Refrigeration appliance

Abstract

The application provides a refrigeration appliance, which comprises a cabinet, a door body for opening or closing the cabinet, a hinge connecting the cabinet and the door body, wherein the hinge comprises a hinge seat fixed to the cabinet and a hinge shaft connecting the hinge seat and the door body, and the door body comprises an inner door body arranged close to the cabinet, an outer door body arranged away from the cabinet, and a pivoting structure connecting the inner door body and the outer door body so that the two are mounted together with the cabinet, and the pivoting structure is pivotally connected with the hinge shaft. The application can effectively improve the mounting efficiency of the inner and outer door bodies and the cabinet.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a refrigeration appliance, and in particular to a refrigeration appliance with improved installation efficiency. BACKGROUND

[0002] The door structure of the existing refrigeration appliance is to reduce the heat exchange between the outside temperature and the internal temperature as much as possible, and a double door structure is usually adopted, that is, an inner door body matched with the cabinet and an outer door body matched with the inner door body, and the size of the outer door body is usually smaller than that of the inner door body, so that when the items in the refrigeration appliance need to be taken out, only the outer door body needs to be opened to take out the items, without opening the inner door body, thereby effectively reducing the heat exchange between the outside and the inside of the refrigeration appliance.

[0003] However, the assembly method of the door body and the cabinet is usually to first fix the inner door body with the cabinet, and then fix the outer door body with the inner door body, and the inner and outer door body structures are usually arranged above the refrigeration appliance, and the refrigeration appliance usually has a certain height, so that when the outer door body is installed, there are many inconveniences.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to improve the existing refrigeration appliance to solve the above problems. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application relates to a refrigeration appliance, and in particular to a refrigeration appliance with improved installation efficiency.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose of the application, the present application provides a refrigeration appliance, which comprises a cabinet, a door body for opening or closing the cabinet, a hinge connecting the cabinet and the door body, the hinge comprising a hinge seat fixed with the cabinet and a hinge shaft connecting the hinge seat and the door body, wherein the door body comprises an inner door body arranged close to the cabinet, an outer door body arranged away from the cabinet, and a pivoting structure connecting the inner door body and the outer door body so that both of them are installed with the cabinet, and the pivoting structure is pivotally connected with the hinge shaft.

[0007] As a further improvement of the present application, the hinge seat has a fixed part fixed on the cabinet, and an extension part extending from the fixed part towards the door body, and the hinge shaft is arranged between the extension part and the inner door body, or between the extension part and the outer door body.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present application, one of the inner door body and the outer door body has an extension structure extending to the other, and the extension structure and the part of the other opposite in the height direction of the door body form the pivoting structure.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present application, the inner door body and the outer door body each have a door body, and the extension structure is a connecting structure fixed above the door body, and the connecting structure is rotatably connected with the pivoting part.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, the inner door body or the outer door body has a pivot portion that rotatably engages with the hinge shaft. The pivot portion is a shaft hole recessed from the inner door body or the outer door body. The connecting structure includes a bushing that axially engages with the shaft hole and the hinge. The bushing has a main body extending in the front-rear direction and a rotating shaft portion extending downward from the main body and located between the shaft hole and the hinge shaft.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, the connection structure further includes a connector disposed below the bushing, one end of which is fixed to the inner door body or the outer door body, and the other end is pivotally connected to the rotating shaft.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, the inner door body or the outer door body has a pivot portion that rotatably engages with the hinge shaft. The pivot portion is a shaft hole recessed from the inner door body or the outer door body. The inner door body and the outer door body each have a door body body. The extension structure extends from the door body body of one of the inner door body and the outer door body to the other and is rotatably connected to the shaft hole.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, the extension structure has a first groove recessed downward for rotational engagement with the hinge shaft, and the refrigeration appliance further includes a bushing disposed between the first groove and the hinge shaft.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, the pivoting structure further includes a base shaft disposed in the shaft hole, and the extension structure has a second groove that is recessed upward to rotate with the base shaft.

[0015] As a further improvement of the present invention, the pivoting structure further includes an elastic member disposed below the base shaft, and the inner or outer door body has a detachable portion that can be removed to press down on the base shaft.

[0016] As a further improvement of the present invention, the thickness of the outer door body on the pivot structure side is greater than the thickness of the inner door body on the pivot structure side.

[0017] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: The refrigeration appliance of this invention features a pivoting structure that allows both the inner and outer doors to be installed together with the housing, and this pivoting structure is pivotally connected to a hinge shaft. Therefore, the installation efficiency of the inner and outer doors and the housing can be effectively improved. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the refrigeration appliance of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of the first embodiment of the central gate from another perspective.

[0020] Figure 3 yesFigure 2 Enlarged view of point A in the middle.

[0021] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 A three-dimensional exploded view of the middle part of the structure.

[0022] Figure 5 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the second embodiment of the door.

[0023] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 Enlarged view of point B in the middle.

[0024] Figure 7 yes Figure 5 A three-dimensional exploded view of the middle part of the structure.

[0025] Figure 8 yes Figure 5 A 3D diagram showing the middle door after it is opened.

[0026] Figure 9 yes Figure 8 3D exploded view.

[0027] Figure 10 yes Figure 9 Enlarged view of point C in the middle. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, these embodiments do not limit the present invention, and any structural, methodological, or functional modifications made by those skilled in the art based on these embodiments are included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] Please refer to Figures 1 to 10 The illustration shows an embodiment of the refrigeration appliance of the present invention. The refrigeration appliance includes a housing 1, a door for opening or closing the housing, and a hinge 4 connecting the housing 1 and the door. The hinge 4 includes a hinge seat fixed to the housing and a hinge shaft 43 connecting the hinge seat and the door. The door includes an inner door 2 located close to the housing, an outer door 3 located away from the housing, and a pivoting structure connecting the inner door 2 and the outer door 3 so that both are installed together with the housing 1. The pivoting structure is pivotally connected to the hinge shaft 43.

[0030] Specifically, such as Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, the refrigeration appliance is a refrigerator, which can be a traditional top-and-bottom door refrigerator, or a side-by-side refrigerator, French door refrigerator, or other types of refrigerator. Of course, in other embodiments, the refrigeration appliance can also be a freezer, wine cabinet, etc.

[0031] One of the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3 has an extension structure extending to the other, and the extension structure and the portion of the other door body opposite each other along the height direction form the pivot structure. In this embodiment, the extension structure extends from the inner door body 2 to the outer door body 3, and the extension structure and the portion of the outer door body 3 opposite each other along the height direction form the pivot structure. The hinge 4 extends to the pivot structure and rotatably engages with the pivot structure. The hinge seat has a fixing part 41 fixed to the housing 1, an extension part 42 extending from the fixing part 41 toward the outer door body 3, and a hinge shaft 43 disposed between the extension part 42 and the outer door body 3. This allows the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3 to rotate independently relative to the housing 1, or the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3 to rotate relative to each other.

[0032] Of course, in other embodiments, the extension structure may also extend from the outer door body 3 to the inner door body 2.

[0033] Therefore, through the above structure, both the inner door 2 and the outer door 3 rotate around the hinge axis 43 on the outer door 3, thus avoiding the need to set the hinge axis 43 on the inner door 2, thereby reducing the thickness of the inner door 2 and reducing the overall volume of the refrigeration appliance, which is beneficial for miniaturization design. Moreover, when the hinge axis 43 is set on the outer door 3, when the inner and outer doors are opened simultaneously, or when the outer door 3 is opened alone, the distance by which the door flips over and protrudes from the side wall of the cabinet 1 can be significantly reduced, thereby reducing the risk of the door hitting the wall after opening. At the same time, due to the smaller protrusion distance, the refrigeration appliance can be placed closer to the wall, making full use of space and improving space utilization.

[0034] Specifically, the distance protruding from the side wall of the housing 1 is approximately the distance between the hinge shaft 43 and the front face of the outer door 3. If the hinge shaft 43 is located on the inner door 2, the same distance protruding from the side wall of the housing 1 will also be approximately the distance between the hinge shaft 43 and the front face of the outer door 3, but this distance includes the entire thickness of the outer door 3 and part of the thickness of the inner door 2. Therefore, by comparison, it is clear that the distance protruding from the side wall of the housing 1 is smaller when the hinge shaft 43 is located on the outer door 3.

[0035] In this embodiment, the hinge shaft 43 has a through hole 44 extending along the height direction and extending radially. Therefore, when the hinge shaft 43 mates with the bushing 6 and the shaft hole, it can fit better with them, thereby eliminating the gap between the hinge shaft 43 and the bushing 6 and the shaft hole, and preventing the door from shaking.

[0036] In this embodiment, the outer door 3 has an outer door body 31 and a door hinge portion 32 protruding rearward from the outer door body 31. The inner door 2 has a recessed portion 21 that cooperates with the door hinge portion 32 and a recessed portion 22 along the height direction. The pivot structure and hinge 4 are disposed within the door hinge portion 32 and the recessed portion 22. Furthermore, the height of the outer door body 31 is higher than the door hinge portion 32 and the recessed portion 22, thereby effectively concealing the pivot structure and hinge 4, preventing the user from directly seeing them, improving the overall integrity of the refrigeration appliance, and thus enhancing its aesthetics.

[0037] Furthermore, the thickness of the outer door 3 on the pivot structure side is greater than the thickness of the inner door 2 on the pivot structure side. Therefore, the overall thickness of the door can be reduced, thus reducing the door cost and the overall volume of the refrigeration appliance.

[0038] like Figures 2 to 4 As shown, this is a first embodiment of the extended structure of the present invention. Specifically, the inner door body 2 has an inner door body 23, and the extended structure is a connecting structure fixed above the inner door body 23. The connecting structure is rotatably connected to the hinge shaft 43. That is, the inner door body 23 and the connecting structure are separate structures, which facilitates production and assembly.

[0039] The hinge shaft 43 is fixedly connected to the extension 42 and extends downward to pivotally engage with the outer door body 3. The outer door body 3 has a pivot part 33 that rotatably engages with the hinge shaft 43. The pivot part 33 is a shaft hole recessed from the outer door body 3. Therefore, the outer door body 3 rotates around the hinge shaft 43.

[0040] The connecting structure includes a bushing 6 that mates with the shaft hole and the hinge shaft 43. The bushing 6 has a main body 61 extending in the front-rear direction and a pivot portion 62 extending downward from the main body 61 and located between the shaft hole and the hinge shaft 43. That is, the pivot portion 62 is sleeved on the outside of the hinge shaft 43, and the main body 61 is fixed to the inner door body 2. Therefore, the inner door body 2 can also rotate around the hinge shaft 43 via the bushing 6. Furthermore, the pivot portion 62 extends into the shaft hole, allowing the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3 to be assembled together first, and then assembled with the housing 1, improving assembly efficiency. Of course, in other embodiments, the bushing 6 can also be a hollow tubular structure, simply with an outwardly protruding structure at the upper end for hanging above the shaft hole.

[0041] The connecting structure also includes a connector 5, one end of which is fixed to the inner door body 2, and the other end has a through hole 51 that is pivotally connected to the hinge shaft 43, and the through hole 51 is fitted outside the pivot portion 62. In this embodiment, the connector 5 has a flat plate structure and is made of metal, which improves the stability of the connection between the inner door body 2 and the hinge shaft 43, and also saves cost and space. Of course, in other embodiments, the connector 5 can also be a structure that extends horizontally and vertically, that is, the connector 5 is not pivotally connected to the hinge shaft 43 through hole 51, but a hollow tubular structure.

[0042] Because the bushing 6 is made of plastic, while the hinge 4 and connector 5 are made of metal, and the main body 61 and connector 5 are fixed together to the inner door body 23, the bushing 6 is prevented from being in a movable state. Therefore, the bushing 6 separates the hinge 4 and connector 5, preventing direct contact between them and reducing noise generated during rotation.

[0043] From another perspective, it is also possible to simply set the connector 5 to cooperate with the hinge shaft 43, in which case the bushing 6 is used to reduce noise.

[0044] In this embodiment, the inner door 2 and the outer door 3 also have mating pivots and shaft holes at their bottoms, and the inner door 2 and the outer door 3 can be assembled together first, and then installed together with the housing 1. The specific process is as follows:

[0045] First, align and install the pivots and shaft holes at the bottom of the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3. Second, assemble the connector 5 and the bushing 6 together and install the bushing 6 into the shaft hole of the outer door body 3. Third, fix the connector 5 and the bushing 6 together onto the inner door body 2. The assembly of the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3 can be completed by following the above steps.

[0046] like Figures 5 to 10 As shown, this is a second embodiment of the extension structure of the present invention. The difference between the extension structure and the first embodiment is that the extension structure extends from the inner door body 23 to the outer door body 3 and is rotatably connected to the shaft hole, that is, the extension structure and the inner door body 23 are an integral structure.

[0047] Specifically, the extension structure has a first groove 7 that is recessed downward to rotatably engage with the hinge axis 43. Therefore, the inner door body 2 rotates around the hinge axis 43, and the outer door body 3 rotates around the extension structure.

[0048] Since the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3 are mainly made of plastic, in order to reduce the risk of damage from long-term rotational engagement between the extension structure and the shaft hole, the pivoting structure also includes a base shaft 8 disposed within the shaft hole, and the extension structure has a second groove (not shown) that is recessed upwards to rotatably engage with the base shaft 8. The base shaft 8 is a metal component, meaning the extension structure and the base shaft 8 are rotatably connected. This avoids the extension structure pressing against the inner wall of the shaft hole, reduces the risk of damage to the outer door body 3, and also improves the reliability of the rotational connection between the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3.

[0049] In this embodiment, the first groove 7 and the second groove are interconnected in the height direction, thus making the extension structure easier to form. Specifically, when forming the extension structure, the mold only needs to set one element to form the through hole 51. However, when the first groove 7 and the second groove are not interconnected, two elements are needed to form the first groove 7 and the second groove respectively. Of course, in other embodiments, the first groove 7 and the second groove can also be non-connected, or the hinge shaft 43 can also be rotatably engaged with the base shaft 8. In this case, the outer door body 3 rotates around the hinge shaft 43. Therefore, the outer door body 3 can rotate around the extension structure or around the hinge shaft 43 under different conditions.

[0050] Furthermore, to facilitate the assembly of the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3 together, the pivoting structure also includes an elastic element (not shown) disposed below the base shaft 8, and the outer door body 3 has a detachable part 34 that can be removed to press down on the base shaft 8. The specific process for installing the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3 is as follows:

[0051] First, remove the disassembly part 34 from the outer door body 3. Second, align and install the pivot and shaft hole at the bottom of the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3. Third, press the base shaft 8 downwards so that the top of the base shaft 8 is lower than the bottom of the extension structure. Fourth, move the extension structure of the inner door body 2 horizontally above the base shaft 8 and release the base shaft 8 so that the base shaft 8 is pivotally connected in the second groove. Fifth, install the disassembly part 34. The assembly of the inner door body 2 and the outer door body 3 can be completed by following the above steps.

[0052] Of course, in other embodiments, it is not necessary to provide the disassembly part 34, and the extension structure can be directly installed into the shaft hole of the outer door body 3 by plastic deformation.

[0053] Both the first and second embodiments of the above-described extended structure allow the inner door 2 and outer door 3 to be assembled together first, and then assembled together with the housing 1. This simplifies the assembly steps and improves assembly efficiency. Especially when the refrigeration appliance is tall, even taller than the average worker, installing the inner door 2 first and then the outer door 3 would be difficult due to a poor viewing angle. Therefore, the two embodiments of the present invention effectively avoid these problems.

[0054] The extended structure of the present invention also has a third embodiment (not shown), which differs from the first embodiment in that: the connecting member 5 may also have a pivot shaft, and the pivot shaft extends upward past the extension portion 42 of the hinge 4, and extends downward into the through hole 44 of the hinge shaft 43 to pivotally connect with the hinge shaft 43.

[0055] In summary, the refrigeration appliance of the present invention, by providing a pivoting structure that allows both the inner door 2 and the outer door 3 to be installed together with the housing 1, and the pivoting structure being pivotally connected to the hinge shaft 43, can effectively improve the installation efficiency of the inner and outer doors and the housing 2.

[0056] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can be made to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.

Claims

1. A refrigeration appliance, comprising a housing, a door for opening or closing the housing, and a hinge connecting the housing and the door, wherein the hinge includes a hinge seat fixed to the housing and a hinge shaft connecting the hinge seat and the door, characterized in that: The door includes an inner door body located near the housing, an outer door body located away from the housing, and a pivoting structure connecting the inner and outer door bodies so that both are installed with the housing. The pivoting structure is pivotally connected to a hinge axis. The hinge seat has a fixing portion fixed to the housing and an extension portion extending from the fixing portion toward the door body. The hinge axis is located between the extension portion and the inner door body, or between the extension portion and the outer door body. The inner or outer door body has a pivoting portion that rotatably engages with the hinge axis. One of the inner and outer door bodies has an extension structure extending to the other. The pivot structure is formed at a location opposite each other along the height of the door body. The pivot part is a shaft hole recessed from the inner or outer door body. The inner and outer door bodies each have a door body. The extension structure extends from the door body of one of the inner and outer door bodies to the other and is rotatably connected to the shaft hole. The extension structure has a first groove recessed downward to rotatably engage with the hinge shaft. The pivot structure also includes a base shaft disposed in the shaft hole. The base shaft is a metal part. The extension structure has a second groove recessed upward to rotatably engage with the base shaft.

2. The refrigeration appliance as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The refrigeration appliance also includes a bushing disposed between the first groove and the hinge shaft.

3. The refrigeration appliance as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The pivoting structure also includes an elastic element disposed below the base shaft, and the inner or outer door body has a detachable part that can be removed to press down on the base shaft.

4. The refrigeration appliance as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the outer door body on the pivot structure side is greater than the thickness of the inner door body on the pivot structure side.

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