EP2865975A1

EP2865975A1 - Refrigerator lighting device

Info

Publication number: EP2865975A1
Application number: EP20130884950
Authority: EP
Inventors: Meiyan WANG; Liyun Li
Original assignee: Hisense Ronshen Guangdong Refrigerator Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hisense Ronshen Guangdong Refrigerator Co Ltd
Priority date: 2013-08-27
Filing date: 2013-08-27
Publication date: 2015-04-29
Also published as: EP2865975A4; WO2015027385A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator illumination device, comprising: a cabinet, a drawer disposed in the cabinet, a door coupled to the drawer, a support structure disposed in the cabinet, and a light mount assembly disposed on the support structure, the drawer being capable of moving forward and backward with the door; wherein the refrigerator illumination device further comprises: a regulating assembly, configured to coordinately control a rotation action of the light mount assembly, when the door is opened, the regulating assembly being capable of controlling the light mount assembly to provide light towards the drawer. The present invention avoids the illumination blind spots, and is simple in structure and convenient in control.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to illumination devices for refrigeration equipment, and in particular, relates to a refrigerator illumination device.

BACKGROUND

For most of the refrigerators, the bottom compartments thereof are provided with retractable doors. Due to restrictions of the structure, generally no illumination device is provided or illumination devices are secured on bottom portions of front beams of the compartments. The lamplight emitted by the illumination device is only directly supplied to a very limited area under the illumination device. When the door is opened, the space inside the drawer becomes an illumination blind spot. In some special environments, for example, during the night, when an external light source is not opened, it is inconvenient for a user to take out something from the refrigerator.

SUMMARY

A technical problem to be solved in the present invention is to provide a refrigerator illumination device which is capable of avoiding illumination blind spots and is simple in structure and convenient in control.
To solve the above technical problem, the present invention employs the following technical solution:
A refrigerator illumination device, comprises: a cabinet, a drawer disposed in the cabinet, a door coupled to the drawer, a support structure disposed in the cabinet, and a light mount assembly disposed on the support structure, the drawer being capable of moving forward and backward with the door; wherein the refrigerator illumination device further comprises: a regulating assembly, configured to coordinately control a rotation action of the light mount assembly, when the door is opened, the regulating assembly being capable of controlling the light mount assembly to provide light towards the drawer.
In the technical solution, the rotation action of the light mount assembly is coordinately controlled via the regulating assembly, and when the door is opening, the light mount assembly automatically turns over at a specific angle, such that the lamplight may be provided into the drawer, and thus the illumination blind spots are eliminated. In addition, the illumination angle of the light mount assembly may be controlled only via the regulating assembly, and the structure is simple and the control is convenient.
Specifically, the light mount assembly comprises a light mount, a reset structure, and a light emitting component; wherein the light mount is rotatably disposed on the support structure via a rotating shaft, the reset structure is configured to reset the light mount, the light emitting component is disposed on the light mount, and the regulating assembly controls the light emitting component to be in a horizontal state or a specific-angle-rotated state by means of abutting against or releasing from the light mount. In the technical solution, the light mount is in a horizontal position under action of the regulating assembly, and when the regulating assembly is released, under action of the reset structure, the light mount turns over at a specific angle, such that the lamplight may be provided into the drawer.
Specifically, the reset structure is a torsion spring, and the light emitting component is an LED lamp.
Further, the door is capable of abutting against or releasing from the regulating assembly, and the door coordinately controls the light mount via the regulating assembly.
To enhance reliability and security of abutting and coupling, the regulating assembly comprises an abutting block having a first inclined surface, and the light mount is correspondingly provided with a second inclined surface, wherein the first inclined surface of the abutting block is capable of abutting against and mating with the second inclined surface of the light mount.
The regulating assembly comprises a locking structure, configured to lock the light mount. In the technical solution, the light mount may be secured via the locking structure, such that the light mount may not turn over with opening of the door.
Specifically, the support structure is disposed at a front end of a top wall of the cabinet.
In addition, the present invention further provides a refrigerator illumination device, comprising a cabinet, a drawer disposed in the cabinet, a door coupled to the drawer, a front beam disposed in the cabinet, and a light mount assembly disposed on the front beam, the drawer being capable of moving forward and backward with the door; wherein the refrigerator illumination device further comprises a regulating assembly, the regulating assembly comprising an abutting block and a buckling member, wherein the abutting block is inserted into a first concave portion at a front part of the front beam, the light mount assembly is rotatably coupled to a second concave portion at a rear part of the front beam, and the first concave portion is in communication with the second concave portion; and the light mount assembly comprises a light mount rotatably coupled to the front beam, a torsion spring disposed on a rotating shaft of the light mount, and an LED lamp disposed on the light mount; wherein the door is capable of abutting against and mating with the light mount via the abutting block, when the abutting block abuts against the light mount, the torsion spring is compressed and the light mount stays in a horizontal position, and when the abutting block is released from the light mount, the torsion spring is released to cause the light mount to reset, and the LED lamp emits light towards the drawer.
A tail end of the abutting block is provided with a first inclined surface, and the light mount is correspondingly provided with a second inclined surface, wherein the first inclined surface of the abutting block is capable of abutting against and mating with the second inclined surface of the light mount; the tail end of the abutting block is further provided with a buckle structure, configured to limit a position of the regulating assembly.
A bottom end of the abutting block is provided with a gap which is capable of snap-fitting with the first concave portion and configured to secure the light mount assembly.
Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention lie in that:
According to the present invention, the rotation action of the light mount assembly is coordinately controlled via the regulating assembly, and when the door is opening, the light mount assembly automatically turns over at a specific angle, such that the lamplight may be provided into the drawer, and thus the illumination blind spots are eliminated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a refrigerator illumination device with a closed door according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic structural view of the refrigerator illumination device according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a regulating assembly according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of a regulating assembly with a rotation function enabled according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of the regulating assembly with the rotation function disabled according to the present invention; and
FIG. 6 is a schematic structural view of the refrigerator illumination device with an opened door according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The drawings are schematic views for illustration purpose only, but shall not be construed as limitations to the present invention. For better illustration of the following embodiment, some parts or components would be omitted, scaled up or scaled down in the drawings, which are not indicative of the practical sizes. For a person skilled in the art, it shall be understandable that some commonly known structures and description thereof are omitted for brevity.
Identical or like reference numerals in the drawings illustrating the embodiment of the present invention denote identical or similar parts or elements. In the description of the present invention it should be understood that terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", and "outer" indicative of azimuth and position relationships based on the azimuth and position relationships as illustrated in the drawings are merely for briefly describing the present invention, rather than denoting or implying that the denoted apparatuses or elements need to be positioned at specific azimuths and constructed and operated with the specific azimuths. Therefore, the terms for denoting the position relationships in the drawings are merely for exemplary illustration, but shall not be construed as limitations to the present invention.
In addition, terms "first", "second" and the like are merely used for illustration purpose, and shall not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. Persons of ordinary skill in the art may understand denotations of the terms according to the actual circumstances.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6, the present invention discloses a refrigerator illumination device, comprising: a cabinet, a drawer 5 disposed in the cabinet, a door 1 coupled to the drawer 5, a support structure 2 disposed in the cabinet, and a light mount assembly 4 disposed on the support structure 2, the drawer 5 being capable of moving forward and backward with the door 1; wherein the refrigerator illumination device further comprises: a regulating assembly 3, configured to coordinately control a rotation action of the light mount assembly 4, when the door 1 is opened, the regulating assembly 3 being capable of controlling the light mount assembly 4 to provide light towards the drawer 5. The support structure 2 is positioned at a front end of a top wall of the cabinet, that is, a front beam.
According to the present invention, the rotation action of the light mount assembly 4 is coordinately controlled via the regulating assembly 3, and when the door is opening, the light mount assembly 4 automatically turns over at a specific angle, such that the lamplight may be provided into the drawer 5, and thus the illumination blind spots are eliminated.
Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the light mount assembly 4 comprises a light mount 41, a reset structure, and a light emitting component; wherein the light mount 4 is rotatably disposed on the support structure 2 via a rotating shaft 44, the reset structure is configured to reset the light mount 41, the light emitting component is disposed on the light mount 41, and the regulating assembly 3 controls the light emitting component to be in a horizontal state or a specific-angle-rotated state by means of abutting against or releasing from the light mount 41. In the technical solution, the light mount 41 is in a horizontal position under action of the regulating assembly 3, and when the regulating assembly 3 is released, under action of the reset structure, the light mount 41 turns over at a specific angle, such that the lamplight may be provided into the drawer 5. Specifically, the reset structure is a torsion spring 42, and the light emitting component is an LED lamp 43.
Further, the door 1 is capable of abutting against or releasing from the regulating assembly 3, and the door 1 coordinately controls the light mount 41 via the regulating assembly 3. In addition, the light mount assembly 4 may also be coordinately controlled by means of applying an external force to cause action on the regulating assembly 3, with no need of achieving coordinate control via the door 1.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the regulating assembly 3 comprises an abutting block 31 having a first inclined surface, and the light mount 41 is correspondingly provided with a second inclined surface, wherein the first inclined surface of the abutting block 31 is capable of abutting against and mating with the second inclined surface of the light mount 41. The regulating assembly 3 comprises a locking structure, configured to lock the light mount 41. In the technical solution, the light mount 41 may be secured via the locking structure, such that the light mount 41 may not turn over with opening of the door 1.
The present invention is further described with reference to a specific embodiment.
In addition, the present invention further provides a refrigerator illumination device, comprising a cabinet, a drawer 5 disposed in the cabinet, a door 1 coupled to the drawer 5, a front beam disposed in the cabinet, and a light mount assembly 4 disposed on the front beam, the drawer 5 being capable of moving forward and backward with the door 1; wherein the refrigerator illumination device further comprises a regulating assembly 3, the regulating assembly 3 comprising an abutting block 31 and a buckling member 32 and securing the abutting block 31 to the buckling member 32 via a screw 33, wherein the abutting block 31 is inserted into a first concave portion 21 at a front part of the front beam, the light mount assembly 4 is rotatably coupled to a second concave portion 22 at a rear part of the front beam, and the first concave portion 21 is in communication with the second concave portion 22; and the light mount assembly 4 comprises a light mount 41 rotatably coupled to the front beam, a torsion spring 42 disposed on a rotating shaft 44 of the light mount 41, and an LED lamp 43 disposed on the light mount 41; wherein the door 1 is capable of abutting against and mating with the light mount 41 via the abutting block 31, when the abutting block 31 abuts against the light mount 41, the torsion spring 42 is compressed and the light mount 41 stays in a horizontal position, and when the abutting block 31 is released from the light mount 41, the torsion spring 42 is released to cause the light mount 41 to reset, and the LED lamp 43 emits light towards the drawer 5.
A tail end of the abutting block 31 is provided with a first inclined surface, and the light mount 41 is correspondingly provided with a second inclined surface, wherein the first inclined surface of the abutting block 31 is capable of abutting against and mating with the second inclined surface of the light mount 41; the tail end of the abutting block 31 is further provided with a buckle structure, configured to limit a position of the regulating assembly 3.
A bottom end of the abutting block 31 is provided with a gap 34 which is capable of snap-fitting with the first concave portion 21 and configured to secure the light mount assembly 4. As illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the buckling member 32 slides from the left to the right, the gap 34 of the abutting block 31 buckles the first concave portion 21, such that the rotation function of the light mount assembly 4 is disabled, that is, the light mount assembly 4 is constantly in a horizontal state.
When the refrigerator door is closed, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the regulating assembly 3 is subjected to extrusion from the door 1, the first inclined surface at the tail end of the abutting block 31 and the second inclined surface of the light mount 41 are subjected to mutual extrusion, such that the light mount assembly 4 is in a horizontal state. As illustrated in FIG. 6, when the refrigerator door is opened, the regulating assembly 3 is released, the light mount assembly 4 rotates clockwise under action of an elastic force of the torsion spring 42, and pushes the abutting block 31 to slide forward until the buckle structure of the abutting block 31 abuts against the surface of the second concave portion 22 of the front beam. In the above state, the light mount assembly 4 defines a specific angle against the horizontal direction, and the lamplight may be directly provided into the drawer 5.
Obviously, the above embodiment of the present invention is merely an exemplary one for clearly describing and illustrating the present invention, but is not intended to limit the implementation of the present invention. Persons of ordinary skills in the art may derive other modifications and variations based on the above embodiment. All embodiments of the present invention are not exhaustively listed herein. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present invention should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

A refrigerator illumination device, comprising: a cabinet, a drawer disposed in the cabinet, a door coupled to the drawer, a support structure disposed in the cabinet, and a light mount assembly disposed on the support structure, the drawer being capable of moving forward and backward with the door; wherein the refrigerator illumination device further comprises: a regulating assembly, configured to coordinately control a rotation action of the light mount assembly, when the door is opened, the regulating assembly being capable of controlling the light mount assembly to provide light towards the drawer.
The refrigerator illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the light mount assembly comprises a light mount, a reset structure, and a light emitting component; wherein the light mount is rotatably disposed on the support structure via a rotating shaft, the reset structure is configured to reset the light mount, the light emitting component is disposed on the light mount, and the regulating assembly controls the light emitting component to be in a horizontal state or a specific-angle-rotated state by means of abutting against or releasing from the light mount.
The refrigerator illumination device according to claim 2, wherein the reset structure is a torsion spring, and the light emitting component is an LED lamp.
The refrigerator illumination device according to claim 2, wherein the door is capable of abutting against or releasing from the regulating assembly, and the door coordinately controls the light mount via the regulating assembly.
The refrigerator illumination device according to claim 4, wherein the regulating assembly comprises an abutting block having a first inclined surface, and the light mount is correspondingly provided with a second inclined surface, the first inclined surface of the abutting block being capable of abutting against and mating with the second inclined surface of the light mount.
The refrigerator illumination device according to claim 4, wherein the regulating assembly comprises a locking structure, configured to lock the light mount.
The refrigerator illumination device according to claim 4, wherein the support structure is disposed at a front end of a top wall of the cabinet.
A refrigerator illumination device, comprising a cabinet, a drawer disposed in the cabinet, a door coupled to the drawer, a front beam disposed in the cabinet, and a light mount assembly disposed on the front beam, the drawer being capable of moving forward and backward with the door;
wherein the refrigerator illumination device further comprises a regulating assembly, the regulating assembly comprising an abutting block and a buckling member, wherein the abutting block is inserted into a first concave portion at a front part of the front beam, the light mount assembly is rotatably coupled to a second concave portion at a rear part of the front beam, and the first concave portion is in communication with the second concave portion; and
the light mount assembly comprises a light mount rotatably coupled to the front beam, a torsion spring disposed on a rotating shaft of the light mount, and an LED lamp disposed on the light mount; wherein the door is capable of abutting against and mating with the light mount via an abutting block, when the abutting block abuts against the light mount, the torsion spring is compressed and the light mount stays in a horizontal position, and when the abutting block is released from the light mount, the torsion spring is released to cause the light mount to reset, and the LED lamp emits light towards the drawer.
The refrigerator illumination device according to claim 8, wherein a tail end of the abutting block is provided with a first inclined surface, and the light mount is correspondingly provided with a second inclined surface, the first inclined surface of the abutting block being capable of abutting against and mating with the second inclined surface of the light mount; the tail end of the abutting block is further provided with a buckle structure, configured to limit a position of the regulating assembly.
The refrigerator illumination device according to claim 8, wherein a bottom end of the abutting block is provided with a gap which is capable of snap-fitting with the first concave portion and configured to secure the light mount assembly.