WO2022176473A1

WO2022176473A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2022176473A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/001517
Authority: WO
Inventors: 雄人乾; 匡彦渡邉; 健一岡部
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2021-02-17
Filing date: 2022-01-18
Publication date: 2022-08-25
Also published as: CN116261646A; JP2022125452A; JP2024074989A

Abstract

A refrigerator according to the present invention comprises: a hinge structure supporting a door (11) in a freely openable/closable manner in relation to a body; and a wiring cord (50a) connecting a body-side control unit provided to the body and a door-side control unit provided to the door (11). The hinge structure comprises: a hinge member (20) attached to an upper part of the body; a guide pin; and a guide groove (34) that receives the guide pin. The door (11) is opened and closed as a result of the guide groove (34) being regulated by the guide pin, or the guide pin being regulated by the guide groove (34). The door (11) includes a wiring cord hole (53) through which the wiring cord (50a) passes. The wiring cord hole (53) is positioned in the vicinity of the guide groove (34) at a portion, of an upper part of the door (11), other than the guide pin and the guide groove (34).

Description

refrigerator

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator hinge structure.

Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator including a door and a hinge body. The door is provided with a guide block, the hinge body is provided with a rotation shaft, and the guide block is provided with a rotation shaft groove. Due to the structure of the hinge body, the gravity and friction forces of the door are distributed to the first plate body and the second plate body of the hinge body, which can reduce wear and extend the service life of the refrigerator door.

In Patent Document 2, a wiring cord is inserted through a notch provided on the peripheral surface of the rotating shaft of the hinge member, and the wiring cord is arranged coaxially with the rotating shaft.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-521102 JP-A-8-296952

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that has a hinge structure that allows the door to be opened even when the refrigerator is installed close to the wall, and that can prevent the wiring cord from being damaged.

A refrigerator according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a hinge structure that supports a door so that it can be opened and closed relative to a main body; , provided. The hinge structure includes a hinge member attached to the top of the body, a guide pin, and a guide groove that receives the guide pin. The door is opened and closed with the guide groove restricted by the guide pin or the guide pin restricted by the guide groove. The door includes a wiring cord hole through which the wiring cord is passed. The wiring cord hole is located in the vicinity of the guide pin or the guide groove in the upper portion of the door other than the guide pin and the guide groove.

With the hinge member and the wiring cord hole of the refrigerator according to one aspect of the present disclosure, when opening the door, the door can be opened even when the refrigerator is installed close to the wall, and the wiring cord is damaged. can be prevented.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the upper hinge structure of the refrigerator of Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the main part of the upper hinge structure of Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing an upper hinge member and an upper guide member according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 5A is a plan view of the essential parts of Embodiment 1 with the door closed. FIG. 5B is a plan view of the essential parts of Embodiment 1 with the door slightly opened. FIG. 5C is a plan view of the essential parts of the first embodiment with the door opened 90 degrees. FIG. 5D is a plan view of a main part of Embodiment 1 with the door fully opened.

(Knowledge, etc. on which this disclosure is based)
To prevent corners of a door from protruding laterally from a main body of the refrigerator and hitting a side wall when the door is opened when the refrigerator is installed close to the wall of the installation location, and a door-side control part and the main body side. In order to solve the problem of preventing the wiring cords connecting the control units from being damaged, the subject matter of the present disclosure has been formed.

Therefore, the present disclosure provides a refrigerator that can open the door and prevent damage to the wiring cord even when the refrigerator is installed close to the wall.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed description than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of well-known matters or redundant descriptions of substantially the same configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid the following description from becoming more redundant than necessary and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

It should be noted that the accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to allow those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter of the claims.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG.

[1-1. Constitution]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator to which the hinge structure and wiring cord according to the present disclosure are applied. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a hinge member showing an outline of the refrigerator.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 has a box-shaped main body 10 . A door 11 is provided on the front surface of the main body 10 so as to be freely opened and closed by a hinge structure 12 .

Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the hinge structure 12 includes a hinge cover 17, an upper hinge member 20, and an upper guide member 30. Upper hinge member 20 is covered with hinge cover 17 . Upper guide member 30 engages upper hinge member 20 . The hinge cover 17 accommodates the wiring cord 50 inside the hinge cover 17 . The wiring cord 50 connects the body-side controller 51 and the door-side controller 52 . The body-side control unit 51 is provided in the body 10 and controls the entire refrigerator 1 . The door-side control unit 52 is provided inside the door 11 and performs user operations, displays, and the like.

Also, in the present embodiment, the door 11 is composed of two doors 11, each of which is attached so that it can be opened double-sided.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the hinge structure 12 on the top of the door 11. FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the hinge structure 12. FIG.

Since the hinge structure 12 of the door 11 is bilaterally symmetrical, only the hinge structure 12 of the door 11 located on the right side when viewed from the front will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, flat plate-like upper hinge members 20 are attached to the upper portions of both sides of the main body 10 .

The upper hinge member 20 includes a base portion 21 , a pin support portion 22 and an upper notch portion 23 . The base 21 is fixed to the main body 10 . The pin support portion 22 extends from the front end portion of the base portion 21 to a position overlapping the upper portion of the door 11 . The upper notch portion 23 is formed by notching the side edge of the main body 10 on the end portion side.

A first upper guide pin 24 and a second upper guide pin 25 are provided on the lower surface of the pin support portion 22 so as to protrude downward. The first upper guide pin 24 and the second upper guide pin 25 are arranged with a predetermined spacing. A line connecting the center of the first upper guide pin 24 and the center of the second upper guide pin 25 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the front surface of the door 11 .

On one side of the upper portion of the door 11, an upper hinge mounting recess 13 is formed by notching a portion of one side surface and the rear surface of the door 11. Thereby, an upper cover wall 14 is formed on the front side of the door 11 . An opening 15 is formed in the upper hinge mounting recess 13 of the door 11 .

An upper guide member 30 is attached to the upper hinge mounting recess 13 so as to block the opening 15 .

More specifically, the door 11 includes a front plate 11a, a door cap 11b, an inner plate 11c, a heat insulator (not shown), and a gasket 11e. The front plate 11a forms the front surface. The door cap 11b forms the outer frame of the front panel 11a. A heat insulating material is provided in the interior surrounded by the front panel 11a, the door cap 11b, and the inner panel 11c. A gasket 11e is attached to the outer periphery of the inner plate 11c to seal the door 11 and the main body 10 together. The door 11 is formed with an upper hinge mounting concave portion 13 formed by notching the side surface side and the rear surface side of the door cap 11b on one side of the upper portion of the door 11. As shown in FIG. An upper guide member 30 is attached to the door 11 so as to close the opening 15 formed in the upper hinge attachment recess 13 .

The upper guide member 30 includes a flat plate portion 31 , an upper guide concave portion 32 , a fixing portion 33 and a wiring cord hole 53 . The flat plate portion 31 blocks the opening 15 . The upper guide concave portion 32 protrudes to the lower surface side of the flat plate portion 31 . The fixed portion 33 is formed at a corner portion of the flat plate portion 31 . The wiring cord hole 53 allows the wiring cord 50 to pass therethrough. The upper guide member 30 is fixed to the door 11 by screwing a screw (not shown) into the door 11 via the fixing portion 33 .

Further, the upper guide concave portion 32 has a bottom portion 32a. The bottom portion 32 a prevents the heat insulating material from entering the upper guide recess 32 when the door 11 is filled with heat insulating material (not shown).

Also, the wiring cord hole 53 is connected to the inside of the tubular bush portion 55 . The bush portion 55 is embedded in the heat insulating material inside the door 11 . As shown in FIG. 4, the bush portion 55 is formed longer than the upper guide concave portion 32 .

Further, although the upper guide member 30 is formed separately from the door cap 11b as described above, it may be formed integrally with the door cap 11b.

Also, although the wiring cord hole 53 has been described as provided in the upper guide member 30, it may be provided in a member other than the upper guide member 30, for example, in the door cap 11b.

An upper guide groove 34 opening to the flat plate portion 31 is formed inside the upper guide concave portion 32 . The upper guide groove 34 is formed by connecting a plurality of upper guide portions formed of circular arc portions and/or linear portions. In the present embodiment, the upper guide groove 34 is formed across both the left and right sides of the wiring cord hole 53 in FIG. 5A. The upper guide groove 34 includes a first upper guide portion 35 , a second upper guide portion 36 and a third upper guide portion 37 . The first upper guide portion 35 is formed on one side of the wiring cord hole 53 from the front plate 11 a side toward the inner plate 11 c side of the door 11 . The third upper guide portion 37 is formed on the other side of the wiring cord hole 53 toward the inner plate 11c side of the door 11 from the front plate 11a side. The second upper guide portion 36 connects the first upper guide portion 35 and the third upper guide portion 37 between the wiring cord hole 53 and the inner plate 11c.

Thereby, the upper guide groove 34 is formed in a substantially U shape in plan view as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D.

In addition, the upper guide member 30 has rib-like projections 38 protruding upward from the flat plate portion 31 at the openings of the upper guide grooves 34 . The rib-like protrusion 38 is formed along the entire circumference of the upper guide groove 34 .

The upper guide groove 34 receives the first upper guide pin 24 and the second upper guide pin 25 . When the door 11 is opened and closed, the rib-shaped protrusions 38 slide with the upper hinge member 20 .

In addition, the upper guide member 30 has a rib-like protrusion 54 protruding upward from the flat plate portion 31 at the opening of the wiring cord hole 53 . The rib-shaped projection 54 is formed all around the wiring cord hole 53 .

The first upper guide part 35 is formed to prevent the door 11 from protruding in the side wall direction of the installation location of the refrigerator when the door 11 is opened from the closed state. The second upper guide portion 36 and the third upper guide portion 37 are formed so that the door 11 can be opened up to 90 degrees.

The third upper guide portion 37 where the second upper guide pin 25 is located is formed to open the door 11 at an opening angle of 90 degrees or more, specifically about 120 degrees.

Also, the wiring cord hole 53 is arranged at a position surrounded by the first to third

upper guide portions

35, 36, 37 formed in a substantially U shape.

[1-2. motion]
The operation of the hinge structure 12 and the wiring cord 50 of the refrigerator 1 configured as described above will be described below.

5A to 5D are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the upper guide groove 34, the upper guide pins 24 and 25, and the wiring cord 50. FIG.

FIG. 5A shows a state in which the door 11 is closed. In this state, the first upper guide pin 24 is positioned in the first upper guide portion 35 of the upper guide groove 34 . The second upper guide pin 25 is also positioned in the first upper guide portion 35 of the upper guide groove 34 .

At this time, the virtual center of rotation O is located in front of the front plate 11 a of the door 11 and on one side of the door 11 .

Also, the wiring cord 50a wired from the door-side control portion 52 passes through the bush portion 55 and the wiring cord hole 53, is arranged on the upper surface of the upper hinge member 20, and is arranged on the upper surface of the pin support portion 22. Also, the wiring cord 50b wired from the main body side control section 51 passes through the upper surface of the base portion 21 of the hinge member 20. As shown in FIG. The wiring cord 50a and the wiring cord 50b are connected on the upper surface of the hinge member 20 by a connector (not shown).

In a plan view of FIG. 5A with the door 11 closed, the wiring cord hole 53 is formed outside the vertically downwardly projected plane of the pin support portion 22 of the hinge member 20 .

Therefore, when the wiring cord 50a protrudes from the wiring cord hole 53 and is arranged on the upper surface of the upper hinge member 20, contact with the pin support portion 22 can be suppressed, and damage to the wiring cord 50 can be suppressed.

Here, the virtual center of rotation O is the intersection of perpendicular lines to the upper guide groove 34 at the positions of the first upper guide pin 24 and the second upper guide pin 25 .

In the case of FIG. 5A, the virtual center of rotation O is positioned on one side of the door 11 on the front side of the front panel 11a of the door 11 . When the door 11 is opened, the opening operation of the door 11 is started with the virtual rotation center O as an axis.

In general, when the door 11 is opened and closed about one axis, the door 11 rotates about the one axis. It sticks out to the outside. Therefore, if the refrigerator 1 is installed in close contact with the wall, the door 11 cannot be opened.

However, in the present embodiment, the virtual rotation center O is located on the front side of the front plate 11a of the door 11 and on one side of the door 11. Therefore, when the door 11 is opened, the door 11 The front-side corner portion 11d does not protrude from the side surface of the main body 10. - 特許庁As a result, the door 11 can be opened even when the refrigerator 1 is installed close to the wall.

As shown in FIG. 5B, when the door 11 is further opened, the first upper guide pin 24 is positioned in the middle of the first upper guide portion 35 of the upper guide groove 34, and the second upper guide pin 25 is moved to the upper guide. Located in the second upper guide portion 36 of the groove 34 .

The virtual center of rotation O at this time is positioned substantially in front of the door 11 and inward from one side of the door 11 . Thus, as the door 11 is opened, the positional relationship between the first upper guide pin 24 and the second upper guide pin 25 and the upper guide groove 34 changes. It moves toward the inner side of the door 11 .

Also, even in this state, the wiring cord hole 53 is arranged outside the vertically downwardly projected plane of the pin support portion 22 of the hinge member 20 .

Therefore, when the wiring cord 50a protrudes from the wiring cord hole 53 and is arranged on the upper surface of the hinge member 20, contact with the pin support portion 22 can be suppressed, and damage to the wiring cord 50 can be suppressed.

When the door 11 is opened by about 90°, as shown in FIG. 5C, the first upper guide pin 24 is positioned in the second upper guide portion 36 of the upper guide groove 34, and the second upper guide pin 25 is positioned in the upper guide. Located in the third upper guide portion 37 of the groove 34 .

At this time, the virtual center of rotation O is positioned further inward from one side of the door 11, but since the door 11 is in an open state, one side corner (front side corner) 11d of the door 11 does not protrude to the side of the main body 10.例文帳に追加

As shown in FIG. 5D, in the present embodiment, the door 11 can be opened up to about 120° in a fully opened state, and in this state, the first upper guide pin 24 and the second upper guide pin 25 are aligned with the upper guide pin. It is positioned on the third upper guide portion 37 of the groove 34 .

The virtual center of rotation O at this time is positioned near the wiring cord hole 53 .

Further, by forming the rib-shaped projection 54 on the outer periphery of the wiring cord hole 53, the gap between the pin support portion 22 of the hinge member 20 and the rib-shaped projection 54 can be reduced, so that the wiring cord 50a can be reduced. .

Thus, in the present embodiment, the upper guide groove 34 is formed in a substantially U shape by the first upper guide portion 35, the second upper guide portion 36, and the third upper guide portion 37. As shown in FIG. As a result, the virtual center of rotation O can be moved in the vicinity of the wiring cord hole 53 . Therefore, the movement of the wiring cord 50a can be reduced, and the door 11 can be opened and closed while suppressing damage to the wiring.

Furthermore, when the door 11 is opened and closed, the wiring cord hole 53 is always positioned outside the vertically downward projected plane of the hinge member 20 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the wiring cord 50 passing through the wiring cord hole 53 from coming into contact with the hinge member 20 . Further, even if a contact protection member (not shown) is provided at the end of the hinge member 20, the contact protection member is configured so as not to interfere with the wiring cord hole 53 when the door is opened and closed. Therefore, contact pressure can be reduced, and damage to the wiring cord due to opening and closing of the door can be suppressed.

Also, the wiring cord hole 53 is arranged at a position surrounded by the substantially U-shaped upper guide groove 34 and the front plate 11a. 5A to 5D, the movement of the wiring cord 50 due to opening and closing of the door 11 can be reduced, and damage to the wiring cord 50 due to contact with the end of the pin support portion 22 of the hinge member 20 can be avoided. can be suppressed.

Although the hinge structure 12 provided on the upper portion of the door 11 has been described above, a similar hinge structure is formed on the lower portion of the door 11 as well. In addition, the wiring cord hole 53 may be arranged near the guide pin or the guide groove of the hinge structure 12 in either the upper portion or the lower portion of the door 11 .

Further, the guide groove 34 may be formed in the upper hinge member 20 fixed to the main body 10 without being limited to the above. The first guide pin 24 and the second guide pin 25 may be fixed to a guide member 30 provided on the top of the door 11 so as to extend upward. The wiring cord hole 53 may be formed in the guide member 30 . The first guide pin 24 and the second guide pin 25 may be regulated by the guide groove 34 to open and close the door 11 .

As a result, damage to the wiring cord 50 can be suppressed.

[1-3. effects, etc.]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the refrigerator 1 includes the hinge structure 12 that supports the door 11 with respect to the main body 10 so that the door 11 can be opened and closed, and the main body side control section 51 provided on the main body 10 and the door 11. and a wiring cord 50 that connects to the provided door-side control unit 52 . The hinge structure 12 includes an upper hinge member 20 attached to the upper part of the main body 10, a guide pin fixedly provided to the upper hinge member 20, a guide member 30 attached to the upper part of the door 11, and provided in the guide member 30, and a guide groove 34 for receiving the guide pin. The door 11 is opened and closed while the guide groove 34 is regulated by the guide pin. The door 11 includes a wiring cord hole 53 through which the wiring cord 50 is passed. The wiring cord hole 53 is positioned in the vicinity of the guide groove 34 on the upper portion of the door 11 .

As a result, when the door 11 is opened, the wiring cord hole 53 moves inward of the main body 10 together with the door 11 with respect to the hinge member 20, and the front side corner portion 11d of the door 11 moves toward the main body 10 side. In addition, it is possible to suppress damage to the wiring cord 50 due to the movement of the wiring cord hole 53 .

Also, the wiring cord hole 53 is formed between the guide groove 34 and the front plate 11 a of the door 11 .

Thereby, the wiring cord hole 53 can be arranged near the guide groove 34 for receiving the guide pin of the hinge member 20, and the movement of the wiring cord 50 wired in the wiring cord hole 53 can be reduced.

Also, the wiring cord hole 53 is provided in the guide member 30 . As a result, it is possible to reduce variations in the positions of the wiring cord holes 53 and the guide grooves 34 of the guide member 30, suppress variations in the wiring cords 50, and ensure reliability.

Further, the guide member 30 has a cylindrical bush portion 55, and the wiring cord hole 53 communicates with the bush portion 55. Therefore, it is possible to suppress variations in the wiring cords 50 due to foaming of the insulating material filling the door 11 or to suppress damage to the wiring cords 50 .

Also, the wiring cord 50 connected to the door-side control portion 52 is inserted into the bush portion 55 and passes through the wiring cord hole 53 above the hinge member 20 to be connected to the main body-side control portion 51 .

As a result, damage to the wiring cord 50 can be suppressed, and the door-side control section 52 can be controlled.

In addition, the door 11 is opened and closed with the guide groove 34 restricted by the guide pin, and the wiring cord hole 53 is positioned outside the vertically downward projected plane of the hinge member 20 . Therefore, damage to the wiring cord 50 can be suppressed.

As described above, Embodiment 1 has been described as an example of the technology disclosed in the present application. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and can also be applied to embodiments with modifications, replacements, additions, omissions, and the like. Also, it is possible to combine the constituent elements described in the first embodiment to form a new embodiment.

The present disclosure can be applied to refrigerators and microwave ovens whose doors can be opened even when installed close to an indoor wall, as well as home appliances that open and close doors.

Reference Signs List 1 refrigerator 10 main body 11 door 11a front plate 11b door cap 11c inner plate 11d front corner 11e gasket 12 hinge structure 13 upper hinge mounting recess 14 upper cover wall 15 opening 17 hinge cover 20 upper hinge member (hinge member)
21 base 22 pin support 23

upper notch

24, 25 upper guide pin (guide pin)
30 upper guide member (guide member)
31 plane portion 32 upper guide concave portion 32a bottom portion 33 fixed portion 34 upper guide groove (guide groove)
35 First upper guide portion 36 Second upper guide portion 37 Third upper guide portion 38 Rib-shaped

projection

50, 50a, 50b Wiring cord 53 Wiring cord hole 54 Rib-shaped projection 55 Bush portion O Virtual rotation center

Claims

A hinge structure that supports the door so that it can be opened and closed with respect to the main body,
a wiring cord that connects a body-side control unit provided on the main body and a door-side control unit provided on the door,
The hinge structure is
including a hinge member attached to the top of the main body, a guide pin, and a guide groove for receiving the guide pin;
the door is opened and closed with the guide groove restricted by the guide pin or the guide pin restricted by the guide groove;
The door includes a wiring cord hole through which the wiring cord is passed,
The wiring cord hole is located in the vicinity of the guide pin or the guide groove in a portion other than the guide pin and the guide groove in the upper part of the door,
refrigerator.
The hinge structure includes a guide member provided at the top of the door,
The guide groove is provided in the guide member,
The guide pin is fixed to the hinge member,
Refrigerator according to claim 1.
The hinge structure includes a guide member provided at the top of the door,
The guide pin is fixed to the guide member,
The guide groove is provided in the hinge member,
Refrigerator according to claim 1.
The wiring cord hole is provided near the guide groove,
The refrigerator according to claim 2.
The wiring cord hole is formed between the guide groove and the front plate of the door,
The refrigerator according to claim 4.
The wiring cord hole is provided in the guide member,
The refrigerator according to claim 4 or 5.
The guide member includes a tubular bush portion,
The wiring cord hole communicates with the bush portion,
The refrigerator according to claim 6.
The wiring cord connected to the door-side control unit is inserted into the bush portion and passes through the wiring cord hole above the hinge member to be connected to the main body-side control unit.
The refrigerator according to claim 7.
The wiring cord hole is located outside the vertically downward projected plane of the hinge member,
A refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 8.