To solve the problem with a refrigerator having an automatic door opening and closing device, wherein if an auxiliary mechanism for opening and closing a door is provided to each of a plurality of refrigerator doors, the increased count of switching elements for operation, or sensor elements is caused, and man-hours and cost related to attachment and wiring therefor are increased.
The refrigerator includes an operation detector 22 for detecting surface vibration (acoustic pulse waves) of a door member produced by contact with a refrigerator door 17 and identifying an occurrence position of the acoustic pulse waves, and an opener for operating the refrigerator door 17 according to a detection result of the operation detector 22, and by using a door surface of the refrigerator as an operation switch for output of acoustic pulse waves by artificial operation, the refrigerator which is simple, low-cost, and highly practical can be achieved.
KAKITA KENICHI
Daisuke Nagano
Kentaro Fujii