Refrigerator door, and refrigerator

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator door preventing leakage of light from an unexpected part even when assembly failure or long-term deterioration occurs.SOLUTION: A refrigerator door comprises a glass plate, a substrate unit and a substrate box. The refrigerator door is such that: the substrate unit has a display film arranged so as to face the rear face of the glass plate, and written with characters and symbols, a non-translucent shade arranged so as to face a part of the rear face of the display film, and having a plurality of openings, a translucent light guide plate arranged so as to face the other part of the rear face of the display film, a substrate arranged so as to face the rear face of the shade and the rear face of the light guide plate, and disposed with a light-emitting source in a position facing the openings, and an electrostatic sensor in a position facing the light guide plate, and a substrate holder for housing the shade, the light guide plate and the substrate; and the display film is adhered to the lateral face of the substrate holder as an inner face of a folded part made by folding the outer edge of the display film to a rear face side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator door having a touch operation unit capable of lighting on the front surface, and a refrigerator.

Background Art

[0002] As a document related to a refrigerator door having a touch operation unit capable of lighting on the front surface, Patent Document 1 is known. For example, in the abstract of the same document, there is a description of "suppressing the reduction of heat insulation while maintaining the visibility of a character expression part having a character cut-out part" as a problem, and as a solution, "a substrate, a character expression part arranged in front of the substrate, and a reflection part arranged behind the substrate, the substrate has a substrate window and an edge part around the substrate window, a convex edge part extending in the short direction from the central side in the longitudinal direction of the edge part, and a light emitting source having an end part side on the convex edge part, and the character expression part includes a character cut-out part having translucency."

[0003] Further, in paragraph 0002 of the same document, there is a description of "a refrigerator provided with a character display device that irradiates light from behind a character cut-out part having translucency to enhance the visibility of the character cut-out part and display characters", and in paragraph 0012, there is a description of "FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view when the character display device 30 is viewed from the front side. The character display device 30 includes, in order from the front side, a character expression part 90, a dielectric plate 50 and a light shielding plate 80, a substrate 40 provided with a light emitting source 43 and a detection part 42, and a substrate case 60 having a reflection part."

[0004] Thus, Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator that enhances the visibility of characters displayed on the front surface of the door by irradiating light from behind to make the character cut-out part glow.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0006] However, Patent Document 1 does not mention the possibility that if assembly defects or deterioration over time occur in the character display device, light may leak from unexpected parts other than the character cutout area and appear on the surface, potentially impairing the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerator door. Consequently, it does not disclose any specific structure for suppressing unexpected light leakage in the event of assembly defects or deterioration over time.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a refrigerator door that prevents light leakage from unexpected parts even if assembly defects or deterioration over time occur, and a refrigerator equipped with such a refrigerator door. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, the refrigerator door of the present invention comprises a glass plate positioned on the front, a substrate unit positioned on the back side of the glass plate, and a substrate box housing the substrate unit, wherein the substrate unit comprises a display film on which characters and symbols are inscribed, positioned facing the back surface of the glass plate, an opaque shade with multiple openings positioned facing a part of the back surface of the display film, a translucent light guide plate positioned facing the other part of the back surface of the display film, a substrate positioned facing the back surface of the shade and the back surface of the light guide plate, with a light source provided at a position facing the openings and an electrostatic sensor provided at a position facing the light guide plate, and a substrate holder housing the shade, the light guide plate, and the substrate, wherein the display film is adhered to the side surface of the substrate holder at the inner surface of the bent portion obtained by folding the outer edge of the display film toward the back side.

[0009] Furthermore, the refrigerator door of the present invention comprises a glass plate positioned on the front, a substrate unit positioned on the back side of the glass plate, and a substrate box housing the substrate unit, wherein the substrate unit comprises a display film on which characters and symbols are inscribed, positioned facing the back surface of the glass plate, an opaque shade with multiple openings positioned facing a part of the back surface of the display film, a translucent light guide plate positioned facing the other part of the back surface of the display film, a substrate positioned facing the back surface of the shade and the back surface of the light guide plate, with a light source provided at a position facing the openings and an electrostatic sensor provided at a position facing the light guide plate, and a substrate holder housing the shade, the light guide plate, and the substrate, and the inner surface of the substrate box is a reflection-suppressing color. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the refrigerator door of the present invention, or a refrigerator equipped with such a refrigerator door, even if assembly defects or deterioration over time occur, light will not leak from unexpected parts, thus preventing the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerator door from being compromised by unexpected light leakage. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram of a refrigerator's components. [Figure 2] Exploded view of the right refrigerator door in the X-axis direction. [Figure 3] Exploded view of the circuit board unit in the X-axis direction. [Figure 4] Front view of the right refrigerator compartment door with the glass panel removed. [Figure 5] Enlarged cross-sectional view of the right refrigerator door at position AA in Figure 4. [Figure 6] Enlarged cross-sectional view of the right refrigerator door at position BB in Figure 4. [Figure 7] Perspective view of the circuit board unit. [Figure 8] Enlarged cross-sectional view of the right refrigerator door at position CC in Figure 7. [Figure 9] Enlarged cross-sectional view of the right refrigerator door to explain the placement of the light-blocking tape. [Figure 10] Enlarged cross-sectional view of the right refrigerator door to explain the placement of the light-blocking tape. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. These embodiments are merely illustrative, and the present invention can be implemented in various modified and improved forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Furthermore, in the drawings used in the following description, common devices and equipment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions of devices, equipment, and operations already described may be omitted.

[0013] <Overview of a refrigerator> Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a refrigerator 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator 1 of this embodiment has a refrigerator compartment, an ice-making compartment, an upper freezer compartment, a lower freezer compartment, and a vegetable compartment as storage compartments, and has doors to open and close the openings of each storage compartment, namely, refrigerator compartment doors D1 and D2, ice-making compartment door D3, upper freezer compartment door D4, lower freezer compartment door D5, and vegetable compartment door D6. In this embodiment, the refrigerator compartment doors D1 and D2 are double doors, and the others are drawer doors.

[0014] A circuit board unit 20 is inserted into the right-hand refrigerator door D2, inside the central part of the refrigerator 1 (the negative Y-axis side of the refrigerator door D2). The circuit board unit 20 is connected by a harness to a control device (not shown) that controls the operation of the refrigerator 1. Based on instructions from the control device, it displays information to the user, accepts operations from the user, and transmits the details of those operations to the control device. In the following, the positive X-axis side in the coordinate system shown in Figure 1 will be referred to as the front side of the refrigerator door D2, and the negative X-axis side will be referred to as the back side of the refrigerator door D2. For each component of the refrigerator door D2, the surface on the positive X-axis side will be called the front surface, and the surface on the negative X-axis side will be called the back surface.

[0015] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the refrigerator door D2 in the X-axis direction. Further, FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the substrate unit 20 in the X-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerator door D2 has a translucent glass plate 36 on the front surface side and a liner 37 on the back surface side. Then, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, between the glass plate 36 and the liner 37, there are arranged a substrate unit 20, a substrate box 31 for housing the substrate unit 20, a reinforcing metal fitting 32 for reinforcing the back side of the substrate unit 20, a flexible heat insulating material 33 and a vacuum heat insulating material 34 for insulating the refrigerator door D2, and it has a door frame 35 so as to surround these four sides. In FIG. 2, only the substrate holder 26 is shown as the substrate unit 20. Also, in FIG. 3, the glass plate 36 and the liner 37 are not shown.

[0016] <Details of the substrate unit 20> As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate unit 20 has a display film 21, a protective film 22, a light guide plate 23 (23a, 23b), a shade 24, a substrate 25, and a substrate holder 26, and they are configured to be combined in the X-axis direction. Since the light guide plate 23 and the shade 24 are arranged in the same plane, the surface of the substrate 25 is divided into an opposing portion of the light guide plate 23 and an opposing portion of the shade 24. Hereinafter, the details of each will be described.

[0017] The display film 21 is a PET film in which translucent characters and symbols are marked on an opaque base material, and the protective film 22 is a translucent PET film that is attached to the back surface of the display film 21 to prevent scratches on the display film 21 or to reinforce it. It diffuses the light from the light source and also improves the visibility of characters and symbols, and it is desirable to be arranged. The thickness of each film is, for example, 0.2 mm. As shown in FIG. 3, the shapes of the display film 21 and the protective film 22 are similar, but the protective film 22 is slightly smaller than the display film 21. Therefore, a narrow region that is not reinforced by the protective film 22 is formed at the outer edge of the display film 21. Then, by attaching a double-sided tape or applying an adhesive to this narrow region, the display film 21 and the substrate holder 26 are adhered to form the housing of the substrate unit 20.

[0018] On the surface of the substrate 25, a plurality of touch sensors 25a and a plurality of light emitting sources 25b are arranged. Note that the touch sensor 25a is, for example, an electrostatic sensor, and the light emitting source 25b is, for example, an LED.

[0019] The light guide plate 23 (23a, 23b) is a resin plate for light guiding arranged in front of the touch sensor 25a. When the light emitting source 25b arranged on the side of the light guide plate 23 emits light, the light is diffused and emitted in a planar shape. Thereby, by lighting or extinguishing the characters and symbols in front of the light guide plate 23 collectively, the visibility of the desired characters and symbols can be enhanced.

[0020] The shade 24 is an opaque resin plate having an opening 24a arranged in front of the light emitting source 25b. When the light emitting source 25b facing the opening 24a emits light, the area illuminated by the light is limited to the range of the opening 24a. Thereby, by lighting or extinguishing the characters and symbols in front of the opening 24a individually, the visibility of the desired characters and symbols can be enhanced.

[0021] The substrate holder 26 is a resin housing that houses the light guide plate 23, the shade 24, and the substrate 25 inside and is then covered with the display film 21 on the front surface.

[0022] Next, the cross-sectional structure of the substrate unit 20 in the state of being mounted on the refrigerator door D2 will be described. FIG. 4 is a front view of the refrigerator door D2 with the glass plate 36 removed. Hereinafter, the cross-sectional structure of the substrate unit 20 at the positions A-A and B-B in the figure will be described.

[0023] FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the refrigerator door D2 at the position A-A in FIG. 4. As shown here, at the position A-A in FIG. 4, two light emitting sources 25b are provided on the substrate 25. Further, on the display film 21 in front of the light emitting source 25b, translucent characters and symbols to be illuminated by the light emitting source 25b are marked. Therefore, when the light emitting source 25b in FIG. 5 is lit, the light passes through the translucent characters and the like in front of the light emitting source 25b, and the characters and the like are brightly displayed on the surface of the translucent glass plate 36.

[0024] Furthermore, Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the refrigerator door D2 at position BB in Figure 4. As shown here, at position BB in Figure 4, a touch sensor 25a and a light source 25b are provided on the substrate 25. In addition, the display film 21 in front of the touch sensor 25a and light source 25b has translucent characters and symbols that are to be illuminated by the light source 25b. Therefore, when the light source 25b in Figure 6 is lit, light passes through the translucent characters, etc. in front of the touch sensor 25a and light source 25b, and the characters, etc. are brightly displayed on the surface of the translucent glass plate 36.

[0025] <Measures to prevent light leakage during aging of the circuit board unit 20> The lower part of Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the right edge of the substrate unit 20, and schematically represents the state before the display film 21 and the substrate holder 26 are bonded together. As shown in the figure, in the substrate unit 20 of this embodiment, the upper surface of the shade 24 is designed to be higher by a height δ than the upper surface of the substrate holder 26. Therefore, when the outer edge of the display film 21 is bonded to the upper surface of the substrate holder 26 using double-sided tape or adhesive, the outer edge of the display film 21 will bend downward. As a result, at the outer edge of the display film 21, a force opposing the adhesive force is continuously applied to the double-sided tape or adhesive due to the restoring force of the display film 21.

[0026] Because the adhesive strength of double-sided tape and adhesives tends to weaken with age, if the adhesive strength becomes less than the restorative force due to aging, there is a possibility that light from the light source 25b may leak to the side of the substrate unit 20 through the gap created when the display film 21 peels off from the substrate holder 26.

[0027] Therefore, in the refrigerator door D2 of this embodiment, the following light leakage countermeasures are employed to prevent light from leaking to the side of the circuit board unit 20 and causing unintended illumination, thereby detracting from the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerator door D2. The following light leakage countermeasures may be employed individually or in combination to further enhance their effectiveness.

[0028] <<First measure against light leakage>> First, the first light leakage prevention measure applied to the display film 21 will be explained using Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 is a perspective view of the substrate unit 20, and Figure 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the right refrigerator door at position CC in Figure 7. As shown in Figure 8, a bent portion 21a is formed on the outer edge of the display film 21 in this embodiment (the narrow area without reinforcement from the anti-destruction film 22) and folded towards the back side of the refrigerator door D2. The display film 21 and the substrate holder 26 are then bonded together using double-sided tape or adhesive placed on the inner surface of the bent portion 21a.

[0029] If the display film 21 and the substrate holder 26 are bonded together in this configuration, even if a gap occurs in the bonded area due to aging, the light leaking through that gap will be directed towards the rear of the refrigerator door D2, so the leaked light will not appear on the surface of the refrigerator door D2.

[0030] Here, as illustrated in Figure 3, if the display film 21 is substantially rectangular in shape, it is desirable to provide bent portions 21a on all four sides (top, bottom, left, and right) of the display film 21. Also, since the resin substrate holder 26 deforms more on the longer side than on the shorter side due to molding and heat, it may be provided on both sides of the display film 21 or on one side of either the left or right side. As a result, no leaked light will appear on the surface of the refrigerator door D2 near any end of the substrate unit 20.

[0031] Furthermore, the fold portion 21a provided on the upper edge of the display film 21 provides the following exceptional effect: Even if the total adhesive force between the fold portion 21a and the substrate holder 26 is lost, the fold portion 21a on the upper edge remains hooked onto the upper edge of the substrate holder 26, so the display film 21, which is integrated with the fold portion 21a on the upper edge, will not fall downward.

[0032] <<Second measure against optical leakage>> Next, using Figure 9, we will explain the second light leakage countermeasure implemented on the substrate box 31. As described above, if the double-sided tape or adhesive deteriorates over time, a gap may form between the display film 21 and the substrate holder 26, causing light from the light source 25b to leak to the side of the substrate unit 20, and this leaked light may illuminate the inner surface of the substrate box 31. Here, if the inner surface of the substrate box 31 is white, the light reflection on the inner surface of the substrate box 31 will be large, and the reflected light will appear on the surface of the refrigerator door D2.

[0033] Therefore, as a second measure against light leakage, the inner surface of the circuit board box 31 was made a reflection-suppressing color to suppress light reflection on the inner surface of the circuit board box 31, so that leaked light would not appear on the surface of the refrigerator door D2. The "reflection-suppressing color" referred to here is, in the best example, black, but any color other than black is acceptable as long as it has a lightness of 6 or less in the Munsell color system, where the lightness is on a scale of 10.

[0034] Furthermore, in order to make the inner surface of the circuit board box 31 a color that suppresses reflection, the circuit board box 31 may be formed from a resin of a color that suppresses reflection, or a paint of a color that suppresses reflection may be applied to the inner surface of the circuit board box 31.

[0035] <<Third measure against optical leakage>> Next, using Figure 10, we will explain the third light leakage countermeasure implemented on the glass plate 36. As mentioned above, if the inner surface of the substrate box 31 is white, there is a possibility that the leaked light reflected from the inner surface of the substrate box 31 will pass through the translucent glass plate 36 and appear on the surface of the refrigerator door D2.

[0036] Therefore, as a third measure to prevent light leakage, an opaque light-shielding tape 36a (for example, aluminum tape) was attached to the back surface of the glass plate 36, extending from the edge of the substrate holder 26 to the edge of the substrate box 31. This prevented the leaked light that was reflected from the inner surface of the substrate box 31 and directed forward from appearing on the surface of the refrigerator door D2.

[0037] As is evident from Figure 10, since the light-shielding tape 36a is attached along the outer edge of the substrate holder 26, if the outer edge of the substrate holder 26 is roughly rectangular, as illustrated in Figure 3, it is desirable to prepare a similar, integrated light-shielding tape 36a in advance and attach it to the back surface of the glass plate 36. This is to avoid the following problems that may arise if multiple straight light-shielding tapes 36a are used in combination. (1) Where the light-shielding tapes 36a overlap, the flatness of the glass plate 36 in front of the overlap may be impaired, potentially impairing the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerator door D2. (2) Where the light-shielding tapes 36a are separated from each other, the light-shielding effect of the light-shielding tapes 36a is impaired, and light leakage may become apparent on the surface of the refrigerator door D2.

[0038] <<Fourth measure against optical leakage>> Next, a fourth light leakage prevention measure concerning the form of the double-sided tape used to bond the display film 21 and the substrate holder 26 will be described. As explained using the lower diagram of Figure 5, in the substrate unit 20 of this embodiment, the upper surface of the shade 24 is designed to be higher by a height δ than the upper surface of the substrate holder 26. Therefore, when the display film 21 and the substrate holder 26 are bonded with double-sided tape, the display film 21 will bend significantly.

[0039] Therefore, as a fourth measure against light leakage, the double-sided tape used to bond the display film 21 and the substrate holder 26 was made to be more than twice as thick as the display film 21. For example, if the thickness of the display film 21 is 0.2 mm, the thickness of the double-sided tape should be 0.4 mm or more. This suppresses the bending of the outer edge of the display film 21 and weakens the restorative force of the display film 21. As a result, even if the adhesive strength of the double-sided tape gradually weakens due to aging, the period during which the adhesive strength exceeds the restorative force of the outer edge of the display film 21 is extended, thus delaying the timing of lateral light leakage from the substrate unit 20, starting from the moment the display film 21 peels off the substrate holder 26.

[0040] <Effects of this embodiment> As explained above, with the refrigerator door of this embodiment, or a refrigerator equipped with this refrigerator door, even if deterioration occurs over time, the light emitted from the light source will not leak from unexpected parts, so the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerator door will not be spoiled by unexpected light leakage. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0041] 1. Refrigerator D1, D2 Refrigerator Doors D3 Ice maker door D4 Upper Freezer Door D5 Lower Freezer Door D6 Vegetable compartment door 20 circuit board units 21 Display film 21a Bend part 22 Anti-theft film 23, 23a, 23b light guide plate 24 Shades 24a aperture 25 circuit boards 25a Touch Sensor 25b Light source 26 Circuit board holder 31 Circuit board box 32 Reinforcement fittings 33 Flexible insulation material 34 Vacuum insulation material 35 Door frame 36 Glass plates 36a Light-blocking tape 37 Liner

Claims

1. A refrigerator door comprising a glass plate positioned on the front, a circuit board unit positioned on the back of the glass plate, and a circuit board box housing the circuit board unit, The aforementioned circuit board unit is A display film, on which letters and symbols are inscribed, is positioned opposite the back surface of the aforementioned glass plate. An opaque shade having multiple openings is positioned opposite a portion of the back surface of the display film, A light-transmitting light guide plate is positioned so as to face the other parts of the back surface of the display film, A substrate is provided, which is positioned opposite the back surface of the shade and the back surface of the light guide plate, has a light source positioned opposite the opening, and has an electrostatic sensor positioned opposite the light guide plate, The shade, the light guide plate, and the substrate holder that houses the substrate, It has, The display film, on the inner surface of the folded portion obtained by folding the outer edge of the display film toward the back side, A refrigerator door characterized by being attached to the side surface of the aforementioned circuit board holder.

2. In the refrigerator door according to claim 1, The refrigerator door is characterized in that the folded portion of the display film is provided at least at a position that is on the upper side when the refrigerator door is attached to the refrigerator.

3. In the refrigerator door according to claim 1, A refrigerator door characterized in that light-shielding tape is attached to the back of the glass plate in a manner that faces the gap between the circuit board holder and the circuit board box.

4. In the refrigerator door described in claim 3, The refrigerator door is characterized in that the light-shielding tape is integrally molded.

5. In the refrigerator door according to claim 1, A refrigerator door characterized by having the display film and the substrate holder adhered together with double-sided tape.

6. In the refrigerator door according to claim 5, A refrigerator door characterized in that the thickness of the double-sided tape is at least twice the thickness of the display film.

7. A refrigerator having the refrigerator door described in claim 1.

Images