KR20070116504A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided to enable compatible use of a hinge unit for left and right sides of a reversible door and to prevent strength reduction of a hinge unit. A refrigerator comprises a body, a door(20), a door stopper(30), a hinge bracket(110), a hinge shaft(130), and a sub-bracket(120). The door is hinged on the body. The door stopper includes a locking side(31) to limit an opening angle of the door. The hinge bracket comprises two hinge holes(112,113) bilaterally symmetrical and a fixing hole(114) in the middle of the hinge holes. The hinge shaft is selectively fitted into one of the hinge holes. The sub-bracket comprises a through hole(121) for penetration of the hinge shaft and a locking part(123) where the locking side of the door stopper gets caught when opening the door, and is separably coupled to the hinge bracket so as to be adoptable for a reversible door.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

1 is a perspective view showing a hinge device used in common left and right in a conventional refrigerator having a reversible door.

Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the door stopper, the hinge bracket and the sub bracket is installed on the right end of the door in the refrigerator according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a plan view showing the door stopper, the hinge bracket and the sub-bracket coupled to the left end of the door.

5 is a view for explaining the operation with respect to the door stopper and the sub-bracket in the refrigerator according to the present invention.

      * Description of symbols on the main parts of the drawings *

      10: body 20: door

      30: door stopper 31: locking surface

      100: hinge device 110: hinge bracket

      112, 113: hinge hole 114: fixing hole

      115: guide protrusion 120: sub bracket

      121: through hole 122: protrusion

      123: engaging portion 125: seating groove

      130: hinge axis

      The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator having a reversible door capable of changing the opening and closing direction of the door, and a door stopper for limiting the opening angle of the door.

      The refrigerator is a device for supplying the cold air generated by the refrigeration cycle to the storage compartment to maintain the freshness of various foods for a long time. Generally, a refrigerator has a main body having a storage compartment for storing food, and a door that is rotatably installed in the main body through a hinge device to open and close the storage compartment.

      In most cases, the refrigerator door is configured to open and close the storage compartment only in the first direction, such as right-opening or left-opening, but in recent years reversible door that can selectively change the opening and closing direction according to the user's convenience It may also consist of. Here, the right opening and closing method means that the hinge device is coupled to the right end of the door to rotate the door around the right end, and the left opening and closing method means that the hinge device is coupled to the left end of the door and the door is connected to the left end. It means to rotate around the center.

      In refrigerators with reversible doors, the hinge shaft is positioned differently depending on whether the door is installed in a right-opening or a left-opening manner. In this case, two types of hinges that are used exclusively for each method are used. Rather, it is desirable to configure the hinge device so that it can be shared by both methods.

      1 is a perspective view showing a hinge device used in common left and right in a conventional refrigerator having a reversible door. As shown in FIG. 1, in the conventional refrigerator, the hinge device 1 includes a hinge bracket 4 having two hinge holes 2 and 3, and two hinge holes 2 according to the opening and closing direction of the door 5. And a hinge shaft 6 selectively fitted to 3). When the door 5 is installed in the right-opening manner, the hinge shaft 6 is coupled to the hinge hole 2 on the right side of the two hinge holes, and when the door 5 is installed in the left-opening manner, The hinge shaft 6 is coupled to the hinge hole 3. In FIG. 1, the door is installed in a right-opening and closing type.

      Meanwhile, a door stopper may be installed in the refrigerator door to limit the opening angle of the door. In general, the door stopper is configured to interact with the hinge device coupled to the door when the door is opened so that the door does not open more than a certain angle.

Thus, when the door stopper is provided on the refrigerator door, a structure for interacting with the door stopper must be provided in the hinge device, and when the hinge device can be used in both sides of the reversible door, the door stopper interacts with the door stopper. Since the structure for the symmetrical design should be a problem that the configuration of the hinge device becomes complicated. In addition, when the configuration of the hinge device is complicated, the strength of the hinge device is likely to be lowered, which may cause a problem that the hinge device is damaged by the load of the door.

      The present invention is to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having a simple structure, and having a hinge device that can be used in common left and right for the reversible door is provided with a door stopper.

      In addition, the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can prevent the strength of the hinge device is lowered by designing the hinge device to be used in the left and right common to the reversible door having a door stopper.

Refrigerator according to the present invention for achieving this object is a refrigerator having a main body and a door hinged to the main body, a door stopper having a locking surface on one side to limit the opening angle of the door; A hinge bracket having two hinge holes formed in the hinge hole and a fixing hole provided at a central portion between the two hinge holes, and a hinge shaft selectively fitted in any one of the two hinge holes; A sub-bracket having a through-hole formed to be able to open the door, and a catching part to be caught by the locking surface when the door is opened, the sub-bracket being detachably coupled to the hinge bracket so that the left and right sides are reversed so as to be applied to different doors; Characterized in that it comprises a.

      The other side of the door stopper may be provided with an annular elastic piece for guiding the closing operation of the door, and the sub-bracket may further include a protrusion portion protruding toward the elastic piece to interact with the elastic piece.

      The hinge bracket may further include a guide protrusion protruding toward the sub bracket while surrounding the fixing hole, and the sub bracket may further include a seating groove corresponding to the guide protrusion.

In addition, the refrigerator according to the present invention is a refrigerator having a main body and a door hinged to the main body, having a ring-shaped elastic piece on one side to guide the closing operation of the door, limiting the opening angle of the door A door stopper having a locking surface on the other side; and a hinge bracket having two hinge holes formed symmetrically; and a hinge shaft selectively fitted to any one of the two hinge holes; And a sub bracket having a through hole formed so as to protrude from the left or right side of the through hole and protruding toward the elastic piece and interacting with the elastic piece, the sub bracket being detachably coupled to the hinge bracket. Is reversed so that the left and right sides are reversed so that the top and bottom surfaces are symmetrical to apply to doors with different opening and closing directions It characterized in that with the structure.

      Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a refrigerator according to the present invention, Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a door stopper, a hinge bracket and a sub bracket installed on the right end of the door in the refrigerator according to the present invention, Figure 4 Is a plan view showing the door stopper, the hinge bracket and the sub bracket coupled to the left end of the door.

      As shown in Figure 2 and 3, the refrigerator according to the present invention is coupled to the main body 10 through the main body 10 having a storage compartment 11 for the storage of food, and the hinge device 100, the storage compartment ( 11) a door stopper 30 installed on the door 20 to limit the opening angle of the door 20 at the time of opening the door 20 with a door 20 for opening and closing the door 20 and a locking surface 31 on one side thereof. Has

      The main body 10 is configured to include an outer wound 12 forming the outer surface thereof and an inner wound 13 disposed at regular intervals from the outer wound 12 to form the storage chamber 11 therein.

Insulation 14 is formed in the space between the outer box 12 and the inner box 13 to prevent cold air from being lost. The rear of the storage chamber 11 is provided with a cold air generating chamber 15 for generating cold air to be supplied to the storage chamber (11). The cold air generating chamber 15 is provided with an evaporator 16 for generating cold air by heat exchange with surrounding air, and a circulation fan 17 for supplying cold air to the storage chamber 11 is installed near the evaporator.

      The hinge device 100 has one side fixed to the lower end of the main body 10, the other side of the hinge bracket 110 extending forward toward the door 20, and the left and right are reversed so that the left and right are applied to the doors of different opening and closing directions. Sub bracket 120 is detachably coupled to the extension 111 of the hinge bracket 110 so that one end is supported by the hinge bracket 110 and the other end of the hinge groove 21 of the lower surface of the door 20 It has a hinge shaft (130) inserted into it.

      Two hinge holes 112 and 113 are symmetrically formed in the extension 111 of the hinge bracket 110 so that the hinge shaft 130 can be selectively fitted, and between the two hinge holes 112 and 113. In the central portion of the fixing hole 114 for fixing the sub-bracket 120 is formed.

In addition, the hinge bracket 110 is provided with a guide protrusion 115 protruding toward the sub bracket 120 while surrounding the fixing hole 114, which is to guide the coupling position of the sub bracket 120. 3 illustrates an example in which the door 20 is installed in a right-opening manner, and the hinge shaft 130 is fitted into the hinge hole 112 located at the right side of the two hinge holes.

      When the door stopper 30 is fixed to the lower surface of the door 20 and guides the closing operation of the door 20 to the other side of the door stopper 30, while the door 20 is not subjected to a predetermined force or more, An annular elastic piece 32 is provided to prevent the door 20 from opening.

      The sub-bracket 120 protrudes toward the elastic piece 32 of the door stopper 30 from the left side of the through hole 121 and the through hole 121 formed so that the hinge shaft 130 can pass therethrough. The protrusion 122 interacting with the end portion 32a of the bottom surface, and a projection surface 122 positioned on the opposite side of the protrusion portion 122 with respect to the through hole 121 to open the door stopper 30 when the door 20 is opened. 31 has a catching portion 123 to catch. In the present embodiment, the right side surface 120a of the sub bracket 120 functions as a locking portion (see FIG. 5C). In addition, the sub bracket 120 has a fastening hole 124 to be fastened to the hinge bracket 110 through a fastening unit such as a bolt, and around the fastening hole 124, the guide protrusion of the hinge bracket 110 ( A seating groove 125 is formed to be seated by 115.

      In particular, the sub-bracket 120 in the present invention is formed such that the upper surface (120b) and the lower surface (120c) has a symmetrical structure to each other so that it can be applied to the left-opening door as shown in Fig. do. That is, when the sub bracket 120 of FIG. 3 is turned over, the through hole 121 corresponds to the left hinge hole 113 of the two hinge holes of the hinge bracket 110, and the protrusion 122 of the through hole 121 is formed. The right side extends toward the elastic piece 32 to interact with the elastic piece 32, and the left side 120d of the sub bracket 120 functions as the locking part 123.

      5 is a view for explaining the operation of the door stopper and the sub-bracket in the refrigerator according to the present invention. Hereinafter, an example in which the door 20 is installed in a right opening / closing manner will be described. However, the case in which the door 20 is installed in a left opening / closing manner is applied as it is. As shown in FIG. 5A, when the door 20 is closed, the end portion 32a of the elastic piece 32 of the door stopper 30 is in a state of being caught by the protrusion 122 of the sub bracket 120. Therefore, the door 20 is automatically closed by the elasticity of the elastic piece 32 until the door 20 is rotated by a predetermined angle or more, and the elastic piece 32 exceeds the protrusion 122 (see FIG. 5B). 5C illustrates a state in which the door 20 is fully opened. When the door 20 is opened approximately 130 degrees, the locking surface 31 (see FIGS. 5A and 5B) of the door stopper 30 is connected to the sub bracket 120. ) Are caught by the locking portions 123 and 120a so that they are no longer opened.

      The above shows an example in which the door stopper and the hinge device are installed on the lower side of the refrigerator, but can also be applied when the door stopper and the hinge device are installed on the upper side of the refrigerator through a simple structure change. In addition, the above has been described a case in which the reversible door can be used for both sides, but it may be applied to the case where the right-opening door and the left-opening door are provided as in the double-door refrigerator.

      As described above, the present invention is provided with a sub-bracket that can be used to reverse the left and right to reverse the left and right, even when the door stopper is installed in the reversible door, the hinge device to the left and right without complicating the configuration of the hinge device There is a compatible effect.

      In addition, since the structure of the hinge bracket is simplified as the sub bracket is provided in the present invention, the strength of the hinge bracket is not reduced.

Claims (5)

A refrigerator having a main body and a door hinged to the main body, A door stopper having a locking surface at one side to limit the opening angle of the door; and A hinge bracket having two hinge holes formed symmetrically and a fixing hole provided at a central portion between the two hinge holes; and A hinge shaft selectively fitted into one of the two hinge holes; and A through hole formed to allow the hinge shaft to penetrate therein, and a locking portion to which the locking surface is caught when the door is opened, and is inverted so that the left and right sides are interchangeable so that the hinge shaft can be detachably attached to the hinge bracket so as to be applied to a door having a different opening and closing direction. Refrigerator comprising a; sub-bracket coupled.       The method of claim 1,       The other side of the door stopper is provided with a ring-shaped elastic piece for guiding the closing operation of the door, the sub-bracket further comprises a protrusion protruding toward the elastic piece to interact with the elastic piece .       The method of claim 1,       The hinge bracket further includes a guide protrusion protruding toward the sub bracket while surrounding the fixing hole, wherein the sub bracket further includes a seating groove corresponding to the guide protrusion. A refrigerator having a main body and a door hinged to the main body, A door stopper having a ring-shaped elastic piece on one side to guide the closing operation of the door, and having a locking surface on the other side to limit the opening angle of the door; and a hinge having two hinge holes formed symmetrically. A hinge shaft selectively fitted into one of the two hinge holes, a through hole formed to penetrate the hinge axis, and protruding from the left or right side of the through hole toward the elastic piece; And a sub bracket having an interactive protrusion and detachably coupled to the hinge bracket. The sub-bracket is inverted so that the left and right are interchanged with each other, the refrigerator having a symmetrical structure of the upper and lower surfaces so that the opening and closing direction can be applied to the door.       The method of claim 1,       The hinge bracket includes a fixing hole for fixing the sub bracket, wherein the fixing hole is located in the center between the two hinge holes.

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