JP2002267352A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of being automatically closed espe cially when closing of a door is insufficient. SOLUTION: The refrigerator is provided with a drive part to move an opening closing member in an opening direction or a closing direction; a detecting part to divide an opening, based on a casing, of the opening closing member in three stages, in order, from at least the easing side; and a state switch to decide the opening closing state of the opening closing member. Since a control part is provided to operate drive of the drive part in a direction in which the opening closing member is closed when the switch is in a closed state and a second stage is detected by the detecting part, during the time in which the second stage is detected by the detecting part, the opening closing member is driven in a closing direction by the drive part, and when closing of the door is insufficient, the door can be automatically closed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a function of supporting opening and closing operations of doors, drawers, lids, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There has been a conventional refrigerator as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-60057. In the publication, a door mounted on the opening of the refrigerator so as to be openable and closable about a vertical axis is driven by a motor located on the same line as the axis to control the opening and closing of the door.

At this time, when the door is opened to a predetermined position,
Alternatively, the brake is applied when closed to control the opening and closing of the door, and an arm and a resistance detector attached to this arm are provided to stop opening and closing when the door hits a person Thus, the door can be safely opened and closed.

[0004]

In the conventional refrigerator configured as described above, it is assumed that the door is opened and closed by operating a switch, so that the user can manually open and close the door as desired. In particular, when the door was manually closed, it remained intact even if it was not closed properly.If the door was not closed properly, cold air leaked and the cooling efficiency in the refrigerator was reduced. It was going to get worse.

The present invention provides a refrigerator which can automatically close the door even when the door is not sufficiently closed.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the inside of a housing is divided into a plurality of compartments for storing articles, and each compartment is provided with an opening / closing member such as a door, a drawer, or a lid for connecting the inside and the outside of the housing. In the refrigerator, a drive unit for moving the opening / closing member in the opening direction or the closing direction, a detection unit for dividing the opening degree of the opening / closing member with respect to the housing at least in three stages from the housing side, and a state for determining the opening / closing state of the opening / closing member. And a control unit for operating the drive unit in a direction in which the opening / closing member closes when the state switch is in the open state and the detection unit is detecting the second stage.

[0007] The present invention also provides a refrigerator having an enclosure which is divided into a plurality of compartments for storing articles, and each compartment is provided with an opening / closing member such as a door, a drawer, or a lid for connecting the inside and the outside of the casing. A drive unit for moving the member in the opening direction or the closing direction, a detection unit for dividing the degree of opening of the opening / closing member relative to the housing into at least three stages from the housing side, a state switch for determining the open / closed state of the opening / closing member, and an opening / closing member And a control unit for operating the drive unit in the opening direction of the opening / closing member when the open switch is operated and the status switch indicates the closed state.

According to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator provided with an opening / closing member such as a door, a drawer, and a lid for connecting the inside and the outside of the housing to each of the plurality of compartments for storing articles therein. A drive unit for moving the member in the opening direction or the closing direction, a detection unit for dividing the degree of opening of the opening / closing member relative to the housing into at least three stages from the housing side, a state switch for determining the open / closed state of the opening / closing member, and an opening / closing member An open switch operated to open the open switch, and when the state switch is in the open state and the detection unit is detecting the second stage, the drive of the drive unit is operated in the direction in which the opening and closing member closes, and the open switch Is operated, and when the status switch indicates the closed state, the control unit operates the drive unit in the direction in which the opening / closing member opens.

Further, after the driving unit is driven in the direction in which the opening / closing member opens, at least when the state switch or the open switch cannot detect the open state of the opening / closing member, the driving unit drives the opening / closing member again.

Further, the refrigerator is provided with a child switch, and the drive unit restricts the driving of the opening / closing member when the child switch is enabled.

Further, the drive section opens and closes the opening / closing member using the attraction force or repulsion force of the magnet.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator 1, in order from the top.
A refrigerator room having a door (opening / closing member) 2, a vegetable room having a door 3, an ice making room having a door 4 and an ice storage box, a switching room having a door 5, and a freezing room having a door 6 are formed. ing. These doors 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 connect the inside and the outside of the housing, and 2 is a rotary door, and 3, 4, 5, and 6 are drawer doors. Reference numeral 7 denotes a display unit, and 8 denotes an operation unit, on which a plurality of operation switches are arranged. Reference numeral 9 denotes a child switch that is locked by simultaneously pressing a plurality of switches, and reference numeral 10 denotes an open switch that is pressed when the door 2 is opened.

As can be seen from the provision of the plurality of doors, the inside of the housing is divided into a plurality of sections to form a plurality of chambers.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an outline of the present invention.
Reference numeral 20 denotes a driving unit for moving the opening / closing member in the opening direction or the closing direction. For example, a driving unit using repulsion / attraction of an electromagnet, a driving unit using a movement of a solenoid, a driving unit using a rotational force of a motor, and the like are considered. It is not limited to these. Reference numeral 21 denotes a detection unit that divides the opening degree of the housing 30 into at least three stages in order from the housing side, and 22 denotes a state switch that determines the open / closed state of the open / close member (detects the open / closed state of a contact such as a microswitch) 23 is a control unit that activates the drive of the drive unit 20 in the direction in which the door 2 closes when the state switch 22 detects the open state and the detection unit 21 detects the second stage, When the open switch 10 is operated and the status switch 22 indicates the closed state, the drive unit 20 is operated in the direction in which the door 2 opens.

The three stages will be described with reference to FIG. The state where the door 2 is completely closed is defined as 0 degree,
The state where the door is opened to about 10 degrees is referred to as a first stage A, and the state where the door 2 is opened to about 30 degrees from the position of about 10 degrees is referred to as a second step B. The door 2 is opened from about 30 degrees. This state is referred to as a third stage C. These states (angles) can be obtained by magnetically and optically detecting the combination of microswitches and the position of a member that operates in conjunction with the opening of the door 2.

The control unit 23 controls the driving unit 2.
0 is driven in the direction in which the door 2 opens, and when at least the state switch 22 cannot detect the state of the second stage B / third stage C or the open switch 10 cannot detect the open state of the opening / closing member, the drive unit again operates. A driving operation of the opening / closing member is performed.

Further, as a mechanism for opening the door, the plunger may be moved to mechanically open the door, or the door may be opened by the repulsive force of the electromagnet. In addition, as a mechanism for closing the door, the door is closed by utilizing the attraction force of the electromagnet.

Next, the operation of the control unit 23 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the energization of the electromagnet is turned off (S
1). This is a process for turning off the energization of the electromagnet in the initial state. Next, it is determined whether the door 2 is open (S2). This determination is made by the status switch 22. When the status switch 22 detects that the door 2 is closed (NO), it is next determined whether or not the open switch 10 is operated (whether or not a door open signal is output). (S3). When the open switch 10 is operated (Y
In the case of ES, the child switch is further operated to determine whether or not the child is locked (S).
4). If child lock has not been performed (NO), 0 is substituted for Flag (S5).

Then, the energization of the electromagnet is turned on (S
6) The operation of opening the door 2 is performed. Next, it is determined whether or not the door 2 is opened (whether the detection unit 21 is in the second stage B or the third stage C,
Alternatively, it is determined whether the state switch 22 indicates the open state (S7). If it is determined that the door 2 is open (YES), the energization of the electromagnet is turned off (S
1). When it is determined that the door 2 is kept closed (NO in S7), it is determined whether or not the value of the Flag is -1 (S8). In the case, -1 is substituted for Flag (S8). S8
If the value of the Flag is -1 (in the case of YES), the control proceeds to S1.

After substituting -1 for Flag (S9),
The energization of the electromagnet is turned on again to open the door 2 again (S6). If the opening of the door 2 is not determined by this energization (S7), Flag = -1 is determined in the next S8, and the opening operation of the door 2 ends. That is, it is determined that the door 2 cannot be opened by luggage or the like.

If it is determined in S2 that the door 2 is open (YES), it is determined whether the position sensor is ON (S10). The state where the position sensor is ON (in the case of YES), that is, the door 2 is
In the state of the stage B and the state where the open switch 10 is not operated, the state of the door 2 is in the second stage B as shown in FIG. 4, and the door 2 is not closed. In this state, the electromagnet is energized in the direction in which the door 2 closes, and the door 2 is operated to the open side because the user is in the process of closing the door or has forgotten to close the door. Then, in S10, the energization of the electromagnet is repeated until the position sensor determines NO, that is, until the door 2 closes.

As described above, when the open switch 10 for opening the door 2 is operated while the door 2 is closed and the child switch 9 is not operated, the door 2 is opened by energizing the electromagnet. Is what you can do. Also,
If the state of the door 2 is within a predetermined range (second stage B), it can be determined that the door 2 is being closed or that the door 2 has been forgotten to be closed, and the door 2 can be closed by energizing the electromagnet.

In this embodiment, the description has been given with respect to the pivotable door. However, the present invention may be applied to an opening / closing member such as a drawer or a lid.

[0026]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the drive unit for moving the opening / closing member in the opening direction or the closing direction, and the opening degree of the opening / closing member with respect to the housing are set to at least three from the housing side.
A detection unit for dividing the driving unit into a plurality of stages; and a state switch for judging an open / closed state of the opening / closing member, and when the state switch is in the open state and the detection unit is detecting the second stage, Since the control unit that operates the drive in the closing direction of the opening / closing member is provided, the door can be automatically closed even when the door is not properly closed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a drive unit for moving the opening / closing member in the opening direction or the closing direction, and a detecting unit for dividing the opening degree of the opening / closing member with respect to the housing at least in three steps from the housing side. A state switch that determines the open / close state of the open / close member, and an open switch that is operated when the open / close member is opened, and when the open switch is operated and the state switch indicates the closed state, Since the control unit that operates the drive unit in the opening direction of the opening / closing member is provided, the door is not opened, the child lock is not performed, and the open switch is pressed when the child lock is performed so as not to be mischievous by the infant. The door can be opened automatically.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a drive unit for moving the opening / closing member in the opening direction or the closing direction, and a detecting unit for dividing the opening degree of the opening / closing member with respect to the housing at least in three steps from the housing side. A state switch for determining the open / closed state of the open / close member, and an open switch operated when the open / close member is opened, wherein the state switch is in the open state and the detection unit detects a second stage. When the opening switch is operated and the status switch indicates the closed state, the driving unit is operated in the opening direction of the opening / closing member when the opening switch is operated and the state switch indicates the closed state. Since the control unit is provided, the door can be automatically opened and closed.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, after the driving unit is driven in the opening direction of the open / close member, the drive unit is re-started when at least the state switch or the open switch cannot detect the open state of the open / close member. Since the opening / closing member is driven by the unit, when the door is not opened, the door is controlled again to open, so that the door can be opened reliably.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the refrigerator is provided with the child switch, and the drive unit restricts the driving of the opening / closing member when the child switch is enabled. The door can be prevented from being opened and closed by mischief.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the drive unit opens and closes the opening / closing member by using the attraction or repulsion of the magnet, so that the opening and closing of the door are the same. It can be performed by the driving unit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a refrigerator of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an outline of the present invention of the refrigerator.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control of an automatic opening mechanism of the refrigerator.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an open / closed state of a door of the refrigerator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 2 Door (opening / closing member) 9 Child switch 10 Open switch 20 Driving part 21 Detecting part 22 State switch 23 Control part 30 Housing

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Hirata 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3L045 AA02 BA01 CA02 LA01 NA15 PA02 PA03

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A door for dividing the inside of a housing into a plurality of compartments for storing articles, and connecting each compartment to the inside and outside of the housing.
In a refrigerator provided with an opening / closing member such as a drawer and a lid, a drive unit for moving the opening / closing member in an opening direction or a closing direction, and a detection in which an opening degree of the opening / closing member with respect to the housing is divided into at least three stages from the housing side. And a state switch for determining the open / closed state of the opening / closing member, and the opening / closing member drives the drive unit when the state switch is in the open state and the detection unit is detecting the second stage. A refrigerator comprising a control unit that operates in a closing direction. 2. A door that divides the inside of the housing into a plurality of compartments for storing articles, and connects the inside and outside of the housing to each compartment.
In a refrigerator provided with an opening / closing member such as a drawer and a lid, a drive unit for moving the opening / closing member in an opening direction or a closing direction, and a detection in which an opening degree of the opening / closing member with respect to the housing is divided into at least three stages from the housing side. And a state switch for determining the open / closed state of the opening / closing member, and an open switch for operating when the opening / closing member is opened, and when the open switch is operated and the state switch indicates the closed state. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that operates the driving unit in a direction in which the opening and closing member opens. 3. A door that divides the inside of the housing into a plurality of compartments for storing articles, and connects the inside and outside of the housing to each compartment.
In a refrigerator provided with an opening / closing member such as a drawer and a lid, a drive unit for moving the opening / closing member in an opening direction or a closing direction, and a detection in which an opening degree of the opening / closing member with respect to the housing is divided into at least three stages from the housing side. Unit, a state switch for determining the open / closed state of the open / close member, and an open switch operated when opening the open / close member, wherein the state switch is in the open state and the detection unit detects a second stage When the opening switch is operated and the state switch indicates the closed state, the driving of the driving unit is operated in the direction in which the opening / closing member is opened. A refrigerator comprising a control unit for causing a refrigerator to operate. 4. The drive unit drives the open / close member again when the state switch or the open switch cannot detect the open state of the open / close member after the drive unit is driven in a direction in which the open / close member opens. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the cooling is performed. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator includes a child switch, and the driving unit restricts driving of the opening / closing member when the child switch is enabled. The refrigerator as described. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the drive unit opens and closes the opening / closing member using attraction or repulsion of a magnet.