KR100392455B1 - Refrigerator for kimchi - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a kimchi refrigerator having a main body in which at least one cooling chamber is formed, and a door hinged to the main body to open and close a door opening of the cooling chamber, wherein the locked state of the door is locked and A door locking unit for unlocking; And at least one elastic member which elastically biases the door in the opening direction with respect to the main body, and includes a door action part which opens the door when the door locking part is unlocked. Thereby, the kimchi refrigerator which can open a door conveniently and can improve a sealing force is provided.

Description

Kimchi Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR FOR KIMCHI}

The present invention relates to a kimchi refrigerator, and more particularly to a kimchi refrigerator having an improved opening and closing structure of the door.

As shown in FIG. 9, the kimchi refrigerator 201 is rotatably coupled to an upper portion of the main body 210 and an upper portion of the main body 210 in which the cooling chamber 211 is opened upward. The door 220 which pivotally opens and closes the door opening of the door is provided.

The main body 210 has a substantially rectangular cylindrical outer casing 213 forming an outer appearance, and an inner casing 215 accommodated in the outer casing 213 to form a cooling chamber 211. The space between the outer casing 213 and the inner casing 215 is filled with a heat insulating material such as foam urethane for maintaining heat insulation between the food contained in the cooling chamber 211 and the outside air temperature.

In addition, the door 220 includes an upper door plate 221 and a lower door plate 223 coupled to the lower portion of the upper door plate 221, and is gripped by the user in front of the upper door plate 221. A handle (not shown) is formed, and a gasket 228 is provided at the peripheral edge of the lower door plate 223 to contact the peripheral edge of the door opening to maintain the airtightness of the cooling chamber 211. The space between the upper door plate 221 and the lower door plate 223 is filled with a heat insulating material similarly to the main body 210.

On the other hand, the door opening and closing device 205 for supporting the opening and closing rotation of the door 220 is provided in the upper rear region of the main body 210. The door opening and closing device 205 includes a support bracket 230 coupled to the main body 210, a rotation bracket 240 coupled to the rear end of the door 220 to rotate with respect to the support bracket 230, and a door. It has a door action part 250 for elastically rotating the rotation bracket 240 at a predetermined opening angle of (220).

The support bracket 230 has a U-shaped cross-sectional shape having a coupling portion 231 coupled to the main body 210 and both sidewalls extending rearward from both end portions of the coupling portion 231. A pivot shaft 235 is formed in the upper end region of the support bracket 230 to form a pivot shaft of the door 220. The upper side walls of the support bracket 230 are pivotally attached to the main body 210. The guide hole 237 on the curved partial arc is formed. The support plate 238 supporting the door action part 250 is coupled to the lower region of the support bracket 230.

Similar to the support bracket 230, the rotation bracket 240 has a U-shaped cross-sectional shape, and free end regions of both sidewalls are rotatably coupled to the rotation shaft 235. The sidewalls of the lower region of the rotation shaft 235 are coupled to the rotation conversion shaft 241 spaced in parallel with the rotation shaft 235. Both ends of the rotation conversion shaft 241 are accommodated in the guide hole 237 of the support bracket, and rotate along the guide hole 237 when the door 220 rotates.

The door action part 250 includes a first action plate 251 having a lower end coupled to the support plate 238 of the support bracket 230, and an upper end coupled to the rotation conversion shaft 241 of the rotation bracket 240. The two-acting plate 253 and the action spring 255 for moving the first actuating plate 251 up and down relative to the second actuating plate 253 when the door 220 is opened and closed are provided.

A guide groove 257 having a long hole is formed in an upper region of the first operation plate 251, and a guide groove 257 of the first operation plate 251 is formed in a lower region of the second operation plate 253. The actuating protrusion 258 is accommodated so that the vertical movement is possible. In addition, a spring stop 259 is formed at an upper portion of the action protrusion 258 of the second action plate 253, and the action spring 255 is formed between the support plate 238 and the spring stop 259. It is coupled to surround the second working plate (251, 253).

By this structure, in the state in which the door 220 is closed, the rotation conversion shaft 241 is located in the "A" part of the guide hole 237 like FIG. At this time, the action spring 255 is pressed to the rotation conversion shaft 241 in the "a" direction in the compressed state to have an expansion force to maintain the closed state of the door 220.

And, when the user opens the door 220, if the rotation conversion shaft 241 is located in the "B" portion of the guide hole 237 as shown in Figure 11, the expansion force of the action spring 255 is the rotation conversion shaft ( 241 is pressed in the "b" direction. Then, as the second operation plate 253 moves up relative to the first operation plate 251, the rotation conversion shaft 241 is moved to the "C" portion of the guide hole 237, as shown in FIG. Let's do it. As a result, the door 220 is naturally opened by the expansion force of the working spring 255 from the opening angle at which the rotation conversion shaft 241 is located at the “B” portion of the guide hole 237 as shown in FIG. 12. That is, the door action part 250 to which the rotation conversion shaft 241 is coupled rotates with respect to the rotation bracket 240, so that the door 220 to which the door action part 250 is coupled is openly rotated and opened. As shown in FIG. 12, the door 220 may maintain the open state by pressing the rotation conversion shaft 241 outward while the expansion force of the spring is applied in the “c” direction.

On the other hand, when closing the door 220, the user rotates the door 220 closed until the rotation conversion shaft 241 is located in the "B" portion of the guide hole 237, as shown in FIG. Then, from the time when the rotation conversion shaft 241 passes the "B" portion of the guide hole 237, the expansion force of the spring is applied in the "b" direction, as shown in Figure 10, the guide conversion hole 237 as shown in FIG. By moving to the "A" part of), the door 220 is naturally closed.

By the way, in the conventional Kimchi refrigerator door opening and closing device, when the user wants to open the door, the door is to be rotated to the opening angle as shown in Figure 11, in the closed state as shown in Figure 10, Since the expansion force of the spring is applied in the " a " direction, there is an inconvenience in that the user has to rotate the door with a relatively large force.

In addition, there is a problem that the gasket coupled to the lower part of the door is not in close contact with the main body in the closed state of the door, depending on the coupling conditions such as the size tolerance when the support bracket member and the rotation bracket member are coupled. This problem, in particular, there is a problem that the spring expansion force of the door opening and closing device is likely to occur in the rear region of the door applied in the "a", "b", "c" direction of Figs.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a kimchi refrigerator which is convenient to open a door and can improve sealing force.

1 is a perspective view of a kimchi refrigerator according to the present invention,

2 is an enlarged perspective view of the door of FIG. 1;

3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion “D” of FIG. 2;

4 is an enlarged perspective view before and after the "E" portion of FIG.

5 to 7 is a side cross-sectional view of Figure 2 showing the door opening and closing operation,

8 is an enlarged perspective view of a door locking unit installation area of a kimchi refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention;

9 is a side sectional view of a conventional kimchi refrigerator,

10 to 12 are views illustrating the door opening and closing operation of FIG. 9.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

1: body 3: door

15: cooling chamber 17: hinge bracket

27: hinge coupling portion 29: gasket

30: door locking part 31: locking part

33: door open button 35: hook

37: pressure spring 41: hook receiving groove

42: locking shaft 50: door operation unit

55: torsion spring

According to the present invention, the Kimchi refrigerator having a main body in which at least one cooling chamber is formed, and a door hinged to the main body to open and close the door opening of the cooling chamber, the closing of the door A door locking unit for locking and unlocking the state; The door is rotated when the door is unlocked with at least one elastic member wound around the hinge shaft of the hinge to expand the door in the open direction with respect to the main body and expanding in the open direction of the door. It is achieved by the kimchi refrigerator characterized in that it comprises a door action.

Wherein the door operation part has first and second fixing brackets coupled to the door and the main body, respectively, with the hinge axis of the hinge interposed therebetween; Preferably, the elastic member is a spring having both end regions fixed to the first and second fixing brackets, respectively, to expand in the opening direction of the door. At this time, it is effective that the spring is provided with a torsion spring wound around the hinge shaft.

The door locking unit may include: a hook portion having a hook groove provided on one side of the door and the main body, and a locking shaft provided in the hook groove; A hook provided on the other side of the door and the main body to resiliently engage with the locking shaft when the door is closed; A door opening button for releasing an engagement state by separating one of the locking shaft and the hook with respect to the other one; It is effective to include at least one pressing spring which elastically presses any one of the locking shaft and the hook toward the other, and elastically biases the door open button in a direction opposite to the pushing direction.

In this case, it is more preferable that the locking portion is provided at the door opening edge of the main body, and the hook is provided at the door.

The door opening button is axially coupled to the area of the door in response to the pressing operation, and the hook is integrally formed at one side of the door opening button so that the door opening button is pressed against the locking shaft when the door opening button is pressed. Spaced apart; The pressing spring rotates the door opening button in a direction opposite to the pressing direction when the pressing operation of the door opening button is released, and it is more effective to elastically press the hook in the engagement direction with the locking shaft.

Alternatively, the hook is rotatably provided at a position adjacent to the door open button and is spaced apart from the locking shaft in contact with the door open button when the door open button is pressed. The pressing spring may elastically press the hook in the engagement direction with the locking shaft when the pressing operation of the door opening button is released, and rotate the door opening button in a direction opposite to the pressing direction.

On the other hand, the handle portion is recessed is formed in one side end area of the door, the door opening button is more effectively provided in the handle portion.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a kimchi refrigerator according to the present invention, Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the door of FIG. As shown in these figures, the kimchi refrigerator according to the present invention is rotatably coupled to the main body 1 and the upper part of the main body 1 in which the cooling chamber 15 with the upward opening is formed. The door 3 which opens and closes the door opening of 15) is provided.

The main body 1 has an outer casing 11 having a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape forming an outer appearance, and an inner casing 13 accommodated in the outer casing 11 to form a cooling chamber 15. The space between the outer casing 11 and the inner casing 13 is filled with a heat insulating material such as foam urethane for maintaining the heat insulation between the food contained in the cooling chamber 15 and the outside air temperature. In addition, a hinge bracket 17 for pivotally supporting the door 3 is coupled to the upper rear surface of the main body 1.

The door is formed by mutual coupling of the upper door plate 21 and the lower door plate 23. A handle portion 25 is recessed at the front end of the door 3 so as to be gripped by the user, and the air periphery of the cooling chamber 15 is in contact with the circumferential edge of the door opening in the circumferential region of the lower surface of the door 3. A gasket 27 for retaining the pressure is provided. The heat insulating material is filled in the space between the upper door plate 21 and the lower door plate 23 similarly to the main body 1.

In addition, a hinge coupling portion 27 rotatably coupled to the hinge bracket 17 provided in the main body 1 is provided at the rear end of the door 3. The door 3 is hinged portion 27 is coupled to the hinge bracket 17 by the hinge shaft 5, it rotates relative to the main body 1 to open and close the door opening of the cooling chamber 15.

On the other hand, the Kimchi refrigerator according to the present invention, the door locking portion 30 for locking and unlocking the closed state of the door 3, and the door operation to automatically open the door 3 when the door locking portion 30 is unlocked It has a portion 50.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the door locking part 30 is pressed against the locking part 31 provided at the front edge of the door opening of the cooling chamber 15 and the handle part 25 of the door 3. A hook 35 that is provided on one side of the door open button 33 and the door open button 33, which is provided to be capable of being engaged and released by the locking part 31 when pressing and releasing the door open button 33; , And a pressing spring 37 for elastically pressing the hook 35 in the engagement direction and pressing the door open button 33 in the pressing release direction.

The hooking portion 31 is engaged with the hook 35 in the longitudinal direction in the hook receiving groove 41 recessed in the hook receiving groove 41 and the hook receiving groove 41 recessed to have a predetermined length from the upper surface of the main body 1. The locking shaft 42 is released.

The door open button 33 is disposed with the lower surface exposed to the inner bottom of the handle part 25, and the upper surface of the door open button 33 has an inside of the door 3 in the handle part 25 area. A pair of axial coupling parts 43 protruding toward each other are formed. The door opening button 33 is coupled to both wall surfaces of the inside of the handle portion 25 through the shaft coupling portion 43, so that the door opening button 33 is rotatable vertically in the handle portion 25.

The hook 35 has a door 45 having a connection part 45 extending downward from one side of the door opening button 33 toward the locking part 31, and a locking hook 47 formed at the free end of the connection part 45. It is formed integrally with the release button 33. The locking hook 47 is spaced apart from the locking shaft 42 when the door opening button 33 is pressed, and the locking shaft 42 is caused by the expansion force of the pressure spring 37 when the door opening button 33 is released. Move toward.

The pressure spring 37 is provided with a torsion coil spring. The pressure spring 37 has a winding section wound around the shaft of the door opening button 33, and both ends thereof are disposed in a state fixed to an inner region of the door opening button 33 and the handle part 25, respectively. While pressing the release button 33 downward in the opposite direction to the pressing direction, the locking hook 47 is elastically pressed to face the locking shaft 42.

On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 2 and 4a, b, the door action part 50 is the rear end of the door 3 and the main body 1 of the door 3, respectively, with the hinge shaft 5 of the door 3 therebetween. The first fixing bracket 51 and the second fixing bracket 53 coupled to the upper rear portion, and both end regions are fixed to the first and second fixing brackets 51 and 53, respectively, and the winding section of the door 3 It has a torsion spring 55 wound around the hinge shaft 5 and expanding in the opening direction of the door 3.

The first fixing bracket 51 is provided with an inner bracket 61 and an outer bracket 63 which are disposed to contact the inner and outer walls of the rear end of the door 3 and are fastened by the mutual bolts 71. In addition, a spring fixing groove 65 is formed at one side of the outer bracket 63 in contact with the outer wall of the door 3 to fix one end region of the torsion spring 55.

The second fixing bracket 53 is fixed to the upper back of the main body 1 by a bolt 71, and a pair of spring fixing holes 67 to which the other end region of the torsion spring 55 is inserted and fixed on both upper sides thereof. Is formed.

The torsion spring 55 is provided with a pair of winding sections on both sides of the hinge shaft 5, and one end section extending from both winding sections toward the first fixing bracket 51 is fixed to the outer bracket 63. The other end section which is coupled to the groove and extends from both winding sections toward the second fixing bracket 53 is inserted into and fixed to the spring fixing hole 67 of the second fixing bracket 53. This torsion spring 55 is compressed at the closing of the door 3 and expands at the opening of the door 3. At this time, the torsion spring 55 should be made larger than the load of the expansion force of the door (3).

With this configuration, the opening and closing operation of the door 3 of the kimchi refrigerator according to the present invention will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 5, in the state in which the door 3 is closed, the hook hook 47 of the door locking unit 30 is closed. The state of engagement with the locking shaft 42 is maintained. At this time, the torsion spring 55 of the door action part 50 is in a compressed state.

And, when the user wants to open the door 3, when the user presses the door open button 33 in the "d" direction, as shown in Figure 6, while the door open button 33 is rotated upward with respect to the axis while pressing , The connecting portion 45 of the hook 35 is rotated to release the engaging hook 47 from the locking shaft 42 to release the engagement. Then, the torsion spring 55 of the compressed door action part 50 is expanded, the expansion force is transmitted to the door 3, and the door 3 gradually rotates open.

That is, when the door opening button 33 is pressed, the locked state of the door locking unit 30 is released, and the door 3 is automatically opened as shown in FIG. 7 by the expansion force of the torsion spring 55.

On the other hand, when the user rotates the door 3 closed, the door 3 slowly rotates. That is, since the expansion force of the torsion spring 55 acts in the opening direction of the door 3, the door 3 is not closed rapidly but is gradually closed by the force applied by the user. Then, when the user continues to rotate the door 3 in the closed direction in a state in which the door 3 is closed to the position as shown in FIG. 6, the locking hook 47 is elastically engaged with the locking shaft 42. .

Then, the pressing spring 37 elastically pushes the door opening button 33 in the direction opposite to the pressing direction, and at the same time, elastically presses the locking hook 47 to the locking shaft 42. As a result, the engagement state between the locking hook 47 and the locking shaft 42 is maintained. That is, the door locking unit 30 maintains the locked state. At this time, the gasket 27 provided on the lower surface of the door 3 is always in close contact with the circumferential edge of the door opening in a state in which the closed state of the door 3 is maintained. Thereby, the sealing force of the door 3 can be improved.

On the other hand, Figure 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the door locking unit installation area of the kimchi refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the kimchi refrigerator according to the present embodiment is almost the same configuration as the above-described embodiment except for the door opening button and the hook member and the pressing spring of the door locking portion. Hereinafter, only the door open button and the hook member and the pressure spring of the locking member according to the present embodiment will be described, wherein the names and reference numerals of the other components excluding the door open button and the hook member and the pressure spring are described above. It is used in the same manner as in one embodiment.

The door open button 133 of the kimchi refrigerator according to the present embodiment is disposed with the lower surface exposed to the inner bottom of the handle portion 25, the handle portion 25 on the upper surface of the door open button 133. A pair of shaft engaging portions 143 are formed which protrude toward the inside of the door 3 in the region. The door opening button 133 is coupled to both end surfaces of the shaft passing through the shaft coupling portion 143 to both wall surfaces inside the handle portion 25, so that the door opening button 133 is rotatable vertically in the handle portion 25. The hook contact part 145 extended downward is formed at one side of the door opening button 133 adjacent to the locking part 31.

On the other hand, the hook member 135 is rotatably coupled by the rotation shaft 146 in the lower region of the hook contact portion 145 of the door opening button 133. The upper end portion of the hook member 135 is provided with a button contact portion 148 contacting the hook contact portion 145 of the door opening button 133, and the lower end portion is engaged with the locking shaft 42 of the locking portion 31. An engaging U-shaped locking hook 147 is formed to be disengaged.

In addition, the pressure spring 137 is wound in a state in which the winding section is wound on the pivot shaft 146 of the hook member 135, and both ends are fixed to the hook member 135 and one inner region of the door 3, respectively. Thus, the lower end of the hook member 135, that is, the locking hook 147 is elastically pressed in the direction of the locking shaft 42.

By such a configuration, in the door locking part 30 of the present embodiment, when the door opening button 133 is pressed, the hook contacting part 145 formed on one side of the door opening button 133 is rotated so that the button contacting part of the hook member 135 ( By contacting 148, the hook member 135 is rotated in one direction. Then, the locking hook 147 is spaced apart from the locking shaft 42 to release the locked state of the door 3. At this time, the pressing spring 137 is compressed.

Then, when the pressing state of the door opening button 133 is released, the hook spring 135 is rotated so that the locking hook 147 is engaged with the locking shaft 42 while the pressure spring 137 elastically expands. At this time, the button contact portion 148 formed on the upper end of the hook member 135 is in contact with the hook contact portion 145 of the door opening button 133 elastically bias the door opening button 133 in the opposite direction of the pressing direction.

On the other hand, the operation of the door action unit 50 is the same as the above-described embodiment will be omitted.

In this way, the door is opened conveniently by providing a door locking part for locking and releasing the closed state of the door and a door action part for automatically opening and closing the door when the door locking part is unlocked.

In addition, since the door locking portion maintains the door closed state, the gasket can be kept in close contact with the main body. Thereby, the sealing force of the cooling chamber by a door improves.

In the above description and the embodiment, the locking portion of the door locking portion is provided at the door opening edge of the main body, and the hook is described to be provided on the door.

In addition, the hook of the door locking part is described to approach and space toward the locking axis according to the pressing operation of the door opening button provided in the handle portion of the door, but the locking axis moves to access and spaced apart by the hook to maintain the locked state of the door and You can also turn it off. At this time, the door opening button may be provided in the door according to the installation position of the locking shaft, it may be provided in the main body.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a kimchi refrigerator which is convenient to open the door and can improve the sealing force.

Claims (8)

In the Kimchi refrigerator having a main body having at least one cooling chamber is formed, and a door hinged to the main body to open and close the door opening of the cooling chamber, A door locking unit configured to lock and unlock the closed state of the door; The door is rotated when the door is unlocked with at least one elastic member wound around the hinge shaft of the hinge to expand the door in the open direction with respect to the main body and expanding in the open direction of the door. Kimchi refrigerator comprising a door action to make. The method of claim 1, The door action part has first and second fixing brackets coupled to the door and the main body with the hinge axis of the hinge interposed therebetween; The elastic member is a kimchi refrigerator, characterized in that both end regions are fixed to the first and the second fixing bracket, respectively, the spring to expand in the opening direction of the door. The method of claim 2, The spring is kimchi refrigerator, characterized in that the winding section is a torsion spring wound on the hinge shaft. The method of claim 1, The door locking unit, A locking portion having a hook groove provided on one side of the door and the main body and a locking shaft provided in the hook groove; A hook provided on the other side of the door and the main body to resiliently engage with the locking shaft when the door is closed; A door opening button for releasing an engagement state by separating one of the locking shaft and the hook with respect to the other one; Kimchi refrigerator characterized in that it comprises at least one pressing spring to elastically press any one of the locking shaft and the hook toward the other, the elastic pressing of the door opening button in the opposite direction of the pressing direction. The method of claim 4, wherein The engaging portion is provided in the door opening edge of the main body, the hook is kimchi refrigerator, characterized in that provided in the door. The method according to claim 4 or 5, The door open button is axially coupled to rotate in one area of the door according to the pressing operation, the hook is integrally formed on one side of the door opening button is spaced apart from the locking axis during the push operation of the door opening button. ; The pressing spring rotates the door opening button in a direction opposite to the pressing direction when the pressing operation of the door opening button is released, and simultaneously presses the hook in an engagement direction with the locking shaft. The method according to claim 4 or 5, The door open button is axially coupled to one area of the door in response to a push operation, and the hook is rotatably provided at a position adjacent to the door open button to contact the door open button during the push operation of the door open button. Spaced apart from the locking shaft; The pressing spring is a kimchi refrigerator, characterized in that when the pressing operation of the door release button release the elastically pressing the hook in the engagement direction with the locking axis, and rotates the door opening button in the opposite direction of the pressing direction. The method of claim 4, wherein A handle portion recessed is formed in one side end region of the door, and the door opening button is provided in the handle portion.