VARIABLE LIGHT TRANSMISSION PANEL AND DOOR HAVING THE SAME

Abstract

A door, which includes a variable light transmission panel and a frame and is mounted on a body by a hinge so as to be opened and closed, is disclosed, and the door includes a glass member provided on a front surface side of the frame, a protective panel provided on an inner surface side of the frame, the variable light transmission panel provided between the glass member and the protective panel and including a sheet made of a thermoplastic resin of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate (PC) and nano-sized dyes, a light-emitting member provided between the protective panel and the variable light transmission panel, and a power supply member configured to supply power to the light-emitting member.

Claims

1. A variable light transmission panel comprising: a glass or acrylic plate that allows external light to pass therethrough; and a sheet attached to the glass or acrylic plate and made of a thermoplastic resin of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate (PC) and nano-sized dyes, wherein a plurality of nano-sized pores are provided in the sheet, and by irradiating light toward an outer periphery of the glass or acrylic plate, external light passes through the plurality of nano-sized pores to maintain a bright state.

2. The variable light transmission panel of claim 1, wherein a size of each of the nano-sized pores is in a range of 20 to 50 nm, and an arithmetic average roughness (Ra) of a surface of the sheet is in a range of 1.2 to 1.9 nm.

3. A door including a frame and mounted on a body by a hinge so as to be opened and closed, the door comprising: a glass member provided on a front surface side of the frame; a protective panel provided on an inner surface side of the frame; a variable light transmission panel provided between the glass member and the protective panel; a light-emitting member provided between the protective panel and the variable light transmission panel; and a power supply member configured to supply power to the light-emitting member, wherein the variable light transmission panel includes a glass or acrylic plate that allows external light to pass therethrough, and a sheet attached to the glass or acrylic plate and made of a thermoplastic resin of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate (PC) and nano-sized dyes, a plurality of nano-sized pores are provided in the sheet, and by irradiating light toward an outer periphery of the glass or acrylic plate, external light passes through the plurality of nano-sized pores to maintain a bright state.

4. The variable light transmission panel of claim 3, wherein a size of each of the nano-sized pores is in a range of 20 to 50 nm, and an arithmetic average roughness (Ra) of a surface of the sheet is in a range of 1.2 to 1.9 nm.

5. The door of claim 4, wherein the power supply member includes a first power supply member coupled to the hinge and a second power supply member coupled to the frame, an electrical connection between the first power supply member and the second power supply member is formed when the door is closed, and the electrical connection between the first power supply member and the second power supply member is cut off when the door is open.

6. The door of claim 5, wherein the first power supply member includes a first protrusion protruding from a first terminal, the second power supply member includes a second protrusion protruding from a second terminal, and power is supplied to the light-emitting member by the first protrusion being brought into contact with the second terminal and the second protrusion being brought into contact with the first terminal.

7. The door of claim 5, wherein a coupling groove is provided on a side surface of the hinge, a pair of coupling parts are provided in the first power supply member, and the first power supply member is fastened to the hinge by fitting the pair of coupling parts into the coupling groove.

8. The door of claim 5, wherein the light-emitting member includes a substrate, a plurality of light-emitting diode (LED) light sources provided on the substrate, and a diffusion plate, and the plurality of LED light sources emit light toward the variable light transmission panel.

9. The door of claim 5, wherein the light-emitting member includes a substrate, a plurality of light-emitting diode (LED) light sources provided on the substrate, and a diffusion plate, and the plurality of LED light sources emit light toward an outer periphery of the glass or acrylic plate.

10. The door of claim 5, wherein a movement detection member is provided in the glass member, and the second power supply member supplies power to the light-emitting member when a movement of the glass member is detected by the movement detection member.

11. The door of claim 5, wherein a movement detection member is provided on an upper portion of the body, and the second power supply member supplies power to the light-emitting member when a movement of a user is detected by the movement detection member.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0028] FIG. 1 is a view for describing a state in which a light-emitting diode (LED) module is mounted on a conventional door frame.

[0029] FIG. 2 is a view for describing a function of a variable light transmission panel according to the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a photograph illustrating whether light passes through or not according to ON/OFF of a light-emitting member in the variable light transmission panel.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a door, a portion of which is cut away, having the variable light transmission panel according to the present invention.

[0032] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a hinge shown in FIG. 4.

[0033] FIG. 6 is a partial front view of an example of the door having the variable light transmission panel shown in FIG. 4.

[0034] FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a surface state of the variable light transmission panel shown in FIG. 4.

[0035] FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a light-emitting member shown in FIG. 6.

[0036] FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a power supply member shown in FIG. 4.

[0037] FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a first power supply member shown in FIG. 9.

[0038] FIG. 11 is a partial front view of another example of the door having the variable light transmission panel shown in FIG. 4.

[0039] FIG. 12 is a view illustrating another example of a light-emitting member of a variable light transmission panel according to the present invention.

[0040] FIG. 13 is a view illustrating an example of a movement detection member mounted on a body having the variable light transmission panel according to the present invention.

MODES OF THE INVENTION

[0041] The above objects and other objects and new features of the present invention will become more apparent from the description of the present specification and accompanying drawings.

[0042] As used herein, the term “frame” refers to one made of a metal material or high-strength plastic having an approximately quadrangular shape to maintain the overall shape of a door, the term “front surface of the frame” refers to a part for opening the door to the outside, and the term “inner surface of the frame” refers to a part facing a body in which an article is stored.

[0043] As used herein, the term “variable light transmission panel” is a sheet made of a thermoplastic resin of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate (PC) and nano-sized dyes, and the sheet may be used, for example, by being attached to a glass or acrylic plate or the like that allows external light to pass therethrough.

[0044] First, a function of a variable light transmission panel according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0045] FIG. 2 is a view for describing a function of a variable light transmission panel according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a photograph illustrating whether light passes through or not according to ON/OFF of a light-emitting member in the variable light transmission panel.

[0046] A plurality of nano-sized pores are provided in the variable light transmission panel according to the present invention, and thus, when a light-emitting member is turned off as shown in FIG. 2A, light incident from the outside is blocked, and the variable light transmission panel is maintained in a dark state as shown in FIG. 3A. On the other hand, when the light-emitting member is turned on, as shown in FIG. 2B, due to the principle of polarization, external light passes through the plurality of nano-sized pores due to light irradiation from the light-emitting member toward the outside of the variable light transmission panel, and thus the variable light transmission panel is maintained in a bright state as shown in FIG. 3B.

[0047] That is, by applying the variable light transmission panel according to the present invention, an article inside the body can be confirmed from the outside by blocking light incident from the outside and allowing an external light to pass there through according to an increase in the amount of light by the internal light source (light-emitting member).

[0048] Next, a structure of a door having the variable light transmission panel according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0049] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a door, a portion of which is cut away, having the variable light transmission panel according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a hinge shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a partial front view of an example of the door having the variable light transmission panel shown in FIG. 4.

[0050] A door 100 having the variable light transmission panel according to the present invention is a door 100, as shown in FIG. 4, including a frame 120 and mounted on a body with a hinge 110 so as to be opened and closed, and the door 100 includes a glass member 130 provided on a front surface side of the frame 120, a protective panel 140 provided on an inner surface side of the frame 120, a variable light transmission panel 150 provided between the glass member 130 and the protective panel 140 and including a sheet made of a thermoplastic resin of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate (PC) and nano-sized dyes, a light-emitting member 160 provided between the protective panel 140 and the variable light transmission panel 150, and a power supply member 170 configured to supply power to the light-emitting member 160.

[0051] The body functions as a storage box for storing dangerous substances such as chemicals, volatile substances, explosive substances, chemical substances, which react to external light, in a school, a laboratory, a hospital, an aging room, and the like, and the door 100 is an opening/closing member provided on the front surface of the body for opening and closing the storage box as described above, and provided to be rotatable in a front direction of the body.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 5, the hinge 110 includes a door fixing member 111, a body fixing member 112, and a link member 113 that is rotatably provided and connects the door fixing member 111 and the body fixing member 112.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 4, the door fixing member 111 is fixed to the frame by a fastening member such as a screw, the body fixing member 112 includes a fixture coupled to the body, a fastening bolt fastened to the fixture, a coupling part fastened to the fastening bolt, and a pair of door adjustment bolts for adjusting the amount of protrusion of the body fixing member 112, and the link member 113 elastically fastens the door fixing member 111 and the body fixing member 112 through an opening and closing spring to open and close the door 100.

[0054] A coupling groove 114 is provided at one side of the body fixing member 112. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the coupling groove 114 may be provided between the pair of door adjustment bolts.

[0055] In order to maintain the overall shape of the door 100, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the frame 120 may be made of an approximately quadrangular-shaped metal material, high-strength plastic, or wood material, and a packing member such as silicone, rubber, or the like for sealing the body may be provided on a circumferential portion of the frame 120. In addition, in the above description, the frame 120 is described as having a quadrangular shape, but is not limited thereto, and may be provided in a shape such as a circular shape or an elliptical shape.

[0056] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the glass member 130 is tempered glass provided on a front surface side of the frame 120 to protect the variable light transmission panel 150, and the glass member 130 may include a movement detection member. That is, the movement detection member is provided on an inner side of the glass member 130, detects the movement of the glass member 130 caused by a user touching or tapping the glass member 130, and transmits a detected signal to the light-emitting member 160. The movement detection member may be wired or wirelessly connected to the light-emitting member 160 using a typical method.

[0057] In addition, although the structure in which the movement detection member is provided on the glass member 130 has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the movement detection member may be provided on one side of the frame 120, a handle part of the door 100, or an upper portion of the body.

[0058] The protective panel 140 is a glass member provided on the inner surface side of the frame 120 in order to protect the variable light transmission panel 150. In addition, although a configuration in which the glass member 130 and the protective panel 140 are made of tempered glass has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a transparent member that allows light to pass therethrough, for example, acrylic or the like, may be applied to the glass member 130 and the protective panel 140. As shown in FIG. 6, the glass member 130 and the protective panel 140 may be fitted into the frame 120 having a plurality of insertion portions and molded with a silicone resin.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of nano-sized pores are provided in the variable light transmission panel 150 to block light incident from the outside of the door 100, and when the amount of light is increased between the variable light transmission panel 150 and the protective panel 140 due to light irradiated from the light-emitting member 160, external light may pass through the plurality of nano-sized pores so that an article inside the body can be confirmed from the outside. FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a surface state of the variable light transmission panel shown in FIG. 4.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 7, the variable light transmission panel 150 includes a sheet made of a thermoplastic resin of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate (PC) and nano-sized dyes, a plurality of nano-sized pores each having a size of 20 to 50 nm are formed in the sheet, and an arithmetic average roughness (Ra) of a surface of the sheet is 1.2 to 1.9 nm. The sheet may be used, for example, by being attached to a glass or acrylic plate or the like that allow external light to pass therethrough.

[0061] The plurality of nano-sized pores provided in the variable light transmission panel 150 are arranged to face the protective panel 140. As shown in FIG. 6, the variable light transmission panel 150 may also be fitted into the frame 120 having a plurality of insertion portions and may be molded with a silicone resin.

[0062] Accordingly, when the light-emitting member 160 is turned on, as shown in FIG. 2B, due to the principle of polarization, external light passes through the plurality of nano-sized pores due to light irradiation from the light-emitting member toward the variable light transmission panel and thus the variable light transmission panel 150 is maintained in a bright state as shown in FIG. 3B so that a user may confirm an article inside the body from the outside.

[0063] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the light-emitting member 160 is provided on a lower portion of the transmittance-variable panel 150, and as shown in FIG. 8, the light-emitting member 160 includes a substrate 161, a plurality of LED light sources 162 provided on the substrate 161, and a diffusion plate 163 provided on the plurality of LED light sources 162. FIG. 8 is a view illustrating the light-emitting member shown in FIG. 6. In addition, in FIG. 4, the structure in which the light-emitting member 160 is provided only on the lower portion of the frame 120 is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the light-emitting member 160 may also be provided on an upper portion of the frame 120. In addition, the light-emitting member 160 may be provided in a pair at the upper and lower portions of the frame 120 or may be provided in two pairs on each of side surfaces having a quadrangular shape. That is, the light-emitting member 160 may be provided as a plurality depending on the transmittance of the transmittance-variable panel 150 or the size of the door 100.

[0064] The plurality of LED light sources 162 is provided to emit light toward the variable light transmission panel 150 by adjusting a light emission angle. The substrate 161 may include a voltage change circuit configured to change the commercial power supplied from the body into a voltage suitable for the LED light source, a switching circuit configured to switch the supply of power from the power supply member 170 to the plurality of LED light sources 162 according to a detected signal by the movement detection member, and a timer configured to operate the switching circuit for a predetermined period of time. In addition, the LED light sources 162 may be provided to have an output having an optimal light reflectance according to the size and material of the plurality of nano-sized pores provided in the variable light transmission panel 150.

[0065] The diffusion plate 163 may have a lens function so that light emitted from the plurality of LED light sources 162 faces an outer periphery of the transmittance-variable panel 150 as indicated by arrows in FIG. 6.

[0066] The power supply member 170 configured to supply power to the light-emitting member 160 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

[0067] FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of the power supply member shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a first power supply member shown in FIG. 9.

[0068] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, the power supply member 170 includes a first power supply member 171 coupled to the hinge 110 and a second power supply member 172 coupled to the frame 120, and when the door 100 is closed, an electrical connection between the first power supply member 171 and the second power supply member 172 is formed, and when the door 100 is open, the electrical connection between the first power supply member 171 and the second power supply member 172 is cut off.

[0069] As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the first power supply member 171 includes a first protrusion 173 protruding from a first terminal, a first cable 176 electrically connected to the first terminal to receive power from the body, and a pair of coupling parts 178, and the first cable 176 is coupled to a connection jack 179.

[0070] The first terminal and the first protrusion 173 are provided to be electrically insulated from each other, and the first power supply member 171 is fastened to the hinge 110 by fitting the pair of coupling parts 178 into the coupling groove 114 provided in a body fixing part 112.

[0071] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, the second power supply member 172 includes a second protrusion 174 protruding from a second terminal, a screw hole 175 provided to fix the second power supply member 172 to the frame 120 with a screw or the like, and a second cable 177 electrically connected to the first terminal to supply power to the light-emitting member 160. The second terminal and the second protrusion 174 are provided to be electrically insulated from each other, and power may be supplied to the light-emitting member 160 by the first protrusion 173 being brought into contact with the second terminal and the second protrusion 174 being brought into contact with the first terminal. That is, the first terminal is electrically insulated from the first protrusion 173 and electrically connected to the second protrusion 174. In addition, the second terminal is also electrically insulated from the second protrusion 174 and electrically connected to the first protrusion 173. The first protrusion 173 and the second protrusion 174, which are described above, are provided to have, for example, functions of a positive (+) terminal and a negative (−) terminal.

[0072] As described above, by providing the first protrusion 173 to the first terminal and providing the second protrusion 174 to the second terminal, an electric shock may be prevented when in use, and the electrical connection state may be maintained even in the repetitive opening/closing operation of the door 100.

[0073] Thus, when the door 100 is opened from the body, the first protrusion 173 and the second protrusion 174 are spaced apart from each other so that the supply of power to the light-emitting member 160 is cut off, and when the door 100 is closed to the body, the first protrusion 173 and the second protrusion 174 are brought into contact with the first terminal and the second terminal, respectively, so that the voltage is maintained in a standby voltage state through the operation of the switching circuit.

[0074] Thereafter, when the user touches or taps the glass member 130, the movement detection member detects the movement, and information on the movement detection is transmitted to the light-emitting member 160 so that the switching circuit is turned on. Accordingly, when the plurality of LED light sources 162 emit light, since the amount of light between the variable light transmission panel 150 and the protective panel 140 increases, external light passes through a plurality of nano-sized pores provided in the variable light transmission panel 150 so that an article inside the body can be confirmed from the outside. The light emission of the plurality of LED light sources 162 may operate only for a preset period of time with a timer configured to operate the switching circuit only for a predetermined period of time.

[0075] As described above, according to the present invention, since the plurality of LED light sources 162 emit light only for a preset period of time through the operation of the movement detection member and the timer, power consumption may be reduced.

[0076] Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13.

[0077] FIG. 11 is a partial front view of another example of a door having the variable light transmission panel shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 12 is a view illustrating another example of a light-emitting member of a variable light transmission panel according to the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a view illustrating an example of a movement detection member mounted on the body having the variable light transmission panel according to the present invention.

[0078] In the embodiment described in FIGS. 6 and 7, the substrate 161 has a flat structure, and the plurality of LED light sources 162 are directed toward an outer periphery of the variable light transmission panel 150, but as indicated by arrows in FIG. 11, the plurality of LED light sources 162 may be provided to face the inside of the body.

[0079] In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, the plurality of LED light sources 162 may be provided to face the variable light transmission panel 150 by providing the substrate 161 in a trapezoidal shape. Thus, the installation of the light-emitting member 160 may be easily realized by applying the substrate 161 as shown in FIG. 11.

[0080] In addition, although the structure in which the movement detection member is provided on one side of the frame 120 has been described above, as shown in FIG. 13, a structure in which a movement detection member 180 is provided on an upper portion of a body 10 and causes the light-emitting member 160 to operate may also be applied. That is, a structure may be provided in which, when a user's movement, for example, the passing of a user's palm or the like, is detected by the movement detection member 180, the second power supply member 172 supplies power to the light-emitting member 160.

[0081] Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various modifications are possible to the extent of not deviating from the gist of the invention.

[0082] That is, in the above description, as shown in FIG. 6, the structure in which the variable light transmission panel 150 is mounted in a state parallel to the glass member 130 and LEDs of the light-emitting member 160 faces an edge of the variable light transmission panel 150 is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the variable light transmission panel 150 may be provided to be mounted obliquely with respect to the light-emitting member 160 so that light irradiated from the light-emitting member 160 passes through the glass member 130 through the plurality of nano-sized pores.

[0083] In addition, although the structure in which the first protrusion 173 is provided in the first terminal and the second protrusion 174 is provided in the second terminal has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a structure in which the first protrusion 173 and the second protrusion 174 are provided on either the first terminal or the second terminal may also be applied.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0084] By using a variable light transmission panel and a door having the same according to the present invention, an article inside the body can be confirmed from the outside by blocking light incident from the outside and allowing external light to pass therethrough according to an increase in the amount of light by a light-emitting member provided on the inside of a door.