WO2015149832A1

WO2015149832A1 - Improved hinge assembly for flap door in refrigeration appliance

Info

Publication number: WO2015149832A1
Application number: PCT/EP2014/056429
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tanju Bayramli; Ahmet Onur Moza; Alper KOC
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2014-03-31
Filing date: 2014-03-31
Publication date: 2015-10-08
Also published as: PL3126764T3; EP3126764B1; EP3126764A1; TR201503563Y

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hinge-assembly (1) for use with a flap door in a refrigeration appliance (2) having side walls (3). The hinge-assembly (1) of the present invention, comprises a flap hinge (6) for fastening the flap door, a bearing (5) which movably supports the flap hinge (6), and a retainer (8) which joins the flap hinge (6) and the bearing (5) together. The bearing (5) supports the flap hinge relatively rotatably about a horizontal axis (Ax) which is perpendicular to the side walls (3), and slidably relative through a limited distance along said horizontal axis (Ax).

Description

IMPROVED HINGE ASSEMBLY FOR FLAP DOOR IN REFRIGERATION APPLIANCE

The present invention relates to a hinge assembly for use with a door, in particular a flap door in a refrigeration appliance.

Refrigeration appliances come in several different types. To better meet the individual requirements of the users, an interior of a refrigeration appliance is subdivided into a plurality of separately accessible refrigeration compartments. These refrigeration compartments are usually provided with a separate flap door or a separate drawer in order to prevent entering of warm and humid air when a main door of the refrigeration appliance is opened. When taking articles out of the refrigeration appliance, the user must first access the interior of the refrigeration appliance by opening the main door, and subsequently open one of the flap doors in order to access the desired refrigeration compartment.

In a commonly known technique, the flap door is mounted to the side walls of the refrigeration appliance by utilizing hinges which support the flap door rotatably about a horizontal axis.

A problem with this type of a refrigeration appliance is that the large number of individual refrigeration compartments and the corresponding flap doors complicate the assembly process. In general, the component parts of the refrigeration appliance such as the inner side walls, the flap doors and the hinges may have production-dependent non-uniformities. Thus, even when these non-uniformities fall within allowable tolerances which have been specified for the refrigeration appliance, these may cause the closing/opening performance of the flap door to degrade. Thus, a consumer satisfaction can easily decrease because of such inferior quality and give rise to customer complaints.

WO 2011/080109 A2 discloses a refrigerator comprising a plurality of compartments which are arranged one above the other. Each compartment is provided with a separate flap door which is mounted to the opposing side walls by utilizing a corresponding pair of hinges.

A drawback of this refrigerator is that in the event of the aforementioned non-uniformities, the flap door and hinges engage either too loosely or too tightly. In case of a loose engagement, the flap door usually starts rattling and produces disturbing noises. In case of a tight engagement, the flap door stat squeaking. In either case, the locking and unlocking performance of the flap doors degrades.

An objective of the present invention is to provide a hinge-assembly for use with a flap door, and a refrigeration appliance having the same which overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art and which enables a smooth operation of the flap door.

This objective has been achieved by the hinge-assembly as defined in claim 1, and the refrigeration appliance as defined in claim 8. Further achievements have been attained by the subject-matters respectively defined in the dependent claims.

The hinge-assembly of the present invention comprises a flap hinge for fastening a flap door, a bearing which movably supports the flap hinge, and a retainer which joins the flap hinge and the bearing together. The bearing supports the flap hinge rotatably about a horizontal axis which is perpendicular to the side walls, and slidably through a limited distance along said horizontal axis. The flap hinge and the bearing are biased away from each other along said horizontal axis by a spring. In the present invention, the bearing and the flap hinge are provided separately from each other.

The refrigeration appliance of the present invention comprises at least two mutually opposing mounting portions each configured to fix the bearing of a corresponding hinge-assembly and at least one flap door configured to fasten to the flap hinges of the hinge-assemblies.

In an embodiment, the retainer has a cylindrical threaded bolt which is rotatably and slidable arranged into a cylindrical through-hole of a body of the bearing and screwed into the flap hinge so that the body is confined to move between the flap hinge and the bolt.

In a version of this embodiment, the spring is slightly compressed between the flap hinge and the body of the bearing.

In another version of this embodiment, a body of the bearing is fit into a recess of the mounting portion by way of compression.

By virtue of the spring-loaded hinge-assemblies of the present invention, the flap door is regardless of the aforementioned non-uniformities always symmetrically biased towards a stable center position located between the side walls. Thereby, the flap door is prevented from producing disturbing noises and/or rattling as it is manipulated by the customer. Also, the locking/unlocking performance is maintained. The flap door can be smoothly opened and closed about the horizontal axis. By the present invention, the adverse effects of the aforementioned non-uniformities have been effectively eliminated and the customer satisfaction has been increased.

Additional advantages of the hinge-assembly of the present invention and the refrigeration appliance of the present invention will become apparent with the detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 – is a schematic partial perspective view of a refrigeration appliance having a hinge-assembly on a side wall according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 – is a schematic enlarged perspective view of the hinge-assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 – is a schematic partial perspective view of the refrigeration appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention, prior to fixing a bearing of the hinge-assembly to a mounting portion on the side wall;

Figure 4 – is a schematic exploded partial perspective view of the refrigeration appliance as shown in Fig. 1;

Figure 5 – is a schematic exploded perspective view of the hinge assembly as shown in Fig. 2;

The reference signs appearing on the drawings relate to the following technical features.

Hinge-assembly
Refrigeration appliance
Side wall
Mounting portion
Bearing
Flap hinge
Fixing portion
Retainer
Spring
Threaded portion
Body

11a. Through-hole

12. Bolt

13. Shank

14. Head

15. Recess

16. Grip portion

17. Refrigeration compartment

18. Inner lining

The hinge-assembly (1) is suitable for use with a flap door (not shown) in a refrigeration appliance (2) (Figs. 1 to 5).

The refrigeration appliance (2) comprises opposing side walls (3) which define a refrigeration compartment (17), at least two mounting portions (4) each for mounting a hinge-assembly (1), wherein the mounting portions (4) are respectively formed on the opposing side walls (3) and at least one flap door for opening/closing the refrigeration compartment (17), wherein the flap door is mountable to the hinge-assemblies (1) (Figs. 1 to 5).

The hinge-assembly (1) of the present invention comprises a flap hinge (6) which has a fixing portion (7) for fastening a flap door, a bearing (5) for movably supporting the flap hinge (6), wherein the bearing (5) is separately provided from the flap hinge (6), a retainer (8) for releasably joining the flap hinge (6) and the bearing (5) together. In the hinge-assembly (1) of the present invention, the flap hinge (6) and the bearing (5) are configured such that the flap hinge (6) is rotatable relative to the bearing (5) about a horizontal axis (Ax) which is perpendicular to the side walls (3), and slidable relative to the bearing (5) through a limited distance along said horizontal axis (Ax), and wherein the flap hinge (6) and the bearing (5) are biased away from each other along said horizontal axis (Ax) by a spring (9) (Figs. 1 to 5).

The refrigeration appliance (2) of the present invention comprises at least two hinge assemblies (only one is shown) according to the present invention which are provided as left-handed and right handed configurations respectively. In the refrigeration appliance (2) of the present invention, each of the mounting portions (4) is configured to fix the bearing (5) of a corresponding hinge-assembly (1), and the flap door is configured to fasten to the fixing portion (7) of the flap hinges (6) of the hinge-assemblies (1) (Figs. 1 to 5).

In an embodiment, the flap hinge (6) comprises a threaded portion (10). In this embodiment, the bearing (5) comprises a body (11) which has a cylindrical through-hole (11a) along said horizontal axis (Ax). In addition, the retainer (8) comprises a cylindrical threaded bolt (12) which is slidably and rotatably arranged into the through-hole (11a) of the body (11) and firmly screwed to the threaded portion (10) of the flap hinge (6). In this embodiment, the body (11) is confined to relatively slide and rotate between the retainer (8) and the flap hinge (6) with respect to said horizontal axis (Ax) (Figs. 1 to 5).

In a version of this embodiment, the spring (9) is a coil compression spring (9) which is sleeved onto a shank (13) of the bolt (12) and compressed on both ends by the flap hinge (6) and the body (11) respectively (Figs. 1 to 5).

In another version of this embodiment, the body (11) comprises a first seat (not shown) and a second seat (not shown) which are provided inside the body (11). The first seat is configured to abut against one end of the spring (9). The second seat is configured to block inward movement of the bolt (12) by abutting against its head (14).

In another version of this embodiment, each bearing (5) is fixed to a side wall (13) by compression-fitting the body (11) into a corresponding recess (15) of the mounting portion (4) (Figs. 1 to 3).

In another version of this embodiment, the body (11) and the corresponding recess (15) are both cylindrical-shaped (Figs. 1 to 5).

In another version of this embodiment, the bolt (12) has a grip portion (16) for facilitating the screwing process (Figs. 1 to 5).

In another embodiment, the recess (15) of each mounting portions (4) is formed into an inner lining (18) of the refrigeration compartment (17) (Figs. 3 and 4).

In a version of this embodiment, the recesses (15) in the inner lining (18) are cylindrical-shaped (Figs. 3 and 4).

By virtue of the spring-loaded hinge-assembly (1) of the present invention, the adverse effects of the aforementioned non-uniformities have been effectively eliminated. Thereby, the opening/closing performance and the locking/unlocking performance have been both improved. Thereby, the overall quality has also been perceivably improved and the consumer satisfaction has been increased.

Claims

A hinge-assembly (1) for use with a flap door in a refrigeration appliance (2), the refrigeration appliance (2) comprising opposing side walls (3) and opposing mounting portions (4) each for fixing a bearing (5) of a corresponding hinge-assembly (1), wherein the mounting portions (4) are respectively formed on the opposing side walls (3),

characterized in that

- a flap hinge (6) which has a fixing portion (7) for fastening a flap door,

- a bearing (5) for movably supporting the flap hinge (6), wherein the bearing (5) is separately provided from the flap hinge (6),

- a retainer (8) for releasably joining the flap hinge (6) and the bearing (5) together,

wherein the flap hinge (6) and the bearing (5) are configured such that the flap hinge (6) is rotatable relative to the bearing (5) about a horizontal axis (Ax) which is perpendicular to the side walls (3), and slidable relative to the bearing (5) through a limited distance along said horizontal axis (Ax), and wherein the flap hinge (6) and the bearing (5) are biased away from each other along said horizontal axis (Ax) by a spring (9).
The hinge-assembly (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that

- the flap hinge (6) comprises a threaded portion (10),

- the bearing (5) comprises a body (11) having a cylindrical through-hole (11a) along said horizontal axis (Ax) and

- the retainer (8) comprises a cylindrical threaded bolt (12) which is slidably and rotatably arranged into the through-hole (11a) of the body (11) and firmly screwed to the threaded portion (10) of the flap hinge (6), wherein the body (11) is confined to relatively slide and rotate between the retainer (8) and the flap hinge (6) with respect to said horizontal axis (Ax).
The hinge-assembly (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the spring (9) is a coil compression spring (9) which is sleeved onto a shank (13) of the bolt (12) and compressed on both ends by the flap hinge (6) and the body (11) respectively.
The hinge-assembly (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the body (11) comprises a first seat which is configured to abut against one end of the spring (9) and a second seat which is configured to block inward movement of the bolt (12) by abutting against its head (14).
The hinge-assembly (1) according to any of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that each bearing (5) is fixed to a side wall (13) by compression-fitting the body (11) into a corresponding recess (15) of the mounting portion (4).
The hinge-assembly (1) according to any of claim 5, characterized in that the body (11) and the corresponding recess (15) are both cylindrical-shaped.
The hinge-assembly (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the bolt (12) has a grip portion (16).
A refrigeration appliance (2) comprising

- opposing side walls (3) which define a refrigeration compartment (17),

- at least two mounting portions (4) each for mounting a hinge-assembly (1), wherein the mounting portions (4) are respectively formed on the opposing side walls (3) and

- at least one flap door for opening/closing the refrigeration compartment (17), wherein the flap door is mountable to the hinge-assemblies (1),

characterized in that

- at least two hinge assemblies as defined in any one of claims 1 to 7,

wherein each of the mounting portions (4) is configured to fix the bearing (5) of a corresponding hinge-assembly (1) and

wherein the flap door is configured to fasten to the fixing portion (7) of the flap hinges (6) of the hinge-assemblies (1).
The refrigeration appliance (2) according to claim 8, characterized in that each mounting portions (4) comprises a recess (15) which is formed into an inner lining (18) of the refrigeration compartment (17).
The refrigeration appliance (2) according to claim 9, characterized in that the recess (15) is cylindrical-shaped.