WO2020114380A1

WO2020114380A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2020114380A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/122613
Authority: WO
Inventors: 村田和士
Original assignee: 青岛海尔电冰箱有限公司; 海尔智家股份有限公司; Aqua株式会社
Priority date: 2018-12-07
Filing date: 2019-12-03
Publication date: 2020-06-11
Also published as: JP2020091088A; CN112384741A

Abstract

A refrigerator, comprising a storage container (41) arranged in a freezer compartment, the storage container (41) comprising an ice storage space (44) for storing ice, a frozen item storage space (45) for storing frozen items, and a separating component (43), the separating component (43) being used for separating the ice storage space (44) and the frozen item storage space (45), and the separating component (43) being capable of adjusting the volume of the ice storage space 44) and the frozen item storage space (45). The refrigerator has a simple structure and convenient maintenance and is easy to clean, and the volume of the ice storage space can be adjusted appropriately even if the consumption of ice and frozen items changes due to user attributes and seasonal changes.

Description

refrigerator

Technical field

The invention relates to a refrigerator.

Background technique

The refrigerators commonly used in the past include a freezer compartment, which stores frozen processed foods, fresh foods, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "freezes"), and also includes an ice making compartment for storage Ice, or provide an ice storage space in the freezer as an ice storage container, open above.

However, when the refrigerator includes an independent ice-making chamber, the ice-making chamber is disposed side by side at the same height position inside the refrigerator as the small freezing chamber, for example. Here, the ice making compartment and the small freezing compartment are provided on both sides with a center pillar extending from the top surface to the bottom surface. Due to the presence of the center pillar, the volume of the ice making compartment and the small freezing compartment becomes smaller. In addition, the volume of the ice making room and the small freezing room are fixed. When an ice storage container is provided in the freezing chamber, the volume of the ice storage space is also fixed.

On the other hand, the consumption of ice and objects to be frozen will vary according to the attributes (family structure, lifestyle, preferences) of refrigerator users. In addition, the consumption is different in different seasons. For example, in summer, the consumption of ice increases, and in winter, the consumption of ice decreases. The consumption of ice will temporarily increase due to events such as family gatherings. However, in the refrigerator, as described above, the volumes of the ice storage space and the storage space of the object to be frozen are fixed, and when the consumption of ice or the like changes, it may not be able to respond in time.

For example, Japanese Patent Publication JP 2011-75167 discloses a technology that can change the volume of a storage compartment in a box. The technology disclosed in this patent document relates to a refrigerator in which a balloon is detachably provided in a storage room including an ice making room and a freezing room, thereby reducing the volume of the storage room. Here, the airbag is composed of, for example, plastic film, rubber, paper, or the like.

However, in the technology disclosed in the above patent document, since the airbag needs to be separately prepared, the manufacturing cost is increased. In addition, after the airbag is used for a long period of time, dirt and the like will adhere to its surface, which needs to be cleaned to remove the dirt. In addition, in order to avoid cleaning operations, disposable airbags can also be used, each time a new airbag is replaced, but in this case, a new airbag needs to be prepared for replacement.

In addition, in the above-mentioned patent document, when the storage amount of the refrigerator is small, the airbag is used as the volume reducing member of the storage compartment. Therefore, for example, when the storage amount increases due to the above-mentioned factors, it is impossible to cope with the need to increase the volume of the storage room (ice making room, freezing room, etc.).

Summary of the invention

In view of these problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that has a simple structure, is easy to clean, and is convenient to maintain. When the consumption of ice and frozen objects changes due to user attributes, seasonal changes, etc., the storage can be adjusted appropriately The volume of ice space.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a refrigerator, including a freezer,

At least a storage container for storing ice and objects to be frozen is provided in the freezing room,

The storage container includes an ice storage space for storing ice, a frozen object storage space for storing frozen objects, and a partition member for partitioning the ice storage space and the frozen object storage space,

The partition member can adjust the volume of the ice storage space and the frozen object storage space.

Preferably, the partition member can be moved in the storage container, and the volume of the ice storage space and the frozen object storage space can be adjusted by moving the partition member.

Preferably, the storage container includes a plurality of partition member support portions, which detachably supports the partition member, and adjusts the ice storage space and the frozen object storage space by replacing the partition member support portion that supports the partition member among the plurality of partition member support portions The volume.

In addition, the storage container also includes an inclined portion having an inclined surface,

The inclined part is set in the ice storage space,

The ice moves along the inclined surface of the inclined portion.

Invention effect

According to the refrigerator according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator which has a simple structure, is easy to clean, and is convenient to maintain, and can be adjusted appropriately even when the consumption of ice and frozen objects changes due to user attributes, seasonal changes, etc. The volume of the ice storage space.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the partition member can move within the storage container, the volume of the ice storage space and the frozen object storage space can be easily adjusted without complicated steps.

In addition, according to the present invention, the storage container includes a plurality of partition member support portions that detachably support the partition members, and among the partition member support portions, the partition member support portions that support the partition members are interchangeable, and can be easily performed without complicated steps By adjusting the volume of the ice storage space and the frozen object storage space, for example, the partition member can be removed from the storage container for cleaning, and it is easy to clean the portion where the partition member is provided (for example, the partition member support portion and its vicinity).

Furthermore, according to the present invention, an inclined portion having an inclined surface is provided in the ice storage space of the storage container, and the ice supplied from the ice making tray is evenly distributed in the ice storage space.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the inclined surface of the inclined portion is lowered from the side wall of the ice storage space side toward the lower side of the partition member, and ice supplied from the ice tray can efficiently move from the side wall side to the object to be frozen Storage space side. Therefore, ice can be more evenly distributed in the ice storage space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the overall configuration of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

2 is a side vertical sectional view of the overall configuration of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

3 is a front vertical sectional view of the inside of the freezer compartment according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

4 is a schematic perspective view of a storage container provided in a freezer compartment according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

5 is a schematic perspective view of a storage container including partition members supported in other forms, which is preferred in the present application.

6 is a schematic perspective view of a storage container including a partition member supported in another form.

7 is a schematic perspective view and a front vertical cross-sectional view of a storage container including an inclined portion according to this embodiment.

detailed description

Hereinafter, the refrigerator 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, when describing the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, the “up and down” direction corresponds to the height direction of the refrigerator 1, the “left and right” direction corresponds to the width direction of the refrigerator 1, and the “front and rear” direction corresponds to the depth direction of the refrigerator 1.

First, the overall configuration of the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Here, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of the refrigerator 1. In addition, FIG. 2 is a side vertical sectional view of the refrigerator 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment includes a heat-insulating box 2 corresponding to the refrigerator main body. As shown in FIG. 2, the thermal insulation box 2 includes a plurality of storage rooms, and stores food and the like in the interior. In addition, although not particularly limited, the plurality of storage compartments correspond to the refrigerator compartment 3, the freezer compartment 4, and the vegetable compartment 5 from top to bottom, respectively.

The front surface of each storage room of the heat insulation box 2 is provided with an opening, and

heat insulation doors

10, 11, 12 are provided for opening or closing each opening. Here, in the front view of the refrigerator, the upper and lower ends of the right end of the heat insulation door 10 are rotatably supported by the heat insulation box 2 for opening or closing the opening of the front surface of the refrigerator compartment 3. In addition, the heat insulation door 11 can be pulled away from the heat insulation box 2 in the front-rear direction to open or close the opening of the front surface of the freezing compartment 4. Similarly, the heat insulation door 12 can be pulled away from the heat insulation box 2 in the front-rear direction for opening or closing the front surface opening of the vegetable compartment 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the heat insulation box 2 includes an outer box 2 a made of steel plates, an inner box 2 b made of synthetic resin, and a foamed polyurethane heat insulation material (not shown). The heat insulation material is filled in the outer box and the inner In the gap formed between the boxes. A plurality of heat-insulating partition walls (for example, members shown by

symbols

6a and 6b in FIG. 1) are provided inside the heat-insulating box 2. The heat

insulation partition walls

6a and 6b partition the refrigerator compartment 3, the freezer compartment 4 and the vegetable compartment 5.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, the freezer compartment 4 according to this embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a front vertical sectional view showing the internal structure of the freezing compartment 4 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the freezer compartment 4 is partitioned from other storage compartments (refrigerator compartment 3, vegetable compartment 5) adjacent to each other in the vertical direction by the

partition walls

6a and 6b. In addition, inside the freezing compartment 4, at least a storage container 41 for storing the ice I and the object to be frozen F, an ice making tray 42 of the automatic ice making device, and the like are provided.

The storage container 41 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and corresponds to the shape of the internal space of the freezing compartment 4. In addition, the storage container 41 is open above. The storage container 41 may be supported by a pair of left and right side brackets 7 that are mounted on the back of the heat insulation door 11 and further extend horizontally toward the rear. The storage container 41 and the heat insulation door 11 are integrally supported by the side bracket 7. The side bracket 7 is movably engaged with the side rail formed on the side surface 4S of the freezer compartment forward and backward, and moves as the heat insulation door 11 is opened, thereby pulling out the storage container 41.

The storage container 41 includes a partition member 43 for partitioning its internal space into several small spaces. The partition member 43 according to the present embodiment is a partition wall made of synthetic resin, and is arranged from the front wall side to the back wall side of the storage container 41 to partition the inside thereof. By providing the partition wall 43 in the storage container 41, an ice storage space 44 and a frozen object storage space 45 are formed inside. However, the partition member 43 may be a partition wall of another shape, and as long as it can partition the space in the storage container 41, its installation, shape, structure, etc. are not particularly limited.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ice storage space 44 of this embodiment is formed, for example, directly below the ice tray 42. For example, when the ice storage amount detection lever detects that the amount of ice stored in the ice storage space 44 is less than or equal to the predetermined amount, the drive device drives the ice making tray 42 to turn it upside down to disengage the ice I from the ice making tray 42. After the ice I is detached, it falls to the ice storage space 44 and is stored therein. On the other hand, frozen objects F, such as commercially-stored frozen processed foods and fresh foods, which are stored frozen, are stored in the frozen object storage space 45. In addition, when the ice storage amount detection rod detects that the ice storage space 44 has been filled with ice I, the supply is stopped.

Here, the partition member 43 can be moved to various places in the storage container 41 so that the volumes of the ice storage space 44 and the frozen object storage space 45 can be adjusted. As described above, according to the attributes of the user of the refrigerator 1, temporary events, seasons, and other factors, the consumption of ice I changes, and by providing the partition member 43 provided as described above, the ice storage space 44 and frozen The volume of the object storage space 45 can change the storable amount of the ice I and the object F to be stored.

Next, the installation form of the partition member 43 in the storage container 41 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. In addition, the installation form of the partition member 43 to be described includes a form in which the partition member 43 moves to an appropriate position in the storage container 41. At this time, the state in which the position of the partition member 43 in the storage container 41 is variable is referred to as "movable".

For example, the "movable" of course includes a state where the partition member 43 slides and moves in the storage container 41, as described below, when the partition member 43 is supported by a support member in the storage container 41, the partition member 43 cannot move, etc. Next, for example, the “movable” also includes a state in which the partition member 43 is detached from one support member and supported by another support member in the storage container 41, thereby changing the position. Hereinafter, the form of the partition member 43 movable in the storage container 41 will be described in detail.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the inside of the storage container 41. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a storage container including partition members in other supporting forms. The storage container 41 includes a partition member support portion that detachably supports the partition member (partition wall) 43. As long as the partition wall 43 can be detachably supported, the partition member support portion is not particularly limited. As an example, the support member 46 is listed, for example, fixed to the bottom area of the front wall 41a or the back wall 41c of the storage container 41, including along the height A pair of long columns formed in the direction (refer to Figure 4).

The two columns constituting the support member 46 are arranged side by side in the same posture with a gap therebetween, and the size of the gap corresponds to the thickness of the partition wall 43 for inserting the partition wall 43 into the gap, for example. Here, in this embodiment, a set of support members 46 are used to support the partition wall 43 (refer to FIG. 4 ), one support member is a support member 46a1 provided at the bottom edge portion 41b1 on the front wall side, and the other support opposite thereto The member 46 is a support member 46a2 provided on the bottom edge portion 41b2 on the back wall side. That is, the partition wall 43 is inserted into the support member 46. The partition wall 43 supported by the support member 46 has one end side adjoining the front wall 41a of the storage container 41 and the other end adjoining the back wall 41c. Thus, an ice storage space 44 (left side in FIG. 4) and a frozen object storage space 45 (right side in FIG. 4) partitioned by the partition wall 43 are formed.

In addition, in the storage container 41, a plurality of sets of support members 46 (a group of 46a1 and 46a2, a group of 46b1 and 46b2, a group of 46c1 and 46c2, a group of 46n1 and 46n2) are separated by a predetermined interval in the width direction arrangement. By arranging each group of support members 46 in this way, it is possible to change the installation position of the partition wall 43, for example, the partition wall 43 is supported by the group of the support members 46a1 and 46a2 or the partition wall 43 is supported by the group of the support members 46b1 and 46b2, so that The volumes of the ice storage space 44 and the frozen object storage space 45 are changed.

In this way, the partition wall 43 is inserted into different support members 46 (or groups of support members 46) by a simple operation, and the volume of the ice storage space 44 and the frozen object storage space 45 can be changed without complicated steps. Therefore, without complicated operations, the user of the refrigerator 1 can easily adjust the capacity of each space in the storage container 41.

In addition, the partition wall 43 supported by the support member 46 can be removed by simply pulling out the partition wall 43 from the support member 46. For example, when washing the partition wall 43, the contact portion between the partition wall 43 and the storage container 41, etc., the cleaning operation can be performed by simply pulling out the partition wall 43. Therefore, according to the installation form of the partition wall 43 according to this embodiment, the cleaning operation of the partition wall 43 (and its surrounding area) can be easily performed.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, a convex rail 462 may be provided on the container bottom wall 41b or the like, which is formed along the depth direction of the storage container 41, for example, the bottom end portion 43b of the partition member 43 may be detachably snapped by an arbitrary member It engages with the rail 462 to support the partition member 43. Here, the convex rail 462 corresponds to the partition member support portion. At this time, the convex portion may be formed repeatedly along the width direction of the container bottom wall 41b corresponding to the rail 462. By replacing the rail 462 engaged with the partition member 43, the installation position of the partition member 43 is moved, thereby adjusting the volume of the ice storage space 44 and the like.

FIG. 6 shows another example of the installation form of the partition member 43. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a storage container including partition members in other supporting forms. The partition member (partition wall) 43 shown in FIG. 6 is supported by two movement guides 463 so as to be slidably moved within the storage container 41, one movement guide 463 is formed on the container front wall 41a along the width direction, and the other moves The guide portion 463 is also formed on the back wall 41c along the width direction. Here, the movement guide portion 463 corresponds to the partition member support portion. Although not particularly limited, each movement guide portion 463 according to this embodiment includes a pair of upper and lower rails, and is formed on a predetermined portion of the front wall 41a (or the back wall 41c). A gap of a predetermined width is formed between the upper and lower rails.

On the other hand, the partition wall 43 includes, for example, tabs, and is formed to protrude outward from both side portions thereof. The tab can be inserted into the gap between the upper and lower rails. As a result, the partition wall 43 is supported by the movement guide 463 in a movable state in the width direction.

The partition member supporting portion is fixed to a predetermined location in the storage container 41, but it is not limited to this. For example, the partition member 43 may be supported by a movable support member, which may be moved in the width direction of the storage container 41, for example. As the movable support member moves, the partition member 43 as described above moves in the width direction within the storage container 41. Here, the movable supporting member can be embedded in a guide groove or moved along the direction in which the guide groove is formed, for example, the guide groove is formed in a predetermined portion (the bottom edge portion 41b1 on the front wall side and the back wall side) in the storage container 41 Bottom edge portion 41b2, etc.). However, the installation form of the partition member 43 is not limited to this, and may be other installation forms.

In addition, the storage container 41 preferably includes an inclined portion 47 to slide (roll) the ice I falling into the ice storage space 44 toward the partition member 43 side. Referring to FIG. 7, a storage container 41 including an inclined portion 47 is shown. 7 is a perspective view (FIG. 7(a)) and a front vertical cross-sectional view (FIG. 7(b)) showing the internal structure of the storage container 41. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7( a ), the inclined portion 47 according to this embodiment is provided in a corner area, and is formed by the bottom wall 41 b of the storage container 41 and the side wall 41 d 1 on the ice storage space side. The inclined portion 47 includes an inclined surface 471 which is inclined downward from the side wall 41d1 side. As shown in FIG. 7(b), the ice I dropped from the ice-making tray 42 hits the inclined surface 471, and then slides to the partition member 43 side along the inclined surface.

Here, in the storage container 41, the inclined portion 47 may be detachable. In such a configuration, the inclined portion 47 can be detached, and the partition member 43 can be provided in the original attachment area of the inclined portion 47. Thus, for example, when a larger space is required on the frozen object storage space 45 side to store more frozen objects F, the inclined portion 47 can be removed to increase the volume of the frozen object storage space 45. Of course, the inclined portion 47 may be fixedly provided at a predetermined location in the storage container 41 (in this embodiment, it is provided at the intersection of the bottom wall 41b and the side wall 41d1).

The inclination angle of the inclined surface 471 (the angle indicated by θ in FIG. 7(b)) is not particularly limited, but is preferably 5°-20°. When the inclination angle of the inclined surface 471 is less than 5°, the ice I may not be able to slide (roll) on the inclined surface 471 properly, which is not good. In contrast, when the inclination angle of the inclined surface 471 is higher than 20°, the volume occupied by the inclined portion 47 in the storage container 41 is too large (that is, the volume of the frozen object storage space 45 is too small), which is not good. In order to improve the sliding form of the ice I, the lower limit of the tilt angle is preferably in the range of 10° to 15°.

By providing the inclined portion 47 in this way, even if the volume of the ice storage space 44 becomes larger, the ice I can be evenly distributed in the ice storage space 44. As a result, there is no place where there is no ice I in the storage space, which causes waste, so that the ice I can be efficiently stored in the ice storage space 44. However, the installation, shape, structure, etc. of the inclined portion 47 are not limited thereto.

The refrigerator and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention have been explained in detail above. However, the description is described for easy understanding of the present invention and is not intended to limit the gist of the present invention. In the present invention, various changes and improvements can be included without departing from the gist thereof. In addition, the invention includes its equivalents.

Claims

A refrigerator, characterized in that it includes a freezer compartment,

The freezing chamber is provided with at least a storage container for storing ice and objects to be frozen,

The storage container includes an ice storage space for storing ice, a frozen object storage space for storing frozen objects, and a partition member for partitioning the ice storage space and the frozen object storage space,

The partition member can adjust the volume of the ice storage space and the frozen object storage space.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein:

The partition member can move within the storage container,

By moving the partition member, the volume of the ice storage space and the frozen object storage space is adjusted.
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

The storage container includes a partition member supporting portion that detachably supports the partition member,

The volume of the ice storage space and the frozen object storage space is adjusted by exchanging the partition member support portion that supports the partition member among the plurality of partition member support portions.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein

The storage container further includes an inclined portion having an inclined surface,

The inclined part is set in the ice storage space,

The ice moves along the inclined surface of the inclined portion.
The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein:

The inclined surface of the inclined portion is inclined downward from the side wall on the ice storage space side of the freezing compartment toward the partition member.
The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the partition member support portion includes a plurality of sets of support members arranged along a predetermined interval, and each set of support members includes two columns arranged side by side with the same structure through a gap, so The size of the gap corresponds to the thickness of the partition member, and the partition member is inserted into the gap.
The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the partition member supporting portion includes a plurality of spaced convex rails provided on the bottom wall of the storage container, the rails extending along the depth of the storage container The direction is formed, and the partition member is detachably engaged with the rail.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the storage container includes a partition member support portion including a first movement guide portion and a second movement guide portion, the first movement guide portion Formed on the front wall of the storage container along the width direction, the second movement guide portion is formed on the back wall of the storage container along the width direction, and the partition member is supported by the first movement guide portion and the second movement guide portion To slide in the storage container.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the storage container includes a movable support member for supporting the partitioning member, a guide groove is formed in a preset portion of the storage container, and the movable support The member is embedded in the guide groove or moves along the formation direction of the guide groove.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator further includes a door to open and close the freezing compartment, the storage container is supported by a pair of left and right side brackets, and the pair of left and right side brackets are mounted on the The back of the door extends further horizontally to the rear, and the storage container and the door are integrally supported by a pair of left and right side brackets, and the pair of left and right side brackets are movably engaged front and rear on side rails formed on the side surface of the freezer compartment , Moves as the door opens, thereby pulling out the storage container.