Refrigerator

Abstract

A refrigerator in which side surface scratches of a glass plate are suppressed is provided. The refrigerator has a housing having an opening in a front direction and a door body that opens and closes the opening. The door body has a glass plate that is a rectangular plate in a first direction as a width direction, a handle portion having an opposite surface to the first direction with respect to a side surface of the glass plate, and a protection portion provided between the side surface of the glass plate and the opposite surface of the handle portion. At least a part of the side surface of the glass plate opposes the opposite surface of the handle portion via the protection portion in the first direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a refrigerator. This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-007027, filed on January 20, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Technology

[0002] Previously, a refrigerator with a glass door was disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] In the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, the front panel (glass panel) constitutes almost the entire front surface of the door. A hook portion is provided at the edge of the front panel (glass panel). The hook portion has a recess, and a folded portion for retaining the edge of the front panel (glass panel) is formed at the open end of the recess.

[0004] Previous technical documents

[0005] Patent documents

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-31446 Summary of the Invention

[0007] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0008] The edges (sides) of a glass plate are sometimes more brittle than the front surface, and there is a possibility of damage from contact with the hook.

[0009] The main objective of this disclosure is to provide a refrigerator capable of suppressing damage to the sides of the glass plate.

[0010] Solution for solving the problem

[0011] A refrigerator in one embodiment includes: a casing having an opening at the front and a door for opening and closing the opening. The door includes: a rectangular plate-shaped glass panel with its width in a first direction; a handle having a facing surface opposite to the side of the glass panel in the first direction; and a protective portion disposed between the side of the glass panel and the facing surface of the handle. At least a portion of the side of the glass panel faces the facing surface of the handle in the first direction, separated by the protective portion. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a front view of the refrigerator involved in the implementation method.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a top view of the refrigerator, as shown above.

[0014] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the right door of the refrigerator mentioned above.

[0015] Figure 4This is an enlarged image of a portion of the right door as shown above.

[0016] Figure 5 This is an enlarged view of a portion of the right door involved in Variation Example 1.

[0017] Figure 6 This is an enlarged view of a portion of the right door involved in variation example 2. Detailed Implementation

[0018] Hereinafter, an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. However, the following embodiments are merely illustrative. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0019] The following is for reference Figures 1-4 The refrigerator 1 of this embodiment will be described.

[0020] Refrigerator 1 includes a rectangular box-shaped shell 2 with an opening 201 on one side, a pair of upper doors 70 for opening and closing the opening 201 of the shell 2, and a pair of lower doors 81. In the following description, the long side direction of the shell 2 is defined as the vertical direction (third direction), the short side direction of the shell 2 is defined as the horizontal direction (first direction), and the direction orthogonal to the vertical and horizontal directions is defined as the front-back direction (second direction) (see reference). Figure 1 However, these directions are provided for ease of explanation and do not imply restrictions on their use.

[0021] The casing 2 is formed as a rectangular box with an upper wall 82, a left wall 83, a right wall 84, a rear wall 85, and a bottom wall 76, and has an opening 201 on its front surface. The casing 2 has internal storage chambers. The casing 2 is divided into storage chambers along a vertical direction by a bottom plate. Through the bottom plate, the interior of the casing 2 is divided into an upper first storage chamber and a lower second storage chamber. In the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, the first storage chamber is a so-called refrigerator compartment, and its internal temperature is maintained, for example, at approximately 4°C. The second storage chamber is a so-called freezer compartment, and its internal temperature is maintained, for example, at approximately -18°C.

[0022] A pair of upper doors 70 are hinged to the housing 2, forming a first storage compartment for opening and closing. The pair of upper doors 70 are so-called French doors, each having a right door body 77 and a left door body 78. The first storage compartment can be fully opened or fully closed via the right door body 77 and the left door body 78. A pair of lower doors 81 are hinged to the housing 2, forming a second storage compartment for opening and closing. The pair of lower doors 81 are so-called French doors, each having a right door body 79 and a left door body 80. The second storage compartment can be fully opened or fully closed via the pair of lower doors 81. The right door body 77 on the pair of upper doors 70 and the right door body 79 on the pair of lower doors 81 have the same structure. Furthermore, the left door body 78 in the pair of upper doors 70 and the left door body 80 in the pair of lower doors 81 have the same structure. Figure 1 In the example shown, the pair of upper doors 70 and the pair of lower doors 81 are double doors, but one or both of the upper doors 70 and lower doors 81 can also be single doors (right-opening or left-opening). The specific details of the pair of upper doors 70 and the pair of lower doors 81 will be explained later.

[0023] Refrigerator 1 is equipped with a cooling mechanism for cooling the air in the first and second storage compartments. The cooling mechanism is configured to cool the air in the first and second storage compartments using the heat of vaporization during refrigerant vaporization. The cooling mechanism includes a compressor, an evaporator, and a fan.

[0024] The compressor is located within the housing 2. Specifically, the compressor is positioned at the rear end of the housing 2, in a recess formed at the lower end, and is separated from the internal space of the housing 2. The compressor compresses the refrigerant, turning it into a high-temperature, high-pressure gas. The refrigerant output from the compressor is transported to the evaporator via a condenser and a capillary tube. The condenser dissipates heat from the high-temperature, high-pressure vaporized refrigerant supplied from the compressor, forming a room-temperature, high-pressure liquid refrigerant. The capillary tube restricts the flow rate of the liquid refrigerant to facilitate its vaporization.

[0025] The evaporator expands and vaporizes the liquid refrigerant supplied from the capillary tube. The air surrounding the evaporator is cooled by the heat of vaporization during the refrigerant's vaporization. The vaporized refrigerant is then sent to the compressor for further compression. The evaporator is, for example, located behind the second receiving chamber. The air cooled by the evaporator circulates between the first and second receiving chambers using a blower.

[0026] The following is for reference Figures 2-4 The structure of a pair of upper doors 70 will be described. Furthermore, since the pair of upper doors 70 and the pair of lower doors 81 have the same structure, the pair of upper doors 70 will be described in detail, while the description of the pair of lower doors 81 will be omitted.

[0027] In the following description, the state in which the upper door 70 is completely closed to the opening 201 of the housing 2 is described.

[0028] The left door 78 of the pair of upper doors 70 is formed into a rectangular plate shape. A rectangular plate-shaped handle plate 771 is provided on the left door 78 in a manner that protrudes continuously from the front and right surfaces. The handle plate 771 is arranged in the vertical direction. The user can open the left door 78 by grasping the handle plate 771 and pulling it forward.

[0029] The right door body 77 is formed into a rectangular plate shape. The right door body 77 has a glass plate 5, a frame 7, a handle 6, and heat insulation material. The structure of the right door body 77 will be described below.

[0030] The glass plate 5 is configured to substantially cover the front surface of the frame 7. The glass plate 5 is formed in a rectangular shape, with the front-to-back direction (second direction) as the thickness direction, the left-to-right direction (first direction) as the short side direction, and the up-down direction (third direction) as the long side direction. The glass plate 5 has chamfered edges at the continuous front and side sections. Specifically, the glass plate 5 has chamfered corners at the continuous front and side sections. In this embodiment, the glass plate 5 has an inclined surface 51 (first inclined surface) that is inclined relative to both the front and side surfaces of the glass plate 5 through the chamfering process. Specifically, the corners of the glass plate 5 have inclined surfaces 51 (first inclined surfaces). In this embodiment, tempered glass is used for the glass plate 5, but it is not limited to this.

[0031] The frame 7 is formed as a rectangular frame surrounding the glass plate 5. Specifically, the frame 7 has a right plate 71, a left plate 72, an upper plate 73 and a lower plate 74, surrounding a pair of side surfaces, an upper surface and a lower surface of the glass plate 5.

[0032] Additionally, a back panel 75 is provided at the rear of the frame 7. The back panel 75 is configured to abut against the right panel 71, left panel 72, upper panel 73, and lower panel 74 of the frame 7. Specifically, the back panel 75 is positioned opposite the glass panel 5 in the front-rear direction and abuts against the right panel 71, left panel 72, upper panel 73, and lower panel 74. Thermal insulation material is provided within the space formed by the frame 7, glass panel 5, and rear wall 85. The thermal insulation material is, for example, a foamed material such as rigid polyurethane foam, and is filled within the space formed by the frame 7, glass panel 5, and back panel 75. In addition to its thermal insulation function, the thermal insulation material also functions as an adhesive. The glass panel 5 is fixed to the frame 7 by the thermal insulation material.

[0033] A handle 6 for opening and closing the right door 77 is provided on the left panel 72 of the frame 7. The left panel 72 has a groove 10 formed along the vertical direction, and the handle 6 is provided in the groove 10.

[0034] The left plate 72 has a front wall portion 20, a bottom wall portion 30, and a rear wall portion 40. The groove portion 10 is formed by the front wall portion 20, the bottom wall portion 30, and the rear wall portion 40. The groove portion 10 is formed in a recessed manner towards the right.

[0035] The front wall portion 20, the bottom wall portion 30, and the rear wall portion 40 are formed continuously. The front wall portion 20 is located behind the glass plate 5 and is formed in a left-right direction. The bottom wall portion 30 is located behind the front wall and is formed in a front-back direction. The rear wall portion 40 is located behind the bottom wall portion 30 and is formed in a left-right direction. The bottom wall portion 30 is located to the right of the left side 50 of the glass plate 5.

[0036] The front wall portion 20 has a first wall 21 and a protective portion 22.

[0037] The first wall 21 is formed as a rectangular plate with the thickness direction in the front-back direction, the short side direction in the left-right direction, and the long side direction in the up-down direction. The first wall 21 is in contact with the rear surface of the glass plate 5.

[0038] The protective portion 22 is formed to protrude forward from the left end of the first wall 21. The protective portion 22 is rectangular in shape, with its shorter side in the rear-to-rear direction, its thickness in the left-to-right direction, and its longer side in the up-down direction. Furthermore, the protective portion 22 is formed vertically relative to the left side surface 50 of the glass plate 5. In the rear-to-rear direction, the front end of the protective portion 22 is located at the midpoint of the rear-to-rear position on the left side surface 50 of the glass plate 5. The right surface of the protective portion 22 contacts a surface further rearward than the inclined surface 51 on the left side surface 50 of the glass plate 5.

[0039] The bottom wall portion 30 has a second wall 32 and a positioning portion 33. The second wall 32 is formed as a rectangular plate with the short side in the rear-to-rear direction, the thickness in the left-to-right direction, and the long side in the up-down direction. The second wall 32 protrudes rearward from the rear surface of the first wall 21. The positioning portion 33 protrudes leftward from the left surface of the second wall 32. The positioning portion 33 is formed as a rectangular plate with the thickness in the rear-to-rear direction, the short side in the left-to-right direction, and the long side in the up-down direction. The positioning portion 33 defines the position of the handle portion 6 in the rear-to-rear direction. The front surface of the positioning portion 33 is opposite to the rear surface of the first wall 21 in the rear-to-rear direction. In addition, a threaded hole 34 is formed in the bottom wall portion 30 at a position rearward than the positioning portion 33. The threaded hole 34 is a bottomed hole formed in a recessed manner in the right direction, and a threaded groove is formed on the inner circumferential surface. A screw B1 is attached to the threaded hole 34. The handle portion 6 is fixed to the frame 7 (left plate 72) by means of the screw B1.

[0040] The rear wall portion 40 extends to the left from the rear end of the bottom wall portion 30. The rear wall portion 40 is formed as a rectangular plate with its thickness along the front-to-back direction, its shorter side along the left-to-right direction, and its longer side along the top-to-bottom direction. The rear wall portion 40 has steps that are offset in both the left-to-right and front-to-back directions. The right end of the rear wall portion 40 is positioned to the right of the left side 50 of the glass plate 5. The left end of the rear wall portion 40 is positioned to the left of the left end of the front wall portion 20, and also to the left of the handle portion 60 of the handle portion 6 (described later).

[0041] A plate portion 41 is also provided in a continuous manner from the rear wall portion 40 to the back plate 75. Specifically, it is formed to extend rearward from the left end of the rear wall portion 40 toward the left end of the back plate 75. The rear end of the plate portion 41 is formed to bend to the right.

[0042] The right plate 71 has a third wall 42, a cover 43, and a fourth wall 44. The right plate 71 is formed in a front-rear direction extending from the right side of the glass plate 5 to the right side of the back plate 75.

[0043] The third wall 42 is formed as a rectangular plate with its thickness along the front-to-back direction, its short side along the left-to-right direction, and its long side along the top-to-bottom direction. The third wall 42 is configured to abut against the right end of the rear surface of the glass plate 5. In addition, the right end of the third wall 42 is configured to protrude further to the right than the right end of the glass plate 5.

[0044] The cover portion 43 is formed to protrude forward from the right end of the third wall 42. The cover portion 43 is a rectangular body with its shorter side in the front-to-back direction, its thickness in the left-to-right direction, and its longer side in the up-down direction. Furthermore, the cover portion 43 is formed on the right side of the glass plate 5 along the front-to-back direction. The fourth wall 44 is configured to extend rearward from the right end of the third wall 42. The rear end of the fourth wall 44 bends to the left. The rear end of the fourth wall 44 abuts against the right end of the back plate 75.

[0045] The upper plate 73 is positioned above the upper ends of the glass plate 5, left plate 72, right plate 71, and back plate 75. In other words, the upper plate 73 is configured to block the upper ends of the glass plate 5, left plate 72, right plate 71, and back plate 75. The upper plate 73 is formed as a rectangular plate with the left-right direction as its long side, the front-back direction as its short side, and the vertical direction as its thickness direction. The left edge of the upper plate 73 is formed with the same shape as the upper edge of the handle portion 6 and the groove portion 10. The right edge of the upper plate 73 is formed with the same shape as the left edge of the fourth wall portion 44.

[0046] The lower plate 74 is positioned above the lower ends of the glass plate 5, left plate 72, right plate 71, and back plate 75. In other words, the lower plate 74 is positioned to block the lower ends of the glass plate 5, left plate 72, right plate 71, and back plate 75. The lower plate 74 is formed as a rectangular plate with the left-right direction as its long side, the front-back direction as its short side, and the vertical direction as its thickness direction. The left edge of the lower plate 74 is formed with the same shape as the lower edge of the handle portion 6 and the groove portion 10. The right edge of the lower plate 74 is formed with the same shape as the right edge of the fourth wall portion 44.

[0047] The handle portion 6 includes a handle portion 60, a protrusion 61, a support portion 62, and a fixing piece 63. In this embodiment, the handle portion 6 is made of metal. However, the handle portion 6 is not limited to metal and may also be made of resin or the like.

[0048] The handle portion 60 is rectangular with its long side extending vertically. The handle portion 60 is hollow. It is located to the left of the protective portion 22 of the glass plate 5 and the frame 7. The right surface of the handle portion 60 faces the left side surface 50 of the glass plate 5 across the protective portion 22. In other words, at least a portion of the left side surface 50 of the glass plate 5 faces the right surface of the handle portion 6 across the protective portion 22 in the left-right direction. In the following description, the right surface of the handle portion 6 will also be referred to as the opposing surface 64. In the front-back direction, the position of the front surface of the glass plate 5 is approximately the same as the position of the front surface of the handle portion 60.

[0049] The protrusion 61 is formed to protrude to the right from the front end on the opposing surface 64. The protrusion 61 is rectangular with the vertical direction as its long side. The right side of the protrusion 61 is opposite to the left side 50 of the glass plate 5 in the left-right direction. The rear surface of the protrusion 61 is located in front of the front surface of the protective part 22. Furthermore, the left-right dimension of the protective part 22 is longer than the left-right dimension of the protrusion 61. In other words, if the left-right dimension of the protective part 22 is set as L1 and the left-right dimension of the protrusion 61 is set as L2, then the left-right dimension relationship between the protective part 22 and the protrusion 61 is L1 > L2. Therefore, a gap is formed between the glass plate 5 and the protrusion 61. Thus, a gap is formed between the right surface of the protrusion 61 and the left side 50 of the glass plate 5. It should be noted that the gap between the left side 50 of the glass plate 5 and the right surface of the protrusion 61 should be as small as possible, but preferably larger than the amount of deformation when a left-right stress is applied to the protective part 22.

[0050] The support portion 62 extends to the right from the rear end of the handle portion 60. The support portion 62 is a rectangular plate with its shorter side in the left-right direction, its width in the front-back direction, and its longer side in the up-down direction. The support portion 62 is recessed forward at approximately its central portion in the left-right direction. Due to the recess of the support portion 62, the user can easily open the right door 77 by placing their fingers on the recess. Furthermore, the right end of the support portion 62 is connected to the fixing piece 63, which will be described later.

[0051] The fixing piece 63 has a recess 23. The recess 23 is formed in a rightward recessed manner. The recess 23 is located behind the positioning part 33. Specifically, the front surface of the recess 23 is provided along the rear surface of the positioning part 33. Further, the bottom of the recess 23 is opposite to the second wall 32 in the left-right direction. An insertion hole 66 is formed at the bottom of the recess 23. The insertion hole 66 is formed in a manner corresponding to the threaded hole 34. A screw B1 is inserted into the insertion hole 66. Specifically, the screw B1 has a head 36 and a body 35. The body 35 of the screw engages with a threaded groove formed on the inner circumferential surface of the threaded hole 34 through the insertion hole 66. In this embodiment, the screw B1 engages with the threaded hole 34 with its body 35 in a left-right direction. By engaging the screw B1 with the threaded hole 34 through the insertion hole 66, the handle part 6 is fixed to the left plate 72 of the frame 7.

[0052] Thus, in the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, the left side 50 of the glass plate 5 faces the opposing surface 64 of the handle portion 6 in the left-right direction via the protective portion 22. The left-right dimension of the protective portion 22 is formed to be longer than the left-right dimension of the protrusion 61 protruding from the opposing surface 64. As a result, since a gap is formed between the left side 50 of the glass plate 5 and the right surface of the protrusion 61, contact between the handle portion 6 and the glass plate 5 can be suppressed. Therefore, in the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, damage to the glass plate 5 can be suppressed. In addition, since contact between the handle portion 6 and the glass plate 5 is suppressed, the handle portion 6 can be made of a high-hardness material such as metal, thereby improving both design and usability.

[0053] Furthermore, the protrusion 61 is located in front of the protective part 22. Therefore, when viewing the right door body 77 from the front, the protective part 22 is blocked by the protrusion 61, and the protective part 22 will not be exposed to the front, thus achieving a design improvement.

[0054] Furthermore, the support portion 62 of the handle portion 6 is positioned at a distance from the front wall portion 20 of the left panel 72 in the front-rear direction. This prevents stress from being applied to the rear of the front wall portion 20 of the left panel 72 when the user places their fingers on the support portion 62 to open or close the right door 77. Additionally, as described above, the use of a high-hardness material such as metal for the handle portion 6 prevents stress applied to the handle portion 6 from being transmitted to the front wall portion 20 of the left panel 72, thus preventing deformation of the left panel 72 or the upward movement of the glass panel 5 due to opening or closing the right door 77.

[0055] (Modified Example)

[0056] Hereinafter, variations of the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same reference numerals are used for structures identical to those in the above embodiment, and descriptions are omitted where appropriate. Furthermore, the variations described below can be appropriately combined with the above embodiment or other variations.

[0057] (First variation)

[0058] In this modified refrigerator 1, the following points differ from the above-described embodiment. In this modified refrigerator 1, as... Figure 5 As shown, the front surface of the handle portion 6 is positioned further forward than the front surface of the glass plate 5. Furthermore, the protective portion 22 has a recess 23 formed opposite to the handle portion 6 in the left-right direction. Additionally, a protrusion 65 is formed on the handle portion 6 to fit into the recess 23.

[0059] The protrusion 61 has an inclined surface 29 (second inclined surface) formed opposite to the inclined surface 51 (first inclined surface) of the glass plate 5. The inclined surface 29 is arranged in front of the inclined surface 51 (first inclined surface).

[0060] The inclined surface 29 is formed such that it slopes to the left from the front end of the protrusion 61 toward the rear. The inclined surface 29 is located in front of and opposite to the inclined surface 51 at the left front corner of the glass plate 5. In addition, a gap is formed between the inclined surface 51 and the inclined surface 29. Furthermore, this gap is preferably as small as possible.

[0061] The following will describe the protrusion 65 formed on the opposite surface 64 of the handle portion 6 and the recess 23 formed on the protective portion 22.

[0062] The recess 23 is formed at a position opposite to the handle portion 64 on the protective portion 22 in the left-right direction. The recess 23 is a bottomed hole with a bottom 26, formed in a way that is recessed in the right direction. In addition, the inner peripheral surface of the recess 23 includes an inclined surface 25 (third inclined surface) and a rear surface 27 located behind the inclined surface 25.

[0063] The bottom 26 of the recess 23 is formed in a manner that runs along the front-back direction.

[0064] The inclined surface 25 is the surface between the front end of the bottom 26 and the front end 28 of the edge of the recess 23. The inclined surface 25 slopes forward from the bottom 26 toward the front end 28 of the edge of the recess 23.

[0065] The rear surface 27 is the surface between the rear end of the bottom 26 and the rear end of the edge of the recess 23. The rear surface 27 is formed in a manner that runs along the left-right direction.

[0066] The protrusion 65 of the handle portion 6 protrudes to the right from the opposite surface 64. The protrusion 65 is rectangular with its long side extending vertically. The protrusion 65 is embedded in the recess 23 of the protective portion 22. The protrusion dimension of the protrusion 65 is approximately the same as the depth dimension of the recess 23. In addition, the front-rear dimension of the front end of the protrusion 65 is approximately the same as the front-rear dimension of the bottom 26 of the recess 23. Therefore, the protrusion 65 contacts the bottom 26 and the rear surface 27 of the recess 23.

[0067] Thus, in the refrigerator 1 of this modified example, the inclined surface 29 (second inclined surface) of the protrusion 61 is provided in front of the inclined surface 51 (first inclined surface) of the glass plate 5. Furthermore, the inclined surface 51 (first inclined surface) and the inclined surface 29 (second inclined surface) are arranged opposite to each other. Therefore, the inclined surface 51 (first inclined surface) of the glass plate 5 is protected by the protrusion 61 from external forces. Thus, in the refrigerator 1 of this modified example, damage to the glass plate 5 can be further suppressed.

[0068] Furthermore, with the protrusion 65 formed on the handle portion 6 fitted into the recess 23 of the protective portion 22, the protrusion 65 contacts the bottom 26 and rear surface 27 of the recess 23. Therefore, the protective portion 22 restricts the rearward and rightward movement of the handle portion 6. This prevents the inclined surface 29 of the protrusion 61 from contacting the inclined surface 51 of the glass plate 5. Therefore, damage to the glass plate 5 can be further suppressed.

[0069] Furthermore, in the front-rear direction, the size of the front end of the protrusion 65 is approximately the same as the size of the bottom 26 of the recess 23. Therefore, even if a force is applied forward to the handle 6, the forward movement of the handle 6 can be restricted by the protrusion 65 engaging with the inclined surface 25 of the recess 23. Thus, even if the user pulls the handle 6 forward to open the right door 77, the positional displacement of the handle 6 can be suppressed. In addition, when a strong force is applied forward to the handle 6, the support portion 62 of the handle 6 may bend, and the handle portion 60 may move forward. However, in this case, the protrusion 65 can slide forward on the inclined surface 25 of the recess 23 to release the force, thus preventing deformation of the recess 23. When the user no longer applies force to the handle 6 due to removing their hand from the handle 6, the protrusion 65 slides backward on the inclined surface 25 of the recess 23 and returns to its original position. Therefore, even if a strong force is repeatedly applied to the handle 6, the gap between the inclined surface 29 of the handle 6 and the inclined surface 51 of the glass plate 5 can be prevented from increasing, thus preventing dust and other particles from entering the gap.

[0070] Furthermore, the inclined surface 25 located in front of the protrusion 65 is inclined in such a way that the opening of the recess 23 expands. Therefore, when the handle 6 is fixed to the left plate 72 of the frame 7, the protrusion 65 of the handle 6 can be easily inserted into the recess 23. This improves the assemblability of the refrigerator 1. In addition, the protrusion 65 is formed with a right front corner bend. Therefore, when the protrusion 65 is inserted into the recess 23, damage to the inclined surface 25 due to the protrusion 65 is prevented.

[0071] (Second variation)

[0072] In this modified refrigerator 1, the following points differ from the embodiments described above. In this modified refrigerator 1, as... Figure 6 As shown, the protrusion 90 extends to the front of the glass plate 5 and contacts the front surface of the glass plate 5. Furthermore, the threaded hole 340 for engaging the screw B1 to fix the handle 6 to the frame 7 is formed in a manner that is inclined rearward relative to the left-right direction.

[0073] The front surface of the handle portion 60 is located in front of the front surface of the glass plate 5. In other words, the opposing surface 93 of the handle portion 60 is formed to extend to the front of the front surface of the glass plate 5.

[0074] The protrusion 90 is formed to protrude to the right from the front end of the opposing surface 93. The protrusion 90 has an extension 91 and an abutment portion 92.

[0075] The extension 91 is formed to protrude to the right rearward from the front end of the opposing surface 93. The front end of the extension 91 is located to the right of the left side surface 50 of the glass plate 5. The abutment 92 is formed to protrude rearward from the front end of the extension 91. The front end of the abutment 92 contacts the front surface of the glass plate 5.

[0076] The threaded hole 340 in the bottom wall portion 30 is formed to the right rearward along the central axis. In other words, the threaded hole 340 is formed in a manner that it tilts rearward as it moves from the opening toward the bottom.

[0077] Therefore, screw B1 engages with threaded hole 340 in a rearward tilted state. Specifically, screw B1 has a head 36 and a body 35. The head 36 is formed to protrude from threaded hole 340 when screw B1 is engaged with threaded hole 340. The head 36 has a hole for inserting a screwdriver or the like for tightening screw B1. Body 35 is inserted into threaded hole 340. In this modified example, screw B1 engages with threaded hole 340 such that the front end 351 (right end) of body 35 is located rearward than the base end 352 on the side of head 36.

[0078] When the handle 6 is installed on the frame 7 (left plate 72), the fixing piece 63 abuts against the bottom wall 30. At this time, the through hole 66 aligns with the threaded hole 340. The screw B1 is fixed to the threaded hole 340 via the through hole 66. In this modified example, the screw B1 is fixed in a rearward tilted state. Therefore, when the handle 6 is fixed to the frame 7 using the screw B1, the handle 6 moves to the right rearward. As a result, the abutting part 92 on the protrusion 90 of the handle 6 moves closer to the front surface of the glass plate 5 and can contact the front surface of the glass plate 5.

[0079] Thus, in this modified refrigerator 1, the protrusion 90 of the handle 6 extends to the front of the glass panel 5 and contacts the front surface of the glass panel 5. As a result, the left side 50 of the glass panel 5 is covered by the protrusion 90, thereby suppressing damage to the glass panel 5. Furthermore, the front of the glass panel 5 has higher strength than the side (left side 50). In this modified example, the protrusion 90 of the handle 6 contacts the front surface of the glass panel 5, thus suppressing damage to the glass panel 5. Additionally, by making the protrusion 90 contact the front surface of the glass panel 5, it is possible to prevent debris and other contaminants from entering between the protrusion 90 and the glass panel 5, thus preventing design degradation.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, characterized in that, have: A housing having an opening at the front; and The door, which opens and closes the opening. The door body has: A rectangular glass plate, with its width direction being the first direction; The handle portion has an opposing surface that faces the first direction relative to the side of the glass plate; as well as A protective part is disposed between the side surface of the glass plate and the opposite surface of the handle. At least a portion of the side surface of the glass plate faces the opposing surface of the handle portion in the first direction, separated by the protective portion. The handle portion has a protrusion that extends from the opposite surface and is located in front of the protective portion.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The size of the protective portion in the first direction is larger than the size of the protrusion in the first direction.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The protrusion has a first inclined surface that is inclined relative to both the front surface and the side surface of the glass plate, and the protrusion has a second inclined surface that is inclined relative to and opposite to the opposing surface.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The protective portion has a recess in the first direction, the recess being formed on a side opposite to the handle portion, and the handle portion having a protrusion that is embedded in the recess.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, characterized in that, The inner circumferential surface of the recess includes a third inclined surface that slopes forward from the bottom of the recess toward the front end of the edge of the recess.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The protrusion contacts the front surface of the glass plate.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, characterized in that, The door also has screws to fix the position of the handle. The screw is secured such that the front end of the torso is positioned further forward than the base end.

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