TWI691761B - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] Maintaining the visual confirmation of the character expression part having the character notch and suppressing the reduction of the heat insulation. [Technical content] A refrigerator includes a substrate, a character representation section arranged in front of the substrate, and a reflection section arranged behind the substrate. The substrate has a substrate window and an edge around the substrate window, and The flange portion extending from the longitudinal center side of the edge portion toward the width direction, and the flange portion has a light source at the end portion side, and the character expression portion is a character-shaped character notch portion including light-transmitting characters.

Description

refrigerator

The invention relates to a refrigerator.

Known is a refrigerator in which a character display device for displaying characters by visually confirming the character notch portion by irradiating light from behind the character notch portion having translucency is known. Since the character display device is generally lower in heat insulation than the heat insulating material, in order to suppress the decrease in cooling performance, it is desirable to make the character display device thinner to ensure the amount of heat insulating material. On the other hand, it is desirable to ensure visual confirmation of the characters. Patent Document 1 discloses a touch switch that imparts a fancy visual effect by a configuration in which the light of the LED 46 is indirectly illuminated to the outside through a plurality of transparent windows 62. [Prior Technical Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-257627

[Problems to be solved by the present invention]

According to the configuration of Patent Document 1 aimed at a specific visual effect, the amount of light taken out from the transparent window 62 tends to decrease. Therefore, for a character display device that extracts light through a character cutout, it is preferable to adopt a structure that can improve the visibility of more characters. [Means to solve the problem]

In view of the above situation, the refrigerator of the present invention includes: a substrate and a character representation portion disposed in front of the substrate and a reflection portion disposed behind the substrate. The substrate includes a substrate window and the substrate An edge portion around the window, a flange portion extending from the longitudinal center side of the edge portion in the width direction, and a light emitting source having an end portion side at the flange portion, the character expression portion includes light transmissive The text-shaped text notch.

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail while referring to the attached drawings. The various constituent elements of the present invention do not necessarily need to be independent, for example, it is allowed that a constituent element is composed of plural members, plural constituent elements are composed of a member, or a part of the constituent elements and a part of other constituent elements are repeated, etc. .

[Example 1] [Refrigerator 1]

FIG. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator 1 provided with the character display device 30 of this embodiment.

The storage compartment of the refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerating compartment 2, an ice making compartment 3 and an upper freezing compartment 4, a lower freezing compartment 5, and a vegetable compartment 6 arranged side by side from above. In one example, the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6 are storage compartments with a temperature range of about 3 to 5°C. Between the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6, the freezing compartment of the freezing temperature zone below 0°C (for example, the temperature zone of about -20°C to -18°C) that adiabatically separates the two compartments is the ice making compartment 3 1. Upper Freezer 4. The lower freezer compartment 5 is partitioned by foam insulation materials. In each storage room, a temperature detection unit (not shown) is provided.

The front opening of the refrigerator compartment 2 is provided with a left refrigerator compartment door 2a and a right refrigerator compartment door 2b, and a French door that opens and closes the refrigerator compartment 2 is constructed by rotating through upper and lower hinges, respectively. Each front opening of the upper freezing compartment 4, the ice making compartment 3, the lower freezing compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 is provided with an upper freezing compartment door 4a, an ice making compartment door 3a, a lower freezing compartment door 5a and a vegetable compartment door 6a, respectively. The upper freezing compartment door 4a, the ice making compartment door 3a, the lower freezing compartment door 5a, and the vegetable compartment door 6a are composed of drawer-type doors that move forward and backward.

In addition, a character display device 30 is provided in the door 2b. The character display device 30 is located on the back side of a translucent plate member (for example, a glass plate) provided as the forefront of the door 2b. In addition, the character display device 30 may be provided in the doors 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a. The heat insulating material is arranged in the doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a. The heat insulating material is arranged behind the character display device 30 (on the side of the substrate case 60).

[Text display device 30]

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view when the character display device 30 is seen from the front side.

The character display device 30 includes a character representation section 90, a sensor plate 50, and a light shielding plate 80, a substrate 40 provided with a light emitting source 43 and a detection section 42, and a substrate case 60 of a reflection section in order from the front side . The character display device 30 of this embodiment is a switch using an electrostatic capacitance method, and it may be replaced with a mechanical switch as long as the character display device 30 is exposed from the plate member of the door 2b and the switch can be depressed.

The character expression unit 90 is a character cutout 92 having a character-shaped light-transmissive portion provided on a light-tight base. In each of the character cutouts 92, one or more characters are removed together to have translucency (hereinafter, one or more characters that are close to each other are called a character group). Behind the character cutout 92, each light-emitting source 43 described later is provided separately. One light source 43 is arranged behind one character group. The approximate center of the character group of the corresponding character notch 92 is preferably arranged on the optical axis of each light-emitting source 43. In FIG. 2, the area surrounded by the white dotted line includes plural character cutouts 92 in which the light emitting source 43 is arranged behind.

The induction plate 50 is an inductive plate-shaped member arranged on the front of the detection unit 42. The light-shielding plate 80 is provided with a window 81 as a gap or a certain portion of light transmission, and a light-shielding portion 82 that is opaque. The window 81 is viewed from the front and includes all areas of the character cutout 92.

The substrate 40 is composed of a glass epoxy substrate or the like, and is formed into, for example, a horizontally long rectangular shape. The detection unit 42 is arranged behind the sensing plate 50 and detects a change in electrostatic capacitance, and is provided one or more than two. The light emitting source 43 is arranged right behind the character cutout 92 and the window 81, and emits light toward the character cutout 92 (the optical cutout 92 has an optical axis). When the user comes into close contact with the detection unit 42, the capacitance of the detection unit 42 changes and is detected. Corresponding to the detection unit 42 that detects the change, the corresponding light-emitting source 43 is turned on/off and turned on/off. When the light-emitting source 43 is turned on, the light passes through the window 81 to reach the letter cutout 92 on the front. For the light emitting source 43, for example, a light emitting diode (Light Emitting Diode, LED) can be used.

[Structure around light source 43] FIG. 3 is (a) a front view and (b) a rear view of the vicinity of the light emitting source 43. The structure of the substrate 40 around the light-emitting source 43 has a substrate window 403 as a light-transmissive portion or a gap, a rectangular edge 402 surrounding the substrate window 403, and the edge 402 faces the light-emitting source 43 The flange portion 401 extending convexly. Although the amount of light of the light-emitting source 43 is mostly toward the front in the optical axis direction, a part of the light leaking toward the rear of the substrate 40 can be reflected by the substrate case 60. The substrate window 403 allows more reflected light to pass forward.

The front view size of the substrate window 403 is 90% or more of the size of the character group located in front of the substrate window 403, and preferably all overlap. In this way, the light passing through the substrate window 403 toward the front can be supplied to the entire area of the character group to be irradiated, so that the visual confirmation of the entire character group can be improved.

The substrate window 403 is surrounded by an edge 402 having a longitudinal direction and a width direction. The light emitting source 43 is arranged at the approximate center of the substrate window 403 by being attached to both ends of the flange portion 401 extending from the longitudinal direction portion of the edge portion 402 toward the width direction. Thus, since a large substrate window 403 can be secured, the returned light can efficiently pass forward. Furthermore, the light-emitting source 43 may be arranged on the center side of the character group.

In addition, the separation distance (distance in the front-rear direction) from the light-emitting source 43 to the character cutout 92 is expected to substantially ensure that the length of the corresponding character group (the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction) is greater than the size, but the front and back of the character display device 30 Directional dimensions are usually very limited. The light-emitting source 43 of the present embodiment is installed on each back side of the flange portion 401, and the light axis is arranged so that the optical axis faces the front side by arranging the light-emitting element from that side toward the front side. That is, by mounting the light-emitting source 43 behind the substrate 40 and arranging the light-emitting source 43 toward the front, the thickness (front and rear dimensions) of the substrate 40 of the light-emitting source 43 and the front and rear dimensions of the light-emitting element can be partially or completely overlapped . Therefore, the size from the light emitting element to the character cutout 92 can be ensured longer and a large amount of light can be supplied to the character cutout 92.

Moreover, since the light-emitting source 43 is accommodated in the thickness dimension of the substrate window 403 of the substrate 40, the protection of the light-emitting source 43 is improved. Furthermore, since the character display device 30 can be made thinner, more heat insulating materials can be arranged behind.

[Shape of substrate case 60] Fig. 4 is a sectional perspective view of part (a) A of Fig. 2 and (b) sectional perspective view of part B. The substrate case 60 disposed behind the light-emitting source 43 of the substrate 40 has a reflection portion that reflects light leaking rearward toward the front. As described above, it is desirable to reflect light at all areas of the character group of the character cutout portion 92, and the preferable shape of the substrate case (the shape of the reflecting portion) differs according to its size.

The substrate case 60 in this embodiment includes a reflecting portion that reflects light in the A portion of the character notch 92 that is relatively small in size corresponding to the character group, and a light reflecting portion B that corresponds to the relatively large character notch 92 Reflective reflection. When viewed in the longitudinal direction of the character group, the shape of the reflecting portion that reflects light in the portion B is a convex shape that approaches the light emitting source 43 toward the back of the light emitting source 43 located at the center in the longitudinal direction. In addition, the shape of the reflecting portion that reflects light in the portion A is a flat plate shape in the longitudinal direction. By making the shape of the reflecting portion corresponding to the B portion which is a wide-width character into a mountain shape, the light of the light-emitting source 43 can be diffused in the longitudinal direction at each reflection to guide the light to the left and right ends of the character group.

In the case of the flat plate shape shown in FIG. 4(a), the A dimension from the bottom of the reflection part to the back of the substrate 40 is small, the front of the light source 43 is brighter than the surroundings, and the character group of the character cutout 92 Part of the text is displayed with clearer and brighter dots than other text. On the other hand, when the A size is large, although the amount of light of the characters in the character cutout portion 92 is uniform, the whole is darkened. A size is preferably about 1mm ~ 5mm. In addition, the reflection portion is a color tone with high reflectance, for example, a white effect is better.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing (a) part A and (b) part B of the light path of the light emitting source 43 in the character cutout 92 of this embodiment. The light output from the light-emitting source 43 repeats straight, reflects and expands. By making the substrate case 60 into a mountain shape, more light can be guided toward the left and right ends of the letter and letter cutouts.

FIG. 6 is a front view of (a) and (b)-(d) rear views of the light-reducing portion 95 in this embodiment. The light-reducing portion 95 is a portion that can attenuate light at least more than the substrate window 403 and the letter cut-out portion. For example, wrinkles of an opaque paint can be used. The light-reducing portion 95 is located between the character cutout 92 and the light-emitting source 43 at the front-rear position, and is provided on the front optical axis including the light-emitting source 43 at the horizontal position. This makes it possible to attenuate the amount of light on the front of the light-emitting source 43 whose light intensity tends to increase as needed. The dimming unit 95 may be substantially equal in the degree of dimming as shown in FIG. 6(b), as shown in FIG. 6(c)(d) as the distance from the optical axis of the light emitting source 43 decreases the dimming The degree can be discrete or continuous decline.

FIG. 7 is an example of the directional characteristics of the light-emitting source 43 of this embodiment. In Figure 7, the radial direction (left and right direction in Figure 7) and angle direction (in Figure 7, the upward direction is set to 0 toward positive clockwise and negative toward counterclockwise) are the reference directions Said. The origin is set at the position of the light-emitting source 43. Moreover, the direction in which the light intensity of the light source 43 is the largest is set to the angular direction 0 (that is, the optical axis). If the angle is deviated from that direction, the light intensity of the light source 43 is somewhat reduced from the optical axis, but the diameter The numerical value of the direction (0% to 100%) is displayed. As shown in FIG. 7, the LED of the light-emitting source 43 of this example is in the range of approximately [-20°, 20°] (total 40°), and the light intensity is 50% or more. This angle range of 40° is called the orientation angle, which is shown by 2θ1/2 in the figure.

In this embodiment, considering the B size from the light emitting source 43 shown in FIG. 5(a) to the character cutout 92 and the directional characteristics of the light emitting source 43 shown in FIG. 7, the dimming of FIG. 6 is determined Department 95 scope. For example, when the B size is 4 mm and the orientation angle 2θ1/2 of the light emitting source is 40 degrees, the C size of the dimming portion can be calculated as follows from equation (1).

C size=4mm×tan(40°/2)×2≒2.9mm formula (1)

This is shown, with the optical axis as the center of the figure, the setting contains a diameter of 2.9mm The upper circular light-reducing portion 95 is preferable. In this embodiment, the quadrangular light-reducing portion 95 circumscribed to the circle is provided in this way. The further the dimming portion 95 is from the position overlapping the optical axis, the better the dimming rate decreases.

[Other composition]

When the light intensity of the light emitting source 43 is sufficiently high, the optical axis may be directed toward the rear. In this case, it is preferable that the light-emitting source 43 is placed on the front side of the substrate 40, and since substantially the entire amount of light reaching the character cutout 92 passes through the substrate window 403, the thickness of the substrate window 403 can be suppressed from causing light Excessively spread to the surroundings (leak until the adjacent text group). Furthermore, since the substrate window 403 can achieve at least a part of the function of the light shielding plate 80, the light shielding plate 80 can be eliminated or thinned. The thickness of the sensing plate 50 can be reduced according to the thickness of the shading plate 80.

FIG. 8 is a (a) front view and (b) rear view of the periphery of the light-emitting source 43 of the substrate 40 showing the electrical connection relationship of the light-emitting source 43 of this embodiment. The light emitting sources 43 have polarities on the same side. Specifically, it has a negative electrode on the upper side in the figure and a positive electrode on the lower side, and is aligned in the polar direction (direction connecting the positive electrode and the negative electrode). The current of the light-emitting source 43 is a constant-voltage power supply (for example, a 5V power supply) of the refrigerator 1 that is led from a wire 70 that is drawn toward the surface of the substrate 40, for example, the upper end side in the figure, and is pulled out through the perforation 71 toward the back . The through-hole 71 is electrically connected to the resistance element 72, and further the resistance element 72 is electrically connected to the resistance element 72 and the anode of the light emitting source 43 in the same row in the vertical direction through the wire 73 passing through the edge portion 402. The current flows from the negative electrode of the light-emitting source 43 to the lead 74 passing through the upper edge 402 of the substrate window 403 located on the opposite side 74 flows to the resistance element 72.

With this wiring layout, the direction of the polarities of the light source 43 can be aligned, so it is easier to mount, and the crossing of the wires is suppressed. For example, even the thin edge 402 can effectively lead the wires toward the light source 43 To configure.

1: refrigerator

2: refrigerator room

2a: Left refrigerator door

2b: Right refrigerator door

3: ice making room

3a: Ice making room door

4: Upper freezer

4a: Upper freezer door

5: Lower freezer

5a: Lower freezer door

6: Vegetable room

6a: Vegetable room door

30: Text display device

40: substrate

42: Detection Department

43: Light source (LED)

50: sensor board

60: substrate shell

62: window

70: wire

71: Piercing

72: resistance element

73: Wire

74: wire

80: shading plate

81: window

82: Shade

90: Text Expression Department

92: Text notch

95: Light Reduction Department

401: Flange

402: Edge

403: Substrate window

[Figure 1] Front view of refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention [Figure 2] An exploded perspective view of the character display device 30 of Embodiment 1 when viewed from the front side [Figure 3] (a) Front view and (b) Rear view of the light-emitting source in Example 1 [FIG. 4] FIG. 2 (a) sectional perspective view of part A, (b) sectional perspective view of part B [Figure 5] A diagram showing (a) part A and (b) part B of the light path of the light emitting source in the character cutout of Example 1

[Figure 6] (a) front view, (b) rear view, (c) other example of the back side, and (d) further example of the back side of the light-reducing unit of Example 1

[Figure 7] An example of the directional characteristics of the light-emitting source of Example 1

[Figure 8] (a) front view and (b) rear view of the light-emitting source around the substrate showing the electrical connection relationship of the light-emitting source of Example 1

43: Light source (LED) 401: flange part 402: Edge 403: Window

Claims (6)

A refrigerator includes a substrate, a character representation portion disposed in front of the substrate, and a reflection portion disposed behind the substrate. The substrate includes a substrate window and an edge around the substrate window, and A flange portion extending from the longitudinal center side of the edge portion in the width direction, and a light emitting source having an end portion side at the flange portion, the character expression portion is a character-shaped character notch portion including a light-transmitting character . A refrigerator as claimed in item 1 of the patent scope, wherein the light-emitting source emits light toward the front, and has a light-reducing portion disposed between the light-emitting source and the character expression portion, and the light-reducing portion emits light from the light-emitting portion When viewed in the direction of the optical axis of the source, the dimming rate decreases as it moves away from the optical axis. A refrigerator as claimed in item 1 or 2 of the patent application, wherein the reflection part has a direction of approaching as it approaches the light emitting source The convex shape of the front is inclined. A refrigerator as claimed in item 3 of the patent scope, which has the plurality of character cutouts having different sizes, and among the character cutouts, the reflection part located behind the larger one has a slope that becomes the convex shape, Among the character cutouts, the reflective portion located behind the smaller size is flat. A refrigerator as claimed in item 1 or 2 of the patent application, which has a plurality of the above-mentioned light-emitting sources, the plurality of light-emitting sources, the anodes of which are located on the same side, and are arranged in the direction of polarity, toward the power source of the light-emitting source, are Transmission: The wire passing through one end side of the polar direction of the substrate, the through hole, the resistance element, and the wire passing through the edge are electrically connected to the light-emitting source. As in the refrigerator of claim 1 or 2, the heat insulating material is arranged behind the substrate, the light emitting source emits light toward the front, and part or all of the light emitting source is contained in the substrate Within the thickness.

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