A cooling device comprising an illumination member

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooling device (1) comprising a body (2); at least one compartment (3) which is disposed in the body (2), wherein the foodstuffs to be cooled are placed and which has two side walls (4) and an upper wall (5) and a lower wall (6) which extend between the side walls (4); an opening (O) which provides access into the compartment (3); a plurality of shelves (8) which are arranged in the compartment (3) such that a volume (H) is defined therebetween; a door (7) which is attached to the body (2) and which is configured to move between an open position providing access to the compartment (3) and a closed position blocking access to the compartment (3); and a plurality of illumination members (9) which are provided on at least one of the side walls (4) and which are configured to illuminate the volume (H).

Description

[0001] 7.3627

[0002] DESCRIPTION

[0003] A COOLING DEVICE COMPRISING AN ILLUMINATION MEMBER

[0004] The present invention relates to a cooling device comprising an illumination member which illuminates the inside of the compartment.

[0005] Cooling devices comprise illumination members on side walls, upper walls, or lower walls of the body so as to enable the user to more easily see the inside of the compartment. When the door of the cooling device is opened, the illumination members automatically turn on and illuminate the inside of the compartment. The illumination members constitute a significant portion of the energy consumption of the cooling device and directly affect the energy class of the cooling device. Various studies have been conducted on illumination members to reduce energy consumption; however, the desired level has not yet been achieved.

[0006] In the state of the art United States Patent No. US5937666, a refrigerator is disclosed, wherein illumination is performed by a fluorescent tube mounted on the door frame.

[0007] In the state of the art Korean Patent Application No. KR20000031579, a refrigerator is disclosed, wherein illumination is performed by a lamp which is provided on the body and activated by the opening and closing of the door.

[0008] The aim of the present invention is the realization of a cooling device wherein the illumination member is enabled to be operated with lower energy consumption.

[0009] The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof comprises a body; at least one compartment which is disposed in the body, wherein the foodstuffs to be cooled are placed and which has two side walls and an upper wall and a lower wall which extend between the side walls; an opening which provides access into the compartment; a plurality of shelves which are arranged in the compartment such that a volume is defined therebetween; a door which is attached to the body and which is configured to move between an open position providing access to the compartment and a closed position blocking access to the compartment; a plurality of illumination members which are provided on at least one of the side walls and which are configured to illuminate the volume; at least one sensor which is positioned on at least one wall of the compartment so as to face the opening and which is configured to detect the volume desired to be accessed by the user; and a control unit which is configured to operate the illumination members such that the illumination of the volume to be accessed differs from the illumination of other volumes. Thus, the volume desired to be accessed by the user is enabled to be detected, and the illumination of the illumination member facing the relevant volume is increased, while the illumination of the illumination member facing the other volumes is reduced. Thus, instead of completely illuminating the entire interior of the compartment, only the volume desired to be accessed is enabled to be illuminated, ensuring that the illumination member consumes less energy. Consequently, the cooling device is enabled to be operated in an energyefficient manner.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, the illumination member comprises a plurality of LED groups. Thus, the LED or LED groups of the illumination member facing the volumes can be more easily and effectively controlled.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, the sensor is a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor or an ultrasonic sensor. Thus, the distance from the sensor position to the volume desired to be accessed by the user can be detected quickly and accurately.

[0012] In another embodiment of the present invention, the sensor is positioned at a point where one of the side walls intersects with the upper wall. Thus, almost the entire opening is scanned by a single sensor. Thus, the volume desired to be accessed by the user in the compartment is detected in a more cost-effective manner by a single sensor.

[0013] In another embodiment of the present invention, two sensors are positioned on the opposing walls so as to scan the entire opening. Thus, the two sensors oppositely scan the entire opening such that no blind spots remain. Consequently, the volume desired to be accessed by the user is detected without error.

[0014] In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit is configured to control the brightness of the illumination member. Thus, the illumination member facing the volume desired to be accessed by the user is enabled to emit brighter light, while the illumination member facing other volumes is enabled to emit less bright light. Thus, the illumination member is enabled to consume less energy.

[0015] In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit is configured to control the color of the illumination member. Thus, the illumination member facing the volume desired to be accessed by the user is enabled to provide illumination in a different color from the illumination members facing other volumes.

[0016] By means of the present invention, the volume desired to be accessed by the user is detected, and by increasing the illumination of the relevant volume while reducing the illumination of the other volumes, the illumination member is enabled to consume less energy. Thus, the energy consumption level of the cooling device is reduced.

[0017] The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

[0018] Figure 1 - is the perspective view of the cooling device related to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 - is another view of the cooling device related to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

[0021] 1. Cooling device

[0022] 2. Body

[0023] 3. Compartment

[0024] 4. Side wall

[0025] 5. Upper wall

[0026] 6. Lower wall

[0027] 7. Door

[0028] 8. Shelf

[0029] 9. Illumination member 10. Sensor

[0030] 11. Control unit

[0031] O: Opening

[0032] H: Volume

[0033] The cooling device (1) comprises a body (2); at least one compartment (3) which is disposed in the body (2), wherein the foodstuffs to be cooled are placed and which has two side walls (4) and an upper wall (5) and a lower wall (6) which extend between the side walls (4); an opening (O) which provides access into the compartment (3); a plurality of shelves (8) which are arranged in the compartment (3) such that a volume (H) is defined therebetween; a door (7) which is attached to the body (2) and which is configured to move between an open position providing access to the compartment (3) and a closed position blocking access to the compartment (3); and a plurality of illumination members (9) which are provided on at least one of the side walls (4) and which are configured to illuminate the volume (H). The shelves (8) are arranged one under the other in the compartment (3) such that a volume (H) is formed therebetween so as to enable the user to easily place foodstuffs to be cooled onto the shelves (8). The illumination member (9) faces the inside of the compartment (3) to illuminate the top of the shelf (8) and the volumes (H) between the shelves (8). When in the closed position, the door (7) presses a switch so as to turn off the illumination member (9), and when the door (7) is moved to the open position, contact with the switch is broken and the illumination member (9) is enabled to be turned on. Thus, the illumination member (9) is prevented from being operated while the door (7) is in the closed position, limiting electricity consumption.

[0034] The cooling device (1) of the present invention comprises at least one sensor (10) which is positioned on at least one of the side walls (4), the upper wall (5), or the lower wall (6) so as to face the opening (O) and which is configured to detect the volume (H) desired to be accessed by the user, and a control unit (11) which is configured to control the operation of the illumination member (9) corresponding to the volume (H) detected by the sensor (10) so as to regulate the illumination provided by the relevant illumination member (9). When the user wants to retrieve an item from the shelf (8), he / she extend his / her hand toward the volume (H) above the shelf (8), and the sensor (10) detects toward which volume (H) the user extends his / her hand. Here, many types of sensors (10) and various methods can be used to detect which shelf (8) the user is reaching for. Once the sensor (10) detects which shelf (8) the user is reaching for, the control unit (11) regulates the illumination of the illumination member (9) facing the relevant volume (H) so as to differ from the illumination of the illumination members (9) facing other volumes (H). Here, the illumination of the illumination member (9) may refer to various properties such as the brightness, intensity, or blinking of the light. Thus, by reducing the illumination of volumes (H) other than the volume (H) desired to be accessed by the user, the illumination member (9) is enabled to consume less energy. Thus, the energy consumption level of the cooling (1) device is reduced.

[0035] In an embodiment of the present invention, the illumination member (9) comprises a plurality of LED groups. LEDs consume less energy compared to other lamps and are more easily controlled by the control unit (11), either individually or as groups. Thus, the LED or LED group facing the volume (H) desired to be accessed by the user can be more easily controlled and differentiated from the other LEDs.

[0036] In an embodiment of the present invention, the sensor (10) is a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor or an ultrasonic sensor. When the user extends his / her hand through the opening (O), the sensor (10) measures the distance of the hand from the sensor (10) and transmits the data to the control unit (11) so as to regulate the illumination of the illumination members (9) corresponding to the relevant distance. The said process can be performed in a cost-effective manner by means of a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor or an ultrasonic sensor.

[0037] In an embodiment of the present invention, the sensor (10) is positioned at a point where one of the side walls (4) intersects with the upper wall (5). Here, the sensor (10) is placed at a comer of the compartment (3) so as to face the opening (O) and nearly fully scan the opening (O). Thus, the opening (O) can be scanned by means of a single sensor (10), eliminating the need for an additional sensor. In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises two sensors (10) which are positioned on the compartment (3) so as to be opposite one another, one disposed on the upper wall (5) and the other on the lower wall (6). Both sensors (10) communicate with each other and perform a joint measurement so as to transmit the measured distance to the control unit (11). The oppositely positioned sensors (10) scan the entire opening (O) without leaving blind spots and solve the problem of failing to detect the user’s hand in blind areas.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit (11) is configured to control the brightness of the illumination member (9). Based on the information received from the sensor (10) regarding the volume (H) desired to be accessed by the user, the control unit (11) increases the brightness of the illumination member (9) facing the relevant volume (H) and decreases the brightness of the illumination member (9) facing other volumes . Thus, the user is enabled to see only the intended volume (H) more brightly and to see the other volumes with reduced brightness. Thus, the illumination member (9) is enabled to consume less energy.

[0039] In an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit (11) is configured to control the color of the illumination member (9). Based on the information received from the sensor (10) regarding the volume (H) desired to be accessed by the user, the control unit (11) changes the color of the illumination member (9) facing the relevant volume (H) so as to differ from the color of the illumination members (9) facing other volumes (H).

[0040] By means of the present invention, by detecting the volume (H) desired to be accessed by the user, it is ensured that the illumination of the illumination member (9) facing the said volume (H) is increased and the illumination of the illumination members (9) facing the other volumes (H) is decreased, thus enabling the illumination member (9) to consume less energy. Thus, the energy consumption level of the cooling device (1) is reduced.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A cooling device (1) comprising a body (2); at least one compartment (3) which is disposed in the body (2), wherein the foodstuffs to be cooled are placed and which has two side walls (4) and an upper wall (5) and a lower wall (6) which extend between the side walls (4); an opening (O) which provides access into the compartment (3); a plurality of shelves (8) which are arranged in the compartment (3) such that a volume (H) is defined therebetween; a door (7) which is attached to the body (2) and which is configured to move between an open position providing access to the compartment (3) and a closed position blocking access to the compartment (3); and a plurality of illumination members (9) which are provided on at least one of the side walls (4) and which are configured to illuminate the volume (H), characterized by at least one sensor (10) which is positioned on at least one of the side walls (4), the upper wall (5), or the lower wall (6) so as to face the opening (O) and which is configured to detect the volume (H) desired to be accessed by the user, and a control unit (11) which is configured to control the operation of the illumination member (9) corresponding to the volume (H) detected by the sensor (10) so as to regulate the illumination provided by the relevant illumination member (9).

2. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by the illumination member(9) comprising a plurality of LED groups.

3. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterized by the sensor(10) which is a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor or an ultrasonic sensor.

4. A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by the sensor (10) which is positioned at a point where one of the side walls (4) intersects with the upper wall (5).

5. A cooling device (1) as in any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized by two sensors (10), one disposed on the upper wall (5) and the other on the lower wall (6), so as to scan the entire opening (O).

6. A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by the control unit (11) which is configured to control the brightness of the illumination member (9).

7. A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by the control unit (11) which is configured to control the color of the illumination member (9).

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