KR101595521B1 - Door opening apparatus and refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims to provide a door opening device which is space-saving in installation by making the drive mechanism thinner.
In order to solve such a problem, a driving mechanism 27 having a motor 37, a housing member (upper case 59, lower case 60) for housing the driving mechanism 27, A door opening device (24) comprising a rotary member (36) rotated by rotation and a connecting member (29) for converting the rotational motion of the rotary member (36) into a linear motion, 94 which covers the first surface 94 and the second surface 95 opposite to the first surface 94 is smaller than the outer shape of the motor 31 and covers the motor housing portion And the motor housing portion 38 is formed so that the protruding length from the first surface 94 is equal to that of the rotating member 36 in the same direction Or small.

Description

{DOOR OPENING APPARATUS AND REFRIGERATOR}

The present invention relates to a door opening device and a refrigerator.

Patent Document 1 discloses a door opening and closing device that includes a door opening member that moves in a direction to open the door by forward rotation of the motor, a door closing member that moves in a direction to close the door by reverse rotation of the motor, In the door opening / closing apparatus provided with a worm gear, it is possible to make the opening / closing mechanism thin by adopting a configuration in which the direction of the rotary shaft is changed from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction by using a worm gear, Which can be applied.

Patent Document 2 discloses a rotation driving means having a decelerating device for decelerating a rotation of a motor. The rotation driving means includes a rotating member having a stepped portion provided with a plurality of stepped portions, and a connecting portion for converting the rotational motion of the rotating member into a linear motion And the door is opened and closed by transmitting power to the connecting member at the stepped portion of the rotary member, and a configuration using the worm gear is described.

Patent Document 3 discloses a rotation driving means provided with a decelerating device for decelerating the rotation of a motor, in which a rotating member provided with a plurality of power transmitting portions and a connecting member for converting the rotating motion of the rotating member into linear motion are provided, The transmitting portion has a flat portion facing the direction of the center of rotation, and the connecting member has a plurality of stepped portions, so that the power is transmitted while the step portions are in surface contact with the flat portion.

Japanese Patent No. 4143568 Japanese Patent No. 4117337 Japanese Patent No. 4861926

In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, only the configuration in which the worm gear is horizontal is described. Further, there is no description about the axial thrust load generated in the worm wheel when the worm gear is rotationally driven.

Further, the relationship between the door opening / closing apparatus and the arrangement of the heat insulating material of the refrigerator body or the vacuum insulating material is not described.

Next, in the configuration described in Patent Document 2, the arrangement of the motor and the drive gear in the case of using the worm gear, the structure for thinning the drive mechanism, the arrangement of the vacuum insulator in the heat insulating partition, Is not described.

Next, in the structure described in Patent Document 3, there is no description of the structure for making the drive mechanism thinner or the relationship between the vacuum insulator and the exothermic partition.

In view of the above-described problems, the present invention aims to provide a door opening device that can save space during installation by reducing the thickness of the drive mechanism. It is another object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator in which a reduction in the thickness of a heat insulating wall is suppressed when a door opening device is provided.

In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims is adopted. The present invention includes a plurality of means for solving the above-mentioned problems, and for example, there is a drive mechanism having a motor, a housing member for housing the drive mechanism, a rotating member rotating by rotation of the motor, Wherein a distance between a first surface of the housing member and a second surface opposite to the first surface is smaller than an outer shape of the motor, And a motor housing portion that covers the motor protruding from the first surface, the rotation member protruding outward from the first surface, and the motor housing portion has a protruding length from the first surface equal to that of the rotating member Or small.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a door opening device that saves space at the time of installation by reducing the thickness of the drive mechanism. Further, when the door opening device is provided, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the reduction in the thickness of the heat insulating wall is suppressed.

1 is a front view of a refrigerator main body according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a conceptual view of the EE line section of FIG. 1. FIG.
3 is a front view showing a configuration in a refrigerator.
4 is an explanatory enlarged view of the main part of Fig.
5 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing the structure of a freezer compartment door and a vegetable compartment door in the embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the door opening device of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention in Fig. 5; Fig.
7 is a plan view showing a configuration of a rotating member and a connecting member of a door opening device of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;
8 is a view for explaining the opening operation of the door opening device of the refrigerator in the embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a view for explaining a closing operation of the door opening device of the refrigerator in the embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a perspective view in the direction A of Fig. 5 showing the top surface of the door opening device of the refrigerator in the embodiment of the present invention; Fig.
Fig. 11 is a perspective view in the direction of arrow B in Fig. 5 showing the lower surface of the door opening device of the refrigerator in the embodiment of the present invention; Fig.
Fig. 12 is a perspective view A perspective view of Fig. 5 showing the internal structure of a door opening device of a refrigerator in an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.
13 is a plan view showing an internal structure of a door opening device of a refrigerator in an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 14 is a CC sectional view of Fig. 5 showing a configuration of a door opening device and a heat insulating partition of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.
Fig. 15 is a DD cross-sectional view of Fig. 14 showing a configuration of a door opening device and a heat insulating partition of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.
16 is a sectional view of the worm gear according to the embodiment of the present invention taken along the line FF of Fig.
Fig. 17 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the torque limiting means shown in Fig. 14 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig.
18 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of torque limiting means in the embodiment of the present invention.
19 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of a door opening device of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
20 is a flowchart showing a control procedure at the time of opening operation of the door opening device of the refrigerator in the embodiment of the present invention.
21 is a flowchart showing a control procedure at the time of a closing operation of the door opening device of the refrigerator in the embodiment of the present invention.
22 is a perspective view of a motor and motor support means in an embodiment of the present invention;
23 is a side cross-sectional view of a state in which a motor is incorporated in a case according to an embodiment of the present invention.
24 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the torque limiting means in the embodiment of the present invention, illustrating an example different from that of Fig.
25 is an exploded perspective view of the torque limiting means in Fig.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

≪ Overall configuration of refrigerator main body 1 >

1 is a front view of the refrigerator of the present embodiment. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line E-E in Fig. 1 showing the structure of the refrigerator. Fig. 3 is a front view showing the construction of a refrigerator in a refrigerator, Fig. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view of Fig. 2, and is a view showing the arrangement of a cool air duct and an air outlet.

1, the refrigerator main body 1 of the present embodiment has a refrigerating compartment 2, an ice making compartment 3, an upper freezing compartment 4, a lower freezing compartment 5, and a vegetable compartment 6 from above . As an example, the refrigerating compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6 are, for example, a storage compartment of a refrigeration temperature range of about 3 to 5 캜. The ice making chamber 3, the upper freezing chamber 4, and the lower freezing chamber 5 are, for example, storage rooms of a refrigeration temperature band of about -18 캜.

The refrigerating compartment 2 is provided with a refrigerating compartment door 2a, 2b of a hinged door (so-called French type) divided on the front side. The freezing chamber 3, the upper freezing chamber 4, the lower freezing chamber 5 and the vegetable room 6 are respectively connected to the draw-out ice making chamber door 3a, the upper freezing chamber door 4a, the lower freezing chamber door 5a, (6a). 2b, 3a, 4a, 4b, 4a, 4a, 4a, 4a, 4a, 4a, 4a, 5a, 6a).

The refrigerator main body 1 further includes a door sensor (not shown) for detecting the opening and closing states of the doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a and 6a, An alarm (not shown) notifying the user when the temperature has been maintained for one minute or more and an operation panel 101 for setting the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 2 or the temperature of the upper freezer compartment 4 or the lower freezer compartment 5 .

The door opening switch 23 is provided in the door 5a and the door 6a to input a signal for operating the door opening device 24 to be described later.

On the other hand, the arrangement of the respective storage rooms and doors is not limited to the present embodiment, but various known layouts can be employed both at home and abroad. The door opening switch 23 is not limited to the structure provided on the door 5a and the door 6a and may be provided on the door 5a and the handle 6a of the door 6a Or may be provided on the operation panel 101 to be described later. Alternatively, the door opening switch 23 may not be provided, and an input signal from an operating means separate from the refrigerator main body 1 may be received by the refrigerator main body 1. [

As shown in Fig. 2, the exterior of the refrigerator main body 1 and the interior of the refrigerator body 1 are formed by filling the foamed heat insulating material 25 (foamed polyurethane) between the inner box 10a and the outer box 10b, (10). In addition, a plurality of vacuum insulators 18 are mounted on the heat insulating housing 10 of the refrigerator body 1. [

The refrigerating compartment 2 and the upper freezing compartment 4 and the ice making compartment 3 (see Fig. 1, the ice making compartment 3 is not shown in Fig. 2) are separated by the heat insulating partition wall 12a, The lower freezing chamber (5) and the vegetable compartment (6) are separated by the partition wall (12b).

A plurality of door pockets 14 are provided on the high inside of the doors 2a, 2b (see Figs. 1 and 2). In addition, the refrigerating compartment 2 is partitioned into a plurality of storage spaces in the longitudinal direction by a plurality of shelves 13. [

2, the upper freezing chamber 4, the lower freezing chamber 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are arranged at the rear of the doors 4a, 5a, 6a provided in front of the respective storage compartments, 5b, and 6b, respectively. Then, the storage containers 4b, 5b, 6b are pulled out by pulling the handle portions (not shown) of the doors 4a, 5a, 6a to the front side. The ice making chamber 3 shown in Fig. 1 is also provided with a storage container (indicated by 3b in Fig. 2) integrally with the door 3a, and is provided with a handle (not shown) So that the storage container 3b is drawn out.

As shown in Fig. 2 (see Fig. 3 as appropriate), the cooler 7 is installed in a cooler compartment 8 provided in a substantially back portion of the lower freezing compartment 5. A blower 9 is provided above the cooler 7. (Hereinafter referred to as " cold air ", which is heat-exchanged in the cooler 7) is cooled by the blower 9 to the refrigerating compartment blowing duct 11, the vegetables room blowing duct 17 The upper freezing chamber 4, the lower freezing chamber 5, and the lower freezing chamber 5 through the upper and lower freezing compartments, the ice-making compartment blowing duct 40, the lower freezing compartment blowing duct 41 and the upper freezing compartment blowing duct (not shown) , And is sent to each storage chamber of the ice making chamber (3). The blowing to each storage room is controlled by opening and closing the refrigerator compartment cooling damper 20 and the freezer compartment cooling damper 21.

Here, the refrigerating compartment cooling damper 20 is a so-called twin damper having two openings. The first opening 20a controls the blowing of the refrigerating compartment blowing duct 11, and the second opening 20b is a cross- (17).

That is, each of the blowing ducts in the refrigerating chamber 2, the ice making chamber 3, the upper freezing chamber 4, the lower freezing chamber 5, and the vegetables room 6, And is provided on the back side of the storage chamber.

More specifically, when the first opening 20a of the refrigerating compartment cooling damper 20 is open and the freezing compartment cooling damper 21 is in a closed state, the cool air is blown out through the air blowing duct 11, To the refrigerator compartment 2. When the second opening 20b of the refrigerating compartment cooling damper 20 is opened and the freezing compartment cooling damper 21 is in the closed state, the cool air flows from the air outlet 6c to the vegetable compartment 6 via the vegetables room blowing duct 17, Lt; / RTI >

On the other hand, the cold air that has cooled the refrigerating compartment 2 flows from the return port 2d provided on the lower surface of the refrigerating compartment 2 to the refrigerating compartment return duct 16, , For example, to the lower right. The return air from the vegetable compartment 6 is returned to the lower portion of the cooler compartment 8 via the return opening 6d.

When the freezing compartment cooling damper 21 is in the open state, the cool air that has been heat-exchanged by the cooler 7 is blown by the blower 9 through the blowing duct 40 or the upper freezing compartment blowing duct (not shown) 3c, and 4c to the ice making chamber 3 and the upper freezing chamber 4, respectively. And is blown to the lower freezing chamber 5 from the jetting port 5c via the lower freezing chamber blowing duct 41. [ For this reason, the freezing compartment cooling damper 21 is attached above the blower cover 56 to be described later to facilitate blowing into the ice making chamber 3.

The cool air that has cooled the upper freezing chamber 4, the lower freezing chamber 5 and the ice making chamber 3 is supplied to the cooler compartment 8 through the freezing compartment return port 42 provided below the lower freezing chamber 5, .

In Fig. 4, the partition 54 is formed with the jet ports 3c, 4c, and 5c. The partition 54 separates the upper freezing chamber 4, the ice making chamber 3, the lower freezing chamber 5, and the cooler compartment 8 from each other.

The blower 9 is attached to the blower attaching portion 55. The blower attaching portion 55 separates the cooler compartment 8 and the partition 54 from each other.

Reference numeral 56 denotes a blower cover which covers the front surface of the blower 9. Between the blower cover 56 and the partition 54, a lower freezing room blowing duct 41 is formed. A freezer compartment cooling damper 21 is provided at an upper portion of the blower cover 56 to form an ejection port 56a.

The blower cover 56 also has a rectifying portion 56b on the front surface of the blower 9. [ Thereby, the turbulence generated by the chilled air blowing out is rectified to prevent the occurrence of noise and the like.

The blower cover 56 includes an upper freezing compartment blowing duct 40 for guiding the cool air blown by the blower 9 to the blowing openings 3c, 4c, 5c and the like between the partition 54, A duct (not shown), and a lower freezing compartment blowing duct 41 are formed.

The blower cover 56 also serves to blow cool air blown by the blower 9 to the cooling compartment cooling damper 20 side. That is, the cool air that does not flow toward the freezer compartment cooling damper 21 provided on the blower cover 56 is guided to the refrigerator compartment damper 20 side via the refrigerator compartment duct 15 as shown in FIG.

The cooler 7 (7) is placed in the storage room of the refrigerator compartment (the upper freezer compartment 4, the lower freezer compartment 5 and the ice making compartment 3), and the temperature compartment of both the refrigerating compartment (the refrigerating compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6) , Most of the cool air is sent to the freezer compartment cooling damper 21 and the other remaining cool air is guided to the refrigerator compartment damper 20 side.

The cold air guided by the refrigerating compartment duct 15 is guided to the refrigerating compartment blowing duct 11 when only the first opening 20a of the refrigerating compartment cooling damper 20 is opened and only the second opening 20b When both the first opening 20a and the second opening 20b are opened, the refrigerating compartment blowing duct 11 and the vegetable compartment blowing duct 17 are both opened .

On the other hand, the refrigerator compartment cooling damper 20 is attached to the rear of the refrigerating compartment 2 as shown in Fig.

A defrosting heater 46 serving as a defrosting means is provided below the cooler 7 and is disposed above the defrost heater 46 in order to prevent the defrost water from dropping onto the defrost heater 46 And an upper cover 47 are provided.

The defrost water generated by the defrosting of the duct attached to the wall of the cooler 7 and the cooler compartment 8 around the cooler 7 flows into the cylinder 43 provided in the lower portion of the cooler compartment 8 The refrigerant is evaporated by the heat of the compressor 45 or the condenser (not shown), which will be described later, after reaching the evaporation dish 44 disposed in the machine room 19, which will be described later, through the water pipe 27.

A cooler temperature sensor 35 attached to the cooler, a cold room temperature sensor 33 for the cold room 2 and a freezer room temperature sensor 34 for the lower freezing room 5 are provided on the upper right side as viewed from the front of the cooler 7, The ice making chamber 3 is provided with an ice making room temperature sensor (not shown). The ice making room 3 is provided with a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the cooler 7 (hereinafter referred to as "cooler temperature"), (Hereinafter referred to as the "freezing compartment temperature") and the temperature in the vicinity of the ice-making dish (not shown) (hereinafter referred to as "ice-making temperature").

On the other hand, the vegetable room temperature sensor 33a may be arranged in the vegetable room 6, and temperature control of each storage room can be finer.

A machine room 19 is provided on the lower backside of the thermal insulation box 10 and a compressor 45 and a condenser (not shown) are accommodated in the machine room 19. By means of an external blower The heat of the condenser is removed. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, isobutane is used as the refrigerant, and the amount of the refrigerant to be filled is set to a small amount of about 80 g.

On the top surface side of the ceiling wall of the refrigerator main body 1, a control board 31 on which a CPU, a memory such as ROM or RAM, an interface circuit, and the like are mounted is disposed. The control board 31 detects the opening and closing states of the above-described cooler temperature sensor 35, the freezing compartment temperature sensor 33, the freezing compartment temperature sensor 34 and the doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, A temperature setting device (not shown) provided on the inner wall of the refrigerating chamber 2, and a temperature setting device (not shown) provided on the inner wall of the lower freezing chamber 5. Each of the driving motors for individually driving the refrigerator compartment cooling damper 20 and the freezer compartment cooling damper 21 is controlled by ON / OFF of the compressor 45, Control of ON / OFF of the high-blower 9, control of the rotation speed, control of ON / OFF or rotation speed of the high-temperature blower, and ON / OFF of the alarm for notifying the door open state described above .

Next, the refrigerator compartment cooling damper 20 is in the closed state and the freezer compartment cooling damper 21 is in the open state, and only the freezing temperature compartment (the ice making chamber 3, the upper freezing compartment 4 and the lower freezing compartment 5) The cold air blown through the ice making room blowing duct (not shown) in the ice making chamber 3 and the cold air blown into the upper freezing room 4 through the upper freezing compartment blowing duct 40 are introduced into the lower freezing room 5, . 4 together with the cold air blown through the lower freezing compartment blowing duct 41 (see Fig. 2) into the lower freezing compartment 5, as shown by the arrow C in Fig. That is, the refrigerant flows into the cooler compartment 8 from the lower front of the cooler compartment 8 via the freezer compartment return port 42 disposed at the lower portion of the lower freezing compartment 5, Exchanges heat with the cooler 7 having the fin attached thereto.

Incidentally, the horizontal width dimension of the freezing compartment return opening 42 is substantially equal to the width dimension of the cooler 7.

On the other hand, when the refrigerating compartment cooling damper 20 is in the open state and the freezing compartment cooling damper 21 is in the closed state and only the refrigeration temperature compartment (the refrigerating compartment or the vegetables compartment 6) is being cooled, The cool air flows into the cooler compartment 8 from the side of the side of the cooler compartment 8 through the cooler compartment return duct 16 like the refrigerating compartment return air shown by the arrow D in Fig. Heat exchange occurs.

4, the cool air that has cooled the vegetable compartment 6 via the second opening 20b of the refrigerating compartment cooling damper 20 is introduced into the cooler compartment 8 through the vegetable compartment return port 6d, But the air volume is smaller than the air volume circulating in the freezing temperature chamber or the air volume circulating in the refrigerating chamber 2. [

As described above, switching of the cool air blown into each storage room of the refrigerator main body 1 is performed by properly opening and closing the refrigerator compartment cooling damper 20 and the freezer compartment cooling damper 21, respectively.

<Mounting of opening and closing mechanism>

Next, the door opening device will be explained using Fig. 5 is a partial vertical sectional view showing a schematic structure of the lower freezing chamber 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 in the E-E cross section in Fig. Hereinafter, the lower freezing chamber 5 will be described in detail as an example. The vegetable compartment 6 has the same structure.

A support frame 26 is connected to the wall surface of the door 5a of the lower freezing chamber 5 toward the rear side. When the door 5a is pulled out, the support frame 26 is lifted up by the rails provided on the left and right side walls of the lower freezing chamber 5, (Not shown), and the container 5b is also withdrawn together.

A door opening device 24 is provided on the inner bottom surface of the lower freezing chamber 5. The door opening device 24 is provided with a motor fixedly provided on the refrigerator main body 1 side and a driving mechanism 27 provided with a decelerating means for decelerating the driving force of the motor. The lower surface of the container 5b is provided with connection reinforcing means 28 connecting the left and right support frames 26 and a connecting plate 29 serving as a connecting member on the bottom surface of the connection reinforcing means 28, The lower freezing chamber 5 is opened and closed by exerting a force in the moving direction of the support frame 26 from the connecting plate 27 to the connecting plate 29. [

The detailed structure and function of the driving mechanism 27 and the connecting plate 29 will be described later. The second door detecting means 30 is provided on the front side of the lower freezing chamber 5 to detect whether or not the lower freezing chamber 5 is in a slightly opened half-open (half-door) And sends the signal to the control circuit.

The drive mechanism 27 for driving the lower freezing chamber door 5a is disposed in the recess of the heat insulating partition wall 12b and the drive mechanism 27 for driving the vegetable chamber door 6a constitutes the bottom surface of the refrigerator And is embedded in the bottom wall 92 of the refrigerator. It is preferable that the heat insulating partition wall 12b and the bottom surface 92 of the refrigerator be as thin as possible in order to enlarge the internal volume. On the other hand, in order to reduce heat leakage from the outside of the refrigerator to the inside to improve energy saving, it is necessary to improve the heat insulation property. Therefore, it is preferable that a vacuum insulation material 18 is further provided to fill the foam insulation material 25 such as foamed urethane and to reduce heat leakage, thereby improving the heat insulation performance while thinning the wall.

<Configuration of acceleration link>

Next, the construction and operation of the door opening device 24 including the driving mechanism 27 and the connecting plate 29 will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 6 to 9. Fig. Here, the door opening device 24 will explain the example of the freezing room 5, but the vegetable room 6 has the same structure.

6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a connecting plate 29 and a rotary plate 36 provided on a drive shaft 32 as a rotation output shaft of the drive mechanism 27. FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a series of operations of operating the drive mechanism 27 to rotate the rotary plate 36 in the opening direction so as to act on the connection plate 29 to open the door 5a, 27 to rotate the rotary plate 36 in the closing direction to act on the connection plate 29 to close the door 5a.

6 and 7, the direction of the arrow G indicates the front side of the refrigerator body 1, and the freezing chamber door 5a is opened in the direction of arrow G. A rotary plate 36 having a plurality of stepped portions 48a to 48g provided on the outer periphery thereof is fixed to the drive shaft 32 on the upper surface of the drive mechanism 27, The rotary plate 36 rotates together. A rotary plate 36 is disposed on the side where the stepped portions 48a to 48g of the connecting plate 29 are formed and a protruding portion for accommodating the motor 37 as a drive source of the drive mechanism 27 is provided on the side opposite to the stepped portions 48a to 48g 38 (motor housing part) is installed.

The connecting plate 29 is fixed to the connection reinforcing means 28 connected to the support frame 26. When the rotary plate 36 is rotated, the stepped portions 48a to 48g on the outer periphery of the rotary plate 36 are engaged with the stepped portions 49a to 49g provided on the connection plate 29, The door 5a is opened. In other words, the pressing portions (stepped portions 48a to 48g) of the rotary plate 36 push the pressed portions (stepped portions 49a to 49g) of the connecting plate 29 in accordance with the rotation of the rotary plate 36, 5a in the opening direction. On the other hand, the connecting plate 29 is sandwiched between the rotating plate 36 and the motor housing portion 38.

7, the steps 48a provided on the rotary plate 36 are provided in a range from the rotation center of the drive shaft 32 to the radius R1, The second step 48b is provided in the range from the radius R1 to the radius R2. A step is provided at a position where the radius gradually increases from the third step 48c in the range of the radius R3 to the seventh step 48g in the range of the radius R7. Here, R1 <R2 <R3 <R4 <R5 <R6 <R7. The first step 49a is engaged with the first step 48a of the rotary plate 36 and the rotary plate 36 is rotated until the seventh step 49g is engaged with the seventh step 48g of the rotary plate 36 ), The corresponding stepped portions are sequentially engaged with each other. Here, the pressurizing portions 48a to 48g and the pressurizing portions 49a to 49g correspond to each other so that the steps of the signs given the same Roman numerals are engaged with each other.

In this embodiment, when the lower freezing chamber 5 is opened, the rotary plate 36 rotates in the counterclockwise direction indicated by an arrow in Fig.

The connection plate 29 is connected to the door 5a through the support frame 26 and the connection reinforcing means 28 and can move in the direction of the arrow G together with the support frame 26 as described above. In Fig. 7, the left direction shown in the drawing is the front side of the refrigerator 1, and the freezing chamber 5 is opened when the connecting plate 29 is moved to the left.

<Origin position of the rotary plate>

Here, at the position of the rotary plate 36 shown in Fig. 7, the step 48 of the rotary plate 36 and the step 49 of the connection plate 29 do not abut each other. The connection plate 29 can open the door 5a without touching the rotary plate 36 even if the connection plate 29 is moved in the direction of the arrow G by manually opening the door 5a. Therefore, it is assumed that the position of the rotary plate 36 shown in Fig. 7 is set as the origin position, and after the rotary plate 36 is rotated and the door opening operation is completed, it returns to this origin position.

The freezing chamber door 5a can be closed smoothly because the rotating plate 36 and the connecting plate 29 are not in contact with each other even if the door 5a is closed by hand.

A first magnet 50 is provided on a part of the rotary plate 36, and the origin position is detected in detail, as described later.

A part of the connecting plate 29 is provided with a second magnet 51, which detects the closing of the door 5a, which will be described later in detail.

<Door opening operation>

Next, the operation in which the connecting plate 29 is moved by the rotation of the rotary plate 36 to open the freezer compartment door 5a will be described with reference to Fig.

8 (a), the rotary plate 36 is at the home position as shown in Fig. 7, and when the door open switch 23 is pressed, the drive mechanism 27 is energized to rotate the rotary plate 36 counterclockwise Direction.

8B shows that the second step 48b of the rotary plate 36 is in contact with the second step 49b of the connection plate 29 so that the connection plate 29 moves in the direction of arrow G, (5a) is opened.

8C shows a state in which the rotary plate 36 further rotates and the sixth step 48f comes into contact with the sixth step 49f of the connecting plate 29 so that the connecting plate 29 moves in the direction of the arrow G It is moving further.

8 (d), the rotating plate 36 further rotates, and the connecting plate 29 further moves so that the seventh step 48g is separated from the contact state with the seventh step 49g of the connecting plate 29 Immediately after. The door 5a including the connecting plate 29 is accelerated in the direction of the left arrow G from the state of FIG. 8 (a) to the state of FIG. 8 (d) In the d) state, it is opened at the maximum speed in the direction of the arrow G.

8 (e), the door 5a is completed to be opened and the rotation plate 36 is returned to its home position as shown in Fig. 7 to Fig. 8 (A) after the counterclockwise rotation shown in Fig. Respectively.

<Closing operation of door>

The freezing chamber 5 is not completely closed until the magnet packing 22 is adsorbed for some reason and a clearance is formed between the magnet packing 22 and the refrigerator body 1 when the lower freezing chamber 5 is closed, (Semi-open) state. The operation of the door opening device 24 when the semi-opened state is thus described will be described with reference to Fig.

9 is a view showing the operation when the door opening device 24 closes the lower freezing chamber 5. 9 (a) shows a state in which the lower freezing chamber 5 is not completely closed and the left end of the connecting plate 29 is in the leftward (door opening direction) In the state shown in Fig.

9 (b), the distal end portion 57 is engaged with the contact portion 58 of the connection plate 29, and the distal end portion And applies a force in a rightward direction shown by the right side, that is, a direction to close the door 5a. Then, the door 5a is completely closed as shown in Fig. 9 (c). Thereafter, the rotation plate 36 is rotated counterclockwise to return to the home position as shown in Fig. 9 (d).

By operating in the above-described manner, even if the lower freezing chamber 5 is not completely closed and is in a so-called semi-open state, by rotating the rotary plate 36 in the opposite direction to the case of opening the lower freezing chamber 5, Since it is possible to close the lower freezing chamber 5 by applying a force in the direction of closing the lower freezing chamber 5, the semi-opened state can be prevented.

<Driving Mechanism>

Next, an example of the configuration of the drive mechanism 27 will be described with reference to Figs. 10 to 16. Fig.

10 is a perspective view of the drive mechanism 27 as viewed from the direction of arrow A in Fig. 5, and Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the drive mechanism 27 as viewed from the direction of arrow B in Fig. 5 . Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the upper surface of the drive mechanism 27 as shown in Fig. 10, and is a perspective view showing an internal structure through an upper case 59 forming the upper surface of the drive mechanism 27. Fig. Fig. 13 is a plan view seen from above, and Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C in Fig. 13 and shows a state in which it is mounted on the heat insulating partition wall 12b. Fig. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line D-D in Fig. 14, and Fig. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line F-F in Fig.

Fig. 10 shows a state in which the connecting plate 29 is removed from Fig. 6, and the arrangement relationship of the rotation plate 36 and the motor housing portion 38 provided in a part of the upper case 59 is specified. 11, the motor 37 is disposed between the motor housing portion 38 and the lower case 60 provided in the upper case 59, and the rotation output shaft of the motor 37 is provided with a worm 61 And the worm 61 is rotated by the rotation of the motor 37. [ The motor housing portion 38 of the upper case 59 has a dimension such that the motor 37 can be mounted so as not to protrude downward from the lower case 60. [

The worm wheel 62 which is the first gear and the pinion gear 63 (second gear) that rotates integrally with the worm wheel 62 are disposed in the center of the worm wheel 62 (64). The idler gear 65, which is the third gear, is rotatably supported around the idler shaft 66. The output gear 67 which is the fourth gear having the maximum diameter is rotatably supported around the drive shaft 32 and the rotary plate 36 is fixed to the drive shaft 32 by fastening means such as a screw 91 . In addition, the drive shaft 32 is watertightly sealed with the upper case 59 by an O-shaped ring 90 which is a seal material made of, for example, a rubber, and water is prevented from intruding. When the output gear 67 rotates, the rotary plate 36 rotates to open and close the door 5a.

The worm 61 meshes with the worm wheel 62 (first gear) and the pinion gear 63 (second gear) that rotates integrally with the worm wheel 62 is rotated by the idler gear 65 And the idler gear 65 is configured to engage with the output gear 67 (fourth gear). Here, assuming that the reduction ratio of the worm wheel 62 is 1/40, and the ratio of the dimension of the pinion gear 63 to the dimension of the output gear 67 is 1/3, The reduction ratio to the gear 67 becomes 1/120. A torque limiting means 68 is provided between the output gear 67 and the drive shaft 32 for restricting the rotation torque transmitted to the rotary plate 36 and preventing damage to the gear. . The worm 61, the worm wheel 62, the pinion gear 63, the idler gear 65 and the output gear 67 constitute the deceleration means 93 for decelerating the output from the motor 37.

A wiring space 69 is formed in a part of the lower case 60 as a concave portion approaching the upper case 59 and used as a mounting space for the connector 70 and the wiring cable 71.

The detection substrate 72 is provided with rotation detecting means 73 which is a Hall IC or a giant magnetoresistive (GMR) element for detecting a magnetic force, and first door detecting means 74, Is installed. The rotation detecting means 73 detects that the rotary plate 36 is at the origin position by the position of the first magnet 50 provided on the rotary plate 36. [ The first door detecting means 74 detects the position of the second magnet 51 installed on the connecting plate 29 and detects that the door 5a is closed. The rotation detecting means 73 is provided in the vicinity of the drive shaft 32 to detect the origin position of the rotary plate 36. The first door detecting means 74 is provided within the range of the movement path of the connecting plate 29 disposed between the drive shaft 32 and the motor 37 in order to detect the position of the connecting plate 29.

<Basic layout>

Next, the arrangement of the motor 37, the detection board 72, the connector 70, and the gear will be described.

As shown in Fig. 13, the lower case 60 and the upper case 59, which form the outer shape of the drive mechanism 24, have a substantially square shape when viewed from above, and the lower side shown is the side of the door 5a That is, the front side of the refrigerator main body 1, and the upper side shown in the figure is the depth side. The output gear 67 provided with the drive shaft 32 is disposed on the lower right side of the drive mechanism 24 and the rotary plate 36 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction to move downward the connection plate 29 Open the door (5a).

The driving mechanism 24 includes a first surface 94 (upper surface) which is an upper case 59 constituting a storage member, a second surface 95 (lower surface) which is a lower case 60, 94 and a second side 95 and a second side 97 opposite the first side 96 and a first side 96 and a second side 97, A third side surface 98 and a fourth side surface 99 opposite to the third side surface 98 are formed.

The motor 37 is disposed along the fourth side wall 99 of the lower case 60 and the motor terminal 75 to which the worm 61 is connected to the front side (first side 96) (On the side of the second side surface 97).

The output gear 67 is disposed on the first side surface 96 and on the third side surface 98 side.

A worm wheel 62 and an idler gear 65 are disposed between the output gear 67 and the worm 61 so that the rotational torque of the motor 37 is transmitted to the worm 61, 65 to the output gear 67. [ The center of rotation of the worm wheel 62 and the idler gear 65 is located near the straight line connecting the engaging portion 76 of the worm 61 and the worm wheel 62 and the drive shaft 32 of the output gear 67 So that the deceleration means 93 is constituted.

A connector receptacle 77 connected to the control board 31 and a wiring space 69 for inserting a cable connected to the connector receptacle 77 are formed on the back side (second side surface 97 side) ). A detection board 72 is disposed between the wiring space 69 and the output gear 67 at a position overlapping with the rough output gear 67 along the wiring space 69, (One end) extends in the direction close to the motor 37, and the wiring cable 71 is connected to the side close to the motor 37.

The rotation detecting means 73 is provided on the side of the drive shaft 32 opposite to the motor 37 (toward the third side surface 98). The detection substrate 72 is substantially L-shaped and has a first side 96 in a direction away from the wiring space 69 on the side deviated from the motor 37, that is, on the side of the third side 98, And the rotation detecting means 73 is provided on the first side surface 96 side.

The connector 70 is disposed on the side of the second side 97 and the side of the fourth side 99. The side facing the wiring space 69 is the terminal side to be inserted into the connector receptacle 77, Is connected to the wiring cable 71 connected to the motor terminal 75 and the wiring cable 71 connected to the detecting board 72. [

13, the wiring cable 71 extending from the motor terminal 75 of the motor 37 to the connector 70 and the wiring cable 71 leading from the detection board 72 to the connector 70 Since the wiring cable 71 is disposed away from the deceleration means 93, the wiring cable 71 is not pulled into the gear constituting the deceleration means 93, and the reliability is high. Since the motor terminal 75 of the motor 37 and one end of the detection substrate 72 to which the wiring cable 71 is connected are disposed adjacent to the connector 70, the wiring cable 71 may be short, It is easy, and the reliability is high.

In other words, component parts are arranged in the storage members (upper case 59 and lower case 60) for housing the drive mechanism 24 as follows. A rotation detecting means 73 for detecting the position of the rotating member 36 and a connector 70 for electrically connecting the motor 37 and the rotation detecting means 73 to the outside of the driving mechanism 24, The deceleration means 93 includes a gear train that connects the output gear 67 connected to the rotary member 36 and the worm 61. The output gear 67 is located on the first side 96 side The motor 37 and the worm 61 are disposed on the side of the third side surface 98 and the worm is disposed on the side of the fourth side surface 99 in the direction close to the first side surface 96, (96) side, and the connector is disposed on the second side surface (97) side.

<Direction of rotation>

The rotation direction of the worm 61 and each gear will be described with reference to Fig.

The rotary plate 36 rotates in the counterclockwise direction as shown and opens the door 5a. At this time, the output gear 67 rotates counterclockwise together with the rotary plate 36, and the idler gear 65 engaged with the output gear 67 rotates clockwise, and the pinion gear 65 meshing with the idler gear 65 The gear 63 and the worm wheel 62 rotate in the counterclockwise direction and the worm 61 is sent out from the motor 37 side toward the tip end side.

The reaction force in the axial direction applied from the worm wheel 62 to the worm 61 is directed toward the direction in which the worm 61 is pushed against the motor 37 because the reaction force at the time of driving is opposite to the rotational direction. In this case, since the reaction force in the axial direction can be received by a thrust bearing (not shown) provided in the motor 37 itself, it is difficult for the worm 61 to jolt (loosen) against the rotation axis of the motor 37 The rotation is stabilized, so that the engagement between the worm 61 and the worm wheel 62 is stabilized, thereby suppressing the occurrence of vibration and noise.

&Lt; Motor protrusion amount >

14 and 15, a description will be given of a state in which the drive mechanism 27 is buried in the heat insulating partition wall 12b.

The drive mechanism 27 is attached to the heat insulating partition wall 12b in such a manner that water is prevented from intruding into the entire circumference of the upper case 59 through the sealing material 78. [

It is necessary to reduce the gap H7 (see FIG. 14) between the bottom surface of the container 5b and the heat insulating partition wall 12b in order to increase the content of the lower freezing chamber 5, It is desirable to reduce the gap H7 within a range in which engagement drive of the first and second clutches 29 and 29 can be ensured.

Here, since the rotary plate 36 is disposed so as to protrude from the drive mechanism 27 by a height H1, a clearance of (H7-H1) is ensured with respect to the bottom surface of the container 5b. On the other hand, since the connecting plate 29 is opened together with the door 5a, it may be close to the bottom surface of the container 5b. However, in order to ensure engagement with the rotating plate 36, .

Therefore, in order to reduce the gap H7, it is effective to reduce the height H1 by disposing the drive mechanism 27 in the concave portion of the heat insulating partition wall 12b.

The heat insulating partition wall 12b separates the lower freezing chamber 5 from the vegetable compartment 6. The freezing compartment 5 has a temperature difference of about -18 占 폚 and the vegetable compartment 6 has a temperature difference of about +3? On the other hand, the thickness H3 of the heat insulating partition wall 12b is intended to be thinner in order to enlarge the internal volume. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the heat insulating performance while making the heat insulating partition wall 12b thin.

It is effective to fill the foam insulating material 25 such as foamed urethane or the like and to dispose the vacuum insulator 18 on the entire surface. Particularly, the portion where the drive mechanism 27 is disposed is the heat insulating partition wall 12b. So that the vacuum insulation material 18 is provided in that portion, the heat insulating effect is high.

Therefore, when the thickness Hv of the vacuum heat insulating material 18 is increased while reducing the thickness H3 of the heat insulating partition wall 12b, the heat insulating performance is improved. Therefore, the lower surface of the drive mechanism 27, that is, the heat insulating partition wall 12b, It is preferable to reduce the thickness H4 of the concave portion. Further, since the vacuum insulator 18 has a structure in which the hermetically sealed bag containing the glass fiber is sealed to make the inside thereof vacuum, it is preferable that the airtightness of the seal is not released by the sticking of the sharpened structure. The lower surface 95 of the drive mechanism 27 which is the lower surface of the lower case 60 is made flat without projections because the thickness of the drive mechanism 27 is reduced and the vacuum insulator 18 So that it is effective to increase the heat insulating property of the heat insulating partition wall 12b.

The motor 37 has a larger diameter than the thickness of the drive mechanism 27 because the drive mechanism 27 requires a smaller thickness and an output torque equivalent to that of opening the door 5a. A part of the outer shape of the motor 37 protrudes from the upper surface 94 of the upper case 59 or the bottom surface 95 of the lower case 60. That is, although the distance between the upper surface 94 and the lower surface 95 is smaller than the diameter of the motor 37, the distance between the upper surface 94 and the bottom surface 95 is larger than the diameter of the motor 37, It is preferable that the bottom surface 95 of the lower case 60 is not provided with a projection so that the motor housing portion 38 is projected by H2 on the upper surface 94, The lower surface 95 of the lower case 60 is formed into a flat shape so that the motor 37 having a larger outer shape than the case thickness can be used . In addition, since the motor housing portion 38 is smaller than the height H1 of the rotary plate 36, the bottom surface of the container 5b does not need to have a specific shape such as ruggedness for avoiding the motor housing portion 38. [ Accordingly, it is preferable that the heat insulating performance is increased and the volume of the container 5b is not reduced.

<Worm wheel height and inclination arrangement>

Next, the arrangement of the motor 37, the worm 61, and the worm wheel 62 will be described with reference to Figs. 14 to 16. Fig. Fig. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line D-D in Fig. 14, and Fig. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line F-F in Fig.

The connecting plate 29 is disposed between the motor housing portion 38 and the rotating plate 36 and is arranged close to the driving mechanism 27 because it needs to be engaged with the rotating plate 36 . On the other hand, the deceleration means 93 from the worm 61 to the output gear 67 disposed between the motor housing portion 38 and the rotary plate 36 does not interfere with the arrangement of the connection plate 29 desirable.

The worm wheel 62 is disposed on the side of the rotary plate 36 adjacent to the motor 37 and overlaps with the connection plate 29 because the worm wheel 62 is engaged with the worm 61 provided on the rotary shaft of the motor 37 14). The worm wheel 62 meshes with the worm 61 so that the position of the worm wheel 62 moves toward the upper case 59 side as the diameter of the motor 37 becomes larger and the worm wheel 62 62 protrude from the upper surface of the upper case 59 and the amount of protrusion of the worm wheel housing portion 79 becomes larger. For example, when the shape of the worm wheel accommodation portion 79 indicated by the one-dot chain line in Fig. 14 becomes the shape, it is necessary to move the position of the connection plate 29 upward to a position not interfering with the worm wheel accommodation portion 79 As a result, the depth of the container 5b becomes shallower and the volume decreases.

Therefore, it is preferable to bring the height position of the worm wheel 62 close to the side of the bottom surface 95 of the drive mechanism 27. The configuration will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 15 and FIG. 15, the height Ha of the rotation center 80 of the motor 37 is determined by the radius of the motor 37, that is, the radius of the outer surface of the motor 37 Approximately equal to 1/2.

16, when the motor 37 and the worm 61 are inclined at an angle? In the direction of approaching the bottom surface of the drive mechanism 27 by the tip of the worm 61, The height Ha of the rotation center 80 on the worm 61 side is not changed but the height of the engagement portion 76 between the worm 61 and the worm wheel 62 is Hb, that is, Ha> Hb. The worm wheel 62 can be arranged closer to the lower case 60 side (the bottom surface 95 side) than the radius of the motor 37, that is, the half of the outer dimensions of the motor 37 And as a result, the amount of protrusion of the worm wheel accommodation portion 79 upward can be reduced, which is preferable.

Next, a particularly preferable value of the inclination angle? Of the motor 37 will be described with reference to Fig.

The worm 61 has a structure in which gear teeth are arranged in a spiral shape on the surface of a cylindrical cylinder as in a screw, and the twist angle is referred to as a lead angle. Therefore, generally, the worm wheel 62 engaged with the worm 61 becomes a helical gear having a twist angle equivalent to the lead angle of the worm 61.

The worm 61 is tilted in the direction of reducing the twist angle of the worm wheel 62 in the engagement portion 76 of the worm 61 and the worm wheel 62, The lead angle disappears due to the inclination of the worm 61 and the gear tooth 81 engaged with the worm wheel 62 is moved in the vertical direction (The surface 94) and the lower case 60 (the second surface 95). Then, the twist angle of the helical gear of the worm wheel 62 becomes 0 degree, and the worm wheel 62 can be made flat. The spur gear is easier to work than the helical gear, and it is easy to obtain high precision. In the case of a gear of a resin molded product, it is not necessary to twist the mold while twisting the mold like a helical gear. Therefore, the mold is also simple and inexpensive and has an effect of easy molding.

<Thrust load>

Generally, since helical gears are arranged in a screw shape, a component force in the axial thrust direction is generated in the gear when torque is transmitted. In this thrust direction, the gears are shifted in the normal and reverse directions by the rotational direction of the helical gear until they come into contact with the stoppers at both ends in the axial direction of the helical gear, respectively. Therefore, it is necessary that the helical gear is liable to be displaced due to looseness (loosening), and that the structure of the bearing is also capable of permitting the thrust load. When a thrust load is generated, since the helical gear is pushed against the stopper in the axial direction, a frictional load torque is further generated, and the rotational load torque is increased.

Further, in the configuration in which the rotary shaft is vertical and the helical gear rotates in the horizontal plane as in the present embodiment, the helical gear exhibits a thrust load in the direction of floating in accordance with the rotational direction of the worm 61, Depending on the magnitude of the load, the weight of the gear itself, and the frictional force of the engaging portion, there is a case where the lifting and lowering are repeated with the rotation. As a result, the helical gear vibrates up and down, causing noise.

Further, when the position of the helical gear fluctuates up and down, since the teeth are twisted, the engagement position with the worm 61 moves in the circumferential direction. That is, even if the worm 61 rotates at a constant angular velocity, when the worm wheel 62, which is a helical gear, moves in the axial direction, the angular velocity of the worm wheel 62 fluctuates, The operation becomes unstable, which causes vibration and noise.

Incidentally, the worm wheel 62 can be a spur gear by inclining the worm 61 by the lead angle as in the present embodiment. As a result, since the thrust load is not generated in the worm wheel 62, the friction load torque is small, and the fluctuation of the vibration, the noise, and the rotational angular velocity is also small, and the stable gear meshing can be realized.

<Torque Limiting Means>

Next, an example of the configuration of the torque limiting means 68 shown in Fig. 14 will be described with reference to Figs. 17 and 18. Fig. 17 is a sectional view including the rotation shaft of the output gear 67 including the torque limiting means 68, and Fig. 18 is an exploded perspective view showing each component of the torque limiting means 68. Fig.

One end of the drive shaft 32 has a flat surface portion 82 in which an outer circumference of a cylindrical shape is removed in the axial direction, and is driven to rotate by fitting to the rotation plate 36. The other end of the drive shaft 32 is enlarged in diameter to have a first sliding surface 83 on its outer periphery and a groove 85 on one end of the first sliding surface 83.

Shaped portion 88 formed by dividing the circumference of the circumference into a plurality of slits 87 is formed around the center of rotation of the output gear 67 And the inner periphery thereof forms a second sliding surface 84. [0051] A part of the second sliding surface 84 forms a columnar stopper 86 protruding inward. In the present embodiment, the number of the slits 87 to the flutes 88 is six, but the present invention is not limited to the six slits, but may be a shape capable of obtaining a predetermined compressive strength for holding the drive shaft 32, .

The first sliding surface 83 provided on the outer periphery of the drive shaft 32 is fitted to the second sliding surface 84 which is the inner periphery of the flap portion 88 of the output gear 67, (86) is fitted to prevent movement in the axial direction. The ring spring 89 is fitted while tightly tightening the outer periphery of the flake portion 88.

If the diameter of the first sliding surface 83 is D1, the inner diameter of the second sliding surface 84 is D2, the outer diameter of the flat portion 88 is D3, and the inner diameter of the ring spring 89 is D4, A flat surface pressure is given between the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84 as D1> D2 and the flat portion 88 is formed by unfolding and pressing the ring spring 89 as D4 <D3, Is applied to the inner peripheral side so as to apply a predetermined pressure contact force between the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84.

Here, when the compression force applied between the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84 by the ring spring 89 is F and the friction coefficient is mu, the friction between the drive shaft 32 and the output gear 67 The frictional torque T generated at the time T becomes F = (D / 2). When the torque equal to or higher than T is applied between the drive shaft 32 and the output gear 67, the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84 slide together and function as the torque limiting means 68. Here, by adjusting the compression force F by the ring spring 89, an appropriate friction torque can be added.

According to the present embodiment, the flake portion 88 is provided integrally with the output gear 67, and is fitted with the drive shaft 32 and tightened by the ring spring 89 tightly. Thus, the torque limiting means 68 can be constructed at a low cost.

In the present embodiment, the coil spring is used as the ring spring 89, but the present invention is not limited to the coil spring. Instead of the coil spring, the coil spring may be tightened tightly. The slit may be inserted in the direction of the arrow.

Next, from the example described in Figs. 17 and 18, a structure in which the reliability is further improved when the driving mechanism is reduced in thickness is described with reference to Figs. 24 and 25. Fig. 17 and 18 are different in that the diameter Dl, D2, D3 and D4 are enlarged respectively, the number of the flutes 88 is increased, and the ring spring 89 is made of thick rods ) Is curved in a circular shape. 17 and 18, a description thereof will be omitted.

First, the diameters D1, D2, D3, and D4 will be described. The outer circumference of the drive shaft 32 on the opposite side to the rotary plate 36 is the first sliding surface 83 and the outer diameter of the first sliding surface 83 is D1 and the outer diameter of the second sliding surface 84 is Assuming that the inner diameter is D2 and the compression force applied between the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84 by the ring spring 89 is F and the coefficient of friction is μ, the driving shaft 32 and the output gear 67 ) Becomes T = F? (D1 / 2). Here, in order to make the friction torque T a predetermined size, it is conceivable to increase the compressive force F. However, when the output gear 67 and the drive shaft 32 are integrally molded from resin, there is a limit to the allowable surface pressure. In this case, when the compression force F is increased, a large surface pressure is applied to the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84 so that the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84, which are made of resin, Or breakage may occur.

Therefore, in this configuration, the diameter D1 of the first sliding surface 83 is increased to increase the friction torque T while suppressing the compression force F to be small. Specifically, the distance a from the rotation center of the drive shaft 32 to the position where the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84 slide, the distance between the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84, Is a distance b from the sliding position to the tooth line, a &gt; b. Thus, the frictional torque T can be increased while suppressing the compressive force F, and reliability can be improved even in a configuration in which the drive mechanism is thinned.

Next, the flake portion 88 will be described. As shown in Fig. 25, the second sliding surface 84 of the output gear 67 is constituted by a plurality of flutes 88 divided into a plurality of slits 87 in the circumferential direction. In this configuration, the flake portion 88 is divided into 12 parts by the slit 87. [ Considering the number of the flutes 88, when the number of flutes 88 is small, the area per one of the flutes 88 becomes large and becomes circular arc , The rigidity is increased. When the driving shaft 32 is included in the output gear 67 from the dimensional relationship giving the surface pressure between the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84 as D1> D2, Is not easily deformed, so that the assemblability is deteriorated. D4 <D3, where D3 is the outer diameter of the tabular portion 88, and D4 is the inner diameter of the ring spring 89. When the tabular portion 88 is difficult to deform, The pressing force to push the flat portion 88 against the inner circumferential side is reduced by the ring spring 89. As a result, the torque limit The function as the means 68 can not be sufficiently exhibited.

Thus, in the present configuration, the number of the flutes 88 is increased (for example, by dividing 12), the area per one flutes 88 is made small, and the shape is approximated to the plane, have. Thus, it is possible to reduce the loss of the compression force F by the ring spring 89, and the function as the torque limiting means 68 can be exerted.

On the other hand, by adjusting the height dimension H1 of the first sliding surface 83 of the drive shaft 32, the magnitude of the action of the compression force F can be changed. However, when it is intended to reduce the thickness of the door opening device 24 in the height direction, it is preferable that the height dimension H1 is as small as possible.

Here, the total area of the flap 88 as the second sliding surface 84 is obtained by multiplying the length (2? A) of the circumference by the height H1 of the flap 88 and is expressed as 2? AH1 . The area per one piece piece 88 can be obtained by 2? AH1 / n (formula 1) when the number of pieces 88 is n. Therefore, the larger the value of "a", the larger the number of the flutes 88 that can be calculated in (formula 1) can be, and the larger the number of flutes 88 can be divided.

In this configuration, the diameter D1 of the first sliding surface 83 is increased in order to increase the friction torque T while suppressing the compression force F to be small. In this configuration, the distance a from the rotation center of the drive shaft 32 to the position where the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84 slide is larger. Thus, in this configuration, the flake portion 88 has a larger width dimension than the height dimension H1. This makes it possible to obtain the area and the number of divided portions which are subjected to the predetermined bending deformation by the compression force F by the ring spring 89 even if the flutes 88 having the height dimension suppressed are provided, A predetermined surface pressure can be obtained between the second sliding surfaces 84 and can function as the torque limiting means 68. [

Next, the ring spring 89 will be described. As shown in Figs. 24 and 25, the ring spring 89 of the present construction has a round bar bent in an annular shape along the outer periphery of the flap portion 88. As shown in Fig. The ring spring 89 is formed in an annular shape by bringing one end and the other end of the straight round bar close to each other, and a slight gap is formed or contacted between one end and the other end. When the drive shaft 32 and the output gear 67 are included in the inner periphery of the ring spring 89 of this configuration, the surface pressure is applied between the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84 with D1> D2 The first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84 are pressed together by pressing the ring spring 89 as D4 <D3 so that the flat portion 88 is pressed toward the inner circumferential side. A predetermined pressure contact force is given between the two.

The ring spring 89 can uniformly apply a compressive force to the outer periphery of the flat portion 88 from the ring spring 89 by forming a single thick metal rod into a ring shape. Therefore, when the door opening device 24 is driven, the drive shaft 32 and the output gear 67 are integrally rotated within a range that does not idle. On the other hand, when the rotary plate 36 of the door opening device 24 is stopped in the middle of rotation due to the interruption of the power supply, etc., the output gear 67 idles with respect to the drive shaft 32, And can be moved to a predetermined position. Therefore, even when the door opening device 24 stops driving halfway, the door provided with the door opening device 24 can be moved to the closing position, and at the same time, It is possible to prevent damage due to the application of a large force.

Further, by interposing a lubricant between the first sliding surface 83 and the second sliding surface 84, the behavior of the sliding surface can be stabilized and the torque can be stabilized.

<Block diagram>

19 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a refrigerator provided with a door opening device in an embodiment of the present invention. The control circuit including the control board 31 is connected to a power source 100 that generates a direct current or the like of a predetermined voltage from a commercial power source. It is also connected to an operation panel 102 including a push button switch for performing temperature adjustment and an operation panel 101 including display means 103 such as a flashing LED. It is also connected to the temperature sensors 33, 34 and 35, the refrigerating compartment cooling damper 20 and the freezing compartment cooling damper 21, the compressor 45 and the door opening device 24 so as to drive and control them. 1, the operation panel 101 is disposed on the front surface of the refrigerator body 1, for example, on the front surface of the refrigerator compartment door 2a as an example. When the user changes or confirms various functions, .

<Configuration of control system>

Next, the configuration of a control system for controlling the door opening device 24 will be described with reference to Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system.

When the user presses the door open switch 23, the signal is sent to the control board 31. [ The rotation detecting means 73 for detecting the rotational position of the drive shaft 32 and the position of the connection plate 29 are provided in the lower freezing chamber 5 and the vegetable chamber 6, And a second door detecting means (30) for detecting the door open / closed state are connected to the control board (31). Further, the power required for driving the door opening device 24 and the control board 31 is supplied from the power source 100.

The operation panel 101 may be provided with a notification means 104 for notifying the user that the door is not closed and is open. An example of the notifying means 104 is that the buzzer sounds or the lamp lights up or flickers.

<Opening control>

The procedure of opening control when the lower freezing chamber 5 is opened will be described with reference to Fig. 20 is a flowchart showing the sequence of opening control when the lower freezing chamber 5 is opened.

When the opening operation is started (block 105), the control board 31 monitors the state of the rotation detecting means 73 and determines whether or not the rotating plate 36 of the driving mechanism 27 is at the origin position (Block 106)

If the rotary plate 36 is not at the origin, the motor 37 is energized (block 107), and the rotary plate 36 is rotated to monitor the rotation detecting means 73 to be the origin.

When the control board 31 detects that the door opening switch 23 has been operated by the user (block 108), the motor 37 is energized (block 109) , And the rotating plate 36 is rotated. At this time, the rotation direction of the rotation plate 36 is set as a counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 8, and when the rotation plate 36 rotates, the connection plate 29 is pushed to open the freezing chamber 5. If it is confirmed that the motor 37 continues to rotate and the rotation plate 36 is located at the home position by the rotation detecting means 73 (Block 110), the motor is stopped (Block 111) (Block 112).

<Closing Control>

The procedure of the control when the freezing chamber 5 is closed from the so-called half-door state in which the freezing chamber 5 is not completely closed will be described with reference to Fig. 21 is a flowchart showing a procedure of closing control when the freezing chamber 5 is closed. The operation from the start of the operation (block 113) to the detection of the origin (block 114) until the motor 37 is energized (block 115) is the same as that of blocks 105 to 107 in Fig.

When the first door detecting means 74 detects the second magnet 51 of the connecting plate 29 (block 116), the door 5a of the lower freezing chamber 5 is not in a semi-opened (unilateral) The door closing operation is completed (block 117). On the other hand, when the second door detecting means 30 is opened (block 118), the door 5a is open, so that it is assumed that the door is a halfway door. Block 119).

When the first door detecting means 74 can not detect the closing of the door and the second door detecting means 30 detects the closing and detects that the door is a halfway door, the electric current is supplied to the motor 37 (Block 120). The rotation direction at this time is the clockwise rotation direction in Fig. At this time, by lowering the voltage applied to the motor 37 to, for example, about 1/2 to 1/3 of the rated voltage, the rotation speed of the rotation plate 36 is lowered. Then, since the rotary plate 36 rotates in the clockwise direction at a low speed, the door 5a is not closed abruptly, which is preferable because safety is improved.

When the motor 37 is energized for a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds in the clockwise direction (block 121), the rotating plate 36 reaches the state shown in FIG. 9 (b) The lower freezing chamber 5 is closed by moving the door 5a in the closing direction. After the lapse of a predetermined time, the motor 37 is energized so as to rotate counterclockwise (block 122) and rotated until the rotary plate 36 becomes the home position as shown in Fig. 9 (d) (Block 123), the rotation of the motor 37 is stopped (block 124). When the first door detecting means 74 detects that the lower freezing chamber 5 is closed (Block 125), it is confirmed that the lower freezing chamber 5 has been completely closed, so the process is terminated 126). If the first door detecting means 74 can not detect the closing of the lower freezing chamber 5, it can be judged that the half-door state is continuing. Therefore, the processing from block 120 to block 125, The current is energized to rotate the rotating plate 36 in the clockwise direction to close the lower freezing chamber 5 (block 127). Further, if it is not possible to detect the closing of the first door detecting means 74 even after the predetermined number of times, for example, three times of the closing operation, the lower freezing chamber 5 is judged to be unable to be closed, 104 to notify the user of an alarm that is a pen drive condition (block 128).

<Effect>

According to the present invention, it is possible to open the door lightly by reducing the opening force of the draw-out door of the refrigerator and to automatically close the door from the so-called semi-open (semi-open) It is effective. In addition, the configuration and effects will be described in detail in correspondence with each other.

First, a driving mechanism 27 having a motor 37, a housing member (upper case 59 and lower case 60) for housing the driving mechanism 27, And a connecting member (29) (connecting plate) for converting rotational motion of the rotating member (36) into rectilinear motion. The door opening device (24) The gap between the first surface 94 and the second surface 95 opposed to the first surface 94 is smaller than the outer shape of the motor 31 and is smaller than the outer surface of the motor 31, And the motor housing portion 38 is provided on the first surface 94 with respect to the rotary member 36. The motor housing portion 38 includes a housing portion 38 (protruding portion), and the rotary member 36 protrudes outward from the first surface 94, Are equal or small.

Thus, the bottom surface 95 (second view), which is the bottom surface of the lower case 60, is formed into a flat shape without projections by reducing the thickness of the drive mechanism 27, It is effective to dispose the vacuum insulator 18 on the lower surface to increase the heat insulating property of the heat insulating partition wall 12b.

Further, the motor housing portion 38 is protruded by H2 on the upper surface, and the protrusion amount is made equal to or smaller than the thickness H1 of the portion of the rotary plate 36 (H2? H1) It is possible to use a motor 37 having a diameter larger than the thickness of the housing member in a flat shape. Since the motor housing portion 38 is smaller than the height H1 of the rotary plate 36, the bottom surface of the container 5b need not have a specific shape for avoiding the motor housing portion 38, ) Is not reduced.

The deceleration means 93 includes a worm 61 rotated by the rotation shaft of the motor 37 and a worm 61 that is rotated by the rotation shaft of the motor 37 And the rotating shaft of the motor 37 and the rotating shaft of the worm 61 are provided so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle from the first surface 94 and the worm 61 and the worm wheel 61 62 are disposed such that the tangent of the engagement portion 76 of the worm 61 and the worm wheel 62 is along the direction in which the first surface 94 and the second surface 97 are connected to each other in a vertical direction.

That is to say, the motor 37 and the worm 61 are inclined by an angle? In the direction of approaching the bottom surface of the drive mechanism 27 so that the rotation center of the motor 37 on the worm 61 side The height Ha of the worm 61 and the worm wheel 62 becomes Hb and the relationship of Ha> Hb is satisfied so that the worm wheel 62 is moved to the bottom surface 95, And as a result, the protrusion amount of the worm wheel accommodation portion 79 toward the upper case 60 can be reduced.

Third, the worm wheel 62 is a spur gear. In other words, since the worm wheel 62 can be made to be a spur gear by inclining the worm 61 by the lead angle, the thrust load is not generated in the worm wheel 62, so that the friction load torque is small, , The fluctuation of the rotational angular velocity is small, and stable gear engagement can be realized.

Fourthly, the distance from the first surface 94 to the meshing position of the worm wheel 62 with the worm 61 or the distance from the second surface 95 to the meshing position of the worm wheel 62 and the worm 61 Any of the distances is smaller than 1/2 of the outer shape of the motor 37. The height position of the engaging portion 76 of the worm 61 and the worm wheel 62 is set to be smaller than 1/2 of the outer dimensions of the motor 37 on the lower case 60 side It is possible to reduce the projecting amount of the worm wheel accommodation portion 79 upward.

Fifthly, the driving mechanism 24 includes a first side 96 connecting the first side 94 (upper side) and the second side 95 (lower side), and a second side 96 connecting the second side 95 A third side surface 98 connecting the first side surface 96 and the second side surface 97 and a fourth side surface 99 opposed to the third side surface 98, (70) for electrically connecting the motor (37) and the rotation detecting means (73) to the outside of the drive mechanism (24), wherein the deceleration means The output gear 67 has a first side 96 and a third gear 96. The output gear 67 is connected to the first side 96, The motor 37 and the worm 61 are arranged on the side of the fourth side face 99 in the direction in which the worm 61 is close to the first side face 96, The connector 70 is disposed on the side of the second side surface 97 and the wiring cable 71 for connecting the motor 37 and the connector 70, , Rotating wire cable 71 for connecting the detection means 73 and the connector 70 are arranged apart from the speed reduction means (93). As a result, the wiring cable 71 is not inserted in the respective gears constituting the deceleration means 93, and reliability is high. Since the motor terminal 75 of the motor 37 and one end of the detection substrate 72 to which the wiring cable 71 is connected are disposed adjacent to the connector 70, the wiring cable 71 may be short, Easy and reliable.

Sixth, a flake portion 88 formed by dividing a circumference into a plurality of slits 87 is provided integrally with the inner periphery of the output gear 67 and tightly fitted to the drive shaft 32 by a ring spring 89. Thus, the torque limiting means 68 can be configured with an inexpensive configuration.

In the present embodiment, the drive mechanism 27 is provided on the heat insulating partition wall 12b between the freezing chamber 5b and the vegetable compartment 6 to open and close the lower freezing chamber 5. However, the lower freezing chamber 5). For example, the driving mechanism 27 can be configured to have the same structure even when the driving mechanism 27 is disposed on the bottom wall 92 of the refrigerator body by opening and closing the lowermost vegetable compartment 6, and an equivalent effect can be obtained.

<Fixing Means of Motor and Worm>

Next, the configuration of the motor 37 and the cases (the upper case 59 and the lower case 60) will be further described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23. FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the motor and motor support means. Fig. 23 is a side cross-sectional view of the motor in a case including the motor.

The motor 37 and the worm 61 connected to the rotation shaft of the motor 37 are disposed so as to be concentric with the motor support member 105. The motor 37 is connected to the motor fixing member 107, (Screw as an example).

A worm wheel shaft portion 110 for worm wheel arrangement is provided on the side of the worm 61 mounting portion of the motor support member 105 and a worm wheel 62 is disposed around the worm wheel shaft portion 110 to rotate do.

The motor support member 105 is movable in the horizontal direction of the lower case 60 (the left and right direction on the paper surface) from the one-dot chain line to the dashed line in FIG. (61) is inclined by the lead angle of the worm (61). Then, the motor 37 and the worm 61 are put in the motor support member 105 in advance, and then the motor 37 and the worm 61 are placed together in the case (the upper case 59 and the lower case 60). On the other hand, the cylindrical worm wheel shaft portion 110 is arranged in the vertical direction with respect to the horizontal direction of the lower case 60, and the worm wheel 61 is made flat.

The cylindrical portion 108 is disposed vertically upward from the horizontal direction of the lower case 60 and the cylindrical portion 109 is disposed vertically downward from the horizontal direction of the upper case 59. [ The cylindrical portion 108 and the cylindrical portion 109 are provided at positions facing each other in the up and down direction and the fastening hole 106 of the motor supporting member 105 is provided between the cylindrical portion 108 and the cylindrical portion 109, . In this state, the three parts of the upper case 59, the lower case 60, and the motor supporting member 105 are fastened by the fastening means 111 (a screw, for example). On the other hand, the fastening holes 106 are provided at three positions, that is, the front portion, the rear portion, and the side portion of the motor 37, and vibration accompanying the rotational movement of the motor 37 and the worm 61 is suppressed.

The rotational axis of the motor 37 is disposed such that the direction in which the rotational member 36 presses the connecting member 29 is lowered and the end of the motor 37 opposite to the rotational axis of the motor 37 And the upper case 59, which faces the end portion, forms an inclined surface. As a result, the entire door opening device can be made thinner in the height direction. Further, a reaction force in the axial direction is applied to the motor 37 and the worm 61 when the worm 61 rotates. Since the reaction force is received on the inclined surface of the upper case 59, rigidity can be maintained even when the door opening / closing apparatus is made thin. In addition, it is possible to suppress the vibration caused by the reaction force.

The cylindrical portion 108 and the cylindrical portion 109 are disposed below the inclined surface and the three parts of the upper case 59, the lower case 60 and the motor supporting member 105 are fastened to the fastening means 111 For example, a screw). In this configuration, the reaction force of the motor 37 to move in the direction opposite to the rotation axis is transmitted to the inclined surface, the cylindrical portion 108, and the cylindrical portion 109, against the force of the rotary member 36 pressing the connecting member 29, And fastening means (111). Thus, even if the height direction of the door opening device is made thin, sufficient rigidity can be obtained.

Further, the motor 37 is integrally supported from the motor support member 105 to the case (the upper case 59 and the lower case 60). Thus, even if the motor 37 and the worm 61 are inclined with respect to the horizontal direction of the lower case 60, the positional accuracy is improved and assembly is facilitated.

A convex portion for controlling the position of the connecting member 29 is provided on the side surface of the motor protruding portion 38 disposed in the upper case 59 at the time of opening and closing the door and the rotary member 36 and the connecting member 29 It is possible to restrain the lateral displacement of the connecting member 29 when the rotary motion is converted into the rectilinear motion.

<Application to other devices>

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the door opening device 24 is provided in the draw-out door of the lower freezing room 5 to the vegetable room 6, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the same effect can be obtained even if it is installed in a rotary door such as the refrigerator compartment door 2.

In this embodiment, the refrigerator has the door opening device, but the present invention is not limited to the refrigerator. For example, the present invention can be applied to all known drawing-out apparatuses such as a filing cabinet for storing documents, a drawer dryer including drawers for drawing to the front side, and the same effects as those of the present embodiment are obtained .

1: Refrigerator main body 5: Lower freezer compartment
6: Vegetable room 12, 12a, 12b: Insulation partition wall
18: vacuum insulator 23: door opening switch
24: door opening device 25: foaming insulation
26: support frame 27: drive mechanism
28: connection reinforcing means 29: connecting plate (connecting member)
30: second door detecting means 31: control board
32: drive shaft 36: rotary plate (rotary member)
37: motor 38: motor receiving portion (protruding portion)
48: step (pressurizing portion) 49: step (pressurized portion)
50 1st magnet 51: 2nd magnet
52: Inlet position 53: Open amount
57: leading end 58:
59: upper case (storage member) 60: lower case (storage member)
61: Worm 62: Worm wheel (first gear)
63: pinion gear (second gear) 64: worm wheel shaft
65: idler gear (third gear) 66: idler shaft
67: output gear (fourth gear) 68: torque limiting means
69: Wiring space 70: Connector
71: wiring cable 72: detection substrate
73: rotation detecting means 74: first door detecting means
75: motor terminal 76: engaging portion
77: connector receptacle 78: sealing material
79: Worm wheel housing part 80: Center of rotation
81: gear tooth root 82:
83: first sliding surface 84: second sliding surface
85: Home 86: Stopper
87: slit 88:
89: Ring spring 90: O-shaped ring
91: screw (fastening means) 92: refrigerator bottom wall
93: deceleration means 94: upper surface (first surface)
95: bottom (second side) 96: first side
97: second aspect 98: third aspect
99: fourth side 100: power source
101: Operation panel 102: Operation means
103: display means 104:
105: motor support member 106: fastening hole
107: fastening means (screw) 108: cylindrical portion
109: cylindrical portion 110: worm wheel shaft portion
111: fastening means (screw)

Claims (11)

A door opening device comprising a driving mechanism having a motor, a housing member for housing the driving mechanism, a rotating member rotating by rotation of the motor, and a connecting member for converting rotational motion of the rotating member into rectilinear motion As a result,
Wherein a distance between a first surface of the housing member and a second surface opposite to the first surface is smaller than an outer shape of the motor, And the motor housing portion is formed so that the protruding length from the first surface is equal to or smaller than that of the rotating member, Opening device. The method according to claim 1,
And deceleration means for decelerating a driving force from the motor,
Wherein the deceleration means includes a worm rotating by a rotation shaft of the motor and a worm wheel rotating in engagement with the worm,
The rotation axis of the motor and the rotation axis of the worm are inclined at a predetermined angle from the first surface,
Wherein the worm and the worm wheel are arranged such that a tangent line of the worm and the engaging portion of the worm wheel follows a direction in which the first surface and the second surface are connected to each other in a vertical direction. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the worm wheel is a flat gear. 3. The method of claim 2,
A distance from the first surface to the meshing position of the worm wheel and the worm or a distance from the second surface to the meshing position of the worm wheel and the worm is smaller than 1/2 of the outer shape of the motor The door opening device comprising: 5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The driving mechanism includes a first side connecting the first surface and the second surface, a second side opposing the first side, a third side connecting the first side and the second side, And a fourth side opposite to the third side,
Rotation detecting means for detecting the position of the rotating member and a connector for electrically connecting the motor and the rotation detecting means to the outside of the driving mechanism,
Wherein the deceleration means includes an output gear connected to the rotating member and a gear train for connecting the worm,
The output gear is disposed on the first side face and on the third side face side,
Wherein the motor and the worm are arranged on a side of the fourth side face in a direction in which the worm approaches the first side face,
The gear train is disposed on the first side face,
The connector is disposed on the second side surface,
Wherein the wiring cable connecting the motor and the connector and the wiring cable connecting the rotation detecting means and the connector are disposed apart from the decelerating means. A refrigerator having a drawer door capable of being drawn out in a back and forth direction and a door opening device for opening the drawer door,
The door opening device includes:
A refrigerator comprising: a driving mechanism having a motor provided in a refrigerator main body; a housing member for housing the driving mechanism; a rotating member rotating by rotation of the motor; And a connecting member for converting a rotational motion of the rotary member into a linear motion,
Wherein a distance between a first surface of the housing member and a second surface opposite to the first surface is smaller than an outer shape of the motor and is protruded from the first surface to the opposite side from the second surface, And the motor housing portion is equal to or smaller than the protruding length from the first surface with respect to the rotating member. The refrigerator according to claim 1, .
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