WO2021199108A1

WO2021199108A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2021199108A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/014454
Authority: WO
Inventors: 沙織杉▲崎▼; 大石　隆
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2020-03-30
Filing date: 2020-03-30
Publication date: 2021-10-07
Also published as: AU2020439808B2; JPWO2021199108A1; JP7332036B2; CN115349074A; CN115349074B; TWI783399B; AU2020439808A1; TW202136694A

Abstract

Provided is a refrigerator equipped with a refrigerator door that allows the front plates of both a glass surface material and a steel plate to be fixed to the same frame member. The refrigerator door 14 of a refrigerator 1 has a door frame 35, a back plate 36 and a front plate 33, and the door frame 35 has an upper cap, a lower cap, a right cap, and a left cap. The lower cap has a plate-shaped cap body, a front-side rib extending upward from the upper surface of the cap body, and a recess 57d between the cap body and the front-side rib. The front-side rib has an adhesive surface on the front. The front-side rib is disposed behind the front end of the cap body by a distance such that the cap body can support the glass plate, and the cap body has a support surface 55d on the upper surface forward of the front-side rib. If the front plate 33 is formed from steel plate material, the front plate 33 has an end bent to the back side at the bottom, and the end is inserted into the recess. If the front plate 33 is formed from glass, the lower side of the front plate 33 is supported by the support surface 55d, and the back of the front plate 33 is joined to the adhesive surface.

Description

refrigerator

The present invention relates to a refrigerator door.

In refrigerators, glass surface materials and steel plates are mainly used for the front plate of the refrigerator door that opens and closes the storage room. Generally, the glass surface material used for the front plate of a refrigerator door is thicker than the steel plate. When the front plate is attached to the frame member of the refrigerator door, if the front plate is a steel plate, the frame member is provided with a groove for holding the end face of the steel plate. On the other hand, when the front plate is a glass surface material, the frame member is provided with a receiving surface that supports the glass surface material in the height direction and an adhesive surface that fixes the glass surface material along the back surface of the glass surface material.

As a conventional refrigerator door, there is one in which a groove is formed in a frame member of the refrigerator door, and an inwardly bent ridge provided on a peripheral edge of a thin plate such as a steel plate is fitted in the groove to form a door body. When attaching the veneer to the door body, the veneer is placed on the surface of the door body, a ridge (cover) is fitted over the veneer, and the rim is fixed to the frame member with screws to attach the veneer. It was attached to the door body. (See, for example, Patent Document 1.)

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-98181

However, in the above-mentioned refrigerator, a cover is required to fix the decorative plate to the front surface of the door, and a step of attaching the cover to the door frame with screws is required. Further, the case where a front plate having no inwardly bent ridge on the peripheral edge, such as a glass plate thicker than a steel plate, is attached to the frame member is not supported.

The present invention solves such a problem and enables the front plates of both the glass surface material and the steel plate to be fixed to the same frame member while suppressing the increase of the members in the refrigerator door.

In order to solve the above problems, the refrigerator according to the present invention has a refrigerator main body having a storage chamber inside and a refrigerator door for opening and closing the storage chamber of the refrigerator main body. The refrigerator door has a door frame, a back plate and a front plate, and the door frame has an upper cap, a lower cap, a right cap and a left cap. The lower cap has a plate-shaped cap body that constitutes the lower surface of the refrigerator door, a front rib that is provided on the upper surface of the cap body and extends upward, and a recess for sandwiching the front plate between the front rib and the cap body. , Have. The front rib has an adhesive surface on the front surface for adhering the front plate. The front rib is provided behind the front end of the cap body by a distance that the cap body can support the glass plate. The cap body has a support surface on the upper surface in front of the front rib. When the front plate is made of a steel plate material, the front plate has a downwardly bent end portion, and the end portion is inserted into a recess. When the front plate is made of glass, the lower side surface of the front plate is joined to the support surface and the back surface of the front plate is joined to the adhesive surface.

According to the present invention, the front plate of the glass surface material and the front plate of the steel plate material can be fixed to the door frame which is the same frame member while suppressing the increase of the members.

It is a front view of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram of the refrigerating room left door and the refrigerating room right door in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view of the left cap and the lower cap of the right door of a refrigerator compartment in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the front plate and the lower cap of the right door of a refrigerating chamber when the steel plate material is used for the front plate in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the front plate and the lower cap of the right door of a refrigerating room which used glass for the front plate in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the front plate and the right cap of the right door of a refrigerating room which used the steel plate material for the front plate in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the front plate and the right cap of the right door of a refrigerating room which used glass for the front plate in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the right cap of the right door of a refrigerating room in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the lower cap of the right door of a refrigerating room in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the lower cap of the right door of a refrigerating room in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the lower cap of the right door of a refrigerating room in Embodiment 3 of this invention.

Hereinafter, the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present specification will be described with reference to the drawings. The present specification is not limited to the following embodiments, and can be modified or omitted without departing from the spirit of the present specification. Then, the drawing may be a simplified representation of the actual structure. Further, in the drawings, the size of each component and the positional relationship between the components may differ from the actual ones. In addition, reference numerals having the same reference numerals are the same, which is common to the entire text of the specification. Also, in the following description, terms that indicate directions (for example, "upper", "upper", "lower", "lower", "left", "left", "right", "right", for ease of understanding "Right side", "front", "front", "front", "rear", "rear", "back", "depth", "inside", "outside", etc.) are used as appropriate, but this is for explanation. These terms are not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, the above terms are used to indicate the relative positional relationship between the refrigerator and the refrigerator door components when the refrigerator door and the refrigerator door are viewed from the front. Further, in the present specification, the right angle means an angle in the range of 90 ± 5 °.

Embodiment 1.
Hereinafter, the configuration of the refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the refrigerator 1 includes a box body 2 which is a refrigerator main body. The front surface (front surface) of the box body 2 is opened and a storage space 3 is formed inside. The box body 2 is composed of a steel plate outer box 4, a resin inner box 5, and a heat insulating material 6 filled between the outer box 4 and the inner box 5. The storage space 3 is separated into a plurality of storage rooms, that is, a refrigerating room 8, a switching room 9, an ice making room 10, a freezing room 11, and a vegetable room 12 by a plurality of heat insulating partition walls 7.

Below the refrigerating chamber 8, a switching chamber 9 capable of switching the refrigerating temperature zone and an ice making chamber 10 next to the switching chamber 9 are arranged. The freezing room 11 is arranged under the switching room 9 and the ice making room 10, and the vegetable room 12 is arranged under the freezing room 11.
The front opening of the refrigerator compartment 8 is opened or closed by the refrigerator door left door 13 and the refrigerator compartment right door 14.
The refrigerator compartment left door 13 and the refrigerator compartment right door 14 are attached to the refrigerator body using hinges (not shown). The refrigerator compartment left door 13 and the refrigerator compartment right door 14 are rotary doors and can rotate independently of each other. The front openings of the switching chamber 9, the ice making chamber 10, the freezing chamber 11 and the vegetable compartment 12 are opened or closed by the drawer type switching chamber door 15, the ice making chamber door 16, the freezing chamber door 17, and the vegetable chamber door 18, respectively.

In the present embodiment, the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 8 is opened or closed by the refrigerator compartment left door 13 and the refrigerator compartment right door 14, but the present invention is not limited to this, and one refrigerator door is used. It may be configured to be opened or closed by the refrigerator door of the above. Further, the positions of the switching chamber 9 and the ice making chamber 10 may be opposite to those in FIG.
In FIG. 1, the refrigerating chamber 8 is arranged at the uppermost stage, the ice making chamber 9 and the switching chamber 10 are arranged side by side below it, the freezing chamber 11 is arranged below it, and the vegetable chamber 12 is arranged at the lowermost stage. Although arranged, the storage space 3 in the refrigerator 1 is not limited to such an arrangement.

The freezing chamber 11 includes a cooler 19, and the cold air cooled by the cooler 19 is blown to the refrigerating chamber 8, the switching chamber 9, the ice making chamber 10, the freezing chamber 11, and the vegetable compartment 12.

The refrigerator 1 is provided with an operation panel 20 on the front side of the refrigerating room left door 13 or the refrigerating room right door 14. The operation panel 20 is a user interface for setting the refrigerator 1 according to the operation contents of the user. The operation panel 20 can adjust the set temperature of each of the refrigerating room 8, the switching room 9, the freezing room 11, and the vegetable room 12.

The refrigerator 1 is provided with a door closing device (not shown) at the lower left portion of the refrigerating room left door 13 and the lower right portion of the refrigerating room right door 14 when viewed from the front.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a cross section of the refrigerator 1 in the depth direction at a position where the right door of the refrigerator compartment is vertically crossed.
A vacuum heat insulating material for reducing the amount of heat invading the storage space 3 from the outside of the refrigerator 1 is provided between the outer box 4 and the inner box 5. The vacuum heat insulating material 23 for the left door of the refrigerating room, the vacuum heat insulating material 24 for the right door of the refrigerating room, the vacuum heat insulating material 25 for the door of the freezer room, and the vacuum heat insulating material 26 for the door of the vegetable room are the left door 13 of the refrigerating room and the right door 14 of the refrigerating room. , It is provided inside the freezer door 17 and the vegetable room door 18. The thermal conductivity λ of the vacuum heat insulating material used in the above configuration is 0.002 W / m · K as an example.
Further, urethane foam 27 is filled between the vacuum heat insulating material 23 for the left door of the refrigerating room and the outer frame of the left door 13 of the refrigerating room, and between the vacuum heat insulating material 24 for the right door of the refrigerating room and the outer frame of the right door 21 of the refrigerating room. Has been done. The thermal conductivity λ of the urethane foam 27 is 0.02 W / m · K as an example.

A compressor 30 is arranged at the lower part of the back surface of the refrigerator 1. The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 30 is condensed in a condenser (not shown). The condensed refrigerant is decompressed in a capillary tube (not shown) as a decompressor. The decompressed refrigerant evaporates in the cooler 31, and the periphery of the cooler 31 is cooled by the endothermic action at the time of evaporation. The refrigeration cycle is composed of a compressor 30, a condenser, a capillary tube as a decompressor, and a cooler 31.

On the back side of the refrigerating chamber 8, for example, a cold air air duct 32 made of expanded polystyrene is installed to guide the cold air into the refrigerating chamber 8. A control board (not shown) made of synthetic resin is installed on the front side of the cold air blowing duct 32 so as to cover the cold air blowing duct 32. The control board 18 is covered with a steel plate and a heat insulating material, and the steel plate is screwed and fixed to the back surface of the outer box 4 of the refrigerator 1, so that the control board is attached to the outer box 4. Commercial power is supplied to the control board.

The damper (not shown), the compressor 30, and the blower provided in the cold air blower duct 32 are controlled by the control board. The control board detects the temperatures of the refrigerating room 8, the switching room 9, the ice making room 10, the freezing room 11 and the vegetable room 12 by a temperature detecting device (not shown) such as a thermistor, and the set temperature targeted by the storage space 3 is set. The cooling capacity of the refrigeration cycle, the start / stop of the cooling operation, the opening / closing of the damper, and the operating state of the blower are controlled so as to be.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing each component constituting the refrigerating room left door 13 and the refrigerating room right door 14 separately. An operation panel 20 is arranged on the left door 13 of the refrigerator compartment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerating room right door 14 is composed of a front plate 33 forming a design panel, double-sided tape 34, a door frame 35 which is a frame member of the refrigerator right door 14, a vacuum heat insulating material 24, and a back plate 36. It is configured. The front plate 33 is formed of glass. The vacuum heat insulating material 24 is arranged in the door frame 35, and the back plate 36 is attached to the rear side of the door frame 35. Further, the front plate 33 is attached to the front side of the door frame 35 by the double-sided tape 34. Finally, urethane foam (not shown) is injected into the gaps between the vacuum heat insulating material 24, the door frame 35, the front plate 33, and the back plate 36. In this way, the refrigerating room right door 14 is configured. Similar to the refrigerating room right door 14, the refrigerating room left door 13 has a front plate 133, double-sided tape 134, a door frame 135 which is a frame member of the refrigerating room right door, a vacuum heat insulating material 23 for the refrigerating room left door, and a back plate 136. It is composed of.
A hot melt (not shown) may be used instead of the double-sided tape 34.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration when the front plate 33 is formed of glass, but when the front plate 33 is formed of a steel plate material, double-sided tape 34 or hot melt is applied from the configuration of FIG. It can be omitted. At this time, the front plate 33 has end portions 38a, end portions 38b, end portions 38c, and end portions 38d bent rearward on the left, right, upper, and lower peripheral edges 37. The end 38b and the end 38d are shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. The end 38 is a member for attaching and fixing the front plate 33 to the door frame 35. Even in this case, the structure of the door frame 35 is the same as that in the case where the front plate 33 is formed of glass, and is the same as the structure shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, the door frame 35 of the refrigerating room right door 14 includes a left cap 39a, a right cap 39b, an upper cap 39c, and a lower cap 39d. The door frame 35 is formed by assembling and fixing the left cap 39a, the right cap 39b, the upper cap 39c and the lower cap 39d. The left cap 39a, the right cap 39b, the upper cap 39c, and the lower cap 39d each constitute one side of the door frame.
Similarly, the door frame 135 of the refrigerator compartment left door 13 includes a left cap 139a, a right cap 139b, an upper cap 139c, and a lower cap 139d. The door frame 135 is formed by assembling and fixing the left cap 139a, the right cap 139b, the upper cap 139c and the lower cap 139d. The left cap 39a, the right cap 39b, the upper cap 39c, and the lower cap 39d each constitute one side of the door frame.
The left cap 39a, the right cap 39b, the upper cap 39c and the lower cap 39d are all formed by molding plastic, but the materials of the left cap 39a, the right cap 39b, the upper cap 39c and the lower cap 39d are limited to this. Instead, it may be formed by molding a metal. The same applies to the left door 13 of the refrigerator compartment.

In this specification, the configuration of the refrigerating room right door 14 will be described. Although the left door 13 of the refrigerator compartment has a different length on the left and right when attached to the refrigerator 1, it has a symmetrical structure with the right door 14 of the refrigerator compartment, and thus description thereof will be omitted in the present specification.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the left cap 39a and the lower cap 39d of the door frame 35 in FIG. 3 included in the region D. In FIG. 4, the left cap 39a and the lower cap 39d of the door frame 35 are disconnected.

In FIG. 4, when a part of the door frame 35 is formed, the left cap 39a has a left cap main body 40a forming the left side surface of the door frame 35, a front rib 41a extending in the vertical direction, and a front-rear direction. It has a lower rib 42a that extends in the vertical direction and a rear rib 43a that extends in the vertical direction. The front rib 41a, the lower rib 42a, and the rear rib 43a are provided on the right surface 44a, which is the inner surface of the left cap body 40a. The front rib 41a, the lower rib 42a, and the rear rib 43a are each continuously formed from the left cap main body 40a, and have a shape that extends to the right and is convex to the right when the door frame 35 is configured. The front rib 41a is arranged in front of the rear rib 43a. The lower rib 42a is arranged at the lower end of the left cap body 40a. Although not shown, the left cap 39a has an upper rib having a shape extending in the front-rear direction and extending in the right direction so as to be convex to the right at the upper end of the left cap main body 40a. The upper rib is provided on the right side of the left cap body 40a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the left cap 39a has a hooking rib 46a provided on the right surface of the left cap main body 40a in parallel with the lower rib 42a above the lower rib 42a. The receiving rib 46a is formed with a receiving hole 47a for carrying.

In FIG. 4, the lower cap 39d is extended in the left-right direction with the lower cap body 40d forming the lower surface of the door frame 35, the front rib 41d extending in the left-right direction, and the left rib 48a extending in the front-rear direction. It has a rear rib 43d and a rear rib 43d. The front rib 41d, the left rib 48a, and the rear rib 43d are provided on the upper surface, which is the inner surface of the lower cap body 40d. The front rib 41d, the left rib 48a, and the rear rib 43d are each continuously formed from the lower cap main body 40d, and have a shape that extends upward and becomes convex upward when the door frame 35 is configured. The front rib 41d is arranged in front of the rear rib 43d. The left rib 48d is arranged at the left end of the lower cap body 40d. Although not shown, the lower cap 39d has a right rib 48b at the upper end of the lower cap main body 40d, which has a shape that extends in the front-rear direction and extends in the upward direction so as to be convex upward. The right rib 48b is provided on the upper surface of the lower cap body.
The lower cap body 40d of the lower cap 39d has a handle portion 49 that is convex upward between the front rib 41d and the rear rib 43d.

A claw portion 51a extending to the right is provided on the left rib 48a of the lower cap 39d.
Further, the lower cap 39d has a first locking rib 50a provided on the upper surface of the lower cap main body 40d so as to be parallel to the left side rib 48a on the right side of the left side rib 48a. The first locking rib 50a has a locking claw holding portion 52a extending to the left.
Although not shown, the lower cap 29a has a second engagement at a position symmetrical to the first locking rib 50a with respect to the left and right center surfaces of the door frame 35 when a part of the door frame 35 is formed. The stop rib 50b is provided on the upper surface of the lower cap body 40d. Like the left rib 48a and the first locking rib 50a, the right rib 48b and the second locking rib 50b are provided with a claw portion 51b and a claw holding portion 52b, respectively, and the claw portion 51b and the second locking rib 50b are provided. The claw holding portion 52b has a structure symmetrical to the left and right with the claw portion 51a and the claw holding portion 52a.

The method of assembling and fixing the lower cap 39d to the left cap 39a is as follows.
The claw portion 51a of the lower cap 39d is brought close to the engagement hole 47a of the engagement rib 46a of the left cap 39a from diagonally below, and the claw portion 51a is inserted into the engagement hole 47a.
When the claw portion 51a is inserted into the engagement hole 47a of the engagement rib 46a, the engagement rib 46a is locked by the claw portion 51a and the claw holding portion 52a, so that the left cap 39a is fixed to the lower cap 39d.

The right cap 39b has a structure symmetrical to the left cap 39a with respect to the left and right center surfaces of the door frame 35 when a part of the door frame 35 is formed.
Further, the upper cap 39c has a structure that is vertically symmetrical with the left cap 39a with respect to the upper and lower central surfaces (horizontal plane) of the door frame 35 when a part of the door frame 35 is formed.

Fixing the lower cap 39d to the right cap 39b, fixing the upper cap 39c to the left cap 39a, and fixing the upper cap 39c to the right cap 39b are performed in the same manner as the method of assembling and fixing the lower cap 39d to the left cap 39a. .. The lower cap 39d is fixed to the left cap 39a, the lower cap 39d is fixed to the right cap 39b, the upper cap 39c is fixed to the left cap 39a, and the upper cap is fixed to the right cap 39b to form the door frame 35. NS.

A metal reinforcement (not shown) is attached to the inside of the left cap 39a and the right cap 39b, respectively. With such a configuration, the left cap 39a and the right cap 39b are reinforced, and when urethane foam is injected into the right door 14 of the refrigerator compartment, the urethane foam pushes the door frame 35 from the inside, so that the door frame The deformation of 35 can be suppressed.

The refrigerating room right door 14 is formed by attaching the front plate 33 and the back plate 36 to the door frame 35, arranging the vacuum heat insulating material 24 for the refrigerating room right door inside, and filling with urethane foam.
The structure of the door frame 35 for holding the front plate 33 will be described.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the front plate 33a and the lower cap 39d of the refrigerating chamber right door 14 in the depth direction when the front plate 33 is formed of a steel plate material.
FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the front plate 33b and the lower cap 39d of the refrigerating chamber right door 14 in the depth direction when the front plate 33 is formed of glass.
In FIGS. 5 and 6, the structure of the lower cap 39d is the same.

The configuration of the lower cap 39a will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the front plate 33a and the lower cap 39d in the depth direction, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. The lower cap 39d has a plate-shaped lower cap body 40d that forms the lower surface of the door frame 35 when a part of the door frame 35 is formed. The lower cap 39d has a front rib 41d that is continuously formed from the lower cap body 40d and extends upward on the upper surface of the lower cap body 40d. The lower cap 39d has a handle portion 49 that is convex upward between the lower cap main body 40d and the front rib 41d.

The configuration of the vertical cross section of the upper cap 39c shown in FIG. 3 in the depth direction is vertically symmetrical with the configuration of the lower cap 39d of FIG. However, the upper cap 39c does not have a structure corresponding to the handle portion 49 of FIG.

The front rib 41d is provided behind the front end 53 of the lower cap body 40d. The front rib 41d is connected to the lower cap body 40d inside (upper) from the frame portion, and is connected to the holding portion 71d and extended forward in a direction parallel to the lower cap, and is connected to the holding portion 71d and extended upward. It has an adhesive portion 70d to be formed. The front rib 38 is formed by the holding portion 36 and the adhesive portion 37. The portion of the lower cap body 40d located in front of the front rib 41d is a support portion 54 that supports the front plate 33 when the front plate 33 is formed of glass. The front rib 41d is rearward from the front end 53 of the lower cap body 40d by a distance that the support 54 in front of the front rib 41d can support the front plate 33a when glass is used for the front plate 33. Provided.
The front surface of the front rib 41d is an adhesive surface 60 for adhering and supporting the front plate 33b when the front plate 33 is formed of glass.
The upper surface of the support portion 54 is a support surface 55d for supporting the front plate 33b when the front plate 33 is formed of glass.

FIG. 5 shows a structure in which the front plate 33a is attached to the lower cap 39d when the front plate 33 is formed of a steel plate material. In FIG. 5, the front plate 33a has an end portion 38d that is bent downward toward the back side. The dimension of the inner width of the recess 57d is set to be substantially the same as the dimension of the thickness of the front portion 38d.
The front plate 33a is attached to the lower cap 39d by press-fitting the end portion 38d into the recess 57d. At this time, the lower surface of the end 38d is brought into contact with the support surface 55d, the front plate 33a is moved rearward, and the end 38d is inserted into the recess 57d. The front plate 33a is fixed to the lower cap 39d by sandwiching the end 38d between the lower cap main body 40d and the front rib 41d. The depth of the recess 57d in the depth direction is formed so that when the end 38d is inserted, the tip of the end 38d is in contact with the bottom surface of the recess 57d and is fixed.

FIG. 6 shows a structure in which the front plate 33b is attached to the lower cap 39d when the front plate 33 is formed of glass. In the refrigerating chamber right door 14 of FIG. 6, the lower side surface of the front plate 33b is in contact with the support surface 55d and supported, and the rear surface of the front plate 33b and the adhesive surface 60d are joined via double-sided tape 34 or hot melt. ing.
The adhesive surface 60d and the support surface 55d are at right angles to each other. With this configuration, when the front plate 33b is attached to the lower cap 39d, the adhesion between the lower side surface of the front plate 33b and the support surface 55d and the adhesion between the rear surface of the front plate 33b and the adhesive surface 60d It is possible to improve the sex.
The front plate 33b is adhered to the lower cap 39d by double-sided tape 34 or hot melt. In FIG. 6, the double-sided tape 34 and the hot melt are omitted. The double-sided tape 34 and the hot melt shall have sufficient adhesive force against the force from the outside of the refrigerator when the front plate 33b is attached to and fixed to the adhesive surface 60d. In the explanation of FIG. 6, it is assumed that the lower side surface of the front plate 33b and the support surface 55d are in direct contact with each other, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a cushioning material or a sealing material is arranged between the lower side surface of the front plate 33b and the support surface 55d. You may.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the front plate 33a formed of the steel plate material is attached to the lower cap 39d, the front plate 33a and the adhesive surface 60d of the front rib 41d are separated from each other. The space formed by this separation is filled with urethane foam. Further, the space between the front rib 41d and the handle portion 49 is also filled with urethane foam.
When forming the right door 14 of the refrigerator compartment, the back plate 36 is attached to the door frame 35, and urethane foam is injected into the door frame 35 which is open upward with the back plate 36 facing down. After that, the end 38d of the front plate 33a is press-fitted into the recess 57d of the lower cap 39d from above the door frame 35, and the front plate 33a is attached to the door frame 35. At this time, since the urethane foam at the center of the door frame 35 is pressed by the front plate 33a, the urethane foam is press-fitted into the space between the front plate 33a and the front rib 41d and the space between the front rib 41d and the handle portion 49. Will be done. When urethane foam is press-fitted into the space between the front plate 33a and the front rib 41d and the space between the front rib 41d and the handle portion 49, the end portion 38d of the front plate 33a is moved to the support portion 54 side by the urethane foam. Be pressed. When urethane foam is press-fitted into the space between the front rib 41d and the handle 49, the urethane foam presses the front rib 41d in a direction that narrows the groove width of the recess 57d. Therefore, as compared with the case where urethane foam is not injected, the ability of the lower cap 39d to fix the front plate 33a is improved, and the front plate 33a is suppressed from coming off from the door frame 35 during foaming.

FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view of the front plate 33 and the right cap 39b when the front plate 33 is formed of a steel plate material.
FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view of the front plate 33 and the right cap 39b when the front plate 33 is formed of glass.
In FIGS. 7 and 8, the structure of the right cap 39b is the same.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the front plate 33 and the lower cap 39d in the depth direction, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB'of FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the right cap 39b is a corner portion formed continuously from the right cap main body 40b forming the right side surface of the door frame 35 and the right cap main body 40b and provided in front of the right cap main body 40b. It has 56b and a front rib 41b extending leftward from the left side surface of the corner portion 56b. The front surface of the corner portion 56b forms the front surface of the right cap 39b, and the right side surface of the corner portion 56b coincides with the right surface surface of the right cap body 40b. The thickness of the corner portion 56b in the left-right direction is larger than the thickness of the right cap body 40b in the left-right direction, and the corner portion 56b has a shape in which the front right end is obliquely surfaced.

Similar to FIG. 5, the front rib 41b is connected to the corner portion 56b inward (to the left) from the frame portion, and is held by the holding portion 71b which is separated from the corner portion 56b and extends forward in a parallel direction. It has an adhesive portion 70b that connects to the portion 71b and extends inward (to the left).

The right cap 39b has a recess 57b between the corner portion 56b and the front rib 41b. The recess 57b is a groove for fixing the front plate 33a made of a steel plate material to the right cap 39b, and has a shape of being recessed rearward. The front rib 41b has an adhesive surface 60b on the front surface. The adhesive surface 60b is located behind the front surface of the corner portion 56b. The support portion 58b located in front of the front rib 41b of the corner portion 56b has a function of a protective portion that protects the front plate 33 from an external impact. The upper surface of the support portion 58b is a support surface 55b for supporting the front plate 33b when the front plate 33 is formed of glass.
The adhesive surface 60b and the support surface 55b are at right angles to each other. With this configuration, when the front plate 33b is attached to the right cap 39d, the lower side surface of the front plate 33b and the support surface 55b are in close contact with each other, and the back surface of the front plate 33b and the adhesive surface 60b are in close contact with each other. It is possible to improve the sex.
As shown in FIG. 8, the distance between the front surface of the corner portion 56b and the adhesive surface 60b in the depth direction is protected when the front plate 33 formed of glass is joined to the adhesive surface 60b of the right cap 39b and attached. The portion covers the right side surface of the front plate 33, and is a distance capable of protecting the front plate 33 from a lateral impact on the front plate 33.

In FIG. 7, the front plate 33 has an end portion 38b bent to the back side on the right side of the front plate 33. The front plate 33 is attached to the right cap 39b by press-fitting the end portion 38b into the recess 57b. The front plate 33 is fixed to the right cap 39b by sandwiching the end 38b between the corner portion 56a and the front rib 41b. The depth of the recess 57b in the depth direction is formed so that when the end 38b is inserted, the tip of the end 38b is in contact with the bottom surface of the recess 57b and is fixed.

If the front surface of the corner portion 56 is behind the front surface of the front plate 33, the cleaning property is good and the design property is also improved.
When the front plate 33 is formed of glass, the front surface of the corner portion 56a may be in front of the front surface of the front plate 33. In this case, the corner portion 56a can protect the front plate 33 from a lateral impact on the front plate 33.

The left cap 39c has a structure symmetrical to the right cap 39b with respect to the left and right center surfaces of the door frame 35 when a part of the door frame 35 is formed, and the left cap 39c has a corner portion 56b. The present embodiment is not limited to this, and if the front plate 33 can be protected from a lateral impact on the front plate 33 by the corner portion 56b, the front corner of the corner portion 56a of the right cap 39b and the corner of the left cap. The front surface of the portion 56b may be provided at different positions in the front and rear.

In the present embodiment, the left cap 39a, the right cap 39b, the upper cap 39c, and the lower cap 39d are all provided with the recess 57a, the recess 57b, the recess 57c, and the recess 57d. The number of recesses to be formed is not limited to this. The recess holds the front plate 33a formed of the steel plate material in the door frame 35, and the door is prevented from being displaced due to the pressing of urethane foam or the external force when using the refrigerator 1. It suffices if it can be fixed to the frame 35. As long as such a function is not impaired, the recess can be provided in at least one of the left cap 39a, the right cap 39b, the upper cap 39c and the lower cap 39d.

In the present embodiment, the recess 57a, the recess 57b, the recess 57c, and the recess 57d are all provided so as to be recessed rearward, but the present invention is not limited to this.
As shown in FIG. 9, in the right cap 39b, the recess 57b may be formed in the corner portion 56b in the direction of becoming concave to the right in front of the adhesive surface 60b. Further, in the left cap 39, the recess 57a may be formed in the corner portion 56a so as to be concave to the left. As for the upper cap 39c and the lower cap 39d, as shown in FIG. 5, a recess 57c and a recess 57d that are concave in the rear direction are formed.
In this case, the bent end 38c and the end 38d on the back side of the front plate 33a are inserted into the recesses 57c and the recess 57d of the upper cap 39c and the lower cap 39d in the depth direction, respectively, and the front plate 33a is inserted into the upper cap 39c. And fixed to the lower cap 39d. After that, the recesses 57a and the recesses 57b of the left cap 39a and the right cap 39b are inserted into the left and right ends of the front plate 33a from the left and right, respectively, to form the door frame 35. The dimension of the inner width of the recess 57a and the recess 57b is set to be substantially the same as the thickness dimension of the front plate 33a. Even if the door frame 35 has such a structure, both the front plate 33a formed of the steel plate material and the front plate 33b formed of the glass can be fixed to the same door frame 35.

<How to fix the design panel>
Next, a method of fixing the front plate 33 to the door frame 35 will be described.
A case where the front plate 33 is formed by using a steel plate material will be described.

The front plate 33a is pressed against the front surface of the door frame 35 formed by assembling the left cap 39a, the right cap 39b, the upper cap 39c and the lower cap 39d. The left cap 39a and the right cap 39b are formed with a recess 57a and a recess 57b having the structure shown in FIG. 7, respectively. The upper cap 39c and the lower cap 39d are formed with a recess 57c and a recess 57d having the structure shown in FIG. 5, respectively.

The end 38d bent toward the back side of the front plate 33a is inserted into the recess 57d of the lower cap 39d so as to be in contact with the bottom surface of the recess 57d. The end 38a, the end 38b, and the end 38c bent toward the back side of the front plate 33a are also inserted into the recess 57b, the recess 57c, and the recess 57d, respectively. In this way, the front plate 33a is attached to the door frame 35.

Next, a case where the front plate 33 is formed by using glass will be described.

Double-sided tape 30 is attached or hot melted to the adhesive surface 60a, the adhesive surface 60b, and the adhesive surface 60d of the door frame 35 formed by assembling the left cap 39a, the right cap 39b, the upper cap 39c, and the lower cap 39d. (Not shown) is applied, and the front plate 33b is adhered onto the coating. At this time, the lower side surface of the front plate 33b is supported by the support surface 55d of the lower cap 39d. In this way, the front plate 33b is fixed to the adhesive surface 60b. At this time, a part of the hot melt extruded by the pressing of the front plate 33b at the time of bonding flows into the recess 57d provided on the outside of the bonding surface 60b. By such a mechanism, the hot melt is prevented from entering the gap between the glass surface and the support portion and leaking from the front surface of the refrigerator door, so that the aesthetic quality of the refrigerator door is improved.

In the present embodiment, steel plate and glass are mentioned as the material of the front plate 33, but the material of the front plate 33 is not limited to this, and for example, sheet metal or resin may be used. If the shape of the front plate 33 with respect to the door frame 35 can be formed to be the same as that of FIGS. 5 and 6, the material of the front plate 33 can be changed to another material such as sheet metal or resin.

In the door frame of a conventional refrigerator door, when a front plate formed of glass is attached, a protruding portion provided in front of the door frame from a support portion of the front plate forms a part of the door frame. It covered and prevented the front plate from coming off the door frame. In the refrigerating room right door 14 of the present embodiment, the adhesive surface 60d of the lower cap 39d and the front plate 33b are fixed by double-sided tape 34 or hot melt, and the front plate 33b is supported by the support surface 55d to support the front plate 33b. The 33b is fixed to the door frame 35. With such a configuration, the protruding portion provided on the front surface of the front plate 33b becomes unnecessary, so that the area of the front surface of the front plate 33b can be increased and the design of the right door 14 of the refrigerator compartment is improved. In addition, the conventional refrigerator door is inconvenient in terms of cleanability because it is difficult to remove foreign matter such as dust when it collects at the boundary between the front plate and the protruding portion. In the refrigerating room right door 14 of the present embodiment, since the door frame 35 does not have a protruding portion on the front surface of the front plate 33b, foreign matter such as dust can be easily removed and the cleaning property of the refrigerator door is improved. The same applies to the left door 13 of the refrigerator compartment.

<Embodiment 2>
Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. The front view and cross-sectional view of the refrigerator 200 in the second embodiment, the configuration of the left door 201 of the refrigerator compartment and the right door 202 of the refrigerator compartment 202 are the same as those of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the first embodiment.

The structure of the door frame 203 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. In the second embodiment, the front rib provided on the lower cap main body 205 is composed of two parts.

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the lower cap 204 in the depth direction according to the second embodiment. The lower cap 204 has a lower cap body 205 as in the first embodiment. The lower cap 204 has a step portion 206 continuously formed from the lower cap main body 205 and extending upward on the upper surface of the lower cap main body 205.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the step portion 206 has an L-shaped step 207 formed from the front surface of the step portion 206 to the upper surface of the step portion 206 and having a concave portion rearward. The fixing member 208 is adhered to the step portion so as to be in contact with the two surfaces of the step 207. The fixing member 208 has an L-shaped shape including one side 209 extending forward from the step portion 206 and one side 210 extending upward when attached to the step portion 206. The front rib 211 is formed by the step portion 206 and the fixing member 208. The front surface of one side of the fixing member 208 extending upward is the adhesive surface 212. Further, the portion of the lower cap body 205 in front of the adhesive surface 212 becomes the support portion 213. The stepped portion 206 and the fixing member 208 are adhered by double-sided tape or screw fixing. Even with such a structure, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained. A recess 214 is formed between the fixing member 208 and the lower cap body 205.

In the first embodiment, the lower cap 39d has a lower cap main body 40d, and a recess 57d is formed between the lower cap main body 40d and the front rib 41d continuously formed from the lower cap main body 40d. In order to form the lower cap having such a structure, an undercut treatment for forming the recess 57d is required.
In the present embodiment, the front rib 211 is formed by the step portion 206 and the fixing member 208, and the recess 214 is formed between the lower cap main body 205 and the front rib 211. With such a configuration, the undercut treatment becomes unnecessary, and the cost at the time of molding can be suppressed lower than that of the lower cap of the first embodiment.

The structure in which the front rib is composed of two parts, the step portion 206 and the fixing member 208, is not limited to FIG. 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the cross section of the fixing member 208 is rectangular, and the back surface of the fixing member 208 is formed. A structure is also possible in which the entire surface is adhered to the step portion 206 to form the front rib 211. Even with such a configuration, the undercut process for forming the concave portion 214 is not required at the time of molding the lower cap 204, and the cost at the time of molding can be suppressed lower than that of the lower cap of the first embodiment.

<Embodiment 3>
Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described. The front view and cross-sectional view of the refrigerator 300 in the third embodiment, and the configurations of the left door 301 of the refrigerator compartment and the right door 302 of the refrigerator compartment are the same as those of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the first embodiment. In the third embodiment, the opening 305 is formed in the front rib 304 provided in the lower cap main body 303 provided in the refrigerating room right door 302.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the front rib 304 provided in the lower cap main body 303 has an opening 305 in the adhesive portion 306 that penetrates to the back surface. Other configurations are the same as those in FIGS. 5 and 6.

With such a structure, when the back plate 36 is attached to the door frame 35, urethane foam is injected into the door frame 35, and then the front plate 33a is attached to the door frame 35, the front plate 33a and the front rib 304 are formed. Since urethane foam flows into the space between them through the opening 305, the space between the front plate 33 and the front rib 304 makes it easier to fill the urethane foam as compared with the case where the opening 305 is not provided. Therefore, as compared with the case where the opening 305 is not provided on the front surface of the front rib 304, a gap due to the injection leakage of urethane foam is less likely to be formed in the space between the front plate 33 and the front rib 304, and the front plate 33 is made of a steel plate material. When the front plate 33a is attached to the door frame 35, the effect of pressing the end portion of the front plate 33a toward the support portion side by the urethane foam is compared with the case where the opening 305 is not provided. It gets higher.

When the front plate 33 is formed of glass, the front plate 33b is attached to the adhesive surface 306 of the lower cap via hot melt. At this time, a part of the hot melt flows into the opening 305 formed in the adhesive surface 306. Therefore, as compared with the case where the adhesive surface 306 is not provided with the opening 305, it is possible to prevent the hot melt from flowing out from between the front plate 33b and the support portion and leaking to the front surface of the refrigerator door. The quality of the design is improved.

It should be noted that it is included in the scope of the technical idea shown in the embodiment that each embodiment is appropriately combined, modified or omitted.

1 ... Refrigerator, 2 ... Box, 35 ... Door frame, 39a ... Left cap, 39b ... Right cap, 39c ... Upper cap, 39d ... Lower cap, 41d ... Front rib, 40d ... Lower cap body, 14 ... Refrigerator right door , 36 ... back plate, 33 ... front plate, 33a ... front plate, 33b ... front plate, 60d ... adhesive surface, 55d ... support surface, 57d ... recessed

Claims

In a refrigerator having a refrigerator main body having a storage chamber inside and a refrigerator door for opening and closing the storage chamber of the refrigerator main body,
The refrigerator door has a door frame, a back plate and a front plate, and has a door frame, a back plate, and a front plate.
The door frame has an upper cap, a lower cap, a right cap and a left cap.
The lower cap has a plate-shaped cap body forming the lower surface of the refrigerator door, a front rib provided on the upper surface of the cap body and extending upward, and the front plate between the cap body and the front rib. Has a recess for pinching
The front rib has an adhesive surface on the front surface for adhering the front plate.
The front rib is provided behind the front end of the cap body by a distance that the cap body can support the glass plate.
The cap body has a support surface on the upper surface in front of the front rib.
When the front plate is made of a steel plate material, the front plate has an end portion bent downward to the back side, and the end portion is inserted into the recess.
When the front plate is made of glass, the lower side surface of the front plate is supported by the support surface, and the back surface of the front plate is joined to the adhesive surface.
refrigerator.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the front rib is formed of two parts.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the front rib has an opening on the adhesive surface that penetrates to the back surface of the front rib.