CN112984915A

CN112984915A - Panel component and refrigerator

Info

Publication number: CN112984915A
Application number: CN202110354057.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 秋吉浩一; 石桥郁夫; 阪上亮辅
Original assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services Corp
Current assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services Corp
Priority date: 2016-09-07
Filing date: 2017-09-07
Publication date: 2021-06-18
Also published as: CN107796155A; CN107796155B

Abstract

The present invention relates to a panel component and a refrigerator, in the panel component (1) of the embodiment, chamfers are applied to both ends of the front surface (1a) side and the back surface (1b) side, the appearance widths (W3, W4) of the chamfers are smaller than the plate thickness (t), and the appearance width (W3) of the chamfers of the front surface (1a) side is larger than the appearance width (W4) of the chamfers of the back surface (1b) side.

Description

Panel component and refrigerator

The present invention is a divisional application of the present applicant filed on 7.9.2017 under the name of "panel member and refrigerator" with chinese patent application No. 201710799428.0.

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a panel member and a refrigerator used for a decorative panel and the like.

Background

Conventionally, in order to improve the appearance, a decorative plate is provided on the front surface of a cabinet, and in the case of a refrigerator, for example, a panel member such as a glass plate is provided on the front surface of a door for opening and closing a storage room (see, for example, patent document 1).

Prior art documents

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2016-50760

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In addition, when the panel member is provided, a frameless structure in which a gap between the panel member and a frame supporting the panel member is as small as possible or the frame is as inconspicuous as possible is mainly used. As a result, the front surface of the panel member may protrude forward from the frame.

However, when the panel member is in a state of protruding forward from the frame, the panel member may come into contact with the panel member. On the other hand, if the frame is made large so as not to contact the panel member, the frame becomes conspicuous, and the appearance is impaired.

Therefore, a panel member and a refrigerator capable of suppressing contact with the panel member without impairing the appearance are provided.

Means for solving the problems

The panel member of the present invention is provided to a door of a refrigerator including a frame disposed at an end of the panel member, wherein the panel member is provided so that a chamfer is applied to an end on a front side, a front end of the frame is located rearward of a rear end of a chamfered portion on the front side, and the frame is located at a position where an inclined surface of the chamfered portion on the front side is extended.

The refrigerator of the present invention includes a panel member provided at a door of the refrigerator and a frame disposed at an end of the panel member, wherein the panel member is provided so that a chamfer is applied to an end on a front side, a front end of the frame is located rearward of a rear end of a chamfered portion on the front side, and the frame is located at a position where an inclined surface of the chamfered portion on the front side is extended.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a panel member of an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a view schematically showing a refrigerator.

Fig. 3 is a view schematically showing a sectional shape of the panel member.

Fig. 4 is one of diagrams schematically showing a relationship between the shape of the panel member and the shape of the frame.

Fig. 5 is a second diagram schematically showing the relationship between the shape of the panel member and the shape of the frame.

Fig. 6 is one of diagrams schematically showing the shape of a chamfer applied at a corner.

Fig. 7 is a second diagram schematically showing the shape of a chamfer applied at a corner.

Fig. 8 is a diagram schematically showing an example of reflection of light inside the panel member.

Fig. 9 is one of views schematically showing a panel member of other embodiments.

Fig. 10 is a second view schematically showing a panel member according to another embodiment.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of a region XI in fig. 10.

Description of the symbols

In the drawings, 1 denotes a panel member, 1a denotes a front face, 1b denotes a rear face, 1c denotes a corner, 2 denotes a refrigerator, 3a denotes a left door (door), 3b denotes a right door (door), 4a denotes a vegetable room door (door), 5a denotes an ice-making room door (door), 6a denotes an upper freezing room door (door), 7a denotes a lower freezing room door (door), 9 denotes a frame, 10 and R10 denote inclined front faces (inclined face on the front face side, chamfered portion on the front face side), 11 and R11 denote inclined rear faces (chamfered portion on the rear face side), 12 denotes a front ridge line (ridge line), and 14 denotes a flat surface portion.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 8.

As shown in fig. 1, the panel member 1 of the present embodiment is formed into a substantially quadrangular shape by a plate material made of tempered glass produced by an air-cooling tempering method. In the present embodiment, a member satisfying JIS R3206 standard of japan cooperation is referred to as a tempered glass. As will be described in detail later, the panel member 1 has end portions, i.e., 4 sides of a quadrangular shape, chamfered on both the front surface 1a (see fig. 3) side visually recognized by the user and the back surface 1b (see fig. 3) side opposite to the front surface 1 a.

In order to improve the appearance, the chamfer of the front surface 1a is subjected to a wide chamfer process so that the width in the front view (W3., see fig. 3) can be easily visually recognized. Hereinafter, the portion subjected to the wide chamfering process will be referred to as a wide chamfered portion for convenience. Corners 1c (see fig. 6) of the panel member 1, that is, four corners of the quadrangular shape, are each chamfered.

In the case of the present embodiment, it is assumed that this panel member 1 is used as a front plate, i.e., a decorative plate, of a door of the refrigerator 2 shown in fig. 2. The refrigerator 2 is configured by a cabinet having heat insulation properties, and includes a refrigerating chamber 3 and a vegetable chamber 4 in this order from the top inside, an ice making chamber 5 and an upper freezing chamber 6 arranged in parallel on the left and right below the vegetable chamber 4, and a lower freezing chamber 7 at the lowermost portion. Among them, refrigerating room 3 and vegetable room 4 are storage rooms in a refrigerating temperature range, and ice making room 5, upper freezing room 6, and lower freezing room 7 are storage rooms in a freezing temperature range.

As is well known, the refrigerating compartment 3, the vegetable compartment 4, the ice compartment 5, the upper freezing compartment 6, and the lower freezing compartment 7 are storage compartments having front openings and opened and closed by doors. The front opening of refrigerating room 3 is opened and closed by left and

right doors

3a and 3b arranged in parallel, in which left door 3a is provided with operation panel 8 for a user to touch and operate while rotating with the left end side as an axis, and right door 3b is provided with an operation panel 8 for a user to touch and operate while rotating with the right end side as an axis. Further, respective front surface openings of the vegetable compartment 4, ice making compartment 5, upper freezing compartment 6, and lower freezing compartment 7 are opened and closed by a drawer-type vegetable compartment door 4a, ice making compartment door 5a, upper freezing compartment door 6a, and lower freezing compartment door 7 a.

At this time, respective left ends of the left door 3a, the vegetable compartment door 4a, the ice-making compartment door 5a, and the lower freezing compartment door 7a are aligned on the same line. Further, respective right ends of the right door 3b, the vegetable compartment door 4a, the upper freezing compartment door 6a, and the lower freezing compartment door 7a are aligned on the same straight line. Further, the left door 3a and the ice-making chamber door 5a are set to the same width. Further, the right door 3b is set to the same width as the upper freezing chamber door 6 a. Therefore, the gap between the left and

right doors

3a and 3b and the gap between the ice-making chamber door 5a and the upper freezing chamber door 6a are located on the same line.

In the present embodiment, the panel member 1 is provided on the front surface of each door in a state of being supported by a frame 9 (see fig. 3) as a support portion. That is, in the case of the refrigerator 2, the panel members 1 are provided on all the doors located on the front surface. At this time, the panel member 1 is bonded to the front surface side of the door by an adhesive member such as an adhesive tape 20 (see fig. 10).

Next, the panel member 1 will be described in detail.

Fig. 3 schematically shows a cross section at the line III-III of the left door 3a shown in fig. 2. In fig. 3, hatching showing a cross section is omitted for the purpose of describing the lead lines and the dimension lines. As shown in fig. 3, the end of the panel member 1 is chamfered. In the present embodiment, the front surface 1a is chamfered to a wide width, and an inclined surface (hereinafter referred to as an inclined front surface 10 for convenience) is formed. In the present embodiment, the inclined front surface 10 is formed linearly in a cross-sectional view. In fig. 3, the adhesive tape 20 is not shown for simplicity of explanation.

The wide chamfering process is performed so that the angle formed by the inclined front surface 10 and the front surface 1a is less than 45 degrees. More specifically, the angle formed by the inclined front surface 10 and the front surface 1a is set in the range of 5 degrees to 50 degrees, and in the present embodiment, is formed to be substantially 20 degrees. The range of 5 degrees to 50 degrees is set in consideration of the visual effect of the inclined front surface 10 when the wide chamfered portion is viewed from the front, that is, in consideration of the appearance of the glass surface material 1 as described later. Further, a chamfer of 45 degrees is applied at the end of the back surface 1b as described later. That is, in the present embodiment, the front surface 1a side of the panel member 1 is subjected to wide chamfering processing at an angle different from the rear surface 1b side and smaller than the rear surface 1b side.

The panel member 1 is supported by the frame 9 in a state in which a front ridge 12, which is an intersection of the inclined front surface 10 and the side surface, is positioned further forward than the front end of the frame 9, and in a state in which the front end of the frame 9, which will be described later, is positioned further forward than a rear ridge 13. That is, in the present embodiment, the front end of the frame 9 is located within the range of the flat surface portion 14 provided on the side surface of the panel member 1.

The back surface 1b side of the panel member 1 is chamfered at a C-surface forming an angle of 45 degrees with the back surface 1 b. Although not shown, the panel member 1 is provided on the back surface 1b side with a colored layer, a protective layer, a transmissive layer for transmitting light from the light source of the operation panel 8, and the like. Thus, light incident from the front surface 1a side is reflected by the colored layer or the like, and the panel member 1 functions as a mirror surface. That is, the panel member 1 of the present embodiment is mirror-finished. This can improve the appearance of the door.

The width dimension in the oblique direction of each of the oblique surfaces on the oblique front surface 10 and the back surface 1b side (hereinafter referred to as the oblique back surface 11 for convenience), that is, the width of the straight line portion (W1, W2) is smaller than the plate thickness (t) of the panel member 1. At this time, the widths (W1, W2) of the inclined front surface 10 and the inclined rear surface 11 are different, and the width (W1) of the inclined front surface 10 is larger than the width (W2) of the inclined rear surface 11.

Therefore, in the front view of the panel member 1 as viewed from the front surface 1a side, the appearance width (W3) of the inclined front surface 10, which is the chamfered portion on the front side, is larger than the appearance width (W4) of the inclined rear surface 11, which is the chamfered portion on the rear side.

In the present embodiment, the chamfered portion on the front surface 1a side indicates a range from an intersection point (a front ridge line 12a described later) of the flat front surface 1a and a portion inclined toward the back surface 1b side to an end portion of the side surface at the end portion of the panel member 1. In other words, the chamfered portion on the front face 1a side indicates a range in which the plate thickness changes in a direction from the end portion of the side face of the panel member 1 toward the center of the front face 1 a.

Similarly, the chamfered portion on the rear surface 1b side indicates a range from an intersection point (a rear surface ridge line 13a described later) of the flat rear surface 1b and a portion inclined to the front surface side to an end portion of the side surface at the end portion of the panel member 1. In other words, the chamfered portion on the rear surface 1b side indicates a range in which the plate thickness changes in a direction from the end portion of the side surface of the panel member 1 toward the center of the rear surface 1 b.

The apparent width (W3) on the front face 1a side is a projection distance when the inclined front face 10 is projected onto a plane parallel to the front face 1a, that is, a length of an imaginary straight line parallel to the front face 1a extending from the front ridge line 12a, which is an intersection of the inclined front face 10 and the front face 1a, to an end of the side face, and is a width of a portion which can be observed by being inclined from the front face 1a to the rear side when the panel member 1 is observed from the front.

Similarly, the apparent width (W4) on the rear surface 1b side is a projection distance when the inclined rear surface 10 is projected onto a plane parallel to the rear surface 1b, that is, a length of an imaginary straight line when the imaginary straight line parallel to the rear surface 1b extends from a rear surface ridge line 12a described later to an end of a side surface, and is a width of a portion which can be observed by being inclined from the rear surface 1b to the near side when the panel member 1 is viewed from the front.

The wide chamfering process is a process for improving the visibility of the inclined front 10 in the front view by setting the width (W1) of the inclined front 10 to be larger than the depth (W6) of the inclined front 10. In the present embodiment, in addition to making the apparent width (W3) of the chamfered portion on the front surface 1a side larger than the apparent width (W4) on the back surface 1b side, the width dimension in the oblique direction of the chamfered portion on the front surface 1a side, that is, the width (W2) of the straight line portion is made larger than the width (W1) of the straight line portion of the chamfered portion on the back surface 1b side.

Further, a linear flat surface portion 14 that is not inclined in cross-sectional view is provided between a ridge line (hereinafter, referred to as a front ridge line 12 for convenience) that is formed by the intersection of the inclined front surface 10 and the side surface and a ridge line (hereinafter, referred to as a rear ridge line 13 for convenience) that is formed by the intersection of the inclined rear surface 11 and the side surface. In other words, the panel member 1 is chamfered at the front surface 1a and the rear surface 1b in a state where a part of the side surface remains.

At this time, the width (W2) of the inclined back surface 11 is formed smaller than the width (W5) of the planar portion 14, that is, smaller than the distance between the front edge line 12 and the rear edge line 13. Further, a vertical distance (W6) in the front-rear direction from the front edge line 12 to the front surface 1a and a vertical distance (W7) in the front-rear direction from the rear edge line 13 to the rear surface 1b are formed smaller than a width (W5) of the flat surface portion 14. Further, in the present embodiment, the sum of the vertical distance (W6) and the vertical distance (W7) is smaller than the width (W5) of the planar portion 14.

That is, the panel member 1 satisfies the relationship of W5+ W6+ W7 ═ t, and the relationship of W6+ W7 ≦ W5. Thus, the flat surface portion 14 has a length of about 1/2 or more of the plate thickness of the panel member 1. In other words, the side surface of the panel member 1 has a thickness of half or more of the plate thickness. Therefore, the panel member 1 has high strength, and the possibility of breakage of the panel member 1 can be reduced even when a large force is concentrated on the side surface by the impact. That is, the flat surface portion 14 is provided as a side surface strength securing portion. In this case, by setting W5: w6: w7 ═ 2: 1: the relationship of 1 allows the flat surface portion 14 to be provided at the center in the thickness direction of the panel member 1, and further allows the front surface 1a side and the back surface 1b side to have a balanced strength.

In the present embodiment, an external impact on the door is also considered. Specifically, as shown in fig. 4, in the case of the left door 3a, the panel member 1 is chamfered so that a part of the frame 9 is positioned on the front side of the plane (S2) obtained by extending the inclined front surface 10. In other words, in the case where the plane (S1) parallel to the inclined front face 10 approaches, the plane (S1) comes into contact with a part of the frame 9 prior to the panel member 1. Thus, even in a situation where the left door 3a contacts a linear wall when rotated, the frame 9 contacts the wall prior to the panel member 1. Therefore, breakage of the panel member 1 can be suppressed.

On the other hand, even when the tray comes into contact with the left end side of the right door 3b when the right door 3b is opened and the tray or the like is stored, for example, the tray comes into contact with the frame 9 first, so that the possibility of collision with the panel member 1 can be reduced, and the impact can be alleviated even if the contact occurs.

Further, the outer width of the inclined front face 10 in the front view of the panel member 1 (W3), i.e., the width of the range in which the plate thickness changes from the flat front face 1a at the end portion, is formed to be larger than the outer width of the frame 9 in the front view (W8). Here, the frame 9 is configured to have a flat surface on the front end surface and to be inclined rearward with a wide width, and the width of the flat surface is indicated by the external width (W8) of the frame 9. In addition, when there is no flat surface, the longest distance or the shortest distance in the cross-sectional view of the frame 9 at a portion abutting against the flat surface portion 14 of the side surface of the panel member 1 or a portion facing the flat surface portion 14 may be set as the external width.

Thereby, the inclined front surface 10, i.e., the wide chamfered portion, becomes easily recognizable by the user, so that a high-class feeling can be formed, and the feeling of existence of the frame 9 becomes relatively small, so that the appearance can be improved, i.e., it can be regarded as a completely frameless or the like at a glance. In the present embodiment, the outer width (W4) of the sloped back surface 11 is smaller than the outer width (W8) of the front end of the frame 9. Namely, the widths are W3 > W8 > W4.

On the other hand, in the case where the panel member 1 is provided on the door of the refrigerator 2 as in the present embodiment, since the door is arranged in a vertical and horizontal direction, when the external width of the inclined front face 10 is too large, the wide chamfered portion is too conspicuous, and it is assumed that the plate-shaped chocolate, that is, the chocolate having a plate shape and a trapezoidal shape raised on the front face 1a may deteriorate the sense of high quality. Therefore, the outer width (W3) of the inclined front face 10 in the main view is formed to be smaller than 2 times the outer width (W8) of the frame 9 in the main view. Thus, the wide chamfered portion is not conspicuously seen, and the high-grade feeling is prevented from being impaired.

In addition, the outer width of the inclined front face 10 in the front view is formed in the same manner not only on the left side of the left door 3a but also on all sides of the upper side, the right side, and the lower side. That is, the end portions of 4 sides of the panel member 1 formed in a quadrangular shape having 4 sides are chamfered, and the end portions of 4 sides are chamfered identically.

The same applies to the panel member 1 provided in a drawer-type door such as the vegetable room door 4 a. Specifically, as shown in fig. 5, the outer width (W3) of the inclined front face 10 of the panel member 1 provided on the vegetable compartment door 4a is formed to be larger than the outer width (W8) of the front end of the side and upper sides of the frame 9 of the vegetable compartment door 4a and smaller than 2 times thereof. At this time, a handle portion 4b to be held by a hand of a user when the door is opened is formed behind the panel member 1 and behind the front surface of the frame 9.

In this case, the apparent width (W3) of the inclined front surface 10 may be set to be smaller than the depth of the handle portion 4 b. Thus, even if a force is applied when the grip portion 4b is gripped by a hand, the panel member 1 can be reduced in possibility of being damaged. Preferably, the depth of the grip portion 4b is about 1/4.

As shown in fig. 6, a straight C-plane chamfer is applied to a corner 1C of the panel member 1, and the corner 1C is 4 corners of the panel member 1 formed in a rectangular shape in a front view. This is because, in addition to the purpose of preventing breakage during assembly, this contributes to suppressing a decrease in appearance. At this time, the distance (WC1) from the intersection point of the front ridge line 12a to the straight line portion of the corner portion 1c is the same as or longer than the distance (WC2) from the straight line portion to the intersection point obtained when the side surface is supposed to be extended (WC 2). The width of the corner 1c, that is, the Width (WC) of the straight line portion up to the adjacent 2 sides is the same as the width (W3) of the inclined front surface 10 or smaller than the width (W3) of the inclined front surface 10.

Thus, a region having a high appearance by chamfering is formed in the corner portion 1 c. Further, since the variation of the inclined front surface 10, that is, the processing error of the width (W3) of the inclined front surface 10 in the lateral and vertical directions in fig. 6 becomes inconspicuous, a slight variation at the time of manufacturing can be eliminated, and the manufacturability can be improved. At this time, since WC ≦ W3 is set for each width, the chamfer of the corner portion 1c does not reach the intersection of the front ridge 12a, and the inclined front 10 is not cut vertically and horizontally in fig. 6, so that the appearance can be prevented from being degraded.

Further, it is preferable that a boundary line between the inclined front surface 10 in the vertical direction and the inclined front surface 10 in the horizontal direction is located within a width dimension from a midpoint position that bisects the Width (WC) of the straight line portion to (1/6) · WC. This allows the longitudinal and transverse inclined front faces 10 to be connected with each other in a well-balanced manner.

When chamfering is applied to the panel member 1, since chamfering is independently applied to each end portion, slight variations may occur even if the work is performed with high accuracy. In this case, if chamfering is not applied to the corner portion 1c, the difference in width between the adjacent slope portions becomes conspicuous. In contrast, by chamfering, even if the widths of the adjacent inclined surface portions are slightly different, the difference is not conspicuous, and the degradation of the appearance is suppressed.

As shown in fig. 7, if a curved chamfer is provided at the corner portion 1c, the corner portion can be further made inconspicuous. In the case of fig. 7, the corner portion 1c is chamfered in an arc shape with the intersection of the front ridge line 12a as the center. At this time, the radius (WR) of the arc-shaped curved surface is smaller than the width (W3) of the inclined front surface 10. The radius (WR) of the arc-shaped curved surface is longer than the distance (WR0) from the curved surface to the intersection point which is assumed to be obtained when the side surface is extended.

Accordingly, a region having a high appearance by chamfering is formed in the corner portion 1c, and a variation in the inclined front 10, that is, a processing error in the width (W3) of the inclined front 10 in the lateral and vertical directions in fig. 7 is inconspicuous due to the curved-surface or R-shaped chamfering, so that a slight variation in manufacturing can be eliminated, and the manufacturability can be improved. Since the relationship of the respective widths WR > W3 is set, the chamfer of the corner portion 1c does not reach the intersection of the front ridge line 12a, and the inclined front face 10 is not cut vertically and horizontally in fig. 7, thereby preventing a reduction in the appearance.

Further, in the panel member 1, the inclined front face 10 is subjected to surface treatment having the same texture as the front face 1 a. As described above, the panel member 1 is a plate material made of tempered glass. Since such a sheet is generally manufactured by the float method, the front surface 1a is very smooth and bright. On the other hand, the inclined front surface 10 becomes less smooth than the front surface 1a when the chamfering process is applied thereto.

The R-shaped chamfer may be applied so that the boundary line (XL1) of the vertically and horizontally adjacent inclined front faces 10 is substantially equal to the distance (XLa, XLb) between the virtual intersection points Xa, Xb which are obtained by intersecting the vertical virtual line (XL2) extending from the center of the boundary line (XL1) with the vertical and horizontal outer edges of the panel member 1. Here, the term "substantially the same" means that the difference between XLa and XLb is within a range of about 20%. Thus, the R-shaped chamfer is substantially line-symmetrical with respect to the boundary line (XL1), and the appearance is improved.

Further, since the inclined front surface 10 is directly visually confirmed by the user as with the front surface 1a, if the texture of the inclined front surface 10 is largely different from that of the front surface 1a, the appearance may be deteriorated. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a polishing treatment for making the smoothness as much as that of the front surface 1a is applied as a surface treatment to the inclined front surface 10. This makes the inclined front surface 10 have almost the same texture as the front surface 1a, and thus the possibility of deterioration in appearance can be suppressed.

In this case, the inclined back surface 11 does not necessarily need to be subjected to surface treatment, and the smoothness of each surface in this case is, front surface 1a ≧ inclined front surface 10 > inclined back surface 11. As the surface treatment, not only polishing treatment, but also composite treatment for removing surface irregularities, coating treatment for burying surface irregularities with a clear coating material, and the like can be used.

The inclined back surface 11 of the panel member 1 may be subjected to the same polishing process as the inclined front surface 10. Since the panel member 1 is made of glass and is transparent, it is not impossible to observe the inclined back surface 11 if it is observed in detail. Therefore, by performing the same polishing process as that for the front surface 1a also for the inclined back surface 11, it is possible to show the user that the manufacturing is performed without looseness even in an invisible place, and the user can be assured.

Fig. 8 schematically shows the lower end portion of the left door 3a, specifically, a cross section at the line VIII-VIII shown in fig. 2. In addition, hatching is omitted in fig. 8 to show the path through which light passes.

In general, it is considered that the refrigerator 2 is provided in a room, and a lighting device is provided in the room at a position higher than the top of the refrigerator 2.

Then, light from the illumination device is incident on the inside of the panel member 1 as indicated by arrow Y1, reflected inside the panel member 1, and then emitted in the direction indicated by arrow Y2. At this time, since the panel member 1 is made of tempered glass, a thin layer is formed on the surface layer side due to internal stress. Therefore, the surface layer portion and the inside portion of the panel member 1 are different in both the refractive state and the polarization state. In the case where 3 times of internal reflection occurs as shown in fig. 8, each reflection passes through a portion having a different refractive state or polarization state a plurality of times.

Therefore, in the case where the arrow Y2 is the line of sight of the user, light of different wavelengths reaches the inside of the eye of the user in the lateral width direction of the left door 3 a. As a result, the end portion of the panel member 1 appears to blink neon in the lateral direction to the eyes of the user. In particular, since the panel member 1 capable of generating neon flickering is disposed on the door which rotates around the hinge portion and moves, the distance from the light source and the angle with the light source are changed by the door opening and closing operations, and thus the user can easily check the neon flickering.

However, since the neon flicker is generated only when a predetermined relationship with the light source is satisfied, it is not always observed. The flicker of neon is not necessary to be conscious in the normal use of the panel member 1, but one of the reasons for the flicker of neon is that since the neon is manufactured by the air-cooling strengthening method in which glass is heated to a high temperature of approximately 700 ℃ which is relatively easy to be deformed, the flicker of neon is weakened by setting the heating temperature of glass to a lower temperature when the neon is manufactured by the air-cooling strengthening method, but the occurrence of the deformation can be prevented.

The tempered glass has a plurality of refractivity properties due to compressive stress on the surface thereof caused by heat tempering, and the refractivity properties of the tempered glass have different refractive indexes of light depending on the stress. At this time, since the refractive index changes almost proportionally as going toward the thickness direction, the incident light is particularly dispersed. In addition, in a state where compressive stress of about 1/6 mm in thickness is sandwiched between the layers on both sides, a tensile stress is generated in the layers, and light is again scattered due to a change in refractive index.

In the tempered glass in this state, the end portion of the panel member 1 is cut to generate a state where the change in stress is different in the cut surface, and neon can be observed by scattering light in consideration of the interaction between the effect of the shape of the cut surface and the different internal stress, that is, the influence.

That is, the present embodiment is characterized in that, in the end portion of the tempered glass panel member 1 satisfying JIS R3206, the chamfered portion has an outer width smaller than the plate thickness and the chamfered portion on the front surface side has an outer width larger than the chamfered portion on the back surface side, and both the front surface side and the back surface side are chamfered, so that when the chamfered end portion is visually confirmed in the movement from the closed state to the 90-degree open state of the door in the state where light is incident on the panel member 1 from the upper portion of the refrigerator 2, a color different from that of glass or that of paint is presented, and in the present embodiment, light of a neon color is generated. In this case, it is preferable to apply a chamfer to the end on the opposite side of the hinge. Accordingly, since the chamfered portion moves in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction during the rotation of the door, the incident angle of light is changed in a complicated manner, and patterns of various colors can be displayed.

At this time, since the panel member 1 is made of glass, when the panel member 1 flickers in a neon color, brilliance of diamond is perceived, and a high-quality feeling is presented. Further, since the flickering of the neon color is instantaneously and occasionally observed, it is possible to always present a high-grade feeling with a natural feeling, unlike an obvious colored lamp using an LED or the like. As a result of the experiment, when the appearance width (W3) of the inclined front surface 10 was much larger than the plate thickness, that is, when the wide chamfered portion was particularly conspicuous, no neon flicker was generated.

According to the embodiments described above, the following effects can be obtained.

In the panel member 1, the edges of both the front surface 1a side and the back surface 1b side are chamfered, the external widths (W3, W4) of the chamfered portions are smaller than the plate thickness (t), and the external width (W3) of the chamfered portion on the front surface 1a side is larger than the external width (W4) of the chamfered portion on the back surface 1b side.

By chamfering the end of the panel member 1, the possibility of breakage of the panel member 1 during manufacture and product conveyance can be reduced. Further, by making the width (W3) on the front surface 1a side larger than the width (W4) on the rear surface 1b side, the impact when the user touches an external member or the user can be alleviated. Further, by setting the widths (W3, W4) of the inclined surfaces to be smaller than the plate thickness (t), the chamfered portions can be prevented from becoming too conspicuous. Therefore, contact with the panel member 1 can be suppressed without impairing the appearance, and further, a problem that may occur due to the contact can be suppressed.

In the panel member 1, a wide chamfering process for forming a linear inclined surface is performed at an end portion on the front surface 1a side. Thus, the inclined front surface 10, that is, the wide chamfered portion is formed at the end portion of the panel member 1, and the appearance can be improved.

Further, by forming the wide chamfered portion capable of generating a neon color flash in the vertical direction at the end portion on the opposite side of the hinge where the user's sight line is easily touched when performing the door opening and closing operation, the appearance can be improved.

In the panel member 1, the front ridge line 12a, which is an intersection of the side surface and the inclined front surface 10, is located forward of the front end of the frame 9. In other words, the frame 9 is located further rearward than the front surface 1a of the panel member 1. This makes the frame 9 inconspicuous, thereby improving the appearance.

In the panel member 1, a flat surface portion 14 is provided between the inclined front surface 10 and the inclined rear surface 11 of the side surface thereof. In the case where an impact is applied to the panel member 1, the force tends to concentrate on the side. Therefore, by providing the flat surface portion 14 on the side surface, the strength can be improved.

In the panel member 1, the angle formed by the inclined front face 10 and the front face 1a is set to be less than 45 degrees. Although the strength can be improved by providing the flat portion 14 as described above, in this case, the strength varies depending on the width (W5) of the flat portion 14. On the other hand, since the thickness (t) of the panel member 1 is determined, when chamfering with the chamfer of a size clear for the wide chamfered portion is applied, that is, the chamfer of the angle formed by the C-plane is 45 degrees, the width (W5) of the flat surface portion 14 is narrowed.

Therefore, by setting the angle formed by the inclined front surface 10 and the front surface 1a to less than 45 degrees, the width (W5) of the flat surface portion 14 can be prevented from being excessively small, and a wide chamfered portion can be provided in a clearly visible state, whereby both the appearance and the strength can be realized.

In addition, in the panel member 1, since the C-face having an angle of 45 degrees formed by the inclined back face 11 and the back face 1b is chamfered, the possibility of damage occurring at the time of manufacture or at the time of transportation can be reduced also on the back face 1b side. Further, even when the user performs the opening and closing operation of the door by wetting his or her hand, or the user wipes and cleans the panel member 1 of the refrigerator door with a cleaning agent, and the cleaning agent or water flows around the back surface 1b side from the end portion of the panel member 1, the cleaning agent or water drops downward through the chamfered space on the surface C of the back surface 1b, and therefore, an effect of preventing the cleaning agent or water from flowing around the back surface 1b to some extent can be expected.

In this case, by making the sum of the vertical distance (W6) and the vertical distance (W7) smaller than the width (W5) of the planar portion 14 as in the embodiment, the width (W5) of the planar portion 14 can be made to be substantially 1/2 or more of the plate thickness of the panel member 1, so that the strength is increased, and even when the panel member 1 receives an impact and a large force is concentrated on the side surface, the possibility of breakage of the panel member 1 can be reduced.

In the panel member 1, the outer width (W3) of the inclined front face 10 in the front view viewed from the front face 1a side is set to be larger than the outer width (W8) of the frame 9 in the front view. Thereby, the wide chamfered portion becomes relatively larger than the frame 9, and the wide chamfered portion itself becomes easy to be visually confirmed by the user, and a high-grade feeling can be presented.

In the panel member 1, the outer width (W3) of the inclined front face 10 in the front view viewed from the front face 1a side is set to be less than 2 times the outer width (W8) of the frame 9 in the front view. This can prevent the wide chamfered portion from becoming excessively large and becoming excessively conspicuous. When the panel member 1 is provided in the refrigerator 2 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the appearance from becoming like a plate-like chocolate, which is significant.

In the panel member 1, the inclined front surface 10 is subjected to a polishing process common to, i.e., to the same extent as, the front surface 1 a. This can give a sense of unity to the front surface 1a and the inclined front surface 10, and can suppress a reduction in appearance. Further, even when dirt adheres to the inclined front surface 10, the cleaning can be easily performed, and the cleaning performance can be improved. When the panel member 1 is provided in the refrigerator 2 as in the present embodiment, it is also possible to contact the refrigerator with a wet hand, and this is significant.

The panel member 1 is formed in a quadrangular shape having 4 sides, and chamfers are applied to the 4 sides, respectively. This can improve safety during manufacture and use.

In the panel member 1, the same chamfer is applied to 4 sides, respectively. As a result, the entire surface of the panel member 1 can be visually confirmed at the same time while being provided on the door of the refrigerator 2 as in the present embodiment, and a sense of unity can be presented.

In the panel member 1, a straight chamfer is applied to the corner portion 1 c. This eliminates the corner, thereby improving safety. Further, even if the widths of the inclined surfaces of the adjacent sides are slightly different, the production efficiency can be improved without being conspicuous. This is the same also in the case where the corner portion 1c is chamfered in a curved shape.

The panel member 1 is formed by reinforcing glass. This can improve the strength of the panel member 1. In addition, in the case of the tempered glass, since the refractive state of light changes at the surface layer portion and the inside, the paths through which light passes can be diversified, and the above-described blinking of neon can be promoted.

The panel member 1 is mirror-finished with a colored layer, a protective layer, a metal deposition layer, or the like, for example, provided on the rear surface. This can improve the appearance of the refrigerator 2 when viewed from the front. Further, since the flicker of neon color depends on internal reflection as described above, internal reflection is more efficiently performed by performing mirror processing, and the flicker of neon color can be promoted.

Further, the panel member 1 can be applied to a door of the refrigerator 2. At this time, the panel member 1 is formed in a quadrangular shape having 4 sides, and the 4 sides are chamfered, respectively, so that the appearance of the refrigerator 2 can be improved.

In this case, the appearance can be further improved by performing the wide chamfering process on at least 1 side. Further, by performing the same chamfering process on 4 sides, a sense of unity in design can be exhibited.

In the case where the width of the left door 3a is equal to the width of the ice making chamber door 5a and the width of the right door 3b is equal to the width of the upper freezing chamber door 6a as in the present embodiment, for example, the right end sides of the left door 3a and the ice making chamber door 5a, the upper end sides of the ice making chamber door 5a and the upper freezing chamber door 6a, and the like are arranged on the same straight line in the longitudinal direction or the lateral direction. Therefore, in this case, by applying a chamfer to the end portion of the panel member 1, more specifically, by applying the same chamfer to the portions arranged on the same straight line, the appearance can be improved.

Further, the same chamfer may be applied to the mutually opposing sides of the adjacent sides of the doors, such as the left door 3a and the right door 3b, that is, for example, the right side of the left door 3a and the left side of the right door 3 b. This can further improve the appearance.

In addition, in the case where the vegetable compartment 4 is not provided between the refrigerating compartment 3 and the ice making compartment 5 and the upper freezing compartment 6, for example, the left door 3a and the ice making compartment door 5a may be adjacent in a short distance. In this case, for example, if there is a slight difference in the machining size of the wide chamfered portion, the difference becomes conspicuous because the doors are adjacent, and the appearance may be degraded.

Therefore, by providing vegetable compartment 4 between refrigerating compartment 3 and ice making compartment 5 and upper freezer compartment 6 as in the present embodiment, for example, left door 3a and ice making compartment door 5a do not come close to each other, and even if there is a slight difference in machining size of the wide chamfered portion, for example, the difference does not make the difference conspicuous, and a decrease in appearance can be reduced.

That is, in the refrigerator 2 in which the portions where the plurality of doors are provided adjacently in the left-right direction are provided in the up-down direction, by providing a single door between the upper and lower portions, it is not necessary to provide an adjacent line in a region where adjacent lines of the plurality of doors are connected in each of the up-down portions, and the possibility of deterioration in appearance can be reduced. The adjacent line is simply a line indicating the position of the gap between the doors arranged in the left-right direction.

The ice making compartment 5 and the upper freezer compartment 6 are examples, and may be applied to a case where the end portions of the doors are substantially aligned in the longitudinal direction. Of course, the present invention can be applied to a case where the end portions of the doors are located on substantially the same straight line in the lateral direction.

Accordingly, in the panel member 1, the same chamfering process can be performed for 4 sides, but when applied to the door of the refrigerator 2, the chamfering process can be changed according to the operation mode of the door. That is, the wide chamfering process can be performed on at least one side.

For example, in the case of the rotatable left door 3a and right door 3b, the wide chamfering process can be performed on the end portions on the rotation tip side on the opposite side of the hinge as the rotation center. As described above, it is considered that the blinking of the neon color is generated from the positional relationship with the external lighting device. Therefore, by performing the wide chamfering process on the end portion on the rotation tip side where the positional relationship with the illumination device is largely changed, it is possible to promote the generation of the neon color flicker.

Alternatively, for example, in the drawer-type vegetable compartment door 4a, the upper freezing compartment door 5a, or the lower freezing compartment door 7a, the end portion of the upper end side of the door may be subjected to a wide chamfering process. In the case of the refrigerator 2, it is generally considered that the user's point of view is located above the drawer type door. In the case of a drawer-type door, it is also considered that the positional relationship with the external lighting device changes when the door is removed.

Therefore, in the case of the drawer-type door, the occurrence of the blinking of the neon color can be promoted by performing the wide chamfering process on the end portion on the upper end side which is highly likely to be visually recognized by the user at the time of opening and closing. The end portions of the ice making compartment door 5a, the upper freezing compartment door 6a, and the lower freezing compartment door 7a on the side of the handle portion may be chamfered by the same reason as above, without being limited to the vegetable compartment door 4.

Further, in the case of applying the panel member 1 to the door of the refrigerator 2, for example, in the case of the vegetable compartment door 4a, for example, it is possible to perform a wide chamfering process at the end portion below the handle portion 4b, that is, in the case of the vegetable compartment door 4a, at the end portion of the panel member 1 which is the upper end side. That is, the wide chamfering process can be performed at a portion which is easily observed by the user and easily causes neon flickering. This makes it possible to visually confirm the flickering of the neon color by the user, thereby improving the appearance.

In addition, when the wide chamfering is performed on the rotation front end side of the above-described rotatable door, the upper end side of the drawer door, or the handle portion 4b side, the wide chamfering may not be performed except for the portion where the wide chamfering is performed. The wide chamfering process is one of the causes of an increase in manufacturing cost due to high dimensional accuracy required, surface treatment, and the like. Therefore, by not performing the wide chamfering process on the side of the pivot tip, the upper end side of the drawer door, or the side other than the handle portion, it is possible to improve the appearance and suppress an excessive increase in the manufacturing cost.

In this way, the appearance of the refrigerator 2 in which the panel member 1 having the chamfered edges at both the front surface 1a side and the rear surface 1b side is applied to the front panel of the door can be improved. In this case, in the door of the refrigerator 2 and the panel member 1 provided in the door, various expansions and modifications can be made as shown in the above-described embodiment and other embodiments described later, in which the outer width (W3) of the chamfered portion on the front surface 1a side is made larger than the outer width (W4) of the chamfered portion on the rear surface side.

In addition, a surface having a wide width may be provided. In addition, in the same manner, the width of the wide surface may be changed by changing the inclination angle, that is, the angle formed by the wide surface and the front surface 1a, so that the surface having the different apparent width of the inclined front surface 10 is provided.

(other embodiments)

Although the embodiment shows an example in which the flat portion 14 is provided on the side surface of the panel member 1, another configuration may be adopted.

For example, as shown in fig. 9, the side surface may be formed in a curved surface or an arc shape. That is, the side surface of the panel member 1 can be subjected to the arc treatment. When the panel member 1 is mirror-finished, the appearance can be improved, but fine scratches and the like are noticeable. Further, the wide chamfering is a machining which easily causes fine damage at the time of cutting.

Therefore, by performing the arc treatment, compared to a general case in which a flat chamfer is formed on a chamfered portion like a C-plane, damage or chipping is less likely to occur in each manufacturing process including storage and transportation, and the yield, that is, the manufacturability as a door surface member can be improved.

Even when the arc treatment is performed, for example, the wide chamfering process for forming a region having a plate thickness varying as in the case of the inclined front surface 10 described above can be performed on the front surface 1a side. This can improve the appearance in addition to the improvement of the manufacturability and the like.

In this case, in fig. 9, in the range of the change in the sheet thickness, that is, in the inclined front surface R10, the boundary between the straight portion R10-1 and the curved surface R10-2 on the side surface side, that is, the intersection (P1) of the straight inclined surface and the curved surface in the cross-sectional view is located on the lower side (near the end portion side) in the drawing than the outer width (WR4) of the chamfered portion on the back surface 1b side, that is, the inclined back surface R11 in which the sheet thickness changes. As a result, the width of the wide chamfered portion becomes the distance from the front ridge 12a to the point R12. Here, the point R12 is a point where the virtual line R10K extending the straight portion R10-1 reaches the virtual line R14K extending in the short side direction (front-rear direction) from the outermost end of the panel member 1. Accordingly, the width (WR1) of the inclined front face R10 is relatively increased, and the wide chamfered portion is easily recognized, thereby further improving the appearance.

In this case, the apparent width (WR3) of the front chamfered portion is a value obtained by adding the projected distance (WR3-1) of the straight portion R10-1 to the projected distance (WR3-2) of the curved surface R10-2, which is a curved surface. That is, in the case of fig. 9, the range including the straight portion R10-1 and the curved surface R10-2 is a range of a change in plate thickness, and is an inclined surface of the chamfered portion on the front surface 1a side. The outer width (WR3) is determined by the size of the inclined surface R10-1 and the curved surface R10-2.

At this time, it is preferable that the curvature of the curved surface R10-2 is in the range of 3 times the same size as the projection distance (WR3-1), and the projection distance (WR3-2) is in the range of 1/20 to 1/4 of the projection distance (WR3-1) because of the curvature. This can improve the appearance and ensure the strength at the same time.

At this time, the curved surface R10-2 is made small, and the inclined surface R10-1 is relatively easy to visually confirm, so that only the flat inclined surface R10-1 can be used as the inclined surface for improving the appearance.

Alternatively, the entire side surface may be formed as a curved surface, and the flat surface portion 14 may be provided in a part thereof.

In fig. 9 corresponding to the portion of the planar portion 14 of the embodiment, a portion between a point R13 where a tangent line R11K (virtual line) reaches the virtual line R14K and the point R12 corresponds to the curved surface portion R14 of the planar portion 14, and the tangent line R11K is tangent to the curved surface portion on the back surface 1b side (hereinafter, referred to as an inclined back surface R11) at an angle of 45 degrees, which is the same as the inclined surface 11 shown in the embodiment. This portion is provided to secure strength for preventing the side end portion from being broken, and serves as a side strength securing portion.

Further, although a shape excellent in strength securing and appearance can be formed by setting the appearance width WR3 of the inclined front surface R10 to be larger than WR4, the appearance width of the straight portion R10-1 other than the arc surface R10-2, that is, the width of the WR3-1 in the range of the change in plate thickness may be set to be larger than the chamfered portion on the back surface 1b side, that is, the WR4 which is the appearance width of the inclined back surface R11. This can further improve the appearance.

In addition, as the wide chamfering process, the width WR1 of the inclined front face R10 is set to be larger than the depth (WR6) of the inclined front face 10, thereby improving the visual confirmation, and the width (WR1-1) of the straight line part R10-1 in the range of the change in the plate thickness is set to be larger than the depth (WR6-1) or the depth (WR6) of the whole inclined front face R10, thereby further improving the appearance.

As described below, the panel member 1 is shaped to satisfy a predetermined positional relationship including the frame 9, thereby ensuring strength.

Specifically, fig. 10 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of the left door 3a and the right door 3b, and the panel members 1 are provided to the respective doors. Hereinafter, the upper side in the drawing, that is, the side of the panel member 1, is referred to as the front side, the lower side in the drawing, that is, the side of the frame 9, is referred to as the rear side, and the left-right direction in the drawing is referred to as the left-right direction.

First, in the vertical direction shown in fig. 10, i.e., the front-side ridge 12a in cross-sectional view, the position passing through the front surface 1a of the panel member 1 is L1, the position passing through the front ridge 12 is L2, the position passing through the front end of the frame 9 is L3, the position passing through the rear ridge 13 is L4, the position passing through the rear surface 1b, i.e., the rear ridge 13a, is L5, the position of the front surface of the mounting portion 9a of the frame 9 is L6, and the position of the rear surface of the mounting portion 9a is L7.

In each door, a virtual line along the inclined front surface 10 is S2, a virtual line along the inclined rear surface 11 is S3, an intersection point of S3 is H, an intersection point of S2 is I, and an intersection point of S2 and S3 is J. Here, the mounting portion 9a is a portion provided for mounting the panel member 1 to the frame 9 by an adhesive member such as an adhesive tape 20 or a fixing member, and is formed in a shape parallel to the panel member 1 and connecting both left and right ends of the frame 9.

In the case of fig. 10, the positional relationship in the front-rear direction of H, I is shown by the following relational expression.

H＞L1＞L2＞L3＞L4≥I＞L5＞L6＞L7

Here, for example, H > L1 means that H is located in front of L1.

In this case, the planar portion 14 can be provided on the side surface of the panel member 1 by adopting the positional relationship of H > L1 > L2 > L3 > L4. In this case, H may be located behind L1 to L3 as long as H is satisfied before L4, that is, H > L4. In other words, the flat surface portion 14 may be provided.

However, since the strength is relatively reduced if the width of the flat surface portion 14 is small, it is preferable to make the flat surface portion 14 have a certain width, that is, to adopt the positional relationship of H > L1 as described above, in order to improve the strength.

Further, when L1 > L2 > L3, the angle formed by the front surface 1a and the inclined front surface 10 (hereinafter referred to as the inclination angle of the inclined front surface 10) becomes an obtuse angle. Thus, the front ridge line 12a is in a gentle state, that is, the corner of the front ridge line 12a is not protruded, and thus damage and breakage of the panel member 1 can be suppressed.

In fig. 10, the positional relationship in the front-rear direction of I, J is shown by the following relational expression.

L1＞L2＞L3＞J＞I≥L4＞L5＞L6＞L7

In this case, since J > I, the angle formed by the back surface 1b and the inclined back surface 11 (hereinafter, referred to as the inclination angle of the inclined back surface 11) is different from the inclination angle of the inclined front surface 10, and the inclination angle of the inclined back surface 11 is narrower than the inclination angle of the inclined front surface 10. In addition, the relationship between H and I, J is H > J > I in the present embodiment.

In this shape, the inclination angle of the inclined front surface 10 is also an obtuse angle, and damage and breakage of the panel member 1 can be suppressed.

The narrow range of the inclination angle of the inclined back surface 11 means that the projection distance (see W4. fig. 3) of the inclined back surface 11 is small, so that the range in which incident light is incident on the inner surface of the inclined front surface 10 and reflected becomes large as shown in fig. 8, and thus, neon flickering is likely to occur.

Accordingly, the strength can be secured not only in the front-rear direction but also in the left-right direction with respect to the shape of the panel member 1 by satisfying a predetermined positional relationship.

In the left-right direction shown in fig. 10, that is, in the left-right direction when viewed in cross section of the right door 3b, the midpoint of the adjacent doors is T0, the end portion of the frame 9 on the other door side is T1, the position of the surface of the frame 9 facing the side surface of the panel member 1 is T2, the position of the side surface of the panel member 1 (the flat surface portion 14 in this case) is T3, the position of the base portion of the mounting portion 9 is T4, the position of the rear surface ridge line 13a is T5, the position of the step portion provided on the front surface of the mounting portion 9a as the end portion of the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 20 is T6, and the position of the front surface ridge line 12a is T7. In the case of the left door 3a, similarly, there are positions corresponding to T0 to T7 so as to be line-symmetric with respect to the center position between the doors.

For example, J can be set to satisfy both the front-rear positional relationship of L1 > L2 > L3 > J > I ≧ L4 and the left-right positional relationship of T2 < J < T1 as described above. Here, T2 < J indicates that J is located closer to the left door 3a than T2 in the case of the right door 3 b. In the case of the left door 3a, T2 < J means that J is located on the right door 3b side of T2.

In this case J is located inside the frame 9. By setting the shape in this manner, breakage and damage of the panel member 1 can be suppressed by suppressing the front ridge line 12a from being excessively sharp, and the possibility of insufficient strength can be reduced by suppressing the width of the flat surface portion 14 from becoming small.

As shown in fig. 11 in an enlarged scale, an intersection of S2 and the rear surface (L7) of the mounting portion 9a is denoted by K, an intersection of S3 and the rear surface (L7) of the mounting portion 9a is denoted by L, and an intersection of S3 and S2 of the other door is denoted by M.

In this case, the intersections have the following positional relationship in the left-right direction.

T7≤K，L≤M＜T6＜T5＜T3＜T2＜T1

The intersection points have the following positional relationship in the front-rear direction.

L4＞L5＞L6＞M＞L7

Even in a shape satisfying such a positional relationship, the panel member 1 can be prevented from being damaged or damaged, and the possibility of insufficient strength can be reduced.

Further, since the inclined front face 10 is provided for the purpose of improving the appearance as described above, the coordination between the adjacent doors is also important.

Here, when the width from the end of the panel member 1 to the midpoint of the door is WTO3, the width of the inclined front 10 (W1) and the apparent width of the inclined front 10 (W3) have the following relationship in size.

(WTO3)/2≤W3＜W1＜WTO3

This ensures strength even when the panel member 1 is thin in thickness.

By setting such a magnitude relationship, the positions of the inclined front faces 10 of the doors are not excessively close to each other in a state where the doors are adjacent to each other, and further, the doors are not excessively apart from each other, so that it is possible to obtain the overall coordination, that is, the coordination when the doors are arranged adjacent to each other. Therefore, the texture and the appearance can be improved. In this case, in addition to the doors adjacent in the left-right direction, the strength and the appearance can be simultaneously secured by satisfying the above-described relationship between the doors adjacent in the up-down direction.

The portion on the front end side of the frame 9 in the front view may be painted in the same color as the door or in the same color as the door. This makes the frame 9 inconspicuous, thereby improving the appearance.

The front end side of the frame 9 may be formed as a plane parallel to the inclined front surface 10. This makes it possible to visually integrate the panel member 1 and the frame 9, and to improve the appearance.

Although the embodiment shows an example in which the same polishing process as that for the front surface 1a is performed on the inclined front surface 10, a polishing process different from that for the front surface 1a may be performed. Thus, in an application using one panel member 1, a bright spot can be added to the panel member 1 having a relatively flat front surface 1a at all times, and the appearance can be improved.

In the embodiment, although an example is shown in which the front end of the frame 9 is located within the range of the flat surface portion 14, the front end of the frame 9 may be designed so as to be located within a range rearward of the rear ridge line 13 and forward of the rear surface 1 b. This makes it possible to visually confirm the end portion including the side surface of the panel member 1 and improve the appearance by making it appear frameless in the front view.

In the embodiment, the panel member 1 is shown in which the thickness width (W6) of the inclined front face 10 satisfies the relationship of W6+ W7. ltoreq.W 5, but W6. ltoreq.W 5 may be provided. This is because, when the original thickness (t) of the panel member 1 is large, sufficient strength can be ensured even if the width (W3) on the side surface side is not 1/2 or more of the thickness (t). For the same reason, when the original thickness (t) is large, W6 and W7 ≧ W5 can be used.

Although the embodiment shows an example in which the inclined front surface 10 is subjected to the surface treatment that imparts the same texture as the front surface 1a, the surface treatment that imparts a texture different from that of the front surface 1a may be applied. Accordingly, when the panel member 1 is provided on a material having a relatively large area and a uniform surface, such as a door of the refrigerator 2, the inclined front surface 10 becomes a bright point in design, and the appearance can be improved.

Similarly, the surface subjected to the arc treatment shown in fig. 9 can be subjected to a surface treatment for imparting the same texture as that of the front surface 1a as in the embodiment, and can also be subjected to a surface treatment for imparting a texture different from that of the front surface 1 a.

In the embodiment, although the example of the refrigerator 2 in which the refrigerating chamber 3 is opened and closed by the left door 3a and the right door 3b of the double doors is shown, the panel member 1 may be applied to a refrigerator in which the refrigerating chamber 3 is opened and closed by one door. Further, the structure of the refrigerator 2 shown in the embodiment is an example, and the panel member 1 can be applied to refrigerators having different positions and numbers of storage rooms.

Further, in a refrigerator having a door provided with a panel member 1, the appearance can be improved, the panel member 1 being: both ends of the front surface 1a side and the back surface 1b side are chamfered, the external width (W3, W4) of the chamfered portion is smaller than the plate thickness (t), and the external width (W3) of the chamfered portion of the front surface 1a side is larger than the external width (W4) of the chamfered portion of the back surface side. In this case, the panel member 1 can be subjected to various extensions and modifications as exemplified above.

The embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in other various forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. The present embodiment and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the patent claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

The present specification describes the following invention.

Claims

1. A panel member provided in a door of a refrigerator having a frame disposed at an end of the panel member,

the panel member is provided with a chamfer at the end of the front side, the front end of the frame is positioned at a position behind the rear end of the chamfered part of the front side, and the frame is positioned at a position after the inclined surface of the chamfered part of the front side is extended.

2. A refrigerator includes a panel member provided at a door of the refrigerator and a frame disposed at an end of the panel member,