Door hinge assembly of refrigerator, method of manufacturing the same, and refrigerator

Abstract

The application provides a door hinge assembly of a refrigerator, a manufacturing method thereof and the refrigerator. The door hinge assembly comprises a hinge plate, a nut and a shaft body. The hinge plate is used for being fixed to a cabinet of the refrigerator and is provided with a through hole. The nut is installed in the through hole, and an inner side wall of the nut is provided with a first threaded section with a first length extending along an axial direction of the nut. The shaft body comprises a first part and a second part connected with each other. The first part is used for cooperating with a door body of the refrigerator, so that the door body is rotationally connected with the cabinet. The second part comprises a first limiting part, a screwing part and a second limiting part which are integrally formed. The screwing part is located between the first limiting part and the second limiting part and is provided with a second threaded section with a second length extending along the axial direction of the nut. The screwing part is used for being screwed with the nut. The second length is longer than the first length. The first limiting part and the second limiting part are used for cooperating with the nut, so as to limit the movement of the second part along the axial direction of the nut. The door hinge assembly provided by the application has few parts and a stable structure.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of refrigerators, and particularly relates to a refrigerator door hinge assembly and a manufacturing method thereof, and a refrigerator. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the increasing improvement of living standards, people's demand for multifunctional refrigerators is gradually increasing. Multi-door refrigerators have gradually been popularized in the market due to their large capacity and multiple functions.

[0003] However, the problem of unequal door heights of multi-door refrigerators is increasingly prominent. Unequal door heights not only affect the appearance of the refrigerator, but more importantly, they can cause the refrigerator door seal and the refrigerator body to be insufficiently coupled, affecting the heat preservation effect of the refrigerator, and can also cause condensation and frost in the refrigerator in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment. Existing door hinges that can adjust the door height generally have the problems of complex structure and easy part falling after assembly. SUMMARY

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a refrigerator door hinge assembly and a manufacturing method thereof, and a refrigerator, which can solve the problem of complex structure and poor assembly stability of existing door hinges that can adjust the door height.

[0005] A refrigerator door hinge assembly comprises:

[0006] A hinge plate is used to be fixed to a refrigerator body, and the hinge plate is provided with a through hole;

[0007] A nut is installed in the through hole, and an inner side wall of the nut is provided with a first threaded section with a first length extending along an axis direction of the nut;

[0008] A shaft body comprises a first part and a second part connected to each other, the first part is used to cooperate with a door body of the refrigerator to enable the door body to be rotationally connected to the body, and the second part comprises a first limiting part, a threaded part and a second limiting part integrally formed, the threaded part is located between the first limiting part and the second limiting part, is provided with a second threaded section with a second length extending along the axis direction of the nut, and is used to be screwed with the nut, the second length is longer than the first length, and the first limiting part and the second limiting part are used to cooperate with the nut to limit the movement of the second part along the axis direction of the nut.

[0009] In some embodiments, one side of the hinge plate is provided with a limiting groove, and an outer wall of the nut is provided with a protruding part;

[0010] The protruding part is clamped in the limiting groove to limit the movement of the nut relative to the hinge plate.

[0011] In some embodiments, the limiting groove comprises a bottom wall and opposite first and second side walls;

[0012] The protruding portion comprises a first outer wall and opposite second and third outer walls;

[0013] The first outer wall abuts against the bottom wall to limit movement of the nut in the axial direction thereof, the second outer wall abuts against the first side wall, and the third outer wall abuts against the second side wall to limit rotation of the nut in the diametrical direction thereof.

[0014] In some embodiments, the protruding portion is semicircular, and the limiting groove is matched with the shape of the protruding portion.

[0015] In some embodiments, the nut comprises first and second sections connected to each other, and the inner diameter of the second section is larger than that of the first section.

[0016] The first section comprises a first inner side wall, the second section comprises a second inner side wall, and the first and second inner side walls are connected by a third inner side wall, the first inner side wall is provided with the first threaded section, and the second inner side wall is surrounded to form an accommodation space.

[0017] The second limiting portion is accommodated in the accommodation space, and a surface of the second limiting portion facing the third inner side wall is used to abut against the third inner side wall to limit movement of the second section in the axial direction of the nut.

[0018] In some embodiments, the first limiting portion is also used to support the door body.

[0019] In some embodiments, the door hinge assembly of the refrigerator further comprises a reinforcing rib which is detachably mounted between the first limiting portion and the hinge plate.

[0020] In some embodiments, a cross section of the first limiting portion in the diametrical direction of the shaft body is polygonal.

[0021] A refrigerator comprises:

[0022] a cabinet;

[0023] a door body;

[0024] the door hinge assembly described above.

[0025] A manufacturing method of a door hinge assembly, the door hinge assembly comprising a hinge plate, a nut and a shaft body, the hinge plate being provided with a through hole, the shaft body comprising a first part and a second part, the first part being used to cooperate with a door body of the refrigerator, so that the door body is rotationally connected with the cabinet, the second part comprising opposite first and second ends, the first end being provided with a first limiting part, and a threaded section being provided between the first and second ends; the manufacturing method comprises:

[0026] threading the nut into the through hole;

[0027] screwing the second part with the nut, and making the second end protrude out of the nut;

[0028] performing plastic processing on the second end, so that the second end is deformed to form a second limiting part, the first limiting part and the second limiting part being used to cooperate with the nut, so as to limit the movement of the second part along the axis direction of the nut.

[0029] The door hinge assembly of the refrigerator and the manufacturing method thereof and the refrigerator provided by the embodiments of the present application have only three parts, and the parts are not easy to separate, and have the advantages of fewer parts, less material consumption and firm structure connection. The door hinge assembly can adjust the height of the first part relative to the hinge plate by rotating the shaft body, so as to adjust the height of the door body relative to the cabinet, so that the left and right door bodies of the refrigerator can be equal in height, thereby preventing the appearance and refrigeration effect of the refrigerator from being affected. In addition, the first limiting part and the second limiting part are arranged to limit the movement distance of the second part along the axis, so as to prevent the shaft body from being excessively rotated and falling off the hinge plate, thereby making it difficult to install again and affecting the user experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed in the embodiment description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0031] In order to more completely understand the present application and its beneficial effects, the following will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals represent the same parts.

[0032] Figure 1 The structure diagram of the refrigerator provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0033] Figure 2 The structure diagram of the door hinge assembly provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0034] Figure 3 For Figure 2 An exploded view of the door hinge assembly.

[0035] Figure 4 A structure schematic view of the hinge plate and nut provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0036] Figure 5 A structure schematic view of the shaft body provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0037] Figure 6 A sectional view of the nut provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0038] Figure 7 A sectional view of the door hinge assembly provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0039] Figure 8 A flow chart of the manufacturing method of the door hinge assembly provided by the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all the other embodiments obtained by a person skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0041] The embodiment of the present application provides a refrigerator. The refrigerator may be, for example, a side-by-side refrigerator, a French door refrigerator, or the like, which has two doors, i.e., a left door and a right door. Such a refrigerator generally has the advantages of large capacity, beautiful appearance, and multiple functions. In particular, the French door refrigerator also has the advantages of large refrigeration and freezing space, separate storage capability, and small size, and thus has become one of the most popular refrigerator types on the market.

[0042] For example, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 A structure schematic view of the refrigerator provided by the embodiment of the present application. The refrigerator 1 includes a cabinet 10, a door body 20, and a door hinge assembly 30.

[0043] The cabinet 10 is provided with a storage compartment, such as a freezing compartment, a refrigerating compartment, or a wide-width variable-temperature compartment, etc. Of course, in some optional embodiments, the storage compartment can also be a thawing compartment or a sterilization compartment with a thawing function, etc., which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The door body 20 is used to open or close the storage compartment of the cabinet 10. The door body 20 can be hinged to the cabinet 10 through the door hinge assembly 30. Specifically, the door hinge assembly 30 can be arranged at the upper and lower parts of the cabinet 10, and the door body 20 can be cooperated with the hinge at the upper part of the cabinet 10 and the hinge at the lower part of the cabinet 10 to smoothly rotate.

[0044] Based on this, please refer to Figures 2-3 , Figure 2 The structural schematic diagram of the door hinge assembly provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 3 For Figure 2 The exploded view of the door hinge assembly is shown. The door hinge assembly 30 includes a hinge plate 310, a nut 320 and a shaft body 330.

[0045] The hinge plate 310 is used to be fixed to the cabinet 10 of the refrigerator. The hinge plate 310 is provided with a through hole 311. The through hole 311 extends along the first direction Z, for example. Specifically, the hinge plate 310 includes a first mounting plate 312 and a second mounting plate 313 connected by bending, for example. The first mounting plate 312 extends towards the first direction Z and is used to be fixed to the cabinet 10 of the refrigerator, for example, by means of screw connection. The second mounting plate 313 is perpendicular to the first mounting plate 312. The second mounting plate 313 is provided with the through hole 311.

[0046] The nut 320 is threaded through the through hole 311. The inner side wall of the nut 320 is provided with a first threaded section of a first length extending along the axial direction (the first direction Z) thereof. The nut 320 can be a round nut, a hexagonal nut, an anti-rotation nut, etc.

[0047] The shaft body 330 is of an integral structure, including a first part 331 and a second part 332 connected to each other and extending along the first direction Z, for example. The first part 331 is used to cooperate with the door body 20 to enable the door body 20 to be rotationally connected to the cabinet 10. The second part 332 includes a first limiting portion 3321, a screwing portion 3322 and a second limiting portion 3323. The first limiting portion 3321, the screwing portion 3322 and the second limiting portion 3323 are integrally formed, for example. The screwing portion 3322 is located between the first limiting portion 3321 and the second limiting portion 3323. The screwing portion 3322 is provided with a second threaded section 3324 of a second length extending along the axial direction (the first direction Z) of the nut 320, which is used to be screwed with the nut 320. The second length is longer than the first length. The first limiting portion 3321 and the second limiting portion 3323 are used to cooperate with the nut 320 to limit the movement of the second part 332 along the axial direction (the first direction Z) of the nut 320.

[0048] It can be understood that, since the second length is longer than the first length, the shaft body 330 can be rotated to move the second part 332 in the first direction Z, thereby driving the first part 331 to move in the first direction Z. However, when the door hinge assembly 30 is installed with the door body 20 and the cabinet 10, the first direction Z is the same as the direction of the height extension of the door body 20, and thus, by moving the first part 331 in the first direction Z, the door body 20 can be driven to move in the height direction thereof, thereby adjusting the height of the door body 20.

[0049] In actual application, when the installation workers or users find that the left and right door bodies 20 of the refrigerator 1 are not equal in height, the door bodies 20 can be slightly lifted, and then the shaft body 330 is rotated to adjust the height of the first part 331 relative to the hinge plate 310, thereby adjusting the height of the door body 20 relative to the cabinet 10 after the door body 20 is put down, so that the left and right door bodies 20 of the refrigerator 1 can be equal in height through the adjustment of the hinge assembly 30.

[0050] The door hinge assembly 30 provided by the embodiment of the present application has only three parts, and the parts are not easy to separate, which has the advantages of fewer parts, less material consumption, and firm structure connection. The door hinge assembly 30 can adjust the height of the first part 331 relative to the hinge plate 310 through the shaft body 330, thereby adjusting the height of the door body 20 relative to the cabinet 10, so that the left and right door bodies of the refrigerator can be equal in height, preventing the refrigerator from being affected in appearance and refrigeration effect. In addition, by setting the first limiting part 3321 and the second limiting part 3323 to limit the movement distance of the second part 3322 along the axis, the shaft body 330 can be prevented from being excessively rotated and falling off from the hinge plate 310, which makes it difficult to be installed again and affects the user experience.

[0051] Further, please refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 The structure schematic diagram of the hinge plate and the nut provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown. One side of the second mounting plate 313 of the hinge plate 310 is provided with a limiting groove 314. The outer wall of the nut 320 is provided with a protruding part 322. The protruding part 322 is clamped in the limiting groove 314 to limit the rotation of the nut 320 relative to the hinge plate 310.

[0052] Exemplarily, the limiting groove 314 comprises a bottom wall 3141 and opposite first and second side walls 3142 and 3143. The bottom wall 3141 can be perpendicular to the first direction Z, and the first and second side walls 3142 and 3143 can be parallel to the first direction Z. The protrusion 322 comprises first, second and third outer walls 3221, 3222 and 3223. The first outer wall 3221 can be perpendicular to the first direction Z, and the second and third outer walls 3222 and 3223 can be parallel to the first direction Z. The first outer wall 3221 abuts against the bottom wall 3141 to limit the movement of the nut 320 in the axial direction (the first direction Z), the second outer wall 3222 abuts against the first side wall 3142, and the third outer wall 3223 abuts against the second side wall 3143 to limit the rotation of the nut 320 in the diameter direction. In this way, the nut 320 is less likely to fall off the hinge plate 310.

[0053] The protrusion 322 can be a semicircular ring and surrounds the outer wall of the nut 320. The limiting groove 314 is matched with the shape of the protrusion 322. In this way, the protrusion 322 itself has strong structural strength, and the connection of the outer wall of the nut 320 is firm, preventing the protrusion 322 from being broken under stress, thereby improving the quality of the product.

[0054] In some embodiments, the outer wall of the nut 320 can be provided with a concave-convex structure to increase the surface friction, thereby preventing the nut 320 from falling off the hinge plate 310, and improving the quality of the refrigerator.

[0055] Referring to Figure 5 , Figure 5 A structural schematic diagram of the shaft body provided in the embodiments of the present application is shown.

[0056] The first limiting portion 3321 is connected with the first portion 331 and can be polygonal in the radial cross-section, for example, regular octagonal or regular hexagonal. The first limiting portion 3321 and the screwing portion 3322 can be coaxially arranged. In this way, the user can use a tool such as a wrench to hold the first limiting portion 3321 and then apply force to the wrench to rotate the shaft body 330.

[0057] The first limiting portion 3321 is also used to support the door body 20 of the refrigerator, for example. In some embodiments, the door hinge assembly 30 further comprises a reinforcing rib (not shown). The reinforcing rib is detachably arranged between the first limiting portion 3321 and the hinge plate 310 and is used to support the first limiting portion 3321 to strengthen the structural strength of the first limiting portion 3321. The reinforcing rib can be made of silica gel, plastic or metal.

[0058] The second limiting portion 3323 is arranged at the end away from the first portion 331, and is, for example, a cylindrical shape coaxial with the screwing portion 3322, and has an outer diameter greater than that of the screwing portion 3322.

[0059] In some embodiments, referring to Figures 6-7 , Figure 6 A cross-sectional view of the nut provided in the embodiments of the present application, Figure 7 A cross-sectional view of the door hinge assembly provided in the embodiments of the present application. The nut 320 comprises a first segment 323 and a second segment 324 connected to each other. The inner diameter of the second segment 324 is greater than that of the first segment 323.

[0060] The first segment 323 comprises a first inner side wall 3231, and the second segment 324 comprises a second inner side wall 3241. The first inner side wall 3231 is connected to the second inner side wall 3241 through a third inner side wall 3232. The first inner side wall 3231 is provided with the first threaded segment 321. The second inner side wall 3241 is provided with an accommodating space 3242. The second limiting portion 3323 is accommodated in the accommodating space 3242. The surface of the second limiting portion 3323 facing the third inner side wall 3232 is used to abut against the third inner side wall 3232 to limit the movement of the second portion 332 along the axis of the nut 320. In this way, the second limiting portion 3323 is not exposed to the outside, which increases the service life of the second limiting portion 3323 and improves the overall aesthetics of the door hinge assembly 30.

[0061] The refrigerator and the door hinge assembly of the refrigerator provided in the embodiments of the present application have only three parts, and the parts are difficult to separate, which has the advantages of fewer parts, less material consumption, and firm structure connection. The door hinge assembly 30 can be clamped by a tool to rotate the shaft body 330 more conveniently to adjust the height of the first portion 331 relative to the hinge plate 310, so as to adjust the height of the door body 20 relative to the cabinet 10, so that the left and right door bodies of the refrigerator can be at the same height, which prevents affecting the aesthetics and refrigeration effect of the refrigerator. In addition, the first limiting portion 3321 and the second limiting portion 3323 are arranged to limit the movement distance of the second portion 3322 along the axis, which can prevent the shaft body 330 from being excessively rotated and falling off from the hinge plate 310, so that it is difficult to install again, which affects the user experience.

[0062] The embodiments of the present application also provide a manufacturing method of a door hinge assembly of a refrigerator, referring to Figure 8 , Figure 8The flow chart of the manufacturing method of the door hinge assembly provided by the embodiments of the present application is shown in the figure. The door hinge assembly comprises a hinge plate, a nut and a shaft body. The hinge plate is provided with a through hole. The shaft body comprises a first part and a second part. The first part is used to cooperate with the door body of the refrigerator, so that the door body is rotationally connected with the cabinet body. The second part comprises opposite first and second ends. The first end is provided with a first limiting part. A threaded section is arranged between the first and second ends. The manufacturing method comprises the following steps S101-S103:

[0063] Step S101: The nut is arranged in the through hole.

[0064] Step S102: The second part is screwed with the nut, and the second end extends out of the nut.

[0065] It should be noted that the second part is screwed with the nut from the second end.

[0066] Step S103: The second end is processed to deform the second end to form a second limiting part. The first and second limiting parts are used to cooperate with the nut to limit the movement of the second part along the axis direction of the nut.

[0067] It can be understood that the shaft body can be a metal material with high hardness but can be shaped. In some embodiments, the extending part of the second end can be fixed in the diameter direction, and then the end surface of the second end is pressed towards the first end, so that the end part of the second end becomes thicker, and the thickened part of the second end becomes the second limiting part. It can be understood that the outer diameter of the second limiting part is greater than the inner diameter of the threaded section of the nut. Therefore, when the shaft body rotates counterclockwise and the second limiting part moves towards the threaded section of the nut, the second limiting part cannot pass through the threaded section of the nut because of the larger diameter of the second limiting part, thereby preventing the shaft body from falling off the hinge plate.

[0068] The manufacturing method of the hinge plate assembly provided by the embodiments of the present application is simple in process, and the manufactured door hinge assembly has the advantages of fewer parts, less material consumption and firm structure.

[0069] The door hinge assembly of the refrigerator, the manufacturing method of the door hinge assembly and the refrigerator provided by the embodiments of the present application are described in detail above. The principles and implementation manners of the present application are described by applying specific examples. The above description of the embodiments is only used to help understand the method and core idea of the present application. Meanwhile, for those skilled in the art, the specific implementation manners and application range can be changed according to the idea of the present application. In conclusion, the content of the specification should not be understood as a limitation of the present application.

Claims

1. A refrigerator door hinge assembly, characterized in that, include: A hinge plate for fixing to the refrigerator body, the hinge plate having through holes; A nut is installed in the through hole, and the inner sidewall of the nut is provided with a first threaded section of a first length extending along its axial direction; The shaft includes a first part and a second part connected to each other. The first part is used to cooperate with the door of the refrigerator so that the door is rotatably connected to the refrigerator body. The second part includes a first limiting part, a threaded part, and a second limiting part. The threaded part is located between the first limiting part and the second limiting part and has a second threaded section of a second length extending along the axial direction of the nut. The threaded part is used to be threaded with the nut. The second length is longer than the first length. The first limiting part and the second limiting part are used to cooperate with the nut to restrict the movement of the second part along the axial direction of the nut. The nut comprises a first section and a second section connected to each other, wherein the inner diameter of the second section is larger than the inner diameter of the first section; The first segment includes a first inner sidewall, the second segment includes a second inner sidewall, the first inner sidewall and the second inner sidewall are connected by a third inner sidewall, the first inner sidewall is provided with the first threaded segment, and the second inner sidewall is formed to enclose an accommodating space. The second limiting portion is accommodated in the accommodating space, and the surface of the second limiting portion facing the third inner sidewall is used to abut against the third inner sidewall to restrict the movement of the second portion along the axial direction of the nut.

2. The refrigerator door hinge assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hinge plate has a limiting groove on one side, and the outer wall of the nut has a protrusion. The protrusion is engaged in the limiting groove to restrict the movement of the nut relative to the hinge plate.

3. The refrigerator door hinge assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that, The limiting groove includes a bottom wall and opposing first and second side walls; The protrusion includes a first outer wall and opposing second and third outer walls; The first outer wall abuts against the bottom wall to restrict the movement of the nut in its axial direction, the second outer wall abuts against the first side wall, and the third outer wall abuts against the second side wall to restrict the rotation of the nut in its diametrical direction.

4. The refrigerator door hinge assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that, The protrusion is semi-circular, and the limiting groove matches the shape of the protrusion.

5. The refrigerator door hinge assembly according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The first limiting part is also used to support the door body.

6. The refrigerator door hinge assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that, It also includes reinforcing ribs, which are detachably installed between the first limiting portion and the hinge plate.

7. The refrigerator door hinge assembly according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The first limiting part has a polygonal cross-section in the diameter direction of the shaft.

8. A refrigerator, characterized in that, include: Box; Door body; The door hinge assembly as described in any one of claims 1-7.

9. A method for manufacturing a door hinge assembly as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, Applied to a refrigerator, the door hinge assembly includes a hinge plate, a nut, and a shaft. The hinge plate has a through hole, and the shaft includes a first part and a second part. The first part is used to cooperate with the refrigerator door to allow the door to be rotatably connected to the refrigerator body. The second part includes a first end and a second end opposite to each other. The first end has a first limiting part, and a threaded section is provided between the first end and the second end. The manufacturing method includes: The nut is inserted into the through hole; Screw the second part onto the nut, and allow the second end to extend out of the nut; The second end is shaped to form a second limiting part. The first limiting part and the second limiting part are used to cooperate with the nut to restrict the movement of the second part along the axial direction of the nut.

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