JP2003056975A - Drain port structure for refrigerator or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely clamp a cap so as not to be removed. SOLUTION: A drain port structure for a refrigerator or the like comprises the cap 50 having two protrusions 55 to be locked to form a sectional ridge shape having a vertex 56 at its upper edge side and provided at symmetrical positions on an outer peripheral surface. The drain port structure further comprises a drain body 30 mounted in a drain port and having two locking ribs 40 formed at symmetrical positions on an inner peripheral surface of the body 30, and a stopper 41 formed at its front end. The drain port structure also comprises a guide rib 43 continuously provided with a down gradient guide 45 at a distal end of a receiving part 44 lowered at one step rearward of each rib 40 in a circumferential direction. When the cap 50 is filled in the body 30, the vertex 56 of the protrusion 55 is received by the part 44 of the rib 43. When the cap 50 is then pressed and turned, the protrusions 55 are gradually sunk along the guide 45, detoured to a lower surface side of the rib 40, brought into contact with the stopper 41 and stopped. The cap 50 is inhibited to be removed upward in a state in which the cap 50 becomes substantially in plane with a bottom 20 in the refrigerator.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a drainage structure for a refrigerator or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 11 shows an example of a conventional drainage structure.
Those shown in are known. This one is provided with a cap 3 while a drain port 2 is opened on the bottom surface 1 of the refrigerator, and a flange 4 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cap 3 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the drain port 2. By placing it on the step 5, the drainage port 2 is closed and fitted.
In a sense, the cap 3 had a structure in which it was simply placed.

[0003]

On the other hand, in the refrigerator, the following phenomenon occurs with the opening and closing of the door. That is, when the door is opened, relatively high temperature outside air enters the inside of the refrigerator, and when the door is closed after that, the outside air that has entered is cooled, so that the inside of the refrigerator tends to lean to a negative pressure. For this reason, if the cap 3 is simply placed as described above, the cap 3 is sucked up together with the drainage w (defrost water) accumulated in the joint 6 connected below the drainage port 2. As a result, the cap 3 may tilt and come off as shown by the chain line in the figure. Then, the drainage w invades the inside of the refrigerator, which poses a sanitary problem, and also becomes a hindrance when storing stored items. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent the cap from coming off.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] As means for achieving the above object, a drainage structure for a refrigerator or the like according to the invention of claim 1 is such that a drainage port is opened at a bottom surface of a refrigerator or the like, With a cap fitted to this drain,
A locked projection is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cap, and the cap has its upper surface fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the drain port by allowing the locked projection to wrap around. A locking rib for restricting slipping out is provided in a state of being substantially flush with the inner bottom surface, and a stopper for stopping rotation by abutting the locked projection is provided at one end of the locking rib. It has a feature in that it is configured.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the cap is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the drainage port on the front side in the rotational direction of the cap and which receives the locked projection. It is characterized in that a guide rib is provided for guiding the locked protrusion to the lower side of the locking rib in accordance with the rotation. The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 2, a plurality of sets of the locking ribs and the guide ribs are provided along the circumferential direction.

[0006]

<Advantages and effects of the invention><Invention of claim 1> When the cap is inserted into the drainage port and pushed and rotated in a predetermined direction, the to-be-locked projection part wraps around the underside of the locking rib and hits the stopper to prevent rotation. Since the locked projection is locked by the locking rib, the cap can be prevented from coming off even when the inside of the refrigerator has a negative pressure. When the cap is attached in a retaining state, the top surface thereof is substantially flush with the bottom surface of the refrigerator, so that it does not interfere with the storage of stored items. On the contrary, if the upper surface of the cap projects from the bottom surface in the refrigerator, it is determined that the cap is not properly mounted.

<Invention of Claim 2> When the cap is inserted into the drain port, the locked projection is received by the guide rib, and when the cap is pushed and rotated in a predetermined direction, the locked projection is guided by the guide rib. Wrap under the locking rib. The cap can be easily attached and removed. <Invention of Claim 3> By providing a plurality of sets of locking ribs and guide ribs, it is not necessary to pay much attention to the direction in which the cap is inserted into the drainage port.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a refrigerator will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator of this embodiment is provided with a refrigerator main body 10 formed of a heat-insulating box body having an open front surface and is provided with legs 11 at four corners.
A refrigerating compartment 12 in which a shelf plate 13 is disposed is formed inside, and two upper and lower heat-insulating doors 14 can be swingably opened and closed at an opening on the front surface of the refrigerating compartment 12. Is attached to. Machine room 1 provided on the upper surface of the refrigerator body 10
5 is equipped with a refrigerating apparatus 16 and is circulated and connected to a cooler 17 installed in a cooler room on the ceiling of the refrigerating room 12 through a refrigerant pipe, and cool air generated in the vicinity of the cooler 17 is supplied to a fan 18 inside the refrigerator. By being circulated and supplied into the refrigerating compartment 12, the inside of the refrigerating compartment 12 is cooled. Refrigerator compartment 12
The bottom surface 20 is an inclined surface that gently drops toward the front side, and a drain port 22 is opened at the front end of the bottom surface 20.

A drain body 30 is fitted into the drain port 22 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the drain body 30 is attached to the drain body 30.
The cap 50 is fitted on the upper end of the.
The drain body 30 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, is formed into a cylindrical shape that fits tightly into the drainage port 22, and in detail, the flange 31 is provided at the upper end.
Is provided, and the lower side has a double tube structure, and the flange 33 is provided at the lower end of the outer tube 32,
The upper and lower flanges 31 and 33 are embedded in a heat insulating material 23 that forms the wall of the bottom surface 20 of the refrigerating chamber 12, and are fitted into the drain port 22 as shown in FIG.

A female screw 34 is cut on the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 32 of the drain body 30, and a joint 25 with a bottom lid 26 having a trap structure is screwed into and connected to the female screw 34. The drain pipe 2 is provided on one side of the peripheral surface of the joint 25.
A drain hose 29A drawn from a drain pan 29 (see FIG. 1) that receives defrost water is connected to the connection pipe 28 that is provided on the opposite side. At the bottom of this joint 25, the drain hose 2
The defrosted water W that has flowed down from 9A is stored, and functions to prevent odors from entering the refrigerator.

The cap 50 is made of synthetic rubber and is shown in FIG.
As shown in, the upper end side of the drain body 30 is approximately ⅓
It can be fitted in the height region and is formed in a thick disk shape with the diameter gradually reduced toward the lower end side. As shown in FIG. 7, a circular recess 51 is formed on the upper surface of the cap 50,
A wall is formed so as to divide the recess 51 into halves, and this serves as a knob 52 when the cap 50 is rotated.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, a flange 54 is formed over the entire circumference at a position near the upper end on the outer peripheral surface of the cap 50. Further, on the lower end side of the outer peripheral surface of the cap 50, two locked projections 55 are provided to project. Each of the locked projections 55 is formed over an angular range of 90 degrees and is arranged at symmetrical positions with the center interposed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 2, from the upper edge of the locked projection 55 itself. It has a chevron cross section having a top portion 56 at a slightly lower position. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the flange 54 is provided at the central portion in the length direction at the upper edge of each locked projection 55.
Abutment portion 57 having a predetermined width and having the same height as the top portion 56 is formed between and.

On the other hand, the inner peripheral surface of the drain body 30 is shown in FIG.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the diameter is reduced by one step at a position lower than the upper edge by a predetermined dimension. Two locking ribs 40 are formed along the upper edge of the reduced diameter portion 36.
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, each locking rib 40 is formed to extend in the horizontal direction over an angle range of 60 degrees, and is arranged at symmetrical positions with the center interposed. As will be described later, each of the locking ribs 40 can be wrapped around the lower surface side thereof to lock the locked projection 55 of the cap 50, and one end of the locking rib 40 (from the upper surface). At the front end in the clockwise direction as viewed, as shown in FIG. 5, a stopper 41 is formed downward to abut the locked projection 55 to prevent rotation. It should be noted that when the locked projection 55 hits the stopper 41, the bump 57 contacts the other end of the locked projection 55 (FIG. 9).
reference).

Guide ribs 43 are formed on the front side of each locking rib 40 in the clockwise direction (rotational direction when the cap 50 is attached) as viewed from the upper surface. The guide rib 43 is, as shown in FIGS.
Receiving part 4 extending horizontally at a position lower than 0
4 and a guide portion 45 having a gentle downward slope at the tip in the clockwise direction when viewed from the top surface thereof. The front end of the guide portion 45 is close to the rear end of the locking rib 40 of the pair, and the rear end of the receiving portion 44 is positioned immediately before the stopper 41 of the locking rib 40 of the other pair.

The guide rib 43 can be hooked on the lower surface side of the top portion 56 of the locked projection 55 of the cap 50,
The receiving portion 44 receives the locked projection 55, and the guide portion 45 functions to guide the locked projection 55 to the lower surface side of the locking rib 40 following the inclination thereof. When the locked projection 55 of the cap 50 is wrapped around the lower surface of the locking rib 40, the flange 54 of the cap 50 rests on the step 37 on the inner peripheral surface of the drain body 30 and the upper surface of the cap 50. However, it is set to be substantially flush with the upper surface of the drain body 30, that is, the bottom surface 20 of the refrigerating chamber 12.

This embodiment has the structure as described above,
Next, the operation will be described. The cap 50 is removed when a large amount of internal drainage is discharged, for example, when the inside of the refrigerating chamber 12 is washed with water, and the operation of attaching the cap 50 is performed as follows. Pinch the knob 52 and cap 50
8 is brought above the drain body 30 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 8 and is inserted into the drain body 30 as shown by the chain line in FIG. 8, the top 56 of the locked projection 55 of the cap 50 is guided by the guide rib 43. Since it is received by the receiving portion 44, the cap 50 is subsequently rotated clockwise as viewed from above.
Here, when the cap 50 is put into the drain body 30, the locked projection 55 may hit the upper surface of the locking rib 40 depending on the initial rotation posture, but the cap 50 is rotated clockwise. Then, the locked projection 55 falls down after passing through the locking rib 40, and the top 56 of the locked projection 55 of the cap 50 is received by the receiving portion 44 of the guide rib 43 as shown by the chain line in FIG. It will be in the condition received by.

In any case, the top portion 5 of the locked projection 55 is
6 is received by the receiving portion 44 of the guide rib 43,
When the cap 50 is pushed and rotated clockwise, as shown in FIG.
As shown schematically in FIG.
As the cap 50 gradually sinks along the
5 goes around the lower surface side of the locking rib 40. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the front end of the locked projection 55 in the rotational direction abuts the stopper 41 of the locking rib 40, and the abutment 5
Rotation is stopped when 7 hits the rear end of the locking rib 40. In this state, a length of a little less than half of the locked projection 55 is locked to the lower surface side of the locking rib 40,
The cap 50 is in a state in which it is firmly retained upwards.

During operation of the refrigerator, the cap 50 is attached to the drain body 30 as shown in FIG. During this time, while the door 14 is opened and closed, the stored items are stored in the refrigeration room 1
When the door 14 is opened, relatively high temperature outside air enters the inside of the refrigerator, and when the door 14 is closed after that, the inside air is cooled and the inside of the refrigerator is cooled. There is a tendency to incline to negative pressure, and there is a risk that upward suction force will act on the cap 50. In that respect, in this embodiment, since the locked projection 55 is firmly locked by the locking rib 40, the cap 50 is prevented from coming off, and therefore the defrosting water W in the joint 25 is drained. It is hygienic as it avoids backflow into the refrigerator.

A guide rib 43 is provided in front of the locking rib 40.
If the cap 50 is pushed and turned, the locked projection 5
Since 5 automatically wraps around the lower surface of the locking rib 40, the cap 50 can be mounted smoothly at the regular position. If the cap 50 is installed in the retaining state,
Since the upper surface thereof is substantially flush with the bottom surface 20 of the refrigerating compartment 12, it does not interfere with the storage of stored items. vice versa,
If the upper surface of the cap 50 projects from the bottom surface 20 of the refrigerator compartment 12, it is determined that the cap 50 is not properly mounted.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition to the above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) The number, shape, and the like of the set of the locked projection of the cap and the rib of the drain body are not limited to those exemplified in the above embodiment, and can be changed appropriately. (2) The present invention is not limited to the refrigerator illustrated in the above embodiment, but can be widely applied to general drainage structures, such as a freezer, in which the inside of the refrigerator tends to incline toward negative pressure as the door opens and closes.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an entire structure of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a drainage structure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a drain body and a cap.

[Fig. 4] Plan view of the drain body

5 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

6 is a sectional view taken along line YY of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the cap.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing an operation of inserting the cap into the drain body.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the cap is stopped from rotating.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of guiding the locked protrusion of the cap.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a drainage structure according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Refrigerator body 12 ... Refrigerating room 14 ... Door 20 ... Bottom 22 ... Drainage port 30 ... Drain body 40 ... Locking rib 41 ... Stopper 43 ... Guide rib 44 ... Receiving part
45 ... Guide part 50 ... Cap 55 ... Locked projection 5
6 ... Top 57 ... Impact part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A drainage opening is formed in a bottom surface of a refrigerator or the like, and a cap is fitted to the drainage opening. A locked projection is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the cap, Locking ribs are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the drainage port to prevent the cap from slipping out by wrapping around the locked projections downward so that the top surface of the cap is substantially flush with the bottom surface of the refrigerator. The drainage structure of a refrigerator or the like, characterized in that a stopper is provided at one end of the locking rib to stop the locked projection from hitting. 2. The inner peripheral surface of the drainage port receives the locked protrusion on the front side in the rotation direction of the cap, and locks the locked protrusion with the rotation of the cap. The drainage structure of a refrigerator or the like according to claim 1, characterized in that a guide rib for guiding the lower side of the rib is provided. 3. The drainage structure for a refrigerator or the like according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of sets of the locking ribs and the guide ribs are provided along the circumferential direction.