KR20100062186A

KR20100062186A - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: KR20100062186A
Application number: KR1020080120652A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 심재환
Original assignee: 엘지전자 주식회사
Priority date: 2008-12-01
Filing date: 2008-12-01
Publication date: 2010-06-10

Abstract

PURPOSE: A refrigerator is provided to open a home-bar door with detecting magnetic field with attaching a magnetic field sensor in the home-bar door. CONSTITUTION: A refrigerator comprises: a magnetic field sensor(185) which is attached on the door of a rotatable home-bar(180) and senses magnetic field; a home-bar door opening part(330) which opens the door of a home bar; and a controller which opens the home-bar by controlling the home bar door opening part if the magnetic field sensor senses the magnetic field. The magnetic field sensor is a hall sensor and opens the home bar by controlling the home bar door opening part if a high level signal is inputted from the hall sensor.

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having improved user convenience and durability when a home bar is opened.

Generally, a refrigerator is a device used for storing food fresh for a long time, and includes a freezer compartment for freezing food, a freezer compartment for cold storage of plants, and a freezing cycle for cooling the freezer compartment and refrigerator compartment. The operation control is performed by the controller.

Unlike in the past, the refrigerator is not only a space for food, but also a family room where the family members are gathering and talking and solving the food. In addition, quantitative and qualitative functional changes are required for all family members to use easily.

One of the multifunctional structures of the refrigerator is provided with a home bar on the front of the refrigerator, which allows the food bar stored in the back of the refrigerator door to be easily withdrawn / retracted from the outside of the door.

Usually, the home bar door rotating forward is provided with an opening and closing device fastened to the home bar frame formed along the outer circumference of the opening. Such an opening and closing device is typically implemented as a hook structure by a fastening hook and a fastening groove, a latch structure by a fastener and a recess, and the like, which are all contact structures. Such a contact structure has a problem in that the fastening force is lowered due to aging of the fastening hook or the fastener.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator with improved user convenience and durability when the home bar is opened.

A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object, a magnetic field detector attached to the door of the rotatable home bar for detecting a magnetic field, a home bar door opening for opening the home bar door, and a magnetic field in the magnetic field detector If it is detected, the control unit for controlling the home bar door opening to open the home bar.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, by attaching a magnetic field detector to the home bar door to open the home bar door by magnetic field detection, the user does not open the home bar door in a contact manner, thereby increasing user convenience. In addition, by opening the home bar door in a non-contact manner, the durability of the home bar is increased.

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

1 is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the refrigerator 1 according to the present invention, although not shown, a case 110 having an inner space divided into a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment, a freezer compartment 120 that shields the freezer compartment, and a refrigerating compartment. A rough appearance is formed by the refrigerating chamber door 140.

Further, the front surface of the freezing chamber door 120 and the refrigerating chamber door 140 is further provided with a door handle 121 protruding forward, so that the user can easily grip and rotate the freezing chamber door 120 and the refrigerating chamber door 140. Make it work.

On the other hand, the front of the refrigerator compartment door 140 may be further provided with a home bar 180, which is a convenient means for allowing a user to take out a storage such as a beverage contained therein without opening the refrigerator compartment door 140.

Meanwhile, in the drawing, the groove bar 180 is illustrated as being disposed on the front surface of the refrigerating chamber door 140, but is not limited thereto, and may be disposed on the front surface of the freezing chamber door 120, and the freezing chamber door 120 may also be used. It is also possible to be disposed in front of all the refrigerator door 140. A detailed description of the home bar 180 will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

The front surface of the freezer compartment 120 may be provided with a dispenser 160, which is a convenient means for allowing a user to easily take out ice or drinking water without opening the freezer compartment 120, the upper side of the dispenser 160 The control panel 200 may further include a control panel 200 that controls the driving operation of the refrigerator 1 and shows a state of the refrigerator 1 being operated on the screen.

The control panel 200 may include an input unit 220 including a plurality of buttons, and a display unit 230 for displaying a control screen and an operation state.

The display unit 230 displays information such as a control screen, an operation state, and a temperature inside the refrigerator. For example, the display unit 230 may display a service type of the dispenser (eg, ice, water, flake ice), a set temperature of the freezer compartment, and a set temperature of the refrigerator compartment.

The display unit 230 may be implemented in various ways, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), and the like. In addition, the display unit 230 may be implemented as a touch screen capable of performing the function of the input unit 220.

The input unit 220 may include a plurality of operation buttons. For example, the input unit 220 may include a dispenser setting button (not shown) for setting a service type of the dispenser (ice ice, water, crushed ice, etc.) and a freezer temperature setting button (not shown) for setting a freezer temperature. And, it may include a refrigerator compartment temperature setting button (not shown) for setting the freezer compartment temperature. The input unit 220 may be implemented as a touch screen that can also perform the function of the display unit 230.

Meanwhile, the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the double door type illustrated in the drawings, but the one door type, the sliding door type, and the curtain door type. Regardless of its form, such as a (Curtain Door Type), as described later, it is sufficient that the home bar is disposed on the refrigerator door.

FIG. 2 is a view schematically illustrating the configuration of the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the refrigerator 1 includes a compressor 112, a condenser 116 for condensing the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 112, and a refrigerant condensed by the condenser 116 to be evaporated. The refrigerator compartment evaporator 122 and the freezer compartment evaporator 124 disposed in the refrigerator compartment (not shown) and the refrigerant condensed in the condenser 116 are transferred to the refrigerator compartment evaporator 122 or the freezer compartment evaporator 124. A three-way valve 130 to supply, a refrigerating chamber expansion valve 132 for expanding the refrigerant supplied to the refrigerating chamber evaporator 122, and a freezing chamber expansion valve 134 for expanding the refrigerant supplied to the freezing chamber evaporator 124. do.

In addition, the refrigerator 1 may further include a gas-liquid separator (not shown) in which the refrigerant passing through the evaporators 122 and 124 is separated into a liquid and a gas.

In addition, the refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerator compartment fan 142 and a freezer compartment fan that suck cold air that has passed through the refrigerator compartment evaporator 122 and the freezer compartment evaporator 124 and blow it into a refrigerator compartment (not shown) and a freezer compartment (not shown), respectively. 144 may be further included.

In addition, the compressor driving unit 113 for driving the compressor 112, the refrigerator compartment fan 142 and the refrigerator compartment fan drive unit 143 and the freezer compartment fan drive unit 145 for driving the freezer compartment 144 may be further included.

3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the inside of the refrigerator illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the refrigerator of FIG. 3 includes a magnetic field detector 185, a controller 310, and a home bar door opening 330. In addition, the refrigerator of FIG. 3 further includes an input unit 220, a display unit 230, and a temperature sensor 320. In addition, the refrigerator of FIG. 3 further includes a compressor driver 113, a refrigerator compartment fan 142, a refrigerator compartment fan driver 143, a freezer compartment fan 144, and a freezer compartment fan driver 145.

The compressor 112, the refrigerator compartment fan 142, the freezer compartment fan 144, the input unit 220, the display unit 230, and the like are described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The magnetic field detector 185 is attached to a door of the rotatable groove bar 180 to detect a magnetic field around the magnetic field detector 185. To this end, the magnetic field detector 185 may be a hall sensor or a hall IC using a hall effect. The signal for the detected magnetic field is input to the controller 310.

The home bar door opening 330 opens the door of the home bar 180. The method of opening the door of the home bar 180 may be implemented in various forms such as a method of releasing and unlocking an electrical locking state and a mechanical method using an electric motor.

The controller 310 controls the home bar door opening 330 to open the home bar 180 when the magnetic field is detected by the magnetic field detector 185 attached to the door of the home bar 180. For example, if the method of opening the door of the hop bar 180 is an electrical locking method, the locking state is controlled to be released.

When the magnetic field detector 185 is a hall sensor or hall IC, the controller 310 controls the home bar door opening 330 to operate when a high level signal is input from the magnetic field detector 185. do.

On the other hand, the control unit 310 controls to drive the compressor 112 according to the signal for the freezer compartment target temperature or the freezer compartment target temperature from the input unit 220. The compressor 112 in operation compresses the refrigerant and performs heat exchange in the evaporators 122 and 124 through the condenser 116 and the expansion valves 132 and 134 as described above.

The controller 310 directly controls the compressor driver 113 and the fan driver 143 or 145, as shown in the figure, to control the on / off operation of the compressor 112 and the fan 142 or 144. By controlling, finally, the compressor 112 and the fan 142 or 144 can be controlled.

The compressor drive unit 113, the refrigerator compartment fan drive unit 143, and the freezer compartment fan drive unit 145 each use a compressor motor (not shown), a refrigerator compartment fan motor (not shown), and a freezer compartment fan motor (not shown), respectively. Each motor (not shown) is operated at a target rotational speed under the control of the controller 310. When such an electric motor is a three-phase electric motor, it may be controlled by a switching operation in an inverter (not shown), or may be controlled at a constant speed by using an AC power source as it is. Herein, each motor (not shown) may be any one of an induction motor, a BLDC (Blush less DC) motor, a synchronous reluctance motor (synRM) motor, and the like.

On the other hand, as described above, the controller 310 can control the overall operation of the refrigerant cycle in accordance with the set temperature from the input unit 220. For example, in addition to the compressor driver 113, the refrigerator compartment fan driver 143, and the freezer compartment fan driver 145, the three-way valve 130, the refrigerator compartment expansion valve 132, and the freezer compartment expansion valve 134 may be further controlled. Can be. In addition, the operation of the condenser 116 can also be controlled.

On the other hand, the temperature detector 320 detects the temperature in the refrigerator. For example, it is possible to detect the temperature of the freezer compartment, the temperature of the refrigerating compartment, and the like, and also the temperature of each of the rooms of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment. Accordingly, a plurality of temperature sensing unit 320 may be disposed in the refrigerator. The sensed temperature is input to the controller 310 and used for the control operation for the target temperature operation.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the evaporators 122 and 124 are used in the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, respectively, and thus, the fans 142 and 144 and the driving units 143 and 145 are used. However, the evaporators common to the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are described. It is also possible to use a common fan (not shown), a common driving unit (not shown), and a common defrost heater. In this case, a damper (not shown) may be installed between the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, and the fan (not shown) may forcibly blow cold air generated by one evaporator to be supplied to the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment.

4 is a partial perspective view illustrating the home bar door of the refrigerator being opened.

Referring to the drawings, the home bar 180 includes a home bar frame 405, a home bar door 410, and a hinge 420 as a whole.

The home bar frame 405 is mounted at an approximately center portion of the refrigerating compartment door 140 to form an opening having a substantially rectangular shape through which food to be stored can be entered.

The home bar door 410 is mounted to the home bar frame 405. The home bar door 410 is formed to have a size corresponding to the opened surface of the home bar frame 405, that is, the opening, and is configured to selectively shield the opening, and is rotatably mounted to the home bar frame 405.

To this end, a hinge 420 is provided between the home bar door 410 and the home bar frame 405. The hinge 420 allows the home bar door 410 to be rotated below the home bar frame 405.

That is, the hinge bar 420 is provided at both lower sides of the home bar door 410 to be coupled to the rotating shaft (not shown) to enable the home bar door 410 to be rotated.

Accordingly, the home bar door 410 can selectively shield the opening by rotation, and when the hinge 420 is implemented as a damping hinge, the home bar door 410 can be rotated more smoothly when opened.

Meanwhile, a fastener 455 may be formed in the home bar door 410, and a fastening groove 465 may be formed in the home bar frame 405. The fastener 455 and the fastening groove 465 as the home bar door opening 330 may have a structure for fastening the electric locking. For example, in a state in which the fastener 455 and the fastening groove 465 are coupled, that is, the home bar door 410 is closed, a predetermined power flows through the fastening groove 465 to fasten the fastener 455. When the electrical locking state of the groove 465 is released, the home bar door 410 is opened.

Meanwhile, in the drawing, the magnetic field detector 185 is attached to the home bar door 410.

FIG. 5 is a diagram referred to describe an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 shows a signal from a magnetic field detector.

Referring to the drawings, first, FIG. 5A illustrates a case in which a magnetic field is not detected by the magnetic field detector 185 attached to the home bar door 410 or a case in which the detected magnetic field is less than a reference value. Accordingly, the signal output from the magnetic field detector 185 has a low level H _L as shown in FIG. 6. Therefore, the home bar door 410 is in a closed state.

Next, FIG. 5B illustrates that when the user moves the magnet 150 attached to the refrigerator near the magnetic field detector 185 attached to the home bar door 410, the magnetic field is detected by the magnetic field detector 185. The case is shown. Accordingly, the signal output from the magnetic field detector 185 has a high level H _H as shown in FIG. 6.

Next, FIG. 5 (c) shows that the magnetic field is detected by the magnetic field detector 185 to open the home bar door 410. The opening of the home bar door 410 may be between the first time point T1 and the second time point T2 having the detection signal of the high level H _H.

As such, by forming the magnetic field using the magnet 150 or the like, the home bar door 410 can be opened in a non-contact manner. Therefore, user convenience is increased, and durability of the home bar 180 is also improved.

Meanwhile, the magnetic field detector 185 may be embedded without protruding from the home bar door 410, thereby improving aesthetics.

While the above has been shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, it is usually in the technical field to which the invention belongs without departing from the spirit of the invention claimed in the claims. Various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or the prospect of the present invention.

5 is a diagram referred to describe an embodiment of the present invention.

6 shows a signal in the magnetic field detector.

1 ....... Refrigerator 160 ..... Dispenser

180 ..... Home bar 185 ..... Magnetic field detector

220 ..... Input 230 ..... Display

310 ..... Controls 330 ..... Home Bar Door Opening

405 ..... Home Bar Frame 410 ..... Home Bar Door

Claims

A magnetic field detector attached to the door of the rotatable home bar to detect a magnetic field;

A home bar door opening for opening the home bar door; And

And a controller configured to control the home bar door opening to open the home bar when the magnetic field is detected by the magnetic field detector.

The method of claim 1,

And the magnetic field detector is a hall sensor.

The method of claim 2,

The control unit,

And a home bar door opening part to open the home bar when a high level signal is input from the hall sensor.

The method of claim 1,

The home bar is a refrigerator, characterized in that disposed on at least one of the freezer door and the refrigerator compartment door.

The method of claim 1,

The control unit,

And a home bar door opening part for releasing a locking state between the fastener of the home bar door and the fastening groove of the home bar frame to which the home bar door is fastened.