U.S. patent application number 11/878914 was filed with the patent office on 2008-08-14 for refrigerator and control method thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Gyu-hwan An, Yong-ik Cho, Kyoung-hwan Kim, Gi-hyeong Lee.
Application Number | 20080190127 11/878914 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39484571 |
Filed Date | 2008-08-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080190127 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cho; Yong-ik ; et
al. |
August 14, 2008 |
Refrigerator and control method thereof
Abstract
A refrigerator includes a main body cabinet having a storage
room formed with a front opening, a door which opens and closes the
front opening, and a display unit that is mounted on at least one
of the main body cabinet and the door. The display unit includes a
display displaying an image, a power supply unit selectively
supplying power to the display, a temperature detector detecting a
temperature of the display, and a controller controlling the power
supply unit to interrupt the power supplied to the display when the
temperature detected by the temperature detector is higher than a
predetermined maximum temperature.
Inventors: |
Cho; Yong-ik; (Buk-gu,
KR) ; Lee; Gi-hyeong; (Gwangsan-gu, KR) ; An;
Gyu-hwan; (Gwangsan-gu, KR) ; Kim; Kyoung-hwan;
(Buk-gu, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STAAS & HALSEY LLP
SUITE 700, 1201 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd.
Suwon-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
39484571 |
Appl. No.: |
11/878914 |
Filed: |
July 27, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/246 ;
220/592.02; 62/132 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 23/12 20130101;
F25D 29/00 20130101; F25D 2400/36 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/246 ;
220/592.02; 62/132 |
International
Class: |
F25D 3/00 20060101
F25D003/00; F25B 49/00 20060101 F25B049/00; F25D 23/00 20060101
F25D023/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 14, 2007 |
KR |
10-2007-0015594 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator comprising: a main body cabinet which comprises a
storage room formed with a front opening; a door which opens and
closes the front opening; and a display unit that is mounted on at
least one of the main body cabinet and the door, and that comprises
a display to display an image, a power supply unit to selectively
supply power to the display, a temperature detector to detect a
temperature of the display, and a controller to control the power
supply unit to interrupt the power supplied to the display when the
temperature detected by the temperature detector is higher than a
predetermined maximum temperature.
2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the controller outputs a
warning message before interrupting the power supplied to the
display.
3. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the
power supply unit to continue interrupting the power from the
display until the temperature detected by the temperature detector
reaches a predetermined reference temperature, when the power
supplied to the display is interrupted.
4. A controlling method of a refrigerator comprising a main body
cabinet comprising a storage room formed with a front opening, a
door which opens and closes the front opening, a display unit which
is mounted on at least one of the main body cabinet and the door to
display an image, the controlling method comprising: detecting a
temperature of the display unit; interrupting power supplied to the
display unit when the detected temperature is higher than a
predetermined maximum temperature.
5. The controlling method of claim 4, further comprising displaying
a warning message before interrupting the power supplied to the
display unit.
6. The controlling method of claim 5, wherein, when the power
supplied to the display unit is interrupted, keeping the power
interrupted from the display unit until the temperature of the
display unit reaches a predetermined reference temperature.
7. A refrigerator comprising: a display unit mounted on at least
one of a main body cabinet and a door of the refrigerator, to
display an image, a power supply unit to selectively supply power
to the display unit, a temperature detector to detect a temperature
of the display unit, and a controller to control the power supply
unit to interrupt the power supplied to the display unit, when the
temperature detected by the temperature detector is higher than a
predetermined temperature.
8. The refrigerator of claim 7, wherein the predetermined
temperature is set according to a user's preference.
9. The refrigerator of claim 7, wherein the controller outputs a
warning message to be displayed on the display unit before
interrupting the power supplied to the display unit, when the
temperature detected by the temperature detector reaches the
predetermined temperature.
10. The refrigerator of claim 9, wherein the controller controls
the power supply unit to interrupt the power supplied to the
display unit after elapsing a predetermined time from a time when
the warning message is displayed.
11. A refrigerator comprising a display to display an image
thereon, and a temperature detector to detect a temperature of the
display such that power supplied to the display is interrupted when
the temperature detected exceeds a predetermined temperature.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2007-0015594, filed on Feb. 14, 2007 in the
Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] The present invention relates to a refrigerator. More
particularly, a refrigerator for preventing a display unit from
being overheated and a controlling method thereof.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Generally, a conventional refrigerator includes a main body
including a storage room formed with a front opening, and a door
for closing and opening the front opening of the storage room.
[0006] Conventional refrigerators include various functions
including a home bar for providing materials stored in the storage
room to the outside without opening the door, a dispensing unit for
providing ice or water to the outside without opening the door, and
a display unit having a TV or Internet function.
[0007] The display unit of this conventional refrigerator may be
mounted on the door to be driven, or it may be driven detachable
from the door.
[0008] However, when the display unit is driven for a long time,
heat is generated from electronic elements therein, to thereby
increase temperature of the display unit. Accordingly, when holding
the heated display unit, a user may drop the display unit so that
the display unit may be broken.
SUMMARY
[0009] Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to
provide a refrigerator for preventing a display unit from being
overheated.
[0010] It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a
controlling method of a refrigerator for preventing a display unit
from being overheated.
[0011] Additional aspects and/or advantages will be set forth in
part in the description which follows and, in part, will be
apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the
invention.
[0012] The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention
can be achieved by providing a refrigerator including a main body
cabinet which includes a storage room formed with a front opening,
a door which opens and closes the front opening, and a display unit
that is mounted on at least one of the main body cabinet and the
door, and which includes a display which displays an image, a power
supply unit which selectively supplies a power to the display, a
temperature detector which detects temperature of the display, and
a controller which controls the power supply unit to interrupt the
power supplied to the display when the temperature detected by the
temperature detector is higher than a predetermined maximum
temperature.
[0013] According to an aspect of the invention, the controller
outputs a warning message before interrupting the power supplied to
the display.
[0014] According to an aspect of the invention, the controller
controls the power supply unit to keep interrupting the power from
the display until the temperature detected by the temperature
detector reaches a predetermined reference temperature when the
power supplied to the display is interrupted.
[0015] It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a
controlling method of a refrigerator including a main body cabinet
including a storage room formed with a front opening, a door which
opens and closes the front opening, a display unit which is mounted
on at least one of the main body cabinet and the door to display an
image, the controlling method including detecting a temperature of
the display unit, and interrupting power supplied to the display
unit when the detected temperature is higher than a predetermined
maximum temperature.
[0016] According to an aspect of the invention, the controlling
method further includes displaying a warning message before
interrupting the power supplied to the display unit.
[0017] According to an aspect of the invention, when the power
supplied to the display unit is interrupted, keeping the power
interrupted from the display unit until the temperature of the
display unit reaches a predetermined reference temperature.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from
the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings of which:
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to
an embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the refrigerator
according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0021] FIG. 3 is a control flowchart of the refrigerator according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0022] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of
the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to
like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below so as
to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.
[0023] A refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present
invention will now be described with reference to the figures.
[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 according to an
embodiment of the present invention, includes a main body cabinet
10 including a storage room 15 formed with a front opening 13, a
door 20 for opening and closing the front opening 13 of the storage
room 15, and a display unit 30 which is mounted on at least one of
the main body cabinet 10 and the door 20.
[0025] The main body cabinet 10 forms an outer shape of the
refrigerator 1, and the storage room 15 stores materials such as
food is formed inside the main body cabinet 10.
[0026] The door 20 opens and closes the front opening 13 of the
storage room 15. A display unit mounting portion (not shown) in
which the display unit 30 is mounted is formed on a front surface
of the door 20. A part of the door is caved in to form the display
unit mounting portion on the front surface of the door 20, and a
size of the caved-in part corresponds to that of the display unit
30 Various methods that have been disclosed may be applied to a
configuration of which the display unit 30 is mounted in and
separated from the display unit mounting portion. In addition, in
this embodiment of the present invention, while the door is rotated
with respect to the main body cabinet 10 to open and close the
front opening 13, the door 20 is formed in a drawer type to open
and close the front opening 13.
[0027] The display unit 30 is mounted in and separated from the
door 20. The display unit 30 displays an image, and performs
various functions such as TV, Internet, and home shopping
functions. The display unit 30 includes a display 40 for displaying
an image, a power supply unit 50 for selectively supplying power to
the display 40, a temperature detector 60 for detecting temperature
of the display 40, and a controller 70 for controlling the power
supply unit 50 based on the temperature detected by the temperature
detector 60.
[0028] The display 40 comprises a case unit 41 forming an outer
shape thereof and formed with an exposed opening, an image display
part 43 which is exposed to the outside through the exposed opening
of the case unit 41 to display an image, a sound unit 45 for
outputting sound, and electric elements (not shown) (e.g., a main
board) for generating and transmitting a signal to the image
display part 43 and the sound unit 45. Here, a flat display panel,
such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a plasma display panel
(PDP), or other known in the art is used for the image display part
43, and a speaker is used for the sound unit 45. In addition, a
control button 47 for controlling the display unit 30 (e.g.,
turning on/off the display unit 30 and selecting channels) is
provided at one area of the case unit 41. Here, in addition to the
control button, the display unit 30 comprises a remote controller
(not shown) for wirelessly controlling the display unit 30.
[0029] The power supply unit 50 selectively supplies and interrupts
the power to/from the display 40. The power supply unit 50 is
accommodated in the case unit 41 of the display 40.
[0030] The temperature detector 60 detects the temperature of the
display 40. The temperature detector 60 is mounted on the electric
element (e.g., the main board) which generates heat to detect the
temperature. However, the temperature detector 60 is mounted on the
case unit 41 to detect the temperature. The temperature detector 60
detects the temperature of the display 40 and transmits the result
to the controller 70.
[0031] The controller 70 controls the power supply unit 50 to
interrupt the power from the display 40 when the temperature
detected by the temperature detector 60 is greater than a
predetermined maximum temperature. Here, the maximum temperature is
established by controlling the display unit 30 according to user's
preference. According to an embodiment of the present invention,
the maximum temperature is established to be approximately
60.degree. C., at which a user can feel the heat intensely.
Accordingly, the display 40 is prevented from being overheated.
[0032] In addition, the controller 70 shows a warning message
before interrupting the power supplied to the display unit 30. In
further detail, when the temperature detected by the temperature
detector 60 reaches the predetermined maximum temperature, the
warning message is displayed on the image display part 43. Here,
the warning message is flickered on the image display part 43, or
displayed on the image display part 43 in a large size font. In
addition, the controller 70 is output a warning message sound
through the sound unit 45. The warning message sound is
periodically output, or it may be continuously output.
[0033] When the temperature detected by the temperature detector 60
reaches the predetermined maximum temperature and the power to the
display 40 is interrupted, the controller 70 controls the power
supply unit 50 to maintain interrupting the power from the display
40 until the temperature detected by the temperature detector 60
reaches a predetermined reference temperature. Here, the reference
temperature is established to be a temperature at which the user
does not feel the heat intensely and the display 40 is stably
driven. In addition, the reference temperature is variously
established and changed according to the user's preference.
Accordingly, while the display 40 is overheated, since the power is
not supplied to the display 40 even when the user operates the
control button 47 to apply the power to the display 40, the display
40 is prevented from being overheated.
[0034] Further, when the power is forcibly applied to the display
40 by the user when the temperature detected by the temperature
detector 60 reaches the predetermined maximum temperature and the
power supplied to the display 40 is interrupted, the controller 70
controls the power supply unit 50 to supply the power to the
display 40. In this case, when the temperature detected by the
temperature detector 60 reaches the predetermined maximum
temperature after supplying the power to the display 40, the
warning message is output from at least one of the image display
part 43 and the sound unit 45 to control the power supply unit 50
to interrupt the power supplied to the display 40.
[0035] A controlling method of the refrigerator according to an
embodiment of the present invention will now be described with
reference to FIG. 3.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 3, when the display unit 30 is driven by
the control button 47, the controller 70 controls the power supply
unit 50 to supply the power to the display 40 at operation 1.
[0037] In addition, from operation 1, the process moves to
operation 3, where while the display 40 is driven, the controller
70 compares the temperature detected by the temperature detector 60
to the predetermined maximum temperature.
[0038] Here, in operation 3, when it is determined that the
temperature detected by the temperature detector 60 is greater than
the predetermined maximum temperature, the process moves to
operation 5, where the controller 70 outputs the warning message
through at least one of the image display part 43 and the sound
unit 45.
[0039] In addition, the process moves to operation 7, where the
controller 70 controls the power supply unit 50 to interrupt the
power supplied to the display 40. According to an embodiment of the
present invention, the controller 70 controls the power supply unit
50 to interrupt the power supplied to the display 40 after elapsing
a predetermined time from a time when the warning message is
displayed.
[0040] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when
the display 40 is driven by the control button 47 while the power
supplied to the display 40 is interrupted at operation 7, the
controller 70 controls the power supply unit 50 to keep
interrupting the power from the display 40 until the temperature
detected by the temperature detector 60 reaches the predetermined
reference temperature.
[0041] In addition, when the display 40 is driven by the control
button 47 while the power supplied to the display 40 is interrupted
at operation 7, the controller 70 controls the power supply unit 50
to supply the power to the display 40, to output the warning
message in a like manner as in operation 5, when the temperature
detected by the temperature detector 60 reaches the predetermined
maximum temperature, and controls the power supply unit 50 to
interrupt power supplied to the display portion 40.
[0042] As described above, since the refrigerator 1 according to an
embodiment of the present invention, comprises the display unit 30
including the display 40 displaying an image, the power supply unit
50 selectively supplying the power to the display 40, the
temperature detector 60 detecting the temperature of the display
40, and the controller 70 controlling the power supply unit 50 by
interrupting the power supplied to the display 40 when the
temperature detected by the temperature detector 60 is greater than
the predetermined maximum temperature, the display 40 is prevented
from being overheated.
[0043] As described above, according to an embodiment of the
present invention, the refrigerator for preventing the display unit
from being overheated and the controlling method thereof are
provided.
[0044] Although a few embodiments of the present invention have
been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled
in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without
departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the
scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *