JP2024078096A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator capable of illuminating a storage chamber as a whole.SOLUTION: A refrigerator 10 has: a heat insulating housing 11; a storage chamber formed inside of the heat insulating housing 11; and an illuminating portion 30 for illuminating the inside of the storage chamber. The illuminating portion 30 has: a substantially plate-shaped first illuminating portion 31 disposed along a rear face of the storage chamber; a substantially plate-shaped second illuminating portion 32 disposed along a top face of the storage chamber; and a third illuminating portion 33 disposed near an upper end portion of the first illuminating portion 31 and near a rear end portion of the second illuminating portion 32.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Conventional refrigerators are equipped with a lighting unit in the storage compartment. The lighting unit is in an OFF state when the door is closed to close the storage compartment. On the other hand, when the user opens the door and the door is in an open state, the lighting unit is in an ON state and illuminates the interior of the storage compartment from above. This allows the user to easily visually check the food and other stored items stored in the storage compartment.

In recent years, refrigerators have been released that have lighting on the back side of the storage compartment in addition to the top side, illuminating the inside of the storage compartment more brightly than before. With this type of refrigerator, the storage compartment is illuminated from above and the back side while the door is open when the user opens it, further improving visibility inside the storage compartment.

JP 2013-190160 A

However, the refrigerator according to the background art described above has room for improvement in terms of illuminating the entire storage compartment.

Specifically, it was thought that an upper lighting unit would be provided on the top surface of the storage compartment, and a rear lighting unit would be provided on the rear surface of the storage compartment, and when the user opened the door, the entire storage compartment would be illuminated by lighting from the upper lighting unit and the rear lighting unit.

However, when the interior of the storage room was actually illuminated using the rear lighting unit and the top lighting unit, it was found that there was insufficient lighting at the upper rear end of the storage room. It was also found that simply increasing the illuminance of the rear lighting unit and the top lighting unit would be insufficient to alleviate the lack of lighting at the upper rear end of the storage room.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a refrigerator that can illuminate the entire storage compartment.

The refrigerator of the present invention comprises an insulated box, a storage compartment formed inside the insulated box, and an illumination unit that illuminates the inside of the storage compartment, the illumination unit having a first illumination unit that is substantially plate-shaped and arranged along the rear surface of the storage compartment, a second illumination unit that is substantially plate-shaped and arranged along the top surface of the storage compartment, and a third illumination unit that is arranged near the top end of the first illumination unit and near the rear end of the second illumination unit.

In addition, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the third illumination unit is characterized by having a light-emitting unit, a light-emitting board on which the light-emitting unit is mounted, a first covering unit that covers the light-emitting unit and the light-emitting board, and a second covering unit that covers the first covering unit from the outside.

In addition, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the second covering portion has an engaging claw portion, a main body side engaging portion is disposed near the third lighting portion, the third lighting portion is fixed by engaging the engaging claw portion of the second covering portion with the main body side engaging portion, and the engaging claw portion of the second covering portion is disposed below the upper surface of the light emitting board.

The refrigerator of the present invention is also characterized in that the second covering portion has a curved portion that curves and extends downward toward the rear side.

In the refrigerator of the present invention, the third lighting unit, which is disposed near the upper end of the first lighting unit and near the rear end of the second lighting unit, emits light to appropriately illuminate the upper rear end of the storage compartment.

In the refrigerator of the present invention, the light emitting unit is covered with the first covering portion and the second covering portion, so that the light emitted from the light emitting unit can be highly diffused by the first covering portion and the second covering portion.

The refrigerator of the present invention can prevent the light emitted from the light-emitting unit from being blocked by the main body side engagement unit.

In the refrigerator of the present invention, the light emitted from the light-emitting unit is effectively guided by the curved portion, so that the upper rear end of the storage compartment can be effectively illuminated.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing the upper rear end of the refrigerator compartment according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of a third illumination unit in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a third illumination section of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a mounting structure of a third illumination unit in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, the left diagram being a front view showing a rear module, and the right diagram being a cross-sectional view showing the rear module. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a perspective view showing in detail the third illumination section in the rear module.

A refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same components will be generally given the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be omitted. Furthermore, in the following description, the directions of up, down, front, back, left and right will be used as appropriate, but left and right refer to the left and right when the refrigerator 10 is viewed from the front.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the exterior of refrigerator 10.

The refrigerator 10 has an insulated box 11 and a storage compartment formed inside the insulated box 11. From the top, the storage compartments include a refrigerator compartment 121, a freezer compartment 122, and a vegetable compartment 123.

The front opening of the refrigerator compartment 121 is closed by the door 18. The door 18 has a first door 181 to a fifth door 185.

The front opening of the refrigerator compartment 121 is closed by a first door 181 and a second door 182. The first door 181 and the second door 182 are pivoting doors that rotate around the outer left-right ends. That is, the refrigerator 10 has a first door 181 and a second door 182 that open like double doors.

The front opening of the freezer compartment 122 is closed by a third door 183 and a fourth door 184. The third door 183 closes the upper part of the front opening of the freezer compartment 122. The fourth door 184 closes the lower part of the front opening of the freezer compartment 122. The third door 183 and the fourth door 184 are doors that can be freely pulled out in the front-to-rear direction.

The front opening of the vegetable compartment 123 is closed by a retractable fifth door 185.

The cross-sectional configuration of the refrigerator 10 will be described with reference to the side cross-sectional view of Figure 2. In Figure 2, the lighting inside the refrigerator 10 is indicated by dotted arrows.

The insulating box 11 is composed of an outer box 111 made of a steel plate bent into a predetermined shape, an inner box 112 made of a synthetic resin plate arranged on the inside and spaced apart from the outer box 111, and insulating material 113 filled between the outer box 111 and the inner box 112. For example, urethane foam or vacuum insulating material is used as the insulating material 113.

As described above, the storage compartment inside the insulated box 11 is divided from above into a refrigerator compartment 121, a freezer compartment 122, and a vegetable compartment 123. The refrigerator compartment 121 and the freezer compartment 122 are divided by an insulating wall 27. The freezer compartment 122 and the vegetable compartment 123 are divided by an insulating wall 19.

The interior of the refrigerator compartment 121 is vertically divided by multiple shelves 15. Specifically, the shelves 15 are arranged as follows, from above: shelf 151, shelf 152, and shelf 153. The shelves 15 are roughly plate-shaped members made of transparent glass or transparent synthetic resin, and are arranged inside the inner box 112 so that they can be pulled out in the front-rear direction.

At the rear of the freezer compartment 122, a cooling compartment 115 is formed, and the freezer compartment 122 and the cooling compartment 115 are separated by a partition wall 28. An evaporator 116, which is a cooler, is disposed inside the cooling compartment 115. A machine compartment 14 is formed at the rear of the lower end of the refrigerator 10, and a compressor 22 is disposed in the machine compartment 14. The evaporator 116 and the compressor 22 form a vapor compression refrigeration cycle together with a condenser and an expansion means, not shown here. By operating the vapor compression refrigeration cycle, the cold air inside the cooling compartment 115 is cooled by the evaporator 116, and this cold air is blown into each storage compartment, thereby setting the internal temperature of each storage compartment to a predetermined cooling temperature range.

Inside the cooling chamber 115, a blower 29 is disposed above the evaporator 116. The blower 29 is an axial flow blower or a centrifugal blower, and blows the cold air from inside the evaporator 116 that has been cooled by the evaporator 116 toward the refrigerator chamber 121, the freezer chamber 122, and the vegetable chamber 123.

An air passage 118 is formed from the cooling chamber 115 upward. A side outlet 23, which is an opening for blowing cold air into the refrigerator chamber 121, is formed in the air passage 118. Cold air is blown out to the side from the side outlet 23. This allows the refrigerator chamber 121 to be cooled to a predetermined refrigeration temperature range.

A portion of the cold air blown by the blower 29 is blown into the freezer compartment 122 through an opening formed in the partition wall 28. The cold air that has cooled the inside of the freezer compartment 122 returns to the cooling compartment 115. This causes the freezer compartment 122 to be cooled to a predetermined freezing temperature range. In addition, a portion of the cold air blown by the blower 29 is also blown into the vegetable compartment 123, which causes the vegetable compartment 123 to be cooled to a predetermined refrigeration temperature range.

In this embodiment, the refrigerator compartment 121 has a lighting unit 30 that illuminates the interior.

The lighting section 30 has a first lighting section 31, a second lighting section 32, and a third lighting section 33.

The first lighting unit 31 is disposed along the rear surface of the refrigerator compartment 121 and is a generally plate-shaped lighting unit. Here, the first lighting unit 31 is disposed in the upper part of the rear surface of the refrigerator compartment 121. As described later, the first lighting unit 31 constitutes a module together with the members constituting the air passage 118. The first lighting unit 31 may be disposed entirely or partially on the rear surface of the refrigerator compartment 121. Here, the first lighting unit 31 is disposed in a portion above the shelf portion 153 on the rear surface of the refrigerator compartment 121. For example, a chilled compartment is disposed below the shelf portion 153. The chilled compartment is formed, for example, by a retractable container. Here, the upper end of the first lighting unit 31 is disposed below the second lighting unit 32 and on the rear side. The first lighting unit 31 illuminates stored items such as food stored inside the refrigerator compartment 121 from behind.

The second lighting unit 32 is a generally plate-shaped lighting unit arranged along the top surface of the refrigerator compartment 121. The second lighting unit 32 is arranged over substantially the entire top surface of the refrigerator compartment 121. The rear end of the second lighting unit 32 is arranged further forward than the first lighting unit 31. The second lighting unit 32 illuminates stored items such as food stored inside the refrigerator compartment 121 from above.

The third lighting unit 33 is disposed at the upper rear end 13 inside the refrigerator compartment 121. The upper rear end 13 is an area near the top end of the first lighting unit 31 and near the rear end of the second lighting unit 32. The third lighting unit 33 is disposed rearward of the first lighting unit 31 and below the second lighting unit 32, and by illuminating upward, it illuminates the upper rear end 13 of the refrigerator compartment 121 and prevents the upper rear end 13 from becoming dim.

The operation of the lighting unit 30 will be described. While the first door 181 and the second door 182 close the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 121, the lighting unit 30 is in the OFF state. On the other hand, when the user opens the first door 181 or the second door 182 to put or take out stored items from the refrigerator compartment 121, a sensor (not shown) detects that the first door 181 or the second door 182 is in the open state. After that, the calculation control unit (not shown) turns the lighting unit 30 ON based on the detection. That is, the first lighting unit 31, the second lighting unit 32, and the third lighting unit 33 illuminate the refrigerator compartment 121. The first lighting unit 31 and the second lighting unit 32 illuminate the entire refrigerator compartment 121. This allows the user to clearly see the stored items such as food stored in the refrigerator compartment 121. Furthermore, the first lighting unit 31 and the second lighting unit 32 provide planar illumination, creating a sense of luxury inside the refrigerator compartment 121. Furthermore, the third lighting unit 33 illuminates the upper rear end 13 of the refrigerator compartment 121, preventing the upper rear end 13 from becoming dark. This further enhances the sense of luxury inside the refrigerator compartment 121.

Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing the upper rear end 13 of the refrigerator compartment 121.

The first lighting unit 31 is disposed on the front side, slightly away from the rear surface of the refrigerator compartment 121. The specific configuration of the first lighting unit 31 will be described later with reference to FIG. 4. As will be described later, the first lighting unit 31 is attached to the rear surface of the refrigerator compartment 121 as part of the rear module 35.

The second lighting unit 32 is disposed slightly below the top surface of the refrigerator compartment 121. The second lighting unit 32 has a light guide plate 321 and a light emitting unit (not shown) disposed on the side of the light guide plate 321. The light guide plate 321 is made of, for example, an acrylic plate that has been treated to diffuse light. The light emitted from the light emitting unit (not shown) is diffused inside the light guide plate 321, so that the light guide plate 321 emits light generally downward. The second lighting unit 32 is fixed to the top surface of the refrigerator compartment 121 by a lighting fixing unit 322 consisting of multiple brackets or the like.

The third lighting unit 33 is disposed behind the upper end of the first lighting unit 31. As described above, the third lighting unit 33 illuminates the upper rear end 13. The specific configuration of the third lighting unit 33 will be described later. As described later, the third lighting unit 33 is attached to the rear surface of the refrigerator compartment 121 as part of the rear module 35. The third lighting unit 33, which is disposed near the upper end of the first lighting unit 31 and near the rear end of the second lighting unit 32, emits light to suitably illuminate the upper rear end 13 of the storage compartment. Therefore, the first lighting unit 31 and the second lighting unit 32 can illuminate the entire storage compartment. This creates a sense of luxury inside the storage compartment and improves visibility inside the storage compartment.

Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing the upper end of the first lighting section 31 and the vicinity of the third lighting section 33.

The first lighting unit 31 mainly includes a light emitting unit 311 and a light guide plate 312. The light emitting unit 311 is an LED (light emitting diode) that emits light downward. A plurality of light emitting units 311 are arranged at approximately equal intervals along the left-right direction. The light guide plate 312 is an approximately flat plate-like member, has a maximum surface facing the front-rear direction, and is made of an acrylic plate or the like that has been processed to diffuse light. The light generated from the light emitting unit 311 is diffused inside the light guide plate 312, so that the light guide plate 312 emits light generally toward the front. The first lighting unit 31 is fixed to the rear module 35 (described later) via a bracket or the like (not shown here).

The decorative member 313 is disposed on the upper end of the light guide plate 312. The decorative member 313 is a member that decorates the upper end of the light guide plate 312 and covers the mechanical configuration behind it from the front. The upper end of the decorative member 313 is disposed above the third illumination unit 33.

The third illumination unit 33 has a light emitting unit 331, a light emitting substrate 332, a first covering unit 333, and a second covering unit 334.

The light-emitting unit 331 is an LED that emits light upward. Multiple light-emitting units 311 are arranged in the left-right direction.

The light-emitting board 332 is a substantially plate-shaped board on which the light-emitting unit 331 is mounted. The lighting fixing unit 322 is a long member that extends in the left-right direction.

The first covering portion 333 is a member that surrounds the light emitting portion 311 and the second illumination portion 32. The first covering portion 333 is a long member having a length approximately equal to that of the light emitting substrate 332. The first covering portion 333 is made of a translucent material that diffuses the light generated by the light emitting portion 331, similar to the light guide plate 312 and the like.

The second covering portion 334 is a member that covers the first covering portion 333 from above. The second covering portion 334 is a long member having a length approximately equal to that of the first covering portion 333. The second covering portion 334, like the first covering portion 333, is made of a translucent material that diffuses the light emitted by the light emitting portion 331. In this way, by covering the light emitting portion 331 with the first covering portion 333 and the second covering portion 334, the light emitted from the light emitting portion 331 can be guided by the first covering portion 333 and the second covering portion 334. Therefore, the upper rear end portion 13 of the storage chamber can be softly illuminated by the light emitted from the light emitting portion 331.

The engaging claw portion 335 is a claw-shaped portion that protrudes rearward from the lower end side of the second covering portion 334. The engaging claw portion 335 is a claw portion that has an abutment surface that faces upward.

The main body side engaging portion 34 is a member fixed to the rear module 35 on the main body side, and extends in the front-rear direction. The engaging claw portion 341 is formed by partially protruding the front end of the main body side engaging portion 34 upward. The engaging claw portion 341 is a claw portion having an abutment surface facing downward. The engaging claw portion 341 of the main body side engaging portion 34 engages with the engaging claw portion 335 of the third lighting unit 33 from above, thereby fixing the third lighting unit 33 in a predetermined position. As described later, multiple main body side engaging portions 34 are attached to the rear module 35 at a distance from each other in the left-right direction.

Figure 5 is a side cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the third lighting section 33. In Figure 5, the left figure shows the configuration in which the second covering section 334 is assembled into the first covering section 333, and the right figure shows the third lighting section 33 after assembly is complete.

Referring to the left diagram of FIG. 5, the light emitting unit 331, the light emitting substrate 332, and the first covering unit 333 are distributed on the market as an integrated product. In this embodiment, the integrated product is covered from above with the second covering unit 334, so that the linear light emitted upward from the light emitting unit 331 is softly diffused toward the surroundings. As described below, the second covering unit 334 also functions as an assembly member for assembling the third illumination unit 33 to the rear module 35.

As described above, the second covering portion 334 is a long member that extends in the left-right direction. The second covering portion 334 is made of injection-molded synthetic resin. The second covering portion 334 has a flat portion 337, a curved portion 336, and an engaging claw portion 335. The flat portion 337 is a plate-shaped portion having the largest surface facing the front-rear direction. The curved portion 336 extends from the upper end of the flat portion 337 while curving downward toward the rear side. The curved portion 336 has such a configuration that the guided light can suitably illuminate the upper rear end portion 13 of the storage chamber. The engaging claw portion 335 is a portion that extends from the lower end of the curved portion 336 toward the rear in a claw-like shape, as described above.

Referring to the right diagram in FIG. 5, by covering the first covering part 333 from above with the second covering part 334, the first covering part 333 and the second covering part 334 become an integrated part. In this state, the first covering part 333 and the second covering part 334 are incorporated into the rear module 35, which will be described later.

In addition, a terminal portion 36 extends downward from the light-emitting substrate 332. Electric power is supplied via the terminal portion 36 to cause the light-emitting portion 331 to emit light.

Referring further to the right diagram of FIG. 5, the upper surface of the engaging claw portion 335 is disposed below the upper surface of the light-emitting substrate 332. In the right diagram of FIG. 5, the extended surface of the upper surface of the light-emitting substrate 332 is indicated by a dotted line. In this way, referring to FIG. 4, the main body side engaging portion 34 and the engaging claw portion 341 that engage with the engaging claw portion 335 can be disposed on the lower side. Therefore, the progress of the diffused light generated from the light-emitting portion 331 and diffused by the first covering portion 333 and the second covering portion 334 can be prevented from being blocked by the main body side engaging portion 34. Therefore, referring to FIG. 3, the shadow of the second covering portion 334 can be prevented from being cast on the inner box 112 near the upper rear end portion 13.

Figure 6 is a side cross-sectional view showing the mounting structure of the third lighting unit 33.

As described above, the third illumination unit 33 is a composite part in which the first covering part 333 is covered from above by the second covering part 334. Here, the third illumination unit 33, which is a composite part, is assembled into the rear module 35 from above. In this way, the engagement claw part 335 of the third illumination unit 33 engages with the engagement claw part 341 of the main body side engagement part 34. In this way, the third illumination unit 33 is positioned at a predetermined location on the rear module 35. The configuration after assembly is as shown in FIG. 5.

The left figure in Figure 7 is a front view showing the rear module 35, and the right figure is a cross-sectional view showing the rear module 35. The right figure in Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in the left figure in Figure 7.

Referring to FIG. 7, the rear module 35 is formed by filling a heat insulating material such as urethane inside a synthetic resin plate having a predetermined shape. The rear module 35 is a module in which the first lighting unit 31 and the air passage 118 are formed. That is, the first lighting unit 31 is incorporated into the upper front side of the rear module 35. Meanwhile, the air passage 118 and the damper 16, etc. for supplying cool air to the refrigerator compartment 121 are incorporated into the rear side of the rear module 35. Furthermore, the urethane filled inside the rear module 35 insulates the air passage 118 and the inner box 112.

Figure 8 is a detailed perspective view of the third illumination section 33 in the rear module 35.

A plurality of side air outlets 23 are formed on the right and left side surfaces of the rear module 35. Air blown through the aforementioned air passage 118 is blown out from the side air outlets 23 into the aforementioned refrigerator compartment 121. In addition, a plurality of upper air outlets 20 are formed on the top surface of the rear module 35. Air blown through the aforementioned air passage 118 is also blown out from the upper air outlets 20 into the aforementioned refrigerator compartment 121.

The aforementioned main body side engaging parts 34 are formed in multiple numbers along the upper end of the rear module 35 in the left-right direction. In other words, the third lighting unit 33 is firmly attached to the rear module 35 by the multiple main body side engaging parts 34.

The above is a description of the refrigerator 10.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In addition, the above-described embodiments can be combined with each other.

For example, referring to FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the lighting unit 30 is provided in the refrigerator compartment 121, but the lighting unit 30 can also be provided in the freezer compartment 122 or the vegetable compartment 123.

REFRIGERATOR 10: Insulated box body 111: Outer box 112: Inner box 113: Insulation material 115: Cooling chamber 116: Evaporator 118: Air passage 121: Refrigerating chamber 122: Freezing chamber 123: Vegetable chamber 13: Upper rear end 14: Machine chamber 15: Shelf section 151: Shelf section 152: Shelf section 153: Shelf section 18: Door 181: First door 182: Second door 183: Third door 184: Fourth door 185: Fifth door 19: Insulated wall 20: Upper air outlet 22: Compressor 23: Side air outlet 27: Insulated wall 28: Partition wall 29: Blower 30: Illumination section 31: First illumination section 311: Light-emitting section 312: Light-guiding plate 313: Decorative member 32: Second illumination section 321: Light-guiding plate 322: Illumination fixing section 33: Third illumination section 331: Light-emitting section 332: Light-emitting board 333 First covering portion 334 Second covering portion 335 Engagement claw portion 336 Curved portion 337 Flat portion 34 Main body side engagement portion 341 Engagement claw portion 35 Rear module 36 Terminal portion

Claims (4)

A heat-insulating box;
A storage chamber formed inside the insulating box;
A lighting unit that illuminates the inside of the storage chamber,
The illumination unit includes:
A substantially plate-shaped first illumination unit disposed along a rear surface of the storage chamber;
A substantially plate-shaped second illumination unit disposed along an upper surface of the storage chamber;
a third illumination unit disposed near an upper end of the first illumination unit and near a rear end of the second illumination unit. The third illumination unit is
A light emitting portion;
a light emitting substrate on which the light emitting unit is mounted;
A first covering portion that covers the light emitting portion and the light emitting substrate;
The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a second covering portion that covers the first covering portion from the outside. The second covering portion has an engaging claw portion,
A main body side engagement portion is disposed in the vicinity of the third illumination portion,
The engaging claw portion of the second covering portion engages with the main body side engaging portion to fix the third illumination portion,
The refrigerator according to claim 2 , wherein the engaging claw portion of the second covering portion is disposed below an upper surface of the light-emitting board. The refrigerator according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the second covering portion has a curved portion that extends while curving downward toward the rear side.

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