KR100819849B1 - Hinge unit for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A hinge unit for a refrigerator is provided to close an opened door of the refrigerator by an automatically returning hinge unit if an opening angle thereof is in a predetermined range, thereby improving the convenience of use and reducing power consumption. A hinge unit for a refrigerator includes a base plate(30) attached to an upper or lower end of a main body of the refrigerator, a fixed shaft(32) penetrating the base plate and fixed in the refrigerator, a spring gear(40) rotating with respect to the fixed shaft, and a spring(42) connected to the spring gear at an outer end and the fixed shaft at an inner end to be wound or released elastically by the rotation of the spring gear. A cam gear(50) is mounted to the base plate rotatively to be engaged with the spring gear. A hinge shaft(60) penetrates the base plate and fixed to a door of the refrigerator for supporting the door rotatively. A torque cam(62) is fixed to the hinge shaft to rotate together with the hinge shaft and contacts the cam gear at a rotation angle within a reference value range for rotating the cam gear. A cam gear fixing unit fixes the rotation position of the cam gear temporarily for easily contacting between the cam gear and the torque cam in the process of closing the door, if an opening angle of the door exceeds the reference value range.

Description

Refrigerator door automatic return hinge device {hinge unit for refrigerator}

1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a typical refrigerator.

2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the automatic return hinge apparatus according to the present embodiment.

3 is a combined perspective view showing the configuration of the automatic return hinge apparatus according to the present embodiment.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the automatic return hinge device according to the embodiment mounted on the refrigerator.

5A is an exemplary view sequentially showing the opening operation of the automatic return hinge apparatus according to the present embodiment.

5B is an exemplary view sequentially showing the closing operation of the automatic return hinge apparatus according to the present embodiment.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

30: base plate 32: fixed shaft

40: spring gear 42: manual spring

50: cam gear 502: locking end

50a: locking groove 52: hinge pin

60: hinge axis 601: spring washer

62: torque cam 621: protruding arm portion

64: protrusion

70: cam stopper

The present invention relates to a hinge device of the refrigerator door, and more particularly, to a refrigerator door automatic return hinge device for automatically closing the open refrigerator door at an opening angle within a certain value.

In general, as shown in Figure 1, the front of the refrigerator main body 10 is provided with a refrigerator door 12 that can open and close the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment.

The hinge device for rotatably connecting the refrigerator door 12 to the main body includes a vertical support plate 20 attached to upper and lower ends of the main body 10, and protrudes upward and downward on each of the support plates 20 to provide a refrigerator door ( It comprises a hinge pin (not shown) inserted into the upper and lower ends of 12).

Therefore, according to the prior art, the refrigerator door 12 is rotated around the hinge pin and opened.

On the other hand, the refrigerator should be used efficiently by preserving the cold air generated by the refrigeration cycle as possible inside, so that the main body is in contact with the door 12 so that a gap does not occur in the contact surface between the refrigerator main body 10 and the door 12. The gasket 121 is provided to increase the degree of close contact with the 10, and if the door 12 is opened for a certain time so as not to be left for a long time in the open state of the door 12, a warning means for informing the user by inducing a warning sound and the like. It is used.

In addition, as a method for preventing the refrigerator door 12 from being left in an open state due to carelessness of the user, the refrigerator may be slightly inclined backward by adjusting the horizontality of the refrigerator body 10 so that the front part is positioned higher than the rear part. do.

According to the so-called horizontal adjustment method, the refrigerator door 12 is rotated in the closing direction by gravity and automatically closed unless the external force is applied while the refrigerator door 12 is slightly opened.

However, according to the prior art, in order to adjust the level of the refrigerator, the horizontal adjusting screw (not shown) attached to each corner of the bottom of the main body is manipulated. Not only is it quite difficult to

If the balance between the left and right leveling screws is slightly different, there is a problem that much attention must be paid to the leveling screw adjusting operation because the stable installation state of the refrigerator is not maintained.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, when the opening angle of the refrigerator door is within a certain value, the refrigerator door is automatically closed by automatically closing the refrigerator door to help improve the usability of the refrigerator. To provide a hinge device.

In order to achieve the above object, the refrigerator door automatic return hinge device according to the present invention, a base plate attached to the upper or lower end of the refrigerator body, a fixed shaft fixed to the refrigerator body through the base plate, and A spring gear rotatably mounted about a fixed shaft, an outer end connected to the spring gear, an inner end connected to the fixed shaft, and a spring that is elastically wound or unwound according to the rotation of the spring gear; A cam gear rotatably mounted to the plate and interlocked with the spring gear, a hinge shaft for rotatably supporting the refrigerator door by being fixed to the refrigerator door through the base plate, and a hinge shaft fixed to the hinge shaft. The cam gear is rotated together and the cam gear is contacted with the cam gear only at the rotation angle within the reference value When the torque cam to rotate and the opening angle of the refrigerator door exceeds the reference value, the cam gear is temporarily fixed so that the cam gear and the torque cam are easily contacted while the refrigerator door is closed. Gear fixing means.

A cam groove is formed at an edge of the cam gear, and the cam gear fixing means is rotatably mounted to the base plate, and one end of the cam gear is inserted into the catch groove of the cam gear so as to be detached from the cam gear. The torsion spring exerts an elastic pressing force on the cam stopper so that the cam stopper rotates in the direction of engagement with the cam gear, and protrudes from the side of the torque cam and interferes with the cam stopper within a certain angle according to the rotation of the torque cam. And a projection piece for pushing the cam stopper in a direction to be separated from the cam gear.

A protruding arm portion is formed on one side of the torque cam, and a protruding arm portion is formed on one side of the cam gear within a rotation angle within a reference value so that the protruding arm portion is cam when the torque cam is rotated. The torque cam is rotated by being caught by the gear end.

One end of the cam stopper inserted into the locking groove of the cam gear is provided with a roller for smooth insertion and removal into the locking groove, the roller in contact with the projecting piece of the torque cam in the middle of the cam stopper It is provided.

The tip of the protruding arm portion of the torque cam is provided with a roller in contact with the cam gear.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5B.

Refrigerator door automatic return hinge device according to this embodiment, the base plate 30 is attached to the top of the refrigerator body 10 (see Fig. 4), as shown in Figures 2 and 3, and the base plate 30 A fixed shaft 32 is fixed to the refrigerator main body 10 to be penetrated, a spring gear 40 rotatably mounted about the fixed shaft 32, and one end thereof is connected to the spring gear 40. One end is connected to the fixed shaft 32, the spring spring 42 which is wound or unwound elastically according to the rotation of the spring gear 40, and is rotatably mounted to the base plate 30, the spring gear A cam gear 50 engaged with the 40 and a hinge shaft 60 rotatably supporting the refrigerator door 12 by being fixed to the refrigerator door 12 through the base plate 30; It is fixed to the hinge shaft 60 and rotated together with the hinge shaft 60, within the reference value Torque cam 62 for rotating the cam gear 50 in contact with the cam gear 50 only at the rotation angle and the rotation position of the cam gear 50 when the opening angle of the refrigerator door 12 exceeds the reference value. Is temporarily fixed to the cam gear fixing means to facilitate the contact between the cam gear 50 and the torque cam 62 in the process of closing the refrigerator door 12.

The base plate 30 is coupled to the cover plate 30 ′ having the same shape as the base plate 30 at regular intervals, and the base plate 30 and the cover plate are mounted in a plurality of intervals through their edges. The gap is maintained by the retaining bushing 301 and is fastened to each other by the fastening bolts 302.

The spring gear 40 has a gear tooth portion 401 formed on the outer circumferential surface thereof, and is rotatably mounted to a fixed shaft 32 protruding through the base plate 30. 42 is seated on one side of the spring gear (40).

The outer end of the spring spring 42 is fixed to the inner surface of the spring gear 40 and the inner end is fitted to the fixed shaft 32 protruding through the center of the spring gear 40.

The cam gear 50 has a gear tooth portion 501 and a locking groove 50a formed at an edge thereof, and a locking end portion 502 is provided at one end thereof. The base plate 30 is formed by a hinge pin 52. Is rotatably mounted.

In addition, the torque cam 62 has a structure in which a protruding arm portion 621 is formed on one side thereof, and the protruding arm portion 621 is engaged with the cam gear 50 within a rotation angle within a reference value. 502 is arranged to hang.

The cam gear fixing means is rotatably mounted to the base plate 30 so that one end thereof is detachably inserted into the locking groove 50a of the cam gear 50 so that the cam stopper 70 is caught with the cam gear 50. ), A torsion spring 72 that exerts an elastic pressing force on the cam stopper 70 so that the cam stopper 70 rotates in the direction in which the cam stopper 50 is engaged, and protrudes from the side of the torque cam 62. As a form, it consists of the protrusion piece 64 which interferes with the cam stopper 70 within a predetermined angle according to the rotation of the torque cam 62.

At one end of the cam stopper 70 inserted into the locking groove 50a of the cam gear 50, a roller 701 is provided to smoothly insert and detach the cam groove 50a into the locking groove 50a. The middle portion of the 70 is provided with a roller 702 which is in rolling contact with the protruding piece 64 of the torque cam 62. The roller 622 which is in rolling contact with the cam gear 50 is also provided at the tip of the protruding arm portion 621 of the torque cam 62.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the hinge shaft 60 has a structure in which a screw thread is formed at one end thereof, and a spring washer 601 for elastically pressing the torque cam 62 is fitted to the hinge shaft 60.

A fastening nut 603 is disposed at one end of the hinge shaft 60 to be screwed with the hinge shaft 60 to prevent the spring washer 601 from being separated, and between the spring washer 601 and the fastening nut 603. The flat washer 602 is interposed.

The hinge device according to the present embodiment may be selectively mounted at the top or bottom of the refrigerator, or may be installed at both the upper and lower ends of the refrigerator.

According to the refrigerator door automatic return hinge apparatus according to the present embodiment configured as described above, when the opening angle of the refrigerator door is within a certain value, since the return force is generated in the closing direction with respect to the refrigerator door, the refrigerator door is automatically When the opening angle exceeds a certain value, the retracting force does not occur, so the refrigerator door is in a free-open state in which the refrigerator door is kept in an open state. For each operation, FIGS. 5A and 5B are shown. Referring to with reference to as follows.

5A and 5B, the angle (reference angle) when the refrigerator door is closed is represented by a solid line, and the open angle of the refrigerator door is represented by an imaginary line.

First, the opening operation of the refrigerator door will be described. When the refrigerator door is closed at the reference angle (0 °) (solid line indicator on the drawing), the spring spring 42 is completely loosened at the reference angle, and the torque is When the protruding piece 64 of the cam 62 and the cam stopper 70 interfere with each other, the tip of the cam stopper 70 is separated from the locking groove 50a of the cam gear 50, that is, with the cam stopper 70. The cam gears 50 do not catch each other. (1 in FIG. 5A)

Subsequently, when the refrigerator door is opened, the torque cam 62 connected to the hinge shaft 60 is rotated together with the hinge shaft 60, and the protruding arm portion 621 of the torque cam 62 is connected to the cam gear 50. The cam gear 50 is rotated by the locking end 502, and the spring gear 40 engaged with the cam gear 50 is also rotated (2 in FIG. 5A).

When the spring gear 40 rotates, the spring spring 42 is wound to accumulate elastic restoring force, and the winding operation of the spring spring 42 continues until the refrigerator door reaches the switching angle. ③)

Here, the switching angle is an angle within a range in which the refrigerator door is subjected to the restoring force by the spring spring 42, and may be variously set as it varies depending on the coupling configuration of the cam gear 50 and the torque cam 62. It is preferable to set it to about 45 degrees.

After opening the refrigerator door, when the refrigerator door is placed within the switching angle (45 °), the wound spring 42 is elastically released while rotating the spring gear 40 in the opposite direction to the opening time.

In addition, the cam gear 50 engaged with the spring gear 40 also rotates in the opposite direction as the opening time, and rotates the torque cam 62 through the protruding arm portion 621 caught on the locking end portion 502. The hinge shaft 60 rotates together with the cam 62 to close the refrigerator door.

Therefore, since the refrigerator door is automatically closed in such an automatic closing state, even if the user does not slide the refrigerator door to the end in the closing process, the refrigerator door is not closed properly, and thus, the cold air is leaked.

When the opening angle of the refrigerator door exceeds the switching angle (45 °), the protruding arm portion 621 of the torque cam 62 is out of the locking end portion 502 of the cam gear 50, and at the same time the protruding piece 64 also rotates together with the torque cam 62 to be out of the range that interferes with the cam stopper 70. (④ of FIG. 5A)

In addition, the cam stopper 70 is rotated toward the cam gear 50 by the operation of the torsion spring 72 so that the front end of the cam stopper 70 is inserted into the locking groove 50a of the cam gear 50, so that the cam gear ( 50 is caught by the cam stopper 70 is not rotated and is in a fixed state, the spring spring 42 also maintains the wound state.

In such a free open state, since the refrigerator door is kept in an open state unless external force is applied, it may be considered to be convenient when it needs to be opened for a relatively long time for storing or removing a large amount of items in the refrigerator.

The spring washer 601 mounted on the hinge shaft 60 exerts an elastic pressing force on the torque cam 62, so in the free open state, the influence of gravity caused by the tilting of the refrigerator main body or the user accidentally touching By the same weak force, the refrigerator door does not rotate and maintains a stable open state.

Here, the pressing force by the spring washer 601 against the torque cam 62 depends on the strength that the fastening nut 603 is screwed with the hinge shaft 60 to press the spring washer 601, the user's convenience According to the tightening nut 603 it is possible to adjust the pressing force of the spring washer (601).

In addition, when the refrigerator door is closed at a conversion angle or more, the torque door 62 is also rotated in the closing direction when the refrigerator door is rotated in the closing direction while the refrigerator door is completely opened (1 in FIG. 5B). Upon reaching the switching angle, the protruding arm portion 621 of the torque cam 62 passes over the locking end portion 502 of the cam gear 50 (2 in FIG. 5B).

At the same time, the projecting piece 64 pushes the cam stopper 70 again in the opposite direction to the locking direction so that the tip of the cam stopper 70 is separated from the locking groove 50a of the cam gear 50. (3 in FIG. 5B). )

Therefore, the locked state of the cam gear 50 and the cam stopper 70 is released, thereby switching to the above-mentioned automatic closing state, and thus the refrigerator door is automatically closed. (④ in FIG. 5B)

As described above, according to the refrigerator door automatic return hinge device according to the present invention, the refrigerator door is automatically closed so that the refrigerator door is left in an open state due to user's carelessness and waste of power is prevented from damaging the stored food. It is possible to improve the convenience of use of the refrigerator.

Claims (6)

A base plate attached to the top or bottom of the refrigerator body; A fixed shaft fixed to the refrigerator body through the base plate; A spring gear rotatably mounted about the fixed shaft; An outer end connected to the spring gear, and an inner end connected to the fixed shaft, and a spring that is elastically wound or unwound according to the rotation of the spring gear; A cam gear rotatably mounted to the base plate and interlocked with the spring gear; A hinge shaft for rotatably supporting the refrigerator door by penetrating the base plate and being fixed to the refrigerator door; A torque cam fixed to the hinge shaft and rotating together with the hinge shaft to rotate the cam gear in contact with the cam gear only at a rotation angle within a reference value; When the opening angle of the refrigerator door exceeds the reference value, the cam gear fixing means for allowing the cam gear and the torque cam to be easily contacted in the process of closing the refrigerator door by temporarily rotating the cam gear. By being made to include; If the opening angle of the refrigerator door is within the reference value, the spring gear engaged with the cam gear and the cam gear is rotated by the torque cam to wind the spring spring, and the refrigerating altitude door is automatically closed by the elastic restoring force of the spring spring. The return hinge of the refrigerator door. The method of claim 1, A locking groove is formed at the edge of the cam gear, The cam gear fixing means A cam stopper rotatably mounted to the base plate, the one end of which is inserted into the engaging groove of the cam gear so as to be detached from the cam gear, A torsion spring that exerts an elastic pressing force on the cam stopper so that the cam stopper rotates in the direction of engagement with the cam gear; A protrusion protruding from the side of the torque cam and interfering with the cam stopper within a predetermined angle in accordance with the rotation of the torque cam to push the cam stopper in a direction to separate the cam gear Refrigerator door automatic return hinge device comprising a. The method of claim 1, Protruding arm portion is formed on one side of the torque cam, On one side of the cam gear is formed a locking end portion engaging with the protruding arm portion of the torque cam within a rotation angle within a reference value Rotating the torque cam by engaging the protruding arm portion with the locking end of the cam gear when the torque cam is rotated Refrigerator door automatic return hinge device characterized in that. The method of claim 2, One end of the cam stopper inserted into the locking groove of the cam gear is provided with a roller to smoothly insert and detach into the locking groove, The intermediate part of the cam stopper is provided with a roller in contact with the protrusion of the torque cam Refrigerator door automatic return hinge device characterized in that. The method of claim 3, The tip of the protruding arm portion of the torque cam is provided with a roller in contact with the cam gear Refrigerator door automatic return hinge device characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The hinge shaft has a structure in which one end of the thread is formed, A spring washer fitted to the hinge shaft to elastically compress the torque cam; Fastening nut which is screwed with the hinge shaft to prevent the spring washer separated Refrigerator door automatic return hinge device comprising a.

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