JP2009228994A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator in which a door opened by a door opening device is kept open. <P>SOLUTION: A projected part 36 provided to a door stopper 30 rotating with the door 17 engages with recessed parts 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 provided to a fixed cam 29 fixed to a body 11 when the door 17 is at a prescribed opening angle. For example, there is the case where the door 17 pushed out in the normal rotation direction by the door opening device 24 rotates in the reverse direction by reaction caused by the weight of the door 17 and variation in performance of the door opening device 24. At this time, the reverse rotation of the door 17 in the closing direction is restricted by the projected part 36 of the door stopper 30 engaging with the recessed parts 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 of the fixed cam 29. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Conventionally, a refrigerator including a door opening device using, for example, a solenoid is known. When receiving the drive instruction, the door opening device applies a force in the opening direction to the door closing the storage chamber. On the other hand, when the door is closed, if the door is not fully closed and is half open, the temperature in the storage chamber may increase. Then, the refrigerator provided with the door closing means which closes a door reliably is proposed (refer patent document 1, 2).
JP 2006-57904 A JP 58-142183 A

  However, if the manufacturing variation, the weight of the articles stored in the door pocket, or the refrigerator installation state is inclined, for example, the door opening force may not be uniform and may open too strongly. At this time, even if the door is opened by the door opening device, there is a problem that the door that has been opened to the fully opened position returns to the fully closed position by the reaction even if the momentum is too strong.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the purpose thereof is a refrigerator in which a door opened by a door opening device maintains an open door state even if the door opening force varies due to manufacturing variation or the like. Is to provide.

  The refrigerator of the present invention includes a main body that forms a storage chamber that is open at the front, a door that is provided on the front surface of the main body and that can rotate around a hinge and can open and close the front of the storage chamber. A door opening device for applying a force to rotate in the opening direction, and allowing the door to rotate positively by the door opening device, and in the door closing direction between the fully open position of the door or between the fully open position and the fully closed position. And a limiting unit that limits a certain reverse rotation.

  According to the present invention, the restricting portion allows the door to be rotated forward in the opening direction by the opening device. That is, the force that the door opening device applies to the door is greater than the force required for the door to get over the restriction. Therefore, the door rotates forward in the opening direction without being obstructed by the restricting portion. Moreover, a restriction | limiting part restrict | limits the reverse rotation to the closing direction of a door. Therefore, the door stops between the fully open position or the fully open position and the fully closed position, and maintains a state where the front of the storage chamber is opened, that is, an open state. Therefore, even if the door opening force varies due to manufacturing variation or the like, the door opened by the door opening device can be maintained in the door open state.

Hereinafter, refrigerators according to a plurality of embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, in a plurality of embodiments, substantially the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
(First embodiment)
The refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. The refrigerator 10 has a main body 11 in which a refrigerator compartment 12 as a storage compartment, an ice making compartment 13 and a switching compartment 14 provided on the left and right sides, and a freezer compartment 15 are formed in order from above. The main body 11 is composed of an outer box made of steel plate, an inner box made of resin, and a heat insulating material filled therebetween. By insulating and partitioning the inside of the inner box, the refrigerator compartment 12, the ice making chamber 13, the switching chamber 14, and the freezer compartment 15 are formed in the inner box. Note that the switching chamber 14 may be a freezing chamber.

  In the first embodiment, the refrigerator compartment 12 is closed by two so-called double doors 16 and 17 that are left and right. The ice making chamber 13, the switching chamber 14, and the freezing chamber 15 each house a drawer-type container and are closed by doors 18, 19, and 20 that constitute the front portion of the container. Thus, the refrigerator 10 has doors 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 on the front side. In the present embodiment, the doors 16 and 17 are provided with push-type door operation units 21. Note that the door operation unit 21 may be of another type such as a touch sensor type.

  The door 16 is rotatably provided at the left end of the main body 11. Further, the door 17 is rotatably provided at the right end of the main body 11. The door 16 and the door 17 close or open the front of the refrigerator compartment 12. The door 16 and the door 17 are each provided with a door pocket 22 on the refrigerator compartment 12 side. For example, a beverage container is stored in the door pocket 22. Hereinafter, in this specification, the position where the door 16 and the door 17 close the refrigerator compartment 12 is referred to as a fully closed position, and the rotation in the direction in which the door 16 and the door 17 open the refrigerator compartment 12 from the fully closed position is referred to as a normal rotation. . On the other hand, the rotation in the direction in which the door 16 and the door 17 close the refrigerator compartment 12 is reversed. Further, the position where the door 16 and the door 17 are most rotated in the normal rotation direction from the fully closed position is defined as a fully opened position. In the case of this embodiment, the fully open position is a state in which the door 16 and the door 17 are rotated by about 140 °.

  The box-shaped main body 11 has a top plate portion 23 at the upper end. The door opening device 24 is provided on the top plate portion 23. The door opening device 24 is provided at the front end portion of the top plate portion 23. When a door opening instruction is given to the door operation unit 21 provided on the door 16 or 17, the door opening device 24 applies a force in the normal rotation direction to the door 16 or door 17. The door opening device 24 has, for example, a solenoid and a bush rod. When the solenoid is energized by an instruction from the door operation unit 21, the push rod pushes the door 16 or the door 17 forward. Thereby, the door opening device 24 applies a forward rotating force to the door 16 or the door 17. The door opening device 24 applies a constant force to the door 16 or the door 17 to rotate forward regardless of the weight of the door 16 or the door 17. In addition, the doors 16 and 17 provided in the front surface of the refrigerator compartment 12 can be opened and closed manually.

The refrigerator 10 includes a restriction unit 25. The restricting unit 25 restricts the reverse rotation of the door 16 and the door 17. Hereinafter, the restriction unit 25 that restricts the reverse rotation of the door 17 will be described in detail as an example.
As shown in FIG. 2, the door 17 is rotatably supported by support portions 26 and 27 at two locations, upper and lower, on the right end side. The door 17 rotates around the hinge 28. As shown in FIG. 1, the limiting portion 25 is provided on the lower support portion 27. The support portion 27 has a hinge 28, a fixed cam 29, and a door stopper 30. The hinge 28 is fixed to the main body 11 of the refrigerator 10. Specifically, the hinge 28 is provided below the refrigeration chamber 12 and on the right end side at the front end portion of the main body 11 forming the refrigeration chamber 12. The hinge 28 has a hinge pin 31 and a locking pin 32. The hinge pin 31 protrudes upward from the hinge 28, that is, toward the top plate part 23 side. The locking pin 32 protrudes forward from the hinge 28, that is, toward the door 17 that closes the refrigerator compartment 12. The fixed cam 29 is fixed to the hinge 28. A hinge pin 31 protruding from the hinge 28 passes through the fixed cam 29.

  The door stopper 30 is fixed to the lower end of the door 17. The door stopper 30 has a cylindrical portion 33 and a claw portion 34. The cylindrical portion 33 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is press-fitted into a door hole 35 provided at the lower end of the door 17. Thereby, the door stopper 30 is fixed to the door 17. Therefore, the door stopper 30 rotates together with the door 17. A hinge pin 31 protruding upward from the hinge 28 and penetrating through the fixed cam 29 is inserted inside the cylindrical portion 33 of the door stopper 30 as shown in FIG. The outer diameter of the hinge pin 31 is smaller than the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 33. Therefore, the hinge pin 31 fixed to the main body 11 and the cylindrical portion 33 fixed to the door 17 can be relatively rotated. Thereby, the door 17 is rotatably supported by the lower support portion 27.

  The claw portion 34 of the door stopper 30 fixed to the door 17 can be engaged with a locking pin 32 provided on a hinge 28 fixed to the main body 11. When the door 17 closes the front of the refrigerator compartment 12, the claw portion 34 and the locking pin 32 are engaged with each other. Thereby, the rotation of the door 17 is limited, and when the front of the refrigerator compartment 12 is closed by the door 17, for example, the door 17 does not automatically open due to its own weight. On the other hand, the claw portion 34 and the locking pin 32 are loosely engaged with each other. Therefore, when a force in the forward rotation direction is applied to the door 17, the engagement between the claw portion 34 and the locking pin 32 is released, and the door 17 opens the front of the refrigerator compartment 12.

  The limiting portion 25 is configured by a fixed cam 29 and a door stopper 30 of the support portion 27. As shown in FIG. 4, the fixed cam 29 has concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 on the upper end, that is, the door stopper 30 side. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the door stopper 30 has a convex portion 36 that can engage with the concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 on the lower end, that is, the fixed cam 29 side. When the concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 of the fixed cam 29 mesh with the convex portion 36 of the door stopper 30, the limiting portion 25 limits the rotation of the door 17. Hereinafter, the configuration of the limiting unit 25 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the fixed cam 29 has a plurality of concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72. The recesses 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 are provided on the outer side in the radial direction of the pin hole into which the hinge pin 31 is inserted. A plurality of recesses 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 are provided in the circumferential direction of the pin hole. The concave portion 41 and the concave portion 42, the concave portion 51 and the concave portion 52, the concave portion 61 and the concave portion 62, and the concave portion 71 and the concave portion 72 are arranged on the same straight line passing through the center of the pin hole. The recesses 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71 and 72 all extend outward from the end in the radial direction of the pin hole. The recess 41 and the recess 42, the recess 51 and the recess 52, the recess 61 and the recess 62, and the recess 71 and the recess 72 are engaged with the protrusion 36 of the door stopper 30 in pairs. The convex portion 36 of the door stopper 30 is provided at the lower end of a rib 37 provided on the radially outer side of the cylindrical portion 33. As shown in FIG. 5, the convex portions 36 are provided on both sides of the cylindrical portion 33 on a straight line passing through the center of the cylindrical portion 33 in the radial direction.

  In the case of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a recess 41 and a recess 42 are provided corresponding to the fully closed position of the door 17. Further, a recess 51 and a recess 52 are provided corresponding to the fully open position of the door 17, and a recess 61 and a recess 62, and a recess 71 and a recess corresponding to a half-open position of the door 17, that is, between the fully closed position and the fully open position. 72 are provided.

  The concave portion 41 and the concave portion 42 engage with the convex portion 36 of the door stopper 30 in the fully closed position of the door 17. The door 17 maintains the state in which the refrigerator compartment 12 is closed by the engagement between the locking pin 32 of the hinge 28 and the claw portion 34 of the door stopper 30 and the engagement between the concave portion 41 and the concave portion 42 and the convex portion 36.

  The concave portion 51 and the concave portion 52 engage with the convex portion 36 of the door stopper 30 at the fully open position of the door 17. For example, when a force is applied to the door 17 by the door opening device 24, the door 17 rotates forward to the fully open position. At this time, if the force applied from the door opening device 24 to the door 17 is excessive, the door 17 that has been rotated to the fully open position is reversely rotated in the closing direction due to the reaction. On the other hand, the reverse rotation of the door 17 is restricted by the engagement between the concave portion 51 and the concave portion 52 and the convex portion 36. Thus, the recessed part 51 and the recessed part 52 are provided corresponding to the position which maintains the fully open state opened to the maximum in the normal rotation direction of the refrigerator 10, for example, the position which the door 17 rotated about 140 degrees.

  The concave portion 61 and the concave portion 62 engage with the convex portion 36 of the door stopper 30 at the half-open position of the door 17. Specifically, the concave portion 61 and the concave portion 62 engage with the convex portion 36 at a position where the opening angle of the door 17 is 90 °. For example, when the refrigerator 10 is installed so that the right end portion is close to the wall of the house, the opening angle at which the contact between the door 17 and the wall of the house can be avoided is 90 °. Thus, the recess 61 and the recess 62 correspond to the opening angle at which the opening and closing of the door 17 is not hindered even when the refrigerator 10 is installed close to the wall of the house, that is, the position where the door 17 is rotated 90 degrees. Is provided.

  The recess 71 and the recess 72 engage with the protrusion 36 of the door stopper 30 at the half-open position of the door 17. Specifically, the concave portion 71 and the concave portion 72 engage with the convex portion 36 at a position where the opening angle of the door 17 corresponds to 60 °. For example, if the door 17 is opened by 60 °, the beverage container can be taken in and out from the door pocket 22 of the door 17 without fully opening the door 17. Thus, the recess 71 and the recess 72 are provided corresponding to the opening angle at which articles can be taken in and out of the refrigerator compartment 12 without opening the door 17 greatly, that is, the position where the door 17 is rotated by 60 °.

Next, the operation of the limiting unit 25 will be described. Here, the case where the wall of the house is not provided near the refrigerator 10 will be described as an example.
When an instruction to open the door is input from the door operation unit 21, the door opening device 24 pushes the door 17 forward. That is, the door opening device 24 applies a force in the forward rotation direction to the door 17. Thereby, the door 17 rotates forward about the hinge 28 and opens the refrigerator compartment 12. At this time, the door opening device 24 applies a sufficient force to the door 17. Therefore, the claw portion 34 of the door stopper 30 provided on the door 17 releases the engagement with the locking pin 32 of the hinge 28. At the same time, the convex portion 36 of the door stopper 30 meshing with the concave portion 41 and the concave portion 42 of the fixed cam 29 gets over the concave portion 41 and the concave portion 42. Furthermore, since the door opening device 24 applies a sufficient force to the door 17, the convex portion 36 of the door stopper 30 gets over the concave portion 71 and the concave portion 72, and the concave portion 61 and the concave portion 62 in order. As a result, the door 17 rotates forward to the fully open position. When the door 17 rotates forward to the fully open position, the convex portion 36 of the door stopper 30 engages with the concave portion 51 and the concave portion 52 of the fixed cam 29. The door 17 is maintained in a fully open state by the engagement of the convex portion 36 with the concave portion 51 and the concave portion 52. In addition, even if the force applied to the door 17 from the door opening device 24 is large and the door 17 that is fully opened rotates in the closing direction by reaction, the recess 36 engages with the recess 6162 or the recesses 71 and 72. As a result, full closure is limited.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the door 17 has a convex portion 36 engaged with each concave portion by its own weight. For this reason, when the door 17 is rotated forward or backward to another recess provided adjacent to the door 17, a light click feeling is added to the door 17 when the door 17 gets over each recess. In this way, the door 17 is maintained at an arbitrary position, that is, in a fully open state, a 90 ° half-open state, or a 60 ° half-open state.

In the first embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
Depending on the balance between the force applied by the door opening device 24 and the weight of the door 17 such as variations in the weight of the door 17 due to articles stored in the door pocket 22, individual performance of the door opening device 24, or the installation environment of the refrigerator. The door 17 pushed out in the forward rotation direction by the door device 24 may reversely rotate due to a reaction. By providing the limiting unit 25, the reverse rotation of the door 17 is limited regardless of the weight of the door 17 and the performance of the door opening device 24. Therefore, the door 17 can be maintained in the open state even if the door opening force differs due to manufacturing variation or the like.

  By providing a plurality of recesses 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 in the restricting portion 25, the door 17 can be fully opened regardless of the weight of the door 17 or the force applied by the door opening device 24 to the door 17. Reverse rotation is restricted between the position and the fully closed position. Therefore, the door 17 can be maintained in the open state at the fully open position or the half open position.

  The reverse rotation of the door 17 is restricted by the engagement between the convex portion 36 provided on the door stopper 30 and the concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 provided on the fixed cam 29. Therefore, the configuration of the limiting unit 25 is simplified. Therefore, the open state of the door 17 can be maintained without complicating the structure.

(Second Embodiment)
A refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, the refrigerator differs from the refrigerator 10 of the first embodiment in that it includes a movable cam 129 that can move up and down, and an elastic member 111 that presses the movable cam 129 downward.

  In the case of the second embodiment, the support 127 has a movable cam 129 and an elastic member 111 as shown in FIG. That is, in the case of the second embodiment, the cylindrical portion 33 of the door stopper 30 in the first embodiment is separated. In the case of the second embodiment, a cylindrical movable cam 129 formed separately from the door stopper 130 can move up and down in the door hole 35 provided in the door 17.

  The movable cam 129 has a cylindrical portion 133, a convex portion 136, and a rib 137. The cylinder part 133 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the hinge pin 31 is inserted inside. The rib 137 of the movable cam 129 is provided in the door hole 35 formed by the door 17 so as to be movable in the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 7, a part of the rib 137 of the movable cam 129 is inserted into a groove 138 provided in the door 17. The groove 138 extends radially outward from the inner wall of the door 17 that forms the door hole 35. The groove 138 extends in the axial direction of the door hole 35, that is, vertically. By inserting a part of the rib 137 into the groove 138 of the door 17, the movable cam 129 is allowed to move in the axial direction, that is, in the vertical direction, and the relative rotation with the door 17 is restricted.

  The elastic member 111 is formed of, for example, a spring. One end of the elastic member 111 is in contact with the upper end portion of the door 17 forming the door hole 35, and the other end is in contact with the movable cam 129. The elastic member 111 has a force in the extending direction. Thereby, the elastic member 111 presses the movable cam 129 toward the fixed cam 29 side. As a result, the movable cam 129 moves in the axial direction, that is, up and down, inside the door hole 35 according to the force applied from the fixed cam 29 side.

  In the case of the second embodiment, the restricting portion 125 is constituted by a fixed cam 29 and a movable cam 129. The movable cam 129 has a convex portion 136 on the lower end, that is, on the fixed cam 29 side. The convex portion 136 can mesh with the concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 provided in the fixed cam 29. The movable cam 129 is pressed against the fixed cam 29 by the elastic member 111. By pressing the movable cam 129 against the fixed cam 29 side by the elastic member 111, the convex portion 136 of the movable cam 129 faces one of the concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 of the fixed cam 29. Then, the relative rotation of the movable cam 129 and the fixed cam 29 is restricted. Similarly to the first embodiment, the convex portion 136 engages with any one of the concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 when the door 17 is at a predetermined opening angle as shown in FIG. Further, when the convex portion 136 of the movable cam 129 gets over the concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 of the fixed cam 29, the movable cam 129 compresses the elastic member 111 and moves upward. The movable cam 129 and the door 17 are relatively movable in the vertical direction. Therefore, when the convex part 136 of the movable cam 129 gets over the concave parts 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 of the fixed cam 29, or the convex part 136 of the movable cam 129 becomes the concave part 41, The vibration generated when meshing with 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 is absorbed by the relative movement of the movable cam 129 and the door 17, that is, the expansion / contraction of the elastic member 111. As a result, when the convex portion 136 of the movable cam 129 gets over the concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 of the fixed cam 29, or the convex portion 136 of the movable cam 129 becomes the concave portion 41 of the fixed cam 29. , 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 are not transmitted to the door 17, the upper support portion 126 that supports the door 17, and the lower support portion 127.

  In the second embodiment, the convex portion 136 that meshes with the concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 of the fixed cam 29 is provided on the movable cam 129 that can move relative to the door 17. Therefore, the vibration generated when the concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 and the convex portion 136 are engaged or released is absorbed by the movement of the movable cam 129. Accordingly, the vibration of the door 17 due to the engagement between the concave portions 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 and the convex portion 136 is reduced, and the durability of the door 17 and the support portions 126, 127 that support the door 17 is improved. Can be increased.

(Other embodiments)
Although the example which provided the convex part 136 in the door stopper 30 was demonstrated in 1st Embodiment, you may provide the convex part 136 in the door 17. FIG. Moreover, although 1st Embodiment demonstrated the example which provided the recessed part 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 in the fixed cam 29, the recessed part 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71 and 72 may be provided on the hinge 28. Moreover, you may set arbitrarily the opening angle of the door 17 which provides the recessed parts 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 irrespective of the example of 1st Embodiment.

  In 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment, the example which applies this invention to the door 17 which closes the right side of the refrigerator compartment 12 was demonstrated. However, the present invention may be applied not only to the right door 17 of the refrigerator compartment 12 but also to the left door 16. Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to a single-opening type refrigerator in which a single door is provided in front of the refrigerator compartment 12.

The disassembled perspective view which shows the outline of the support part by 1st Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the refrigerator by 1st Embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the outline of the support part by 1st Embodiment of this invention Schematic which shows the recessed part provided in the fixed cam by 1st Embodiment of this invention. Schematic which shows the convex part provided in the door stopper by 1st Embodiment of this invention. The disassembled perspective view which shows the outline of the support part by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the outline of the support part by 2nd Embodiment of this invention

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 10 is a refrigerator, 11 is a main body, 12 is a refrigerator compartment (storage room), 16 and 17 are doors, 24 is a door opening device, 25 and 125 are restricting portions, 29 is a fixed cam (second cam), 36 Reference numeral 136 denotes a convex portion, 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 are concave portions, 111 is an elastic member, and 129 is a movable cam (first cam).

Claims (5)

A body forming a storage chamber with an open front;
A door provided on the front surface of the main body, capable of rotating around a hinge and opening and closing the front of the storage chamber;
A door opening device that applies a force to rotate forward in the opening direction to the door according to a drive instruction;
A limiter that allows normal rotation of the door by the door opening device and restricts reverse rotation that is the closing direction of the door between the fully open position or the fully open position of the door; and
A refrigerator comprising:   2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the restricting unit restricts reverse rotation of the door at a plurality of positions between a fully open position and a fully closed position of the door.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the door is either a single door or a double door. The restriction unit is
A protrusion protruding downward from the lower end of the door;
A plurality of recesses provided in the main body and restricting reverse rotation of the door by engaging with the projections;
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the refrigerator is provided. The restriction unit is
A first cam supported at the lower end of the door so as to be movable up and down;
A second cam provided on the main body for limiting reverse rotation of the door by engaging with the first cam;
An elastic member provided between the door and the first cam and pressing the first cam against the second cam;
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the refrigerator is provided.

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