EP2865972B1

EP2865972B1 - Refrigerator having a refrigerator door

Info

Publication number: EP2865972B1
Application number: EP14182142.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tokimi ABE; Ryo KAWADA
Original assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services Corp
Current assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services Corp
Priority date: 2013-10-22
Filing date: 2014-08-25
Publication date: 2021-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 2034-08-25
Also published as: CN104567215B; EP2865972A2; TW201516363A; TWI605233B; EP2865972A3; JP2015081706A; JP6571911B2; CN104567215A

Description

FIELD

The invention relates generally to a refrigerator with a refrigerator door which has a feature in a heat insulating structure.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, there appears a refrigerator which includes a refrigerator door to which a decorative plate made of a colored glass or a transparent plastic for decorating the front face of the door is attached as a front panel. On the other hand, there also appears a refrigerator door having a heat insulating structure in which a vacuum heat insulating member is included in the inside in order to make the refrigerator thin and to keep or increase a heat insulating property.
In such a refrigerator door, it is desirable that an assembling process is simplified and the heat insulating structure does not damage the vacuum heat insulating member.
JP 2004-347 238 A describes a refrigerator door for closing a front opening of a storage chamber of a refrigerator body, which is composed of an outer plate, an inner plate and a heat insulating material formed and filled between them. An electric product is buried in the heat insulating material in an inner position spaced apart from the periphery of the door front surface . In one embodiment a vacuum heat insulating member is located between the space holding the electric product and the inner plate.
EP 2184571 A2 discloses a refrigerator including a main body provided with a storage chamber, a door to respectively open and close the storage chamber, a control unit installed in the door to select an operation, a reception part provided in the door to receive the control unit, and an installation hole provided on a side end of the door to cause the control unit to be inserted into the reception part. The control unit is installed through the side end of the door, which is deviated from a user's line of sight. A supporting frame of the door surrounds the entire door and a front panel of the door is placed on top of the supporting frame structure in the form of a double layer structure.
A further refrigerator is known from JP2011069559A .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a front view illustrating a refrigerator assembled with a refrigerator door of a first embodiment.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state where the refrigerator door of the first embodiment assembled to the refrigerator is opened.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the refrigerator door of the first embodiment.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the refrigerator door of the first embodiment when viewed from the rear side.
Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a door frame and a front panel in the refrigerator door of the first embodiment.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the door frame in the refrigerator door of the first embodiment when viewed from the back side.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a molded heat insulating member in the refrigerator door of the first embodiment when viewed from the back side.
Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the molded heat insulating member in the refrigerator door of the first embodiment when viewed from the front side.
Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an assembling method of a molded heat insulating member, a protection sheet, and a vacuum heat insulating member in the refrigerator door of the first embodiment.
Fig. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a heat insulating assembly in the refrigerator door of the first embodiment.
Fig. 11 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a method of inserting the heat insulating assembly into an intermediate frame in the refrigerator door of the first embodiment.
Fig. 12 is a perspective view illustrating a door base member in the refrigerator door of the first embodiment.
Fig. 13 is a perspective view illustrating the door base member in the refrigerator door of the first embodiment when viewed from the back side.
Fig. 14 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a method of assembling the door base member into the door frame in the refrigerator door of the first embodiment.
Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the front panel, the door frame, the heat insulating assembly in the refrigerator door of the first embodiment.
Fig. 16 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an assembling method of a molded heat insulating member, a protection sheet, and a vacuum heat insulating member in a refrigerator door of a second embodiment.
Fig. 17 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a method of assembling the vacuum heat insulating member, the protection sheet, and the molded heat insulating member into an intermediate frame in the refrigerator door of the second embodiment.
Fig. 18 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a method of assembling a door frame into a door base member in the refrigerator door of the second embodiment.
Fig. 19 is a perspective view illustrating the refrigerator door of the second embodiment.
Fig. 20 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a door frame in a refrigerator door of a third embodiment.
Fig. 21 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the front panel, the door frame, the heat insulating assembly in the refrigerator door of the third embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object is to provide a refrigerator with a refrigerator door in which the thickness of the door is made thin, the heat insulating property can be kept or increased, the assembling process can be simplified, and a heat insulating structure does not damage a vacuum heat insulating member.
A refrigerator of the invention includes the features of claim 1.
Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the components identical or similar to each other will be described using the identical or similar reference numerals.

[First Embodiment]

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a refrigerator 1. The refrigerator 1 includes a cabinet 11 which is a refrigerator body. The cabinet 11 is configured to include a refrigeration compartment 12, a vegetable compartment 13, a switching compartment 14 which can switch a setting temperature of the refrigerator, and a freezer compartment 15, all of which are arranged from the upper stage. In addition, an ice making compartment 16 is provided on the left side of the switching compartment 14.
In order to cover a front opening of the refrigeration compartment 12, a pair of right and left doors 21 and 22 of a double-hinged type is attached to the left end portion and the right end portion by hinge parts 31 and 32, respectively, at the top and bottom positions. Further, the vegetable compartment 13, the switching compartment 14, the freezer compartment 15, and an ice making compartment 16 are provided with doors 23, 24, 25, and 26 of a drawer type, respectively. In addition, a refrigerating evaporator (not illustrated) is disposed in the back face of the vegetable compartment 13 to cool the refrigeration compartment 12 and the vegetable compartment 13, and a freezing evaporator (not illustrated) is disposed in the back face of the switching compartment 14 and the freezer compartment 15 to cool the switching compartment 14, the freezer compartment 15, and the ice making compartment 16. Furthermore, a controller configured by a microcomputer is also disposed in the back face of the vegetable compartment 13 to control the refrigerator 1. A rotary partition body 61 is provided in the right end portion of a left door 21, that is, a portion closely facing the left end portion of a right door 22 in a door closed state in order to keep a sealed state with respect to the right door 22.
The doors 23, 24, 25, and 26 of the drawer type of the left door 21, the right door 22, the vegetable compartment 13, the switching compartment 14, the freezer compartment 15, and the ice making compartment 16 are constructed such that a front panel of a decorative plate made of a transparent colored glass or a light-transmitting plastic is attached to the opening of a door frame opened to the front face and a molded heat insulating member and a vacuum heat insulating member are stacked and embedded in the inner portion.
In the refrigerator door of the embodiment, on the rear side of the front panel of the right door 22, there is attached an electrostatic operation input unit 51 in order to perform a cooling operation of the refrigerator by a touch operation through the surface of the front panel. The operation input unit 51 is provided with an infrared light receiving unit which detects an environmental condition around the refrigerator, a home button, LED lamps which detects a touch on the home button and displays an operation button name, a cooling function name, a cooling intensity, and the like in a transmitting manner, and a 7-segment LED device which displays a change of numerical values such as a temperature level in a transmitting manner. Further, the respective doors 21 to 26 are provided with handles 21A to 26A, respectively.
Hereinafter, in a case where there is no need to distinguish the doors 23, 24, 25, and 26 of the drawer type of the left door 21, the right door 22, the vegetable compartment 13, the switching compartment 14, the freezer compartment 15, and the ice making compartment 16 of the refrigerator 1, these will be referred to as a refrigerator door 101, and the structure thereof will be described. In addition, vertical-to-horizontal dimension ratios of the doors 21 to 26 of the refrigerator 1 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 are different from each other, but the following description will be focused on the internal structure while ignoring the dimension ratios.
As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the refrigerator door 101 is configured such that a front panel 112 of the decorative plate made of glass or plastic is attached to a front opening of a door frame 111 on the front side to cover the front opening. The back side of the door frame 111 is assembled by a door base member 135 serving as a back face portion which forms the back face of the refrigerator door 101.
Hereinafter, the refrigerator door 101 and a manufacturing process thereof will be described together. However, the manufacturing process is given as a mere example but not limited to the following sequence. Fig. 5 illustrates a method of attaching the front panel 112 to the front opening of the door frame 111. The door frame 111 is a frame body and configured such that an inner convex edge 115 is formed to protrude to the inside at a position lower by the thickness of the front panel 112 of the inner face of the front opening, a bonding member 116 such as a double-sided tape is bonded to the front face, and the rear face of the front panel 112 is bonded on the bonding member 116. In addition, an adhesive may be used as the bonding member 116. Further, the respective sides of the door frame 111 may be divided, and a groove is formed in each side, so that the front panel 112 may be fitted into the groove.
As illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, in the door frame 111, the inner convex edge 115 and a storage unit 117 formed by an erected groove space to store an operation unit and a handle are formed as a structure. The storage unit 117 is open in a side face of the door frame 111. With an opening 118, electric components illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 such as the operation input unit 51 and the handles 21A and 22A can be inserted into the storage unit 117 through the opening 118 and installed therein. Further, in the case of the handle, the component is not necessary to be inserted, and a user may put his/her hand into the opening 118 to use the groove space itself as the handles 21A and 22A illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. In the case of Figs. 1 and 2, the handle 21A is provided in the storage unit 117 of the left door 21, and the operation input unit 51 and the handle 22A are provided in one or plural storage units 117 of the right door 22.
In the door frame 111, a molded heat insulating member 121 and a vacuum heat insulating member 126 to be described below are stored in a space 120 made between a hole 119 surrounded by the inner convex edge 115 and the opening of the door frame 111 below the inner convex edge.
Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate the molded heat insulating member 121 which fills the space 120 formed inside the door frame 111. The molded heat insulating member 121 is not a urethane foaming material which is formed by injecting and foaming a liquid for making the space filled but a foamed heat insulating member (EPS) which is previously formed in a shape matched with that of the space 120. On the surface side of the molded heat insulating member 121, a concave portion 122a is formed to be dented in correspondence to the storage unit 117 near the door frame 111. Further, a convex step portion 122b is also formed in a shape to be fitted to the hole 119 inside the inner convex edge 115 which supports the peripheral edge portion of the front panel 112 on the inner front face of the door frame 111 so as to fill the hole 119. Furthermore, a wall portion 123a is formed around the rear side of the molded heat insulating member 121 to be shallowly fitted into the flat vacuum heat insulating member 126 for positioning and protecting as to be described below, and an intermediate portion of the peripheral surrounded by the wall portion 123a is formed as a concave portion 123b.
As illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, a protection sheet 125 is inserted into the concave portion 123b on the rear side of the molded heat insulating member 121 and bonded to the rear side of the molded heat insulating member 121, and the vacuum heat insulating member 126 is fitted and bonded thereto and stacked. As the protection sheet 125, a PET film or a urethane sheet may be used. In addition, the protection sheet 125 is a sheet used in a case there is a concern of scratches which may be caused by some protruding portion or protruding object when the vacuum heat insulating member 126 is directly bonded to the rear side of the molded heat insulating member 121. Therefore, in the case of no concern about such scratches, the protection sheet is not necessary. Herein, the protection sheet 125 and the vacuum heat insulating member 126 which are bonded to the molded heat insulating member 121 will be referred to as a heat insulating assembly 127.
For example, the vacuum heat insulating member is a vacuum heat insulating panel. The vacuum heat insulating panel is made of a core material such as glass wool and a packing material having a gas barrier property. The vacuum heat insulating panel (a plate shape) is manufactured such that the core material is contained in the packing material and in this state the inside of the packing material is evacuated.
As illustrated in Figs. 11 to 13, the heat insulating assembly 127 which is constructed by inserting the vacuum heat insulating member 126 into the molded heat insulating member 121 is inserted into a front opening 131 of an intermediate frame 130 of the refrigerator door 101.
The intermediate frame 130 is formed by a frame portion 130a, a flange portion 130a1 which is extended from the frame portion 130a to the inside, a bank portion 130b which is extended to the inner portion of the refrigeration compartment, and a bottom portion 132 which is hollowed by one step from the flange portion 130a1, and includes a fixing portion 130c which has a protruding shape toward the outside along the entire peripheral between the bank portion 130b and the frame portion 130a.
The above-mentioned heat insulating assembly 127 on a side facing the vacuum heat insulating member 126 is inserted into the front opening 131 of the intermediate frame 130. At this time, the wall portion 123a provided around the molded heat insulating member 121 enters the inside of the frame portion 130a of the intermediate frame 130, and a tip end surface of the wall portion 123a abuts on the flange portion 130al. Further, the rear side of the vacuum heat insulating member 126 which protrudes by one step from the wall portion 123a (the lower side portion in Figs. 11 and 12) is bonded to the bottom portion 132 formed on the inside of the flange portion 130al.
Therefore, the heat insulating assembly 127 is inserted into the front opening 131 of the intermediate frame 130, and the rear side of the vacuum heat insulating member 126 (the lower side portion in Figs. 11 and 12) is bonded to the bottom portion 132 of the intermediate frame 130, so that the door base member 135 illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13 is assembled. Herein, even in a case where the rear side of the vacuum heat insulating member 126 is bonded to the bottom portion 132 of the intermediate frame 130, the protection sheet can be interposed between the bottom portion 132 and the vacuum heat insulating member 126.
As illustrated in Fig. 14, the door base member 135 thus assembled as above is integrated with the door frame 111 with the front panel 112 attached thereto from the front side. In other words, the frame portion 130a of the intermediate frame 130 is inserted to the inside of the door frame 111, the fixing portion 130c protruding to the outer peripheral of the intermediate frame 130 comes to abut on a tip end surface of the door frame 111 for positioning and fixing, so that the assembly of the refrigerator door 101 illustrated in a perspective view of Figs. 3 and 4 and a cross-sectional view of Fig. 15 is completed.
As illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, and 15, the refrigerator door 101 of the embodiment is configured such that a front panel 112 of the light-transmitting decorative plate made of glass or plastic is attached to a front opening of a door frame 111 on the front side to cover the front opening. The door frame 111 is a frame body and configured such that an inner convex edge 115 is formed to protrude to the inside at a position lower by the thickness or the half of the front panel 112 of the inner face of the front opening, a bonding member 116 such as a double-sided tape is bonded to the front face, and the rear face of the front panel 112 is bonded on the bonding member 116. Further, in the door frame 111, the inner convex edge 115 and a storage unit 117 to store an operation unit and a handle are formed as a structure. The storage unit 117 is open to communicate with the opening 118 in a side face of the door frame 111.
In the space 120 of the inside of the door frame 111, the molded heat insulating member 121 which is formed in the shape matched with that of the space 120 in advance is disposed. In the surface side of the molded heat insulating member 121, there are provided the concave portion 122a which is hollowed in a shape corresponding to the storage unit 117 on a side facing the door frame 111, the convex step portion 122b which is fitted into and fills the hole 119 formed inside the inner convex edge 115 supporting the peripheral edge portion of the front panel 112 of the front face inside the door frame 111, and a thin portion 122c which is formed to be interposed between the front face of the vacuum heat insulating member 126 and the rear side face of the storage unit 117 (a structure) . Furthermore, a wall portion 123a is formed around the rear side of the molded heat insulating member 121 to be shallowly fitted into the flat vacuum heat insulating member 126 for positioning and protecting, and an intermediate portion of the peripheral surrounded by the wall portion 123a is formed as a concave portion 123b. The protection sheet 125 is inserted into the concave portion 123b of the molded heat insulating member 121 and bonded to the rear side of the molded heat insulating member 121, and the vacuum heat insulating member 126 is fitted and bonded to the protection sheet 125 and stacked. The protection sheet 125 and the vacuum heat insulating member 126 which are bonded to the molded heat insulating member 121 are called the heat insulating assembly 127. Then, the heat insulating assembly 127 is inserted into the front opening 131 of the intermediate frame 130 of the refrigerator door 101. In other words, the heat insulating assembly 127 is inserted to the inside of the frame portion 130a of the intermediate frame 130.
According to the refrigerator door 101 of the embodiment, as can be seen from the assembly illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12, the storage unit 117 of the door frame 111 is fitted to the concave portion 122a which is formed in the molded heat insulating member 121 to be used for the storage unit 117 of the structure such as the handle or the operation input unit, and the molded heat insulating member 121 is interposed between the storage unit 117 and the vacuum heat insulating member 126, so that the storage unit 117 does not directly come in contact with the vacuum heat insulating member 126. Therefore, it is possible to prevent damage to a heat insulating function caused by the vacuum heat insulating member 126 broken by coming in contact with the protruding portion or projections of the door frame 111, and the refrigerator door having an excellent heat insulating property can be realized.
Further, the convex step portion 122b which is previously formed on the surface of the molded heat insulating member 121 is inserted into the hole 119 formed inside the inner convex edge 115 supporting the peripheral edge portion of the front panel 112 of the front face inside the door frame 111, so that the hole 119 is filled. Then, the rear face of the front panel 112 is supported by the inner convex edge 115 and the convex step portion 122b. Therefore, the heat insulating property of the hole 119 is increased and the front panel 112 can be stably supported from the rear face. In addition, the convex step portion 122b may not be previously formed in the surface of the molded heat insulating member 121, and a relatively flexible material is employed as the molded heat insulating member 121, and the molded heat insulating member 121 is deformed by being pressed toward the hole 119 which is formed inside the inner convex edge 115 of the door frame 111 so as to be inserted into the hole 119 and fill the hole 119. Then, the rear face of the front panel 112 is supported by a convex edge 115 and the convex step portion thus deformed. Therefore, the heat insulating property of the hole 119 is increased and the front panel 112 can be stably supported from the rear face.

[Second Embodiment]

The refrigerator door 101 of the second embodiment will be described using Figs. 16 to 19. The feature of the embodiment lies in the molded heat insulating member 121. In addition, the protection sheet 125 and the vacuum heat insulating member 126 are the same as those of the first embodiment, and the numerical references identical or similar to those in the first embodiment represent the same members.
In the molded heat insulating member 121, a notch 122A which is surrounded by the structure is formed in a portion corresponding to the concave portion 122a of the first embodiment. The thickness of a cut end of the notch 122A is slightly thicker than that of the structure. The vacuum heat insulating member 126 is assembled to the door base member 135 in a state where the vacuum heat insulating member 126 is disposed in the concave portion 123b as to be described below. Further, the vacuum heat insulating member 126 is formed such that the vacuum heat insulating member 126 does not come in direct contact with the back face and the rear side face of the structure or the protruding object in a state where the door frame 111 is assembled from the front side.
As illustrated in Fig. 17, when the molded heat insulating member 121 is inserted into the intermediate frame 130, a frame notch 141 is formed in a place corresponding to the notch 122A. Further, as illustrated in Fig. 18, in the door frame 111, an inserting hole 142 (an opening) is formed in a place corresponding to the frame notch 141 of the intermediate frame 130.
Next, a structure of the refrigerator door 101 of the embodiment will be described along with an assembling method. In addition, the assembling method is given as an example, and another assembly method may be employed. The embodiment is not limited to the illustrated method.
The molded heat insulating member 121, the protection sheet 125, and the vacuum heat insulating member 126 having shapes and configurations illustrated in Fig. 16 are prepared, and the intermediate frame 130 illustrated in Fig. 17 and the door frame 111 illustrated in Fig. 18 are prepared. Then, as illustrated in Fig. 17, the vacuum heat insulating member 126 is inserted into the bottom portion 132 of the intermediate frame 130, and then the protection sheet 125 is inserted and bonded to the vacuum heat insulating member 126. Subsequently, the molded heat insulating member 121 is inserted and bonded to the protection sheet 125. Therefore, as illustrated in Fig. 18, the door base member 135 which is provided in the inside of the refrigerator 1 is assembled. In the door base member 135, the notch 122A of the molded heat insulating member 121 corresponds to the position of the frame notch 141 of the intermediate frame 130 and communicates with the notch. Then, as illustrated in Fig. 18, the door frame 111 is assembled to the front face of the door base member 135. Therefore, the refrigerator door 101 of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 19 is completely assembled.
As illustrated in Fig. 19, in the completed refrigerator door 101, the inserting hole 142 which is open in the door frame 111 is communicated with the frame notch 141 of the intermediate frame 130 and the notch 122A of the molded heat insulating member 121. Therefore, in a case where the refrigerator door 101 is assembled with a box-shaped electronic part such as the operation input unit 51 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the box-shaped operation input unit 51 is inserted into the notch 122A through the inserting hole 142 of the door frame 111 and thus can be directly installed therein. Then, at the time of the assembling operation or after the assembling operation, there is no concern that a projection or another sharp portion of the structure such as the operation input unit 51 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 comes in direct contact with the vacuum heat insulating member 126 to break the vacuum heat insulating member 126.
In addition, even in the second embodiment, the notch 122A of the molded heat insulating member 121 inside the inserting hole 142 may be used as a handle which is used for the user to pull the door by hand. Further, it is also possible to insert a handle unit in the notch and be installed therein.

[Third Embodiment]

Next, an exemplary structure in relation between the electrostatic operation input unit 51 and the door 22 will be described with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 20, and 21. Fig. 20 particularly illustrates a modification of the door frame 111 having a feature in the storage unit 117, Fig. 21 is a cross-sectional view of the right door 22 of the refrigeration compartment taken along the horizontal direction in Fig. 1 in which the electrostatic operation input unit 51 provided with an electrostatic electrode and the like is contained in the storage unit 117. In addition, the components identical or similar to those in the first and second embodiments are illustrated using the reference numerals identical or similar to those used in the embodiments thereof.
As illustrated in Fig. 20, an opening 117a is formed at a place in the storage unit 117 of the door frame 111 to face the front panel 112. The other configurations are similar to those of the door frame 111 in the first embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.
A right door frame 111b illustrated in Fig. 21 is a right decoration part which is provided in the vertical direction of the door 22. As illustrated in Fig. 21, one end of the front panel 112 is not entirely covered due to the right door frame 111b, and thus is substantially in an exposed state from the right door frame 111b. A front portion in side face of the end of the front panel 112 is formed as an R face, and thus is not formed in a right-angle shape. For example, the R face is an R face corresponding to one quarter of the circumference of a circle.
As illustrated in Fig. 21, the opening 118 is provided in the side face of the right door frame 111b. The opening 118 is a through hole which is provided to insert a substrate 51a included in the operation input unit 51 from the outside of the right door frame 111b to the inside of the storage unit 117. The substrate 51a is built with an electrostatic capacitive electrode switch 51b and a communication unit 51c which transmits information of the refrigerator to the outside and receives other information from the outside. The storage unit 117 is integrally formed with the right door frame 111b and has a box shape extending from the inner convex edge 115, and the opening 117a is provided in the front face. Then, the storage unit 117 is a member serving as a storage unit which can store the substrate 51a, and can be configured to seal the storage unit by closing a door which is provided in the opening 118. In addition, it is possible to prevent dew condensation by providing a metal member such as aluminum having a good thermal conductivity around the storage unit 117, or by disposing a reinforcing metal member in the inside thereof.
The substrate 51a of the operation input unit 51 is pushed to a rear face 112M of the front panel 112 from the storage unit 117 through the opening 117a using an elastic member 51d such as a spring, so that the substrate is held on the rear face 112M in close contact. The substrate 51a is fixed at a position different from that of the inner convex edge 115 serving as a supporting portion of the front panel 112.
As described above, with the opening 117a formed in the storage unit 117, the substrate 51a having the electrostatic capacitive switch 51b can be fixed to the rear face 112M of the front panel 112 in close contact while avoiding the inner convex edge 115 of the right door frame 111b. Therefore, since the electrostatic capacitive switch 51b is disposed in the rear face 112M of the front panel 112 under pressure without making a gap, the user can reliably make ON/OFF operations on the electrostatic capacitive switch 51b from the surface of the front panel 112.
Further, as a method of pressurizing the electrostatic capacitive switch 51b to the rear face 112M of the front panel 112 without making a gap, a guide member may be provided to move the substrate 51a from the rear side to the front side without using the elastic member. For example, a slope may be provided such that the storage unit becomes narrow in a direction to insert the substrate, or a projection provided in the substrate 51a may be inserted into a guide groove provided in the storage unit to be guided while pressurizing.
Moreover, the substrate 51a may be provided with an infrared light receiving unit which detects an environmental condition around the refrigerator, LED lamps which display an operation button name, a cooling function name, a cooling intensity, and the like in a transmitting manner, and a 7-segment LED device which displays a change of numerical values such as a temperature level in a transmitting manner.
Further, the substrate 51a may be configured to be disposed in a supporting container which supports the substrate, and an LED serving as a light emitting unit may be disposed in the supporting container in order to make the LED emit light from the rear face of the substrate.
In addition, the electrostatic capacitive switch may be integrally formed by disposing the electrode in the surface of an LED substrate which is disposed in the rear face, or may be provided in a substrate other than the substrate disposed with the LED. The substrate may be configured to provide the electrode of the electrostatic capacitive switch in an elastic transparent film. Therefore, the LED can be disposed in the back face of the transparent electrode, and thus it is possible to emit light from the rear side of the electrode.
The refrigerator door 101 according to the embodiment is configured to include the door frame 111, the front panel 112 which is attached to the front face of the door frame 111, the structure 117 which is disposed in the door frame 111 such that the front face faces the rear face of the front panel 112, the flat vacuum heat insulating member 126 which is disposed in the rear face side of the structure 117, and the molded heat insulating member 121 which is disposed in a space 120 surrounded by a front face of the vacuum heat insulating member 126, a rear face of the front panel 112, and an outer side face of the structure 117. With this configuration, the molded heat insulating member 121 and the vacuum heat insulating member 126 can be disposed in the space 120 inside the door frame 111 without making a gap, and thus the heat insulating property of the refrigerator door 101 can be increased.
Further, in the refrigerator door 101 of the embodiment, the molded heat insulating member 121 employs a plastic heat insulating member which is previously molded in a predetermined shape to be fitted into the space 120. Therefore, the arrangement in the space 120 is reliably performed, a manufacturing time is reduced, and the heat insulating property is improved.
Further, in a state where the molded heat insulating member 121 is disposed in the space 120, the structure 117 is fitted into the concave portion 122a of the molded heat insulating member 121, and the thin portion 122c of the molded heat insulating member 121 is interposed between the front face of the vacuum heat insulating member 126 and the rear side face of the structure 117. With this configuration, it is possible to reliably prevent damage to the heat insulating property caused by the vacuum heat insulating member 126 broken by being snagged on a sharp corner or projections of the structure 117.
Further, the inner convex edge 115 is formed in the inner face of the door frame 111 to support the peripheral edge portion of the front panel 112 from the rear side, so that the peripheral edge portion of the rear face of the front panel 112 is supported by the inner convex edge 115 from the rear side. In the front face portion of the molded heat insulating member 121, the convex step portion 122b is provided in a shape for filling the hole 119 surrounded by the inner peripheral face of the inner convex edge 115. The molded heat insulating member 121 is inserted into the space 120 between the front face of the vacuum heat insulating member 126 and the rear face of the front panel 112, and makes the convex step portion 122b fill the hole 119 surrounded by the inner peripheral face of the inner convex edge 115. The rear face of the front panel 112 is supported by the front face of the inner convex edge 115 and the front face portion of the convex step portion 122b. With this configuration, the front panel 112 can be supported from the rear side thereof by the inner convex edge 115 and the convex step portion 122b, and it is possible to reliably mount the front panel 112.
In addition, even in the embodiment, the inner convex edge 115 is formed in the inner face of the door frame 111 to support the peripheral edge portion of the front panel 112 from the rear side, so that the peripheral edge portion of the rear face of the front panel 112 is supported by the inner convex edge 115 from the rear side. The molded heat insulating member 121 is inserted into the space 120 between the front face of the vacuum heat insulating member 126 and the rear face of the front panel 112, and the front face portion of the molded heat insulating member 121 is deformed to fill the hole 119 surrounded by the inner peripheral face of the inner convex edge 115 so as to form the convex step portion 122b. Even in this case, the front panel 112 can be supported from the rear side thereof by the inner convex edge 115 and the convex step portion 122b, and it is possible to reliably mount the front panel 112. Moreover, the shape of the molded heat insulating member 121 molded in advance can be simplified, and thus it is possible to improve the productivity.
Further, in the respective embodiments, the description has been made about the refrigerator 1 which includes the double doors 21 and 22. The above embodiments can be employed to, as a simple structure, a refrigerator which is provided with a single swing door of a right opening or left opening type on the front side of the refrigeration compartment.
Further, in the respective embodiments, the molded heat insulating member may be a plastic heat insulating member which is previously molded in a predetermined shape. The structure may be a storage unit which contains an operation unit for controlling the operations of the refrigerator or may be an opening/closing handle or the storage unit thereof.

Claims

A refrigerator (1) comprising:
a main body (11); and

a refrigerator door (21,22;101), the refrigerator door (21,22;101) comprising:
a door frame (111);

a front panel (112) which is attached to the door frame (111) ;

a structure which is disposed in the door frame (111) such that a front face of the structure faces a rear face of the front panel (112), wherein the structure is a storage unit (117) which is adapted to store an operation unit (51) for performing a cool control operation of a refrigerator or the structure is a notch (122A) which is adapted to be used as a handle or in which a handle unit can be inserted to be installed;

a flat vacuum heat insulating member (126) which is disposed in a rear face side of the storage unit (117) or notch (122A); and

a molded heat insulating member (121) which is disposed in a space surrounded by a front face of the vacuum heat insulating member (126), the rear face of the front panel (112), and an outer side face of the storage unit (117) or notch (122A),

wherein the storage unit (117) or notch (122A) is formed in the molded heat insulating member (121),

wherein an opening (118;142) is formed in a side face of the door frame (111) so as to communicate with the storage unit (117) or notch (122A),

wherein the molded heat insulating member (121) is configured to have a thickness such that the rear side face of the storage unit (117) or notch (122A) facing the front face of the vacuum heat insulating member (126) in an arranged state does not come in contact with the front face of the vacuum heat insulating member (126),

wherein an inner convex edge (115) is formed in an inner face of the door frame (111) to support a peripheral edge portion of the rear face of the front panel (112) from a rear side,

wherein, in a front face portion of the molded heat insulating member (121), a convex step portion (122b) is provided in a shape filling a space surrounded by an inner peripheral face of the inner convex edge (115),

wherein the molded heat insulating member (121) is inserted between the front face of the vacuum heat insulating member (126) and the rear face of the front panel (112),

wherein the molded heat insulating member (121) is a plastic heat insulating member which is previously molded in a predetermined shape or the molded heat insulating member (121) is inserted between the front face of the vacuum heat insulating member (126) and the rear face of the front panel (112), and the front face portion of the molded heat insulating member (121) is deformed to fill the space surrounded by the inner peripheral face of the inner convex edge (115) so as to form the convex step portion (122b), and

wherein the rear face of the front panel (112) is supported by a front face of the inner convex edge (115) and a front face portion of the convex step portion (122b).
The refrigerator (1) according to claim 1,
wherein the molded heat insulating member (121) includes a thin portion (122c) between the vacuum heat insulating member (126) and the storage unit (117) or notch (122A).
The refrigerator (1) according to claim 1 or 2,
wherein the front face of the vacuum heat insulating member (126) is bonded to a rear face of the molded heat insulating member (121).
The refrigerator (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
wherein a protection sheet (125) is interposed between a rear face of the molded heat insulating member (121) and a front face of the vacuum heat insulating member (126).
The refrigerator (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
wherein the storage unit (117) stores an operation unit (51) to perform a cool control operation of a refrigerator.
The refrigerator (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
wherein the storage unit (117) or notch (122A) has a handle unit installed therein.
The refrigerator (1) according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of a cut end of the structure that is the notch (122A) is thicker than that of the structure that is the storage unit (117).