CN117128698A - Door body for refrigerator and refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides a door for a refrigerator, the door including: a vacuum insulation panel assembly comprising an inner panel, an outer panel disposed in spaced apart relation to the inner panel, the outer panel forming at least a portion of an exterior facing of the door body, and the outer panel having an extension extending beyond the inner panel, and a panel assembly seal between the inner panel and the outer panel; and a rim assembly at an edge of the vacuum insulation panel assembly, the rim assembly having a first rim member connected to an inner side of the inner panel and a second rim member at least partially exposed to the door body, the first rim member being made of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than the second rim member. The embodiment of the invention also provides a corresponding refrigerator. It can be achieved by certain embodiments of the present invention to provide an attractive and simple configuration while ensuring the heat insulation performance of the refrigerator.

Description

Door body for refrigerator and refrigerator

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of household appliances, in particular to a door body for a refrigerator and a corresponding refrigerator.

Background

Nowadays, with the improvement of living standard of people, the refrigerating appliance has been put into thousands of households, such as refrigerators, sideboards, etc. Current household refrigeration appliances are mostly used for storing food at low temperature. As the multifunctional demands of users for household refrigeration appliances increase, refrigerators are taken as examples, and more attractive and compact refrigerators are more favored by users.

Refrigerators having a transparent door body have been proposed in the prior art, in which heat insulation of the refrigerator door body is achieved by a transparent glass panel assembly. However, an additional exterior panel is also disposed as an exterior surface in a direction of the glass panel assembly toward the outside of the refrigerator, and a door handle of the refrigerator is directly connected to the exterior panel without being in direct contact with the glass panel assembly.

In the prior art, there has also been proposed a refrigerator having a glass panel assembly directly as an external appearance of a door, wherein the glass panel assembly is indirectly connected to a door frame or a door handle through an intermediate member. Here, the door frame and the glass panel assembly are assembled first, and then foam material is injected through the injection holes, and the foam material flows in a narrow foaming space. However, this foaming method has drawbacks when the door size is larger.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide an improved door for a refrigerator and a corresponding refrigerator, particularly in the case of using a vacuum insulation panel as an exterior surface, ensuring the insulation performance of the refrigerator while providing an attractive and simple construction.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention provides a door for a refrigerator, wherein the door includes: a vacuum insulated panel assembly comprising an inner panel, an outer panel disposed in spaced apart relation to the inner panel, and a panel assembly seal between the inner and outer panels, wherein the outer panel forms at least a portion of an exterior facing of the door body and the outer panel has an extension extending beyond the inner panel; and a rim assembly at an edge of the vacuum insulation panel assembly, wherein the rim assembly has a first rim part connected to an inner side of the inner panel and a second rim part at least partially exposed to the door body, the first rim part being made of a material having a lower heat conductive property than the second rim part.

This embodiment provides the advantage that by such a separately constructed rim assembly, particularly since the first rim member connected to the inner side of the inner panel is made of a material having a lower heat conductive property, heat transfer between the inner space of the refrigerator and the external environment is effectively reduced, and heat insulation performance of the door body having the vacuum heat insulation panel assembly is ensured. At the same time, since the second frame member exposed to the external environment passes through the first frame member without being in direct contact with the inner panel, the second frame member is prevented from being excessively cooled due to cold conduction and thus causing condensation to be generated thereon.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the first and the second frame part are constructed as separate parts from each other, the first frame part being assembled to the second frame part. Thus, since the first and second frame members are independently constructed, respectively, the heat conductive capability of the frame assembly formed of the first and second frame members is effectively reduced, and the frame assembly can be simply assembled without additional process steps.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the first frame part is composed of a low heat conducting material, for example of plastic, and the second frame part is composed of a high strength material, preferably of metal, in particular of an aluminium alloy. This provides the advantage that, as the first frame part, which is composed of a low heat conducting material, is in contact with the inner side of the inner panel, the heat transfer of the inner panel, which is in direct contact with the cooling space, through the first frame part is reduced. Further, the second rim member, which is formed of a high strength material, preferably a metal, particularly an aluminum alloy, is exposed to the refrigerator door body, providing a durable and aesthetic construction, particularly providing a strong and high-quality door handle on the handle side.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the first frame part is positively connected to the second frame part, in particular the first frame part is embedded in the second frame part, in order to be assembled into the frame assembly. A simple assembly of the first frame part and the second frame part is provided by a form-fitting connection.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the first frame part has a connecting edge, and the frame assembly is attached with the connecting edge of the first frame part against and to the inner side of the inner panel. This enables a simple and reliable connection of the first frame part to the inner side of the inner panel.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the connecting edge is fixed to the inner side of the inner panel by means of adhesive means, and the adhesive means prevent leakage of foaming agent forming the insulating material from between the connecting edge and the inner panel towards the second frame part. Thereby, undesired leakage of the insulating material in the form of a foaming agent is advantageously prevented.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the connecting edge extends from outside the edge of the inner panel to behind the panel assembly seal of the vacuum insulated panel assembly. Because the sealing part of the vacuum heat-insulating panel assembly is a heat-conducting key part, the heat-insulating capability of the heat-conducting key part is further improved by enabling the connecting edge of the first frame component to extend to the rear of the sealing part of the panel assembly and further cover the sealing part.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the first frame part has a mating edge and the second frame part has a mating groove, the first frame part being inserted into the mating groove with the mating edge. Thereby providing a simple engagement of the first frame part with the second frame part.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the second edge frame part is arranged spaced apart from the outer panel or is connected by a flexible material in the state in which the edge frame assembly is connected to the inner panel. This provides the advantage that a process gap or flexible damping is formed between the rim assembly and the inner panel, thereby preventing the rigid second rim member from being deformed such that stresses are applied to the outer panel and thereby cause damage to the outer panel.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the edge frame assembly is a door handle of the door body, wherein the second edge frame part of the door handle has a handle extension which extends outwardly away from the inner panel in a direction parallel to the inner panel, in particular up to substantially flush with the edge of the outer panel. Thereby, a door handle which is convenient for a user to grasp is provided at the handle side of the door body.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the door body further has an upper frame and a lower frame, and the frame assembly is insertable into the upper frame and the lower frame at both ends thereof. This enables a simple assembly of the upper and lower rims with the rim assembly.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the door body further has a door liner and a heat insulating material formed by foaming, the heat insulating material being combined with the first frame member, the inner panel, the second frame member and the door liner, respectively. Therefore, good heat insulation of the inner space of the refrigerator relative to the external environment is realized through the door liner and the heat insulation material.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, a door seal is arranged on the door liner, the door seal being arranged in a door seal receiving portion of the door liner. Thus, in a state that the door of the refrigerator is closed, a gap between the door body and the main body of the refrigerator is thermally sealed by the door seal, which further improves the thermal insulation performance of the refrigerator.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the door liner has a central through portion arranged for at least partially exposing the vacuum insulated panel assembly. Accordingly, the inner space of the refrigerator can be observed from the outside through the perspective vacuum heat-insulating panel assembly, so that the condition of the articles stored in the refrigerator can be conveniently known among users.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention provides a refrigerator, wherein the refrigerator comprises at least one door according to the first aspect of the present invention. Such a refrigerator has the corresponding technical advantages of the door body according to the first aspect of the present invention.

Drawings

The principles, features and advantages of the present invention may be better understood by describing the present invention in more detail with reference to the drawings. The drawings include:

fig. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a refrigerator 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 schematically illustrates an exploded view of a door body 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of the door body 10 of fig. 2 taken perpendicular to the height direction H;

fig. 4a and 4B schematically show a detail view of parts a and B of the door body 10 of fig. 2, respectively, wherein fig. 4a shows a cross-sectional view of the handle side of the door body 10 in detail, and fig. 4a shows a cross-sectional view of the pivoting side of the door body 10 in detail;

fig. 5 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a door body 10' according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, taken perpendicular to a height direction H.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and advantageous technical effects to be solved by the present invention more apparent, the present invention will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and a plurality of exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

First, in order to facilitate understanding, returning to the description of the background art section, the related art refrigerator has problems of poor heat insulation performance, high power consumption, poor aesthetic appearance, complex structure, high manufacturing costs, inability to directly see the stored articles therein from the outside, and the like.

In view of at least one of the above technical problems or other possible technical problems, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a door for a refrigerator, wherein the door includes: a vacuum insulated panel assembly comprising an inner panel, an outer panel disposed in spaced apart relation to the inner panel, and a panel assembly seal between the inner and outer panels, wherein the outer panel forms at least a portion of an exterior facing of the door body and the outer panel has an extension extending beyond the inner panel; and a rim assembly at an edge of the vacuum insulation panel assembly, wherein the rim assembly has a first rim part connected to an inner side of the inner panel and a second rim part at least partially exposed to the door body, the first rim part being made of a material having a lower heat conductive property than the second rim part.

For a better understanding of the present invention, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Before beginning the detailed description, it should be noted that directional terms used in the description refer to a conventional use state of a refrigerator for convenience of description, and are not to be construed as absolute limitations on the corresponding features. In some of the drawings, the height direction H, the width direction W, and the depth direction D, which are perpendicular to each other, are schematically shown by arrows.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a refrigerator 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from fig. 1, the refrigerator 1 is illustratively a two-door refrigerator 1, however alternatively it is also contemplated that the refrigerator 1 is a single door or a refrigerator with more than two doors. As shown in fig. 1, the refrigerator 1 includes door bodies 10, 10', here, for example, two door bodies 10 and 10'. Here, the refrigerator 1 shown in fig. 1 is, for example, a combined refrigerator-freezer, and the two door bodies 10 and 10' are door bodies for closing a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber, respectively. In fig. 1, since the door bodies 10, 10' are in an unopened state, the interiors of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment are not visible. In addition, since the main portion to which the present invention relates is not so, a detailed description thereof will not be made. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is equally applicable to other types of refrigerators, such as a refrigerator alone or a freezer. In addition, the present invention can be applied to other household refrigeration appliances other than a refrigerator, such as a wine cabinet, etc., as needed.

Fig. 2 schematically shows an exploded view of a door 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the door 10 being, for example, the left-hand door 10 in fig. 1, in particular, a door for closing a freezer compartment of a refrigerator 1.

Fig. 3 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of the door body 10 of fig. 2 taken perpendicular to the height direction H.

As can be seen in fig. 2 and 3, the door body 10 includes an inner panel 110 and an outer panel 120, which are connected to form a vacuum insulation panel assembly 100 by a panel assembly sealing part 130 (see fig. 4). Here, the vacuum insulation panel assembly 100 is a so-called vacuum insulation glass ("Vacuum Isolation Glass", VIG) assembly. In the case of a vacuum insulating glass unit, the inner panel 110 and the outer panel 120 are glass plates, respectively, which are sealingly connected at their edges by a sealing material, i.e., the panel unit sealing 130, and form a hollow space, which is evacuated, thereby functioning as a heat insulating means. The outer panel 120 is here formed larger than the inner panel 110 in a projection perpendicular to the depth direction D, in particular on the handle side with an extension 1201 (see fig. 4 a) extending beyond the inner panel 110.

As can also be seen in fig. 2 and 3, the door body 10 further includes first and second handle side frame members 510A, 520A and first and second pivot side frame members 510B, 520B. Here, the first and second handle side frame members 510A, 520A constitute the handle side frame assembly 500A, and the first and second pivot side frame members 510B, 520B constitute the pivot side frame assembly 500B. Here, the first frame members 510A, 510B and the second frame members 520A, 520B are configured as separate members from each other, and the first frame members 510A, 510B are assembled to the respective second frame members 520A, 520B, thereby forming the frame assemblies 500A, 500B. Here, the first frame part 510A is composed of a low heat conductive material, for example, plastic, while the second frame part 520A is composed of a high strength material, preferably metal, in particular, aluminum alloy.

Fig. 4a and 4B schematically show a detail view of parts a and B of the door body 10 of fig. 2, respectively, wherein fig. 4a shows a cross-sectional view of the handle side of the door body 10 in detail, and fig. 4a shows a cross-sectional view of the pivoting side of the door body 10 in detail. As can be seen in fig. 4a and 4B, the first frame members 510A, 510B have mating edges 5102A, 5102B, respectively, and the second frame members 520A, 520B have corresponding mating grooves 5201A, 5201B, respectively, with the first frame members 510A, 510B being respectively inserted into the corresponding mating grooves 5201A, 5201B with the respective mating edges 5102A, 5102B, respectively, to thereby assemble the frame assemblies 500A, 500B, respectively. The first frame parts 510A, 510B also have connecting edges 5101A, 5101B, respectively, which connecting edges 5101A, 5101B, respectively, abut against the inner side of the inner panel 110, i.e., the side facing the inner space of the refrigerator 1, in the assembled state, and are connected to the inner panel 110 by an adhesive material. In this embodiment, the connecting edges 5101A, 5101B extend from outside the edge of the inner panel 110, along the width direction W, to behind the panel assembly sealing portion 130 of the respective sides of the vacuum insulation panel assembly 100, thereby substantially covering the panel assembly sealing portion 130 in projection in the depth direction D. As can also be seen in fig. 4a and 4B, in the state in which the rim assembly 500A, 500B is connected to the inner panel 110, the second rim member 520A, 520B is arranged spaced apart from the outer panel 120. However, it is additionally also conceivable for the second frame part 520A, 520B to be connected to the outer panel 120 by a flexible material, for example an adhesive or foam material.

As can be seen in fig. 4a, the handle-side bezel assembly 500A constitutes the door handle of the door body 10. In this embodiment, the second frame part 520A on the handle side has a handle extension 5202, which handle extension 5202 extends outwardly away from the inner panel 110 in a direction parallel to the inner panel 110. Preferably, the handle extension 5202 extends until it is substantially flush with the edge of the outer panel 120.

As can also be seen in fig. 2, the door 10 also has an upper rim 210 and a lower rim 220. In this embodiment, the rim assemblies 500A, 500B can be inserted into the upper rim 210 and the lower rim 220 at both ends thereof, thereby forming a frame surrounding the periphery of the door body 10.

In the embodiment according to fig. 2 to 4b, the door body 10 also has a door liner 300. Here, the door liner 300 is integrally joined to the first frame members 510A and 510B, the inner panel 110, and the second frame members 520A and 520B by a heat insulating material, particularly a heat insulating material formed by foaming. Here, the bonding means between the connecting edges 5101A, 5101B and the inner panel 110 prevents the heat insulating material from leaking from between the connecting edges 5101A, 5101B and the inner panel 110 toward the second frame members 520A, 520B. In this embodiment, a door seal receiving portion 310 is disposed on the door liner 300, and the door seal receiving portion 310 is configured to receive a door seal 400. In a state where the door body 10 of the refrigerator 1 is closed, a gap between the door body 10 and the main body of the refrigerator 1 is sealed by heat insulation by the door seal 400.

Fig. 5 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of a door 10 'according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, such as the right-hand door 10' in fig. 1, in particular for closing a refrigerating compartment of a refrigerator 1, taken perpendicular to the height direction H. The door 10 'is substantially similar in construction to the door 10 of fig. 2-4 b, with the primary difference being the door liners 300, 300'. The door liner 300 'of the door body 10' according to the embodiment of fig. 5 has a central through portion 320, said central through portion (320) being provided for leaving the vacuum insulation panel assembly 100 at least partially uncovered on the inside. Thus, the interior space of the refrigerator 1 can be seen from the outside through the vacuum insulation panel assembly 100, i.e., the perspective glass panel assembly.

Although specific embodiments have been described above, these embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, even where only a single embodiment is described with respect to a particular feature. The characteristic examples provided in the present disclosure are intended to be illustrative, not limiting, unless stated differently. In a specific implementation, the features may be combined with one another where technically feasible according to the actual requirements. In particular, features from different embodiments may also be combined with one another. Various substitutions, alterations, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (15)

1. A door for a refrigerator (1), wherein the door (10, 10') comprises:

-a vacuum insulated panel assembly (100), the vacuum insulated panel assembly (100) comprising an inner panel (110), an outer panel (120) arranged spaced apart from the inner panel (110), and a panel assembly seal (130) between the inner panel and the outer panel, wherein the outer panel (120) forms at least part of the exterior surface of the door body (10, 10'), and the outer panel (120) has an extension (1201) extending beyond the inner panel (110); and

a bezel assembly (500A, 500B) located at an edge of the vacuum insulated panel assembly (100),

wherein the frame assembly (500A, 500B) has a first frame member (510A, 510B) connected to the inside of the inner panel (110) and a second frame member (520A, 520B) at least partially exposed to the door body (10, 10'), the first frame member (510A, 510B) being made of a material having lower thermal conductivity than the second frame member (520A, 520B).

2. The door of claim 1, wherein the first and second frame members (510A, 510B, 520A, 520B) are configured as separate members from each other, the first frame member (510A, 510B) being assembled to the second frame member (520A, 520B).

3. Door according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first frame part (510A, 510B) is composed of a low heat conducting material, such as plastic, and

the second frame part (520A, 520B) is made of a high-strength material, preferably a metal, in particular an aluminum alloy.

4. Door body according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first frame part (510A, 510B) is positively connected with the second frame part (520A, 520B), in particular the first frame part (510A, 510B) is embedded into the second frame part (520A, 520B) for assembly into the frame assembly (500A, 500B).

5. The door body according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first frame part (510A, 510B) has a connecting edge (5101A, 5101B), the frame assembly (500A, 500B) being abutted against and connected with an inner side of the inner panel (110) with the connecting edge (5101A, 5101B) of the first frame part (510A, 510B).

6. The door body according to claim 5, wherein the connecting edges (5101A, 5101B) are fixed to the inner side of the inner panel (110) by adhesive means, and the adhesive means prevents foaming agent for forming a heat insulating material from leaking between the connecting edges (5101A, 5101B) and the inner panel (110) toward the second frame member (520A, 520B).

7. The door body of claim 5, wherein the connecting edges (5101A, 5101B) extend from outside the edge of the inner panel (110) to behind a panel assembly seal (130) of the vacuum insulated panel assembly (100).

8. The door body according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first frame part (510A, 510B) has a mating edge (5102A, 5102B) and the second frame part (520A, 520B) has a mating groove (5201A, 5201B), the first frame part (510A, 510B) being embedded in the mating groove (5201A, 5201B) with the mating edge (5102A, 5102B).

9. The door body of any of the preceding claims, wherein the second frame member (520A, 520B) is arranged spaced apart from the outer panel (120) or connected by a flexible material in a state in which the frame member (500A, 500B) is connected to the inner panel (110).

10. The door body according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the rim assembly (500A) is a door handle of the door body (10, 10'), wherein the second rim part (520A) of the door handle has a handle extension (5202), which handle extension (5202) extends outwardly away from the inner panel (110) in a direction parallel to the inner panel (110), in particular until substantially flush with an edge of the outer panel (120).

11. The door body according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the door body (10, 10') further has an upper rim (210) and a lower rim (220), the rim assembly (500A, 500B) being insertable into the upper rim (210) and the lower rim (220) at both ends thereof.

12. The door body according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the door body (10, 10 ') further has a door liner (300, 300 ') and a heat insulating material formed by foaming, the heat insulating material being bonded to the first frame member (510A, 510B), the inner panel (110), the second frame member (520A, 520B) and the door liner (300, 300 '), respectively.

13. The door body according to claim 12, wherein a door seal (400) is arranged on the door liner (300, 300 '), the door seal (400) being arranged in a door seal receiving portion (310) of the door liner (300, 300').

14. The door body according to claim 12, wherein the door liner (300') has a central through portion (320), the central through portion (320) being arranged for leaving the vacuum insulation panel assembly (100) at least partially uncovered on the inside.

15. A refrigerator (1), wherein the refrigerator (1) comprises at least one door according to any one of claims 1 to 14 for closing a refrigerating and/or freezing compartment of the refrigerator (1).