JP2022186057A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator in which a component can be fixed to an inner box without using another component.SOLUTION: A refrigerator according to an embodiment comprises: a wall body comprising an inner box and an outer box, and surrounding a storage chamber; and a component for forming a cooling air passage between itself and an inner surface of the inner box. The component comprises a locking part protruding toward the side of the outer box. The inner box comprises an opening part with which the locking part is engaged while being inserted from the inside and caught. The refrigerator is provided with a housing member housing the locking part engaged with the inner box, and covering the opening part from the outside.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to refrigerators.

As a method for fixing the internal duct to the back surface of the refrigerator, in addition to fixing the inner box to the inner box with claws, a refrigerator is known in which a separate part is attached to the inner box and the separate part is fixed with screws or hooks. . For such refrigerators, there are cases where a fixing method that does not use separate parts is required.

Japanese Patent No. 5859152

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which parts can be fixed to the inner box without using separate parts.

A refrigerator according to an embodiment is composed of an inner box and an outer box, and includes a wall surrounding a storage compartment and a part forming a cooling air passage between the inner surface of the inner box, the part comprising the outer box. A hook projecting toward the box is provided, and the inner box has an opening into which the hook is inserted from the inside and engaged in a hooked state.

The front view of the refrigerator of embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along line F2-F2 of the same refrigerator shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a rear view of the same refrigerator shown in FIG. 2 taken along line F3-F3; The perspective view which looked at the upper part of the refrigerator from diagonally back. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional perspective view of an attachment portion of the flow path forming component; FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of an attachment portion of the flow path forming component shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main portion of the mounting portion shown in FIG. 6; Horizontal cross-sectional view of the hooked portion of the inner box. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 3;

Hereinafter, refrigerators according to embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to components having the same or similar functions. Duplicate descriptions of these configurations may be omitted.

In this specification, left and right are defined with reference to the direction of viewing the refrigerator from a user standing in front of the refrigerator. In addition, the side closer to the user standing in front of the refrigerator as viewed from the refrigerator is defined as "front", and the side farther from the refrigerator is defined as "back". As used herein, the term "horizontal direction" means the left-right direction as defined above. As used herein, the term "depth direction" means the front-back direction in the above definition. In the drawing, the +X direction is the right direction, the -X direction is the left direction, the +Y direction is the rearward direction, the -Y direction is the forward direction, the +Z direction is the upward direction, and the -Z direction is the downward direction. In addition, in the refrigerator, the inside (storage chamber) side in the thickness direction of the wall body described later is defined as "inside", and the outside of the refrigerator on the side opposite to the inside of the refrigerator with the wall sandwiched therebetween is defined as "outside". .

[Overall configuration of refrigerator]
A refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9 . First, the overall configuration of the refrigerator 1 will be described. However, the refrigerator 1 does not need to have all of the configurations described below, and some configurations may be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a refrigerator 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator 1 shown in FIG. 1 along line F2-F2. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the refrigerator 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the refrigerator 1 as seen obliquely from behind. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, refrigerator 1 includes a wall having wall 10 and door 11 . The refrigerator 1 has, for example, a wall 10, a plurality of doors 11, a plurality of shelves 12, a plurality of containers 13, flow path forming parts 60 (parts), a cooling unit 15, and a control board 16. In this embodiment, the refrigerator main body 5 is formed with the above-described configuration other than the plurality of doors 11 .

The wall 10 includes, for example, an inner box 30, an outer box 40, and a foam heat insulating material 50. As shown in FIG. The inner box 30 is a member that forms the inner surface of the wall 10, and is made of synthetic resin, for example. The outer box 40 is a member that forms the outer surface of the wall 10, and is made of metal such as steel plate. The outer box 40 is formed one size larger than the inner box 30 and arranged outside the inner box 30 . The foamed heat insulating material 50 is a foamed heat insulating material such as urethane foam, and is filled between the inner box 30 and the outer box 40 . Thereby, the wall 10 has heat insulation. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a plate-shaped vacuum heat insulating plate 51 is provided in the heat insulating space between the inner case 30 and the outer case 40 .

The wall 10 has an upper wall 21 , a lower wall 22 , left and right side walls 23 and 24 and a rear wall 25 . The upper wall 21 and the lower wall 22 extend substantially horizontally. The left and right side walls 23 and 24 rise upward from the left and right ends of the lower wall 22 and connect to the left and right ends of the upper wall 21 . The rear wall 25 rises upward from the rear end of the lower wall 22 and connects to the rear end of the upper wall 21 .

A plurality of storage chambers 27 are provided inside the wall 10 . The multiple storage compartments 27 include, for example, a refrigerator compartment 27A, a vegetable compartment 27B, an ice making compartment 27C, a small freezer compartment 27D, and a main freezer compartment 27E. In this embodiment, the refrigerator compartment 27A is arranged at the top, the vegetable compartment 27B is arranged below the refrigerator compartment 27A, the ice making compartment 27C and the small freezer compartment 27D are arranged below the vegetable compartment 27B, and the ice making compartment 27C and the small freezer compartment 27D are arranged below the vegetable compartment 27B. A main freezer compartment 27E is arranged below the small freezer compartment 27D. However, the arrangement of the storage chambers 27 is not limited to the above example. The wall 10 has an opening on the front side of each storage chamber 27 that allows food to be taken in and out of each storage chamber 27 .

Openings of the plurality of storage chambers 27 are closed by a plurality of doors 11 so as to be openable and closable. The plurality of doors 11 include, for example, left and right refrigerator compartment doors 11Aa and 11Ab that close the opening of the refrigerator compartment 27A, a vegetable compartment door 11B that closes the opening of the vegetable compartment 27B, an ice compartment door 11C that closes the opening of the ice compartment 27C, and a small freezer. It includes a small freezer compartment door 11D that closes the opening of compartment 27D and a main freezer compartment door 11E that closes the opening of main freezer compartment 27E.

Left and right refrigerator compartment doors 11Aa and 11Ab are, for example, double doors. Left and right refrigerator compartment doors 11Aa and 11Ab are rotatably supported on wall 10 by hinges 10h. In this embodiment, the width in the width direction of the right refrigerator compartment door 11Ab is larger than the width in the width direction of the left refrigerator compartment door 11Aa.

On the other hand, the vegetable compartment door 11B, the ice making compartment door 11C, the small freezer compartment door 11D, and the main freezer compartment door 11E are drawer-type doors, for example. Vegetable compartment door 11B, ice making compartment door 11C, small freezer compartment door 11D, and main freezer compartment door 11E are supported by rails so as to be able to be pulled out from wall 10 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the wall 10 has first and second partitions 28,29. The first and second partitions 28 and 29 are, for example, partition walls extending substantially horizontally. The first partition 28 is located between the refrigerator compartment 27A and the vegetable compartment 27B, and partitions the refrigerator compartment 27A and the vegetable compartment 27B. On the other hand, the second partition 29 is positioned between the vegetable compartment 27B and the ice making compartment 27C and the small freezer compartment 27D to separate the vegetable compartment 27B from the ice making compartment 27C and the small freezer compartment 27D. . No partition wall is provided between the ice making compartment 27C and the small freezer compartment 27D and the main freezer compartment 27E.

A plurality of shelves 12 are arranged in the refrigerator compartment 27A. A plurality of containers 13 are arranged in the refrigerating compartment container 13A (for example, a chilled compartment container) arranged in the refrigerating compartment 27A, the first and second vegetable compartment containers 13Ba and 13Bb arranged in the vegetable compartment 27B, and the ice making compartment 27C. an icemaker container (not shown), a small freezer compartment container 13D located in the small freezer compartment 27D, and first and second main freezer compartment containers 13Ea, 13Eb located in the main freezer compartment 27E.

The flow path forming part 60 is, for example, a substantially flat plate-shaped member injection-molded from a synthetic resin, and is arranged in the wall 10 to provide cooling air through which cooled air flows between the inner surface 30 a of the inner box 30 and the flow path forming part 60 . forming a path 60c. The lower end portion 60b of the flow path forming component 60 is locked by being fitted between the inner box 30 and the pawl member 291 provided on the rear upper surface of the second partition portion 29, for example. Further, the upper portion of the flow path forming component 60 is attached by engaging a hook 61 (to be described later) with the inner box 30 . When the flow path forming part 60 is attached to the inner box 30, the hook 61 of the flow path forming part 60 is inserted into the opening 31 of the inner box 30, which will be described later. It is locked by getting over 291. The passage forming part 60 is fixed to the inner box 30 by fixing with the hook 61 so as to be difficult to come off.

The flow path forming component 60 includes, for example, a first duct component 60A and a second duct component 60B. The first duct component 60A is provided along the inner box 30 of the wall 10 and extends vertically. 60 A of 1st duct components form the flow path which flows the cold air supplied from the cooling unit 15 to 27 A of refrigerator compartments, and 27 B of vegetable compartments, respectively. The second duct component 60B is provided along the inner box 30 of the wall 10 and extends vertically. The second duct component 60B forms a flow path through which cool air supplied from the cooling unit 15 flows to the ice making compartment 27C, the small freezer compartment 27D, and the main freezer compartment 27E.

Cooling unit 15 includes first cooling unit 15A, second cooling unit 15B, and compressor 45 . The first cooling unit 15A includes, for example, a first cooler 41 and a first fan 42 arranged in a cooling air passage 60c formed by the first duct component 60A. The second cooling unit 15B includes, for example, a second cooler 43 and a second fan 44 arranged in a cooling air passage 60c formed by the second duct component 60B.

The compressor 45 is provided, for example, in the machine room 26 at the bottom of the refrigerator 1 . Compressor 45 compresses the refrigerant gas used to cool storage chamber 27 . Refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 45 is sent to the first cooler 41 and the second cooler 43 via a suction pipe or the like.

The control board 16 controls the refrigerator 1 as a whole. For example, the control board 16 controls driving of the first fan 42, the second fan 44, the compressor 45, etc. based on the detection results of the temperature sensors provided in the refrigerator compartment 27A and the main freezer compartment 27E. The control board 16 is mounted on the upper wall 21 of the wall 10 together with the case 17 .

In the first cooling unit 15A, the cool air cooled by the first cooler 41 flows into the cooling air passage 60c due to the rotation of the first fan 42. As shown in FIG. The cool air that has flowed into the cooling air passage 60c is blown out from the air outlet (not shown) formed in the passage forming member 60 into the refrigerator compartment 27A and the vegetable compartment 27B while flowing upward.

Door containers 18A and 18B whose height position can be changed and a door container 19 fixed to the lower part are detachably attached to the rear side of the left refrigerating compartment door 11Aa.

Here, the configurations of right refrigerator compartment door 11Ab, vegetable compartment door 11B, ice making compartment door 11C, small freezer compartment door 11D, and main freezer compartment door 11E are the same as those of left refrigerator compartment door 11Aa. That is, the configurations of the right refrigerator compartment door 11Ab, the vegetable compartment door 11B, the ice making compartment door 11C, the small freezer compartment door 11D, and the main freezer compartment door 11E are described in the above description of the left refrigerator compartment door 11Aa. 11Aa" can be read as "right refrigerator compartment door 11Ab", "vegetable compartment door 11B", "ice making compartment door 11C", "small freezer compartment door 11D", or "main freezer compartment door 11E".

[Installation Configuration of Flow Path Forming Components]
Next, a structure for attaching the flow path forming component 60 to the inner box 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional perspective view of the mounting portion of the flow path forming component 60. As shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the mounting portion of the flow path forming component 60 shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the main part of the mounting portion shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, on both sides in the width direction of the rear surface 60a of the flow path forming component 60, a pair of protrusions extending toward the outer casing 40 located behind and bent upward are provided. A hook-shaped hook 61 (hanging portion) protruding upward is provided. The hook 61 is formed with a predetermined width dimension in the lateral width direction. The hook 61 has a base portion 611 that is supported by the rear surface 60 a of the flow path forming component 60 and protrudes rearward, and a hook-shaped claw portion 612 that extends upward from the projecting tip of the base portion 611 . The base portion 611 is gradually inclined upward toward the rear from the flow path forming component 60 . The claw portion 612 extends in a substantially vertical direction, is inserted into an opening portion 31 of the inner box 30, which will be described later, and is positioned in a heat-insulating space behind the outer surface 30b of the inner box 30, thereby engaging the hooked portion 30c on the outer surface 30b of the inner box 30. engaged.

A distance in the depth direction between the claw portion 612 and the rear surface 60a of the flow path forming component 60 is set to a dimension that can ensure the necessary distance of the cooling air path 60c and the thickness of the inner box 30 described above. The hook 61 is in a state in which the upper edge portion (hooked portion 30c) of the opening portion 31 of the inner box 30 is inserted into the recessed portion 61a formed in the hook 61 and serving as an upward opening, whereby the claw portion 612 is pulled inside. It will be positioned on the outer surface 30b side of the box 30 .

The inner box 30 has an opening 31 into which the hook 61 is inserted from the inside and engaged in a hooked state. The opening 31 is provided at a position facing the hook 61 of the flow path forming component 60 in the depth direction, and has a rectangular shape when viewed from the rear. A guide portion 32 for guiding the hook 61 to be inserted into the opening 31 is formed in the hooked portion 30c of the inner box 30 where the hook 61 is hooked. The guide portion 32 forms an inclined surface that is gradually inclined forward downward. A tip portion 61 b of the hook 61 is inserted into the opening portion 31 by being guided along the rear surface 32 a of the guide portion 32 . 5 to 7, there is a gap between the hook 61 engaged with the inner box 30 and the outer surface 30b of the inner box 30, but there is no gap between the hook 61 and the outer surface 30b of the inner box 30. The hooks 61 may be engaged in a contact state or a state in which the hooks 61 are pressed against the inner box 30 from behind.

8 is a horizontal sectional view of the hooked portion 30c of the inner box 30. FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the hooked portion 30c of the inner casing 30 is formed with a curved portion 33 (reinforcing portion) having a wavy cross section for increasing the rigidity of the hooked portion 30c (see FIG. 5). ). In the curved portion 33, front convex portions 33A and rear convex portions 33B are alternately arranged along the width direction when viewed from above.

The configuration of the reinforcing portion of the hooked portion 30c is not limited to the curved portion 33, and a reinforcing portion having another configuration can be employed. As the reinforcing portion, for example, a rod-shaped bead or bulging portion extending in the vertical direction or the width direction, or a reinforcing plate for increasing the thickness of the hooked portion 30c is laminated on the hooked portion 30c. can be adopted.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the inner box 30 accommodates the portion of the hook 61 engaged with the inner box 30 located behind the outer surface 30b of the inner box 30, and the opening 31 is opened from the outside. A cover member 34 (accommodating member) is provided. That is, the portion of the hook 61 located in the heat insulating space is covered with the cover member 34 . The cover member 34 is provided on each of the pair of hooks 61 , 61 .

The cover member 34 includes a bottomed cylindrical cover main body portion 341 having an opening facing forward and covering from behind the portion of the hook 61 located in the heat insulating space, and a cover main body portion 341 extending vertically and horizontally from the front edge of the cover main body portion 341 . and a flange portion 342 that protrudes over the circumference. The front surface 342a of the flange portion 342 is fixed in contact with the portion around the opening 31 of the outer surface 30b of the inner box 30 using a fixing means (not shown) such as double-sided adhesive tape or adhesive. there is By providing the cover member 34 , the foamed heat insulating material 50 filled in the heat insulating space on the outer surface 30 b side of the inner box 30 is prevented from flowing forward of the inner box 30 through the opening 31 .

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of main parts of the refrigerator 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, at least part of the cover member 34 (overhanging portion 34a) projects outward in the width direction from the vacuum insulation plate 51 arranged on the outer surface 30b side of the inner box 30. As shown in FIG. Since the vacuum insulation plate 51 does not overlap the projecting portion 34 a of the cover member 34 , the foam insulation material 50 is filled thicker than the portion where the vacuum insulation plate 51 overlaps.

Next, the operation and action of refrigerator 1 will be described.

According to the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, the inner box 30 and the outer box 40 are formed, and the cooling air passage 60 c is formed between the wall 10 surrounding the storage chamber 27 and the inner surface 30 a of the inner box 30 . The passage forming component 60 is provided with a hook 61 projecting toward the outer box 40 side, and the inner box 30 is engaged with the hook 61 inserted from the inside and hooked. By having the opening 31, the hook 61 of the passage forming part 60 can be inserted into the opening 31 of the inner box 30 from the inside to the outside in the depth direction and engaged with the inner box 30 in a hooked state. That is, by engaging the hooks 61 with the inner box 30 , the flow path forming component 60 can be fixed to the inner surface 30 a of the inner box 30 while maintaining a forward space (cooling air passage 60 c ).

As described above, in this embodiment, the flow path forming component 60 can be directly fixed to the inner box 30, and a separate component for mounting the component is provided between the flow path forming component 60 and the inner box 30 as in the conventional art. It is no longer necessary to intervene in the body, and the mounting structure is such that it is difficult to come off even if it is laid down. Therefore, even if the refrigerator 1 is laid down during transportation and loading, the flow path forming component 60 can be prevented from coming off the inner box 30 .

Further, in this embodiment, the attachment structure is such that the hook 61 is hooked to the opening 31 of the inner box 30 , and only a simple process of providing the opening 31 in the inner box 30 is required. Therefore, the inner box 30 made of a sheet-like member having a thin thickness and low rigidity is not fixed to the inner box 30 using bolts, screws, or the like. .

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, there is no need to attach the flow path forming component to the separate component attached to the inner box using a screw or hook as in the conventional art, and the separate component can be omitted as described above, and the flow path can be formed. It is possible to improve the working efficiency of attaching and detaching the component 60 . Moreover, it is possible to reduce the cost of separate parts and processing.

According to the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, the cover member 34 is provided to accommodate the hook 61 engaged with the inner box 30 and to cover the opening 31 from the outside. This prevents the foamed heat insulating material 50 made of urethane foam filled between the inner box 30 and the outer box 40 from flowing into the inside of the inner box 30 through the opening 31 . Further, since the hooks 61 engaged with the inner box 30 are accommodated inside the cover member 34, it is possible to prevent the hooks 61 from being embedded in the foamed heat insulating material 50 and fixed.

According to the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, the vacuum insulation plate 51 is provided on the outer surface 30b side of the inner box 30, and at least a part of the cover member 34 protrudes outward from the vacuum insulation plate 51 in the width direction. As a result, since the vacuum insulation plate 51 does not overlap the projecting portion 34a of the cover member 34, the foam insulation material 50 can be filled thicker than the portion where the vacuum insulation plate 51 overlaps, and the cover member 34 is positioned rearward. , the pressing force with which the inner box 30 is pressed can be increased. Therefore, the cover member 34 can be reliably fixed to the inner box 30, and the cover member 34 can be prevented from being pushed by the hook 61 and coming off, for example.

According to the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, the portion to be hooked 30c of the inner box 30 on which the hook 61 is hooked is formed with a reinforcing portion such as the curved portion 33 that increases the rigidity of the portion to be hooked 30c. there is As a result, the hooked portion 30c, which is a portion of the inner box 30 to which the hook 61 is fixed, can be reinforced by the reinforcing portion including the curved portion 33 as in the present embodiment, thereby increasing the rigidity. Even if the sheet-shaped inner box 30 is thin, the hook 61 can be kept engaged.

According to the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, the hooked portion 30c of the inner case 30 is provided with the guide portion 32 that is inclined toward the flow path forming component 60 and guides the hook 61 that is inserted into the opening portion 31. formed. Accordingly, when inserting the hook 61 into the opening 31, the hook 61 is guided by the guide portion 32 formed in the hooked portion 30c, so that the insertion into the opening 31 is facilitated.

According to at least one of the embodiments described above, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of fixing the flow path forming component 60 to the inner box 30 without using a separate component.

While several embodiments of the invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

In the present embodiment, the plate-shaped flow passage forming member 60 is used as an example of the member that forms the cooling air passage 60c between itself and the inner surface 30a of the inner box 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when using a plate-shaped hollow member having a cooling air passage formed therein, the front wall located on the front side of this hollow plate-shaped member corresponds to the component of the present invention.

Further, in the present embodiment, the hook 61 is shown as an example of the hooking portion, but the hook 61 is not limited to a hook-shaped hook. can also be set arbitrarily. That is, in the present embodiment, the hook 61 has the claw portion 612 facing upward, but it is also possible to use a hook 61 with the claw portion 612 facing downward (the concave portion 61a opens downward).

Also, the opening shape of the opening 31 provided in the inner box 30 is not limited to being rectangular as in the above-described embodiment, and may be circular, elliptical, or the like. The point is that the hook 61 can be easily inserted, and the claw portion 612 of the hook 61 inserted into the opening 31 is provided so as to contact the outer surface 30 b of the inner box 30 .

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the cover member 34 is provided to cover the opening 31 from the outside, but such a cover member 34 may be omitted. Also, the configuration such as the shape and size of the cover member 34 can be appropriately set according to, for example, the space of the heat insulating space.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, at least a part of the cover member 34 protrudes outward in the width direction from the vacuum heat insulating plate 51, but it is not limited to this. The entire cover member 34 may be covered with the vacuum insulation plate 51 when viewed from the rear.

In this embodiment, the hooked portion 30c of the inner box 30 is provided with the reinforcing portion (the curved portion 33) and the guiding portion 32, but it is also possible to omit these reinforcing portions and the guiding portion. . For example, if the hooked portion 30c of the inner box 30 has sufficient strength to support the hook 61, the reinforcing portion is unnecessary.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Refrigerator 5... Refrigerator main body 10... Wall body 27... Storage chamber 30... Inner box 30a... Inner surface 30b... Outer surface 30c... Hooked part 31... Opening part 32... Guide part 33 Curved portion (reinforcement portion) 34 Cover member (accommodating member) 40 Outer box 50 Foam heat insulating material 51 Vacuum heat insulating plate 60 Flow path forming component (part) 60c Cooling air path 61 ... Hook (hanging portion)

Claims (5)

a wall body consisting of an inner box and an outer box and surrounding the storage room;
and a component that forms a cooling air passage between the inner surface of the inner box,
The component has a hook portion projecting toward the outer box,
The inner box has an opening into which the hook is inserted from the inside and engaged in a hooked state. A housing member is provided that houses the hook engaged with the inner box and covers the opening from the outside,
Refrigerator according to claim 1. A vacuum insulation plate is provided on the outer box side of the inner box,
At least part of the housing member protrudes outward in the width direction from the vacuum insulation plate,
The refrigerator according to claim 2. A reinforced portion that increases the rigidity of the hooked portion is formed in the hooked portion of the inner box where the hooked portion is hooked,
A refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The hooked portion of the inner box where the hooking portion is hooked is formed with a guide portion that is inclined toward the component side and guides the hooking portion that is inserted into the opening.
A refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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