WO2022177126A1

WO2022177126A1 - Refrigerator and control method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2022177126A1
Application number: PCT/KR2021/019693
Authority: WO
Inventors: 박기태; 박대웅; 윤희정; 정기륜
Original assignee: 삼성전자주식회사
Priority date: 2021-02-19
Filing date: 2021-12-23
Publication date: 2022-08-25
Also published as: KR20220118842A

Abstract

The present invention provides: a refrigerator, which emits light corresponding to each mode of the refrigerator so that a user can intuitively recognize the operating state of the refrigerator; and a control method therefor. The refrigerator according to one embodiment comprises: a light-emitting unit which includes a plurality of light-emitting elements for emitting light of different colors, and which emits the light to the inside of the refrigerator; an input unit arranged to receive a mode change command for changing the operation mode of the refrigerator; and a control unit for controlling the on/off operation and on-time of each of the plurality of light-emitting elements on the basis of the mode change command.

Description

Refrigerator and its control method

The present invention relates to a refrigerator for irradiating the interior of a refrigerator and a method for controlling the same.

In general, the role of the interior light in the refrigerator is to inform the user that the door of the refrigerator or freezer is opened, or to illuminate the interior of the refrigerator so that the user can see clearly when putting or taking out an item in a dark place or at night.

In this case, the color of the high interior lamp is generally provided in the daylight color or the light bulb color. When the interior light is provided with such a limited color, it can only serve as a light to illuminate the inside of the refrigerator, but it is impossible to provide intuitive visual guidance to the user according to the new function of the refrigerator and the food storage mode.

Meanwhile, the user can only grasp the current refrigeration temperature or refrigeration mode of the refrigerator through access to a separate interface, but has difficulty in intuitively grasping the operating state of the refrigerator. Therefore, even when the user is notified of the operation of changing the mode of the refrigerator through the interior lamp, a separate control device for implementing a new function must be added, but the current refrigerator lacks a space for adding a separate control device.

Therefore, research is being conducted on an operation of notifying the user of an intuitive mode change by maintaining the existing control device and controlling the lighting of the interior lamp.

The present invention provides a refrigerator and a method for controlling the same in which a user can intuitively recognize an operating state of the refrigerator by irradiating light corresponding to each mode of the refrigerator.

In another embodiment, the refrigerator includes a plurality of light emitting devices that emit light of different colors, a light emitting unit irradiating the light into the inside of the refrigerator, and a mode change command for changing an operation mode of the refrigerator and a controller configured to control on/off and on-time of each of the plurality of light emitting devices based on an input unit and the mode change command.

The light emitting unit includes a white light emitting device and an RGB light emitting device, and the control unit determines a lighting operation of the white light emitting device based on the mode change command, and enters the operation mode according to the lighting of the white light emitting device. You can change the brightness of the corresponding light.

The control unit may determine a lighting operation of the RGB light emitting device based on the mode change command, and change color and saturation of light corresponding to the operation mode according to the lighting operation of the RGB light emitting device.

The driving circuit is provided as a matrix circuit that transmits a data signal and a driving signal to each of the plurality of light emitting devices, and the controller transmits the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the mode change command to the plurality of light emitting devices. It is possible to control the light emitting unit to emit light corresponding to the operation mode by transmitting the light to each of the light emitting devices.

The controller determines the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the white light emitting device to change the brightness of light corresponding to the operation mode, and determines the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the RGB light emitting device Thus, the color and saturation of the light corresponding to the operation mode can be changed.

The controller may change the color and saturation of light corresponding to the operation mode by determining a difference in lighting time between the RGB light emitting devices based on the mode change command.

The refrigerator according to an embodiment further includes a door provided to open and close a storage compartment included in the refrigerator, wherein the controller supplies power to the light emitting unit when the door is opened to irradiate light into the interior of the refrigerator. can

The driving circuit is provided as a circuit for transmitting a PWM signal to each of the plurality of light emitting devices, and the control unit transmits the PWM signal corresponding to the mode change command to each of the plurality of light emitting devices, so that the light emitting unit is It can be controlled to irradiate light corresponding to the operation mode.

The controller may determine the light corresponding to the operation mode according to the type of food and the refrigeration temperature corresponding to the food.

A refrigerator control method according to an embodiment includes receiving a mode change command for changing an operation mode of the refrigerator, controlling on/off and on time of each of the plurality of light emitting devices based on the mode change command, and The method may include irradiating light corresponding to the mode change into the refrigerator in response to on-off and on-time of each of the light emitting devices.

The irradiating of the light into the refrigerator includes determining the lighting operation of the white light emitting device based on the mode change command, and changing the brightness of the light corresponding to the operation mode according to the lighting of the white light emitting device. may include

The irradiating of the light into the refrigerator determines the lighting operation of the RGB light emitting device based on the mode change command, and the color and saturation of the light corresponding to the operation mode according to the lighting operation of the RGB light emitting device. may include changing

The driving circuit is provided as a matrix circuit that transmits a data signal and a driving signal to each of the plurality of light emitting devices, and irradiating the light into the refrigerator is the data signal corresponding to the mode change command. and transmitting the driving signal to each of the plurality of light emitting devices to control the light emitting unit to emit light corresponding to the operation mode.

To irradiate the light into the refrigerator, the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the white light emitting device are determined to change the brightness of the light corresponding to the operation mode, and the data corresponding to the RGB light emitting device is determined. and determining a signal and the driving signal to change the color and saturation of light corresponding to the operation mode.

The irradiating the light into the refrigerator may include changing the color and saturation of the light corresponding to the operation mode by determining a lighting time difference between the RGB light emitting devices based on the mode change command. .

The irradiating of the light into the refrigerator may include irradiating light into the refrigerator by supplying power to the light emitting unit when the door is opened.

The driving circuit is provided as a circuit for transmitting a PWM signal to each of the plurality of light emitting devices, and irradiating the light into the refrigerator is to transmit the PWM signal corresponding to the mode change command to each of the plurality of light emitting devices and controlling the light emitting unit to irradiate light corresponding to the operation mode.

The irradiating the light into the refrigerator may include determining the light corresponding to the operation mode according to a type of food and a refrigeration temperature corresponding to the food.

In the refrigerator and the control method thereof according to an embodiment, the user can intuitively recognize the operating state of the refrigerator by irradiating light corresponding to each mode of the refrigerator.

1 is a view showing an exterior of a refrigerator according to an embodiment.

2 is a diagram illustrating a control block diagram of a refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment.

3 is a view showing the inside of a refrigerator according to an embodiment.

4 is a diagram for explaining an operation in which a user inputs an operation mode according to an exemplary embodiment.

5 is a diagram for explaining a light corresponding to an operation mode according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6A is a diagram for explaining an operation of changing the luminance of the interior lamp according to an exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 6B is a diagram for explaining an operation of changing the color and saturation.

7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating an embodiment of a driving circuit according to an exemplary embodiment.

8A and 8B are diagrams for explaining an operation of implementing the operation of the light emitting unit when the driving circuit is provided as a matrix circuit.

9 to 12 are diagrams illustrating a flowchart according to an exemplary embodiment.

Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification. This specification does not describe all elements of the embodiments, and general content in the technical field to which the present invention pertains or content overlapping between embodiments is omitted. The term 'part, module, member, block' used in the specification may be implemented in software or hardware, and according to embodiments, a plurality of 'part, module, member, block' may be implemented as a single component, It is also possible for one 'part, module, member, block' to include a plurality of components.

Throughout the specification, when a part is "connected" with another part, this includes not only direct connection but also indirect connection, and indirect connection includes connection through a wireless communication network. do.

Also, when a part "includes" a certain component, it means that other components may be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated.

Throughout the specification, when a member is said to be located "on" another member, this includes not only a case in which a member is in contact with another member but also a case in which another member exists between the two members.

Terms such as 1st, 2nd, etc. are used to distinguish one component from another component, and the component is not limited by the above-mentioned terms.

The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In each step, the identification code is used for convenience of description, and the identification code does not describe the order of each step, and each step may be performed differently from the specified order unless the specific order is clearly stated in the context. have.

Hereinafter, the working principle and embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a view showing an exterior of a refrigerator according to an embodiment, and Fig. 2 is a view showing a control block diagram of the refrigerator according to an embodiment.

1 and 2, the refrigerator 100 includes a main body 101 having an open front, a storage compartment 110 formed inside the main body 101 and storing food refrigerated and/or frozen; A door 120 for opening and closing the open front of the body 101 may be included.

The main body 101 may form the exterior of the refrigerator 100 .

The main body 101 may include an inner case 102 forming the storage chamber 110 and an outer case 103 coupled to the outside of the inner case 102 to form an external appearance. The inner case of the body 101 (not shown) ) and the trauma 103 may be filled with an insulating material (not shown) capable of preventing the cold air from leaking out of the storage chamber 110 .

The storage chamber 110 may be divided into a plurality by the horizontal partition wall 110a and the vertical partition wall 110b. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , the storage chamber 110 may be divided into an upper storage chamber 111 , a lower first storage chamber 112 , and a lower second storage chamber 113 .

A shelf 110c on which food can be placed may be provided in the storage compartment 110 . The storage space inside the storage compartment 110 may be partitioned by the shelf 110c. For example, the upper storage compartment 111 . may be divided into a first storage space 111a, a second storage space 111b, and a third storage space 111c.

The storage chamber 110 may be opened and closed by the door 120 . For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , the upper storage chamber 111 may be opened and closed by an upper first door 121a and an upper second door 121b, and the lower first storage chamber 112 is a lower first door 121a. The door 122 may open and close, and the lower second storage compartment 113 may be opened and closed by the lower second door 123 .

A handle 120a may be provided on the door 120 to easily open and close the door 120 . The handle 121 may be elongated in the vertical direction between the upper first door 121a and the upper second door 121b and between the lower first door 122 and the lower second door 123 . .Therefore, when the door 120 is closed, the handle 120a can be viewed as being integrally provided.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2 , the refrigerator 1 includes an input unit 130 , a temperature sensor 140 , a camera 150 , a cooler 160 , and a communicator. ) 170 , a storage unit 180 , and a controller 190 may be included.

The input unit 130 may include a display panel 131 for displaying an image and a touch panel 132 for receiving a touch input.

Also, the input unit 130 may be provided to receive a mode change command for changing the operation mode of the refrigerator.

The operation mode of the refrigerator may refer to a refrigeration operation mode of the refrigerator in which the refrigeration temperature of the refrigerator is different according to food.

For example, if the refrigerator contains wine, the refrigerator may be operated in an operation mode that maintains the temperature at 5°C. A detailed description of the operation mode of the refrigerator will be described later.

The display panel 131 is a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, a light emitting diode (LED) panel, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) panel, a micro light emitting diode (micro Light Emitting Diode, uLED) panel, plasma display panel (PDP), etc. may be employed. However, the display panel 131 is not limited thereto, and various displays capable of visually displaying an optical image corresponding to image data may be employed as the display panel 131 .

As shown in FIG. 4 , the touch panel 132 may receive a user's touch input and output an electrical signal corresponding to the received touch input to the controller 190 .

For example, the touch panel 132 detects a user's touch on the touch panel 132 from a change in electrical resistance or a change in capacitance, and transmits an electrical signal corresponding to the coordinates of the user's touch point to the controller 190 ) can be printed. The controller 190 may identify the coordinates of the user's touch point based on the electrical signal received from the touch panel 132 . Also, the controller 190 may identify the user input based on the coordinates of the user's touch point.

The touch panel 132 may be located in front of the display panel 131 . In other words, the touch panel 132 may be provided on a surface on which an image is displayed. Accordingly, the touch panel 132 may be formed of a transparent material so that the image displayed on the display panel 131 is not distorted.

The touch panel 132 may employ a resistive touch panel or a capacitive touch panel. However, the touch panel 132 is not limited thereto, and the touch panel 132 detects a user's touch or approach, and can output various electrical signals corresponding to the detected coordinates of the touch point or the coordinates of the approach point. A touch panel can be employed.

As such, the touch screen input unit 130 may receive a touch input from the user and transmit it to the controller 190 , and may display an image of the controller 190 in response to the user's touch input. In other words, the touch screen input unit 130 may interact with the user.

The temperature sensing unit 140 may be provided inside the storage chamber 110 and include inner temperature sensors 141 for sensing a temperature inside the storage chamber 110 .

Internal temperature sensors 141 are installed in each of the plurality of storage chambers 111, 112, 112 to detect the temperature of each of the

storage chambers

111, 112, 113 of the number, and control an electrical signal corresponding to the sensed temperature. (190) can be output. Each of the internal temperature sensors 141 may include a thermistor whose electrical resistance changes according to temperature.

The camera 150 may be installed inside the storage chamber 110 to acquire an image inside the storage chamber 110 .

The camera 150 may include an imager 151 that captures an image and converts it into an electrical signal. The imager 151 may include a plurality of photodiodes that convert an optical signal into an electrical signal, and the plurality of photodiodes may be arranged in two dimensions. The imager 151 may include, for example, a charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor.

The cooling unit 160 may supply cold air to the storage chamber 110 . Specifically, the cooling unit 160 may maintain the temperature of the storage chamber 110 within a range specified by the user by using the evaporation of the refrigerant.

The cooling unit 160 includes a compressor 161 for compressing a gaseous refrigerant, a condenser 162 for converting a compressed gaseous refrigerant into a liquid state, and an expander 163 for decompressing the liquid refrigerant and , it may include an evaporator 164 for converting the decompressed liquid refrigerant into a gaseous state.

The cooling unit 160 may cool the air in the storage chamber 110 by using a phenomenon in which the liquid refrigerant absorbs thermal energy of ambient air while converting the liquid state into a gaseous state.

However, the cooling unit 160 is not limited to including the compressor 161 , the condenser 162 , the expander 163 , and the evaporator 164 .

As another example, the cooling unit 160 may include a magnetic cooling device using a magneto-caloric effect. The magnetothermal effect means that heat is emitted when a specific substance (magnetocaloric substance) is magnetized, and heat is absorbed when a specific substance (magnetocaloric substance) is demagnetized. The cooling unit 160 may cool the air in the storage chamber 110 using a magnetic cooling device.

The communication unit 170 may exchange data with the computing device 200 and/or the user device 300 . For example, the communication unit 170 may transmit an image inside or outside the storage chamber photographed by the camera 150 to the computing device 200 , and transmit information related to food included in the image inside the storage chamber from the computing device 200 . can receive In addition, the computing device 200 may receive the data, determine whether the image captured by the camera is an image inside or outside the refrigerator, may derive identification information, and may transmit the identification information to the refrigerator. The communication unit may receive identification information transmitted by the computing device. The identification information may include information specifying the type of object included in the image acquired by the refrigerator.

The communication unit 170 includes a wired communication module 172 that exchanges data with the computing device 200 and/or the user device 300 by wire, and the computing device 200 and/or the user device 300 and wirelessly transmits data. It may include a wireless communication module 171 for sending and receiving.

The wired communication module 172 may connect to a wired communication network and communicate with the computing device 200 and/or the user device 300 through the wired communication network. For example, the wired communication module 172 connects to a wired communication network through Ethernet (Ethernet, IEEE 802.3 technology standard), and receives data from the computing device 200 and/or the user device 300 through the wired communication network. can

The wireless communication module 171 may wirelessly communicate with a base station or an access point (AP), and may access a wired communication network through the base station or access point. The wireless communication module 171 may also communicate with the computing device 200 and/or the user device 300 connected to a wired communication network via a base station or an access point. For example, the wireless communication module 171 may be configured to It can communicate with an access point (AP) wirelessly using (WiFi, IEEE 802.11 technology standard), or communicate with a base station using CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LET (Long Term Evolution), WiBro, etc. Wireless communication Module 171 may also receive data from computing device 200 and/or user device 300 via a base station or access point.

In addition, the wireless communication module 171 may communicate directly with the computing device 200 and/or the user device 300 . For example, the wireless communication module 171 may use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (Bluetooth ^TM , IEEE 802.15.1 technology standard), ZigBee ^TM (IEEE 802.15.4 technology standard), etc. to the computing device 200 and/or Data may be wirelessly received from the user device 300 .

In this way, the communication unit 170 may send and receive data to and from the computing device 200 and/or the user device 300 , and control the data received from the computing device 200 and/or the user device 300 by the controller 190 . can be output as

Also, the communication unit 170 may transmit an encryption command input by the user through the touch panel to at least one of the user device and the computing device. The computing device and the user device matched with the refrigerator may be synchronized with the password command input through the refrigerator.

The storage unit 180 may include a storage medium 181 storing a program and/or data, and a connection terminal 182 that may be connected to an external storage medium in which the program and/or data are stored. The program includes a plurality of instructions combined to perform a specific function, and data may be processed and/or processed by the plurality of instructions included in the program. In addition, the program and/or data may be stored in the refrigerator 100 . It may include a system program and/or system data directly related to the operation of the , and an application program and/or application data that provide convenience and fun to the user. The storage medium 181 may store programs and/or data in the form of files.

The storage medium 181 may store content data electrically, magnetically, or optically. For example, the storage medium 181 may be a mass storage device (Flash Memory) or a solid stat driver (SSD) or a hard disc drive (HDD) or an optical disc drive (ODD). and the like.

The storage medium 181 may output a program and/or data to the controller 190 in response to a loading command of the controller 190 .

The connection terminal 182 may be connected to an external storage medium for storing programs and/or data. For example, the connection terminal 182 may include a Universal Serial Bus (USB) terminal, and may be connected to an external USB storage medium.

Like the storage medium 181 of the refrigerator 100 , the external storage medium may store a program and/or data in the form of a file, and may store the program and/or data electrically, magnetically, or optically. In addition, the external storage medium may output a program and/or data to the controller 190 through the connection terminal 182 in response to a loading command of the controller 190 .

As such, the storage unit 180 may store a program and/or data, and output the stored program and/or data to the controller 190 . In other words, the storage unit 180 may store a program and/or data executed by the control unit 190 to perform an operation described below.

The light emitting unit 300 may include a plurality of light emitting

devices

310 and 320 and may be provided in a configuration for irradiating light into the interior of the refrigerator.

Specifically, the light emitting unit 300 may be provided to include a white light emitting diode 310 emitting white light and an RGB light emitting diode 320 emitting red, green, and blue light.

Also, the light emitting unit 300 may operate differently according to a signal received from the control unit. In addition, the light emitting unit may be connected to the driving circuit to operate differently based on a signal transmitted by the driving circuit. Meanwhile, a detailed operation of the controller controlling the light emitting unit will be described later.

The driving circuit 200 may be provided to transmit a signal for driving the light emitting unit 300 through the control unit. As will be described later, the driving circuit 200 may be provided as a circuit that transmits a PWM signal or may be provided as a circuit in a matrix form. However, there is no limitation on the shape of the driving circuit as long as it transmits a signal for controlling the operation of the light emitting unit 300 .

Meanwhile, the operation described in the present invention may refer to an operation in which the color of the interior lamp can be changed according to a mode set for the display regardless of the type of display.

If an operation in which the color of the interior lamp can be changed according to a mode set by the user is implemented, there is no limitation on the refrigerator in which the operation of the present invention is performed.

Based on the mode change command input by the user, the control unit 130 may determine the lighting time and the lighting time of the light emitting device to be turned on and the light emitting device to be turned on among the plurality of light emitting devices.

That is, the controller 130 may control the light emitting unit to emit light to match the operation mode corresponding to the command input by the user.

Here, the light irradiation of the light emitting unit 300 may vary depending on which light emitting element is turned on, the time and time when the light emitting device is turned on.

Also, the controller 130 may determine a lighting operation of the white light emitting device included in the light emitting unit based on the mode change command.

As the controller 130 differently controls the lighting operation of the white light emitting device, the brightness of the light irradiated by the light emitting unit may be changed.

Specifically, the control unit 130 may increase the light-emitting element among the white light-emitting elements included in the light-emitting unit 300 to increase the brightness of the light of the high interior lamp, and increase the light emission time to increase the brightness of the light of the high interior lamp. can

In addition, the controller may determine a lighting operation of the RGB light emitting device, that is, the light emitting diode that emits red, green, and blue light, based on the mode change command input by the user.

Meanwhile, the controller 130 may change the color and saturation of the light corresponding to the operation mode according to the lighting operation of the RGB light emitting device 320 .

Specifically, the RGB light emitting device 320 is provided with three primary colors of light, and through a combination of the three primary colors of light, it is possible to change the hue of the color itself lit in the cabinet and also change the saturation of the determined color.

When the driving circuit 200 is provided as a matrix circuit, the control unit 130 transmits a data signal and a driving signal corresponding to the mode change command to each of the plurality of light emitting devices so that the light emitting unit can emit light corresponding to the operation mode. have.

The matrix circuit may refer to a circuit capable of independently supplying a driving signal for driving each element and a control signal related to control.

That is, when the driving circuit 200 is provided as a matrix circuit, the control unit 130 may transmit a driving signal and a control signal to each light emitting device, respectively, and drive the light emitting unit based on the transmitted signal to emit light corresponding to the operation mode. You can investigate inside the premises. The operation of the matrix circuit will be described in detail below.

Meanwhile, when the driving circuit is provided as a matrix circuit, the controller 130 may determine the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the white light emitting device to change the brightness of the light corresponding to the operation mode.

The controller 130 may determine the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the RGB light emitting device to change the color and saturation of the light corresponding to the operation mode.

In addition, the controller 130 may change the color and saturation of light corresponding to the operation mode by determining a difference in lighting time between the RGB light emitting devices based on the mode change command.

Specifically, the human eye that recognizes the light can recognize the afterimage of the light, and the controller 130 turns on the RGB light emitting elements so that the person recognizes the light as an afterimage in lighting the light emitting element and a mixing effect of light occurs. time difference can be determined.

Also, in order to save power, the controller 130 may supply power to the light emitting unit only when the door of the refrigerator is opened.

When the driving circuit is provided as a PWM circuit, the controller may transmit a PWM signal corresponding to the mode change command to each of the plurality of light emitting devices to control the light emitting unit to emit light corresponding to the operation mode.

The PWM circuit may refer to a circuit provided to transmit a PWM signal to a light emitting device provided in the light emitting unit, and if provided to transmit a PWM signal to the light emitting device, the circuit shape is not limited thereto.

Meanwhile, the control unit 130 may be provided to include a processor and a memory.

The memory 192 includes a non-volatile memory such as a read only memory and a flash memory for storing data for a long period of time, and a static random access memory (S-RAM) for temporarily storing data. ) and a volatile memory such as a dynamic random access memory (D-RAM).

The processor 131 processes the touch input of the touch screen display 131 and/or the communication data of the communication unit 170 according to the program and/or data stored/stored in the memory 132, and the camera 150, the touch screen A control signal for controlling the operation of the display 130 and/or the operation of the communication unit 170 may be generated.

At least one component may be added or deleted according to the performance of the components of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 2 . In addition, it will be readily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the mutual positions of the components may be changed corresponding to the performance or structure of the system.

Meanwhile, each component illustrated in FIG. 2 refers to a hardware component such as software and/or a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).

3 is a view showing an inside of a storage compartment of a refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a view for explaining an operation in which a user inputs an operation mode according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3 , various foods may be stored inside the refrigerator, that is, in the storage compartment.

Referring to FIG. 3 , it is shown that fruits are stored in the refrigerator, and the light emitting unit 300 may irradiate light.

In this case, the refrigerator may be operated in an operation mode for refrigerating the fruit. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4 , the user may input a command M31 for performing the operation in the corresponding operation mode.

Specifically, the refrigerator may operate in one of an operation mode for storing vegetables and fruits, an operation mode for storing meat, an operation mode for storing wine, an operation mode for storing ice cream, and an operation mode for freezing medicine.

Each operating mode can be operated with a different refrigeration or cooling temperature.

For example, an operation mode for storing vegetables and fruits may perform refrigeration at 2°C, and an operation mode for approximately freezing may perform freezing at -5°C.

Meanwhile, the controller may change the light of the light emitting unit 300 irradiated into the storage compartment of the refrigerator based on the command for performing the operation mode input by the user. A related description is given below.

5 is a view for explaining a light corresponding to an operation mode in changing a high interior lamp according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the light emitting unit may be provided as a light emitting device that emits light of three primary colors of light, red, green, and blue.

Meanwhile, the controller may control the light irradiated by the light emitting device and determine the light irradiated to the storage compartment of the refrigerator by synthesizing the light.

Specifically, when red and green light are overlapped, yellow light C51 may be formed.

Also, when red and blue light are overlapped, magenta, that is, magenta light C53 may be formed.

Also, when green and blue are overlapped, cyan light (C55) appears. On the other hand, when all colors overlap, white light can be formed.

Meanwhile, the control unit may control the light emitting device by using the light mixing property to irradiate the light corresponding to the operation mode to the storage room.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the refrigerator has an operation mode for storing vegetables and fruits (M61), an operation mode for storing meat (M52), an operation mode for storing wine (M53), an operation mode for storing ice cream (M54), and about It can operate in one of the operation modes (M55) for refrigeration.

The controller may control the refrigerator so that the storage compartment is refrigerated at 2° C. in the operation mode for storing vegetables and fruits.

According to an exemplary embodiment, in this case, the control unit may control the light emitting element emitting red light and the light emitting element emitting green light from the light emitting unit to irradiate the yellow light C51 into the storage compartment.

The controller may control the refrigerator so that the storage compartment is refrigerated at -1°C in the operation mode M52 for storing the meat.

According to an embodiment, in this case, the controller may control the light emitting device that emits blue light C52 from the light emitting unit to irradiate the blue light into the storage chamber.

The controller may control the refrigerator so that the storage compartment is refrigerated at -1°C in the operation mode (M53) for storing the wine.

According to an embodiment, in this case, the control unit may control the light emitting element emitting red light and the light emitting element emitting blue light from the light emitting unit to irradiate magenta (C53) light into the storage chamber.

The controller may control the refrigerator to be stored at -23°C to -15°C in the operation mode (M54) for storing the ice cream.

According to an exemplary embodiment, in this case, the control unit may control the light emitting device that emits red, green, and blue light from the light emitting unit to irradiate white light into the storage chamber.

In addition, in this case, the controller may control the brightness of the light irradiated in the cabinet by controlling the brightness and the irradiation time of the light emitting device irradiating white light.

The controller may control the refrigerator so that the temperature inside the refrigerator is refrigerated to -5°C in the operation mode M55 for weak freezing.

According to an exemplary embodiment, in this case, the control unit may control the light emitting device that emits green and blue light from the light emitting unit to irradiate cyan (C55) color light to the inside of the storage chamber.

Meanwhile, the operation mode of the refrigerator corresponding to the above-described color is an embodiment of the present invention, and the light irradiated into the refrigerator and the operation mode of the refrigerator may vary according to the production of the refrigerator and the setting of the user. Meanwhile, an operation in which the control unit controls the light emitting element in the light emitting unit to change the property of light irradiated to the storage room will be described in detail below.

6A and 6B, the light emitting device included in the light emitting part is schematically presented.

Specifically, the light emitting unit may be provided to include a light emitting diode emitting white light and a light emitting diode emitting red, green, and blue light.

An operation of changing the luminance of light irradiated to the storage chamber is described with reference to FIG. 6A .

The luminance of light can refer to a quantity related to how much light emitted or reflected from a surface enters our eyes.

Meanwhile, the luminance may be changed based on white light. On the other hand, the light emitting unit is provided with a separate white light emitting device (W61) for irradiating white light, the control unit can increase the number and light emission time of the white light emitting device (W61) to change the luminance of the light irradiated in the storage chamber. have.

The controller may change a current value applied to the light emitting device and a lighting time in order to adjust the color combination of the RGB light emitting devices R61, G61, and B61 and the brightness of the white light emitting device W61.

In this case, as the controller controls the brightness of the white light emitting element W62, the brightness is changed in the combination of the RGB light emitting elements, so that more various visual effects can be realized.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 6B , the controller may control the RGB light emitting devices R62, G62, and B62 to change the hue and saturation of light irradiated into the refrigerator compartment.

According to an embodiment, when performing the operation mode of storing wine, the controller may irradiate light from the red light emitting device R62 and the blue light emitting device B62 to irradiate the magenta light into the refrigerator compartment. .

Meanwhile, if the controller increases the operating time of the red light emitting element R62 at this time, a color of magenta light close to red can be irradiated into the refrigerator compartment.

On the other hand, if the controller increases the operation time of the blue light emitting device B62, light close to blue can be irradiated into the refrigerator.

That is, the control unit may change the color of the light irradiated to the refrigerator through individual control of the elements constituting the light emitting unit.

Also, the controller may increase the magenta light saturation itself by increasing the operating time of the red and blue light emitting devices R62 and B62.

The control unit may reduce the operation time of the red and blue light emitting devices R62 and B62 to irradiate magenta light with low saturation into the refrigerator.

In the case of performing the operation mode of storing meat according to an embodiment, the blue light may be irradiated into the refrigerator by irradiating light from the blue light emitting device B62.

Meanwhile, if the controller increases the operation time of the blue light emitting device at this time, blue light with high saturation can be irradiated into the refrigerator.

The half-side control unit may reduce the operation time of the blue light emitting device B62 to irradiate blue light with low saturation into the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, the operation of the present invention described in FIGS. 6A and 6B is an operation for explaining the operation of the control unit irradiating various colors of light into the refrigerator using light synthesis, and the control unit changing the color, saturation and brightness of the irradiated light There are no restrictions on the operation of

Referring to FIG. 7A , the control unit controls the light emitting device through the driving circuit 200 provided as a PWM circuit.

In this case, the driving circuit 200 may form a line connected to each of the light emitting devices R711 , G711 , B711 , R712 , G712 , and B712 . Accordingly, the control unit may control each light emitting device by directly transmitting a signal to each light emitting device.

For example, when irradiating red light into the refrigerator, a PWM signal corresponding to the red light emitting devices R711 and R712 may be transmitted to control the light emitting unit to emit red light into the refrigerator.

Also, the controller may increase the number of the white light emitting devices W711 and W712 driven even when the luminance of light irradiated to the storage chamber is increased.

In addition, the control unit may control the irradiated light by changing the duty of the PWM signal.

For example, in order for the controller to increase the luminance of light irradiated to the storage chamber, a PWM signal having a high duty may be transmitted to the white light emitting devices W711 and W712 to control the white light emitting devices to operate for a long time.

For example, when performing an operation mode for storing vegetables and fruits, the controller may transmit a PWM signal to the red and green light emitting devices R711, R712, G12, and G12 to control light emission.

In this case, the light emitting unit may irradiate yellow light to the storage chamber by mixing red light and green light.

In this case, the controller transmits a PWM signal having a high duty to the red and green light emitting devices R711, R712, G12, and G12 to control the high-saturation yellow light to be irradiated to the storage room.

In addition, by transmitting a PWM signal having a large duty to the white light emitting devices W11 and W12, it is possible to control so that yellow light with high luminance is irradiated to the storage room.

That is, the driving circuit 200 according to an embodiment may be provided as a PWM circuit, and the control unit controls the voltage and current of each light emitting device in a PWM method, and a desired color by directly controlling the applied voltage and current of each light emitting device. Or you can create brightness.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 7B , the driving circuit 200 is implemented as a matrix circuit.

That is, the light emitting devices (R721, G721, B721, R722, G722, B722, W21, W22) included in the light emitting part are configured in a matrix manner, and the current applied to the light emitting device can be selectively changed by connecting resistors in parallel. have.

With this configuration, the control unit can change the brightness of the RGB light emitting device and the white light emitting device in various stages.

In addition, in the case of an embodiment, by including a control unit for controlling the brightness of the light emitting element in the light emitting unit, the number of wires connecting the PBA and the light emitting unit can be minimized.

In addition, in this case, the control unit may independently transmit the data signal corresponding to the mode change command and the driving signal to the light emission included in the light emitting unit.

The data signal may mean a control signal transmitted from the controller.

The driving signal may refer to a signal that is transmitted to the light emitting device from a driving driver or the like to turn on or off the light emitting device.

Specifically, data electrodes D1 to D8 and driving electrodes S1 to S5 may be provided on one surface of the driving circuit.

In addition, the data electrode and the driving electrode may be provided as an electrode pattern corresponding to the light emitting device.

The light emitting devices R721 , G721 , B721 , R722 , G722 , B722 , W21 , and W22 may be provided to be connected to the data electrodes D1 to D8 and the scan electrodes S1 to S5 .

The data electrodes D1 to D8 may transmit a data signal representing an image signal to the light emitting device, and the driving electrodes S1 to S5 may transmit a driving signal to the light emitting device.

A scan signal may be sequentially applied to the control unit to each of the driving electrodes S1 to S5 , and a data voltage VDATA corresponding to the control signal may be applied to each of the plurality of data electrodes D1 to D8 by the control unit. Based on this operation, the controller may control each light emitting element.

Hereinafter, an operation of the control unit irradiating light through the matrix circuit will be described in detail.

Referring to FIG. 8A , the control unit may increase the luminance of the light emitted by the light emitting unit through the matrix circuit.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 8A , the white light emitting device may correspond to the data electrodes of D7 and D8, and may correspond to the driving electrodes of S1 to S5.

Meanwhile, when the controller transmits a data signal to the electrodes D7 and D8 and a driving signal through the electrodes S1 to S5, the first and second white light emitting devices W811 and W812 may emit light.

The first and second white light emitting devices W811 and W812 may emit brighter light when the controller transmits a signal to D7 and D8 than when the controller transmits a signal to only D7.

Meanwhile, the controller may also control the number of light emitting devices that emit light by applying a data signal.

Specifically, when the controller applies the data signal to D7 and D8, both the first white light emitting device W811 and the second white light emitting device W812 may emit light.

In this case, the controller may adjust the amount of light emitted by the first and second white light emitting devices W811 and W812 according to the transmission of the driving signal.

Meanwhile, in the case of FIG. 8A , the driving electrodes S1 to S5 may correspond to the first white light emitting device W811 and the second white light emitting device W812 .

Accordingly, in order for the controller to drive both the first white light emitting element W811 and the second white light emitting element W812, the control signal may be applied to the data electrode of D7 or D8.

Specifically, the control unit operates the first white light emitting element W811 and the second white light emitting element W811 and the second white light emitting element based on D7 and D8 rather than operating the first white light emitting element W811 and the second white light emitting element W812 based on D7 or D8. When the light emitting device W812 is operated, brighter white light may be irradiated.

Also, the controller may transmit a driving signal through at least one driving electrode among S1 to S5.

Meanwhile, the controller may change the brightness of the white light by determining the driving operation of the white light emitting electrodes W811 and W812 driven through this operation.

S1 to S5 are connected to the same potential so that when a signal is applied to many electrodes, each resistor is connected in parallel to form a low resistance, so that a large amount of high current can flow.

Accordingly, when a driving signal is applied to many driving electrodes, the signal applied to the first white light emitting device W811 and the second white light emitting device W812 increases, so that a bright amount of white light can be irradiated.

Referring to FIG. 8B , the controller may change the color and saturation of the light emitted by the light emitting unit through the matrix circuit.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 8B , the RGB light emitting devices R821 , G821 , B821 , R822 , G822 , and B822 may correspond to the data electrodes D1 to D6 and may correspond to the driving electrodes S1 to S5 .

When the controller transmits a data signal to the electrodes of D1 or D2 and a driving signal through electrodes S1 to S5 , the first red light emitting device R821 and the second red light emitting device R822 may emit light.

On the other hand, the control unit operates the first red light emitting element W821 and the second red light emitting element based on D1 and D2 rather than operating the first red light emitting element R821 and the second red light emitting element R822 based on D1 or D2. When the device R822 is operated, a brighter red light may be irradiated.

In addition, when S1 to S5 are connected to the same potential and a signal is applied to many electrodes, each resistor is connected in parallel to form a low resistance, so that a high amount of current can flow.

Accordingly, when a driving signal is applied to many driving electrodes, the signals applied to the first red light emitting device R821 and the second red light emitting device R822 increase, so that a bright amount of red light can be irradiated.

In this case, the controller may change the color and saturation of the light emitted by the light emitting unit according to the transmission of the control signal driving signal corresponding to the operation mode.

For example, when the user inputs a driving mode for performing weak freezing, the controller may irradiate cyan light into the refrigerator.

In this case, when the controller transmits a data signal to the electrodes of D3 or D4 and a driving signal through electrodes S1 to S5, the first and second green light emitting devices G821 and G822 may emit light.

In addition, when the controller transmits a data signal to the electrodes of D5 or D6 and a driving signal through the electrodes S1 to S5, the first and second blue light emitting devices B821 and B822 may emit light.

Meanwhile, in this case, the controller may determine the difference in lighting time between the RGB light emitting devices to irradiate the light corresponding to the operation mode.

That is, even if the driving signals are sequentially transmitted from D1 to D8 in FIG. 8B and not transmitted to each light emitting device at the same time, the human eye recognizes an afterimage of the light and the principle of mixing light may be applied.

For example, after the signal transmitted to S1 is transmitted to the first green light emitting device G821 and before the afterimage of the corresponding light disappears from the human eye, when the driving signal is transmitted to the first blue light emitting device B821, green and blue All light is recognized as emitted, and the human eye can determine that the color of cyan light is irradiated inside the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, the controller may irradiate light by controlling the operation of the light emitting device corresponding to each color based on the difference in the lighting time of each light emitting device.

Meanwhile, in the above case, the controller may control the control signal and the driving signal to change the chroma and color of the irradiated light.

When the controller transmits a data signal to the electrode of D3 or D4 and a driving signal through S1 to S5, the first and second green light emitting devices G821. G822 may emit light.

When the controller transmits a data signal to the electrodes of D5 or D6 and a driving signal through electrodes S1 to S5, the first and second blue light emitting devices B821 and B822 may emit light.

When such a large number of driving signals are applied, the number of operating blue light emitting devices increases, and when the existing green light and a large number of blue light emitting devices perform a light synthesizing operation, cyan light close to blue light can be irradiated into the refrigerator. have.

When the controller transmits a data signal to all of the electrodes of D3, D4, D5 and D6 and a driving signal through S1 to S5, the first and second blue light emitting devices B821 and B822 and the first and second green light emitting devices G821 , G822) can all be irradiated with light, so cyan light with high saturation can be irradiated.

Of course, even in this embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 8A , the luminance of the irradiated light can be changed by controlling the operations of the white light emitting devices W821 and W822.

Meanwhile, the operation of the present invention described with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B is only one embodiment of the present invention, and when the driving circuit is provided as a matrix circuit, there is no limitation on the operation of controlling each light emitting device.

Referring to FIG. 9 , when the user inputs an operation mode of the refrigerator ( 1001 ), the control unit may determine a light emitting device corresponding to the operation mode ( 1002 ) and output light corresponding to the operation mode ( 1003 ).

Referring to FIG. 10 , when a user inputs an operation mode of the refrigerator ( 1011 ), the controller determines a back shock light emitting device corresponding to the operation mode ( 1012 ) to change the luminance of light corresponding to the operation mode ( 1013 ). .

Referring to FIG. 11 , when a user inputs an operation mode of the refrigerator (1021), the controller determines (1022) an RGB light emitting device corresponding to the operation mode to change the color and saturation of light corresponding to the operation mode ( 1023).

12 , when a user inputs an operation mode of the refrigerator (1031), the controller determines (1032) a data electrode and a driving electrode corresponding to the operation mode in the driving circuit to output light corresponding to the operation mode. There is (1033).

Meanwhile, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in the form of a recording medium storing instructions executable by a computer. Instructions may be stored in the form of program code, and when executed by a processor, may generate program modules to perform operations of the disclosed embodiments. The recording medium may be implemented as a computer-readable recording medium.

The computer-readable recording medium includes any type of recording medium in which instructions readable by the computer are stored. For example, there may be a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a flash memory, an optical data storage device, and the like.

The disclosed embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings as described above. Those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention, have different forms from the disclosed embodiments. It will be understood that the present invention may be practiced with The disclosed embodiments are illustrative and should not be construed as limiting.

Claims

a light emitting unit including a plurality of light emitting devices emitting light of different colors and irradiating the light into the inside of the refrigerator;

an input unit provided to receive a mode change command for changing an operation mode of the refrigerator; and

A refrigerator comprising a; a control unit for controlling on-off and on-time of each of the plurality of light emitting devices based on the mode change command.
According to claim 1,

The light emitting part,

It includes a white light emitting device and an RGB light emitting device,

The control unit is

Based on the mode change command,

determining the lighting operation of the white light emitting device,

A refrigerator that changes the brightness of the light corresponding to the operation mode according to the lighting of the white light emitting device.
3. The method of claim 2,

The control unit is

Based on the mode change command,

determining the lighting operation of the RGB light emitting device,

A refrigerator for changing the color and saturation of light corresponding to the operation mode according to the lighting operation of the RGB light emitting device.
4. The method of claim 3,

The driving circuit is

It is provided as a matrix circuit that transmits a data signal and a driving signal to each of the plurality of light emitting devices,

The control unit is

The refrigerator transmits the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the mode change command to each of the plurality of light emitting devices to control the light emitting unit to emit light corresponding to the operation mode.
5. The method of claim 4,

The control unit is

determining the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the white light emitting device to change the brightness of the light corresponding to the operation mode;

A refrigerator for changing the color and saturation of light corresponding to the operation mode by determining the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the RGB light emitting device.
4. The method of claim 3,

The control unit is

Based on the mode change command,

A refrigerator that changes the color and saturation of light corresponding to the operation mode by determining the difference in lighting time between the RGB light emitting devices
The method of claim 1,

It further includes; a door provided to open and close the storage compartment included in the refrigerator;

The control unit is

When the door is opened, power is supplied to the light emitting unit to irradiate light into the refrigerator.
The method of claim 1,

The driving circuit is

It is provided as a circuit for transmitting a PWM signal to each of the plurality of light emitting devices,

The control unit is

A refrigerator for controlling the light emitting unit to emit light corresponding to the operation mode by transmitting the PWM signal corresponding to the mode change command to each of the plurality of light emitting devices.
According to claim 1,

The control unit is

A refrigerator for determining a light corresponding to the operation mode according to a type of food and a refrigeration temperature corresponding to the food.
Receive a mode change command to change the operation mode of the refrigerator,

Control the on-off and on-time of each of the plurality of light emitting devices based on the mode change command,

The refrigerator control method comprising irradiating light corresponding to the mode change into the refrigerator in response to on-off and on-time of each of the plurality of light emitting devices;
11. The method of claim 10,

To irradiate the light into the refrigerator,

Based on the mode change command,

determining the lighting operation of the white light emitting device,

The refrigerator control method comprising changing the brightness of the light corresponding to the operation mode according to the lighting of the white light emitting device
12. The method of claim 11,

Irradiating the light into the refrigerator is based on the mode change command,

determining the lighting operation of the RGB light emitting device,

Refrigerator control method comprising changing the color and saturation of light corresponding to the operation mode according to the lighting operation of the RGB light emitting device
13. The method of claim 12,

The driving circuit is

It is provided as a matrix circuit that transmits a data signal and a driving signal to each of the plurality of light emitting devices,

The irradiating of the light into the refrigerator includes transmitting the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the mode change command to each of the plurality of light emitting devices to control the light emitting unit to emit light corresponding to the operation mode. Refrigerator control method comprising
14. The method of claim 13,

The irradiating the light into the refrigerator determines the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the white light emitting device to change the brightness of the light corresponding to the operation mode,

and determining the data signal and the driving signal corresponding to the RGB light emitting device to change color and saturation of light corresponding to the operation mode.
13. The method of claim 12,

Irradiating the light into the refrigerator is based on the mode change command,

and changing a color and saturation of light corresponding to the operation mode by determining a difference in lighting time between the RGB light emitting devices.