NZ569374A - Refrigerator with side and top hand catch portions - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a refrigerator having a door with hand catch portions on side and on top of the door formed in a plate in a particular manner.

Description

10055768037* ;5 6 9 3 7 A ;PATENTS FORM NO. 5 Our ref: GL229096NZPR ;NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION ;Refrigerator ;We, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, a corporation organised under the laws of Japan of 7-3, Marunouchi 2-C home, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8310, Japan hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: ;-1- ;IPONZ (followed by page 1 a) ;2 5 JUN 2008 ;101226284J DOC:GL:qwgtn ;[Title of the Invention] REFRIGERATOR [Technical Field] ;[0001] ;The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more specifically, it relates to a refrigerator in which a hand catch portion is improved. ;[Background Art] ;[0002] ;A handle that is formed of a metal extrusion molding product having concavity and convexity is attached to a side surface of a door (in a height direction of the side surface) of a hitherto known refrigerator (for example, ;refer to Patent Document 1). ;[0003] ;Further, in electric appliances such as an ice-making machinery or the like, a sheet of metal plate panel is bent with a technique of so-called Hemming bending, and a handle that is integrally extended from a front wall of the panel in a crank like manner is formed. This handle is only provided in a width direction of the door, and is disposed at a low position of the door (for example, refer to Patent Document 2). ;[0004] ;[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-46837 (Pages 4 and 5, Fig. ;- la - ;1) ;[Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-150148 (Page 4, Fig. 3) [Disclosure of the Invention] ;[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] ;[0005] ;Recently, various small-sized and low-price models of refrigerators are used. In the hitherto known refrigerators described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, or the like, when the door is opened, a tall user has to stop down if the position of the handle is low, and a short user can not reach the handle if the position of the handle is high. Therefore, it has sometimes been troublesome to open the door. ;Further, recently, novel designs having simple feeling or smart feeling are in fashion. However, in a case that a handle of the metal extrusion molding product is attached as in the hitherto known refrigerator as described in Patent Document 1, since a metallic gloss appears in the texture of the handle, there has been a problem such as that the texture of the handle differs from that of a steel plate that occupies the approximately entire door and a presence of the handle is emphasized resulting in losing the simple feeling. In addition, the metallic handle itself is expensive and therefore it is difficult to apply the same to the small-sized and low price models. ;- 2 - ;[0006] ;Moreover, a sufficient investment effect cannot be expected in using the technique of Hemming bending or the like used in the hitherto known electric appliances described in Patent Document 2 for a refrigerator having a short product-manufacturing life cycle. This is because a special technique is required in a case that the technique of Hemming bending or the like is used for the door of the refrigerator. Further, there has been a problem in view of strength and easiness of opening and closing operation of the door of the refrigerator, because little shape freedom is allowed and strength is given to a handle portion only by a thin plate. ;[0007] ;The present invention is made to solve the above-described problems, and an object is to provide a low priced refrigerator with high reliability, capable of opening and closing the door from any positions regardless of standing height, and capable of easily assembling the same with parts in small quantity, or to at least provide a useful choice. ;Furthermore, another object is to provide a refrigerator provided with a high design characteristic with the novel design having simple feeling and smart feeling, matching with the stream of the times, and capable of satisfying the need of purchasers, or to at least provide a ;- 3 - ;useful choice. ;[Means for Solving the Problems] ;[0008] ;The present invention is related to a refrigerator including a door that is filled inside with a foam insulation material, and is opened and closed by use of a provided hand catch portion, and the hand catch portion is provided in a height direction of a side surface and a width direction of a top surface of the door. ;According to one aspect, the invention provides a refrigerator including a door, the inside of which is filled with a foam insulation material, and which is opened and closed by use of a hand catch portion provided thereto, ;wherein the hand catch portion has a side surface hand catch portion provided on a side surface of the door and a top surface hand catch portion provided on a top surface of the door, ;wherein the door is constructed with an inner plate and an outer plate, and the outer plate is partitioned into a front outer plate and a rear outer plate, and wherein in the front outer plate, a front surface convex portion is formed, and in the rear outer plate, a center concave portion being positioned at the rear of the front surface convex portion, and a back surface convex portion being positioned at the rear of the center concave portion are formed, so as to form a part of the whole of ;INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFIGfr nr VZ ;i 1 5 JAN 2009 ;the hand catch portions. ;[Advantages] ;[000.9] ;Since a hand catch portion of a door is provided in a height direction of a side surface and a width direction of a top surface of the door, the door can easily be opened and closed at a position corresponding to a standing height of each user. ;[Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention] ;[0010] ;First Embodiment ;Fig. 1 is an appearance perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a top view of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line X-X of a freezer compartment door in Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a cross- ;4a ;of Fig. 4 is enlarged, Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view in which an important part of Fig. 5 is enlarged, Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line Y-Y of the freezer compartment door in Fig. 2, Fig. 8 is a bottom view illustrating an important part of the freezer compartment door of Fig. 2, and Fig. 9 is a perspective view in which the vicinity of a door-rotation shaft of Fig. 1 is enlarged. ;As illustrated in Fig. 1 through Fig. 3, the refrigerator is provided with a refrigerator body 1 (for example, a body of a small-sized refrigerator with a height of about 100 to 160 cm), a freezer compartment door 3 and a refrigerator door 4 provided at an opening portion of a front surface of the refrigerator body 1. The refrigerator body 1 is constructed with an insulated box-shaped body in which a foam insulation material (not shown) is filled into a space portion provided between a steel-made outer box and a resin-made inner box. The freezer compartment door 3 and the refrigerator door 4 are respectively attached to an upper and lower regions of the refrigerator body 1. Each of the doors is formed of an outer plate C and an inner plate D, and rotatably supported by a hinge portion 6 or the like provided with a door- rotation shaft portion 6a. ;Incidentally, the hinge portion 6 or the like is covered with an overhang portion 5a of a top plate 5 of the refrigerator (refer to Fig. 9). ;- 5 - ;[0011] ;As illustrated in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the outer plate C of the freezer compartment door 3 is formed by means of bending a sheet of thin steel plate so as to approximately have a lateral U-shape, and is partitioned into a front outer plate 7 (sometimes also called right outer plate, ;since the same is displaced toward right side in the drawing) that constitutes most part of the front surface of the door provided with a hand catch convex portion (front surface convex portion) 7a for opening and closing the door while pulling a hand toward an opening side, and a rear outer plate (sometimes also called left outer plate, since the same is displaced toward left side in the drawing) 8 provided with an insertion concave portion (center concave portion) 8a for inserting the hand, which is formed at a back, surface of the hand catch convex portion 7a, and a back surface convex portion 8b positioned at a back surface of the insertion concave portion 8a. In addition, the front outer plate 7 and the rear outer plate 8 are joined at the opening side (joining portion 3a (Fig. 6)), and a side surface side hand catch portion A is constructed with the hand catch convex portion 7a, the insertion concave portion 8a, and the back surface convex portion 8b across an entire upper-and-lower direction (hereinbelow referred to as height direction) of a side surface of the opening side (side ;- 6 - ;surface of the left side in Fig. 1). ;Incidentally, in the side surface side hand catch portion A, the hand catch convex portion 7a is formed to have a length shorter than that of the back surface convex portion 8b (for example, shorter by about 10 to 60 mm). ;That is, the hand catch convex portion 7a is formed so as to be displaced inward in a direction of the surface of the door in relation to the back surface convex portion 8b (for example, displaced by about 10 to 60 mm). ;The outer plate C of the refrigerator door 4 is also partitioned into a front outer plate 9 and a rear outer plate 10 in a similar manner as that of the freezer compartment door 3. ;[0012] ;As illustrated in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, a back surface 7b (sometimes called first surface) of the hand catch convex portion 7a of the front outer plate 7 of the freezer compartment door 3 and a third surface 8c, which is extended from the insertion concave portion 8a of the rear outer plate 8 and bent in the door-surface direction to approximately have an L-shape, constitute a joining portion 3a, while forming a surface contact. Further, the back surface (first surface) 7b of the front outer plate 7 is extended and bent toward an inner plate D side to approximately have an L-shape, so as to form a second ;7 _ ;surface 7c. ;[0013] ;In the vicinity of the joining portion 3a of the front outer plate 7 and the rear outer plate 8, a retainer 19 (made of extrusion-molded synthetic resin) for joining the same is attached. The retainer 19 is composed of a body portion (sandwiching portion) 19a having an approximately inversed U-shape, a backup piece (positioning piece) 19b formed by bending an end portion of one side surface of the body portion 19a to approximately have an L-shape, and a pressing piece (slanted piece) 19c being extended from the other side surface in a slanted manner. Furthermore, the second surface 7c of the front outer plate 7 is sandwiched by the body portion 19a, and the first surface 7b of the front outer plate 7 and the third surface 8c of the rear outer plate 8 are sandwiched by the backup piece 19b and the pressing piece 19c. ;[0014] ;As illustrated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 7, at an upper end of the outer plate C of the freezer compartment door 3, which is formed by means of joining the steel plate at the joining portion 3a, a door cap that is composed of a front surface side door cap 11 and a back surface side door cap 12 is attached, and this constitutes a top surface side hand catch portion B. The front surface side door cap 11 is provided ;- 8 - ;with a hand catch convex portion (front surface convex portion) 11a for opening and closing the door by placing a hand thereon, and the back surface side door cap 12 is formed at the back surface of the hand catch convex portion 11a. The back surface side door cap 12 is provided with an insertion concave portion (center concave portion) 12a for inserting a hand, and a back surface convex portion 12b (incidentally, a notch portion 12c (Fig. 9) is provided in the vicinity of the door-rotation shaft portion 6a) positioned at the back of the insertion concave portion 12a, and thereby the top surface side hand catch portion B is partitioned into front and back regions. Incidentally, in the top surface side hand catch portion B, the hand catch convex portion 11a is formed to have a length shorter than that of the back surface convex portion 12b (for example, shorter by about 10 to 60 mm). That is, the hand catch convex portion 11a is formed to be displaced inward in a direction of the surface of the door in relation to the back surface convex portion 12b (for example, displaced by about 10 to 60 mm). ;[0015] ;Further, an end portion in a width direction of the top surface side hand catch portion B (for example, the left end portion in Fig. 1) and an upper end in a height direction of the side surface side hand catch portion A intersect at an ;- 9 - ;approximately right angle, and are allowed to communicate with each other or to be connected. More in detail, the hand catch convex portion 11a of the top surface side hand catch portion B is formed such that one end thereof is allowed to communicate with or connected to the hand catch convex portion 7a of the side surface side hand catch portion A, and that the other end thereof reaches the vicinity of the hinge portion 6. Furthermore, one end of the insertion concave portion 12a and the back surface convex portion 12b of the top surface side hand catch portion B is allowed to communicate with the respective insertion concave portion 8a and the back surface convex portion 8b of the side surface side hand catch portion A, and the other end thereof reaches the vicinity of the hinge portion 6. Thus, the freezer compartment door 3 is configured to be capable of being opened and closed by placing a hand on the freezer compartment door 3 at a desired position in the height direction and the width direction of the freezer compartment door 3. ;[0016] ;As illustrated in Fig. 8, a front side lower door cap 15 that is integrally constructed with the front outer plate 7, and a back surface side lower door cap 16 that is integrally constructed with the rear outer plate 8 are respectively attached to the bottom surface of the outer ;- 10 - ;plate C of the freezer compartment door 3, and constitute a lower door cap at the bottom surface side. Incidentally, a positioning rib 16a is provided in the back surface side lower door cap 16 of the freezer compartment door 3 so that a finger is not pinched between the freezer compartment door 3 and the refrigerator door 4 during an opening-and-closing operation of the door. ;[0017] ;Furthermore, in a portion surrounded by the front outer plate and the rear outer plate 7 and 8 (outer plate C), the door caps 11 and 12, the lower door caps 15 and 16, and the inner plate D being positioned at the back of the door and inside the freezer compartment, a foam insulation material 14 is filled, and the freezer compartment door 3 is constructed with these elements. The foam insulation material 14 is also filled into an inside of the hand catch convex portion 7a of the front outer plate 7 and thereby the strength of the hand catch portion is increased. ;[0018] ;As illustrated in Fig. 3 and Fig. 9, the freezer compartment door 3 is rotatably supported in the refrigerator body 1 by means of the hinge portion 6 provided with the door-rotation shaft portion 6a. A notch 5b is provided in the overhang portion 5a of the top plate 5, and the overhang portion 5a is prevented from coming in contact ;- 11 - ;with a hinge-side end surface lib of the hand catch convex portion 11a of the front surface side door cap 11 when the freezer compartment door 3 is fully opened. Moreover, the hinge-side end surface lib of the hand catch convex portion 11a is positioned at a lower side in relation to a supporting plate 6b of the hinge portion 6, and is configured not to come in contact with the supporting plate 6b of the hinge portion 6. ;[0019] ;In the explanation mentioned above, a case in which a door cap structure is provided in the freezer compartment door 3, is described. In contract, in the refrigerator door 4, a front surface side upper door cap 17 and a back surface side upper door cap 18 provided at an upper region thereof have a structure in which the front surface side lower door cap 15 and the back surface side lower door cap 16 provided at the bottom surface of the freezer compartment door 3 are reversed in an upside down manner, and attached to an upper surface of the refrigerator door 4, and the structure other than the above is the same as that of the freezer compartment door 3. Therefore, the door cap structure can also be applied to the refrigerator door 4. ;Incidentally, in the explanation described above, although a left side of the freezer compartment door 3 is configured to be opened and closed as illustrated in Fig. 1, ;- 12 - ;a right side thereof may be configured to be opened and closed. ;[0020] ;Next, an assembling procedure of the freezer compartment door 3 is explained. ;Firstly, a positioning operation in a front-and-back direction for the back surface (first surface) 7b of the front outer plate 7 and the third surface 8c of the rear outer plate 8 constituting opposing sides of the steel plate is performed upon forming a surface-to-surface contact therewith, and the joining portion 3a is formed. In this state, the body portion 19a of the retainer 19, which has an inversed U-shape, fits upon and sandwiches the second surface 7c, and further the back surface 7b and the third surface 8c being positioned at the joining portion 3a are sandwiched by means of the backup piece 19b and the pressing piece 19c of the retainer 19. In this case, the back surface 7b comes in contact with the backup piece 19b of the retainer 19, and the third surface 8c comes in contact with the pressing piece 19c and is pressed toward a back surface 7b side. Since the pressing piece 19c has a shape that is elastically deformable with ease, flexible pressing force is exerted even on a dimensional variation of each of the parts. ;[0021] ;The front outer plate 7 and the rear outer plate 8 ;- 13 - ;being assembled as described above are extended in an upper-and-lower direction, and the front surface side door cap 11 and the back surface side door cap 12 are fitted upon respective upper ends thereof, and the front surface side lower door cap 15 and the back surface side lower door cap 16 are attached to respective lower ends thereof. Next, the foam insulation material 14 is filled into a space portion inside the outer plate C by means of a foaming jig (not shown) while keeping the positioned condition therefor, and the same are integrally molded and fixed. Finally, the freezer compartment door is completed upon attaching the inner plate D. ;[0022] ;Next, an operation is explained. ;To open the freezer compartment door 3, the user inserts a hand into the insertion concave portion 8a of the side surface side hand catch portion A, places the hand on the hand catch convex portion 7a, and pulls it, or the user inserts the hand into the insertion concave portion 12a of the top surface side hand catch portion B, places the hand on the hand catch convex portion 11a, and pulls it. At this time, a tall user can pull the freezer compartment door 3 by inserting the hand into the top surface side hand catch portion B, and a short user can pull the freezer compartment door 3 by inserting the hand into the side surface side hand ;- 14 - ;catch portion A. ;To close the freezer compartment door 3, the same can be replaced by pushing a front surface side of the door or the like. ;Although the refrigerator door 4 is to be opened only from a side surface side, the opening-and-closing operation thereof is the same as the case of the freezer compartment door 3. ;[0023] ;As described above, in the first embodiment, since the side surface side hand catch portion A and the top surface side hand catch portion B are provided in the freezer compartment door 3, the short user can use the side surface side hand catch portion A, and the tall user can use the top surface side hand catch portion B, and the door can be opened and closed at a position corresponding to the standing height of the user itself. Incidentally, in a case that the hand catch convex portions 7a and 11a of the front outer plate 7 are formed to be shorter than the back surface convex portions 8b and 12b of the rear outer plate 8 (for example, in a case of being shorter by about 10 to 60 mm), it is easy to place the hand on the hand catch portion and the freezer compartment door 3 can easily be opened and closed. ;[0024] ;- 15 - ;Further, the hand catch portion can be different in color at the front and rear region in any of the side surface side and the top surface side, and in addition, in a case that the hand catch convex portions 7a and 11a of the front outer plate 7 are formed to be shorter, both of the convex portions at the front and rear sides of the respective hand catch portions can be confirmed. ;Furthermore, the combination of the colors can freely be changed at the front and rear regions, upper and lower regions, and the like of the door, and for example, a design that is different in color at the front and rear regions of the hand catch portion in the entire door is applicable. By thus forming, a design characteristic is improved. ;Moreover, a variation can be applied to a design of the door by causing each of outer plate materials to have a different quality without sticking an expensive colored film on the outer plate C, or by coloring the surface decoration for the outer plate into different color and different quality, so that high design characteristic can be applied thereto. ;[0025] ;Further, even when a space is generated at a connecting portion of the outer plate C due to a variation in mass production, the space cannot be seen from the front side. Therefore, at the time of bending operation of the steel ;- 16 - ;plate, an appearance defect of the joining portion 3a of the front outer plate 7 and the rear outer plate 8 is reduced, so that the design characteristic becomes high, and a defective rate is reduced. ;[0026] ;Furthermore, since the side surface side hand catch portion A is formed with the outer plate C itself across an entire height, and the foam insulation material 14 is filled into the inside thereof, the strength of the hand catch portion can be sufficiently secured. Moreover, since the side surface side hand catch portion A conducts an ambient air temperature by the metal-made outer plate having good heat conductivity, dew forming can be prevented from occurring even when the heat-insulation thickness is small, and reliability is high. Further, the number of parts can be decreased, the assembling work is easy, and the price is low even when a large-sized door is employed. ;[0027] ;Furthermore, since the bending work for both of the front outer plate 7 and the rear outer plate 8 is simple at an outer plate working process, the working operation can be performed by means of a general-purpose press brake or the like, and an equipment investment can be minimized. ;Moreover, since a handle is not necessary, the price is low, and further, since the hand catch portion can be ;- 17 - ;provided at any height, the assembling work is easy even in a case that a long-sized door is employed. A sense of unity with simple feeling can be obtained, and a novel design with smart feeling is realized. ;[0028] ;Second Embodiment ;Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view in which an important part of a freezer compartment door of a refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention is enlarged, and Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view in which an important part of Fig. 10 is enlarged. In the present second embodiment, a fourth surface 8d is formed by means of extending the third surface 8c of the rear outer plate 8 illustrated in Fig. 6 and bending the same toward the inner plate D side to approximately have an L-shape. ;As illustrated in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, the back surface 7b (first surface) of the front outer plate 7 of the freezer compartment door 3 and the third surface 8c of the rear outer plate 8 constitute a first joining portion 30a upon forming a surface-to-surface contact, and the second surface 7c of the front outer plate 7 of the freezer compartment door 3 and the fourth surface 8d of the rear outer plate 8 constitute a second joining portion 30b upon forming a surface-to-surface contact. Thus, the positioning operation for the front outer plate 7 and the rear outer plate 8 is ;- 18 - ;performed not only in a front-and-back direction (upper and lower direction of a paper surface of Fig. 11) but also in a lateral direction (left-and-right direction of the paper surface of Fig. 11). ;[0029] ;In the first and second joining portions 30a and 30b of the respective front outer plate 7 and the rear outer plate 8, the retainer 19 for joining the same is attached. The retainer 19 is composed of the body portion 19a having an inversed U-shape in cross-section, the backup piece 19b being bent into an L-shape from one side surface of the body portion 19a, and the pressing piece 19c being extended from the other side surface in a slanted manner. Further, the second surface 7c and the fourth surface 8d are sandwiched by means of the body portion 19a, and the first surface 7b and the third surface 8c are sandwiched by means of the backup piece 19b and the pressing piece 19c. ;Other construction, operation, and advantage are substantially the same as the case described in the first embodiment, and therefore the explanation is omitted. ;[0030] ;As described above, since the front outer plate 7 and the rear outer plate 8 form the surface-to-surface contact at the first and second contact surfaces 30a and 30b upon approximately forming an L-shape, the positioning operation ;- 19 - ;at the time of assembling work is easy. ;Incidentally, in the present second embodiment, a fixing operation can also be performed by means of use of a tape without using the retainer 19. In such a case, even if a work time by manpower is increased, a reduction in manufacturing cost can be expected. ;[0031] ;In the first and second embodiments, although a case that the outer plate C is partitioned into front and back regions by the front outer plate 7 and the rear outer plate 8 in the side surface side hand catch portion A, and by the front surface side door cap 11 and the back surface side door cap 12 in the top surface side hand catch portion B, is described, a color coding may be performed for the front and back regions by means of an outer plate being colored upon dividing the same into a plurality of colors, while constituting the respective hand catch portions with one part. ;Further, although a small-sized (for example, at the height of about 100 to 160 mm) two-door type refrigerator is described, a one-door type refrigerator may also be applicable, and a middle-sized, and a large-sized (for example, at the height of 160 cm or greater) refrigerator may be applicable, and further a multi-door type refrigerator of three or more doors may be applicable. ;- 20 - ;Furthermore, as for the refrigerator door 4, although a case that the front face side upper door cap 17 and the back surface side upper door cap 18 are attached to an upper portion, is described, in a similar manner as that of the freezer compartment door 3, the top surface side hand catch portion B may be formed by means of mounting the front surface side door cap 11 and the back surface side door cap 12 on the upper portion. ;[Brief Description of the Drawings] ;[0032] ;[Fig. 1] Fig. 1 is an appearance perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention. ;[Fig. 2] Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig. 1. ;[Fig. 3] Fig. 3 is a top view of Fig. 1. ;[Fig. 4] Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a freezer compartment door of Fig. 2 taken along a line X-X. ;[Fig. 5] Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view in which an important part of Fig. 4 is enlarged. ;[Fig. 6] Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view in which an important part of Fig. 5 is enlarged. ;[Fig. 7] Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the freezer compartment door of Fig. 2 taken along a line Y-Y. ;[Fig. 8] Fig. 8 is a bottom view illustrating an important part of the freezer compartment door of Fig. 2. ;- 21 - ;[Fig. 9] Fig. 9 is a perspective view in which the vicinity of a door-rotation shaft of Fig. 1 is enlarged. ;[Fig. 10] Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view in which an important part of a refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention is enlarged. ;[Fig. 11] Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view in which an important part of Fig. 10 is enlarged. ;[Reference Numerals] ;[0033] ;1: refrigerator body, 3: freezer compartment door, 3a, 30a, 30b: joining portion, 4: refrigerator door, 5: top plate, 5a: overhang portion, 5b: notch, 6: hinge portion, 6a: door-rotation shaft portion, 6b: supporting plate, 7, 9: front outer plate, 7a, 11a: hand catch convex portion (front surface convex portion), 7b: back surface (first surface), 7c: second surface, 8, 10: rear outer plate, 8a, 12a: insertion concave portion (center concave portion), 8b, 12b: back surface convex portion, 8c: third surface, 8d: fourth surface, 11: front surface side door cap, 12: back surface side door cap, 12c: notch portion, 14: foam insulation material, 15: front surface side lower door cap, 16: back surface side lower door cap, 16a: positioning rib, 19: retainer, 19a: body portion (sandwiching portion), 19b: backup piece (positioning piece), 19c: pressing piece (slanted piece), A: side surface side hand catch portion, ;- 22 - ;B: top plate side hand catch portion, C: outer plate, D: inner plate ;- 23 - *

Claims (17)

1. A refrigerator including a door, the inside of which is filled with a foam insulation material, and which is opened and closed by use of a hand catch portion provided thereto, wherein the hand catch portion has a side surface hand catch portion provided on a side surface of the door and a top surface hand catch portion provided on a top surface of the door, wherein the door is constructed with an inner plate and an outer plate, and the outer plate is partitioned into a front outer plate and a rear outer plate, and wherein in the front outer plate, a front surface convex portion is formed, and in the rear outer plate, a center concave portion being positioned at the rear of the front surface convex portion, and a back surface convex portion being positioned at the rear of the center concave portion are formed, so as to form a part of the whole of the hand catch portions.

2. The refrigerator according to Claim 1, wherein the front surface convex portion of the front outer plate is positioned inward in a direction of the surface of the door in relation to the back surface convex portion of the rear outer plate.

3. The refrigerator according to Claim 2, wherein the INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 24 ' OFFICE OF AS t 15 JAN 2009 Dcrcn/cn front surface convex portion of the front outer plate is displaced inward in the direction in the plane of the surface of the door in relation to the back surface convex portion of the rear outer plate, across an approximately entire height in the height direction on the side surface, and across an approximately entire width in the width direction on the top surface of the outer plate, so as to form the side and top surface hand catch portions.

4. The refrigerator according to Claim 2, wherein the front surface convex portion is formed along the height direction on the side surface of the front outer plate, and the center concave portion and the back surface convex portion are formed along the height direction on the side surface of the rear outer plate, so as to form the side surface hand catch portion, and wherein a front surface side door cap having a front surface convex portion is attached to the front outer plate along the width direction on the top surface of the front outer plate, a back surface side door cap having a center concave portion and a back surface convex portion is attached to the rear outer plate along the width direction on the top surface of the rear outer plate, and the front surface convex portion of the front surface door cap is positioned inward in the direction of the surface of the door in relation to the back surface convex portion of the back surface door cap, so as to 25 BtTCJAL PROPFRTv form the top surface hand catch portion.

5. The refrigerator according to Claim 4, wherein the hand catch portion is formed to approximately have an L-shape by means of allowing the side surface side hand catch portion to communicate with, or to be connected to the top surface side hand catch portion.

6. The refrigerator according to either one of Claims 4 or 5, wherein a front surface side lower door cap and a back surface side lower door cap are attached to a bottom surface side of the outer.plate.

7. The refrigerator according to any one of Claims 1 through 6, wherein the outer plate is formed by bending a steel plate so as to approximately have a lateral U-shape in cross section, and joining end portions of the opposing sides of the bent steel plate so as to form a joining portion, and wherein the side surface side hand catch portion is formed in the vicinity of the joining portion, and the top surface hand catch portion is formed at an opening portion of the top surface side.

8. The refrigerator according to Claim 7, wherein the foam insulation material is filled into an inside of the outer plate.

9. The refrigerator according to any one of Claims 1 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICF OP MZ 26 15 JAN 2009 RECEIVED through 8, wherein a first surface on a back surface side forming the front surface convex portion, and a second surface formed by means of extending and bending the first surface toward the inner plate side are provided in the front outer plate, and a third surface that is formed by bending a surface forming the center concave portion toward a direction in the plane of the door surface is provided in the rear outer plate, and wherein a vicinity of an end portion of the first surface and the third surface are caused to come in contact with each other and be joined.

10. The refrigerator according to Claim 9, wherein a fourth surface is further formed by extending and bending the third surface of the rear outer plate toward the inner plate side, and the second surface of the front outer plate and the fourth surface of the rear outer plate are caused to come in contact with each other and be joined.

11. The refrigerator according to either one of Claims 9 or 10 comprising a retainer at least including a sandwiching portion for sandwiching the second surface of the front outer plate, a positioning piece for performing a positioning operation by means of coming in contact with the first surface, and a slanted piece for pressing the third surface of the rear outer plate. ■ WTiliECTUAL PRoiiRTY OFFICE OF M? 27 15 JAN 2009 RECEIVED

12. The refrigerator according to any one of Claims 6 through 11, wherein a positioning rib is provided in at least one of the back, surface side lower door cap and the back surface side upper door cap, attached to a bottom surface of a freezer compartment door, and an upper surface and a bottom surface of a refrigerator door.

13. The refrigerator according to any one of Claims 4 through 12, wherein a notch portion is provided in the back surface convex portion of the back surface side door cap, in the vicinity of a door-rotation shaft portion, and an overhang portion for covering both of the notch portion and the door-rotation shaft portion is provided in the top plate.

14. The refrigerator according to Claim 13, wherein the front surface convex portion provided in the front surface side door cap is positioned at a lower side of a supporting plate of the door-rotation shaft portion.

15. The refrigerator according to either one of Claims 13 or 14, wherein a notch for preventing the overhang portion from coming in contact with the front surface convex portion is provided in the overhang portion of the top plate.

16. A refrigerator according to Claim 1 and substantially as herein described with reference to any rFLLECTUM- PROPERTY OFFICE OF MZ 15 JAN 2009 embodiment disclosed.

17. A refrigerator substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. Ml-tsiiblshl Electric Corporation By Its Attorneys Baldwins 15 JAN iRECE 0 29