JP2573110B2 - Torque adjustment device for torsion bar for self-closing door - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a self-closing door, and more particularly to a torque adjusting device for a torsion bar used in a self-closing door that automatically closes a door by restoring torque generated by twisting a torsion bar.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, self-closing doors of this kind have been widely used in refrigerators and refrigerators such as refrigerators and refrigerated showcases, and have exerted a great effect in preventing cold air from leaking when the doors are opened. In many cases, the torque for closing the door is generated by a restoring torque of a torsion bar (referred to as a torque rod herein) twisted as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-191878.

That is, in the above publication, the upper end of the torque rod is fixed to the door, and the hexagonal head at the lower end is engaged with the hexagonal opening of the worm wheel so as not to rotate.
The torque rod is twisted by the rotation of the upper end of the torque rod due to the opening of the door, and the door is turned in the closing direction by the restoring torque generated by the twist.

Further, in the above publication, the worm wheel is rotated by a worm so that the torque of the torque rod can be adjusted, that is, the initial torque of the torque rod when the door is closed can be adjusted. The torsional torque can be adjusted.
This allows the user to adjust the door closing torque generated by the torque rod as desired. Further, according to this structure, the degree of twisting of the torque rod can be continuously adjusted.

[0005]

However, such a conventional structure has various disadvantages described below. That is,
When an initial torque is applied to the torque rod, the torque rod is twisted steplessly by rotating the worm wheel by the worm, so that it is difficult to determine the degree of application of the torque quantitatively. In particular, when the torque is adjusted in a weakening direction, a point where the initial torque is zero cannot be determined, so that the twisting is returned too much and the door is twisted in the opening direction.

Further, when the torque rod is to be twisted back to the zero state when the door is replaced, for example, when the opening direction of the door is changed, since the point cannot be determined as described above, the torque rod remains twisted. The hexagonal head had to be removed from the worm wheel, and there was a risk that the torque rod would rotate vigorously, resulting in damage to parts and injury to the user.

The present invention solves the problems of the conventional structure,
An object of the present invention is to provide a torque adjusting device for a torsion bar that can quantitatively determine the degree of twisting of a torque rod (referred to as a torsion bar in the present application) and can easily return to a state of zero initial torque.

[0008]

According to the present invention, one side of the door 7 in the vertical direction is pivotally supported on the frame 6 by hinges (upper and lower hinge devices 8 and 9), and one end is fixed to the door 7. A torsion bar torque adjusting device 30 used for a self-closing door that automatically closes the door 7 by the torsion torque of a torsion bar (torsion bar device 3) having the other end fixed to the frame 6, and the device 30 Has a holding portion 47 for non-rotatably engaging and receiving the other end of the torsion bar device 3 and a gear portion 43, a rotating member 38 that is rotated to adjust the torque of the torsion bar device 3, and a gear portion. 4
A meshing portion 48 urged to engage with and disengageable from 3;
And a stopper 39 for selectively switching a rotatable direction of the rotating member 38 with respect to the frame 6.

[0009]

When the torsion bar device 3 is twisted, the door 7
The stopper 39 is switched so that the rotating member 38 is rotatable in a direction in which a torque for closing is applied. In this case, the degree of twisting of the torsion bar device 3, that is, the rotation angle of the rotating member 38, depends on the peak of the gear portion 43 and the engagement portion 48.
(49) can be quantitatively grasped by the number of sounds or shocks in contact with (49).

Further, simply by removing the meshing portion 48 (49) from the gear portion 43, the rotating member 38 rotates by the restoring torque of the torsion bar device 3 and returns to the state of zero initial torque.

[0011]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator 1 to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the front door device 2 of the refrigerator 1, FIG.
Is a perspective perspective view of the door device 2 of the torsion bar device 3 part,
4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a torsion bar device 3.
Are respectively shown in longitudinal section.

The refrigerator 1 has a storage chamber 5 inside a heat-insulating box 4 that is opened forward, and cool air is supplied from a refrigerating device (not shown) into the storage chamber 5 to maintain a predetermined low temperature. Have been. The door device 2 basically has a frame-shaped aluminum frame 6 attached to the opening edge of the heat-insulating box 4, and a vertical dimension of 1400 mm, which is rotatably supported on this frame 6 on one side in the vertical direction. It is composed of two doors 7,7. In FIG. 2, both doors 7 are pivotally supported by an upper hinge device 8 and a lower hinge device 9, respectively, in a so-called double-opening manner. By opening the door 7 upside down, the opening direction can be changed.

The door 7 is made of an aluminum sash 11.
And inner glass 12A, middle glass 12B and outer glass 12
It comprises a triple glass made of C, a glass packing 14 made of a soft resin, an L-shaped corner reinforcing metal 15 made of zinc die-cast and inserted into the four corners of the door 7, and a handle 16. The door 7 is vertically symmetrical so as to be used upside down as described above. Also, the upper hinge device 8
A wire for supplying power to the heater disposed in the door 7 is introduced from the center of the sash 11, that is, 70 mm from the top.
The wires are connected inside the cover 10 at the position of 0 mm.

The torsion bar device 3 has a cross section of one side.
Two torsion bars 18 and 19 made of a spring steel bar having a length of 600 mm and a square shape of 2 mm, a hexagon nut 20 fixed to the lower end of the torsion bar 18 so as not to rotate,
Fixture 21 through which torsion bar 18 is rotatably penetrated
And a connecting member 22 into which the upper end of the torsion bar 18 is inserted and which is fixed so as not to be rotatable by a screw 23. The upper end of the torsion bar 19 is not rotatable and can be moved in the longitudinal direction. Through and facing upwards,
The lower end is fixed to the fixture 21 by a screw 24 so as not to rotate, and the hexagon nut 20 at the lower end of the torsion bar 18 projects downward from the fixture 21. In addition, mounting fixture 2
1 has a lower surface protruding downward, and has a nylon hinge collar 25 having a cylindrical shape and a flange 25A at an upper end.
Is inserted. Thus, the hexagon nut 20 is located below the hinge collar 25.

The torsion bar device 3 is inserted into the inside of the sash 11 through a cutout hole 27 cut out at a corner of the sash 11 of the door 7 and passes through a groove 28 formed on a vertical side of the corner reinforcing metal 15. Then, the connecting tool 22 at the upper end reaches about 100 mm below the center of the door 7. The connecting tool 22 is vertically inserted and freely rotatable inside the sash 11, and the mounting tool 21 is detachably engaged with and fixed to the sash 11 from below.

The torque adjusting device 30 of the present invention is mounted on the frame 2 located below the torsion bar device 3. The lower hinge device 9 is substantially constituted by the torque adjusting device 30, the mounting member 21 and the hinge collar 25.

The torque adjusting device 30 includes a base plate 31 fixed to a steel plate frame 2 and a circular hole 3 at one end.
2, a circular hole 34 at one end, a slide plate 37 having two shafts 35 and 36 erected in parallel with the circular hole 34 at one end and having an upper end fixed to the lid 33, and a hole 32. Rotating member 3 rotatably inserted and clamped between
8 and a stopper 39 rotatably supported on the shaft 36
A stopper 40 inserted between the stopper 39 and the shaft 35, and a screw 41 for sliding.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the torque adjusting device 30, and FIGS. 7 to 9 are plan views of the torque adjusting device 30 excluding the upper surface of the lid 33. The rotating member 38 has a gear portion 43 on a lower end portion rotatably inserted into the hole 34 and a gear portion 4.
A hexagonal nut-shaped operated part 44 is integrally formed on the upper part 3, and the operated part 44 protrudes upward from the hole 32 to the lid 33, and has therein a hole 46 opening upward and a hole 46 opening upward.
A seat surface 45 of the hinge collar 25 is formed around the opening 6. Further, the hexagon nut 2 is provided at the bottom of the hole 46.
A holding portion 47 for holding 0 in a non-rotatable manner is formed.

The stopper 39 has left and right meshing portions 48 and 49 projecting from both ends of the string obtained by cutting the disk, and projecting portions 50 and 50 projecting backward from both sides of the meshing portions 48 and 49 in an arc shape. And the left and right meshing portions 48 and 49 and the shaft 36
And left and right inclined surfaces 51, 52 formed opposite to the shaft 36 at positions opposite to each other with respect to the shaft 36, and the overhang portions 50, 50 are cutout portions 54 formed on both side surfaces of the lid 33, 5
4 protrudes outward. On the other hand, the stopper
Is held between a pair of ridges 55, 55 on the inner surface of the lid 33, and its tip abuts on one of the left and right inclined surfaces 51, 52, and is urged by a coil spring 56 inserted between the shafts 35, and is constantly It is pressed against the left and right inclined surfaces 51 and 52.

The slide plate 37 is slidably engaged with a longitudinal groove 58 formed in the base plate 31 by rivets 59. On the other hand, the tip of the screw 41 is rotatably fixed to an upright side 60 rising from the base plate 31, and a nut 61 screwed to an intermediate portion of the screw 41 is attached to the lid 3.
3 and the screw 41
Is exposed outside the lid 33. With this structure, if the screw 41 is tightened by a screwdriver, all parts other than the base plate 31 slide in the downward direction in FIG. 9 together with the lid 33 as shown by the broken line in FIG. Slide. As a result, the position of the lower hinge device 9 can be adjusted in the left-right direction with respect to the frame 6,
It is possible to deal with the inclination of the door 7. In FIG. 9, hatching is omitted for clarity of the operation.

Next, the handling and operation of the torsion bar device 3 and the torque adjusting device 30 will be described. First, the stopper 39 of the torque adjusting device 30 is switched according to the opening direction of the door 7. That is, in the case of the door 7 on the left side of FIG. 2, when the door 7 is opened, its rotation axis rotates counterclockwise when viewed from above, so that the rotating member 38 of the torque adjusting device 30
If it rotates counter-clockwise, the torsion bar device 3
Does not twist. Therefore, in this case, the stopper 39 is rotated clockwise with the overhanging portion 50 of the stopper 39, and the left engaging portion 48 is engaged with the gear portion 43 of the rotating member 38 as shown in FIG. In this state, the rotating member 38
When trying to rotate counterclockwise, the stopper 39 tends to rotate clockwise. However, this rotation becomes a form in which the meshing portion 48 and the overhanging portion 50 are pressed against the rotating member 38, which is impossible. Thereby, the rotating member 38
Is forbidden to rotate counterclockwise. Conversely, clockwise rotation is possible when the peaks of the gear portion 43 go over the meshing portions 48 one by one against the pressing force of the coil spring 56 via the stopper retainer 40. When the opening direction of the door 7 is changed, the engagement portion 49 is switched to engage with the gear portion 43 by holding the overhang portion 50 as shown in FIG. This can be dealt with by prohibiting rotation around the clock and allowing rotation counterclockwise.

After setting the torque adjusting device 30 as described above, the door 7 with the torsion bar device 3 engaged and fixed is prepared, and the hinge collar 25 is inserted into the hole 46 of the rotating member 38 as shown in FIG. insert. At this time, the flange portion 25A of the hinge collar 25 is placed on the bearing surface 45 of the rotating member 38, and the hexagon nut 20 is inserted into and engaged with the holding portion 47 so as to be non-rotatably held. As a result, the lower end of the door 7 is rotatably pivotally supported, and then the upper hinge device 8 pivotally supports the upper end of the door 7 so that the door 7 is mounted on the frame 6.

When the door 7 is opened, the fixture 21 of the torsion bar device 3 also rotates counterclockwise in FIG.
The hexagonal nut 20 at the lower end of the torsion bar 18 is
The torsion bar 19
The lower end rotates counterclockwise around the torsion bar 18 together with the fixture 21. As a result, the torsion bar 19 is twisted in a wrap-like manner around the torsion bar 18 and twisted. Become. Due to this torsion restoring torque, a torque in the closing direction is applied to the door 7,
When the door 7 is opened, it automatically closes.

Here, when it is desired to generate the closing torque (initial torque) even when the door 7 is closed in the torsion bar device 3 or to increase the closing torque when the door 7 is opened, as shown in FIG. A flat wrench 63 is inserted between the door 7 and the torque adjusting device 30 and engaged with the operated portion 44 to rotate the rotating member 38 clockwise in FIG. The bar device 3 is twisted in advance. At this time, the gear portion 43 of the rotating member 38 rotates while pushing out the meshing portion 48 pressed by the spring force of the coil spring 56 via the stopper retainer 40 one by one, so that the gear portion 43 is rotated by the number of sounds or shocks generated in this case. The angle can be quantitatively determined. The rotation angle can also be determined by the rotation angle of the spanner 63.

When the initial torque is to be returned to zero, the stopper 39 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. As a result, the rotating member 38 is freely rotated by the restoring force of the torsion bar device 3, so that the torsion of the torsion bar device 3 is eliminated and the initial torque is eliminated. Therefore, when the initial torque is to be decreased, the initial torque may be returned to the position where the initial torque is zero and rotated again. In addition, when the door 7 is removed to reverse the door 7 or the like, the initial torque may be reduced. By setting it to zero, it is possible to prevent damage to components and injuries to the user.

In the embodiment, the torsion bar device 3 is connected to two
Although the present invention is configured by the torsion bars 18 and 19, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention is also effective when, for example, the lower end of one torsion bar is fixed to the torque adjusting device 30 and the upper end is fixed to the door 7. Further, the specific configurations of the stopper 39 and the rotating member 38 are not limited to the embodiment, and it is needless to say that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0027]

According to the torque adjusting device of the present invention, it is possible to easily cope with a change in the opening direction of the door by switching the stopper, and to twist the torsion bar when applying the initial torque to the torsion bar. The condition, that is, the rotation angle of the rotating member can be quantitatively grasped by the number of sounds of the contact between the peak of the gear portion and the meshing portion, and the magnitude of the initial torque can be easily set.

Further, by removing the meshing portion from the gear portion, the rotating member is rotated by the restoring torque of the torsion bar and returns to the state without the initial torque, so that the initial torque can be changed from the zero state. At the same time, it is possible to prevent damage to parts and injuries to the user when removing the door.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the door device.

FIG. 3 is a transparent perspective view of a door device of a torsion bar device portion.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the torsion bar device.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the torque adjusting device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the torque adjusting device excluding an upper surface of a lid for explaining an operation of the torque adjusting device.

FIG. 8 is another plan view of the torque adjusting device excluding the upper surface of the lid for explaining the operation of the torque adjusting device.

FIG. 9 is still another plan view of the torque adjusting device, excluding an upper surface of a lid, for explaining a sliding operation of the torque adjusting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 3 Torsion bar device 6 Frame 7 Door 8 Upper hinge device 9 Lower hinge device 30 Torque adjusting device 38 Rotating member 39 Stopper 40 Stopper holder 43 Gear portion 47 Holding portion 48 Meshing portion 49 Meshing portion

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A door is pivotally supported on one side in a vertical direction to a frame by a hinge, and one end is fixed to the door and the other end is fixed to the frame by a torsion torque of a torsion bar. The torsion bar is used for a self-closing door that automatically closes a door, and includes a holding portion that engages and receives the other end of the torsion bar in a non-rotatable manner and a gear portion to adjust the torque of the torsion bar. A rotating member that is rotated as described above, and a stopper that has a meshing portion urged to engage and disengage with the gear portion and selectively switches a rotatable direction of the rotating member with respect to the frame. Torque adjustment device for torsion bar for self-closing doors.