EP3027984B1

EP3027984B1 - Refrigerator door and refrigerator

Info

Publication number: EP3027984B1
Application number: EP14766208.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jingpeng Hao; Lizhu Liang; Songtao Lu
Original assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2013-07-29
Filing date: 2014-07-15
Publication date: 2021-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 2034-07-15
Also published as: CN104344658B; PL3027984T3; EP3027984A1; WO2015015355A1; CN104344658A

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a refrigerator door and a refrigerator, and in particular, to a refrigerator door having an end cover and a metal sheet connected to the end cover, and to a refrigerator with such a refrigerator door.

Related Art

For convenience of a user to open a door, a known solution is to arrange a handle groove on a side of a refrigerator door, so that the user may reach into the handle groove, grasp a grip portion to open or close the door. In some solutions, the grip portion of the handle groove is lower than a corresponding rear edge of the handle groove, so that a hand can be easily placed in the handle groove. Therefore, the structure of the end cover is relatively complex; for example, a front edge thereof is not in a same horizontal plane with a side edge. How to connect a sheet metal and the end cover in a manner that is advantageous for obtaining a clean appearance of the refrigerator door is a difficult technical problem for persons skilled in the art.
JP S54 55560 U discloses a handle structure for a refrigerator, wherein a fixing portion of a handle is attached to a door front panel using a screw and the handle comprises a concave handle section.
WO 2004/048723 A1 discloses a handle arrangement for the front door of cabinets, said door comprising a pair of lateral edges and a handle in the form of an elongated body which is affixed close to at least one of the lateral edges of the door.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to overcome at least one of the foregoing technical problems, so as to provide a cleaner refrigerator door and a refrigerator having such a refrigerator door.
The foregoing objective can be implemented according to characteristics in the independent claim. Preferable embodiments of the present invention are the subject matter of the accompany drawings, specification and dependent claims.
The present invention relates to a refrigerator door as defined in claim 1.
The front flange is arranged in parallel with the inclined surface portion on the door panel and to be connected to the end cover, which not only facilitates connection and fixation between the thin metal door panel and the end cover provided with the inclined surface portion, but also reduces or even prevents the coverage of the end cover on a front surface of the front panel. On one hand, it is expected that the front panel is flush with a front end of the end cover; on the other hand, in an embodiment in which a front surface of the refrigerator door is mainly formed by the front panel, the simplicity of the appearance of the refrigerator door may be improved. In addition, in an embodiment in which the door panel is further provided with a side panel and at least a part of a side edge of the side panel is parallel with the inclined surface portion, making the front flange parallel with the inclined surface portion may cause the front flange to be parallel with or in a same plane with at least one part of the side edge of the side panel, so as to facilitate fabrication of the door panel, and particularly, formation of the flange of the door panel, and also facilitate the connection between the end cover and the metal door panel.
According to the present invention, the word "parallel" should include two scenarios: "exactly parallel" and "approximately parallel" due to manufacture tolerance.
The present invention should not be limited to why the inclined surface portion is formed. Specifically, an inclined surface portion may be formed because a handle groove is arranged in the end cover, or based on other reasons, for example, an inclined surface portion is formed for such that a user can access easily to a handle groove on another door, or an inclined surface portion is arranged because a display and/or control apparatus are arranged on an end cover.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the front surface of the refrigerator door is basically formed by the front panel, but unless otherwise indicated, the "front panel" should not be limited thereto. For example, in an alternate embodiment, for a refrigerator door, a decoration plate may be arranged in front of a front panel to form a front surface of the refrigerator door. As it is possible for the front panel to be flush with the end cover according to the present invention, it is possible to arrange such an extra decoration plate in front of the front panel and the end cover.
The front end of the end cover is provided with a first inserting groove, and the first inserting groove is parallel with the inclined surface portion, and the front flange is inserted into the first inserting groove. Compared with the front flange being propped on one edge of the end cover only, the fixation between the door panel and the end cover becomes easy. In addition, since both the first inserting groove and the front flange are parallel with the inclined surface portion, the front flange is easily inserted into and positioned in the first inserting groove.
In a possible embodiment, a top surface of an upper groove wall of the first inserting groove may form at least one part of the inclined surface portion. That is, a top wall of the end cover constitutes the upper groove wall of the first inserting groove. Therefore, it is possible that the end cover only has the wall thickness of the top wall exposed on the front surface of the door, which helps to simplify the appearance of the door.
According to the invention, the end cover includes a handle groove, and the inclined surface portion is arranged around at least one edge of the handle groove. For example, the inclined surface portion may include a front area arranged along a front edge of the handle groove, and left and right areas located on the left side and the right side of the handle groove respectively. Since the front flange is parallel with the inclined surface portion that is around at least one edge of the handle groove, the front flange is connected to the end cover more easily. It should be understood that, the handle groove may be formed integrally in the end cover by injection molding, and the handle groove may also be formed by fixing an independently fabricated handle component on the opening of the main body portion of the end cover.
According to the invention, a front end of the end cover is provided with a first inserting groove. The first inserting groove is parallel with the inclined surface portion, the front flange is inserted into the first inserting groove, and an upper groove wall of the first inserting groove is arranged along the front edge of the handle groove.
In a possible embodiment, an inlet opening of the handle groove may be located in a plane where the inclined surface portion (42) is located, , so that the inlet opening of the handle groove is also located an inclined plane, which not only makes it easy for a hand to reach into the handle groove, but also, because the edges of the handle groove are located in a same plane, the end cover may be constructed to be easily connected to the door panel.
According to the invention, the inclined surface portion extends along the entire width of the front end of the end cover, and the front flange extends along the entire width of the front panel.
In a possible embodiment, a top surface of the end cover may include a horizontal portion extending along the entire width of the door, and the inclined surface portion is connected to a front end of the horizontal portion and inclines downwards.
In a possible embodiment, the inclined surface portion may include left and right side areas respectively connected to a left end portion and a right end portion of the horizontal portion, and a handle groove is located between the left side area and the right side area.
In a possible embodiment, an included angle between the front flange and the front panel may be between 120 degrees and 150 degrees, and particularly be 135 degrees.
In a possible embodiment, the door panel may include a side panel bent backwards from a side end of the front panel and a side flange which is bent inwardly from an upper end of the side panel and is connected to the end cover. The front flange and the side flange are located in a same plane parallel with the inclined surface portion.
Ina possible embodiment, the side flange may be perpendicular to the side panel.
In a possible embodiment, the side flange may be propped on a lower surface of the end cover. As a result, even though a front flange usually having a longer length is connected to a slot of the end cover in a plug manner, the end cover may still be easily connected to the door panel because the side flange does not need to be inserted into the groove of the end cover.
In a possible embodiment, the side panel may include a second end portion that is inserted vertically into a second groove located in the end cover, and the second end portion is located behind the side flange. As a result, the door panel and the end cover may be positioned at the rear side, which facilitates the fixation between the two.
In a possible embodiment, the door panel may further include a rear panel bent inwardly from the side panel. The rear panel is connected to a door liner. An upper end of the rear panel is located at the same height as the second end portion and forms an L-shaped corner portion together with the second end portion. The corner portion is inserted into the second groove having a shape corresponding to that of the corner portion. As a result, the door panel and the end cover may be positioned in a traverse direction and a front-rear direction.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to a refrigerator, including a refrigerator door according to any one of the foregoing claims.
The structure, other inventive objectives and beneficial effects of the present invention will be more comprehensible with reference to the description of the possible embodiments in combination with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As a part of the specification, the following drawings provide further explanation on the present invention and illustrate the specific implementation manners of the present invention, and are used to describe the principle of the present invention together with the specification. Where:

FIG. 1 is a schematic partial perspective view of a refrigerator according to a possible embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator door according to a possible embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an end cover of a refrigerator door according to a possible embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic partial perspective view from another angle of the end cover shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a door panel according to a possible embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a partial enlarged view of a portion A shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view along a direction I-I in FIG. 2; and
FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view along a direction II-II in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic partial perspective view of a refrigerator 100 according to a possible embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 100 includes a main body 101 provided with a storage compartment (not shown), and also includes doors 1, 2 that are connected to the main body 101 and for closing the corresponding storage compartment, where the door 2 is located above the door 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 7, the door 1 includes a door panel 3 which is a sheet piece made of a metal sheet, an upper end cover 4 connected to an upper end of the door panel 3, a lower end cover (not shown) connected to a lower end of the door panel 3, and a liner 5 located at the inner side of the door 1. The door panel 3, the upper end cover 4, the lower end cover, and the liner 5 together form a space accommodating a thermal insulation foam layer 10.
As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 7, a top surface of the upper end cover 4 includes a horizontal portion 40 extending along the entire width of the end cover 4 and an inclined surface portion 42 extending downwards from a front end of the horizontal portion 40. An included angle α between the inclined surface portion 42 and the horizontal portion 40 is about 135 degrees.
The end cover 4 is provided with a handle groove 41. The upper end cover 4 may be made of plastic by injection molding. The handle groove 41 may be integrally formed with the end cover 4 by injection molding. A front edge 41a of the handle groove 41 is lower than that of a rear edge 41b. An inlet opening of the handle groove 41 is basically located in a same plane with the inclined surface portion 42.
The inclined surface portion 42 includes a front area 42a extending along the front edge 41b of the handle groove 41 and left and right side area 42b extending downwards in an inclined manner from front portions of the left and right end portions of the horizontal portion 40 to front ends of the end cover 4. The inclined surface portion 42 may also include a rear area 42c arranged along the rear edge 41b of the handle groove 42. Therefore, the inclined surface portion 42 is arranged around the four edges of the handle groove 41.
As shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7, the door panel 3 includes a front panel 31 that forms at least the most part of the front surface of the door 1 and the side panel 32 bent backwards from two sides of the front panel 31. The side panel 32 forms at least the most part of a sidewall of the door 1. The transition between the side panel 32 and the front panel 31 is a curved surface.
The door panel 32 may further include a rear panel 33 bent inwardly from the rear side of the side panel 32. The rear panel 33 is approximately parallel with the front panel, and is used to be connected to the liner 5.
The door panel 3 includes a front flange 34 bent backwards from an upper end of the front panel 31. The front flange 34 may extend along the entire width of the door panel 3. The front flange 34 inclines upwards and is approximately parallel with the inclined surface portion 42. Therefore, an included angle β between the front flange 34 and the front panel 31 is greater than 90 degrees. In this embodiment, the included angle β between the front flange 34 and the front panel 31 is about 135 degrees.
An upper end edge of the side panel 32 includes a first end portion 321 which corresponds to the inclined surface portion 42 and inclines downwards in a direction from the rear to the front, and a second end portion 322 which is connected to the rear end of the first end portion 321 and corresponds to the horizontal portion 40. The second end portion 322 is parallel with the horizontal plane, and is in a same plane with the tail end edge 331 of the rear panel 33 and forms an L-shaped corner portion.
The door panel 3 includes a side flange 35 bent inwardly from the first end portion 321. As shown in FIG. 8, the side flange 35 is approximately perpendicular to the side panel 32, so that the side flange 35 is parallel with the inclined surface portion 42.
By bending the front flange 34 and the side flange 35 to make them parallel with the inclined surface portion 42, the side flange 35 and the front flange 34 may be in a same plane. This not only facilitates fabrication of the door panel 3, but helps to simplify of the structure of the end cover 4.
The front flange 34 and side flange 35 are connected by a transitional flange 36 which corresponds to the connecting curved surface, but to facilitate fabrication, a notch 37 may be provided between the front flange 34 and the side flange 35.
Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 7, the upper end cover 4 includes a first inserting groove 43 which is located at a front end of the upper end cover 4, extends on the entire width, and has an opening open to the front. An included angle is formed between the first inserting groove 43 and a horizontal plane, and is parallel with the inclined surface portion 42. A top surface of an upper groove wall 431 of the first inserting groove 43 forms a portion of the inclined surface portion 42. A lower groove wall 432 of the first inserting groove 43 may be formed by a protruding wall extending forwards from a front wall of the handle groove 41. The upper side of the lower groove wall 432 may be arranged with several ribs 433 to retain the front flange 34 more firmly inside the first inserting groove 43.
Each side end of the upper end cover 4 includes a connecting edge 44 which is used to be propped on the side flange 35 and is parallel with the inclined surface portion 42. An L-shaped second groove 45 is arranged right below the horizontal portion 40 of the upper end cover 4, and is used for inserting a corner portion formed by the second end portion 322 and an upper end edge of the rear panel 33.
In a process of assembling the door 1, the upper end cover 4 is connected to the door panel 3 at an angle that is parallel with the inclined surface portion 42. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the inclined front flange 34 is inserted into the first inserting groove 43, the L-shaped corner portion is inserted into the second groove 45 located behind the upper end cover 4 and a pair of side flanges 35 are propped on the corresponding connecting edge 44 respectively. Therefore, the upper end cover 4 and the door panel 3 are fixed together.
Since the front flange 34 and the side flange 35 are both located below the upper end cover 4, the upper end of the front panel 31, and a front section, which is easily visible to a user, of the upper end edge of the side panel 32, may be not covered by the upper end cover 4, which is advantageous for simplifying the door 1.
In addition, since the front flange 34 and the side flange 35 are both located in a same inclining plane, and are connected by the connecting flange 36 at a front corner of the door panel 3, that is, the flange of the door panel 3 is continuous, an extra compensational portion does not need to be arranged at the corner where the front flange 34 and the side flange 35 are connected to prevent leakage of foaming liquid here, which helps to obtain a simple and neat appearance.
The embodiments in which separate components are described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 8 can be combined with each other in any given manner to implement the advantage of the present invention. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments.

Claims

A refrigerator door (1), comprising:
an end cover (4), wherein a top surface of the end cover (4) comprises an inclined surface portion (42) that inclines downwards in a direction from the rear to the front; and

a door panel (3), made of a metal sheet, wherein the door panel comprises a front panel (31);

wherein, the door panel (3) comprises a front flange (34) which is bent backwards from the front panel (31) and is connected to the end cover (4), an included angle (β) between the front flange (34) and the front panel is greater than 90 degrees, and the front flange (34) is located in parallel with and under the inclined surface portion (42) characterized in that, the end cover (4) comprises a handle groove (41), and the inclined surface portion (42) is arranged around at least one edge of the handle groove (41) and wherein a front end of the end cover is provided with a first inserting groove (43), wherein the first inserting groove (43) is parallel with the inclined surface portion, the front flange is inserted into the first inserting groove (43), and an upper groove wall of the first inserting groove (43) is arranged along a front edge of the handle groove (41) and wherein the inclined surface portion (42) extends along the entire width of a front end of the end cover (4), and the front flange (34) extends along the entire width of the front panel (31).
The refrigerator door (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that, a front end of the end cover (4) is provided with a first inserting groove (43), wherein the first inserting groove (43) is parallel with the inclined surface portion (42), and the front flange (34) is inserted into the first inserting groove (43).
The refrigerator door (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that, at least a part of the inclined surface portion (42) is formed by a top surface of an upper groove wall (431) of the first inserting groove (43).
The refrigerator door (1) according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that, an inlet opening of the handle groove (41) is located in a plane where the inclined surface portion (42) is located.
The refrigerator door (1) according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that, the top surface of the end cover (4) comprises a horizontal portion (40) that extends along the entire width of the door, and the inclined surface portion (42) is connected to a front end of the horizontal portion (40) and inclines downwards.
The refrigerator door (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that, the inclined surface portion (42) comprises left and right side areas (42b) that are connected to a left end portion and a right end portion of the horizontal portion (40) respectively, and a handle groove (41) is located between the left and right side areas (42b).
The refrigerator door (1) according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that, the included angle (β) between the front flange (34) and the front panel (31) is between 120 degrees and 150 degrees, and particularly is 135 degrees.
The refrigerator door (1) according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that, the door panel (3) comprises a side panel (32) bent backwards from a side end of the front panel (31) and a side flange (35) which is bent inwardly from an upper end of the side panel (32) and is connected to the end cover (4), and the front flange (34) and the side flange (35) are located in a same plane which is parallel with the inclined surface portion (42).
The refrigerator door (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that, the side flange (35) is perpendicular to the side panel (32).
The refrigerator door (1) according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, the side flange (35) is propped on a connecting edge (44) of the end cover (4), and the connecting edge (44) is located below the inclined surface portion (42).
The refrigerator door (1) according to one of the claims 8 to 10, characterized in that, the side panel (32) comprises a second end portion (322) which is inserted vertically into a second groove (45) located in the end cover (4), wherein the second end portion (322) is located behind the side flange (35).
The refrigerator door (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that, the door panel (3) further comprises a rear panel (33) bent inwardly from the side panel (32), the rear panel (33) is connected to a door liner (5), and an upper end edge of the rear panel (33) is located at the same height as the second end portion (322) and forms an L-shaped corner portion together with the second end portion (322), and the corner portion is inserted into the second groove (45) having a shape corresponding to that of the corner portion.
A refrigerator (100), comprising a refrigerator door (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.