US20100058792A1

US20100058792A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: US20100058792A1
Application number: US12/519,107
Authority: US
Inventors: Sang-Wook Seo; Seung-Jin Oh
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2006-12-15
Filing date: 2007-12-14
Publication date: 2010-03-11
Also published as: WO2008072932A1

Abstract

A refrigerator including a main body having storage spaces and doors to selectively close the storage spaces, and a control panel with a display configured to input/output control information on the main body and a plurality of buttons, the refrigerator comprising: a brightness adjusting unit configured to adjust a brightness of the display to avoid a unnecessary power consumption occurred by the main body; and a power amount display unit configured to display an amount of power supplied to the main body and electric charges therefor on the display. By providing the display on the control panel to display an amount of power consumed and electric charges therefor, a user can easily recognize the amount of power consumed and the electric charges therefor due to the use of the refrigerator. Also, the brightness of the display can be adjusted by the user's selection, so as to enable the reduction of the amount of power consumed.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a control panel for allowing an input of a control signal and a display of a control state of the refrigerator.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, a refrigerator, which is to store foods at a low temperature, keeps foods in a frozen state or in a fresh state depending on the state of foods to be stored.
Cold air supplied into the refrigerator may be generated by a heat-exchange of a refrigerant, and continuously supplied into the refrigerator by a repetition of cycle of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation. The supplied cold air is uniformly delivered into the refrigerator by a convection current such that foods in the refrigerator can be stored at a desired temperature.
As users' life styles change and users' demands are increasing, the refrigerator is getting large in size and multi-functional.
Hereinafter, the configuration of a general refrigerator will be described with reference to the drawing.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a general refrigerator, in which a main body 1 of the refrigerator is formed in an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a storage space for storing foods therein.
The storage space inside the main body 1 is divided into right and left storage spaces to be implemented as a freezing chamber 10 and a refrigerating chamber 20, respectively. The freezing chamber 10 and the refrigerating chamber 20 may be formed to be forwardly opened in the main body 1. Also, the open front surfaces of the freezing chamber 10 and the refrigerating chamber 20 are selectively closed by a freezing chamber door 12 and the refrigerating chamber door 22, which are mounted at the main body 1 to be rotatable to right and left sides.
A dispenser 14 and a refreshment center (i.e., so-called “home bar”) are disposed, for the sake of users' convenience, at the front surfaces of the freezing chamber door 12 and the refrigerating chamber door 22, respectively. The dispenser 14, which is capable of dispensing ice and/or purified water in the refrigerator to the outside, is disposed at the front surface of the freezing chamber door 12.
Also, the home bar 24 allows foods stored in the refrigerating chamber 20 to be easily taken out or put in therethrough without opening the refrigerating chamber door 22. The home bar 24 is configured such that an opening is formed in one side of the refrigerating chamber door 22 and a home bar door is mounted to selectively close the opening in a rotational manner.
On the other hand, a control panel 30 is further provided above the dispenser 14.
The control panel 30 is employed to display control states of the refrigerator inputted by manipulating buttons 32 on a screen 31. A user can view contents displayed on the screen 31 by light irradiated from the rear surface of the screen 31.
The contents displayed on the screen 31 may be temperatures in the refrigerating chamber 20 and the freezing chamber 10, a current time, and the like.
However, the related art refrigerator may occur the following problems.
First, the related art refrigerator may consume unnecessary power due to a light irradiation onto the screen while the user does not check the contents displayed on the screen.
Second, even if the user checks the contents on the screen, depending on the user's feeling, the user may think as if too much light is irradiated on the screen to cause the unnecessary power consumption, resulting in causing the user's dissatisfaction.
Third, upon using the refrigerator, the user may not recognize the amount of power consumed and electric charges. Accordingly, the user may draw out an article kept in the refrigerator with leaving the refrigerator door open, or accommodate too many articles or foods in the storage spaces, resulting in the consumption of unnecessary power. In order to avoid such power consumption, an additional function of displaying the amount of power consumed and electric charges due to the use of the refrigerator is increasingly required to be added to the control panel.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator capable of displaying an amount of power consumed and electric charges by allowing the amount of power consumed for a certain duration or up to a current time to be displayed on a control panel disposed on a main body of the refrigerator.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of adjusting an amount of light irradiated on a screen of a control panel disposed on a main body of the refrigerator.
In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator, in a refrigerator including a main body having storage spaces and doors which selectively close the storage spaces, and a control panel having a display for inputting/outputting control information related to the main body and a plurality of buttons, the refrigerator comprising: a brightness adjusting unit configured to adjust a brightness of the display in order to avoid an unnecessary power consumption occurred by the main body; and a power amount display unit configured to calculate an amount of power supplied to the main body and electric charges and display the calculated results.
The brightness of the display is adjustable by turning on/off a plurality of light emitting diodes located at a rear surface of the display.
The power amount display unit may comprise a watt-hour meter configured to measure an amount of power supplied to the main body; and a central controller configured to calculate electric charges for a duration inputted from the outside based on the amount of power measured by the watt-hour meter and display the calculated electric charges on the control panel.
The central controller may comprise a memory for storing a commonly utilized electric charge table, and storing an amount of power supplied to the main body measured by the watt-hour meter.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator comprising: a main body having a case with storage spaces formed therein and doors for selectively closing the storage spaces; a control panel disposed on any of the doors and having a display and a plurality of buttons; and a brightness adjusting unit disposed in the main body and configured to adjust the brightness of the display.
In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator comprising: a main body having a case with storage spaces formed therein and doors for selectively closing the storage spaces; a control panel disposed on any of the doors and configured to input or output control information related to the main body; a watt-hour meter configured to measure an amount of power supplied to the main body; and a central controller configured to calculate electric charges for a duration inputted from the outside based on the amount of power measured by the watt-hour meter and display the calculated electric charges on the control panel.

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION

The refrigerator according to the present invention may have the following effects.
First, the display for displaying an amount of power consumed and electric charges is disposed on the control panel so as to allow a user to easily recognize the amount of power consumed and the electric charges due to the user of the refrigerator.
Second, the user can set the control panel to display an amount of power consumed and electric charges for a desired duration by using a plurality of buttons, and accordingly can recognize an amount of power consumed and electric charges of the refrigerator for a past month or past year and for a current month or current year.
Third, as the amount of power consumed and electric charges are allowed to be recognized, the user can satisfy his curiosity and also it can serve as a momentum to have a mind of saving energy. In addition, the user's mind of saving energy may result in a substantial energy saving.
Fourth, the brightness adjusting unit to allow a user to selectively adjust the brightness of the control panel, which enable the user to select the brightness of the display.
Fifth, as the brightness of the display can be adjusted by the user's selection, the amount of power consumed can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an appearance of a general refrigerator;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an appearance of a refrigerator in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a brightness adjusting unit of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4 to 6 are views showing changes in the brightness of a display manipulated using the brightness adjusting unit of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a front view sowing a configuration of a control panel displaying an amount of power consumed and electric charges in a refrigerator in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a structural view of a central controller for displaying the amount of power consumed and electric charges in relation to FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a view an amount of power consumed and electric charges for each duration displayed on the control panel, in relation to FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 is a view showing an amount of power consumed and electric charges up to a current time displayed on the control panel, in relation to FIG. 7.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to a refrigerator in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing an appearance of a refrigerator in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerator 100 in accordance with the first embodiment may comprise a case 100 having an inner space divided into a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber, and doors 120 and 140 configured to selectively close the inner space of the case 100.
The doors 120 and 140 may further have door handles 122 and 142, respectively, to allow a user to open or close the doors 120 and 140 by grasping them. The doors 120 and 140 may be respectively referred to as a freezing chamber door 120 and a refrigerating chamber door 140 according to spaces which they close.
The freezing chamber door 120 may include a dispenser 170 to allow a user to draw out water or ice without opening the freezing chamber door 120. A control panel 150 which controls operations of the refrigerator and displays various control screens may be disposed above the dispenser 170.
The refrigerating chamber door 140 selectively closes a right space of the main body, namely, the refrigerating chamber, and may include a home bar 180 which allows a user to draw out water, drinks, or the like without opening the refrigerating chamber door 140. The dispenser 170 and the home bar 180 have already been disclosed to be commonly used, detailed description of which will thusly be omitted.
In the meantime, the control panel 150 can be mountable at any side of the home bar 180, the door 120 or 140 or the case 100 as well as above the dispenser 170. The control panel 150 may include a plurality of operation buttons 152 (refer to FIG. 4), a central controller for processing various types of control signals although not shown, and a display 151 (refer to FIG. 4) for displaying an operation state of the refrigerator performed by the central controller.
In addition, a brightness adjusting unit 160 for adjusting the brightness of the display 151 by the user's manipulation may further be disposed on the door 120 or 140 or the case 100. In the embodiment of the present invention, the brightness adjusting unit 160 is disposed on the case 100, particularly, on the right side of the control panel 150.
The brightness adjusting unit 160 is configured such that the user can adjust the brightness of the display 150 in a multi-step manner. The embodiment of the present invention illustrates that the brightness of the display 151 is adjusted in three steps.
The brightness of the display 151 may be adjusted by location in which light emitting diodes (LEDs) disposed in the display 151 are turned on or off. This configuration will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings hereafter.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the brightness adjusting unit of FIG. 2, which shows an appearance of a toggle switch which controls a current supply by changing locations of plural contact points.
As shown in FIG. 3, the brightness adjusting unit 160 may include an upper frame 161 configuring an upper surface and part of outer side surface of the brightness adjusting unit 160 and having a guide groove 162 formed in a similar shape to
and a lower frame 164 coupled to the upper frame 161 and having a plurality of terminals 165 protruding downwardly from a lower end thereof.
A movable lever 163 slidable up and down is mounted in the guide groove 162. As the movable lever 163 moves, the location of a contact point of a contact point plate is changed, the contact point plate implemented as a plate spring disposed in the movable lever 163.
Also, in order to adjust the brightness of the display 151 in the three steps, three contact points are configured to be connected to the central controller (not shown).
That is, the brightness of the display 151 may be controlled by the central controller such that the brightness of the display 151 can be different when the movable lever 163 is located at an upper recess of the guide groove 162, when the movable lever 163 is located at a central recess, and when the movable lever 163 is located at a lower recess.
Such control operations will be described with reference to the drawings hereafter.
FIGS. 4 to 6 show the changes in the brightness of the display manipulated using the brightness adjusting unit of FIG. 3. In this embodiments, the LEDs adjusting the brightness of the display 151 are distributed in the central portion and the edge portions of the display 151, respectively.
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the central portion of the display 151 displays the control screen of the refrigerator. A plurality of segments (e.g., 7 segments) and a LED module are used to radiate light on this central portion so as to clearly display a temperature in the refrigerator and the like. A plurality of LED modules are disposed in the edge portions to perform a backlight function such that the display 151 including the operation buttons 152 can be viewed brighter when any of the doors 120 and 140 is open or any of the operation buttons 152 is pressed.
That is, the LEDs in the central portion and the edge portions of the control panel 150 are respectively connected to a lighting circuit for turning on or off each LED. As the contact point of the lighting circuit is changed by the brightness adjusting unit 160, the brightness of the control panel 150 is selectively adjusted depending on the changed location of the contact point.
For the brightness of the display 151 as shown in FIG. 4, the circuit may be configured such that the plurality of segments (e.g., 7 segments) and the LED module disposed in the central portion and the edge portions can all be lighted up when the movable lever 163 of the brightness adjusting unit 160 is located at the upper end of the guide groove 162, namely, at the location indicated as “FINE.”
For the brightness of the display 151 as shown in FIG. 5, the circuit may be configured such that the segment located at the most central portion among the plurality of segments (e.g., 7 segments) disposed in the central portion can only be lighted up when the movable lever 163 of the brightness adjusting unit 160 is located at the center of the guide groove 162, namely, at a location indicated as “FAIR.”
Also, for the brightness of the display 151 as shown in FIG. 6, the circuit may be configured such that the plurality of segments (e.g., 7 segments) and the LED module disposed at the central portion and the edge portions can all be turned off when the movable lever 163 of the brightness adjusting unit 160 is located at the lower end of the guide groove 162, namely, at a location indicated as “ENERGY SAVING”.
Here, when the brightness adjusting unit 160 has been set as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, if any of the doors 120 and 140 is open or any operation button 152 is pressed, the circuit may be configured such that the plurality of segments and the LED module can all be lighted up.
In addition, the circuit configured as mentioned above, is controlled by the central controller, so as to adjust the brightness of the control panel 150.
The operation of the refrigerator in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention having such configuration will now be described.
The refrigerator according to the first embodiment may be implemented such that the brightness of the control panel 150 can be adjusted according to a user's manipulation.
In detail, the refrigerator may include the brightness adjusting unit 160 for selecting the brightness of the display 150. The brightness adjusting unit 160 may be configured as a toggle switch having three contact point, such that the user can adjust the brightness of the display 151 by selecting one of modes, namely, FINE, FAIR or ENERGY SAVING.
That is, in the FINE mode, the display 151 may be viewed in the brightest state. This may be implemented by moving the contact point of the brightness adjusting unit 160 such that the plurality of segments and the LED disposed in the control panel 150 can all be lighted up, as mentioned above. This FINE mode may provide the brightness of the display 151 appropriate for users who desire a bright display 151 regardless of electric charges.
The FAIR mode may be available by moving the contact point of the brightness adjusting unit 160 such that the segments (e.g., 7 segments) can only be lighted up which allow a temperature in the refrigerator to be recognized on the display 151. The FAIR mode may support the brightness of the display 151 appropriate for users (consumers) who concern electric charges in some degrees.
Also, the ENERGY SAVING mode may be implemented by turning off all of the segments and the LED. Accordingly in this mode, the brightness of the display 151 can be supported to be appropriate for users who desire to save electric charges.
The scope of the present invention as mentioned above is not limited to the embodiments described above, but it can be understood by those skilled in the art that this invention belongs to that many modifications and variations are possible based upon the present invention.
For example, three push buttons may be configured instead of the toggle switch used as the brightness adjusting unit such that individual selections can be done for the FINE, FAIR and ENERGY SAVING modes. Also, instead of selecting three steps of brightness of the display, it may be possible to adjust the brightness of the display in various steps according to a circuit configuration.
Hereinafter, a refrigerator in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the configuration as same as that in the first embodiment and the detailed description for such configuration will be referred to as those in the first embodiment, further explanation of which will not be provided.
FIG. 7 is a front view sowing a configuration of a control panel displaying an amount of power consumed and electric charges in a refrigerator in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a structural view of a central controller for displaying the amount of power consumed and electric charges in relation to FIG. 7.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in the appearance of the control panel 250, it may be formed to be approximately rectangular, and include a button unit 252 with a plurality of operation buttons, and a display 251 configured to display an operation state of the refrigerator.
The control panel 250 may have a central controller 300 disposed therein. The central controller 250 may include a memory 325 for storing a commonly utilized electric charge table and an amount of power consumed measured by a watt-hour meter 321 to be explained below, a decoder 326 for calculating an amount of power consumed and electric charge data based on the electric charge table stored in the memory 325 according to an amount of power consumed measured by the watt-hour meter 321, and an encoder 327 for transmitting the data calculated in the decoder 326 to the display 251.
The plurality of operation buttons at the button unit 252 may include a menu button 252 a, up and down navigation buttons 252 b and 252 c, a confirmation button 252 f (e.g., ENTER), an initializing button 252 d (e.g., CLEAR), and a current consumption checking button 252 e (e.g., TODAY). The plurality of operation buttons may further include additional buttons for functions of deep freezing, defrosting, and the like.
The menu button 252 a is configured to display a list of functions which the user manipulates for the refrigerator on the display 251. In particular, a display function of an amount of power consumed and electric charges is displayed on the display 251 upon pressing the menu button 252 a.
The up and down navigation buttons 252 b and 252 c are configured to move the list of functions up and down, the plural functions displayed when pressing the menu button 252 a, so as to allow a user to select a desired function, or to allow addition and subtraction of values displayed on a desired location.
The ENTER button 252 f may perform a function of storing data (contents) set by the menu button 252 a and the up and down navigation buttons 252 b and 252 c, and the CLEAR button 252 d may perform a function of initializing the set data.
The TODAY button 252 e is configured to display the amount of power consumed up to now and electric charges therefor on the display 251 at a time, without manipulating the menu button 252 a and the up and down navigation buttons 252 b and 252 c. Upon pressing the TODAY button 252 e once, the display 251 displays the amount of power consumed from 1^stof January of the year to the present and electric charges therefor. Upon pressing it once more, the display 251 displays the amount of power consumed from 1^stof the month to the present and electric charges therefor. That is, whenever the TODAY button 252 e is pressed, the TODAY button 252 e is programmed such that data to be displayed can be converted whenever the TODAY button 252 e is pressed.
Hereinafter, the configuration of the central controller which controls the amount of power consumed of the refrigerator and electric charges therefor to be displayed will be described in accordance with this embodiment with reference to FIG. 8.
Referring to FIG. 8, the main body 320 of the central controller 300 may obtain power required for operations from a power supplying unit 310, namely, from a power socket.
The amount of power supplied from the power supplying unit 310 is calculated by a watt-hour meter 321. The watt-hour meter 321 may be located at anywhere inside or outside of the main body 320, but be installed such that the measured values can be transferred to the central controller 300.
The amount of power supplied measured by the watt-hour meter 321 is transferred to the decoder 326 of the central controller 300.
The decoder 326 obtains data with respect to each amount of power supplied which is measured by the watt-hour meter 321 and continuously store each data in the memory 325. The decoder 326 may be programmed to initialize such data if necessary.
Also, when the user manipulates the button unit 252 with the plurality of buttons to display an amount of power consumed and electric charges for a duration desired by the user, the decoder 326 extracts data for the desired duration from the data stored in the memory 325 to then transfer to the encoder 327.
The encoder 327 transfers the received data to the display 251 to be displayed thereon.
The operation of the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment having the configuration and system as described above will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawing.
FIG. 9 is a view an amount of power consumed and electric charges for each duration displayed on the control panel, in relation to FIG. 7.
As shown in FIG. 9, on the display 251 of the control panel 250 are displayed an amount of power consumed and electric charges which are used during a certain period (e.g., 1^stto 31^stof Oct. 2006) by the user manipulating the button unit 252.
In more detail, the user presses the menu button 252 a, manipulates the up and down navigation buttons 252 b and 252 c to select the display function of the amount of power consumed and the electric charges therefor, and then presses the ENTER button 252 f.
Upon pressing the ENTER button 252 f, a part for inputting a usage duration is displayed on the display 251. Then, the user inputs the usage duration in the order of day, month and year, by using the up and down navigation buttons 252 b and 252 c and the ENTER button 252 f.
Upon completely inputting the usage duration through the processes, the user presses the ENTER button 252 f again. Accordingly, the display 251 displays the usage duration, the amount of power consumed, and electric charges with respect to the amount of power consumed with measuring formulas, as shown in FIG. 9.
Here, the amount of power consumed and the electric charges as described above are calculated by the decoder 326, which extracts for the calculation corresponding data from the measured data by the watt-hour meter 321 which is continuously stored in the memory 325 and the currently utilized electric charge table. The calculated results are then transferred to the encoder 327. The encoder 327 then converts the calculated results and transfers the converted results to be displayed on the display 251.
FIG. 10 is a view showing an amount of power consumed and electric charges up to a current time displayed on the control panel, in relation to FIG. 7.
As shown in FIG. 10, on the display 251 of the control panel 250 are displayed an amount of power consumed up to the present (e.g., 29^thof Nov., 2006) and electric charges therefor by the user manipulating the buttons 252.
Describing them in more detail, the user presses the TODAY button 252 e once.
As described above, the display 251 is programmed such that for pressing the TODAY button 252 e once, the amount of power consumed from 1^stof January to the present of the year is displayed, and for pressing the TODAY button 252 e once more, the amount of power consumed from 1^stto present of the month is displayed. Accordingly, FIG. 10 shows the screen when the user presses the TODAY button 252 e twice.
The screen as shown in FIG. 10 may be programmed such that the amount of power consumed accumulatingly stored in the memory 325 can be calculated and displayed with respect to a certain duration according to the number of times of the TODAY button 252 e pressed, namely, with respect to a duration from 1^stof January to the present of the year when pressing the button the odd number of times, and with respect to a duration from 1^stof the month to the time of the TODAY button 252 e being pressed when pressing the TODAY button 252 e the even number of times.
In addition to the functions as mentioned above, functions of comparing the amount of power consumed in a previous month and that in a current month, or comparing the amount of power consumed in a previous year and that in a current year may further be programmed.
The present invention has been explained with reference to the embodiments which are merely exemplary. As the present features may be embodied in several forms without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A refrigerator including a main body having storage spaces and doors configured to selectively close the storage spaces, and a control panel with a display configured to input or output control information on the main body and a plurality of buttons, the refrigerator comprising:

a brightness adjusting unit configured to adjust a brightness of the display to avoid a unnecessary power consumption occurred by the main body; and

a power amount display unit configured to display an amount of power supplied to the main body and electric charges therefor on the display.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the brightness of the display is adjusted by turning on or off a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) disposed at a rear surface of the display.

3. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the power amount display unit comprises:

a watt-hour meter configured to measure the amount of power supplied to the main body; and

a central controller configured to calculate electric charges for a duration inputted from the outside based on the amount of power measured by the watt-hour meter and display the calculated electric charges on the control panel.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the central controller comprises a memory configured to store a currently utilized electric charge table and the amount of power consumed by the main body, measured by the watt-hour meter.

5. A refrigerator comprising:

a main body having a case with storage spaces formed therein and doors for selectively closing the storage spaces;

a control panel disposed on any of the doors and having a display and a plurality of buttons; and

a brightness adjusting unit disposed in the main body and configured to adjust the brightness of the display.

6. The refrigerator of claim 5, the brightness adjusting unit is implemented as a toggle switch which controls a current supply by changing locations of plural contact points.

7. The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the brightness of the display is adjusted in a multi-step manner by manipulating the brightness adjusting unit.

8. The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the brightness of the display is adjusted by changing the number of light emitting diodes lighted up by manipulating the brightness adjusting unit, a plurality of the light emitting diodes disposed at the rear surface of the display.

9. The refrigerator of claim 8, wherein the brightness of the display is adjusted by:

a first step of lighting up all of the plurality of light emitting diodes;

a second step of lighting up half of the plurality of light emitting diodes; and

a third step of turning off all of the plurality of light emitting diodes.

10. The refrigerator of claim 9, wherein at the second step, the light emitting diodes which are lighted up are uniformly disposed at the rear surface of the display.

11. A refrigerator comprising:

a control panel disposed on any of the doors and configured to input or output control information on the main body;

a watt-hour meter configured to measure an amount of power supplied to the main body; and

12. The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein the duration inputted from the outside is either a certain duration in the past or a duration from a certain time point in the past to the present.

13. The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein the central controller is provided together with a control unit which controls the control panel.

14. The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein the control panel comprises:

a display configured to display a control screen; and

a plurality of buttons configured to set a screen displayed on the display.

15. The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein the central controller comprises a memory configured to store a currently utilized electric charge table and the amount of power consumed by the main body, measured by the watt-hour meter.

16. The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein the display is implemented as a liquid crystal display (LCD) device.

17. The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein the plurality of buttons comprise:

a menu button to allow a list of functions manipulated by a user to be displayed on the display;

up and down navigation buttons to allow the list of functions displayed to be changed or allow date to be set;

a confirmation button to allow data set by the menu button and the up and down navigation button to be stored;

a clear button to allow the stored data to be initialized; and

an electric charge checking button to allow the amount of power and electric charges therefor to be displayed on the display.