KR20010003966A - Refrigerator and controlling method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A refrigerator and method of controlling operation of refrigerator is provided to allow a user to set the temperature of a cooling chamber. CONSTITUTION: A refrigerator with a cabinet for forming one or more cooling chambers, and a door installed to the cabinet, comprises a plurality of temperature sensors(21,22) installed to each area of the cooling chamber sectioned into a plurality of areas, a display unit(11) for displaying predetermined information, a display control unit(12) for displaying the temperature of the cooling chamber sensed through the temperature sensors to the display unit, and a load control unit(14) for comparing the temperature of each area of the cooling chamber sensed through the temperature sensors and the temperature set by a user, and transmitting the comparison result to the display control unit. A method comprises the steps of sensing the temperature of the cooling chamber, and allowing the displaying unit to display the sensed temperature of the cooling chamber.

Description

Refrigerator and its control method {REFRIGERATOR AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a refrigerator and a control method thereof so as to display a temperature sensed for each area of a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment through a display device.

In the SIDE BY SIDE type refrigerator used to construct a relatively large refrigerator, a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment are divided left and right by an intermediate partition. The front openings of each refrigerator compartment and freezer compartment are provided with a refrigerator compartment door and a freezer compartment door for opening and closing the front opening.

In the refrigerating chamber door, a home bar door that opens and closes the front opening of the home bar through the refrigerating chamber door is installed to be able to rotate up and down without opening the refrigerating chamber door.

Meanwhile, a freezer door is provided with a dispenser having a water dispenser and an ice dispenser in one region so that ice or water stored in the freezer can be supplied from the outside. The panel is installed.

The operation panel is formed of a PCB substrate for setting temperatures in the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber according to a signal from the outside, and a membrane panel provided on the front surface of the PCB substrate. As shown in Fig. 6, the membrane panel is provided with a plurality of operation buttons 67 for setting the cooling states of the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber, and a display window 65 indicating the temperature setting states of the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber.

The display window 65 is provided with the refrigerator compartment temperature display part 64 which consists of several bars which represent the temperature of the refrigerator compartment as the strong medicine, and the freezer compartment temperature display part 62 which consists of the some bar which shows the temperature of the freezer compartment by strong medicine. According to the operation of the button 67, the LED corresponding to each bar is turned on or off to indicate the cooling state of the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment.

By the way, since the conventional operation panel 60 is displayed only as a strong drug when displaying the cooling state of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment, it is not possible to determine whether the temperature of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment is maintained at the temperature set by the user.

On the other hand, each region of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment maintains a different temperature, which is for storing food at an optimal temperature because the storage temperature and storage period are different depending on the type of food stored in the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment. In particular, the refrigerator by the side-by-side type of the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment is formed on the left and right sides of the cabinet, the temperature difference is more severe along the longitudinal direction of the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment.

However, since the operation panel 60 only displays the temperatures of the set freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment, and no means for displaying the temperature of each region of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment in detail, it is known how the temperature distribution of each zone is made. There is also a problem that can not know whether the food is stored at the optimum storage temperature.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator and a method of controlling the same, which enable the display device to display the temperature distribution of each region of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator having a display device according to the present invention;

2 is an enlarged plan view of the display unit of FIG. 1;

3 is an enlarged plan view of a display unit when a refrigerator function is selected in FIG. 2;

4 is an enlarged plan view of the display unit when the cooling state display function is selected in FIG. 3;

5 is a control block diagram of a display device according to the present invention;

6 is a plan view of a conventional operation panel.

<Description of the code | symbol about the principal part of drawing>

10 display device 11 display unit

12: display control unit 13: selection button

14: load control unit 21: cold room temperature sensor

22: freezer temperature sensor

According to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator comprising at least one cooling chamber and at least one cooling chamber, the refrigerator comprising: at least one temperature sensor installed in the cooling chamber; A display unit which displays predetermined information; It is achieved by a refrigerator comprising a display control unit for displaying the temperature of the cooling chamber detected by the temperature sensor to the display unit.

Here, the cooling chamber is partitioned into a plurality of regions, and each of the regions may be configured so that a temperature sensor is installed.

At this time, the load control unit for comparing the temperature of each area of the cooling chamber detected by the temperature sensor and the temperature set by the user and transmits the result to the display control unit, wherein the display unit A graphic showing the shape of the cooling chamber is displayed, and whether the temperature is normal or abnormal based on the temperature set by the user is displayed in each region on the graphic, thereby indicating the temperature of each region in the cooling chamber.

Here, the display of normal and abnormality may be displayed as 'normal', 'high temperature', 'low temperature', or may be displayed in different colors according to normal, high temperature, and low temperature.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method of a refrigerator having a cabinet forming at least one cooling chamber and a door installed in the cabinet, the method comprising: detecting a temperature in the cooling chamber; ; It may also be achieved by the control method of the refrigerator, characterized in that it further comprises the step of displaying the detected cooling chamber temperature on the display unit.

The sensing of the temperature in the cooling chamber may include dividing the cooling chamber into a plurality of regions and sensing the temperature of each region, and displaying the detected result on the display unit. It is preferable that the step of graphicizing the shape of, and comparing and displaying the temperature of each area on the graphic and the temperature set by the user.

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

As shown in FIG. 1, in the SIDE BY SIDE type extra large refrigerator, a pair of refrigerating compartments and a freezing compartment divided left and right are formed in a rectangular cylindrical cabinet 1 having a front opening. The refrigerator compartment door 5 and the freezer compartment door 3 are attached to the front of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment, respectively.

In one region of the refrigerating chamber door 5, a groove opening through the refrigerating chamber door 5 is formed so as to store and withdraw food and beverages in the refrigerating chamber without the refrigerating chamber door 5 being opened. Is opened and closed by a groove bar door 6 attached to be rotatable about a hinge below the groove bar opening.

Meanwhile, a dispenser device 7 having a water dispenser and an ice dispenser is installed in one region of the freezer compartment 3 so that the ice or water stored in the freezer compartment can be supplied from the outside. The display device 10 for displaying the frozen and refrigerated state of the is installed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the display apparatus 10 includes a display unit 11 formed of an LCD and a lower portion of the display unit 11 to select or set information displayed on the display unit 11 as desired. It includes a plurality of selection buttons 13 which is a selection unit for. The selection unit may be formed by stacking a touch screen on the surface of the display unit 11.

As shown in FIG. 5, the display unit 11 is controlled by the display control unit 12 in which the function information is programmed in advance, and the display control unit 12 displays the display unit 11 according to the selection of the selection button 13. Change the information displayed in). The display control unit 12 also exchanges information with the load control unit 14 which drives the load of the compressor 8 and the blower fan 9 and the like installed in the refrigerator. The load control unit 14 has a value set by the selection button 13, a plurality of refrigerator compartment sensors 21 installed in each region partitioned by shelves or drawers in the refrigerator compartment, and a plurality of freezer compartment sensors installed in each region of the freezer compartment ( The driving of the compressor 8 and the blowing fan 9 is controlled according to the detected value from 22.

When power is applied to the display apparatus 10, an initial screen is first displayed on the display unit 11. On the initial screen, as shown in FIG. 2, a refrigerator function for identifying and adjusting the refrigeration and freezing conditions of the refrigerator, a calendar function for inputting and displaying a date, and a specific day may be displayed on the calendar. The company's logo is displayed along with a menu showing functions such as a schedule function, a time function for displaying a clock, and the like.

When the selection button 13 corresponding to the refrigerator function is selected on the initial screen, the display controller 12 changes the information displayed on the display 11 to the refrigerator function display screen as shown in FIG. 3. The refrigerator function display screen is formed of a graphic area 15 for displaying cooling states of the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, and a menu area 20 indicating a function corresponding to each selection button 13.

In the menu area 20, a 'flake ice and ice cube' icon, which allows the ice supplied through the dispenser device 7 to be selected between crushed ice and flake ice, and 'power freezing / cooling' for dropping the temperature of the freezer and the refrigerator compartment. 'Power Refrigeration' icon, 'Freezer temperature setting' and 'Freezer temperature setting' icon to set the temperature of freezer and refrigerator compartment, 'Cool status display function' icon to display the temperature of each area of refrigerator and freezer compartment in detail, return to the initial screen To the initial screen 'icon' is displayed, each icon is disposed corresponding to each selectable by the selection button 13 installed on the lower portion of the display (11). Here, when there are a large number of icons, the selection button 13 may be configured to classify a plurality of icons into a group, and to sequentially select icons within a group of icons when the selection button 13 is pressed.

On the other hand, in the graphic area 15, a plurality of graphics corresponding to each icon formed in the menu area 20 are formed, and each ice and operation ice graphic corresponding to the 'flake ice / ice ice' icon, and 'power freezing' Power refrigeration and power refrigeration graphics corresponding to the 'and' power refrigeration 'icons, graphics indicating whether the deodorization and neuropurge functions are automatically executed by the microcomputer, and the temperature of the freezer and refrigerator compartment can be displayed step by step. It consists of a freezer graphic and a freezer graphic.

Here, the freezer compartment graphic and the refrigerating compartment graphic are formed by stacking a plurality of display bars displaying steel, medium, and weak, respectively, and the plurality of display bars are divided into three groups so as to correspond to steel, medium, and weak, respectively. The display bars of the freezer compartment graphic and the refrigerating compartment graphic are selected one by one when the selection button 13 is selected, and the color of the display bar is increased.

When the 'cooling state display function' icon of the menu area 20 is selected on the refrigerator function display screen, as shown in FIG. 4, the load control unit 14 includes a plurality of refrigerator compartment sensors 21 and a freezer compartment sensor 22. And compares the result detected by the user with a refrigerator compartment set temperature and a freezer compartment set temperature set by the user in the refrigerator function. Then, the result is transmitted to the display control unit 12, and the display control unit 12 displays the internal view of the refrigerator on the display unit 11, and the detection temperature is set in the refrigerating chamber and the refrigerating chamber in each region of the refrigerator compartment and the cooling chamber. It indicates whether it is high or low compared to the freezer set temperature. The display method is 'normal' if the set temperature is similar to the detected temperature, 'high temperature' if the detected temperature is higher than the set temperature, or 'low temperature' if the detected temperature is lower than the set temperature. Depending on the temperature, it may be set to green in case of normal temperature, red in case of high temperature, and blue in case of low temperature, and displayed in color.

When the temperatures of the respective regions in the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are displayed in detail, the user can appropriately set the temperatures of the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment based on this information, thereby enabling the refrigerator to be used efficiently.

Meanwhile, in the above-described embodiment, the 'cooling state display function' is included in the 'fridge function' so that the display can be displayed. However, when the operation through the selection button is not detected for a predetermined time, the inside view of the refrigerator is displayed through the display unit. It can be displayed to perform 'cooling status display function'.

In addition, the display method of the 'cooling state display function' may directly indicate the region where an abnormality occurs, and display it on the display unit, for example, 'the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator compartment is high temperature'.

As described above, according to the present invention, by displaying the temperature distribution of each region in the cooling chamber through the display device, the user can set the temperature of the cooling chamber appropriately, thereby enabling efficient use.

Claims (8)

A refrigerator having a cabinet forming at least one cooling chamber and a door provided in the cabinet, A plurality of temperature sensors provided in each region of the cooling chamber divided into a plurality of regions; A display unit which displays predetermined information; And a display control unit which displays the temperature of the cooling chamber detected by the temperature sensor in the display unit. The method of claim 1, And a load control unit which compares the temperature of each area of the cooling chamber detected by the temperature sensor with a temperature set by the user and transmits the result to the display control unit. The method of claim 1, The display unit displays a graphic showing the shape of the cooling chamber, and each region of the graphic is displayed on the basis of the temperature set by the user whether the normal and abnormal temperature of the refrigerator. The method of claim 3, wherein The indication of the normal and abnormal, the refrigerator characterized in that the 'normal', 'high temperature', 'low temperature'. The method of claim 3, wherein The indication of the normal and abnormal, the refrigerator characterized in that it is displayed in a different color depending on the normal and high temperature and low temperature. In the control method of the refrigerator having a cabinet forming at least one cooling chamber, and a door installed in the cabinet, Sensing a temperature in the cooling chamber; And controlling the detected cooling chamber temperature to be displayed on a display unit. The method of claim 6, The sensing of the temperature in the cooling chamber may include partitioning the cooling chamber into a plurality of regions and sensing the temperature of each region, respectively. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 7, The displaying of the detected result on the display unit may include graphically displaying the shape of the cooling chamber and comparing and displaying the temperature of each region on the graphic with a temperature set by the user. .