CN115807595A - Hinge device and refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a hinge device and a refrigerator, wherein the hinge device comprises a lower hinge shell, an upper hinge shell, a first rotating part, a second rotating part and an elastic supporting part, the first rotating part comprises a first groove body and a first shaft body, the second rotating part comprises a second groove body and a second shaft body, and the upper hinge shell is rotatably connected with the lower hinge shell through the first rotating part and the second rotating part; the instant center is located at a far position through control, so that the moment acting on the first shaft body and the second shaft body is smaller compared with the existing hinge, and then the hinge device can be thinner under the condition of realizing the same opening angle, the whole thickness of the refrigerator is reduced, and the waste of space is also reduced.

Description

Hinge device and refrigerator

Technical Field

The invention relates to a hinge device, in particular to a refrigerator with the hinge device.

Background

As shown in figures 1 and 2, a door body of the existing refrigerator is upwards rotated and opened, and an opening of a box body below the refrigerator is exposed. But the hinge protrusion in the rear side of freezer of current freezer has increased the holistic width of freezer for use and transportation all can have certain space waste.

The side view of the hinge is shown in fig. 2, the door body rotates around the first shaft of the hinge, the second shaft moves in the groove to guide the movement of the door body and assist in suspending the door body, and the rotating angle of the door body is the same as that of the second shaft in the groove. The existing problem is that under the condition of maintaining the same door opening angle, if the distance between the second shaft and the first shaft is too short, the moment on the second shaft is too large during rotation, and the requirement on the material of the hinge is too high; and after the distance between the second shaft and the first shaft is increased, the radius of the groove body is increased, the whole size of the groove body is increased under the same rotating angle, the size of the whole hinge is also increased, and the problem of space waste is caused.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problems in the prior art, the invention aims to provide a hinge device and a refrigerator with the same.

To achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a hinge device including:

a lower hinge shell;

an upper hinge shell;

the first rotating part comprises a first groove body and a first shaft body, and the first groove body limits the sliding distance of the first shaft body;

the second rotating part comprises a second groove body and a second shaft body, the second groove body limits the sliding distance of the second shaft body, and the upper hinge shell is rotatably connected to the lower hinge shell through the first rotating part and the second rotating part;

the elastic support part comprises a fixed end fixedly connected with the lower hinge shell, a bearing end connected with the first rotating part or the second rotating part, and an elastic support part arranged between the fixed end and the bearing end.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the elastic supporting member includes a supporting beam, a supporting rod, and an elastic member sleeved outside the supporting rod, the supporting beam includes the fixed end connected to the lower hinge shell, one end of the elastic member is fixed to the supporting beam, and the other end of the elastic member abuts against the supporting rod.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the support rod includes the receiving end connected to the first shaft body or the second shaft body.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the first groove and the second groove are provided in one of the lower hinge shell or the upper hinge shell, and the first shaft body and the second shaft body are provided in the other of the lower hinge shell or the upper hinge shell.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the first groove body and the second shaft body are provided to one of the lower hinge housing or the upper hinge housing, and the first shaft body and the second groove body are provided to the other of the lower hinge housing or the upper hinge housing.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the first shaft is disposed on the upper hinge shell, the first groove is disposed on the lower hinge shell, the elastic support portion further includes a linkage portion, and the linkage portion includes:

the sliding shaft is connected to the lower hinge shell in a sliding mode and is parallel to the first shaft body;

the connecting piece comprises a bearing end which is pivotally connected with the first shaft body, and the connecting piece is also pivotally connected with the sliding shaft;

and the limiting part is arranged on the lower hinge shell and limits the movement direction of the sliding shaft.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the first rotating part or the second rotating part further includes a third shaft parallel to the first shaft and the second shaft, and the third shaft is fixedly connected to the upper hinge housing;

the elastic support portion further includes a linkage portion including:

the sliding shaft is connected to the lower hinge shell in a sliding mode and is parallel to the third shaft body;

the connecting piece comprises a bearing end which is pivotally connected with the third shaft body, and the connecting piece is also pivotally connected with the sliding shaft;

and the limiting part is arranged on the lower hinge shell and limits the movement direction of the sliding shaft.

As a further improvement of the invention, the first shaft body is parallel to the second shaft body, and the first rotating part and the second rotating part together define a rotation instant center of the upper hinge shell and the lower hinge shell, and the rotation instant center is in a moving state during at least part of the rotation of the upper hinge shell around the lower hinge shell.

In order to achieve one of the above objects, an embodiment of the present invention provides a refrigerator, which includes the above hinge device.

The door body is connected with the lower hinge shell, and the door body is connected with the upper hinge shell.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following beneficial effects: through setting up first rotation portion and second rotation portion, first axis body slides in first cell body, the second axis body slides in the second cell body, can control the instant center and be in position far away, thereby make this scheme for current hinge, the moment of action on first axis body and second axis body is littleer, then make under the condition that realizes same angle of opening the door, the hinge means of this scheme can be done thinly, the whole thickness of freezer has been reduced, the waste in space has also been reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a side view of a prior art cooler;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1 at A;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a side view of a cooler of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged view at B in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6a is a schematic view of a hinge device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6b is a front view of a hinge assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6c is a side view of a hinge assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7a is a schematic structural diagram of a hinge device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7b is a side view of a hinge assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8a is a schematic structural diagram of a hinge assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8b is a side view of a hinge assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural view of a hinge device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a hinge assembly according to still another embodiment of the present invention;

1000, a refrigerator; 100. a hinge device; 200. a door body; 300. a box body; 10. an upper hinge shell; 20. a lower hinge shell; 31. a first shaft body; 32. a first tank body; 41. a second shaft body; 42. a second tank body; 50. a connecting member; 61. a sliding shaft; 62. a limiting part; 71. a support bar; 72. an elastic member; 73. a support beam; 80. and a third shaft body.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments shown in the drawings. These embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, and structural, methodological, or functional changes made by those skilled in the art according to these embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention.

It will be understood that terms used herein such as "upper," "above," "lower," "below," and the like, refer to relative positions in space and are used for convenience in description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element or feature as illustrated in the figures. The spatially relative positional terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.

An embodiment of the invention provides a hinge device and a refrigerator with the same, and the hinge device can be thinner under the condition of the same material strength and the same door opening angle by redesigning the structure of a hinge, so that the overall thickness of the refrigerator is reduced.

This hinge means 100 can install on equipment such as freezer 1000, refrigerator, vertical freezer, gradevin, dish washer, microwave oven, provides a freezer 1000 in this embodiment, including door body 200 and box 300, the inside refrigeration space that encloses of box 300, and door body 200 seals the refrigeration space, is connected through hinge means 100 between door body 200 and the box 300, and hinge means 100 supports opening and closing of door body 200.

The hinge device 100 of the present embodiment includes a lower hinge housing 20, an upper hinge housing 10, a first rotating part, a second rotating part, and an elastic support part. The first rotating portion includes a first groove 32 and a first shaft body 31, the first groove 32 defines a sliding distance of the first shaft body 31; the second rotation part includes a second groove body 42 and a second shaft body 41, the second groove body 42 defines a sliding distance of the second shaft body 41, and the upper hinge case 10 is rotatably connected to the lower hinge case 20 through the first rotation part and the second rotation part.

As shown in fig. 3 to 5, in order to clearly express the positions and directions described in the present embodiment, taking a horizontal refrigerator 1000 as an example, the opening of the refrigerator 1000 is defined to be upward, and the opposite direction is defined to be downward, the door 200 is located above the refrigerator 300, a user is located at a side of the refrigerator 300 away from the hinge device 100 to operate the refrigerator 1000, the user is defined to be located in front of the refrigerator 1000, the hinge device 100 is located at the back of the refrigerator 300, and left and right sides are respectively defined from the front to two sides of the refrigerator 300.

The first shaft 31 can slide out a distance in the first slot 32 and the second shaft 41 can slide out a distance in the second slot 42, i.e. the first slot 32 and the second slot 42 are not circular slots but slots with a length, as shown in fig. 5 or 6a, the shaft can move from one end to the other end in the slots. In the process of sliding the first shaft body 31 and the second shaft body 41, the upper hinge shell 10 is turned around the lower hinge shell 20, and in the whole turning process, the upper hinge shell 10 is not always rotated around the first shaft body 31 or the second shaft body 41, but is turned around under the limitation of the first shaft body 31, the first groove body 32, the second shaft body 41 and the second groove body 42.

When the upper hinge shell 10 rotates around the first shaft body 31 and the second shaft body 41 simultaneously, the shapes of the first chute body 32 and the second chute body 42 can be designed as required, so that the center of a circle of the rotation of the upper hinge shell 10 is located at a position of an expected design, and the close arrangement of the first shaft body 31 and the second shaft body 41 does not cause too large moment, so that the hinge can be made thinner, and in addition, particularly, the movement of the door body 200 according with a preset track can be controlled by designing the positions and the shapes of the first chute body 32 and the second chute body 42.

In addition, the first shaft 31 and the second shaft 41 of the present embodiment are merely distinguished as names, and similarly, the first groove body 32 and the second groove body 42 are also distinguished as names for explaining that there are two shafts that can slide a distance in the grooves. The second shaft 41 may also be referred to as the first shaft 31, and the second groove 42 may also be referred to as the first groove 32.

During at least part of the rotation of the upper hinge housing 10 about the lower hinge housing 20, the upper hinge housing 10 is simultaneously moved in a first direction having a component in the direction of the lower hinge housing 20 toward the cabinet 300. In this embodiment, the lower hinge shell 20 faces the box 300, that is, the lower hinge shell points forward from the rear, so that the door 200 moves forward simultaneously during the rotation process, and it can be understood that the movement track of the door 200 is the superposition of two movements of upward rotation and forward translation.

Taking the conventional hinge shown in fig. 1 and 2 as an example, when the conventional hinge is installed on a refrigerator, after the door is opened, the distance between the position of the door farthest from the refrigerator body and the rear wall of the refrigerator body is generally 60mm, that is, when the door is closed, the distance between the refrigerator body and the rear wall is at least 60 mm.

And control door body 200 is simultaneously forward motion at the in-process of upset in this embodiment, as shown in fig. 3 ~ 5, when can making door body 200 open, the distance between the position that door body 200 is furthest apart from box 300 and the box 300 back wall shortens to about 30mm to when making freezer 1000 put, the distance control of freezer 1000's rear side and wall body about 30mm can, greatly reduced the space that needs the reservation behind freezer 1000, reduced the waste of space size.

As shown in fig. 6a-8b, the hinge device 100 is sequentially rotated from the initial position to the position where the upper hinge housing 10 is fully opened, and when the upper hinge housing 10 is turned to the right position, the upper hinge housing 10 of the present embodiment moves forward for a certain distance relative to the existing hinge that rotates only, so as to reduce the occupancy of the rear space.

In addition, the elastic support portion includes a fixed end fixedly connected to the lower hinge housing 20, a receiving end connected to the first rotating portion or the second rotating portion, and an elastic support member disposed between the fixed end and the receiving end. One end of the elastic supporting piece is supported at the fixed end, and the other end of the elastic supporting piece is connected to the first rotating part or the second rotating part, so that the elastic supporting piece can support the first rotating part or the second rotating part and plays a role in supporting the door body 200 to suspend.

The elastic supporting part is supported by the fixed end, the sliding end moves parallel to the connecting plate of the box body 300 along with the movement of the sliding shaft 61, namely, the movement in the direction vertical to the connecting plate of the box body 300 is avoided, the moving space required in the door is reduced, the thickness of the hinge can be reduced, the downward force of the door body 200 is applied to the first rotating part and the second rotating part in the upward opening process of the door body 200, and the elastic supporting part is connected with the first rotating part or the second rotating part to support the first rotating part or the second rotating part.

Further, as shown in fig. 6a-8b, the elastic supporting member includes a supporting beam 73, a supporting rod 71, and an elastic member 72 sleeved outside the supporting rod 71, the supporting beam 73 includes a fixed end connected to the lower hinge shell 20, one end of the elastic member 72 is fixed to the supporting beam 73, and the other end of the elastic member is abutted against the supporting rod 71. Two ends of the supporting beam 73 are respectively connected to a pair of opposite side walls of the lower hinge shell 20, an opening is formed in the supporting beam 73, the supporting rod 71 penetrates through the opening, the elastic member 72 can be a spring, supporting sleeves can be arranged at the upper end and the lower end of the spring, as shown in fig. 6a, the supporting sleeve at the lower part is abutted against the supporting beam 73 around the opening, and the supporting sleeve at the upper part is abutted against a protrusion extending from the supporting rod 71.

The spring is always in a compressed state, under the elastic action of the spring, when the upper hinge shell 10 turns upwards, the supporting rod 71 moves upwards under the driving of the spring, the spring releases part of the elastic force, and the spring is still in a compressed state, so that the upper hinge shell 10 can be supported to be opened, the door opening labor is saved, and the door body 200 is supported to hover.

The specific structure of the elastic support part has various embodiments:

in one embodiment thereof:

as shown in fig. 6a to 8b, the first shaft 31 is disposed on the upper hinge shell 10, the first groove 32 is disposed on the lower hinge shell 20, the elastic support portion further includes a linkage portion, the linkage portion includes a sliding shaft 61, a connecting piece 50 and a limiting portion 62, the sliding shaft 61 is slidably connected to the lower hinge shell 20 and is parallel to the first shaft 31; the connecting member 50 includes a receiving end pivotally connected to the first shaft body 31, and the connecting member 50 is also pivotally connected to the sliding shaft 61; the stopper 62 is provided to the lower hinge case 20 and defines a moving direction of the sliding shaft 61. Two sets of round holes have been seted up on connecting piece 50, first axis body 31 passes a set of round hole, sliding shaft 61 passes another group's round hole, and first axis body 31 and sliding shaft 61 all can be at the round hole internal rotation, and when bracing piece 71 upward movement under the effect of spring, promote sliding shaft 61 along spacing 62 upward movement, sliding shaft 61 promotes connecting piece 50 motion, and connecting piece 50 is connecting first axis body 31 and is driving the motion of first axis body 31, is supporting the motion of upper hinge shell 10 then.

The stopper 62 is formed as a pair of linear grooves formed in the side walls of the lower hinge case 20, which are opposite to each other, and the sliding shaft 61 moves up and down in the vertical groove. In addition, the stopper 62 may be provided on a bottom wall connecting the two side walls.

In another embodiment:

the difference from the previous embodiment is that the connecting element 50 is not connected to the first shaft 31 or the second shaft 41, but is connected to the third shaft 80 on the upper hinge housing 10, as shown in fig. 9, the first rotating part or the second rotating part further includes the third shaft 80 parallel to the first shaft 31 and the second shaft 41, and the third shaft 80 is fixedly connected to the upper hinge housing 10.

The elastic support part further comprises a linkage part, the linkage part comprises a sliding shaft 61, a connecting piece 50 and a limiting part 62, and the sliding shaft 61 is connected to the lower hinge shell 20 in a sliding mode and is parallel to the third shaft body 80; the connecting member 50 includes a receiving end pivotally connected to the third shaft body 80, and the connecting member 50 is also pivotally connected to the sliding shaft 61; the stopper 62 is provided to the lower hinge case 20 and defines a moving direction of the sliding shaft 61. Therefore, the elastic force of the spring is released to the upper hinge shell 10 through the third shaft body 80, and then the first shaft body 31 and the second shaft body 41 release the force, so that the stress of the first shaft body 31 and the second shaft body 41 is more uniform, and the force shared by each shaft body is smaller. In the above embodiment, the force is transmitted to the first shaft 31, and then is released to the second shaft 41 through the upper hinge shell 10, so that the force applied to the first shaft 31 is greater than that applied to the second shaft 41, and the requirement on the material strength of the first shaft 31 is higher. The requirements on the strength of the material are relatively low for this embodiment.

In the above two embodiments, the support rod 71 can move linearly in the up-and-down direction.

In other embodiments:

the supporting rod 71 includes a direct receiving end connected to the first shaft 31 or the second shaft 41, and in this embodiment, the supporting rod 71 swings back and forth while moving up and down, but the sliding shaft 61, the limiting portion 62 and the connecting member 50 are eliminated, so the structure is simpler, but the thickness of the hinge is increased by the back and forth swing of the supporting rod 71.

In addition, various embodiments also exist in the concrete connection mode of the first rotating part and the second rotating part:

in one embodiment thereof:

as shown in fig. 6a to 9, the first slot 32 and the second slot 42 are disposed on one of the lower hinge shell 20 or the upper hinge shell 10, and the first shaft 31 and the second shaft 41 are disposed on the other of the lower hinge shell 20 or the upper hinge shell 10, at this time, the structural layout is clear.

When the first and second slots 32 and 42 are located on the lower hinge shell 20, as shown in fig. 6a to 8b, the first and second shaft bodies 31 and 41 are both disposed on the upper hinge shell 10, and may extend outward from both sides of the upper hinge shell 10, or may penetrate through the upper hinge shell 10 as shown in the figure.

When the first slot 32 and the second slot 42 are both located on the upper hinge shell 10, as shown in fig. 9, the first shaft 31 and the second shaft 41 are both disposed on the lower hinge shell 20, and pass through the slot on the upper hinge shell 10 between the first shaft and the second shaft, and may extend outward from both sides of the upper hinge shell 10, or may pass through the upper hinge shell 10 as shown in the figure.

In another embodiment:

as shown in fig. 10, the first groove 32 and the second groove 41 are disposed in one of the lower hinge shell 20 or the upper hinge shell 10, and the first shaft 31 and the second groove 42 are disposed in the other of the lower hinge shell 20 or the upper hinge shell 10, which is different from the previous embodiment, so that a groove is formed near one groove, and conversely, if two grooves are formed in one plate at the same time, the distance between the two grooves cannot be too close to each other, otherwise, the position closest to the two grooves is deformed and fails; on the other hand, the requirement on the strength of the material is high, and deformation is prevented.

In the solution of this embodiment, for example, the upper hinge shell 10 is provided with a first slot 32, the lower hinge shell 20 is provided with a second slot 42, and the two slots are respectively provided on the two plate bodies, so that on one hand, there is no problem that the two slots cannot be too close to each other, and thus the size of the hinge device 100 can be made thinner, and on the other hand, because the holes dug on each plate are fewer, the supporting effect is better, and the hinge device is not easy to deform, and the requirement for the material strength of the hinge device 100 is lowered.

Further, the first shaft body 31 is parallel to the second shaft body 41, and the first rotating part and the second rotating part together define a instant center of rotation of the upper hinge shell 10 and the lower hinge shell 20, which is in motion during at least part of the rotation of the upper hinge shell 10 about the lower hinge shell 20. Because the instant centers can move, the motion track of the door body 200 does not simply turn around a certain fixed point, but at least two circle centers at different positions exist in the space, and the door body 200 rotates around one of the instant centers and then rotates around the other instant center, so that the door body 200 can be made into a motion track more in line with the expectation.

Correspondingly, in the process of instantaneous center movement of the upper hinge shell 10, the instantaneous center of rotation of the door body 200 is changed, and as the door body 200 is fixed with the upper hinge shell 10 and the box body 300 is fixed with the lower hinge shell 20, the instantaneous centers of the upper hinge shell 10 and the lower hinge shell 20, that is, the instantaneous centers of rotation of the door body 200 around the box body 300, that is, the instantaneous centers of rotation of the door body 200 and the box body 300 are in a motion state. For example, relative to the position of the existing hinged door body after being turned in fig. 1 and 2, by controlling the positions of different instant centers, the position of the door body 200 after being turned and opened in the embodiment can be more front, back, upper and lower than the existing position.

Compared with the prior art, the embodiment has the following beneficial effects:

through setting up first rotation portion and second rotation portion, first axis body 31 slides in first cell body 32, second axis body 41 slides in second cell body 42, can control the instant center and be in position far away, thereby make this scheme for current hinge, the moment of action on first axis body 31 and second axis body 41 is littleer, then make under the condition that realizes the same angle of opening the door, hinge means 100 of this scheme can be done thinly, the whole thickness of freezer 1000 has been reduced, the waste in space has also been reduced.

It should be understood that although the present description refers to embodiments, not every embodiment contains only a single technical solution, and such description is for clarity only, and those skilled in the art should make the description as a whole, and the technical solutions in the embodiments can also be combined appropriately to form other embodiments understood by those skilled in the art.

The above-listed detailed description is only a specific description of a possible embodiment of the present invention, and they are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and equivalent embodiments or modifications made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A hinge device, characterized in that it comprises:

a lower hinge shell;

an upper hinge shell;

the first rotating part comprises a first groove body and a first shaft body, and the first groove body limits the sliding distance of the first shaft body;

the second rotating part comprises a second groove body and a second shaft body, the second groove body limits the sliding distance of the second shaft body, and the upper hinge shell is rotatably connected to the lower hinge shell through the first rotating part and the second rotating part;

the elastic supporting part comprises a fixed end fixedly connected with the lower hinge shell, a bearing end connected with the first rotating part or the second rotating part, and an elastic supporting part arranged between the fixed end and the bearing end.

2. The hinge assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elastic supporting member includes a supporting beam, a supporting rod, and an elastic member sleeved outside the supporting rod, the supporting beam includes the fixed end connected to the lower hinge housing, one end of the elastic member is fixed to the supporting beam, and the other end of the elastic member abuts against the supporting rod.

3. The hinge assembly of claim 2, wherein the support rod includes the receiving end coupled to the first shaft body or the second shaft body.

4. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein the first and second slots are disposed in one of the lower hinge housing or the upper hinge housing, and the first and second shafts are disposed in the other of the lower hinge housing or the upper hinge housing.

5. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein the first and second shafts are disposed in one of the lower or upper hinge shells and the first and second shafts are disposed in the other of the lower or upper hinge shells.

6. The hinge device of claim 1, wherein the first shaft is disposed in the upper hinge shell, the first groove is disposed in the lower hinge shell, the elastic support portion further comprises a linkage portion, and the linkage portion comprises:

the sliding shaft is connected to the lower hinge shell in a sliding mode and is parallel to the first shaft body;

the connecting piece comprises a bearing end which is pivotally connected with the first shaft body, and the connecting piece is also pivotally connected with the sliding shaft;

and the limiting part is arranged on the lower hinge shell and limits the movement direction of the sliding shaft.

7. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein the first or second rotating portion further comprises a third shaft body parallel to the first and second shaft bodies, the third shaft body being fixedly connected to the upper hinge housing;

the elastic support portion further includes a linkage portion including:

the sliding shaft is connected to the lower hinge shell in a sliding mode and is parallel to the third shaft body;

the connecting piece comprises a bearing end which is pivotally connected with the third shaft body, and the connecting piece is also pivotally connected with the sliding shaft;

and the limiting part is arranged on the lower hinge shell and limits the movement direction of the sliding shaft.

8. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein the first shaft is parallel to the second shaft, the first rotating portion and the second rotating portion together defining a transient center of rotation of the upper hinge shell and the lower hinge shell, the transient center of rotation being in motion during at least a portion of the rotation of the upper hinge shell about the lower hinge shell.

9. A refrigerator comprising a hinge assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The refrigerator of claim 9 including a cabinet connected to the lower hinge shell and a door connected to the upper hinge shell, the door and the cabinet being in motion at least during part of the opening of the door.

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