JP3390095B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator having a heat-insulating door having a structure that is suitable for preventing damage and falling of the door having improved design.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a refrigerator is equipped with a heat insulating door at the front opening of a heat insulating box. In the conventional refrigerator, the outer plate forming the heat insulating door is made of a metal plate such as iron, and the rotary bearing portion for opening and closing the heat insulating door has a hole in the outer plate of the door, for example, another member such as a bushing is inserted. Then, it was formed to receive the spindle. Therefore, even if the bearing is damaged, the supporting shaft is held by the door outer plate and there is no possibility of causing a serious accident such as the door falling off, because the metal plate has sufficient strength around the bearing. Such a refrigerator is known as, for example, Shokai Sho 64-538.
No. 87 publication.

However, since the door of the refrigerator is integrally formed of metal, it is formed in a square shape, and there is a problem that a curved surface is not formed in terms of design. Therefore, in order to solve the design problem, for example, as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-37094, the upper and lower end surfaces of the door are molded with separate members such as plastic, and a metal door outer plate is provided between them. It is considered to adopt a fitted structure. Since plastic can be formed into an arbitrary curved surface, the design such as the round shape on the front surface of the door can be greatly improved. However, since the upper and lower frames of the door are made of plastic, sufficient attention has not been given to the fact that the strength of the rotary bearing portion for opening and closing the door becomes weak.

Further, in the door having such a structure,
Generally, a handle for opening and closing a door is formed on either the upper or lower frame portion, and the height of the frame is high. Therefore, if the outer portion of the door outer plate and the bearing portion do not exist and the bearing portion is damaged, there is a possibility that the door may fall off immediately, which is a serious accident as shown in FIG. 2 and described later.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. An object of the present invention is to improve the design of the door and to open and close the bearing for opening and closing the door. (EN) Provided is a refrigerator having a heat-insulating door that improves the strength of the unit and does not cause a serious accident such as the door falling off even if the bearing unit is damaged.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the structure of a refrigerator according to the present invention is provided with an insulating door at the front opening of the insulating box, and a part or all of the insulating door is provided. In a refrigerator that opens and closes by rotating by rotating the upper and lower sides of the heat-insulating door supported by shafts protruding upward or downward provided on the side of the heat-insulating box, the heat-insulating door that opens and closes by rotating, Formed by fitting a door upper frame and a door lower frame that form the upper and lower sides of the door and a door outer plate, and forming a bearing portion that supports the shaft on the door upper frame or the door lower frame, A hollow pipe-shaped member formed of a material stronger than the door upper frame or the door lower frame is fitted to the outer periphery of the bearing portion.

More specifically, the bearing portion of the heat insulating door is formed by radially forming ribs on the outer periphery of the bearing portion, and fitting the hollow pipe-shaped member so as to surround the rib end surface. Alternatively, the bearing portion of the heat-insulating door is formed with a rib protruding radially outward from the outer diameter of the hollow pipe-shaped member on the outer periphery of the bearing portion, and the rib has the same width as the plate thickness of the hollow pipe-shaped member. A cut portion is provided, and the hollow pipe-shaped member is fitted into the cut portion.

Further, in the above structure, the length of the hollow pipe-shaped member provided in the heat insulating door is set to a dimension having a sufficient overlap with a door outer plate fitted to the door upper frame or the door lower frame. It has been set. Furthermore, by making the inner diameter of the hollow pipe-shaped member provided in the heat insulating door smaller than the outer diameter of the bearing portion, the hollow pipe-shaped member is fitted into the bearing portion by an interference fit.

That is, the structure of the heat insulating door of the refrigerator of the present invention is such that the door outer plate is fitted into the upper and lower frames of the door to form the door. It is possible to improve the strength of the door bearing part by fitting a hollow pipe-shaped member to the outer circumference of the bearing part of the upper and lower frames of the door while allowing the front surface and the corner part to have a round shape. This is to prevent the door from falling off.

[0010]

The function of the above technical means is as follows. Stress is concentrated on the bearing portion for opening and closing the door in order to hold the door, but by fitting a hollow pipe-shaped member such as metal to the outer periphery of the bearing portion, deformation of the bearing portion is suppressed, The mechanical strength can be improved. Even if the bearing is damaged, the support shaft fixed to the box is covered with the hollow pipe-shaped member, so the hollow pipe-shaped member longer than the support shaft is integrated with the support shaft before the door falls off. As a result, it can support the outer panel of the door and prevent the door from falling off.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Each embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. [Embodiment 1] First, a first embodiment and a prior art will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a sectional view of a heat insulating door of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a door dropout when a frame is broken in a conventional heat insulating door, FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a basic structure of the heat insulating door in FIG. It is an exploded perspective view explaining. In each of these figures, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the refrigerator shown in FIG. 3, a heat insulating box 9 is internally divided into two rooms by a partition wall (not shown), an upper part has a lower freezing room and a lower part has a higher refrigerating room temperature. It is a room. The front part of each chamber is an opening and is shielded from the outside by a freezing chamber door 10 and a refrigerating chamber door 11. These doors are opened and closed while rotating, for example, by a support shaft provided on the bearing portion 7 on the right side when viewed from the front. The structure and the like of such a door will be described in more detail. Since the freezer compartment door 10 and the refrigerator compartment door 11 have essentially the same structure, the freezer compartment door 10 shown in FIG.
Will be described only.

In the door shown in FIG. 4, a door outer plate 3 press-molded with metal is sandwiched between upper and lower ends of the door outer plate 3 by separate members, here a plastic upper door frame 1 and a lower door frame 2. It has a structure. Needless to say, the inside of the door outer plate 3 is filled with a heat insulating material 4 to form a heat insulating door as shown in FIG. Reference numerals 7a and 7b are bearings for opening and closing the door, which are provided in the upper door frame 1 and the lower door frame 2, respectively. Freezer door 10
Is a handle 12 for holding the door lower frame 2 by hand when opening and closing the door.
The height dimension of the door lower frame 2 is higher than that of the door upper frame 1 because of the provision of. Here, with reference to FIG. 2, the pattern of the door falling off due to the damage of the bearing portion of the door having such a basic structure will be described.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the freezer compartment door 10 taken from the front of the refrigerator through the center of the bearing portion 7, showing the upper and lower main parts and omitting the middle part. The freezer compartment door 10 is held by bearings 7 a and 7 b provided on the door upper frame 1 and the door lower frame 2 being supported by the upper support shaft 5 and the lower support shaft 6, respectively. However, here, the bearing portion 7 (general term for 7a and 7b)
When an excessive force is applied to the door upper frame 1 and the door lower frame 2, since they are members made of plastic or the like, they crack and break. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, even if the bearing portion 7a of the door upper frame is damaged, the rear surface 3b of the door outer plate collides with the upper support shaft 5 and does not fall further forward. However, regarding the lower door frame 2, as shown in FIG. 4, since the lower door frame 2 has the handle 12, the height of the lower door frame 2 is high and the mating surface with the door outer plate 3 is high. If the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame is damaged as shown in FIG. 2, the lower support shaft 6 and the door outer plate rear surface 3b do not overlap with each other, and the lower support shaft 6 may drop forward and cause a serious accident.

An embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 was developed to prevent the above accident. Figure 1
As in FIG. 2, the door shown in FIG. This adiabatic door includes a door upper frame 1 and a door lower frame 2 which form an upper side and a lower side of the door and a door outer plate 3 (door outer plate front surface 3
a, the rear surface 3b) of the door outer plate, and the hollow pipe-shaped member 8 is fitted to the outer periphery of the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame 2. The hollow pipe-shaped member 8 has a sufficient strength as compared with the door lower frame 2 and is hard to break, for example, a metal such as iron, copper, aluminum, or a material made of fiber reinforced plastic, polycarbonate, or the like is used. However, since a standard pipe-molded product is simply cut into a predetermined length, a desired size can be obtained at low cost.

The inner diameter of the hollow pipe member 8 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame, for example, the bearing portion 7b.
By using an interference fit within the range of elastic deformation, it will not fall off during assembly. Due to this interference fit, the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame has a much stronger hollow pipe-shaped member 8
Since it is held by, the strength is improved and the damage can be prevented against the stress caused by the lower support shaft 6. further,
Still, considering the case where a stress exceeding the allowable value is applied, even if the door lower frame 2 breaks, the hollow pipe-shaped member 8
Holds the door outer plate rear surface 3b integrally with the lower support shaft 6, so that it does not extend further forward, and the freezer compartment door 10 does not fall off.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an essential part of a heat insulating door of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, those having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. In the previous embodiment shown in FIG. 1, it was shown that the hollow pipe-shaped member 8 is fitted to the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame, but it is difficult to control the dimensions by the interference fit, and the hollow portion having a large inner diameter is used. When the pipe-shaped member 8 is used, the strength of the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame is reduced. Therefore, another embodiment as shown in FIG. 5 was considered.

That is, on the outer periphery of the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame,
Radially reinforcing ribs for bearings (hereinafter referred to as bearing reinforcing ribs)
13 is provided, and the outer circumference of the bearing reinforcing rib 13 and the inner circumference of the hollow pipe-shaped member 8 are an interference fit. According to this, the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame is reinforced by the bearing reinforcing ribs 13, so that not only the strength is improved but also the door lower frame 2
In case of damage, the freezer compartment door 10 is prevented from falling off as in the first embodiment. Moreover, since the elastic deformation of the ribs is utilized, there is an effect peculiar to the present embodiment that the hollow pipe-shaped member 8 can be easily attached without strict dimensional control.

[Embodiment 3] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the size of the bearing reinforcing rib 13 is substantially equal to the inner circumference of the hollow pipe-shaped member 8, so that the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame is restricted. The third embodiment was considered as a countermeasure against the case where sufficient strength could not be obtained. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an essential part of a heat insulating door of a refrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, those having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. In the third embodiment,
A bearing reinforcing rib 13A having a groove for holding a hollow pipe-shaped member is provided on the outer periphery of the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame, and the hollow pipe-shaped member 8 is provided.
It is designed to fit in.

The bearing reinforcing rib 13A is a rib that radially protrudes outward from the outer diameter of the hollow pipe-shaped member 8 on the outer periphery of the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame, and the bearing reinforcing rib 13A has the hollow pipe-shaped member. Notch 1 with the same width as the plate thickness of 8
4 is provided, and the hollow pipe-shaped member 8 is fitted into the cut portion 14. Therefore, the strength of the bearing portion 7b of the lower door frame is sufficiently improved, and the mountability of the hollow pipe-shaped member 8 is also improved as in the second embodiment, and the bearing portion 7b of the lower door frame is damaged in case of emergency. At any time, it has a function of preventing the door from falling off as in the previous embodiments.

In each of the above embodiments, the hollow pipe-shaped member 8
However, the hollow pipe-shaped member 8 has a large inner diameter and can be fixed with tape or the like to prevent the door from falling off. Further, although not particularly shown and described, the same effect can be obtained by using a cap-shaped object having a closed upper portion of the hollow pipe-shaped member. It goes without saying that the cap-shaped hollow pipe member also has a length sufficient to hold the door outer plate 3 even if it overlaps with the door outer plate 3 even in the worst case where the door is damaged.

In each of the above embodiments, the assembly of the hollow pipe-shaped member 8 and the bearing portion 7b of the door lower frame has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. When it is formed in the frame and the bearing portion of the door upper frame and the door outer plate do not overlap with each other, it is natural to assemble the hollow pipe-shaped member and the bearing portion of the door upper frame. Needless to say, the present invention is also applicable when the fulcrum for opening and closing the door is on the left side when viewed from the front of the refrigerator.

[0023]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, while improving the design of the door, the strength of the bearing portion for opening and closing the door is improved, and even if the bearing portion is damaged, It is possible to provide a refrigerator having a safe heat-insulating door that does not cause a serious accident such as falling off of the door.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a heat insulating door of a refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional heat insulating door that is dislodged when the frame is damaged.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the basic structure of the heat insulation door in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an essential part of a heat insulating door of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a heat insulating door of a refrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Door upper frame, 2 ... Door lower frame, 3 ... Door outer plate, 3a ... Door outer plate front surface, 3b ... Door outer plate rear surface, 4 ... Heat insulating material, 5 ... Upper support shaft, 6
... Lower support shaft, 7 ... Bearing portion, 7a ... Door upper frame bearing portion, 7b
... Bearing portion of door lower frame, 8 ... Hollow pipe-shaped member, 9 ... Insulation box, 10 ... Freezer compartment door, 11 ... Refrigerator compartment door, 12 ... Handle, 13,13A ... Bearing reinforcing rib, 14 ... Cut portion.

Front page continuation (72) Kenji Kimura, 709, Tomita, Ohira-machi, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture 2 of Hitachi Tochigi Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Yasuno Matsumura, 709, Tomita, Ohira-machi, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture 2 In Hitachi Tochigi Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Michiko Sakairi 800 Tomita, Ohira-cho, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture Hitachi, Ltd. Tochigi Headquarters (56) References U) Jitsukō Sho 50-23898 (JP, Y1) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F25D 23/02 306

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A door made of metal in the opening at the front of the heat insulating box.
A structure in which the frame part of another member is sandwiched between the upper and lower ends of the outer plate
Has, in a refrigerator having a heat-insulating door for opening and closing by the rotation of the supported more bearing portion provided on the frame portion to the axis of the upper or projecting downward provided on a side of the insulating box body, the frame Molded from a material that is stronger than the
Inside the outer periphery with sufficient overlap with the outer panel
A refrigerator including an empty pipe-shaped member . 2. A refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein, prior Symbol shaft <br/> receiving part, radially arranged ribs on the bearing outer periphery, with the hollow pipe-shaped member so as to surround the rib end surface A refrigerator characterized by that. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the bearing portion is provided with ribs radially outwardly protruding from the outer circumference of the hollow pipe-shaped member, and the hollow pipe-shaped member is provided on the rib. A refrigerator characterized in that a cut portion having the same width as the plate thickness is provided, and the hollow pipe-shaped member is provided in the cut portion. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein:
Make the inner diameter of the empty pipe-shaped member smaller than the outer diameter of the bearing.
The hollow pipe-shaped member on the bearing portion by
A refrigerator characterized by an interference fit .