JP7415268B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

A door that opens and closes a storage compartment of a refrigerator is rotatably connected to the refrigerator main body, for example, via a pair of hinge mechanisms connected to the upper and lower ends of the door. Here, the following Patent Document 1 describes a refrigerator in which the installation position of the hinge mechanism can be selected to either the left or right side of the refrigerator body, and the opening direction of the door can be changed to open to the left or open to the right according to the installation position of the hinge mechanism. has been disclosed.

The refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a refrigerator main body, a door having mounting holes in the upper part of each of the left and right sides, a hinge holding member having a through hole that overlaps with the mounting hole, and a door that connects to the through hole from the upper side of the through hole. The refrigerator includes a hinge pin that is inserted through and removably inserted into a mounting hole, and a lower hinge part that is arranged below the door and rotatably attaches the door to the refrigerator body around the axis of the hinge pin.

Patent No. 4217674

However, the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1 overlaps the through hole provided in the hinge holding member on the refrigerator main body side with the mounting hole on the door side when the door having a corresponding weight is lifted, and furthermore, these holes It is not possible to connect the refrigerator body and the door without manually inserting the hinge pin into the refrigerator. Therefore, when connecting the refrigerator body and the door, there is an inconvenience that a large amount of work is required to insert the hinge pin into the mounting hole of the door.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a refrigerator in which the opening direction of the door can be changed to left-opening or right-opening, and in which the refrigerator body and the door can be connected by simple work without a large work burden. For the purpose of providing.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is a refrigerator having the following features.
(1) A heat insulating box body having a storage chamber, a lid portion for opening and closing an opening of the storage chamber, and upper support means and lower support means for supporting the door provided in pairs on both left and right sides near the opening. , a hinge pin that engages with the upper support means to support the door, and the door has a hinge pin insertion hole into which the hinge pin is inserted on both left and right sides of the upper end surface and a hinge pin that engages with the lower support means on both left and right sides of the lower end surface. The hinge pin has a pin portion and a large diameter portion larger in diameter than the pin portion, and the upper support means engages the left and right sides of the hinge pin by contacting the pin portion. a guide groove that guides the hinge pin rearward while restricting movement in the direction; an inclined portion that guides the hinge pin upward by coming into contact with the large diameter portion; and a recess that connects to the guide groove at a rear position of the guide groove. and the recessed portion has a bottom portion that receives the large diameter portion, and the door can be rotated by fitting the large diameter portion of the hinge pin guided by the guide groove and the inclined portion into the recessed portion. A refrigerator characterized by being supported by.
(2) A cover body that covers the upper support means is provided, and the cover body is attached and detached so that the means for restricting the hinge pin from coming off is located above the recessed portion when the cover body is attached. It is characterized by being prepared as possible.
(3) A reinforcing plate is provided at the lower part of the upper support means, and the reinforcing plate is provided so that a stopper formed by bending the front part of the reinforcing plate is located at a position in front of the recessed part. do.

According to the present invention, by pressing the door against the opening side with the door placed on the lower support means, the hinge pin rises while being guided by the inclined part, and then the large diameter part falls into the recessed part. , the work of attaching the door to the upper support means is automatically completed. This makes it possible to easily and quickly install the door when switching between left and right openings. By doing this, even if the door itself has a considerable weight, such as a refrigerator door, it is possible to switch the door from left to right and to install it without requiring much force.

Since the cover body includes a means for restricting the hinge pin from coming off, problems such as the hinge pin coming off can be prevented. Particularly in refrigerators, dangers such as heavy doors falling can be prevented.

According to the present invention, a reinforcing plate is provided at the lower part of the upper support means, and the reinforcing plate has a stopper formed by bending the front part of the reinforcing plate at a position in front of the recessed part. Therefore, even if the upper support means is molded from synthetic resin or the like and the recessed portion is damaged, the strength of the upper support member can be increased by the stopper of the reinforcing plate, and the hinge pin is located on the front side. This prevents it from coming off. Particularly in refrigerators, dangers such as heavy doors falling can be more reliably prevented.

It is an overall perspective view showing an example of a refrigerator concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing an example of a door lower support means in particular in this embodiment. It is an exploded view showing an example of a door upper part, an upper support means, and a cover body in this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing an example of a stage before attachment of a door showing a door with a hinge pin arranged thereon and one upper support means in this embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a raised state of the hinge pin during the door installation work in the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a state in which the large diameter portion of the hinge pin is lowered into the recessed portion during the door installation work in the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a state in which a reinforcing plate is arranged on the upper support means. It is an explanatory view showing an example of a state of attachment of a door in an example in which a reinforcing plate is arranged. It is a perspective view showing an example of a reinforcing plate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described using a refrigerator 1 as an example with reference to the drawings. In describing this embodiment, the "up and down" direction corresponds to the height direction of the refrigerator 1, the "left and right" direction corresponds to the width direction of the refrigerator 1, and the "front and rear" direction corresponds to the width direction of the refrigerator 1. 1 corresponds to the depth direction. Further, each direction of the door is defined based on the state in which the door closes the opening of the storage compartment of the refrigerator 1. In other words, the height direction (vertical direction) of the door corresponds to the height direction of the refrigerator 1, the width direction (horizontal direction) of the door corresponds to the width direction of the refrigerator 1, and the depth direction (front and rear direction) of the door corresponds to the width direction of the refrigerator 1. direction) corresponds to the depth direction of the refrigerator 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the refrigerator 1 includes a heat-insulating box body 2 that includes a storage chamber such as a refrigerator or a freezer chamber with an opening on the front side, and a door 3 that opens and closes the opening. The door 3 is rotatably supported by hinge mechanisms provided at both left and right ends of the opening of the heat insulating box 2. The hinge mechanism includes a lower support means 5 located at the bottom of the door 3 provided in the heat insulating box body 2 when the door 3 is attached, a hinge pin 13 provided at the top of the door 3, and a door via the hinge pin 13. and upper support means 4 for rotatably supporting 3.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper support means 4 are provided at both left and right ends of the upper front side of the opening of the heat insulating box 2. As shown in FIGS. The upper support means 4 is provided at a position protruding forward from the opening of the heat insulating box 2. The upper support means 4 includes a concave portion 15 that fits and holds the large diameter portion 12 of the hinge pin 13, a guide groove 11 for guiding the hinge pin 13 when the door 3 is attached, and an inclined portion 14. . The detailed relationship between the upper support means 4 and the hinge pin 13 will be described later.

The hinge pin 13 is inserted into the hinge pin insertion hole 9 provided at both left and right ends of the upper part of the door 3. The position of the hinge pin insertion hole 9 is set to be the center of rotation of the door 3 when the door 3 is attached to the heat insulating box body 2 together with the recessed part 15 of the above-mentioned upper support means 4.

A plate-shaped portion 10 extending across the width of the refrigerator 1 is provided between the two upper support means 4 in this embodiment. Since the plate-shaped portion 10 is integrally formed so as to be disposed between the upper support means 4 in this manner, the work of attaching it to the heat-insulating box body 2 is simplified. However, the configuration of the upper support means 4 is not limited to this.

Lower support means 5 for supporting the door 3 together with upper support means 4 are provided below the opening. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the door 3 is rotatably supported by the lower support means 5 via the lower hinge pin 8, but the door 3 is not limited thereto. The lower support means 7 may be any engagement means that can rotatably support the door 3. For example, the lower support means 7 may be provided with a protrusion projecting downward from the door 3, and a recess or hole that fits into the protrusion may be formed in the lower support means 7. Alternatively, conversely, the recessed portion may be formed on the door 3 and the convex portion may be formed on the lower support means 7.

Next, a method for attaching the door 3 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. Here, since the case where the door 3 is attached to open to the right is shown, the front side in the drawing is the hinge mechanism, that is, the pivot position of the door 3.

When attaching the door 3 to the heat insulating box 2, the door 3 is first supported by the lower support means 5. That is, in this embodiment, one end of the lower hinge pin 8 is inserted into the lower hinge pin insertion hole 7 of the receiving plate part 6 provided in the lower support means 5, and the other end of the lower hinge pin 8 is inserted into the lower hinge pin insertion hole 7 (not shown) provided in the door 3. It is inserted into the state.

The pin portion of the hinge pin 13 provided on the upper end surface of the door 3 is inserted into the hinge pin insertion hole 9 in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. The hinge pin 13 is approximately nail-shaped with a large diameter portion 12 at the upper end, and is inserted into the hinge pin insertion hole 9 of the door 3 so that it can be inserted and removed, and can be moved up and down even after insertion. Furthermore, when the hinge pin 13 is inserted into the hinge pin insertion hole 9, the large diameter portion 12 of the hinge pin 13 does not come into contact with the upper end surface of the door 3, and the guide groove 11 of the upper support means 4 extends from the upper end surface of the door 3 to the hinge pin 13. It is held at a position at a height that allows it to fit between the lower end surface of the large diameter portion 12 of. Specifically, the thickness of the guide groove 11 of the upper support means 4 is gradually thinner from the rear side of the refrigerator 1 to the front side of the refrigerator 1 than the slope part 14; The hinge pin 13 is held at a position where the distance from the upper end surface of the door 3 to the lower end surface of the large diameter portion 12 of the hinge pin 13 becomes large.

As mentioned above, with the door 3 supported by the lower support means 5 and the hinge pin 13 inserted into the hinge pin insertion hole 9, the door 3 is placed in the insulation box so that the pin part of the hinge pin 13 passes through the guide groove 11. The body 2 is moved so as to be pressed against the front side (in the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 3). By doing this, the hinge pin 13 is pushed upward (in the direction of arrow C shown in FIG. 5) as the pin portion moves within the guide groove 11 and the large diameter portion 12 is brought into contact with the inclined portion 14. It will be done. Here, in order to prevent the hinge pin 13 from coming off the hinge pin insertion hole 9, the length of the pin portion of the hinge pin 13 is such that even when the large diameter portion 12 reaches the top position of the inclined portion 14, the hinge pin 13 does not fit into the hinge pin insertion hole 9. The length is such that a portion of the pin portion No. 13 can be located.

The upper support means 4 is provided with a concave portion 15 continuous to the guide groove 11 at a portion on the heat insulating box body 2 side where the door 3 is pivoted. As shown in FIG. 7, the recessed portion 15 is recessed downward in the height direction of the refrigerator from the top of the inclined portion 14, and has a bottom portion 16 for receiving the large diameter portion 12 of the hinge pin 13.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the large diameter portion 12 of the hinge pin 13 passes over the top of the inclined portion 14 and reaches the position of the recess 15, it descends into the recess 15 as shown in FIG. It becomes stuck. By fitting the large diameter portion 12 of the hinge pin 13 into the recessed portion 15, movement of the hinge pin 13 toward the front in the refrigerator 1 is restricted. Thereby, the door 3 is attached to an appropriate pivot position by the lower support means 5 and the upper support means 4 in the case of opening to the right, and opening/closing operations become possible.

After the above-mentioned installation work of the door 3 is completed, the cover body 17 covering the upper support means 4 is installed, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8. The cover body 17 improves the appearance of the refrigerator. In addition, by allowing a portion of the cover body 17 on the upper support means 4 side to close the opening above the concave portion 15, the hinge pin 13 can be prevented from coming off.

Further, as for the method of removing the door 3, first, the cover body 17 is removed, the hinge pin 13 is extracted, and the door 3 is lifted up and separated from the lower support means 5. If the door 3 is to open to the left, replace the lower hinge pin 8 on the lower support means 5 with the other lower support means 5 as described above, and then insert the lower hinge pin located at the other end of the lower part of the door 3. The lower hinge pin 8 is inserted into the hole to support it.

Furthermore, with the hinge pin 13 inserted into the other hinge pin insertion hole 9 of the door 3, and with the hinge pin 13 positioned corresponding to the guide groove 11 of the other upper support means 4, the insulation box 2 side is That is, it can be attached by pressing in the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. After this, the cover body 17 is attached.

7 and 8 show an example in which the strength of the upper support means 4 is increased. A reinforcing plate 18 is provided as a means for increasing the strength of the upper support means 4. The reinforcing plate 18 is provided such that one end is fixed to a strength member inside the exterior of the heat insulating box 2 and the other end extends to the lower part of the upper support means 4.

As shown in FIG. 9, the reinforcing plate 18 is formed with a cutout 19 that overlaps the guide groove 11 of the upper support means. Further, the reinforcing plate 18 has claw-shaped stoppers 20 by bending the front end portions on both sides of the notch 19 upward. The stoppers 20, which are provided in pairs with the notches 19 in between, are provided so as to be located in front of the concave portion 15 in the direction in which the upper support means 4 projects, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The opposing distance between the notches 19 is larger than the diameter of the pin portion of the upper hinge pin 13 and smaller than the large diameter portion 12 of the upper hinge pin 13.

As described above, the upper support means 4 is a means for supporting the door 3, and when the large diameter portion 12 of the hinge pin 13 is fitted into the recessed portion 15, the upper support means 4 prevents the hinge pin 13 from moving forward in the refrigerator 1. The stopper 20 functions as a means for preventing the hinge pin from coming off by regulating it, and the stopper 20 can increase the strength and reliability of the support means for the door 3 and the upper support means 4 as a means for preventing the hinge pin from coming off. .

The invention is not limited to the above description. Although the present invention is particularly suitable for switching between opening left and right doors of refrigerators, it is not limited to refrigerators, and can be used as appropriate for door attachment mechanisms provided in other furniture, devices, equipment, etc. .

1 Refrigerator 2 Heat insulation box 3 Door 4 Upper support means 5 Lower support means 6 Receiver plate 7 Lower hinge pin insertion hole 8 Lower hinge pin 9 Hinge pin insertion hole 11 Guide groove 12 Large diameter portion 13 Hinge pin 14 Inclined portion 15 Recessed portion 17 Cover body 18 Reinforcement plate 20 Stopper

Claims (3)

an insulated box body having a storage room;
a door that opens and closes the opening of the storage room;
upper support means and lower support means for supporting the door, which are provided in pairs on both left and right sides near the opening;
a hinge pin that engages with the upper support means to support the door;
The door has a hinge pin insertion hole on both left and right sides of the upper end surface into which the hinge pin is inserted, and engagement means that engages with the lower support means on both left and right sides of the lower end surface,
The hinge pin has a pin portion and a large diameter portion having a larger diameter than the pin portion,
The upper support means includes a guide groove that guides the hinge pin rearward while restricting lateral movement of the hinge pin by contacting the pin portion, and a guide groove that guides the hinge pin upward by contacting the large diameter portion. a sloped portion, a recessed portion connected to the guide groove at a rear position of the guide groove, and the recessed portion has a bottom portion that receives the large diameter portion;
The door is rotatably supported by the large diameter portion of the hinge pin guided by the guide groove and the inclined portion fitting into the recessed portion;
A refrigerator characterized by: comprising a cover body covering the upper support means,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cover body is removably provided so that when the cover body is attached, a means for restricting the hinge pin from coming off is located above the recessed part. . A reinforcing plate is provided at the lower part of the upper support means,
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reinforcing plate is provided so that the front position of the recessed portion is a stopper formed by bending the front part of the reinforcing plate.

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