KR20130015987A - Refrigerator with an inner door - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A refrigerator with an inner door is provided to prevent damage to the inner door as the inner door is installed without interference. CONSTITUTION: The refrigerator(100) comprises a cabinet, upper and lower hinges, a door frame, an outer door(112), a basket installation unit, an inner door, a latch unit, and an opening unit. The upper and lower hinges are installed in the cabinet. The door frame is connected to the upper and lower hinges, and selectively opens and closes a chamber. The outer door is placed at the front of the door frame, and selectively opens and closes the inner space of the door frame. The basket installation unit is mounted on the inner wall of the door frame. The inner door comprises a vertical rotary shaft at the basket installation unit, and is opened and closed to the inside. The latch unit fixes the inner door to the basket installation unit. The opening unit is mounted on one side of the basket installation unit, and rotates the inner door when the latch unit is released.

Description

REFRIGERATOR WITH AN INNER DOOR}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having an inner door, and more particularly to a refrigerator having an inner door for opening and closing a space provided inside the door.

The refrigerator is a device for storing food, etc. for a long time by maintaining a storage compartment such as a refrigerating compartment or a freezing compartment provided in a cabinet in a predetermined temperature range, and may be classified into various types such as a double door type refrigerator and a refrigerator according to its shape. In addition, a dispenser may be provided for the user's convenience, or a so-called home bar may be installed to easily withdraw beverages or condiments even without opening the refrigerating compartment door.

The home bar includes a home bar case provided inside the refrigerator compartment door and a home bar door for opening and closing the front side opening of the home bar case. Here, the home bar door is provided on the front side of the refrigerating compartment door to open only the home bar door so that the user can access the inside of the refrigerating compartment. In some cases, an inner door may be additionally provided to open and close the inside of the refrigerating compartment of the home bar case. That is, both the front and rear of the home bar case are open, and are provided with the home bar door and the inner door to open and close them separately.

In the related art, such an inner door has been configured to open and close while being vertically slid or hinged to the home bar case to be rotated up and down. Therefore, in order to open the inner door, withdraw the article inside the home bar or inject the article, it is inconvenient to use it because it is necessary to hold the inner door with one hand so as not to move downward.

In order to alleviate this inconvenience, it is possible to keep the inner door open, but in this case, if the refrigerator door is closed while the inner door is open due to a user's mistake or other factors, it may interfere with other structures such as shelves. This may cause the internal door to be damaged. Particularly, in the case of the refrigerator, since the cold air leakage preventing member for sealing between the two refrigerating compartment doors is disposed on the front side of the refrigerator compartment, interference between the inner door and the cold air leakage preventing member should also be avoided.

In addition, the inner door is made of a transparent material so that the stored items can be easily identified, but the strength is low compared to the opaque material has a problem that is easily broken when manufactured to a predetermined size or more.

The present invention has been made to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art as described above, to provide a refrigerator having an inner door that can easily open the home bar door while avoiding interference with other structures in the refrigerator compartment. I'm taking it.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, the cabinet including a storage compartment; Upper and lower hinges provided in the cabinet; A door frame selectively coupled to the upper and lower hinges to open and close the storage compartment; An outer door disposed in front of the door frame to selectively open and close an inner space of the door frame; A basket installation unit mounted on an inner wall surface of the door frame; An inner door capable of opening and closing inward by providing a vertical rotation shaft to the basket installation part; A latch mechanism for fixing the inner door to the basket mounting portion; And an opening member installed at one side of the basket installation unit and rotating the inner door when the latch mechanism is released.

In the aspect of the present invention, the inner door for opening and closing the inner side of the door frame that provides an additional space for storing the article is coupled by a vertical rotation shaft disposed in the vertical direction to maintain the open state even if the inner door is opened. have. In addition, when the inner door is opened, the inner door is rotated through the opening member so that the inner door is in a proper position after the latch mechanism is released, thereby increasing convenience of use.

That is, the opening member may include an elastic means provided on the vertical rotation shaft, through which the inner door can be in a desired position. That is, the ease of use is improved by keeping the inner door within a predetermined section defined by the first to second angles. That is, the first angle may be defined as an angle having an interval enough to allow a user's hand to enter between the inner door and the door frame, and the second angle moves the door frame toward the cabinet with the inner door open. Even if it can be defined as an angle that does not cause interference with the second refrigerator compartment door.

In addition, the opening member may include a buffer member provided in the basket mounting portion, and the shock absorbing member may be configured to apply a force to the door toward the side where the door is opened when the latch mechanism is released in addition to vibration and noise absorption. .

On the other hand, the cabinet may be provided with a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment in the cabinet, the refrigerating compartment in the upper side of the cabinet may be arranged below the freezing compartment or vice versa, if a separate storage compartment is additionally disposed between the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment It may also be included.

Herein, the elastic means may apply elasticity to the side in which the inner door is opened when the inner door is opened smaller than the first angle. As a result, when the latch mechanism is released, the inner door is automatically positioned at a position greater than or equal to the first angle through the elastic means. Thus, a space for the user's hand to access the interior of the door frame may be obtained by simply releasing the latch mechanism. Will be created.

The elastic means may apply elasticity in a direction in which the inner door is closed when the inner door is opened larger than the second angle. Through this, even if the user accidentally closes the refrigerating compartment door while the inner door is opened, it is possible to prevent the refrigerating compartment door from being damaged due to interference with the second refrigerating compartment door.

Meanwhile, the latch mechanism may be provided in the door frame, and the hook portion engaged with the latch mechanism may be provided in the inner door. At this time, the inner door is a support for installing the latch mechanism; And cover parts installed at upper and lower portions of the support part, respectively. That is, the inner door is made up of a plurality of plate members instead of one plate member, thereby making molding easier. That is, when the inner door is formed to have a length substantially similar to the length of the first refrigerating chamber door, it may be difficult to reduce the defects such as warpage or gap during injection molding, and thus it may be difficult to secure productivity. If the panel is divided into panels, the probability of failure is relatively low.

In particular, the support portion is made of an opaque material, and when the cover portion is made of a transparent material, a relatively high strength opaque material improves the rigidity of the inner door, and facilitates the article stored therein through the transparent material. You can check it. In addition, since the latch mechanism can be installed on a support made of an opaque material, the latch mechanism can be more firmly coupled to the inner door.

On the other hand, the door frame may be provided with a buffer member in contact with the inner door, wherein the buffer member may be disposed to contact the upper corner of the inner door. In addition, the inner door can be bent in an arch shape when viewed from the side, so that the shock absorbing member can be surely contacted with the inner door even if the shape of the inner door is changed during use or during production.

In addition, a basket mounting portion additionally installed on the rear surface of the door frame may be included, and the basket mounting portion may include a pair of opposing side walls, and an upper side and a lower side connecting both ends of the side walls, respectively. The basket installation unit provides a storage space for storing the article together with the door frame, so that the volume can be expanded as compared with the case where the storage space is formed only by the door frame.

Here, at least a part of the side wall of the basket installation part is made of a transparent material, so that the contents can be easily checked even if the door frame is not completely opened.

In addition, at least one through hole may be formed on sidewalls or upper and lower side surfaces of the basket installation unit. The through hole may function as a passage for allowing cold air to circulate between the refrigerating chamber and the storage space provided in the door frame.

In addition, at least one cold air circulation port may be formed in the inner door.

According to another aspect of the invention, the storage compartment formed in the refrigerator cabinet; Upper and lower hinges mounted on upper and lower wall surfaces of the refrigerator cabinet; Door frames for selectively opening and closing the storage compartment in combination with the upper and lower hinges; A basket installation unit mounted on an inner wall surface of the door frame; An inner door capable of opening and closing inward by providing a vertical rotation shaft to the basket installation part; A latch mechanism for fixing the inner door to the basket mounting portion; And an elastic means installed at one side of the basket installation unit to impart rotational force to the inner door.

According to the aspects of the present invention having the configuration as described above, the inner door can be easily opened and closed to improve the ease of use, and the inner door is maintained in a position to avoid interference by the elastic means of the user Inadvertent damage to the inner door can be prevented.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an open state of an inner door and a door frame in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the first refrigerating compartment door in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1.
4 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating one end portion of the hinge shaft in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a cutaway view of one end of the hinge shaft of FIG. 4.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail an embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing an open state of the inner door and the door frame in the embodiment shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is In the illustrated embodiment, an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the first refrigerating compartment door, FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of one end portion of the hinge shaft in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the hinge fixing part in FIG. 4. Incision is also.

Referring to FIG. 1, the embodiment 100 includes a refrigerating compartment at an upper side and a freezing compartment at a lower side thereof, and includes first and second doors 110 and 120 for opening and closing the refrigerating compartment. The freezer door 130 for opening and closing is provided. The first and second doors 110 and 120 are installed to open and close half of one refrigerator compartment, whereby the user can partially open the front of the refrigerator compartment without opening or injecting the stored article. It is advantageous to prevent cold air leakage. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the illustrated refrigerator, but may be applied to a so-called "side-by-side refrigerator " in which a freezer compartment extending in the vertical direction of the refrigerator body and a refrigerating compartment are arranged side by side.

The first and second refrigerating compartment doors 110 and 120 are mounted by hinges 104 so that one end is rotatable relative to the cabinet 102. In addition, although the freezer compartment door 130 may be rotatably opened and closed like the refrigerating compartment door, the freezer door 130 is configured as a drawer door. That is, the freezer compartment door 130 has a basket shape that can be drawn out or drawn in to the user side.

The front surface of the second refrigerating compartment door 120 is provided with a handle 126 and a dispenser 140 for providing water or ice. Description of the specific configuration of the dispenser 140 will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 2, the first refrigerating compartment door 110 includes an outer door 112 on which the handle 116 is mounted and a door frame 114 disposed between the outer door 112 and the refrigerating compartment. . Both the outer door and the door frame are hingedly coupled to the cabinet 102. Thus, the user can rotate the outer door 112 and the door frame 114 separately. For example, the door frame 114 may be kept in contact with the front surface of the cabinet 102, that is, in a closed state and open and close only the outer door 112. For this reason, the outer door 112 functions as a door for opening and closing a conventional home bar, but in the embodiment, the area of the outer door 112 is configured to be the same as the second refrigerating compartment door 120, so that the home bar is It appears to be missing form. This provides a simple appearance while providing the function of the home bar.

A plurality of baskets 115 are provided on an inner side surface of the outer door 112, and a plurality of baskets 118 that are detachable from the inside of the door frame 114 are provided. The door frame 114 has a substantially rectangular shape, and the front and rear surfaces are opened to have a rectangular frame shape. In addition, referring to FIG. 3, a basket installation unit 150 is mounted on an inner surface of the door frame 114 to expand a storage space in which an article can be stored, into the refrigerating compartment.

The basket mounting portion 150 also has a shape of a large rectangle, and has upper and lower surfaces 150a and 150b facing each other and sidewall portions 150c and 150d facing each other. The upper and lower side surfaces and the two side wall portions extend from the door frame 114 to the inside of the refrigerating chamber to expand the storage space inside the door frame 114.

Meanwhile, the basket mounting unit 150 is divided into two spaces by the partition wall 150e, and through holes 151 and 152 are formed in the side wall portions 150d of the two spaces partitioned by the partition walls, respectively. have. When the door frame and the first refrigerating compartment door are closed, the through holes 151 and 152 face each other while being spaced apart from the inner wall of the refrigerating compartment, and thus function as a passage through which the cool air in the refrigerating compartment is introduced or discharged. In addition, an LED light 180 is installed on an inner wall of the refrigerating compartment, and the LED light 180 has only the first refrigerating compartment door open while the door frame is closed, or the door frame and the first refrigerating compartment door are opened. Lights up when

In particular, when only the first refrigerating compartment door is opened while the door frame is closed, the through-holes 151 and 152 may enter the light irradiated from the LED light 180 into the door frame 114. To help. Through this, it is possible to easily identify the article stored in the interior of the door frame at night without installing a separate lighting on the door frame. In addition, since the positions of the through holes 151 and 152 are disposed on the side of the inner door made of the transparent material, the inner door also functions as a light guide plate on which irradiated light is guided. Therefore, even though the LED light 180 is located on the side of the door frame, the LED light 180 can illuminate the inside of the door frame evenly.

On the other hand, a pair of cold air circulation holes 153 are formed on the upper surface 150a of the door frame. The cold air circulation port 153 also functions as a passage through which cold air can be circulated from the inner wall of the refrigerator like the through-hole described above. Here, in the above embodiment, the LED light is located on the side wall of the refrigerating compartment, but may be arranged above the inner wall of the refrigerating compartment. In this case, the cold air circulation port 153 serves to pass the light irradiated from the LED light to the inside of the door frame. In addition, the LED light is not necessarily limited to a luminaire including an LED, and may include any luminaire capable of irradiating light.

Light emitting windows 154 and 155 are provided at upper and lower sides of the side wall part 150c, respectively. The light transmission windows 154 and 155 extend from the side wall portion to the inner side surface of the basket mounting portion 150 to have a curved cross section, and the side of the door frame can identify the article stored therein. In addition, since the light transmission windows 154 and 155 are located at positions opposite to the through holes, the light of the LED light is uniformly diffused.

A latch fixing part 156 is mounted on one side of the partition wall 150e. The latch fixing part 156 is engaged with the latch provided in the inner door to be described later to serve to fix the inner door. In addition, a buffer member 157 is installed at one corner of the door frame to mitigate the shock that may occur during the opening and closing of the inner door, and the vibration generated from the inner door due to the vibration that may occur during the operation of the refrigerator. Or to prevent noise.

The inner door 160 is hinged through the hinge shaft 167 fixed to the hinge fixing parts 158 and 159 installed in the door frame. The inner door includes a support part 162 facing the partition wall 150e of the door frame and cover parts 164 and 166 coupled to upper and lower parts of the support part 162, respectively, and the support part is relatively high. It is made of a synthetic resin of opaque material having a strength, the cover portion is made of a synthetic resin material of transparent or translucent material.

In this way, the entire inner door is not constituted by a single panel, but by a support part and a cover part having a difference in strength, thereby satisfying both strength and visibility. That is, when the whole is made of a transparent material, although it is preferable in view of visibility, there may be a problem that the hardness of the inner door is low due to low hardness and high brittleness.

On the other hand, the support portion 162 is provided with a latch 163 coupled to the latch mechanism. By installing the latch on the support having an opaque material, the internal structure of the latch can be covered, and the appearance of the inner door can be kept more clean.

In addition, cold air circulation ports 164a and 166a are formed above the cover part, respectively. The cold air circulation ports 164a and 166a allow the cold air of the refrigerating compartment to flow into the door frame while the inner door is closed. A hinge fixing portion 166b is formed at the hinge side end portion of the cover portion 166. The hinge fixing portion 166b is formed to have an arc shape so that the hinge shaft 167 can be inserted therein, and the inner door rotates in a horizontal direction about the hinge shaft 167 inserted therein. So that it can be opened and closed.

In this way, since the rotation direction of the inner door is set not to be affected by gravity, the inner door may be disposed at any rotation angle. Therefore, it is not necessary to fix the inner door with one hand when taking out or inserting the article into the inside of the door frame, and the inner door is provided with a latch on the support having a support made of a relatively high strength opaque material. It can support more stably.

However, depending on the length or opening angle of the inner door there is a risk that the inner door interferes with the second refrigerating chamber door during the opening and closing of the door frame. In particular, a cold air leakage blocking member may be installed at an end of the second refrigerating compartment door to prevent cold air leakage that may occur between the two refrigerating compartment doors. Because of the installation, the possibility of interference with the inner door is high.

To solve this, the hinge shaft 167 is inserted through the coil spring 170 in the hinge fixing portion 158. The coil spring 170 has protrusions 172 formed at both ends thereof, one end of which is not illustrated is coupled to the hinge shaft 167, and the other end 172 is formed at the hinge fixing part 158. It is arrange | positioned inside the groove 158a. The groove 158a is wider than the end portion 172 of the coil spring. As a result, an elastic force is applied to the hinge shaft 167 only when the end 172 is in contact with an inner wall of the groove 158a. You lose.

Thus, by adjusting the distance and position of the groove it is possible to adjust the range in which the elastic force is applied to the hinge axis and the inner door. In the above embodiment, the inner door is set such that the elastic force by the coil spring is not applied at an angle of 30 ° to 100 ° when the state in contact with the front surface of the basket installation unit is 0 °. On the other hand, the elastic force is applied to open at an angle of 30 ° or more when the inner door is opened less than 30 °, the elastic force is set to be applied to open less than 100 ° when opened more than 100 °.

Here, 30 ° is the minimum angle that the user can easily enter the gap between the basket installation portion and the inner door, 100 ° is to avoid interference with the second refrigerating chamber door or cold air leakage preventing member It corresponds to the maximum angle. Of course, this angle varies depending on the size of the refrigerator, the position of the door, and the like, but those skilled in the art can arbitrarily select an appropriate value.

For this reason, when the user presses the latch toward the latch mechanism side, the inner door is automatically opened by 30 ° or more by the elastic force applied by the coil spring. In addition, when opened at 100 ° or more, it is rotated to be less than 100 ° by the coil spring to prevent interference.

And, the distal end of the inner door may have a curved shape to have an arch shape when viewed from the side. In this case, the portion facing the buffer member is located closer to the door frame side than the portion where the latch is located. Thus, when the latch is coupled to the latch mechanism, the corner portion of the inner door is strongly pressed against the cushioning member, so that the inner door may be more effectively prevented from vibrating due to the vibration generated during the operation of the refrigerator. In addition, even if a slight error occurs in the molding process, the corner portion and the cushioning member can be surely pressed.

Claims (15)

A cabinet including a storage compartment;
Upper and lower hinges provided in the cabinet;
A door frame selectively coupled to the upper and lower hinges to open and close the storage compartment;
An outer door disposed in front of the door frame to selectively open and close an inner space of the door frame;
A basket installation unit mounted on an inner wall surface of the door frame;
An inner door capable of opening and closing inward by providing a vertical rotation shaft to the basket installation part;
A latch mechanism for fixing the inner door to the basket mounting portion; And
And an opening member installed at one side of the basket installation unit to rotate the inner door when the latch mechanism is released. The method of claim 1,
The opening member is a refrigerator, characterized in that it comprises an elastic means provided on the vertical axis of rotation of the inner door. The method of claim 1,
The opening member is a refrigerator, characterized in that it comprises a buffer member provided on one side | The method of claim 1,
And the latch mechanism is provided in the door frame, and a hook portion engaged with the latch mechanism is provided in the inner door. 5. The method of claim 4,
The inner door may include a support on which the latch mechanism is installed; And
And a cover part installed at the upper and lower portions of the support part, respectively. The method of claim 5,
The support portion is made of an opaque material, the refrigerator characterized in that the cover portion is made of a transparent material. The method of claim 2,
The elastic means is a refrigerator, characterized in that to apply elasticity to the side in which the inner door is opened when the inner door is opened smaller than the first angle. The method of claim 2,
And the elastic means applies elasticity in a direction in which the inner door closes when the inner door is opened larger than the second angle. 9. The method of claim 8,
And the inner door is curved in an arch shape when viewed from the side. The method of claim 1,
The basket installation unit includes a pair of opposing side walls and an upper side and a lower side connecting the opposite ends of the side walls, respectively. The method of claim 10,
Refrigerator, characterized in that at least a portion of the side wall side of the basket mounting portion is made of a transparent material. The method of claim 10,
Refrigerator, characterized in that at least one through-hole is formed on the side wall or the upper and lower side of the basket installation portion. The method of claim 1,
At least one cold air circulation port is formed in the inner door. The method of claim 3,
The cushioning member is a refrigerator, characterized in that disposed to contact the upper corner of the inner door. A storage compartment formed in the refrigerator cabinet;
Upper and lower hinges mounted on upper and lower wall surfaces of the refrigerator cabinet;
Door frames for selectively opening and closing the storage compartment in combination with the upper and lower hinges;
A basket installation unit mounted on an inner wall surface of the door frame;
An inner door capable of opening and closing inward by providing a vertical rotation shaft to the basket installation part;
A latch mechanism for fixing the inner door to the basket mounting portion; And
And an elastic means installed at one side of the basket installation part to impart rotational force to the inner door.

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