refrigerator

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator which can improve the design performance of a light emission form from a light emitting part which is arranged at a door for opening and closing an opening part of a storage chamber.SOLUTION: In a refrigerator in this invention which comprises a door for opening and closing an opening part of a storage chamber, and a light emitting part arranged at the door, the light emitting part has a linear light passage part arranged so as to allow the permeation of light, and a plurality of light emitting elements aligned along a longitudinal direction of the light passage part, and the plurality of light emitting elements are arranged in response to a center region of the light passage part in the longitudinal direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a refrigerator. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a refrigerator is considered to have a door that opens and closes an opening of a storage compartment, and further, the door is provided with a light emitting unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-110846 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the light-emitting section in the conventional configuration is a so-called tape LED, that is, a configuration in which multiple light-emitting elements are arranged in a line at equal intervals. Therefore, the light emission from the light-emitting section is monotonous, and there is a demand for improved design.

[0005] Therefore, the present embodiment provides a refrigerator that can improve the design of the light emission from the light-emitting unit provided on the door that opens and closes the opening of the storage compartment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The refrigerator according to this embodiment is a refrigerator equipped with a door for opening and closing an opening of a storage compartment, and a light-emitting unit provided on the door, wherein the light-emitting unit has a linear light-passing unit through which light can pass, and a plurality of light-emitting elements arranged along the longitudinal direction of the light-passing unit, and the plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged corresponding to a central region in the longitudinal direction of the light-passing unit. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration example of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional side view illustrating a schematic configuration example of a main part of a light emitting device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration example of a main part of a light emitting device according to a first embodiment; [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a front view showing a schematic configuration example of a main part of a light emitting device according to a second embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, a number of embodiments of the refrigerator will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that substantially the same elements in the number of embodiments will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0009] (First embodiment) 1, a refrigerator 10 includes a rectangular insulated box 11 that constitutes the outer shell of the refrigerator, and includes multiple storage compartments 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 in which various storage items such as food are stored. Although not shown in detail, the insulated box 11 includes a heat insulating material between an inner box and an outer box. As the heat insulating material constituting the insulated box 11, various heat insulating materials can be used, such as vacuum insulation panels, urethane foam, and heat insulating molded bodies made of heat insulating materials.

[0010] In this case, storage chamber 12 is a refrigerator chamber maintained in the refrigerator temperature range. Hereinafter, storage chamber 12 may be referred to as "refrigerator chamber 12". Storage chamber 13 is a vegetable chamber maintained in the refrigerator temperature range. Hereinafter, storage chamber 13 may be referred to as "vegetable chamber 13". Storage chamber 14 is an ice-making chamber maintained in the freezing temperature range. Hereinafter, storage chamber 14 may be referred to as "ice-making chamber 14". Storage chamber 15 is a small freezing chamber maintained in the freezing temperature range. Hereinafter, storage chamber 15 may be referred to as "small freezing chamber 15". Storage chamber 16 is a large freezing chamber maintained in the freezing temperature range. Hereinafter, storage chamber 16 may be referred to as "large freezing chamber 16".

[0011] The refrigerator compartment 12 is the uppermost storage compartment among the multiple storage compartments 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 that the refrigerator 10 has. The vegetable compartment 13 is provided below the refrigerator compartment 12 and is located in the center of the insulated box 11 in the vertical direction. The ice making compartment 14 and the small freezing compartment 15 are provided below the vegetable compartment 13 and are lined up in the horizontal direction of the refrigerator 10 within the insulated box 11. The large freezing compartment 16 is provided below the ice making compartment 14 and the small freezing compartment 15 within the insulated box 11. The large freezing compartment 16 is the lowermost storage compartment among the multiple storage compartments 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 that the refrigerator 10 has.

[0012] The front opening of the refrigerator compartment 12 is opened and closed by two refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L], 12D[R] that can rotate in the left and right direction, that is, two refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L], 12D[R] of the so-called double door type. The front opening of the vegetable compartment 13 is opened and closed by a storage compartment door that can move in the front and back direction, that is, a so-called drawer type vegetable compartment door 13D. The front opening of the ice making compartment 14 is opened and closed by a storage compartment door that can move in the front and back direction, that is, a so-called drawer type ice making compartment door 14D. The front opening of the small freezer compartment 15 is opened and closed by a storage compartment door that can move in the front and back direction, that is, a so-called drawer type small freezer compartment door 15D. The front opening of the large freezer compartment 16 is opened and closed by a storage compartment door that can move in the front and back direction, that is, a so-called drawer type large freezer compartment door 16D.

[0013] Panel members (not shown) are attached to the surfaces of refrigerator doors 12D[L], 12D[R], vegetable compartment door 13D, ice compartment door 14D, small freezer door 15D, and large freezer door 16D. The panel members are made of a transparent or translucent material, such as glass, that allows light to pass through.

[0014] In addition, refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L], 12D[R] are each provided with an operation unit 20 that can be operated by the user. In this case, operation unit 20 is configured as a so-called capacitance type touch panel. When a user touches operation unit 20, a control device (not shown) that controls the overall operation of refrigerator 10 is configured to, for example, drive a well-known automatic door-opening device (not shown) provided on the upper front part of thermally insulated box 11 to automatically open refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L], 12D[R].

[0015] Furthermore, each of the refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L], 12D[R] is provided with a light emitting device 100 on the back side of the operation unit 20. The light emitting device 100 is an example of a light emitting unit. Next, a configuration example of the light emitting device 100 will be described in detail. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the light emitting device 100 includes a substrate 110, a front plate 120, and a reflector 130.

[0016] The substrate 110 is disposed between the front plate 120 and the reflector 130. The front surface of the substrate 110 faces the rear surface of the front plate 120 with a predetermined distance therebetween. The rear surface of the substrate 110 faces the front surface of the reflector 130 with a predetermined distance therebetween. The distance between the substrate 110 and the front plate 120 and the distance between the substrate 110 and the reflector 130 may be the same length or may be different lengths.

[0017] The substrate 110 has a plurality of light emitting elements 111, three in this case, on its back surface. The light emitting elements 111 are, for example, well-known LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). The substrate 110 also has a substrate through hole 112 penetrating the substrate 110. In this case, the substrate through hole 112 forms an elongated opening along the vertical direction. The substrate through hole 112 forming such an opening is capable of passing light.

[0018] The front plate 120 has a front plate through hole 121 penetrating the front plate 120. In this case, the front plate through hole 121 forms an elongated opening along the up-down direction. The front plate through hole 121 forming such an opening is capable of passing light. In addition, the above-mentioned multiple light emitting elements 111 are arranged so as to be aligned along the longitudinal direction of the substrate through hole 112 of the substrate 110 and the front plate through hole 121 of the front plate 120.

[0019] The reflector 130 is made of a material capable of reflecting light, such as a metal material, etc. The reflector 130 may have a surface that is mirror-finished to reflect light.

[0020] 2, light generated by the plurality of light-emitting elements 111 on the back surface side of the substrate 110 is reflected by the reflector 130 toward the front panel 120. The light reflected by the reflector 130 toward the front panel 120 passes through the substrate through-hole 112 of the substrate 110 and the front panel through-hole 121 of the front panel 120 in this order, and reaches the surface of the operation unit 20, in other words, the surfaces of the refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L] and 12D[R]. This allows the light-emitting device 100 to create a state in which the light generated by the plurality of light-emitting elements 111 can be viewed by the user.

[0021] In the light-emitting device 100 configured as described above, the substrate through-hole 112 of the substrate 110 and the front panel through-hole 121 of the front panel 120 form a linear light-passing section 140 that can pass light. In this case, the longitudinal direction of the light-passing section 140 is aligned with the vertical direction of the light-emitting device 100, the vertical direction of the operation unit 20, the vertical direction of the refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L] and 12D[R], and the vertical direction of the refrigerator 10.

[0022] Next, a detailed description will be given of the arrangement of the plurality of light-emitting elements 111 in the light-emitting device 100. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the plurality of light-emitting elements 111, three in this case, are arranged correspondingly within a central region R set in the center of the light-transmitting portion 140 in the longitudinal direction.

[0023] The dimension of the central region R along the longitudinal direction of the light transmitting section 140 can be appropriately changed and set within a range that does not include at least both ends in the longitudinal direction of the light transmitting section 140. In this embodiment, the dimension of the central region R along the longitudinal direction of the light transmitting section 140 is, for example, approximately 1 / 3 of the longitudinal dimension of the entire light transmitting section 140. The dimension of the central region R along the longitudinal direction of the light transmitting section 140 may be longer or shorter than approximately 1 / 3 of the longitudinal dimension of the entire light transmitting section 140. In addition, the dimension of the central region R along the longitudinal direction of the light transmitting section 140 may completely match 1 / 3 of the longitudinal dimension of the entire light transmitting section 140.

[0024] Furthermore, the three light-emitting elements 111 arranged in the central region R in the longitudinal direction of the light passing portion 140 on the rear surface side of the substrate 110 form a light-emitting element dense portion 150. That is, the multiple light-emitting elements 111 are arranged densely along the longitudinal direction of the light passing portion 140 in the central region R, thereby forming the light-emitting element dense portion 150.

[0025] In this embodiment, the light emitting device 100 includes one light emitting element dense portion 150. The light emitting device 100 is configured such that a plurality of light passing portions 140, in this case two, are provided for this one light emitting element dense portion 150. The light emitting element dense portion 150 is provided at a position sandwiched between a plurality of light passing portions 140, in this case two, when viewed from the front side of the light emitting device 100, in other words, the front side of the refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L], 12D[R] which are in a closed state closing the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 12.

[0026] In this case, the interval between the multiple light-emitting elements 111 in the light-emitting element dense portion 150 is 10 mm. In this disclosure, 10 mm includes a case where it is exactly 10 mm, and also includes a case where it is a dimension that is slightly different from 10 mm and is within an error range. The interval between the multiple light-emitting elements 111 in the light-emitting element dense portion 150 may be at least 10 mm or more, and therefore may be a dimension that exceeds 10 mm, such as 15 mm. The number of light-emitting elements 111 in the light-emitting element dense portion 150 is not limited to three, and may be at least two or more, or may be one.

[0027] In this case, the longitudinal length of the front panel through hole 121 constituting the light passing portion 140 is 22.8 mm. In this case, the longitudinal length of the board through hole 112 constituting the light passing portion 140 is 27.6 mm. That is, the longitudinal length of the front panel through hole 121 is slightly shorter than the longitudinal length of the board through hole 112.

[0028] In this case, the length in the short direction of the front panel through hole 121 constituting the light passing portion 140 is 1.5 mm. In this case, the length in the short direction of the board through hole 112 constituting the light passing portion 140 is 3.7 mm. That is, the length in the short direction of the front panel through hole 121 is slightly shorter than the length in the short direction of the board through hole 112.

[0029] The longitudinal length of front panel through hole 121 may be longer than the longitudinal length of substrate through hole 112 or may match the longitudinal length of substrate through hole 112. The lateral length of front panel through hole 121 may be longer than the lateral length of substrate through hole 112 or may match the lateral length of substrate through hole 112.

[0030] According to the configuration example of refrigerator 10 illustrated above, multiple light-emitting elements 111 are concentratedly arranged corresponding to central region R in the longitudinal direction of light-passing section 140. According to this configuration example, light generated by light-emitting elements 111 can be guided through light-passing section 140 that is long in the vertical direction, and a so-called linear light emission mode can be realized. As a result, a linear light emission mode not seen in the past can be realized for the light emission mode from light-emitting devices 100 provided on refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L], 12D[R] that open and close the front opening of refrigerator compartment 12, and design can be improved.

[0031] Furthermore, according to the refrigerator 10, the multiple light-emitting elements 111 are densely arranged in the central region R in the longitudinal direction of the light-passing section 140. In other words, the multiple light-emitting elements 111 are not arranged at positions corresponding to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the light-passing section 140. According to this configuration example, it is possible to increase the emission intensity from the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the light-passing section 140, and to gradually decrease the emission intensity from the central portion toward both ends in the longitudinal direction of the light-passing section 140. This makes it possible to realize an emission mode in which the emission intensity gradually decreases from the central portion toward both ends in the longitudinal direction of the light-passing section 140, that is, an emission mode that produces a so-called gradation effect, and thus it is possible to further improve the design.

[0032] In this way, refrigerator 10 is configured to realize a light-emitting mode with a high design that has not been seen before, by applying creative ingenuity to the arrangement of multiple light-emitting elements 111. Furthermore, refrigerator 10 can realize a light-emitting mode that produces a so-called gradation effect, by applying creative ingenuity to the arrangement of multiple light-emitting elements 111. Therefore, there is no need to use physical parts for producing the so-called gradation effect, such as a light guide plate, and therefore it is possible to avoid an increase in the number of parts and a complicated structure.

[0033] Moreover, refrigerator 10 is configured to include light-emitting element dense section 150 in which multiple light-emitting elements 111 are densely packed along the longitudinal direction of light-passing section 140, and multiple light-passing sections 140 are provided for each light-emitting element dense section 150. According to this configuration example, light generated from one light-emitting element dense section 150 can be dispersed and guided out from multiple light-passing sections 140, and a light-emitting mode with improved design that can also achieve the spread of light emission in the lateral direction can be provided.

[0034] Moreover, in refrigerator 10, light-emitting element dense section 150 is provided at a position sandwiched between a plurality of light passing sections 140. According to this configuration example, light generated from one light-emitting element dense section 150 in the center can be evenly guided out from a plurality of light passing sections 140 on both sides, and a stable light emission mode without bias in the spread of light emission in the lateral direction can be realized.

[0035] Second embodiment 4, when viewed from the front side of the light-emitting device 100, in other words, from the front side of the refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L], 12D[R] that are in a closed state blocking the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 12, the light-emitting device 100 has a plurality of light-transmitting portions 140, in this case two, on each side of the light-emitting element-dense portion 150. That is, when viewed from the front side of the light-emitting device 100, two light-transmitting portions 140 are provided on the left side of the light-emitting element-dense portion 150, and two light-transmitting portions 140 are provided on the right side of the light-emitting element-dense portion 150.

[0036] According to this configuration example, the light emission intensity from the light passing portion 140 on the side of the light emitting element dense portion 150, i.e., the inner side in the horizontal direction, is strong, and the light emission intensity from the light passing portion 140 on the opposite side to the light emitting element dense portion 150, i.e., the outer side in the horizontal direction, is weaker than the light emission intensity from the inner side in the horizontal direction. This makes it possible to realize a light emission mode in which the light emission intensity gradually weakens from the center part in the horizontal direction toward both the left and right ends, that is, a light emission mode that produces a so-called gradation effect, and it is possible to further improve the design. In other words, it is possible to realize a light emission mode that produces a gradation effect not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction, and it is possible to provide a light emission mode with a higher designability than ever before.

[0037] In the second embodiment, a configuration example in which two light transmitting sections 140 are provided on each side of the light emitting element dense section 150 is disclosed, but the light emitting device 100 may be configured to have three or more light transmitting sections 140 on each side of the light emitting element dense section 150. In addition, the interval between the multiple light transmitting sections 140 in the lateral direction can be appropriately changed.

[0038] (Other embodiments) The present embodiment is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and extensions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the refrigerator 10 can be configured by appropriately selecting and combining the above-described embodiments.

[0039] In addition, when the refrigerator 10 is configured to have an operation unit 20 on at least one of the storage compartment doors other than the refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L], 12D[R], for example, the vegetable compartment door 13D, the ice compartment door 14D, the small freezer compartment door 15D, and the large freezer compartment door 16D, the operation unit 20 of the storage compartment doors other than the refrigerator compartment doors 12D[L], 12D[R] may be configured to have a light-emitting device 100.

[0040] In addition, the dimensions of each part of the light-emitting device 100, such as the number of multiple light-emitting elements 111, the spacing between the multiple light-emitting elements 111, the longitudinal and transverse lengths of the light-passing section 140, the longitudinal and transverse lengths of the substrate through hole 112, the longitudinal and transverse lengths of the front plate through hole 121, the length between the light-emitting element 111 and the light-passing section 140, the length between the light-emitting element 111 and the substrate through hole 112, and the length between the light-emitting element 111 and the front plate through hole 121, can be appropriately changed depending on, for example, the required light-emitting mode and light-emitting intensity, the performance of the light-emitting element 111 used, etc.

[0041] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented merely as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, modifications, etc. can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. The present embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] In the drawings, 10 indicates a refrigerator, 12 indicates a refrigerator compartment (storage compartment), 12D[L] and 12D[R] indicate refrigerator compartment doors (doors), 100 indicates a light emitting device (light emitting section), 111 indicates a light emitting element, 140 indicates a light transmitting section, and 150 indicates an area where the light emitting elements are densely packed.

Claims

1. A door for opening and closing the opening of the storage room; A light emitting unit provided on the door; A refrigerator comprising: The light emitting unit includes: a linear light passing portion provided to allow light to pass therethrough; A plurality of light emitting elements arranged along a longitudinal direction of the light passing portion; having The light emitting elements are arranged in a central region of the light transmitting portion in a longitudinal direction thereof, a light emitting element dense portion in which a plurality of the light emitting elements are densely arranged along a longitudinal direction of the light passing portion, A plurality of the light transmitting portions are provided for one of the light emitting element dense portions, The light-emitting element dense section is provided at a position sandwiched between a plurality of the light-passing sections when viewed from the front side of the light-emitting section.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the light transmitting portions are provided on both sides of the light emitting element dense portion when viewed from the front side of the light emitting portion.

3. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the light emitting elements is at least 10 mm.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the distance between the plurality of light emitting elements is 10 mm.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the light-emitting unit includes at least two of the light-emitting elements.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5 , wherein the light-emitting unit includes three of the light-emitting elements.

7. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the length of the light passing portion in the longitudinal direction is 22.8 mm.

8. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the length of the light transmitting portion in the short side direction is 1.5 mm.

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