KR20140127589A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a main body having a storage room arranged therein; a door opening or closing the storage room; a transparent panel attached to the front surface of the door; a display mounted on the rear surface of the transparent panel, appearing only when operated, and disappearing when not operated; a lighting part arranged around the display, and operated when the display is operated; and a control part controlling the operations of the display and the lighting part.

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a hidden display.

Generally, a refrigerator discharges cold air generated by a refrigeration cycle including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, etc. to lower the temperature of the inside of the refrigerator and freeze or refrigerate food or the like.

The refrigerator generally comprises a freezing room for storing food or beverage by freezing as a storage room, and a refrigerator for storing the food or beverage at a low temperature.

The refrigerator includes a top mount type in which a freezing compartment is disposed in an upper portion of a refrigerating compartment, a bottom freezer type in which a freezing compartment is disposed in a lower portion of the refrigerating compartment, a side freezer compartment in which a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment are partitioned into left and right sides, Side type (Side By Side Type).

In recent years, the functions of refrigerators have been diversified in their original function of storing foods in refrigeration or freezing.

A dispenser is installed on the door of the refrigerator to provide water and ice, and a display is installed on the front of the door to show and manage the state of the refrigerator.

In particular, the display is generally installed in a manner such that a hole is formed in the front panel of the door so as to be embedded in the door.

For example, when a glass panel is attached to the front of a door, a rectangular hole is drilled and a display module is mounted.

However, when the display is not used, a black screen is displayed even when it is turned off, so that it is difficult to match with the peripheral design of the front surface of the door and the appearance is not clean.

In addition, the display may be provided with an Internet search function to allow a user to perform a recipe search, a smart shopping, a food search, or the like while cooking. At this time, since holes are formed in the glass panel to mount the display module, minute gaps are formed therebetween, and foreign substances such as dust, food, and the like are caught, which makes it difficult to clean.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a hidden display that is invisible to a user when the display is turned off without using a display.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator comprising: a main body having a storage chamber therein; a door for opening and closing the storage chamber; a transparent panel attached to a front surface of the door; A lighting unit mounted around the display and operated when the display is operated, and a control unit controlling operation of the display and the lighting unit.

The transparent panel is preferably a glass panel and has a translucent print layer deposited on the back side thereof.

Wherein the door includes an outer case forming a front frame of the door, an inner liner forming a rear surface of the door, and a heat insulating material injected into a space between the outer case and the inner liner, And is preferably mounted on the formed recess.

Preferably, the semitransparent printed layer of the glass panel is black and the background color of the display is black.

The lighting unit is preferably implemented by an LED.

Preferably, the control unit controls the display unit and the lighting unit to be gradually brighter and darker when the display unit and the lighting unit are turned on and off.

The lighting unit may include a first lighting unit forming a square surrounding the display, and a circular second lighting unit disposed below the display.

The first lighting unit may be white, and the second lighting unit may be red.

Preferably, the display comprises a touch screen.

The refrigerator may further include a camera mounted on one side of the display to photograph a front of the display.

The refrigerator may further include a voice recognition sensor for recognizing a user's voice and operating the display and the lighting unit.

Preferably, the controller operates the display and the lighting unit when the voice recognition sensor recognizes the user's food.

Preferably, the refrigerator further includes a proximity sensor mounted on one side of the door to sense a user approaching the door, and the controller may operate the display and the lighting unit when the proximity sensor senses the approach of the user .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator including: a main body having a storage chamber therein; a door for opening and closing the storage chamber; a transparent panel attached to a front surface of the door; A non-operational invisible display, a proximity sensor mounted on one side of the door to sense the user approaching the door, and a control unit for controlling operation of the display.

The transparent panel is preferably a glass panel and has a translucent print layer on its back surface.

Preferably, the printed layer of the glass panel is black and the background color of the display is black.

Wherein the door includes an outer case forming a front frame of the door, an inner liner forming a rear surface of the door, and a heat insulating material injected into a space between the outer case and the inner liner, And is preferably mounted on the formed recess.

Preferably, the controller activates the display when the proximity sensor detects a user's approach.

Preferably, the control unit controls the display so that it becomes brighter and darker when the display is turned on and off.

Preferably, the display comprises a touch screen.

The refrigerator may further include a camera mounted on one side of the display to photograph a front of the display.

The refrigerator may further include a voice recognition sensor for recognizing a voice of a user and operating the display.

Preferably, the controller activates the display when the voice recognition sensor recognizes the user's voice.

According to the refrigerator of the present invention, when the user turns off the display without using the display, the refrigerator has an effect of being visible only when the user is turned off.

Further, since the display is mounted on the back surface of the transparent panel attached to the front surface of the door, there is no fear that the foreign matter is caught in the gap between the display and the mounting portion.

In addition, since the lighting unit is arranged around the display to operate in conjunction with the display, there is a good sense of aesthetics, such as producing an emotional mood and a futuristic feeling.

In addition, when the user approaches the refrigerator, the display is automatically turned on so that the user can conveniently use the display.

1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view of the left door of the refrigerator compartment in FIG.
3 is a front view showing a display mounted on a door and its peripheral configuration.
4 is a partially cutaway perspective view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.
5 is a front view showing that the display becomes bright when turned on and then turned on.

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

1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The illustrated refrigerator is a bottom freezer type refrigerator in which a refrigerator is provided at an upper portion of the main body 10 and a freezer is provided at a lower portion thereof.

The present invention is not limited to this type of refrigerator, and the present invention can be applied to a refrigerator having a display on the front of the door of the refrigerator.

In the illustrated embodiment, the left refrigerator compartment door 20 and the right refrigerator compartment door 30 are rotatably mounted as doors for opening and closing the refrigerating compartment. The refrigerator door may be rotatably mounted on one door.

The door for opening and closing the freezing chamber also includes a left freezing chamber door 40 and a right freezing chamber door 50. The freezer compartment door may also be provided with a drawer-type door to which one door can be pivotably mounted or which can be pulled back and forth.

Lower portions of the refrigerating chamber doors 20 and 30 are formed with concave portions 22 and 32 for the door handle portion, respectively.

Handle grooves (not shown) are respectively formed on the upper surfaces of the recesses 22 and 32, that is, on the lower surfaces of the refrigerating chamber doors 20 and 30, and the upper surfaces of the freezing chamber doors 40 and 50 are provided with a handle groove Respectively.

The handles of the door may be coupled to the front surface of the door, but it is preferable that the handle is not exposed to the front as in the illustrated embodiment for a clean appearance.

A display 100 is provided on the front surface of the left refrigerator compartment door 20. The display 100 is provided on the left refrigerator compartment door 20 but may be provided on the right refrigerator compartment door 30.

Of course, if the refrigerator is a top mount type or a side by side type refrigerator, it can be mounted on the freezer compartment door.

When the display is not operated and is turned off, it looks the same as the periphery of the door, so that the portion where the display is present is not visible to such an extent as not to be distinguished.

As will be described later with reference to FIG. 2, the display 100 is mounted on a mounting portion provided behind the transparent panel 110, which is attached to cover both the front surface and the front surface of the door.

Around the display 100, lighting units 120 and 130, which operate together when the display is operated, are disposed. The lighting units 120 and 130 are also mounted behind the transparent panel 110 (see FIG. 2)

The lighting units 120 and 130 may include a first lighting unit 120 forming a square surrounding the display 100 and a circular second lighting unit 130 disposed below the display .

The first lighting unit 120 may be implemented by an LED. The first lighting unit 120 may be white, and the second lighting unit 130 may be red.

The first lighting unit 120 has a thin line shape surrounding the display 100, giving a stylish feeling.

The second lighting unit 130 visualizes a touch-type button provided in a circular line, thereby informing the user of the convenience of operation.

The specific structure of the door of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 2 to 4. Fig.

Although the display 100 is shown mounted to the left refrigerator compartment door 20, the display may be located in another door, so that the left refrigerator compartment door 20 will be briefly described as the door 20 in the following description.

First, the door 20 includes an outer case 24 forming a front frame of the door, an inner liner 26 forming a rear surface of the door, and a heat insulating material filled in a space therebetween.

A transparent panel 110 is attached to the front surface of the inner liner 26.

The transparent panel 110 is preferably made of tempered glass and is provided with a translucent print layer 115 deposited on the backside thereof.

The color of the front surface of the door 20 is determined by the printing layer 115. When the display 100 is turned off, the color of the printing layer 115 is black, and thus the color of the printing layer 115 is preferably black .

However, the color of the printing layer 115 may be gray as well as black, or the design may be expressed by color separation by varying the lightness of each region.

The printing layer 115 may be coated with a semi-transparent paint or a semi-transparent film, but a printing layer can be formed very thinly and uniformly by depositing a semi-transparent paint.

As shown in FIG. 2, the outer case 24 is formed with recesses for mounting the display 100 and the lighting units 120 and 130, respectively.

3, the display 100 is mounted on a rectangular concave portion formed at the center of the outer case 24, and the first lighting portion 120 surrounds the concave portion of the display 100 Shaped recesses.

The second lighting unit 130 is mounted in a recess formed below the recess of the display 100 and between the recess of the display 100 and the recess of the first lighting unit 120.

The lighting units 120 and 130 are preferably implemented by LEDs. In the lighting units 120 and 130, a PCB (printed circuit board) module in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged may be mounted on each of the recesses.

LEDs are not only easy to implement continuous lines having a predetermined thickness but also can easily express various types of designs.

The first lighting unit 120 may represent a rectangular white line surrounding the first lighting unit 120 and the second lighting unit 130 may be disposed below the second lighting unit 130 It can be made to express a circular red line.

In particular, the second lighting unit 130 may include a touch-type button for allowing a user to turn on / off the display 100 or operate the display.

Thus, when the user presses the touch-type button, the display 100 is turned on, and the user can view the display 100 or manipulate the display.

The display 100 may be a touch screen.

A plurality of buttons are required to provide all of the buttons for operating the display 100.

Therefore, if the display 100 is a touch screen, various buttons or icons can be implemented on the screen in software by the program of the control unit, and the peripheral design of the door 20 can be implemented neatly .

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.

The outer case 24 is formed of a plastic material and has a recessed portion for mounting the display 100 and the lighting unit 120 on a panel having a predetermined thickness.

The inner liner 26 is generally provided with a door dike 27 protruding toward the main body 10 along the edge thereof and a plurality of door dies 27 for mounting the door shelf A mounting projection 28 may be formed.

A pair of side deco members 25 may be provided on both sides of the door 20 to be coupled between the outer case 24 and the edge of the inner liner 26.

Also, although not shown, a cap decor member may be coupled to the upper surface and the lower surface of the door 20, respectively.

The inner space of the door 20 into which the heat insulating material is injected may be formed by being surrounded by the outer case 24, the inner liner 26, the side decor member 25 and the cap decor member.

On the other hand, the refrigerator includes a control unit for controlling the operation of the display 100 and the lighting units 120 and 130.

As shown in FIG. 5, the controller preferably controls the display 100 and the lighting units 120 and 130 to be gradually brightened and gradually dimmed when the display unit 100 and the lighting units 120 and 130 are turned on and off, respectively.

This gradually brightening effect can be referred to as a dimming effect, which can give the user a gentle and aesthetically pleasing feeling.

The refrigerator of the present invention may further include a camera 160 mounted on one side of the display 100 to photograph the front of the display.

The camera 160 may be disposed below the display 100, as shown in FIG.

The camera 160 can photograph a person or the like in front of the refrigerator, and the photographed image can be displayed on the display 100.

In addition, the controller analyzes the image captured by the camera 160 and determines whether the user approaches the door of the refrigerator, thereby operating the display 100 and the lighting units 120 and 130.

Meanwhile, although not shown in the drawings, the refrigerator of the present invention may further include a voice recognition sensor for recognizing a user's voice and operating the display and the lighting unit.

For example, when a user cooks a food and then performs a recipe search through a display of a refrigerator, if the food is difficult to touch due to food on the hand, the voice recognition sensor recognizes the voice of the user, And the lighting units 120 and 130 can be operated.

Also, it is possible to input and manipulate a user's command to the display 100 through the voice recognition sensor by voice. In this case, the user can turn on the display 100 and perform an operation such as a desired recipe search without touching the user's hand.

The refrigerator of the present invention may further include a proximity sensor 150 mounted on one side of the door 20 to sense a user approaching the door.

The proximity sensor 150 may be mounted below the display 100, as shown in FIG.

When the proximity sensor 150 senses the approach of the user, the control unit operates the display 100. At this time, the lighting units 120 and 130 may also be operated together, and the control unit causes the display and the lighting unit to gradually increase in brightness.

Finally, the dimming effect of the display and the lighting unit will be described with reference to FIG.

5 (a) shows a state in which the display 100 and the lighting units 120 and 130 are off.

Then, when the proximity sensor 150 senses that the user approaches the door 20, the display 100, the first lighting unit 120 and the second lighting unit 130 are turned on.

At this time, the control unit controls the display and the lighting unit to become brighter as shown in FIGS. 5 (b) and 5 (c).

Fig. 5 (b) shows a moment in a continuously changing state when the state of Fig. 5 (a) is changed to the state of Fig. 5 (c), and does not show the separated step.

The camera 160 and the proximity sensor 150 may not be visible even when the display 100 and the lighting units 120 and 130 are turned on, as shown in FIG. 5 (c).

The proximity sensor 150 only needs to sense that the user is approaching the door 20 even if the user is unaware of the location.

On the other hand, since the camera 160 needs to take a picture while the user photographs it, the user needs to know the position of the camera.

Therefore, a lighting unit may be further provided at a position where the camera 160 is located to display the position of the camera.

However, as shown in FIG. 3, since the camera 160 is disposed immediately adjacent to the second lighting unit 130, a separate lighting unit for the camera may not be provided.

According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the display provided on the front surface of the door is visible only when the display is turned on, thereby providing a clean appearance.

In addition, when the user approaches, it is automatically turned on so that the user can easily recognize and operate the position of the display.

Further, since the display is provided on the rear surface of the transparent panel attached to the front surface of the door, there is no possibility that foreign matter is caught in the gap between the display and the mounting portion.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, Changes will be possible.

10: Body
20: Left fridge door
24: Out Case
26: Inner Liner
30: Right fridge door
40: Left freezer door
50: Right freezer door
100: Display
110: Transparent panel
120: a first lighting unit
130:
150: Proximity sensor
160: camera

Claims (23)

A main body having a storage room inside,
A door for opening and closing the storage chamber,
A transparent panel attached to a front surface of the door,
A display mounted on a rear surface of the transparent panel,
A lighting unit disposed around the display and operated during operation of the display,
And a controller for controlling the operation of the display and the lighting unit. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the transparent panel is a glass panel and has a translucent print layer deposited on the back side thereof. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the door includes an outer case forming a front frame of the door, an inner liner forming a rear surface of the door, and a heat insulating material injected into a space between the outer case and the inner liner,
Wherein the display is mounted on a recess formed at a central portion of the outer case. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the semitransparent printed layer of the glass panel is black,
Wherein the background color of the display is black. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the lighting unit is implemented by an LED. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the control unit controls the display unit and the lighting unit to be gradually brightened and darkened when the display unit and the lighting unit are turned on and off. The method according to claim 6,
The lighting unit includes:
A first lighting unit forming a square surrounding the display,
And a second lighting unit arranged in a circular shape below the display unit. 8. The method of claim 7,
The first lighting unit is white,
Wherein the second lighting unit is red. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the display comprises a touch screen. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the refrigerator further comprises a camera mounted on one side of the display to photograph a front of the display. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the refrigerator further comprises a voice recognition sensor for recognizing a user's voice and operating the display and the lighting unit. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the control unit operates the display and the lighting unit when the voice recognition sensor recognizes the user's food. The method according to claim 1,
The refrigerator further includes a proximity sensor mounted on one side of the door to sense a user approaching the door,
Wherein the controller operates the display and the lighting unit when the proximity sensor senses an approach of the user. A main body having a storage room inside,
A door for opening and closing the storage chamber,
A transparent panel attached to a front surface of the door,
A display mounted on a rear surface of the transparent panel,
A proximity sensor mounted on one side of the door to sense a user approaching the door,
And a controller for controlling operation of the display. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the transparent panel is a glass panel and has a translucent print layer on its back surface. 16. The method of claim 15,
The printed layer of the glass panel is black,
Wherein the background color of the display is black. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the door includes an outer case forming a front frame of the door, an inner liner forming a rear surface of the door, and a heat insulating material injected into a space between the outer case and the inner liner,
Wherein the display is mounted on a recess formed at a central portion of the outer case. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the controller operates the display when the proximity sensor senses an approach of the user. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the controller controls the display to be gradually brightened and darkened when the display is turned on and off. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the display comprises a touch screen. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the refrigerator further comprises a camera mounted on one side of the display to photograph a front of the display. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the refrigerator further comprises a voice recognition sensor for recognizing the user's voice and operating the display. 23. The method of claim 22,
Wherein the controller activates the display when the voice recognition sensor recognizes the voice of the user.

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