CN211476426U - Structure of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to a refrigerator structure, which comprises at least one refrigerating chamber and at least one door; the refrigerated compartment includes at least one interior compartment; wherein the interior compartment comprises at least one closure structure comprising at least one pivot point about the curved surface; the closure structure comprises at least one actuation mechanism movable between a first position and a second position; the actuating mechanism comprises at least one arcuate surface; the door includes at least one actuation surface located in an interior portion of the door; actuating the actuating mechanism in the first position to the second position by the actuating surface during a closing movement of the door; during the closing movement of the door, the actuating mechanism acts on the closing structure between the first open position and the second closed position. According to the present invention, the closing structure can be actuated smoothly during the closing movement of the refrigerator door to avoid collision of the closing structure with the door, even if the user has not previously closed the interior compartment.

Description

Structure of refrigerator

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a refrigerator structure, refrigerator structure includes the compartment inside the walk-in, wherein actuates the closing structure smoothly during the closing motion of refrigerator door in order to avoid the collision of closing structure AND gate, even if the user did not close before the inside compartment.

Background

As is well known to those skilled in the art, the current state of the art contains several domestic refrigeration appliances, hereinafter referred to simply as refrigerators. These appliances are associated with a refrigeration system and generally define a refrigerated compartment for storing and preserving food items.

Several models of coolers are known from the prior art, wherein such models may comprise, for example, a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment arranged one above the other or side by side in the same apparatus. There are also refrigerator models that contain specific compartments (e.g., for quick freezing, defrosting, for cooling beverages, etc.).

With respect to certain compartments, it typically includes closure structures, such as doors and lids to isolate, protect and/or provide better storage for food items placed therein.

For accessibility reasons, when the doors of these interior compartments are opened, in many cases the refrigerator door advances beyond the refrigerator door limit when the refrigerator door is closed. Therefore, if the user forgets to close the interior compartment door and then closes the refrigerator door, a collision may occur, thus causing damage to the equipment and discomfort to the user.

An example relating to this subject matter and found in the prior art is in document US 8,944,534, which generally describes a refrigerator in which an interior compartment is arranged comprising a pivotally closed door. Hinged arms are provided in association with the door of the internal compartment and the refrigerator door, which allow opening and closing of the door of said internal compartment, simultaneously with opening and closing of the refrigerator door, avoiding possible collisions.

However, in the construction proposed in US 8,944,534, the interior compartment door is permanently attached to the refrigerator door, so that the user cannot decide when to keep the interior compartment door closed regardless of the refrigerator door's movement. Furthermore, it should be noted that the configuration proposed in US 8,944,534 imposes a limit of movement of the refrigerator door which, if exceeded, could result in breakage of the hinged arm and the interior compartment door.

Accordingly, the present invention has been developed in order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art.

Purpose of the utility model

In this sense, the main object of the present invention is to disclose a refrigerator structure comprising a compartment inside a refrigerating compartment, wherein the closing structure is smoothly actuated along the closing movement of the refrigerator door.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator structure that allows a gradual and smooth movement of the closing structure of the inner compartment.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to disclose a refrigerator structure in which the refrigerator door acts on the closing structure of the inner compartment without causing any damage to the components.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The above outlined objects are fully achieved by a refrigerator structure comprising at least one refrigerating compartment and at least one door; the refrigerator is particularly defined by the fact that: the refrigerated compartment includes at least one interior compartment; the interior compartment comprises at least one closure structure comprising at least one pivot point about a curved surface; the closure structure further comprises at least one actuation mechanism movable between at least a first position and at least a second position; the actuation mechanism comprises at least one arcuate surface; the door includes at least one actuating surface on an interior portion thereof; actuating the actuating mechanism in the first position to the second position by the actuating surface during a closing movement of the door; during the closing movement of the door, the actuating mechanism acts on the closing structure between a first open position and a second closed position.

Drawings

The present invention is disclosed in detail based on the following figures listed below.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a cooler showing a door separating the cooling compartment.

Figure 2 shows a view of the interior portion of the refrigerator door.

FIG. 3 shows a side cross-sectional view of a closed refrigerator door, a compartment inside the refrigerated compartment, and its closure in a closed position.

Figure 4 illustrates a top cross-sectional view of the refrigerator door showing the actuation surface of the refrigerator door.

Figure 5 shows a side cross-sectional view of the interior compartment, curved surface, closure structure and pivot point.

Figure 6 shows the movement steps for closing the door and its actuation of the closing structure of the internal compartment.

Figure 7 illustrates a side view of the interior compartment showing the actuation mechanism of the closure.

Detailed Description

In accordance with the purpose of the present invention, a refrigerator structure is disclosed, introduced into a refrigerator appliance of the refrigerator type, comprising at least one refrigerating chamber 1 and at least one door 2 insulating the refrigerating chamber 1, as can be seen in fig. 1.

The refrigerator according to the present invention is particularly defined by the fact that: the refrigeration compartment 1 comprises at least one internal compartment 10, such internal compartment 10 comprising, as can be seen in fig. 3 and 5, at least one closing structure 11, the closing structure 11 comprising at least one pivot point 14 around a curved surface 15.

The internal compartment 10 may define any type of dedicated compartment inside the refrigeration compartment, such as a can, bottle, fruit or vegetable compartment; preferably, the interior compartment 10 defines an open wine rack at the top.

With respect to the closing structure 11, it defines a small door for accessing the internal compartment 10, the purpose of which is to prevent the contents of the compartment from falling. As can be seen in fig. 3 and 5, said closing structure 11 has at least one pivot point 14, more preferably two pivot points on opposite sides of the internal compartment 10.

The purpose of the pivot point 14 is to hinge the closure between an open position and a closed position. Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, several intermediate positions of the opening can be obtained with the closing structure 11, as can be seen in fig. 6.

Moreover, and as can be seen from fig. 3 and 5, the closing structure 11 also comprises at least one actuating mechanism 12 extending from a front portion of said closing structure 11. Such an actuating mechanism 12 is movable between at least a first position P1 and at least a second position P2. Preferably, the first position P1 of the actuating mechanism 12 is related to the open position of the closing structure 11, while the second position P2 is related to the closed position of the closing structure 11. More preferably, in the first position P1, the actuating mechanism 12 is high, directed towards the door 2 of the refrigerator; and in the second position P2, the actuating mechanism 12 is located further down.

Still with respect to the actuating mechanism 12, it can be seen that it preferably comprises at least one arcuate surface 13, preferably directed downwards. Said arcuate surface 13 defines a smooth curvature, throughout which the arcuate surface 13 acts on the actuating surface 20 of the door 2.

In particular, and as can be seen in fig. 4, said actuation surface 20 is located on an inner portion of the door 2 and acts on the actuation mechanism 12 during the closing movement of the door 2. More specifically, the actuating surface 20 presses the arcuate surface 13 of the actuating mechanism 12 by moving the actuating mechanism 12 between the first position P1 and the second position P2.

In this sense, with the help of the pivot point 14, the actuating mechanism 12 acts on the closing structure 11 by alternating the closing structure 11 between the first open position PA and the second closed position PF.

Having described in detail the constructive nature of the refrigerator structure described in the present invention, we now focus on the dynamics of its action. For this purpose, fig. 6 is used.

In particular, fig. 6 shows eight steps of movement of the refrigerator structure (steps 1 to 8), which illustrate the actuation of the door 2 to the closing structure 11 of the internal compartment 10.

The movement starts with the door 2 of the refrigerator fully opened, as shown in step "1". The closing structure 11 of the compartment 10 is also fully open (first open position PA) and the actuating mechanism 12 is in the first position P1 directed towards the door 2.

After the movement, the door 2 of the refrigerator is gradually closed by the user in steps "2 to 7". It should be noted that during this movement the actuating surface 20 located in the inner part of the door 2 approaches the actuating means 12 until such time as said actuating surface 20 starts to press the actuating means 12 causing it to move downwards. At the same time, the actuating mechanism 12 acts on the closing structure 11, said closing structure 11 pivoting, moving downwards and progressively closing the internal compartment 10.

At the end of the movement, in step "8", the internal compartment 10 has had its closure structure 11 completely closed (second closed position PF), the actuation mechanism 12 being in the second position P2, facing downwards and away from the actuation surface 20 of the door 2, the door 2 also being in the completely closed position.

Finally, attention must be paid to certain characteristics of the motion described above.

It is important to note that the closing movement of the door 2 does not cause the door 2 to hit (collide with) the internal compartment 10, that is, it does not cause damage to the refrigerator even if the user forgets to open the closure 11 of the internal compartment 10.

The actuating surface 20 of the door 2 acts smoothly on the actuating mechanism 12, which actuating mechanism 12 in turn acts on the closing structure 11. This smooth actuation is due to the arcuate surface 13 geometry of the actuation mechanism 12. In addition, the geometry of the arcuate surface 13 does not cause damage to the door 2 during component interaction. It is clear in this context that the curved nature of the arcuate surface 13 is intended to smooth out the actuation of the actuation surface 20 to a gradual extent, so that it is gradually pressed.

The closing structure 11 is gradually closed along the movement between the first open position PA and the second closed position PF, preventing sudden movement or sudden dropping of the member. This gradual movement is also ensured by a curved surface 15 provided in the interior compartment 10, said curved surface 15 guiding the movement of the closing structure 11 around the pivot point 14.

It is important to emphasize that the above description is only intended to exemplarily describe the discussed specific embodiments of the present invention. It is therefore evident that modifications, variations and constructive combinations of the elements which perform the same function in substantially the same way to obtain the same result are still within the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.

Claims (1)

1. A refrigerator structure comprising at least one refrigerating compartment (1) and at least one door (2); the refrigerating compartment (1) comprises at least one internal compartment (10);

characterized in that said internal compartment (10) comprises at least one closing structure (11), said closing structure (11) comprising at least one pivot point (14) around a curved surface (15);

the closing structure (11) comprises at least one actuating mechanism (12) movable between at least a first position (P1) and at least a second position (P2);

the actuating mechanism (12) comprises at least one arcuate surface (13);

the door (2) comprises at least one actuation surface (20) located in an inner portion of the door;

-during the closing movement of the door (2), actuating the actuating mechanism (12) in the first position (P1) to the second position (P2) by means of the actuating surface (20);

during the closing movement of the door (2), the actuating mechanism (12) acts on the closing structure (11) between a first open Position (PA) and a second closed Position (PF).

Images