KR20210015037A - Automatic opening and closing door for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator or a kimchi refrigerator, and more specifically, to an automatic opening and closing door for a refrigerator which can be opened and closed without rotating, pulling, or pushing of a user. According to the present invention, the automatic opening and closing door for a refrigerator comprises: a door main body (100) provided to a refrigerator main body (A); a driving unit (200) providing opening and closing power to the door main body; a user recognition sensor (400) provided on a front surface of the door main body; and a control unit (300) controlling operation of the driving unit by receiving a user recognition signal from the user recognition sensor.

Description

Automatic opening and closing door for refrigerator}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator or a kimchi refrigerator, and more particularly, to an automatic opening and closing door for a refrigerator that can be opened or closed without a user rotating, pulling, or pushing.

With the recent improvement in living standards, refrigerators and kimchi refrigerators (hereinafter collectively referred to as ``refrigerators'') are increasing in size, and due to this trend, rotating doors and drawer doors provided in refrigerators (hereinafter collectively referred to as ``doors'') They are also becoming larger.

When the door is enlarged in this way, not only the opening and closing force is increased due to the increase of the self-weight of the door, but also the elasticity due to the increase in the installation length of the packing for preventing cold air leakage provided on the door, and the magnetic force due to the increase in the installation length of the magnet for preventing the door from opening, etc. A high opening and closing force is required for the door.

Therefore, refrigerator manufacturers are striving to develop a technology for a door mechanism to open and close a large door with less force, and as an example, an automatic door closing device for a refrigerator disclosed through Korean Patent Publication No. 1580447 is known. have.

The automatic door closing device of the refrigerator is configured such that a rotator is connected to a coupling pin to be rotatable at one side of the slider, and a damper and a damper rod are added to lower the opening and closing force.

However, the automatic door closing device of the refrigerator is recognized to some extent in lowering the opening and closing force, but the structure is complex, so the fabrication is poor, and the mechanical door mechanism reduces the opening and closing force to a level below a certain level. There are physical limitations.

On the other hand, current refrigerators are very inconvenient in use because the door cannot be opened or closed in a situation where both hands cannot be used because they hold objects in both hands.

KR 10-1580447 B1

The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic opening and closing door for a refrigerator that automatically opens and closes without a user rotating, pulling, or pushing.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, the automatic opening/closing door for a refrigerator of the present invention includes a door body provided in the refrigerator body, a driving part that applies an opening and closing force to the door body, a user recognition sensor provided in the front of the door body, and the And a control unit for receiving a user recognition signal from a user recognition sensor and controlling an operation of the driving unit.

In addition, the user recognition sensor may be a touch sensor that outputs a user recognition signal to the control unit when a contact occurs.

In addition, the user recognition sensor includes a voice command storage unit in which user voice command codes of digital signals are stored, a voice command input unit in which the user’s voice command is input as an analog signal, and the voice command input through the voice command input unit is converted to a digital signal. A voice command code conversion unit that converts a voice command code into a voice command code, and a voice command signal output for extracting a voice command code corresponding to the converted voice command code from the voice command storage unit and outputting a corresponding voice command signal to the control unit It may be a voice recognition sensor having a part.

On the other hand, in the case of a rotating door main body in which the door main body is rotated to open and close, the rotating door main body is installed so as to be rotatable at the front of the refrigerator main body around a hinge axis formed at the upper end, and the driving unit A drive motor installed in the drive motor and a power transmission member for transmitting the rotational force of the drive motor to the hinge shaft of the rotary door body may be provided.

In addition, in the case of a drawer door main body that is opened and closed by pulling and pushing the door main body, the refrigerator main body is provided with a drawer receiving unit capable of receiving the drawer door main body, and the driving unit is installed inside the drawer receiving unit so that the drawer door main body is A cylinder module for pushing or pulling may be provided.

The present invention configured as described above includes a user recognition sensor provided on the front of the door body and a control unit that receives a user recognition signal from the user recognition sensor unit and controls the operation of the driving unit. Since it is possible to automatically open and close the door body without any difficulty in a situation where an object is held, convenience in use is greatly improved.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

1 is a use state diagram of an automatic opening and closing door for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing the configuration of a driving unit when the door body constituting the present invention is a rotary type;
3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a drive unit when the door body constituting the present invention is a drawer type.
4 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a safety device constituting the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit constituting the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention in which the object of the present invention can be realized in detail will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the present embodiment, the same name and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration, and additional descriptions thereof will be omitted. First, a configuration and operation according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a state diagram of a use state of an automatic opening/closing door for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing a configuration of a driving unit when the door body constituting the present invention is a rotary type, and FIG. 3 is a configuration of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the driving part when the door body is a drawer type, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a safety device constituting the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control unit constituting the present invention. As described above, in the automatic opening/closing door for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, the door body 100 and the driving unit 200 for applying an opening and closing force to the door body 100, the user recognition sensor 400, and the control unit 300 ).

The door body 100 is provided on the front of the refrigerator body A, and is divided into a rotating door body 110 and a drawer door body 120 according to an opening and closing method. In addition, the driving unit 200 is also a first driving unit 210 applied to the rotating door body 110 and a second driving unit 220 applied to the drawer door body 120 according to the opening and closing method of the door body 100 It is divided into

As shown in FIG. 2, when the door body 100 is a rotating door body 110 that is opened and closed by rotating, a hinge shaft 111 is formed at an upper end of the rotating door body 110. In addition, a hinge bracket 112 rotatably fixing the hinge shaft 111 is fixed to an upper end of the refrigerator body A.

In this case, the first driving unit 210 is a driving motor 211 installed on the upper end of the refrigerator main body A, and the rotational force of the driving motor 211 is applied to the hinge shaft 111 of the rotating door main body 110. It may be provided with a power transmission member to transmit to.

In this embodiment, the power transmission member is a pulley (212, 213) coupled to the rotation shaft of the drive motor (211) and the hinge shaft (111) of the rotary door body (110) and a belt (214) wound around the pulleys (212, 213). Although what was made is shown as an example, it is not necessary to be limited thereto and can be applied in various forms such as chains or gears.

Therefore, when the rotation shaft of the drive motor 211 rotates in the forward direction, the rotation door body 110 rotates around the hinge shaft 111 and the rotation door body 110 is opened, and the drive motor 211 When the rotation axis of) rotates in the reverse direction, the open rotating door body 110 rotates in the opposite direction and is closed.

The operation of the driving motor 211 is controlled by the controller 300 installed in the refrigerator body A.

Reference numeral 215 is a cover that protects the first driving unit 210.

On the other hand, it is possible to help temporarily open the door by attaching an electromagnet to the door so as to reduce the load on the driving motor when the door is opened.

As shown in Figure 3, in the case of the drawer door body 120 that is opened and closed by pulling or pushing the door body 100, the refrigerator body (A) accommodates a drawer that can accommodate the drawer door body 120 A portion 115 is provided.

In addition, drawer rails 116 are installed on both inner wall surfaces of the drawer receiving part 115 and guide rails 121 corresponding to the drawer rails 116 are installed on both side surfaces of the drawer door body 120. The drawer door body 120 is configured to be opened and closed while sliding along the drawer receiving portion 115.

In this case, the second driving unit 220 is provided with a cylinder module 221 installed inside the drawer receiving unit 115 to push or pull the drawer.

The cylinder module 221 is fixed to the bottom of the drawer receiving portion 115, a cylinder module receiving groove 122 is formed at the bottom of the drawer door body 120, and the end of the cylinder module receiving groove 122 To the rod 222 of the cylinder module 221 is connected.

Therefore, when the cylinder module 221 pulls out the rod 222, the drawer door body 120 slides forward and opens, and when the rod 222 from which the cylinder module 221 is pulled out is brought into its original position, the drawer door The body 120 is closed.

The operation of the cylinder module 221 is controlled by the control unit 300 installed in the refrigerator body A.

Meanwhile, a user recognition sensor 400 is provided on the front of the rotating door body 110 and the drawer door body 120.

The user recognition sensor 400 may be a touch sensor 400a that senses a touch.

In this case, the touch sensor 400a may be a mechanical touch sensor that is disposed so that the contact point is spaced between a pair of films, and detects whether the contact is in contact by connecting an electrical contact by a pressure applied when contacting an external object. In addition, it may be an electric touch sensor that detects whether or not it is contacted by a capacitance that changes when contacting an external object.

When the touch sensor 400a detects a contact, the touch sensor 400a outputs a user recognition signal to the control unit 300. In addition, when a user recognition signal is input from the touch sensor 400a, the controller 300 controls the operation of the corresponding driving units 210 and 220 so that the corresponding door bodies 110 and 120 are opened.

Accordingly, since the user can open the door body 100 by simply touching the door body 100 without rotating or pulling, the convenience in use in a situation in which a child or an elderly person with weak power or holding an object in both hands is greatly improved.

Meanwhile, the control unit 300 opens the corresponding door bodies 110 and 120 when the user recognition signal is input once, and closes the door bodies 110 and 120 when the user recognition signal is input twice or more within a predetermined time. It is desirable to control the operation of ).

In this case, not only the opening and closing of the door body 100 is possible with only a touch operation, so that convenience in use can be maximized.

According to the present invention, the user recognition sensor 400 may be a voice recognition sensor 400b that detects a user's voice.

In this case, the voice recognition sensor 400b includes a voice command storage unit 401 in which user voice command codes of a digital signal are stored, a voice command input unit 402 in which a user’s voice command is input as an analog signal, and the voice command A voice command code conversion unit 403 for converting a voice command input through the input unit 402 into a voice command code of a digital signal, and the voice command storage unit 401 for storing a voice command code corresponding to the converted voice command code. A voice command signal output unit 404 that extracts from and outputs a voice command signal corresponding thereto to the control unit 300 may be provided.

Therefore, when the user speaks to the voice recognition sensor 400b a predetermined voice command such as "open the door", "close the door", "open the drawer", and "close the drawer", the user's voice command is a voice command. It is converted into a digitized voice command code through the input unit 402 and the voice command code conversion unit 403, and the voice command signal output unit 404 extracts the corresponding voice command code from the voice command storage unit 401, and The corresponding voice command signal is output to the control unit 300, and the control unit 300 opens or closes the corresponding door bodies 110 and 120 by operating the corresponding driving units 210 and 220 according to the input voice command signal.

In this way, if the user recognition sensor 400 is the voice recognition sensor 400b that detects the user's voice, the user can automatically open and close the door body 100 with only the user's voice without any manipulation. Can be maximized, and is particularly useful in a situation where it is difficult to touch the user recognition sensor 400 because the object is held in both hands.

On the other hand, in the present invention, since the door body 100 is configured to automatically close, a safety accident or an accident in which items to be stored in the refrigerator are caught between the adjacent door body 100 or the refrigerator body A, thereby damaging safety accidents or related parts. There is a risk of occurrence.

Therefore, it is preferable that the door body 100 is further provided with a safety device for preventing a jamming accident that occurs when the door body 100 is closed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the safety device 500 includes a cushion bar 510 having a hollow portion 511 attached along the upper inner edge of the drawer door body 120, and the cushion bar 510 A safety sensor 520 installed on the cushion bar 510 may be provided.

The cushion bar 510 is manufactured to be easily deformed and restored even by a small pressure using soft rubber or silicone.

In addition, the safety sensor 520 is an electrical signal generated when a pair of film electrodes 521 and 522 attached to the hollow portion 511 of the cushion bar 510 to be spaced apart from each other, and the film electrodes 521 and 522 contact each other. And a door open signal generator 523 that senses and outputs a door open signal to the control unit 300.

In this way, when the safety device 500 is provided, the drawer door body 120 can be stored in a refrigerator or a finger between the drawer door body 120 and the refrigerator body A or the rotary door body 110 in the process of automatically closing the drawer door body 120. Even if pinching occurs by objects, the cushion bar 510 is transformed into pressure due to pinching, so that the safety sensor 520 outputs a door open signal to the control unit 300, and the control unit 300 immediately sends Since the drawer door body 120 is opened by pulling out the rod 222 of 221), an accident due to pinching does not occur.

In this embodiment, the safety device 500 is shown and described as an example that is installed on the upper end of the drawer door body 120, but is not limited thereto, and the door body including the side or the lower portion of the rotating door body 110 ( 100) can be applied to any area where objects to be stored in the refrigerator or fingers can be pinched when closed.

As described above, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. Therefore, the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all respects and should be understood as non-limiting. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims to be described later rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modified forms derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and equivalent concepts should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100...door body 110...rotating door body
111...Hinge shaft 115...drawer receiving part
120...drawer door body 200...drive part
211...Drive motor 221...Cylinder module
400...user recognition sensor 400a...touch sensor
401...Voice command storage unit 402...Voice command input unit
403...Voice command code conversion unit 404...Voice command signal output unit
400b...Voice recognition sensor A...Refrigerator body

Claims (5)

A door body provided in the refrigerator body;
A driving unit that applies an opening and closing force to the door body;
A user recognition sensor provided on the front of the door body; And
An automatic opening/closing door for a refrigerator comprising a control unit receiving a user recognition signal from the user recognition sensor and controlling an operation of a driving unit. The method of claim 1,
The user recognition sensor is a touch sensor for outputting a user recognition signal to the control unit when a contact occurs. The method of claim 1,
The user recognition sensor
A voice command storage unit in which user voice command codes of digital signals are stored;
A voice command input unit for inputting a user's voice command as an analog signal;
A voice command code conversion unit for converting the voice command input through the voice command input unit into a voice command code of a digital signal; And
A voice recognition sensor comprising a voice command signal output unit for extracting a voice command code corresponding to the converted voice command code from the voice command storage unit and outputting a corresponding voice command signal to the control unit Automatic opening and closing door. The method of claim 1,
In the case of a rotating door body in which the door body is rotated to open and close,
The rotating door body is installed so as to be rotatable in the front of the refrigerator body around a hinge axis formed at the top,
The driving unit is an automatic opening/closing door for a refrigerator having a driving motor installed at an upper end of the refrigerator main body and a power transmission member transmitting a rotational force of the driving motor to a hinge shaft of the rotating door main body. The method of claim 1,
In the case of a drawer door body that is opened and closed by pulling and pushing the door body,
The refrigerator body is provided with a drawer receiving portion capable of accommodating the drawer door body,
The drive unit is installed inside the drawer receiving unit, the automatic opening and closing door for a refrigerator having a cylinder module for pushing or pulling the drawer door body.

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