KR20070053013A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator having a body having at least one storage compartment formed therein and a door that opens and closes the storage compartment, the at least one illumination LED providing illumination inside the storage compartment and at least one sterilization LED sterilizing the interior of the storage compartment. Having a lighting unit; It characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling the lighting unit to interlock with the opening and closing of the door. Thereby, the illuminance can be improved and the refrigerator which can sterilize the inside of a storage compartment is provided.

Refrigerator, LED

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

1 is a front perspective view showing a schematic view of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a bottom view showing the upper wall surface of the storage compartment of the refrigerator according to the present invention,

3 is a side sectional view of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

4 is a control block diagram of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1: body 2: storage room

10: door 20: lighting unit

21: Illumination LED 22: Sterilization LED

25: Bracket 25: Bracket

30: unit receiving portion 40: cover member

50: door switch 60: control unit

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator capable of improving illuminance and sterilizing a storage compartment.

A typical refrigerator includes at least one storage compartment and a door that opens and closes the storage compartment. The inside of the storage compartment is equipped with a shelf for storing food in multiple stages, and the rear area of the storage compartment is equipped with lighting for providing light inside the storage compartment.

Conventional refrigerators have a function of storing the stored products at a low temperature to prevent food spoilage and to maintain freshness for a long time. However, it was possible to breed microorganisms in low-temperature storage rooms, especially in cold storage rooms, and the food could corrupt due to the propagation of these microorganisms.

Therefore, it is required to add a sterilization function to prevent corruption of the stored matter and maintain freshness.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of improving illuminance and sterilizing a storage compartment.

The object of the present invention is a refrigerator having a main body having at least one storage compartment and a door for opening and closing the storage compartment, according to the present invention, wherein at least one illumination LED for providing illumination in the storage compartment and at least sterilizing the interior of the storage compartment are provided. An illumination unit having one germicidal LED; It is achieved by including a control unit for controlling the lighting unit to interlock with the opening and closing of the door.

Here, further comprising a door switch for detecting the opening and closing of the door; The control unit preferably controls the lighting unit based on the signal of the door switch.

The controller may drive the illumination LED when the door is in an open state, and drive the germicidal LED when the door is in a closed state.

An upper surface of the storage compartment is provided with a light receiving portion recessed in a predetermined area to accommodate the lighting unit; The lighting unit is preferably mounted to the light receiving portion.

Here, the germicidal LED preferably includes a UV-LED.

It is preferable to further include a light cover mounted to the lower portion of the light receiving portion to cover the light unit.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a front perspective view showing a schematic view of a refrigerator according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing an upper wall surface 5 of a storage compartment 2 of a refrigerator according to the present invention, and FIG. Side section view of a refrigerator.

The refrigerator according to the present invention includes a main body (1) having at least one storage compartment (2) formed therein; a door (10) for opening and closing the storage compartment (2); An illumination unit 20 having at least one illumination LED 21 for providing illumination inside the storage compartment 2 and at least one sterilization LED 22 for sterilizing the interior of the storage compartment 2; The lighting unit 20 includes a control unit 60 for controlling the opening and closing of the door 10.

Referring to the drawings, in the main body 1 of the refrigerator according to the present invention, the storage compartment 2 is divided into the refrigerating compartment 3 and the freezing compartment 4 from side to side by an intermediate partition. The front opening of each storage compartment 2 is provided with a refrigerating compartment door 11 and a freezing compartment door 12 for opening and closing the opening. It is arranged up and down. Here, in each storage chamber 2, the several shelf 16 which partitions each storage chamber 2 is arrange | positioned up and down, and the some storage drawer 17 is provided in the lower part.

The lighting unit 20 includes an illumination LED 21 for providing illumination in the storage compartment 2 and a sterilization LED 22 for sterilizing the interior of the storage compartment 2. In general, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) is a light emitter in which energy is emitted as light is stabilized by recombination generated when holes and electrons recombine in a junction layer by applying a forward current after bonding a P-type semiconductor and an N-type semiconductor. . The lighting unit 20 is preferably mounted to both the refrigerating chamber (3) and the freezing chamber (4). The lighting unit 20 may be mounted on the upper wall surface 5 of the storage chamber 2, may be mounted on the rear region, or a plurality of lighting units 20 may be mounted in the middle of the storage chamber 2.

The illumination LED 21 is mounted on the top wall 5 of the storage compartment 2 to provide light for identifying the stored article. The illumination LED is preferably provided with a high brightness LED. The difference between normal LED and high brightness LED is the difference in brightness of light. In other words, high-brightness LED is to improve the performance of the chip of the general LED to emit bright light. The illumination LED 21 may be provided in various ways. The illumination LEDs 21 may be provided as one, two may be provided, or two or more may be provided. The illumination LED 21 may be provided in various colors. For example, it may be provided in white, may be provided in blue, may be provided in red, or may be provided in green. The LED D 21 for the tank is preferably provided as a unit with the germicidal LED 22 and mounted on the upper wall surface 5 of the storage chamber 2.

The sterilization LED 22 is provided to sterilize the inside of the storage compartment. The sterile LED 22 is preferably provided with a UV-LED. UV-LED is an LED having bactericidal power by using ultraviolet wavelength as ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diode (LED). The sterile LED 22 may be provided in various ways. It may be provided as one, or may be provided as two or more sterile LEDs 22 are spaced apart from each other.

The illumination LED 21 and the germicidal LED 22 are preferably provided in one unit and mounted on the upper wall surface 5 of the storage compartment 2. The illumination LED 21 and the germicidal LED 22 may be arranged in various ways. The illumination LED 21 and the germicidal LED 22 may be arranged in one row in a horizontal direction and arranged in a two-row structure, and the illumination LED 21 and the germicidal LED 22 may be arranged in a row and the illumination LED. 21 and the germicidal LED 22 may be disposed to cross adjacent to each other.

The refrigerator according to the present invention may further include a bracket 25 supporting the lighting unit 20. The bracket 25 accommodates and supports the lighting unit 20 and is accommodated in the unit accommodating part 30 to be described later. The bracket 25 may include a support part 26 detachably supporting the lighting unit 20 so that the lighting unit 20 can be replaced. The bracket 20 is preferably provided in a shape corresponding to the unit accommodating part 30 to be accommodated in the unit accommodating part 30.

The refrigerator according to the present invention may further include a unit accommodating part 30 formed to receive the lighting unit 20. The unit accommodating part 30 is recessed in a predetermined area on the upper wall surface 5 of the storage chamber 2 to accommodate the lighting unit 20. The unit accommodating part 30 has a shape corresponding to the bracket 25. The unit accommodating part 30 may be formed by recessing the upper wall surface 5 of the storage chamber 2 or may be formed by cutting. Here, when the unit accommodating part 30 is formed by cutting a predetermined area of the upper wall surface 5 of the storage chamber 2, the bracket 25 may be mounted to prevent the foaming liquid from leaking when the foaming agent is foamed. Since the lighting unit 20 is mounted on the upper wall surface 5 area of the storage compartment 2, the light is not blocked by the storage. Meanwhile, the unit accommodating part 30 is formed on the upper wall surface 5 of the storage chamber 2, but is not limited thereto and may be formed in the rear region of the storage chamber 2. In addition, by mounting the lighting unit 20 in the recessed unit accommodating unit 30, the capacity of the storage compartment 2 is increased.

The refrigerator according to the present invention may further include a cover member 40 covering the lighting unit 20. The cover member 40 is mounted to the lower portion of the recessed unit accommodating part 30 and provided to cover the lighting unit 20. The cover member 40 is disposed below the lighting unit 20, and preferably provided with a light diffusion lens so that the light of the lighting unit 20 is diffused to the entire storage chamber. The cover member 40 serves to protect the lighting unit 20 as well as the diffusion of light. The cover member 40 may be provided transparently, or may be provided with a translucent material to prevent glare of the user. The cover member 40 is detachably coupled to the unit accommodating part 30 to repair and replace the lighting unit 20.

The refrigerator according to the present invention may further include a door switch 50 for detecting opening and closing of the door 10. The door switch 50 detects the opening and closing of the door 10 and allows the control unit 60 to control the lighting unit 20 based on the signal of the door switch 50. The door switch 50 may be provided in various forms. For example, it may be provided as a button switch or a slide switch provided in the door 10 or the main body 1 to operate the opening and closing of the door 10, and the magnet is attached to the hinge portion (not shown) of the door 10. In addition, the reed switch may be attached to the main body 1 to be controlled in a non-contact manner, or may be provided as a sensor for detecting the opening and closing of the door 10.

The control unit 60 controls to operate the lighting unit 20 in association with the opening and closing of the door 10. The controller 60 drives the illumination LED 21 and stops the sterilization LED 22 based on the signal of the illumination unit 50 when the door 10 is opened. On the other hand, based on the signal of the door switch 50 when the door 10 is closed, the illumination LED 21 stops driving and controls the sterilization LED 22 to be driven.

Looking at the operation of the refrigerator according to the present invention including such a configuration with reference to the drawings as follows.

4 is a control block diagram of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

First, when the user opens the door 10, the control unit 60 drives the illumination LED 21 to provide illumination to the interior of the storage compartment based on the open signal by the door switch 50 and the sterilization LED 22. Controls to stop the drive. Meanwhile, when the user closes the door 10, the control unit 60 stops driving and sterilizes the LEDs so as to sterilize the inside of the storage compartment 2 based on the closing signal of the door switch 50. 22) to drive.

A refrigerator having such a structure may be equipped with a sterilizing LED 22 to radiate sterilizing ultraviolet rays inside the storage compartment to sterilize microorganisms and the like contained in the food, thereby preventing the corruption of the food.

In addition, by attaching the lighting unit 20 to the unit accommodating part 30 formed by recessing the upper wall surface 5 of the storage chamber 2, the capacity of the storage chamber 2 is increased.

Here, the illumination LED 21 and the sterilization LED 22 is configured as one unit, and by controlling the illumination LED 21 and the sterilization LED 22 to be interlocked with the door switch 50, a separate control device is provided. There is no need to reduce production costs.

As described above, according to the present invention, the illuminance can be improved by using the illumination LED as an illumination, and the refrigerator can be provided to sterilize the inside of the storage compartment by using the sterilization LED.

In addition, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that can lower the production cost by configuring the illumination LED and sterilization LED as a unit.

Claims (5)

A refrigerator having a body having at least one storage compartment formed therein and a door that opens and closes the storage compartment, An illumination unit having at least one illumination LED for providing illumination in the storage compartment and at least one sterilization LED for sterilizing the interior of the storage compartment; And a control unit for controlling the lighting unit to interlock with opening and closing of the door. The method of claim 1, A door switch for detecting opening and closing of the door; And the control unit drives the illumination LED when the door is open based on the signal of the door switch, and drives the sterilization LED when the door is closed. The method of claim 2, An upper surface of the storage compartment is provided with a light receiving portion recessed in a predetermined area to accommodate the lighting unit; The lighting unit is a refrigerator, characterized in that mounted to the light receiving portion. The method of claim 3, The refrigerator further comprises a lighting cover mounted to the lower portion of the light receiving portion to cover the lighting unit. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The germicidal LED comprises a UV-LED refrigerator.

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