric parts (knock detection device or door lighting unit to be described below) provided in the sub-door 50 are through the hinge axis 511 of the sub-upper hinge 51. It is guided to the outside of the sub-door 50 so that it can be connected to the main control unit 2 on the cabinet 10.

The upper hinge 401 and the sub upper hinge 51 are shielded by the main hinge cover 45 and the sub hinge cover 53. The main hinge cover 45 and the sub hinge cover 53 have a structure connected to each other, and the electric wire L guided to the outside through the sub upper hinge 51 passes through the sub hinge cover 53 and The main controller 2 may be guided through the inner side of the main hinge cover 45.

In addition, a separate PCB may be accommodated inside the main hinge cover 45 to control electric components on the sub-door 50 side.

Meanwhile, a lower hinge 402 for supporting a lower end of the main door 40 is mounted on one front side of the cabinet 10. In addition, a sub-lower hinge 52 for supporting the sub-door 50 is mounted at a lower end of the main door 40.

5 is a perspective view of a refrigerator in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the rear.

As illustrated in the drawing, the front surface of the storage case 41 is opened, and the opened front surface of the storage case 41 may be formed to correspond to the size of the opening 403. Accordingly, when the sub-door 50 is opened, the opening 403 is exposed, and the door basket 43 inside the storage case 41 can be accessed through the opening 403.

In addition, a case door 42 that is opened and closed by rotation may be provided on the rear surface of the storage case 41. Therefore, the case door 42 may be opened while the main door 40 is opened to access the door basket 43.

A case opening 432 and a door opening 421 may be formed in the storage case 41 and the case door 42 to allow cold air inside to flow into the storage case 41. Therefore, the temperature inside the storage case 41 may be maintained to be the same as the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment 12.

6 is a front view of a sub-door in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. And Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the sub-door.

As shown in the figure, the sub-door 50 has an outer plate 55 that forms an exterior, a panel assembly 54 mounted to the opening of the outer plate 55, and spaced apart from the outer plate 55 The door liner 58 may be mounted, and may be composed of an upper cap deco 56 and a lower cap deco 57 forming upper and lower surfaces of the sub-door 50.

The out plate 55 may be formed of a stainless material by forming a part of the front appearance and the circumferential surface of the sub-door 50. In addition, a panel mounting hole 551 in which the panel assembly 54 is formed is formed in the center of the out plate 55.

The panel mounting hole 551 is a space for seeing through the inside of the opening 403 of the main door 40 and may be formed to be the same or similar to the size of the opening 403.

Then, a plate bent portion 552 vertically bent inward along the periphery of the panel mounting hole 551 is formed. The plate bent portion 552 is bent to be inserted into the support frame 60 to be described below, and the plate bent portion 552 may be formed with plate holes 5521 continuously opened at regular intervals.

The panel assembly 54 is formed to shield the panel mounting hole 551, and in the state where the panel assembly 54 is mounted, the front surface of the panel assembly 54 is the front surface of the out plate 55. And may be formed in the same plane.

The panel assembly 54 may be selectively transparent according to on / off of the door lighting unit 49, and is configured to selectively see through the interior of the opening 403. Therefore, when the door lighting unit 49 is turned on can be referred to as fluoroscopically activated, and when the door lighting unit 49 is turned off can be referred to as fluoroscopically disabled. It would be desirable to maintain fluoroscopy in normal use.

On the other hand, the edge of the front panel 541 is provided with a bezel 5161 which may be formed to prevent light transmission, and the bezel 5151 may be configured to extend further outward than the heat insulating panel 542. have.

Accordingly, the support frame 60 and the interpolation rod 543 (see FIG. 8) are positioned on the rear surface of the front panel 541 where the bezel 5151 is formed, so that the support frame 60 and the interpolation rod 543 are formed. Do not expose to the front through the front panel 541.

The upper cap deco 56 forms an upper surface of the sub-door 50 and may be coupled to the top of the out plate 55 and the door liner 58. And, one end of the upper cap deco 56, the sub-upper hinge mounting portion 501 is formed, the sub-upper hinge mounting portion 501, the upper shaft 523 of the upper hinge 401 is inserted into the upper boss 5012 may be mounted.

The lower cap deco 57 is formed on the lower surface of the sub-door 50 and is coupled to the bottom of the out plate 55 and the door liner 58. In addition, a hinge plate 571 is mounted at a position where the sub-lower hinge 52 is mounted on the lower cap deco 57, and a hinge axis 523 of the sub-lower hinge 52 is mounted on the hinge plate 571. ) May be mounted in the lower boss 572.

The door liner 58 forms the rear surface of the sub-door 50, and a liner opening 581 may be formed in an area where the panel assembly 54 is disposed. Further, a liner groove 582 for maintaining the shape of the door liner 58 may be formed along the liner opening 581 around the door liner 58, and the liner groove 582 may be A sub gasket 591 (see FIG. 8) that is recessed in the rear surface of the sub door 50 and seals between the sub door 50 and the main door 40 may be mounted.

Accordingly, light inside the storage space inside the door passes through the opening 403 of the main door, the liner opening 581 and the panel assembly 54. Through this, the storage space inside the door can be seen from outside the door.

The locking unit 232 may be mounted on one side of the door liner 58, and a knock detection device 82, which will be described in detail below, may be mounted.

A support frame 60 for fixing the out plate 55 and the panel assembly 54 along the periphery of the panel mounting hole 551 is provided on the rear surface of the out plate 55. The support frame 60 may be configured by combining the upper frame 61 and the lower frame 63 and a pair of side frames 62.

The door lighting unit 49 may illuminate a portion in which a plurality of door baskets 43 mounted on the main door 40 are arranged, and the panel assembly 54 may be made to have a high inner side appear brighter than a high outer side. Make it look transparent.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A 'in FIG. 1. Looking in more detail with respect to the door lighting unit 49 with reference to FIG. 8, the door lighting unit 49 includes a lamp case 491 mounted on the door liner 58, and the lamp case 491 It can be configured to include a lamp PCB 492 that is accommodated in the interior of which a plurality of LEDs 4921 are disposed, and a lamp cover 493 that shields the opened bottom surface of the lamp case 491 and is exposed through the opening. have.

The door lighting unit 49 may be mounted on the lighting unit mounting portion 583 formed on the top of the liner opening 581 of the door liner 58.

The lamp cover 493 includes a recess 4112 that forms a recessed space to accommodate the lamp PCB 492 therein. The recessed portion 4912 reflects the light irradiated from the lamp PCB 492 through the round surface 4913 having a predetermined curvature to face the lamp case 491.

In addition, a wire entrance 4915 through which the wire L connected to the lamp PCB 492 is connected may be formed at one side of the lamp PCB mounting portion 4914. The wire entrance 4915 may be guided to the inner space of the sub-door 50, and may be accessed through the hinge shaft 523 of the sub-upper hinge 51.

On the other hand, the area that can be viewed through the sub-door 50 may be referred to as an interior area of the storage case 41 or a basket area provided near the opening 403 of the main door as described above. It can be said that the door lighting unit 49 is located in correspondence with this area.

However, in general, a storage compartment lighting unit is provided inside the storage compartment of the refrigerator. That is, the storage compartment lighting unit is provided inside the storage compartment opened and closed through the main door. Therefore, when the storage room lighting unit is turned on together with the door lighting unit 49, the perspective brightness can be further increased. In this case, the storage case door 42 (see FIG. 5) that partially blocks the storage compartment and the basket area may be omitted.

Of course, if sufficient perspective brightness is provided through the storage room lighting unit, it may be possible to omit the door lighting unit 49.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, fluoroscopic activation may be performed by turning on at least one of the storage room lighting unit and the door lighting unit.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB 'of FIG. 6, and referring to FIG. 9, the panel assembly 54 will be described in more detail. The panel assembly 54 includes a front panel 541 and rear surfaces of the front panel 541. It may be configured to include at least one insulation panel 542 disposed on the front panel 541 and the insulation panel 542 and a plurality of insulation panels 542 to support the intermediate rod (543).

The intermittent rod 543 spaces the front panel 541 and the heat insulating panel 542 from each other, and the front panel 541 and the heat insulating panel 542 are spaced apart from each other, and can be sealed between them. .

The intermittent rod 543 may be disposed between a plurality of the insulating panels 542, and if necessary, a closed space S between the front panel 541 and the insulating panels 542 and a plurality of insulating panels An inert gas such as argon gas for heat insulation may be filled between the closed spaces S between 542.

As illustrated, the left and right widths of the front panel 541 may be greater than the left and right widths of the heat insulation panel 542. In addition, the left and right widths of the heat insulation panel 542 may be larger than the left and right widths of the liner opening 581. When the fluoroscopy is activated, it is possible to see the inner region (storage chamber fluoroscopy region) of the liner opening 581 from the outside, as well as the interstices 543. Therefore, a bezel may be formed at the rim portion of the front panel 541 to prevent such interpolation from being viewed from the outside. The bezel 5151 may be formed of a printed layer printed on the front panel 541, or may be formed by opaque film coating. In addition, a knock detection device, which will be described later, may be provided on the bezel portion of the front panel 541. The knock detection device may be located outside the interpolation rod 543. In order to maintain close contact between the knock detection device and the front panel 541, a print layer or a coating layer may be excluded between the knock detection device and the front panel. Therefore, a print layer or a coating layer may be formed on the bezel part except for the part where the knock sensing device and the front panel 541 are in close contact.

Meanwhile, a heater 59 may be provided in the bezel 5161 portion. The heater 59 is formed in the form of a hot wire and may be formed in a closed loop shape surrounding an edge portion of the panel assembly 54 (see FIG. 7). Since the insulation panel 542 is not provided in the bezel part of the front panel 541, moisture condensation may be prevented from being condensed in front of the bezel part through the heater 59.

The vertical width of the front panel 541 may be greater than the vertical width of the thermal insulation panel 542. That is, the front panel 541 may be formed to extend further to the top and / or bottom than the heat insulating panel. These extensions can form upper and lower bezels.

10 is an exploded perspective view of the knock structure of the knock detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front. 10, the out plate 55 and the panel assembly 54 of the sub-door 50 are omitted.

As shown in the figure, a sensor opening 584 into which the knock sensing device 82 can be inserted is formed under the door liner 58, and the sensor opening 584 is the knock sensing device 82. ) Can be formed to be inserted and mounted from the outside.

A receiving portion case 587 may be mounted under the door liner 58 to extend to a rear surface of the panel assembly to form a space in which the knock sensing device 82 is accommodated.

A detection device insertion portion 5872 into which the front end of the knock detection device 82 is inserted may be formed in the receiving portion case 587, and an insertion hole 5873 is formed on the front surface of the detection device insertion portion 5872. The knock detection device 82, which is opened and inserted into the inside, can be in close contact with the front surface of the front panel 541.

In addition, the door liner 58 may be provided with an insert cover 585 in which a detection device PCB 83 for processing a knock detection signal of the knock detection device 82 is mounted, and the insert cover 585 May be composed of a cover portion 5551 for shielding the sensor opening 584 and a fish ratio insertion portion 5852 in which the detection device PCB 83 is mounted.

In the detection device PCB 83, it is possible to determine that the user taps the front surface of the panel assembly 54 multiple times as a normal knock input. More specifically, it can be determined that the knock is repeated a plurality of times at a predetermined time interval as a normal knock input. Judging from the normal knock input, a knock-on signal is generated. The knock-on signal is transmitted to a control unit that controls the operation of the refrigerator. Such a control unit may be referred to as a main control unit of the refrigerator.

The knock detecting device 82 and the detecting device PCB 83 may form one knock module 80. That is, it is possible to determine whether or not the knock input detected by the knock detection device is a normal knock input by the detection device PCB 83 rather than the main controller 2. Therefore, the detection device PCB can be said to be a knock module microcomputer.

Therefore, the input signals sensed by the knock detection device 82 need not be transmitted to the main control unit 2. That is, the main control unit 2 may be satisfied by receiving a knock-on signal through the knock module 80 and controlling fluoroscopy activation. The configuration and control characteristics of this knock module will be described later in detail through FIG. 12.

In FIG. 10, an example in which a knock sensing device 82 is provided in a portion where the front panel 541 extends further downward than the heat insulating panel is illustrated. That is, an example in which a knock detection device 82 is provided under the sub-door 50 is illustrated. However, as illustrated, the knock detection device 82 may be provided in a portion where the front panel 541 extends further upward than the heat insulation panel. In this case, the knock detection device 82 will be provided on the sub-door 50.

The configuration and mounting structure of the knock detection device 82 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 11, which is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C 'of FIG. 6.

The knock detecting device 82 includes a microphone module 821 for detecting a knock-on signal, a holder 823 in which the microphone module 821 is accommodated, and the holder 823 and the microphone module 821 in front of the It may be configured to include a support member 825 for supporting the elastic member 824 and the elastic member 824 and the holder 823 to press and close to the panel 541 side.

The microphone module 821 includes a microphone 8211 that directly senses sound waves and a microphone accommodating portion 8212 that accommodates the microphone 8211. The microphone 8211 performs direct sensing of sound waves, and is formed in a circle having a predetermined thickness to be fixedly mounted inside the microphone module 821.

The microphone module 821 detects the knock input applied to the front panel, and the detection device PC83 determines whether the detected knock input is a normal knock input. In the case of a normal knock input, the detection device PCB 83 transmits a knock-on signal to the main control unit 2. As described later, when the knock-on signal is received from the main control unit 2, fluoroscopic activation is performed. In one example, fluoroscopic activation may be performed by turning on the door lighting unit 49. In addition, when the knock-on signal is received in the fluoroscopically activated state from the main controller 2, fluoroscopic deactivation may be performed.

12 is a block diagram showing the flow of a control signal in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a flowchart sequentially showing fluoroscopic activation / fluoroscopic deactivation control of the refrigerator. And, Figure 14 is a perspective view of the state before and after the knock operation of the refrigerator.

As shown in the figure, the refrigerator 1 includes a control unit 2 for controlling the operation of the refrigerator. The refrigerator 1 may include a microcomputer that performs other processes in addition to the control unit 2. As an example, a microcomputer for display or communication may be additionally provided, and the aforementioned detection device PCB may also be referred to as a microcomputer that performs a process. Therefore, the control unit 2 may be referred to as a main control unit of the refrigerator.

The main control unit 2 may be connected to the door switch 21. The door switch 21 is provided in the cabinet 10 to detect the opening of the refrigerator compartment door 20 or the main door 40, and is provided in the main door 40 to provide the sub-door 50 It can also detect the opening.

In addition, the main control unit 2 may be connected to the door lighting unit 49 so that it lights up when the sub-door 50 is opened or when a knock-on signal is input. In addition, the main control unit 2 may be connected to the detection device PCB 83 connected to the knock detection device 82.

On the other hand, in the general situation where there is no separate operation of the refrigerator 1, as shown in FIG. 14, the panel assembly 54 may be in an opaque state such as a mirror surface or a black panel surface. Under such a state, it is impossible to see the interior. That is, it may be in a perspective deactivation state.

Then, in the perspective deactivation state, the knock detection device 82 maintains a state in which a user's perspective input is possible at any time in an activated state (S110).

In the fluoroscopically deactivated state, in order to check the food storage state in the interior, the user may perform a knock-on operation in which the front of the sub-door 50 is knocked on the front panel 541 in front of the refrigerator. The knock detection device 82 detects the user's knock input, and the sensor device 83 determines whether the knock-on operation is an effective operation. That is, it is determined whether the input is a normal knock (S120).

In detail, when the user taps the front panel 541, the wavelength caused by vibration generated at this time moves along the front panel 541, which is the same medium, and receives sound waves from the microphone 8211 in close contact with the front panel 541. Will receive.

The received sound waves may be filtered and amplified while passing through the filter and the amplifier, and then transmitted to the detection device PCB 83. The detection device PCB 83 determines whether a normal knock input is a signal collected and analyzed to detect a knock signal.

In the case of sound waves generated by noise or impact on the inside or outside, there may be a difference in characteristics between the sound waves generated by knocking. Therefore, the detection device PC ratio 83 determines whether the user is knocked through a signal corresponding to the characteristics of the knock signal.

Of course, a signal similar to the knock signal may be generated in a specific situation, and a knock-like impact may be generated on the front panel 541 due to inadvertent or inexperienced operation of the user, and external noise is similar to the wavelength of the knock signal. It may be recognized as a signal.

In order to prevent erroneous recognition in this special situation, the detection device PCB 83 may check whether the knock signal is continuously generated by a set pattern, and determine whether the pattern is made within a set time.

For example, in order to be detected as a valid knock-on signal, a signal recognized as a knock may be set to be generated twice within 1 second. As a result of analyzing the knock pattern of a typical user, two knocks are continuously performed and the time interval is within 1 second. When this is set, it is possible to prevent misrecognition in a special situation and accurately recognize the user's knock operation. I can do it. Of course, the number and setting time of the knock signal to be determined as the effective knock-on signal may be variously changed.

When it is determined that an effective knock-on signal has not been generated through the knock detection device 82, the main control unit 2 does not perform a separate control operation. In other words, the perspective deactivation state is maintained. That is, unless the main control unit 2 receives an effective knock-on signal from the knock module 80, it does not perform control related to fluoroscopy accordingly.

On the other hand, when an effective knock input is sensed and an effective knock-on signal is transmitted from the detection device PCB 83 to the main control unit 2, the main control unit 2 performs control related to normal fluoroscopy. That is, fluoroscopic activation control or fluoroscopic deactivation control is performed. For example, in the perspective deactivation state, the control unit 2 turns on the door lighting unit 49. Then, in the perspective activation state, the control unit 2 turns off the door lighting unit 49.

When the door lighting unit 49 is turned on, the inside of the opening 403 becomes bright, and the high inner light passes through the panel assembly 54. In particular, as it passes through the front panel 541, the front panel 541 becomes transparent, and as shown in FIG. 14, an internal perspective is possible (S130).

When the sub-door 50 becomes transparent, the user can check the storage space or interior space inside the main door 40, and open the sub-door 50 or carry out necessary work to store food. .

The lit door lighting unit 49 maintains the lit state for a set time, for example, 10 seconds, so that the user can sufficiently check the inside condition.

Then, it is determined whether the set time has elapsed while the door lighting unit 49 is turned on (S140), and when the set time has elapsed, the door lighting unit 49 is turned off (S160).

In addition, the knock input of the user may be performed before the set time elapses while the door lighting unit 49 is turned on. That is, after the user checks the interior by performing a knock-on operation to check the interior, the door lighting unit 49 may be turned off before the set time passes.

For example, within 5 seconds after the door lighting unit 49 is turned on, if the user wants to make the sub-door 50 become opaque within 5 seconds, the sub-door 50 again. Knock the front panel, that is, the front panel 541.

If it is determined that the knock operation at this time is valid (S150), the door lighting unit 49 may be turned off before the set time has elapsed (S160). Of course, the validity determination of the knock operation at this time may be set in the same manner as in step S120, or may be set to another knock input pattern as necessary.

The door lighting unit 49 may be turned off when a set time elapses after the door lighting unit 49 is turned on or when an effective knock-on signal is input.

Accordingly, the main control unit 2 receives the knock-on signal and performs fluoroscopic activation / transparent deactivation control based on the knock-on signal. Such control can be performed by controlling on / off of a lighting device such as a door lighting unit 49.

When the door lighting unit 49 is turned off, the inner side becomes dark and the outer side becomes bright. In this state, the exterior light of the high side is reflected from the front panel 541, and the front surface of the sub-door 50 is in a mirror-like state, and thus the inside perspective is impossible. Therefore, the sub-door 50 is maintained in an opaque state until a new operation is input (S160).

Hereinafter, a refrigerator and a control method thereof according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. In this embodiment, features in the above-described embodiment may be included unless contradictory or exclusive.

The aforementioned knock detection device is provided to detect a user's knock input. That is, the user's knock input to the front panel is sensed by sound waves or vibrations. However, external noise or external shock may be transmitted to the refrigerator, and vibration or shock may occur in the refrigerator itself. Accordingly, the knock detection device detects an abnormal input as well as an inputted normal knock input and determines whether or not a normal knock input is received.

However, an external input similar to or identical to a normal knock input may be generated, and in this case, fluoroscopic activation may be performed unnecessarily by misrecognition. In addition, fluoroscopic activation may occur in a state in which fluoroscopic activation is unnecessary or in which fluoroscopic activation should be excluded. In this case, of course, a process of determining whether or not a normal knock input is received is also performed unnecessarily.

Knock input may be performed to view the inside of the storage compartment behind the door without opening the door with the viewing window. Therefore, the perspective activation control is unnecessary when the door provided with the viewing window is opened. If the perspective activation control is performed for some reason while the door with the viewing window is open, this may cause waste of energy and confusion of the user. In this embodiment, it is possible to provide a refrigerator and a control method for solving the problem.

On the other hand, an impact may occur when the door having the viewing window as well as the other door of the refrigerator is opened and then closed. In particular, when the freezer door in the form of a drawer is closed, an impact may occur. The shock may be received by the knock sensing device 82 as sound waves or vibrations.

It can be said that the form in which a plurality of users close the door is very diverse. And, even for the same user, the form of closing the door can be very diverse. Therefore, the shock generated by closing the door may be similar to the normal knock input. Therefore, a problem of incorrectly recognizing an abnormal input as a normal knock input may occur.

For example, when the user closes the freezer door, fluoroscopic activation may be performed on a door equipped with a viewing window. In this case, the user may think that the refrigerator is not smart, or suspect that the product is malfunctioning, and thus product reliability may be deteriorated. Of course, this fluoroscopic activation is also unnecessary fluoroscopic activation, resulting in wasted energy. The present embodiment can provide a refrigerator and a control method for solving the problem associated with opening the door.

Referring to FIG. 15, the control configuration of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. Duplicate descriptions of the same features as in the above-described embodiment are omitted. Of course, in the above-described embodiment, the same or similar control configuration may be included in the present embodiment.

The main control unit 2 is provided to receive a knock-on signal from the knock module 80. When the knock-on signal is received, fluoroscopic activation is performed by turning on the door lighting unit 49 and / or the storage compartment lighting unit 49a provided in the storage compartment behind the projected door.

When the door provided with the see-through window (the see-through window door) is a refrigerator compartment (freezer) door, the user inputs a knock to the refrigerator compartment (freezer compartment) door. This form can be called a refrigerator or freezer with a single door. In this case, the door lighting unit 49 may be omitted, and perspective activation may be performed by turning on the storage compartment lighting unit 49a inside the refrigerator compartment (freezer compartment).

The main control unit 2 may know that the viewing window door is opened through the viewing window door switch 21a. When the viewing window door is opened, the main control unit 2 turns on the storage compartment lighting unit 49a so that the user can see the inside of the storage compartment well. At this time, the on of the storage room lighting unit 49a is independent of fluoroscopic activation.

However, in this state, fluoroscopic deactivation may be performed by an abnormal knock input. In other words, the storage room lighting unit 49a may be turned off even though the viewing window door is open. That is, it is possible to perform fluoroscopic deactivation control unnecessarily by erroneously recognizing the abnormal input as a normal input. In this case, the user may suspect a malfunction of the refrigerator, and use becomes very uncomfortable.

In addition, when the viewing window door is opened and the storage compartment lighting unit 49a is turned on, the user can intentionally input a normal knock. In this case, when the storage room lighting unit 49a is turned off, the user thinks that the refrigerator is not smart.

On the other hand, when the user opens and closes the see-through window door tightly, it may be mistaken for a normal knock input to cause a problem that see-through activation is performed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it is preferable that the perspective activation and the perspective deactivation are not only related to the knock module 80 and the main control unit 2, but also to the perspective window door switch 21a.

In this embodiment, the viewing window door may be a sub-door provided in the main door, which is a refrigerator door or a freezer door. For example, the sub-door 50 provided in the main door 40 of the refrigerator compartment illustrated in FIG. 1 may be a viewing window door. In this case, the viewing window door switch 21a may be referred to as a sub-door switch, and the main door switch 21b may be referred to as a storage room lighting unit 49a provided in a storage room behind the main door. Of course, in this case, the door lighting unit 49 may be referred to as a main door lighting unit.

The main control unit 2 can know that the main door is opened through the main door switch 21b. When the main door is opened, the main control unit 2 turns on the storage compartment lighting unit 49a so that the user can see the inside of the storage compartment well. At this time, the on of the storage room lighting unit 49a is independent of the perspective activation control.

However, in this state, fluoroscopic deactivation may be performed by an abnormal knock input. In other words, the storage compartment lighting unit 49a may be turned off even though the main door is opened. Of course, the storage room lighting unit 49a may not be used for fluoroscopic activation. However, when the storage room lighting unit 49a is turned on to further increase the perspective brightness, the storage room lighting unit 49a may suddenly be turned off while the user is looking inside the storage room. That is, an abnormal input may be mistaken for a normal input. In this case, the user may suspect a malfunction of the refrigerator, and use becomes very uncomfortable. That is, the same problem may occur as described above.

 In addition, when the main door is opened and the storage compartment lighting unit 49a is turned on, the user can intentionally input a normal knock to the sub-door. In this case, when the storage room lighting unit 49a is turned off or the door lighting unit 49 is turned on, the user thinks that the refrigerator is not smart.

On the other hand, when the user opens the main door and closes it tightly, a problem may be generated that is perceived as a normal knock input and that fluoroscopic activation is performed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it is preferable that the viewing window activation and the viewing window deactivation are not only related to the knock module 80 and the main control unit 2, but also to the main door switch 21b of the main door provided with the perspective door.

The main control unit 2 can know that the sub-door 40 is opened through the viewing window door switch 21a. When the sub-door is opened, the main control unit 2 turns on the door lighting unit 49 so that the user can see the inside of the storage area provided in the main door. At this time, the on of the door lighting unit 49 is independent of the viewing window activator.

However, in this state, fluoroscopic deactivation may be performed by an abnormal knock input. In other words, the door lighting unit 49 may be turned off despite the sub-door being opened. That is, the door lighting unit 49 may suddenly be turned off while the user opens the sub-door and is looking at the storage area of the main door. That is, an abnormal input may be mistaken for a normal input. In this case, the user may suspect a malfunction of the refrigerator, and use becomes very uncomfortable. That is, the same problem may occur as described above.

In addition, while the sub-door 50 is opened and the door lighting unit 49 is turned on, the user can intentionally input a normal knock to the sub-door. In this case, when the door lighting unit 49 is turned off, the user thinks that the refrigerator is not smart.

On the other hand, if the user opens the sub-door and closes it tightly, a problem may occur in which clairvoyance activation is performed due to misrecognition as a normal knock input.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it is preferable that the viewing window activation and the viewing window deactivation are not only related to the knock module 80 and the main control unit 2, but also to the viewing window door switch 21b.

In this embodiment, the viewing window door may be a sub-door provided in the main door, which is a refrigerator door or a freezer door. Of course, the viewing window door may be the main door itself. In addition, individual doors may be included as well as the main door and the sub-doors. As an example, the freezer door 30 shown in FIG. 1 may be included. For convenience, a door that is not related to the viewing window door is called a freezer door.

The main control unit 2 can know that the freezer door has been opened through the freezer door switch 21c. The freezer door is independent of the sight glass door and is also independent of the lighting units 49 and 49a for activating the see-through. Then, the user's gaze is directed toward the freezer until the user opens and closes the freezer door.

If the user closes the freezer door hard, it may be mistaken for a normal knock input. In this case, fluoroscopic activation is performed unnecessarily, and in this case, the user may suspect a malfunction of the refrigerator, and use becomes very uncomfortable. That is, the same problem may occur as described above.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it is preferable that the viewing window activation and the viewing window deactivation are not only related to the knock module 80 and the main control unit 2, but also to the freezer door switch 21c. That is, it is preferable to be associated with the door switch 21 of another door that is independent of the perspective door.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in a refrigerator having a single door or a plurality of doors and having a viewing window, a refrigerator capable of preventing malfunction by controlling fluoroscopy activation and fluoroscopy in association with a door switch and control thereof. It will provide a way. That is, in various types of refrigerators, the main control unit 2 is provided with a knock module 80 as well as door switches 21a, 21b, and 21c, thereby providing a refrigerator that performs perspective control and a control method thereof.

16, an embodiment of a control method according to this embodiment will be described.

As described above, in the state in which the door is opened, various types of misrecognition and malfunction related to perspective control may occur. Then, in the state in which the door is opened, an emergency operation related to perspective control may occur. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to fundamentally block misrecognition, malfunction, and emergency operation related to the door. That is, this purpose may be realized by using a door sensor or a door switch capable of detecting whether the door is opened.

The reception of the knock input, the determination of whether or not the normal knock is input, the generation of the knock signal and the reception of the knock signal may be referred to as a series of procedures for activating perspective. If one of these procedures is not performed or is blocked, fluoroscopic activation will not be performed. Of course, this series of procedures can be performed to switch from fluoroscopic activation to fluoroscopic deactivation.

In this embodiment, fluoroscopic activation or switching of fluoroscopic activation may be performed on the premise that the door is closed. That is, it is preferable to determine whether the door is opened through a door switch or the like (S201), and if the door is not opened, the knock module activation (S210) is performed. That is, the knock module activation means that all of the above-described series of procedures are performed. Here, whether the door is opened may be determined through a door opening signal generated when the door is opened by the door switch.

Then, when the door is opened, the knock module is deactivated (S205) so that at least one of the series of procedures may not be performed. Examples of knock module deactivation may be as follows.

In one example, the main control unit 2 may block the supply of current to the knock module 80 when the door is opened through the door switch. In this case, the knock input reception itself is not performed. In addition, the knock module does not determine whether or not a normal knock is input, and thus a knock-on signal is not generated.

As an example, the current supplied to the knock detection device 82 may be blocked. That is, the current may be cut off through the detection device PCB 83 or the main control unit 2.

For example, when the door is opened in the detection device PCB 83, the signals received from the knock detection device 82 may be ignored or the knock input determination may not be performed. This is because the detection device PCB 83 can know whether the door is opened through the main control unit 2.

For example, when the door is opened in the detection device PCB 83, a knock-on signal may not be generated. This is because the detection device PCB 83 can know whether the door is opened through the main control unit 2.

In one example, the main control unit 2 may block the reception of the knock signal from the knock module 80 or ignore the received knock signal.

Therefore, when the door is opened through the door switch, the main control unit 2 can fundamentally block a problem that may occur in connection with perspective control.

Here, the door switch may be applied to only one of the switches described through FIG. 15 or may be applied to all switches. For example, when the impact when the main door 40, the sub-door 50, etc. is closed is very far from the normal knock input, whether or not these door switches and the knock module are activated may be irrelevant. On the other hand, when the shock when the freezer door 30 is closed can be confused with a normal knock input, only the freezer door switch can be related to whether or not the knock module is activated.

According to the present embodiment, despite the use of a door switch or a door sensor that is generally provided, it is possible to prevent misrecognition and malfunction from occurring.

In the case of the refrigerator, the frequency of opening the door is high. Therefore, it may not be desirable to switch knock module activation to deactivated whenever the door is opened. In particular, it may be undesirable to block the current supply to the knock detection device 81 or to block the current supply to the knock module 80 whenever the door is opened. Therefore, it may be desirable to always operate the knock module 80 unless the refrigerator is turned off or has special circumstances. Here, the special circumstances may include turning off the perspective function itself through a separate user input means.

However, even in this case, a misrecognition and malfunction problem may occur in relation to the opening of the door as described above.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the control method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 17.

This embodiment may be referred to as an embodiment in which the embodiment shown in FIG. 13 and the embodiment shown in FIG. 16 are combined. In this embodiment, it is possible to basically assume that the knock module is activated.

In the knock module activation state (S310), an effective knock-on signal may be detected (S320). That is, the main control unit 2 may receive a knock-on signal through the knock module 80. In other words, in the knock module activation state, the knock module 80 detects a knock input, determines whether or not a knock is input, and performs a series of processes for generating a knock on signal.

In the present embodiment, when the knock-on signal is received by the control unit 2, it is preferable that fluoroscopic activation or fluoroscopic switching is not performed immediately, and the step S325 of determining whether the door is opened is performed. That is, after receiving the knock-on signal from the main control unit 2, it is determined whether the door is opened.

When the door is opened, the main control unit 2 ignores the received knock-on signal (S326). That is, the reception of the knock-on signal is ignored by the control logic. This can be done very easily with a control algorithm area different from electrical switching or mechanical switching.

If the knock-on signal is ignored, no follow-up action is taken as to whether or not the knock-on signal has been received. That is, fluoroscopic control based on the knock-on signal is not performed. As an example, no follow-up action is taken to turn on the door lighting unit 49 or turn off the door lighting unit 49. Therefore, in this case, the on / off control of the door lighting unit 49 will depend only on whether the door is opened or closed by the door switch regardless of whether the knock on signal is applied.

When the knock-on signal is generated and the door is closed, it may be determined whether the knock-on signal is generated by closing the door (S327). That is, when a knock-on signal is generated by an impact due to the closing of the door, it is because it is necessary to ignore the knock-on signal.

The main control unit 2 can know whether the door is opened or closed through the door switch. Of course, the main control unit 2 can also know the time that the door is open and / or the time that the door is closed through the door switch. Using this, when the door is closed, it may be determined whether a set time has elapsed since the door was closed. A certain time is required for the user to close the door and perform knock input. In addition, a certain period of time is required to alleviate the impact caused by the closing of the door.

The set time may be determined in consideration of these predetermined times. The set time may be around 1 second. If it is too short, the door closing shock can be recognized as a knock-on signal and reflected. If it is too long, a knock-on signal is generated by the user normally inputting the knock, and can be ignored.

When the set time elapses after the door is closed, perspective control may be performed by reflecting the knock-on signal (S330). For example, a knock-on signal is reflected as an on / off control condition of the door lighting unit 49. In the fluoroscopically activated state, the fluoroscopically deactivated state is switched, and in the fluoroscopically disabled state, the fluoroscopically activated state is switched.

Then, when the set time elapses from the start time of the fluoroscopic activation in the state where the fluoroscopic activation is performed (S340), the fluoroscopic switching is performed (S360).

In this embodiment, whether the door is opened or closed can be detected through a door switch or a door sensor. The door switch or door sensor detects that the door is open and generates a door opening signal to transmit it to the control unit 2. Therefore, the control unit 2 can know whether the door is opened through a door switch or a door sensor.

Here, the door switch may be applied to only one of the switches described through FIG. 15, applied to some switches, or applied to all switches. For example, when the impact when the main door 40, the sub-door 50, etc. is closed is very far from the normal knock input, whether or not these door switches and the knock module are activated may be irrelevant. On the other hand, when the shock when the freezer door 30 is closed can be confused with a normal knock input, only the freezer door switch can be related to whether or not the knock module is activated.

The door conditions in step S325 and the door conditions in step S327 may have or be different. When a plurality of doors are provided, door conditions may overlap. That is, it may be the same or different from which door is opened and which set time has elapsed since the door was closed.

In step S327, there is a possibility that the door closing may cause false recognition for all the doors. Therefore, in step S327, the door may be any door. Of course, if there is a possibility of causing false recognition only in the case of a specific door in step S327, only the elapsed time of closing the specific door may be determined. In one example, the specific door may be a freezer door 30. This is because, in the case of a drawer-type door, a relatively large impact may be generated due to the movement of the freezer compartment itself and closing.

The door in step S325 may also be any door. That is, a perspective door, a door associated with the perspective door and a door independent of the perspective door may be included. When opening a door that is independent of the perspective door, the user is not interested in the storage room associated with the other door. Therefore, the knock-on signal need not be reflected in this state.

However, since the user may be interested in a plurality of storage areas at the same time, it is preferable that the door in step S325 is a perspective door or a door associated with the perspective door (the main door when the perspective door is a sub-door). This is because when the perspective door or the door associated with the perspective door (the main door when the perspective door is a sub-door) is opened, when the knock-on signal is reflected, as described above, it may be confused to the user.

In the above-described embodiments, it can be said that the user's perspective input is related to a refrigerator performed by knocking and a control method thereof.

When the knock input needs to be sensed through sound waves, the knock module structure is complicated, and the control logic for preventing false recognition can be said to be complicated.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the perspective input is very simple and intuitive, and the perspective input means is very simple will be described in detail.

The basic structure of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment may be the same or similar to the refrigerator in the above-described embodiment. However, the structure of the perspective input means and the structure related to the mounting thereof may be different. Therefore, redundant description is omitted.

Hereinafter, a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 18.

In this embodiment, it can be said that an embodiment of the refrigerator that can detect the knock input as vibration without detecting it as sound waves.

In the above-described embodiment, a microphone module 821 or a knock detection device 82 that senses sound waves is mounted at the edge of the front panel 541. Then, the microphone module 821 is mounted on the rear of the front panel 541. A portion of the front panel 541 on which the microphone module 821 is mounted may be referred to as a bezel 5161 area. Through this, it is possible to minimize the exposure of the microphone module 321 to the outside. That is, a sensor such as a microphone module 821 is positioned outside the viewing window so that the field of view of the viewing window is not blocked.

It can be said that the mounting position of the microphone module 321 is possible due to the nature of sound waves. That is, when the identity of the medium is maintained by the nature of the sound waves transmitted through the glass medium, the knock input can be effectively sensed even if the microphone module 321 is located anywhere on the front panel. Similarly, a knock input can be applied to any position on the front panel.

However, in the case of a microphone module, a structure for close contact and close contact may be required, so manufacturing may not be easy. In addition, since it has to be mounted on the rear side of the front panel, considering the bezel 5161, it is difficult to further increase the viewing window.

According to this embodiment, a refrigerator having a simple structure and a reduced manufacturing cost can be provided using a vibration sensor having a simple mounting structure.

In the case of a vibration sensor, when a knock input is applied from the front panel 541 of the viewing window 54, a displacement or a change in speed or an acceleration due to vibration is sensed. Unlike the sound waves, vibration is transmitted through the surface of the front panel 541. At the same knock input, the vibration value is different for each position of the front panel. This can be explained by the principle of movement of the strings.

As shown in FIG. 18, when a square-shaped front panel is provided, the vibration value (sensitivity of knock) due to knock applied to the front panel is changed according to the sensing position according to the principle of string movement.

Specifically, a node and a belly are formed in the movement of the string according to the vertical length of the square shape. And along the left and right lengths of the square shape, nodes and vessels are formed in the movement of the string.

The node is the smallest point of vibration and the belly is the largest point of vibration. It can be seen that the ships are generated at 1/6, 3/6, and 5/6 points of the string length according to the string movement principle. It can be seen that a total of nine fold points P are formed on the front panel according to the vertical length and the left and right lengths of the square-shaped front panel.

These nine ship points include a substantially rectangular center point in the front panel. However, it can be seen that the nine pear points are gathered at the central portion of the front panel, and closer to the edge of the front panel, closer to the node.

In the above-described embodiment, the microphone module is located at the edge of the front panel. Therefore, when the vibration sensor is mounted on this part, the knock sensitivity is inevitably lowered. Therefore, it is difficult to normally perform knock input detection.

On the other hand, when using the vibration sensor 91, it can be seen that it is preferable to mount the vibration sensor 91 at any one of the nine ship points, and particularly, it is preferable to mount the vibration sensor at the middle ship point. .

However, the vibration sensor 91 should be connected to the vibration sensor PCB (module microcomputer, 95) by a connection line, which may obstruct the view of the viewing window because the connection line is forced to cross the front panel 541.

In other words, it is difficult to provide a beautiful design because the connecting line is exposed to the viewing window as it is, and it can be said that the viewing line is obstructed due to the connecting line when the perspective is activated.

In order to solve this problem, in an embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable to include a connecting wire 93 formed of a transparent electrode and extending from the vibration sensor 91 to the outside of the viewing window 54, particularly the front panel 541. In FIG. 20, the connection line 93 is visually illustrated for explanation, but may be referred to as a transparent connection line.

The transparent electrode may be formed using indium tin oxide (ITO), and the transparent electrode itself using indium tin oxide may be referred to as a commercialized technology.

Accordingly, the vibration sensor 91 itself is minimized to expose the viewing window, but the connection line 93 is formed of a transparent electrode to minimize exposure.

The vibration sensor 91 is a sensor that detects knock and may be a configuration that intuitively indicates a position for inputting the knock. Of course, even if a knock is not applied to the point of the vibration sensor 91, it can be expected that the knock detection detected by the vibration sensor 91 is very excellent due to the principle of movement of the string. That is, if a knock input is made at any position of the front panel 541, the vibration sensor 91 located at the ship point can effectively detect the knock input.

On the other hand, unlike the microphone module, the structure for mounting the vibration sensor may be very simple. For example, it can be mounted on the back of the front panel using a transparent take. In addition, the transparent electrode connecting wire 93 may also be extended to the outside after being mounted on the rear side of the front panel.

The connection line from the outside of the front panel may be made of a general connection line 94 instead of a transparent electrode. The general connection line 94 may extend from the two-sided electrode connection line 93 along the outer shell of the panel assembly 54 to be connected to the module microcomputer 92.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it can be said that the perspective input unit 90 is formed, including the vibration sensor 91, the module micom 92, and the transparent electrode connecting wire 94. Of course, since the front panel itself is configured to perform perspective input, it can be referred to as a perspective input unit 90 including the front panel 54. In addition, when determining that the module micom 92 is a normal knock input through signals received through the vibration sensor 91, the module micom 92 generates a knock-on signal and transmits the knock-on signal to the main control unit 2 through the signal line L. Therefore, perspective control can be performed as in the above-described embodiments.

In the present embodiment, the vibration sensor 91 may be a configuration that senses the knock input as vibration, not sound waves, unlike the aforementioned microphone. Therefore, the same misrecognition problem as in the above-described knock module may occur. That is, misrecognition and malfunction may occur due to closing of the door. Therefore, even in this case, the control logic for preventing the above-mentioned misrecognition and malfunction may be equally applied.

Meanwhile, the dotted line 95 shown in FIG. 18 is an imaginary line shown to indicate the ship position. However, the dotted line 95 may be a front panel 541 or a partition line for dividing the area of the viewing window. In this case, the partition line may be a line visually displayed on the front panel 541.

The partition line may be a horizontal line and / or a vertical line, and may be a plurality of horizontal lines and / or vertical lines.

3, a plurality of baskets 431, 432, and 435 provided up and down through the viewing window have been described. It can be seen that the user actually uses the viewing window to view objects that protrude above the baskets through the viewing window.

Thus, in one example, the partition line as a horizontal line may be substantially projected onto the basket so as not to obstruct the view of the viewing window. In addition, since the perspective window is maintained in the form of a black panel in the perspective deactivation state, when the horizontal line is displayed as a black line, exposure of the horizontal partition line in the perspective deactivation state may be minimized. Also, in the perspective-activated state, the horizontal partition line may be projected on the basket and be seen as a part of the basket, so that obstruction of view can be excluded.

Therefore, the connection line 93 may be formed as a partition line that partitions the viewing window. That is, it may be formed as a visible line, not a connection line using a transparent electrode.

Likewise, the vibration sensor 91 is also provided in black color to minimize exposure in the fluoroscopically inactive state. In addition, in the fluoroscopically activated state, it may be projected to the basket so as not to obstruct the view of the viewing window.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 19, a description will be given of an advantage compared to the case where the microphone module 82 is used when the vibration sensor 91 is used.

19 (a) shows a cross section of the panel assembly 54 in the case of using the microphone module 82, and FIGS. 19 (b) and 19 (c) show in the case of using the vibration sensor 91 A cross section of an embodiment of a panel assembly is shown.

As shown in Fig. 19 (a), the perspective area is substantially equal to or smaller than the area of the heat insulating panel 542. That is, the perspective area is defined inside the area defined by the interpolation rod 543. In addition, an area extended from the heat insulating panel 542, that is, an area of the front panel corresponding to the bezel 5161 is excluded from the perspective area.

Therefore, the perspective area of the front panel is inevitably smaller than the total area of the front panel. If the area of the bezel 5151 is extended to the perspective area, as described above, a complicated microphone module and a mounting structure thereof may be exposed to the outside, thereby damaging the foolish design.

19 (b), when the vibration sensor 91 is mounted on the front panel 541, it can be seen that the perspective area can be further expanded. That is, the size of the heat insulation panel 542 and the front panel 54 are the same, so that the bezel area can be minimized. That is, it can be seen that the perspective area can be expanded as much as the bezel area is minimized.

Therefore, the size of the panels may be the same, so that the fabrication of the panel assembly can be facilitated. In addition, since the heat insulating panel 542 can be positioned on the edge of the front panel 541, the heat insulating function can be effectively provided to the entire front panel. Therefore, it is not necessary to mount the heater on the edge portion of the front panel 541.

Therefore, there are many advantages over using a microphone except that only the portion of the vibration sensor 91 is exposed to the viewing window to slightly cover the viewing field. In addition, it can be said that there is also an advantage of intuitively appealing to the user that the knock input is visible using the exposed vibration sensor 91.

19 (c), when the vibration sensor 91 is mounted on the front panel 541, the perspective area is the same as in FIG. 19 (a), but the size of the front panel 541 is small. You can see that you can lose. Also in this case, it can be easily understood that the same advantages can be obtained by the same size of the front panel 541 and the heat insulation panel 542.

In the above, an embodiment in which the knock modules 80 and 90 include a microphone sensor or a vibration sensor has been described. And, an embodiment of the panel assembly 54 in which one front panel 541 and two heat insulating panels 542 may be included has been described.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the panel assembly 54 is formed of a vacuum panel will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 20.

20 (b) is a sectional view of the panel assembly 54 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 20 (c) is a front view of the panel assembly 54 according to this embodiment. 20 (a) is a cross-sectional view of the panel assembly in the above-described embodiment shown for comparison with the panel assembly according to this embodiment.

20 (b) and 20 (c), the panel assembly 54b according to this embodiment includes a front panel 541b and a heat insulating panel 542b, and the front panel 541a and heat insulation A vacuum sealed space S1 may be formed between the panels 542b. The vacuum sealed space (S1) is significantly superior in heat insulation performance compared to the air sealed space or the inert gas sealed space (S). Therefore, when using a vacuum panel, it is possible to ensure sufficient heat insulation performance even through two panels.

An edge rod 543b may be provided on the rim of the panel assembly 54b for sealing and maintaining a gap.

On the other hand, the front panel 541b and the heat insulation panel 542b by the vacuum sealed space S1 are subjected to strong pressures due to the difference in pressure inside and outside the vacuum space. Therefore, a gap between the front panel 541b and the heat insulation panel 542b may not be maintained. For this reason, a plurality of spacers 544 may be provided inside the vacuum sealed space S1.

The plurality of spacers 544 may be provided to maintain the spacing of the vacuum space between the front panel 541b and the heat insulation panel 542b. The plurality of spacers 544 may be arranged in an ordered form having a plurality of matrices on the left and right, respectively, to firmly support the entire panel assembly 54b.

The spacer A 544 may be formed of ceramic, aluminum, or glass. The shape may be formed in a spherical shape, an elliptical ball shape having a longer left and right width than a height, or a pillar shape. In the case of a column shape, it is preferable that the cross section is circular.

The spacer 544 is provided to be in close contact with the front panel 541b and the heat insulation panel 542b. Since the spacer 544 is provided inside the vacuum space S1, the spacer 544 is further in close contact with the front panel 541b and the heat insulation panel 542b due to the pressure difference inside and outside the vacuum space. That is, the continuity of the medium is maintained. In particular, when the spacer 544 is formed of the same glass material as the front panel and the insulating panel, the front panel, the spacer and the insulating panel are formed as if they are one and the same medium, and the continuity of the medium can be maintained.

Accordingly, the knock input applied to the front panel 541 may be transmitted to the front panel, space, and insulation panel through vibration and sound waves.

The panel shown in FIG. 20 (a) shows the panel assembly 54 using the aforementioned microphone sensor. Since the panel assembly 54 is not a vacuum panel, sound waves due to knock input applied to the front panel 541 are difficult to be transmitted to the heat insulating panel 541. That is, since only the rod 543 serving as a sealing is provided between the two, it is difficult to transmit vibration and sound waves through the rod and the sealing space.

For this reason, the panel shown in FIG. 20 (a) is forced to mount the microphone sensor 82 on the front panel 541. In particular, when the front of the front panel 541 is to be exposed to the outside, the microphone sensor 82 is forced to be located on the rear of the front panel 541. In addition, in order to mount the microphone sensor 82 on the back of the front panel 541, the front panel 541 is forced to be larger than the heat insulation panel 542.

It can be seen that the panel assembly 54b according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 20 (b) can be thinner than the panel assembly 54 shown in FIG. 20 (a). That is, since it is a vacuum panel, since only one insulating panel 542b can be used, it can be said to be economical.

In addition, it is not necessary to increase the size of the front panel 541b to mount the microphone sensor 82. That is, the panel assembly 54b can be manufactured by making the front panel 541b and the insulating panel 542b the same size. Therefore, the size of the transparent window can be further increased.

In addition, when the sizes of the front panel 541b and the heat insulation panel 542b are the same, the front panel 541b and the heat insulation panel 542b may be formed to be symmetric with each other. Therefore, the heat insulating panel 542b is provided in the immediate rear side with respect to the entire surface of the front panel 541b. For this reason, it is possible to ensure sufficient heat insulation performance for the entire front panel. Therefore, it is not necessary to install a heater for preventing moisture condensation on the edge portion of the front panel 541b.

In addition, it is possible to configure the knock modules 80 and 90 by mounting either the microphone sensor 82 or the vibration sensor 91 on the rear surface of the heat insulation panel 542b. Because, since the vibration and sound waves are effectively transmitted by the spacer 544, the knock sensitivity in the heat insulation panel 542b may also be excellent.

In addition, it is possible to mount the microphone sensor 82 in the area where the interpolation rod 543 is projected on the rear surface of the heat insulation panel 542b. Therefore, the bezel area can be minimized.

In addition, it is also possible to mount a vibration sensor on the inside of the closed loop formed by the intermediate rod 543 on the rear side of the heat insulation panel 542b. The vibration sensor 91 is forced to decrease the knock sensitivity toward the edge of the insulating panel 542b. This can be easily understood through the principle of the string described through FIG. 18.

Therefore, in the case of the vibration sensor 91, it may be a ship point that is an upper 1/6 point or a lower 1/6 point, or may be mounted near such a ship point, as the upper and lower reference points of the insulation panel 542b. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the vibration sensor from being visually exposed to the outside by locating the vibration sensor to the bezel area as much as possible.

Of course, in this embodiment, the vibration sensor may be provided with the same or similar vibration sensor of the type described through FIGS. 18 and 19. In this case, there may be a difference only when the vibration sensor is mounted on the front panel 541 and the insulation panel 542.

In this embodiment, the vibration sensor detects the knock input by vibration. In this embodiment, the microphone sensor senses the knock input by sound waves. Therefore, the same misrecognition and malfunction as in the above-described knock module may occur. That is, erroneous recognition and malfunction may occur in connection with perspective control by closing the door. Therefore, the control logic for preventing the above-mentioned misrecognition and malfunction may be equally applied.

In the above, an embodiment of a refrigerator equipped with a perspective door, an embodiment of a refrigerator in which knock is performed as a perspective input, an embodiment of a refrigerator that detects the knock input as a sound wave through a microphone sensor, and the knock input as vibration through a vibration sensor Embodiments of the sensing refrigerator and their control methods have been described.

The user's knock input is transmitted from the front panel in the form of sound waves or vibration waves and is sensed by the knock module. When these sound waves or vibration waves appear as analog waveforms, they are detected by the module sensor (microphone sensor or vibration sensor).

The module sensor detects not only the knock input by the user, but also analog waveforms by various types of external / internal noise and vibration. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately recognize the user's knock input and reflect it. In other words, it is necessary to prevent maximally misrecognizing various inputs other than the user's knock input as the user's knock input. Of course, it is also necessary to solve the problem that does not accurately recognize the normal user's knock input and does not reflect it.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a control method of a knock module 80 capable of accurately recognizing and controlling the knock input through the knock module 80 described in the above-described embodiments will be described in detail.

It has been described that the knock module 80 detects and analyzes the knock signal to generate a knock-on signal when it is determined to be a normal knock input. In addition, it has been described that the control unit 2 performs fluoroscopic control by reflecting this by the knock-on signal. In addition, although the knock-on signal is generated, the embodiments of the various control methods for controlling or not reflecting the control unit 2 have been described.

This embodiment relates to a control method from the knock module 80 to generating a knock-on signal, and to a control method for generating a knock-on signal only when there is a normal knock input.

When power is applied to the refrigerator, the knock module 80 is activated (S400). In general, since the refrigerator is always powered on, the knock module activation may also be activated at all times. Therefore, the signals received from the knock sensors 82 and 91 are continuously input to the module microcomputer 83.

The signal input to the module microcomputer 83 may be subjected to a knock signal modification (S410). As an example, knock signal correction may be performed to sharpen a signal and remove noise. In order to accurately recognize the knock input, it is desirable to sharpen the signal, and for this, it may be necessary to remove noise.

In the refrigerator, continuous life noise or compressor driving noise may be generated, and this noise is also detected by the knock sensor. Therefore, when a knock input is applied, not only the knock input, but also these noises are detected by the knock sensor. Therefore, in the analog waveform sensed by sound waves or vibrations, the waveforms for life noise and knock input are amplified and appear in amplified form.

In the microcomputer 83, noise may be removed and signal sharpening may be performed through a differential method. As an example, noise is reduced by sharpening a current signal by a difference between a current waveform and a past waveform. That is, the signal value is corrected by subtracting the waveform component of the past living noise from the waveform of the current living noise and knock input. That is, it is possible to subtract the components of the living noise on the premise that the living noise is constant.

Therefore, in the actual original waveform, the reference line always has a positive value, and it is very irregular and random up and down based on this, but the filtered form of the waveform is corrected to a clear signal having a vertical amplitude with zero as the reference line. . That is, signal sharpening and noise removal may be referred to as a process of moving the reference line of the waveform to zero and removing noise.

The waveform may be processed after the knock signal correction (S410) in which signal sharpening and noise removal are performed. That is, knock signal processing (S420) may be performed. In order to facilitate analysis and determination of the knock signal, in the knock signal processing (S420), the magnitude of the signal may be processed as an absolute value. In other words, it is possible to take only a signal having a positive component from a signal having a vertical amplitude with zero as a reference line. Of course, it would also be possible to take only a signal with a negative component and convert it to a positive value. This is to facilitate the analysis and judgment of the subsequent knock signal by processing the signal as an absolute value because the signal tends to appear approximately up and down symmetrically with respect to the reference line.

After the knock module activation (S400) is performed and the knock signal is corrected or processed, it is determined whether the knock signal is stabilized (S430).

Here, stabilization of the knock signal may refer to a case in which a value that the input signal falls within a certain amplitude value based on the reference line is greater than or equal to a certain number (stabilization number). In other words, it can be said that a preparation for performing knock signal analysis (S440) is performed after the input component due to the noise of life is removed. In addition, the stabilization of the knock signal may be said to be a state in which knock analysis has been completed. That is, the knock signal stabilization after the activation of the first knock module is a state for starting the knock analysis, and the knock signal stabilization after the knock analysis is performed is a state in which the knock analysis is completed and the state for starting the knock analysis again.

Under the stabilization condition of the knock signal, a certain amplitude value can be changed. It means that the amplitude value can be increased so that the stabilization is easy. And, in the stabilization condition of the knock signal, the value of the stabilization number can be changed. The smaller the value of the stabilization number, the easier it is to set the stabilization.

In case that the stabilization is easily set (in case of increasing the amplitude value and reducing the number of stabilizations), a stabilization may occur in the middle of the knock. Therefore, it is desirable to set the stabilization to be difficult to prevent this problem.

Knock means the user taps once. That is, knocking the front panel once by the user can be referred to as knocking, and this is detected by the knock module. That is, a step (S440) of analyzing and determining whether a knock is a normal knock may be performed. At this time, in the case of a normal knock, this may be referred to as an effective knock.

In the knock analysis and determination step S440, the knock signal is analyzed to determine whether or not an effective knock is made.

In addition to the knock signal, a wide variety of signals can be input to the knock module. As an example, the user may apply an input that thumps once with the foot on the floor surface where the refrigerator is placed. It is also possible to judge this input as a valid knock.

Therefore, conditions for determining effective knock may be set in various ways, and a plurality of conditions other than one condition may all be satisfied to determine effective knock. That is, it is possible to set valid knock conditions by analyzing the normal user's knock input and other possible inputs.

Misrecognition and malfunction can be significantly prevented through these effective knock conditions.

On the other hand, if an effective knock occurs twice within a predetermined time, it can be determined as a normal knock input, that is, a perspective input. In other words, it is possible to determine that the occurrence of effective knocking is not the perspective input itself, but the occurrence of the effective knock twice within a predetermined time as the perspective input. Even if the effective knock itself is the result of erroneous analysis and judgment, it is very unlikely that such a result will occur twice in a certain time. Therefore, it is possible to make the judgment by the perspective input by adding the time condition between the effective knock and the effective knock while at the same time making the effective knock determination condition difficult.

That is, after knock analysis and determination (S440), knock-on determination (S450) may be performed. Of course, the time condition between the number of effective knocks and the effective knock may be set differently. That is, when the number of effective knocks is further increased, the possibility of misrecognition may be significantly reduced. However, in this case, it is not preferable because the knock input becomes inconvenient.

Therefore, it is preferable to use the knock performed by the user intuitively. Normally, knock is made twice. That is, it is common to knock by tapping twice. In addition, the time interval between knock and knock is also less than 1 second (s) and is generally 600 ms. By using the number of knocks and the time interval, the user can intuitively perform knock input without knowing how to use. Of course, such an intuitive knock input can be effectively recognized.

If it is determined that the knock-on input is performed due to the effective knock input occurring twice in a predetermined time (S450), a knock-on signal is generated (S460). That is, the knock module generates a knock-on signal and transmits it to the control unit 2.

The control unit 2 performs perspective control based on the knock-on signal.

As described above, the knock module determines whether it is an effective knock for a single knock input of the user. Effective knock is a prerequisite for knock-on judgment. Misrecognition and malfunction can be significantly reduced by stricting the effective knock conditions.

Hereinafter, the effective knock conditions for determining to be effective knock will be described in detail. At least one of the conditions described must be satisfied. In addition, if all of the conditions described must be satisfied, the possibility of erroneous recognition and malfunction will be inevitably reduced.

The present inventors were able to derive conditions for accurately detecting only the knock input by analyzing possible deviations and possible external inputs of the knock input by the actual user.

In the signal stabilization state (S430), only signals having a relatively low amplitude are input. At this time, when the knock input is received, the amplitude of the knock input becomes larger than the amplitude in the stabilized state. That is, when the size of the input signal value (Y) is greater than or equal to the set size, it is determined as the knock start (C1).

The magnitude of the amplitude is bound to appear relatively through the type of knock module or the modification and processing of the signal.

For example, when the amplitude in the stabilized state is assumed to be 15, when the amplitude is greater than 30, it may be determined as the knock start (C1). Since the force applied at the time of knock differs depending on the user, it is preferable that the amplitude value, which is a knock start condition, is appropriately selected. That is, it should be avoided when a knock input that is too weak is a knock start condition or when a knock input that is too strong is a knock start condition. In other words, it is preferable to set the knock start condition in consideration of the variation in the knock input intensity input by the user.

When analysis of the knock signal is started, the number of signals is counted. That is, the number of signals is counted from the knock start (C1). It has the form of a correction signal until the signal generated by knocking is stabilized. That is, the amplitude is variable and then stabilized. At this time, it was found that the number of correction signals is within a certain range in the case of a knock input. That is, it was found that the number of signals is within a certain range from the start of the knock to the stabilization of the signal. For example, when two to three signals per ms are input, it can be seen that the number of correction signals falls within a certain range in the case of a normal knock. That is, it was found that the number of correction signals (C3) from the start of the knock (C1) to the start of stabilization can be set as an effective knock condition. It can be seen that inputs other than knock have a different range from the range of correction numbers.

In addition, when the knock input is performed, it can be seen that the sum C2 of the amount of vibration corresponding to the area hatched in FIG. 24 falls within a certain range until the signal is stabilized. Therefore, it can be said that the range of the sum of vibration amounts during the correction signal is also an effective knock condition. A value that is too large may be determined as a specific noise, and a sum that is too small may be determined as noise and may not be determined as an effective knock.

After the correction signal is generated, stabilization starts and stabilization is performed. In other words, when the amplitude is less than 15, for example, when the number of stabilization signals is about 100, it may be determined that stabilization is completed. Of course, if there is no knock input afterwards, stabilization will continue.

The time from the start of the knock (C1) to the determination of the stabilization of the signal may be referred to as one section signal time (C5). One section signal time (C5) may be referred to as a time until a signal generated by one knock starts and ends. This one-section signal time C5 may also be determined based on a pattern that the user actually knocks. If such a section signal time (C5) is less than about 200 ms, it can be determined as an effective knock. Therefore, one section signal time C5 may be referred to as an effective knock condition. Therefore, when the knock signal is larger than approximately 200 ms, the knock analysis is canceled, so that it is not judged as an effective knock.

On the other hand, when analyzing the actual knocking pattern of the user, it can be seen that the position where the signal intensity is the largest, that is, the maximum peak position, within a specific range after the knock start (C1). That is, it was found that the maximum peak position occurred in a region smaller than the 40% section until stabilization after the knock start (C1). For example, when it takes 150 ms to stabilize after the knock starts, it can be seen that the maximum peak position is located 60 ms before the knock starts. Therefore, an effective knock can be determined through the range of the maximum peak position C7. Therefore, the maximum peak position C7 can also be said to be an effective knock condition.

In addition, when analyzing the actual knock pattern of the user, it was found that the maximum peak value is greater than 120% of the knock start value. That is, the condition of the maximum peak value C8 can also be said to be an effective knock condition.

Analyzing the actual knock pattern from the start of the knock to stabilization revealed that there is a certain relationship between the subtotal (C2) according to the knock amplitude and the number of correction signals (C3). That is, it was found that the ratio (C2 / C3) of the subtotal C2 to the number of correction signals C3 is equal to or greater than a certain size. Therefore, the C2 / C3 value C6 can also be said to be an effective knock condition. When approximately C6 is greater than 12, it may be determined that the effective knock condition is satisfied.

As described above, it can be seen that various conditions for determining one knock as an effective knock may be provided.

That is, a knock start condition (C1), a correction signal subtotal condition (C2), a correction signal number condition (C3), and a stabilization condition (C4), a section signal time condition (C5), and a condition indicating C2 / C3 (C6). , Maximum peak position condition (C7) and maximum peak value condition (C8).

When all of the plurality of conditions are satisfied, it may be determined as an effective knock. In this case, it is possible to significantly prevent an error that determines external noise or the like as an effective knock. That is, as the number of effective knock conditions among the plurality of conditions increases, the possibility of erroneous recognition gradually decreases.

However, the highest priority among these conditions may be referred to as a knock start condition (C1). That is, when the knock start condition C1 is satisfied, it is because the analysis starts whether or not it is an effective knock. And, it is because the end point of stabilization of the signal must be determined from the knock start condition.

When it is determined as one effective knock through these conditions, the number of effective knocks is determined, and the interval between the effective knocks is analyzed.

As shown in FIG. 24, it is determined as an effective knock through the signal time of one section from the start of the knock on the left. Then, an effective knock is judged from the start of the knock on the right. At this time, the effective knock conditions may be the same.

When the stabilization signal condition C4 is satisfied, an effective knock determination is performed. Therefore, the time interval between the time when the effective knock determination is continuously performed at the time when the effective knock determination is made may be referred to as an interval C10 between the knock and the knock. That is, it is determined whether the effective knock is on, that is, whether it is an effective knock input or a perspective input through the interval condition C10 between the effective knock and the effective knock.

In addition to the knock input, that is, the input that may be similar to the knock input may include a user clapping very strongly on the front of the refrigerator and rolling his feet on the floor in front of the refrigerator.

In the reproduction experiment in the case of rolling the foot vigorously, it was found that it may be determined that it is not an effective knock through the above-described knock start condition or maximum peak position condition.

It was found that the clapping can also be excluded through various knock conditions. The problem may be very similar to the knock input when continuously clapping hands. In this case, it can be seen that it can be excluded through a section signal time condition (C3). That is, it was found that the continuous knocking of the applause corresponds to the case where the knock signal is long, and thus can be excluded through the C3 condition.

Accordingly, the effective knock condition may be determined by a variety of factors such as the size of the signal by the knock signal, the number of signals, the size of the peak signal, the position of the peak signal, and the time required for stabilization.

In addition, in order to determine effective knock, first, knock signal stabilization is performed to remove an obstacle caused by basic external noise, so that effective analysis and determination of the knock signal can be performed.

When analyzing the pattern of knocking by a real user twice, it was found that the interval between knocking and knocking is approximately 80 ms to 600 ms. Accordingly, when the interval between the effective knock and the effective knock is between 80 ms and 600 ms, the interval condition (C10) between the knock and the knock is satisfied, and finally the knock-on determination C11 is performed and a knock-on signal is generated.

Here, the lower limit value of 80 ms can be said to be determined considering the interval at which a person can knock continuously the fastest. Therefore, if it is smaller than the lower limit, it cannot be regarded as knocking by a person. Of course, the range of C10 conditions will be changeable.

The interval between knock and knock may be different for each user. Roughly, the interval between knock and knock is often between 200 ms and 400 ms. Accordingly, considering the fast knock and the slow knock, the C10 condition can be determined from 80 ms to 600 ms.

Therefore, it is determined whether or not the effective knock is performed through the single knock signals, and thereafter, it is determined whether the time interval condition between the effective knock and the effective knock is satisfied. That is, since it is determined whether or not the knock-on signal is normally input over two stages, it is possible to significantly reduce whether or not misrecognition occurs. Of course, even through the conditions for determining a single effective knock, whether or not misrecognition occurs primarily is significantly reduced.

When knock-on is determined, a knock-on signal is generated by the knock module. In one example, the output port of the knock module may output a high / low signal. Specifically, a high signal may be output from the default santi and a low signal may be output as a knock-on signal. Of course, it could be the opposite.

The control unit receives the knock-on signal from the knock module and performs perspective control based on the knock-on signal.

Meanwhile, the knock module algorithm in this embodiment may be referred to as an algorithm independent of the main control unit. That is, after the knock module is activated, all of the algorithms until the knock input is sensed and the knock-on signal is generated can be performed in the knock module.

Therefore, the control configuration of the refrigerator is simplified, and overload of the main control unit can be prevented. And, it becomes very easy to apply fluoroscopic control in a refrigerator without fluoroscopic control. This is because there are significantly fewer changes in the algorithm of the main control unit, and it is possible to apply only the knock module.

In addition, by performing a complex operation on the effective knock conditions, the knock module prevents the noise from being misrecognized as knock, so that the user's actual knock can be accurately recognized.

In the above-described embodiments, the lighting unit is an example of the fluoroscopy unit, the knock module is an example of the fluoroscopy input unit, and the knock-on signal may be an example of the fluoroscopy signal. Accordingly, the perspective switching unit and the perspective input unit may be modified in various forms.

Through the refrigerator and the control method thereof according to the above-described embodiments, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that is easy to use and can improve reliability.

10: cabinet 20: refrigerator door
30: freezer door 40: main door
50: sub-door (perspective door) 80, 90: knock module (perspective input unit)

Claims (20)

A cabinet in which a storage room is provided;
A lighting unit provided to illuminate the interior of the storage compartment;
A door including a panel assembly having a viewing window provided to open and close the storage compartment and provided to view the inside of the storage compartment illuminated by the lighting unit;
A knock module including a knock sensor detecting a knock input and a module microcomputer generating a knock-on signal when it is determined as a normal knock input through the knock signal received from the knock sensor;
In the control method of a refrigerator including a control unit for receiving the knock-on signal and outputting a control signal for controlling the lighting unit,
A knock determination step of determining whether the effective knock condition is satisfied for each of two consecutive knock signals in the module microcomputer;
In the module microcomputer, when the interval between the effective knock and the effective knock is within a preset time range, a knock-on determination step of determining as knock-on; And
In the module microcomputer, when it is determined to be knock-on, including a knock-on signal generation step for generating a knock-on signal,
The module microcomputer sets a time point at which a knock signal having a strength greater than a preset value is received as a knock start time point, and performs the knock determination step,
The effective knock condition, the control method of a refrigerator comprising a range of frequencies from the start of the knock to the stabilization of the knock signal is a preset range. delete According to claim 1,
The module micom, the control method of the refrigerator, characterized in that performing the knock-on determination step at intervals between the start time of the effective knock or the effective knock determination time points in the knock determination step. According to claim 1,
The module micom does not perform the knock determination step while a knock signal having an intensity less than the preset value is received, and performs the knock determination step when a knock signal having an intensity greater than the preset value is received. Characterized by the control method of the refrigerator. delete According to claim 1,
The stabilization of the knock signal is a control method of a refrigerator, characterized in that the intensity of the knock signal is maintained less than a preset value. The method of claim 6,
The effective knock condition, the control method of the refrigerator comprising less than a predetermined time from the start of the knock until the knock signal is stabilized. The method of claim 7,
The knock determination step, the control method of the refrigerator, characterized in that the knock signal is terminated by stabilization. The method of claim 4,
The effective knock condition, the control method of a refrigerator, characterized in that the sum of the intensity of each of the vibrations of the knock signal until the knock signal stabilizes. The method of claim 4,
The effective knock condition is characterized in that the ratio of the sum of the intensity of each of the vibrations of the knock signal until the knock signal stabilizes with respect to the frequency of the knock signal until the knock signal stabilizes is greater than a preset value. How to control the refrigerator. The method of claim 3,
The effective knock condition, the control method of the refrigerator, characterized in that the time from the start of the knock until the knock signal is stabilized is greater than a preset value. The method of claim 3,
The effective knock condition, when assuming that the interval between the start of the knock until the knock signal is stabilized is 100%, the maximum peak position of the knock signal is less than the initial 40% of the refrigerator characterized in that Control method. The method of claim 4,
The effective knock condition, the control method of the refrigerator, characterized in that the maximum peak of the knock signal is greater than 120% than the intensity of the knock signal at the start of the knock. A cabinet in which a storage room is provided;
A lighting unit provided to illuminate the interior of the storage compartment;
A door including a panel assembly having a viewing window provided to open and close the storage compartment and provided to view the inside of the storage compartment illuminated by the lighting unit;
A knock module including a knock sensor detecting a knock input and a module microcomputer generating a knock-on signal when it is determined as a normal knock input through the knock signal received from the knock sensor;
In the control method of a refrigerator including a control unit for receiving the knock-on signal and outputting a control signal for controlling the lighting unit,
A knock determination step of determining whether the effective knock condition is satisfied for each of two consecutive knock signals in the module microcomputer;
In the module microcomputer, when the interval between the effective knock and the effective knock is within a preset time range, a knock-on determination step of determining as knock-on; And
In the module microcomputer, when it is determined to be knock-on, including a knock-on signal generation step for generating a knock-on signal,
When the knock module is first turned on, a stabilization step is performed to determine that the intensity of the knock signal is maintained at a strength less than a preset value, and a preset frequency is maintained. The method of claim 14,
When the knock signal is stabilized in the stabilization step, the control method of the refrigerator, characterized in that the knock determination step is performed. The method according to claim 1 or 14,
The module microcomputer control method of the refrigerator, characterized in that to perform the signal correction step for sharpening the knock signal and reducing noise. The method of claim 16,
In the signal correction step, the control method of a refrigerator, characterized in that the knock signal is corrected by a difference between the current knock signal and the past knock signal. The method of claim 17,
After the signal modification step, the control method of the refrigerator, characterized in that performing a signal processing step of processing the knock signal by substituting the reference value of the modified knock signal as an absolute value as a baseline. The method of claim 18,
The control method of the refrigerator, characterized in that the knock determination step is performed through the processed knock signal. delete

Images