refrigerator

Abstract

This disclosure aims to provide a refrigerator that suppresses light emitted from a light source inside the refrigerator from directly entering the light sensor, thereby estimating the amount of storage space inside the refrigerator. [Solution] The refrigerator in this disclosure comprises a refrigerator compartment, a refrigerator door that opens and closes the front opening of the refrigerator compartment, a lighting unit on the wall of the refrigerator compartment that illuminates the interior, and a light sensor unit that detects the illuminance inside the refrigerator compartment. The lighting unit is composed of a plurality of LED light sources and a substrate on which the LED light sources are mounted. The light sensor unit is located on the same wall as the lighting unit, and is positioned so that the optical axis of the LED light sources does not directly enter the light sensor unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator that forms a plurality of optical paths from a plurality of light source units to an optical sensor unit in a compartment and detects the storage state inside the compartment.

Prior Art Literature

Patent Literature

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a refrigerator that suppresses light emitted from an internal light source unit from directly entering an optical sensor unit, and estimates the storage amount inside the compartment.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0005] The refrigerator according to the present disclosure comprises a refrigerating compartment, a refrigerating compartment door that opens and closes a front opening of the refrigerating compartment, an illumination unit that illuminates the interior of the refrigerating compartment on a wall surface of the refrigerating compartment, and an optical sensor unit that detects illuminance inside the refrigerating compartment, wherein the illumination unit is composed of a plurality of LED light sources and a substrate on which the LED light sources are mounted; the optical sensor unit is located on the same wall surface where the illumination unit is disposed, and the optical sensor unit is arranged such that the optical axes of the LED light sources do not directly enter thereto.

Effect of the Invention

[0006] The refrigerator according to the present disclosure can suppress light emitted from the internal light source unit from directly entering the optical sensor unit, and estimate the storage amount inside the compartment.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007] [Figure 1] Front view of a refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of the present invention [Figure 2] Longitudinal cross-section of the refrigerator [Figure 3] Cross-sectional view of the main part of Embodiment 1 of the present invention [Figure 4] Perspective view of the main part of Embodiment 1 of the present invention [Figure 5] Detailed cross-sectional view of the main part of Embodiment 1 of the present invention [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, unnecessary details may be omitted. For example, detailed explanations of already well-known matters or redundant explanations of substantially identical configurations may be omitted.

[0009] The attached drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand this disclosure and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

[0010] (Embodiment 1) Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the overall structure of the refrigerator, while Figures 3 to 5 illustrate the structure of its main components. [1-1-1. Refrigerator configuration] First, we will explain the overall configuration of the refrigerator using Figures 1 and 2.

[0011] In Figures 1 and 2, the refrigerator according to this embodiment includes a refrigerator body 1 with an open front. This refrigerator body 1 is composed of a metal outer box 2, a rigid resin inner box 3, and foamed insulation material 4 filled between the outer box 2 and the inner box 3. Multiple storage compartments are formed by partition plates 5, 6, etc., and the inside of each compartment is filled with foamed insulation material 4. Furthermore, each storage compartment of the refrigerator body 1 employs the same insulation configuration as the refrigerator body 1 and can be opened and closed from above by a rotating refrigerator door 7, a pull-out upper freezer door 8 and ice maker door 9, a pull-out lower freezer door 10, and a pull-out vegetable compartment door 11.

[0012] The storage compartment formed inside the refrigerator body 1 consists of an uppermost refrigerator compartment 14, an upper freezer compartment 15 located below the refrigerator compartment 14, an ice-making compartment 16 located next to the upper freezer compartment 15, a lower freezer compartment 17 located below the upper freezer compartment 15 and the ice-making compartment 16, and a vegetable compartment 18 at the bottom. The refrigerator compartment 14 is provided with multiple shelves 19, and a partial freezing compartment 20 with different cooling temperature zones is provided below the refrigerator compartment 14.

[0013] The above-mentioned refrigerator compartment 14 is a storage room for refrigerated storage, and is specifically cooled to a temperature of 2-5°C. In addition, the partial freezing compartment 20 located within the refrigerator compartment is set to -1-4°C, which is suitable for partial freezing storage, and can also be set to 0-2°C as a chilled compartment 20 by controlling the airflow.

[0014] The vegetable compartment 18 is a storage compartment set to a temperature equivalent to or slightly higher than the refrigerator compartment 14, specifically, it can be cooled to a temperature of 3-7°C. Because this vegetable compartment 18 becomes humid due to moisture released from stored foods such as vegetables, condensation may occur if it becomes too cold in a localized area. Therefore, by setting the temperature relatively high, the amount of cooling is reduced, suppressing the occurrence of condensation due to localized overcooling.

[0015] Furthermore, the ice-making compartment 16, the upper freezer compartment 15, and the lower freezer compartment 17 are storage compartments set to a freezing temperature range, and are cooled to approximately -18°C. [1-1-2. Lighting Unit Configuration] The inner box 3, which forms the inner wall of the refrigerator compartment 14 in Figure 2, has a lighting unit 21 on its top surface. The lighting unit 21 is positioned in front of the front ends of the multiple shelves 19 located above and below the refrigerator compartment 14, on the opening side of the refrigerator compartment 14.

[0016] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the lighting unit 21, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of the main part of the lighting unit 21. The configuration of the lighting unit 21 will be explained using Figures 3 and 4.

[0017] The lighting unit 21 is composed of: an LED light source 26 that illuminates stored items inside a refrigerating compartment 14; a substrate 23 on which an optical sensor unit 27 that detects light from the LED light source 26 is mounted; a holding member 22 fixed to an inner box 3 and holding the substrate 23; and a transparent or translucent lighting cover 25 that covers the substrate 23.

[0018] The longitudinal direction of the substrate 23 is arranged along the left-right width direction of the refrigerating compartment 14, and a plurality of the LED light sources 26 are mounted at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 23.

[0019] Further, the optical sensor unit 27 is mounted on the substrate 23 at a position offset rearward from the LED light sources 26, between two adjacent LED light sources 26 in the depth direction of the refrigerating compartment 14.

[0020] The substrate 23 is held by the holding member 22, and is held with the back surface of the substrate 23 placed on a pedestal 22a of the holding member 22. The pedestal 22a forms an inclined surface such that the surface of the substrate 23 (the mounting surface of the LED light sources 26) faces the deep side of the refrigerating compartment 14 with respect to a horizontal plane.

[0021] Further, partition wall portions 22b are formed on both side portions of the optical sensor unit 27 to suppress direct incidence of light emitted from the LED light sources 26.

[0022] The partition wall portion 22b is formed of both side partition wall portions 22b1 and a partition wall covering portion 22b2.

[0023] The partition wall portion 22b is located between the optical sensor unit 27 and the LED light source 26 that is at the position closest to the optical sensor unit 27.

[0024] Further, the partition wall portion 22b is formed integrally with the holding member 22, and is configured so as to sandwich the substrate 23 with the partition wall portion 22b. Let me explain partition wall a. When the sensor detects reflected light, if light from the light source enters the light sensor directly, it will be brighter than the reflected light from the stored items, making it difficult to detect fluctuations in the reflected light. Therefore, partition wall a is provided between the sensor and the light source in the substrate holding section to block direct light from the light source. As shown in Figure 3, the end face of partition wall a on the light source side is provided between the light source 26 and the sensor 27.

[0025] Let's explain partition wall b. There is a difference in brightness between the reflected light from the wall near the light source or from the items stored on the top shelf of the storage unit, and the reflected light from the items stored on the second and third shelves from the top, due to the difference in distance. By installing partition wall b, the difference in the intensity of reflected light from each shelf can be reduced. Partition wall b is located between the top shelf of the storage unit and the sensor. As shown in Figure 4, the partition wall can be made smaller by placing partition walls a and b closer to the sensor 27. Partition walls a and b can also be used to hold the circuit board, and in this embodiment, they are integrated with the circuit board holding component as shown in Figures 3-4. [1-2. Operation of the lighting unit] When the refrigerator door 7 is opened, all of the multiple LED light sources 26 in the lighting unit 21 light up.

[0026] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5, the optical axes of the multiple LED light sources 26 are all oriented in the same direction, and the center of the optical axis is aligned with the tip of the top shelf 19.

[0027] After the refrigerator door 7 is closed, all LED light sources 26 are turned off, and only the two LED light sources 26 located at both ends of the circuit board 23 remain lit for a predetermined period of time.

[0028] The light sensor unit 27 is positioned approximately in the center along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 23. The LED light source 26 closest to the light sensor unit 27 is turned off, while the two LED light sources 26 located at both ends of the substrate 23 are turned on, thereby suppressing direct light from the LED light sources 26 into the light sensor unit 27. Furthermore, because the light spreads out to the left and right with respect to the optical axis, the partition walls 22b and their sides 22b1 can prevent the spread of light from directly entering the light sensor unit 27.

[0029] Furthermore, the light emitted from the two LED light sources 26 located at both ends is reflected by the partition wall cover portion 22b2 and the partition wall sides 22b1 within the refrigerator compartment 14 to the stored items and the inner wall surface, which in particular prevents the optical axis of reflected light, especially from metal cans, from directly entering the light sensor portion 27.

[0030] Therefore, the optical axis of light reflected by stored items is suppressed by the partition wall 22b, preventing the optical sensor 27 from receiving the light, while the brightness inside the refrigerator compartment 14 can be detected by the optical sensor. Since detection of the directly incident optical axis is suppressed, the increase or decrease in the amount of stored items can be estimated by comparing the brightness of the previous detection with the brightness of the current detection. [1-3. Effects, etc.] In a refrigerator comprising a refrigerator compartment 14, a refrigerator door 7 for opening and closing the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 14, a lighting unit 21 for illuminating the interior of the refrigerator compartment 14 on the wall surface, and a light sensor unit 27 for detecting the illuminance inside the refrigerator compartment 14, the lighting unit 21 is composed of a plurality of LED light sources 26 and a circuit board 23 on which the LED light sources 26 are mounted, the light sensor unit 27 is located on the same wall surface as the lighting unit 21, and the light sensor unit 27 is positioned so that the optical axis of the LED light sources 26 does not directly enter it, so that the illuminance inside the compartment can be detected with reduced bias in relation to the amount of contents stored inside.

[0031] Furthermore, by positioning the light sensor unit 27 between two adjacent LED light sources 26 and providing a partition wall 22b between the LED light sources 26 and the light sensor unit 27, it is possible to suppress the incidence of the optical axis of the LED light sources 26, and also suppress the incidence of the optical axis reflected from reflective stored items such as metal products, allowing the light sensor unit 27 to detect the illuminance in the room without bias.

[0032] Furthermore, since the light sensor unit 27 is mounted on the substrate 23, variations between the LED light source 26 mounted on the substrate 23 and the light sensor unit 27 can be reduced, thereby reducing individual differences in detected illuminance among refrigerators.

[0033] Furthermore, the substrate 23 is held by the holding member 22, and the partition wall portion 22b is integrally formed with the holding member 22. Since the substrate 23 is gripped by the partition wall portion 22b, the substrate 23 can be held by the partition wall portion 22b, which reduces variations in the positional relationship between the partition wall portion 22b and the optical sensor portion 27, thereby improving detection accuracy. [Industrial applicability]

[0034] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and may also be applicable to refrigerators that concentrate and discharge cold air into a part of the lower freezer compartment for rapid cooling, and is applicable to commercial refrigerators as well as household refrigerators. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0035] 7 Refrigerator door 14 Refrigerator 21 Lighting Section 22 Retaining member 22b Partition wall section 23 circuit boards 26 LED light sources 27 Light sensor unit

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising a refrigerator compartment, a refrigerator compartment door for opening and closing the front opening of the refrigerator compartment, a lighting unit for illuminating the interior of the refrigerator compartment on the wall surface of the refrigerator compartment, and a light sensor unit for detecting the illuminance inside the refrigerator compartment, wherein the lighting unit is composed of a plurality of LED light sources and a substrate on which the LED light sources are mounted, the light sensor unit is located on the same wall surface as the wall surface on which the lighting unit is located, and the light sensor unit is positioned so that the optical axis of the LED light sources does not directly enter it.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the light sensor unit is positioned between two adjacent LED light sources, and a partition wall is provided between the LED light sources and the light sensor unit.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that the light sensor unit is mounted on the substrate.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that the substrate is held by a retaining member arranged on the wall side, and the partition wall portion is integrally formed with the retaining member.

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