Patent Application
20250075916
The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0113790, filed on Aug. 29, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein for all purposes by reference.
The present disclosure relates to doors for a home appliance.
Home appliances may store target objects therein and include doors. For example, home appliances include a cooking appliance, a refrigerator, a clothing treating apparatus, etc. Some home appliances may include storage spaces to store target objects in cabinets creating the external appearance thereof, and doors to open and close the storage spaces. In some cases, a home appliance may include two or more storage spaces and two or more doors opening and closing respective storage spaces.
In some cases, where a door of the home appliance is opaque, when the door closes the corresponding storage space, it is difficult for a user to check a target object stored in the storage space. The door may be opened to check the target object stored in the storage space in the home appliance equipped with the doors.
In some cases of a home appliance such as a refrigerator, an oven, and a clothes dryer, when the door is opened, heated air or cooled air in the home appliance may be discharged outward, thereby causing energy loss. Furthermore, in the case of a home appliance such as a washing machine, when the door is opened, washing water may spill outward. Therefore, the door of the washing machine during a washing operation may remain locked so that the door is prevented from being opened accidentally during the washing operation.
In some cases, the door of some home appliances such as the cooking appliance, the washing machine, the dryer machine, etc. may include a window mounted to the door. When the window is mounted to the door, the state of the target object in the home appliance may be checked through the window. In some cases, even when the window is mounted to the door of the home appliance, it is difficult to properly check a state of the target object when the environment of the home appliance is dark or at night.
In some cases, the home appliance may include a door equipped with a window, and a camera to project the inside space where the target object is stored. When the door is closed, the camera may capture the inside part of the storage space to provide the captured image to the user. The cooking appliance has a high temperature environment in the storage space, and the washing machine or the dryer machine has an environment with high humidity in the storage space, so the camera thereof may be easily damaged.
In some cases, the camera may be mounted to an internal part of the door. In some cases, where the inside space of the cooking appliance may not generally have a light amount sufficient to capture an image thereof, it is difficult for the camera device mounted to the door to provide a clear image to the user. For instance, the camera device may capture images through at least one panel (glass, etc.) of the door, so it is difficult to obtain a sufficient light amount.
In some cases, when the user observes the internal space of the cooking appliance through a transparent door, the camera device mounted to an inside space of the door may block the view of the user. Specifically, when the door is transparent, the camera device may be exposed outward, which may deteriorate the aesthetic feeling of the cooking appliance.
The present disclosure describes an apparatus that can capture an image of a storage space by increasing the illuminance of the storage space with an image sensing device and a lighting device disposed in a door of a home appliance.
The present disclosure further describes an apparatus that can capture an image of a storage space with an image sensing device and a lighting device disposed in a door of a home appliance.
The present disclosure further describes an apparatus that stores an image sensing device in a door of a transparent material of a home appliance, to prevent the image sensing device from being exposed outward, and to prevent the image sensing device from blocking the view of a user.
The present disclosure further describes additionally disposing an image acquisition module in a door of a home appliance without a change in the existing design of the door.
The present disclosure further describes an apparatus that can facilitate mounting of an image sensing device and a lighting device in a door of a home appliance.
The present disclosure further describes an apparatus that can uniformize the illuminance in a storage space by efficiently disposing a lighting device in a door.
According to one aspect of the subject matter described in this application, a door for an appliance includes a door body configured to be disposed at a front of a storage space of the appliance, and an image acquisition module disposed at the door body and configured to face the storage space. The image acquisition module includes an image sensing device configured to acquire an image of the storage space, and a lighting device configured to emit light to the storage space.
Implementations according to this aspect can include one or more of the following features. For example, the image acquisition module can be disposed at a surface of the door body that is configured to face the storage space. In some examples, the door body includes a door frame that defines a through-hole at a central portion thereof and a door panel coupled to the door frame, where the door panel has a window disposed at the through-hole and configured to allow the storage space to be visible from an outside of the door. The image acquisition module can be disposed inside the door frame.
In some implementations, the door body can include a door panel having a window configured to allow the storage space to be visible from an outside of the door, where the door panel includes a plurality of panels, and the image acquisition module is disposed between the plurality of panels. In some examples, the plurality of panels can define a plurality of installation regions that surround edges of the window, where the image acquisition module is disposed at least one of the plurality of installation regions.
In some examples, the plurality of panels can include a front panel that defines a surface of the door body, and an insulation panel configured to be disposed closer to the storage space than the front panel, where the door body has an installation region that is defined between the front panel and the insulation panel. The image acquisition module can be disposed at the installation region. In some examples, the door body can further include a door frame having a region that covers a portion of a rear surface of the front panel, where at least a part of the installation region is disposed at the region of the door frame.
In some implementations, the image acquisition module can be disposed outside the window, where the image sensing device and the lighting device are configured to be exposed to the storage space through the through-hole, and a part of the image acquisition module is covered by the door frame. The plurality of installation regions can include a first installation region that extends in a first direction along one of the edges of the window, and a second installation region that extends in a second direction different from the first direction along another of the edges of the window. In some examples, the first installation region and the second installation region can be connected to each other, and the image acquisition module can have (i) a first part disposed at the first installation region and (ii) a second part disposed at the second installation region. The door can further include a connection wire disposed at the second installation region and configured to transmit at least one of a signal or power between the image acquisition module and a main controller of the appliance.
In some implementations, the lighting device can be one of a pair of lighting devices that are disposed at sides of the image sensing device, respectively, where the image sensing device is located between the pair of lighting devices. In some implementations, the door body can define a first installation region and a second installation region that are arranged along edges of the door body and extend in different directions from each other, where the image sensing device and the lighting device are spaced apart from each other and disposed in the first installation region or the second installation region.
In some implementations, the image acquisition module can include a module housing that defines a mounting space, where the image sensing device and the lighting device are disposed in the mounting space and spaced apart from each other. In some examples, the door body includes a first panel and an insulation panel, and the module housing includes a first housing that is disposed at the first panel and accommodates the lighting device and the image sensing device, and a second housing that faces the insulation panel and is coupled to the first housing, where the second housing can cover at least a part of each of the lighting device and the image sensing device.
In some implementations, the first housing can include an image sensor mounting part to which the image sensing device is mounted, the image sensor mounting part being configured to be inclined toward a bottom of the storage space, and a lighting mounting part to which the lighting device is mounted, the lighting mounting part being spaced apart from the image sensor mounting part. In some examples, the image sensor mounting part can include a sensor mounting fence that protrudes from a surface of the first housing, and the sensor mounting fence includes a sensor inclination guide that supports a rear surface of the image sensing device to be inclined toward the bottom of the storage space.
In some examples, the second housing can include a sensor cover that covers the image sensor mounting part, and a lighting cover that covers the lighting mounting part, where the image sensing device includes a lens, and the second housing defines a sensing hole configured to expose the lens of the image sensing device.
In some examples, the door body can include a front panel and an insulation panel, where the module housing includes a first surface that is in contact with the front panel of the door body and a second surface that is opposite to the first surface and faces the insulation panel of the door body, and the second surface is spaced apart from the insulation panel. In some examples, the front panel can include the window and an edge part that is disposed around edges of the window and configured to block a portion of the storage space, where the installation region is defined at a rear surface of the edge part of the front panel.
According to another aspect, an appliance includes a cabinet that defines a storage space therein and a door connected to the cabinet and configured to open and close at least a portion of the storage space. The door includes a door frame disposed at a front of the storage space, the door frame defining a through-hole at a central portion thereof, a door panel that is coupled to the door frame, the door panel having a window that is disposed at the through-hole and configured to allow the storage space to be visible from an outside of the door, the door panel including a plurality of panels, and an image acquisition module disposed between the plurality of panels. The image acquisition module includes an image sensing device configured to acquire an image of the storage space, and a lighting device configured to emit light to the storage space.
Accordingly, an image of the storage space can be captured by increasing the illuminance of the storage space, and a user can acquire a clearer image of a target stored in the storage space.
The image acquisition module may be disposed on a surface of the door body facing the storage space. Accordingly, a wide surface of the door body may be used as a mounting space of the image acquisition module.
The image acquisition module may be disposed in a door frame of the door body. The image acquisition module disposed in the door frame may not be directly exposed to the storage space.
A door panel including a plurality of panels may be coupled to the door frame. The door frame may include a window formed through a through part to enable the storage space to be visible. The image acquisition module may be disposed between the plurality of panels. As described above, the image sensing device and the lighting device are disposed in the door, not the main body of the home appliance, the image sensing device and the lighting device may be prevented from being directly exposed to the high temperature or high humidity environment.
An installation region may be provided between the plurality of panels. The installation region may be formed around the edge of the window. The image acquisition module may be disposed in the installation region. Accordingly, the image acquisition module disposed in the installation region in the door can be prevented from being exposed outward, and the view of the user can be prevented from being blocked by the image acquisition module.
The plurality of panels may include a front panel that defines a surface of the door, and an insulation panel disposed closer to the storage space than the front panel. Herein, the installation region may be formed between the front panel and the insulation panel, and the image acquisition module may be disposed in the installation region. As described above, in the present disclosure, the installation region in the door may be provided at the region covered by the door frame. Since the door frame is a part included also in the existing door, the image acquisition module can be mounted using the existing door without a change in the entire design of the door.
The door frame may cover a part of a rear surface of the front panel. At least a part of the installation region may be formed in the region where the door frame covers the rear surface of the front panel. Accordingly, the image acquisition module disposed in the installation region in the door is not exposed forward, and only the image capturing part and the lighting part for acquiring an image may be exposed to the storage space.
The image acquisition module may be disposed in the outside part of the window. The image sensing device and the lighting device may be exposed into the storage space through the through part.
The installation region may include a first installation region formed along the edge of the window in a first direction, and a second installation region formed along the edge of the window in a second direction different from the first direction. Accordingly, sufficiently wide and various installation regions can be secured in the door.
The first installation region and the second installation region may be connected to each other. A part of the image acquisition module may be disposed in the first installation region. A remaining part of the image acquisition module may be disposed in the second installation region. Then, the image acquisition module may be mounted through the continuous installation regions, and the image acquisition module may be formed large.
The image acquisition module may be disposed in the first installation region, and a connection wire to achieve signal transmission and power supply between the image acquisition module and the main controller may be disposed in the second installation region.
A part of the image acquisition module may be covered by the door frame. The lighting device and the image sensing device may be exposed inward of the storage space through the through part. Accordingly, even when the door is opened, exposure of the lighting device and the image sensing device may be minimized.
The lighting device may be disposed on either side of the image sensing device with the image sensing device as the center. With this arrangement, the lighting device may increase the illuminance of the central portion of the storage space captured by the image sensing device.
The image sensing device and the lighting device may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the first installation region or the second installation region. Then, the image acquisition module may be mounted through the continuous installation regions.
The image sensing device may be disposed closer to the central portion of the storage space than the lighting device. Then, the image sensing device may have a wider angle of view.
The image acquisition module may include a module housing having a mounting space therein, and the image sensing device disposed in the mounting space. The image acquisition module may further include a lighting device disposed to be spaced apart from the image sensing device in the mounting space.
The module housing may include a first housing in which the lighting device and the image sensing device are disposed therein, and a second housing shielding the entire or a part of the lighting device and the image sensing device. Herein, the first housing may be disposed to face the front panel. The second housing may be disposed to face the insulation panel. The two housings may be mounted using a space existing in the insulation panel.
Furthermore, the first housing may include an image sensor mounting part in which the image sensing device is mounted, and a lighting mounting part spaced apart from the image sensor mounting part and equipped with the lighting device. Herein, the image sensor mounting part may be provided to be inclined toward the bottom of the storage space. Therefore, the image sensor mounting part may naturally provide a capturing angle to the image sensing device.
The image sensor mounting part may include a sensor mounting fence protruding from a surface of the first housing. The sensor mounting fence may include a sensor inclination guide supporting a rear surface of the image sensing device to be inclined. Therefore, the image sensing device may be mounted into a naturally inclined structure.
The second housing may include a sensor cover shielding the image sensor mounting part, and a lighting cover shielding the lighting mounting part. Herein, the second housing may include a sensing hole exposing a lens of the image sensor mounting part.
The first housing and the second housing may include a fastening protrusion and a pair of fastening hooks corresponding to each other. The fastening protrusion may be fixed by being caught by the pair of fastening hooks. Therefore, without a separate fastener, the two housings may be assembled to each other.
The fastening protrusion may include a fastening head having a wider width than other portions of the fastening protrusion. The width between the pair of fastening hooks may be narrower than the width of the fastening head.
The fastening protrusion may include a fastening base provided on a surface of the second housing, and a protrusion body protruding from the fastening base toward the first housing, and a fastening head having a wider width than the protrusion body. Herein, the fastening head may be inserted between the pair of fastening hooks.
The fastening base may include two or more ribs extending in different directions. The ribs may increase the strength of the fastening protrusion.
A first surface of the module housing may be brought into close contact with the front panel. A second surface of the module housing formed opposite to the first surface may be disposed to face the insulation panel. The second surface may be spaced apart from the insulation panel.
The image acquisition module may include a main unit in which the lighting device and the image sensing device are disposed, and a connection unit connected to the main unit and storing a connection wire connected to the lighting device and the image sensing device. Herein, the main unit and the connection unit may be formed in different directions.
A wire guide is disposed between the main unit and the connection unit to guide the connection wire. A surface of the wire guide may be a curved surface or an inclined surface. The wire guide may guide an extension direction of the connection wire.
The image acquisition module may include a capturing unit in which the image sensing device is disposed, and a lighting unit in which the lighting device is disposed.
The capturing unit and the lighting unit may be disposed between the plurality of panels respectively. The capturing unit and the lighting unit may be disposed in different directions. Therefore, the degree of installation freedom of the image acquisition module may be increased.
A plurality of wire holders guiding the connection wire may be provided in the image acquisition module. The wire holders may be disposed in a longitudinal direction of the image acquisition module. The wire holders may guide a mounting direction of the connection wire.
The front panel may include the window through which the storage space is visible, and an edge part through which the storage space is not visible. The installation region may be disposed on a rear surface of the edge part. Therefore, the installation region may be prevented from being exposed outward.
The door frame may include a front frame part disposed on the front surface part of the door. A rear frame part may be coupled to the front frame part. A rear through-hole is open on a central portion of the rear frame part, and may be disposed at a rear portion of the door. An inner frame part may be disposed between the front frame part and the rear frame part. The inner frame part may form an insulation space between the inner frame part and the rear frame part. An inner through-hole may be open on a central portion thereof. In addition, an upper frame part may be disposed on an upper surface portion of the door.
The door panel may include a front panel disposed at the front frame part. The door panel may include a plurality of insulation panels disposed between the rear frame part and the inner frame part. The plurality of insulation panels may enable the inside part of the storage space to be visible through the inner through-hole and the rear through-hole.
A panel spacer may be disposed between the rear frame part and the inner frame part. The panel spacer may be disposed between the plurality of insulation panels to space the plurality of insulation panels apart from each other.
A part of the image acquisition module may be covered by the rear frame part and the inner frame part. The lighting device and the image sensing device may be exposed inward of the storage space through the inner through-hole and the rear through-hole.
The lighting device may include a lighting substrate in which a light source is embedded and a cover plate disposed in front of the light source.
The lighting device may include a plurality of lighting parts. The plurality of lighting parts may emit light in different directions.
The lighting device may include a plurality of lighting parts. The plurality of lighting parts may emit light at different heights.
The lighting device may include a plurality of lighting parts. The light emitted by the plurality of lighting parts may be overlaid at the central portion of the storage space.
As described above, the doors of a home appliance and the home appliance including the same according to the present disclosure have the following effects.
In the present disclosure, the doors of a home appliance may be equipped with the image sensing device and the lighting device, so an image of the storage space may be captured while the illuminance of the storage space is increased. The user can obtain a clearer image of a target object stored in the storage space, so the use convenience and the product quality of the home appliance can be improved.
Furthermore, the image sensing device and the lighting device may be disposed in a door of a home appliance and capture an image of the storage space. As described above, when the image sensing device and the lighting device are not disposed in the main body of the home appliance, but in the door, the image sensing device and the lighting device can avoid direct exposure to the environment of high temperature or high humidity, and the durability of the image acquisition module can be improved.
Furthermore, in the present disclosure, the image acquisition module is stored in the door of the home appliance, and the image acquisition module may be disposed in an installation region provided outside an edge of the window of the door. Accordingly, the image acquisition module disposed in the installation region in the door can be prevented from being exposed outward, and the view of the user can be prevented from being blocked by the image acquisition module. Therefore, deterioration in the aesthetic feeling of the door and the home appliance due to the image acquisition module can be prevented.
Furthermore, in the present disclosure, the installation region in the door may be covered by the door frame. Since the door frame is a part included also in the existing door, the image acquisition module can be mounted using the existing door without a change in the entire design of the door. Therefore, since the existing door can be used, the designing of the door can be easily performed, and the mounting convenience of the image acquisition module can be improved.
Furthermore, the present disclosure may include the plurality of lighting devices. The plurality of lighting devices emits light at different angles and heights so that the illuminance of the entire region of the storage space can be uniformly increased. Accordingly, the quality of the acquired image of the storage space can be improved. Moreover, even when the user directly observes the inside space of the storage space through the window of the door, the user can see the storage space in a brighter state.
Furthermore, in the present disclosure, the plurality of installation regions formed in different directions may be provided in the door. Since the image acquisition module may be freely disposed in the plurality of installation regions, the degree of installation freedom of the image acquisition module is high, which is the effect.
Furthermore, the image acquisition module of the present disclosure may be simultaneously disposed in the plurality of installation regions. Therefore, even when the size of the image acquisition module is increased or the number of parts of the image acquisition module is increased, the door can store the entire image acquisition module and eventually implement the image acquisition module in various shapes.
Furthermore, in the present disclosure, the door panel may include a plurality of panels and the plurality of panels includes the front panel defining the front surface of the door and the insulation panel defining the insulation space. The image acquisition module is disposed between the front panel and the insulation panel, so that the door may be installed while maintaining the insulation function thereof. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, the image acquisition module may implement the image acquisition function without obstructing the functions of the existing door.
Furthermore, the image acquisition module of the present disclosure may include the module housing, and the image sensing device and the lighting device may be disposed in the module housing. Herein, the image sensing device and the lighting device are mounted to the module housing first, then the entire image acquisition module may be mounted to the internal part of the door. Therefore, even when a larger number of parts of the image acquisition module is provided, the operation of mounting the image acquisition module to the door may be easily performed, and the installation convenience can be improved.
Furthermore, the two housings (first housing/second housing) constituting the module housing of the image acquisition module may be assembled to each other by using a hook structure. Without a separate fastener, the module housing may be assembled, so the number of parts and the number of man-hours of the assembly of the image acquisition module can be reduced, and the assembly workability can be improved.
Furthermore, the wire holder may be provided in the image acquisition module to guide a cable. Since the wire holder guides the cable in a preset direction, the cable can be easily installed, and interference between the cable and other parts can be prevented.
Furthermore, when the image acquisition device and the lighting device of the image acquisition module are mounted to the internal part of the module housing, the devices can freely maintain an inclined angle. Therefore, angular settings of the image acquisition device and the lighting device can be easily performed, which is the effect.
Hereinafter, one or more implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the illustrative drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like elements or parts.
Furthermore, it is to be noted that, when the detailed description of the functions and configuration of elements related to the present disclosure may make the gist of the present disclosure unclear, a detailed description of those elements will be omitted.
The present disclosure relates to one or more doors for an appliance, e.g., a home appliance. For example, the home appliance may include storage spaces therein. The doors may be disposed at the front side of the storage spaces to open and close the storage spaces. Herein, the front side may be a direction toward a user when the user is located in front of the home appliance. Referring to
The home appliance may be applied to the door 50, 70 of a home appliance such as a cooking appliance, a refrigerator, a freezer, a kimchi refrigerator, a plant cultivating apparatus, Styler®, a washing machine, etc., and also be applied to doors of furniture or an entrance door.
In some implementations, the doors include two doors 50 and 70, but may also be applied to a home appliance equipped with one lower door 70. Hereinafter, the present disclosure will describe an example in which two doors 50 and 70 are applied to a cooking appliance. Furthermore, a door at a relatively upper side of the two doors 50 and 70 may be called an upper door 50, and a door at a lower side may be called a lower door 70.
In some implementations, the door 50, 70 may open and close a storage space 31, 41 of the home appliance and may acquire an image in the storage space 31, 41 by an image acquisition module 100. Furthermore, the door 50, 70 may increase the illuminance in the storage space 31, 41. In some examples, the image acquisition module 100 may include an image sensing device 170 and a lighting device 180. The image acquisition module 100 may be provided in the door 50, 70, and the door 50, 70 will be described with a focus on the image acquisition module 100 below.
Referring to
In some implementations, an upper panel 15 may be provided at an upper portion of the cooking appliance. The upper panel 15 may include an operating part 16. The operating part 16 may be used to operate functions of the cooking appliance and display a state of the cooking appliance. The upper panel 15 and the upper door 50 may be spaced apart from each other. A panel spacing D1 may be formed between the upper panel 15 and the upper door 50.
External air may be introduced into the home appliance through the panel spacing D1, or internal air of the upper door 50 may be discharged.
The upper panel 15 may be connected to a main wire W1. The main wire W1 may connect the operating part 16 to a main controller described below. Otherwise, the main wire W1 may connect the operating part 16 to the image acquisition module 100. The main wire W1 may be connected to a connection wire W2 described below through a connector module 200.
The two cabinets 30 and 40 may be classified into a first cabinet 30 and a second cabinet 40. The first cabinet 30 and the second cabinet 40 may be disposed in the inside space 13 at different heights. The upper storage space 31 may be provided in the first cabinet 30, and the lower storage space 41 may be provided in the second cabinet 40.
The first cabinet 30 and the second cabinet 40 may have different types of cooking structures. For example, the first cabinet 30 may have one heat source, and the second cabinet 40 may have multiple heat sources. As another example, the first cabinet 30 may generate microwaves to cook a cooking object F, and the second cabinet 40 may include a convection heater or an induction heating type heat source.
The upper door 50 may be disposed in front of the first cabinet 30, and the lower door 70 may be disposed in front of the second cabinet 40. In some implementations, the upper door 50 and the lower door 70 may be operated in a kind of pull-down method in which each upper end is vertically swung on a lower end thereof. As another example, the upper door 50 and the lower door 70 may be operated in a side swing method in which each door is opened sideways.
In the upper door 50, a front surface 51 of the upper door 50 may have a structure allowing the upper storage space 31 to be visible. For example, the front surface 51 of the upper door 50 has a glass panel structure, and a user can observe the inside part of the upper storage space 31 through the upper door 50. As another example, the front surface 51 of the upper door 50 may be made of dark materials or be coated with a separate film, thereby preventing the upper storage space 31 from being seen from the outside. Reference numeral 55 may indicate an upper handle 55 to open and close the upper door 50.
The lower door 70 may be disposed below the upper door 50. The lower door 70 may be disposed in front of the second cabinet 40. The lower storage space 41 may be visible through a front surface of the lower door 70. The user can observe the inside of the lower storage space 41 through the front surface of the lower door 70.
Referring to
In some implementations, the lower door 70 may include a window V. The window V allows the lower storage space 41 to be visible from the outside space and may be made of a transparent material. The window V may be understood as a part of a second front panel G2a constituting the front surface of the lower door 70. The window V may be provided in a central portion of the second front panel G2a. For example, an edge portion of the second front panel G2a may have a material with high surface roughness unlike the window V, or a separate opaque film may be applied to the edge portion of the second front panel G2a. That is, the lower storage space 41 may not be visible through the edge portion of the second front panel G2a that is outside the window V.
As another example, the edge of the second front panel G2a corresponding to the outside part of the window V may be covered by a door frame 72, 77, 80, 90. At this point, the outside part of the window V may be the edge part of the second front panel G2a disposed around the edges of the window V with the window V as the center.
As another example, the lower door 70 may be made of dark materials or coated with a separate film, thereby preventing the lower storage space 41 from being visible from the outside space. As another example, in the lower door 70, the lower door panel G2 described below may be omitted, and an opaque metal or nonmetal plate may constitute the front surface thereof. Also, in this case, the lower storage space 41 may not be visible from the outside space.
Reference numeral 75 indicates an upper handle 75 to open and close the lower door 70.
Heating devices 35, 45, and 46 may be disposed at the rear portion of the cooking appliance and inside the cabinets 30 and 40. The heating devices 35, 45, and 46 may heat the upper storage space 31 and the lower storage space 41. An upper motor 24 and an upper fan 25 may be disposed behind the upper storage space 31. The upper motor 24 and the upper fan 25 may discharge air into the upper storage space 31 to convect air inside the upper storage space 31. Reference numeral 38 indicates a tray disposed in the upper storage space 31.
A lower motor 47 and a lower fan may be disposed behind the cooking appliance. The lower motor 47 and the lower fan may discharge air into the lower storage space 41 to convect air in the lower storage space 41. When a second heat source 45 disposed in an upper portion of the lower storage space 41 heats the lower storage space 41, the lower motor 47 and the lower fan may circulate heated air.
In some implementations, the lower storage space 41 may include a third heat source 46. The third heat source 46 may be disposed in front of the lower fan. The third heat source 46 may quickly raise the temperature in the lower storage space 41 with the second heat source 45.
A cooling fan CF may be provided in the main body 10 of the cooking appliance. The cooling fan CF may circulate air in the machine chamber S1 to cool the cooking appliance. The cooling fan CF may be disposed behind the machine chamber S1.
The cooling fan CF may circulate air into the upper door 50 and the lower door 70. The cooling fan CF allows air to be introduced into a lower flow path inlet I of the lower door 70 and then to pass the lower door 70 and the upper door 50 in order, thereby cooling the upper door 50 and the lower door 70. Referring to
More specifically, the cooling fan CF may be operated to suck external air through the flow path inlet I disposed at the lower portion of the lower door 70 (direction of arrow {circle around (1)}). The sucked external air may rise along a second cooling flow path A2 formed between second insulation panels G2b and G2c and the second front panel G2a of the lower door 70 (direction of arrow {circle around (2)}). The rising external air may be discharged upward through a frame outlet 77a (referring to
As described above, a part of the air passing through the lower door 70 may be discharged outward through a door spacing D2 (referring to
The air introduced into the upper door 50 may pass through a first cooling flow path A1 formed between a first front panel G1a and first insulation panels G1b and G1c, the panels constituting the upper door 50 (direction of arrow {circle around (4)}). A part of the air passing through the first cooling flow path A1 may be discharged forward of the main body 10 of the cooking appliance through the panel spacing D1 (direction of arrow {circle around (5)}). Furthermore, the remaining part of the air passing through the first cooling flow path A1 may be introduced into the machine chamber S1 (direction of arrow {circle around (6)}). The air introduced into the machine chamber S1 may pass through the machine chamber S1 and then be discharged through a rear upper portion of the machine chamber S1 (direction of arrow {circle around (7)}).
The flow of air (i) may cool the lower door 70, (ii) may cool the upper door 50, and (iii) may also cool the controllers 21, 22, and 25 disposed in the machine chamber S1. The cooling structure of the doors 50 and 70 using external air will be described below in detail.
First, referring to
The plurality of lighting devices 180 is disposed toward the lower storage space 41 to emit light to the lower storage space 41. The plurality of lighting devices 180 may illuminate the lower storage space 41 at difference angles.
Accordingly, the illuminance of the entire region of the lower storage space 41 may be uniformly increased.
Specifically, the plurality of lighting devices 180 may illuminate an upper surface, a lower surface, and left and right surfaces of the lower storage space 41.
Referring to
In some implementations, light radiation regions formed by the plurality of lighting devices 180 may be overlaid. Specifically, as shown in
In addition, the region where the second lighting part 180b emits light and the transversal region where the first lighting part 180a emits light may overlap. As shown in
Herein, based on the transverse direction of
In some implementations, based on a vertical direction of
In addition, the region where the second lighting part 180b emits light and the vertical region (Z-axial direction in
From now on, the structure in which external air flows along the inside part of the upper door 50 and the inside part of the lower door 70 described above and the structure in which the image acquisition module 100 illuminates the inside part of the lower storage space 41 and images are acquired will be described in detail.
The upper outlet 52a provided in the upper frame part 52 may be an outlet through which the air passed through the upper door 50 is discharged outward. The side outlet 52b may be formed on a side surface of the upper frame part 52.
Unmentioned reference numeral B1 indicates a fastener to assemble the upper door 50.
The upper door 50 may have a frame formed by the first frame part 61 with the upper frame part 52. A window 61a, 65a may be formed in a central portion of the first frame part 61 having roughly a rectangular frame shape. A first insulation panel G1b, G1c may be disposed in the window 61a, 65a. As with the lower door 70, the upper door 50 also includes a portion 51 through which the upper storage space 31 is visible. On both portions of a lower end of the first frame part 61, female protrusion parts 68 are respectively formed by being recessed and through which a part of a lower end of the first hinge 58 protrudes. Reference numeral 69 indicates a portion to which a hook of the first cabinet 30 is securely caught when the upper door 50 is closed.
A frame of the upper door 50 may be composed of multiple parts. As shown in
As with the arrow indicated in
In
The window V may be provided in the central portion of the front surface of the lower door 70. The window V may be a portion made of a transparent or translucent material so that the lower storage space 41 may be observed from the outside space. A part of the central portion of the second front panel G2a may be the window V. The window V is not formed into a separate object from the second front panel G2a and may be a part of the second front panel G2a.
The image acquisition module 100 may be disposed in the internal portion of the lower door 70. The image acquisition module 100 may acquire an inside image of the lower storage space 41 through the window V of the lower door 70 and display or transmit the image to the user.
As shown in
The image acquisition module 100 may be disposed at a portion in the lower door 70, and the portion is located outside the window V. Herein, the outside may refer to a portion surrounding the edges of the window V. The image acquisition module 100 may be disposed in an installation region T1 to T4 disposed outside the edges of the window V.
A frame of the lower door 70 may be formed by the door body. The door body may include a lower door frame 72, 77, 80, 90 and the lower door panel G2. The door body may have roughly a hexahedral structure when the lower door frame 72, 77, 80, 90 and the lower door panel G2 are assembled.
The lower door frame 72, 77, 80, 90 may include multiple frame parts. In some implementations, the lower door frame 72, 77, 80, 90 may include the front frame part 72, a rear frame part 80, an inner frame part 90, and the upper frame part 77. The frame parts may be coupled to each other to provide one lower door frame 72, 77, 80, 90. At this point, the “front” may be the front side of the lower door 70 (left side based on
The front frame part 72 may be disposed at the front part of the lower door frame 72, 77, 80, 90. More specifically, the front frame part 72 may form a front frame of the lower door frame 72, 77, 80, 90. A pair of front side plates 72a may be provided at both sides of the front frame part 72. A front lower plate 72b may connect the pair of front side plates 72a to each other while being located therebetween. The front side plates 72a and the front lower plate 72b are connected to each other to form roughly a “U” shape.
A front opening 72c may be provided between the front side plates 72a and the front lower plate 72b. The front opening 72c may be an empty space open in a longitudinal direction. The second front panel G2a constituting the lower door panel G2 (referring to
More specifically, the region of the lower door panel G2 is wider than the region of the second front opening 72c, so a part of the front side plates 72a and a part of the front lower plate 72b may be stacked with the second front panel G2a, respectively.
With the second front side plates 72a of the front frame part 72 located in the center, the second front panel G2a may be disposed at one side. The upper handle 75 may be disposed at the opposite side of the second front side plates 72a. Herein, a separate fastener passes through the second front side plates 72a and a panel fastening hole G2a′ of the second front panel G2a and then may be fastened to a handle assembly part 75a of the upper handle 75.
Referring to
Referring to
In describing the lower door panel G2 from
The inner panel G2b and the rear panel G2c may constitute the second insulation panels G2b and G2c. The inner panel G2b and the rear panel G2c may be stacked to each other at a constant distance. In addition, an empty space between the inner panel G2b and the rear panel G2c becomes a vacuum, thereby increasing insulation performance. As another example, the second insulation panels G2b and G2c may include only the rear panel G2c without the inner panel G2b. Reference numeral 76 indicates a second panel spacer 76 disposed between the inner panel G2b and the rear panel G2c to maintain a distance therebetween.
The installation region T1 to T4 may be provided between the second front panel G2a and the second insulation panels G2b and G2c. The installation region T1 to T4 is provided in an empty space between the second front panel G2a and the second insulation panels G2b and G2c. The installation region T1 to T4 may be a portion where the image acquisition module 100 and the connector module 200 are disposed.
The second cooling flow path A2 may also be provided between the second front panel G2a and the second insulation panels G2b and G2c. The second cooling flow path A2 may be the entire space between the second front panel G2a and the second insulation panels G2b and G2c. The installation region T1 to T4 may be disposed outside the window V with the window V as the center. Therefore, the second cooling flow path A2 is wider than the installation region T1 to T4, and it may be understood that the installation region T1 to T4 constitutes a part of the second cooling flow path A2.
Air may flow in the lower door panel G2 through the second cooling flow path A2. Accordingly, the second cooling flow path A2 may be a flow space A2 in which air flows.
In
Herein, among the lower door frames 72, 77, 80, and 90, the upper frame part 77 corresponds to a portion of an upper end of a rear surface of the second front panel G2a, and a portion of the installation region T1 to T4 may be formed at a portion that is not covered by the upper frame part 77. More specifically, in the installation region T1 to T4, the first installation region T1, T3 may be provided at a lower portion of the upper frame part 77 that is not covered by the upper frame part 77.
The installation region T1 to T4 may include (i) the first installation regions T1, T3 that extend in a first direction along an edge of the window V, and (ii) a second installation regions T2, T4 that extend in a second direction different from the first direction along an edge of the window V. In some implementations, the first direction is a transverse direction (a transverse width direction of the lower door 70, and Y-axial direction of
The first installation region T1, T3 may be formed at each of an upper portion T1 and a lower portion T3 of the window V on the basis of the window V. The second installation region T2, T4 may be formed at either side portion of the window V on the basis of the window V. In other divisions, the installation region T1 to T4 may be divided into (i) the upper region T1 provided at the upper portion of the window V, (ii) the right region T2 provided at the right portion of the window V, (iii) the lower region T3 provided at the lower portion of the window V, and (iv) the left region T4 provided at the left portion of the window V. The division is based on
The first installation region T1, T3 and the second installation region T2, T4 may be connected to each other. Opposite end portions of the first installation region T1, T3 and the opposite end portions of the second installation region T2, T4 are connected to each other. Accordingly, the installation region T1 to T4 may be formed in connected spaces. Then, the image acquisition module 100 and the connector module 200 may be disposed to pass through the plurality of installation regions T1 to T4. In some implementations, a part of the image acquisition module 100 is disposed in the first installation region T1, T3. The remaining part of the image acquisition module 100 is disposed in the second installation region T2, T4 connected to the first installation region T1, T3. In some implementations, the connector module 200 is disposed in the second installation region T2, T4.
At least a part of the installation region T1 to T4 may be provided at a region where a part of the lower door frame 72, 77, 80, 90 covers a rear surface of the second front panel G2a. Referring to
The image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 constituting the image acquisition module 100 are exposed through a rear through-hole 81 of the rear frame part 80. In some examples, a part of the image acquisition module 100 corresponding to the image sensing device 170 and an upper portion of the lighting device 180 may be covered by the rear frame part 80. For reference, in
Accordingly, even when the user opens the lower door 70, remaining parts excluding the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 may not be exposed through the window V. Specifically, in the case in which the lower door 70 is opened and closed in a pull-down method, based on opening and closing angles, the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 may also be covered by the rear frame part 80.
As described below, the image acquisition module 100 is disposed in the first installation region T1, T3, and the connection wire W2 for allowing signal transmission and power supply between the image acquisition module 100 and the main controller may be disposed in the second installation region T2, T4.
The second front panel G2a may be divided into the window V, and an edge part disposed around the edges of the window V. Herein, the installation region T1 to T4 may be provided at a rear surface of the edge part. At this point, the edge part may be processed to be opaque. Accordingly, the installation region T1 to T4 provided at a lower surface of the edge part may not be exposed from the front side of the lower door 70, i.e., from the front side of the cooking appliance. The edge part may be formed by etching a part of the second front panel G2a to increase the surface roughness, by being coated with a separate film, or may be treated opaque in a painting process.
In some implementations, the upper frame part 77 may be disposed above the second front opening 72c. The upper frame part 77 may cover a part of the second front panel G2a. The image acquisition module 100 described below may be fixed to the upper frame part 77.
The frame outlet 77a may be open in the upper frame part 77. The frame outlet 77a may be an outlet through which air passing through the second cooling flow path A2 formed in the lower door 70 is discharged outward. The frame outlet 77a faces a lower surface of the upper door 50, so the air discharged through the frame outlet 77a may be naturally transferred to the first cooling flow path A1 through the lower portion of the upper door 50. In other words, the frame outlet 77a is provided opposite to an inlet I of the second cooling flow path A2 and may be an outlet of the second cooling flow path A2. Furthermore, the frame outlet 77a may be connected to the installation region T1 to T4 as described below.
Referring to
With the lower door panel G2 located in the middle, the front frame part 72 may be disposed at one side. The inner frame part 90 and the rear frame part 80 may be disposed at the opposite side. The inner frame part 90 and the rear frame part 80 are spaced apart from each other (i) to form an insulation space therebetween, and (ii) to fix the second insulation panels G2b and G2c. The inner frame part 90 is disposed between the rear frame part 80 and the front frame part 72, thereby being unexposed outward.
The rear frame part 80 may be roughly formed in a rectangular frame shape. When the lower door 70 is closed, the rear frame part 80 may face a front surface of the lower storage space 41. The rear through-hole 81 may be open on a central portion of the rear frame part 80. The rear through-hole 81 may have a longitudinally open structure so that the internal space of the lower storage space 41 may be visible through the window V.
Rear side plates 82 may be provided at side surfaces of the rear frame part 80. The rear side plates 82 may overlap with the front side plates 72a. The rear frame part 80 may include a rear bead part 87 around the surroundings of the rear through-hole 81. Reference numeral 88 is the rear hinge passage part 88 through which the hinge holding arm 78a of the lower door hinge 78 passes.
The rear frame part 80 may cover a part of the image acquisition module 100. More specifically, the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 constituting the image acquisition module 100 may be exposed through the rear through-hole 81 rearward, i.e., toward the lower storage space 41 (based on closed state). In some examples, a part of the image acquisition module 100 which corresponds to upper portions of the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 may be covered by the rear frame part 80.
Accordingly, even when the user opens the lower door 70, remaining parts excluding the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 may not be exposed through the window V.
The inner frame part 90 may be coupled to the rear frame part 80. The rear frame part 80 and the inner frame part 90 may be coupled to each other by a separate frame fastener B2 (referring to
When the lower door 70 is closed, the inner frame part 90 may be stood vertically (Z-axial direction of
Inner side plates 92 may be provided at side surfaces of the inner frame part 90. The inner side plates 92 may overlap with the front side plates 72a and the rear side plates 82.
The inner frame part 90 may include an inner bead part 97 which is provided around the circumference of the inner through-hole 91. Reference numeral 98 is the inner hinge passage part 98 through which the hinge holding arm 78a of the lower door hinge 78 passes.
Referring to
The deformation prevention part 99 may protrude to a location spaced apart at a predetermined distance from the support protrusion 149. A terminal end portion of the deformation prevention part 99 and a surface of the support protrusion 149 are spaced apart from each other, vibrations usually generated in an operation process of the second door 70 may be prevented from being transmitted toward the image acquisition module 100 and durability of the image acquisition module 100 may be improved.
Even when the deformation prevention part 99 is spaced apart at a predetermined distance from the support protrusion 149 as described above, when a module housing 110, 140 constituting the image acquisition module 100 is deformed by a condition such as high temperature heat, the deformation prevention part 99 may prevent the module housing 110, 140 from being excessively deformed in contact with the support protrusion 149. In some implementations, the deformation prevention part 99 may be disposed in the installation region T1 to T4.
In some implementations, in some implementations, the support protrusion 149 and the deformation prevention part 99 may protrude toward each other respectively on facing surfaces of the image acquisition module 100 and the inner frame part 90. In that case, compared to what the deformation prevention means (deformation prevention part/support protrusion) is provided on only the image acquisition module 100 or the door frame 90, the protruding length of the deformation prevention means may be reduced.
The deformation prevention part 99 may be provided on each end of the inner frame part 90. Then, when the image acquisition module 100 is deformed by heat, both ends of the image acquisition module 100 which are portions with the most bending may be supported by respective deformation prevention parts 99. Therefore, the deformation of the image acquisition module 100 may be efficiently prevented. Herein, the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 provided at the image acquisition module 100 may be disposed between the plurality of deformation prevention parts 99. Then, the deformation prevention parts 99 may support both end portions of the image acquisition module 100 with the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180, i.e., heater elements, located therebetween. Therefore, even when the image acquisition module 100 is deformed, the image acquisition module 100 may be supported efficiently.
Each deformation prevention part 99 may protrude in the longitudinal direction in which the plurality of panels are stacked to each other. In other words, it may be understood that each deformation prevention part 99 protrudes in a direction of reducing the second cooling flow path A2. Since the second cooling flow path A2 may be an empty space and provide an empty space where the image acquisition module 100 may be deformed, the deformation prevention part 99 protrudes in the direction of reducing the second cooling flow path A2 so that deformation of the image acquisition module 100 may be prevented efficiently.
As another example, the second door 70 may include the deformation prevention part 99 or the support protrusion 149.
Referring to
Herein, the length of the support protrusion 149 may be formed longer than the length of the support protrusion 149 of the previous example (referring to
The inner frame part 90 may include the plurality of deformation prevention parts 99. In some implementations, the deformation prevention parts 99 may be provided on the left and right portions of the inner through-hole 91, respectively. More specifically, each deformation prevention part 99 may be provided on a portion corresponding to a corner of the inner through-hole 91 and provided at a disconnected portion of the inner bead part 97. The two deformation prevention parts 99 may support the support protrusions 149 disposed at both end portions of the image acquisition module 100, respectively. The structure of the deformation prevention part 99 and the support protrusion 149 will be described below again.
In
The second cooling flow path A2 may be formed between the second front panel G2a and the inner panel G2b of the second insulation panels G2b and G2c. The second cooling flow path A2 may be the entire space between the second front panel G2a and the inner panel G2b. The arrow of
As described above, the installation region T1 to T4 may be disposed outside the window V with the window V as the center. Therefore, the second cooling flow path A2 is wider than the installation region T1 to T4, and it may be understood that the installation region T1 to T4 constitutes a part of the second cooling flow path A2. The lower door hinge 78 may also be disposed in the second cooling flow path A2.
The space between the rear panel G2c and the inner panel G2b spaced apart from each other may be maintained in a vacuum state. Then, even when the heat of the lower storage space 41 is transferred to the rear panel G2c (referring to the arrow of
From
As described above, when the image acquisition module 100 is omitted at the lower door 70, the second cooling flow path A2, i.e., the air flowing space, may have a sufficiently large sectional region. All remaining portions excluding the lower door hinge 78 disposed at either side may be used as the second cooling flow path A2.
More specifically, the image acquisition module 100 may be disposed on the second cooling flow path A2. Accordingly, the image acquisition module 100 may interfere with the external air passing through the second cooling flow path A2. Referring to
The image acquisition module 100 may include the module flow path part R. The module flow path part R may be formed by partially recessing the image acquisition module 100 toward the second front panel G2a. As described above, the module flow path part R formed by partially recessing a part of the image acquisition module 100 may constitute a part of the second cooling flow path A2. The module flow path part R may widen a sectional region of the second cooling flow path A2.
The module flow path part R may be provided between the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 constituting the image acquisition module 100. The image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 may protrude to a certain degree toward the lower storage space 41, i.e., toward the inner panel G2b in
A part of the installation region T1 is occupied by the image acquisition module 100, and the remaining space of the installation region T1 may include an air circulation path BN, EP connected to the second cooling flow path A2, i.e., a flowing space.
Referring to
More specifically, the first width 11 of the flow path connection part BN may be a lineal distance between a surface of the image acquisition module 100 and a surface of the second inner panel G2b. In other words, since the first width 11 is a portion where a width is reduced due to the presence of the image acquisition module 100, the flow path connection part BN may be referred to as a bottleneck region BN.
In addition, the air circulation path BN, EP may include the flow path expansion part EP having a second width 12 in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction based on
At the portion where the module flow path part R is disposed, the entire width of the air circulation path BN, EP may be the sum 11+12 of the first width 11 and the second width 12. As described above, air may flow smoothly in the wider air circulation path BN, EP.
When the flow path expansion part EP is not provided, only the flow path connection part BN may constitute the air circulation path BN, EP. In other words, air may be smoothly circulated due to the relatively reduced sectional region of the air circulation path BN, EP. In
In some implementations, even when the module flow path part R is omitted, the flow path expansion part EP may be provided. For example, the flow path expansion part EP may be formed at a portion where surfaces of the plurality of panels G2a and G2b face each other in the empty space of the installation regions T1. Referring to
An inlet and an outlet of the flow path expansion part EP may be open in an air flow direction. Referring to
Referring to
At this point, the image acquisition module 100 may have a thickness that does not cover the frame outlet 77a on the basis of the flow path direction of the second cooling flow path A2. Referring to
Hereinbelow, a structure in which the second cooling flow path A2 expands by the module flow path part R of the lower door 70 to prevent the bottleneck effect of air flow will be described.
Otherwise, referring to
Therefore, the bottleneck region BN of a flow of air generated at another portion of the image acquisition module 100 may not be formed in the portion with the module flow path part R.
As shown in
Referring to
Hereinbelow, the structure of the image acquisition module 100 will be described in detail.
In some implementations, the image acquisition module 100 may include the main unit 100A disposed in the first direction, and the connection unit 100B disposed in the second direction which is different from the first direction. The main unit 100A may be disposed at an upper end portion outside the window V. The connection unit 100B is connected to one end of the main unit 100A and may be disposed at a side end portion outside the window V. As described above, since the image acquisition module 100 is disposed outside the window V along the edges of the window V, thereby preventing from covering the window V. Furthermore, the image acquisition module 100 may be mounted in the installation region T1 to T4, i.e., a space outside the visible area through the window V, so redesign of the door 50, 70 may be unnecessary, or only a minimum change of design may be provided.
The image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 may be disposed at the main unit 100A. The image sensing device 170 may be disposed at a central portion of the main unit 100A to acquire an image inside the lower storage space 41. In some implementations, one image sensing device 170 is disposed in the central portion of the main unit 100A. As another example, a plurality of image sensing devices 170 may be provided at the main unit 100A.
The lighting device 180 may be disposed at a location spaced apart from the image sensing device 170. The lighting device 180 may be disposed to be spaced apart from the image sensing device 170 with the module flow path part R located therebetween. In some implementations, the lighting device 180 may be provided on either of the image sensing device 170 with the image sensing device 170 as the center. The lighting device 180 disposed on either of the image sensing device 170 may illuminate the interior of the lower storage space 41 to enable the image sensing device 170 to acquire a clearer image and also enable the user to observe the interior of the lower storage space 41 easier.
The lighting device 180 disposed on each portion of the main unit 100A may include the plurality of lighting parts 180a and 180b. In the plurality of lighting parts 180a and 180b, the plurality of first lighting parts 180a located relatively close to the image sensing device 170 may be disposed on the left and right sides of the image sensing device 170. In the plurality of lighting parts 180a and 180b, the second lighting part 180b may be disposed outside the first lighting part 180a. As with the pair of first lighting parts 180a, a plurality of second lighting parts 180b is disposed at the left and right sides of the image sensing device 170 with the image sensing device 170 as the center.
As described above, light emitted regions formed by the plurality of lighting parts 180a and 180b may be overlaid. In some implementations, the first lighting part 180a is disposed obliquely toward the image sensing device 170.
Furthermore, the second lighting part 180b is disposed obliquely toward the lower side, i.e., the lower end portion of the lower door 70. With an installation inclination angle of the lighting device 180, the lighting device 180 may illuminate a wide space uniformly.
Referring to
Referring to
The image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 may be mounted in the mounting space provided between the first housing 110 and the second housing 140. In some implementations, the lighting device 180 may include the cover plate 190 to protect a light source 183 of the lighting device 180. The cover plate 190 is arranged in front of a light emitting element 183.
The first housing 110 will be described with reference to
The second housing 140 may be formed in a plurality of different directions as with the first housing 110. In some implementations, a portion formed in the first direction and a portion formed in the second direction are connected to each other to form the second housing 140. Herein, the portion formed in the first direction is a cover body 141, and the portion formed in the second direction is a second connection body 160. As another example, the second housing 140 may be formed only in the first direction or the second direction.
First, in describing the first housing 110, the first housing 110 may have roughly a thin plate structure. A first surface of the first housing 110 may face the second front panel G2a, and a second surface may face the second housing 140. Herein, the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 may be mounted to the second surface of the first housing 110. As described above, a part of the first surface of the first housing 110 may adhere to a part of the rear surface of the second front panel G2a. In
Referring to
In some implementations, the wire guide 114a, 114b may be disposed at a portion where the mounting plate 111 and the first connection body 130 are connected to each other. Since the mounting plate 111 and the first connection body 130 are provided in different directions, a direction of the connection wire W2 may be changed between the mounting plate 111 and the first connection body 130. Therefore, at the portion where the mounting plate 111 and the first connection body 130 are connected to each other, the wire guide 114a, 114b may guide a direction change of the connection wire W2.
The wire guide 114a, 114b may include a plurality of wire guides 114a and 114b. Referring to
The first housing 110 may include a plurality of wire holders 115. The wire holders 115 may guide the installation direction of the connection wire W2. In some implementations, the plurality of wire holders 115 may be disposed in a longitudinal direction of the image acquisition module 100, i.e., a longitudinal direction of the first housing 110. The connection wire W2 may be fixed along the plurality of wire holders 115. As another example, the wire holders 115 may not be disposed at the first housing 110 but at the second housing 140. As another example, the wire holders 115 may be omitted in the image acquisition module 100.
Referring to
The first wire holders 115 and the second wire holder 135 may guide the connection wire W2 in different directions. In some implementations, the first wire holders 115 may guide the mounting direction of the connection wire W2 in the transverse direction, and the second wire holder 135 may guide the mounting direction of the connection wire W2 in the vertical direction.
Referring to
At this point, upper surfaces of the pair of holder arms include respective holder inclined surfaces 115a, so the connection wire W2 may easily perform elastic deformation of the pair of holder arms. Reference numeral 115b indicates holding grooves 115b holding the connection wire W2 while preventing the connection wire W2 from being removed in a separation direction. Each holding groove 115b has a structure depressed upward, thereby preventing the removal of the connection wire W2.
Referring to
The fixation clip parts 116 may be provided at the mounting plate 111 of the first housing 110. In some implementations, the plurality of fixation clip parts 116 is disposed along an upper end portion of the mounting plate 111. The upper end portion of the mounting plate 111 may face the rear surface of the upper frame part 77, and the fixation clip parts 116 may be provided at the upper end portion of the mounting plate 111 facing the upper frame part 77.
The clip groove 116b may be recessed on each fixation clip part 116. Referring to
The clip groove 116b may be open in the transverse direction. In addition, the fixation rib 77c of the upper frame part 77 may be formed in the transverse direction. The fixation rib 77c may be inserted into the clip groove 116b from the front side of the clip groove 116b. When the fixation rib 77c is inserted in the clip groove 116b, the first housing 110 may be fixed to the upper frame part 77 in the height direction, i.e., the vertical direction based on
Then, a separate fastener such as a bolt, etc., is used to assemble the first housing 110 to the upper frame part 77. The first housing 110 may include a first fastening part 117 separately from the fixation clip parts 116. A fastener may be assembled to the first fastening part 117. As shown in
At this point, the first housing 110 may overlap with a second fastening part 147 of the second housing 140 to be assembled with a fastener. Referring to
Referring to
Furthermore, as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The plurality of fastening hooks 118 may be disposed at locations closer to the lower end of the first housing 110 than the fixation clip parts 116. In other words, the fastening hooks 118 may be disposed at the first housing 110 at a different height from the fixation clip parts 116. Then, the fixation clip parts 116 and the fastening hooks 118 may take charge of mounting of the module housing 110, 140 and assembly between the two housings at different heights.
Referring to
For convenience, in describing the fastening protrusion 158 first,
The fastening base 158a may include a protrusion body 158b. The protrusion body 158b may protrude on the fastening base 158a toward the first housing 110. Based on the plan view like
A terminal end of the protrusion body 158b may include a fastening head 158c. The fastening head 158c may include a portion wider than the protrusion body 158b. The fastening head 158c is a portion inserted between the pair of hook bodies 118a.
As shown in
In some implementations, referring to
As described above, the fastening piece 119 and the fastening arm 159 may assemble the first housing 110 and the second housing 140 with the fastening hook 118 and the fastening protrusion 158. In some implementations, the fastening piece 119 may be disposed at a portion of the first housing 110 further outside the fastening hook 118. Likewise, the fastening arm 159 may be disposed at an outer portion of the second housing 140 further than the fastening protrusion 158.
As shown in
As another example, the image sensor mounting part 121 and the lighting mounting part 125 may be separated from each other. In other words, the first housing 110 may not be provided into a connected one body but into a plurality of bodies with the image sensor mounting part 121 and the lighting mounting part 125 separated from each other.
When looking at the image sensor mounting part 121, the image sensor mounting part 121 may be provided at the central portion of the first housing 110. Then, the image sensing device 170 mounted to the image sensor mounting part 121 may face the central portion of the lower storage space 41. The image sensor mounting part 121 may be provided at a location close to a lower end portion of the first housing 110. Accordingly, the image sensing device 170 mounted to the image sensor mounting part 121 may be disposed closer to the lower storage space 41. As another example, the image sensor mounting part 121 may not be located at the central portion of the first housing 110, but at a location deviating from the central portion. As another example, the image sensor mounting part 121 may not be located at the lower end portion of the first housing 110, but at a central middle portion or an upper portion.
The image sensor mounting part 121 may include a portion protruding from the surface of the first housing 110, and a portion relatively recessed by the protruding portion. As described above, the image sensing device 170 may be stored in the recessed portion on the image sensor mounting part 121. The figure as described above is illustrated in
Referring to
The image sensor mounting part 121 may include a sensor holding hook 122. The sensor holding hook 122 may hook and fix a sensor substrate 171 constituting the image sensing device 170. The sensor holding hook 122 may protrude on an upper end of the image sensor mounting part 121.
For convenience, describing the structure of the image sensing device 170 first, the image sensing device 170 may include the sensor substrate 171 and the image sensor 175 mounted to the sensor substrate 171. The image sensor 175 may acquire an image by a lens. Herein, the image sensor 175 may be a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor which convert an optical signal to an electrical signal. The sensor protective cover 178 described below may be understood as a part of the image sensing device 170.
The sensor substrate 171 may be supplied with power by being connected to the connection wire W2. The image information acquired by the image sensor 175 may be transmitted to the controller 21, 23, 25 via the connection wire W2. Herein, since the connection wire W2 is connected to the connector module 200, it may be understood that the sensor substrate 171 is connected to the main controller by the connector module 200 as a medium.
Describing the image sensor mounting part 121, the image sensor mounting part 121 may include a sensor mounting fence 123 (referring to
As shown in
The sensor mounting fence 123 may include a main fence 123a of a rough rectangular frame shape. The main fence 123a may surround an upper portion of the sensor substrate 171. The sensor holding hook 122 may be disposed at the main fence 123a.
The sensor mounting fence 123 may include a first sensor guide 123b. The first sensor guide 123b may protrude on a lower portion of the main fence 123a in the same direction as the main fence 123a. The first sensor guide 123b may support each portion of a lower end of the sensor substrate 171. The first sensor guide 123b may support a lower end portion of the image sensing device 170, and guide an installation direction of the image sensing device 170.
The sensor mounting fence 123 may include a second sensor guide 123c. The second sensor guide 123c may protrude at a location higher than the first sensor guide 123b in the same direction as the main fence 123a. The second sensor guide 123c may support each portion of the central portion of the sensor substrate 171. The second sensor guide 123c may support either side portion of a middle portion of the image sensing device 170 and guide the installation direction of the image sensing device 170 with the first sensor guide 123b. Herein, the first sensor guide 123b and the second sensor guide 123c may be understood as a part of the sensor mounting fence 123.
The sensor mounting fence 123 may include a sensor inclination guide 124a, 124b. The sensor inclination guide 124a, 124b may guide the image sensing device 170 to be mounted to the image sensor mounting part 121 at a predetermined inclination, more specifically, at a downward inclination. Referring to
Referring to
For convenience, the sensor protective cover 178 will be described first. The sensor protective cover 178 may be provided in front of the lens 176 provided in the image sensor 175. The sensor protective cover 178 may be disposed to be spaced apart at a predetermined distance from the lens 176. The sensor protective cover 178 may protect the image sensor 175 including the lens 176. The sensor protective cover 178 may shield the heat of the second storage space 41 so that the heat is not directly transmitted to the image sensor 175. Furthermore, the sensor protective cover 178 may prevent the lens 176 from being brought into contact with foreign materials.
In some implementations, the sensor protective cover 178 may be disposed in parallel to the image sensor 175 in an inclined direction. More specifically, when the first housing 110 and the second housing 140 are assembled, the image sensor 175 and the sensor protective cover 178 may face each other.
The sensor protective cover 178 may be made of a transparent platy material. The sensor protective cover 178 may be disposed at the second housing 140. An inclination plate 143 may be provided at a sensor cover 142 of the second housing 140. A part of a front surface of the sensor protective cover 178 may be brought into close contact with at a rear surface of the inclination plate 143.
An upper end portion of the sensor protective cover 178 may be caught by a cover holding arm 143a provided at the second housing 140. The cover holding arm 143a may catch the upper end portion of the sensor protective cover 178, thereby preventing the upper end of the sensor protective cover 178 from being separated clockwise based on
Furthermore, a cover guide end 143b may be provided at a lower end of either side portion of the sensor protective cover 178. The cover guide end 143b may be provided in the second housing 140. The cover guide end 143b may support the lower end of either side portion of the sensor protective cover 178, thereby preventing separation of the sensor protective cover 178. Referring to
Herein, the cover guide end 143b may support two different surfaces of the sensor protective cover 178 at the same time. In some implementations, the cover guide end 143b has a rough “¬” shaped cross-sectional region and may support the two different surfaces of the sensor protective cover 178 at the same time. In addition, the sensor protective cover 178 may be coupled to a pair of cover guide ends 143b while sliding between the pair of cover guide ends 143b.
Referring to
The pair of cover guide ends 143b may be disposed at respective side portions of a cover assembly opening 143d (referring to
The lower end portion of the sensor protective cover 178 may be caught by a cover holding end 143c. The cover holding end 143c may be provided in the second housing 140. The cover holding end 143c may support the lower end portion of the sensor protective cover 178 to prevent the sensor protective cover 178 from being removed in a downward direction based on
Herein, as shown in
The cover assembly opening 143d may be open in the vertical direction which is a height direction of the door panel G2. Furthermore, the cover holding end 143c may be disposed in the cover assembly opening 143d. Therefore, at the assembly initial phase when the first end portion 178c of the sensor protective cover 178 is inserted through the cover assembly opening 143d, the first end portion 178c of the sensor protective cover 178 may be moved over the cover holding end 143c.
Herein, an overlapped height between the cover holding end 143c and the second end portion 178d of the sensor protective cover 178 may be lower than an overlapped height between the cover support end 123d and the second end portion 178d of the sensor protective cover 178. Accordingly, at the assembly initial phase when the first end portion 178c of the sensor protective cover 178 is inserted through the cover assembly opening 143d, the first end portion 178c of the sensor protective cover 178 may be moved over the cover holding end 143c. In some examples, when the two housings 110 and 140 are assembled, the cover support end 123d catches the second end portion 178d of the sensor protective cover 178 to prevent separation of the sensor protective cover 178.
Looking at the first lighting mounting part 125A, the first lighting mounting part 125A may be disposed in a location relatively closer to the image sensor mounting part 121 than the second lighting mounting part 125B. The first lighting part 180a may be mounted to the first lighting mounting part 125A. While the first lighting part 180a is mounted to the first lighting mounting part 125A, the second housing 140 is assembled to the first housing 110, so the second housing 140 may shield the first lighting part 180a. Since a first cover plate 190a described below is disposed at the second housing 140, the light emitting element 183 of the first lighting part 180a may illuminate the lower storage space 41 through the first cover plate 190a.
Looking at the structure of the first lighting mounting part 125A, the first lighting mounting part 125A may include a first cover supporting arm 126a. The first cover supporting arm 126a may protrude on the first lighting mounting part 125A toward the second housing 140. The first cover supporting arm 126a may catch one end portion of the first cover plate 190a to prevent the first cover plate 190a from being separated from the second housing 140. First, the first cover plate 190a is mounted to the second housing 140, and it is relatively easy to separate the first cover plate 190a in a direction opposite to the assembled direction. In some examples, when the first housing 110 is assembled with the second housing 140, the first cover supporting arm 126a of the first housing 110 catches one end portion of the first cover plate 190a to prevent the first cover plate 190a from being separated opposite to the assembled direction. Referring to
Referring to
For convenience, describing the lighting device 180 first, the first lighting part 180a and the second lighting part 180b constituting the lighting device 180 may have the same structure. Based on the first lighting part 180a, as shown in
Looking at the first lighting mounting part 125A again, a first lower holding step 128al may be provided on a lower portion of the first lighting mounting part 125A. The first lower holding step 128al may catch a lower end of the lighting substrate 181. The first lower holding step 128al may prevent the first lighting part 180a from being separated in a forward direction based on the drawing. Eventually, the upper end of the lighting substrate 181 may be caught by the first lighting holding hook 127a, and the lower end thereof may be caught by the first lower holding step 128al. When the first lighting part 180a is mounted, the lower end of the lighting substrate 181 is caught by the first lower holding step 128al, and then the upper end of the lighting substrate 181 is rotated to be moved over the first lighting holding hook 127a.
The first lighting mounting part 125A may include a first lighting guide fence 128b1. The first lighting guide fence 128b1 may be provided at either side of the first lighting mounting part 125A. The first lighting guide fence 128b1 may support either side surface of the lighting substrate 181 constituting the first lighting part 180a. The above-described first cover supporting arm 126a may have a structure further protruding from the first lighting guide fence 128b1. Otherwise, the first cover supporting arm 126a may be a part of the first lighting guide fence 128b1.
Although not shown in the drawing, the first lighting mounting part 125A may include an angle adjusting part to adjust a mounting angle of the first lighting part 180a. The angle adjusting part may be formed into an inclined surface at the first lighting guide fence 128b1. The angle adjusting part may support the lighting substrate 181 of the first lighting part 180a so that the first lighting part 180a faces the central portion of the lower storage space 41. In some implementations, the angle adjusting part is omitted, and the first lighting mounting part 125A is disposed to face the lower storage space 41. In other words, the first lighting mounting part 125A faces the right side based on
Next, the second lighting mounting part 125B will be described. The second lighting mounting part 125B may be disposed at a location relatively farther from the image sensor mounting part 121 than the first lighting mounting part 125A. The second lighting part 180b may be mounted to the second lighting mounting part 125B. While the second lighting part 180b is mounted to the second lighting mounting part 125B, the second housing 140 is assembled to the first housing 110, so the second housing 140 may shield the second lighting part 180b. Since a second cover plate 190b described below is disposed at the second housing 140, the light emitting element 183 of the second lighting part 180b may illuminate the lower storage space 41 through the second cover plate 190b.
Looking at the structure of the second lighting mounting part 125B, the second lighting mounting part 125B may include a second cover supporting arm 126b. As shown in
Referring to
A second lower holding step 128a2 may be provided on a lower portion of the second lighting mounting part 125B. The second lower holding step 128a2 may catch a lower end of the lighting substrate 181. The second lower holding step 128a2 may prevent the second lighting part 180b from being separated in a forward direction based on the drawing. Eventually, the upper end of the lighting substrate 181 may be caught by the second lighting holding hook 127b, and the lower end thereof may be caught by the second lower holding step 128a2. When the second lighting part 180b is mounted, the lower end of the lighting substrate 181 is caught by the second lower holding step 128a2, and then the upper end of the lighting substrate 181 is rotated to be moved over the second lighting holding hook 127b.
The second lighting mounting part 125B may include a second lighting guide fence 128b2. The second lighting guide fence 128b2 may be provided at either side of the first lighting mounting part 125A. The second lighting guide fence 128b2 may support either side surface of the lighting substrate 181 constituting the second lighting part 180b. The above-described second cover supporting arm 126b may have a structure further protruding from the second lighting guide fence 128b2. Otherwise, the second cover supporting arm 126b may be a part of the second lighting guide fence 128b2.
The second lighting mounting part 125B may include a lighting angle adjusting part 129 to adjust a mounting angle of the second lighting part 180b. The lighting angle adjusting part 129 may be formed into an inclined surface at the second lighting guide fence 128b2. The lighting angle adjusting part 129 may support the lighting substrate 181 of the second lighting part 180b so that the second lighting part 180b faces the central portion of the lower storage space 41.
More specifically, the lighting angle adjusting part 129 may support the lighting substrate 181 of the second lighting part 180b so that the lighting substrate 181 is inclined downward. When the lighting angle adjusting part 129 supports a rear surface of the lighting substrate 181 in an inclined direction, the lighting substrate 181 may have an inclined angle so that the entire second lighting part 180b may face downward. Referring to
In some implementations, as shown in
The first connection body 130 may include the second wire holder 135 having the same structure as each wire holder 115. The second wire holder 135 may guide the connection wire W2 in a different direction from the guiding direction of each wire holder 115, specifically, in the vertical direction.
Furthermore, the first connection body 130 may include a connection fastening hook 138 having the same structure as the fastening hook 118. The connection fastening hook 138 may be coupled to a connecting fastening protrusion 158 of the second housing 140 (referring to
Herein, the connection fastening hook 138 and the second wire holder 135 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction, i.e., in the second direction. Based on
Reference numeral 139 indicates a fastening piece structure to assemble the two housings 110 and 140, as with the fastening piece 119. The fastening piece 139 may be coupled to another fastening arm 159 (referring to
Next, the structure of the second housing 140 will be described with reference to
The second housing 140 may be provided in a plurality of different directions. In some implementations, a portion formed in the first direction and a portion formed in the second direction are connected to each other to form the second housing 140. Herein, the portion formed in the first direction is a cover body 141, and the portion formed in the second direction is a second connection body 160. As another example, the second housing 140 may be formed only in the first direction or the second direction.
The second housing 140 may have roughly a thin plate structure. A first surface of the second housing 140 may face the first housing 110, and a second surface may face the second inner panel G2b. At this point, the first surface of the second housing 140 may cover the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180. The image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 may be disposed first in the first housing 110, and the second housing 140 is coupled to the first housing 110 to shield the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180.
The cover body 141 may include the sensor cover 142 and a lighting cover 151. The sensor cover 142 may be disposed in front of the image sensor mounting part 121 of the first housing 110, thereby covering the image sensor mounting part 121. Accordingly, a portion excluding the lens of the image sensing device 170 disposed at the image sensor mounting part 121 may be covered by the sensor cover 142. In some examples, as described above, when the sensor protective cover 178 is disposed at the second housing 140, the lens of the image sensing device 170 is also covered.
As another example, the sensor cover 142 and the lighting cover 151 may be separated from each other. In other words, the second housing 140 may not be provided into one connected body and be composed of a plurality of bodies with the sensor cover 142 and the lighting cover 151 separated from each other.
The sensor cover 142 may be disposed in a central portion of the cover body 141. On the sensor cover 142 as the center, a pair of lighting covers 151 may be disposed at both sides of the sensor cover 142. As another example, the sensor cover 142 may be disposed at a location biasing leftward or rightward, not at the central portion of the cover body 141. As another example, a plurality of sensor covers 142 may be provided at the cover body 141.
The module flow path part R may be provided between the sensor cover 142 and each lighting cover 151. The module flow path part R may have a shape formed by recessing a portion between the sensor cover 142 and each lighting cover 151 in the second housing 140. The module flow path part R may have a structure in which a part of the second housing 140 is recessed toward the first housing 110.
Describing the sensor cover 142, a sensing hole 142a may be open in the sensor cover 142. The sensing hole 142a may be disposed in front of the lens of the image sensing device 170. The sensing hole 142a may be maintained in a penetrated structure or be covered with the sensor protective cover 178. The sensing hole 142a may be disposed at a lower portion of the sensor cover 142.
More specifically, the sensor cover 142 may include the inclination plate 143. In some implementations, the inclination plate 143 may be an inclined plate structure formed at the lower portion of the sensor cover 142. A part of a front surface of the sensor protective cover 178 may be brought into close contact with at a rear surface of the inclination plate 143. The sensing hole 142a may be provided in the inclination plate 143.
The inclination plate 143 may have a structure inclined downward toward the bottom of the lower storage space 41. The inclination plate 143 is disposed on the second cooling flow path A2, thereby interfering the air flowing along the second cooling flow path A2. The image sensing device 170 emitting relatively high temperature heat may be disposed in a direction reducing the second cooling flow path A2 by the inclination plate 143. The inclination plate 143 may be efficiently cooled due to the wide contact region with external air. Accordingly, heat dissipation of the image sensing device 170 disposed inside the inclination plate 143 may be efficiently performed. A surface of the inclination plate 143 may be a heat dissipation surface.
Referring to
The cover body 141 may include the second fastening part 147. The second fastening part 147 may be provided on an upper end portion of the cover body 141. The second fastening part 147 may be disposed at a location corresponding to the first fastening part 117 of the first housing 110. The second fastening part 147 may be assembled to the upper frame part 77 with the first fastening part 117.
Reference numeral 147′ is a sub-fastening part. The sub-fastening part 147′ may be disposed at a location different from the second fastening part 147. In some implementations, the sub-fastening part 147′ may be provided at either side of the cover body 141. The sub-fastening part 147′ may be provided to be longer than the second fastening part 147. Accordingly, the sub-fastening part 147′ may be assembled to the upper frame part 77 at a height different from the height of the second fastening part 147. As another example, the sub-fastening part 147′ may be omitted.
Referring to
In some implementations, the support protrusion 149 protrudes on the first surface of the image acquisition module 100, and the second surface of the image acquisition module 100 provided opposite to the first surface may be in close contact with the surface of the second front panel G2a which is one of the plurality of panels. In other words, the support protrusion 149 may be understood to protrude opposite to the adhesive surface with the image acquisition module 100. Herein, the second surface of the image acquisition module 100 may adhere to the surface of the front panel G2a disposed at the foremost side of the plurality of panels. The adhesive surface is indicated as K1 and K2 in
Herein, the first surface of the image acquisition module 100 may be located behind the second surface on the basis of the longitudinal direction in which the plurality of panels is disposed. In other words, the support protrusion 149 may be disposed behind of the adhesive surfaces (K1 and K2). The support protrusion 149 may serve to prevent deformation at a location away from the adhesive surfaces (K1 and K2).
The support protrusion 149 may be provided at a location facing the deformation prevention part 99 of the inner frame part 90. The support protrusion 149 and the deformation prevention part 99 may protrude in facing directions. In other words, the deformation prevention part 99 may protrude in a direction facing the protruding direction of the support protrusion 149. When the module housing 110, 140 is deformed due to conditions such as high temperature heat, etc., the support protrusion 149 may prevent excessive deformation of the module housing 110, 140 by being in contact with the deformation prevention part 99.
Herein, a sectional region of the deformation prevention part 99 may be wider than a sectional region of the support protrusion 149. Accordingly, even when the location of the support protrusion 149 is changed due to deformation of the image acquisition module 100, a terminal end portion 149a of the support protrusion 149 may be brought into contact with a surface 99a of the deformation prevention part 99, and the deformation prevention function may be stably implemented.
As shown in the enlarged view of
Furthermore, when the first supporting surface 99a, i.e., a terminal end portion of the deformation prevention part 99, and the second supporting surface 149a of the support protrusion 149 are spaced apart from each other, vibrations usually generated in an operational process of the door may be reduced from being transmitted toward the image acquisition module 100.
As another example, referring to
Referring to
A cover hole 153 may be open on each of the first lighting cover 151A and the second lighting cover 151B. The cover plate 190 may be disposed at the cover hole 153. In some implementations, the cover hole 153 may include the first cover hole 153a and the second cover hole 153b. The first cover plate 190a and the second cover plate 190b may be disposed at the first cover hole 153a and the second cover hole 153b respectively.
Referring to
Referring to
The second lighting cover 151B may be disposed to a location outside the first lighting cover 151A, i.e., closer to a terminal end portion of the cover body 141. The second lighting cover 151B may protrude toward the main body 10 of the home appliance more than the module flow path part R, with the first lighting cover 151A. Accordingly, the first lighting cover 151A and the second lighting cover 151B may form the bottleneck region BN in the second cooling flow path A2.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
For convenience, describing the structure of the cover plate 190 first, a first surface 190al of the cover plate 190 may face forward, i.e., toward the storage space 31, 41, and a second surface 190a2 opposite to the first surface 190al may face rearward, i.e., toward the second front panel G2a. Furthermore, in both end portions of the cover plate 190, a first end portion 190a3 may be a front portion when the cover plate 190 is mounted to each lighting cover 151, and a second end portion 190a4 may be a rear portion when the cover plate 190 is mounted to each lighting cover 151.
Based on the first lighting cover 151A, the first lighting cover 151A may include cover holding parts 155a holding both side surface portions of the first cover plate 190a. A pair of cover holding parts 155a facing each other may hold opposite portions of the first cover plate 190a, respectively. Each of the cover holding parts 155a may have roughly a “¬”-shaped section. Accordingly, the cover holding parts 155a may support the two different surfaces of the first cover plate 190a. In some implementations, the cover holding parts 155a may support the upper surface and the side surfaces of the first cover plate 190a, thereby guiding sliding of the first cover plate 190a.
Furthermore, a cover stopper 155b may be provided at the first end portion 190a3 of the first cover plate 190a without the support of the pair of cover holding parts 155a. The cover stopper 155b is a portion by which the first end portion 190a3 is caught when the first cover plate 190a is inserted deepest.
Furthermore, a temporary assembly step 155c may be provided at the second end portion 190a4 of the first cover plate 190a without the pair of the cover holding parts 155a and the cover stopper 155b. The temporary assembly step 155c may be disposed at an entrance where the first cover plate 190a is mounted to the first lighting cover 151A. Since the protruding height of the temporary assembly step 155c is low, the first end portion 190a3 of the first cover plate 190a may be moved over the temporary assembly step 155c to be mounted to the first lighting cover 151A.
In
Herein, since the protruding height of the temporary assembly step 155c is low, it is apprehended that the second end portion 190a4 of the first cover plate 190a is moved back over the temporary assembly step 155c to be separated. To prevent the separation, as described above, the first housing 110 may include the first cover supporting arm 126a. Referring to
A length between both end portions of the first cover plate 190a, i.e., the first end portion 190a3 and the second end portion 190a4, may be shorter than a distance between the cover holding part 155a and the temporary assembly step 155c. Accordingly, the first cover plate 190a may be easily mounted between the cover holding part 155a and the temporary assembly step 155c.
A second end portion 190b4 of the second cover plate 190b illustrated on the left side of
Eventually, when the first housing 110 is assembled with the second housing 140, the first housing 110 may supplement the second housing 140 to implement the mounting structure of the first cover plate 190a and the second cover plate 190b. Accordingly, in some implementations, the installation convenience of the first cover plate 190a and the second cover plate 190b is improved, and the separation of the first cover plate 190a and the second cover plate 190b can be efficiently prevented.
Since the first cover plate 190a and the second cover plate 190b transmit light, the first cover plate 190a and the second cover plate 190b may be made of transparent or translucent materials. In some implementations, the first cover plate 190a and the second cover plate 190b may be made of translucent materials or may be made of completely transparent materials such as glass.
In the first cover plate 190a and the second cover plate 190b, one surface may have different surface roughness from the other surface. Based on the first cover plate 190a, a first surface of the first cover plate 190a may have higher surface roughness than a second surface. In some implementations, in the first cover plate 190a, the surface roughness of the first surface of the first cover plate 190a facing the second storage space 41 may be higher than the surface roughness of the second surface of the first cover plate 190a facing the front side of the door 50, 70. Then, the first cover plate 190a may induce irregular reflection of light emitted from the first lighting part 180a, so the first lighting part 180a may emit light uniformly to the wider region in the second storage space 41. As with the first cover plate 190a, in the second cover plate 190b, the surface roughness of a first surface of the second cover plate 190b facing the second storage space 41 may be formed higher than the surface roughness of a second surface of the second cover plate 190b facing the front side of the door 50, 70.
In some implementations, referring to
The plurality of heat dissipation holes 156 may be formed in a long hole. Based on
As shown in
The contact portion 158k among the close contact portions 158k, 162 may include the fastening protrusion 158 (referring to
In some implementations, although not shown in the drawing, the image sensing device 170 and the lighting device 180 may be disposed in different regions among the installation regions T1 to T4. For example, the image sensing device 170 may be disposed in the first installation region T1, T3, and the lighting device 180 may be disposed in the second installation region T2, T4.
In some examples, the main unit 100A1, 100A2 constituting the image acquisition module 100 may include a plurality of housing parts separated from each other.
Specifically, the main unit 100A1, 100A2 constituting the image acquisition module 100 may include the capturing unit 100A1 and the lighting unit 100A2 separated from each other. The image acquisition module 100 may include the capturing unit 100A1 in which the image sensing device 170 is disposed, and the lighting unit 100A2 in which the lighting device 180 is disposed. The capturing unit 100A1 and the lighting unit 100A2 may have independent housings and may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other.
In some implementations, a flow path expansion part EP1, i.e., an empty space may be formed between the capturing unit 100A1 and the lighting unit 100A2. The flow path expansion part EP1 may expand the width of the air circulation path BN, EP formed between the second front panel G2a and the second inner panel G2c, thereby facilitating the circulation of air. The flow path expansion part EP1 may be formed between the capturing unit 100A1 and the pair of the lighting units 100A2 disposed at either side of the capturing unit 100A1.
Although not described in detail, as described above, the capturing unit 100A1 may include the two housings, i.e., the first housing and the second housing. Furthermore, the image sensor mounting part and the lighting mounting part of the first housing may be separated from each other. Furthermore, the sensor cover and the lighting cover of the second housing may also be separated from each other.
Herein,
A part of the installation region T1 is occupied by the image acquisition module 100, and the remaining empty space of the installation region T1 may include an air circulation path connected to the second cooling flow path A2, i.e., a flowing space. In some implementations, the air circulation path may be the flow path expansion part EP2 provided between the image acquisition module 100′ and each of left and right end portions of the installation regions T1. In other words, the flow path expansion part EP2 formed in an empty space at either side of the image acquisition module 100′ may be the air circulation path. As described above, in some implementations, the flow path expansion part EP2 may be secured wide, so air may be smoothly circulated.
The lighting device 180 may be disposed at the upper portion of the image sensing device 170. The lighting device 180 may include the pair of lighting devices 180.
A part of the installation region T1 may be occupied with the image acquisition module 100″, and the remaining space of the installation region T1 may be formed into an air circulation path connected to the second cooling flow path A2, i.e., the flow space. In some implementations, the air circulation path may be a flow path expansion part EP3 provided between the image acquisition module 100′ and each of left and right end portions of the installation regions T1.
Accordingly, the flow path expansion part EP3, i.e., an empty space, may be secured wide at either side of the image acquisition module 100″. The flow path expansion part EP3 constituting the air circulation path may be secured between the image acquisition module 100″ and each of the left and right end portions of the installation regions T1. As described above, in some implementations, the flow path expansion part EP3 may be secured wide, so air may be smoothly circulated.
The image acquisition module 100 may be disposed on a surface of one of the two panels G2a and G2c.
As described above, a lower door panel may include a plurality of panels G2a and G2c. The image acquisition module 100 may be disposed on a surface of one of the plurality of panels G2a and G2c. The image acquisition module 100 may be disposed on a surface of the rear panel G2c of the plurality of panels G2a and G2c which is closer to the lower storage space.
The installation region where the image acquisition module 100 is disposed may not be the cooling flow path A2 between the two panels G2a and G2c, but may be a part outside the cooling flow path A2. As shown in
The image acquisition module 100 may be disposed in the insulation space S3, S4 in the door frame. As shown in
In some implementations,
The window may be omitted in the door 70. The door 70 does not expose the inside space of the cooking appliance, and the inside space of the cooking appliance may be checked only by the image acquisition module 100. Since the image acquisition module 100 may not be exposed forward of the cooking appliance through the window, the image acquisition module 100 may be disposed in a central region in the door 70.
Although some implementations of the present disclosure have been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure as disclosed in the accompanying claims. Therefore, the implementations described above have been described for illustrative purposes, and should not be intended to limit the technical spirit of the present disclosure, and the scope and spirit of the present disclosure are not limited to the implementations. The protective scope of the present disclosure should be interpreted by the accompanying claims, and all technical spirits within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2023-0113790 | Aug 2023 | KR | national |
