JP2020197377A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator that can improve usability by exerting a holding force on a door.SOLUTION: A refrigerator 1 comprises a refrigerator body 2 comprising a storage chamber 6, a door 11 for openably/closably blocking an opening part provided in the storage chamber 6, a bearing hole 41 provided in the door 11, and a hinge shaft 70 provided in the refrigerator body 2. The hinge shaft 70 is rotatably inserted into the bearing hole 41, and rotatably supports the door 11. The refrigerator comprises a body side member 72 provided in the refrigerator body 2, and a door side member 45 provided in the door 11 and in contact with the body side member 72. Movement in a rotation direction of the door 11 is braked by a friction force between the door side member 45 and the door side member 72 from a closed door state to a fully open state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to refrigerators.

Conventionally, it is known that a refrigerator is provided with a storage chamber, a rotary door for opening and closing the front opening of the storage chamber, and a hinge for supporting the rotary door, and the rotary door is opened and closed with the hinge shaft as the rotary shaft. (For example, see Patent Document 1 below). In such a refrigerator, when the stored items are stored in the door pocket provided in the rotary door and the total weight of the door becomes large, it occurs depending on the installed state of the refrigerator if the door is not held in the open state. The phenomenon that the door opens or closes without permission due to tilting tends to occur, which may impair usability.

JP-A-2015-48991

Therefore, a storage chamber, a rotary door that opens and closes the front opening of the storage chamber, and a hinge that supports the rotary door are provided, and the rotary door has a holding force on the door in a refrigerator that is opened and closed with the hinge shaft as the rotary shaft. The purpose is to provide a refrigerator whose usability can be improved by operating the door.

The refrigerator of the present embodiment is provided with a refrigerator main body having a storage chamber, a door for opening and closing an opening provided in the storage chamber, a bearing hole provided in the door, and the refrigerator main body. In a refrigerator provided with a hinge shaft, the hinge shaft is rotatably inserted into the bearing hole to rotatably support the door, a main body side member provided on the refrigerator main body and the main body side member provided on the door are provided. It is provided with a door-side member that comes into contact with the main body-side member, and brakes the movement of the door by a frictional force between the door-side member and the main body-side member from the closed state to the fully open state.

It is sectional drawing of the refrigerator which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is an exploded perspective view which shows by disassembling the right door of the refrigerating room of the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the hinge storage part provided in the right door in an enlarged manner. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. It is a perspective view of a bush member. It is an enlarged plan view which shows the hinge unit which removed the hinge cover in the closed state. It is an enlarged plan view which shows the hinge unit which removed the hinge cover in the open door state. FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view showing a hinge unit from which the hinge cover has been removed in a door open state where the rotation angle is large. FIG. 9 is an enlarged plan view showing a hinge unit from which the hinge cover has been removed in an open state where the rotation angle is large as shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator body 2 of the refrigerator 1 has a rectangular box shape with an open front surface, and is a vacuum heat insulating material between the outer box 3 made of steel plate and the inner box 4 made of synthetic resin. It is configured to be filled with a heat insulating material 5 such as a foam heat insulating material or a foam heat insulating material. The refrigerator body 2 has a plurality of storage chambers inside. As a storage room, a refrigerating room 6 is provided at the uppermost part, a vegetable room 7 is provided below the storage room, and an ice making room and an upper freezing room 8 are provided side by side under the vegetable room 7. A lower freezing chamber 9 is provided below the upper freezing chamber 8.

In this example, the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 6 is closed by two double doors 10 and 11, as shown in FIG. Of the two doors 10 and 11, the left door 10 on the left side when viewed from the front is rotated to the refrigerator body 2 by the hinge unit 12 on the upper side and the hinge unit on the lower side (not shown) at the left end of the left door 10. The right door 11 on the right side is rotatably supported by the refrigerator body 2 by the upper hinge unit 13 and the lower hinge unit (not shown) at the right end of the right door 11.

The front openings of the vegetable compartment 7, the ice making chamber, the upper freezing chamber 8, and the lower freezing chamber 9 are opened and closed by the pull-out doors 14, 15, and 16. Storage containers 17, 18 and 19 are provided on the back side of each of the pull-out doors 14, 15 and 16.

Next, the configurations of the left and right doors 10 and 11 and the hinge units 12 and 13 in the refrigerator compartment 6 will be described. The left door 10 and the hinge unit 12 that supports the door 10 are different in size and mounting position with respect to the refrigerator body 2 from the right door 11 and the hinge unit 13 that supports the door 11, but the basic configuration is the same. Since they are common, the right door 11 and the hinge unit 13 will be described here, and the detailed description of the left door 10 and the hinge unit 12 will be omitted.

The right door 11 of the refrigerator compartment 6 shown in FIG. 3 has an outer surface glass plate 22 provided so as to completely cover the front surface of the right door 11. In FIG. 3, the side where the glass plate 22 is provided is the front side of the right door 11, and the rear side opposite to the glass plate 22 is the rear side of the right door 11 facing the inside of the refrigerator compartment 6.

A synthetic resin upper door cap 23, a lower door cap 24, a left door cap 25, and a right door cap 26 are provided on the upper, lower, left, and right outer peripheral portions of the glass plate 22, respectively. These four door caps 23, 24, 25, 26 on the top, bottom, left, and right hold and fix the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the glass plate 22 from the outside on the top, bottom, left, and right, and decorate the four sides of the glass plate 21. Functions as a decorative part.

On the back side of the glass plate 22 shown in FIG. 3, a door inner assembly 27, which is a rectangular frame, is provided along the outer peripheral portion of the glass plate 22, and the door inner assembly 27 totally covers the right door 11. Assembled in an integrated manner. A rectangular frame 28 is provided on the back side of the door inner assembly 27. Although not shown, an inner plate made of, for example, a steel plate is attached to the frame 28, and the space between the inner plate and the glass plate 22 is filled with a foamed heat insulating material made of urethane foam or the like. In addition to improving the heat insulating performance, the foamed heat insulating material adheres to the inner surface of the glass plate 22 to fix the glass plate 22 so that the glass plate 22 does not come off or warp.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the right end portion of the upper door cap 23 is provided with a recess 29 that is recessed downward and opens rearward and to the right. The bottom surface 29a of the recess 29 is connected to the top surface 26a of the right door cap 26 without a step, and the right door 11 can be rotated by the recess 29 provided in the upper door cap 23 and the top surface 26a of the right door cap 26. A part of the hinge unit 13 to be supported, specifically, a hinge storage portion 30 for accommodating a portion protruding forward from the refrigerator main body 2 is partitioned.

The front side and the right front part of the hinge accommodating portion 30 are partitioned by an edge wall 33 protruding upward from the upper surface edge portion of the right door 11. The edge wall 33 is divided by the dividing portion 34 in the direction along the upper surface edge portion of the right door 11. In this example, the front side of the hinge storage portion 30 is partitioned by a front edge wall 33a that rises above the bottom surface 29a of the recess 29 provided in the upper door cap 23, and the right front portion of the hinge storage portion 30 is the right door cap. It is partitioned by a right front edge wall 33b rising upward from the upper surface 26a of 26, and the dividing portion 34 is located on the front side of the right door 11.

A mounting hole 31 for inserting a tubular bush member 40 so as to straddle the bottom surface 29a and the top surface 26a is formed in the bottom surface 29a of the recess 29 and the top surface 26a of the right door cap 26 that form the bottom surface of the hinge storage portion 30. It is installed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the mounting hole 31 is formed with a holding cylinder 32 having a cylindrical length so as to extend downward from the peripheral edge portion thereof. The peripheral edge of the upper end of the holding cylinder 32, that is, the opening of the mounting hole 31, has a stepped portion 31a having a wide inner diameter, and the bush flange portion 42 provided at one end of the bushing member 40 has a stepped portion 31a. It is designed to fit into. Further, a plurality of engaging protrusions 31b protruding inward are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the other end of the holding cylinder 32.

As shown in FIG. 6, the bush member 40 is a tubular member having a bearing hole 41. At one end of the bush member 40, the bush collar 42 projects outward in the radial direction, and the other end of the bush member 40 is formed in a gentle taper shape so as to have a small diameter. At the central portion in the axial direction of the bush member 40, a claw portion 43 that engages with the engaging protrusion 31b of the holding cylinder 32 is formed so as to project outward in the radial direction of the bush member 40. Between the bush flange portion 42 and the claw portion 43 of the bush member 40, a concavo-convex portion 44 formed of a plurality of sets (4 sets in this embodiment) of annular convex portions and recesses between them is formed. The bush flange portion 42 has a convex portion 45 protruding upward at a position spaced outward in the radial direction from the peripheral edge portion of the bearing hole 41.

The bush member 40 is integrated with the bush flange portion 42, the claw portion 43, the uneven portion 44, and the convex portion 45 by using a resin that is harder than the resin constituting the door caps 23, 24, 25, 26 and has excellent sliding characteristics, for example, a polyacetal resin. It is molded into. When the bush member 40 is inserted into the mounting hole 31 that opens on the bottom surface of the hinge accommodating portion 30, a bearing hole 41 is formed on the upper surface of the right door 11 and is located at a position radially outward from the bearing hole 41. A convex portion 45 is formed so as to project upward from the bottom surface of the hinge accommodating portion 30.

The convex portion 45 has a surface of the bearing hole 41 that faces outward in the radial direction and forms a contact surface 46 that abuts on the edge wall 33 that protrudes upward from the upper surface edge portion of the right door 11, and is inside the bearing hole 41 in the radial direction. The surface facing the door forms a friction surface 47 that contacts the hinge portion 60, which will be described later.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 4, the convex portion 45 is provided so as to straddle the upper door cap 23 and the right door cap 26, and the contact surface 46 is provided on the edge wall 33 of the right door 11. It straddles the divided portion 34 and is in contact with the front edge wall 33a of the upper door cap 23 and the right front edge wall 33b of the right door cap 26.

Further, in this example, as shown in FIG. 5, the contact surface 46 is inclined inward in the radial direction of the bearing hole 41 toward the upper end (tip) and away from the edge wall 33. As a result, in the convex portion 45, the lower portion of the contact surface 46 is in contact with the edge wall 33, and the upper portion of the contact surface 46 is separated from the edge wall 33.

The friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45 has an arc concentric with the bearing hole 41 and rises perpendicularly to the bottom surface of the hinge storage portion 30, and the hinge portion 60 constituting the right hinge unit 13 is a surface. Contact.

As shown in FIG. 5, the right hinge unit 13 includes a hinge portion 60 that rotatably supports the right door 11 with respect to the refrigerator main body 2, and a hinge cover 64 that covers the hinge portion 60.

The hinge portion 60 is formed by molding a metal, for example, a steel plate, into a predetermined shape, and has a fixing portion 66 fixed to the right front end portion of the refrigerator body 2 by a screw or the like, and a fixing portion 66 projecting forward from the fixing portion 66 to the upper surface of the right door 11. It is provided with a support portion 68 to be stored in the provided hinge storage portion 30.

The support portion 68 has a shape that extends forward from the fixed portion 66 and then bends at a right angle to the outside (right side) in the width direction. A hinge shaft 70 projecting downward and a hinge flange portion 72 provided at the upper end of the hinge shaft 70 are provided at the tip of the support portion 68.

The hinge shaft 70 has a cylindrical shape that is rotatably inserted into a bearing hole 41 that opens on the upper surface of the right door 11, and is an electronic component such as a sensor and a control device provided in the refrigerator body 2 (not shown). A connection wire for electrically connecting the and is inserted into the hollow portion 70a of the hinge shaft 70.

The hinge flange portion 72 extends radially outward from the hinge shaft 70 and has a shape larger than the inner diameter of the bearing hole 41. The hinge flange portion 72 is located above the outside of the bearing portion 41 with the hinge shaft 70 inserted into the bearing hole 41, and the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72 comes into surface contact with the friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the thickness T of the hinge flange portion 72 is provided to be smaller than the height H at which the convex portion 45 projects from the bottom surface of the hinge storage portion 30. As a result, the friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45 has a longer length along the axial direction of the hinge shaft 70 than the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72.

More specifically, the planar shape of the hinge flange portion 72 has a curved shape that bulges outward in the width direction in which the radius of curvature increases from the front side of the hinge flange portion 72 through the right side to the rear side (FIG. 7). ~ See FIG. 10). As a result, the distance from the rotation center of the hinge shaft 70 to the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72 gradually increases from the front side to the rear side of the hinge flange portion 72.

The hinge flange portion 72 comes into surface contact with the friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45 provided on the right door 11 on the front side of the outer peripheral surface 72a in a state where the right door 11 is closed as shown in FIG. Then, when the right door 11 rotates counterclockwise (counterclockwise) from the closed state to open the door, the friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45 provided on the right door 11 becomes as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. It slides on the right side of the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72 and moves until it reaches the rear side of the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72 shown in FIG.

In such a configuration, when the right door 11 is rotated in the opening direction, the friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45 slides from the front side of the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72 to the rear side through the right side. In the present embodiment, the distance from the rotation center of the hinge shaft 70 to the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72 gradually increases from the front side to the rear side of the hinge flange portion 72.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, when the right door 11 is rotated in the door opening direction, the amount of overlap R between the outer peripheral surface 72a of the flange portion 72 and the convex portion 45 increases as the rotation angle increases. Become. Since the resin convex portion 45 is more easily deformed than the metal hinge flange portion 72, the elastic deformation amount of the convex portion 45 increases as the rotation angle of the right door 11 increases and the overlap amount increases, so that the convex portion 45 is convex. The frictional force generated between the friction surface 47 of the portion 45 and the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72 becomes large. As a result, even if the user does not hold the right door 11 in the opened state, the right door 11 does not open or close without permission, and the open position of the right door 11 can be held. In FIGS. 7 to 10, the alternate long and short dash line indicates the convex portion 45 before elastic deformation.

Further, if the convex portion 45 is separated from the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72 in the closed state and comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface 72a after the door is opened, the convex portion 45 is separated from the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72 when the door is opened. In this embodiment, the friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72 not only when the right door 11 is opened but also when the door is closed, although it may be caught by the 72a and the door cannot be opened smoothly. Therefore, the convex portion 45 does not get caught in the hinge flange portion 72, and the left door 11 can be opened smoothly.

Moreover, since the convex portion 45 and the hinge flange portion 72 come into contact with each other on the outside of the bearing hole 41, the inner diameter of the bearing hole 41 into which the hinge shaft 70 is inserted can be reduced, and the heat insulating thickness of the left door 11 can be reduced. Can be secured.

In the present embodiment, since the friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45 and the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72 are in surface contact with each other, even if the thickness T of the hinge flange portion 72 is reduced, the opening position of the right door 11 can be set. The frictional force required for holding can be obtained between the friction surface 47 and the outer peripheral surface 72, whereby the hinge accommodating portion 30 can be reduced and the heat insulating thickness of the door can be secured.

In the present embodiment, since the length H of the convex portion 45 along the axial direction of the hinge shaft 70 is larger than the thickness T of the hinge flange portion 72, the convex portion 45 and the hinge flange portion 72 may be connected to each other depending on the component tolerance and the assembly tolerance. Even if the position varies, the convex portion 45 and the hinge flange portion 72 can be reliably brought into contact with each other.

In the present embodiment, as the rotation angle of the right door 11 increases, the amount of overlap between the outer peripheral surface 72a of the flange portion 72 and the convex portion 45 increases, and the hinge shaft 71 is radially outward with respect to the convex portion 45. Although a large pressing force acts, the contact surface 46 facing outward in the radial direction of the convex portion 45 abuts on the edge wall 33 provided on the right door 11, and the pressing force is applied not only to the convex portion 45 but also to the edge wall. I also support 33. Therefore, the frictional force generated between the convex portion 45 and the hinge flange portion 72 becomes large, and the holding force for holding the right door 11 is improved.

Moreover, since the contact surface 46 of the convex portion 45 is separated from the edge wall 33 at the upper portion on the tip side which is easily deformed by receiving a pressing force from the hinge flange portion 72, the edge wall 33 becomes the convex portion 45 when the door is opened. Deformation of the edge 33 can be suppressed without being pressed excessively.

Further, in the present embodiment, the contact surface 46 of the convex portion 45 straddles the dividing portion 34 provided on the edge wall 33 of the right door 11, and the front edge wall 33a of the upper door cap 23 and the right front edge of the right door cap 26. Since it is in contact with the wall 33b, the pressing force generated when the door is opened can be distributed to the two edge walls 33a and 33b without being concentrated on either the front edge wall 33a or the right front edge wall 33b. Deformation of the walls 33a and 33b can be suppressed.

The amount of change in the amount of overlap between the outer peripheral surface 72a of the flange portion 72 and the convex portion 45 with respect to the rotation angle of the right door 11 can be arbitrarily set, but for example, a predetermined rotation angle is reached from the closed door state. The amount of change in the amount of overlap may be reduced, and the amount of change in the amount of overlap may be increased when the predetermined rotation angle is exceeded. When the door is closed, a gasket that seals the door with the refrigerator body is magnetically attracted, and the door is locked to a stopper provided on the refrigerator body 2 to prevent inadvertent opening. However, by reducing the amount of change in the amount of overlap from the closed door state to reaching a predetermined rotation angle, the resistance force at the time of opening the door can be reduced and the usability can be improved.

(Change example)
In the above embodiment, the friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45 provided on the right door 11 is provided in an arc shape concentric with the bearing hole 41, and the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72a is provided in a curved shape in which the radius of curvature changes. However, the shape of the convex portion 45 and the hinge flange 72 may be provided so that the frictional force generated between the friction surface 47 and the outer peripheral surface 72a increases as the rotation angle of the right door 11 increases. , The friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45 is provided in a curved shape, and the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange portion 72a is provided in an arc shape, or the friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45 and the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange 72 are provided in a curved shape. It may be provided.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the hinge flange portion 72 and the convex portion 45 are provided on the upper side of the right door 11 has been described, but the hinge flange portion is provided on the hinge unit on the lower side of the right door 11 and the right door 11 is provided. A convex portion may be provided on the lower surface of the right door 11 so that the amount of overlap with the hinge flange portion increases as the rotation angle increases.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the convex portion 45 is integrally provided on the bush member 40, but for example, the convex portion 45 may be integrally provided on the upper surface of the upper door cap 23 or the right door cap 26.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the friction surface 47 of the convex portion 45 and the outer peripheral surface 72a of the hinge flange 72 are gently curved surfaces, but as the rotation angle of the right door 11 increases, the friction surface 47 and the outer peripheral surface 72a become The friction surface 47 and the outer peripheral surface 72a may be provided with an uneven shape so that the frictional force generated between the two is increased.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, as well as in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

1 ... Refrigerator, 2 ... Refrigerator body, 6 ... Refrigerator room, 10 ... Left door, 11 ... Right door, 12 ... Left hinge unit, 13 ... Right hinge unit, 22 ... Glass plate, 23 ... Upper door cap, 24 ... Bottom Side door cap, 25 ... Left door cap, 26 ... Right door cap, 27 ... Door inner assembly, 29 ... Recess, 30 ... Hinge storage, 31 ... Mounting hole, 32 ... Holding cylinder, 33 ... Edge wall, 33a ... Front edge wall, 33b ... Right front edge wall, 34 ... Divided part, 40 ... Bush member, 41 ... Bearing hole, 42 ... Bush collar part, 43 ... Claw part, 44 ... Concavo-convex part, 45 ... Convex part, 46 ... Contact Surface, 47 ... Friction surface, 60 ... Hinge part, 62 ... Connection line lead-out part, 64 ... Hinge cover, 66 ... Fixed part, 68 ... Support part, 70 ... Hinge shaft, 70a ... Hollow part, 72 ... Hinge flange part, 72a ... Outer surface

Claims (8)

A refrigerator main body having a storage chamber, a door for opening and closing an opening provided in the storage chamber, a bearing hole provided in the door, and a hinge shaft provided in the refrigerator main body are provided. In a refrigerator in which a hinge shaft is rotatably inserted into the bearing hole to rotatably support the door.
A main body side member provided on the refrigerator main body and a door side member provided on the door and in contact with the main body side member are provided.
A refrigerator that brakes the movement of the door by the frictional force between the door side member and the main body side member from the closed state to the fully opened state. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the frictional force between the door-side member and the main body-side member changes depending on the rotation angle of the door. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the frictional force between the door side member and the main body side member gradually increases as the rotation angle of the door increases in the door opening direction from the closed state to the fully opened state. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the door-side member has a concave arc-shaped friction surface in contact with the main body-side member. The main body side member includes a contact surface that comes into contact with the door side member.
The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the contact surface has a curved shape in which the radius of curvature gradually increases so that the distance from the center of the hinge shaft gradually increases. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the main body side member and the door side member are provided on the upper part of the refrigerator. The door-side member includes a friction surface that comes into contact with the main body-side member and a contact surface that faces the friction surface.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the door includes a support member that abuts on the contact surface and supports the door side member. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the door-side member has an area in contact with the main body-side member as the rotation angle of the door increases from the closed state to the opening direction.

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