CN108444188B

CN108444188B - Refrigerator with a door

Info

Publication number: CN108444188B
Application number: CN201810238598.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 真下拓也
Original assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services Corp
Current assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services Corp
Priority date: 2013-07-23
Filing date: 2014-07-17
Publication date: 2020-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 2034-07-17
Also published as: TW201512620A; CN105378405B; CN108444188A; KR20160018747A; JP2015021704A; CN105378405A; WO2015011908A1; KR101883320B1; TWI633264B; JP6289829B2

Abstract

The invention provides a refrigerator capable of changing display form of an operation panel part arranged on a door of a refrigerator main body according to surrounding environment or user preference. The refrigerator of the present invention is provided with an operation panel section having an operation section and a display section corresponding to the operation section, and an adjustment mechanism for changing the brightness, color, position, size, etc. of display as the display form of the display section and/or the operation section on the operation panel section, in a front panel section of a door of a refrigerator main body.

Description

Refrigerator with a door

The application is a divisional application of an invention patent application with the application number of 201480036082.3, the application date of 2014, 07, 17 and the name of the invention being a refrigerator.

The present application is based on and claims the benefit of priority of japanese patent application No. 2013-152574, filed on 7/23/2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Background

Conventionally, for example, in a household refrigerator, an operation panel having a plurality of operation sections for instructing operations and a plurality of display sections for displaying operation results is generally provided on a door of a refrigerating chamber. In recent years, as an operation switch constituting the operation portion, for example, an electrostatic capacitance type touch sensor in which a touch detection electrode is disposed on the back surface side of a glass front panel has been considered. The capacitance type touch sensor determines that the operation has been performed based on detection of a change in electrode capacitance caused by a human finger touching (approaching) the front panel. The display unit is configured such that an LED is disposed behind the character display film, and if it is determined that the operation unit has been operated, the LED of the corresponding display unit is turned on, and the display unit emits light.

Prior art documents

Patent document

Patent document 1 Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2012-78086

Disclosure of Invention

According to the above-described conventional configuration, since the brightness of the display portion is constant when the LED is lit, for example, a user may feel excessively bright or insufficient brightness due to a difference in the surrounding environment, which makes it difficult to see the display portion. If the visibility of the display unit is low, the user may erroneously recognize the operation unit or erroneously operate the operation unit. Specifically, for example, when the operation panel is configured to be provided with a film substrate having a light-transmissive electrode disposed on the back side of the front panel of the door of the refrigerator main body, the film substrate may be gradually degraded due to the installation environment or the use state of the refrigerator, such as exposure of the operation panel to sunlight, heating by heat from a kitchen range, or exposure to light from a light source of the operation panel itself for a long time. As the deterioration of the film substrate progresses, the light-transmitting portion of the film may be discolored, and the discolored light-transmitting portion may change from a display state assumed at the time of manufacturing, in other words, may deteriorate display quality. The object of the invention is therefore: by providing an operation panel section having an operation section and a display section corresponding to the operation section on the front panel section of the door of the refrigerator main body and providing an adjustment mechanism for changing the display form of the display section and/or the operation section on the operation panel section, the display form of the operation panel section provided on the door of the refrigerator main body can be changed in accordance with the surrounding environment or the preference of the user.

The refrigerator of the present invention is a refrigerator in which an operation panel portion having an operation portion and a display portion corresponding to the operation portion is provided in a front panel portion of a door of a refrigerator main body, characterized in that: the front panel is configured to have light transmittance, the operation panel section is provided with a film substrate on a back surface side of the front panel, the film substrate is provided with an electrode having light transmittance and detecting operation, a light source is provided on the back surface side of the film substrate, the film substrate is configured to display at a position corresponding to the operation section by irradiating light from behind the film substrate, and the operation panel section is provided with an adjustment mechanism that changes luminance of the display section and/or the operation section on the operation panel section based on an operation on the operation section.

Therefore, even if the display state changes along with the deterioration of the film substrate, the user can adjust the display form through the adjusting mechanism, and therefore, the refrigerator capable of preventing the deterioration of the display quality can be provided.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows embodiment 1, which is a front view of a refrigerator main body in a standby mode.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of a state in which all displays of the operation panel section are performed.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration.

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the operation unit.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the operation unit portion.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional top view of the operation unit.

Fig. 7 is a front view of an operation panel section showing an example of display in the adjustment mode.

Fig. 8 is a laterally enlarged sectional view of the operation panel portion.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged front view showing the state in which all the displays of the operation panel unit are performed according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 10 shows embodiment 3, which is a front view of a main part of an operation panel unit.

Fig. 11 shows embodiment 4, which is a front view of a main part of an operation panel unit.

Fig. 12 shows embodiment 5, which is a front view of a main part of an operation panel unit.

Detailed Description

(1) Embodiment 1

Embodiment 1 will be described below with reference to fig. 1 to 8. Fig. 1 schematically shows an external configuration of a refrigerator main body 1 according to the present embodiment. The refrigerator main body 1 is configured to have a plurality of storage compartments provided in a vertically long rectangular box-shaped heat insulating box 2 having an opening on a front surface. Specifically, in heat-insulating box 2, refrigerating room 3 and vegetable room 4 are provided in this order from top to bottom, ice-making

room

5 and 2 nd freezing room (switching room) 6 are provided below vegetable room 4 in a side-by-side manner, and 1 st freezing room 7 is provided at the lowermost portion.

Among them, the refrigerating chamber 3 and the vegetable chamber 4 are refrigerating temperature band storage chambers in which the internal temperature is controlled to a refrigerating temperature of, for example, about 1 to 5 ℃. Ice making compartment 5, freezing compartment 2, and freezing compartment 17 are freezing temperature range storage compartments in which the internal temperature is controlled to a freezing temperature of, for example, minus 18 ℃. A front surface of the refrigerating chamber 3 is provided with thermally insulating double-opening doors, i.e., 2-door hinged opening/closing doors 8 and 9. As described later, the left door 8 (hereinafter referred to as the left door 8) is provided with an operation panel portion 10 as shown in fig. 2 and the like. The front surfaces of the vegetable compartment 4, the ice making compartment 5, the 2 nd freezing compartment 6, and the 1 st freezing compartment 7 are opened and closed by push-pull type

heat insulating doors

11, 12, 13, and 14 having storage containers connected to the rear surfaces thereof, respectively.

Although not shown in detail, the refrigerator main body 1 is provided with a refrigeration cycle circuit. As shown in part in fig. 3, the refrigeration cycle includes: the refrigerator includes two coolers, i.e., a cooler for a refrigerating room for cooling the refrigerating room 3 and the vegetable room 4, and a cooler for a freezing room for cooling the ice making room 5 and the 1 st and 2

nd freezing rooms

7 and 6, and includes a compressor 15 (only fig. 3 shows), a condenser, a switching valve 16 for switching a refrigerant flowing to the 2 coolers, and the like.

Further, as shown in fig. 3, inside the refrigerator main body 1 are provided: a refrigerating blower 17 for circulating and supplying cold air from the refrigerating room cooler to the refrigerating room 3 and the vegetable room 4, a freezing blower 18 for circulating and supplying cold air from the freezing room cooler to the ice making room 5 and the 1 st and 2

nd freezing rooms

7 and 6, a defrosting heater 19 for defrosting the freezing room cooler, a refrigerating room temperature sensor 20, a freezing room temperature sensor 21, and the like.

In addition, a main control device 22 which mainly includes a computer and controls the whole is provided in the refrigerator main body 1. The main controller 22 is also connected to an operation controller 23 described later, and controls the refrigerating blower 17, the freezing blower 18, the compressor 15, the switching valve 16, and the defrosting heater 19 based on a signal from the operation controller 23, a signal from the refrigerating chamber temperature sensor 20, a signal from the freezing chamber temperature sensor 21, and the like, thereby performing a cooling operation of the refrigerator main body 1.

Next, the configuration of the operation panel unit 10 provided in the left door 8 of the refrigerating compartment 3 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 2 to 8. Here, although not shown in detail, the left door 8 is configured to: the heat insulator is disposed between the front panel 24 disposed on the front surface side and a thin plastic case having an open front surface disposed on the back surface side (around the case). The front panel 24 is made of, for example, glass and has light transmittance.

In this case, as shown only in fig. 8, a thin coating film 24a made of paint having the same color (for example, white, black, silver, etc.) as the coloring of the appearance of the refrigerator main body 1 is formed on the rear surface side of the front panel 24 in the present embodiment. Here, for example, a white coating film 24a is provided. As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the operation panel unit 10 is configured such that an operation unit 25, which will be described later, is disposed on the back surface side of the front panel 24. As shown in fig. 1, the operation panel unit 10 is provided in a vertically long rectangular region on the actuation side of the front surface of the left door 8 opposite to the hinge, that is, on the side portion close to the right side.

Fig. 2 shows an example of a state in which all displays (all light sources are turned on) of an operation unit and a display unit described later are performed on the operation panel unit 10 (operation means 25). As shown in fig. 2, the operation panel unit 10 has a plurality of operation units 26 to 31, 6 in this case, which are touched by a finger of the user on the right side, and the operation units 26 to 31 are arranged in a line in the vertical direction. At the same time, display parts 32-36 corresponding to the operation parts 26-31 are arranged in a vertical arrangement on the left side of the operation parts 26-31.

Each of the operation units 26 to 31 is formed of a known capacitance type touch sensor, and includes operation keys 26a to 31a virtually set on the front surface of the front panel 24 and capacitance detection units 26b to 31b (only shown in fig. 3) located on the rear surface side thereof. The capacitance type touch sensor detects a touch (approach) of a user's finger to the operation keys 26a to 31a of the front panel 24 as a change in capacitance. In this case, the 5 operation units 26 to 30 located at the upper portion except the lowermost portion serve as operation units for performing setting operations related to the operation of the refrigerator in the normal mode, and the lowermost operation unit 31 serves as an operation unit for instructing switching of the mode between the standby mode and the normal mode.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 2, a "cold storage" operation unit 26 (operation key 26a), a "freezing" operation unit 27 (operation key 27a), a "freezing function" operation unit 28 (operation key 28a), an "ice making" operation unit 29 (operation key 29a), a "power saving" operation unit 30 (operation key 30a), and a "HOME" operation unit 31 (operation key 31a) are provided in this order from top to bottom. The "refrigerating", "freezing function", "ice making", and "power saving" operation buttons 26a to 30a are configured such that these characters are arranged in a circle. The operation key 31a of the "HOME" operation unit 31 is a substantially pentagonal mark (a house figure). In the present embodiment, the "HOME" operation key 31a also serves as a determination operation key.

On the other hand, the uppermost display portion 32 is provided at a height between the "refrigerating" and "freezing"

operation portions

26 and 27, and is constituted by 5 circular arc marks, i.e., indicators, arranged in a circular shape as a whole, characters "brightness adjustment" positioned on the upper portion thereof, and characters "strong" and "weak" positioned on the lower portion thereof. As also shown in fig. 7, the number of indicator lights of the display portion 32a indicates the intensity level (or brightness).

The display unit 33 immediately below the display unit 32 corresponds to the "freezing function" operation unit 28, and selectively displays the characters "air freezing", "hot substance freezing", "vegetable freezing", and "drying" in this order from top to bottom. The display portion 34 therebelow corresponds to the "ice making" operation portion 29, and selectively displays the characters "make ice in one go", "make ice off". The display unit 35 below corresponds to the "power saving" operation unit 30, and selectively displays the characters "power saving", "going out", and "off peak" in order from top to bottom. The lowermost display unit 36 corresponds to the "HOME" operation unit 31, and displays marks of characters "eco mode" and "key".

In the present embodiment, as shown only in fig. 8, a thin coating film 24a made of, for example, white paint is formed on the back surface side of the front panel 24, and is translucent as a whole. At this time, as will be described later, the operation keys 26a to 31a (circles, characters, and marks) are displayed in a projected manner by the display means only when the LED as the light source is on, and are configured to be brightly visible. The display units 32 to 36 are also configured such that characters and symbols selected by the operation units 26 to 31 are displayed in a projected manner by the display means only when the LEDs as the light sources are lit, and are brightly visible.

In fig. 2, if letters are added to each character, the following are shown in order from top to bottom: the operation unit includes (a) "cold storage", (b) "freezing", (c) "freezing function", (d) "ice making", (e) "save electricity", (f) "lock and press (house mark) symbol 3 seconds", and the display unit includes (g) "brightness adjustment", (h) "weak", (i) "strong", "j)" one-time freezing ", (k)" hot substance freezing ", (l)" vegetable freezing ", (m)" dry ", (n)" one-time ice making ", (o)" ice making off ", (p)" save electricity ", (q)" exit ", (r)" wrong peak ",(s)" eco ", and (t)" mode ".

Next, the operation unit 25 constituting the operation panel unit 10 will be described with reference to fig. 4 to 8. That is, as shown in fig. 4 to 6, the operation unit 25 is configured by stacking a circuit board 37, a shielding plate 38, an elastic member 39, a flexible switch board 40, and a marker film 41 in this order from the back side.

As shown in fig. 4, the circuit board 37 is formed in a rectangular shape slightly elongated in the vertical direction, and a plurality of LEDs 42 serving as light sources for the operation units 26 to 31 and the display units 32 to 36 are mounted on the surface (front surface) thereof so as to correspond to these units. The circuit board 37 is provided with a current supply circuit for supplying current to the LEDs 42, and an operation control unit 23 (only shown in fig. 3) including a signal processing circuit (detection unit) of the capacitance detection units 26b to 31b, which will be described later. The circuit board 37 includes external connection connectors 43 and 44 for external connection.

The shielding plate 38 is formed of a colored (opaque) rigid plastic molded product, and is formed in a rectangular shape extending in the longitudinal direction as a whole, and a plurality of light guide portions 45 are integrally provided on the plate surface thereof. The light guide portions 45 are used to guide the light from the LEDs 42 of the circuit board 37 to the front operation portions 26 to 31 and the display portions 32 to 36, respectively, without leakage of light.

Therefore, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, the light guide portions 45 corresponding to the respective operation portions 26 to 31 are tapered (mortar-shaped) so as to narrow rearward, are positioned right from the center of the shielding plate 38, and are formed in 6 pieces in a longitudinal arrangement as a whole. The light guide portions 45 corresponding to the display portions 32 to 36 (characters and marks) are formed in a frame shape having a depth in the front-rear direction (for example, a horizontally long frame shape corresponding to characters), are positioned on the left side of the shielding plate 38, and are arranged in the vertical direction. The shielding plate 38 is coupled to the front surface side of the circuit board 37 so as to cover the front surface side of the circuit board 37 in a positioned state. As shown in fig. 4, 3 stopper portions 49 having elasticity and protruding to the left side are integrally formed on the left side of the shielding plate 38 so as to be arranged in the vertical direction.

The elastic member 39 is made of a flexible (elastic) transparent plastic material, and integrally includes: a circular thick circular portion 39a corresponding to (larger than) each of the operation portions 26 to 31 (operation buttons 26a to 31a), and a connecting portion 39b connecting these in this order from top to bottom. The elastic member 39 is attached so as to fit into a recess formed in a right portion of the front surface of the shield plate 38. Accordingly, the elastic member 39 functions as a cushion material having elasticity disposed on the back surface side of the respective capacitance detection portions 26b to 31b (shown only in fig. 3) of the flexible switch printed board 40, and functions to press the capacitance detection portions 26b to 31b against the back surface of the front panel 24 via the marking film 41.

The flexible switch printed board 40 is a longitudinally long rectangular thin plate that covers the right half of the shutter 38 as a whole. Although not shown in detail, the flexible switch printed board 40 has the following structure: the capacitance detection portions 26b to 31b (only shown in fig. 3), wiring, false detection prevention electrodes, and the like are formed by printing on the surface of a flexible transparent base film made of, for example, PET, and the surface is covered with a transparent coating film made of PET. Each of the capacitance detection portions 26b to 31b is formed by applying, for example, a conductive polymer having a certain transparency to the surface of the primary coating by printing, and is formed in a circular shape (only the lowermost capacitance detection portion 31b is a pentagon). In the flexible switch printed board 40, a connecting portion 40a located at a lower end portion of the right side portion and electrically connected to the outside extends downward with a narrow width.

Although not shown in detail, the sign film 41 is configured to have a light shielding portion and a light transmitting portion 41a for display (only a part of which is shown in fig. 8) on a surface of a rectangular transparent film that is long in the vertical direction. The display light-transmitting portion 41a is formed so as to correspond to (in a transparent exposed state) the marks or characters for displaying the operation keys 26a to 31a and the characters or marks constituting the display portions 32 to 36. The flexible switch printed board 40 and the marking film 41 are mounted so as to overlap the front surface of the shielding plate 38 in a positioned state, thereby constituting a unit-shaped operation unit 25.

As described above, when the LED42 is turned on, light passes through the display light-transmitting portion 41a of the indicator film 41, and characters or symbols are displayed in a projected manner on the front panel 24 (operation panel portion 10). Thus, the operation unit 25 includes a display means, and the display means (LEDs 42) is controlled by the operation control unit 23.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the operation unit 25 is accommodated in an accommodation space (accommodation case 46) formed by removing a heat insulating material inside the left door 8 so as to be in contact with the rear surface of the front panel 24. At this time, as shown in fig. 6, a vertically long opening 8b for inserting and removing the operation unit 25 is provided in the right side wall portion 8a of the left door 8. A lid member 48 is detachably (openably) attached to the opening 8 b. In assembling, the operation unit 25 (operation control unit 23) is electrically connected to the main control device 22 via the connector 43.

The operation control unit 23 includes a Computer (CPU), and controls the LEDs 42 by software configuration thereof, etc., to display the operation keys 26a to 31a of the operation units 26 to 31, and the display units 32 to 36 display the operation keys in accordance with the current setting. At this time, as shown in fig. 3, a known luminance adjustment circuit 47 for adjusting the luminance (current value) of each LED42 by PWM control, for example, is provided. The operation control unit 23 can control the lighting state (on/off and brightness) of each LED42 by the brightness adjustment circuit 47.

At the same time, the operation control section 23 monitors the touch operations (proximity operations) of the operation keys 26a to 31a based on detection signals of the capacitance type touch sensors (capacitance detection sections 26b to 31 b). At this time, when the operation control section 23 recognizes the touch operation of each of the operation keys 26a to 31a based on the detection signals of the electrostatic capacity detection sections 26b to 31b, the display of the display sections 32 to 36 is changed according to the operation result, and a buzzer sounds a notification sound. The operation control unit 23 transmits a setting signal corresponding to an operation to the main control device 22 of the refrigerator main body 1.

The operation control unit 23 switches the operation mode of the operation panel unit 10 between the normal mode and the standby mode. In the present embodiment, in the normal mode, all the operation buttons 26a to 31a are lighted, and the lighting display required for the display units 32 to 36 is performed, so that the operation of all the operation units 26 to 31 (operation buttons 26a to 31a) is effective. Note that the text portion "brightness adjustment" in the display unit 32 is turned on only when the adjustment mode described later is changed.

In contrast, in the standby mode, as shown in fig. 7, the displays of the display units 32 to 36 are turned off, and the displays of the operation keys 26a to 30a are also turned off. At this time, only the "HOME" operation key 31a is in a lighted display state, and only the operation of this operation key 31a is effective.

In the normal mode, when the "HOME" operation key 31a is operated or when a state in which all the operation keys 26a to 31a are not operated continues for a predetermined time (for example, when 30 seconds have elapsed since the last operation), the operation control unit 23 switches to the standby mode. When the "HOME" operation key 31a is operated in the standby mode of the operation panel unit 10, the standby mode is released and the normal mode is returned.

As will be described later, in the present embodiment, as one of the display modes in which the visibility of the operation panel unit 10 changes, the brightness of the LEDs 42, that is, the brightness of the display units 32 to 36 and the operation keys 26a to 31a of the operation units 26 to 31 can be adjusted. At this time, the user can adjust (set) the brightness of the display on the operation panel unit 10 by operating the operation panel unit 10, and the operation control unit 23 controls the brightness of the LED42 when lit, based on the set brightness.

In the present embodiment, the operation control unit 23 controls the LED42 at a luminance level of 5 steps from luminance "1" (relatively low luminance) to luminance "5" (highest brightness), for example. The user can adjust the brightness (brightness) of the display units 32 to 36 and the operation units 26 to 31 to any one of 5 levels by a setting operation. Therefore, the operation control unit 23 can function as an adjustment mechanism.

Specifically, the operation control unit 23 switches to the adjustment mode when detecting that the special operations of the operation units 26 to 31, for example, the "freeze" operation key 27a and the "power saving" operation key 30a, which are separately arranged 2 operation keys, are simultaneously turned on in the normal mode of the operation panel unit 10. In this adjustment mode, as shown in fig. 7, the operation control unit 23 turns on the display unit 32 so as to include the text portion "brightness adjustment", and turns on the "power saving" operation key 30a and the "HOME" operation key 31a at the current brightness level.

In the present embodiment, in the adjustment mode, the indicator indicating the intensity of the in-tank cooling intensity in the display unit 32 is switched to display indicating the (current) brightness to be adjusted. At this time, the operation control unit 23 turns on 1 of the lower left indicators at the luminance "1", and sequentially increases the number of the turned-on lamps in the clockwise direction as the luminance level increases to "2" to "5". Fig. 7 shows an example of the case of the luminance "3".

In this adjustment mode, for example, the "power saving" operation key 30a functions as an operation key for instructing a change in brightness, and the operation control section 23 increases the brightness level by one step each time the "power saving" operation key 30a is pressed. When the "power saving" operation key 30a is pressed at the luminance "5", the operation returns to the luminance "1". At this time, the operation control unit 23 changes the luminance of the LED42 that is actually lit to the luminance corresponding to the current set luminance level.

As described above, the "HOME" operation key 31a functions as a determination operation key, and when the "HOME" operation key 31a is operated, the current luminance level is set (determined). Even if the "HOME" operation key 31a is not operated, when the state in which the "power saving" operation key 30a is not operated continues for a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds or longer), the luminance level at this time point is set (determined). After the determination, the adjustment mode is switched to the normal mode (or standby mode).

In addition, as default values (set values at the time of factory shipment) of the display luminances (brightness) of the display units 32 to 36 and the operation units 26 to 31, when the color of the coating film 24a of the front panel 24 is black or silver, the luminance is set to "4" or "5", and the luminance is high. On the other hand, when the color of the coating film 24a is white, the default value is set to a luminance "3" which is a luminance slightly lower than or equal to a predetermined luminance among the multi-level luminances. The reason for this is as follows.

That is, as shown in fig. 8, when the white coating film 24a is provided on the front panel 24, when the luminance of the LED42 is high, light passes through the front panel 24 directly through the display translucent portion 41a of the indicator film 41, and light that has been reflected inside the front panel 24 and has passed through the front panel 24 is also increased, and accordingly, characters and symbols of the display translucent portion 41a become unclear (blurred). Therefore, it is desirable to set the luminance to be low for the initial setting that is easy for the user to see. When the coating film 24a is black or silver, such a phenomenon is less, and the higher the brightness is, the sharper the characters or marks are.

Next, the operation and effect of the above configuration will be described. In the operation panel unit 10 having the above configuration, the LED42 is turned on at a set brightness in the normal mode, and all the operation keys 26a to 31a of the operation units 26 to 31 are displayed in a projected manner, and display necessary for the display units 32 to 36 is performed. The user can perform various setting operations related to the operation of the refrigerator by touching the operation keys 26a to 31 a. For example, the "cool storage" operation button 26a can be operated in 5 stages to set (change) the cooling intensity of the cold storage room 3 and the vegetable room 4. At this time, the character "brightness adjustment" in the display unit 32 is not displayed (lighted).

When the "HOME" operation key 31a is operated or when a state in which all the operation keys 26a to 31a are not operated continues for a predetermined time, the normal mode is switched to the standby mode. In the standby mode, the display (LED42) of the operation keys 26a to 30a is turned off to disable the operation, and the display of the display units 32 to 36 is turned off to turn on the display of only the "HOME" operation key 31a (see fig. 1). In this standby mode, an instruction to switch from the standby mode to the normal mode can be given by operating the "HOME" operation key 31 a. The standby mode can suppress power consumption.

For example, the difference in the surrounding environment of the operation panel unit 10 may make it difficult for the user to see the display units 32 to 36 and the operation units 26 to 31 (operation keys 26a to 31a) because the brightness is too high or insufficient. If the display units 32 to 36 and the operation keys 26a to 31a have low visibility, the user may erroneously recognize the operation keys or erroneously operate the operation keys 26a to 31 a. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the brightness of the display modes of the display units 32 to 36 and the operation units 26 to 31 can be adjusted as follows.

That is, as described above, when the user simultaneously touches the "freeze" operation button 27a and the "energy saving" operation button 30a in the normal mode of the operation panel unit 10, the adjustment mode is switched, the display unit 32 performs the lighting display including the text portion "brightness adjustment", and the "energy saving" operation button 30a and the "HOME" operation button 31a perform the lighting display. At this time, the indicator of the display unit 32 displays the current brightness level by the number of lights turned on.

The user can adjust the brightness to a desired value by operating the "power saving" operation button 30a while observing the number of lights and the brightness of the indicator of the display unit 32. If the user feels too bright, the brightness may be adjusted downward, and if the user feels dark, the brightness may be adjusted upward. At this time, the brightness (luminance) of the display unit 32 and the like is changed simultaneously with the operation of the "power saving" operation key 30a, and therefore, the user can easily understand it. When the user operates the "HOME" operation key 31a after adjusting the brightness to a proper level (or finishes the operation and waits for a predetermined time period to elapse), the brightness is determined, and the operation panel unit 10 returns to the normal mode.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the operation panel unit 10 having the operation units 26 to 31 and the display units 32 to 36 corresponding to the operation units 26 to 31 is provided in the left door 8, and the display modes of the display units 32 to 36 and the operation keys 26a to 31a can be changed to be brightness in this case. This allows the visibility of the operation panel unit 10 to be arbitrarily changed according to the surrounding environment and the preference of the user, so that, for example, the brightness is adjusted downward when the brightness perceived by the user is too bright, and the brightness is adjusted upward when the user perceives to be dark. As a result, the visibility of the operation panel unit 10 by the user can be improved, and erroneous recognition and erroneous operation can be reduced.

In this case, in the present embodiment, since the operation panel unit 10 is configured to display the display units 32 to 36 and the operation units 26 to 31 in a manner of projecting on the translucent front panel 24, the operation panel unit 10 with high visibility for the user can be configured, and the function as the adjustment mechanism can be easily realized by changing (adjusting) the luminance of the LED42 as the light source.

In the present embodiment, the brightness of the operation panel unit 10 is changed based on the operation of the operation keys 26a to 31a of the operation units 26 to 31, so that the user can easily perform the operation for brightness adjustment without complicating the configuration. In particular, in the present embodiment, in the adjustment mode, the conventional indicator of the display unit 32 is used for displaying the high or low luminance (brightness), and therefore, the configuration is simple and the high or low luminance can be displayed efficiently.

In the present embodiment, the adjustment mode is switched by simultaneously operating the "freeze" operation button 27a and the "power saving" operation button 30a, which are predetermined 2 operation buttons, and therefore, it is not necessary to provide another operation button for switching to the adjustment mode, and the configuration is simple. Further, since the "freezing" operation button 27a and the "power saving" operation button 30a are separately disposed, it is possible to effectively prevent the 2 operation buttons from being accidentally operated at the same time and being erroneously switched to the adjustment mode. Since the "HOME" operation key 31a is used as the determination operation key, it is not necessary to add the determination operation key, and the configuration is simple. Since the decision operation can be omitted, the time of the user can be saved.

(2) Embodiments 2 to 5 and other embodiments

Fig. 9 shows embodiment 2, and shows the configuration of the operation panel unit 50 in a state where all the display units and operation keys are displayed (lighted). The operation panel unit 50 is different from the operation panel unit 10 according to embodiment 1 in the following configuration: in the

operation panel unit

50, 2 operation units 51 and 52 (operation keys 51a and 52a) of "up" and "down" are provided below the "HOME" operation unit 31 (operation key 31a), and the 2 operation units 51 and 52 (operation keys 51a and 52a) are used to change (up and down) the brightness (visibility) as the display mode of the operation panel unit 50.

In this configuration, after the user switches to the adjustment mode, the display luminance (brightness) of the operation panel unit 50 can be increased in stages by operating the "up" operation unit 51 (operation key 51a), and the display luminance (brightness) of the operation panel unit 50 can be decreased in stages by operating the "down" operation unit 52 (operation key 52 a). Thus, in addition to the same operation and effects as those of the above-described embodiment 1, the adjustment operation can be realized by operating either of the "up" and "down" operation units 51 and 52, and therefore, the user can more easily perform the adjustment operation of the brightness.

Fig. 10 shows embodiment 3, and shows a main part configuration of the operation panel unit 60. The operation panel unit 60 is provided with a pair of left and right "strong" and "weak" operation portions (operation keys), and here, as a display form of the operation portions, the positions of the "strong" and "weak" operation portions (operation keys) are configured to be changed by dividing the operation portions into 4 stages in the vertical direction (height direction).

That is, the operation panel unit 60 is provided with a total of 8 operation units 61 to 68 (operation keys) having 2 rows in the horizontal direction and 4 stages in the vertical direction. Although not shown in detail, each of the operation sections 61 to 68 is provided with a capacitance type touch sensor (capacitance detection section). Virtual operation keys are set on the front surface of each of the operation portions 61 to 68 (front panel 24) of the operation panel portion 60, by a light transmitting portion for display of a logo film, a light source (LED) disposed on the rear surface side thereof, and the like.

The LEDs as the light sources of the operation units 61 to 68 and the capacitance type touch sensors (capacitance detection units) are controlled by an operation control unit. At this time, the operation control unit selectively activates (active) only one of 1-stage (2) of the operation units (operation keys) and deactivates the remaining 3-stage (6) of the operation units (operation keys). The effective operation section displays the operation keys (the LEDs are turned on), and the electrostatic capacitance detection section detects a touch. The 6 invalid operation units (operation keys) are not displayed (LED is on) and are not detected by touch.

Fig. 10(a) shows a case where the

operation keys

61a and 62a of the

uppermost operation units

61 and 62 are valid (displayed), and fig. 10(b) shows a case where the

operation keys

65a and 66a of the

operation units

65 and 66 of the 3 rd stage from the top are valid (displayed). In this case, it is also possible to adjust (change) which stage of the operation units 61 to 68 is to be activated by the user operating the operation panel unit 60. Therefore, the operation control portion functions as an adjustment mechanism.

According to embodiment 3, the positions of the operation units 61 to 68 can be adjusted to the positions desired by the user as the display mode of the operation panel unit 60. As a result, for example, the operation units 61 to 68 (operation keys) can be arranged at positions (height positions) that are easy to see and easy to operate according to the height of the user, and the visibility and operability of the operation units 61 to 68 can be improved.

Fig. 11 shows a main part of an operation panel unit 70 according to embodiment 4, and is different from embodiment 3 in the following points. That is, the operation panel unit 70 has, for example, 9 operation units 71 to 79 (operation keys) arranged in a row in the vertical direction, but any one set (active) of the upper 3 operation units 71 to 73, the middle 3 operation units 74 to 76, and the lower 3 operation units 77 to 79 is selectively enabled. The remaining operation portions are not effective.

Fig. 11(a) shows a case where the operation buttons 71a to 73a of the upper 3 operation units 71 to 73 are valid (displayed), and fig. 11(b) shows a case where the operation buttons 77a to 79a of the lower 3 operation units 77 to 79 are valid (displayed). In this case, the user can adjust (change) which set of operation units 71 to 79 is activated by operating the operation panel unit 70. Therefore, according to embodiment 4, as in embodiment 3, the operation units 71 to 79 (operation keys) can be arranged at positions (height positions) that are easy to see and easy to operate, according to the height of the user. In addition, in the case where the display units corresponding to the operation units 71 to 79 are provided on the left side of the operation units 71 to 79, the display units can be enabled or disabled together with the operation units.

Fig. 12 shows a main part of an operation panel unit 80 according to embodiment 5. In embodiment 5, the size of the operation unit (operation keys) can be changed (adjusted) as a display mode of the operation panel unit 80.

That is, the operation panel unit 80 is provided with, for example, a "strong" operation unit 81 and a "weak" operation unit 82 arranged in the vertical direction. As shown by the broken lines in the figure, 2 circular capacitance detection units (capacitance type touch sensors) 81a and 81b are provided in the "strong" operation unit 81 so as to be adjacent to each other in the left-right direction. Similarly, the "weak" operation portion 82 is provided with 2 circular

capacitance detection portions

82a and 82b so as to be adjacent to each other in the left-right direction.

Although not shown in detail, the

operation units

81 and 82 have a virtual operation key set on the front surface of the front panel (operation panel unit 80) by a light transmitting portion for display of the sign film and a light source (LED) provided on the back surface side thereof, and selectively set (display) the 1 st mode operation key 83 (see fig. 12 a) and the 2 nd mode operation key 84 (see fig. 12 b) in the "strong" operation unit 81. As shown in fig. 12(a), the 1 st mode operation key 83 is shown as a circle surrounding the electrostatic capacity detection portion 81 b. As shown in fig. 12(b), the 2 nd mode operation button 84 is displayed in a laterally long oval shape surrounding both the

capacitance detection portions

81a and 81 b.

At this time, when the operation button 83 of the 1 st mode is set, the operation control unit activates only the right electrostatic capacitance detection unit (electrostatic capacitance type touch sensor) 81b and deactivates the left electrostatic capacitance detection unit 81a (does not perform touch detection). On the other hand, when the 2 nd mode operation key 84 is set, both the

capacitance detection units

81a and 81b are activated (when either one is turned on, it is determined that there is a touch operation).

Similarly, the "weak" operation unit 82 also selectively sets (displays) the 1 st mode operation key 85 (see fig. 12 a) and the 2 nd mode operation key 86 (see fig. 12 b). The operation control unit enables only the right capacitance detection unit 82b when the 1 st mode operation button 85 is set, and enables both the

capacitance detection units

82a and 82b when the 2 nd mode operation button 86 is set. At this time, whether the setting is the 1 st or 2 nd

mode operation keys

83, 85, 84, 86 can be adjusted (changed) by the user operating the operation panel unit 80.

Thus, as shown in fig. 12(a), when the 1 st

mode operation keys

83 and 85 are set, the

operation keys

83 and 85 are small circular keys. On the other hand, as shown in fig. 12(b), when the 2 nd mode operation keys 84 and 86 are set, the operation keys 84 and 86 are increased in external appearance. In this way, the size of the operation keys of the

operation units

81 and 82 can be adjusted to a size desired by the user, and further, the visibility and operability can be improved.

Although not shown, in the above-described embodiment 1 and the like, the display unit and the operation unit (operation keys) are displayed in a single color by the LED42, but the display mode may be configured so that the displayed color can be changed by using, for example, a multicolor emission type LED as the light source of the display unit and the operation unit and controlling the color of lighting of each LED by the operation control unit. In this case, the colors of the display unit and the operation unit (operation keys) can be adjusted to, for example, colors desired by the user for each display unit, and further, the visibility and operability can be improved.

In addition, although the luminances of the display units 32 to 36 and the operation units 26 to 31 are adjusted by 5 steps in the above embodiment 1, the luminance is not limited to this, and may be changed by 4 steps or less, or by 6 steps or more (stepless). The degree of adjustment of the brightness may also be changed according to the color of the door (front panel). In addition, although the luminance is adjusted for both the display units 32 to 36 and the operation units 26 to 31 in the above embodiment 1, the display mode may be changed only for either one of the display units and the operation units, or may be changed for both the display units and the operation units. The operation unit may be configured to be capable of detecting not only a touch operation but also a click (flick) operation, a drag operation, or the like.

In the above embodiment, the operation panel unit 10 (operation unit 25) and the like are provided on the left door 8 of the double-door type door, but may be provided on the right door 9. In the above embodiment, the capacitance type touch sensor is used for the operation portion, but various sensors and switches other than the capacitance type touch sensor may be used. In addition, not limited to the above embodiments, various modifications are conceivable, such as the configuration (arrangement) of the chambers of the refrigerator main body, the type and number of the operation portions (operation keys) of the operation panel portion, and the display form of the display portion. The specific structure of the operation unit, for example, the type of the light source and the structure of the shielding plate on the circuit board, may be variously modified, and may be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Description of the symbols

In the drawing, 1 is a refrigerator main body, 8 is a left door (door), 10, 50, 60, 70, 80 is an operation panel unit, 23 is an operation control unit (adjustment mechanism), 24 is a front panel, 24a is a coating film, 25 is an operation unit, 26 to 31, 52, 53, 61 to 68, 71 to 79, 81, 82 are operation units, 26a to 31a, 52a, 53a, 61a, 62a, 65a, 66a, 71a to 73a, 76a to 79a are operation keys, 26b to 31b, 81a, 81b, 82a, 82b are electrostatic capacitance detection units, 32 to 36 are display units, 37 is a circuit board, 38 is a shielding plate, 39 is an elastic member, 40 is a flexible switch printed board, 41 is a mark film, 42 is an LED (light source), 47 is a brightness adjustment circuit, 83, 85 is a 1 st mode operation key, 84, 86 is a 2 nd mode operation key.

Claims

1. A refrigerator in which an operation panel portion having an operation portion and a display portion corresponding to the operation portion is provided in a front panel portion of a door of a refrigerator main body, characterized in that:

the front panel is configured to have a light-transmitting property,

the operation panel section is provided with a film substrate on the back surface side of the front panel, the film substrate being provided with an electrode having translucency and detecting operation,

a light source is provided on the back surface side of the film substrate, and is configured to emit light from the back of the film substrate to display at a position corresponding to the operation portion,

and an adjustment mechanism for changing the brightness of the display unit and/or the operation unit on the operation panel unit based on the operation of the operation unit.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein:

the display unit is provided with an indicator indicating the strength of the setting of the cooling intensity in the tank,

when the adjustment mechanism changes the brightness of the operation panel unit, the indicator switches to display indicating an adjustment level.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

the operation unit has a plurality of operation keys, and is switched to an adjustment mode in which the brightness of the operation panel unit can be changed by simultaneously operating 2 predetermined operation keys.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

the determination after the operation of changing the brightness of the operation panel unit is performed by operating a determination operation key of the operation unit or by a predetermined time period after the last operation of the operation unit.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

the operation unit is provided with 2 operation keys, and the 2 operation keys are used for indicating the change of the brightness of the operation panel unit and changing the adjustment level up and down.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

the adjustment mechanism changes the color of the display unit and/or the operation unit.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

the adjustment mechanism changes the position of the display unit and/or the operation unit.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

the adjustment mechanism changes the size of the display unit and/or the operation unit.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein:

the front panel has a white coating film, and the default value of the luminance of the display portion and/or the operation portion is set to be equal to or less than a predetermined luminance among a plurality of levels of luminance.