HK1224727B - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

Refrigerator with a door

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to an operation panel portion of a refrigerator.

Background

In recent years, touch sensor systems have become the mainstream of operation panel units of refrigerators, and when icons, characters, and the like of touch operation portions are displayed on the operation panel unit, the portions are irradiated from the rear of the operation panel unit by a light emitting body such as a light emitting source. Most refrigerators improve visual confirmation by displaying icons and the like only during operation in this manner.

Further, the following refrigerators are proposed: the appearance of the electronic device is improved by turning on the operation panel portion only when the operation panel portion is operated and turning off the operation panel portion when the operation panel portion is not operated at ordinary times (see, for example, patent document 1).

Here, in order to prevent the icon or the like from being seen when the touch operation portion is turned off, the following various proposals are made: the same white pigment as the white pigment used in many refrigerator designs is used as a packaging material at a constant ratio, thereby improving the concealment of the contained contents (see, for example, patent documents 2 to 4).

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2014-40960 (pages 4 to 5)

Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2008-62956 (page 6)

Patent document 3: international publication No. 2008/038716 (pages 9 to 10)

Patent document 4: international publication No. 2008/047581 (page 9)

The invention proposed in patent document 1 has the following problems: when characters, graphics (drawings), or the like displayed through the operation panel portion are lit, if the transparency of the characters or the like is increased, the display of the characters or the like is seen through without lighting the display of the operation panel portion.

On the other hand, in the inventions disclosed in patent documents 2 to 4, in order to prevent characters or figures displayed through the operation panel portion from being seen when the display of the operation panel portion of the refrigerator is not turned on, a large amount of white pigment or the like is contained in a decorative layer constituting a part of the operation panel portion. This can enhance the concealment of the internal contents, but has the following problems: when characters, diagrams, and the like displayed through the operation panel portion are lighted, visibility of the displayed characters, the diagrams, and the like is degraded.

In particular, the following problems exist: in the case of a refrigerator having a white design, which is required in the refrigerator market, the display of the operation panel unit is turned on, and therefore, the contrast between the color of the display unit of the operation panel unit and the white color of the refrigerator main body is not easily obtained, and the visibility of the display unit of the operation panel unit is reduced.

In addition, although the color of the display portion of the operation panel portion is changed from white to silver or gray to exhibit contrast, and thus visibility can be ensured, the target design color of the display portion of the operation panel portion may not be achieved, and the sense of unity of the entire refrigerator may be lost.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which visibility of a display portion is ensured when the display portion of an operation panel portion is turned on, and concealment of characters and the like is improved when the display portion of the operation panel portion is turned off.

The refrigerator according to the present invention comprises: a transparent member; a decorative layer provided on the inner side of the transparent member and decorated with black ink of a reference amount or less; a laminated sheet in which a conductive member that detects a change in electrostatic capacitance, a colored conductive wiring that transmits a signal detected by the conductive member, a transparent base material, and an icon printed layer are laminated in this order and provided on the inner side of the decorative layer; a shielding wall which is provided inside the laminated sheet and shields light of a light source that irradiates the icon printing layer from behind; and an electronic substrate which is arranged at the inner side of the shielding wall, detects signals from the colored conductive wiring, and is provided with the luminous source.

Another refrigerator according to the present invention includes: a decorative layer decorated with black ink of a standard amount or less; a transparent member provided inside the decorative layer; a laminated sheet in which a conductive member that detects a change in electrostatic capacitance, a colored conductive wiring that transmits a signal detected by the conductive member, a transparent base material, and an icon printed layer are laminated in this order and provided on the inner side of the transparent member; a shielding wall which is provided inside the laminated sheet and shields light of a light source that irradiates the icon printing layer from behind; and an electronic substrate which is provided inside the shielding wall, detects a signal from the colored conductive wiring, and has the light emission source.

Preferably, the decoration layer is configured to include a plurality of printing layers.

Preferably, the plurality of printing layers includes: a first printed layer; and a second printing layer provided on the back surface side of the first printing layer, wherein the first printing layer is decorated with a white ink, and the ratio of the reference amount of the black ink of the second printing layer is 0.5% to 1%.

Preferably, the conductive member and the icon printed layer are printed on the transparent member.

Preferably, the laminated sheet further includes a light diffusion layer that diffuses light irradiated from the light emission source.

Preferably, the light diffusion layer is laminated in the laminated sheet at a position closest to the light emission source.

According to the present invention, a refrigerator can be obtained by providing a transparent member with a decorative layer decorated with black ink of a reference amount or less: when the display part of the operation panel is turned off, characters and the like on the display part of the operation panel are not seen through, and the concealment of the display part of the operation panel is improved. Further, a refrigerator can be obtained by providing a decorative layer decorated with black ink of a reference amount or less on a transparent member: the transparency of the transparent member of the operation panel is ensured when the display portion of the operation panel is lighted, thereby ensuring the visual confirmation of the display portion of the operation panel.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an exploded state of the operation panel according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a view schematically showing a cross section of a transparent member and a printed surface (decorative layer) constituting a part of the operation panel according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a front view of a transparent member constituting a part of the operation panel according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a front view of a transparent electrode sheet constituting a part of the operation panel according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a view schematically showing a cross section of a transparent electrode sheet constituting a part of the operation panel according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the entire components of the operation panel unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Description of reference numerals:

1 … refrigerator; 2 … compressor; 3 … cooler; 4 … blower fan; 5 … air path; 6 … operating panel; 11 … transparent member; 12 … transparent electrode sheet; 13 … a support member; 14 … holding member; 15 … an electronic substrate; 16 … holding member; 17 … display logo layer; 17a … display part logo; 17b … display part logo; 18 … ground color layer; 19 … bottom color layer; 20 … back side hold down; 21 … start button; 22 … handle icon; 23 … a transparent substrate; 24 … pattern wiring layer; 25 … a layer of transparent conductive ink; 26 … insulating ink layer; 27 … icon print layer (light-shielding layer); 28 … light diffusing layer; 29 … paste printing layer; 30 … light emitting source; 32 … icon display part; 33 … adding a decorative layer; 100 … a refrigerating chamber; 200 … switching chamber; 201 … switching room containing box; 300 … ice making chamber; 400 … freezing chamber; 401 … freezing chamber containing box; 500 … vegetable room; 501 … vegetable room storage box; f … finger.

Detailed Description

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

[ description of the Structure of the refrigerator ]

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the refrigerator 1 is formed with a plurality of storage compartments inside in a manner of being divided into several layers in the vertical direction. In addition, a storage chamber divided in the left-right direction is provided in one layer.

As the storage compartment, a refrigerating compartment 100 is provided at the uppermost part, and a two-piece opening/closing door is provided on the front surface of the refrigerating compartment 100. Below refrigerating room 100, switching room 200 and ice making room 300 are provided in parallel, wherein switching room 200 can be switched to a freezing temperature zone (-18 ℃), a refrigerating temperature zone (3 ℃), a chilled temperature zone (0 ℃) and a soft freezing temperature zone (-7 ℃). The switching chamber 200 and the ice making chamber 300 can be opened and closed by drawer type doors. A freezer compartment 400 that can be opened and closed by a drawer-type door is provided below the switching compartment 200 and the ice making compartment 300. A vegetable compartment 500 that can be opened and closed by a drawer door is provided below freezing compartment 400, i.e., at the lowest layer of the storage compartment.

An operation panel 6 is provided on the surface of the opening/closing door of the refrigerating compartment 100. The operation panel 6 includes the following components: an operation switch (not shown) for adjusting the room temperature and setting of each storage room; and a liquid crystal display unit (not shown) for displaying the temperature of each storage chamber. The operation panel 6 will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 3 described later.

Although the present embodiment shows an example in which operation panel 6 is provided on the surface of the opening/closing door of refrigerating room 100, the present invention is not limited to this, and operation panel 6 may be provided, for example, on the surface of the door of the storage room inside refrigerator 1 or other than refrigerating room 100, or on the outer surface of refrigerator 1.

Although the present embodiment shows an example in which refrigerating room 100, switching room 200, ice making room 300, freezing room 400, and vegetable room 500 are provided as storage rooms of refrigerator 1, the configuration of the storage rooms of refrigerator 1 is not limited to this, and for example, refrigerator 1 may be provided without switching room 200 or ice making room 300, or refrigerator 1 may be provided with freezing room 400 and vegetable room 500 reversed in position.

Fig. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of the refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, the refrigerator 1 includes a compressor 2 and a cooler 3 which constitute a part of a refrigeration cycle therein. Further, the refrigerator 1 includes therein: a blower fan 4 for sending the cold air cooled by the cooler 3 to each storage room in the refrigerator 1; and an air duct 5 for introducing the cold air sent by the air sending fan 4 into each storage room.

The cold air cooled by the cooler 3 is sent to the freezer compartment 400, the switching compartment 200, the ice compartment 300, and the refrigerator compartment 100 through the air duct 5, thereby cooling the respective storage compartments. The return cold air in refrigerating room 100 circulates through a refrigerating room return air passage (not shown) to cool vegetable room 500. The returned cold air is returned to the cooler 3 through a return air passage (not shown) for the vegetable room.

The temperature of each storage chamber is detected by a thermistor (not shown) provided in each storage chamber. The temperature of each storage room is controlled to a preset temperature by adjusting the opening of a damper (not shown) provided in the air passage 5, the operating capacity of the compressor 2, and the air blowing amount of the air blowing fan 4.

The switching chamber 200 is provided with a switching chamber storage box 201 so that food can be stored therein. Similarly, a freezing chamber storage box 401 is provided in the freezing chamber 400 so that food items can be stored therein. Further, vegetable compartment 500 is also provided with vegetable compartment storage box 501, so that food can be stored therein. One storage box may be provided in each storage room, but a plurality of storage boxes may be provided in each storage room in consideration of the capacity of the refrigerator 1 to improve convenience and manageability.

[ description of the Structure of the operation Panel ]

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an exploded state of the operation panel 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the operation panel 6 is configured by stacking a transparent member 11, a decorative layer 33 described later, a transparent electrode sheet 12, a support member 13, a holding member 14, an electronic board 15, and a holding member 16 in this order from the front surface side of the refrigerator 1.

The supporting member 13 supports the transparent electrode sheet 12, and the holding member 14 holds the transparent member 11 and the decorative layer 33. The electronic board 15 includes a microcomputer and a light-emitting source 30 (see fig. 8). The support member 13 functions as a shielding wall that shields light emitted from the light emission source 30 toward the operation icon 22 (see fig. 8) from the adjacent icons. The holding member 16 is configured to hold the transparent member 11, the decorative layer 33, the transparent electrode sheet 12, the support member 13, the holding member 14, and the electronic substrate 15 in this order from the front surface side of the refrigerator 1 by overlapping these members, thereby configuring the operation panel 6. The operation panel 6 configured as described above is a capacitive touch sensor that detects and operates a change amount of capacitance. In addition, although an inexpensive light emitting diode is often used as the light emitting source 30, another light emitting source may be used. The material of the transparent member 11 is not particularly limited as long as it is a transparent material such as glass or resin that allows light to pass therethrough.

The support member 13 corresponds to a "shield wall" in the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the transparent member 11 and the decorative layer 33 constituting a part of the operation panel 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 4, a 4-layer printed surface of a display portion logo (logo) layer 17, a base color layer 18, a base color layer 19, and a back surface pressing layer 20 is laminated on the back surface (inside of the refrigerator 1) of the transparent member 11, and the decorative layer 33 is constituted by the above 4 layers. The transparent member 11 is decorated by performing different decorations on the respective layers constituting the decoration layer 33 and laminating the printed surfaces.

The decorative layer 33 is formed by printing, insert molding, in-mold molding, or film application to decorate the transparent member 11. Although the present embodiment shows an example in which the decorative layer 33 is provided on the back surface of the transparent member 11, the decorative layer 33 may be provided on the front surface of the transparent member 11. In this case, the decorative layer 33 is laminated in this order from the front surface of the transparent member 11 (the front surface side of the refrigerator 1) to the base color layer 19, the base color layer 18, the display portion logo layer 17, and the back surface pressing layer 20.

Fig. 5 is a front view of the transparent member 11 constituting a part of the operation panel 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 5, the display portion logo layer 17 (see fig. 4) is a transparent printed layer, and the display portion logo 17a is applied to the upper left portion and the display portion logo 17b is applied to the lower left portion. Similarly, the ground color layer 18 and the ground color layer 19 are transparent printing layers, the ground color layer 18 is provided with a ground color at the lower portion, and the ground color layer 19 is provided with a ground color at the upper portion. The inks of the base color layers 18 and 19 are configured to have a transparent color called a medium (medium) and pigments, metal particles such as pearls and aluminum, and the like.

The ink of the back surface pressing layer 20 is configured to include a white pigment, a black pigment, and a medium. The ink formulation ratio of the ink of the back side pressing layer 20 is, for example, 60% for white pigment, 0.5% for black pigment (black ink), and 39.5% for medium.

By setting the compounding ratio of the black pigment to, for example, 0.5% as described above, it is possible to suppress the influence of the hue (color odor) of each of the transparent electrode sheet 12, the supporting member 13, and the holding member 14, which are in contact with the back surface of the transparent member 11, on the ground color layer 18 and the ground color layer 19, and to satisfy the concealing property.

In the present embodiment, the ratio of the black pigment is set to 0.5%, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the ratio of the black pigment may be 0.5% to 1.0%. The lower limit of the proportion of the black pigment is set to 0.5% because the basic color of white is less invisible, and when it is less than 0.5%, the structure on the back side is seen through. On the other hand, the upper limit value of the black pigment is set to 1.0% because the influence of the black pigment is strong, and if it exceeds 1%, black is visually recognized (recognized as gray). The black pigment is not limited to the black ink, and may be any black ink containing deep blue. The ratio of the white pigment to the medium affects the transmission of the light emitted from the light-emitting source 30, but the aesthetic appearance of the icon display is also affected by the brightness of the LED, and therefore the ratio is not limited to the above ratio.

Since the ink of the back surface pressing layer 20 containing the black pigment does not contain a metal component and a chemically unstable component, the back surface pressing layer 20 is not discolored by moisture, and other oil stains entering from the back surface. Further, since the back surface pressing layer 20 is provided, each of the printing layers of the base color layer 18 and the base color layer 19 can be protected, and even if metal powder such as aluminum is contained in the ink of the base color, chemical reaction does not occur.

Fig. 6 is a front view of the transparent electrode sheet 12 constituting a part of the operation panel 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 6, the transparent electrode sheet 12 of the operation panel 6 is provided with a start (start) button 21 at the upper left portion, a plurality of operation icons 22 at the lower portion, and an icon display portion 32 at the central portion, as viewed from the front. When the start button 21 is touched during operation of the operation panel 6, the operation icon 22 is lit. Icons corresponding to various operations are displayed on the icon display unit 32. The start button 21 is provided at a position that matches the display portion logo 17a shown in fig. 5 when the operation panel 6 is assembled.

Fig. 7 is a view schematically showing a cross section of the transparent electrode sheet 12 constituting a part of the operation panel 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 7, the transparent electrode sheet 12 has a cross-sectional structure in which a pattern wiring layer 24, a transparent conductive ink layer 25, and an insulating ink layer 26 are sequentially laminated in this order from a transparent substrate 23 as a center toward the front side (operation side). Further, an icon printing layer (light shielding layer) 27, a light diffusion layer 28, and a paste printing layer 29 are sequentially laminated in this order from the transparent substrate 23 toward the back side (substrate side). The transparent electrode sheet 12 is supported by attaching the paste printed layer 29 to the support member 13.

The pattern wiring layer 24 is formed to electrically connect the transparent conductive ink layer 25 and the electronic substrate 15. The transparent conductive ink layer 25 detects a change in capacitance, and the pattern wiring layer 24 transmits a signal detected by the transparent conductive ink layer 25 to the electronic substrate 15.

The transparent electrode sheet 12 corresponds to a "laminated sheet" in the present invention. The pattern wiring layer 24 corresponds to the "colored conductive wiring" in the present invention. The transparent conductive ink layer 25 corresponds to a "conductive member" in the present invention.

The transparent conductive ink layer 25 is printed on the portion of the start button 21, and the transparent conductive ink layer 25, the icon printing layer (light shielding layer) 27, and the light diffusion layer 28 are printed on the portion of the operation icon 22.

Fig. 8 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the entire components of the operation panel unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 8, the light emitting source 30 is provided on the electronic board 15 on the back side of each operation icon 22. When the operation icon 22 is turned on, the light-emitting source 30 is turned on, and the light from the light-emitting source 30 is displayed on the operation icon 22 via the light diffusion layer 28, the icon printing layer (light shielding layer) 27, and the transparent conductive ink layer 25, and can be visually confirmed. When the operation icon 22 is lit, the finger F touches the operation icon 22, and the operation icon 22 receives an operation.

Further, by printing the light diffusion layer 28 on the transparent electrode sheet 12, light emitted from the light emission source 30 can be diffused by the light diffusion layer 28, surface light emission can be realized, and large-sized icons, characters, and the like can be displayed uniformly without using a member such as a conductive plate.

As described above, the decorative layer of the transparent member 11 of the operation panel 6 is constituted by several ink layers, and a small amount of black pigment is mixed in the back surface pressing layer 20. In this way, the following refrigerator 1 can be obtained: when the display portion of the operation panel 6 is not lit, characters and the like are not seen through, and the concealment is improved.

Further, by setting the ratio of the black pigment contained in the ink to 1% or less based on the ratio and setting the ratio to 0.5% or more based on the lower limit value of the ratio, the color of the back surface of the transparent member 11 when the light-emitting source 30 is not lit can be absorbed by the back surface pressing layer 20, and the front surface of the transparent member 11 can be prevented from being transmitted. This can reduce the pigment concentration of the base color layer 18 and the base color layer 19, ensure the concealing property of the back surface of the transparent member 11, and reduce the influence on the base color by adjusting the amount of the black pigment to be applied to a small amount.

The base color layers 18 and 19 exhibit the following tendency: light is scattered by collision with particles of ink, but the attenuation of light by scattering is reduced by lowering the pigment concentration as compared with the conventional one, and the light transmittance is improved, so that the visibility of the display portion such as the operation icon 22 when the light-emitting source 30 is turned on is improved.

Claims (12)

1. A refrigerator is characterized by comprising:

a transparent member;

a decorative layer provided on the inner side of the transparent member and decorated with black ink of a reference amount or less;

a laminated sheet in which a conductive member that detects a change in electrostatic capacitance, a colored conductive wiring that transmits a signal detected by the conductive member, a transparent base material, and an icon printed layer are laminated in this order and provided on the inner side of the decorative layer;

a shielding wall which is provided inside the laminated sheet and shields light of a light source that irradiates the icon printing layer from behind; and

and an electronic substrate which is provided inside the shielding wall, detects a signal from the colored conductive wiring, and has the light emission source.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1,

the decorative layer includes a plurality of printed layers.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2,

the plurality of printing layers include: a first printed layer; and a second printing layer provided on the back surface side of the first printing layer, wherein the first printing layer is decorated with a white ink, and the ratio of the reference amount of the black ink of the second printing layer is 0.5% to 1%.

4. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the conductive member and the icon printed layer are printed on the transparent member.

5. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the laminated sheet further includes a light diffusion layer that diffuses light irradiated from the light emission source.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5,

the light diffusion layer is laminated in the laminated sheet at a position closest to the light emission source.

7. A refrigerator is characterized by comprising:

a decorative layer decorated with black ink of a standard amount or less;

a transparent member provided inside the decorative layer;

a laminated sheet in which a conductive member that detects a change in electrostatic capacitance, a colored conductive wiring that transmits a signal detected by the conductive member, a transparent base material, and an icon printed layer are laminated in this order and provided on the inner side of the transparent member;

a shielding wall which is provided inside the laminated sheet and shields light of a light source that irradiates the icon printing layer from behind; and

and an electronic substrate which is provided inside the shielding wall, detects a signal from the colored conductive wiring, and has the light emission source.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 7,

the decorative layer includes a plurality of printed layers.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 8,

the plurality of printing layers include: a first printed layer; and a second printing layer provided on the back surface side of the first printing layer, wherein the first printing layer is decorated with a white ink, and the ratio of the reference amount of the black ink of the second printing layer is 0.5% to 1%.

10. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 7 to 9,

the conductive member and the icon printed layer are printed on the transparent member.

11. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 7 to 9,

the laminated sheet further includes a light diffusion layer that diffuses light irradiated from the light emission source.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 11,

the light diffusion layer is laminated in the laminated sheet at a position closest to the light emission source.