WO2019189338A1

WO2019189338A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2019189338A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/013145
Authority: WO
Inventors: 健一柿田; 森　貴代志; 平井　剛樹
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2018-03-30
Filing date: 2019-03-27
Publication date: 2019-10-03
Also published as: JPWO2019189338A1; JP7407355B2; JP7573155B2; JP7178562B2; JP2023002800A; JP2024023547A

Abstract

A refrigerator comprising: a housing (101) formed by heat-insulating walls; a storage compartment provided inside the housing (101); a door sealing the storage compartment in an openable/closable manner; an operation unit provided on an edge-frame side surface of the door; and an automatic opening/closing device for opening/closing the door automatically. The automatic opening/closing device is configured so as to close the door on the basis of a door-closing trigger generated by the operation unit. By means of the disclosed refrigerator it is possible to carry out an operation for automatically opening/closing the door in a standing position in front of the refrigerator. Therefore, the inconvenience of moving or bending over to carry out the operation can be alleviated, the operability of the door can be improved, and the ease of use for the user can be improved.

Description

refrigerator

The present disclosure relates to an automatic opening / closing device and a refrigerator provided with an operation unit as an operation trigger of the device in a storage room door.

In recent years, the habit of daily shopping has faded due to changes in eating habits and an increase in suburban large supermarkets. For example, there is a strong tendency to collect food items for a week and store them in a refrigerator. In addition, elderly people who use relatively large refrigerators are increasing. For such users, the total weight of the food and the doors that are bought together is heavy, and opening and closing of the storage room is felt burdensome. On the other hand, refrigerators that automatically open doors using actuators are on the market.

Capacitance-type touch sensors are often used for the operation part of refrigerators, and the door opens unintentionally when a human body touches or water is accidentally applied to the operation part. There is a malfunction. In order to reliably determine that a person has operated against such a malfunction, there is one in which a vibration sensor is used in an operation unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

FIG. 11 is a front view showing the open state of the right door of the refrigerator in the conventional refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, and FIG. 12 is an explanation schematically showing the operation panel portion of the conventional refrigerator. FIG.

In FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, a front door of the refrigerating chamber 3 formed in the upper space of the heat insulation box 2 has a double door left door 8 and a right door 9, which closes the refrigerating chamber 3 freely openable and closable. . A solenoid-type or motor-type automatic door opening device 41 is installed at the top of the heat insulation box 2. An operation panel unit 10 is disposed on the surface of the left door 8. The operation panel unit 10 includes an operation switch (general electrostatic capacitance type touch sensor) for performing operations such as setting the internal temperature and switching the operation mode, and a display mechanism 26 for notifying the setting state by an LED or the like. Yes. An operation unit 42 for operating the automatic door opening device 41 is disposed below the operation panel unit 10. A vibration sensor 43 is incorporated as means for detecting vibration on the surface of the operation unit 42 when a person touches, and a signal from the vibration sensor 43 is input to the operation control unit 23.

When the user performs an operation such as tapping the surface of the operation unit 42, the vibration sensor 43 determines that there is an operation and outputs a signal to the operation control unit 23. The operation control unit 23 is an automatic door opening device. 41 is operated, and the display mechanism 26 displays that the operation is detected.

In the above description, the right door 9 is opened by the operation unit 42 on the left door 8. However, the operation unit 42 is provided on each of the left and right doors, and the operation unit 42 allows the operation unit 42 to be operated. A configuration in which the door on the installed side is opened is common.

However, in the above-described conventional configuration, since the operation unit 42 is disposed on the front surface of the door, there is no problem when only the door opening operation is performed. However, when an automatic opening / closing device that can also perform a closing operation is mounted, when the operation unit is arranged in the blind spot of the user when performing the closing operation from the open state (the door provided with the operation door and the operation unit) In the case of the same door) or in the case of being away from the user position (when the door provided with the operation door and the operation unit is a different door), it is difficult to operate.

JP 2014-234985 A

This disclosure provides a refrigerator with improved operability of door operation.

The refrigerator includes a housing formed of a heat insulating wall, a storage chamber provided in the housing, a door that can be opened and closed, an operation unit provided on a side surface of the edge frame of the door, and a door automatically. And an automatic opening and closing device that opens and closes. And an automatic opening / closing apparatus is the structure which closes a door based on the door-closing trigger which the operation part generate | occur | produced.

This allows the user to perform the door closing operation at the front position of the refrigerator.

According to the refrigerator of the present disclosure, the operation for automatically opening and closing the door can be performed at the same standing position in front of the refrigerator. For this reason, the trouble of moving or bending for the operation is reduced, and the operability of the door operation can be improved and the usability of the user can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the refrigerator compartment door of FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view showing an open state of the right door of the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an output change of the acceleration sensor of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a front view showing an open state of the right door of the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a front view of a refrigerator according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating an open state of the freezer compartment door of the refrigerator according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a side view showing an open state of the freezer compartment door of the refrigerator according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11: is a front view which shows the open state of the refrigerator door right door of the conventional refrigerator. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an operation panel portion of a conventional refrigerator.

The refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a housing formed of a heat insulating wall, a storage chamber provided in the housing, a door that opens and closes the storage chamber, and an operation provided on a side surface of the edge frame of the door And an automatic opening / closing device that automatically opens and closes the door. The automatic opening / closing device is configured to close the door based on a door closing trigger generated by the operation unit.

This enables the user to perform the closing operation at the position where the stored item is taken out without performing the movement for closing the door. Therefore, the operability of the door operation can be improved.

Further, a second operation unit that generates a door opening trigger may be provided on the front surface of the door, and the automatic opening / closing device may be configured to open the door based on the door opening trigger.

This also allows the user to perform the door opening operation in the same standing position as the door closing operation in front of the refrigerator. Therefore, the movement operation for performing the door opening operation is reduced.

Alternatively, the second operation unit may be provided with a first multi-axis acceleration sensor.

により As a result, the vibration of light operation force such as the user's knock will trigger the door opening and closing. Therefore, an operation can be performed with the back or elbow of the hand, and an easy opening / closing operation is possible even when the palm is dirty or when both hands are closed.

In addition, the first multi-axis acceleration sensor is configured to preferentially weight the output value detected in the vertical axis direction among the three-dimensional output values from the second operation unit, and perform detection determination. May be.

According to this, it is further possible to distinguish between the opening operation and the closing operation by the multi-axis acceleration sensor of the second operation unit. Therefore, the connection harness and the mounting structure are halved, and man-hours and costs can be reduced due to the great simplification.

Further, a second multi-axis acceleration sensor may be provided in the operation unit.

Moreover, the structure provided with the door opening / closing detection part which detects the opening / closing state of a door may be sufficient.

Thus, since the open / closed state of the door can be accurately determined, only the door opening operation can be accepted in the closed state and only the door closing operation can be accepted in the closed state, thereby preventing erroneous operation.

Further, a configuration in which a third operation unit that generates a two-stage door opening trigger is provided on the side surface of the edge frame of the door may be employed.

Thus, the second operation unit can first perform an operation in which the door is half-opened, and then the third operation unit can perform an operation in which the door is fully opened. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent cold air from flowing out by opening the door at once when the door-side stored item and the storage chamber front-side stored item are taken in and out. Therefore, energy saving property can be improved.

Alternatively, the third operation unit and the operation unit may be integrated.

According to this configuration, the opening / closing operation can be further performed by the hardware configuration of one operation unit. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the installation space and cost of the operation unit.

Further, the door may be a drawer type opening / closing door.

According to this configuration, the position of the operation unit for performing the closing operation can be set higher than the operation unit for performing the opening operation in the drawer-type door disposed at a low position. Therefore, the door closing operation can be performed in an easy posture with respect to the doors that are frequently arranged at positions lower than the waist.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited by these embodiments.

(First embodiment)
1 is a front view of the refrigerator 100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the refrigerator compartment door of FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a front view which shows the door opening state of the room right door 102b. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the refrigerator 100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an output change of the acceleration sensor of the refrigerator 100, and FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the refrigerator 100.

The refrigerator 100 includes a housing 101.

1 to 4, a casing 101 which is a heat insulating box is injected between an outer box mainly using a steel plate, an inner box formed of a resin such as ABS, and the outer box and the inner box. Insulated with heat insulation.

The housing 101 is thermally insulated into a plurality of storage rooms, a refrigeration room 102 is provided at the top, and an ice making room 103 and a switching room 104 are provided side by side under the refrigeration room 102. A freezing room 105 is arranged below the ice making room 103 and the switching room 104, and a vegetable room 106 is arranged at the bottom. A heat insulating door for partitioning from the outside air is formed in the front opening of each housing chamber at the front opening of the housing 101.

The refrigeration room left door 102a and the refrigeration room right door 102b, which are heat-insulating doors of the refrigeration room 102, are double doors, and the refrigeration room 102 can be freely opened and closed. Further, the heat insulating doors other than the refrigerator compartment 102 are of a drawer type, move forward and backward, and close each storage chamber in an openable and closable manner like the refrigerator compartment 102.

A device that automatically opens and closes the heat insulating door is disposed on the top surface of the casing 101 at the top of the refrigerator compartment 102. A left door opening / closing device 107 is provided for the refrigerator compartment left door 102a, and a right door opening / closing device 108 is provided for the refrigerator compartment right door 102b. Moreover, the operation part which generate | occur | produces the operation trigger for driving those opening / closing devices is arrange | positioned at the surface of each heat insulation door. A left door second operation unit 109 is disposed for the refrigerator compartment left door 102a, and a right door second operation unit 110 is disposed for the refrigerator compartment right door 102b.

Also, in the machine room formed in the rear region at the top of the refrigerator compartment 102, components of the refrigeration cycle such as a compressor and a dryer for removing moisture are housed. A cooling chamber that generates cool air is provided on the back surface of the freezing chamber 105, and a cooler and a cooling fan are arranged in the cooling chamber. The cooling fan blows the cool air cooled by the cooler as the cooling means to the refrigerating chamber 102, the ice making chamber 103, the switching chamber 104, the freezing chamber 105, and the vegetable chamber 106 through the air path. Further, an air volume adjustment damper for adjusting the air volume from the cooling fan is installed in the air passage. With these configurations, a cooling operation for adjusting each storage chamber to a desired temperature is performed.

Next, the configuration of the heat insulating door will be described with reference to the cross-sectional configuration of the vicinity of the right door operation unit in FIG. In addition, the heat insulation structure of heat insulation doors other than the refrigerator compartment right door 102b is also the same structure.

The edge frame 111 to be positioned inside the housing 101 is made of, for example, ABS resin. A door exterior plate 112 made of a transparent front plate such as a laminated glass plate is bonded and fixed to the front surface so as to cover the edge frame 111. As the door exterior plate 112, a glossy tempered glass plate is generally used. A resin film 113 is attached to the inside of the door exterior plate 112. Thereby, at least one of the application and coloring of the picture pattern is performed, so that the design property can be enhanced and the role of preventing scattering when the glass is broken can be achieved.

The space between the surface of the door exterior plate 112 on the side of the resin film 113 and the edge frame 111 is filled with hard urethane foamed urethane 119 filled and foamed. Thereby, while being able to improve heat insulation, the edge frame 111 and the door exterior board 112 can be adhere | attached and hold | maintained.

Next, the door internal configuration of the right door second operation unit 110 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the urethane foam 119 is not filled in the vicinity of the right door second operation unit 110 inside the refrigerator door right door 102 b, and the portion near the right door second operation unit 110 is not filled. The inside of the refrigerator compartment right door 102b is a hollow region 120. A support body insertion port 115 into which a substrate support body 114 formed of a resin plate is inserted is provided at the lower end surface of the edge frame 111 that is a skeleton of the refrigerator compartment right door 102b. After the substrate support body 114 is inserted into the support body insertion port 115, the substrate support body 114 is fixed by a fixing screw 116 with a lid of another component.

The substrate support 114 is provided with a flat portion 136 facing the inner surface of the door exterior plate 112, one surface of which is closely fixed to the rear surface of the door exterior plate 112 near the operation portion, and the mounting substrate 117 is disposed on the other surface. The surface is fixed. An acceleration sensor 118 is mounted and fixed on the surface of the mounting substrate 117 opposite to the surface on the flat portion 136 side by soldering. In the present embodiment, an X, Y, and Z triaxial acceleration sensor 118 is used, and the horizontal direction is set to X with reference to the surface of the refrigerator compartment right door 102b (the second operation portion 110 surface of the right door). The acceleration sensor 118 detects vibration as acceleration, with the axis, the vertical direction as the Y axis, and the vertical direction (front-rear direction) as the Z axis.

It should be noted that the right door second operation unit 110 may be configured to allow the user to determine that it is a part to be operated (should be given vibration), and no new component is required. , Symbols, lines, etc., may be fixedly displayed. However, in order to improve the design, it is also possible to employ a method in which at least one of characters, symbols, lines, and the like is displayed through the glass by adopting LEDs and the like.

Next, the configuration of the refrigerator compartment right door 102b in the opened state will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, a right door opening / closing detector 121 capable of detecting the open / closed state of the refrigerator compartment right door 102 b is installed inside the refrigerator compartment 102. Specifically, a non-contact electronic type using a Hall IC and a magnet, a mechanical door switch using a contact switch using a spring, or the like can be used. A right door operation unit 123 is provided at the lower part of the edge frame side surface 122 of the refrigerator compartment right door 102b in the opened state.

It is preferable that the right door second operation unit 110 and the right door operation unit 123 are arranged at the same height from the floor, specifically, at the height of the waist position of an adult. Although a detailed configuration is not shown, the acceleration sensor 118 attached to the right door second operation unit 110 can be attached to the right door operation unit 123 with the same configuration. In that case, with respect to the surface of the right door operation unit 123, the horizontal direction is the Z axis, the vertical direction is the Y axis, and the vertical direction (front-rear direction) is the X axis, and vibration is detected as acceleration.

Furthermore, the control for opening and closing the heat insulating door will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

As a result of the user's knocking operation, vibrations are generated in the order of the right door second operation unit 110 → the door exterior plate 112 → the substrate support 114 → the mounting substrate 117 in order of the X-axis vibration and the Y-axis vibration signal S3, The Z-axis vibration is transmitted to the acceleration sensor 118 as a signal S4. The control device 124 receives the determination signal S5 output from the acceleration sensor 118 and the signal S1 from the right door opening / closing detection unit 121, performs arithmetic processing, and outputs the signal S6 to the drive device 125. The driving device 125 outputs a signal S7 to the right door opening / closing device 108. Thereby, the refrigerator door right door 102b is opened in this example. Moreover, when the right door operation part 123 is operated in the door open state, the door closing operation is performed by the same control.

First, the opening operation and action of the refrigerator 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to the output change graph of the acceleration sensor in FIG. 5 and the operation flowchart in FIG.

First, when the power is turned on in Step 1, the right door opening / closing detection unit 121 determines whether or not the refrigerator door right door 102b is in the closed state as Step 2. If the door is closed (step 2, Yes), the logic goes to step 3; if the door is open (step 2, No), the logic goes to step 13 and the signal S1 is outputted to the control device 124 and advanced. .

Next, in step 3, since the door is in the closed state, vibration at the right door operation unit 123 is detected, and if the output from the acceleration sensor 118 exceeds the predetermined value ± A shown in (Equation 1), (If the absolute value exceeds A (step 3, YES)), the logic proceeds to step 4; otherwise (step 3, NO), the logic continues with step 3 (first knock in FIG. 5). Of time).

In (Expression 1), X, Y, and Z are outputs in the respective axis directions detected by the acceleration sensor 118. α, β, and γ are constants, but in the knocking operation to the right door second operation unit 110, the vibration in the Z-axis direction is dominant. Is a sufficiently large value. As a result, the value of A serving as a criterion is the sum of the values of the three axes giving priority to the Z-axis direction.

Subsequently, in step 4, after the non-detection period (predetermined time t2 in FIG. 5) in which no false detection waveform such as bouncing of the output waveform is detected, the signal S5 determined to have been knocked first is used as the acceleration sensor. The data is output from 118 to the control device 124. The control device 124 sets the counter N to 1 and starts a timer T1.

Next, in Step 5, as in Step 3, if the output of the acceleration sensor 118 exceeds ± A (if the absolute value exceeds A), the logic advances to Step 6, and so on. If so, the logic continues with step 5 (at the time of the second knock in FIG. 5).

Next, at step 6, it is determined that knocking has occurred as in step 4, and the signal S 5 is output from the acceleration sensor 118 to the control device 124. The control device 124 increments the counter N by +1 (N = 2).

Subsequently, in step 7, the control device 124 determines the elapsed time of the timer T1, and if the predetermined time t1 has elapsed, the logic proceeds to step 8, otherwise, the logic returns to step 5. The detection of whether or not there is a knocking operation is continued.

Next, in step 8, the controller 124 determines the number of times of the counter N. If it is 2, the logic advances to step 10, and otherwise (one or three times), the timer T1 is reset ( Step 9), the logic is returned to Step 2 (at the point of detection number N in FIG. 5).

Next, at step 10, the knocking operation is determined assuming that the predetermined number of knocks (two in the present embodiment) has occurred within the detection unit time t1. Subsequently, in step 11, after the lapse of the specified time (0.5 seconds in the present embodiment), the control device 124 outputs the door opening signal S6 to the driving device 125 by one pulse (1 in the present embodiment). Seconds). Further, a signal S7 for opening the door is output to the right door opening / closing device 108, and in step 12, the refrigerator compartment right door 102b is opened. Then, the timer T1 is reset (step 9) and the logic is returned to step 2.

Next, the door closing operation will be described in step 13 and subsequent steps. The basic operation and action are the same as those described above, except that the operation unit is the right door operation unit 123 and the operation of the right door opening / closing device 108 is changed to the door closing operation. It is the same as the door operation.

First, in step 13, since the door is in an open state, vibration at the right door operation unit 123 is detected, and the output from the acceleration sensor 118 is an output exceeding the value ± B shown in (Expression 2) defined in advance. If so (if the absolute value exceeds B), the logic proceeds to step 14; otherwise, the logic continues with step 13 (at the time of the first knock in FIG. 5).

In (Expression 2), X, Y, and Z are outputs in the respective axial directions detected by the acceleration sensor 118. Although δ, ε, and ζ are constants, in the knocking operation to the right door operation unit 123, the vibration in the X-axis direction is dominant, and for weighting, δ is sufficiently larger than ε and ζ. Value. As a result, the value of B serving as a criterion is the sum of the outputs of the three axes giving priority to the X-axis direction.

Subsequently, at step 14, the signal S5, which is determined to have been knocked first after elapse of a non-detection period (predetermined time t2 in FIG. 5) in which an erroneous detection waveform such as bouncing of the output waveform is not detected, The data is output from 118 to the control device 124. The control device 124 sets the counter N to 1 and starts a timer T1.

Next, in step 15, as in step 13, if the output of the acceleration sensor 118 exceeds ± B (if the absolute value exceeds B), the logic advances to step 16, otherwise. The logic continues with step 15 (at the time of the second knock in FIG. 5).

Next, in step 16, it is determined that knocking has occurred as in step 14, and the signal S 5 is output from the acceleration sensor 118 to the control device 124. The control device 124 increments the counter N by +1 (ie, N = 2).

Subsequently, at step 17, the control device 124 determines the elapsed time of the timer T1, and if the predetermined time t1 has elapsed, the logic proceeds to step 18, otherwise the logic is returned to step 15. The detection of whether or not there is a knocking operation is continued.

Next, at step 18, the control device 124 determines the number of times of the counter N. If it is 2, the logic advances to step 20, and otherwise (one or three times), the timer T1 is reset ( Step 19) The logic is returned to Step 2 (at the time of detection number N in FIG. 5).

Next, at step 20, the knocking operation is confirmed on the assumption that the predetermined number of knocks (two in the present embodiment) has occurred within the detection unit time t1. Subsequently, in step 21, after the lapse of the specified time (in this embodiment, 0.5 second), the control device 124 outputs the door closing signal S6 to the drive device 125, and outputs one pulse (in this embodiment, 1 second). ). Further, a signal S7 for closing the door is output to the right door opening / closing device 108, and in step 22, the refrigerator compartment right door 102b is closed. Then, the timer T1 is reset (step 19), and the logic is returned to step 2.

In the above description, the right door 102b of the refrigerator compartment has been described. The left door 102a of the refrigerator compartment is also opened by using the left door second operation unit 109, the left door opening and closing device 107, etc. involved in the left door. A door operation and a door closing operation may be performed.

In the explanation 1 of the present embodiment, the number of knocks for determining the knock is two, but if the number of determinations of the counter N is changed, an arbitrary number of operations can be set. In consideration of the user's feeling of operation, the detection unit time t1, the non-detection section t2, the operation confirmation specified time of 0.5 seconds, and 1 pulse output from the control device 124 are arbitrary values. You can set it to.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the casing 101 formed of a heat insulating wall, the refrigerator compartment 102 provided in the casing 101, and the refrigerator compartment right door 102b that closes the refrigerator compartment 102 so as to be freely opened and closed. And the refrigerator 100 provided with the right door opening / closing apparatus 108 which opens and closes the refrigerator door right door 102b automatically is disclosed. Furthermore, the refrigerator 100 arrange | positions the right door operation part 123 which generate | occur | produces a door closing trigger in the edge frame side surface of the refrigerator compartment right door 102b. Thereby, the useless movement operation which goes around to the front surface of the opened door at the time of the door closing operation which occurs in the conventional configuration in which the opening / closing operation is performed by the same operation unit on the front surface of the refrigerator becomes unnecessary, and an easy-to-use operation can be realized.

In addition, a second operation unit 110 for the right door that generates a door opening trigger is disposed on the front surface of the right door 102b of the refrigerator compartment. As a result, the user can perform an opening / closing operation at a standing position in front of the same door to be opened / closed, so that useless moving operations are reduced and operability is further improved.

Further, the second operation unit 110 and the right door operation unit 123 of the right door are equipped with a multi-axis acceleration sensor 118 as an operation detection unit. This makes it possible to perform opening and closing operations with the vibration of light operation force such as the user's knock, and it is not necessary to touch with bare hands like conventional electrostatic touch sensors, and if the palm is dirty, the back or elbow of the hand It is possible to operate with or without clothing such as gloves.

Also, the acceleration sensor 118 is not mounted on the right door operation unit 123, but only one acceleration sensor 118 is mounted only on the right door second operation unit 110, and the detected output value in the vertical axis direction from each operation unit is obtained. Judgment can also be made by weighting with priority. Thereby, it is possible to detect with one sensor, with the X-axis direction of the acceleration sensor 118 of the second operation unit 110 of the right door as the closing operation and the Z-axis direction as the opening operation. This makes it possible to halve the connection harness, the mounting structure, etc., and to significantly reduce man-hours and costs.

In addition, since the door open / close state is accurately determined by providing the right door open / close detection unit 121 that detects the open / close state of the refrigerator door right door 102b, only the door open operation is performed in the closed state and the door open operation is only performed in the closed state. By accepting each, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation and provide a highly reliable automatic door opening / closing operation.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a front view showing an open state of the right door of the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator 200 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and different portions will be mainly described.

In FIG. 7, a right door third operation unit 126 is newly added to the upper part of the right door operation unit 123 arranged on the edge frame side surface 122 with respect to the configuration of the first embodiment. In FIG. 7, the third operation unit 126 of the right door is provided on the upper part of the right door operation unit 123, but the position is not particularly limited as long as it is on the edge frame side surface 122. As the detection unit of the specific operation detection unit of the third operation unit 126 of the right door, for example, the multi-axis acceleration sensor used in the first embodiment is preferable.

Next, the operation and action will be described.

First, when the right door second operation unit 110 detects vibration by an operation such as knocking in the closed state, the knocking operation is confirmed and the right door is determined in the same manner as the operation described in the first embodiment. The opening / closing device 108 opens. At this time, a signal S5 is output from the driving device 125 to the right door opening / closing device 108, the right door opening / closing device 108 operates, and when the refrigerator door right door 102b reaches a predetermined half-open angle, the right door opening / closing device 108 is operated. The device 108 stops operating. Here, the half-open angle is defined as a minimum required opening angle at which stored items such as a door shelf inside the right door 102b of the refrigerator compartment and a front shelf in the refrigerator compartment 102 can be taken in and out.

In this half-opened state, the user vibrates the right door operation unit 123 by an operation such as knocking when the user wants to close the door after closing the door. Then, as in the operation described in the first embodiment, the knocking operation is confirmed, the right door opening / closing device 108 is operated, and the refrigerator compartment right door 102b is closed.

On the other hand, in the half-open state, when it is necessary to put in and out the stored item in the back side of the refrigerator compartment 102, the user can operate the third door 126 on the side surface 122 of the edge frame by operating the knock or the like. Vibrate. Then, the signal S5 is output from the driving device 125 to the right door opening / closing device 108, the right door opening / closing device 108 operates, the refrigerator compartment right door 102b is fully opened, and the operation stops. And a user should just operate the right door operation part 123 similarly, when work is complete | finished and it wants to close a door.

It should be noted that the operation of fully opening the door from the half-open state by the operation of the third operation unit 126 of the right door may be operable by the right door operation unit 123 that performs the door closing operation. That is, the right door third operation unit 126 and the right door operation unit 123 can be integrated. Specifically, when the number of knock detections N is 2, the operation of opening the door from half open to full open may be performed, and when N is 3, the door may be closed or vice versa. Moreover, the operation | movement which fully opens from half open and the operation | movement which closes a door can also be distinguished by the time interval of knocking. In any case, it is possible to cope with this by changing at least one of the number of times and the time to be detected by control.

As described above, in the description of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the refrigeration room right door 102b has been described, but the refrigeration room left door 102a also has a configuration related to the left door. If it is made the same as the structure related to 102b, the same operation | movement is possible in a left door.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the third operation portion 126 of the right door that generates the two-stage operation opening trigger is arranged on the edge frame side surface 122 of the refrigerator compartment right door 102b. As a result, the right door second operation unit 110 on the front side of the right side of the refrigerator compartment 102b performs an operation of first opening the door in a half-open state, and then when the door needs to be opened further, the right door third operation unit 110 The operation of fully opening can be performed by 126. Therefore, the user can work with the door in a half-open state when putting in / out the stored items inside the right door 102b of the refrigerator compartment and the stored items on the front side of the refrigerator compartment 102, and unnecessary cold air can be generated by fully opening the door. Outflow can be prevented. Therefore, energy saving can be improved. Moreover, since the door is opened in a two-stage operation, an excellent refrigerator can be provided from the viewpoint of ensuring safety and high-quality operation.

In addition, the third operation unit 126 and the right door operation unit 123, which are installed on the edge frame side surface 122 of the refrigerating room right door 102b, are integrally configured, so that the hardware configuration of one operation unit can be partially opened. The door can be opened and closed from the fully open position to the fully open position. Thereby, not only can the installation space and cost be reduced, but also an erroneous operation such as a knocking position error when there are two operation units in the vicinity can be prevented.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a front view of the refrigerator 300 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an open state of the freezer compartment door of the refrigerator 300, and FIG. It is a side view which shows the open state of the freezer compartment door of the refrigerator 300. FIG.

In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the structure same as 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment, and a different part is demonstrated.

8 to 10, a freezer compartment door second operation portion 127 that generates an operation trigger for opening the freezer compartment door 128 is disposed on the front surface of the drawer-type freezer compartment door 128. The configuration is the same as that of the right door second operation portion 110 of the refrigerator compartment right door 102b described in the first embodiment.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 in the open state, the freezer compartment door operation unit that generates an operation trigger for closing the freezer compartment door 128 is provided on the edge frame side surface upper part 129 that is a skeleton of the freezer compartment door 128. 130 is arranged. Although the acceleration sensor 118 may be mounted on the freezer compartment door operation unit 130, in the present embodiment, a configuration in which only one acceleration sensor is installed on the second operation unit 127 of the freezer compartment door will be described. That is, the vertical Z axis of the acceleration sensor 118 is selectively detected as acceleration as the vibration of the door opening operation and the Y axis of the vertical direction is selectively detected as the vibration of the door closing operation.

Also, a freezer compartment door open / close detector 131 that can detect the open / close state of the freezer compartment door 128 is disposed inside the freezer compartment 105. Further, the removable freezer compartment 133 is housed on a drawer rail 132 that can be moved back and forth, and a drawer door opening / closing device 134 is installed on the drawer rail 132. Here, since the drawer rail 132 and the freezer compartment door 128 are fixedly connected, the freezer compartment door 128 can be automatically opened and closed by the operation of the drawer door opening / closing device 134.

About the refrigerator 300 comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

First, in the closed state, when the second operation unit 127 of the freezer compartment door detects vibration by an operation such as knocking, the knocking operation is confirmed and the drawer door is determined in the same manner as the operation described in the first embodiment. The opening / closing device 134 operates, and the freezer compartment door 128 opens. Next, when the freezer compartment door operation unit 130 detects vibration by an operation such as knocking in the open state, the knocking operation is confirmed and the drawer door opening / closing is performed in the same manner as the operation described in the first embodiment. The apparatus 134 operates to close the freezer compartment door 128.

At this time, it is necessary to supply power and transmit signals from the main body side to the acceleration sensor 118 and the control device 124 when arranged on the door side. In order to ensure reliability, not only a harness connection that expands and contracts but also a non-contact power feeding method can be adopted. Specifically, if the primary side of the non-contact power supply is installed on the main body side and the secondary side is installed on the door side so as to face each other, power supply and signal transmission in the closed state can be performed. Further, if a backup power source such as a battery that can be charged in the closed state and a wireless communication device such as infrared rays are provided on the secondary side, the knocking detection of the closing operation can be performed even in the open state.

Similarly to the second embodiment, if the third operation portion 135 of the freezer compartment door 128 is provided on the edge frame side surface upper portion 129 of the freezer compartment door 128, the freezer compartment door 128 is opened in two steps. Is possible. Thereby, when the storage thing in front of the freezer compartment 105 is taken in and out, it can work in a half-open state. Therefore, as in the second embodiment, energy saving is improved, safety can be ensured, and high-quality operation can be ensured.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the door that automatically opens and closes is the drawer-type freezer compartment door 128, and the position of the freezer compartment door operation unit 130 that performs the door closing operation is the second freezer compartment door that performs the door opening operation. It is installed at a position higher than the operation unit 127. As a result, the door closing operation can be performed on the doors that are frequently arranged at positions lower than the waist by the knocking operation in the vertical direction, so that it is easy to use and can be operated with an easy posture.

In the present embodiment, the freezing room has been described. However, the same configuration may be applied to the same drawer-type vegetable room or the like.

As described above, the refrigerator according to the present disclosure is provided with the door closing operation portion on the side of the edge frame of the door as the operation portion for operating the automatic door opening device. As a result, the operability is improved for both the double doors and the drawer doors. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to a commercial refrigerator, a freezer / refrigerated showcase, and a storage room that does not require temperature adjustment, which is useful.

100, 200, 300 Refrigerator 101 Case 102 Refrigeration room 102a Refrigeration room left door 102b Refrigeration room right door 103 Ice making room 104 Switching room 105 Freezer room 106 Vegetable room 107 Left door opening / closing device 108 Right door opening / closing device 109 Left door second door Operation unit 110 Right door second operation unit 111 Edge frame 112 Door exterior plate 113 Resin film 114 Substrate support member 115 Support member insertion port 116 Fixing screw 117 Mounting substrate 118 Acceleration sensor 119 Foamed urethane 120 Hollow region 121 Right door opening / closing detection unit 122 Edge frame side surface 123 Right door operation section 124 Control device 125 Drive device 126 Right door third operation section 127 Freezer compartment door second operation section 128 Freezer compartment door 129 Edge of edge frame side surface 130 Freezer compartment door operation section 131 Freezer compartment Door open / close detection part 132 Drawer rail 133 Freezer compartment 134 Drawer door opening / closing device 135 Freezer compartment door third operation part 136 Flat part

Claims

A housing composed of insulating walls;
A storage chamber provided in the housing;
A door that opens and closes the storage chamber;
An operation unit provided on a side surface of the edge frame of the door;
An automatic opening and closing device that automatically opens and closes the door;
The automatic opening and closing device is a refrigerator configured to close the door based on a door closing trigger generated by the operation unit.
A second operation unit that generates a door opening trigger is provided on the front surface of the door,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the automatic opening / closing device opens the door based on the door opening trigger.
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second operation unit is provided with a first multi-axis acceleration sensor.
The first multi-axis acceleration sensor performs detection determination by preferentially weighting output values detected in the vertical axis direction out of the three-dimensional output values from the second operation unit. The refrigerator described.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a second multi-axis acceleration sensor is provided in the operation unit.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a door open / close detection unit that detects an open / closed state of the door.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a third operation portion that generates a two-stage door opening trigger is provided on a side surface of the edge frame of the door.
The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the third operation unit and the operation unit are integrated.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the door is a drawer-type door.